743
743 (or 744 or 748) - Ships with men aboard are seen in the air over Ireland, according to entries in the Annals of Ulster, the Annals of Tigernach, the Annals of Clonmacnoise, the Annals of the Four Masters, and some manuscripts of Lebar Gabála. Later accounts through the Middle Ages progressively expand on this with picturesque details. First the ships are reduced to one ship over Teltown, County Meath, from which a crewman throws and then recovers a fishing-spear. Then the scene shifts to the abbey of Clonmacnoise in County Offaly, and later to Britain, and the fishing-spear is changed to an anchor that snags on some feature of a church. The sailor who climbs down to release it is also said to be in danger of drowning in the thicker air of this lower world. The event is variously interpreted as unusual cloud formations, an aurora borealis, an ocean mirage, or UFOs. (Wikipedia, " Airship of Clonmacnoise"; Felix Liebrecht, " De mari," in Des Gervasius von Tilbury Otia Imperialia, Hannover, 1856, pp. 2-3; Kuno Meyer, " The Irish Mirabilia in the Norse `Speculum Regale,'" Ériu 4 (1910): 1-16; John Carey, " Aerial Ships and Underwater Monasteries: The Evolution of a Monastic Marvel," Proceedings of the Harvard Celtic Colloquium 12 (1992): 16-28; Michael McCaughan, " Voyagers in the Vault of Heaven: The Phenomenon of Ships in the Sky in Medieval Ireland and Beyond," Material Culture Review, vol. 48, no. 1 (Fall 1998): 170-180; Clark III 157; Clark IV 184)
1561
April 15 -In the morning of at daybreak, between 4 and 5 on the small clock, a dreadful apparition occurred on the sun, and then this was seen in Nuremberg in the city, before the gates and in the country – by many men and women. At first there appeared in the middle of the sun two blood-red semi-circular arcs, just like the moon in its last quarter. And in the sun, above and below and on both sides, the color was blood, there stood a round ball of partly dull, partly black ferrous color. Likewise there stood on both sides and as a torus about the sun such blood-red ones and other balls in large number, about three in a line and four in a square, also some alone. In between these globes there were visible a few blood-red crosses, between which there were blood-red strips, becoming thicker to the rear and in the front malleable like the rods of reed-grass, which were intermingled, among them two big rods, one on the right, the other to the left, and within the small and big rods there were three, also four and more globes. These all started to fight among themselves, so that the globes, which were first in the sun, flew out to the ones standing on both sides, thereafter, the globes standing outside the sun, in the small and large rods, flew into the sun. Besides the globes flew back and forth among themselves and fought vehemently with each other for over an hour. And when the conflict in and again out of the sun was most intense, they became fatigued to such an extent that they all, as said above, fell from the sun down upon the earth 'as if they all burned' and they then wasted away on the earth with immense smoke. After all this there was something like a black spear, very long and thick, sighted; the shaft pointed to the east, the point pointed west. Whatever such signs mean, God alone knows. Although we have seen, shortly one after another, many kinds of signs on the heaven, which are sent to us by the almighty God, to bring us to repentance, we still are, unfortunately, so ungrateful that we despise such high signs and miracles of God. Or we speak of them with ridicule and discard them to the wind, in order that God may send us a frightening punishment on account of our ungratefulness. After all, the God-fearing will by no means discard these signs, but will take it to heart as a warning of their merciful Father in heaven, will mend their lives and faithfully beg God, that He may avert His wrath, including the well-deserved punishment, on us, so that we may temporarily here and perpetually there, live as his children. For it, may God grant us his help, Amen. By Hanns Glaser, letter-painter of Nurnberg.
1896
July 1 — 6:00 p.m. A mysterious balloon passes over Winnipeg, Manitoba, to the east at an estimated 2,000 feet. It is lost to view after 20 minutes (“A Mysterious Balloon,” Winnipeg Manitoba Morning Free Press, July 2, 1896, p. 4; “ They Think It’s Andreé’s,” Chicago Tribune, July 2, 1896, p. 1; “Was It Andrée’s Balloon?,” Portland Oregonian, July 2, 1896, p. 6; Robert E. Bartholomew, “A Balloon Mystery of B.C. and Manitoba 1896–97,” B.C. Historical News, Fall 1997, pp. 27–29; Clark III 70; Clark IV 94)
July 3 — The chief of the Kispiox people and a group of Canadian trappers see a brightly lit balloon traveling north near Blackwater Lake, British Columbia. The same day, a First Nations boy sees something similar at the Skeena River, British Columbia. (“It Was No Dream,” Winnipeg Manitoba Morning Free Press, August 13, 1896, p. 2; Brett Holman, “ Believing Is Seeing,” Airminded, May 2, 2010)
Mid-July — Night. Chester N. Crotsenburg, a postal clerk on the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railway, is on a train heading north from Princeton, Missouri, when he notices a round, dull- rose-colored light low on the western horizon. It then rises in height to 45°, and appears to be pacing the train, keeping a half-mile or one mile distance. After the train reaches Lineville, Iowa (13.7 miles away), it passes out of sight behind buildings. Possibly the moon. (“Ball Lightning,” Monthly Weather Review 26 (August 1898): 358; Martin Shough and Wim van Utrecht, Redemption of the Damned, vol. 1, Anomalist, 2019, pp. 291–304)
August — Evening. Pearl Vickers, 9, and her family see a large “saucerlike” object with blinding lights hover above their property in Howell County, Missouri, for an extended time. The next morning, the family discovers three of their steers lying in a large patch of burned grass. The bodies are completely drained of blood, but there are only two small punctures in their jugular veins. (Pearl Chenoweth, as told to Shannon Graham, “Cattle-Killing UFO of 1896,” Fate 38, no. 11 (November 1985): 52–54; Clark III 130, 1159; Clark IV 157, 1333–1334)
August 11 — Charles Abbott Smith of San Francisco, California, is granted a patent for a cylindrical airship with a cone-shaped bow, “two wings hinged at the upper part of the vessel,” and a compartment for machinery and passengers. (US Patent, “ Air-ship,” granted August 11, 1896)
Late August — A William Jordan of San Rafael, California, claims have come across a machine shop in a secluded area southwest of Mount Tamalpais where the mechanics are working on an airship. They say that it is almost complete and swear Jordan to secrecy. Probable hoax. (“ Others Who Saw It,” San Francisco (Calif.) Call, November 23, 1896, p. 2; Clark III 71; Clark IV 95)
October — Evening. A Miss Hagstrom is riding a bicycle on Telegraph Avenue in Oakland, California, when she notices an object with a powerful headlight moving toward the west and gradually descending. (“ Saw the Mystic Flying Light,” San Francisco Call, November 22, 1896, p. 13; Clark III 71; Clark IV 95)
Late October — Fruit rancher Constant T. Musso and his family in Bowman, California. watch three bright lights moving toward the east at about 100 mph. (“ Mission of the Aerial Ship,” San Francisco Call, November 25, 1896, p. 1)
Early November? — Evening. Some of the employees at the Sutro Heights estate [now Sutro Heights Park in the Richmond District] of San Francisco, California, belonging to Mayor Adolph Sutro watch a brilliant light approaching from the sea at a height of 500 feet. Two lights are visible, one a “misty-looking mass” and the other a searchlight. The object disappears in the direction of the city and turns to the north just before it passes from view. Another report suggests that the object passed over Seal Rocks and shone its searchlight on the seals. (“ The Apparition of the Air,” San Francisco Call, November 24, 1896, p. 1)
Early November — 8:00 p.m. Louis Charmak and one other person in Woodland, California, notice three bright lights in the southwestern sky moving toward the northeast. As they reach Main Street, they rise another 100 feet in the air. They are close together and followed by a white trail of light. (“ Was It an Airship?” Woodland (Calif.) Daily Democrat, November 24, 1896, p. 3)
November 17 — Afternoon and evening. A mystery airship wave begins in California when residents of the Oak Park neighborhood of Sacramento see a high-flying object moving slowly in a circle, leaving a trail of smoke. Around 6:30 p.m., a light resembling an electric arc lamp appears in the night sky above Sacramento. Horse trainer David Carl notices it close to the ground and hears a voice saying, “We are too low down here. Send her up higher.” Hundreds watch as it passes at low altitude for 30 minutes, avoiding buildings and hills. Some people claim to hear voices, either arguing or singing. R. L. Lowry sees four men pushing the vessel by its wheels. The witnesses include streetcar workers Charles Lusk and Granville C. Snider, who watch the object rise and fall as it moves southwest. (Wikipedia, “ Mystery airship”; “ Voices in the Sky,” Sacramento (Calif.) Evening Bee, November 18, 1896, p. 1; “ Strange Craft of the Sky,” San Francisco Call, November 19, 1896, p. 1; Loren E. Gross, UFOs: A History, 1896, The Author, 1974; Thomas E. Bullard, The Airship File, The author, 1982; Clark III 70–71; Clark IV 94–95)
November 20 — Afternoon. D. H. Risdon is working in an orchard near Tagus, California, when he spots an object “like an immense sheet” moving against the wind at a “considerable elevation.” (“ Saw the Mystic Flying Light,” San Francisco Call, November 22, 1896, p. 13; Clark III 71; Clark IV 95)
November 20 — 5:30 p.m. Passengers on a streetcar in Oakland, California, notice a “peculiar-looking contrivance” high in the sky and moving in a westerly direction toward San Francisco. It has a powerful headlight and another light on the bottom. It is also seen over Folsom, San Francisco, Sacramento, Modesto, Manteca, Sebastopol, and several other cities later in the evening and is reportedly viewed by hundreds of witnesses. (Wikipedia, “ Mystery airship”; “ Saw the Mystic Flying Light,” San Francisco Call, November 22, 1896, p. 13; Clark III 71; Clark IV 95)
November 22 — San Francisco attorney George D. Collins announces that he represents the airship inventor, a “very wealthy man who has been studying the subject of flying machines for fifteen years” and who moved to California from Maine in 1889. He claims the airship is a 150-foot metal contraption with two canvas wings 18 feet wide and shaped like a bird’s tail. It has been built in Oroville and is now hidden in the San Francisco, California, area as the inventor deals with technical problems. However, people in Oroville sense a hoax, as they know of no such inventor. On November 24, Collins complains to the San Francisco Call that another newspaper, the San Francisco Examiner, has been printing falsehoods about him, including an interview with another attorney, Frederick Bradley. Suspicion falls on an itinerant dentist from Maine, Elmer H. Benjamin, who insists his only inventions are dental fittings. A prominent citizen of Oakland, George H. Carleton, claims to know the inventor but has been sworn to secrecy. Former California Attorney General William H. H. Hart soon claims to represent the mystery inventor, who has fired Collins for talking too much. But Hart is also blabbing prolifically, saying that two or three airships exist (a second built in an eastern state) and his role is to “consolidate both interests.” Hart asserts that the airship can carry four men and 1,000 pounds of dynamite for dropping on Havana, Cuba. (“ A Lawyer’s Word for That Airship,” San Francisco Chronicle, November 22, 1896, p. 36; “ Collins Sticks to His Airship Story,” San Francisco Chronicle, November 23, 1896, p. 12; “ Have We Got ‘Em Again?” Sacramento Bee, November 23, 1896, p. 1; “ Coy Mr. Collins and His Airship,” San Francisco Chronicle, November 24, 1896, p. 9; “ The Apparition of the Air,” San Francisco Call, November 24, 1896, p. 1; “ Mission of the Aerial Ship,” San Francisco Call, November 25, 1896, p. 1; “ Hart Stands by His Ship,” “ Hart Confirms the Story from Sacramento,” San Francisco Call, November 26, 1896, p. 1; “ Three Airships, Says Hart,” San Francisco Call, November 29, 1896, p. 1; Michael Busby, Solving the 1897 Airship Mystery, Pelican, 2003, pp. 249–315; Clark III 71–73; Clark 95–97)
November 22 — 5:30 p.m. Another mystery light moving in a wavering fashion toward the southwest is seen in Sacramento, California, by many people. At times it disappears, then flashes out again with renewed brilliance. Edward J. Carragher, owner of the Saddle Rock Restaurant, views the light through binoculars and is able to see a large object supporting an arc lamp. Cigar store vendor Jacob Zemansky watches the undulating light through a telescope until it fades into nothingness. George Scott, assistant to California Secretary of State Lewis Henry Brown, is standing on the steps of the State Capitol building with three friends when they see the strange light moving to the northwest. Scott has a key to the Capitol dome, so he brings his friends to the top of the building, where they can see the light “very distinctly, sweeping across the sky toward the northwest.” There are three lights, apparently attached to a dark structure. (“ Have We Got ‘Em Again?” Sacramento Bee, November 23, 1896, p. 1; “ A Winged Ship in the Sky,” San Francisco Call, November 23, 1896, p. 1; “ Saw It from the Dome,” San Francisco Call, November 29, 1896, pp. 1, 2)
November 22 — 7:05 p.m. M. H. Cohen, a conductor on the Hayes Street line, sees an aerial light at about 300–400 feet altitude when he is at Market and 8th streets in San Francisco, California. Other people on the streetcar also watch the light, which is moving across the Golden Gate and flashing periodically. When the streetcar disembarks at 1st Street at 7:13 p.m., Cohen and the others see the light over the Twin Peaks downtown. At the top of Pierce Street hill, Cohen sees it returning from Twin Peaks, and at 7:51 p.m. he watches it from Ashbury Street. Airships are seen later at Oakland, Alameda, San Leandro, San Jose, California, and Tacoma, Washington. (“ The Apparition of the Air,” San Francisco Call, November 24, 1896, p. 1)
November 23 — 7:00 p.m. A bright light is seen west of Chico, California, traveling to the northwest. The same or similar light is seen west of Red Bluff, California, flying west at about 2,000 feet. After a few minutes it descends to 1,000 feet. It disappears over the Coast Range. (“ Mission of the Aerial Ship,” San Francisco Call, November 25, 1896, p. 1)
November 24 — 6:45 p.m. Several passengers on a train crossing the bay from San Francisco to Oakland, California, see an airship alternately stop, hover, and move on. Minutes later, 6th Street in Oakland is overflowing with onlookers as the object passes above Broadway, flashing its light. One spectator is watching through binoculars and says the airship’s turns cause the searchlight to shine in different directions. Among the witnesses are Col. Thomas F. Garrity, city electrician George H. Carleton, George Hatton of the Oakland Tribune, and Melvin Holmes. (“ Mission of the Aerial Ship,” San Francisco Call, November 25, 1896, p. 1)
November 25 — Evening. A mystery light flies in circular patterns around Sacramento, California, at a rapid rate of speed. Observers include Deputy Secretary of State George A. McCalvy, District Attorney Frank D. Ryan, and E. D. McCabe, the governor’s personal secretary. It is three times as large as Venus, also visible. The light is observed for 20 minutes then reappears later in the evening. A Professor Dodge of Galt, California, claims he can make out the “outlines of a dark body” just above the light. (“ Hart Confirms the Story from Sacramento,” San Francisco Call, November 26, 1896, p. 1; Clark III 73; Clark IV 97)
November 25 — 6:00 p.m. Col. H. G. Shaw and Camille Spooner are riding in a carriage near Lodi, California, when their horse stops suddenly. Looking up, they see three slender beings about 7 feet tall. Shaw walks up to them and asks them where they are from; they reply in an odd warbling language. He notes that they are hairless and wear no apparent clothing. The eyes are large and lustrous, and they each seem to be carrying an egg-shaped light and a breathing apparatus under the left arm. Shaw claims the beings try to lift him but they are not strong enough. They then notice a 150-foot airship hovering 20 feet above the water close to a bridge. The three beings float to the craft, open a door in the side, and disappear inside. The ship flies quickly out of sight. Shaw speculates that the beings are from Mars. (“ Three Strange Visitors,” Stockton (Calif.) Evening Mail, November 27, 1896, p. 1; Patrick Gross, UFOs in the Daily Press; Clark III 74–75, 592; Clark IV 98–99, 652)
November 26 — 7:00 p.m. Farmer John Bawl and his family see an airship moving to the southwest over his residence on Monroe Street near Franklin Street in San Jose, California. It is lunging sharply from side to side and has a pair of flapping wings and a red light on the bottom. Musician and President of the University of the Pacific Moses Smith Cross also sees the strange aerial light when he is visiting a colleague two blocks away. (“ It Flitted over San Jose,” San Francisco Call, November 28, 1896, p. 1; “ Three Airships, Says Hart,” San Francisco Call, November 29, 1896, p. 1; Clark III 73; Clark IV 97)
November 26 — 8:00 p.m. Electrician Cass L. Gilson (sometimes misprinted Case Gilson in the newspapers) and three other men see an unlighted airship in a clear sky 1,000 feet over Oakland, California. It is flying northward against the wind and looks like a “great black cigar with a fishlike tail.” The body is at least 100 feet long and looks as if it is made of darkened aluminum. It is seen again at 8:30 p.m. and disappears in the direction of San Francisco. (“ Says He Saw It,” Oakland (Calif.) Tribune, December 1, 1896, p. 1; “ Saw the Airship at Close Range,” San Francisco Call, December 2, 1896, p. 14; Clark III 73; Clark IV 97)
November 27 — 10:00 p.m. A prominent attorney and others in Woodland, California, see a cluster of lights attached to an apparent airship moving at an altitude of about 500 feet at about 25 mph. It remains visible for an hour. (“ More Airship Stories,” Woodland (Calif.) Daily Democrat, November 29, 1896, p. 2)
November 27 — San Jose, California, electrician John A. Horen meets a stranger in San Francisco who takes him to an airship hidden in a remote location 50 miles away. The two allegedly board the airship and fly over Honolulu, Hawaii. Horen’s wife calls him a practical joker and that he was asleep in bed at the time. (“ Piercing the Void, Or on to Honolulu,” San Francisco (Calif.) Examiner, December 2, 1896, p. 5)
November 28 — Percy Drew watches an enormous airship with a red light over Oakland, California. (“ Says He Saw It,” Oakland (Calif.) Tribune, December 1, 1896, p. 1)
December 1 — Harry Lytle watches an airship as it flies toward the southwest over the Coast Ranges 3 miles north of Rumsey, California. He claims to recognize it as an “aircycle,” kind of a winged balloon with a pedal-driven propellor, plans for which he submitted to E. W. Brown of Davis, California, and which they constructed in 1893. He calls it the Nonesuch. On an alleged test flight to Los Angeles on March 2, 1893, the device was stolen by some “hoboes.” He assumes the airship is his stolen invention. (“ The Mystery Solved,” Woodland (Calif.) Daily Democrat, December 8, 1896, p. 3)
December 2 — Early morning. Two fishermen near Pacific Grove, California, supposedly see an airship land on the water and float to a beach. It has three occupants. Including a “captain,” who explains that the craft is undergoing repairs and he hopes to make an announcement of his invention soon. (“ The Airship Described by Fishermen,” San Francisco (Calif.) Call, December 3, 1896, p. 1)
December 3 — 12:00 noon. George Jennings, a proprietor of the bar in the Grand Central Hotel in Fresno, California, greets an old friend who comes into the bar, claiming to be one of the airship inventors, and he had made a forced landing in Contra Costa County. (“ Stranded near Fresno,” San Francisco (Calif.) Call, December 5, 1896, p. 2)
December 3 — Late evening. An airship allegedly crashes near the Twin Peaks in San Francisco, California. Its two occupants, one of whom identifies himself as J. D. deGear, denies the airship is the one seen recently. Under close questioning, deGear confesses that the fake wreckage had been hauled to the crest of a hill and dumped into a gulch. The stunt is apparently devised by deGear and the director of an amusement park. (“ Plunged from a Dizzy Height,” San Francisco (Calif.) Call, December 4, 1896, p. 1; “ An Airship Which Rode in a Wagon,” San Francisco (Calif.) Chronicle, December 4, 1896, p. 5; Clark III 315; Clark IV 389)
December 3 — 9:00 p.m. William Gordon, a sailor, is asked by someone in Indio, California, if he can splice a rope. He is invited aboard a cigar-shaped airship parked a mile away. The pilot is “of swarthy appearance” and speaks Spanish to his female companion. (“ The Woman in It,” San Francisco (Calif.) Call, December 5, 1896, p. 2)
December 4 — 6:30 p.m. Travelers on a freight train between Dixon and Elmira, California, see two large, bright lights moving parallel with them at about 1,000 feet altitude. The lights outdistance the train and disappear to the southwest. (“ The Airship Again,” Woodland (Calif.) Daily Democrat, December 7, 1896, p. 3; Clark III 74; Clark IV 98)
December 26 — Early morning. Dairy farmer Ezekiel Sergeant and a hired man have just finished milking their cows near Wilmington, Delaware, when they hear strains of music in the air. Then a bottle falls at Sergeant’s feet and breaks into pieces. He sees an enormous, fish-shaped airship with extended wings, a large tail, and a bright searchlight. Amid the shattered glass he finds a slip of paper allegedly written by Capt. James Dashiel and Thomas Murphy on the airship Icarus that is sailing from Salt Lake City to Cuba. (“ Saw an Air-Ship,” Philadelphia (Pa.) Times, December 28, 1896, p. 5; Clark III 75; Clark IV 99)
1897
A medium named West, who lives in Paddington, London, England, channels the words of Silver Pearl, who purports to be a Martian woman. A man named Starling relays the story to newspaper editor W. T. Stead, who publishes a short summary of Silver Pearl’s descriptions of Mars, a fragment of poetry in the Martian language, and photos of two white-robed, bearded, and very human-looking Martian monarchs—Heries, king of Algáthanon, and his son—which are perhaps the earliest photos of purported aliens in history. (W. T. Stead, “ News from Mars,” Borderland 4 (1897): 406–409; Clark IV 471–472)
Mid-January — Just after sunset. People in Acampo, California, see an airship the size of a small house, seemingly built of canvas, and moving to the southeast. It looks “like a cigar box with a spark of fire in it.” A few days later, five Acampo residents see a “man with wings” lit by a a fiery glow. (“ Airship Reported Again,” Stockton (Calif.) Evening Mail, January 22, 1897, p. 5; Stockton (Calif.) Evening Mail, January 26, 1897; Clark III 75; Clark IV 99)
January 31 — 9:30 p.m. A “large, glaring light,” apparently from an airship, is seen for nearly 30 minutes west of Hastings, Nebraska, hovering, ascending, descending, and moving at a “most remarkable speed.” (“ See an Air Ship at Hastings,” Omaha (Nebr.) Daily Bee, February 2, 1897, p. 2; Clark III 75; Clark IV 99
February–July — The mystery airship wave continues, from Nebraska and Colorado to Texas and Ohio. Hoaxes and pranks pollute the information pool in a major way during this era and the planet Venus and other celestial objects undoubtedly play a major role, but many airship reports emanate from manifestly sober, puzzled citizens, and they continue long after the initial excitement subsides. To all appearances, they are objects of some kind, but since newspapers rarely question witnesses critically about details at this time, little can be deduced from the mass of reports. (Loren E. Gross, The Mystery of Unidentified Flying Objects—A Prelude, 1896–1949, The author, 1971; Roger L. Welsch, “ This Mysterious Light Called an Airship: Nebraska Saucer Sightings, 1897,” Nebraska History 60 (1979): 92–113; Daniel Cohen, The Great Airship Mystery, Dodd, Mead, 1981; Thomas E. Bullard, The Airship File, The author, 1982; Jerome Clark, “ Airships: Part I,” IUR 16, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1991): 4–23; Jerome Clark, “ Airships: Part II,” IUR 16, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1991): 20–21, 24; Michael Busby, Solving the 1897 Airship Mystery, Pelican, 2004; Jerome Clark, “ UFOs or Mystery Airships?” IUR 31, no. 4 (March 2008): 8–14, 29; J. Allen Danelek, The Great Airship of 1897, Adventures Unlimited, 2009; Dennis Crenshaw and P. G. Navarro, The Secrets of Dellschau: The Sonora Aero Club and the Airships of the 1800s, Anomalist, 2009; Clark III 75–85; Clark IV 99–109)
February 4 — Night. A dozen people returning home from a prayer meeting in Inavale, Nebraska, see a bright light passing overhead. Six smaller lights are placed at intervals around a larger dark body. After 10 minutes it returns at a lower altitude, now visible as a conical object 30–40 feet long with two sets of wings and a large rudder. Voices can be heard plainly. (“ Air Ship Is Seen at Inavale,” Omaha (Nebr.) Daily Bee, February 6, 1897, p. 6; Clark III 75; Clark IV 99)
February 17 — Night. Hy Smith, Charles Braternitz, and Harry Reese see a bright light moving to the east just west of Big Springs, Nebraska. The light repeatedly rises up about 300 feet then descends quickly, sending out sparks. (“ Seen near North Platte,” Kearney (Nebr.) Hub, February 18, 1897, p. 3; Clark III 75; Clark IV 99)
February 26 — 10:15 p.m. People at the railway depot in Falls City, Nebraska, see an object with a large searchlight in the northern sky. According to dispatcher Ike Chidsey, it is moving west at 60 mph and also has a red light. Chidsey alerts other Missouri Pacific train stations to the west. Over the next four and a half hours, the object is seen over Stella, Beatrice, Wymore, Hastings, Kenesaw, and Hartwell. (“ The Supposed Kansas Airship,” Atchison (Kan.) Daily Globe, February 27, 1897, p. 4; Clark III 75; Clark IV 99)
Early March — A large airship passes south over Ellinwood, Kansas, at an estimated 40 mph. It looks to be about 50 feet long by 20 feet wide with two immense wings or propellors on each side. The airship was “one blaze of light from stem to stern.” (Anita (Iowa) Republican, March 3, 1897; Clark III 75–76; Clark IV 99–100)
March 13 — Night. A bright fireball appears in the west over North Loup, Nebraska, moving up and down erratically. It occasionally throws out sparks. (“ That Strange Light Again,” Lincoln Nebraska State Journal, March 16, 1897, p. 5; Clark III 75; Clark IV 99)
March 14 — 9:30 p.m. An object with a “big engine headlight” flies over South Omaha, Nebraska, and remains visible for 30–40 minutes. It is moving to the west and disappears behind some buildings. One of the witnesses is Isaac J. Copenharve, a compositor for the Omaha Bee. The light had also been seen about two weeks earlier. (“ Visions of an Air Ship,” Omaha (Nebr.) Daily Bee, March 16, 1897, p. 7; Clark III 75; Clark IV 99)
March 23–26 — Night. Residents of Belleville, Kansas, watch a lighted airship moving at 75 mph and “lighting up the houses and city like an immense meteor.” It hovers for 20–30 minutes, changes direction, and is seen on four nights in succession. At 9:20 p.m. on March 25, workers at the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railroad depot and others in Belleville watch a bright light pass above the city for 45 minutes. It disappears to the northwest and reappears two more times. Many people in Kansas City, Kansas, view the light, which disappears about 9:30 p.m. on March 26, although the timing suggests it is Venus. (“ Say They Saw an Air-Ship,” Kansas City (Mo.) Times, March 27, 1897, p. 5; “ It Flies at Night,” Kansas City (Mo.) Journal, March 28, 1897, p. 2; “ Take Venus for an Airship,” Kansas City (Mo.) Star, March 28, 1897, p. 2; Clark III 76; Clark IV 100)
March 24 — Evening. Witnesses in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, see an airship with a light on each end that is making a loud buzzing noise. (Clark III 76; Clark IV 100)
March 27 — 8:30 p.m. A blood-red light appears in the western sky over Topeka, Kansas, moving northward parallel with the horizon until after 20 minutes it disappears “with a flicker.” Among the witnesses is Kansas Gov. John W. Leedy, who describes it as a “very strange light.” Harold T. Chase, editor of the Topeka Capital, is on the State House steps with Leedy and says the object is a large, oblong shape. (“Strange Light in the Sky,” Topeka (Kan.) Daily Capital, March 28, 1897, p. 1; “ Neither Star Nor Planet,” Kansas City (Mo.) Times, March 29, 1897, p. 1; “ Airship Is Seen by Gov. Leedy,” Chicago Tribune, March 29, 1897, p. 4; Tim Hrenchir, “ It Was 1897, and a Strange Light Appeared in the Sky over Topeka,” Topeka (Kan.) Capital-Journal, August 18, 2021)
April 1 — 8:00 p.m. Strange lights appear in the sky south of Kansas City, Kansas, zigzagging and crossing the horizon. (“ Air Ship Headed toward Omaha,” Omaha (Nebr.) Daily Bee, April 3, 1897, p. 9)
April 1 — 9:00 p.m. J. E. Gunn, proprietor of the Commercial Hotel, and other residents of Everest, Kansas, watch a 30-foot-long object that looks like a canoe suspended from a balloon. Two wings are visible on each side. Its light appears to dim when the object is moving and glows brightly when hovering. (“ Air Ship Headed toward Omaha,” Omaha (Nebr.) Daily Bee, April 3, 1897, p. 9)
April 1 — Night. Residents of Galesburg, Michigan, see a brilliant white light passing overhead. It is attached to a black object that emits a crackling sound. Human voices are heard distinctly. (“ The Airship Story Spreads,” Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Evening Gazette, April 2, 1897, p. 1; Clark III 76; Clark IV 100)
April 2 — Evening. People in Wesley, Iowa, view a cone-shaped object with windows in the side through which light is visible. It is traveling slowly toward the northwest. (“ Wesley Saw the Air Ship,” Algona (Iowa) Republican, April 7, 1897, p. 8; Clark III 76; Clark IV 100)
April 4 — 12:15 a.m. Dairy farmer Dick Butler is returning to his farm in Wolf Creek Township, Iowa, after delivering milk in Sioux City when he notices an electric-like light on his right about 200 feet away in a cornfield. He can see a dark object with light coming through its windows. It appears to be a “long, narrow car, resembling a corset box in shape,” some 30–35 feet long and 6–7 feet high. Above the car floats a cigar- shaped bag about the same length and 8–10 feet thick. When his horses see the object, they bolt and tumble his wagon into the ditch. By the time Butler recovers, the object is moving briskly in a descent to the south. He watches it as it moves out of sight. (“Air Ship Again,” Marshalltown (Iowa) Evening Times-Republican, April 9, 1897, p. 3; Clark III 79; Clark IV 103)
April 4 — 9:30 p.m. A dozen citizens of Troy, Kansas, see a light that resembles a locomotive headlight directly above the town. It slowly moves westward and sinks below the horizon. Probable observation of Venus. (“ The Air Ship,” Troy Kansas Chief, April 8, 1897, p. 3)
April 5 — Evening. Many people in Wilmington, North Carolina, see an airship with colored lights in the sky to the west, moving at a “rapid rate.” It is pointing a searchlight toward the earth. Looking through binoculars, some observers claim to see wires and ropes of rigging. (“ Was It an Airship?” Wilmington (N.C.) Messenger, April 6, 1897, p. 1)
Early April — An airship allegedly lands near Elburn, Illinois, where some farmers run across it. It is made of “some light substance like aluminum.” Two aeronauts are repairing the vehicle and will only say that they are flying from the Pacific to the Atlantic by following the Chicago and North Western Railway. (“That Blooming Ship,” Rockford (Ill.) Daily Republic, April 12, 1897, p. 1; Clark III 80; Clark IV 104)
April 6 — 2:00 a.m. James Southard gets lost on his ranch near Peru, Nebraska, looking for strayed cattle. He notices a light on a bar in the Missouri River, and it turns out to be on a landed airship 200 feet long, whose crew are apparently repairing its searchlight. The aeronauts answer all of Southard’s questions, telling him that “the craft is loaded with several tons of dynamite and is bound for Cuba” to bomb Spanish ships. (“ Boarded the Airship,” Auburn (Nebr.) Granger, April 9, 1897, p. 3; Clark III 80; Clark IV 104)
April 6 — 11:00 p.m. Numerous residents of Guthrie, Oklahoma, see a dark object with a bright searchlight flying swiftly above the city. It moves back and forth, sinks close to the ground north of the city, then rises into the air at great speed and disappears. (“ Guthrie Sees the ‘Airship,’” Kansas City (Mo.) Journal, April 8, 1897, p. 1)
April 8 — An airship allegedly crashes into a flagpole in Bethany, Missouri, killing its two aeronauts. The account is written by “A True Fakir.” (“ The Wrecked Ship,” St. Joseph (Mo.) Daily Herald, April 9, 1897, p. 2; “ Airship ‘Landing’ Caused Stir in 1897,” Bethany (Mo.) Republican-Clipper, October 9, 1996, p. 3; Clark III 315; Clark IV 389)
April 8 — 8:00 p.m. Many people in towns along the Burlington, Cedar Rapids, and Northern Railroad from West Liberty to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, see an object with a “bright glaring headlight,” a glistening steel body, and wings on either side. It makes a hissing noise as it glides through the air. By 10:00 p.m., it fades from view to the north of Cedar Rapids. (“Airship Appears in Iowa,” Chicago Record, April 9, 1897, p. 1; “ The Mysterious Airship,” Detroit Free Press, April 10, 1897, p. 2; Clark III 77; Clark IV 101)
April 9 — 4:00 a.m. During a blizzard, an on-board explosion allegedly causes an airship to crash near the home of Johann Fliegeltoub of Lanark, Illinois, killing two of its occupants. A third shouts hysterically before lapsing into unconsciousness. Fliegeltoub charges admission to see the wreck. When the third recovers, he claims he and his companions are from Mars, repairs the airship, recovers the bodies, and flies away. (“Kinder Queer,” Sterling (Ill.) Evening Gazette, April 13, 1897, p. 4; Clark III 315–316; Clark IV 390)
April 9 — 8:30 p.m. Hundreds of people in Chicago, Evanston, Niles Center, and Schermerville, Illinois, see an airship bearing multicolored lights and swinging a huge white searchlight from side to side. Nearly 800 witnesses on Davis Street in Evanston watch the object, estimated to be 400 feet in length. Using binoculars, the outline of a structure can be seen behind the powerful light. By 9:30 p.m., the airship is last seen over South Chicago. Northwestern University astronomer George W. Hough, director of the Dearborn Observatory, tells the newspapers he is sure the airship is the star Alpha Orionis (Betelgeuse). (“ See Airship or a Star,” Chicago Tribune, April 10, 1897, pp. 1–2; “ California Airship on the Wing,” Chicago Tribune, April 11, 1897, p. 1; Robert G. Neeley Jr., “ 1897: The Airship in Illinois,” Journal of UFO Studies, orig. ser. 1 (1979): 49–69)
April 9 — 11:00 p.m. A bright light approaches Rhodes, Iowa, and allegedly plunges into a railroad water reservoir, causing the water to boil from the light’s heat. (“Can This Be the Airship?” Burlington (Iowa) Hawk-Eye, April 14, 1897, p. 1; Clark III 315; Clark IV 389–390)
April 10 — Evening. Witnesses in Marshfield, Wisconsin, see a cone-shaped airship with a bright headlight moving south of town. (“ Hides in the Woods,” Chicago Chronicle, April 11, 1897, p. 3; Clark III 77; Clark IV 101)
April 10 — Night. An airship allegedly crashes north of Jefferson, Iowa, and leaves a hole in the ground. (“Fate of an Airship,” Jefferson (Iowa) Bee, April 15, 1897, pp. 1, 4; “The Aerial Doodad,” Jefferson (Iowa) Souvenir, April 17, 1897, p. 1; “ See It Often in Platte County,” Omaha (Nebr.) Daily Bee, April 17, 1897, p. 2; Clark III 316; Clark IV 390)
April 10 — 10:00 p.m. A noise draws residents of Platte City, Missouri, outside where they can see a hovering object 100 feet long and 20 feet wide. Two immense wings on either side are moving up and down. Greenish light beams shine down on Main Street from its back and front. Suddenly there is a hissing sound and explosions and the object moves away to the northeast. (“ Saw the Airship,” Buffalo (N.Y.) Enquirer, April 12, 1897, p. 1; Clark III 76; Clark IV 100)
April 10 — 10:00 p.m. William Mulhall gets a glimpse of a bright light near the horizon in St. Louis, Missouri, slowly moving south-southwest. It turns to the north and moves in a straight line. He goes inside the drug store at 4998 Easton Avenue and alerts the clerk, George A. Miles, and the druggist, R. H. Pardee, to the strange light. By then, a crowd has formed on the corner. The light moves steadily, unlike a balloon, for 30 minutes until it disappears. (“ Aerial Wonder Seen in St. Louis,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 12, 1897, pp. 1–2)
April 10 — 10:30 p.m. Policemen, firemen, and many other residents of Jacksonville, Illinois, see a bright light moving swiftly from east to west a few hundred feet in the air. The light sways from side to side and throws out beams several hundred feet in length. When it is above the city, the object the light is attached to can be seen as metallic and long with possible wings. Some witnesses can hear voices. The object reverses direction over Jacksonville, throwing its searchlight in all directions, and disappears to the east. (“The Airship over Quincy,” Quincy (Ill.) Morning Whig, April 11, 1897, p. 8; Robert G. Neeley Jr., “ 1897: The Airship in Illinois,” Journal of UFO Studies, orig. ser. 1 (1979): 49–69; Clark III 79; Clark IV 103)
April 10 — 11:00 p.m. A bright white light with red and green lights on either side of it is observed by many residents of Quincy, Illinois, flying low above the Mississippi River on the city’s west side. At one point it is no more than 400–500 feet above the ground. The light is attached to a metallic cigar-shaped object. Two wings extend from the sides and on top is some kind of superstructure. Witnesses estimate its length to be 50–100 feet. The object ascends, moves east, then south, then west, hovers above South Park for a few minutes, then moves north and stops again. It reverses direction and leaves toward the south at “tremendous speed.” (“The Airship over Quincy,” Quincy (Ill.) Morning Whig, April 11, 1897, p. 8; Robert G. Neeley Jr., “ 1897: The Airship in Illinois,” Journal of UFO Studies, orig. ser. 1 (1979): 49–69; Daniel Cohen, The Great Airship Mystery: A UFO in the 1890s, Dodd, Mead, 1981, pp. 65–66; Clark III 76; Clark IV 100)
April 11 — 12:30 a.m. John Peterson, E. K. Rowley, George Moody, Bayard Taylor French, and other residents of Hawarden, Iowa, see a conical object about 60 feet long with four sets of 15-foot wings. It is flying so low (about 600 feet) that they can hear machinery, voices, and laughter. Two red lights are positioned on the tail end and a large searchlight is in the front. After three minutes it moves off to the north. (“ Hawarden Has ‘Em Too,” Sioux City (Iowa) Journal, April 12, 1897, p. 2; “Another Wonderful Tale,” Des Moines (Iowa) Leader, April 13, 1897, p. 3; Clark III 79; Clark IV 103)
April 11 — Early morning. An airship allegedly explodes as it passes over Pavilion Township, Michigan. Part of an electric device and a propellor blade are recovered. Carpenters discover that the roof they are shingling is covered with minute fragments from the explosion. (“Went to Smash,” Detroit (Mich.) Evening News, April 13, 1897; “ Claim That the Air Ship Burst,” Saginaw (Mich.) News, April 14, 1897, p. 2; “ Signs of an Airship Explosion,” Angola (Ind.) Herald, April 21, 1897, p. 7; Robert E. Bartholomew, “ Michigan and the Great Mass Hysteria Episode of 1897,” Michigan Historical Review 24, no. 1 (1998): 133, 135; Clark III 316; Clark IV 390)
April 11 — 5:30 a.m. An alleged photo of an airship is taken at 4356 East Ravenswood Park in Rogers Park, Chicago, Illinois, by an ex-policeman named Walter R. McCann and George A. Overrocker, who provide copies to several newspapers. The Chicago Tribune photo editor pronounces it a fake because it looks like it is taken by a Kodak with a small lens that cannot achieve a panoramic view. A later report claims that McCann has photographed a piece of canvas on which an airship is painted. (“ Airship Myth Yet Soars,” Chicago Tribune, April 12, 1897, p. 5; Chicago Times-Herald, April 12, 1897; “ Airship Is All a Joke,” Chicago Chronicle, April 13, 1897, p. 2; Watauga (N.C.) Democrat, April 27, 1897, p. 1; Clark III 78; Wikimedia Commons, “ Mystery airship 1897”)
April 11 — 12:15 p.m. Gary Carlton Jr. watches a flat object looking like a “big piece of yellow canvas” pass over Bloomington, Illinois, at a high altitude toward the northeast. (“ The Air Ship,” Bloomington (Ill.) Daily Pantagraph, April 12, 1897, p. 5; Clark III 77; Clark IV 102)
April 11 — 7:45 p.m. John Lee and others in Benton Harbor, Michigan, watch an airship rapidly moving north-northwest for 15 minutes. With the naked eye it looks like a huge ball of fire, but through opera glasses it resembles a cluster of soft yellow lights. (“Air Ship Seen Here,” Benton Harbor (Mich.) Evening News, April 12, 1897, p. 1; Clark III 77; Clark IV 101)
April 11 — 8:00 p.m. R. G. Adams and his parents at 3126 Fourth Avenue South in Minneapolis, Minnesota, watch a lighted, cigar-shaped object flying low towards the southwest. Through binoculars it appears to be 18–20 feet long. A square light that changes from white to green to red, depending apparently on its speed, is on top. Hundreds of other people also see the object over the next four hours, maneuvering above Lake Minnetonka and eventually receding into the northeast. (“ Saw It,” Minneapolis (Minn.) Daily Times, April 12, 1897, p. 1; “ Cavorted in Midair,” Minneapolis (Minn.) Journal, April 12, 1897, p. 6; “Does He Hail from Mars?” St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press, April 12, 1897, p. 4; “ Wonder! Mysterious Airship Seen by Stuart Mackroth,” Minneapolis Tribune, April 13, 1897, p. 1; Clark III 77; Clark IV 101)
April 11 — 8:00 p.m. A group of boys notices a spindle-shaped object passing west of Owatonna, Minnesota, on a northerly course. Other observers are alerted and a crowd grows. When viewed through opera-glasses. The object appeared to be cone-shaped with a bright headlight. (“ City and County News,” Owatonna (Minn.) People’s Press, April 16, 1897, p. 2; Clark IV 101)
April 11 — 9:00 p.m. An airship approaches Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from the northeast over Lake Michigan and heads toward the southwest. It stops and hovers 1,000 feet above City Hall for 15 minutes. (“Airship Is Seen Again,” Milwaukee (Wis.) Sentinel, April 12, 1897; “ Airship Myth Yet Soars,” Chicago Tribune, April 12, 1897, p. 5; “Sure They Saw It,” Marshalltown (Iowa) Times- Republican, April 12, 1897; “Is It a Star?” St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press, April 13, 1897)
April 11 — Night. Five men—Albert Lowerre, George Wilson, John Ryan, Max Fowler, and Roy Sharpe—in Deadwood, South Dakota, see odd lights floating in the air above them and the outline of an object sailing above the city for 20 minutes. (“Whole Fleet of Airships Witnessed by Duluthians,” St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press, April 13, 1897, p. 2; “ Bulletins from the Airship,” Omaha (Neb.) Daily Bee, April 14, 1897, p. 3; “ The City,” Black Hills Daily Times (Deadwood, S.Dak.), April 15, 1897, p. 3)
April 11 — After 10:30 p.m. Stuart Mackroth is riding a bicycle just east of Minnetonka Mills, Minnesota, when a flying machine “shaped like an ordinary boat” passes overhead. It has red and green lights on each side and a powerful electric light in front. Inside he can see men, women, and children, all moving about “as if very busy.” (“ Wonder! Mysterious Airship Seen by Stuart Mackroth,” Minneapolis Tribune, April 13, 1897, p. 1; Clark III 79; Clark IV 103)
April 11 — 11:15 p.m. A bank clerk in Decatur, Illinois, sees an object “like two monster cigars with three bright headlights” moving to the north. (“ Saw the Air Ship,” Decatur (Ill.) Evening Republican, April 12, 1897, p. 8; Clark III 77; Clark IV 101)
April 12 — Early morning. Two miles south of Louisville, Kentucky, Augustus Rodgers sees an oblong object 400 feet above him when he goes out to attend to his livestock. It is about 40 by 15 feet, brilliantly lighted, and flying at a speed of 100 miles an hour. Rodgers calls his wife and they watch it as it disappears to the southeast. They seem to make out the figure of a man aboard. (“Airship Passed in the Night,” Louisville (Ky.) Evening Post, April 13, 1897, p. 6; Clark III 80; Clark IV 104)
April 12 — Morning. F. L. Bullard, engineer on the Fast Mail train on the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad, says he caught sight of an airship moving parallel with the train shortly after his Engine 950 left downtown Chicago. The train is moving at 70 mph, and by the time it reaches Lisle, Illinois, the object is far ahead. Bullard estimates it is moving at 100–150 mph. (“ Air-Ship Distances a Train,” St. Louis (Mo.) Globe-Democrat, April 13, 1897, p. 6)
April 12 — 7:30 p.m. Numerous observers in St. Louis, Missouri, watch an object moving through the clouds at an elevation of about 25°. It has a powerful searchlight that sweeps the ground at regular intervals. The object is visible for 10 minutes before it suddenly disappears. (“ Air Ship Seen,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 13, 1897, pp. 1–2)
April 12 — 8:00 p.m. During a rainstorm in Lincoln, Illinois, more than 50 people stand on Pulaski Street to watch a light moving to the northeast. John Fitzgerald sees a V-shaped object with a bright searchlight moving rapidly toward Lincoln. It changes course, the light changes from white to green, and the object disappears behind clouds. (“ Was It the Airship?” Lincoln (Ill.) Daily Courier, April 13, 1897, p. 3; “Was It the Airship?” Lincoln (Ill.) Weekly Courier, April 13, 1897, p. 8; Robert G. Neeley Jr., “ 1897: The Airship in Illinois,” Journal of UFO Studies, orig. ser. 1 (1979): 49–69; Clark III 77–78; Clark IV 102)
April 13 — Before sunrise. Augustus Rodgers, a farmer living two miles south of Louisville, Kentucky, goes outside to attend to his livestock. He sees an oblong object, some 40 feet long by 15 feet tall, flying about 400 feet in the air at 100 mph. His wife comes out to watch it with him, and they both see “a form like that of a man” standing in the front and directing its course. (“Airship Passed in the Night,” Louisville (Ky.) Evening Post, April 13, 1897, p. 6)
April 13 — Night. Mayor Charles Merritt Seely and other people in Canton, South Dakota, watch a winged airship passing to the north over the town with a red light in front and a green light in back. (“ Airship Is Seen by Moonlight,” Omaha (Nebr.) Daily Bee, April 15, 1897, p. 1; Clark III 76–77; Clark IV 101)
April 13 — 11:15 p.m. Frederick Chamberlain and O. L. Jones are riding one mile west of Lake Elmo, Minnesota, when they notice a figure in a clearing, walking around as if he is looking for something. They turn off the road to investigate and hear a cracking sound followed by a rushing noise. A moment later they notice a gray-white object that looks like the top of a covered wagon. It has two rows of four red or green lights. The object rises quickly at a sharp angle to clear the treetops. They can make out no machinery or wings or rudders or even an outline of the object. In the mud, Chamberlain finds 14 footprints, each 2 feet long, 6 inches wide, “arranged seven on each side, and in an oblong pattern.” Adam Thielen, a nearby farmer, independently sees a dark object with red and green lights flying overhead about the same time. (“Adam Saw the Airship Light,” St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press, April 15, 1897, p. 5; Clark III 79; Clark IV 103)
April 14 — Early morning. Marble merchant David W. Paul is traveling with a party of workmen from Burlington to Frankfort, Indiana. When they are at the middle fork of Wildcat Creek, they hear a “swishing, roaring sound” and see an object with a blinding white searchlight and smaller green and yellow lights. The object is cigar-shaped with wings or fins. It descends to just above the treetops, hovers there for a moment, then rises and noisily shoots off to the southwest. (“That Mysterious Airship,” Indianapolis (Ind.) Sentinel, April 15, 1897, p. 6; Clark III 79; Clark IV 103)
April 14 — 4:30 a.m. Farmers see an airship land about 3 miles northwest of Howard City, Michigan, and some go to investigate. Inside the craft is a “strange man” dressed in heavy furs although he seems “to have no use for them, as he was almost naked and seemed to be suffering from the heat.” The man is 9.5 feet tall and speaks in a musical language that, however, sounds like bellowing. One farmer gets too close, and the giant kicks him severely enough to break his hip. (“Trip of the Airship,” Saginaw (Mich.) Courier-Herald, April 22, 1897, p. 6; Clark III 83; Clark IV 107)
April 14 — 3:00 p.m. An airship looking like an “immense bird” approaches Gas City, Indiana, from the northwest. As it draws nearer, witnesses see that it is cigar-shaped and “propelled by broad canvas wings.” The object lands briefly one mile from town, terrifying some farm animals. As a crowd rushes toward it, it takes off and vanishes to the east. (“ In Daylight,” Cincinnati (Ohio) Enquirer, April 15, 1897, p. 1; “ That Air Ship,” Xenia (Ohio) Daily Gazette. April 15, 1897, p. 1; Clark III 79; Clark IV 103)
April 14 — 3:00 p.m. A brownish cigar-shaped object with wings passes south of Marion, Indiana, coming from the northwest. Six passengers can be seen on board. (“ Six Men Seen in the Airship,” Cincinnati (Ohio) Enquirer, April 15, 1897, p. 1; “ That Air Ship,” Xenia (Ohio) Daily Gazette. April 15, 1897, p. 1; Clark III 80; Clark IV 104)
April 14 — Evening. An airship allegedly smashes into a cow barn near Decatur, Illinois, ripping the roof off and frightening a cow, which whacks a farmer in the head. The airship manages to sail on. (“ Airship Story,” Decatur (Ill.) Evening Republican, April 15, 1897, p. 8; Clark III 316; Clark IV 390)
April 14 — 7:30 p.m. An airship 100 feet long and 20 feet high in the center lands in a meadow three-quarters of a mile west of Birmingham, Iowa. A large crowd of men and boys sets out to examine the object, but when they are within several hundred feet, it rises with a loud whirring sound and moves away to the northwest. Two men can be distinctly seen inside, one carrying a lantern that he waves as the airship ascends. (“ Airship Positively Seen,” Burlington (Iowa) Hawk-Eye, April 16, 1897, p. 2; Clark III 79; Clark IV 103–104)
April 14 — 8:00 p.m. James McKensie is feeding hogs on his farm north of Casstown, Ohio, when he hears an odd noise like a flock of geese passing overhead. Looking up, he sees an object with wings and a rudder flying slowly along about 150 feet in the air, and he distinctly hears music. As it disappears, he thinks he hears a human voice, and something large and white is thrown overboard. (“ Talking Heard by the Citizens,” Cincinnati (Ohio) Enquirer, April 16, 1897, p. 1; Clark III 79; Clark IV 103)
April 14 — Just after 9:00 p.m. Farmhand John Halley and vintner Adolf Wenke see an airship land on Jefferson Street three miles west of Springfield, Illinois. They supposedly converse with one of its occupants, a bearded scientist who is outside the craft. Inside, they can see another man and a woman. The scientist says little other than “as soon as Congress recognizes Cuban belligerency his air ship would be heard from.” (“Mystery Solved,” Springfield (Ill.) News, April 15, 1897, p. 1; “ A Springfield Story,” Decatur (Ill.) Evening Republican, April 16, 1897, p. 1; “ The Airship,” Bloomington (Ill.) Daily Pantagraph, April 16, 1897, p. 6; Robert G. Neeley Jr., “ 1897: The Airship in Illinois,” Journal of UFO Studies, orig. ser. 1 (1979): 49–69; Clark III 80; Clark IV 104)
April 14 — Night. Many persons in Mount Vernon, Illinois, including Mayor Barton C. Wells, allegedly see an object “resembling the body of a huge man swimming through the air with an electric light on his back.” (“ Airship’s Travels,” Cincinnati (Ohio) Commercial Tribune, April 16, 1897, p. 1; Clark III 78; Clark IV 102)
April 14 — Night. A man in Denton, Texas, is watching the stars with binoculars when he notices a shadow crossing the Moon. It is caused by a large cigar-shaped object with wings moving slowly to the southeast. In the front it has a powerful searchlight, and along the side appear a row of lighted windows. It remains in sight for 20 minutes. A woman also sees possibly the same object “bounding along through space like a balloon.” (“That Wandering Airship,” Galveston (Tex.) Daily News, April 15, 1897, p. 1; “The Air Ship Again,” Dallas (Tex.) Morning News, April 15, 1897, p. 4; Clark III 77; Clark IV 101)
April 14 — Night. The Rio Grande Railroad operator at Cresson, Texas, sees an object about 60 feet long and “resembling the top of a passenger coach in shape” with a powerful searchlight in the front and several smaller lights on the sides. It is moving to the southwest at a “terrific rate of speed” and has wings “something like that of a bat.” It turns to the southeast after passing the station and disappears in the clouds after a few minutes. (“Sighting the Air Ship,” Dallas (Tex.) Morning News, April 16, 1897, p. 5; Clark III 77; Clark IV 101)
April 14 — 11:30 p.m. I. H. Woolsey, T. J. Cushman, and Edward Woods are near Shelburn, Indiana, when they witness a brilliantly illuminated airship passing overhead, about 200 feet above the ground. They describe it as barrel-shaped with a pointed front, “bound by heavy bands,” and equipped with “the steering apparatus in the rear.” (“Saw the Air Ship,” Terre Haute (Ind.) Evening Gazette, April 15, 1897, p. 5)
April 15 — Late evening. Telegraph repairman Patrick C. Byrnes is operating a railroad handcar about 7 miles west of Cisco, Texas, when he sees a light a little distance from the track on the south side. Knowing there is no farmhouse in the area, he goes to investigate. It is a landed cigar-shaped airship about 200 feet long and 50 feet across at its widest point. Several men are repairing its searchlight, and they tell him that the craft is loaded with several tons of dynamite for bombing Spanish troops and ships in Cuba. (“ Oft-Seen Air-Ship,” Fort Worth (Tex.) Register, April 18, 1897, p. 11; Clark III 80; Clark IV 104)
April 15 — Between 7:00 and 8:00 p.m. William H. Walters watches as an object lands in a meadow less than a mile west of Birmingham, Iowa. He approaches it with a few other men, but it rises slowly with a whirring sound and sails away to the northwest. The object appears to be 100 feet long and 20 feet high, tapering at each end and carrying a large white light and two smaller red and green lights. (“ Moonlight Phenomenon in Iowa,” Chicago (Ill.) Inter Ocean, April 17, 1897, p. 2)
April 15 — Night. An airship with red, green, and white lights lands on a farm near Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Five witnesses see an odd-looking man in a fur coat emerge and walk to a farmhouse belonging to Melvin Bannister, whose dogs are barking fiercely. The stranger points a lantern-like device at them and sends them running. Bannister answers the door and converses awkwardly with the man, who is speaking an odd language, but loans him a hammer, some nails, and a can of skim milk. The man returns the tools, along with a strange coin. The airship takes off with a whizzing sound. (“ Brunswick and Drammen,” Eau Claire (Wis.) Leader, April 17, 1897, p. 7; Clark III 83–84; Clark IV 108)
April 15 — Night. An airship with a bright white light and two smaller red and blue lights appears about 1,500 feet in the air near Fort Snelling, St. Paul, Minnesota, moving northwest. It reverses direction and disappears. (“ Seen at the Fort,” St. Paul (Minn.) Globe, April 17, 1897, p. 8)
April 15 — Night. C. A. Peckinpaugh and some 15 others see an airship land on Terry Peak southwest of Deadwood, South Dakota. It rises up and flies away before they can reach it. It is “cigar-shaped with enormous wings.” (“ The City,” Deadwood (S.Dak.) Weekly Pioneer-Times, April 22, 1897, p. 2)
April 15 — 8:15 p.m. Willis Mahon, ex-Marshal French, and other residents of Dunkirk, Ohio, watch a winged object “as large as a wagon bed” pass over the town toward the east. It has propellers on each end, a red light in front, and a greenish-yellow light on the tail. Voices can be heard coming from the object. (“Seen at Dunkirk,” Kenton (Ohio) News-Republican, April 16, 1897, p. 4; “ Talking Heard by the Citizens,” Cincinnati (Ohio) Enquirer, April 16, 1897, p. 1; Clark III 77, 79; Clark IV 101, 103)
April 15 — 9:00 p.m. Residents of Farmersville, Texas, notice a dim light traveling toward the city from the south at 60–80 mph. Thinking it might be a meteor heading toward the Earth, more people gather outside to watch. City Marshal Brown is in the western part of town making his rounds, and the “ship or balloon” passes overhead about 200 feet in the air. Brown can see two men in the object and something like a large Newfoundland dog. He can hear them talking but cannot understand what they are saying. (“Airship Seen in Galveston,” Galveston (Tex.) Daily News, April 18, 1897, p. 2; Clark III 80; Clark IV 104)
April 15 — 9:00 p.m. Many witnesses see a bright light like a locomotive headlight passing above Pierre, South Dakota. George Strong and James Seals can make out a dark object below the light. (“ See It Often in Platte County,” Omaha (Nebr.) Daily Bee, April 17, 1897, p. 2)
April 15 — Between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m. A cigar-shaped airship with a row of red lights along the sides passes above Emerson, South Dakota. (“ That Ubiquitous Airship,” Sioux City (Iowa) Journal, April 17, 1897, p. 6; Clark III 77; Clark IV 101)
April 15 — 9:30 p.m. Lawyer John Spencer Bounds is riding south of Osceola, Hill County, Texas, when a brilliant flash of light from a searchlight passes over his buggy. His horse is frightened, rears up, and nearly overturns the buggy. The light passes away from them and soon turns upward and shuts off. Looking up, Bounds sees a black, cigar-shaped object about 1,000 feet in the air with an undercarriage, from which the light had emanated. A number of incandescent lights are flashing around its lower edge. It glides along to the south and after a few miles turns the searchlight on again and shines it along the wooded banks of Aquilla Creek. The light turns off again, and Bounds resumes his journey home to Hillsboro. (“Seen near Hillsboro,” Dallas (Tex.) Morning News, April 17, 1897, p. 8; “ Strange and Startling,” Austin (Tex.) Daily Statesman, April 18, 1897, p. 7; Clark III 77; Clark IV 101)
April 15 — Night. An airship allegedly explodes above Highland Station [now Sparks], Kansas. Amid the debris is a man named Pedro Sanchez of Cuba, who collects the wreck and ships it to St. Joseph, Missouri. (“ News and Comment,” Atchison (Kan.) Daily Globe, April 17, 1897, p. 1; Clark III 316; Clark IV 390)
Mid-April — 3:00 p.m. Railroad conductor Capt. Jim Hooton is hunting near Homan, Arkansas, when he hears a loud mechanical sound like an air brake. Investigating, he discovers an airship undergoing repairs. The aeronauts are not very communicative, so once the repairs are complete, they reenter the airship and take off with a loud hissing sound. (“ Saw the Air Ship,” Little Rock Arkansas Gazette, April 22, 1897, p. 3; Clark III 80; Clark IV 104)
Mid-April — Early evening. J. W. Lansing sees a cigar-shaped airship twice in Grinnell, Iowa. It moves in various directions, sometimes against a strong wind. (“He Saw It,” Springfield (Ill.) News, April 26, 1897, p. 1; Clark III 77; Clark IV 101)
Mid-April – Night. F. Crocker is sitting near the window of his apartment on Barr Street in Fort Wayne, Indiana, when he notices a yellowish light coming from the west. It seems attached to a pear-shaped object with the apex pointed downward. Two yellow rays of light come from its sides as it sways to and fro in the air. He calls R. J. (or R. T.) and J. L. Tretheway, who live in the apartment below his, and they also glimpse the object, which is in sight for 20 minutes. (“Sighted Here,” Fort Wayne (Ind.) Weekly Gazette, April 15, 1897, p. 1; Clark III 78; Clark IV 102)
Mid-April — Between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m. A man in Eldridge, North Dakota, sees an airship that looks like a car attached to a large, kite-shaped structure with wings. It stops and changes course. At one point the man is close enough to hear a humming sound. Some of the time it displays colored lights; at other times it is completely dark. (“ He Saw the Air Ship,” Jamestown (N. Dak.) Weekly Alert, April 22, 1897, p. 8; Clark III 78; Clark IV 102)
April 16 — 12:03 a.m. An airship and a smaller “trailer which followed it very closely” are seen by residents of Danvers, Illinois. The objects are made of aluminum-like material, and its “occupants were dressed in western style.” (“ The Aerial Mystery,” Bloomington (Ill.) Daily Pantograph, April 17, 1897, p. 5; Clark III 79–80; Clark IV 104)
April 16 — 12:30 a.m. A group of people returning home from a lodge meeting in Bay City, Michigan, notice a large conical object approaching from the south and slowly descending to about 50 feet altitude above Center Avenue. A red light appears at either end of a body that is apparently 50–75 feet long. It shines with a dull red glow, as if there are lights on its upper side. The object moves away to the northeast. (“Air Ship a Reality,” Saginaw (Mich.) Courier-Herald, April 16, 1897, p. 1; Clark III 77; Clark IV 101)
April 16 — Morning. A large object passes slowly over Linn Grove, Iowa, heading north. Five men—James Evans, F. G. Ellis, Ben Buland, David Evans, and Joe Croskey—jump into a rig and follow it 4 miles north of town where it has landed. But when the pursuers get within 2,100 feet of the airship, it spreads out four massive wings and ascends again. The two occupants have extremely long beards and make desperate efforts to conceal themselves. They toss two enormous boulders “of unknown composition” out of the airship. (“ More Air Ship Fakes,” Indianapolis Journal, April 17, 1897, p. 1; Clark III 84, 87; Clark IV 108, 111)
April 16 — While wandering in the hills east of Springfield, Missouri, W. H. Hopkins, a traveling insurance agent, spots a landed airship in a clearing. Next to it is a nude female with hair down to her waist. As she picks flowers, she speaks in an unknown language with a musical voice and fans herself as if the day is hot. In the shade cast by the craft lies a naked man with shoulder-length hair and a long beard. After a few minutes, Hopkins approaches the woman, who shrieks and runs toward the man. Hopkins speaks soothingly and the two aeronauts relax. Hopkins asks where they come from, and they point upward, pronouncing a word that sounds like “Mars.” The two examine Hopkins’s clothing, hair, and watch with great curiosity. They show him the interior of the ship but take off shortly afterward, “laughing and waving their hands.” (“ Golden Haired Girl Is in It,” St. Louis (Mo.) Post-Dispatch, April 19, 1897, p. 1; Clark III 84, 1054–1055; Clark IV 108, 1170)
April 16 — 8:00 p.m. Howard R. Bolander, superintendent of the Ohio Bicycle Works in Marion, Ohio, is looking at the night sky when he sees the light from a cigar-shaped object moving to the southwest. Its light looks like an incandescent lamp. (“ Is Your Credulity in Condition for the Only True Airship Story?” Marion (Ohio) Daily Star, April 17, 1897, p. 9)
April 16 — 9:30 p.m. The blacksmith in Boynton, Illinois, sees a cigar-shaped object “about 150 feet long and 50 feet wide” with two large wings and colored lights. (Delavan (Ill.) Times, April 22, 1897; Clark III 77; Clark IV 101)
April 16 — 12:00 midnight. C. G. Williams is walking across a field two miles south of Greenville, Texas, when he comes across a brilliant light and a large, cigar-shaped object resting on the ground. Three aeronauts emerge from it; two go to work on the ship, and the third approaches Williams and asks him to mail some letters. The man tells him that the airship runs on electricity and that his invention was perfected in a small town in New York State. (“Different Colored Lights,” Galveston (Tex.) Daily News, April 18, 1897, p. 2; “C. G. Williams Saw It,” Dallas (Tex.) Morning News, April 19, 1897, p. 5; “C. G. Williams’ Story,” Galveston (Tex.) Daily News, April 19, 1897, p. 2; Jacobs, UFO Controversy in America, Signet ed., 1976, p. 9; Clark III 81; Clark IV 105)
April 17 — 1:30 a.m. R. E. Draughon, a night watchman at a lumber plant in Beaumont, Texas, sees a “globular” object with a bright light the size of a star in one end. It is moving to the northwest at a high altitude. (“Night Watchman Saw It,” Galveston (Tex.) Daily News, April 17, 1897, p. 2; “Seen at Beaumont,” Dallas (Tex.) Morning News, April 18, 1897, p. 4; Clark III 78; Clark IV 102)
April 17 — 6:00 a.m. An airship is said to collide with the tower of Judge James Spencer Proctor’s windmill in Aurora, Texas, causing it to explode and strew debris over several acres. The pilot (reportedly “not of this world,” or a “Martian” according to an alleged Army Signal Service officer named Thomas Jefferson Weems from nearby Fort Worth), does not survive the crash and is buried “with Christian rites” at the Aurora Cemetery. Wreckage from the crash site is either dumped into a nearby well located under the damaged windmill or ends up with the alien in the grave. Adding to the mystery is the story of Brawley Oates, who purchases Judge Proctor’s property around 1935. Oates cleans out the debris from the well in order to use it as a water source, but later develops an extremely severe case of rheumatoid arthritis, which he claims is the result of contaminated water from the wreckage dumped into the well. As a result, Oates seals up the well with a concrete slab and places an outbuilding on the spot in 1945. The entire yarn is widely regarded as a hoax, although Proctor’s windmill apparently did exist. (Wikipedia, “ Aurora, Texas, UFO incident”; MUFON, “ Aurora Texas Crash Part 1, MUFON Case File”; “A Windmill Demolishes It,” Dallas Morning News, April 19, 1897, p. 5; Donald B. Hanlon, “ Texas Odyssey of 1897,” Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1966): 9–10; “ The Aurora, Texas Case,” APRO Bulletin 21, no. 6 (May/ June 1973): 1, 3–4; “ Possible Grave of ‘Airship’ Pilot Sought in Old Texas Cowtown,” UFO Investigator, June 1973, pp. 1, 3; Eileen Buckle, “ Aurora Spaceman—R.I.P.?” Flying Saucer Review 19, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1973): 7–9; “ Cemetery Vandalism Postpones Texas UFO Investigation,” UFO Investigator, August 1973, pp. 1, 4; Walter H. Andrus, “ Report on 1897 Aurora, Texas, Investigation,” Skylook, no. 70 (September 1973): 7–9; H. Michael Simmons, “ Once upon a Time in the West,” Magonia, no. 20 (August 1985); Wallace O. Chariton, The Great Texas Airship Mystery, Wordware, 1991; Nigel Watson, “ Down to Earth: UFO Investigation 1897 Style,” Magonia, no. 43 (July 1992): 3–11; Kevin D. Randle, “Aurora, Texas, and the Great Airship of 1897,” Fate, March 2003, pp. 34–36; Brian Dunning, “ The Alien Buried in Texas,” Skeptoid Podcast, no. 241 (January 18, 2011); Thomas E. Bullard, “ Defending UFOs,” IUR 34, no. 2 (March 2012): 8–10; “ Aurora 1897,” Texas UFO Museum and Research Library, February 5, 2014; Clark III 88, 316–318, 592–593; Max McNabb, “ The 1897 Aurora, Texas, UFO Crash and the ‘Alien’ Buried in the Cemetery,” Texas Hill Country, January 8, 2019; Mutual UFO Network, “ Aurora, TX Crash, 1897,” May 14, 2021; Clark IV 111–112, 390–392, 652)
April 17 — Sam McLeary is riding along Forked Deer River near Dyersburg, Tennessee, when he allegedly sees a crashed airship in the woods. Its lone occupant is encased in ice, as he has apparently “succumbed to the pitiless cold” of the upper atmosphere.” (“ Fell in Gibson County,” Nashville (Tenn.) American, April 16, 1897, p. 2; Clark III 316; Clark IV 390)
April 17 — Evening. Several people see a cigar-shaped object with white, red, and green lights pass about 500 feet above Derry, Pennsylvania. It seems to have a car hanging about 10 feet below it. (“ The Air Ship at Derry,” Indiana (Pa.) Weekly Messenger, April 21, 1897, p. 2)
April 17 — 8:30 p.m. A large white light attached to a cigar-shaped object passes over Trenton, Tennessee, at an altitude of about 1,500 feet. It has a red light on the left side and a green light on the right. The object remains in sight for 5 minutes then disappears to the east. (“ Trenton Has ‘Em,” Memphis (Tenn.) Commercial Appeal, April 18, 1897, p. 4; Clark III 77; Clark IV 101)
April 17 — 9:00 p.m. George Alverson, Alex Oxford, and Charley Hunter are walking on Manchester Street near the Cincinnati Southern Railway trestle bridge in Lexington, Kentucky. An airship lands and settles in a vacant lot about 600 feet away. They hurry forward but are stopped by a man who has just emerged from the machine. He is carrying a bucket, which he fills with water from a nearby spring. He declines to answer any of their questions, reenters the airship, and flies away to the southeast. (“ Talked with the Airship Man,” Cincinnati (Ohio) Enquirer, April 19, 1897, p. 5; Clark III 80; Clark IV 104)
April 18 — 8:30 p.m. W. E. Roe, captain of the Ohio River packet T. M. Barnsdall, as well as watchman Elmer Hardy and engineer Litus Kinnard, sees a light high in the air above the river as the riverboat is lying at Sistersville, West Virginia. It seems to be moving to the northwest but at other times it retraces its course. Around 12:00 midnight it disappears over a hill to the west. (“The Airship Seen near Marietta,” Marietta (Ohio) Daily Register, April 19, 1897; “That Air Ship: Prominent Steamboatman Observed It,” Parkersburg (W.Va.) Sentinel, April 20, 1897, p. 1; “Hovered over the Town,” Cincinnati (Ohio) Commercial Tribune, April 20, 1897, p. 2)
April 18 — 9:30 p.m. An object with a bright light and propellers is seen southeast of Lyons, Nebraska, traveling to the northwest. Some young observers estimate it is moving at 4–6 mph. One witness using opera glasses sees a “large man muffled in a great coat, apparently presiding over some kind of a steering apparatus.” When the object is south of Bancroft it makes 2–3 large circles and then moves to the southwest. (“ Airship’s Lamp Is Lighted,” Omaha (Nebr.) Daily Bee, April 20, 1897, p. 5; “ Saw the Air Ship,” Lyons (Nebr.) Logan Valley Sun, April 21, 1897, p. 1; Clark III 80; Clark IV 104)
April 19 — 1:30 a.m. As people are returning from a party at the Armory Hall in Natchitoches, Louisiana, they see a bright light attached to a massive airship in the form of a balloon with a cigar-shaped undercar. The light dims while it is over the city and intensifies again when it has passed beyond it. It moves in undulations and is visible for 30 minutes. (“ The Airship Seen in Louisiana,” New Orleans Daily Picayune, April 21, 1897, p. 6)
April 19 — 2:00 a.m. A man in El Paso, Texas, sees a cigar-shaped object with lighted portholes on each side. The object approaches from the east and passes overhead at 500 feet. Voices from the craft are heard. (“ The Air Ship Seen in El Paso,” El Paso (Tex.) Herald, April 20, 1897, p. 4)
April 19 — 6:00 a.m. A farmer sees an airship descend in a wooded area near Elysian, Minnesota. He runs toward it and sees three men inside, but it ascends abruptly. (Mankato (Minn.) Review, April 20, 1897; Clark III 80; Clark IV 104)
April 19 — 12:00 noon. George Dunlap, a man known to Davis H. Tucker, physician at the Harlem Prison Farm [now the Jester State Prison Farm] in Fort Bend County, Texas, is riding in the country near Lake Charles, Louisiana, when he sees an airship moving toward him about half a mile distant. It makes a loud whistling noise, scaring his horses and causing him to be thrown from the buggy. As the horses flee, the ship lands, a rope comes down, and two men rush over to apologize. They are the owner Mr. Wilson (formerly of Fort Worth, Texas) and his friend Scott Warren. The man is taken into the airship and introduced to two others, a Mr. Waters and a Hispanic man. Wilson tells him the airship is sustained by a gas, and that several of them have been built. (“Was Aboard an Airship,” Dallas (Tex.) Morning News, May 16, 1897, p. 18; Clark III 81; Clark IV 105)
April 19 — 9:00 p.m. A bright light moves from the northwest over Cochransville [now a ghost town], Monroe County, Ohio, where it hovers for 20 minutes, flashing red, white, and green lights. Through binoculars a cone-shaped object with large fins on either side can be discerned. It is apparently 180 feet long. (“Hovered over the Town,” Cincinnati (Ohio) Commercial Tribune, April 20, 1897, p. 2; “ Swear They Saw the Airship,” Washington (D.C.) Times Herald, April 20, 1897, p. 5; Clark III 77; Clark IV 101)
April 19 — 10:30 p.m. Rancher Alexander Hamilton, his son Will, and his hired hand Gid Heslip are awakened by a noise in the cattle pen of their ranch at Yates Center, Kansas. They watch as a 300-foot- long, cigar-shaped airship with a carriage underneath descends to about 30 feet above the ground. Two men, a woman, and three children are heard talking in the carriage. They see a calf caught in a nearby fence with a cable knotted around its neck that connects to the airship above. They cut the cable and the airship floats away. A few weeks later, Hamilton admits he made the story up. (“ Air Ship Takes a Cow!” Yates Center (Kan.) Farmers Advocate, April 23, 1897, p. 5; “ Air Ship Steals a Calf,” Kansas City (Mo.) Times, April 27, 1897, p. 1; “ The Air Ship in Kansas,” Atchison County (Mo.) Mail, May 7, 1897, p. 1; Jerome Clark, “The Great Airship Hoax” Fate 30, no. 2 (February 1977): 94–97; Jerome Clark, “ Some Clarifications on the Leroy, Kansas, Calfnapping Hoax,” Pursuit 10, no. 1 (Winter 1977): 17–18; Jerome Clark, “ The Leroy, Kansas, Calfnapping Hoax of 1897,” Flying Saucer Review 22, no. 6 (April 1977): 26; “ Revelations in 1897 Kansas ‘Calfnapping,’” APRO Bulletin 25, no. 12 (June 1977): 7–8; Daniel Cohen, The Great Airship Mystery, Dodd, Mead, 1981, pp. 92–102; Clark III 86–87, 130, 593; “ Cigar-Shaped UFO Abducting a Cow Was Witnessed in 1897 by Kansas Rancher Alexander Hamilton and Others,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, November 18, 2023; Clark IV 110–111, 157, 652–653)
April 20 — Henry Heintz of Elkton, South Dakota, patents an airship consisting of a cigar-shaped balloon and a structure for passengers beneath it. In April 1900, he brings his invention out for a test flight in front of the Elkton blacksmith shop. The airship rises 8 feet into the air before plopping to the ground. (US Patent, “ Air Ship,” granted April 20, 1897; “ South Dakota Airship Proves a Flat Failure,” Sioux Falls (S.Dak.) Argus-Leader, April 16, 1900, p. 3; Henry Heintz, “ Heintz’s New Flying Machine,” The Aeronautical World 1, no. 8 (March 2, 1903): 171–172; Richard T. Read and David Rambow, “ Hydrogen and Smoke: A Survey of Lighter-Than-Air Flight in South Dakota Prior to World War I,” South Dakota History 18, no. 3 (1988): 132–151; Ruth Becken, A History of Elkton, [City of Elkton,] 2000, p. 94; Jerome Clark, “Mr. Wilson and the Aeronauts of 1897,” Fortean Times 362 (January 2018): 42; “ Hero the Elephant and the Heintz Airship,” Roadside America, January 31, 2023)
April 21 — 12:30 a.m. An employee of the Picayune newspaper in New Orleans, Louisiana, steps outside the office and sees an airship, 50–60 feet long and bearing a powerful searchlight. He returns to tell his colleagues, but by the time they come out, the airship is gone. (“ The Airship,” New Orleans Picayune, April 21, 1897, p. 9)
April 21? — 8:00 p.m. A man is riding his horse between Lancaster and Baltimore, Ohio, when something scares his horse. He sees an object with two brilliant white lights on either end landing in a nearby field. He tethers his horse and approaches the object, which seems as large as a house. Inside he can see two men conversing, so he walks up to ask them questions. One of the aeronauts seems to be Japanese and the other speaks English with a British accent. The craft is called the Aeribarque, and they are on a test flight. The aeronaut says that they often land in remote areas and come to nearby towns for supplies or mechanical parts, posing either as tourists or “harmless cranks trying to invent perpetual motion.” After giving the witness a demonstration of the electrical lighting system, they take off into the sky. (“ Aeribarque, That’s It’s Official Name,” Cincinnati (Ohio) Enquirer, April 25, 1897, p. 9)
April 21 — Night. Witnesses near Bluffton, Indiana, see an airship with pointed ends “fully a mile high.” It is visible moving to the northeast for 8–10 minutes. (“ It Is Seen Again,” Bluffton (Ind.) Chronicle, April 28, 1897, p. 1; Clark III 77; Clark IV 101)
April 21 — 11:00 p.m. Confectioner John S. Scheer, Frank King, and Frank Mulick of Erie, Pennsylvania, watch a cigar-shaped, winged object moving north at a relatively high rate of speed. It has a large propeller on its tail end, but it flies silently and disappears over Lake Erie. (“Passed over Erie,” Erie (Pa.) Daily Times, April 22, 1897, p. 8; Clark III 77; Clark IV 101)
April 22 — 7:30 p.m. Prominent citizens, including the mayor, observe a low-flying airship heading slowly southwest above Kenly, North Carolina. Its sails “resembled mosquito netting to the naked eye.” The outlines of two people aboard are plainly visible. (“ Men Seen in the Airship,” Raleigh (N.C.) News and Observer, April 25, 1897, p. 4; Clark III 80; Clark IV 104)
April 22 — 10:10 p.m. A ball of fire is seen moving slowly and horizontally from southwest to northeast over Kokomo, Indiana. Some people can distinguish the faint outlines of a cigar-shaped object and wings. The light is white with a reddish tint and no more than 300 feet in altitude. The witnesses include Harry M. Grimes, William E. Sollenberger, and banking executive Frank McCarty. (“The Mysterious Air Ship,” Kokomo (Ind.) Daily Tribune, April 23, 1897, p. 4; Clark III 77; Clark IV 101)
April 22 — 11:00 p.m. John M. Barclay wakes up when he hears a whirring noise that causes his dogs to bark wildly outside his home near Rockland, Texas. He goes outside and sees an oblong airship with wings and brilliant lights. When he first sees it, the object is hovering 150 feet above the ground. It circles a few times then lands in a nearby pasture. Barclay goes down to investigate with his Winchester rifle, but the lights go out as he gets closer. Some 90 feet away from the airship he is stopped by a man who asks him to put his rifle down. He identifies himself as “Smith” and gives Barclay $10 to purchase lubricating oil, two chisels, and bluestone. When Barclay returns with the materials, the aeronaut will only say he is from “anywhere,” adding that “we will be in Greece tomorrow.” (“ Supplies for Airship,” Houston (Tex.) Post, April 25, 1897, p. 13; Clark III 80; Clark IV 104)
April 22 — 12:00 midnight. Frank Nichols, a farmer living 2 miles east of Josserand, Texas, is awakened by a whirring noise. Outside, he sees a huge airship in his cornfield. Before he can get close, two men with buckets ask him if they can draw water from his well. Nichols consents and in return they give him a tour of the vessel, whose motive power is “highly condensed electricity.” One aeronaut tells him that five airships have been built in an Iowa town. (“ That Airship,” Houston (Tex.) Post, April 26, 1897, p. 2; Clark III 82; Clark IV 106)
April 23 — Morning. An object like a floating balloon is seen flying southeast down the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., by officers and soldiers at Fort Myer, Virginia, and officials of the Analostan Boat Club. Those with binoculars can see that it has two hulls coupled together, hanging vertically and rocking from side to side. It gradually disappears from view into the hills. (“ The Airship Again,” Salem (Ohio) Daily News, April 24, 1897, p. 5)
April 23 — Night. Henry A. Hooks and A. W. Hodges of Kountze, Texas, allegedly meet two aeronauts named Wilson and Jackson when their airship suffers a gas leak and lands. (“ That Airship,” Houston (Tex.) Post, April 25, 1897, p. 5; Clark III 82; Clark IV 106)
April 24 — An airship in need of repairs lands near Stringers Ridge on the other side of the river from Chattanooga, Tennessee. An unnamed journalist talks to one of the aeronauts, who identifies himself as Prof. Charles Davidson of Sacramento, California, the inventor of the airship, which can travel as fast as 93 mph. (“ Is This a Reality?” Knoxville (Tenn.) Morning Tribune, April 25, 1897, p. 1; Clark III 80; Clark IV 104)
April 24 — 11:00 p.m. Howard Warn is outside his home in Toledo, Ohio, when he notices bright, multicolored lights moving rapidly toward the southwest. The lights are attached to a cigar-shaped object at an altitude of 500 feet. He calls his father, Milo S. Warn, and they watch the lights until the object disappears into heavy clouds to the southwest. (“ Say They Saw the Airship,” Cleveland (Ohio) Plain Dealer, April 28, 1897, p. 5; Clark III 77; Clark IV 101)
April 25 — Evening. As some residents of Merkel, Texas, are leaving a church service, they notice a heavy, anchor-shaped object being dragged by a large rope that is attached to an airship in the sky not far above them. After 10 minutes, a small figure dressed in a blue sailor suit starts climbing down the rope. But when he sees people watching him, he cuts the rope and returns to the airship, which moves away to the northeast. The anchor goes on exhibit at a local blacksmith shop. (“ Anchor of the Airship,” Houston (Tex.) Post, April 28, 1897, p. 5; Clark III 84; Clark IV 108)
April 25 — Night. William F. Whittier, editor of the Sunbury (Ohio) News-Item, sets up his camera in the printing office to take lightning photographs. He manages to take a photo of a nearby lightning strike and develops it the following morning. The negative shows not only the lightning but the outline of what seems to be an airship. Whittier makes many copies of the photo and sells them to Sunbury residents. (“Fairy Story: A Sunbury Editor Takes a Photograph,” Dayton (Ohio) Daily Journal, April 28, 1897)
April 25 — After 12:00 midnight. An airship allegedly passes over San Antonio, Texas. The newspaper makes the unfounded claim that it is piloted by Hiram Wilson of New York and C. J. Walsh of San Francisco, its inventors. (“The Air Ship in San Antonio,” San Antonio (Tex.) Express, April 26, 1897, p. 5; Clark III 83; Clark IV 107)
April 28? — 8:00 p.m. Hiram C. LaGrone hears a disturbance among his horses on his ranch at Deadwood, Texas. Stepping outside, he sees a brilliant, multicolored light approaching from the southwest. It slows, hovers, then lands in a field. LaGrone walks up and discovers five men, two of whom take rubber bags and procure water from his well. The other three tell him that this is one of five airships touring the country (and the same one that landed in Beaumont on April 19). (“ The Airship,” Houston (Tex.) Post, April 30, 1897, p. 7; Clark III 82–83; Clark IV 106–107)
May 2 — 1:00 a.m. Edwin Shaffer is driving a rig about one-half mile west of Cassville, Indiana, when he encounters a landed airship 40 feet long. The object spooks his horse, which will not run past it. Shaffer claims the airship is crewed by midgets who speak no English. (“ The Air Ship at Cassville,” Kokomo (Ind.) Daily Tribune, May 4, 1897, p. 8; Clark III 84; Clark IV 108)
May 4 — 9:00 p.m. Louis Dumhoff, a physician living at 112 Garfield Place in Cincinnati, Ohio, sees a red, egg-shaped light, “the rays escaping in the center and at each end.” It passes to the southeast in about 5 minutes, moving in a zigzag, up-and-down course. Conductor J. C. Gaupel and attorney W. J. Klein also see the light in the same neighborhood. (“ Airship,” Cincinnati (Ohio) Enquirer, May 5, 1897, p. 7; Clark III 78; Clark IV 102–103)
May 6 — During a rainstorm five miles west of Hot Springs, Arkansas, Deputy Sheriff John McLemore and Constable John J. Sumpter Jr. see a light in the sky descend behind a hill one half-mile away. After seeing two persons carrying lights, they draw their rifles and demand to know who is there. A man with a long, dark beard tells them that he and two others are traveling around the country in an airship and hope to end up in Nashville, Tennessee. He invites the officers to take a ride and transport them to somewhere dry, but they tell him they prefer to get wet. They return to the spot 40 minutes later and the airship is gone. (“ Swore They Saw It,” Little Rock Arkansas Gazette, May 9, 1897, p. 1; “ Swear They Saw It,” Arkadelphia (Ark.) Southern Standard, May 14, 1897, p. 2; Clark III 80–81; Clark IV 104–105)
May 8 — 8:00 p.m. An airship with a brilliant light speeds above Cincinnati, Ohio, from the southeast to the northwest at a high altitude and an estimated 100 mph. (“ Another Air Ship,” Fort Wayne (Ind.) Journal Gazette, May 9, 1897, p. 5)
May 9 — 8:00 p.m. Abe Parker of Norwalk, Ohio, sees an object with 10–12 bright white and red lights moving slowly over the town for about 10 minutes. Other witnesses report hearing music coming from it. An unnamed young witness, who follows the object out of town for about one mile after it passes over Main Street, says the shadow cast by the object is round. (“ That Airship Again,” Cleveland (Ohio) Plain Dealer, May 11, 1897, p. 3; Clark III 78–79; Clark IV 103)
May 11 — 10:00 a.m. John E. Hopley is one of a small group of people in Sandusky, Ohio, who watch a “fleecy white bulk” floating far away to the west. Through binoculars the object looks like a white bird with long black wings. Hopley guesses that it is 1–2 miles high, 20 miles away, and 60–80 feet long. (“ The Air Ship: John E. Hopley Sees This Modern Invention,” Bucyrus (Ohio) Evening Telegraph, May 11, 1897, p. 4)
July 4 — 7:45 p.m. Hundreds of witnesses in Lexington, Kentucky, see a lighted object silhouetted against a storm cloud in the southwest moving to the north at 500 feet altitude. When it nears the city, the light goes out and it disappears after passing over the western part of the city. (“ The Air Ship or Its Twin Brother Passes over Lexington,” Lexington (Ky.) Morning Herald, July 5, 1897, p. 5; Clark III 84; Clark IV 108–109)
July 29 — Sunset. Farmer Andrew Henderson sees a large, unlighted, oblong object with a suspended car and a huge sail drifting to the northeast over his farm three miles from Whitemouth, Manitoba. He estimates it is only a half-mile away. (“Could It Be Andree?” Winnipeg Manitoba Free Press, July 31, 1897, p. 1; “Big Balloon Story,” Winnipeg Manitoba Free Press, August 2, 1897, p. 1; Clark III 85; Clark IV 109)
August 24 — 6:45 p.m. A balloon with an attached car is seen moving steadily southwest above Asheville, North Carolina, by Dr. Willard P. Whittington , Harry Batterham, and J. B. White who are standing on Grove Street. It is about one mile in altitude. (“ Maybe It Was Andree on His Return?” Charlotte (N.C.) Observer, August 27, 1897, p. 3; Clark III 85; Clark IV 109)
August 28 — 3:00 a.m. Luther Myers hears dogs barking outside his home in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. When he looks through the window, he sees a rapidly moving airship with a light on each end. It has a propeller and rotates as it moves forward. (“ Our Closeby Neighbors,” Chambersburg (Pa,) Valley Spirit, September 1, 1897, p. 5; Clark III 85; Clark IV 109)
September 7 — 2:00 p.m. V. H. Hollingsworth and his family in Ellsworth (between Sherman and Denison), Texas, see an unusual object approaching from the east. It has a fan-like wheel on front and fin-like projections on the side. (“ The Air Ship,” Marshall (Tex.) Evening Messenger, September 9, 1897, p. 2; Clark III 85; Clark IV 109)
November 2 — 12:45 p.m. Engineer Charles W. West sees a balloon of unusual size passing southwest above Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. It looks like an inclined cylinder with rounded ends and has a car suspended from it. After 20 minutes it passes out of sight. (“ Saw the Man Who Saw the Ship,” Boston Daily Globe, November 5, 1897, p. 3; “ May Have Been Geese,” Meriden (Conn.) Record-Journal, November 5, 1897, p. 1; Clark III 85; Clark IV 109)
November 13 — Early morning. Jeremiah MacDonald is returning to his home in Binghamton, New York, when a blinding light flashes and something plows into the ground near his house. It proves to be a meteorite. Curious locals break it open and find “curious marks that some think to be characters,” perhaps from another planet like Mars. (“ Message Perhaps from Mars,” New York Times, November 14, 1897, p. 1; “ Wiggins on the Aerolite,” New York Times, November 18, 1897, p. 5; Clark III 318; Clark IV 392–393)
November 19 — 11:00 p.m. A telegraph operator in Kellogg, Iowa, sees a bright, bluish light moving rapidly to the southwest. He notifies the operator at Colfax, Iowa, and people in the depot there also see it. (“ See the Airship,” Chicago (Ill.) Chronicle, November 20, 1897, p. 2; Clark III 85; Clark IV 109)
December 5 — Early morning. Engineer John J. Hussey and fireman John Henderson of the Great Northern Railroad in northern Minnesota see a “large, white long light which seemed surrounded by some dark objects” near Deerwood. Other employees of the Great Northern and Northern Pacific railways also view the light. (“ Was It an Air-Ship,” Saint Paul (Minn.) Globe, December 7, 1897, p. 2; Clark III 85; Clark IV 109
1909
Night. Frederick G. Hehr sees a bright white light executing a “curious dance” over a village one mile away in East Frisia, Lower Saxony, Germany. A minute later the light suddenly streaks in his direction, coming within 300 feet as it passes by at 60 feet altitude. Three seconds later it is gone. (“Report from the Readers,” Fate 4, no. 5 (July 1951): 95–96; Clark III 1169; Clark IV 1343)
March 4 — 8:25 p.m. Charles Maberly, an organist at St. Michael’s Church in Lambourne, Berkshire, England, is returning home from choir practice when he sees a bright searchlight attached to a torpedo-shaped dirigible heading west at 200 feet altitude. He walks for about 50 yards watching it. As it passes out of sight, he hears three explosions at regular intervals. (London Evening News, May 18, 1909; Carl Grove, “ The Airship Wave of 1909: A Preliminary Survey,” Flying Saucer Review 16, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1970): 9; Clark III 1163–1164; Clark IV 1338)
March 23 — 5:15 a.m. Police Constable James Kettle of Peterborough, England, sees a powerful light about 1,200 feet in the air above Cromwell Road making an engine-like buzz. The light is on a dark, fast-moving oblong object. It is in view for about 3 minutes. (“Quite a Sensation! What a Night Policeman Saw!” Peterborough Advertiser, March 27, 1909, p. 7; “ Aerial Mystery,” London Standard, May 17, 1909, p. 7; “ What Did P.C. Kettle See? Another Old Mystery Revived,” Flying Saucer Review 6, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1960): 11–12; Carl Grove, “ The Airship Wave of 1909: A Preliminary Survey,” Flying Saucer Review 16, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1970): 9; Nigel Watson, “ Phantom Airships over Britain in 1909, and Their Impact on Society,” Common Ground, no. 3 (November 1981): 18–23; David Clarke, “ Scareships over Britain: The Airship Wave of 1909,” Fortean Studies 6 (1999): 39–63; Clark III 1163; Clark IV 1338)
April 21 — 9:45 p.m. Fred Harrison of King’s Lynn, Norfolk, England, sees a “long, dark object” moving swiftly overhead just above treetop level. It carries a searchlight that illuminates the road, farm buildings, trees, and everything it touches. (“Mystery of the Air,” London Daily Express, May 14, 1909, p. 1; David Clarke, “ Scareships over Britain: The Airship Wave of 1909,” Fortean Studies 6 (1999))
May 5 — Night. C. W. Allen and two other men are motoring through Kelmarsh, Northampton, England, when they hear a loud explosion in the air followed by the rumbling of an engine. Allen sees an oblong dark shape, perhaps 100 feet long, with lights in front and behind moving at an altitude of 500–600 feet. They dimly perceive some men on a platform below it. It passes out of sight at 20 mph northeast toward Peterborough. (East Anglian Daily Times, May 13, 1909; “ The Mysterious Airship,” Leicester Journal and Midland Counties General Advertiser (UK), May 21, 1909, p. 4; Carl Grove, “ The Airship Wave of 1909: A Preliminary Survey,” Flying Saucer Review 16, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1970): 11; David Clarke, “ Scareships over Britain: The Airship Wave of 1909,” Fortean Studies 6 (1999); Clark III 1164; Clark IV 1338)
May 9 — 11:20 p.m. Miss H. M. Boville notices from her bedroom window at Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, a “large dark object looming out of the sky” and traveling slowly from the east. After a few seconds it remains nearly stationary for a few minutes in front of her window, and she sees the outline of a torpedo-shaped airship about 1,300 feet in altitude. It rises higher then travels swiftly to the west toward London. It shows two powerful searchlights at each end very briefly. (London Evening News, May 15, 1909; Carl Grove, “ The Airship Wave of 1909: A Preliminary Survey,” Flying Saucer Review 16, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1970): 10; David Clarke, “ Scareships over Britain: The Airship Wave of 1909,” Fortean Studies 6 (1999); Clark III 1164; Clark IV 1338; “ The Great Scareship Panic of 1909,” Catherine Warr YouTube channel, February 28, 2025)
May 16 — 1:30 a.m. A Mrs. Wigg, who lives near Belle Vue Park on Yarmouth Road, Lowestoft, Suffolk, England, wakes up to an engine-like sound. She looks out her window and sees a long, dark, bottle-shaped object pass by at a low altitude. She thinks she can see a man in front, steering the craft. Other people in Lowestoft hear engine sounds and flashes of light around the same time. (East Anglian Daily Times, May 18–19, 1909; Norfolk News, May 19, 1909, p. 13; Carl Grove, “ The Airship Wave of 1909: Pt. 2,” Flying Saucer Review 17, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1971): 17; David Clarke, “ Scareships over Britain: The Airship Wave of 1909,” Fortean Studies 6 (1999); Clark III 1164; Clark IV 1338)
May 17 — The subject of mystery airships is brought up in a debate in the House of Commons. Arthur Fell, MP for Great Yarmouth, England, had asked Secretary of State for War Richard Haldane if he could give the number of dirigibles, either built or in progress of being built, in Germany. Haldane replies that 7 dirigible airships have been built and another 5 are under construction. Horatio Myer, MP for Lambeth North, follows up by asking Haldane: “Will the honourable gentleman, in any report he may circulate, tell us about a certain dirigible supposed to be hovering about our coast?” The question is greeted with laughter and Haldane does not reply. (Neil R. Storey, Zeppelin Blitz: The German Air Raids on Great Britain during the First World War, History Press, 2015, pp. 10–11)
May 18 — 11:00 p.m. Charles Lethbridge (part-time dock worker and Punch-and-Judy showman) is traveling on a “spring cart” from Senghenydd on his way home to Cardiff, South Wales. At the summit of Caerphilly Mountain he sees a long, tube-shaped object sitting on the grass by the roadside, with two men busily working on something. They are wearing heavy fur coats and fur caps that fit tightly over the heads. Lethbridge proceeds to about 60 feet from them when they notice him and start jumping up and jabbering in a foreign language. They quickly pick up something from the ground, then jump into a little carriage suspended from the object (with wheels at the bottom), which rises into the air in a zig- zag fashion. When it clears the telegraph wires, two electric lights shine out and the craft heads toward the southeast. Lethbridge returns to the site with a newspaper reporter and they find signs of trampling in the grass for about 45 feet. They also pick up a small red French military label, letterhead from a London stockbroker, many newspaper clippings with references to airships or the German army, and a tin box with paste for polishing metal. (“ Airship Mystery,” The Guardian (London), May 20, 1909, p. 7; “Mystery of the Air,” London Daily Express, May 20, 1909, p. 1; “ The Airship Mystery: Strange Stories in South Wales,” The Weekly Mail (Wales), May 22, 1909, p. 7; Brett Holman, “ What the Showman Saw,” Airminded, November 17, 2014; Nick Redfern, “ UFOs over Wales: A 1909 Wave,” Mysterious Universe, May 23, 2016)
May 19 — 1:15 a.m. Robert Westlake, railroad signalman at King’s Junction in the Queen Alexandra Dock at Cardiff, Wales, sees a cigar-shaped object flying swiftly at perhaps 2,600 feet and making a whizzing noise. It has two lights and is moving eastward. Some dock workers who are loading the SS Arndale also see the object for “a minute or two.” It passes over the Bristol Channel towards Weston-super-Mare. Aeronaut Percival G. Spencer says that he recently sold several of his “man-lifting” 25-foot-long model airships to advertising firms in the UK, one of them in Cardiff. (London Globe, May 19, 1909; Brett Holman, “ Wednesday, 19 May 1909,” Airminded, May 19, 2009; London Standard, May 21, 1909; Carl Grove, “ The Airship Wave of 1909, Pt. 2,” Flying Saucer Review 17, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1971): 17, 19; Brett Holman, “ Friday, 21 May 1909,” Airminded, May 21, 2009)
May 19 — 11:30 p.m. A lone motorcyclist observes a glowing light traveling in a straight trajectory overhead near Wroxham, Norfolk, England. As it passes, the motorcycle headlight fails. It begins working again after the UFO passes. (“Norwich Lights,” London Evening News, May 20, 1909, p. 1; East Anglian Daily Times, May 21, 1909; Norfolk News, May 22, 1909; Carl Grove, “ The Airship Wave of 1909, Pt. 2,” Flying Saucer Review 17, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1971): 17, 19; Mark Rodeghier, UFO Reports Involving Vehicle Interference, CUFOS, 1981, p. 1; David Clarke, “ Scareships over Britain: The Airship Wave of 1909,” Fortean Studies 6 (1999); Brett Holman, “ Saturday, May 22, 1909,” Airminded, May 22, 2009)
May 19 — 12:00 midnight. A Mr. Chatten, grocer’s assistant, is cycling home to Tharston, Norfolk, England, when he is dazzled by a bright light with a bluish tinge overhead. It switches off for a few seconds, and Chatten can see a long, cigar-shaped object 300–400 feet above him, moving rapidly toward Norwich. On its underside is a framework with a yellow light at each end. (“ Airship Mystery,” London Daily Telegraph, May 21, 1909, p. 12; Carl Grove, “ The Airship Wave of 1909, Pt. 2,” Flying Saucer Review 17, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1971): 17, 19; David Clarke, “ Scareships over Britain: The Airship Wave of 1909,” Fortean Studies 6 (1999); Brett Holman, “ Saturday, May 22, 1909,” Airminded, May 22, 2009; Clark III 1164; Clark IV 1338)
June 16 — 4:10 a.m. M. Delingette, director of the meteorological station at Đồng Hới, Vietnam, observes a luminous, elongated object moving from west to east. Four fishermen watch the object for 8–10 minutes until it falls into the sea. (“ Etoiles filantes, bolides, aérolithes,” L’Astronomie 23 (1909): 519–520)
June 19 — 3:00 a.m. Captain J. T. Gabe and the second mate of the Danish East Asiatic Company steamship Bintang, while passing through the Malacca Strait, observe curved light waves traveling across the water in the form of “long arms issuing from a center.” The system moves forward, decreasing its velocity of rotation, and is visible for 15 minutes. (“ A Curious Phenomenon of Light in the Sea in the Indian Waters,” Nautisk-meteorologisk aarbog, no. 41 (1910): xli–xliii; “ Curious Light Phenomena of the Indian Seas,” Scientific American 106 (1912): 51, 58; Dolan, USO1, 95–96)
July–August — A mystery airship wave begins in New Zealand with numerous sightings of unusual nocturnal lights and airships seen in both daytime and nighttime. The sightings are at first most intense over the southern end of South Island. In the following weeks the reports appear to move northward and by August, Australia also falls under the grip of what press accounts call “aerialitis.” (“ The ‘Lights’ in the Sky,” Melbourne (Vic.) Argus, August 21, 1909, p. 15; Granville Oldroyd and Nigel Watson, The New Zealand Invasion, The Authors, 1985; Bill Chalker, “ Early Australian Historical Encounters,” 1997; Robert E. Bartholomew, “ The Great Zeppelin Scare of 1909,” NZ Skeptics, May 1, 1998; Hilary Evans and Robert E. Bartholomew, Outbreak!, Anomalist, 2009, pp. 479–483; Brett Holman, “ Scareships over Australia—1,” Airminded, October 20, 2010; Brett Holman, “ Scareships over Australia—II,” Airminded, October 23, 2010; Brett Holman, “ Scareships over Australia—III,” Airminded, October 25, 2010; Clark III 65–66; Tony Brunt, “ The New Zealand UFO Wave of 1909,” Ufocus NZ, July 22, 2020; Clark IV 89–90, 1338)
July 11 — Night. Several people in Kaitangata, on New Zealand’s South Island, report seeing a mysterious light, possibly from a dirigible, for 30 minutes. The light bobs in and out of view over the Wangaloa Hills. (“ A Mysterious Light,” Otago Daily Times, July 16, 1909, p. 10; “ A Mysterious Light,” New Zealand Herald, July 27, 1909, p. 5; “ The Airship Mystery,” Otago Evening Star, July 27, 1909, p. 5; “ The ‘German’ Theory,” Otago Evening Star, July 29, 1909, p. 4; Outbreak! p. 480; Bryan Dickeson, “ The ‘1909 Kelso Airships’ of New Zealand,” Ufocus NZ, July 22, 2020)
July 19 — 6:30–9:00 p.m. A mysterious aerial light is seen in Oamaru, New Zealand. (“ The Airship Mystery,” Otago Evening Star, July 29, 1909, p. 4; Tony Brunt, “ The New Zealand UFO Wave of 1909,” Ufocus NZ, July 22, 2020)
July 23 — 12:00 noon. Mrs. James Russell and several schoolchildren in Kelso, New Zealand, see an airship shaped like a boat that flies toward them from the east, circles above the school, and returns in the same direction. It seems to have a propeller. Students later claim that this is a hoax that got out of hand. (“ The Airship Mystery,” Otago Evening Star, July 29, 1909, p. 4; “ The Mysterious Lights,” Otago Daily Times, July 30, 1909, p. 8; “ The Airship Mystery,” Otago Witness, August 4, 1909, p. 32; Bill Chalker, “ Early Australian Historical Encounters,” 1997; Hilary Evans and Robert E. Bartholomew, Outbreak!, Anomalist, 2009, p. 480; Bryan Dickeson, “ The ‘1909 Kelso Airships’ of New Zealand,” Ufocus NZ, July 22, 2020; Clark IV 89)
July 24 — 5:00 p.m. George McDuff, another student in Kelso, New Zealand, sees an airship near his home. Sixty years later, he attributes it to his imagination. (Robert E. Bartholomew, “ The Great New Zealand Zeppelin Scare of 1909,” New Zealand Skeptic 47 (Autumn 1998): 1, 3–5)
July 24 — Night. Several people near Kaka Point, New Zealand, see a “large illuminated object.” Fearing it is a German Zeppelin about to land, the witnesses run off, vowing to shoot at it if it returns. (“ Alleged Airships,” Otago Clutha Leader, July 27, 1909, p. 4; Robert E. Bartholomew, “ The Great New Zealand Zeppelin Scare of 1909,” New Zealand Skeptic 47 (Autumn 1998): 1, 3–5)
July 30 — 5:00 a.m. Two men working on a dredge on the Mataura River north of Gore, New Zealand, see a lighted object descend out of the mist. It appears to be a narrow, boat-shaped craft that circles the dredge over a period of several minutes, rising and falling like a bird, and varying its speed. Two figures can be seen inside. It disappears into the mist, leaving behind a yellow glare. (“ The Airship Mystery,” Otago Evening Star, July 30, 1909, p. 4; “ Two Miners See the ‘Ship,’” Wellington Dominion, July 31, 1909, p. 7; “ More Airship Stories,” Auckland Star, July 31, 1909, p. 5; “ What Two Dredge Hands Saw,” Pahiatua Herald, July 31, 1909, p. 5; Bill Chalker, “ Early Australian Historical Encounters,” 1997; Clark III 66; Tony Brunt, “ The New Zealand UFO Wave of 1909,” Ufocus NZ, July 22, 2020; Clark IV 90, 302)
July 31 —Early morning. A farmhand in Greenvale, New Zealand, is feeding horses when a loud whirring sound from an airship frightens the animals. The object, 150 feet long and “like a boat with a flat top,” is moving so fast that by the time he rouses friends, it has almost vanished. Many other localities report strange lights that are attached to dimly seen structures, although many observations are undoubtedly fire balloons sent up as a prank. (“ Aerial Navigation,” Otago (N.Z.) Daily Times, July 31, 1909, p. 10; “ Aerial Lights,” Otago (N.Z.) Daily Times, August 2, 1909, p. 5; “ The Airship Mystery, Practical Joking,” Mataura (N.Z.) Ensign, August 2, 1909, p. 3; Tony Brunt, “ The New Zealand ‘UFO’ Wave of 1909,” 1967, reprinted in Paranormal New Zealand, August 21, 2014; Clark III 1164; Clark IV 1338)
July 31 — 4:55 p.m. A dark, cigar-shaped object with a boxlike structure underneath it is seen speeding above the hills near Akatore, New Zealand, then climbing into the western sky. (“ The ‘Airship’ Mystery,” Bruce (N.Z.) Herald, August 2, 1909, p. 5; “ The Airship Mystery,” Dunedin (N.Z.) Evening Star, August 3, 1909, p. 4; Tony Brunt, “ The New Zealand ‘UFO’ Wave of 1909,” 1967, reprinted in Paranormal New Zealand, August 21, 2014; Clark III 1164; Clark IV 1338)’
July 31 —11:30 p.m. A couple living near Gore, New Zealand, watches an airship above the Blue Mountains. At first they only see a bright light, but then they realize it is attached to a cigar-shaped machine that is flying a straight course with a rocking motion. It reappears at 1:00 and 3:00 a.m. (“ The ‘Airship’ in Southland,” Nelson (N.Z.) Evening Mail, August 2, 1909, p. 2; “ Those ‘Lights,’” Wellington Dominion, August 3, 1909, p. 6; Tony Brunt, “ The New Zealand ‘UFO’ Wave of 1909,” 1967, reprinted in Paranormal New Zealand, August 21, 2014; Clark III 1164; Clark IV 1338)
August 2 — 3:00 a.m. Thomas Robertson sees a large boat-shaped object with lights near Sumpter’s Hill, Oamaru, New Zealand, clearly illuminated by the Moon. Two figures are visible inside. It disappears swiftly to the west. (“ The Airship,” North Otago (N.Z.) Times, August 4, 1909, p. 2; Bill Chalker, “ Early Australian Historical Encounters,” 1997)
August 2 — Night. A light seen moving in the sky above Nelson, New Zealand, is attributed to the planet Mars. (“ What Was It?” Nelson (N.Z.) Evening Mail, August 3, 1909, p. 2; “ The Airship,” North Otago (N.Z.) Times, August 4, 1909, p. 2)
August 3 — Night. A man is riding in Waipawa, New Zealand, when his horse becomes nervous. He sees a large, gray, torpedo-shaped object passing overhead. Three persons are visible in it, one of whom shouts to him in an unknown language. The object rises to a great height, showing lights fore and aft. After circling around, it disappears behind a hill. (“ A Nocturnal Visitor,” Waipawa (N.Z.) Mail, August 5, 1909, p. 3; “ Conquest of the Air,” Hastings (N.Z.) Standard, August 5, 1909, p. 8; Hawke’s Bay Herald, August 6, 1909; Clark III 66, 261; Tony Brunt, “ The New Zealand UFO Wave of 1909,” Ufocus NZ, July 22, 2020; Clark IV 90)
August 7 — 10:30 p.m. Four young men at brick kilns near the railway station in Goulburn, New South Wales, see a bright, pale blue light arise from behind some hills to the east. After ascending, it circles back in the direction it came from. The object is said to be visible every night from August 5–10. (“ The Goulburn ‘Airship,’” Sydney (N.S.W.) Morning Herald, August 11, 1909, p. 10; “ Those Mysterious Lights,” Sydney (N.S.W.) Evening News, August 12, 1909, p. 5; “ Mysterious Lights,” Taranaki (N.Z.) Daily News, August 10, 1909, p. 2; Bill Chalker, “ Historical Australian UFO Reports,” UFO Research Australia Newsletter 4, no. 3 (Nov./Dec. 1983): 27; Clark III 66; Clark IV 90)
August 9 — 7:30–8:00 p.m. A flying object with lights on its front and back sails at a great altitude from west to east over Concord, New Hampshire, eventually disappearing into a cloud. Capt. Lyman Jackman at first thinks it is a balloon, but its estimated speed of 45–50 mph against the wind leads him to think otherwise. At about the same time, Bertha Niles of Vale Perkins, Quebec, watches a similar lighted object moving west to east. (“Air Ship or Meteor,” Concord (N.H.) Evening Monitor, August 10, 1909, p. 3; “Air Ship or What?” Concord (N.H.) Evening Monitor, August 13, 1909, p. 7; Clark III 1164; Clark IV 1338–1339)
August 9 — Night. Residents of Moss Vale, New South Wales, watch a large lighted object like an airship float over the town. (“ Is It an Airship?” Sydney (N.S.W.) Morning Herald, August 10, 1909, p. 7)
August 10–13 — A brightly lighted object is seen in various towns in New South Wales—Breadalbane, Sydney, Bathurst, Helensburgh, Sutherland, Zeehan, and Picton. Both fire balloons and the planet Mars (then in opposition) are suspected, as well as Venus and Jupiter, which are in conjunction. A pair of lights are repeatedly seen in Perth, Western Australia, and its suburbs. (“ The Mysterious Light,” Goulburn (N.S.W.) Evening Penny Post, August 14, 1909, p. 2; “ The Lights in the Sky,” Goulburn (N.S.W.) Evening Penny Post, August 17, 1909, p. 1)
August 13 — 11:00 p.m. Residents of Glen Innes, New South Wales, see an object like a balloon moving to the north. Through a telescope, the object looks like an inverted top. The lower portion is lighted, and as it revolves, a small light turns on the land beneath. It continues drifting northward. (“ Is It a Balloon?” The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, N.S.W.), August 16, 1909, p. 8; Bill Chalker, The Oz Files, Duffy and Snellgrove, 1996, p. 31; Clark III 66; Clark IV 90)
August 15 — Night. After several nights of watching mysterious lights, residents of Bulli, New South Wales, observe one of the objects through a telescope. They claim to see a group of gigantic creatures attempting to “signal to the earth.” One is trying to jump off, but clouds intervene and the light apparently goes away. (“ Mysterious Lights,” Adelaide (S.A.) Advertiser, August 19, 1909, p. 4; “ Other Worlds Than Ours,” Adelaide (S.A.) Chronicle, August 21, 1909, p. 38; Brett Holman, “ Scareships over Australia — II,” Airminded, October 23, 2010; Clark III 66–67; Clark IV 90–91)
August 18 — 2:30 a.m. Four men (Capt. Edward P. Sisson, Ernest T. Newton, Prentice Lanphear, and Edward M. Knapp) at the Coast Guard life-saving station on the south side of Fishers Island, New York, see a winged airship 60 feet long and 20 feet wide. Moving swiftly against the wind, it moves in from the northeast, its engines whirring and a dazzling white light at its head. Two dark figures can be seen in the center of the object. Visible for 3 minutes, the object moves off to the west. (“ Aeroplane over Fishers Island,” New London (Conn.) Day, August 29, 1909, p. 9; “Fishers Islanders See Big Aeroplane,” Providence (R.I.) Journal, August 19, 1909, p. 1; Joseph Trainor, “The New England Airship Invasion of 1909,” Fortean Studies 1 (1994): 59–70; Clark III 1164; Clark IV 1339)
August 22 — Evening. Residents of Upper Montclair, New Jersey, watch a mystery airplane that emits a large puff of smoke. It descends and flies off to the north. (“ Airship over Montclair,” New York Times, August 24, 1909, p. 2; Clark III 1164; Clark IV 1339)
August 24 — An airship circles twice above the city of Tallinn, Estonia, before it disappears over the Gulf of Finland. (Dagens Nyheter (Stockholm, Sweden), August 25, 1909; John A. Keel, “ Mystery Aeroplanes of the 1930s, Part 1,” Flying Saucer Review 16, no. 3 (May/June 1970): 10, 11; Clark III 1163; Clark IV 1337)
September — 7:30 p.m. E. B. Hanna of South Windham, Connecticut, watches a high-flying, meandering “searchlight” along Windham Center Road for about an hour. After heading toward him, it changes direction and moves southward. (“What Mr. Hanna Saw May Have Been the Worcester Airship,” Willimantic (Conn.) Chronicle, December 14, 1909, p. 8; Clark III 1165; Clark IV 1339)
September 1 — 4:30 p.m. A cigar-shaped object is seen maneuvering at Gore, New Zealand, gradually disappearing to the northeast. (“ In the Air,” Southland Times, September 2, 1909, p. 5; “ Gore Mystery Solved,” Southland Times, September 4, 1909, p. 5)
September 3 — 9:00 a.m. Several hundred residents of Bloomingdale, Indiana, see a “dirigible balloon” pass over the city for 15 minutes. The car beneath the gas bag is plainly visible. (“ Sights Strange Airship,” Indianapolis Star, September 4, 1909, p. 5; Clark III 1163; Clark IV 1339)
September 20 — During the opposition of Mars, astronomer Eugène Antoniadi uses the 83cm aperture telescope at Meudon Observatory in Paris, France, to observe Mars. He sees no canals. The outstanding photos of Mars taken at the new Baillaud dome at the Pic du Midi Observatory in the French Pyrenees also bring formal discredit to the Martian canal theory, and the notion of canals begins to fall out of favor. Around this time, spectroscopic analysis also begins to show that no water is present in the Martian atmosphere. (Wikipedia, “ Martian canals”)
September 24 — An object similar to a Parseval airship flies low over Gräsön [now Hindersön island] and Östhammar, Uppsala, Sweden, moving from northeast to west. Later, a winged object passes over the Slottsskogen park in Gothenburg, Sweden, at an altitude of 330 feet. (John A. Keel, “ Mystery Aeroplanes of the 1930s, Part 1,” Flying Saucer Review 16, no. 3 (May/June 1970): 10, 11; Clark III 1163; Clark IV 1337)
September 30 — Evening. A balloon “supposed to be from Chicago” passes over Edinburgh, Indiana. Its anchor somehow gets entangled in high-tension wires of the traction station for the Indianapolis, Columbus, and Southern interurban rail. It moves south to Taylorsville a few minutes later, and it is so low to the ground that the occupants are able to talk to passersby. (“ Tramp Balloon Snaps Wires,” Indianapolis Star, October 1, 1909, p. 9; Clark III 1165; Clark IV 1339)
October — 10:30 p.m. Rev. Ruth Smith and some church members are riding in a wagon in La Porte, Indiana, when the horses rear and a blinding light splashes across the road. A large structure resembling two inverted bowls, separated by a row of lights, is hovering, with several phosphorescent beams extending to the ground. It is encircled in a corona of light and begins moving slowly. After 15 minutes, it blinks out. (Lore and Deneault, p. 97; Clark III 1169; Clark IV 1343)
December 13 — 10:00 p.m. A. W. Norris of Mabelvale, Arkansas, sees a bright, bobbling light moving through the air about 300 feet above him from the south. (“ Airship Flies near Little Rock, Perhaps,” Little Rock Arkansas Gazette, December 15, 1909, p. 7; Clark III 1165; Clark IV 1339–1340)
December 22 — 6:30 p.m. Many residents of Worcester, Massachusetts, see a “brilliant ray” emitted by a large black object 1,000 feet high in the southwestern sky. After circling over the town, the object heads to the west, where it is seen over Marlboro. It returns to Worcester between 7:00 and 7:30 p.m., flying at low altitude and sporting a searchlight. One policeman thinks he sees enormous wings; others detect one or two figures inside. The airship is attributed to a Worcester businessman named Wallace E. Tillinghast, who has told the Boston Herald on December 12 that he has invented a heavier-than-air monoplane and has made more than 100 test flights at night to Boston and New York City. But Tillinghast never offers his aircraft for public viewing, and people gradually realize it is a hoax. (“Tells of Flight 30 Miles in Air,” Boston Herald, December 13, 1909, p. 1; “ Tillinghast to His Story Clings,” Berkshire (Mass.) Eagle, December 14, 1909, p. 2; “ Sailed over the Harbor: Unknown Airship Makes a Flight in Night,” Boston Globe, December 20, 1909, p. 1; “Worcester Agape at Airship Lights,” Boston Herald, December 23, 1909, p. 1; “ Airship Seen in Two Cities,” Boston Globe, December 23, 1909, p. 1; “ Airship Flies High above Worcester,” New York Times, December 23, 1909, p. 1; “ Worcester Palpitating: All Excitement Today over That Airship,” Boston Globe, December 23, 1909, pp. 1, 4; “ Airship Is Just Venus,” Boston Globe, December 24, 1909, pp. 1, 2; Thomas E. Bullard, The Airship File, The Author, 1982, pp. 270–279; Joseph Trainor, “The New England Airship Invasion of 1909,” Fortean Studies 1 (1994): 59–70; Robert E. Bartholomew, “ Two Mass Delusions in New England,” New England Skeptical Society, April 1998; Stephen Whalen and Robert E. Bartholomew, “ The Great New England Airship Hoax of 1909,” New England Quarterly 75, no. 3 (September 2002) :466–476; Hilary Evans and Robert E. Bartholomew, Outbreak!, Anomalist, 2009, pp. 483–486; Clark III 1165; Clark IV 1139)
December 23 — 6:00 p.m. Charles F. Flynt and several other people in Augusta, Maine, see a brilliantly lighted object moving from northeast to southwest when he is leaving his office at the newspaper. It is balloon- shaped, taller than it is wide. They watch it until it almost disappears. Flynt sees it again about one hour later near his residence on East Crescent Street. Flashes of light, apparently moving up and down, come from the object as it gradually settles down around Betsy Howard Hill. It swings around in the sky and moves in a different direction before it disappears again to the southwest, perhaps as far away as Lewiston. Some observers claim to see two wings and two lights, one in the rear and another shining on the wings. Horace E. Bowditch thinks it is diamond-shaped. (“ Strange Object Passes over Augusta Early Thursday Evening,” Augusta Daily Kennebec Journal, December 24, 1909, p. 9; Clark III 1165; Clark IV 1339)
December 23 — 6:00–10:00 p.m. An airship is seen flying over Worcester, Massachusetts, and several nearby towns. Thousands of residents pour into the streets, bringing Worcester to a temporary standstill. P. D. Donahue of Baltic, Connecticut, says he could see two men in the vessel. After a sighting in Willimantic, Connecticut, the mayor says there is “no doubt but that it was an airship.” Thousands of citizens of Boston, Massachusetts, and neighboring communities see an airship with lights flying at an altitude of around 400 feet. Alex Randall of Revere reports wings, tail, and propeller, but other observers only see a cylindrical shape at most. C. D. Rawson of Worcester later claims he had attached small lanterns and a reflector to the legs of large owls and was responsible for the sightings. (“Skyship of Mystery Flies above Boston,” Boston Journal, December 24, 1909, p.1; “Mysterious Air Craft Circles about Boston for Nearly Six Hours,” Boston Herald, December 24, 1909, p. 1; “ Reporter Thinks He Found Home of Aeroplane,” Meriden (Conn.) Journal, December 24, 1909, p. 5; “ Airship Is Just Venus,” Boston Globe, December 24, 1909, pp. 1, 2; “ Airship Story Worries Them,” Boston Globe, December 26, 1909, p. 14; “Airship Owl Is Worcester Tale,” Boston Herald, December 26, 1909, p. 15; “ UFOs an Old Question,” Worcester (Mass.) Daily Telegram, December 23, 1966; Joseph Trainor, “The New England Airship Invasion of 1909,” Fortean Studies 1 (1994): 59–70; Clark III 1165; Clark IV 1339)
December 24 — Night. Thousands of people in Boston again watch the twin lights of a supposed airship ascending and descending in the sky. (“ Certain As the Stars: Airship Again on Route,” Boston Globe, December 25, 1909, pp. 1–2; Clark III 1165; Clark IV 1339)
December 24 — In Providence, Rhode Island, author H. P. Lovecraft sees what people are claiming is Tillinghast’s airplane bearing a powerful searchlight, but he identifies it as the planet Venus. (“City Is Airship Mad,” Providence (R.I.) Journal, December 25, 1909, p. 2; “Providence Men See Searchlight in Sky,” Providence (R.I.) Journal, December 25, 1909, p. 14; “Venus and the Public Eye,” Providence (R.I.) Sunday Journal, December 26, 1909, Sec. 2, p. 5; H. P. Lovecraft, Collected Essays, Volume 3: Science, ed. S. T. Joshi, Hippocampus, 2005, p. 99; Joseph Trainor, “The New England Airship Invasion of 1909,” Fortean Studies 1 (1994): 59–70; Clark III 1165; Clark IV 1339)
1936
February 14 — 6:00 p.m. During a blizzard in Cody, Wyoming, residents hear the roar of an airplane engine circling the town several times. There is silence for an hour, then the sound returns at 7:00 p.m. The airport sets up flares to guide the plane in, but the sounds fade and no explanation for the incident can be found. (“ Mystery Plane Battles Storm,” Portland Oregonian, February 15, 1936, p. 1; “ Plane Still Mystery,” Portland Oregonian, February 18, 1936, p. 1; Clark III 1174; Clark IV 1348)
August 17 — A metallic disc with a diameter of 33–40 feet is seen flying soundlessly near Venice, Italy. It has windows and alternating white and red lights. Two fighters from a nearby air base attempt to intercept it but cannot reach it. After maneuvering for an hour and passing above Mestre, Veneto, it appears more like a torpedo-shaped object. Two other smaller, domed discs are also seen following it. A report on the incident is sent to Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano. Possible meteor. (Peter M. Millman, “ Meteor News: Observations of Persistent Trains Made in Italy,” Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada 30 (1936): 369–371; Good Need, p. 12; Roberto Pinotti and Alfredo Lissoni, Gli “X-Files” del Nazifascismo, 2001)
Fall — Before 12:00 midnight. Louie R. Lindblad and five companions from Texarkana, Arkansas, are fox hunting in Bowie County, Texas [around the current site of the Red River Army Depot] when they observe numerous star-like objects in a circular formation. Occasionally a light would fly across the circle and take up another position until they all seem to relocate. They watch the display for about 30–40 minutes. (L. R. Lindblad, “ The Night the Stars Changed Places,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 150 (August 1980): 12)
October 10 — 4:15 a.m. Capt. Mario Rossi, flight instructor at the airfield at Orbetello, Grosseto, Italy, is flying a Savoia-Marchetti SM.62 at 12,465 feet over Talamone, Italy, when he sees an unusual light ahead of his plane. He follows the light, which is at a slightly higher altitude and moving at nearly 440 mph. Rossi loses it after flying into a cloud for 12 minutes and finding himself over Elba. (Ernesto Thayaht, “ Three Sightings in Italy,” Flying Saucer Review 1, no. 3 (July/Aug. 1955): 6; 1Pinotti 15–16; Patrick Gross, “ ACUFO,” September 24, 2023)
October 15 — Night. Holger Berg and another worker at the Civilian Conservation Corps in Eklutna, Alaska, are walking south toward Anchorage when the see a light approaching them from the south. It is attached to a cigar-shaped object embedded in a blue-green haze and making a strange buzzing noise. As the object passes directly overhead, they notice it actually has a triangular shape and multicolored lights on its tail end. Frightened, they dive into a nearby snowbank then run back to Eklutna. (National UFO Reporting Center, “ NUFORC UFO Sighting 16166,” February 5, 2001; Marler 64–66; “ Eyewitness Holger Berg Talks about His 1936 Sighting of a Cigar-Shaped UFO in Eklutna, Alaska,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, January 10, 2024)
Winter — Robert Damion, an astronomer of Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France, who has a private observatory in the Alps, claims that for several nights a “certain portion of the sky in the vicinity of Mars” has been lit up with a deep bluish tint for 40 seconds each time. He is convinced that Mars is trying to signal Earth. (“ Strange Light from Mars Called Signal to Earth,” Ogden (Utah) Standard-Examiner, March 11, 1936, p. 12)
1937
January — A man who later becomes an administrator in a Missouri state agency chases a disc- shaped object in his private aircraft over Van Buren, Missouri. (Harley D. Rutledge, Project Identification: The First Scientific Field Study of UFO Phenomena, Prentice-Hall, 1981, p. 213)
January 1 — Noon. Pilot Howard S. Behr is flying a Curtiss-Wright CW-15 Sedan at 3,000 feet over Virginia on his way to Raleigh, North Carolina. Suddenly he sees an object beginning to cross his flight path about 1,000 feet below him. It looks like a gondola, gun-metal gray in color, with both of its ends turned up. He estimates it is about 35–40 feet long and traveling at 150 mph. It moves off to his left and disappears. (Jerome Clark, Strange Skies: Pilot Encounters with UFOs, Citadel, 2003, p. 6; Patrick Gross, “ ACUFO,” September 24, 2023)
January 4 — New ghost flier sightings around the fortress at Boden, Norrbotten, Sweden, have prompted Gen. Pontus Reuterswärd to alert Minister of Defence Janne Nilsson about the possibility of foreign spies. (Swords 363)
Late January — Ghost fliers return to Västerbotten, Sweden. A light is seen wandering near the horizon east of Umeå. A light brighter than a headlight is reported from a community near Dorotea. A light similar to position lights on an aircraft flies over a village outside Stensele. (Swords 363)
February 11 — MP Elof Lindberg demands in the Swedish Parliament that a commission with civil experts, not military, should investigate the ghost flier intrusions. He suspects the military has embellished the reports to direct more resources to the northern region and to the Air Force in general. (Svenska Dagbladet (Stockholm), February 14, 1937, p. 14; Swords 363)
February 11 — 9:00 p.m. The crew of the fishing vessel Fram is departing Kvalsvik, Norway, when they notice a “large aeroplane” with red and green glowing lights resting on top of the water. The captain turns the boat around to offer assistance, but the object’s lights go out and it is cloaked in a “cloud of smoke” and vanishes. (John A. Keel, “ Mystery Aeroplanes of the 1930s, Part IV,” Flying Saucer Review 17, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1971): 22; Strange Company 11)
May 19 — Lindberg’s request for a civilian ghost flier investigation is rejected by Swedish Minister of Defence Janne Nilsson, who explains that no new facts have surfaced and few new observations have been reported. (Swords 363)
May 30 — Amateur astronomer Latimer J. Wilson of Nashville, Tennessee, is observing Mars through a 12-inch reflector when he sees a series of intermittent bright flashes across the south polar cap. A line of tiny white spots seems to extend across the cap, some coalescing to swell in a brilliant white spot that quickly becomes yellow, then red-yellow, the “phenomenon passing from left to right across the polar cap.” (Latimer J. Wilson, “ Apparent Flashes Seen on Mars,” Popular Astronomy 45 (1937): 430; Walter H. Haas, “ Flashes on Mars Observed in 1937 and Some Random Remarks,” The Strolling Astronomer 45, no. 1 (Winter 2003): 43–45)
Summer — An object allegedly falls from the sky in Langenau [now Czernica, Poland] into a field belonging to Eva Braun’s family and is retrieved by German soldiers. It supposedly winds up in Wernher von Braun’s laboratory, but the story is probably mythical. (Poland 116–117)
September — Tiffany Thayer publishes the first issue of the Fortean Society Magazine (retitled Doubt in 1944) in New York City. (Fortean Society Magazine 1, no. 1 (September 1937); Clark III 516; Clark IV 565)
September — Electrical engineer Grote Reber builds one of the first radio telescopes in his back yard in Wheaton, Illinois. It consists of a parabolic dish of sheet metal 30 feet in diameter tuned to a radio receiver 25 feet above the dish. Although he does not confirm Jansky’s 1933 discovery of radio waves in space, he does so with his third model in 1938. (Wikipedia, “ Grote Reber”; Grote Reber, “Cosmic Static,” Astrophysical Journal 91 (June 1940): 621–624; John Kraus, “ The First 50 Years of Radio Astronomy, Part 2: Grote Reber and the First Radio Maps of the Sky,” Cosmic Search 4, no. 1 (1982))
September 10–12 — George Adamski’s Royal Order of Tibet organizes a festival in Laguna Beach, California, dramatizing the “teachings of the universal masters” and a round-table discussion focusing on the “present day needs in unifying all mankind.” (“ Laguna Beach, 1932–1940: From Temple to Ranch,” The Adamski Case, September 27, 2019)
1938
1938 — The Ford Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation begin contributing large amounts of money to the Council on Foreign Relations. They create various Committees on Foreign Relations throughout the country, which later become governed by the American Committees on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C., funded by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation. Influential men are chosen in several cities and are brought together for discussions in their own communities as well as participating in an annual conference in New York. These local committees serve to influence local leaders and shape public opinion to build support for the council’s policies, while also acting as “useful listening posts” through which the Council and US government can “sense the mood of the country.” (Wikipedia, “ Council on Foreign Relations”)
1938 — Dusk. A group of children in Silver City, New Mexico, watch a gray-skinned, gray-suited, human- like figure floating at treetop level. He seems to be wearing a cape and a wide belt that has points sticking out of it. (Clark III 777; Clark IV 858)
Harvey L. Sperry, 13, sees a white, vapor-like object moving at 5–10 mph at less than 100 feet altitude from north to south in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Its rim seems to be “composed of two interwoven parts revolving and moving in opposite directions.” (Lore and Deneault, p. 136; Clark III 1176)
February — Raymond A. Palmer is hired as editor of Amazing Stories magazine, owned by Ziff-Davis in Chicago, Illinois. He immediately sets out to enliven the periodical, which is close to folding. Concentrating on “space opera” stories, he expands its size to more than 200 pages and encourages readers to contribute content. (Wikipedia, “ Raymond A. Palmer”; Richard Toronto, War over Lemuria: Richard Shaver, Ray Palmer, and the Strangest Chapter of 1940s Science Fiction, McFarland, 2013, pp. 41–42)
Summer — Midnight. Artist Malcolm B. Perry sees what looks like a Navy blimp moving east to west over Zomerville, Massachusetts. It has apparent portholes in the sides, and he can see the silhouette of someone looking at him. Other figures are taking turns looking through portholes. It disappears below some low clouds. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 20–21; “ 1938: Perry’s Alien,” UFO Roundup 5, no. 37 (September 4, 2000); Clark III 265; Clark IV 305)
July 25 — 11:30 p.m. A lieutenant and his aide see a strong light coming from a hovering lens-shaped object near Guadalajara, Spain. It is over 35 feet in diameter and 15 feet high. A platform with two moving figures is lowered from underneath. A blue beam from the object shines on the witnesses, who feel a sudden chill. The platform rises back up, and the object glows with an intense white light and flies away. (Vicente- Juan Ballester Olmos, “ Survey of Iberian Landings,” in Charles Bowen, ed., UFOs in Two Worlds, special issue of FSR, August 1971, p. 46; Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos, A Catalogue of 200 Type I UFO Events in Spain and Portugal, CUFOS, 1976, p. 2; Clark III 265; Clark IV 305)
October — Dusk. A man is in a cornfield with his father near Alger, Ohio, when an object moves up and hovers about 500 feet above the field. The tractor motor stops running. The object is about 100 feet in diameter and has a ring of pulsating, multicolored lights around it. Soon it makes a right-angle turn and vanishes in the sky, after which they get the tractor working again. (Michael D. Swords, “ The Timmerman Files,” IUR 26, no. 4 (Winter 2001–2002): 14)
October 22 — Italian Lt. Col. Mario Pezzi reaches a record altitude of 56,850 feet in a Caproni Ca.161. It is still the highest a manned, propeller-driven biplane has gone. (Wikipedia, “ Mario Pezzi (aviator)”)
October 30 — 8:00 p.m. “The War of the Worlds” episode of the American radio drama anthology series The Mercury Theatre on the Air, directed and narrated by actor and future filmmaker Orson Welles, is an adaptation of H. G. Wells’s novel The War of the Worlds (1898). It is performed and broadcast live in New York City as a Halloween episode over the Columbia Broadcasting System radio network. Some listeners hear only a portion of the broadcast and, in the tension and anxiety prior to World War II, mistake it for a genuine news broadcast. Thousands of them share the false reports with others or call the media or police to ask if the broadcast is real. Many newspapers assume that the large number of phone calls and the scattered reports of listeners rushing about or fleeing their homes prove the existence of a mass panic, but such behavior is not widespread and the program has relatively few listeners. According to media historian Joseph W. Campbell, the most common response said to indicate a panic is calling the local newspaper or police to confirm the story or seek additional information. That, he writes, is an indicator that people are not generally panicking or hysterical. “The call volume perhaps is best understood as an altogether rational response.” Some New Jersey media and law enforcement agencies receive up to 40% more telephone calls than normal during the broadcast. In the days after the adaptation, widespread outrage is expressed in the media. The program’s news-bulletin format is described as deceptive by some newspapers and public figures, leading to an outcry against the broadcasters and calls for regulation by the FCC, which declines. Some government agencies in the US, Germany, and Russia take note of how segments of the population are easily manipulated into thinking fiction is fact. According to Annie Jacobsen, the confusion allegedly inspires Joseph Stalin to create a similar scenario with a fake alien crash in the US. West Windsor, New Jersey, where Grovers Mill (the scene of the Martian invasion) is located, commemorated the 50th anniversary of the broadcast in 1988 with four days of festivities including art and planetarium shows, a panel discussion, a parade, burial of a time capsule, a dinner dance, film festivals devoted to H. G. Wells and Orson Welles, and the dedication of a bronze monument to the fictional Martian landings. (Wikipedia, “ The War of the Worlds (1938 radio drama)”; Hadley Cantril, The Invasion from Mars, Princeton University, 1940; John Gosling, Waging the War of the Worlds: A History of the 1938 Radio Broadcast and Resulting Panic, Including the Original Script, McFarland, 2009, pp. 19–98; Jacobsen, Area 51, pp. 22, 211; Robert E. Bartholomew and Benjamin Radford, The Martians Have Landed! McFarland, 2012, pp. 16–22; Graff ix–xiv; Eghigian, After, pp. 44–45)
December 17 — The process of nuclear fission is discovered by chemist Otto Hahn and his assistant Fritz Strassmann at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institut für Chemie in Berlin, Germany, producing barium by bombarding uranium with neutrons. (Atomic Heritage Foundation, “ Atomic Timeline”)
1939
1939? — Sisters Lucile and Allene Holt, daughters of Rev. Turner Hamilton Holt, claim they are separately told by their father, a cousin of Secretary of State Cordell Hull, that Hull personally showed Holt a wrecked circular craft of some kind and glass jars holding unknown creatures. These are stored in a sub-basement of the US Capitol building in Washington, D.C. Both sisters are told the story when Holt is a minister at the Shenandoah Christian Church in Greenwich, Ohio, before 1947, but researchers can find no confirmation in any of Hull’s papers or memoirs. (William E. Jones and Eloise G. Watson, “ Pre–World War II ‘Creature’ Retrieval?” IUR 26, no. 4 (Winter 2001–2002): 6–9, 12)
January 13 — The process of nuclear fission is explained theoretically in Stockholm, Sweden, by Lise Meitner and her nephew Otto Robert Frisch, who compares it to the biological fission of living cells. (Atomic Heritage Foundation, “ Atomic Timeline”)
January 25 — A Columbia University team conducts the first nuclear fission experiment in the US in the basement of Pupin Hall on the south side of 120th Street in New York City. The experiment involves placing uranium oxide inside an ionization chamber and irradiating it with neutrons, then measuring the energy released. The results confirm that fission is occurring and hints strongly that it is the isotope uranium-235 that is undergoing fission. (Richard Rhodes, The Making of the Atomic Bomb, Simon & Schuster, 1986, pp. 267–270)
January 26 —The Carnegie Institution of Washington holds a press conference at the Fifth Washington Conference on Theoretical Physics in D.C. to announce the discovery of nuclear fission. (Atomic Heritage Foundation, “ Atomic Timeline”)
Late summer — Night. A girl sleeping in the back yard of her home in Fort Worth, Texas, is awakened by a whirring noise. She sees a small object approaching from the east at an altitude of 20–30 feet. When it gets close, it descends to the level of her bed and hovers briefly at the foot, so close that she can touch it. It has the shape of an “old-time Mississippi steamboat with a deck around the bottom.” Strata or veins run through it, and a soft, blue-green glow surrounds it. It is 3 feet around and 1 foot high. It rises suddenly and disappears. (“ Woman Says Strange Object Flew by Her Bed in Yard,” Fort Worth (Tex.) Star-Telegram, March 24, 1950, p. 23; Clark III 1176; Clark IV 1350)
Early August — George Pârvu and four other schoolchildren are playing in an open field in Armășești, Romania, when they see a bright light in the sky moving in a zigzag fashion. It circles a few times then descends in their direction, getting bigger and brighter. The egg-shaped object hovers silently at an altitude of 230–260 feet. Suddenly it becomes a dull coppery color and lands about 140 feet away. Two of the children flee but Pârvu and two others remain. The bottom of the object has a ring of small turbine blades that look like paddles in a water mill. It seems to be 16 feet high. A hatch opens and two little men about 4 feet tall come out, dressed in gray diving suits. They walk toward the children, one of them holding a rectangular box pointing at the ground. The children approach them, holding hands, but when they are about 23 feet away the other man points a thick stick-like device at them and they are no longer able to move forward. The little men bow in their direction, waist deep, then turn around and reenter the object, which takes off. The children find a circular area of yellowed grass where the object had been. Pârvu feels energized, but one of the other boys is temporarily sick. Pârvu encounters what he perceives to be the same object in August 1944, August 1949, and the summer of 1954 (in the center of Bucharest). (George Pârvu, La voia destinului, CNI Coresi, 2011; Romania 124–128)
August 2 — Hungarian-American physicist Leo Szilárd writes a confidential letter to President Roosevelt, in consultation with fellow Hungarian physicists Edward Teller and Eugene Wigner. He has persuaded Albert Einstein to sign it as well. The letter warns that Germany might develop atomic bombs and suggests that the United States should start its own nuclear program. It results in the establishment of research into nuclear fission by the US government, and ultimately to the creation of the Manhattan Project. Delayed by the outbreak of war in Europe, the letter is eventually hand-delivered to Roosevelt by economist Alexander Sachs on October 11. Roosevelt gives the letter to his aide, Brig. Gen. Edwin “Pa” Watson with the instruction: “Pa, this requires action!” (Wikipedia, “ Einstein–Szilard letter”; Atomic Heritage Foundation, “ Atomic Timeline”)
October — An egg-shaped object with 8 spots like portholes is observed through an astronomical reflector telescope at Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. (Richard H. Hall, From Airships to Arnold, UFO Research Coalition, 2000, p. 17)
October 21 — After reading Szilárd’s letter, Roosevelt creates an Advisory Committee on Uranium, which meets for the first time at the National Bureau of Standards in Washington, D.C. The committee consists of NBS Director Lyman James Briggs, Army Lt. Col. Keith F. Adamson, and Navy Cmdr. Gilbert C. Hoover. It is attended by physicists Fred L. Mohler from the National Bureau of Standards and Richard Brooke Roberts from the Carnegie Institution of Washington, and Szilárd, Wigner, and Teller. Einstein is invited but declines to attend. Adamson is skeptical about the prospect of building an atomic bomb, but is willing to authorize $6,000 (equivalent to $107,000 in 2018 dollars) for the purchase of uranium and graphite for Szilárd and Enrico Fermi’s experiments into producing a nuclear chain reaction at Columbia University. (Wikipedia, “ S-1 Executive Committee”)
November 13 — 7:00 a.m. A building foreman is driving past a deserted farm near Brockworth, Gloucester, England, when he hears a high-pitched humming sound. He watches a gray, bell-shaped object hovering about 20 feet above a field 100 feet away. He estimates it is about 25 feet across. Dark window-like patches are visible on the side. A “curtain” of blue-green light emanates from the underside. After about two minutes, the green light retracts into the base of the object. The object then tilts to an angle of about 80° and moves away without a sound. (Jenny Randles, “ Bell-Like UFO from W.W.2,” Probe Report 3, no. 4 (April 1983): 12–14; Jenny Randles and Peter Warrington, Science and the UFOs, Basil Blackwell, 1985, p. 3; Jenny Randles, “Beam Me Up,” Fortean Times 381 (July 2019): 29–30)
1940
1940 — Astronomer Royal Harold Spencer Jones publishes Life on Other Worlds, an essay on the cosmos, the possibility of life arising, science’s tools, the development of the Earth, solar system bodies without atmospheres, the giant gas planets, Venus, Mars, the origin of solar systems, and possibilities for life beyond the solar system. (H. Spencer Jones, Life on Other Worlds, Macmillan, 1940; Michael D. Swords, “ SETI/ETI and UFOs,” JUFOS 5 (1994): 141–142)
March — George Adamski moves from Laguna Beach to a property along the Star Route in Valley Center, California, about 9 miles from where Palomar Observatory is under construction to set up a spiritual retreat. He acquires a 15-inch telescope to create an interest in astronomy. (“ Palomar Mountain, 1940–1960: From Obscurity to World Fame,” The Adamski Case, September 22, 2019)
March — US physicist John R. Dunning and colleagues at Columbia University verify the hypothesis of Danish physicist Niels Bohr that fission is more readily produced in the rare uranium-235 isotope than the abundant uranium- 238 isotope. Dunning begins investigating gaseous diffusion as a process for enriching uranium. (Atomic Heritage Foundation, “ Atomic Timeline”)
March — Otto Robert Frisch and Rudolf Peierls, two researchers at the University of Birmingham in England—who ironically have been assigned to investigate nuclear weapons by Australian physicist Mark Oliphant because, as enemy aliens in Britain, they are ineligible to participate in secret war work— issue the Frisch-Peierls memorandum. It contradicts the common thinking of the time that many tons of uranium would be needed to make a bomb, requiring delivery by ship. The calculation in the memorandum shows that a bomb might be possible using as little as 1–10 kilograms of pure uranium-235, which would be quite practical for aircraft to carry. (Wikipedia, “ Frisch–Peierls memorandum”; Atomic Heritage Foundation, “ Atomic Timeline”)
March 22 — Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Executive Order 8381, creating the three security levels for the most important documents: Restricted, Confidential, and Secret. (US President, Executive Order No. 8381, “ Defining Certain Vital Military and Naval Installations and Equipment,” March 22, 1940)
March 23 — Night. An RAF Wellington bomber flying near Cuxhaven, Germany, is shadowed by an object with a fixed searchlight about 7,500 behind it and to starboard. (Graeme Rendall, “ 80 Years Ago, the Royal Air Force Saw Flying Objects They Could Not Explain,” The Debrief, December 2, 2022)
March 24 — Night. An RAF bomber near Bremerhaven, Germany, is followed by two unidentified objects with searchlights. After 5 minutes the crew shoots at them with their machine gun and the lights go out. (Graeme Rendall, “ 80 Years Ago, the Royal Air Force Saw Flying Objects They Could Not Explain,” The Debrief, December 2, 2022)
Spring — Afternoon. Walking down a street in Hinsdale, Illinois, William T. Powers sees five disc- shaped objects in the northern sky. They are traveling together at 100–200 mph and disappear into a cloud. (Clark III 1177; Clark IV 1352)
April 10 — The first meeting of the MAUD Committee in England, established in response to the Frisch- Peierls memorandum to determine if an atomic bomb is feasible, meets in the Royal Society committee room in Burlington House, London. The original members are physicists George Paget Thomson, James Chadwick, John Cockcroft, Mark Oliphant, and Philip Burton Moon; physicists Patrick Blackett, Charles Drummond Ellis, and chemist Norman Haworth are subsequently added, along with a representative of the Director of Scientific Research at the Ministry of Aircraft Production (MAP). (Wikipedia, “ MAUD Committee”)
May — Morning. Dutch immigrant Udo Wartena is working his mining claim near the base of Boulder Mountain, Montana, when he hears a humming sound. Curious, he climbs to higher ground and sees a large silver disc, 100 feet across, hovering a short distance away. A circular stairway is let down, a man descends it, and starts walking toward Wartena, who approaches him. The man has white hair and is wearing gray overalls, a gray cap, and slippers. He asks in English if his crew can take on some water, Wartena agrees, and a hose is let down into a stream. Wartena is invited onto the craft, where he meets another white-haired man who says they are about 600 and 900 years old. The first man explains that the craft moves by using stored stellar energy. Wartena chats with them further and is subjected to an examination by an X-ray-like machine. As he is let off, the man tells him not to tell anyone about the incident. Wartena keeps that promise until right before his death in 1989. (Warren P. Aston, “The Udo Wartena Encounter, UFO Magazine, March/April 1998; “ The Udo Wartena Encounter,” Phantoms and Monsters, January 2, 2013)
Mid-May — 9:00 a.m. Lavern P. Zewiske and his father Paul are checking some recently planted corn on their farm near Fairbank, Iowa. A gray object with multiple hooked “hairs or tentacles” moving around on the bottom passes overhead at 500–1,000 feet. (“ Out of the Past,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 5, no. 5 (Oct./ Nov. 1984): 6)
May 21— President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorizes the FBI to conduct electronic surveillance and wiretapping on US spies, saboteurs, or suspicious individuals. (“ Warrantless FBI Electronic Surveillance,” US Senate, Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, Final Report, April 23, 1976, pp. 271–351)
Summer (or summer 1941) — Near St. Clair, Pennsylvania, as he is walking along a country road, young Frank Sever hears a loud noise in the nearby woods. He sees something like an “aluminum building” partly concealed in the trees. A short distance from it he sees “six small men milling about or looking for something on the ground.” Thinking they are ghosts, he runs. Later he comes back and confirms there is no building on the spot. (Clark III 265; Clark IV 305)
June — Afternoon. An anti-aircraft unit on the Isle of Hoy, Orkney Islands, Scotland, receives an alert that proves to be a false alarm. The witness, using a height-and-range finder, focuses on an unusual object in the sky. For 10 seconds he tracks an oblate spheroid moving rapidly in a horizontal path, its height recorded at 38,000 feet. (Jenny Randles and Peter Warrington, Science and the UFOs, Basil Blackwell, 1985, p. 9)
August 11 — The RAF Bomber Command issues a report on “Phenomena Connected with Enemy Night Tactics” concerning unidentifiable aircraft observed by bombing crews over the coast of Holland and the Ruhr Valley of Germany. The report suggests the sightings are either due to observer strain or German “experimental apparatus.” (Strange Company 16–17)
September 19 — English inventor Henry Tizard leads a secret delegation to Washington, D.C., to meet with Vannevar Bush and Alfred Lee Loomis of the US National Defense Research Committee to disclose the technical details of the UK’s Chain Home early warning radar stations, which have been locating incoming Luftwaffe bombers. The US shares its Navy’s longwave CXAM radar system but admit that it does not have enough transmitter power. At a subsequent meeting on October 6, Edward George Bowen and John Cockcroft reveal the cavity magnetron, a direction-finding device with an amazing power output of about 10 kilowatts at 10 centimeters. The exchange opens up channels of communication for jet engine and atomic bomb development and catalyzes Allied technological cooperation during World War II. (Wikipedia, “ Tizard Mission”; Robert Buderi, The Invention That Changed the World, Simon & Schuster, 1996)
November —The Radiation Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology officially opens, its primary mission to develop a working radar system for fighter planes. (Wikipedia, “ MIT Radiation Laboratory” ”; Robert Buderi, The Invention That Changed the World, Simon & Schuster, 1996)
1941
1941, Middletown, OH. John Bradshaw, then age 11, was doing some chores early one morning when he saw an object 40 f t. away. It had an orange-red glow underneath, no sound. It resembled a bell, with a black top. It headed toward the woods where he heard a crashing noise. A flattened area was found. (Ohio UFO Reporter)
A physicist and his wife are traveling north on US Highway 99 north of Bakersfield, California, and pull off to the side to watch a long, slender object of a blazing red, green, and yellow color moving about 8 miles east of them. It is traveling at about 50 mph at an altitude of 200-300 feet and is clearly outlined against the foothills. It seems to be several times longer than a bomber. (" Recent Sightings," APRO Bulletin, January 1957, p. 5)
Early spring - 9:00-9:30 p.m. Rev. William Guy Huffman of the Red Star Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, is summoned to an apparent airplane crash one Saturday. When he arrives at the scene, about 15 miles from town, he finds a weird-looking craft "broken and scattered all around," but smooth and rounded without edges or seams. A cockpit with a chair facing an instrument panel remains intact. Police officers, military men, and plain-clothes individuals are sifting through the wreckage. He also sees three non-human bodies about 4 feet tall with long arms, oversized heads, and large eyes. He says a prayer for them, and afterward sees someone take a photo of an alien propped up by the arms between two plainclothesmen. The following evening, he is given a copy of the photo by a member of his congregation (thought to be Garland D. Fronabarger), but he loans it later to someone who never returns it. Huffman's wife Floy reveals the story to her granddaughter, Charlette Mann, on her deathbed in 1984, who relates the story to ufologist Leonard Stringfield. (Paul Blake Smith, MO41: The Bombshell before Roswell, W&B Publishers, 2015; Clark III 343-344; Billy Booth, " 1941 Cape Girardeau, Missouri Crash," liveabout.com, February 5, 2019; Kevin Randle, " Cape Girardeau UFO Crash, 1941," A Different Perspective, December 5, 2019; Clark IV 379-380)
March — The Chain Home radars placed around the English coastline detect a formation of blips moving across the English Channel. RAF fighters are sent to intercept, but their crews see nothing and the blips fade. The radar returns are characterized as radar “angels,” invisible targets in the clear atmosphere. (David Clarke, “The Radar Angels,” Fortean Times 195 (May 2005): 36–37)
March 17 — The Western Defense Command is established as the command formation of the US Army responsible for coordinating the defense of the Pacific Coast and training soldiers prior to their deployment overseas. (Wikipedia, “ Western Defense Command”)
May — With the help of the American Legion, volunteers are recruited into the Aircraft Warning Service, the civilian arm of the Army’s Ground Observer Corps. On the east coast, the AWS is under the auspices of the Army Air Force’s 1st Interceptor Command based at Mitchel Field near Uniondale, New York. On the west coast, the AWS is under the auspices of the 4th Interceptor Command based in Riverside, California. On both coasts, observation posts, information centers, and filter centers are established. (Wikipedia, “ Aircraft Warning Service”; Project 1947, “ Aircraft Warning Service (AWS): Freeman Observation Post #52”)
June 20 — The Army Air Corps becomes the US Army Air Forces to provide the air arm greater autonomy. (Wikipedia, “ United States Army Air Forces”)
June 26 — The first draft of the final report of the MAUD Committee is written by George Paget Thomson and circulates among committee members. It concludes that an atomic bomb is feasible. Vannevar Bush receives a copy. Without the help of the MAUD Committee the Manhattan Project would have started months behind. Instead, they are able to begin thinking about how to create a bomb, not whether it is possible. (Wikipedia, “ MAUD Committee”)
June 28 — Roosevelt establishes the Office of Scientific Research and Development; Vannevar Bush is appointed director. It subsumes the National Defense Research Committee, whose Uranium Committee becomes the Uranium Section of the OSRD, soon renamed the S-1 for security reasons. To the S-1 Section, Vannevar Bush adds American physicist Samuel King Allison, Russian-American physicist Gregory Breit, American physicist Edward Condon, physicist Lloyd P. Smith, and Henry DeWolf Smyth. American physicist Ross Gunn is dropped in line with an NDRC policy not to have Army or Navy personnel in the sections. Lyman James Briggs remains the chairman, with American physicist George B. Pegram as the vice chairman. (Wikipedia, “ Office of Scientific Research and Development”)
Late June - About 5:30 p.m. Helen Michailoff and her mother are in Odessa, Ukraine, when they see a raspberry-red object slowly moving east and emitting smoke. Thinking it is a bomb, they rush to the basement, but there is no explosion. (" Out of the Past," CUFOS Associate Newsletter 4, no. 5 (Oct./Nov. 1983): 4)
July 3 — The Northrop N-1M, an experimental “flying wing” aircraft with a 38-foot wingspan, is first flown at Baker Dry Lake in the Mojave Desert, California, by test pilot Vance Breese for several hundred yards. He reports that the aircraft can fly no higher than 5 feet. After this is corrected, the N-1M takes another 28 flights through November. (Wikipedia, “ Northrop N-1M”)
July 11 — Roosevelt establishes the Office of the Coordinator of Information, a forerunner of the Office for Strategic Services, headed by lawyer William J. Donovan. It is tasked with collecting and analyzing national security information. (Wikipedia, “ Office of the Coordinator of Information”)
September - Night. Seaman Mar Doroba, Anthony Kornilak, and others on the British troopship SS Pulaski in the Mozambique Channel see a "strange globe glowing with greenish light, about half the size of the full moon." They watch it for more than an hour before it disappears. (Strange Company 17; Lore and Deneault, pp. 130-131; Clark III 501; Clark IV 551)
October 2 — German test pilot Heini Dittmar attains an unofficial airspeed record of 623 mph in a rocket-powered Messerschmidt Me 163A at Peenemünde, Germany. (Wikipedia, “ Heini Dittmar”)
Early October - A possible UFO crash/retrieval takes place during preparations for the US Army's Carolina maneuvers in south central North Carolina (possibly in or around the Uwharrie National Forest). The sketchy story is based on the participation of Pvt. Guy B. Simeone, who relates a few details about a crash and dead "little people" to his family in a letter and phone call. Walter N. Webb reports on his investigation of the incident in 1996. (Walter N. Webb, " An Anecdotal Report of a UFO Crash/Retrieval in 1941: Part 1," IUR 21, no. 4 (Winter 1996): 20-28; Walter N. Webb, " An Anecdotal Report of a UFO Crash/Retrieval in 1941: Part 2," IUR 22, no. 1 (Spring 1997): 28-32)
October 9 — Roosevelt approves an atomic weapons program after meeting with Office of Scientific Research and Development Director Vannevar Bush and Vice President Henry A. Wallace. On Bush’s advice, Roosevelt chooses the US Army to run the project rather than the Navy, although the Navy has shown far more interest in the field, and is already conducting research into atomic energy for powering ships. Bush’s negative experiences with the Navy has convinced him that it would not listen to his advice and cannot handle large-scale construction projects. (Cameron Reed, “ Manhattan Project Mystery,” Forum on the History of Physics, Spring 2012)
Early December — Army Lt. Walter Hanson and his wife are stranded in the Georgia countryside when they run out of gas. They see a star-like object that swiftly moves in circles counterclockwise. Suddenly it stops and takes off obliquely. (Strange Company 17–18; Lore and Deneault, p. 140)
December 8 — Around noon. Red Cross volunteer Yoshio Taketa is resting on the lawn of the Kuhio School in Honolulu, Hawaii, with 9 others. The smoke is still rising from the Pearl Harbor attack to the west. One of them notices a round white object at about 20,000 feet overhead. It floats away slowly. (Clark III 501; Clark IV 550)
December 18 — With the US at war, funding for an atomic bomb is now available in amounts undreamed of the year before. At the S-1 Section meeting, American physicist Ernest Lawrence asks for $400,000 for electromagnetic separation, and the section immediately recommends granting it. MIT physicist Karl Taylor Compton is allocated $340,000 for nuclear reactor research at Columbia and Princeton, and $278,000 at the University of Chicago. Another $500,000 is earmarked for raw materials. His proposed schedule is no less breathtaking: to produce a nuclear chain reaction by July 1942, and an atomic bomb by January 1945. In January 1942, he creates the Metallurgical Laboratory, centralizing the work at the University of Chicago. (Wikipedia, “ S-1 Executive Committee”)
December 22 -Electrical engineer George Bogner stops his car at the corner of St. Agnes Avenue and Pleasant Street in Utica, New York, to watch a round, metallic object speed silently across the sky. He estimates it at 100 feet in diameter and moving at 300 mph. (Strange Company 18; Lore and Deneault, pp. 140-141)
1942
Naval Intelligence Officer Bernard M. Baruch Jr. develops a submarine reporting network, Communication Instruction for Reporting Enemy Sightings on which CIRVIS is modeled in 1948. (US Naval War College, Master Script for “Communication Instruction for Reporting Enemy Sightings,” undated; NICAP, “ Capt. Bernard Baruch Jr.”)
Night. Sgt. Dirk Wylie [pen name of writer Joseph “Harry” Dockweiler] is serving in a military police company on an “island outpost” off the southern coast of the US. While on duty, he sees a glowing object like a flare traveling horizontally over the sea. After 30–60 seconds, it descends into the water and disappears. About 2 minutes later it reappears, rising vertically until it climbs out of sight. (Dirk Wylie, “ Space Ships?” Amazing Stories 20, no. 2 (May 1946): 151; Dolan, USO1, 112–113)
1:00 a.m. A woman returning home in Prouvy, Nord, France, finds herself face-to-face with three small entities with large round heads and short beards. They have large, luminous yellow eyes and wear tight, one-piece suits with a metallic sheen that leave only their faces exposed. The beings stare at her without moving, so she goes inside to get her husband, but by the time they return the entities have gone. (Center for UFO Studies, HUMCAT Index 1940-1949, p. 3; Patrick Gross, URECAT, September 26, 2007; Clark III 265; Clark IV 305)
February 24-25 - The Battle of Los Angeles takes place, a rumored enemy attack and subsequent anti-aircraft barrage over Los Angeles, California. Air raid sirens sound throughout Los Angeles County on the night of February 24. A total blackout is ordered, and thousands of air raid wardens are summoned to their positions. At 3:16 a.m., the 37th Coast Artillery Brigade begins firing .50 caliber machine guns and 12.8-pound anti-aircraft shells into the air at reported aircraft; more than 1,400 shells are eventually fired. Pilots of the 4th Interceptor Command are alerted, but their aircraft remain grounded. The artillery fire continues sporadically until 4:14 a.m. The "all clear" is sounded and the blackout order lifted at 7:21 a.m. Several buildings and vehicles are damaged by shell fragments, and five civilians die as an indirect result of the anti-aircraft fire. Three are killed in car accidents in the ensuing chaos and two die of heart attacks attributed to the stress of the hour-long action. The incident is front-page news along the Pacific coast and earns some mass media coverage. Within hours of the end of the air raid, Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox holds a press conference, saying the entire incident was a false alarm due to anxiety and "war nerves." Knox's comments are followed by statements from the Army on February 26 that reflect General George C. Marshall's belief that the incident was caused by commercial airplanes used as a psychological warfare campaign to generate panic. Some contemporary press outlets suspect a cover-up. Rep. Leland M. Ford (R-Calif.) calls for a congressional investigation, saying, "none of the explanations so far offered removed the episode from the category of `complete mystification' ... this was either a practice raid, or a raid to throw a scare into 2,000,000 people, or a mistaken identity raid, or a raid to lay a political foundation to take away Southern California's war industries." The Japanese government, after the war ended, declares that they had flown no airplanes over Los Angeles during the war. In 1983, the US Office of Air Force History attributes the event to a case of "war nerves" triggered by a lost weather balloon and exacerbated by stray flares and shell bursts from adjoining batteries. A number of fake documents about this incident have been circulated by Timothy S. Cooper. (Wikipedia, " Battle of Los Angeles"; NICAP, " Battle of Los Angeles"; "No Bombs Dropped, No Planes Shot Down," Los Angeles Herald Express, February 25, 1942, p. 1; " Army Says Alarm Real," Los Angeles Times, February 26, 1942, pp. 1, A; " Stimson Says 15 Planes over City," Los Angeles Times, February 27, 1942, pp. 1, 5; " Japanese Carry War to California Coast," Life, March 9, 1942, pp. 19-23; US Office of the Chief of Military History, "History of the Western Defense Command, 17 March 1941-30 September 1945," five ms. vols., Appendix no. 5, "Chronology of Enemy Operations on Pacific Coast of Continental United States," pp. 25-27; History, Fourth Anti-Aircraft Command, January 9, 1942, to July 1, 1945, pp. 112-124; Wesley Frank Craven and James Lea Cate, The Army Air Forces in World War II: Vol. 1, Plans and Early Operations, Office of Air Force History, 1948, pp. 283-286; Lore and Deneault, pp. 74-87; Patrick Gross, " Los Angeles, February 25, 1942"; Good Above, pp. 15-17; Good Need, pp. 17, 31; Strange Company 19-22; Robert Wood, "` Leaked' Documents Shed New Light on Outcome of `Battle of Los Angeles,'" MUFON UFO Journal, no. 506 (June 2010): 3-7, 18-19; Brett Holman, " New Light on the Battle of Los Angeles," Airminded, April 20, 2011; " Battle of Los Angeles on 2-23-1942 - Ray Angler, Air Raid Warden," in Ufology: A Primer in Audio, 1938-1959, November 21, 2013; Lorraine Boissoneault, " The Great Los Angeles Air Raid Terrified Citizens-Even Though No Bombs Were Dropped," Smithsonian magazine, January 19, 2018; Clark III 1176-1177; David Marler, " The Battle of LA UFO Incident," OpenMindsTV YouTube channel, October 9, 2018; William Mills Tompkins, Selected by Extraterrestrials, Volume 2, CreateSpace, 2020, pp. 19-24; " David Marler Talks about the Battle of LA, a UFO Story," KRQE YouTube channel, November 30, 2023; Clark IV 1350-1351)
February 26 — Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall writes Roosevelt that as many as 15 unknown commercial aircraft, flying at various speeds up to 200 mph and at elevations from 9,000 to 18,000 feet, were responsible for the Battle of Los Angeles. (presidentialufo.com, “ General George Marshall Secret Memo to President Roosevelt about the Unidentified Objects over Los Angeles on February 25, 1942”; Good Above, pp. 17, 446)
February 26 - Royal Netherlands Navy cruiser HNLMS Tromp, returning to Australia after the Battle of Badung Strait (off Bali in Indonesia), reports a large, illuminated disc speeding above it in the Timor Sea and maneuvering for nearly 4 hours. It departs at an estimated 3,500 mph. (" Australasia," Flying Saucer Review 3, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1957): 6; Clark III 501; Clark IV 550)
March 5 — Benjamin Smith, formerly of the Army Air Corps, sees several blinking lights moving slowly over the Middle River adjacent to Essex, Maryland. They circle the river two or three times then disappear. Smith reports the incident to local police, who then inform Naval Intelligence. (Towson (Md.) Union News, March 6, 1942; Jan Aldrich)
March 9 — The Air Service Command becomes a major Army Air Forces unit to support logistical functions. (Wikipedia, “ Air Materiel Command”)
March 25 [possibly early June] — Midnight. Flight Lt. Roman Sobiński of the No. 301 Polish Bomber Squadron is flying an RAF Vickers Wellington bomber over the Zuiderzee in the Netherlands after returning from a bombing mission on the Ruhr Valley, Germany. He hears from his rear gunner, Sgt. Stanislaw Sep-Szarzynski, that an aircraft is approaching the rear of heir aircraft. Sobiński sees a bright light that he thinks might be a searchlight on a German fighter. As it draws closer, he sees it has a coppery color. When it reaches to 600 feet away, the rear gunner fires on it. Sobiński notices that the tracer rounds are hitting the object but have no effect, merely disappearing on impact. After 2 minutes, the object moves to the port side at terrific speed and stays 600 feet off the left wing. Both the rear and front gunner, Sgt. Krzysztof Grabowski, fire rounds at it to no effect. Sobiński takes evasive actions, but the object maintains the same relative position, despite constant fire. A moment later, the object moves to the front of the aircraft, stays for a short period, then takes off at a 45° angle and disappears. Sobińksi later discovers that another Wellington bomber crew to their rear has also encountered the same phenomenon. (Gordon W. Creighton, “ Foo Fighters,” Flying Saucer Review 8, no. 2 (March/April 1962): 15; Strange Company 23–25; “ 6. 1942 Foo Fighter Encounter – Maj. Ray Sabinski,” Ufology: A Primer in Audio, 1938–1959, November 21, 2013; Clark III 501; Graeme Rendall, “ 80 Years Ago, the Royal Air Force Saw Flying Objects They Could Not Explain,” The Debrief, December 2, 2022; Patrick Gross, “ ACUFO,” September 26, 2023; Clark IV 550)
Spring - Rev. Robert H. Moore and six other persons attending the Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, watch a small, light-gray, rectangular object over the northern part of town for 10 minutes. (Lore and Deneault, p. 142)
April 1 — The Materiel Division of the Air Service Command assumes responsibility for R&D and procurement and is redesignated as the Air Corps Materiel Command. (Wikipedia, “ Air Materiel Command”)
May - 3:00 p.m. Abdon Gonzales Tello, 13, and other boys see a silvery, cigar-shaped object in the sky to the west of Miraflores, Peru. Its ends are cut off at sharp angles, and it takes 20 seconds to proceed to the south and out of sight. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 22)
June — Col. James C. Marshall is selected to head the Manhattan Project. (Wikipedia, “ Manhattan Project”)
June 13 — Roosevelt establishes the Office of Strategic Services, a wartime intelligence agency, with Gen. William J. Donovan at its head. (Wikipedia, “ Office of Strategic Services”)
June 19 — Roosevelt abolishes the S-1 Section and replaces it with the S-1 Executive Committee, tasked with the technical and contractual aspects of producing an atomic bomb, while the Army handles engineering, construction, and site selection. American chemist James B. Conant is appointed as its chairman, and Lyman James Briggs, Karl Taylor Compton, Ernest Lawrence, and American chemists Eger V. Murphree and Harold C. Urey as its other members. Roosevelt approves the committee’s recommendation to move to the pilot plant stage and build piles to produce plutonium and electromagnetic, centrifuge, and gaseous diffusion plants to produce uranium-235. (Wikipedia, “ S-1 Executive Committee”)
Late June - 4:00 p.m. Mr. and Mrs. Bonardi and several farmers watch a blue, oval-shaped object with a silver-gray dome in the woods near Cussey-sur-l'Ognon, Doubs, France. It has portholes and a tripod landing gear that is visible as it hovers low above the ground and emits a mechanical noise. Light comes from the portholes. The witnesses approach to within 66 feet, but the object takes off vertically and disappears after 6-10 minutes. A 5-foot-diameter circle is found in the grass. (Michel Bougard, La Chronique des O.V.N.I, Jean-Pierre Delarge, 1977, p. 261)
Late 1942? — According to records released in August 2010, Prime Minister Winston Churchill supposedly classifies for 50 years an alleged UFO incident because of fears it could create mass panic. The incident allegedly involves an RAF reconnaissance plane returning from a mission in Europe. The aircraft is over or near the English coastline when it is allegedly intercepted by a strange metallic object that matches the aircraft’s course and speed for a time before shooting away. The plane’s crew photograph the object, which “hovered noiselessly” near the aircraft before moving off. According to the documents, details of the cover-up emerge when a man writes to the government in 1999 seeking to find out more about the incident. He describes how his grandfather, who served with the RAF, was present when Churchill and Gen. Dwight Eisenhower discussed how to deal with the encounter. However, the evidence is hearsay and somewhat questionable. (UFOFiles2, pp. 20–21)
Summer — 5:50 p.m. An RAAF pilot is on flying patrol off the Tasman Peninsula, Tasmania, following reports by fishermen of strange lights on the waters of Bass Strait. A “singular airfoil of glistening bronze color” appears out of a cloudbank. It’s about 150 feet long, 50 feet in diameter, and has a dome on top. It accompanies his plane for a few minutes before departing at “a hell of a pace.” It turns again and dives into the ocean, throwing up a “whirlpool of waves.” (Bill Chalker, “ Australian A.F. UFO Report Files,” APRO Bulletin 30, no. 10 (October 1982): 6–7)
Late summer - Pvt. Albert Lancashire, 27, is standing guard at Cresswell radar station near Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Northumberland, England, when he sees a cloud-enshrouded light approaching from the North Sea. As it descends, he is drawn up into it by a beam. Small men grab him and carry him into the craft, where he sees other human figures of normal height, including an apparent captain with dark hair and goggles. He is made to lie down on a couch or table. He has only vague memories of what happens next, but he thinks a medical exam is performed. He wakes up back at his sentry post. (Center for UFO Studies, HUMCAT Index 1940-1949, p. 4; " New Time Lapse Case from England Uncovered," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 107 (October 1976): 17-18; Clark III 265; Jenny Randles, "The First Gentleman of BUFORA," Fortean Times 420 (July 2022): 31; Clark IV 305)
August - Evelyn M. Howell and two other adults see a huge cigar-shaped object hovering near them between Lafayette Township and Newton, New Jersey. It has "two rows of windows" that give off blue, green, white, and red fluorescent lights. They watch it for 10 minutes, after which it silently and slowly takes off. Howell and her husband see a similar object on the drive home to Ogdensburg, New Jersey. (Clark III 1178; Clark IV 1352)
August 5 — Early morning. The Navy destroyer USS Helm is on its way to the Solomon Islands in preparation for the Guadalcanal landings. A radio blackout is in effect. An aircraft approaches, a full alert is sounded, and three cruisers ( Vincennes, Quincy, Astoria) and seven other ships open fire on it. The object is not hit and proceeds to circle around the fleet. An anonymous sailor on security detail on the Helm watches it through binoculars and sees it as 90 feet in diameter, oval, with a round dome on top. The ships continue to fire on the UFO, which attains extremely high speeds. Commanding Officer Chester Edward Carroll later hears that the aircraft is neither German nor Japanese. (Strange Company 27–28)
August 11 — Night. An RAF bomber squadron on a mission near Aachen, Germany, sees a bright white light rise from the ground to 8,000 feet, where it flies approximately level for about 2 minutes. A few crews report that it appears to zig-zag along the ground before taking off in a climbing turn. Brilliant white periodic bursts occur that may cause a change of course. Some crews think that it subdivides when the bursts take place. Burning pieces fall from it like a meteor. The color fades to orange and the object is last seen heading toward the ground after a total of 5 minutes. (Graeme Rendall, “ 80 Years Ago, the Royal Air Force Saw Flying Objects They Could Not Explain,” The Debrief, December 2, 2022)
August 12 — Day. Sgt. Stephen J. Brickner of the 1st Marine Division on Tulagi in the Solomon Islands is cleaning his rifle when an air-raid warning is sounded. He dives into his foxhole looking to the sky. He hears a roaring sound unlike that of an aircraft. Soon he sees a formation of more than 150 silvery objects, in straight lines of 10 or 12. The objects seem to wobble slightly. They are flying faster than Japanese planes and are soon out of sight. (“ A Formation of 150 Roaring UFOs in the Pacific in 1942,” CSI News Letter, no. 10 (December 15, 1957): 28; Good Above, p. 18; Strange Company 28–29; Clark III 501–502; Clark IV 550)
August 13 — The Manhattan Engineering District, with Brig. Gen. James C. Marshall as district engineer, is established by Chief of the US Army Corps of Engineers Maj. Gen. Eugene Reybold. (Wikipedia, “ Manhattan Project”)
August 29 — 7:00 p.m. Army Air Corps control tower operator Pvt. Michael Solomon sees two small reddish objects descend near the AAC Advanced Flying School at Columbus, Mississippi, then speed away. He later contacts government officials and officers from the school in an attempt to confirm his sighting. (UFOEv, p. 19; Clark III 1177; Clark IV 1351–1352)
September 23 — Col. Leslie Groves is promoted to brigadier general and becomes director of the Manhattan Project. The Military Policy Committee, consisting of Vannevar Bush (with James B. Conant as his alternative), Maj. Gen. Wilhelm D. Styer, and Rear Adm. William R. Purnell, is created to oversee the project. (Wikipedia, “ Manhattan Project”)
September 25 — RAF Bomber Command’s Operational Research Section releases a report titled “A Note on Pyrotechnic Activity over Germany.” An unnamed Flak Liaison Officer has coordinated the reports from No. 3 and No. 5 Groups and determines there are two types of phenomena: a ball of fire that is shot from the ground and drips multicolored fragments, and multi-part flares. Another type involves “small coloured balls” that climb to 7,000 feet. (Strange Company 32)
September 29 — US Under Secretary of War Robert P. Patterson authorizes the Corps of Engineers to acquire 56,000 acres in Tennessee for Site X, which will become the Oak Ridge, Tennessee, laboratory and production site. (Wikipedia, “ Oak Ridge, Tennessee”)
Fall - 9:00 p.m. Research engineer Nathan Carver sees a dark, elliptical object in Long Branch, New Jersey, sharply outlined against the stars of the Milky Way. It is flickering yellow-orange flames from its back. The object silently speeds from horizon to horizon in 10-15 seconds in a gradually descending path. (Richard H. Hall, From Airships to Arnold, UFO Research Coalition, 2000, p., 20)
October - 8:50 p.m. James L. Toft and another witness see an elongated object with a dome and lights at either end descending to the ground at Radway Green in Cheshire, England. At the landing site they find a circular burned area and several footprint-like indentations. (Michel Bougard, La Chronique des O.V.N.I., Jean-Pierre Delarge, 1977, p. 263)
October 7 — Land at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, is acquired by eminent domain for Clinton Engineer Works. (Wikipedia, “ Clinton Engineer Works”)
October 9 or 10 — 10:00 a.m. A sailor on watch duty on the USS Helm, a naval destroyer escorting transports and patrolling in the area of Guadalcanal island, sees an object approaching the fleet on the wrong radio beam, shortly after an unidentified radar target is picked up by one of the fleet’s cruisers. All ships go to battle stations. The watch sailor views it through binoculars, and it appears to be a silvery disc with a dome on top. Its altitude remains between 3,000 and 4,000 feet. When the object approaches to within 9,000 feet, the crews open fire on it, although it is moving too fast for them to aim properly. It makes a sharp right turn and heads south, increasing its speed and circling the entire fleet twice for 5 minutes before moving away to the south. Afterward, the gun control director estimates the object is traveling up to 10,000 mph. (Paul C. Cerny and Robert Neville, “ U.S. Navy 1942 Sighting,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 185 (July 1983): 14–15)
October 19 — Leslie Groves approves J. Robert Oppenheimer to coordinate the scientific research of the Manhattan Project at the Site Y laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico. (Wikipedia, “ Manhattan Project”)
November - The crews of an anti-submarine squadron patrolling in the Bay of Biscay, France, spot a large wingless aircraft behind them. One of the men takes several photos of it with a Fairchild K-20 camera. The object soon gains altitude and after 15 minutes it executes a 180° turn and disappears. Only one of the photos, with a filter applied, shows any details and it is passed on to US and RAF intelligence. (" The Case for the `Sea-Saucer,'" CRIFO Newsletter 1, no. 10 (January 7, 1955): 5)
November 15 — Teams under physicists Herbert L. Anderson and Walter Zinn have constructed 16 experimental nuclear reactors under the Stagg Field stands at the University of Chicago. (Wikipedia, “ Metallurgical Laboratory”)
November 25 — The Los Alamos site in New Mexico is acquired for Project Y. (Wikipedia, “ Project Y”)
November 28 — 10:40–10:45 p.m. Capt. Lever and the No. 61 Squadron crew of an RAF Lancaster are returning from a bombing raid on Turin, Italy, when about 10–15 miles southwest of the city they see an object 200–300 feet long traveling southeast at a speed of 500 mph. It has four pairs of red lights spaced along its body and is flying on a level course. Five minutes later, as the Lancaster approaches the Alps at 14,000 feet, the crew sees the object again traveling southwest up a valley. It disappears when the red lights go out. (Good Need, pp. 18–19, 32; Strange Company 34–35; UFOFiles2, pp. 25–26)
December — A Technical Data Laboratory is established at Wright Field near Dayton, Ohio, as part of the Army Materiel Command. Its operations include the evaluation of foreign aircraft and related equipment. (US Air Force, “ National Air and Space Intelligence Center Heritage,” July 31, 2015)
December. NORWAY, Oslo Fjord. A lady and three othres saw a hazy, orange object, shaped like a bell, emitting a hissing sound. It ascended, hovered over water, moved off, turned a deep blue at high speed. A circular depressoin, 1.5m diameter, 1m deep, was found, surrounded by melted snow. (Merseyside UFO Bulletin, Vol. 6: No. 1)
December - 8:00 p.m. RAAF Lt. Bruce Clyde Lumsden is flying a Hawker Hurricane heading for the French coast. About 7,000 feet over the mouth of the River Somme, France, he observes two orange lights climbing, one slightly above the other. He completes a full turn, putting the lights behind him on the port side. They now appear brighter and larger. When they reach his altitude, they stop climbing and stay at his altitude. He makes another full turn, but the objects stay with him. Lumsden dives to 4,000 feet, but the lights match his maneuvers. He increases his speed to 260 mph and gradually leaves them behind. His squadron mates do not believe him, but the next night another squadron member has a similar encounter with a green light. (Strange Company 36; Clark III 502; Clark IV 550-551)
December 2 — Chicago Pile-1, the first nuclear reactor, goes critical at the University of Chicago under the leadership and design of Enrico Fermi, achieving a self-sustaining reaction just one month after construction was started. (Wikipedia, “ Chicago Pile-1”)
December 27 — The Northrop N-9M, a prototype flying wing bomber with a wingspan of 60 feet, makes its first test flight at Jack Northrop Field [now Hawthorne (Calif.) Municipal Airport] with pilot John Wescott Myers. Through May, 44 more flights are made, nearly all terminated by mechanical failures. (Wikipedia, “ Northrop N-9M”)
1943
The National Bureau of Standards allegedly conducts an investigation into unexplained aerial phenomena under Hugh Latimer Dryden in conjunction with intelligence about German research into jet aircraft. The bureau has some concern that the phenomena could interfere with internal combustion engines. (Jacques Vallée, Forbidden Science, North Atlantic, 1992, p. 309)
While on a ship off the Russell Islands in the Solomons, US Navy shipfitter Lloyd Kenyon and several other sailors see several disks traveling at a huge speed. (" Objects Seen Several Times," Portland Oregon Daily Journal, June 27, 1947, p. 8; Clark III 502; Clark IV 551)
Seaman Matthew Mengle is on a ship in the Persian Gulf when he sees a huge disc below the surface of the water. The object is glowing with a soft greenish light and paces the ship before moving out of sight. (“ ‘Hidden’ UFO Reports Given NICAP,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 10 (July/Aug. 1960): 6, 7; Dolan, USO1, 113)
Night. While stationed at RAF Compton Bassett [now Lower Compton], Wiltshire, England, Barbara Whiteley sees a cigar-shaped object with 5–6 lights pointing downward pass overhead at a low altitude. (Clark III 502; Clark IV 551)
January 15 — During a US bombing raid over Cherbourg, Manche, France, several crews see “large numbers of projectiles resembling ‘schools of flying fish,’ about a foot long and similar to incendiary bombs, coming up from a direction of the town.” (Strange Company 38; Patrick Gross, ACUFO, October 2, 2023)
January 16 — Leslie Groves approves development of the Hanford site in Washington State for plutonium production. (Wikipedia, “ Hanford Site”)
February 9 — Land for a plutonium production complex is acquired at Hanford, Washington. (Wikipedia, “ Hanford Site”)
February 18 — Construction begins for Y-12, a massive electromagnetic separation plant for enriching uranium at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. (Wikipedia, “ Y-12 National Security Complex”)
March.Belfast, Maine. George P. Miller was hunting when he saw an elongated object. It crashed into trees, rested briefly on the ground and lifted with a hwnming sound, started to spin, released a shower of fine silvery threads. (Merseyside UFO Bulletin, Vol. 6: No . l)
April 1 — Los Alamos Laboratory is established in New Mexico and begins operations. (Wikipedia, “ Project Y”)
April 5 - 9:50 a.m. Flight instructor Gerry A. Casey and a student pilot in a Vultee BT-13A Valiant watch a radiant-orange, elliptical disc dive at their aircraft near Long Beach, California. There is no propellor and it has a rounded hump above and below. It hovers alongside with a slight wobble, then accelerates, turns from orange to white, and climbs out of sight in 2 seconds. (Project 1947, " UFO Reports, 1943"; Gerry A. Casey, "UFO: The Time for the Telling Has Come," Tacoma (Wash.) Western Flyer, July 7, 1989, via UFO Newsclipping Service 241 (August 1989), p. 3; " Unusual U.S. Coastal Aerial Observations during World War 2," UFO Historical Revue, no. 1 (June 1998): 4-5; Patrick Gross, " Observation at Long Beach, 1943")
April 9 - 5:00 p.m. Kazimierz Bzowski and other resistance fighters are monitoring a fire in the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland. They notice a flying object approaching them at about 60 mph. Through binoculars it appears to be a sphere colored with tangled strips of both raspberry and blue-green colors. Bzowski estimates it is at an elevation of 200 feet and is about 25 feet in diameter. They observe German and Lithuanian snipers on Bonifraterska street shooting at it, although the bullets seem to pass through it. The object alters course and heads toward Old Town, then stops dead and shoots away at great speed. (Poland 13)
Spring — A New Zealand fighter pilot flying a Hawker Hurricane over North Africa is followed by an orange-red glow that then positions itself off his wingtip, matching the pilot’s evasive maneuvers. He manages to fire at it several times, to no effect. It vanishes when he returns to base. (Graeme Rendall, “ The Foo Fighters: Today’s Pilots Encounters with UAP Are Nothing New,” The Debrief, April 15, 2021)
May — Capt. Gordon W. Cammell is flying an RAF Lancaster bomber back over the English Channel when he and his entire crew see a “huge orange ball on or near the sea” 7,000–8,000 feet below them. Over the next 10 minutes, they watch it project a bright and constant light. (Strange Company 41; Dolan, USO1, 113–114)
May - Late night. John Walker is serving as an RAF armaments officer at a small airfield near Ludham, Norfolk, England. Walking home from a village dance, he notices a green glow in the road ahead. Getting closer, he sees that it is coming from a man standing by the side of the road. He is wearing a diving helmet on his head and an oblong object on his chest. The green glow is coming from his chest and fanning upward over his face, which has a "sickly grin." He does not react to Walker's presence in any way. In an adjacent field, Walker can see a large domed object like a "bell tent." Standing next to it are two more figures, both wearing a grayish garment. Walker moves quickly past and returns to his airfield. (Philip Mantle, " Pre-1947 Entity and UFO in Norfolk? An I.U.N. Archive Case," UFO Brigantia, no. 28 (Nov./Dec. 1987): 9-11)
May 19 — The Northrop N-9M flying wing bomber prototype crashes 12 miles west of Muroc Army Air Base [now Edwards AFB], California, killing its pilot Max Constant. (Wikipedia, “ Northrop N-9M”)
May 26 - Late night. Capt. Ray Smith and copilot Sgt. Gordon N. Cockcroft are flying at 18,000 feet in a Halifax bomber on a run near Essen, Germany, when they see a silvery-gold cylindrical object, larger than their aircraft, on the port side. It has several evenly spaced portholes. It is hovering at a 45° angle. After 20-30 seconds it climbs away at high speed. (Norman Oliver, " Report-Extra!" BUFORA Journal 6, no. 3 (Sept./Oct. 1977): cover, 8-9; " Correspondence," CUFOS Associate Newsletter 3, no. 5 (Oct./Nov. 1982): 4-6; Strange Company 40; Project 1947, " UFO Reports, 1943"; Good Need, pp. 19-20; John Hanson and Dawn Holloway, Haunted Skies: The Encyclopaedia of British UFOs: Volume 1, 1940-1959, Fortean Words, 2010, pp. 33-34)
June — The Army Air Force’s Air Tactical Service Command meets with Lockheed Aircraft Corporation in Burbank, California, to ask them to develop a jet fighter. (Wikipedia, “ Skunk Works”)
July — Lockheed Engineer Kelly Johnson and other associate engineers hand-deliver a proposal for the XP-80 jet fighter to the Air Tactical Service Command. Two days later, the go-ahead is given to Lockheed to start development, and the Skunk Works is born in Burbank, California, with Johnson at the helm. The name supposedly comes from the L’il Abner comic strip, which has a place called “Skonk Works” where a strong beverage is brewed from skunks, old shoes, and other ingredients. (Wikipedia, “ Skunk Works”)
July 18 - A French prisoner in a German labor camp near Gdynia, Poland, is walking to work along the Baltic Sea when he sees a flat, metallic object embedded in the sand. A human figure is standing next to it, apparently trying to dig it up. When he passes by, the figure, apparently an Asian woman with long blonde hair and dressed in a tight-fitting overall, turns in his direction. The witness assumes she is the famous German aviator Hanna Reitsch and helps her dig the experimental aircraft out of the sand. The object is 20 feet in diameter and looks like two metallic saucers put together. The woman touches the witness's chest with her hand and points to the sky. She touches her belt and a door in the object opens. She crawls inside, the door closes, and the object ascends and departs at a tremendous speed. (Jean Sider, Ultra Top-Secret: Ces OVNIs qui font peur, Axis Mundi, 1990)
September - Morning. A witness driving a car in Laguna Larga, Córdoba, Argentina, sees a large, saucer-shaped object standing on the ground. It is wider than the road. When he approaches, the object begins to whistle like a motor, climbs to about 1,000 feet, and disappears at terrific speed. On the ground, the witness finds a bright object about 4 inches long. (Richard H. Hall, From Airships to Arnold, UFO Research Coalition, 2000, p. 21)
September. ARGENTINA, Oncativo. Navarro Ocampo, driving between Rosario and Cordoba, saw a large, saucer-shaped object on the ground 500 m to the left of the road. It had a blue-green glow and made a whistling sound as it rose about 100m, then left at fantastic speed. A strange metal block is said to have been found at the spot. (Vallee III)
September - During an air battle between the Germans and Russians, a member of the Spanish Blue Division fighting with the Germans near Pushkin outside Leningrad [now Saint Petersburg], Russia, notices a disc-shaped object above the planes. It appears to be observing the battle, then disappears at a fantastic speed. (Antonio Ribera, Platillos Volantes en Iberoamerica y España, Santiago Pomaire, 1968, pp. 411-412)
September or October — Ray Palmer, editor of Amazing Stories magazine, receives a letter from a reader named Richard S. Shaver, who claims to have discovered “Mantong,” a proto-language that is the source of all earthly languages. In Mantong, each sound has a hidden meaning, and by applying this formula to any word in any language, one can decode the secret meaning. Palmer applies the formula to several words and realizes Shaver might be onto something. (Wikipedia, “ Richard Sharpe Shaver”; Walter Kafton-Minkel, Subterranean Worlds, Loompanics, 1989, p. 136; Clark III 609; Clark IV 668–669)
September 6 — 9:50 a.m. During an aerial fight over Stuttgart, Germany, the crews of two aircraft of the 384th Bomb Group, commanded by Capt. Raymond P. Ketelson, observe two round objects “resembling silvery discs” floating downward through the aircraft formation. One hits the wing of a B-17 bomber, setting it on fire. The bomber does not return from the mission. (Strange Company 43; Dominique F. Weinstein, The Foofighters Files (1): Catalogue of Unconventional Aerial Phenomena Reported by Allied Pilots during WW II (1943–1945), The Author, October 2009, p. 9)
Autumn — A Polish bomber unit based in England claims that silver-blue balls of fire appeared near their wing on six missions when they raided the Nazi V-1 weapons plant in Peenemünde, Germany. RAF intelligence officer Michael Bentine debriefs them later and asks, “But what did it do to you?” They reply, “Nothing.” Bentine points out, “Well it was not a very effective weapon, was it?” (David Clarke and Andy Roberts, “ The Foo Fighters: The RAF Experience,” The Real UFO Project, January 2003; UFOFiles2, p. 20)
October — Maj. Robert Visarius, Luftwaffe officer, is operating a ground defense radar during an Allied air offensive in Kassel, Germany. After the raid, he notices a radar target about 24 miles away that at first is motionless. Then it moves rapidly toward his position and is tracked at a distance of 11 miles away. Through a powerful telescope mounted on the radar, Visarius and his colleagues can see a silvery, light-reflecting object. (Illobrand von Ludiwger, Ungewöhnliche Eigenschaften Nichtidentifizierbarer Lichterscheinungen, MUFON-CES, 1978, p. 77)
October - 9:00 p.m. Wilberta Finley, an air spotter for the Civil Air Patrol, notices a "huge dark aerial object approaching" her home in Santa Barbara, California, facing the Goleta Valley. Moving low and soundlessly, it barely skims over a nearby hill. From its front a beam of light shoots down, and at intervals it swings from side to side as if scanning the hills and homes below. (Wilberta M. Finley, "Report from the Readers," Fate 11, no. 11 (November 1958): 116-118; Clark III 1178; Clark IV 1352)
October 14 - Night. A group of B-17s from the 384th Bombardment Group are returning from a mission over Germany when they see a cluster of silver-colored discs in the path of their formation and closing with the bombers. The crews talk back and forth, discussing and confirming the sight before them. They describe the objects as "about one inch thick and three inches in diameter.gliding down slowly in a very uniform cluster." One of the bombers goes directly through the cluster "with absolutely no effect on engines or plane surface," even though one is heard to strike the tail assembly. A mass of black debris about 3-4 feet long is also observed. (Martin Caidin, Black Thursday, Dell, 1962, pp. 188-190; Frank Edwards, Flying Saucers-Here and Now! Lyle Stuart, 1967, pp. 77-78; Clark III 502; Clark IV 551)
October or November — 11:00 p.m. 2Lt Thomas J. Duzynski is stationed at Camp Ibis on the west side of the Dead Mountains Wilderness northwest of Needles, California. Taking a stroll outside his tent, he notices an elliptical-shaped object traveling to the south at high speed parallel to the ground between himself and the mountains. It banks sharply, almost on edge, and gains altitude, disappearing in seconds. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 22–23)
November - 10:30 p.m. The Sledge family of Escondido, California, sees a disc with a dome and square windows hovering about 15 feet above the roof of their house and emitting a soft humming sound. In two of the windows, human-like silhouettes are visible. When Mrs. Sledge shines a flashlight on the ground, it blinks out and disappears. (" Unusual U.S. Coastal Aerial Observations during World War 2," UFO Historical Revue, no. 1 (June 1998): 2, 5)
December? - Matt P. Dillingham is on evening duty adjacent to Mullinix Field [now Bonriki International Airport] on Tarawa Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. He begins receiving radar plots showing a north-south track to the west moving at 750 mph. It disappears, but two other targets on the same trajectory appear, moving at the same speed. The same targets are repeated for several nights following. (" Out of the Past," CUFOS Associate Newsletter 4, no. 6 (Dec. 1983/ Jan. 1984): 6)
December - 10:30 p.m. Four young women are having supper opposite the wharf in Oslo Fjord, Norway, when they see a light that appears to be on the wharf. Fearing sabotage, they hurry into their cars and drive toward the wharf along a mountain road. All three cars stall at once, so they abandon them along the road and head down a snow-covered hillside toward an object on the ground that appears to be a hazy orange light shaped like a church bell. It is emitting a hissing sound. Moments later, the object rises up and hovers some 9-18 feet above the water. It then moves off at "fantastic speed," turning a deep blue color, and disappears. They advance to where the object was resting and find a crater-like impression about 4.5 feet in diameter and 3 feet deep. Outside this circle, the snow has melted. (Neville Thornhill, " U.F.O. Lands in Norway-in 1943: Witness Describes First Recorded E-M Case," Australian Flying Saucer Review, no. 7 (September 1967): 10)
December 2 — Night. Some 105 German Junkers Ju 888 bombers attack the port of Bari, Italy, a key supply center for Allied forces. 28 Allied ships are sunk, including the US Liberty ship SS John Harvey, which is carrying mustard gas intended for retaliation in case German forces use chemical warfare. Liquid sulfur mustard from the bombs spills into waters already contaminated by oil from the other damaged vessels. The many sailors who abandoned their ships into the water become covered with the oily mixture. The wounded are pulled from the water and sent to medical facilities whose personnel are unaware of the mustard gas. Medical staff focus on personnel with blast or fire injuries. Within a day, the first symptoms of mustard poisoning appear in 628 patients and medical staff, including blindness and chemical burns. That puzzling development is further complicated by the arrival of hundreds of Italian civilians also seeking treatment, who have been poisoned by a cloud of sulfur mustard vapor that blows over the city when some of John Harvey’s cargo explodes. As the medical crisis worsens, little information is available about what is causing the symptoms, because US military command want to keep the presence of chemical munitions secret from the Germans. By the end of the month, 83 of the 628 hospitalized military victims have died. The number of civilian casualties, thought to have been even greater, cannot be accurately gauged since most have left the city to seek shelter with relatives. (Wikipedia, “ Air raid on Bari”)
December 11 — US bombers conduct a daylight raid on Emden, Germany, and observe an unknown object about the size of a Thunderbolt aircraft over the target area. It passes below the bombers in a straight line and at terrific speed, leaving a vapor trail that persists. (Project 1947, “ UFO Reports, 1943”; David Clarke and Andy Roberts, Out of the Shadows, Piatkus, 2002, pp. 15–16; Strange Company 51–52; Patrick Gross, “ ACUFO,” October 1, 2023)
December 14 — Night. British 255 Night Fighter Squadron leader Patrick Hardy Vesey Wells is flying his Bristol Beaufighter on a patrol mission around Naples, Italy, when he and his navigator notice a small bright light behind them. It stays on their tail, moving from side to side. After 1–2 minutes it goes off in another direction. (A. Speir, “ Patrolling over Kent: 28 November 1940, No 249 Squadron, from RAF Station North Weald,” Military History Journal 9, no. 5 (June 1994); Strange Company 52)
Winter — Day. While on a bombing mission over central Germany, Sgt. Louis Kiss, a tail gunner on the Phyllis Marie, a B-17 of the 390th Bombardment Group, sees an odd-looking sphere approach the plane from behind and below. It seems to be the size of a basketball and shimmery gold. The object hovers just above one wing, then passes over the top to the other wing where it hovers again. Soon it moves to the rear and gets caught in the B-17’s backwash and disappears. (“ First Official Foo-Fighter Records Discovered,” Just Cause, no. 32 (June 1992): 4–5; Clark III 502; Clark IV 551)
Winter — 3:00 p.m. Harry G. Barnes, a member of the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department stationed at No. 1 Precinct, sees three oval-shaped objects in V-formation speeding eastward across the northeast sky. The objects have pulsating, greenish-red exhausts that occasionally flare and curl around them. (UFOEv, p. 64; Clark III 1177)
1944
During a mission to bomb oil fields in Romania, a Russian Tupolev Tu-2 piloted by Maj. Bajenov and Boris Surikov is flying over southwest Ukraine at an altitude of 3 miles when a large, elliptical object approaches them. The bomber starts shaking, the oil pressure rises, and Surikov feels a strong electrostatic charge. Even after the object passes, the bomber's wings are covered with glowing discharges. (Good Need, pp. 21-22)
February — 2:30 a.m. An Australian Beaufort bomber is flying at 4,500 feet over Bass Strait, Australia, when it is joined by an object like a “dark shadow” with a flickering flame coming out of its rear. It appears only 100–150 feet away and stays with the bomber for 18–20 minutes, during which time its radio and direction-finding instruments fail. It shoots away at 700 mph. (R. Gardner, “The Fliers We Wanted to Forget,” Melbourne Sun Pictorial, September 22, 1979; Bill Chalker, “ Australian A.F. UFO Report Files,” APRO Bulletin 30, no. 10 (October 1982): 7; Bill Chalker, The Oz Files, Duffy and Snellgrove, 1996, pp. 35–36)
February 9 — RAF No. 5 Group issues a report of its investigation on “Rocket Phenomena,” concluding that the air crews are seeing either rockets fired from aircraft, parachute rockets, or high-explosive projectiles at maximum altitudes of 18,000 feet. Reports of objects changing their course are either defects causing erratic flight or light flak tracers reaching their highest point and descending. (Strange Company 57–58)
February 20 — 2:30 a.m. Two guards of the 3rd Marine Division on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands see what they first assume are the headlight beams of a truck coming from a swamp about three- quarters of a mile from their position. It moves laterally about 50 feet and they see it is a circular light about 50–60 feet long and 20 feet high. It then rises into the air about 25 feet and heads in the direction of the guards at about 45 mph. It makes a 45° turn and passes about 100 feet above the trees of a coconut grove. Several days later, a 200-foot cut in the reeds is discovered in the approximate spot where the light originated. (Alvin G. McNish, “ Letter,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 5, no. 5 (Oct./Nov. 1984): 2)
February 24 -Night. Southwest of Saint-Quentin, Aisne, France, three silver objects are seen by an RAF bomber returning from a mission over Schweinfurt, Germany. They resemble Zeppelins but move independently of the wind. (Strange Company 60)
March — An Army Air Force pilot flying a B-17 sees a fast-moving, glowing green object light up the cockpit and speed out of sight over the horizon at Carlsbad, New Mexico. (UFOEv, p. 19)
Spring (or 1945) - Two grammar school teachers are driving in the mountains near Auberry, California, when their car stalls and they see a cigar-shaped object with lighted portholes along the side hovering in a nearby ravine. They watch it for several minutes until it begins moving slowly out of the ravine, ascends, and shoots away to the west at a tremendous speed. The car engine remains stalled for a while, then starts by itself. (" Past Sightings Come to Light," APRO Bulletin, Jan./Feb. 1968, p. 5)
April - Late afternoon. Near the Eastern front in western Slovakia, a man is standing on a hill near his home when he sees a dark round object moving at high speed to his right for less than one minute. It moves at a steady speed and is followed by another object about 20 seconds later. As many as 6 others appear, and five are visible at one time, each beginning as a pinpoint of light, growing bigger, then decreasing back to a pinpoint. The display lasts for about 5 minutes. (" Correspondence," CUFOS Associate Newsletter 3, no. 5 (Oct./Nov. 1982): 2)
April 26 — Night. RAF pilot Arthur Horton of the 622 Squadron is returning from a bombing mission to Essen, Germany, when he is followed by four orange balls of light with “short stubby wings” and emitting sparks, two on each side of the aircraft. He takes evasive action with his Lancaster, but the objects follow all his maneuvers for 10 minutes. When they reach the coast of Holland, they seem to “burn themselves out.” (Strange Company 64–65; UFOFiles2, pp. 16, 18; Patrick Gross, “ ACUFO,” October 20, 2023)
April 29 - A gun camera film from a German Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighter bomber firing on a Russian Ilyushin DB-3 bomber somewhere on the Eastern Front shows a light moving across the path of the Russian aircraft. Possible foo-fighter? (" 1944 German Gun Camera Films FW-190 vs. B-17s, B-24s WWII Air Raids over Germany 29794" [at 4:14], PeriscopeFilm YouTube channel, April 14, 2020; " NUFORC UFO Sighting 182788," National UFO Reporting Center, August 28, 2024
June — 11:00 a.m. Three Lockheed P-38s of the 1st Fighter Group are flying at 33,000 feet over the Adriatic Sea northeast of Bari, Italy, when they see a round, silver disc above them at about 50,000 feet. The object drops about 10,000 feet and stays with them for 3 minutes, then speeds north out of sight. (Richard H. Hall, From Airships to Arnold, UFO Research Coalition, 2000, p. 22)
June - 12:30 p.m. David A. K. Morris, a fitter with Service Unit 10 of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, takes a swim with a friend at Torokina Beach, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea. They see "a huge, dark-gray, seemingly metallic, bulbous mass hanging out of a large cumulus cloud." It moves silently, its outline fading into the cloud and out of sight. It resembles a Zeppelin or the R101 airship, only bigger. (D. Morris, " RNZAF Camp UFO Sighting of 1944," Ufocus NZ, July 22, 2020)
June — Edward W. Ludwig is commanding a small, Coast Guard–manned cargo vessel near Palmyra Atoll. While looking for a lost Navy patrol plane, he observes a bright aerial sphere that alternately moves and stops for 30 minutes. (“True Mystic Experiences,” Fate 3, no. 8 (December 1950): 82–87)
June 10? — The Liberty ship SS George E. Badger is off Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, when gunner Edward Breckel sees a “dark ellipsoidal object” on the horizon about 5 miles away. “Blunted on each end like a sausage,” the silent craft remains in view for 3 minutes, moving slowly at about 15 feet above the surface of the water. (“ The Case for the ‘Sea-Saucer,’” CRIFO Orbit 1, no. 10 (January 7, 1955): 5; Strange Company 67)
Early July - 10:30 a.m. During Allied operations in the area around Loreto, Castelfidardo, and Osimo, in Ancona province, Italy, Antoni Szachnowsky, of the 2nd Polish Artillery Regiment, notices an egg-shaped, glistening, metallic, motionless object. The Polish Army anti-aircraft gun fires on it, then the German batteries join in. Eventually both sides stop, and the object remains motionless for a minute. Then it tilts at a 45° angle, moves rapidly upward, and disappears. (" 1944: An Italian Foo-Fighter?" UFO Sightings Italia, no. 2, March 2002)
July 9 — Afternoon. After a successful air strike by the US 449th Bombardment Group against the Concordia-Vega refinery at Ploești, Romania, witness Grigore Zmeuranu sees a round, yellowish object flying from the north at a speed about 3-4 times that of an aircraft. It leaves a short vapor trail, moves over the bombed area, and returns silently in the same direction. (“ Rumania: Reports down the Years,” Flying Saucer Review 15, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1969): 32–33; “ Rumanian Sightings Revealed,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 12 (June/July 1969): 1, 5; Hobana and Weverbergh 226–227; Strange Company 71)
Late July — Evening. Jaakku Kivistö is serving in the Finnish Army as a noncommissioned medical officer stationed on a farm near Impilahti, Karelia [now Russia], by Lake Ladoga. He notices a large object next to the corn-drying building on a steep hillside that he at first takes for a military truck. As he walks closer, he sees it is reddish in color, moving slowly about 150–230 feet in the air, 100 feet long, and has a row of black windows. It moves off quickly in the direction of the lake and vanishes. (“ A Close Encounter from the Year 1944,” Nordic UFO Newsletter, 1985 no. 1, pp. 3–5)
Summer — 5:00 p.m. François Panes watches a cigar-shaped object at an altitude of about 5,000 feet above the Kamensko Forest north of Blovice, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic], glittering brightly with no wings, no rudder, and no propeller. It is about 150 feet in diameter and 300–400 feet long. The object is lit up from underneath. It slowly descends, after which it rises up again and vanishes into the blue sky after 10–15 minutes. (Hobana and Weverbergh 215–216)
Summer — Day. Madeleine Arnoux, 13, is riding her bicycle west along route D42 from Toulon- sur-Arroux toward La Verchère, Saône-et-Loire, France. She stops along a dirt track to pick some wild berries and notices a dull, metallic object about the size of a Volkswagen landed at a point where the track curves into the woods. Therer are some beings about 3 feet tall and dressed in brown coveralls standing nearby. She has the feeling that she cannot move, but finally runs to retrieve her bicycle. When she looks back again, the object and the beings are gone, but a strong wind is blowing the trees at the spot where it had been. (Madeleine Arnoux, “ Un Cas d’Atterrissage datant de 1944,” Lumières dans la Nuit, no. 118 (June 1972): 20–21; F. Lagarde, “ A French Landing in 1944,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 12 (December 1972): 8)
Summer - Fred Wieland and some friends are riding their bicycles on a footpath adjacent to the Grand Central Parkway in Queens, New York City. As they climb a hill, they look up and see a cigar-shaped object "broadside" to them. It is of smooth metallic construction with no windows or openings. They race to the top of the hill for a better look, but by then the object has completely disappeared. (Clark III 1178; Clark IV 1352)
Summer — Mid-day. Franceen Andron is at Camp McCain, southeast of Grenada, Mississippi, when she sees a large, fat, cigar-shaped object that changes from dull black to gray to “fog blue.” It is joined by three smaller discs that appear below it after emerging from a cloud. The large object disappears first, followed by the discs, which race away in different directions. (NICAP case file)
Summer — Day. Asa Howard Jr. is outside the barracks at RAF Molesworth in Cambridgeshire, England, when he and other airmen see a pencil-shaped, metallic object moving faster than a jet about a mile away. While watching it for about 2 minutes, they see it pass behind a small cloud before it disappears. (NICAP case file)
August — Night. Officer George Todt of the 38th Regiment, Second Infantry Division, is between Saint-Lô and Vire, Normandy, France, when he sees a cherry-red light one-fifth the size of the moon moving silently west at 120 mph towards Omaha Beach. It stops over the American lines and hovers for 14 minutes. It expands and contracts regularly every few seconds. Col. Francis Henry Boos and another officer also observe it. (Strange Company 78–79)
August 11 — Shortly after midnight. Capt. Alvah M. Reida is piloting a B-29 bomber based at Kharagpur, India, on a bombing mission over Palembang, Sumatra, Indonesia, when his right gunner and copilot notice a sphere “probably five or six feet in diameter, of a very bright and intense red or orange in color” that constantly throbs, at about 12,500 feet, pacing them about 1,500 feet off the starboard wing. It keeps up with the B-29, then flying at 210 mph. Reida tries to shake it off his plane, but it stays in the same relative position until, after 8 minutes, it makes an abrupt 90° turn and accelerates rapidly, disappearing in the overcast. (UFOEv, p. 23; Good Above, p. 19; Strange Company 71–75; Clark III 503; Clark IV 552)
August 11 — Night. RAF Warrant Officer Ronald R. Claridge is over France aboard a No. 7 Squadron Lancaster bomber returning from a bombing run on La Pallice, La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime, France, when his radar screen goes blank. Another crewman shouts to look at a vast disc-shaped object with a long row of lights on their starboard side. They watch it for 3 minutes, then it shoots away in a flash of light. Later he draws a watercolor painting to show how the UFO dwarfed the bomber. (UFOFiles2, pp. 26–27)
Mid-August — 11:00 a.m. During the Warsaw Uprising in Poland, Zenon Sergisz notices a German bomber passing by, as well as three bright points of light that descend as the bomber moves away. The lights are flattened spheres that move low behind some buildings then rise up at an angle and disappear. (Poland 14–15)
Late August — Sgt. Ness and another man of the mine-laying platoon of the 175th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division, see a large rectangular object “like a railroad boxcar” with no apparent source of propulsion move steadily at about 90 mph over the front lines near Brest, Brittany, France, and out to sea. At one point the object passes in front of the moon, briefly obscuring it from view. (Lore and Deneault, pp. 120–121)
Late August - 4:20 p.m. A nurse, Mrs. E. M. Church, on her way to a tram station in Christchurch, New Zealand, sees an object like an "upturned saucer" resting on the ground near the road. It seems to be 20 feet across and 9 feet high. Two beings, not quite 4 feet tall, are inside, visible through a rectangular window. A third stands motionless, just outside an open door. All three seem to be looking toward the lights of a nearby fairground. The nurse cannot decide if their skin color is green or they are dressed in green, but all are encased in a transparent oblong box. The head takes up half of their bodies and there are no apparent legs or arms. She inadvertently makes a noise, and the outside figure notices her. Its helmet flips over automatically, and it drifts inside the object, which rises up and disappears in the clouds. (Center for UFO Studies, HUMCAT Index 1940-1949, p. 12; Clark III 265; Clark IV 305)
August 30 — A 16-year-old girl is riding her bicycle in Saint-Jean, Haute-Garonne, France, when she sees a semi-spherical object about 13 feet in diameter and 8 feet tall resting on the ground. At first it appears white, then turns to orange. It oscillates from left to right and takes off. (Richard H. Hall, From Airships to Arnold, UFO Research Coalition, 2000, pp. 23, 32)
September — Dusk. Three Oak Ridge workers (a man named Nelson, A. C. Butler, and Albert Profitt) are driving 2 miles southeast of Oliver Springs, Tennessee, when a strange object appears about 50 feet ahead of them at the level of their windshield. It is glossy white in color and about 30 feet long and 4 feet wide. Nelson eases the car up to the object, but it withdraws; when he stops, it also stops. Soon the light rises high in the air and disappears over Black Oak Ridge. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp, 23–24)
September — 9:00 p.m. Canadian Army Lance Cpl. Carson Yorke is just outside Antwerp, Belgium, during a German bombardment. He steps out of his vehicle and sees a glowing globe traveling at about 30 mph and 40 feet altitude from the front lines toward the city (in the same course that the German V-2s are following). It seems to be 3–4 feet in diameter and looks “as though it was cloudy glass with a light inside.” It disappears from view, then is followed by another, then five others in succession. (Jerome Clark and Lucius Farish, “ The Mysterious ‘Foo Fighters’ of WW II,” Saga UFO Report, Spring 1975; Clark III 502; Clark IV 551)
Early October — Night. A rapidly moving object latches onto the tail of a Northrop P-61 Black Widow of the 422nd Night Fighter Squadron over western Germany. The light follows the plane as the pilot takes evasive maneuvers, losing it only after he dives into a cloud bank. The plane’s radar observer is badly shaken and is still hyperventilating the following day. The pilot logs the object as a Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet “rocket-propelled interceptor.” (Graeme Rendall, “ The Foo Fighters: Today’s Pilots Encounters with UAP Are Nothing New,” The Debrief, April 15, 2021)
October - Late night. Members of a family who live in an isolated area on the outskirts of Rochester, Pennsylvania, are awakened by a loud noise and flash of light. The father goes to the door, where he sees a 4.5-foot-tall figure dressed in a brown robe. Fifteen feet to its left are five other figures dressed in luminous brown metallic suits. Their heads seem large, with only a slit for a mouth. The arms are long, with long thin fingers. Three of them enter the house and the father accompanies them to a landed craft nearby. He remembers nothing else when he wakes up in the morning. A round, burned circle 20 feet from the house and 25 feet in diameter is found the next day. (Clark III 265-266; Clark IV 305-306)
October - Nellie Carlin and another woman are about to drive to work in St. Paul, Minnesota, when they see what seems to be an airplane about to crash. It abruptly stops 20 feet above their heads, revealing itself to be a brown, bullet-shaped object with a flat end "like frosted glass with a bright light behind it." It makes a crackling noise, turns right, and ascends at great speed. (Clark III 1178; Clark IV 1352)
October 10 — 8:00 p.m. A bicyclist riding in Älghult, Kronoberg County, Sweden, is illuminated by a light beam coming from a nearby woods. He sees a large, shining sphere rise silently and rapidly from the ground to treetop height and stop, appearing moonlike and golden. After about 5 minutes, the object disappears abruptly. (Anders Liljegren, From the Archive (2): UFO-Phenomena in the Fall of 1944, AFU, n.d., pp. 2–6)
Late October — 9:30 p.m. 1Lt. J. B. Douglas Jr. and other soldiers of the 489th Armored Field Artillery near Weert, Netherlands, watch a bright silvery object through field glasses moving silently from northwest to southwest through an arc of 90° in about 30–45 minutes. (UFOEv, pp. 30, 129)
October 28 — Physicist David T. Griggs, a civilian adviser on radar to the War Department, is asked by Gen. Henry H. “Hap” Arnold to look into incidents of unusual aerial phenomena in Europe and interview pilots. He later moves his investigation to the Pacific Theater. His report to Arnold at the end of the war has never been located. He was interviewed by James E. McDonald on April 10, 1969. (Michael D. Swords, “ David Griggs and the Foo Fighters,” IUR 31, no. 1 (January 2007): 17–19)
October 30 — Late night. RAF Flight Engineer Maurice Juberley of the 640 Squadron is returning from a bombing mission over Köln, Germany. His Halifax III is flying at 19,000 feet above the clouds when the rear gunner reports a ball of orange fire closing in on them. He orders an evasive maneuver and loses the light. (Strange Company 86)
November 16 (or 30?) - 11:55 p.m. Lt. J. L. Besmond, officer of the day on the USS Gilliam, enroute from Oro Bay, Papua New Guinea, to Leyte Gulf, Philippines, observes an unusual object at a distance of 21 miles. Fire Control Officer P. Kendall Bruce describes it as a bright green globe that rises from behind the ship and moves in a "perfect parabola at great speed, finally disappearing behind the horizon to the north." (NICAP, " UFO Observed from USS Gilliam"; Strange Company 95-96; Clark III 503; Clark IV 552)
November 22 — 10:00 p.m. RAF 9 Squadron is flying at 12,000 feet somewhere over Germany after returning from a bombing mission in Trondheim, Norway. Flying Officer Dennis Nolan sees a clearly defined, “pyrotechnic pink,” spherical object, fluctuating in brightness, flying at their same altitude to the rear of their bomber. The object accelerates and decelerates abruptly with jerking movements, moving from side to side, well astern. (Strange Company 89; Powell, Scientist, 65)
November 24 — Capt. William D. Leet’s B-17 crew (part of the 2nd Bombardment Group, 5th Wing of the Fifteenth Air Force) is returning from bombing a target at Klagenfurt, Austria. While flying over northeastern Italy near Trieste, Leet notices a blinding light and feels an intense heat. It goes away quickly, but seconds later he sees a “round amber light” sitting off the left wingtip of the B-17. It is bright and perfectly circular. Leet orders the gunners not to shoot at it. Sgt. Harris, the upper gunner, thinks it is 10 feet in diameter and 150–300 feet away. The object stays with them over the Adriatic Sea for 50 minutes, until it “just turned off” like a light bulb. (William D. Leet, “ The Flying Fortress and the Foo-Fighter,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 133 (Jan./Feb. 1979): 3–4; Strange Company 90–93; Clark III 502–503; Clark IV 551–552)
November 29 — 3:00 p.m. Reginald Herbert Mortimer and his daughter Frances are on the Bruce Peninsula between Lake Huron and Georgian Bay, Ontario, when they hear a hissing sound behind them and see 9 disc-shaped objects pass overhead at approximately 2,000 feet. Moving three abreast in a square configuration, they are lost to sight over the lake. (Clark III 1179)
November 29 — Night. A Bristol Beaufighter crew (pilot Lieut. Edward A. Schlueter and radar observer Lieut. Donald J. Meiers of the 415th Night Fighter Squadron, and intelligence officer Capt. Fred B. Ringwald as observer) is on a bombing mission and flying above the Rhine River north of Strasbourg, Bas-Rhin, France. They see “eight to 10 bright orange lights off the left wing…flying through the air at high speed.” Neither the airborne radar nor ground control registers anything nearby. Schlueter and Meiers also see red lights on November 26 above Mannheim, Germany. (Jo Chamberlin, “ The Foo Fighter Mystery,” American Legion Magazine, December 1945, pp. 9, 43; Harold T. Wilkins, “ The Strange Mystery of the Foo Fighters,” Fate 4, no. 6 (Aug./Sept. 1951): 98–106; Zoe Crasney, “ What Were the Mysterious ‘Foo Fighters’ Sighted by WWII Night Flyers?” Smithsonian Air and Space Magazine, August 2016; Strange Company 93–95; Clark III 503; Clark IV 552)
December 13 — SHAEF in Paris, France, issues a press release identifying the fireballs as a “new German weapon” and that the Ninth Air Force has reported seeing “many silver balls floating in the air above enemy territory.” An Army Air Force spokesman says on December 20 that the silver balls have “no detectable effects” on Allied planes. He does not know whether or not they are metallic. (“ Floating Mystery Ball Is New Nazi Air Weapon,” New York Times, December 14, 1944, p. 6; Strange Company 96, 101)
December 14–28 — Numerous balls of light are reported by the Night Fighter Squadrons during bombing raids over Germany. Pilot and operations officer Charlie Horne of the 415th Night Fighter Squadron suggests calling the objects “foo fighters,” a name gleaned from the men’s favorite comic strip, “Smokey Stover” by cartoonist Bill Holman. The comic follows the escapades of a madcap fire fighter who calls his fire truck the “Foomobile.” Smokey Stover often states, “where there’s foo, there’s fire.” (Jo Chamberlin, “ The Foo Fighter Mystery,” American Legion Magazine, December 1945, pp. 9, 43–47; “ More Foo-Fighter Records Released,” Just Cause, new ser., no. 33 (September 1992): 2–6; “ The Foo Fighters of World War II, Part One,” Saturday Night UFOria; Clas Svahn, “ The Origin of the Expression ‘Foo Fighter,’” IUR 25, no. 3 (Fall 2000): 18; Don Berliner, with Marie Galbreath and Antonio Huneeus, UFO Briefing Document: The Best Available Evidence, Dell, 2000, pp. 47–49; Strange Company 96–111; Swords 3–5; Barry Greenwood, “ Foo Fighter Archive Donated to UHR,” UFO Historical Revue, no. 17 (December 2015): 2–8; Graeme Rendall, “ The Foo Fighters: Today’s Pilots Encounters with UAP Are Nothing New,” The Debrief, April 15, 2021)
December 23 — 6:00 a.m. A Bristol Beaufighter crew of the 415th Night Fighter Squadron is patrolling at 10,000 feet near Haguenau, France, when they see two orange lights climbing toward them from the ground. They level off and remain on the plane’s tail for 2 minutes, then peel off, “flying under perfect control,” and go out. (Jo Chamberlin, “ The Foo Fighter Mystery,” American Legion Magazine, December 1945, p. 44; “ More Foo-Fighter Records Released,” Just Cause, new ser., no. 33 (September 1992): 1, 4)
December 23 - Night. Navy Lt. George Arents III and copilot Lt. Elon Forster are flying a military DC-3 at 9,000 feet between Blackstone and Richmond, Virginia, when they notice a cigar-shaped object hovering below them at about 4,000 feet. It appears to be 200 feet long and has two horizontal rows of blue-lighted windows and a flaming exhaust coming out of its tail. (Jan Aldrich)
Late December through February 1945 - Radar operators at Naval Air Station Pasco, Washington, report unusual blips that appear out of nowhere and proceed from northwest to southeast. A Grumman F6F Hellcat fighter is scrambled on at least two occasions with orders to shoot down anything that appears to be hostile, but nothing is seen. In another incident, Lt. JG Clarence R. Clem accompanies Lt. Commander Richard Brown and Ensign C. T. Neal to a waiting aircraft and Brown takes off in pursuit of a ball of fire that quickly leaves him behind as it speeds off to the northwest and is lost to radar. On another occasion, naval officer R. W. Hendershot, flying an SNJ aircraft, is asked by ground radar to make contact with two high-altitude blips flying at the speed of a single- engine Piper Cub. Though he can see nothing, he is convinced the blips are real. (Headquarters Fourth Air Force, " Air Defense Measures at Hanford Engineering Company," January 23, 1945; Strange Company 142; Nukes 43-44; Project 1947, " UFOs over Hanford: Cdr. R. W. Hendershot," June 22, 2014; Robert L. Hastings, " Reports Confirm UFO Activity at the Hanford Nuclear Weapons Plant during World War II," UFOs & Nukes, August 9, 2015; Robert L. Hastings, " Former US Navy Pilot Says Huge Fireball Maneuvered above the Hanford Atomic Plant during World War II," UFOs & Nukes, October 5, 2015)
1945
A slow-moving object, 25-35 feet in diameter, comes within 225 feet of a witness in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England. Through a large window he can see 6-feet-tall beings with short legs, short hair, and one-piece suits. (" Ufonauts Seen in 1945," Northern UFO News, no. 21 (February 1976): 5; Clark III 266; Clark IV 306)
January — Ray Palmer edits, rewrites, and publishes Richard S. Shaver’s description of the cave-dwelling Dero for the March 1945 issue of Amazing Stories under the title “I Remember Lemuria,” which also describes Shaver’s “memories” of life in the lost continent of Lemuria. The issue sells out and generates quite a response. A second story, “Thought Records of Lemuria,” appears in the June 1945 issue, in which Shaver claims he hears voices coming from his welding machine that are from the evil Dero. Between 1945 and 1949, many letters arrive attesting to the truth of Shaver’s claims (tens of thousands of letters, according to Palmer). The correspondents claim that they, too, have heard strange voices or encountered denizens of the Hollow Earth. (Wikipedia, “ Richard Sharpe Shaver”; Wikipedia, “ Raymond A. Palmer”; Richard S. Shaver, “‘I Remember Lemuria,’” Amazing Stories 19, no. 1 (March 1945): 12–70; Richard S. Shaver, “Thought Records of Lemuria,” Amazing Stories 19, no. 2 (June 1945): 16–52; Walter Kafton-Minkel, Subterranean Worlds, Loompanics, 1989, pp. 137–144; Richard Toronto, War over Lemuria: Richard Shaver, Ray Palmer, and the Strangest Chapter of 1940s Science Fiction, McFarland, 2013; Fred Nadis, The Man from Mars: Ray Palmer’s Amazing Pulp Journey, Penguin Group, 2013; David Halperin, “ The Shaver Mystery—Richard Shaver, Ray Palmer, and the Quest for Lemuria (Part 1),” July 4, 2014; Clark III 872, 1069; Clark IV 966, 1184)
January 2 — 2:30 a.m. USAAF Lieut. Jack Green and navigator Lieut. Warren Barber, 653rd Bombardment Squadron, are conducting a reconnaissance flight in a Mosquito over the Netherlands and northern Germany when they encounter two balls of fire on three occasions pacing their plane. Barber describes them as a “pair of fog lights, shooting up to 60 or 70,000 feet.” (Strange Company 114–116, 208–209)
January 2 - The New York Times publishes an article stating that the foo fighters are German weapons. Lieut. Donald J. Meiers of the 415th Night Fighter Squadron says he has been followed by foo-fighters twice in November 1944. "A foo-fighter picked me up at 700 feet and chased me 20 miles down the Rhine Valley [Germany]. I turned to starboard and two balls of fire turned with me. I turned to the port side and they turned with me. We were going 260 miles an hour and the balls were keeping right up with us." (" Balls of Fire Stalk U.S. Fighters in Night Assaults over Germany," New York Times, January 2, 1945, pp. 1, 4; " Science: Foo-Fighter," Time, January 15, 1945, p. 72; Strange Company 117-118)
January 2 — Col. Clayton Lawrence Bissell, in the Pentagon’s Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, sends SHAEF in Paris a classified message seeking an explanation for the red balls of fire pacing planes. No response has been located to date. ([Clayton Lawrence] Bissell, [ message], January 2, 1945; Project 1947, “ UFO Reports, 1945”)
January 22 - British prisoners being force-marched out of the German Heydebreck labor camp (near modern Kedzierzyn-Kozle, Poland) see a four-engine bomber overhead. Behind it is a "brilliant light" that is following it closely. (Clark III 503; Clark IV 552
January 16 —Lt. Col. Leavitt Corning Jr. of the XII Tactical Air Command sends a secret memo to the assistant chief of air intelligence requesting further information on the “Night Phenomenon.” (Strange Company 126–127)
January 20 — First Tactical Air Force Executive Officer Maj. Samuel V. Boykin responds to Corning asking for more particulars about the reports. (Strange Company 127)
January 22 — British prisoners being force-marched out of the German Heydebreck labor camp (near modern Kędzierzyn-Koźle, Poland) see a four-engine bomber overhead. Behind it is a “brilliant light” that is following it closely. (Clark III 503; Clark IV 552)
1945, between January 26 and 31 — Louis Gracie and four other sailors on the troop transport USS McCracken near the Solomon Islands watch a submerged object about 20 feet in diameter with a dull finish. The ship passes over it. (Jan L. Aldrich, “ Updated Draft Catalogue of UFOs/USOs Reported by Seagoing Services, NavCat 2.0,” Project 1947, 2015; Dolan, USO1, 114–115)
January 30 — 12:10 a.m. A 415th Night Fighter Squadron crew observes two amber-colored “lights in the air at 2,000 feet” between Wissembourg, Bas-Rhin, France, and Landau, Germany. They seem to be about a foot in diameter and 20–50 feet apart. The lights follow their Bristol Beaufighter, closing in to about 1,000 feet before disappearing. (Strange Company 129; “ Foo Fighter Archive Donated to UHR,” UFO Historical Revue, no. 17 (December 2015): 7)
January 30 - Capt. Fred B. Ringwald, intelligence officer for the 415 Night Fighter Squadron, responds to Corning's January 16 request by offering a summary of 14 foo fighter reports from December 14, 1944, to January 29, 1945. ([ Memo], Fred B. Ringwald to AC of S A-2 XII Tactical Air Command, January 30, 1945; Strange Company 129-132)
February — Meade Layne founds the Borderland Sciences Research Associates in San Diego, California, and publishes the first issue of its newsletter, The Round Robin. Working with local medium Mark A. Probert, who channels “etheric” entities from discarnates with advanced knowledge of spirit and cosmos, Layne and BSRA seek to explore the mysteries of the invisible world. (Borderland Sciences Research Associates, [ History]; Håkan Blomqvist, “ Round Robin and Contactee History,” Håkan Blomqvist’s Blog, March 30, 2014; Clark III 876; Clark IV 970)
February 2 — The first Hanford plutonium arrives at Los Alamos. (Atomic Heritage Foundation, “ Atomic Timeline”)
February 2 — The first flight of the H.IX V2 is made in Oranienburg, Germany. All subsequent test flights and development are done by Gothaer Waggonfabrik in Gotha. By this time, the Horten brothers are working on a turbojet-powered design for the Amerika Bomber contract competition and do not attend the first test flight. The test pilot is Leutnant Erwin Ziller. Two further test flights are made in February. There are reports that during one of these test flights, the H.IX V2 undertook a simulated dogfight with a Messerschmitt Me 262, the first operational jet fighter, and that the H.IX V2 outperformed the Me 262. However, the Me 262 is considered by many as unsuitable for fighter missions, being slow in turning. (Wikipedia, “ Horton Ho 229”)
February 7 — Afternoon. Several F6F fighters on patrol (one piloted by Ensign Norman P. Stark) from the USS Wasp aircraft carrier anchored at Ulithi Atoll in the Caroline Islands are told to investigate a radar target at 30,000 feet some 10 miles west of the fleet. Before they can reach altitude, the object moves back to the west at high speed. They catch a brief visual glimpse of it. (LCDR Norman P. Stark, “ A WWII F6F Navy Fighter Pilot’s Experiences in the Pacific,” Battle of Saipan, January 1, 2000)
February 10 — The Chicago Tribune and Washington Times-Herald reveal Bill Donovan’s plans for a postwar intelligence agency and publishes a secret memo he has sent to Roosevelt proposing its creation. The article compares the proposed agency to the Gestapo. Knowing that Americans want a smaller federal government after the war, Roosevelt is not entirely sold on Donovan’s proposal, although Donovan feels reasonably confident that he can talk the president into the idea. J. Edgar Hoover disapproves of Donovan’s plan, which he sees as a direct threat to FBI authority, even though Donovan has stressed that his agency will operate only abroad, not domestically. (Walter Trohan, “ Super-Spy Idea Denounced As New Deal OGPU,” Chicago Tribune, February 10, 1945, p. 1; Mark Riebling, Wedge: From Pearl Harbor to 9/11, Simon & Schuster, 2002, pp. 59–61; Central Intelligence Agency, “ Origins of CIA,” August 3, 2005)
February 11 — Air Commodore Colin McKay Grierson, RAF assistant chief of staff A2, refers Ringwald’s report to the Air Ministry. (Strange Company 133–134)
February 14 — Rocket engineers Rudolf Schriever and Klaus Habermohl allegedly fly a Nazi-engineered flying disk in Prague, Czechoslovakia, that reaches an altitude of 40,680 feet in 3 minutes and a speed of 1,243 mph in horizontal flight. The plans for these devices supposedly come from the German experts Schriever, Habermohl, Richard Miethe, and the Italian Giuseppe Belluzzo. Habermohl and Schriever choose a wide ring that revolves around a fixed, dome-shaped cockpit and consists of adjustable wing disks that can be placed in an appropriate position depending on whether they are needed for takeoff or level flight. (Wikipedia, “ Nazi UFOs”; Rudolf Lusar, Die Deutschen Waffen und Geheimwaffen des Zweites Weltkrieges, 1958; Andreas Müller, “ Dauerthema: UFOs und das Dritte Reich: Eine kritische Analyse,” grenzWissenschaft-aktuelle.de, September 5, 2023)
Mid-February - As their C-47 prepares to land at Biggs Field, Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, S/Sgt Ralph Bayer is alarmed to see an aircraft approaching from the left and only 900 feet below them. The object is about 30 feet long and a dull, flat gray in color, and it travels in a straight course 500 feet above the ground until it disappears. (Clark III 1178; Clark IV 1352)
February 18 — Disaster strikes during the third test flight of the H.IX V2 in Gotha, Germany. Erwin Ziller takes off without any problems to perform a series of flight tests. After about 45 minutes, at an altitude of around 800 meters, one of the Jumo 004 turbojet engines develops a problem, catches fire and stops. Ziller is seen putting the aircraft into a dive and pulling up several times in an attempt to restart the engine and save the precious prototype. He undertakes a series of four complete turns at a 20° angle. Ziller does not use his radio or eject from the aircraft. He already is unconscious as a result of the fumes from the burning engine. The aircraft crashes just outside the boundary of the airfield. Ziller is thrown from the aircraft on impact and dies from his injuries two weeks later. The prototype aircraft is completely destroyed. (Wikipedia, “ Horton Ho 229”)
February 22 — Night. A B-24 bomber flying near Chichijima in the Ogasawara (Bonin) Archipelago, Japan, sees an object trailing exhaust. It is also picked up on radar and follows the plane for about 20 miles before disappearing off the screen. (Project 1947, “ UFO Reports, 1945”)
March — A man is squirrel hunting in a wooded area near Belfast, Maine, when he sees a huge, elongated object just above the trees. He runs after it, thinking it is a dirigible about to crash. The object crashes into the trees at the far edge of a clearing, splitting a huge pine tree down the middle. He smells burned rubber. The object seems to be as big as several B-36 bombers. As he stands there stunned, the lowest end of the craft begins to rise and he hears a humming sound of increasing intensity. After it rises to a horizontal position, it begins to spin faster and faster and the hum becomes very intense. Suddenly one end spews a shower of fine, silvery threads that glint in the sunlight. The object begins to change to a white metallic color and it takes off straight up at fantastic speed. (“I Saw a Flying Saucer,” Flying Saucers, May 1959, pp. 6–18, 78; Clark III 1178–1179; Clark IV 1352–1353)
March — 3:00 p.m. Army Air Force Sgt. James L. Lease and E. E. Dickey are driving south on the Santa Rosa Highway north of Fort Sumner, New Mexico, when they see the glint of a flying object to the west. It appears to be a grayish metal and motionless about 12–14 feet off the ground. Suddenly it swoops away at great speed and is out of sight within seconds. (Strange Company 142–143; Powell, Scientist, 65)
March — Ray Palmer travels to Barto, Pennsylvania, and spends a weekend with Richard Shaver and his wife. He witnesses Shaver’s channeling trances and the different voices describing the cavern world that he generates during his sleep. (Wikipedia, “ Richard Sharpe Shaver”; Wikipedia, “ Raymond A. Palmer”; Walter Kafton-Minkel, Subterranean Worlds, Loompanics, 1989, pp. 137–144; Richard Toronto, War over Lemuria: Richard Shaver, Ray Palmer, and the Strangest Chapter of 1940s Science Fiction, McFarland, 2013; Fred Nadis, The Man from Mars: Ray Palmer’s Amazing Pulp Journey, Penguin Group, 2013; David Halperin, “ The Shaver Mystery—Richard Shaver, Ray Palmer, and the Quest for Lemuria (Part 1),” July 4, 2014; Clark III 872, 1069; Clark IV 966, 1184)
March 10 — A Japanese Fu-Go balloon strikes a high-tension wire on the Bonneville Power Administration in Washington State. The balloon causes sparks and a fireball that results in the power being cut. Coincidentally, the largest consumer of energy on this power grid is the Hanford site of the Manhattan Project, which suddenly loses power. The officer in charge at Hanford, Col. Franklin Matthias, says “it shut down the plant cold, and it took us about three days to get it back up to full power again.” (“ Japanese Ballons and Attached Devices,” Technical Air Intelligence Center Report, no. 41 (May 1945); Joel Shurkin, “ Japanese Balloon Attack Almost Interrupted Building First Atomic Bombs,” Inside Science, March 21, 2016; Franklin Matthias, “ Japanese Balloon Bombs Fu-Go,” Atomic Heritage Foundation, August 10, 2016; Donald W. Meyers, “ It Happened Here: Japanese Balloon Bombs Found in Yakima Valley,” Yakima (Wash.) Herald-Republic, June 10, 2019)
March 12 — Nearly a week after the US Army launches Operation Lumberjack to cross the Rhine River, the Ho 229 is included in the Jäger-Notprogramm (Emergency Fighter Program) for accelerated production of inexpensive “wonder weapons.” The prototype workshop is moved to the Gothaer Waggonfabrik (Gotha) in Friedrichroda, Germany. In the same month, work commences on the third prototype, the Ho 229 V3. (Wikipedia, “ Horton Ho 229”)
March 18 — Grierson writes to Samuel V. Boykin that the Air Ministry thinks the fireballs are either Me-262’s or flak rockets. (Strange Company 147)
March 18 — Night. A 416th NFS crew is flying a Mosquito 25 miles northwest of Florence, Italy. Suddenly a light is flying alongside them at 13,000 feet. It doesn’t appear on the radar screen. The pilot turns the plane toward the light, keeping on its tail, pursuing at 260 mph and climbing to 16,000 feet. Suddenly the light disappears. (Strange Company 148)
March 19 — 1:00 p.m. The crew of the battleship USS New York is leaving port on Manus in the Admiralty Islands, preparing to rejoin Task Force 54 in preparation for the invasion of Okinawa. When the ship’s radar detects a single incoming blip, officers issue a call to General Quarters. Crew members can see an object hovering high above the ship. Capt. Kemp C. Christian Sr. is watching it through binoculars, and it appears silver in color and smaller than a full moon. It remains still, matching the ship’s course and speed. After 30 minutes, Kemp orders the ship’s anti-aircraft guns to fire on the object, but it is out of range. After a few more seconds, the object climbs swiftly until it is out of sight and off the radar scope. (William McGuire and Mark Murphy, “ Profiles: New York or Bust,” The New Yorker, October 27, 1945; Carl Feindt, “ Report #1090,” waterufo.net; NICAP, “ South Pacific in the Area of the Admiralty Islands, Mid-March 1945”; Stephen A. Pratt, [ Letter], MUFON UFO Journal, no. 203 (March 1983): 16; Strange Company 151–152)
Late March - At least two residents of Dresden, Germany, see a round, flat, silver-colored object without propellors or wings hovering silently in the air. It suddenly disappears like a "burst soap bubble." (" Weltrundschau," Weltraumbote, no. 32/22 (July/Aug. 1958): 14-15; Clark III 503; Clark IV 552)
March 25 — Around 10:30 p.m. Company A of the US 44th Armored Infantry Battalion is bivouacked on a hill along the Autobahn between Mannheim and Darmstadt, Germany, when 6–7 circular, glowing, yellow-orange objects approach at 150 feet, roughly following the road. They are not in strict formation and seem individually controlled. John G. Norris recalled that after 5–6 minutes they are hidden by the trees. (Strange Company 153– 154; Clark III 503; Clark IV 552)
March 26 - During an air operation, Lieut. Calvin P. Lamb (pilot), Lieut. James G. Holmes (radar observer), and Sgt. John W. McIsaac (gunner) notice lights on an airborne object. The lights follow them through a few turns but move away as the crew orbits north of Iwo Jima, Japan. They give chase, obtaining a slight target on the aircraft radar, then the object pulls out of sight. A similar lighted object is again seen March 28 by Lieut. William F. Sill (pilot), Flight Officer George W. Hayden (radar observer), and PFC William Brasvell (gunner). (Project 1947, " UFO Reports, 1945"
April — During operations around Okinawa, Japan, the radar crew on the aircraft carrier USS Independence frequently notices strange radar returns that move at slow speeds (30–70 mph). Aircraft and destroyers sent to search for them never find anything. These radar ghosts are usually detected 25–30 miles away at an altitude of 1,500 feet, but occasionally 3,500 feet. The primary diagnostic for these false returns is their speed. The Navy nicknames them the “ghost of Nansei-shoto” after the Japanese name for the Ryukyu Islands, of which Okinawa is one. (Strange Company 183–186)
April — Ray Palmer publishes a second story by Richard Shaver, “Thought Records of Lemuria,” in the June issue of Amazing Stories. Here it is revealed that Shaver’s knowledge of the cave world and Lemuria isn’t really a “racial memory,” as the first story had asserted. Shaver, working in a factory, heard voices speaking to him, apparently through his welding gun. (Richard S. Shaver, “Thought Records of Lemuria,” Amazing Stories 19, no 2 (June 1945): 16–52)
April 3–4 — US B-29 bombers over Honshu, Japan, encounter numerous balls of light tagging along with them. (Strange Company 157–159)
April 7 — Walter and Reimar Horten, German designers associated with wingless aircraft, are arrested by US troops near Göttingen, Germany. (Lance Cole, Secret Wings of World War II: Nazi Technology and the Allied Arms Race, Pen & Sword, 2015)
April 7 — Mid-morning. Capt. Louis B. Sewell is serving as a navigator in a B-17 over the North Sea on the way to a bombing target near Berlin, Germany. Suddenly, out of the sun, an apparent German fighter dives at the aircraft from the side, leveling off for a swift attack. However, the object has no wings, and it rolls over into a dive without firing. Suddenly it stops in mid-air, and Sewell can see it against the sea below. The object then takes off at about 2,000 mph and disappears. Sewell’s radio operator turns over several photos he took of the object to intelligence officers. (Harley D. Rutledge, Project Identification, Prentice-Hall, 1981, p. 250)
April 10 — 11:00 p.m. James L. Landry [or Hendry] sees from his porch in Jeffersontown, Kentucky, a bright light that seems to be directly above Fisherville, 3 miles to the east. Its brightness fluctuates and it seems to be moving directly toward his location, casting a light beam downward. After 10 minutes, it goes out “like a snuffed candle.” (“A Meteor?” Louisville Times, April 14, 1945; “ Another Sky-Light,” Doubt 13 (Winter 1945/1946): 195; Project 1947, “ UFO Reports, 1945”; Clark III 1177; Clark IV 1352)
April 10 — As part of the Manhattan Project, 18 people in the US are injected with plutonium in doses ranging from 95 to 5,900 nanocuries without their knowledge or consent. The intent is to study how plutonium is absorbed into the digestive tract. The last experiment is conducted on July 18, 1947. (Wikipedia, “ Unethical human experimentation in the United States”)
April 12 — Roosevelt dies at Warm Springs, Georgia. Harry S. Truman is sworn in as president.
April 17 — Maj. Gen. James P. Hodges writes a memorandum to Gen. Henry H. “Hap” Arnold, saying that infrared devices are now available to take photographs of “balls of fire” in the Pacific. (Project 1947, “ UFO Reports, 1945”)
April 22 — The USS Lewis Hancock is northeast of Okinawa, Japan, when the SG radar picks up an unidentified target at 6 miles heading their way at 70–115 mph. Its movements are erratic. Two miles out, the ship identifies a “tight formation of more than fifty birds.” (Strange Company 184)
April 24 — The USS Audubon is headed for Okinawa, Japan, with US Army passengers and equipment. Radar operators pick up “unidentified aeroplanes” heading their way. The screens show a blip, alternately fuzzy and strong, some 8 miles away headed down the starboard side at 25 mph. Still, nothing can be seen visually, and the radar operator suggests that it is a flock of birds. (Strange Company 184–186)
April 25 — 9:45 a.m. Acting Squadron Leader Kit Francis Williams of the RAF 617 Bomber Squadron is flying a Lancaster with 25 other aircraft to bomb Hitler’s headquarters at Berchtesgaden, Germany, in the Bavarian Alps. Just after a turn near Kaiserslautern, Germany, at 16,500 feet, Williams witnesses an object like a large woolly blanket that takes up his entire windshield. He thinks it could be as much as 4–5 miles wide. It moves vertically and is gone in an instant. Suddenly his aircraft loses its electrical power and loses one of its bombs. He and his bomber and engineer get severe headaches. They return to base in England after regaining power. (Keith Basterfield, “Observation by Pilot over Germany, 1945,” Unidentified Aerial Phenomena—Scientific Research, November 14, 2016)
April 26 — Gen. Curtis LeMay’s XXI Bomber Command’s Air Intelligence staff produces a 5-page report representing the most up-to-date information and theories on the balls of fire seen in the Pacific theatre of war but cannot find a good explanation for them. (“ Balls of Fire,” Twentieth Air Force, XXI Bomber Command, Air Intelligence Report 1, no. 8 (April 26, 1945): 9–14; Strange Company 162–163)
April or May — Day. During the Okinawa campaign, “bright gold balls” moving in a straight line shoot over the island. Several battleship and destroyer radars track them moving at 600 mph. (Clark III 503; Clark IV 552)
Late Spring — 10:30 a.m. Two brothers in St. James, Missouri, notice metallic disc with a clear dome hovering above the family garage. It is about 35 feet in diameter and 12 feet tall. A human-like being about 5 feet 6 inches tall is inside the dome, wearing brown coveralls. It seems to notice the witnesses and immediately touches something in front of it. The object moves forward with a hum like an electric motor. After a click, the object sways in the air. One of the brothers runs underneath it and sees on the underside an area with grille work, The craft takes off and follows the contour of the ground, picks up speed, and disappears over a hill. (Richard H. Hall, From Airships to Arnold, UFO Research Coalition, 2000, pp. 26, 31)
May — German scientist Viktor Schauberger, who has been using inmates from the Mauthausen concentration camp to help him develop new aircraft and submarine engines, is captured by Allied forces in Leonstein, Austria. Supposedly his devices and documents, which allegedly include a prototype flying saucer, are kept under lock and key. He is released in March 1946 and moves to Linz, Austria, but the Americans do not confiscate his workshop and laboratory materials, although they prohibit him from further military experimentation. (Wikipedia, “ Nazi UFOs”)
May 3 — Early morning. Nine B-24’s with the 11th Bombardment Group’s 431st Squadron are heading out on a bombing mission against Japanese air installations on Truk [now Chuuk] Atoll in Micronesia. One plane over Fala Island sees two objects at their altitude of 11,000 feet, changing from cherry red to orange then white, then dying out and turning cherry red again. Both follow the B-24 through all sorts of evasive actions. (NICAP, “ May 2, Truk Atoll Sighting”; Jo Chamberlin, “ The Foo Fighter Mystery,” American Legion Magazine 39, no. 6 (December 1945): 9; “ B-24 Sights Circles of Light,” UFO Historical Revue, no. 2 (September 1998): 8; Richard H. Hall, From Airships to Arnold, UFO Research Coalition, 2000, pp. 25–26; Strange Company 163–165; Patrick Gross, “ Foo Fighters: The Truk Atoll, May 2, 1945, Foo Fighter Incident”)
May 5 — A pregnant woman, Elsie Mitchell, and five children are killed when they discover a Japanese Fu-Go balloon bomb that has landed in the forest of Gearhart Mountain near Bly in southern Oregon. (Wikipedia, “ Fu-Go balloon bomb”; “ Mystery Blast Kills 6 Persons,” Spokane (Wash.) Spokesman-Review, May 7, 1945, p. 1; “ Mystery Blast Claims Former Medford Youth,” Medford (Oreg.) Mail Tribune, May 7, 1945, p. 1; “ Blast Kills 6: Five Children, Pastor’s Wife in Explosion,” Klamath Falls (Oreg.) Herald and News, May 7, 1945, pp. 1, 6; Allan T. Duffin, “ Project Fugo: The Japanese Balloon Bombs,” Military Heritage 9, no. 2 (October 2007); David Kravets, “ May 5, 1945: Japanese Balloon Bomb Kills 6 in Oregon,” Wired, May 5, 2010; Francine Uenuma, “ In 1945, a Japanese Balloon Bomb Killed Six Americans, Five of Them Children, in Oregon,” Smithsonian Magazine, May 22, 2019; Steve Lent, “ Japanese Balloon Bomb Kills Six at Bly in 1945,” Prineville Central Oregonian, May 24, 2019; Don Bourgeois, “ Weaponized Chinese Balloon Not New, Oregon Attacked by Japan in WWII,” Portland (Oreg.) Tribune, February 7, 2023)
May 23 and 25 — Night. In the wake of two B-29 raids on Tokyo, Japan, both nights, businessman Iomoyo Okado looks up from his air raid shelter and sees slow-moving “roundish objects, like hot cakes, about 20 square yards” in diameter, and silent. They are blue or gray in color. (“ ‘Flying Hot Cakes’ over Tokyo in 1945,” St. Joseph (Mo.) News-Press, July 12, 1947, p. 6; Clark III 503; Clark IV 552)
May 25 — Early morning. Capt. Louis B. Sewell is flying a B-17 carrying some troops south over the Atlantic Ocean from Port Lyautey [modern Kenitra], Morocco, to Dakar, Senegal, when he notices a metallic, elliptical object at the same altitude about 5–10 miles distant. During the 8-hour flight, they all can see it 6 or 7 times through the clouds. At times, it hovers. (Harley D. Rutledge, Project Identification, Prentice-Hall, 1981, pp. 250–251)
May or June — Day. The crew of a US Marine transport east of Okinawa sees, about a quarter of a mile from them, a long cigar-shaped object with three smaller metallic disks behind it. The disks disappear behind or into the cigar, which shoots off at high speed. (Clark III 503; Clark IV 552)
Summer — After 5:00 p.m. Future ufologist Ann Druffel is on a bus returning from her summer job in Long Beach, California, when she sees out of the left-hand window a bright, stationary, yellowish-white light in the northeastern sky. It looks like Venus but has a yellow color. She gets off the bus and still watches it, walking home. Soon she sees it is moving slowly to the northwest. She gets her mother to view it as well. Druffel thinks it is too high to be a coastal defense balloon. Druffel watches it for 90 minutes, after which it takes on some “activity.” Some 10–15 pieces of light begin separating from it, fading from view after moving several diameters away from the large object. (Ann Druffel, “ UFO Sightings by UFO Researchers: The ‘Inaccessible Cases,’ Part 1,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 139 (September 1979): 14–15; Herbert S. Taylor, “ Satellite Objects: A Further Look,” IUR 29, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 3–4)
Summer — Future ufologist Illobrand von Ludwiger sees an object like a black plate, whose diameter is one-eighth that of the Moon, flying against the wind below the clouds, in Stendal, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. (Margaret Sachs, The UFO Encyclopedia, Putnam, 1980, p. 357)
Summer — Radioman Robert S. Crawford and 13 other sailors aboard the US Army Transport Delarof see a large, dark sphere rise out of the ocean east of Adak in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. The UFO, showing darkly against the setting sun, climbs almost straight up for a few moments, then it arcs into level flight, and circles the ship two or three times. All the observers are convinced it is a large object. Crawford estimates the UFO is 150–250 feet in diameter. The gun crews hold their fire. After several minutes, it disappears to the south. (NICAP, “ Large Object Emerges from Sea near the Delarof”; “ The Question of Submerging UFO’s,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 5 (March 1968): 4; Dolan, USO1, 115–117)
Summer - Mrs. Helen Allen sees a "long, silver-colored cigar" that appears suddenly out of the haze above Crane Beach in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Huge and silent, it hovers low over the water not far from the shore. After a few seconds, it speeds away and disappears. (Lore and Deneault, p. 148)
June 1 — The Army Air Force approves a Northrop-recommended change for installing eight jet engines in each of two modified YB-35 piston-driven flying wings, which are redesignated YB-49s. (Wikipedia, “ Northrop YB-49”)
June 1 - 7:30 p.m. A shiny, tubular object, 5-6 feet long, is observed over Morganton, North Carolina. It streaks toward the northwest, blue flame shooting from the rear. After it vanishes in the mountains near Lake James, witnesses hear an explosion. (Vincent H. Gaddis, " Visitors from the Void," Amazing Stories 21, no. 6 (June 1947): 159-161; Loren E. Gross, The Mystery of Unidentified Flying Objects-A Prelude, 1896-1949, The author, 1971, p. 156; Clark III 1178; Clark IV 1352)
June 9 — XXI Bomber Command Air Intelligence issues an Air Intelligence Report on the balls of fire in the Pacific Theatre. The Truk sighting is attributed to an unknown Japanese experimental aircraft, though not a jet. (“‘Light’ Follows B-24 from Truk,” Air Intelligence Report 1, no. 14, June 8, 1945, pp. 13-14; Strange Company 177–180)
July — The 9th Bombardment Group on Tinian in the Northern Marianas: “During our night missions in June and July a UFO phenomenon was reported. Our air crews started sighting balls of fire, i.e., glowing objects about the size of a full moon which flew around in the vicinity of our flying patterns over Japan. One of our crews reported that one of the objects followed their airplane halfway to Iwo Jima. I saw them on two missions. I don’t remember any reports of any hostile action by these objects and the reports of sightings stopped after a couple of months. The object of these reports was dismissed by some experts as the planet Venus. And, after these reports started coming in, some crews did mistake the rising full moon as one of these balls of fire. Some reports speculated that these balls of fire were exhausts from a Japanese development called a Baka Bomb, but exhaust flames can only be seen from the rear; and these objects appeared to have the same size and intensity in whatever direction they were traveling. I have never heard of any official assessment as to what these objects were. I had an occasion to ask General LeMay about them several years after the war and he had no explanation. I am sure that what I saw was neither Venus nor the moon nor a Baka Bomb.” (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 24; Henry C. Huglin, “ Group Commander’s Reminiscences,” in Lawrence S. Smith, et al., History of the 9th Bombardment Group (VH), 9th Bomb Group Association, 1995, pp. 27–28)
July — In northern Okinawa, Japan, on a bluff looking toward the South China Sea, Artillery Capt. William A. Mandel sees a cigar-shaped object with a lighted tail moving at eye level at about 200–300 mph at an elevation of no more than 400 feet. He estimates its length at 30–40 feet and its diameter at 6–8 feet. (Project 1947, “ UFO Reports, 1945”)
July — When several balloon-shaped objects appear above Selfridge Field [now Selfridge Air National Guard Base] near Mount Clemens, Michigan, the base commander asks for a volunteer to attack them as possible Japanese balloon bombs. Jean Kisling, serving with a Free French Air Force detachment as an instructor on P-47 Thunderbolts, accepts the challenge. He chases one “well beyond the service ceiling of the P-47D” and opens fire with 8 machine guns. The object shoots away sideways on edge, leaving a contrail. (Good Need, p. 24)
July 1 — The Air Technical Service Command is moved into T-2 Intelligence. (Wikipedia, “ Air Materiel Command”)
July 16 — The first detonation of a nuclear weapon (an implosion-style plutonium-based bomb) takes place at the Trinity site on what is now the White Sands Missile Range near Alamogordo, New Mexico. At this time, the bomb’s price tag, adjusted for inflation, is $28 billion. (Wikipedia, “ Trinity (nuclear test)”)
Mid-July - Noon. Pilot Roland D. Powell and five other Grumman F6F Hellcat pilots at Naval Air Station Pasco, Washington, are scrambled after radar reports a fast-moving object that is now stationary above the nearby Hanford nuclear facility. They see a bright object with a saucer-like appearance. It is the size of three aircraft carriers, side-by side, oval shaped, very streamlined like a stretched-out egg, pinkish in color, and emitting some kind of vapor. It hovers in a fixed position at 65,000 feet and then goes straight up and disappears. (NICAP, " Huge Saucer over Nuclear Reactor-Radar/Visual"; Roland D. Powell, Byron D. Varner, and Walter Andrus, " UFO Sighting over Hanford Nuclear Reactor in 1945," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 344 (December 1996): 13-14; Strange Company 188; Patrick Gross, " Alleged UFO Intercept Attempt at Hanford Nuclear Plant, July 1945")
July 20 — The Joint Chiefs of Staff establish Operation Overcast, a forerunner to Project Paperclip, a secret recruitment program to aid in postwar military research. The Joint Intelligence Objectives Agency is established to conduct the operation. (Wikipedia, “ Operation Paperclip”)
July 24 — President Truman discloses to Soviet leader Joseph Stalin that the United States has atomic weapons. Stalin feigns little surprise, since he already knows this through espionage. (Gene Dannen, “ Truman Tells Stalin, July 24, 1945”)
August — The Army Signal Security Agency persuades ITT, RCA, and Western Union to continue the wartime cable intercept program, both foreign and domestic, now called Project SHAMROCK. No courts, no warrants. It remains secret from Congress and the President. (Wikipedia, “ Project SHAMROCK”)
August — 5:00 a.m. Ilona Johansson-Paasonen, staying in a sauna along lake Längelmävesi, Finland, wakes up and sees a 35-foot dazzling ball of fire streaking in her direction along the opposite shore. She throws herself to the floor, but when nothing happens she looks outside and sees a big dog, frozen in terror, its gaze fixed on the lake and a dark log-like object, 6 feet long, gliding through the water with a tall, slender man at the prow. He is dressed in a green coverall. On the other side another man sits steering an engine enclosed within a big glass bulb. (Ilona Johansson-Paasonen, “ Humanoideja Längelmävedellä?” Vimana 1970, no. 3/4, pp. 22–24; Ilona Johansson-Paasonen, “ Humanoids at Längelmävesi,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 13 (February 1973): 3–4; Clark III 266; Clark IV 306)
August 6 — 8:15 a.m. An atomic bomb (a fission weapon containing 64 kilograms of Uranium-235, Little Boy) is detonated 1,900 feet above Hiroshima, Japan, by the Enola Gay. The weapon is considered very inefficient, with only 1.7% of its material fissioning, but it is enough to obliterate the city. Some 78,000 people die instantly or immediately afterward in the firestorm. By the end of the year, another 25,000 will also sicken and die from radiation exposure. (Wikipedia, “ Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki”)
August 7 - During a press conference with the Seattle Times, Col. Franklin Matthias, officer in charge at the Hanford Engineer Works in Washington, admits the plant has had problems with aerial intrusions, but that radar has been installed and an arrangement made with the Navy to intercept any unidentified aircraft. (Project 1947, " UFOs over Hanford: Commander R. W. Hendershot")
August 9 — 11:01 a.m. Another atomic bomb (an implosion-type plutonium weapon, Fat Man) is dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, by Bockscar. Although the bomb is more powerful than the one used on Hiroshima, its effects are confined by hillsides to the narrow Urakami Valley. At least 35,000–40,000 people are killed, and 60,000 others are injured. (Wikipedia, “ Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki”)
August 10 — 3:00 a.m. Pianist Doris La Fountain is driving home along Market Street after finishing a concert at a night club in East Paterson [now Elmwood Park], New Jersey. She is accompanied by music store proprietor Thomas Brino and James Shaw of Clifton, New Jersey. For about 5 minutes they watch a brilliant red and green rectangular object maneuver at ground level about 70 feet away. It shoots off into the sky and disappears. (“ Seeing Saucer Sweet Music to a Pianist,” New York Daily News, September 8, 1957, Passaic-Bergen Sec., p. 22; Lore and Deneault, p. 145)
August 16 — A UFO allegedly crashes near San Antonio, New Mexico, near the site of the first atomic test, and is discovered by Jose Padilla, 9, and Remigio Baca, 7, when they are looking for a cow. The crashed saucer has created a gouge, and they can see entities moving around inside. They collect two shiny metal parts from the periphery of the crash site. A recent analysis shows that the metal is of terrestrial origin. In a comprehensive analysis of the case in 2023, Douglas Dean Johnson shows that Padilla and Baca fabricated the story in 2003 in the hope to profit by it, hijacking the names of a real policeman (Eddie Apodaca) and a real governor ( Dixy Lee Ray) as characters, and that Baca significantly changed his story over time. (“ New Mexico UFO Crash Encounter in 1945,” UFO Evidence; Remigio Baca, “San Antonio, NM August 1945 Crash Retrieval,” in 3rd Annual UFO Crash Retrieval Conference Proceedings, November 4–6, 2005, Wood and Wood, 2005, pp. 151–156; Paola Leopizzi Harris, “ The Reme Baca and Jose Padilla Witness Case,” The UFO Chronicles, November 30, 2010; Remigio Baca and Jose Padilla, Born on the Edge of Ground Zero: Living in the Shadow of Area 51, The Authors, 2011; Paola Harris, “Mystery at San Antonio, New Mexico, Crash Site,” MUFON UFO Journal 578 (June 2016): 1, 11–15; John Greenewald, “ Analysis of Two Metallic Parts Purportedly from a Crashed Unidentified Aerial Object (San Antonio, New Mexico, August 16, 1945),” The Black Vault, February 1, 2017; Jacques Vallee and Paola Leopizzi Harris, Trinity: The Best-Kept Secret, StarWorksUSA, 2021; Kevin D. Randle, “ Trinity: The Best Kept Secret—A Critique,” A Different Perspective, June 2, 2021; Jacques Vallée, “ The Other Lessons of Trinity,” Trinity blog, December 6, 2021; Kevin D. Randle, “ Jacques Vallée and Ten Unexplained UFO Cases and Metallic Debris,” A Different Perspective, December 16, 2021; Douglas Dean Johnson, “ Crash Story: The Trinity UFO Crash Hoax,” Mirador, May 1, 2023; Douglas Dean Johnson, “ Crash Story File: Eddie Apodaca, the Real Policeman Who Cracked the Trinity UFO Crash Case,” Mirador, May 1, 2023; James Clarkson, “ Trinity 1945 UFO Hoax,” James Clarkson UFO Investigations, May 8, 2023; Jacques Vallée, “ Jacques Vallée Hits Back at Hoax Claims over Trinity UFO Crash Book,” Journo Jottings, May 15, 2023; Douglas Dean Johnson, “ Crash Story File: The Reme Baca Smoking-Gun Interview,” Mirador, May 20, 2023; Douglas Dean Johnson, “ Crash Story File: ‘Witness’ Credibility Implodes for Jacques Vallée’s Trinity UFO Crash Tale,” Mirador, January 25, 2024; “ A UFO Sighting and the Creatures Seen by One Man in the Summer of 1945: ‘They Walk Like Us,’” CBS News Los Angeles, August 21, 2024; Clark IV 1288–1293, 1391)
August 21 — Manhattan Project physicist Harry Daghlian is conducting an after-hours experiment at the remote Omega Site of the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico when his hand slips. The test assembly he has built—a ball of plutonium surrounded by tungsten carbide bricks—goes critical. He sees a momentary blue flash and is struck by a wave of gamma and neutron radiation amounting to more than 500 rem. He disassembles the experiment, walks away, and admits himself to medical care. He falls into a coma and dies on September 15, the first person to die accidentally from close exposure to nuclear fission. (“ Atomic Bomb Worker Died ‘from Burns,’” New York Times, September 21, 1945, p. 10; Adam Higginbotham, Midnight at Chernobyl, Simon & Schuster, 2019, pp. 30–31)
August 28 — Twelve 5th Air Force intelligence specialists flying on a C-46 approaching Iwo Jima (in the Ogasawara Islands, Japan) see three white, teardrop-shaped objects paralleling the plane. Navigational needles go wild, the engine sputters, and the plane falters until the objects speed away. One of the passengers is future UFO investigator Leonard Stringfield. (NICAP, “ C-46 Encounters Objects / Magnetic Compasses ‘West Wild’”; Leonard H. Stringfield, Inside Saucer Post…3-0 Blue, The Author, 1957, pp. 7–8; Stringfield, Situation Red, Fawcett Crest, 1977, pp. 9–10; Strange Company 191–193, 209–211; Clark III 503–504; “ Crashed UFOs, Disclosure, Hangar 18, and His ‘Foo Fighter’ Encounter Discussed by Leonard Stringfield,” Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, December 14, 2024; Clark IV 552–553)
September — The first group of seven German rocket scientists arrive at Fort Strong in Boston harbor, Massachusetts, through Operation Overcast: Wernher von Braun, Erich W. Neubert, Theodor A. Poppel, August Schultze, Eberhard Rees, Wilhelm Jungert, and Walter Schwidetzky. By the end of the year, they and two other groups are moved to Fort Bliss, Texas, and White Sands, New Mexico, as “War Department Special Employees.” (Wikipedia, “ Operation Paperclip”)
September — The US Army atomic bomb production unit, Z Division, named for its director, Jerrold R. Zacharias from Los Alamos, New Mexico, moves to Oxnard Field, New Mexico, from Wendover Field [now Airport], Utah, to be closer to Los Alamos. This marks the beginning of Sandia Base [now part of Kirtland AFB]. Nearby Kirtland Field is used as a B-29 base for aircraft compatibility and drop tests. By October, all the staff and facilities at Wendover are transferred to Sandia. As reservist officers are demobilized, they are replaced by about 50 hand-picked regular officers. (Wikipedia, “ Manhattan Project”)
September — Policy adviser Ferdinand Eberstadt writes for Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal a report recommending a complete realignment of national security organizations. (Wikipedia, “ Eberstadt Report”)
September 20 — The OSS is dissolved by Executive Order, effective October 1, scattering personnel through the Departments of State and War. The Research and Analysis Branch is transferred to the State Department. The War Department takes over Secret Intelligence (SI) and Counter Espionage (X2), which are rolled up into the Strategic Services Unit (SSU) headed by Brig. Gen. John Magruder, the former OSS Deputy Director of Intelligence who oversees the OSS liquidation. Most of the other personnel are cashiered. (Wikipedia, “ Office of Strategic Services”)
September 26? — Night. Machinist Mate First Class George M. Reynolds, attached to the submarine tender USS Beaver with Submarine Squadron 45, anchored in Buckner Bay, Okinawa, Japan. He is on the main deck when he sees a bluish light move to the south, turn right, go over to the west, stop, and stand still. When it moves again, it goes back to the general area it started from. (Strange Company 195–196)
September or October — Sailors aboard the Liberty Ship James S. Lawson 8 miles off the coast of Costa Rica see an orange disk that appears 50 feet away and 20 feet below the surface. For 20 minutes the object maintains its position on the starboard side of the ship, pacing it. It appears to be 25–30 feet in diameter. After 20 minutes, it accelerates and disappears in the water. (Carl Feindt, “ Report #1640: A Letter to Ivan T. Sanderson,” waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 117–118)
Fall — Around 6:00 a.m. Two girls in Rainsville, Alabama, wake up to a swooshing sound and notice the trees outside are shaking. They see a large, half-moon-shaped object, positioned on its side, fly overhead. It ascends into fog over a nearby valley and disappears. (Clark III 1179; Clark IV 1353)
October - 8:00 p.m. While driving a car between Bryan and Stryker, Ohio, Gerald M. Kryling and his wife Thelma approach a bright light about 50 feet in the air and 20 feet from the road near some high-tension wires. It appears to be a 35- foot oval object with an amber-colored opening like a window that has shadows moving around inside. It takes off horizontally at great speed and then moves straight up. (Clark III 266; Clark IV 306)
October 1 — Project RAND is set up under special contract to the Douglas Aircraft Company and begins operations in December. Its first president is Douglas executive Franklin R. Collbohm. The name is derived from Research and Development, and its purpose is to act as a channel of scientific and technical information to the US military. (Wikipedia, “ RAND Corporation”)
October 9 — Brig. Gen. George C. McDonald, AAF director of intelligence, writes to Maj. Gen. Elwood Richard Quesada in answer to a request for the investigation into wartime “balls of fire.” Exhaustive investigations of German technical personnel and US and UK sources reveal no confirmation of German involvement with the phenomena. (Macdonald–Quesada correspondence, October 1945)
November — Operation Overcast is renamed Project Paperclip. (Wikipedia, “ Operation Paperclip”)
December — Lt. Col. Jo Chamberlin’s article on foo fighters appears in American Legion Magazine. Intelligence officers have ordered him not to state his military rank or position, but he is a special aide to Gen. Henry H. “Hap” Arnold. (Jo Chamberlin, “ The Foo Fighter Mystery,” American Legion Magazine 39, no. 6 (December 1945): 9, 43–47; “ Foo Fighter Archive Donated to UHR,” UFO Historical Revue, no. 17 (December 2015): 2–8)
December 5 — A training flight (Flight 19) of five TBM Avenger torpedo bombers disappears while over the Atlantic Ocean. The squadron’s flight plan is scheduled to take them due east from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for 141 miles, north for 73 miles, and then back over a final 140-mile leg to complete the exercise. The flight never returns to base. A report by Navy investigators concludes that flight leader Lt. Charles C. Taylor mistook small islands offshore for the Florida Keys after his compasses stopped working, resulting in the flight heading over open sea and away from land. The report is later amended by the Navy to read “cause unknown” to avoid blaming Taylor for the loss of five aircraft and 14 men. One of the search-and-rescue aircraft deployed to look for them, a PBM Mariner with a 13-man crew, also disappears. The report attributes the loss of the PBM aircraft to an explosion in midair while searching for the flight. According to contemporaneous sources, the Mariner has a history of explosions due to vapor leaks when heavily loaded with fuel, as it might have been for a potentially long search-and-rescue operation. A tanker off the coast of Florida sees an explosion and a widespread oil slick when fruitlessly searching for survivors. The weather is becoming stormy by the end of the incident. None of the Avenger bombers have been found. (Wikipedia, “ Flight 19”; Larry Kusche, The Bermuda Triangle Mystery—Solved, Harper & Row, 1975, pp. 97–122; Larry Kusche, The Disappearance of Flight 19, Harper & Row, 1980)
December 25 - A witness is standing on the shore during a blizzard on a small island off the west coast of Ireland, waiting for a boat that will return him to the mainland, when a silver domed object with a square base descends from the clouds and lands on the water. It is surrounded by purple lights and emits a whirring noise, resembling a drill. The object rises again and lands in a field, crushing two cows. The top of the craft slides open, and two humanoid figures with "squarish legs" and wearing gray-black rubber suits emerge. One of them walks across the water to the shore, placing a large vial on the ground. The other fires a red ray at a cow, burning through it. A farmer's dog approaches, barking, but the humanoid points a "box with lights and antennae" at it, hypnotizing the dog. The dog then walks up to the UFO and is taken aboard. Five or six similar craft streak overhead as a mist envelops the UFO. Both beings float back into the craft. Before leaving, one of the beings notices the witness and waves. Startled, the witness runs away. The farmer later advises the witness to keep the experience a secret. (Mark Malony, " A New Irish Close Encounter Report," Irish UFO News, no. 2 (July 1976): 5-6; " Northern Ireland Report, Part 2," Northern UFO News, no. 31 (December 1976): 4)
1946
Dancers on the roof of a nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey, watch the rapid passage of four square-shaped lights, reddish in color and aligned side by side, moving from the east and disappearing in the west in less than 60 seconds. One witness, meteorologist and RAF pilot George Raymond Leatherbarrow, estimates their altitude at 50,000 feet based on reflections on cirrus clouds. (G. R. Leatherbarrow, " Two Early UFO Cases from the Middle East," Awareness 5, no. 3 (Autumn 1976): 4-5; Clark III 1177; Clark IV 1352)
A space vehicle allegedly crashes near Great Falls, Montana, and is retrieved by the military. Alien bodies are shipped to Muroc Army Air Force Base [now Edwards AFB] in California. (James J. Hurtak, “ The Occupants of Crashed ‘Saucers,’” The UFO Register 10, no. 1 (December 1979): 2–3; Clark 343; Clark IV 379)
A farmer named Gunyon in Westerham, Kent, England, calls the British Technical Intelligence staff asking that the Air Ministry come and remove one of these “darned contraptions” which has fallen on his farm. The intelligence officers ask for directions and are told to drive from Croydon to Westerham, turning onto a lane when they reach a pub called The White Dog. Amid great security, two staff cars are dispatched, but fail to find the farm. They locate a pub called The White Hart and a farmer named Bunyan, who strenuously denies having made the call. Although the incident appears to be a hoax, few people can reach the Technical Intelligence staff and convince them to make a field visit. Indeed, the intelligence officers believe that former Air Intelligence scientist Reginald Victor Jones, who has been skeptical of foo fighters and ghost rockets, is behind the affair. Jones writes that a signal is received from Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s staff in Tokyo, asking for confirmation of a report that a Russian flying bomb had recently crashed in England. The other Director of Intelligence on the Air Staff, Air Commodore Roland Eugene Vintras, suggests to Jones that this might tie in with the “Westerham Incident.” (R. V. Jones, Most Secret War, Hamish Hamilton, 1978, pp. 507–513; “ UFO Britannia: Part 2—World War Foo and Post War Cover Ups,” Above Top Secret forum, December 19, 2012)
3:30 a.m. May Ackerman is awakened by a brilliant light shining in her bedroom in northwest Detroit, Michigan. It comes from a silent, luminous oval object with a transparent band across its midsection that is hovering in her neighbor's yard. Inside the band is a humanoid. The object departs abruptly. (" West Side Detroit Woman Sights Strange Craft and `Navigator' in 1946," Vimana 1, no. 1 (October 1954): 2, 4; Clark III 266: Clark IV 306)
Winter — Night. Ralph Newman and his wife are waiting at a bus stop in Darien, Connecticut, when they notice an object with a rocket-like exhaust moving silently from horizon to horizon from north to south. (Clark III 530; Clark IV 579)
January 10 — The Air Materiel Command at Wright Field, Ohio, issues a restricted-access document, German Flying Wings Designed by Horten Brothers by Capt. N. LeBlanc, detailing the drawings, photos, models, and documents relating to aircraft designed by Nazi aircraft designers the Horten brothers that were recovered in Germany by Allied forces. (N. LeBlanc, German Flying Wings Designed by Horten Brothers, Air Material Command, Technical Intelligence summary report no, F-SU-1110-ND, January 10, 1946; Col. H. M. McCoy to Maj. Gen. George McDonald, “ Flying Disc,” September 24, 1947; H. P. Dabrowski, The Horten Flying Wing in World War II: The History and Development of the Ho 229, Schiffer, 1991; Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, “ Roswell and the Flying Wing,” IUR 18, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1993): 3; John Powell, “ The Horten Flying Wings,” War Bird Forum, July 2019)
January 10 — 11:58 a.m. Harold D. Webb and Herbert P. Kauffman, scientists at Project Diana conducted by the US Army’s Evans Signal Laboratory at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, use a modified SCR-271 radar operating at 110 MHz with 3 kW peak-power to bounce radar echoes off the Moon. USAF Maj. Gen. Harold M. McClelland remarks to the press that this could be an “opening step” in communicating with intelligent life outside the Earth. (Wikipedia, “ Project Diana”; Jack Gould, “ Contact with Moon Achieved by Radar in Test by the Army,” New York Times, January 25, 1946, p. 1; “ Radar May Discover Life Existing on Other Planets,” Greensboro (N.C.) Daily News, January 26, 1946, p. 1; Trevor Clark, “ How Diana Touched the Moon,” IEEE Spectrum 17 (May 1980): 44–48)
January 18 — 11:00 p.m. A US C-54 transport plane is at 7,000 feet over the French countryside on its way to Paris, France. Suddenly the pilot sees a brilliant “shooting star” about 35° above the horizon. It streaks down below the eastern horizon, then reappears and moves in a hyperbola before falling again. (Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., p. 1; Clark III 523; Clark IV 573)
January 22 — President Truman creates a National Intelligence Authority (State, War, Navy, Chief of Staff, and a presidential representative with the DCI as a non-voting member) for policy and coordination and a Central Intelligence Group for operations under it. Rear Adm. Sidney Souers heads the CIG as Director of Central Intelligence. (Wikipedia, “ National Intelligence Authority”)
February 21 — 8:30 p.m. One or more meteors are seen in west Finland and the counties of Västerbotten, Västernorrland, Kopparberg [now Dalarna], Gävleborg, Uppsala, Östergötland, and Skaraborg [now Västra Götaland] in Sweden. It supposedly sets a farmhouse on fire in Vaasa province, Finland. It leaves a long trail of smoke in the sky. (Archives for the Unexplained, “ Case XXX: The Meteor That Did Not Start a Fire”)
February 22 — Diplomat George F. Kennan, deputy chief of the US State Department mission in Moscow, has tried repeatedly to persuade President Truman and policymakers to abandon plans for cooperation with the Soviet government in favor of a sphere of influence policy in Europe. He sends a 5,363-word telegram (the “Long Telegram”) to Secretary of State James F. Byrnes outlining a new strategy of containment of the Soviet menace by applying “counterforce at a series of constantly shifting geographical and political points.” (Wikipedia, “ X Article”)
February 27 — Scientists Ernst Henry Krause, James Van Allen, Fred Lawrence Whipple, and six others meet at Princeton University to organize the Upper Atmosphere Research Panel (V-2 Panel), a group that will oversee meteorological and astronomical experiments at White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico using V-2 rockets brought to the US after World War II. Ohio State University astronomer J. Allen Hynek joins the team shortly afterward as a consultant. (Wikipedia, “ Upper Atmosphere Research Panel”; David DeVorkin, “ Organizing for Space Research: The V-2 Rocket Panel,” Historical Studies in the Physical and Biological Sciences 18, no. 1 (1987): 2; O’Connell 33–35; Graff 33–35)
March — The Air Technical Service Command becomes the Air Materiel Command. (Wikipedia, “ Air Materiel Command”)
March 5 — 6:00 p.m. João Prestes is returning on foot from a fishery on the banks of the Tietê River to his sister’s home in Araçariguama, São Paulo, Brazil. As he is entering the house, a light from outside strikes and envelopes him. He becomes dizzy and confused but manages to get up and go inside. He summons Araci Gomide, a nurse who has served in the military with him. Gomide describes his friend as being literally cooked, with his flesh detaching from his bones, injuries on his feet and ankles, and his feet clenched like the claws of a bird. His arms are burned and the flesh on his fingers is falling off. His chest, neck, and face also seem to be burned but not charred or red. Prestes dies on the way to a hospital in Santana di Parnaíba at 3:00 a.m. (Felipe Machado Carrión, “ The Terrible Death of João Prestes at Araçariguama,” Flying Saucer Review 19, no. 2 (March/ April 1973): 14– 15; Clark III 166–167; Brazil 17–21; Pablo Villarubia Mauso, “ The Incredible Saga of João Prestes,” UFO Casebook; Pablo Vilarrubia Mauso, “ Horror em Araçarighama,” Portal Fenomenum, February 21, 2022; Clark IV 193–194)
March 6 — The Western Defense Command is deactivated. (Wikipedia, “Western Defense Command”)
April 2 — The Strategic Services Unit is transferred to the new Central Intelligence Group and becomes the Office of Special Operations. (Wikipedia, “ Strategic Services Unit”)
April 14 — Dusk. Paul Cummings Jr. is driving east on US Highway 136 about 10 miles east of Havana, Illinois, with Douglas Gowdy. A bright orange ball appears in the road about 1 mile ahead, gliding down the highway only one foot above the pavement and possibly touching both shoulders of the road. When it is within 2,000 feet, Cummings pulls the car over and stops, and they rush out to lie down in a ditch, fearing an explosion. When they look up again, the object is nowhere in sight. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 26–27)
April 25 — While ice fishing at Anima Nipissing Lake, Ontario, Tom Cameron and his family, along with friend Bob Cole, watch 12–14 small disc-shaped objects descend at a 45° angle about 75 feet away. They come spinning down on the ice, rise 2 feet into the air, then come down again. Cameron walks toward them, and they ascend and shoot away at the same angle and direction. They find black marks on the snow and ice. (“ Men Report Flying Saucer in Cobalt Area,” Sault Star (Sault St. Marie, Ont.), February 1, 1957, p. 3; “ Ice Cutters See Swooping ‘Saucer,’” Montreal (Que.) Star, February 1, 1957, p. 5; “‘Flying Saucers’ Like Family at Gillies, Pay Second Visit,” Northern Daily News (Kirkland Lake, Ohio), February 1, 1957, p. 1; “ Flying Saucer Seen in North? It’s Old Stuff,” Brantford (Ont.) Expositor, February 2, 1957, p. 22; “ Reports Saucer,” North Bay (Ont.) Nugget, February 4, 1957, p. 3; Clark III 1179; Clark IV 1353)
April or May - Around 12:00 noon. Richard R. Hill and Stanley Ogdrzyiak are driving in an open convertible on the Country Club Road near Lafayette, New York. Suddenly they see a gleaming, metallic, cigar-shaped object in the sky. It remains motionless at 5,000-10,000 feet altitude, which at that height would make it 300-400 feet long. After 2 minutes, it disappears instantaneously. (" Case 84," CRIFO Newsletter 2, no. 3 (June 3, 1955): 4; Clark III 1179; Clark IV 1353
May. SWEDEN , Angelholm. Costa Carlsson had been looking for pollen for his bees when he saw a light in an open space in the forest nearby. When he reached the spot he saw a disc with a dome. The dome had oval windows, above it there was a mast like a periscope. Beneath the disc there was a large oblong fin which stretched from the center to the edge. There were two metal landing logs, a small ladder reached to the ground from a door beside the fin. The object was 56 ft. in diameter and 15 ft. thick. There were holes around the edge. Light beams extended from these and burned the grass as the object ascended. Three antennae were seen near the mast which was 18 ft. long. Where the light hit the qround he could see a sparkling effect. A man in white close-fitting coveralls was seen, who raised his hand and the witness stopped, less than 35 ft. away. The man was normal in size. The witness saw a number of other people who appeared to be repairing a window. The object ascended with a whining sound. A circular area 40 ft. in diameter was found. (FSR, 18:2)
May - Day. Navy Lieutenant Andrew A. Titcomb is on leave and picking oranges at his wife's family home at La Grange, north of Titusville, Florida, when he hears a whistling noise and sees a dark "flying football" directly overhead at about 1,000 feet elevation moving at 125 mph. It appears 15-20 feet in diameter and flies in an arc tothe southeast. It disappears in a cloudbank. (UFOEv, p. 6; Clark III 1179; Clark IV 1353)
May 2 — Project RAND releases its first report, Preliminary Design of an Experimental World-Circling Spacecraft, which is a proposal for a US satellite program. Engineers Robert M. Salter, James Everett Lipp, and one other person at RAND serve as the editors of the report. It states that “The achievement of a satellite craft would produce repercussions comparable to the explosion of the atomic bomb.” (Wikipedia, “Preliminary Design of an Experimental World-Circling Spaceship”)
May 13 — The Soviets establish a rocket center called NII-88 [now TsNIIMash] at Kaliningrad [now Korolyov], Russia, northeast of Moscow. Missile designer Sergei Korolev is appointed chief designer of Section 3 on long-range missiles. Stalin declares Korolev’s name a secret, which it remains until his death in 1966. Russia keeps dozens of its captured German scientists here, working on special projects until 1955. (Wikipedia, “ TsNIIMash”)
May 13 — A rocket is seen traveling over Helsinki, Finland, in a southwesterly direction at 1,000 feet. It supposedly moves at supersonic speed, emitting a magnesium-like light and a trail of smoke. (Jan L. Aldrich, comp., The Ghost Rocket File, Fund for UFO Research, 2000, p. 10)
May 18 — 10:45 p.m. Gösta Carlsson, later to become founder and owner of Cernelle AB, is walking in the forested area of Kronoskagen near Ängelholm, Sweden, when he sees a disc-shaped machine more than 50 feet in diameter. On the top is a cupola with oval windows, and beneath it are an oblong “fan,” two legs, a small ladder, and openings. A man dressed in a white, one-piece outfit gestures to Carlsson to stop. There are three men working at a window, and two more are standing alongside, all wearing suits and transparent helmets. There are three women as well, and one more comes out of the object later. One of the males points a boxlike device at the witness, who leaves the scene but returns by a different route 30 minutes later, just in time to see the UFO depart. A concrete model of the UFO is dedicated in 1963 as a memorial. (Wikipedia, “ Ängelholm UFO memorial”; Sven-Olof Fredrickson, “ The Ängelholm Landing Report,” Flying Saucer Review 18, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1972): 15–17; Anders Liljegren, “ High-Quality Investigation of 1946 CEIII Case,” AFU Newsletter, no. 38 (March 1995): 2–3; Clark III 528–529; Clas Svahn, “ Gösta Carlssons möte,” Riksorganisationen UFO-Sverige, July 10, 2018; Håkan Blomqvist, “ UFO-Sweden Memories: Ängelholm 1996,” Håkan Blomqvist’s Blog, July 1, 2020; Clas Svahn and Gösta Carlsson, Mötet i gläntan: Sveriges mest kända närkontakt med UFO, 3rd ed., Parthenon, 2021; Clark IV 306, 577–578)
May 21 — Two motorists report an elongated craft resembling a rocket or Zeppelin over Stora Mellösa, Sweden. One of the witnesses sees two short wings, although the other cannot see any despite watching the object for 5 minutes. (Swords 12)
May 24 - 2:20 a.m. Witnesses in Landskrona, Sweden, see a wingless, cigar-shaped object, spurting sparks from its tail. About 300 feet above the ground, it is moving at airplane speed toward the southwest. (Loren E. Gross, UFO's, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., p. 1; Göran Jansson, " Spökraketerna 1946," January 2005, p. 6; Clark III 524; Clark IV 573
May 28 — The Aftonbladet newspaper in Stockholm, Sweden, is the first to use the term “Spökraket” (ghost rocket) in a headline. (“Spökraket jagades i bil genom Roslagen,” Aftonbladet, May 28, 1946; Swords 12)
May 31 — 11:43 a.m. A huge, metallic, wingless cigar moves rapidly at 1,000 feet altitude over Katrineholm, Sweden. (Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., pp. 2–3; Clark III 524; Clark IV 573)
Summer - Late evening. Two women on a walk in Johannesburg, South Africa, see an aerial object hovering 5 feet above the roof of a nearby hotel. It is shaped like a saucer with a round, golden ball in the center, evenly split between the top and bottom sections. They hear a clicking noise, and the ball drops through the saucer until it is level with the roof. More clicks are heard, and the ball rises through and above the saucer 8-9 feet. In the space between the ball and the disc the witnesses see two figures larger than normal height (7 feet), fair-complexioned and broad-shouldered, with short wavy hair. They are wearing white uniforms with stiff collars and stand motionless until the object floats away and is lost to view. (John Judge, " Near-Landing in 1946 in Johannesburg," Flying Saucer Review 24, no. 5 (March 1979): 14-16; Clark III 266; Clark IV 306)
Summer — Day. Eleanor Hancock is in Colorado Springs, Colorado, looking southwest toward Cheyenne Mountain when two shining silver objects appear, moving rapidly in tandem from east to west toward the escarpment. Just before they reach the mountain, they turn sharply upward, still in formation, and disappear. (Clark III 1179; Clark IV 1353
June 6 — The Joint Research and Development Board is created by the Secretaries of War and the Navy to coordinate research efforts. (Joint Research and Development Board, Organization Authority Record, June 6, 1946)
June 9 — Night. An enormous light drops earthward over Sala, Sweden, leaving a long, fiery trail. An explosion is heard. (Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., p. 3; Clark III 524; Clark IV 573)
June 9 — 10:17 p.m. A rocket-like light passes over Helsinki, Finland, at 10,000 feet leaving a smoke trail and making a distant rumble. A luminous afterglow lasts 10 minutes. (Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., p. 3; ; Clark III 524; Clark IV 573)
June 10 — Lieut. Gen. Hoyt Vandenberg replaces Souers as director of the CIG. He expands it and wins the right to collect intelligence in Latin America. (CIA Historical Staff, Chronology 1946–65, vol. 1, 1946–1955, p. 9)
June 12 — The Swedish Defense staff secretly orders reports of unknown rockets to be collected by military and civilian defense units in Sweden. (Anders Liljegren and Clas Svahn, “The Ghost Rockets,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, p. 33; Clark III 527; Clark IV 576)
June 18 — A first-strike scenario, the Pincher war plan, is created by the US military to strike Moscow and the Caucasus with 50 nuclear weapons if the Soviets invade the Middle East. It is never officially approved, but the Joint Chiefs agree to use it for planning purposes. (Phillip S. Meilinger, “ The Early War Plans,” Air Force Magazine, December 1, 2012)
June 26 — The commander of the military district in Morjärv, Sweden, issues instructions on how to report incidents with “certain kind of light phenomena’ that might be associated with “tests made by foreign powers with guided weapons.” (Swords 12).
July — Amazing Stories publishes four short articles in its September 1946 issue by William C. Hefferlin, each describing a wonderful new invention that has come to the author, according to editor Ray Palmer, “from Tibet by mental telepathy.” One of the inventions is a “circle-winged airplane.” In later issues, Hefferlin and his wife Gladys go on to describe the Rainbow City, an underground Martian city beneath Antarctica where the flying saucers originate. (W. C. Hefferlin, “ What Man Can Imagine: The ‘Ghyt’ Motor,” Amazing Stories 20, no. 6 (September 1946): 142–143; W. C. Hefferlin, “ Burn Water for Fuel,” Amazing Stories 20, no. 6 (September 1946): 144–145; W. C. Hefferlin, “ Power!” Amazing Stories 20, no. 6 (September 1946): 150–151; W. C. Hefferlin, “ Circle-Winged Plane,” Amazing Stories 20, no. 6 (September 1946): 157; “ A Description of Rainbow City from the Hefferlin Manuscript (Hollow Earth)”; Walter Kafton-Minkel, Subterranean Worlds, Loompanics, 1989, pp. 160–167; Clark III 610; Clark IV 669)
July - Day. A long, silver-colored cigar appears suddenly out of the haze over Crane Beach, Ipswich, Massachusetts, moves noiselessly over the water, then disappears suddenly. (Lore and Deneault, p. 148; Clark III 1179; Clark IV 1353)
July - 2:00 p.m. Hans Sorensen is cycling near Viskinge, Denmark, when he sees three discs flying silently overhead. The underside is uneven and dull gray, but they are like "polished mirrors" on top. (Sjællands Tidende (Ringsted, Denmark), April 17, 1971; Loren E. Gross, UFO's, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., p. 16; Clark III 528; Clark IV 577)
July 1 — Able nuclear test, Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands. Radio-controlled autopilots are installed in eight B-17 bombers, converting them into remote-controlled drones that are then loaded with automatic cameras, radiation detectors, and air sample collectors. Their pilots operate them from mother planes at a safe distance from the detonation. The drones can fly into Able’s mushroom cloud, which would have been lethal to crew members. (Wikipedia, “ Operation Crossroads”)
July 3 — The Joint Research and Development Board is established. Essentially it is Vannevar Bush’s existing cadre of brain trust from the still active Office of Scientific Research and the postwar Joint New Weapons Committee. Added to this are other reconstituted R&D committees and advisers like Lloyd Berkner of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. The original founding members are physicist Alfred Lee Loomis, biologist Caryl Parker Haskins, physicist Luis Walter Alvarez, physicist William Shockley, and Georges Doriot. Two military representatives each from the Army, Navy, and Air Force complete the board’s membership. Counting Bush, this makes a board of 12. (Michael Hall and Wendy Connors, “ The Research and Development Board: Unanswered Questions,” IUR 26, no. 2 (Summer 2001): 7–8)
July 6 — A special ghost rocket investigations committee is formed with Col. Bengt Jacobsson from the Royal Swedish Air Force Materiel Administration as chairman. Other members are Henry Kjellson and Eric Malmberg from the Air Administration; Maj. Nils Ahlgren and Capt. Gerdt Stangenberg from the Air Defense department; chemist Gustaf Ljunggren; physicist Martin Fehrm; and Olof Kempe from the Defense Radio Institute. They hold at least 12 meetings, beginning on July 10. (Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., p. 13; Anders Liljegren and Clas Svahn, “The Ghost Rockets,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, p. 33; Swords 12; Clark III 527; Clark IV 576)
July 6 — Astronomer Bertil Lindblad, after consulting with the Swedish Defense staff on ghost rocket reports, remarks that the “adjective ‘cigar-shaped’ is something new.” (Anders Liljegren and Clas Svahn, “The Ghost Rockets,” UFOs 1947– 1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, p. 33)
July 9 — A journalist finds three dubious fist-size fragments, one of iron and the other two slag-like, after a bright projectile is seen over a beach at Njurunda, Sweden. (Göran Jansson, “ Spökraketerna 1946,” January 2005, p. 12; Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., p. 14)
July 9 — 2:30 p.m. Erik and Asa Reuterswärd take a photo of a greenish-white daylight meteor by a lake at Guldsmedshyttan, northwest of Lindesberg, Sweden. They are atop a forest watchtower and have a good view of the object. The image is circulated to newspapers throughout Sweden; however, the photo probably shows an unusual daylight meteor, not a ghost rocket. (Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., pp. 5–6; Clas Svahn, “ The 1946 Ghost Rocket Photo,” IUR 27, no. 3 (Fall 2002): 12–14, 23; Göran Jansson, “ Spökraketerna 1946,” January 2005, p. 12; Swords 13–14; Clas Svahn, “ Spökraketerna: Den Största Gåtan,” Riksorganisationen UFO-Sverige, March 7, 2017;)
July 9 — 2:30 p.m. Two people on the north side of Vaxön, Sweden, watch a glowing white object with a blue-white tail streak across the sky in about 2 seconds, disappearing to the southeast. Around the same time, a witness at Järna Station in Södertälje sees an object “like a glass flask in a thermos” descending from a high altitude. (Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., p. 6; Clark III 524; Clark IV 573)
July 9 — 2:30 p.m. A member of the US legation sees a silent ghost rocket falling rapidly over Stockholm, Sweden, according to a July 11 telegram from State Department official Christian M. Ravndal to Washington, D.C. Hundreds of other observations take place over central Sweden. Ravndal suggests that the Soviets are trying to intimidate the Swedes. (Good Above, p. 20; Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., p. 6, betw. 12–13; Göran Jansson, “ Spökraketerna 1946,” January 2005, p. 11; Clark III 524, 527; Clark IV 573, 576)
July 9 — 2:35 p.m. Efrain Johnson sees a strange, cigar- or sugarloaf-shaped object to the east of Ockelbo, Sweden. It shines like silver and appears “like some glistening mass.” It falls to the ground and is gone in a few moments. (Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., p. 6; Clark III 526; Clark IV 575)
July 9 — About 3:00 p.m. A housewife near Sörbo, Sweden, is washing on the shore of Södra Barken when she sees a falling object coming from the northeast. It changes color from blue to green and has a long tail. It tumbles into the lake about 320 feet away. (Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., pp. 6–7; Clark III 526; Clark IV 575)
July 9 — 3:30 p.m. A young man in Mockfjärd, Sweden, sees a silver-colored star diving toward the ground with a whistling noise. It comes down about 490 feet away from him, and he is blinded by the intense light. He thinks it crashes into Mt. Landholm. A powerful burning smell lingers for 15 minutes. (Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., p. 7; Clark III 526; Clark IV 575)
July 9 — 3:35 p.m. Many people see a bright red, rocket-like object moving swiftly over Turku, Finland, and leaving a short trail. It casts shadows on the ground. (A. Mauritz Hietamaki, “ Some Little-Known UFO Reports from Finland,” Awareness 5, no. 3 (Autumn 1976): 5; Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., p. 7; Clark III 524; Clark IV 573)
July 10 — A brilliantly glowing projectile trailing luminous smoke crashes into a beach near Norrvikssand, Sweden. Airline pilot Torvald Linden and other witnesses find a shallow crater a little more than 3 feet in diameter. A mass of slag-like material, some of it reduced to powder (which burns the hands when touched) is found at the site and collected into bags. A journalist from Svenska Dagbladet on July 11 finds a “burnt-brown object with a hollow cylinder” with a diameter of about 1–2 inches. Military authorities take over the site. The debris is taken to Dr. B. Backlund at a laboratory in Kubikenborg, who finds it contains paper with microscopic black-and-white squares like a screen. Some porous, rust-colored fragments are also present. The same day, the beach is visited by Lt. Col. Rudberg, Capt. C. Ljungdahl, and Capt. R. Westlin, who conclude that the material has been in the area for a long time. (Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., pp. 10–12; Clark III 526; Clark IV 575–576)
July 10 — 2:30 p.m. A bluish flying cigar 10–12 times the diameter of the full moon in length passes over Stockholm, Sweden. (Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., p. 9; Clark III 524; Clark IV 573)
July 11.SWEDEN, Njurunda. A pilot, Mr. Linden, and his family saw a sphere over tree tops. A crater was found, 2m diamter, with a dark porous substance which irritated the fingers. (FSR, 15:2)
July 12 — Swedish Intelligence agrees to cooperate in sharing ghost rocket information with the British military attaché in Stockholm, Sweden, Maj. de Salis. (Swords 20)
July 12 — Day. The railway station master at Gryon, Vaud, Switzerland, is watching a B-24 Liberator flying overhead at 15,000 feet when he also sees a “flying bomb” looking like a big star traveling northeast at about 250 mph. (Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., p. 14
July 12 — 10:00 p.m. Inga Eriksson is in her garden in Usta, Örebro, Sweden, when she hears a sharp, sizzling sound in the air and sees three silvery triangular objects traveling horizontally from east to west. They are visible only for 2 seconds, but her mother notes that the electrical power has gone out in their home. (AFU case file)
July 15 — The Swedes provide the British attaché with analytical reports of all observations to date. (Swords 20)
July 16 –18 — US Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal makes an unexpected visit to Stockholm, Sweden, to meet with the Swedish Defense Minister Allan Vougt and two members of the special committee on ghost rockets. (Anders Liljegren and Clas Svahn, “The Ghost Rockets,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, p. 35)
July 18 — Two British intelligence officers arrive in Stockholm to meet with their counterparts in Sweden. One is from the Air Ministry (Squadron Leader Barrie Heath) and the other (Maj. Malone) is from MI10(a), a branch of the Directorate of Military Intelligence. (Swords 20)
July 18 — 12:00 noon. Sigvat Skaug and his son, who live along Lake Mjøsa in southeastern Norway, and his sister Åse Tandberg watch two rocket-like objects about 7 feet long pass over their heads at a very low altitude. They fall simultaneously into the lake, throwing the water several feet into the air. The objects look like V-1 rockets and come in low from the west at about 150 feet, causing the trees to sway. They fall into the lake about 1.2 miles from the western shore and 4.3 miles from Minnesund. (NICAP, “ ‘Ghost Rocket’ Crashes into Lake”; Björn Överbye, “ Ghost-Bombs over Sweden,” Flying Saucer Review 15, no. 2 (March/April 1969): 17–18; Clas Svahn and Anders Liljegren, “ The Kölmjärv Ghost Rocket Crash Revisited,” AFU Newsletter 27 (Jan./Dec. 1984): 1–5; Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., pp. 18–19; Ole Jonny Brænne, “ Observations of Unidentified Submarine Objects in Norway,” IUR 20, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1995): 12–13, 17; Göran Jansson, “ Spökraketerna 1946,” January 2005, pp. 19–20; Swords 16; Clark III 526; Clark IV 576; Dolan, USO1, 121–122)
July 18 — Three workers see a ghost rocket above Ortviken, Sweden. Shortly afterward, Gunnar Falck watches a silvery cylinder moving over the northern part of Sundsvall. (Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., p. 17; Clark III 524; Clark IV 573)
July 19 — 11:15 a.m. In the village of Bölebyn, Sweden, Leonard Danielsson and his sons Kjell, Dan, and Hans see an “aeroplane” moving against the wind to the southwest. The boys say it looks like a large, metallic milk canister. It travels from horizon to horizon in about 20 minutes before disappearing in the northwest. (Swords 17)
July 19 — 11:30 a.m. Kurt Larsson, 11, is fishing at the north end of Lake Kattisträsket, Sweden, when he hears a roaring sound. A huge column of water rises out of the lake as if a mine has detonated. Military officers from Boden investigate, but the lake is too muddy to send in a diver. They conclude that whatever fell is buried in 15 feet of mud. (Swords 24)
July 19 — 11:45 a.m. Many witnesses see a gray, winged rocket crash into Lake Kölmjärv, Sweden, with a loud bang close to the southwest bank. Knut Lindbäck says it generates a high plume of water when it hits the surface, “followed by another cascade as if something had detonated.” Water lilies and other aquatic plants are torn up and thrown on the shore. Lieut. Karl-Gösta Bartoll from the Boden engineer corps arrives the next day to supervise the salvage operation. Engineers Roland Rynniger and lab technician Torsten Wilner from the Defense Research Department also arrive with a Geiger counter. A three-week search turns up no traces of metal, even though the evidence points to an underwater explosion. (NICAP, “ ‘Ghost Rocket’ Crashes into Lake”; Carl Feindt, “ Report #55,” waterufo.net; Clas Svahn and Anders Liljegren, “ The Kölmjärv Ghost Rocket Crash Revisited,” AFU Newsletter 27 (Jan./Dec. 1984): 1–5; Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., pp. 20, 76; Göran Jansson, “ Spökraketerna 1946,” January 2005, pp. 20–26; Swords 17–20, 24; Clark III 524–525, 526, 529; Clark IV 574–575, 576, 579; Dolan, USO1, 119–120)
July 19 — 3:00 p.m. Karl and Tyra Axberg are sitting on the porch of their cabin on Lake Vassarajärvi in Norrbotten County, Sweden, when they hear a loud noise. A projectile comes in at a very low angle and hits the water at a 30° angle, continuing underwater for about 600 feet. A military team led by Karl-Gösta Bartoll can find no trace of a “ghost bomb.” (Swords 24–25)
July 19 — 3:40 p.m. Ingrid Hansson is sunbathing with her father on a floating jetty at the northern end of Lake Marmen, near Sunnanå, Sweden. She hears a violent roaring over the water and looks up to see an object bouncing along the surface, stirring up a wake. The object has created a water column 66 feet high upon impact. (Swords 25)
July 19 — Maj. Gen. George C. McDonald prepares a memorandum for the Commander of the Army Air Forces Gen. Carl Spaatz on reports of “rockets” over Scandinavian countries. (Jan L. Aldrich, comp., The Ghost Rocket File, Fund for UFO Research, 2000, pp. 9–11)
1946, July 22.SWEDEN, Norbotten. Large object seen descending into a lake. Large hole found in the mud at the bottom. (FSR, 15:2)
July 24 — 1:20 p.m. Engineer Tennlund sees a small cigar-shaped object with a pair of small wings south of Vålberg, Värmland, Sweden. It comes from the direction of Norway (west) at great speed with no sound. Tennlund thinks it crashes into Vänern lake. (Anders Liljegren and Clas Svahn, “The Ghost Rockets,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, p. 35)
July 25 — The Swedish military states that the ghost rockets are definitely not meteors. (Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., p. 23; Clark III 527; Clark IV 576)
July 25 — Baker nuclear test, Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. (Wikipedia, “ Operation Crossroads”; Fran Ridge, “ The Baker Blast: Cause for Alarm?” May 4, 2013)
July 27 — British Air Attaché Capt. Henderson informs the Foreign Office in London, England, that cooperation with Swedish Air Staff should be kept from the Americans. (David Clarke and Andy Roberts, Out of the Shadows, Piatkus, 2002; Joel Carpenter, “ Guided Missiles and UFOs: A Tangle of Fear, 1937–53, Part Two”; Swords 20)
July 28 — Night. Sections of Oslo, Norway, are shaken by two violent aerial explosions. An “intense white light” accompanies the blasts. (“ Oslo Shaken by 2 Explosions,” London Daily Telegraph, July 29, 1946, p. 1; Clark III 526; Clark IV 576)
July 29 — Norway begins censoring ghost rocket reports just as Sweden is doing. (Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., p. 25)
July 30 — 1:15 p.m. Two objects shaped like dark crosses are seen in the sky over Filipstad, Värmland, Sweden. (Anders Liljegren and Clas Svahn, “The Ghost Rockets,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, p. 35)
July 30 — 3:12 p.m. William Jorgensen, a soldier at the fort at Oskar-Fredriksborg, Stockholm, Sweden, sees a silent flying object with short wings at a distance of about 6,560 feet. It is moving faster than a jet aircraft. (Anders Liljegren and Clas Svahn, “The Ghost Rockets,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, p. 35)
July 30 — 5:00 p.m. A customs officer on the Norway-Sweden border watches a silvery torpedo with short wings. The object moves in from the south but changes direction with a sharp turn and continues east with a whining sound. (Anders Liljegren and Clas Svahn, “The Ghost Rockets,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, p. 35)
August — Day. Charles A. Johnson is driving on US Highway 41 along Lake Michigan north of Chicago, Illinois, when he sees three silver discs going from east to west in a triangular formation. (Clark III 1179; Clark IV 1354)
August — 8:30 p.m. A young man sees a pan-shaped object near a road in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium. A small entity holding an acacia branch is nearby. The being enters the object through an opening on the underside. Afterward, traces of burning on the ground are detected. (Center for UFO Studies, HUMCAT Index 1940–1949, p. 20; Clark III 266; Clark IV 306)
Early August — An astronomer and meteorologist is looking at some clouds through a telescope in Stockholm, Sweden, and sees a luminous object that he estimates is about 90 feet long, torpedo-shaped, and metallic. It has a “tapered tail that spewed glowing blue and green smoke and a series of fire balls.” The object explodes with a terrific flash. (“ Swarm of Mysterious Rockets Is Seen over Capital of Sweden,” New York Times, August 12, 1946, pp. 1, 7; “ Sweden Plans Radar Fight on ‘Rockets,’” Los Angeles Times, August 13, 1946, p. 1; Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., p. 39; Clark III 524–525; Clark IV 573)
August 1 — President Truman signs the Atomic Energy Act, transferring the control of atomic energy from military to civilian hands, effective on January 1, 1947. It categorizes information on atomic energy as “born classified,” even if it is not created by any US government agency. “Restricted Data” is not a level of classification; rather, a document can be classified as Confidential, Secret, or Top Secret, while also containing Restricted Data. In addition, a document containing Restricted Data can also contain Critical Nuclear Weapon Design Information. In this way, a document can be classified as Secret (S), Secret//Restricted Data (S//RD), or Secret//Restricted Data-Critical Nuclear Weapon Design Information (S//RD-CNWDI), depending on the type of information it contains. (Wikipedia, “ United States Atomic Energy Commission”)
August 1 — Truman approves the establishment of the Office of Naval Research for “planning, fostering, and encouraging scientific research” in relation to naval power and national security. (Wikipedia, “ Office of Naval Research”)
August 1 —Col. Edwin Kennedy Wright, Vandenberg’s executive assistant at the Central Intelligence Group, sends a memorandum to President Truman saying the ghost rockets conform to a V-1 shape and seem to be launched from the USSR. The report notes that the missiles can turn and fly circular courses, seemingly indicating radio control. Most information comes from the military attaché in Sweden and the conclusions are from the director of intelligence for the War Department general staff. (Jan Aldrich, “ Investigating the Ghost Rockets,” IUR 23, no. 4 (Winter 1998): 10, 12; Swords 21–23)
August 1 — 6:00 p.m. AF Capt. Jack E. Puckett is flying over Tampa, Florida, in a C-47 transport and sees a long cylinder twice the size of a B-29 with luminous portholes. After 3 minutes, it disappears at a speed of 1,500 mph. (“ Rocket Craft Encounter Revealed by World War 2 Pilot,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 2 (Aug./Sept. 1957): 15; UFOEv, p. 19; Clark III 529–530; Clark IV 579)
August 5 — 6:26 p.m. A luminous object is seen by a motorist near Landskrona, Skåne, Sweden.
August 5 — 11:00 p.m. A fast-moving, silent, circular object glitters in the sun over Skåne, Sweden, as it heads toward the south-southwest at a high altitude. (Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., p. 28; Clark III 525; Clark IV 573)
August 6 — The US delegation in Budapest, Hungary, reports that a German scientist now working for the Russians has revealed that the Soviets have developed guided rockets called V-3 and V-4 that are able to fly a round trip of 700 miles. (Jan Aldrich, “ Investigating the Ghost Rockets,” IUR 23, no. 4 (Winter 1998): 10)
August 7 — A Top Secret message from the Commander-in-Chief Air Forces, Pacific, to Gen. Lauris Norstad, War Department Operations, requests guidance on the current classification of the substitute code word “Majestic” for Operational Plan Olympic (the invasion of Northern Japan). The plan has been downgraded to Restricted (Message CM1472 IN). The answer is that both code words had been declassified by the JCS on October 8, 1945 (Message CM96908 OUT 8 Aug 1946). (Jan Aldrich; Murray Bott, “ Military Codenames ‘Olympic’ and ‘Majestic,’” UFO UpDates, April 4, 2002)
August 7 — Swedish Lt. Lennart Neckman of the Defense Staff’s Air Defense Division sees a clear, yellow flame passing low and slow over the countryside. (Svenska Dagbladet, August 8, 1946, p. 7; “ Bombs Passing over Sweden,” Manchester Guardian (UK), August 8, 1946, p. 5; Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., p. 30; Clark III 527; Clark IV 576–577)
August 8 — Chief of Swedish Air Defense Maj. Nils Ahlgren says that some of the rockets are seen at low altitude, maneuver in half circles, and appear to come from the south. (Göran Jansson, “ Spökraketerna 1946,” January 2005, p. 36)
August 11 — 8:47 p.m. Astronomer Bertil Lindblad sees an exploding fireball in Ljugarn on Gotland, Sweden. (Göran Jansson, “ Spökraketerna 1946,” January 2005, p. 38)
August 11 — 9:00–10:00 p.m. Hundreds of people in central and southern Sweden see “ghost bombs” that fly from south to north, giving off a brilliant blue-white light. Sometimes two of the objects are seen flying together. Some witnesses see smaller silver balls come out of the larger objects, which are variously described as cylinders and torpedoes with a “wide nose” and “fire- spurting tail.” (“ Swarm of Mysterious Rockets Is Seen over Capital of Sweden,” New York Times, August 12, 1946, pp. 1, 7; “ Swedes Use Radar in Fight on Missiles,” New York Times, August 13, 1946, p. 4; Anders Liljegren and Clas Svahn, “The Ghost Rockets,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, p. 37; Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., pp. 33–39; Don Berliner, with Marie Galbreath and Antonio Huneeus, UFO Briefing Document: The Best Available Evidence, Dell, 2000, pp. 50–53; Göran Jansson, “ Spökraketerna 1946,” January 2005, pp. 38–40; Clark III 525, 527; Clark IV 573, 577)
August 12 — 10:00 a.m. A twin-engine Saab 18 Swedish Air Force bomber crashes and explodes near Valdshult, Jönköping, Sweden, killing three airmen. Rumors circulate that it collided with a ghost rocket, but an investigation indicates that the pilot lost control. (Good Need, pp. 39–40)
August 12 — Afternoon. A troop of Boy Scouts near Göteborg, Sweden, watch a “flying missile” moving quickly at an altitude of 1,600 feet. They can see small side wings and fins. A blue-white light streams from the bottom, and it diverges from a straight course, makes a 35° curve, then resumes its original course. (“ 2 Swedes Escape a ‘Ghost Rocket,’” New York Times, August 14, 1946, p. 11; “ First Prize,” Doubt, no. 16 (1946): 234, 235; Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., p. 43; Clark III 525; Clark IV 573)
August 12 — 8:15 p.m. A torpedo-shaped ghost rocket moves slowly over a seaport town in southern Sweden, barely grazing the roofs and trailing smoke. It continues out to sea and seems to come down on a small island. Two men go out to investigate, but the island is too overgrown to allow a search. (Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., pp. 40–41; Clark III 526; Clark IV 576)
August 12 — Night. Briand Jensen, a night watchman in Struer, Denmark, sees a speeding rocket approach from the northeast, explode with a roar, and illuminate the sky with a blinding flash. (“ 2 Swedes Escape a ‘Ghost Rocket,’” New York Times, August 14, 1946, p. 11)
August 13 — Capt. Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter, US naval attaché in Paris, forwards as top secret a report by the French government on ghost rocket activity in Scandinavia. It states that “a good number of these projectiles are of the V-1 type in the form of a torpedo with two small wings.” A map shows them originating in the Leningrad [now St. Petersburg] area, Russia. (Jan Aldrich, “ Investigating the Ghost Rockets,” IUR 23, no. 4 (Winter 1998): 11; Swords 21; Good Need, pp. 38–39)
August 13 — The Hungarian report of August 6 causes Maj. Gen. Stephen J. Chamberlin, Army assistant chief of staff for intelligence, to ask Budapest for further information. Top-secret requests are sent to military attachés in London, Stockholm, Oslo, Helsinki, and Copenhagen asking for listings of all ghost rocket reports, as well as V-3 and V-4 missiles. The military attaché in Oslo reports that a Soviet ship in the north Baltic Sea has been transmitting code to shore stations regarding the ghost rockets. The military attaché in Moscow asks other European officials about where the rockets originate and gets several answers, which he forwards on to Chamberlin: Hiiumaa island, Estonia; Latvia; or Peenemünde, Germany. Gen. Joseph T. McNarney of the US Forces in Europe Theater replies that Peenemünde is a likely origin, since the site has been refurbished. The military attaché in Stockholm suspects Hiiumaa, Peenemünde, or Parikkala in Finland, while the naval attaché in Stockholm thinks that Łeba, Poland, is the launch site. (Jan Aldrich, “ Investigating the Ghost Rockets,” IUR 23, no. 4 (Winter 1998): 10–11)
August 13 — The New York Times says the ghost rocket situation is extremely dangerous (“near the boiling point”) and that Sweden will not tolerate such violations, borrowing some radar equipment from Great Britain. (“ Swedes Use Radar in Fight on Missiles,” New York Times. August 13, 1946, p. 4)
August 13 — The US naval attaché and the Assistant US military attaché in Stockholm interview three Swedish Air Force officers assigned to the General Staff who say that they believe the objects are rockets. (Joel Carpenter, “ Guided Missiles and UFOs: A Tangle of Fear, 1937–53, Part Two”; Swords 21)
August 13 — 8:00 p.m. A cigar-shaped object flies past a witness at Karlskrona, Sweden, at a distance of only 150 feet. Only 5 feet long, it emits a faint green light and trails smoke from the rear. (Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., p. 43; Clark III 525; Clark IV 573)
August 14 — The New York Times reports that Secretary of State Dean Acheson is “very much interested” in the ghost rockets. (“ 2 Swedes Escape a ‘Ghost Rocket,’” New York Times, August 14, 1946, p. 11; Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., p. 46; Clark III 527; Clark IV 577)
August 14 — 10:02 a.m. Swedish Air Force pilot Lieut. Gunnar Irholm and his signaler, Cpl. Möller, are flying a B-18A bomber at 650 feet 4 miles northeast of Malingsbo in central Sweden when they see a dark cigar-shaped object approaching on their left. It has no visible wings, rudders, lights, flame or projections of any type. It appears to follow the terrain at 370–430 mph, maintaining the same height, then vanishes into a storm cloud. (“Ghost Rockets over Scandinavia,” Intelligence Review, no. 49, January 9, 1947, US Department of Defense; Don Berliner, Marie Galbraith, and Antonio Huneeus, Unidentified Flying Objects Briefing Document, UFO Research Coalition, December 1995, pp. 33–35; Swords 15–16; “ Cigar Sighted from B-19 Bomber,” AFU Newsletter, no. 44 (September 2002): 1–4)
August 15 — Night. Several residents of the east side of Waterloo, Iowa, see an object buzzing rapidly around some trees. It gradually ascends, surrounded by a cloud of white vapor, and disappears high in the sky. One person calls it “a great white bird; another, a bomb.” Mrs. Russell Lampman says that the object is “6 feet, 3 inches tall, like a large man, and rather rectangular in shape.” She and her husband watch it for an hour after it starts hovering about 20–25 feet above a nearby alley. (Al Starr, “Street Scene,” Waterloo (Iowa) Sunday Times, August 18, 1946, p. II-1; “ Well, We Saw It First!” Waterloo Daily Courier, July 7, 1947, p. 2; Project 1947, “ UFO Reports: 1946”)
August 16 — Col. L. H. Johnson, US naval attaché in Stockholm, transmits a “Top Secret Report R334- 46 of 13 August 1946 Subject: SWEDEN Guided Missiles Rocket Sightings Over Sweden.” It concludes: “No tangible evidence to date as to nature or origin of rockets reported over Sweden, although Swedish Defense Staff insists that they are rockets.” (Joel Carpenter, “ Guided Missiles and UFOs: A Tangle of Fear, 1937–53, Part Two”; Jan L. Aldrich, comp., The Ghost Rocket File, Fund for UFO Research, 2000, pp. 32–35)
August 16 — A missile produces an enormous explosion over Malmö, Sweden, that shakes or breaks many windows. Some witnesses think they can see fragments of the object falling to earth. (“ Windows Broken by Rocket Bomb,” Manchester Guardian, August 17, 1946, p. 6; Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., p. 50; Jan L. Aldrich, comp., The Ghost Rocket File, Fund for UFO Research, 2000, p. 36; Clark III 527; Clark IV 576)
Late August - Margaret Sprankle, a civilian employee at Tinker AFB near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is returning from work when she sees, about 300 feet away, a large, metallic, lens- shaped structure about 75 feet in diameter. It is hovering on edge, the flat side toward her. On the lower right side are 12-14 square windows; in each, visible from the shoulders up, is a figure. Their heads are very round. Aftre about 90 seconds, the object rotates 90° on its vertical axis and silently flies northwest and disappears in 5 seconds. (Center for UFO Studies, HUMCAT Index 1940-1949, p. 22; Richard H. Hall, From Airships to Arnold, UFO Research Coalition, 2000, pp. 28, 32; Clark III 266; Clark IV 306)
August 18 — 8:00 or 10:00 p.m. An aerial object like a 9-foot cigar is seen moving slowly on the north side of Copenhagen, Denmark. It explodes with extraordinary force. (Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., p. 53; Clark III 525; Clark IV 573–574)
August 19 — The US military attaché in Moscow reports on the visit of Maj. Stig Wennerström of the Swedish Air Force, who reveals that radar indicates the ghost rocket launch site is at Peenemünde, Germany. The rockets appear to be radio-controlled, carry no warheads, are self-destructive, and are plotted over a range of 620 miles. Sometimes they follow zigzag courses. (Jan Aldrich, “ Investigating the Ghost Rockets,” IUR 23, no. 4 (Winter 1998): 12)
August 19 — Two US experts on aerial warfare, aviation legend General Jimmy Doolittle and British Group Captain Douglas Bader, and General David Sarnoff, president of RCA, arrive in Stockholm, Sweden, ostensibly on private business, and independently of each other. The official explanation is that Doolittle, who is now vice-president of the Shell Oil Company, is inspecting Shell branch offices in Europe, while Sarnoff, a former member of General Dwight D. Eisenhower’s London staff, is studying the market for radio equipment. However, the story indicates that the Chief of the Swedish Defense Staff, Col. C. R. Kempf, makes no secret that he “was extremely interested in asking the two generals advice and, if possible, would place all available reports before them.” However, Doolittle denies the correlation to Barry Greenwood in 1984, and researchers have found no evidence to support a collaboration. (“ Doolittle, Sarnoff Stir Swedish Talk,” New York Times, August 21, 1946, p. 3; “ Doolittle Consulted by Swedes on Bombs,” New York Times, August 22, 1946, p. 2; Joel Carpenter, “ Guided Missiles and UFOs: A Tangle of Fear, 1937–53, Part Two”; Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., pp. 53–54; Swords 21, 24; Clark III 527; Clark IV 576)
August 21 — The General Staff in Norway issues a memorandum to the press asking it not to mention any ghost rockets seen over the country and to pass on all reports to the military Intelligence Department. In Sweden, the ban is limited to any mention of where the rockets are seen to land or explode. (“ Britain to Send Radar to Sweden,” London Daily Telegraph, August 22, 1946, p. 1; Good Above, p. 21)
August 22 — 3:00 p.m. Photographer Gösta Skog takes a color film of a ghost rocket at Getå, 100 miles south of Stockholm, Sweden. The cigar-shaped object appears out of a cloud at 3,000 feet, trailing exhaust. The film turns out to be overexposed. (Swords 14–15; Clas Svahn, “ Spökraketerna: Den Största Gåtan,” Riksorganisationen UFO-Sverige, March 7, 2017)
August 22 — Director of the Central Intelligence Group (CIG) Lt. Gen. Hoyt Vandenberg writes a top secret memo to President Truman via Adm. William D. Leahy, stating that the “weight of evidence” points to Peenemünde (which has become a Soviet naval base), East Germany, as the origin of the ghost rockets, and that a US military attaché in Moscow has been told by a “key Swedish Air Officer” [ Wennerström] that radar course-plotting leads to the conclusion that Peenemünde is the launch site. CIG speculates that the missiles are extended-range developments of V-1s being aimed for the Gulf of Bothnia for test purposes and “do not overfly Swedish territory specifically for intimidation; self-destruct by small demolition charge or burning.” (Hoyt Vandenberg. “ Memorandum for the President,” August 22, 1946; Ossian Goulding, “ Mystery of ‘Rockets’ over Sweden,” London Daily Telegraph, August 27, 1946, pp. 1, 6; Joel Carpenter, “ Guided Missiles and UFOs: A Tangle of Fear, 1937–53, Part Two”; Barry Greenwood, “ Significant Ghost Rocket Documents Available,” UFO Historical Revue, no. 15 (June 2015): 1–8; Clark III 527; Clark IV 577)
August 23 — The British Foreign Office states that English radar experts, including Reginald Victor Jones, having returned from Sweden, had “submitted secret reports to the British government on the origin of the rockets.” (Good Above, p. 21)
August 24 — Stockholm Air Attaché Maj. Gen. Alfred A. Kessler Jr. informs the War Department that the Ghost Rockets are an “unintentional hoax which developed naturally but which exploited by Defense staff by implication and lack of frankness possibly interest defense budget and to alert west against east.” (Joel Carpenter, “ Guided Missiles and UFOs: A Tangle of Fear, 1937–53, Part Two”)
August 24 — Admiral Henry Kent Hewitt, Commander of US Naval Forces in Europe, writes a letter to the US naval attaché in Oslo, Norway, on “Rocket Bombs or Guided Missiles over Norway and Sweden.” Two “missiles” have fallen into a lake near Oslo, and the US Navy is “very interested.” ([Adm. Henry Kent Hewitt], Letter to US Naval Attaché, Oslo, “ Rocket Bombs or Guided Missiles over Norway and Sweden,” August 24, 1946)
August 24 — Evening. A Norwegian student and a Swedish engineer are boating on a small river “somewhere in Sweden” when a light approaches them from the southeast. It resembles a full moon and emits an intense light: “As it passed immediately overhead, it grew so bright you could see a well as on a sunny day.” The object, about 10 feet long, releases four stars that fall silently to the ground. (Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., pp. 58–59; Clark III 525; Clark IV 574)
August 26 — The US military attaché in Stockholm reports that the Swedes, possibly worried about a Soviet veto of their application for UN membership, have canceled their request for British radar equipment. (Jan Aldrich, “ Investigating the Ghost Rockets,” IUR 23, no. 4 (Winter 1998): 13)
August 29 — The American embassy in Stockholm tells the State Department that the ghost rockets are probably Soviet missiles. ([ Memo on telegram of August 27, 1946]; Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., p. 63A; Good Above, pp. 22, 447)
August 31 — After becoming one of the first Western journalists to view the ruins of Hiroshima, John Hersey publishes a 31,000-word article in The New Yorker on the effects of the atomic bomb on six survivors of the bombing Hiroshima. It is the first glimpse that the American public has on the devastation of nuclear warfare and the effects of radiation. (John Hersey, Hiroshima, Alfred A. Knopf, 1946; Lesley M. M. Blume, Fallout: The Hiroshima Cover-Up and the Reporter Who Revealed It to the World, Simon & Schuster, 2020)
September — German rocket engineer Walter Ziegler tells Army CIC that 400 men from his former rocket group at Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) in Munich, Germany, are invited by Russian military officers to a fancy dinner, wined and dined, then taken home. Several hours later, all 400 are woken up by the Russians and forced to take a trip. (Ziegler is not among them.) They are transported by train to a small town (“Kubischew”) outside Moscow, Russia, where they remain and work on secret military rocket projects under terrible conditions. (Jacobsen, Area 51, p. 42)
September 1–2 — Late night and early morning. Rocket-shaped objects are seen over northern Greece, according to Prime Minister Konstantinos Tsaldaris. Physicist Paul Santorinis is placed in charge of an investigation. He rules out Russian missiles, but the Army ends the investigation in 1947. (“ Rockets over Nation,” Chicago (Ill.) Tribune, September 6, 1946, p. 2; Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., pp. 62–63; Good Above, p. 23; Clark III 525; Orestis Lazanakis, “ UAP in Greece,” UAP Check, July 27, 2024; Clark IV 574)
September 3 — Soviet officials deny responsibility for the Scandinavian ghost rockets, claiming that such accusations are “anti-Soviet misinformation” that is “poisoning the international atmosphere.” (“ Russians Cry ‘Slander’ to Rocket-Firing Charge,” New York Times, September 4, 1946, p. 10; Clark III 527; Clark IV 577)
September 7 — British pilot Edward Mortlock Donaldson attains an airspeed record of 616 mph in a Gloster Meteor F Mk 4 at Littlehampton, England. (Wikipedia, “ Edward Donaldson (RAF officer)”)
September 9 — The scientific advisor to MI6, English physicist Reginald Victor Jones, considers the ghost rockets a social panic phenomenon. An RAF Intelligence report, “Investigation of Reported Missile Activity over Scandinavia,” identifies eight types of ghost rocket sightings: iron cylinder, magnesium-like light, white core surrounded by blue-green, shining ball with tail, torpedo-shape, black object with flame, small rocket, small missile. It takes the daytime reports seriously but concludes are probably only a few genuine reports of actual missiles. (Joel Carpenter, “ Guided Missiles and UFOs: A Tangle of Fear, 1937–53, Part Two”; Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., pp. 63–64; Swords 26–27; Clark III 526, 527; Clark IV 574–575, 577)
September 11 — The Chief of Naval Intelligence requires naval attachés to forward information on Soviet rocket research and operations including launches from submarines. (NARA, US Naval Intelligence files; Jan Aldrich)
September 11 — Jack Northrop grounds the XB-35, which has suffered gearbox and propeller control problems, until the Army Air Force can fix its propulsion system. (Wikipedia, “ Northrop YB-35”)
September 11 — 2:00 p.m. Justin B. Rinaldi is standing in a friend’s backyard in Engle, New Mexico, when he hears a loud whirring sound and sees a black object whiz by. It is pointed at one end, has a narrow body, and what appear to be fins on the tail. It is traveling fast at an altitude of 75 feet. Rinaldi sees it hit a clump of trees at a ranch house and the “branches parted like a great force had struck.” He and friends go to the site but can find nothing. (“ Flying Disc Tales Bring 2 Reports from Engle Area,” Albuquerque (N.Mex.) Journal, June 29, 1947, p. 1; Clark III 530; Clark IV 579)
September 12 — Cmdr. Robert A. Winston, acting naval attaché in Stockholm, Sweden, writes to the London naval attaché in a secret air mailgram that he suspects there is a secret British-Swedish collaboration on ghost rocket information designed to keep the US from learning the truth. (Jan Aldrich, “ Investigating the Ghost Rockets,” IUR 23, no. 4 (Winter 1998): 13)
Mid-September — Two luminous globes that shine “like an electric arc” are seen flying in a straight line over Longwy, Meurthe-et-Moselle, France. (Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., p. 66; Clark III 525–526; Clark IV 574)
September 18 — Two greenish globes, one following close behind the other, zoom over Castanheira, Portugal. (Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., p. 67; Clark III 526; Clark IV 574)
September 21 — Chemist Gustaf Ljunggren of the Swedish National Defense Research Institute summarizes for the Swedish Defense staff his analysis of 27 finds of mysterious substances, allegedly from ghost rockets. None are radioactive and all have mundane explanations. (Anders Liljegren and Clas Svahn, “The Ghost Rockets,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, pp. 33–34)
September 22 — 3:15 a.m. A rocket-shaped object is seen for 90 seconds over Florence, Italy. It makes an abrupt turn, then speeds south toward Rome. (“ Svenskarockets,” Doubt, no. 17 (1946): 255; Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., p. 69)
September 25 — 12:00 midnight. Mme. Deman in Ostend, Belgium, sees a ball of light fall near her home and throw up a large cloud of smoke. (“ ‘Ball of Light’ at Ostend,” London Daily Telegraph, September 27, 1946, p. 8)
September 28–29 — Mysterious “meteor-like activity is reported at Verviers, Belgium. (Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., p. 70)
September 30 — David Sarnoff, in a speech at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, says that the “ghost bombs are no myth but real missiles.” (“ Sarnoff Predicts Weather Control and Delivery of the Mail by Radio,” New York Times, October 1, 1946, p. 1, 48; Joel Carpenter, “ Guided Missiles and UFOs: A Tangle of Fear, 1937–53, Part Two”)
Fall — 9:00 p.m. Gladys McCage and her 4-year-old son see a yellowish-orange light coming from the northwest at a “terrific speed” toward their farm 8 miles north of O’Neill, Nebraska. Its color changes to red as it approaches, and soon it is hovering above the witnesses. They run toward the house and the cigar-shaped object swings up to the northeast. McCage says it is as big as a football field, has windows, and is making a loud noise. A yellowish-blue-green flame is shooting out near the back, and it is traveling too fast for any plane at the time. (Clark III 530; Clark IV 579)
October — Ray Palmer publishes a letter from Maurice Doreal (pseudonym of Claude D. Dodgin) of the Brotherhood of the White Temple in Denver, Colorado, regarding the “Shaver mystery.” Doreal claims intimate knowledge of the subterranean realms, which he claims are inhabited by the Black Brotherhood and protected by “space-warps.” In 1949 Doreal claims to have visited caves inside Mount Shasta, California, inhabited by Atlantean masters. He equates Shaver’s Dero with an evil group of Lemurians. (M. Doreal, “ He’s Been in Caves Too!” Amazing Stories 20, no. 7 (October 1946): 177–178; Walter Kafton-Minkel, Subterranean Worlds, Loompanics, 1989, pp. 154–160; Charmaine Ortega Getz, “ The (Sort of) Amazing Story of Maurice Doreal and the Brotherhood of the White Temple Revealed at Last,” Weird Colorado, September 6, 2015)
October — Harold Sherman’s novel The Green Man is first published in Ray Palmer’s Amazing Stories. It revolves around an alien named Numar, a peaceful messenger from another planet who has the ability to make our technology stand still. It is followed by a sequel, The Green Man Returns, in 1947. In a 1979 reprint of both novels, Sherman writes: “Sometime in the year 1945, when Martha and I were living in Chicago, I had a series of visions wherein I saw Space Beings, possessed of high intelligence, visiting our Earth in space ships of different shapes and sizes, for the purpose of exploration and eventually to fill our skies with large space vehicles, coming in force, hopefully on a friendly mission to help Mankind save itself from self-destruction.” (Harold M. Sherman, “The Green Man,” Amazing Stories 10, no. 7 (October 1946): 8–47, 76–157; Harold Sherman, The Green Man and His Return, 1979)
October — University of Manchester astronomer Bernard Lovell uses the radar equipment at Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire to confirm that transient radar echoes are from ionized meteor trails, showing that meteor showers can be tracked in the daytime as well visibly at night. He is later able to determine the orbits of meteors in annual meteor showers to show they are in solar orbit and not of interstellar origin. (Wikipedia, “ Jodrell Bank Observatory”)
October 1 — The US Military Attaché in London, England, writes a top-secret memo to the War Department complaining that the British “may not have given us all information on reported rockets over Scandinavia.” (Jan L. Aldrich, comp., The Ghost Rocket File, Fund for UFO Research, 2000, p. 73)
October 9 — Evening. George Adamski and some associates are watching a meteor shower associated with Comet 21P/Giacobini- Zinner when they see a “gigantic spacecraft” hovering above the mountain ridge south of Mount Palomar, California. He claims to meet a military officer a few weeks later who assures him that the object was indeed from another world. Others in San Diego see an object with a long, tube-shaped fuselage, giant wings, and two red lights. The medium Mark Probert later tells the press that he has established psychic communication with the occupants and the object is called the Kareeta. (“ Sparks Fly As Comet Passes Earth,” Los Angeles Daily News, October 10, 1946, p. 3; “Space Ship Flaps Wings over San Diego, ‘Observers’ Claim,” San Diego (Calif.) Union, October 15, 1946, p. 1; “ Welcome? Kareeta!” Round Robin 2, no. 10 (1946): 3–7; Leslie and Adamski, Flying Saucers Have Landed, British Book Centre, 1953, pp. 172–174; Harold T. Wilkins, Flying Saucers on the Attack, Citadel, 1954, pp. 41–48; Colin Bennett, Looking for Orthon, Paraview, 2001, pp. 28–29; Curt Collins, “ 1946, Before Saucers, Kareeta: UFO Contact in California,” The Saucers That Time Forgot, August 8, 2017; Clark III 298, 455; Clark IV 338–339, 500)
October 10 — 4:00 a.m. Waltraut Anlauf, a telephone operator in Friedland Refugee Camp, Lower Saxony, Germany, sees small, elongated flashes at a great height in the sky. They look like cigars and are luminescent white in front and bluish-white in back. She sees about 10 objects pass per minute. Sometimes there is an interruption of about 10 minutes, and then new groups appear. The sighting lasts one hour. Possibly these are part of the Taurid meteor shower. (Clark III 529; Clark IV 578)
October 10 — The defense staff in Sweden admits it cannot explain the ghost rockets because reports are too vague. About 80% appear to be meteors (“celestial phenomena”), although radar has tracked a few unusual targets. The report concludes that they are not V-type bombs. (“ Swedish Inquiry Fails to Solve Rocket Case,” New York Times, October 11, 1946, p. 3; Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., pp. 71–72; Good Above, p. 23; Clark III 528; Clark IV 577)
October 15 — Belgian Defense Minister Raoul de Fraiteur issues a statement saying that recent sightings of “meteor-like objects” in Belgium have been explained. (“ Svenskarockets,” Doubt, no. 17 (1946): 17; Clark III 528; Clark IV 577)
October 21 — Two persons on the shore of a lake in southern Sweden hear a whistling sound in the air, like a “flock of birds.” They see an object moving over the trees at a low altitude. It is dart-shaped and has short wings and a “ball-shaped tip.” It falls into the lake and possibly explodes on impact. (Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., p. 74; Clark III 527; Clark IV 576)
November — The War Department issues a press release on how German scientists are helping out at Wright Field, Ohio. (Dolan, p. 12)
November 29 — A top secret Air Intelligence report, “Significant Developments of Scientific Warfare in Russia,” designates the ghost rockets as “V-5” weapons produced by the Siebel Works in Halle, Germany. (Jan Aldrich, “ Investigating the Ghost Rockets,” IUR 23, no. 4 (Winter 1998): 13)
December 3 — The Swedish military reports that about 100 impacts were investigated by the Defense Research Institution and not found to be rockets. (Joel Carpenter, “ Guided Missiles and UFOs: A Tangle of Fear, 1937–53, Part Three”)
December 10 — Gen. Curtis LeMay answers an inquiry from Assistant Secretary of War for Air Stuart Symington about establishing interim projects at the Air Materiel Center (AMC). LeMay’s answer: The Commander of AMC on his own volition may establish an interim project; however, to continue the project it must be approved for the next budget cycle. (Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell AFB; Jan Aldrich, “ Secret Twining Letter: ‘The Reported Phenomena Are Real,’” October 11, 2008)
December 23 — Jacobsson’s ghost rocket committee issues its final report on 987 ghost rocket cases, stating that 225 reports had been made in full daylight. More than 100 reports describe spool-shaped objects with or without wings. It concludes: “Despite the extensive effort, which has been carried out with the means available, and seven months after the first observations, no actual proof that a test of rocket projectiles has taken place over Sweden has been found.” (Loren E. Gross, UFO’s, a History: 1946, the Ghost Rockets, The Author, 1988 ed., pp. 75–76; Anders Liljegren and Clas Svahn, “The Ghost Rockets,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, p. 36; Swords 26)
1947
A man writes a letter to the Nashville Tennessean claiming that he has encountered strange little men, "all heads and arms and legs, glowing like fireflies" on a nearby airfield. They exchange greetings by sign language and their saucer takes off in a cloud of dust. (" All over the Nation People Talk of Saucers," Nashville Tennessean, July 9, 1947, p. 1; Clark III 266-267; Clark IV 307)
A private pilot flying over New Mexico in his Taylorcraft L-2 allegedly spots some wreckage, lands, and goes to a nearby ranch house. The pilot and rancher walk to the site, where they find much metallic material. Inside the front edge of the craft are three humanoid beings, 4 feet tall, with hairless heads and large black eyes, and clad in coveralls. Soon a military team shows up, detained for a while, then released after promising not to say anything. (Clark III 344; Clark IV 381-382)
11:00 p.m. Air Force pilot Edwin T. Yeoman is returning home with his wife Eva after going to a movie in Sacramento, California. As they drive northeast, they see a stationary light hovering at an altitude of 3,000–4,000 feet above Roseville. After watching it for 5 minutes, the light gets brighter, rises vertically for several thousand feet, makes an abrupt 90° turn, and shoots across the horizon from east to west. (CUFOS case file)
January - Crew members of the hydrographic surveying ship USS Maury traveling in the North Pacific between San Francisco and Hawaii map a large, stationary underwater object of some kind. The ship makes several passes over it with their sonar, after which the object accelerates and disappears in the depths. (Carl Feindt, " Report #1117," waterufo.net; YN-3 Wayne Anderson, " USS Maury, AGS16: Thanks for the Memories, 1945-1969"; Dolan, USO1, 125-126)
January 16 — 11:30 p.m. An RAF Mosquito plane chases an unidentified target detected on radar at RAF Trimley Heath Radar Station [now closed] near Felixstowe, Suffolk, England, moving at a speed calculated to be faster than sound at an altitude of 38,000 feet over the North Sea, 50 miles north of the Netherlands coast. The target, later referred to as a “ghost plane” or “Charlie,” descends to 17,000 feet and takes controlled, evasive action. The plane pursues it for 40 minutes, even though the pilot cannot see it visually, until he loses it over the Norfolk coast. ( Sparks, p. 16; ClearIntent, p. 151; David Clarke, “ Operation Charlie,” 2002; Martin L. Shough, “ A New Study of the British ‘Ghost Airplanes’ of 1947,” April 2009; UFOFiles2, p. 29)
January 17 — 11:37 p.m. After two unidentified targets similar to yesterday’s are reported by RAF Neatishead, northeast of Norwich, England, over the North Sea, another radar track enters the Eastern Sector area, and an RAF Mosquito piloted by Flight Lt. William Kent is scrambled to 18,000 feet. Kent attempts to close in, but his onboard radar is unable to keep it on track because the target is “jerking violently” and taking evasive action. After 20 minutes, the target descends below 2,000 feet and is lost from ground radar. Unofficially the radar operators give the intruder a name—Charlie—and when the Air Ministry later begins a concerted effort to solve the mystery, its code name is “Operation Charlie.” (Martin L. Shough, “ A New Study of the British ‘Ghost Airplanes’ of 1947,” April 2009)
January 23 — Night. Three senior RAF officers are visiting RAF Neatishead in Norfolk, England, for an interception exercise when an unidentified radar target makes another appearance at 28,000 feet. RAF Mosquitos from Yorkshire are scrambled, but by the time the aircraft reach the area, the target is gone. (Martin L. Shough, “ A New Study of the British ‘Ghost Airplanes’ of 1947,” April 2009; David Clarke, “ Operation Charlie”)
February 5 — Around 7:30 a.m. Frederick Walter Flavel and his wife Emma are walking to their house in Lock, South Australia, when they see five gray, oblong objects rise apparently from the sea and move from northwest to southeast. At 9:00 a.m., Ronald Ernest Ellis and two other railroad workers in Port Augusta, South Australia, watch five white or light-pink egg-shaped objects moving across the sky from north to south at about 6,000 feet. They quiver, cast shadows on the ground, and move out of sight in a few seconds. (NICAP, “ Five Objects Cast Shadows”; “ C.R. Workmen See Phenomenon,” Port Augusta (S.A.) Transcontinental, February 7, 1947, p. 1; “ Objects in Sky Seen at Lock,” Port Augusta (S.A.) Transcontinental, February 21, 1947, p. 1; Keith Basterfield, “ Cold Case, Port Augusta, 5 February 1947,” Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena—Scientific Research, January 29, 2011; Chris Aubeck and Martin Shough, Return to Magonia: Investigating UFOs in History, Anomalist, 2015, pp. 329–350; Keith Basterfield, “ Flying Eggs at Port Augusta, February 1947,” Magonia—Down Under, December 13, 2015; Keith Basterfield, “ Flying Eggs, Port Augusta 1947, Main Witness Was Interviewed in 2006,” Magonia—Down Under, January 8, 2016; Keith Basterfield, “ Port Augusta, South Australia, ‘Flying Eggs,’ 1947, Witness Deceased,” Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena—Scientific Research, January 20, 2016; Keith Basterfield, “ Four Months before Kenneth Arnold,” Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena—Scientific Research, June 23, 2017)
March 21 - A cigar-shaped object with smoke coming from its tail is seen flying from east to west at considerable height over southern Sweden by several witnesses. It looks metallic and is about 60 feet long, flying slowly. The object seems to turn around and fly back eastward briefly. (" `Phantom Bomb' Returns to Skies over Sweden," New York Times, March 22, 1947, p. 8; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1947 January 1st-June 23rd, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2000, p. 9)
April — 11:00 a.m. US Weather Bureau meteorologist Walter A. Minczewski watches a silvery disc through a theodolite for 5–7 seconds while tracking a ceiling balloon in Richmond, Virginia. It is traveling east to west at less than 15,000 feet and has a flat bottom and a dome on top. Another observer, a Miss Baron, sees the object when her balloon is at about 27,000 feet, though it is unclear whether this is the same or an earlier incident. The Project Grudge final report indicates that there is at least one other earlier report from the same Weather Bureau station in the previous seven months. (NICAP, “ Silvery Disc Seen through Theodolite”; Sparks, p. 16; Lt. Howard W. Smith and George W. Towles, “ Unidentified Flying Objects—Project Grudge,” Air Materiel Command Technical Report 102-AC-49/15-100, pp. [130, 396]; James E. McDonald, “ Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, p. 62; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1947 January 1st–June 23rd, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2000, pp. 17–21; Swords 32–33; Clark III 375; Clark IV 419)
April 11 - 1:30 p.m. The pilots of a Boeing 707 airliner flying at 31,000 feet about 100 miles north of Puerto Rico see a disturbance like a "great round mound" in the sea below, more than half a mile in diameter. They watch it for more than 30 seconds, but it begins to subside as they proceed with their flight. (Lucius Farish and Dale Titler, "Mysteries of the Deep: Underwater UFOs," Official UFO 2, no. 3 (May 1977): 52-53; Carl Feindt, " Report #783," waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 241-242)
Late April or early May - 12:05 p.m. Mrs. William Down and Mrs. H. G. Olavick of Tucson, Arizona, see an unusual, fleecy cloud in an otherwise cloudless sky. Moving around it in "yo-yo fashion" are a number of small discs with a dull-white finish. They move up and down and sideways, occasionally disappearing into or behind the cloud. They watch the objects for 5-7 minutes, then all the discs disappear above the cloud, while a larger object emerges from the cloud and moves eastward. Behind it comes a V-formation of nine of the smaller discs, which then climbs at high speed toward the northeast and disappears in 2-3 seconds. The witnesses assume the objects are some new type of aircraft. (Bloecher, p. ix; Herbert S. Taylor, " Satellite Objects and Cloud Cigars," IUR 29, no. 1 (Spring 2004): 4)
May - Farmer H. Nettlebeck is in his field near Gogeldrie, New South Wales, when he hears a swishing noise. Looking up, he sees five metallic objects flying in a V formation. They appear to be at 2,000 feet altuitude and moving at 1,000 mph. (" Flying Discs Seen over Gogeldrie," Murrumbidgee Irrigator (Leeton, N.S.W.), July 8, 1947, p. 2)
May — 9:00 p.m. Harry Bentrup Jr. is on his porch in Jennings, Missouri, when a circular object surrounded by a ring of luminous green lights swoops in quickly from the east, hovers above him for 15 seconds, then takes off to the west. (MUFON case file)
May 1? — Mrs. W. C. Clark of Memphis, Tennessee, watches two objects “like tennis balls” fly over her yard. (“ Three Memphians Say They Saw Objects,” Memphis (Tenn.) Commercial Appeal, July 7, 1947, p. 2)
May 10 — Rose Slawuta of Newark, New Jersey, sees a shining, elliptical object with a gold band around it approaching from the west. (“ ‘Flying Saucers’ Keep on Whirling and More from Area Join ‘I See’ Club,” Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger, July 7, 1947, pp. 1–2; Bloecher, p. I-2)
May 14 — 8:30 p.m. A spherical object 3-4 feet in diameter is seen over Budapest, Hungary, passing southeast to northwest at about 3,000 feet altitude in a flat trajectory. (Allied Control Commission for Hungary; George Mitrovic, The Gateways to the Gods, Kindle, 2012)
May 17 or 19 — 8:30 p.m. Byron B. Savage, an RCA field engineer, sees a frosty-white or silvery elliptical object about the size of a B-29 heading northwest at 10,000 feet over Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, at three times the speed of a jet (about 1,800 mph). After it noiselessly passes overhead, he hears a sound “like the rushing of air.” (NICAP, “ Round and Flat Object Observed by Field Engineer”; Sparks, p. 16; “ Whatever That Object Was, Sooner Says He Saw One,” Miami (Okla.) Daily News-Record, June 26, 1947, p. 7; Oklahoma City Times, June 26, 1947; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1947 January 1st–June 23rd, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2000, pp. 27–28)
May 19 - Around 12:30 p.m. Navy veteran Dean A. Hauser and six other Pike's Peak Railway workers (including Ted Weigand, Marion Hisshouse, T. J. Smith, L. D. Jamison) at Manitou Springs, Colorado, are taking a lunch break when they watch a silver object come in from the northwest, hover overhead, and gyrate at 1,000 feet. The UFO is moving "erratically in wide circles" and reflects light like it is made of metal. After 20 minutes it disappears in a straight line to the west-northwest. ("Manitou Vets Relate Story: Another `Disk' Seen," Denver Post, June 28, 1947, p. 1; Bloecher, p. I-1; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1947 January 1st- June 23rd, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2000, pp. 29-30; Clark III 375; Clark IV 419)
Late May - 11:00 a.m. Colden R. Battey, a physician from Augusta, Georgia, is fishing 10 miles off St. Helena Sound, near Beaufort, South Carolina. He notices a formation of four disc- like objects flying overhead in a southeasterly direction at a terrific rate of speed. The discs appear to be spinning on their axes and are at an estimated altitude of 20,000 feet. They are silvery and appear highly polished, and on their undersides Battey can see a circular rim or projection, about one-quarter of the way from the edges. No sound is heard as they fly overhead. The formation speeds out of view in less than 20 seconds. (NICAP, " Four Discs Flying Overhead"; "`Flying Saucers' Seen by Doctor near Beaufort," Orangeburg (S.C.) Times and Democrat, July 5, 1947, p. 1; Bloecher, p. I-2; Clark III 375; Clark IV 419)
June 2 - 1:30 p.m. John Laube and Fred Platte spot an inverted saucer-shaped disc made of brilliant metal in Waverly, Iowa. The object flies just above the top of a 180-foot grain elevator at the Waverly Sugar Manufacturing Plant. They observe it for five minutes until it becomes obscured by trees as it flies away. (" Flying Saucer Is Seen at Waverly," Waterloo (Iowa) Daily Courier, July 10, 1947, p. 21)
June 18 - Day. E. H. Sprinkle is one of a half-dozen Eugene, Oregon, residents who spot a formation of round objects "racing overhead" on a course to the northeast. Watching from Skinner's Butte outside town. Sprinkle takes a snapshot of the objects with an inexpensive camera as they race over. Enlargements of the photograph show "seven dots" in a formation "shaped like an X or a Y, lined up across the sky." Newspaper photographers say the dots "might be a fault in the developing process" that sometimes appears on a negative that has not been agitated properly in the developer. (" Local Man Asserts Flights Seen Here," Eugene (Oreg.) Guard, June 26, 1947, p. 1; " Others Report Flying Discs," Salem (Oreg.) Capital Journal, June 27, 1947, p. 13; " Reports of Puzzling `Discs' Flying over Cascades Come from Northwest Residents," Roseburg (Oreg.) News-Review, June 27, 1947, p. 1; Bloecher, p. IV-3)
July 4 - 1:05-5:30 p.m. Many people in Portland, Oregon-including KOIN newsman Frank Cooley, deputy Clark County Sheriff Fred Krives, Portland police officer Kenneth A. McDowell, and Oregon highway patrol Sgt. Claude Cross-view five large discs moving at high speed to the east, two flying south and three to the east, with an oscillating or wobbling motion, sudden 90° turns or zigzagging. Radio reports alert other officers (including Walter Lissy, Robert Ellis, and Earl Patterson, all WWII veterans) who see the metallic objects that look like a disc or hubcap or pie-pan or half-moon flashing in the sun. No vapor trail or noise (except possible humming) is reported. (NICAP, " Seven Discs Observed by Many Witnesses"; Sparks, p. 20; "Air Liner Crew Confirms Flying Discs over State; Many Seen during Day over City," Portland Oregonian, July 5, 1947; Project 1947, " UFO Reports, 1947"; Bloecher, pp. II-9, III-15; James E. McDonald, " Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects," in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, p. 58; Michael David Hall and Wendy Ann Connors, " Alfred Loedding: New Insight on the Man behind Project Sign," IUR 23, no. 4 (Winter 1998): 5)
July 4 — 2:50 p.m. Seven people (among them Winfield and Charity Montooth and Edith May Bush) picnicking at Twin Falls Park, seven miles east of Twin Falls, Idaho, watch a group of discs in a rough V-formation flying at great speed. Ten minutes later, a second flight of 9–10 objects circle overhead in a loose formation. They gain altitude rapidly and move to the west. By 3:10 p.m., when a third flight passed overhead, about 60 people in the park witness 18 or more of the discs circling around before ascending rapidly. In its coverage of this sighting, an unnamed Twin Falls newspaper reporter uses the phrase “unidentified flying objects,” apparently for the first time. (“ Flying Saucer Mystery Grows,” Tucson (Ariz.) Daily Citizen, July 5, 1947, p. 4; “ Area Residents Join Many Seeing ‘Discs,’” Twin Falls (Idaho) Times-News, July 6, 1947, pp. 1, 6; Bloecher, p. II-5)
July 4 — 5:00 p.m. Nova Hart and his wife Marveline are picnicking off Old Saint Charles Road west of Pattonville, Missouri. They see a saucer-shaped object, ribbed underneath like a “parachute canopy,” gliding slowly (50–60 mph) and silently from south to north about 300 feet off the ground. It seems to have a propeller attached to a red conical structure on the bottom and is about 20–25 feet in diameter. (“ ‘Flying Saucer’ Reported Seen in St. Louis County,” St. Louis (Mo.) Globe-Democrat, July 6, 1947, p. 1; Bloecher, p. II-14)
July 4 — After 5:00 p.m. Private pilot Dan Whelan and passenger Duncan Underhill are flying at 5,000 feet west of Long Beach, California, when they see a disc about 2,000 feet above them, traveling at 400–500 mph. They estimate it is 40–50 feet in diameter and flying north- northwest. (“ ‘Air Disc’ Mystery Grows, Baffles U.S.,” Hollywood (Calif.) Citizen-News, July 5, 1947, pp. 1, 3; Bloecher, p. III-10)
July 4 — 5:45 p.m. Coast Guard Yeoman Frank Ryman photographs a round disc over his home at 12321 22nd Street NE, Lake City, Seattle, Washington. The object is in sight for 4–5 minutes and is seen by at least 20 others, traveling 500 mph. The photo shows a small, blurred white oval against a background of sky, but when enlarged the object is quite distinct. The Air Force explains it as a weather balloon. (“ Observers Report Discs over Entire Western Area,” Salt Lake City Deseret News, July 5, 1947, p. 1; UFOEv 87; Bloecher, pp. IV-3–4; London UFO Research Unit, “ Seattle, Washington, America, North America”; Kenneth Lloyd Larson, “ A Summer 1947 Sighting,” IUR 20, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1995): 19–20; Michael D. Swords, “ Can You Learn Anything from UFO Photos, Part Two,” The Big Study, July 5, 2012)
July 4 — 6:30 p.m. United Press correspondent John C. Corlett, along with artist V. H. Selby and their wives, see a white disc speeding over Boise, Idaho, at an altitude of about 10,000 feet. It takes about 3 seconds to disappear. (“View of ‘Flying Saucers’ over Ontario Dumbfounds Veteran Pilot, Other Crew Member of Airliner,” Portland Oregonian, July 5, 1947; Project 1947, “ UFO Reports, 1947”)
July 4 — 7:00 p.m. George Aster and others at Hauser Lake, Idaho, watch a flying disc for 30 minutes as it hovers with a lateral oscillation about 30° above the horizon at an estimated 20,000 feet. It shoots straight up and vanishes when a small aircraft approaches it. (“ Disks Seen Here Today, Is Report,” Spokane (Wash.) Spokesman-Review, July 7, 1947, p. 1; Bloecher, pp. II-6–7)
July 4 — Sunset. Henry Seay, a farmer living 2 miles north of Fayetteville, Arkansas, watches three yellow discs flying overhead to the southwest, dropping sparks, and frightening his cattle and horses. The following night it happens again and the cows go into a panic, running off to the other side of the pasture. Some kind of dust falls on Seay, although it does not burn. After several seconds, the object rises up vertically 30–40 feet and shoots off horizontally at 50 mph. (“ Discs Reported over Farm of Henry Seay,” Fayetteville Northwest Arkansas Times, July 7, 1947, p. 1; Bloecher, p. IV-1)
July 4 — Sunset. M. K. Leisy, a junior intern at the Institute of the Pennsylvania Hospital at 44th and Market streets in Philadelphia, is reading on the porch of the hospital when he hears a loud roar. A large transport plane passes overhead, but he also sees a dark sphere with a luminous halo around it moving below the clouds at a moderate speed. It disappears into the clouds. (“ Flying Discs Seen over City,” Philadelphia Inquirer, July 5, 1947, pp. 1, 3; Bloecher, pp. II-14–15)
July 4 — 8:12 or 9:12 p.m. United Air Lines Flight 105 pilots Capt. Emil J. Smith and First Officer Ralph Stevens are flying from Boise, Idaho, to Seattle, Washington, when they see a formation of five discs over Emmett, Idaho, silhouetted against the sunset. Stewardess Marty Morrow sees them as well. The objects appear to merge and speed away to the northwest. Another group appears and arranges itself in a straight line. The nine objects are seen at least 12 minutes over a distance of 45 miles. (NICAP, “ 5 Discs Sighted by United Flight”; Sparks, p. 20; “ View of ‘Flying Saucers’ over Ontario Dumbfounds Veteran Pilot, Other Crew Members of Airliner,” Portland Oregonian, July 5, 1947, p. 11; “ Crew of Passenger Plane Tell of Seeing ‘Flying Saucers’ in Idaho,” Hagerstown (Md.) Daily Mail, July 5, 1947, pp. 1–2; E. J. Smith, “ ‘Frankly, I’m Baffled,’ Says Airliner Pilot after Observing Queer Airborne Objects,” Portland Sunday Oregonian, July 6, 1947, p. 24; E. J. Smith, “ Flier Tells of Seeing the Flying Saucers,” New York Daily News, July 6, 1947, pp. 2, 40; “ More People See Flying Discs in Nation As Mystery Increases,” Alliance (Nebr.) Times-Herald, July 8, 1947, p. 1; Project 1947, “ UFO Reports, 1947”; Bloecher, pp. III-10–11; Kenneth Arnold and Ray Palmer, The Coming of the Saucers, 1952, Palmer, pp. 18–19; James E. McDonald, “ Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, pp. 41–42; Wendy Connors and Michael Hall, Alfred Loedding and The Great Flying Saucer Wave of 1947, Rose Press, 1998, pp. 52–55)
July 4 — The first of the special flights from Washington, D.C., arrives at Roswell Army Air Field [now closed], New Mexico (presumably to investigate the radar reports claimed by Frank Kaufmann). On the plane is Warrant Officer Robert Thomas. Thomas and his companions are in uniform upon arrival, but quickly change to civilian clothes. Thomas wants an on-site briefing as soon as it can be arranged. These men remain at RAAF throughout the later retrieval. (Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, The Truth about the UFO Crash at Roswell, Evans, 1994, pp. 160–161)
July 4 — During a thunderstorm near Corona, New Mexico, W. W. “Mack” Brazel hears a tremendous thunderclap that sounds like an explosion but is somehow different from the rest of the thunder. Others in the area report the same phenomenon. (Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, The Truth about the UFO Crash at Roswell, Evans, 1994, p. 160)
July 4 — 11:27 p.m. Army Signal Corps radar sites in southern New Mexico supposedly continue to track a mysterious object. Kirtland AFB’s commander scrambles a fighter jet piloted by Kenny Chandler to locate the object, but he cannot find it. Before midnight, Frank Kaufmann allegedly sees a brilliant glow on the radar display, pulsates a number of times, then explode in a starburst. The belief is that the object has now crashed. Jim Ragsdale and “Trudy Truelove” supposedly see a bright flash of light and hear a roaring sound that passes overhead. Ragsdale knows that something has struck the ground close to their campsite. (Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, The Truth about the UFO Crash at Roswell, Evans, 1994, p. 160; Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, “ When and Where Did the Roswell Object Crash?” IUR 19, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1994): 14; Kevin D. Randle, “ The Truth about the Jim Ragsdale Story,” IUR 21, no. 3 (Fall 1996): 13–16, 29–30; Jim Wilson, “ Roswell Plus 50,” Popular Mechanics 174 (July 1997): 48–53; The Roswell Files, “ Jim Ragsdale,” April 11, 1998; Kevin D. Randle, “ Frank Kaufmann, Roswell Witness,” IUR 27, no. 3 (Fall 2002): 8, 17–19; Mark Rodeghier, “ Frank Kaufmann Exposed,” IUR 27, no. 3 (Fall 2002): 9–11, 26; Jacobsen, Area 51, p. 36; Kevin D. Randle, “ Jim Ragsdale’s Roswell Tale,” A Different Perspective, April 22, 2015)
July 5 — 3:00 a.m. Acting on what he claims are orders from Brig. Gen. Martin F. Scanlon of the Army's Air Defense Command, discredited Roswell witness Frank Kaufmann returns to Roswell Army Air Field from Alamogordo to alert Colonel William H. Blanchard, Roswell AAF commanding officer, about a potential crash. (Jim Wilson, “ Roswell Plus 50,” Popular Mechanics 174 (July 1997): 48–53)
July 5 - 5:00 a.m. Archaeologists, including William Curry Holden, working the sites around Roswell, New Mexico, stumble across an impact site where an object has crashed. One of them heads to the closest phone to tell Sheriff George A. Wilcox of the discovery of the remains of a crashed aircraft of some kind. Wilcox calls the local fire department to alert them about the crash. One truck, with Dan Dwyer on it, responds to the call. The site is about 35-40 miles north of Roswell. The Roswell Fire Department, escorted by members of the Roswell Police Department, makes a run along Pine Lodge Road northwest of Roswell. They are among the first civilians to stumble across the impact site. (Thomas J. Carey, " The Search for the Roswell Archaeologists: Casting the Net," IUR 18, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1993): 3-8, 23-24; Thomas J. Carey, " The Continuing Search for the Roswell Archaeologists: Closing the Circle," IUR 19, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1994): 4-12; Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, The Truth about the UFO Crash at Roswell, Evans, 1994, pp. 33-36; Kevin D. Randle and Anthony Bragalia, " Two Roswell Witnesses, Reconsidered," IUR 32, no. 3 (July 2009): 6-8, 24)
July 5 - Following the rain the night before, Brazel inspects the pastures surrounding the J. B. Foster ranch house southeast of Corona, New Mexico. Riding with him is the young son of the Proctors, William D. Proctor. During the inspection, Brazel discovers a large debris field. Scattered on the slopes and into the sinkhole and depressions are plastic-like beams, pieces of lightweight balsawood-like material only stronger, light metallic foil (which doesn't stay bent or folded, resumes its original shape, and won't tear), and heavy-gauge monofilament. The debris is thick enough that the sheep refuse to cross the field and are driven around it to water more than a mile away. Brazel, taking a few scraps of the material, heads to the home of his closest neighbors, Floyd and Loretta Proctor. He shows them "a little sliver" of material that he can neither burn nor cut. Some of the beams have symbols on them that reminds Brazel of Chinese ideograms. The Proctors suggest he take it into town to show the sheriff. (Don Schmitt and Kevin D. Randle, " Did a Balloon Crash at Roswell?" IUR 15, no. 4 (July/ Aug. 1990): 4-5; Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, The Truth about the UFO Crash at Roswell, Evans, 1994, pp. 27-32, 161; Michael D. Swords, " Roswell: Clashing Visions of the Possible," IUR 22, no. 3 (Fall 1997): 11-13, 33-35; Robert A. Galganski, " The Roswell Debris Field: Size Doesn't Matter," IUR 25, no. 4 (Winter 2000-2001): 14-19, 30; Donald R. Burleson, " Roswell Trajectory Feasibility," Center for UFO Studies; Michael D. Swords, GrassRoots UFOs: Case Reports from the Timmerman Files, Fund for UFO Research, 2005, pp. 125-127; Benson Saler, Charles A. Ziegler, and Charles B. Moore, UFO Crash at Roswell: The Genesis of a Modern Myth, Smithsonian, 2010; " Recollections of Roswell Part One," NICAP Official YouTube channel, June 12, 2021; " Recollections of Roswell Part Two," NICAP Official YouTube channel, June 13, 2021; " P1 N1: Bill Brazel," NICAP Official YouTube channel, June 13, 2021; Kevin D. Randle, " A Grounded Theory Update on the Roswell UFO Incident," Journal of Scientific Exploration 36, no. 2 (Summer 2022): 264-288; Kevin D. Randle, " Roswell Crash Date and Mogul Problem," A Different Perspective, December 27, 2022; Graff 3; " Bill Brazel Jr. Talks about His Father Mack, Discoverer of the 1947 Roswell UFO Wreckage," Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, June 29, 2024; " Witnesses and Researchers Talk About the Roswell UFO Crash in an Excellent In-Depth 1993 Documentary," Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, September 17, 2024; Anthony Bragalia, " The Man Who Read Alien Language: Government Scientist May Have Deciphered Roswell UFO Debris Symbols," UFO Explorations, June/July 2025)
July 5 — Day. Farmer Sherman Campbell discovers a star-shaped, tinfoil-covered object on his farm on Westfall Road southwest of Circleville, Ohio. A piece of balloon is attached to the top. At first suspected to be one of the flying discs, it becomes obvious that it is part of a weather balloon. (“ ‘Flying Disc’ Believed Found on Pickaway Farm,” Circleville (Ohio) Herald, July 5, 1947, p. 1; “ Humorists Muddle Hunt for ‘Flying Saucers,’” Circleville (Ohio) Herald, July 8, 1947, p. 1; Curt Collins, “ Flying Saucers Foiled Again,” The Saucers That Time Forgot, July 6, 2023)
July 5 — 2:30 p.m. Automobile dealer Kjell Qvale and dozens of others see a triangular formation of silvery discs flying south near Auburn, California. They appear directly overhead and are in view for 3–4 minutes, disappearing one at a time, but not over the horizon. (“ Skeptical Experts Call Disc Reports ‘Mass Illusion,’” San Francisco Examiner, July 8, 1947, p. 1; Bloecher, p. II-5)
July 5 — 3:00 p.m. Louis E. Starr, national commander-in-chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, tells the VFW encampment in Columbus, Ohio, that he is expecting information soon from the Pentagon on “the fleets of flying saucers,” although an expected telegram does not arrive. He asserts that “too little is being told to the people of this country.” (“ Starr to Reveal Data on Saucers,” Portland Sunday Oregonian, July 6, 1947, p. 24)
July 5 — 4:40 p.m. Lawrence H. “Bus” Cowham is driving east on Elizabeth Boulevard in Twin Falls, Idaho, when he sees a group of small, shiny discs soaring west through the sky beneath a cloud. They disappear out of sight in less than one minute. (“ Area Residents Join Many Seeing ‘Discs,’” Twin Falls (Idaho) Times-News, July 6, 1947, p. 6)
July 5 — 7:00 p.m. While ferrying an empty airliner from the east coast to Chicago, TWA pilot Capt. John L. Dobberteen and co-pilot Frank Corwin see a strange-looking object flying below them when they are above Neapolis, Ohio. It looks like a “whirling fan blade” or wings without a fuselage and is about the size of a Piper Cub airplane. It slowly revolves as it moves at a speed of 200 mph. The pilots watch it make two complete revolutions below them before it disappears from view. (“ T.W.A. Men Report Discs,” Kansas City (Mo.) Star, July 6, 1947, pp. 1–2; Bloecher, p. II-17)
July 5 — Later that evening, Brazel removes the large, circular piece of the debris from the range. Brazel either loads it into the back of his truck or drags it along behind. He stores it in a livestock shed about three miles north of the crash site. (Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, The Truth about the UFO Crash at Roswell, Evans, 1994, p. 163)
July 6 — Brazel gets up early, completes his chores, and then drives into Roswell, New Mexico, about 75 miles away. He stops at the office of Sheriff George A. Wilcox. Contrary to published reports, Wilcox is excited about the find and suggests the military at the Roswell Army Air Field [now closed] be notified. While waiting for the military officers to arrive, Wilcox dispatches two of his deputies to the ranch. They have only the directions given by Brazel, but both men are familiar with the territory; and Wilcox believes they will be able to find the debris field. KGFL reporter Frank Joyce calls Wilcox, who tells him Brazel is in his office with an interesting story. Brazel allegedly gets on the phone with Joyce and mentions debris and a stench from dead bodies. (“ Affidavit of George ‘Jud’ Roberts,” December 30, 1991; Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, The Truth about the UFO Crash at Roswell, Evans, 1994, pp. 163–164; Graff 3)
July 6 —1:45 p.m. Maj. A. B. Browning and the crew of a B-25 flying over Clay Center, Kansas, see a silvery disc about 30–50 feet in diameter slightly lower than their plane. It paces them for a while then shoots off. (NICAP, “ 30–50ʹ Circular Object Paces B-25, Accelerates”; Sparks, p. 21; Bloecher, p. III-11)
July 6 — J. Allen Hynek, assistant director of the Ohio State University’s Perkins Observatory in Delaware, Ohio, tells the press that he is interested in flying disc reports but suspects they “aren’t likely to be objects from outer space” because they have only been seen in the US, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. (Columbus (Ohio) Citizen, July 6, 1947; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1947 June 24th–July 6th, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2000, p. 58)
July 6 — Day. Army Air Corps Capt. James H. Burniston and his wife watch a round, flat object that oscillates on its lateral axis of travel three quarters of the way across the sky in a few seconds at Fairfield-Suisun Army Air Field [now Travis AFB] near Fairfield, California. (NICAP, “ Round Flat Object Size of C-54”; Sparks, p. 21; Bloecher, p. III-3)
July 6 — 2:45 p.m. David A. Kenney, an aircraft instruments engineer, and two others watch an oval-shaped UFO flying at a high altitude for nearly 2 minutes near Encampment, Wyoming. (Bloecher, p. III-17; David Kenney, “ Right Place, Right Time,” IUR 30, no. 4 (August 2006): 28)
July 6 — Afternoon. Francis Howell and his wife are in their yard at 317 Ash Street in Tempe, Arizona, when they see an object floating down to the ground with a kite-like motion. It appears to be about 2 feet across and made of aluminum. It disappears behind some trees. The Howells and some neighbors walk toward the place where it apparently has landed, and they see the disc ascend at a 45° angle and move at high speed toward the northwest. (“ Tempeans See ‘Disc,’” Phoenix Arizona Republic, July 7, 1947, p. 1; Bloecher, p. II-13)
July 6 — Colonel William H. Blanchard, Roswell Army Air Field commanding officer, entrusted with oversight of the first and only atomic-bomb strike force in the world, the 509th Bomb Group, orders Jesse A. Marcel, the air intelligence officer, to investigate the debris reported earlier in the morning on the Foster ranch near Corona, New Mexico, by foreman Mack Brazel, who has brought some of the pieces in to Sheriff George A. Wilcox’s office. Marcel immediately drives to the sheriff’s office. Marcel interviews Brazel, examines the pieces of the material that Brazel brought in, and decides he should visit the ranch to examine the field for himself. Marcel, taking some of the debris with him, returns to the base and reports to Blanchard on what he has seen. Blanchard, convinced that he is in possession of something highly unusual, perhaps Soviet, alerts the next higher headquarters. Marcel and Blanchard both know this is not from any type of balloon. Marcel returns to the sheriff’s office with the senior counterintelligence agent assigned to the base, CIC Captain Sheridan W. Cavitt. They escort Brazel back to his ranch and examine the debris field. Acting on orders from Major General Clements McMullen, deputy commander of the Strategic Air Command, Blanchard obtains more of the debris from the sheriff’s office. It is sealed in a courier pouch and loaded on an airplane to be flown on to the Fort Worth Army Air Field, where it is given to Colonel Thomas J. DuBose for transport on to Washington, D.C. After Marcel and Cavitt leave with Brazel, two of Wilcox’s deputies who have been sent to look for the debris field return to say they did not find the site but observed a burned area in one of the pastures. There the sand has been turned to glass and blackened. It looks as if something circular has touched down. (Robert Shirkey, Affidavit, April 30, 1991; Thomas Jefferson DuBose, Affidavit, September 16, 1991; Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, The Truth about the UFO Crash at Roswell, Evans, 1994, pp. 37–40, 164; Good Need, p. 89; Nukes 482–483; Graff 3–4)
July 6 — 8:45 p.m. Army Staff Sgt. Ira L. Livingston watches a procession of glowing round objects moving at 500 mph over Birmingham, Alabama. A new one appears every 5 seconds. Many others report UFOs in the area between 8:00 and 9:00 p.m. Robert Crossland, a copy reader for the Birmingham Age-Herald, takes a photo that shows two round white spots close together. (“ ‘Flying Saucers’ Reported from 39 States, But Seem to Be Concentrated Here,” Birmingham (Ala.) News, July 7, 1947, pp. 1, 5; Ruppelt, pp. 20–21; Bloecher, pp. III-3–4, IV-4; Michael David Hall and Wendy Ann Connors, Alfred Loedding and the Great Flying Saucer Wave of 1947, Rose Press, 1998, pp. 67–68)
July 6 — 9:00 p.m. Because of the distance to the ranch over roads that are less than adequate, Brazel, Marcel, and Cavitt do not arrive until after dark. They stay at the “Hines” house (an old ranch house close to the debris field), eat cold beans, and wait for daylight. Marcel runs a Geiger counter over the large piece of wreckage Brazel has stored in the cattle shed. He detects no sign of radiation. (Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, The Truth about the UFO Crash at Roswell, Evans, 1994, p. 165)
July 7 — 2:00 a.m. Joseph J. Kuritz is stopped by a state patrolmen on US Highway 31 near South Bend, Indiana, for speeding. Kuritz claims he and Bernard Jagodzinski are chasing a “glaring object flying south” at treetop level and going about 200 mph. They have it in view for 10 minutes before getting stopped. (“ Driver Chasing ‘Disk’ Arrested for Speeding,” South Bend (Ind.) Tribune, July 7, 1947, p. 1)
July 7 — 2:00 a.m. A special flight (the first) leaves Roswell AAF for Andrews AAF in Washington, D.C. Some of the debris and the bodies are on that flight. (Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, The Truth about the UFO Crash at Roswell, Evans, 1994, p. 165)
July 7 — Brazel takes Marcel and Cavitt out to the debris field. It is three-quarters of a mile long and 200–300 feet wide. A gouge starting at the northern end of it extends for 400–500 feet toward the other end. It looks as if something has touched down and skipped along. The largest piece of debris is recovered at the southern edge of the gouge. The debris is as thin as newsprint, but incredibly strong. There is foil that, when crumpled, unfolds itself without a sign of a wrinkle, I-beams that flex slightly and have some symbols on them, and material resembling Bakelite. Marcel and Cavitt walk the perimeter of the field and then range out looking for more details or another crash site but find nothing else. Finally, they return and spend the remainder of the day collecting debris. They load the rear of Marcel’s car and then the jeep carryall driven by Cavitt. About dusk they begin the trip back to Roswell. (Don Schmitt and Kevin D. Randle, “ The Roswell Material,” IUR 16, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1991): 10–11; Kevin D. Randle, “ Don’t Bother Me with the Facts…,” IUR 18, no. 3 (Jan./Feb. 1993): 16–17, 24; Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, The Truth about the UFO Crash at Roswell, Evans, 1994, pp. 27–29, 165; Robert A. Galganski, “ The Roswell Debris: A Quantitative Evaluation of the Project Mogul Hypothesis,” IUR 20, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1995): 3–6, 23–24; Charles B. Moore, Robert G. Todd, Mark Rodeghier, and Kevin D. Randle, “ Project Mogul and the Roswell Crash: An Exchange,” IUR 20, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1995): 7–9, 19–22; Kevin D. Randle, “ Bessie Brazel’s Story,” IUR 20, no. 3 (May/June 1995): 3–5, 24; Robert A. Galganski, “ Roswell: Connecting the Debris Field and the Impact Site,” IUR 21, no. 2 (Summer 1996): 11–17; Robert A. Galganski, “ The Glue Explanation Just Won’t Stick,” IUR 22, no. 4 (Winter 1997–1998): 3–7; Robert A. Galganski, “ An Engineer Looks at the Project Mogul Hypothesis,” IUR 23, no. 2 (Summer 1998): 3–6, 32; Thomas J. Carey, “ Will the Real Sheridan Cavitt Please Stand Up?” IUR 23, no. 3 (Fall 1998): 14–21; Kent Jeffrey, “ Roswell: Anatomy of a Myth,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 12, no. 1 (1998): 79–101; Michael D. Swords, “ A Different View of ‘Roswell: Anatomy of a Myth,’” Journal of Scientific Exploration 12, no. 1 (1998): 103–125; Robert M. Wood, “ Critique of ‘Roswell: Anatomy of a Myth,’” Journal of Scientific Exploration 12, no. 1 (1998): 127–140; Thomas J. Carey and Donald R. Schmitt, “ Mack Brazel Reconsidered,” IUR 24, no. 4 (Winter 1999): 13–19; Robert A. Galganski, The Roswell Debris Field: An Engineer’s Perspective, Fund for UFO Research, 2002; Kevin D. Randle, “ Bessie Brazel Schreiber and the Roswell Crash,” A Different Perspective, September 19, 2015; “ A Very Special Gathering: ‘These Are the Children of Roswell, They Have Come Home,’” Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, July 6, 2024)
July 7 — AMC commander Lieut. Gen Nathan Twining unexpectedly flies to Alamogordo AAF and Kirtland AAF in New Mexico, remaining there until July 11. Army Air Forces Commander Gen. Carl Spaatz is supposedly “vacationing” in Washington State. He tells reporters he knows nothing about the flying discs. (Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, The Truth about the UFO Crash at Roswell, Evans, 1994, p. 165)
July 7 — 9:55 a.m. Newspaper editor John Brackett and his wife Wilma see an object streak across the sky in Reno, Nevada, leaving a trail of bluish-white vapor. It is high in the sky and traveling at about 1,000 mph. (“ Tiny Speck Whizzes across Sky Here at Unbelievable Rate of Speed; Many Reno Persons See Small Object,” Reno Nevada State Journal, July 8, 1947, p. 14; Bloecher, pp. III-7–8)
July 7 — 10:10 a.m. On a runway on the west side of Rogers Dry Lake at Muroc Army Airfield [now Edwards Air Force Base] in southern California, XP-84 test pilot Maj. Jowell C. Wise and several others see a yellowish-white object at 10,000–12,000 feet traveling west in an oscillating motion at about 200 mph. It stops at one point, then continues in horizontal flight. (NICAP, “ Oscillating Sphere Observed by Test Pilot & Others”; Sparks, p. 21; Affidavit, J. C. Wise to Thomas A. McMillan, August 13, 1947)
July 7 — 11:30 a.m. Flight instructor Kenneth Jones out of Elkhart, Wisconsin, is practicing take-offs and landings with a student near Koshkonong. They watch a disc descending vertically on edge through the alto-cumulus clouds at 6,000 feet, stop at 4,000 feet, assume a horizontal orientation, and fly horizontally for 15 seconds, covering 23 miles at 5,500 mph. At one point it heads straight towards them on a course of about 120°, then stops again (apparently overhead) and disappears. ( Sparks, p. 22; Bloecher, p. III-11; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1947 July 7th–July 10th, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2001, p. 9)
July 7 — 2:30 p.m. Capt. Robert J. Southey and Clem Hackworthy are flying a private aircraft near East Troy, Wisconsin, when they see a fast- moving silver object flying southeast from Eagle to Muskego, covering 17 miles in 20 seconds (approximately 3,060 mph). They try to photograph it, but it quickly disappears, then suddenly reappears about 10 miles away. ( Sparks, p. 22; Bloecher, pp. III-11–12; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1947 July 7th–July 10th, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2001, p. 9)
July 7 — 3:10 p.m. Don Wisher and Vic Levin are surf fishing 3 miles north of Fort Bragg, California, when they see a flat, glistening object descending toward them from the over ocean with a distinctive hum. It hits he water about one-half mile off shore. It floats for a short while and then sinks. (San Rafael (Calif.) Independent, July 10, 1947; Carl Feindt, “ Report #62,” waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 126–127)
July 7 — A meeting is held in the office of Brig. Gen. George F. Schulgen, chief of the Requirements Intelligence branch of Army Air Force Intelligence. It is decided to investigate five flying disc incidents with “qualified” observers and obtain detailed statements: two in Seattle, Washington; one in Boise, Idaho; one in Palm Springs, California; and one in Washington State. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1947 July 7th–July 10th, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2001, p. 16)
July 7 — 4:00 p.m. William A. Rhodes, an independent scientist and inventor in Phoenix, Arizona, is walking to his workshop in his backyard at 4333 N. 14th Street when he hears a “whoosh” and sees an object banking in tight circles to the south at an altitude of about 1,000 feet. He takes two photos as it passes above his house, the first as it is approaching and looks somewhat cigar-shaped, and the second as it is banking and looks more heel-shaped with a small hole in the center. The photos are reproduced in the July 9 issue of the Arizona Republic. A few weeks later, an Army Air Corps Intelligence officer from Hamilton Army Airfield [now closed] in Novato, California, visits Rhodes and takes the prints and negatives, but Rhodes is unable to get them back. However, Kenneth Arnold obtains them on a later visit to Hamilton, and they wind up with James E. McDonald. Rhodes actually has an informal top-secret clearance because of his invention of a degaussing device for ships. He dies in 2007 at the age of 90. (NICAP, “ The Rhodes Photo Case”; Robert C. Hanika, “ Speedy ‘Saucer’ Zips through Local Sky,” Phoenix Arizona Republic, July 9, 1947, pp. 1–2; Bloecher, p. IV-4; Kevin D. Randle, “ More of the Best UFO Photographs,” A Different Perspective, November 30, 2006; Kevin D. Randle, “ Beyond the Rhodes Photographs,” A Different Perspective, October 4, 2010; Kevin D. Randle, “ William Rhodes and His Ph.D,” A Different Perspective, October 19, 2010; Kevin D. Randle, “ Rhodes Wrap-Up,” A Different Perspective, October 26, 2010; Michael D. Swords, “ Can You Learn Anything from UFO Photos, Part Two,” The Big Study, July 5, 2012; Swords 53, 54; Kevin D. Randle, “ Coast-to-Coast AM: FLIR and William Rhodes,” A Different Perspective, May 25, 2023; Kevin D. Randle, “ Coast-to-Coast AM: The Rhodes Photographs Revisited,” A Different Perspective, December 28, 2023)
July 7 — 5:20 p.m. Radar technician David W. Chase watches a disc-shaped object passing overhead at Medford, Oregon. It appears to be flying at 600–700 mph on edge at right angles to the surface of the earth, though following its contours at 500–1,000 feet. The object gives off a bright light. (Bloecher, p. III-18; Ray Palmer, “New Report on the Flying Saucers,” Fate 4, no. 1 (January 1951): 63–81; Clark III 1099; Clark IV 1225)
July 7 — 7:45 p.m. Five students on a practice baseball field at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, see three metallic oval objects flying swiftly and silently in a triangular formation overhead. They seem to be about 10 feet in diameter and are flying east over the Olentangy River. They are out of sight within 10 seconds. (“ 44 States Now in ‘Disc’ Parade,” Springfield (Ohio) News-Sun, July 8, 1947, p. 1; Bloecher, p. II-6)
July 7 — 9:00 p.m. Orrin Williams and his wife Albertine, along with Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Grant, are fishing on Great Pond near Rome, Maine, when they see a “spinning rocket” come out of the southern sky and stop abruptly overhead, where it hovers as a ball of fire. A similar object comes from the east, passing close by the first one. A third object approaches from the east and stops by the first object before moving on. The first object then retraces its path to the south at high speed. The display lasts several minutes. (Bloecher, p. II-10)
July 7 — 9:30 p.m. Charles Crockett, 15, is walking along Western Avenue in Manchester, Maine, when he sees a cluster of luminous objects to the west, just above the treetops on the north end of Cobboseecontee Lake. They are still visible when he arrives home and alerts his mother and grandmother. Possible searchlight beams. (“ ‘Flying Saucers’ Still Seen Flitting in N.E. Sky,” Bangor (Maine) Daily News, July 8, 1947, pp. 1–2; Bloecher, p. II-20)
July 7 — 10:15 p.m. Louisville Times photographer Al Hixenbaugh is at Preston Street and Bickels Lane in Louisville, Kentucky, when he notices three “fiery balls” in the sky. He takes a 5-second exposure, capturing two of the objects that show as slightly curved streaks. He estimates they are 1–2 miles away, moving at 200 mph, and at an altitude of 1,000–2,000 feet. Robert Delara of 2745 West Market Street also sees the three objects shooting northward. (Louisville (Ky.) Times, July 8, 1947; “ ‘Flying Liver Pills’ over Kentucky,” Cincinnati Enquirer, July 9, 1947, p. 1; Bloecher, pp. IV-4–5; “ La Fotografía (y la Pélicula) Al Hixenbaugh 1,” Marcianitos Verdes, February 5, 2017)
July 8 — 2:00 a.m. Marcel stops at home in Roswell to show his wife Viaud and son Jesse Jr. some of the Corona, New Mexico, crash debris. Over the next hour they examine it on the kitchen floor. Marcel Sr. says it is a flying saucer. Marcel is not breaking regulations since nothing has yet been classified. With the help of his son, Marcel loads it into the car to be taken to Roswell AAF. (“ Affidavit of Jesse A. Marcel Jr.,” March 6, 1991; Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, The Truth about the UFO Crash at Roswell, Evans, 1994, p. 166; Robert J. Durant, “ C. B. Moore’s Mogul Tape,” IUR 23, no. 2 (Summer 1998): 7–9, 32; Robert A. Galganski, “ Probing the Roswell Thin-Strut Debris,” IUR 24, no. 3 (Fall 1999): 8–12, 30; Karl T. Pflock, et al., “ Debris Details,” IUR 24, no. 4 (Winter 1999): 28–29)
July 8 — 6:00 a.m. Marcel and Cavitt visit with Blanchard in his quarters and tell him what they have seen. Blanchard calls base Provost Marshal Maj. Edwin D. Easley and orders him to post guards on the roads around the debris field. Armed guards encircle the primary areas, denying access to anyone without official business. Easley is directed to locate Brazel and have him escort the MPs to the debris field. Blanchard calls Eighth Air Force headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, and advises them of the new find. (Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, The Truth about the UFO Crash at Roswell, Evans, 1994, p. 166; Kevin D. Randle, “ New Documentation for Roswell: The Easley Letter,” A Different Perspective, November 6, 2023)
July 8 — 7:30 a.m. The regular 9:00 a.m. Roswell Army Air Field staff meeting is moved up 90 minutes. The main topic for discussion is Marcel and Cavitt reporting an extensive debris field near Corona in Lincoln County, New Mexico, approximately 75 miles northwest of Roswell. A preliminary briefing is provided by Blanchard about the separate impact site approximately 40 miles north of Roswell. Samples of wreckage are passed around the table. Pieces that resemble metal foil, paper-thin yet extremely strong, and pieces with unusual markings along their length are handed from man to man, each voicing their opinion. No one is able to identify the crash debris. (Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, The Truth about the UFO Crash at Roswell, Evans, 1994, p. 166)
July 8 — 9:00 a.m. Cavitt and Lewis S. Rickett, who has returned from an assignment in Carlsbad, New Mexico, drive a staff car to the impact site north of Roswell, followed by MPs. They are stopped by the guards who are still posted. When they arrive, they see that a small containment of debris remains that Rickett is allowed to examine. (Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, The Truth about the UFO Crash at Roswell, Evans, 1994, p. 166)
July 8 — 9:30 a.m.–9:20 p.m. Four separate UFO sightings take place at Muroc Army Airfield [now Edwards AFB] in southern California, the Air Force’s aircraft testing and development center. Ruppelt says these are the first sightings “that really made the Air Force take a deep interest in UFOs.” At 9:30 a.m., 1st Lt. Joseph C. McHenry and three others see two silver discs heading silently in a westerly direction at about 350–400 mph at about 8,000 feet; after they pass, a third disc is seen to the north flying in tight circles. At 11:50 a.m., Maj. Richard R. Shoop, Col. S. A. Gilkey, and Capt. John P. Stapp are sitting in an observation truck at Rogers Dry Lake and see an oval, white, aluminum-like object silently descending from 20,000 feet for about 90 seconds; it has two knobs or thick fins on the top. Around 4:00 p.m., a pilot flying an F-51 some 40 miles south of Muroc sees a “flat object of a light-reflecting nature”; it is flying too high for him to climb up to it. At 9:20 p.m., spherical objects are again seen in the area, this time at 8,000 feet and moving against the wind at 300 mph. (NICAP, “ Observers Sight Saucer over Base”; NICAP, “ Object Observed by Four Witnesses in Observation”; NICAP, “ Object Descends to Ground Level, Rises”; NICAP, “ Flat Object with Fin Observed by F-51 Pilot”; Sparks, pp. 22–23; Affidavit, Joseph C. McHenry to Thomas A. McMillan, July 11, 1947; Affidavit, Richard R. Shoop to Thomas A. McMillan, July 11, 1947; Affidavit, Jannette Marie Scott to Thomas A. McMillan, July 14, 1947; Affidavit, John Paul Stapp to Thomas A. McMillan, August 12, 1947; Bloecher, pp. III-4, 12; Michael D. Swords, “ The Lost Words of Edward Ruppelt,” IUR 20, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1995): 14–15; Clark III 436, 783–784; Clark IV 482, 865; Patrick Gross, “ The Muroc Army Air Field Incidents”)
July 8 — 11:00 a.m. Col. William Blanchard dictates a press release about the Roswell recovery to Public Information Officer Lt. Walter Haut, who delivers the release to radio stations around noon (the first apparently to Frank Joyce at KGFL) and the newspapers in Roswell, New Mexico. (Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, The Truth about the UFO Crash at Roswell, Evans, 1994, p. 167; Patrick Gross, “ Roswell 1947—Witnesses, Art McQuiddy,” November 8, 2005)
July 8 — The Army Air Force issues a press release saying that, based on a “preliminary study,” the flying discs are not secret bacteriological weapons designed by a foreign power, experimental army aircraft, or spaceships. However, Army and Navy officials are not certain what they are. (“ ‘Saucer’ Dept.—All Designs,” Racine (Wis.) Journal Times, July 8, 1947, p. 6)
July 8? — British radio and TV entertainer Hughie Green is driving across the US. About 250 miles west of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he hears an announcement that a flying saucer “had crashed in New Mexico and that the Army were moving in to investigate. Later the program was interrupted again and quite a few details were given.” When he arrives at Philadelphia, there is nothing in the newspapers or on the radio. (“ Star Puzzled,” Flying Saucer Review 1, no 1 (Spring 1955): 3; “ Hughie Green: ‘Peripheral Witness to Roswell?’” Above Top Secret forum, October 20, 2012; Clark III 319; Clark IV 336)
July 8 — 1:00 p.m. Several hundred people on Santa Catalina Island, off Long Beach, California, see a flight of six disc-shaped objects pass over the island in two formations of three each. Among the witnesses are Army Air Corps veterans Bob Jung, Kenneth Johnson, and Alvio Russo. Jung is able to take two photos of one of the discs; one photo shows a single oval-shaped, light-colored object of considerable size, with the superstructure of a ship at the bottom in the foreground. The printed copy is highly retouched. Russo estimates the speed of the objects at 850 mph as they move from the northeast and disappear over the hills to the south of Avalon Bay. (Los Angeles Examiner, July 9, 1947; Bloecher, p. IV-5)
July 8 — 1:00 p.m. Marcel goes on a B-29 special flight (the second) to Fort Worth Army Air Field, Texas, with the wreckage to report to Gen. Roger M. Ramey. The pilot is Lt. Col. Payne Jennings Jr. with Lt. Col. Robert Barrowclough riding in the bombardier’s seat. Only a few packages are loaded onto the plane. One, a triangular package about two feet long, is wrapped in brown paper. The other three are about the size of shoe boxes. They are so light that it feels as if there is nothing in them. When it lands in Fort Worth, the enlisted soldiers on the plane are ordered to remain aboard until a guard is posted and Marcel gets off taking one of the packages that he has been carrying on his lap. According to Flight Engineer M/Sgt. Robert Porter, the soldiers go to the mess hall once the guard is posted. The remaining debris is transferred to a B-25 that is flying to Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio. Marcel goes to Ramey’s office and puts the package on his desk. They both go to a map room, where Marcel shows him where the debris was found. When they return to Ramey’s office, Marcel sees that the package he brought has been substituted by a torn-up weather balloon. Ramey proposes a plan that possibly originates from his bosses at the Pentagon. Attention needs to be diverted from the more important impact site north of Roswell by acknowledging the Corona location. Too many civilians are involved, and the press is already alerted. (Robert Shirkey, Affidavit, April 30, 1991; Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, The Truth about the UFO Crash at Roswell, Evans, 1994, pp. 167–168; Thomas J. Carey and Donald R. Schmitt, “ Flight to Fort Worth: From Complicity to Cover-Up,” IUR 25, no. 2 (Summer 2000): 7–13, 30)
July 8 — 2:26 p.m. Haut’s press release about the recovered disc reaches the Associated Press wire. The story announces: “The army air forces here today announced a flying disc had been found” the previous week. It says that the disc is recovered by intelligence officers of the 509th Bomb Group at Roswell Army Air Field [now closed], New Mexico, with the help of local ranchers and the Chavez County Sheriff’s Office. It adds that the disc is being loaned by Maj. Marcel “to higher headquarters.” (“ ‘Flying Disc’ in Army Custody in New Mexico,” Stockton (Calif.) Daily Evening Record, July 8, 1947, p. 1; “ The Ever Growing Tale of Flying Saucers,” Los Angeles (Calif.) Evening Citizen News, July 8, 1947, p. 1 Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, The Truth about the UFO Crash at Roswell, Evans, 1994, p. 167)
July 8 — 2:30 p.m. Blanchard decides it is time to “go on leave.” Too many phone callers into the base are asking to speak with him. He, along with a few members of his staff, drive out to the Corona, New Mexico, debris field. Those left at the base are told to inform the reporters that the colonel is now on leave. (Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, The Truth about the UFO Crash at Roswell, Evans, 1994, p. 167; Kevin D. Randle, “ When a Leave Is Not a Leave: Col. Blanchard and the Roswell Timeline,” IUR 19, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1994): 18–20; Karl T. Pflock, “ Taking Liberties with a Leave,” IUR 20, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1995): 18)
July 8 — 2:41 p.m. The press release is put on the United Press wire. (“ ‘Flying Saucer’ Reported Found,” Medford (Oreg.) Mail Tribune, July 8, 1947, p. 1; “ The Ever Growing Tale of Flying Saucers,” Los Angeles (Calif.) Evening Citizen News, July 8, 1947, p. 1)
July 8 — 3:50 p.m. An Army National Guard pilot flying near Mount Baldy, California, observes a flat object, reflecting light, about the size of a fighter. He gives chase, attempting to keep it in sight, but is unable to do so. (Air Force Base Intelligence Report, “ Flying Discs,” July 30, 1947; Kevin D. Randle, “ Roswell, Nathan Twining, and the Mini-EOTS,” A Different Perspective, October 6, 2014)
July 8 — 4:26 p.m. Thomas M. Dale is flying a small plane at 2,800 feet over Alton, New Hampshire, with passenger Jere Stetson. They see a metallic object some 2 miles away to the east and some 1,500 feet below their aircraft. It approaches them at great speed before veering to the north. They estimate it is 20 feet long and “not exactly round.” (“ ‘Mysterious Object’ Sighted in Air by N.H. Governor’s Son,” Boston Globe, July 9, 1947, pp. 1, 7; “ Reports of Flying Saucers in Skies Fall Off Sharply,” Shamokin (Pa.) News-Dispatch, July 9, 1947, pp. 1, 7; Bloecher, p. III-12)
July 8 — 4:30 p.m. The Roswell Daily Record carries the “RAAF Captures Flying Saucer” story. In Fort Worth, Texas, Ramey issues a statement saying the Roswell officers were fooled and that the material is a Rawin target device suspended by a Neoprene rubber balloon. (“Rawin” is a method of determining wind speed and direction by using radar or radio waves to track a balloon carrying either a radar- sensitive target or radio transponder.). The debris is switched for the newspaper photographer, James Bond Johnson, at a press conference held by Ramey and Col. Thomas J. DuBose in late afternoon. Johnson takes six photos of the debris and leaves after 20 minutes. One of the photos shows Ramey holding a piece of paper (the “Ramey memo”) with words written on it; unfortunately, the resolution is inadequate to decisively “deblur” the text using modern technological methods. A weather officer, Maj. Irving Newton, is called in to identify the debris as from a balloon. A photo of Newton with the debris is taken by another photographer. (“ RAAF Captures Flying Saucer on Ranch in Roswell Region,” Roswell (N.Mex.) Daily Record, July 8, 1947, p. 1; “ Disc Seized by Army Only Piece of Balloon; Search Still Going On,” Philadelphia (Pa.) Inquirer, July 9, 1947, pp. 1, 3; “ Captured New Mexico ‘Disc’ Proves Dud,” Phoenix Arizona Republic, July 9, 1947, p. 1; Donald R. Schmitt and Kevin D. Randle, “ Fort Worth, July 8, 1947: The Cover-Up Begins,” IUR 15, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1990): 21–23; Donald R. Schmitt and Kevin D. Randle, “ The Fort Worth Press Conference: The J. Bond Johnson Connection,” IUR 15, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1990): 5–16; Thomas Jefferson DuBose, Affidavit, September 16, 1991; Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, The Truth about the UFO Crash at Roswell, Evans, 1994, pp. 41–43, 168; Robert A. Galganski, “ Probing the Roswell Thin-Strut Debris,” IUR 24, no. 3 (Fall 1999): 8–12, 30; Donald R. Burleson, “ Deciphering the Ramey Memo,” IUR 25, no. 2 (Summer 2000): 3–6, 32; Robert A. Galganski, “ The Roswell Debris Field: Size Doesn’t Matter,” IUR 25, no. 4 (Winter 2000–2001): 14–19, 30; James Houran and Kevin D. Randle, “ Interpreting the Ramey Memo,” IUR 27, no. 2 (Summer 2002): 10–14, 26–27; Donald R. Burleson, “ On Blobs and Chiaroscuro,” IUR 27, no. 3 (Fall 2002): 24; James Houran and Kevin D. Randle, “ ‘A Message in a Bottle’: Confounds in Deciphering the Ramey Memo from the Roswell UFO Case,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 16, no. 1 (2002): 45–66; Barry Greenwood, “ An Observation on the Ramey Memo,” UFO Historical Revue, no. 11 (March 2004): 1–8; James Houran, A Search for Meaning in the Ramey Document: From the Roswell UFO Case, Fund for UFO Research, 2006; Dennis Balthaser, “ Interview: James Bond Johnson (Roswell Wreckage Photographer),” The UFO Chronicles, March 27, 2006; Barry Greenwood, “ Ramey Memo Redux: Line 5,” UFO Historical Revue, no 13 (September 2009): 5–19; Kevin D. Randle, Roswell in the 21st Century, The Author, 2016; Nick Redfern, The Roswell UFO Conspiracy, Lisa Hagan, 2017, pp. 232–238; Graff 8–9; “ Interview with Roswell ‘UFO Debris’ Photographer, Star-Telegram Reporter J. Bond Johnson,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, February 2, 2024; Kevin D. Randle, “ Roswell Solved: I Think Not,” A Different Perspective, July 29, 2024)
July 8 — 5:17 p.m. Special Agent Percy Wyly II in the Dallas, Texas, FBI office sends a teletype headed “Flying Disc, Information Concerning” to J. Edgar Hoover and Strategic Air Command in Cincinnati, Ohio, expressing some doubt about the balloon explanation: “telephonic conversation between [Eighth Air Force] and Wright Field had not borne out this belief. Disc and balloon being transported to Wright Field by special plane for examination.” Wyly receives this information from Maj. Edwin M. Kirton at Fort Worth. Roswell mortician Glenn Dennis, intrigued by inquiries from the base about small caskets, visits the base hospital but is turned away forcibly; a nurse friend (possibly 1st Lt. Adeline “Eileen” M. Fanton) warns him to leave before he gets into trouble and supposedly tells him that three alien bodies had been found. Other witnesses to recovered bodies include T/Sgt Ernest R. Robbins, Maj. Edwin D. Easle, Ruben and Pete Anaya, New Mexico Lieutenant Governor Joseph Montoya, Sgt. Melvin E. Brown (who says the bodies looked Asian), Capt. Oliver “Pappy” W. Henderson, Staff Sgt. Robert A. Slusher, and Charles H. Forgus. ([ Wyly’s teletype message]; “ Affidavit of Sappho Henderson,” July 9, 1991; Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, The Truth about the UFO Crash at Roswell, Evans, 1994, pp. 168–169; Mark Rodeghier and Mark Chesney, “ Who’s the Dummy Now? The Latest Air Force Report,” IUR 22, no. 3 (Fall 1997): 10; Good Need, pp. 91–93; Nick Redfern, The Roswell UFO Conspiracy, Lisa Hagan, 2017, pp. 97–100; “ Roswell: W. Glenn Davis [sic] Interview, 11 19 1990,” NICAP Official YouTube channel, July 8, 2021)
July 8 — 5:33 p.m. More than 100 Navy men watch an oblong object over Naval Station Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Hawaii. Most witnesses describe it as “silvery colored, like aluminum, with no wings or tail, sort of round or oblong-shaped, and moving both slow and fast.” The object is moving westward toward Honolulu in “alternating bursts of speed” and in a “slow, zigzagging” flight path. Among the Navy men reporting the object are Yeoman 2c Ted Pardue, Yeoman 1c Douglas Kacherle, Seaman 1c Donald Ferguson, Yeoman Morris Kzamme, and Seaman Albert Delancey. (“ Army, Navy Drafts Campaign to Halt ‘Saucer’ Rumors,” Ventura County (Calif.) Star, July 9, 1947, p. 1; Bloecher, p. III-6)
July 9 — 1:00 a.m. William Valetta sees 5–6 domed discs streaking eastward as he stands outside his house at 4328 South Emerald Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. They make a swishing noise and he sees a blue flame underneath each of them. Smoke seems to be coming from the tops. (Bloecher, pp. II-13–14)
July 9 — RAAF officers locate Mack Brazel and take him to the base for questioning, then to the Roswell Daily Record and radio station KGPL for a revised, sanitized version of his story, this time saying he found the debris on June 14. Copies of Haut’s original press release are recovered. Three fully loaded C-54’s carry debris to Los Alamos, New Mexico, via Kirtland AFB, according to Robert E. Smith, First Air Transport Unit. A crate allegedly carrying alien bodies is flown from Roswell to Fort Worth in a B-29, according to Staff Sgt. Robert A. Slusher, who says he was on board. (Don Schmitt and Kevin D. Randle, “ Roswell, July 9, 1947,” IUR 14, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1989): 4–6, 23; Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, The Truth about the UFO Crash at Roswell, Evans, 1994, pp. 53–58, 169–171; Kevin D. Randle, “ Bessie Brazel’s Story,” IUR 20, no. 3 (May/June 1995): 3–5, 24; Thomas J. Carey and Donald R. Schmitt, “ Mack Brazel Reconsidered,” IUR 24, no. 4 (Winter 1999): 13–19; Kevin D. Randle, “ Bessie Brazel Schreiber and the Roswell Crash,” A Different Perspective, September 19, 2015)
July 9 — The FBI interviews Capt. Emil J. Smith and copilot Ralph Stevens at Boise (Idaho) Municipal Airport about their July 4 sighting. (ClearIntent, p. 151; Good Above, pp. 253–254)
July 9 — US Sen. Glen H. Taylor (D-Idaho) says he hopes the saucers will turn out to be space ships from another planet, whose hostility might end all our “petty arguments on earth.” (“ ‘Can’t Laugh Off Saucers,’ Says Senator,” Boston Globe, July 9, 1947, p. 5)
July 9 — The US Army Air Force issues classified orders requiring reports of any “saucer- like” objects to be investigated and passed on to T-2 Technical Intelligence at Wright Field, Ohio, with summaries sent to the Pentagon. However, most of the early cases still go directly to the Air Force Office of Intelligence at the Pentagon. (Michael David Hall and Wendy Ann Connors, “ Alfred Loedding: New Insight on the Man behind Project Sign,” IUR 23, no. 4 (Winter 1998): 6)
July 9 — 10:30 a.m. President Truman meets with Sen. Carl Hatch (D-N.Mex.).
July 9 — 10:35 a.m. Assistant Secretary of War for Air Stuart Symington meets with Lt. Gen. James Doolittle and Gen. Hoyt Vandenberg. The conversation is presumably about the flying discs. (Donald R. Schmitt, UFO Crash at Roswell II, Moonset, 2001)
July 9 — 10:50 a.m. Doolittle, Vandenberg, and Symington meet in the office of Army Chief of Staff Dwight D. Eisenhower. Maj. Gen. Lauris Norstad, director of the Plans and Operations Department, is also present. (Donald R. Schmitt, UFO Crash at Roswell II, Moonset, 2001)
July 9 — 11:58 a.m. Vandenberg calls President Truman.
July 9 — 12:50 p.m. Vandenberg and Symington meet with the Joint Chiefs.
July 9 — 12:17 p.m. Idaho Statesman aviation editor and former B-29 pilot David N. Johnson, flying in an Idaho Air National Guard AT-6 Texan, sees a black object standing out against the clouds as he prepares to land at Gowen Field [now Boise Airport], Boise, Idaho. Johnson takes 10 seconds of 8mm motion-picture film (but it shows no trace of the object). It makes a slow roll, then makes a stair-step climb, then disappears into the clouds. (NICAP, “ AT-6 Encounters Black Disc”; Sparks, p. 23; Dave Johnson, “ Flying Reporter Finally Sights Black, Darting Disc High over Boise,” Boise Idaho Statesman, July 10, 1947, pp. 1, 6; Dave Johnson, “ Boise Newsman Photographs Disc,” Oakland (Calif.) Tribune, July 10, 1947, p. 9; Dave Johnson, “ Flying Newsman Learns Disc Failed to ‘Take’ on Movie Film,” Boise Idaho Statesman, July 11, 1947, pp. 1, 9; UFOEv, pp. 13, 130; Bloecher, pp. III-12–13; Michael D. Swords, “ The Lost Words of Edward Ruppelt,” IUR 20, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1995): 14–15; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1947 July 7th–July 10th, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2001, pp. 39–43, 55; Clark III 436; Clark IV 482)
July 9 — 2:30 p.m. Vandenberg and Symington meet again.
July 9 — 4:17 p.m. Vandenberg meets with Maj. Gen. Emmett O’Donnell Jr., director of information for the Army Air Force. (Donald R. Schmitt, UFO Crash at Roswell II, Moonset, 2001).
July 9 — Late afternoon. 1Lt Chester P. Barton, stationed at Roswell Army Air Field in New Mexico, is sent by Maj. Edwin D. Easley to go to the crash site and report back to him about what is going on. He gets no closer than about 50 feet from the wreckage, which appears to have burned. He is convinced it is the remains of a B-29 bomber. He remains at the site for about 90 minutes then reports back to Easley. (Joseph Stefula, “ The Roswell Testimony of Chester P. Barton,” IUR 26, no. 2 (Summer 2001): 21–23, 29–31)
July 9 — Brig. Gen. George F. Schulgen, chief of the Requirements Intelligence branch of Army Air Force Intelligence, requests FBI help with the problem of the flying discs from Special Agent S. Wesley Reynolds. Army intelligence claims they are not Army or Navy craft. He says that Air Corps Intelligence is utilizing all its scientists to study the cases to see whether they are natural or artificial or inspired by “individuals of Communist sympathies with the view to causing hysteria and fear of a secret Russian weapon.” (E. G. Fitch to D. M. Ladd, “ Flying Disks,” July 10, 1947; ClearIntent, p. 148; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1947 July 7th–July 10th, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2001, p. 14)
July 9 — Shortly after 5:00 p.m. Electrician Raymond Edward Lane and his wife are picking huckleberries near Midland, Michigan, when they hear a kind of “puff” noise nearby. Looking up, they see a ball of white, sparkling fire, like a Fourth of July sparkler, about the size of a bushel basket, no more than 100 feet away. It is hovering several feet above a stretch of sand. After about 10 or 15 seconds, the light goes out and the object vanishes. The only thing that remains is a peculiar dark substance on the sand and some metallic fragments. Lane collects fragments of the material in a tin can and brings them the next morning to Robert S. Spencer, a senior researcher at the Dow Chemical Company materials research laboratory in Midland. Spencer goes to the site with Lane and Dow’s internal security chief Edward Fales. Spencer has the Dow spectroscopy laboratory analyze the fragments and reports that the shiny pellets are largely silver mixed with a bit of silicon. They conclude that it consists of fused sand. By the end of September, the lab has analyzed ash-like powder found at the site. It turns out to be thorite that is slightly radioactive, mixed with magnesium hydroxide and other trace minerals. The conclusion is that the sighting is the result of some kind of home-made fireworks experiment, although Dow chemist John Josef Grebe suspects it might have been a small missile. (NICAP, “ Object Hovers over Sand”; Bloecher, pp. IV-2–3; Joel Carpenter, “ The Midland Fireball: Dow Chemical, UFOs, and Evidence,” IUR 23, no. 3 (Fall 1998): 28–32)
July 9 — 11:30 p.m. Constable Eric Kearsey sees four yellowish discs flying in close formation above Grand Falls, Newfoundland. He calls other people to watch them as well. They are moving at high speed to the east with a dipping motion. At 11:40 p.m., an egg-shaped object “the size of a barrel head” passes overhead in the same direction. (St. John’s (Newf.) Evening Telegram, July 9, 1947; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1947 July 7th–July 10th, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2001, pp. 45–46)
July 10 — FBI agent E. G. Fitch forwards Schulgen’s request to Assistant Director of the Domestic Intelligence Division D. Milton “Mickey” Ladd at FBI headquarters in a memo titled “Flying Disks.” Ladd adds a note saying that the “Bureau does not believe it should go into these investigations” because many cases are “pranks.” Associate FBI Director Clyde Tolson adds, “I think we should do this,” while J. Edgar Hoover writes, “I would do it but before agreeing to it we must insist upon full access to discs recovered. For instance in the La. Case the Army grabbed it and would not let us have it for cursory examination.” (E. G. Fitch to D. M. Ladd, “ Flying Disks,” July 10, 1947; RosRept, pp. 25–26; Good Above, p. 541; Kevin D. Randle, “ The Hoover Memo Again,” A Different Perspective, July 29, 2015)
July 10 — Roswell debris and bodies have been flown from Fort Worth to Wright Field, according to future Brig. Gen. Arthur Exon, then stationed at Wright Field, Ohio, who says that a special unit is created to study them. The story is slightly corroborated by Jack G. Tiffany Jr., whose father Jack G. Tiffany Sr. is one of the crew members that flies debris from Fort Worth to Dayton. (“ Brig. Gen. Arthur E. Exon,” Roswell Proof; Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, The Truth about the UFO Crash at Roswell, Evans, 1994, pp. 61–66; Thomas J. Carey and Donald J. Schmitt, Inside the Real Area 51, New Page, 2013, pp. 165–175; Nukes 483–486; Anthony Bragalia, “ Scientists Who Studied Roswell UFO Crash Debris and Bodies Named,” UFO Explorations, Aug./Sept. 2023)
July 10 — 10:00 a.m. John H. Janssen, aviation editor of the Morristown Daily Record, takes a photo of four luminous objects as he is flying his Piper J-3 Cub at 10,000 feet over Morristown, New Jersey. Three of the objects are silvery white, while the fourth is a dull metallic color. (“ ‘Flying Saucers’ Invade Morristown; 4 Discs Photographed near Airport,” Paterson (N.J.) Evening News, July 11, 1947, p. 10; NICAP, “ 07-10-1947 USA, New Jersey, Morristown”)
July 10 — 10:30 a.m. Lt. Gen. Curtis LeMay, deputy chief of Air Staff for Research and Development at the Pentagon, meets with Vandenberg, Maj. Gen. Leslie Groves, and Lt. Gen. Robert Miller Montague.
July 10 — 12:15 p.m. Doolittle and Vandenberg meet with Truman.
July 10 — 2:40 p.m. Secretary of War Robert P. Patterson meets with Groves and Montague.
July 10 — 4:25 p.m. A V-2 launch is aborted at White Sands Proving Ground, New Mexico, after 32 seconds due to an early yaw. Lieut. Gen. Nathan Twining stops at White Sands before returning to Wright Field, Ohio.
July 10 — 4:47 p.m. University of New Mexico astronomer Lincoln LaPaz, his wife Leota, and two daughters, Jean and Mary, are driving west on Highway 60 near Fort Sumner, New Mexico, when they see a sharply outlined, white ellipsoidal object wobbling in the sky to the west about 25 miles away. They watch it for about 30 seconds, then it disappears behind a cloud, but reappears 5 seconds later further to the right. He estimates its size as 245 feet long and 100 feet thick at the maximum, with a horizontal speed of 120–180 mph and a vertical speed of 600–900 mph. It moves silently with no vapor trail. It resembles no known aircraft. (NICAP, “ 200ʹ Ellipsoidal Object Sighted by La Paz Family”; Sparks, p. 24; H. B. Darrach Jr. and Robert Ginna, “ Have We Visitors from Space?” Life, April 7, 1952, p. 84; Bloecher, p. III-19; James E. McDonald, “ Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, p. 60; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1947 July 7th–July 10th, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2001, p. 58)
July 10 — 5:30 p.m. Three civilian airline mechanics (John N. Mehrman Jr., Robert Leidy, and John E. Woodruff) at Ernest Harmon AFB [now Stephenville International Airport] are returning from a fishing trip and driving up a mountain road near Stephenville Crossing, Newfoundland. They see a bluish-black exhaust trail that has cut through some clouds leaving a “hole.” Woodruff sees a disc-shaped object the apparent size of a C-54 transport plane coming out of the clouds and traveling at a terrific rate of speed. The hole remains in the cloud for more than an hour. Leidy takes two Kodachrome photos of the exhaust trail. The sighting later impresses Project Sign personnel to the extent that they ask questions about UFO effects on clouds. (NICAP, “ Harmon Field Photo”; Sparks, p. 24; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: Volume 1, 1947, The Author, February 1991, pp. 44–45; Chris Rutkowski and Geoff Dittman, The Canadian UFO Report, Dundurn Press, 2006, pp. 49–50; Chris Rutkowski, “ The Cold, Hard Facts about UFOs in Canada,” IUR 34, no. 1 (September 2011): 8–9; Michael D. Swords, “ Can You Learn Anything from UFO Photos, Part Two,” The Big Study, July 5, 2012; Swords 38–39; Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 167, 264–267)
July 10 — Mack Brazel is still being held at a guest house on the Roswell, New Mexico, base. The officers try to convince him not to say anything about what he has seen. They also try to prevent him talking to reporters. He is given a physical by doctors at the base hospital. (Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, The Truth about the UFO Crash at Roswell, Evans, 1994, p. 172)
July 11 — Debriefings of all military participants in the Corona debris recovery operation take place. They are taken into a room in small groups and told that the recovery is highly classified and not to talk about it. Military personnel warn civilians around Roswell, New Mexico, that they are not to talk about what happened. (Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, The Truth about the UFO Crash at Roswell, Evans, 1994, pp. 72–76, 172)
July 11 — 11:00 a.m. USAAF Col. Bruce H. Perry and Maj. William E. Geyser, 59th AACS Group, see a round 2–3 foot or 10-foot aluminum or silver-metallic sphere traveling at great speed to the south of Elmendorf AFB [now Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson], Anchorage, Alaska. Estimated altitude is 3,000–4,000 feet. (NICAP, “ Round 3ʹ Aluminum Object at Great Speed”; Sparks, p. 24)
July 12 — Kenneth Arnold is interviewed at the Hotel Owyhee in Boise, Idaho, by Lt. Frank M. Brown and Capt. William L. Davidson, who have flown in from Hamilton Army Airfield [now closed] in Novato, California. He also submits a written statement to Army Air Force intelligence, referring to the objects as “saucer-like.” At the end of the report he draws a picture of what the objects appeared to look like at their closest approach to Mt. Rainier, Washington. He writes, “They seemed longer than wide, their thickness was about 1/20th their width.” As to motion, Arnold writes, “They flew like many times I have observed geese to fly in a rather diagonal chain-like line as if they were linked together.” (James Easton suggests in 2007 that Arnold may have seen pelicans, based on their movements, but this seems unlikely.) While they are at Arnold’s house, Brown and Davidson hear that pilot Emil J. Smith is in Boise on a layover, and all three go to the airport to talk to him. (Frank M. Brown, “ Memorandum for the Officer in Charge,” July 16, 1947; Kenneth Arnold and Ray Palmer, The Coming of the Saucers, Palmer, 1952, pp. 21–23; Kenneth Arnold, “ Confidential,” Project 1947; Michael David Hall and Wendy Ann Connors, “ Alfred Loedding: New Insight on the Man behind Project Sign,” IUR 23, no. 4 (Winter 1998): 6; James Easton, “Kenneth Arnold and the Pelicans,” UFO Conjectures, April 4, 2007; Martin Shough, “ The Singular Adventure of Mr. Kenneth Arnold,” June 2010)
July 12 — The FBI conducts a shorter follow-up interview with Capt. Emil J. Smith. (ClearIntent, p. 153)
July 12 — 2:30 p.m. Earl Page is flying a light plane from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City with his wife Beulah and son Ronald. Over Utah Lake, Utah, they see a formation of discs approach their plane from the front and pass to the right. Page thinks they may be as close as 50 feet. He banks the plane sharply to pursue them, but they disappear in the distance. All three of the witnesses experience an overwhelming emotional reaction, as well as nausea. (“ 1947 Pilot Sighting Revealed,” APRO Bulletin, May 1962, p. 5; Frank B. Salisbury, The Utah UFO Display, Devin-Adair, 1974, p. xvii)
July 12 — 6:30 p.m. USAAF Maj. Edward Graham and others at Elmendorf AFB [now Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson], Anchorage, Alaska, see a balloon-like grayish object, 10 feet long, flying northwest at 100 mph at an altitude of 1,500 feet and following the contour of mountains 5 miles away. It is paralleling the course of a landing C-47. ( Sparks, p. 24)
July 12 — 6:35 p.m. Seamen John C. Kennedy and Ben Bobberly are on duty at Naval Air Station Seattle at Sand Point [now closed and redeveloped as Magnuson Park], Seattle, Washington. They notice a silvery disc-shaped object flying overhead to the east at 12,000 feet. At about the same time, Arnold Bergh and James Calahan watch three silvery discs flying quickly north from their location near North 82nd Street and 11th Avenue in Seattle. (Bloecher, p. III-6)
July 13 — 5:48 p.m. Warren Baker Eames is driving with his wife Alice on State Highway 2 near Gardner, Massachusetts, when they see a large, silvery, disc- shaped object in the sky ahead, moving west. As they watch, its nearest edge dips down toward them and it accelerates in a sudden burst of speed to the west-northwest. (Bloecher, p. III-1)
July 15 — Mack Brazel is returned home after an extensive interrogation at Roswell AAF, New Mexico. (Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, The Truth about the UFO Crash at Roswell, Evans, 1994, p. 173)
July 15 — 12:15 p.m. Col. Frank A. Flynn is flying a Vultee BT-13 Valiant over Concord, California, when a group of 12–15 objects approaches and passes him. At first he takes them for birds, but he can see no necks or wings and they are moving in excess of 200 mph. They are moving in a see-saw fashion at three different altitudes about 200 feet apart, and they appear to be about 15 feet across, white on the top and gray and black on the bottom. At their closest point, they are about one mile away. Flynn turns his plane around to pursue them, but they outdistance him quickly. (Bloecher, p. III-13)
July 16 — An initial report on the Ernest Harmon AFB case in Newfoundland is written up by a base intelligence officer. (Michael David Hall and Wendy Ann Connors, “ Alfred Loedding: New Insight on the Man behind Project Sign,” IUR 23, no. 4 (Winter 1998): 8)
July 19 — The antiaircraft command base of the Chinese Nationalist Government Air Force spots a UFO over Lanzhou City, Gansu, China. It is 50 feet long and has an apparent rudder and two jet pipes in the back. About 8:00 p.m., witnesses in Gansu province watch a red object cross the sky in 2 seconds. (Paul Dong, The Four Major Mysteries of Mainland China, Prentice-Hall, 1984, p. 3)
July 21 — A more detailed report on the Ernest Harmon AFB incident is sent to the Pentagon. (Michael David Hall and Wendy Ann Connors, “ Alfred Loedding: New Insight on the Man behind Project Sign,” IUR 23, no. 4 (Winter 1998): 8)
July 21 — Life magazine publishes a pictorial news story on the flying discs. (“ Speaking of Pictures: A Rash of Flying Disks Breaks Out over the U.S.,” Life, July 21, 1947, pp. 14–16)
July 22 — Ray Palmer writes to Kenneth Arnold and tells him about the Maury Island, Washington, case, asking him to look into it. (Jason Colavito, ed., “ Inquiry into Richard Shaver and Ray Palmer, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1947”; Kenneth Arnold and Ray Palmer, The Coming of the Saucers, Palmer, 1952, p. 21; Clark III 720; Clark IV 789)
July 23 — Day. John H. Janssen, aviation editor of the Morristown Daily Record, is flying his Piper J-3 Cub at 6,000 feet near the Morristown Airport in New Jersey. He sees a flash of light, the engine gives out, and the plane seems to be motionless. Then he sees two UFOs (this time with portholes) and manages to get the propeller going again. This is one of the first cases of “vehicle interference” UFO cases involving an airplane. (NICAP, “ 07-10-1947 USA, New Jersey, Morristown”; John H. Janssen, “My Encounter with Flying Disks,” Fate 2, no. 3 (September 1949): 12–16)
July 23 — José C. Higgens and some assistants are surveying a field in Campina do Amoral in the Colônia Goio-Bang, located between Luiziana and Mamboré, Paraná, Brazil. On hearing a sharp sound, they see a grayish-white disc-shaped object about 100 feet in diameter, which soon lands and rests on curved metal feet. His assistants flee, but Higgens goes up to examine it. He sees a small glass window and two odd-looking beings observing him curiously from within. A door opens in the craft, and three other hairless beings dressed in transparent overalls emerge. They have large, round eyes with eyebrows and pronounced eyelashes. Their legs are disproportionately long and they are about 7 feet tall. One points a small tube at Higgens. They are speaking in an nknown, sonorous language. He walks toward the door and can see only a small cubicle, bordered by another door, and several portholes. Higgens by gestures asks where they are from and the leader draws a map in the dirt, indicating a seventh planet, presumably Uranus. He eludes them by pretending to look for his wife and goes into a hidden spot in the woods. After 30 minutes the beings climb into the object and take off. (Wikipedia, “ Caso José Higgens”; Mark Cashman, “ Behavioral Classification System for UFO Occupants,” IUR 24, no. 1 (Spring 1999): 18; Clark III 576–577; Brazil 21–23; Clark IV 634–635)
July 25 — Intelligence agents from the Fourth Air Force, Lt. Frank M. Brown and Capt. William L. Davidson, visit Kenneth Arnold in Boise, Idaho, and tell him to contact them if he runs across any interesting UFO evidence.
July 25 — A memorandum over the signature of Maj. Lester M. Garrigues states that by order of Col. Blanchard, the nine men who had been assigned duties in the recovery of the Roswell, New Mexico, crash are relieved from duty on that project. However, it is now largely considered a forgery by Frank Kaufmann. Garrigues has assumed duties in China prior to this and is no longer in Roswell. (Kevin D. Randle, “ Frank Kaufmann, Roswell Witness,” IUR 27, no. 3 (Fall 2002): 8, 17–19; Mark Rodeghier, “ Frank Kaufmann Exposed,” IUR 27, no. 3 (Fall 2002): 9–11, 26)
July 25 — Day. Leonard Robertson is riding his motorcycle northeast of Dumas, Texas, when he sees a flash of light to his left. An oval object like a bubble is floating over a field about one mile away. Suddenly the object explodes, so Robertson takes a side road to the field where he retrieves a piece of metal “lighter than aluminum foil” about 30 inches long and 24 inches wide. There are two small holes in it and the center seems to be burned. (“ Perryton Man Displays Proof of Saucer Story,” Amarillo (Tex.) Daily News, August 6, 1947, p. 1; “ Salvage from Mystery Blast,” Amarillo (Tex.) Daily News, August 9, 1947, p. 5; Curt Collins, “ The Texas UFO Crash Debris Photo from July 1947,” The Saucers That Time Forgot, May 21, 2020)
July 26 — President Truman signs the National Security Act, a major restructuring of the military and intelligence agencies. It creates a unified National Military Establishment (Army and Navy) and an independent Department of the Air Force, both under the new Secretary of Defense. The Joint Research and Development Board becomes the R&D brain center. Each of the three service secretaries maintains quasi-cabinet status. It establishes the National Security Council to advise the president and the Central Intelligence Agency, the first peacetime intelligence agency in the US. The CIA is prohibited from conducting domestic surveillance, but Allen Dulles ensures it can handle “other functions” affecting “national security” without scrutiny from Congress or (sometimes) the president. Much of the CIA’s funding initially comes from wealthy Americans. The act creates the first black military and intelligence budget. (Wikipedia, “ National Security Act of 1947”; Clark III 795; Clark IV 876)
July 27 — Ray Palmer wires Kenneth Arnold $200 to investigate the Maury Island, Washington, case. (Kenneth Arnold and Ray Palmer, The Coming of the Saucers, 1952, Palmer, pp. 23–24; Clark III 720; Clark IV 789)
July 27 — Capt. Davidson and Lt. Brown interview Richard Rankin. The FBI finds that the CIC agents have also interviewed Kenneth Arnold, Capt. Emil J. Smith, Flight Officer Ralph Stevens, and Boise Stateman Editor David N. Johnson about their UFO sightings. Leverett G. Richards, aviation editor of the Portland Oregonian, informs the FBI of this information. He also calls Lieut. Gen. Nathan Twining, who leaves “the impression that the AAF instituted this investigation to wash out the disc reports since they are definitely not of AAF origin.” (Memo for FBI Director from Mr. D. M. Ladd, August 14, 1947)
July 28 — After assessing the Ernest Harmon AFB, Newfoundland, report, Gen. Schulgen orders Col. Howard M. McCoy, deputy commander of T-2 intelligence at Wright Field, Ohio, to send a top-level assessment team (possibly Alfred Loedding or Col. William R. Clingerman Jr.) to Stephenville “immediately” and report directly to the Pentagon afterwards. McCoy suspects German or Russian technology. (Michael D. Swords, “ Project Sign and the Estimate of the Situation,” JUFOS 7 (2000): 33–34; Swords 39)
July 28 — 8:34 p.m. Capt. Charles F. Gibian and First Officer Jack Harvey are piloting United Air Lines Flight 105 and descending above Mountain Home, Idaho, in preparation for landing in Boise. Harvey sees an object that seems to be another aircraft ahead of them and to the south, but it rapidly moves to the northwest in a weaving fashion, diminishing in size and vanishing from view. (“ United Air Lines Crew Reports Sighting Flying Saucer between Mountain Home and Boise,” Boise Idaho Daily Statesman, July 29, 1947, pp. 1–2; Bloecher, pp. III-13–14)
July 29 — A memo from FBI agent E. G. Fitch says that Special Agent Reynolds has met with Gen. Schulgen again, who assures him that “all discs recovered would be made available for the examination by the FBI agents.”(ClearIntent, pp. 149–150)
July 29 — 6:55 a.m. Kenneth Arnold is flying to Tacoma, Washington, to investigate the Maury Island mystery. As he is over Union, Oregon, preparing to land at La Grande to refuel, he sees a cluster of 25 small (24–30 inches) brass-colored discs with a spot in the middle moving at a terrific speed. They come within 1,200 feet of his aircraft before veering away. At La Grande, he phones aviation editor David N. Johnson about his sighting, then reaches Tacoma at dusk. He gets a room (502) at the Winthrop Hotel, where a room and a bath have already been mysteriously reserved for him. Harold A. Dahl visits Arnold that night, then takes him to Fred Crisman’s place to see some Maury Island fragments. Arnold thinks it looks like lava. (Kenneth Arnold and Ray Palmer, The Coming of the Saucers, Palmer, 1952, pp. 25–38; Bloecher, pp. I-15–16, III-14; Clark III 720–721; Clark IV 789)
July 29 — 2:50 p.m. Assistant Base Operations Officer Capt. William H. Ryherd and ex-AAF B-29 pilot 1Lt Ward Stewart see two round, shiny, white objects near Hamilton Army Airfield [now closed] in Novato, California. The objects are 15–25 feet in diameter and are flying at about 750 mph at an altitude of 6,000–10,000 feet heading south. One object flies straight and level; the other weaves from side-to-side like an escort fighter. ( Sparks, p. 25; Bloecher, p. III-5)
July 30 — Arnold calls United Airlines pilot Capt. Emil J. Smith and asks him to come listen to the Maury Island, Washington, story. Smith arrives in Tacoma in the afternoon and cross-examines Dahl and Crisman. Smith stays with Arnold at the Winthrop Hotel. Journalist Ted Morello of United Press calls Arnold and says that a crackpot has been calling him, explaining everything that is going on in the hotel room, including conversations with Smith when they are alone. They try but fail to locate a listening device in the room. (Kenneth Arnold and Ray Palmer, The Coming of the Saucers, Palmer, 1952, pp. 38–46; Clark III 721; Eghigian, After, pp. 54–55; Clark IV 789)
July 30 — The FBI issues a policy statement on “Flying Discs,” saying that sightings should be investigated to see whether an “individual might be desirous of seeking personal publicity, causing hysteria, or playing a prank.” (“Flying Disks,” Section B, Bureau Bulletin no. 42, Series 1947, in Black Vault FBI documents compilation, p. 48; ClearIntent, p. 150)
July 30 — A memo with the subject line, “Recovery ‘Flying Discs,’” purportedly written by Maj. Edwin D. Easley, acknowledges that the Roswell, New Mexico, crash could “represent an interplanetary craft of some kind.” However, it is now largely considered a forgery by Frank Kaufmann. (Kevin D. Randle, “ Frank Kaufmann, Roswell Witness,” IUR 27, no. 3 (Fall 2002): 8, 17–19; Mark Rodeghier, “ Frank Kaufmann Exposed,” IUR 27, no. 3 (Fall 2002): 9–11, 26)
July 30 — The Garrett Estimate, an Air Force Base Intelligence Report on “Flying Discs” —an informal estimate of the situation based on 16 reports selected by Collections Officer Lt. Col. George D. Garrett—says that the “flying saucer situation is not all imaginary or seeing too much in some natural phenomena. Something is really flying around.” Also, “Lack of topside inquiries . . . give more than ordinary weight to the possibility that this is a domestic project, about which the President, etc., know.” The study is passed up the line to Gen. George Schulgen and Hoover at the FBI for comment, subtly indicating that investigating a domestic project is a waste of time. (Air Force Base Intelligence Report, “ Flying Discs,” July 30, 1947; Michael D. Swords, “ Project Sign and the Estimate of the Situation,” JUFOS 7 (2000): 32–33, 57–61; Swords 39, 474–475; Kevin D. Randle, “ Roswell, Nathan Twining, and the Mini-EOTS,” A Different Perspective, October 6, 2014)
July 31 — Crisman and Dahl bring heavy fragments and white metal from the Maury Island case to the Winthrop Hotel room in Tacoma, Washington. They cannot locate the photos. Arnold calls Brown and Davidson at Hamilton Army Airfield in Novato, California. They quickly depart for Tacoma. Morello calls Arnold and says his informant knows that Brown and Davidson are on their way in a B-25. They arrive in the late afternoon. The five men talk until 11:00 p.m., when Crisman offers to go home and get more Maury Island fragments. He returns with slightly different, more slag-like rock stuffed in a large cereal box, which is loaded into Brown’s army vehicle. Brown and Davidson leave to go back to Hamilton for Air Force Day the next day. Morello calls again and says his informant told him everything about what has just taken place. (Kenneth Arnold and Ray Palmer, The Coming of the Saucers, Palmer, 1952, pp. 46–57; [FBI teletype, August 6, 1947], pp. 87–88; Clark III 721; Eghigian, After, p. 55; Clark IV 789–790)
July 31 — Capt. Edward Ruppelt: “By the end of July 1947, the UFO security lid was down tight. The few members of the press who did inquire about what the Air Force was doing got the same treatment that you would get today if you inquired about the number of thermonuclear weapons stock-piled in the U.S.’s atomic arsenal. . .[At T-2 there was] confusion almost to the point of panic." (Ruppelt, p. 22)
August - USAF fighter pilot W. Boyce sees a hovering disc above Media, Pennsylvania. (UFOEv, p. 33)
August — T-2 Intelligence and Army Air Force Intelligence hold meetings over the next two months and prepare documents requesting an authorized project to investigate UFOs, per General LeMay’s 1946 instructions.
August — The Air Materiel Command headquarters replaces T-2 Intelligence with the Technical Intelligence Department, tasked with producing reports and estimates on foreign air weapons. It begins to develop a photoanalysis capability.
August — The Denver Post runs a story that claims the military is building a secret base consisting of huge caverns for atomic weapons defense purposes. The article says the new base is in the Manzano Mountains southeast of Sandia Base, New Mexico. The military responds by issuing a statement that operations and construction near Sandia Base are top secret. In fact, however, the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project is building one of several bases around the country that will be used for nuclear weapons storage. The AFSWP code-names the base “ Site Able.” (Wikipedia, “ Sandia Base”)
August — Bernard Solli is haymaking near Lake Djupsjøen near Røros, Trøndelag, Norway. He hears a loud noise and sees an aluminum-colored, shiny object that floats down toward an islet, turns at an abrupt angle, and splashes into the water. It floats, then sinks after a while. (“ Water and Its Connection with UFOs,” UFO Afrinews, no. 10 (August 1994): 39, 40; Dolan, USO1, 127–128)
August 1 — Brown and Davidson make a stop at McChord Field near Tacoma, Washington, to speak with intelligence officer Maj. George Sander, then board the B-25 for Hamilton Army Airfield [now closed] in Novato, California. It explodes and crashes near Kelso, Washington, at 1:30 a.m., 20 minutes after taking off, when the left engine catches fire. An army hitchhiker and engineer parachute to safety. Brown and Davidson fail to signal distress or bail out. After hearing the news, Arnold calls Palmer and offers to return his money. Palmer says to just mail him some fragments. Arnold and Smith visit Morello and Dahl and Crisman. They talk to Tacoma Times reporter Paul Lantz in the hotel lobby, who writes the article “Sabotage Hinted in Crash of Army Bomber at Kelso.” Debris from the crash is not discovered until 2007. (“Air Force Day Marred As B-26 Crashes Here,” Longview (Wash.) Daily News, August 1, 1947, p. 1; “ ‘Flying Saucers’ Figure in Two Air Crash Deaths,” Galveston (Tex.) Daily News, August 3, 1947, pp. 1, 5; [Curtis Fuller], “The Mystery of the Flying Disks,” Fate 1, no. 1 (Spring 1948): 22–26; Kenneth Arnold and Ray Palmer, The Coming of the Saucers, Palmer, 1952, pp. 57–72; Leslie Slape, “ Marker Placed near Kelso to Honor Pilots in ‘47 Crash,” Longview (Wash.) Daily News, August 3, 2007, p. 9; Charlette LeFevre and Philip Lipson, “ The Maury Island UFO Incident,” February 2014; Tom Paulu, “ Conspiracy Theories Examined in Silly, Entertaining New Book,” Longview (Wash.) Daily News, March 13, 2014, pp. C1, C4; Clark III 721; Eghigian, After, p. 55; Clark IV 790)
August 3 — Smith contacts Maj. Sander, who relieves Arnold and Smith of all their fragments. He shows them a smelting lot where he finds similar pieces of slag. Smith and Arnold check out of the Winthrop Hotel in Tacoma, Washington. (Kenneth Arnold and Ray Palmer, The Coming of the Saucers, Palmer, 1952, pp. 73–84)
August 4 (or late July) — Pilots Capt. Jack Peck and Vince Daly see a smooth UFO northwest of Bethel, Alaska, dead ahead as they are flying a DC-3 for Al Jones Flying Service. Peck hauls back on his controls to bring his plane up to safer altitude. Now 1,000 feet higher, the pilots glance downward and spot the UFO closer but on a changed course. Still dark against the sky, it looks to be as large as a C-54. Intrigued, Peck dives on the object as it pulls away, doing his best to get a better view, but it speeds up to an estimated 500 mph and is lost to view in four minutes. (NICAP, “ Smooth Black Object Crosses Path of DC-3”; Sparks, p. 25; Harold D. Johnston, “ Matters of National Interest,” August 5, 1947; Jan Aldrich)
August 6— An FBI memo from E. G. Fitch to D. Milton Ladd identifies either Brown or Davidson as a CIC agent on a top secret mission. (Jason Colavito, ed., “ Inquiry into Richard Shaver and Ray Palmer, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1947”)
August 7 — The Seattle, Washington, FBI office interrogates Crisman and Dahl and announces the Maury Island incident is a hoax. The FBI file notes that Dahl stated that “if questioned by the authorities he was going to say it was a hoax because he did not want any further trouble over the matter.” Dahl’s daughter Louise admits in 2007 that the whole story was made up, as did her brother Charles in the late 1960s, who called Crisman a “smooth-talking con artist.” The affair had started as a joke and blossomed into something worse. Associated Press reporter Elmer Vogel says that Dahl’s wife had compelled him to tell Vogel the truth. Morello also speaks to Crisman, who admits the story is baseless. (Kenneth Arnold and Ray Palmer, The Coming of the Saucers, Palmer, 1952, pp. 105–111; Jason Colavito, ed., “ Inquiry into Richard Shaver and Ray Palmer, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1947”; Kenn Thomas, Maury Island UFO: The Crisman Conspiracy, IllumiNet, 1999; Anthony Bragalia, “ Maury Island No Longer a Mystery: A UFO Hoax Exposed!” UFO Digest, July 8, 2010; Brian J. Robb, “Conspiracy Central: The Life and Lies of Fred Lee Crisman,” Fortean Times 355 (July 2017): 32–39; Clark III 721; Eghigian, After, pp. 55–56; Clark IV 790)
August 8 — Lt. Col. Donald L. Springer, assistant chief of staff for army intelligence at the Fourth Air Force, who has just returned to Hamilton Army Airfield [now closed] in Novato, California, from Tacoma, Washington, says “there is not sufficient evidence or testimony available to this headquarters to conclude whether or not the reports of so-called flying disks in the Tacoma area or any other area have any basis of fact.” He adds that the Maury Island crash “did not occur.” (“ Fourth Air Force Drops Disc Inquiry; Search Held Futile,” San Francisco Examiner, August 9, 1947, p. 5)
August 9 — John Derry, serving as acting general manager of the Atomic Energy Commission, proposes a set of guidelines that restate the proposition that secrecy can be based on reasons other than national security. The definition of Confidential that he proposes goes beyond the Army and Manhattan Project rules: “CONFIDENTIAL: Documents, information or material, the unauthorized disclosure of which, while not endangering the National security, would be prejudicial to the interests or prestige of the Nation or any Governmental activity, or individual, or would cause administrative embarrassment, or be of advantage to a foreign nation shall be classified CONFIDENTIAL.” The Derry memo calls for review by a classification board assembled from the AEC’s regional sites. In September, this board assembles in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The available documentation does not show that Derry’s proposed rules go into effect, but it does show that the Classification Board blesses the illustrations of matter that “should be graded” Secret or Confidential. The former category includes “certain selected human administration experiments performed under MED [Manhattan Engineer District].” (US Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments, “Final Report,” October 1995, chapter 13)
August 13 — 1:00 p.m. Albert Clarence Urie and his two sons Billy and Kenneth see a straw hat–shaped, sky-blue object about 10 feet wide, 10 feet high, and 20 feet long. It has “pods” on the side emitting flames and is flying along the Snake River Canyon six miles west of Blue Lakes Ranch near Twin Falls, Idaho. The UFO is moving up and down towards them at 1,000 mph and an altitude of 75 feet about 1/2 mile away. Urie is about 300 feet from the object, which is about level with him and silhouetted against the canyon wall. It disappears behind a hill about one mile away. Hynek, for Project Blue Book, later identifies it as an “atmospheric eddy.” (NICAP, “ Snake River Case”; Sparks, p. 26; “ Flying Saucer Reported Flashing Down Canyon at 1,000 Miles Per Hour; Two Others Seen,” Twin Falls (Idaho) Times-News, August 15, 1947, pp. 1, 8; Hynek UFO Report, p. 34; Story, pp. 337–338; Patrick Gross, “ Snake River, August 13, 1947”; Clark III 377; Clark IV 421)
August 13 — The San Francisco Examiner’s Washington Bureau hears a rumor from a US intelligence source that Soviet agents have been ordered to solve the mystery of flying saucers. It reports that the Kremlin believes that the discs are connected with Army experiments in anti-radar weaponry. (David Sentner, “ Russ Agents Here Ordered to Solve Flying Disc Mystery,” San Francisco (Calif.) Examiner, August 14, 1947, p. 1)
August 14 — Shortly after 9:00 a.m. Italian artist and author Luigi Rapuzzi (who uses the pseudonym L. R. Johannis) is hiking along the left bank of the Torrente Chiarzò near Raveo, Udine, Italy, when he sees a vivid red, metallic, domed disc on the riverbank about 165 feet ahead. It is about 33 feet wide and embedded in a cleft in the rock about 20 feet above the stream. Looking around, he sees two “boys” on the edge of a grove of trees. He shouts at them and points to the object, walking toward them, but notices they are actually odd-looking dwarfs who are approaching him stiffly. They are about 3 feet tall and wearing dark blue coveralls with red collars, cuffs, and belts. Their greenish heads are covered in tight-fitting, brownish caps. He looks at them in astonishment for 2–3 minutes, then waves his geologist’s pick at them and asks where they come from. One of the entities raises its right hand to its belt, which emits a puff of smoke that knocks Rapuzzi to the ground as if from an electric shock. As he is lying there, one of them grabs his pick and he notices its green hand has 8 claws. They climb up the rock and into the disc, which soon shoots straight out and into the air, hovering briefly at an angle, then vanishes. Rapuzzi feels a blast of wind that blows him across the ground. His pick is missing. (NICAP, “ Professor Encounters ‘Lens’ and Creatures”; “ The Villa Santina Case,” in Charles Bowen, ed., The Humanoids, special issue of FSR, Oct./Dec. 1966, p. 2; 1Pinotti 19–30)
August 14 — 10:40 a.m. Three men of the 147th Airways and Air Communications Service Squadron at Harmon Field, Guam, see two small crescent-shaped objects zigzagging at 1,200 feet. They disappear in the clouds and another object emerges and proceeds west. (Lt. Col. Donald L. Springer, “ Flying Disc,” August 27, 1947; Sparks, p. 26)
August 14 — The FBI concludes that the plane carrying Davidson and Brown was not sabotaged, nor was it carrying actual flying disc parts. (Memo for FBI Director from Mr. D. M. Ladd, August 14, 1947)
August 15 — In response to the August 13 San Francisco Examiner report, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover asks the agency to look into whether Soviet spies are looking into whether the flying discs are a secret US technology. Assistant Director of the Domestic Intelligence Division D. Milton “Mickey” Ladd at FBI headquarters assures FBI Deputy Director Edward Allen Tamm that he is unaware of any such effort. ( Memo to Assistant FBI Director E. A. Tamm from Agent D. M. Ladd, August 15, 1947)
August 15? — 9:30 p.m. Maj. Elmer H. Hammer of the 28th Bombardment Wing at Rapid City Army Air Base [now Ellsworth AFB] near Box Elder, South Dakota, sees 12 objects flying at 6,000–10,000 feet in a tight diamond formation at 300–400 mph. The objects level off at approximately 5,000 feet and make a gentle large-radius turn of about 110° to the right about 4 miles away. They start climbing at an angle of 30–40° and appear to accelerate rapidly in the climb. The objects are approximately 100 feet long and have a brilliant yellow-white luminous glow. (NICAP, “ 12 B-29-Sized Elliptical Objects Seen”; Sparks, p. 26; Hynek UFO Report, p. 40; Michael D. Swords, “ The Lost Words of Edward Ruppelt,” IUR 20, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1995): 14–15; Clark III 437; Clark IV 482)
August 17 — A forest ranger at a fire lookout tower on Mt. Josephine, Skagit County, Washington, observes an object shaped like a huge clam that appears to fall tipped at an angle northeast of the fire tower. It slows to a stop, levels off, and floats “leisurely as if suspended by a cord” for a few minutes and finally moves off to the southeast with ever increasing speed. (Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: Volume 1, 1947, The Author, February 1991, p. 61)
August 19 — FBI memo to D. M. Ladd from E. G. Fitch on “Flying Discs” mentions SAC Reynolds’s conversation with Lt. Col. George Garrett, who strongly suspects the Army or Navy is testing some new technology, concluding that “there were objects seen which somebody in the Government knows all about.” However, Gen. Stephen Chamberlin and the War Department claim to have no involvement or knowledge of such programs. (Memorandum from E. G. Fitch, “ Flying Discs,” August 19, 1947)
August 19 — 9:30 p.m. H. H. Hedstrom (executive director of the Twin Falls Housing Authority) and three policemen (Richard A. Frazier, H. E. Roundtree, and Richard Scott) in Twin Falls, Idaho, see a formation of 12 objects flying in diamond formation at terrific speed. (NICAP, “ August 19, 1947, Twin Falls, Idaho”; Sparks, p. 26; “ Luminous ‘Saucers’ Reported over City,” Twin Falls (Idaho) Times-News, August 20, 1947, pp. 1–2; Hynek UFO Report, p. 39)
August 20 — An Anglo-American intelligence team releases a report on secret German weapons. Foo fighters are said to be caused by a rocket-propelled plane launched straight up from the ground, intercepting Allied bomber formations by firing a spray of rocket shells from the nose. The pilot then parachutes back to the ground, a chute opens on the rocket, and it is recovered for re-use. (“ Ribbon Chute, Nazi War Device, May Become New Safety Aid,” Staten Island (N.Y.) Advance, August 20, 1947, p. 5)
August 22 — Col. Robert Taylor III, Collection Branch of Army Air Force Intelligence, summarizes the findings of Lt. Col. Garrett’s investigations of UFOs in a letter to Gen. Curtis LeMay, Deputy Chief of Air Staff for Research and Development. Taylor requests any information on AAF projects that might give rise to such UFO reports. (Col. Robert Taylor 3rd to Deputy Chief of Air Staff for Research and Development, “Flying Saucer Phenomena,” August 22, 1947; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1947 August 1st–December 31st, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2001, p. 27; Swords 39–40)
August 24 — The name Joint Research and Development Board is changed to simply Research and Development Board. (Michael Hall and Wendy Connors, “ The Research and Development Board: Unanswered Questions,” IUR 26, no. 2 (Summer 2001): 8)
August 25 — USMC Maj. Marion Eugene Carl attains a world airspeed record of 651 mph in a Douglas Skystreak at Muroc AFB [now Edwards AFB], California. (Wikipedia, “ Marion Eugene Carl”)
August 28 4:40 p.m. — Microwave Early Warning radar on Shika Island off Fukuoka, Japan, picks up a target moving 450–478 mph at an altitude of 1,500 feet. It changes course, climbs, and is tracked to a distance of 62 miles. (NICAP, “ Target Tracked in a Climb”; Sparks, p. 27)
August 29 — Gen. LeMay answers Col. Taylor’s August 22 request stating that there is no Air Force project that might give rise to flying disk reports. (Swords 41)
Late August — Brig. Gen. George F. Schulgen passes the updated Garrett Estimate on to Air Materiel Command head Gen. Nathan Twining with a request for a statement on the discs so an authorized UFO project can be requested. Col. Howard M. McCoy asks for a meeting between Alfred Loedding (aeronautics engineer at T-3), Lt. Col. George Garrett (Collections), and Charles Carroll (a math and missiles expert who has been correlating UFO sightings with approaches of planetary bodies) “in order to set up a system for evaluating the information being received.” These four will later form the core of the ETH-friendly faction at Project Sign. (Letter to T-2 from Executive Air Intelligence Requirement Division, September 3, 1947; Sparks, p. 13; RosRept, p. 13; Michael D. Swords, “ Project Sign and the Estimate of the Situation,” JUFOS 7 (2000): 33–35; Swords 42, 43; Clark III 937; Clark IV 1047)
September — Astronomer Lincoln LaPaz arrives in Roswell, New Mexico, and rediscovers the area of blackened ground earlier found by two of Wilcox’s deputies. He speaks to some witnesses and determines there might have been more than one object.
September 3 — A memo from Col. R. H. Smith at Air Defense Command headquarters at Mitchel Field on Long Island, New York, states that the intent of USAF cooperation with the FBI was to “relieve the numbered Air Forces of the task of tracking down all the many instances which turned out to be ash-can covers, toilet seats, and whatnot.” (R. H. Smith, “Cooperation of FBI with AAF on Investigations of ‘Flying Disc’ Incidents,” September 3, 1947, via FBI UFO Files, p. 21; ClearIntent, p. 156; Michael Hesemann and Philip Mantle, Beyond Roswell, Marlowe, 1997, p. 66)
September 3 — Dale Edwards and three friends are camping out in the Desolation Wilderness area west of Lake Tahoe, California, when one of them, Peter Thompson, spots a huge gray UFO accompanied by a rush of warm air. The next day they discover a circle, 40 feet in diameter, of recently burned grass and skunk cabbage. (“True Mystic Experiences,” Fate 2, no. 3 (September 1949): 76–77)
September 5 — In response to the Garrett Estimate, Gen. Curtis LeMay states in a memo, copied to the FBI, that “a complete survey of research activities discloses that the Army Air Force has no project with the characteristics similar to those which have been associated with the Flying Discs.” (Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: Volume 1, 1947, The Author, February 1991, p. 53; Michael D. Hall and Wendy A. Connors, Alfred Loedding and the Great Flying Saucer Wave of 1947, Rose Press, 1998, p. 83)
September 5 — In Washington, D.C., Alfred Loedding (as Wright Field T-2’s liaison with the Pentagon) meets with Garrett and Carroll. Flying disk reports at the Pentagon are transferred to Wright Field, Ohio, shortly afterwards. (Michael D. Swords, “ Project Sign and the Estimate of the Situation,” JUFOS 7 (2000): 34)
Mid-September — Twining passes the Garrett Estimate on to Col. Howard M. McCoy, Maj. Gen. Alden Crawford (chief of T-3), Gen. Franklin O. Carroll (director of research and development), Col. C. K. Moore (aircraft laboratory chief), Col. Russell Minty (power-plant laboratory chief), and Brig. Gen. Edgar P. Sorenson (Air Institute of Technology commander). They each study Garrett’s report and hold a conference on the discs. (Michael D. Swords, “ Project Sign and the Estimate of the Situation,” JUFOS 7 (2000): 33)
September 16 — An incoming radar target is picked up at Itazuke Air Base [now Fukuoka Airport], Fukuoka, Japan, moving 840–900 mph, then fading out. (Col. James F. Olive Jr., “ Radar Pick-Ups of High-Speed Targets in the Far East,” Memorandum for Assistant Chief of Air Staff, Washington, D.C., September 26, 1947)
September 17 — The US Senate confirms James Forrestal as the first Secretary of Defense.
September 18 — The reorganization of military and intelligence agencies under the National Security Act takes effect. The US Army Air Forces is disbanded and becomes the US Air Force.
September 19 — FBI Special Agent Harry M. Kimball in San Francisco passes Col. R. H. Smith’s September 3 memo up the chain to Hoover. (ClearIntent, p. 156)
September 19 — A dubious document, allegedly written on this date by DCI Adm. Roscoe Hillenkoetter and titled “Examination of Unidentified Disc-Like Aircraft near Military Installations in the State of New Mexico: A Preliminary Report,” has been circulated by Timothy S. Cooper. It purports to verify the “recovery of unidentified planform aircraft” in two locations on July 6. (R. H. Hillenkoetter, “ Memorandum for the Military Assessment of the Joint Intelligence Committee,” September 19, 1947; Good Need, p. 95)
September 19 — 5:30 p.m. A geophysicist employed by the Humble Oil and Refining Company is testing a weather radar at Grand Isle, Louisiana, when the radar detects an object moving in a southwesterly direction at about 1,000 mph. It persists for about one minute, so he records it in his notebook and discusses the sighting with other scientists. No visual sighting is made. (Houston Press, March 24, 1950; Jan L. Aldrich, “ Project 1947: A Progress Report,” March/April 1996)
September 21 — Arrangements are made to transfer UFO files from Garrett’s office in the Pentagon to Alfred Loedding at AMC. (Swords 43)
September 23 — Head of Air Materiel Command Gen. Nathan Twining responds to Schulgen’s request for UFO information with a classified letter composed by Col. Howard M. McCoy with the assistance of Alfred Loedding, “AMC Opinion Concerning ‘Flying Disks.’” Twining notes the discs are “real and not visionary or fictitious.” Reports (based on the cases in the Garrett Estimate) include “extreme rates of climb, maneuverability (particularly in roll), and action which must be considered evasive.” Twining gives three reasons to study the discs: They might represent a deep-black domestic project; to pick up physical evidence; and to find out if they are nuclear-propulsion devices from Russia or elsewhere. The letter lists common descriptions of the objects and recommends that USAF “issue a directive assigning a priority, security classification, and code name for a detailed study of the matter.” This will ultimately result in Project Sign. Henceforth all disc reports are to be sent to the Army and Navy Research and Development Board, the USAF Scientific Advisory Group, the Atomic Energy Commission, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, Project RAND, and the Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft project at Oak Ridge. Twining promises a detailed “Essential Elements of Information” (EEI) to be formulated immediately so that all agencies will have guidance. (Lt. Gen. Nathan Twining, “ AMC Opinion Concerning ‘Flying Disks,’” September 23, 1947; Ruppelt, pp. 15–16; Good Above, pp. 260–262, 476–478; RosRept, p. 14; Swords 42, 476–478; Clark III 934; Bryce Zabel, “ The 1947 Twining UFO Memo Still Matters,” Medium: Need to Know, June 1, 2021; Clark IV 998, 1014)
September 24 — DCI Hillenkoetter, in a letter to AMC, designates T-2 and the Air Intelligence branch of the US Navy Bureau of Aeronautics as National Assets. He indicates that he does not plan to duplicate air technical intelligence assets within the CIA. (Jan Aldrich)
September 24 — President Truman meets with Vannevar Bush, chairman of the Research and Development Board, at the White House. Secretary of Defense James Forrestal is also present. (Stanton T. Friedman, Top Secret / MAJIC, Marlowe, 1996, pp. 68–69)
September 24 — A fake memo from President Truman to Secretary of Defense James Forrestal allegedly establishes a top-secret control group, Operation Majestic Twelve (MJ-12), to deal with the UFO problem. (Good Above, p. 551; Joe Nickell and John R. Fischer, “ The Crashed-Saucer Forgeries,” IUR 15, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1990): 4–20; Philip J. Klass, “ New Evidence of MJ-12 Hoax,” Skeptical Inquirer 14 (Winter 1990): 135–140; Ted R. Spickler, “ The Truman MJ-12 Letter,” IUR 16, no. 3 (May/June 1991): 12–13; Clark III 360; Clark IV 404)
September 24— Col. Miles E. Goll, in a memo signed for Col. Howard M. McCoy, asks about a radar case in Japan that Charles Carroll had mentioned to Alfred Loedding in their meeting of September 5. (Dr. Carroll’s UFO files; Jan Aldrich)
September 25 — D. M. “Mickey” Ladd advises J. Edgar Hoover about the September 3 memo from Col. R. H. Smith on Air Force cooperation with the FBI that “indicates that the services of the FBI were enlisted in order to relieve the numbered Air Forces of the task of tracking down all the many instances which turned out to be ‘ash can covers, toilet seats, and whatnot.’” He recommends discontinuing any cooperation with the Air Force. (D. M. Ladd to J. Edgar Hoover, “ Flying Discs,” September 25, 1947, via FBI UFO Files, p. 20)
September 25 — A memorandum from Maj. Robert J. Thomas lists the names of nine military personnel in charge of events in the aftermath of the Roswell, New Mexico, recovery. However, it is now largely considered a forgery by Frank Kaufmann. (Kevin D. Randle, “ Frank Kaufmann, Roswell Witness,” IUR 27, no. 3 (Fall 2002): 8, 17–19; Mark Rodeghier, “ Frank Kaufmann Exposed,” IUR 27, no. 3 (Fall 2002): 9–11, 26)
September 26 — A memorandum from Col. James F. Olive Jr., Chief of Air Intelligence Division, to the Assistant Chief of the Air Staff, A-2, summarizes three radar trackings of high-speed targets in Japan (Chitose Air Base, July 1; and MEW Radar Station, Fukuoka, August 28 and September 16). It concludes that there is insufficient information to state that they involved aircraft or missiles but supports the conclusion that they were not natural phenomena. The report is forwarded to T-2 on September 29. (Col. James F. Olive Jr., “ Radar Pick-Ups of High-Speed Targets in the Far East,” Memorandum for Assistant Chief of Air Staff, Washington, D.C., September 26, 1947).
September 27 — Hoover notifies USAF Maj. Gen. George C. McDonald, assistant chief of air staff, that he is advising all FBI agents to discontinue all flying disc investigations. ( Letter, J. Edgar Hoover to Gen. George C. McDonald, September 27, 1947; ClearIntent, p. 158; Michael Hesemann and Philip Mantle, Beyond Roswell, Marlowe, 1997, p. 67)
September 30 — Vannevar Bush is appointed head of the new Research and Development Board in the National Military Establishment. ( Research and Development Board: History and Functions, US National Military Establishment, June 1, 1948)
Fall — Claude Degler, under the pseudonym John Chrisman, publishes a single issue of the first flying saucer fanzine, Weird Unsolved Mysteries. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1947 August 1st–December 31st, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2001, pp. 56–69; Curt Collins, “ Claude Degler, One of the Ufologists That Time Forgot,” The Saucers That Time Forgot, July 15, 2021)
Early October — Private pilot Selman E. Graves claims to have witnessed part of the recovery of a crashed UFO near Cave Creek, north of Paradise Valley, Arizona, on property owned by his friend, Walt Salyer. Graves says the federal government sponsored a state government project that relocated a nearby road and bulldozed the land to cover up the crash site. (Good Above, pp. 394–397)
October 1 — Bureau Bulletin 59 ends all FBI cooperation with the Air Force on UFO investigation, although the FBI continues its own inquiries. (ClearIntent, p. 159)
October 1 — A letter from Truman to Vannevar Bush appears to bear the original Truman signature used in the MJ-12 fake memo.
October 7 — Capt. R. V. A. Therien of the Royal Swedish Navy states at USAF headquarters that some ghost rockets have been observed making 180° turns, and about 33 of the incidents are considered factual. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1947 August 1st–December 31st, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2001, p. 76)
October 14 — Bernt Balchen, Norwegian Airline director and former USAF Colonel, gives USAF headquarters information about two radar locations and a rocket firing incident observed in the Petsamo region (Pechengsky District) of Finland, recently ceded to Russia. Gen. Alfred A. Kessler Jr., former US military attaché in Sweden, disputes Therien’s information. He says only two ghost rocket sightings are possibly factual, but there is no evidence to authenticate them. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1947 August 1st–December 31st, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2001, p. 76)
October 14 — Test pilot Chuck Yeager unofficially breaks the sound barrier (670 mph) for the first time in an experimental rocket- powered Bell X-1 at Muroc [now Edwards] AFB, California. (Wikipedia, “ Chuck Yeager”; Chuck Yeager and Leo Janos, Yeager: An Autobiography, Century, 1985; Kaitlyn Crain Enriquez, “ Captain Chuck Yeager: Breaking the Sound Barrier,” The Unwritten Record, October 13, 2022; Bob van der Linden, “ Breaking the Sound Barrier: Chuck Yeager and the Bell X-1,” National Air and Space Museum, October 13, 2022; Graff 29–31)
October 20 — A farmer named Britton sees two cigar-shaped UFOs traveling a straight course at high speed about one mile in height in trail formation near Dayton, Ohio. They leave a slight vapor trail then disappear suddenly. (NICAP, “ Farmers Observes Two Cigars”; Sparks, p. 29; Keyhoe, FSTS, p. 89)
October 21 — A preliminary EEI document, indicating that the radar detection of UFOs near Fukuoka, Japan, on September 16 has played a role in concerns about disc maneuverability, is circulated to the European Command by Lieut. Col. Malcolm D. Seashore, former acting chief of the Analysis Section at AMC under Col. Howard M. McCoy. It expresses concern about German/Russian technology and adds disc characteristics of hovering, disappearance, quick grouping, and sudden appearance. (“ ‘Flying Disc’ Information Request to European Command, October 1947”; Michael D. Swords, “ Project Sign and the Estimate of the Situation,” JUFOS 7 (2000): 35; Swords 43, 479–484)
October 21 — The jet-propelled Northrop YB-49 makes its first test flight from Jack Northrop Field in Hawthorne, California, reaching Muroc AFB in 32 minutes. (Wikipedia, “ Northrop YB-49”)
October 28 — Brig. Gen. George F. Schulgen, Chief of USAF Intelligence Requirements Division, writes a five-page report based on the characteristics listed in the September 23 Twining letter (though in greater detail) and the preliminary EEI of October 21. Titled “Intelligence Requirements on Flying Saucer Type Aircraft: Draft of Collection Memorandum,” it lists things investigators should try to determine about UFO propulsion, control, construction, arrangement, landing gear, and power plant. It considers the objects “to be a manned aircraft, of Russian origin, and based on the perspective thinking and actual accomplishments of the Germans” (page 5, paragraph 4). [However, a fake version of this document has the phrase “it is the considered opinion of some elements that the object may in fact represent an interplanetary craft of some kind…. The presence of an unconventional or unusual type of propulsion system cannot be ruled out and should be considered of great interest.” Other deletions and additions are present in the fake document.] (George F. Schulgen, “ Intelligence Requirements on Flying Saucer Type Aircraft: Draft of Collection Memorandum,” October 30, 1947 [ PDF of real memo, pp. 1–6, PDF of fake memo, pp. 7–12]; Good Above, p. 262; RosRept, p. 35; Robert G. Todd, “ Fake Air Force Memo Exposed,” The Roswell Files; Robert G. Todd, “ Fake Air Force Memo Exposed, Part 2,” The Roswell Files; Robert G. Todd, “ Fake Air Force Memo Exposed, Part 3,” The Roswell Files; Michael D. Swords, “ Project Sign and the Estimate of the Situation,” JUFOS 7 (2000): 35–36)
November — Former Messerschmidt test pilot Fritz Wendel tells US Army CIC that the Horten brothers were working on an advanced aircraft in Heiligenbeil, East Prussia [now Mamonovo, Russia] right after the war. The airplane is 33 feet long, shaped like a half-moon, and has no tail. It can fly to 12,000 feet. Wendel’s story is corroborated by a German informant named Prof. George, who describes a later Horten craft as able to fly at 1,200 mph because it is propelled by rockets. (Jacobsen, Area 51, pp. 41–42)
November 6 — Chuck Yeager again makes an unofficial airspeed record of 891 mph in a Bell X-1 at Muroc AFB, California. (Wikipedia, “ Chuck Yeager”)
November 10 — Lt. Col. Walker sends a memo to his field commands in Germany in response to the September 23 Twining letter. It calls for a discreet canvass into finding German engineers who might know of similar technology. (“ The Walker Memo,” The Roswell Files)
November 12 — Early morning. US Navy Second Officer Williamson on the tanker Ticonderoga 40 miles north or south of Cape Blanco, Oregon, sees two fireballs with fiery tails heading northwest at 700–900 mps. Possible meteors. ( Sparks, p. 29; “ Objects Seen by Sailor off Coast of Oregon,” Portland Oregon Daily Journal, November 13, 1947, p. 13)
November 18 — Boise Idaho Statesman Aviation Editor David N. Johnson, having heard of the USS Ticonderoga sighting, writes to Gen. George E. Stratemeyer at Mitchel Field, New York, for information and asking eight questions about the Army’s investigation. Stratemeyer passes the query on to Garrett and Taylor. (Swords 43)
December 8 — Pilots observe a reddish light moving at moderate speed over Las Vegas, Nevada. It emits a flash of green light and shoots upwards at a “tremendous speed.” (UFOEv, p. 149)
December 11 — Garrett and Taylor write a memorandum to the USAF Public Relations Office outlining the proper answers to questions such as Johnson has asked. (Swords 44)
December 14 — 12:20 a.m. Six staff sergeants at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, watch a domed disc with a glowing green corona surrounding it moving slowly at a slightly tilted angle. It skims the treeline (causing the tops of the trees to wave slightly) and takes off to the northwest. They estimate it is 50–75 feet in diameter and flying at 200 feet altitude. ( Project 1947 case file)
December 16 — Army Lt. Col. Harry H. Pretty in Berlin writes a memo to the Deputy Director of Intelligence in Berlin stating that the Horten brothers (Reimer and Walter) have been located in Göttingen, Germany. He says they are eccentric and quarrelsome. Though they were responsible for the Horten Ho 299 (a prototype fighter/bomber flying wing design), his investigation concludes that no saucer design “ever existed nor was projected by any of the German air research institutions.” (Lt. Col. Harry H. Pretty, “ Horten Brothers (Flying Saucers),” December 16, 1947)
December 17 — US Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Carl Spaatz tells the Idaho Statesman he does not rule out the possibility of the flying disks being “foreign experimentation.” He adds that the Air Force is still investigating and he still wants people to report their sightings. (“ Spaatz Leaves Door Open on Chance ‘Flying Discs’ Are of Foreign Origin,” Boise Idaho Statesman, December 17, 1947, p. 1)
December 18 — Pentagon Col. James F. Olive Jr. (chief of AFOAI) and Lieut. Col. J. E. Thomas of the Offensive Air section (AFOAI-OA) respond to a request by deputy chief of Air Staff for Research and Development Gen. Curtis LeMay on the status of flying disc analysis. They complete their reanalysis of the earlier documents from the Pentagon and Wright-Patterson, rewrite a new EEI indicating a potentially serious but puzzling phenomenon, and turn this over to Chief of Air Force Intelligence McDonald for his signature. (“ Analysis of ‘Flying Disc’ Reports,” December 18, 1947; Michael D. Swords, “ Project Sign and the Estimate of the Situation,” JUFOS 7 (2000): 36; Swords 43, 485–491)
December 19 — The Research and Development Board has its first meeting.
December 19 — Col. Howard M. McCoy at AMC reports that “Continued and recent reports from qualified observers concerning this phenomenon still makes this one of concern to Headquarters, Air Material Command.” (H. M. McCoy to L. C. Craigie, “ Flying Discs,” December 19, 1947)
December 22 — The final EEI, called “Analysis of Flying Disc Reports,” is issued by Chief of USAF Intelligence George C. McDonald, who concurs with AMC’s recommendation of September 23 and forwards it to director of USAF Research and Development Gen. Laurence Cardee Craigie for a reply. Gen. Charles Cabell, the new chief of AFOIR, signs off on this. (“ Analysis of ‘Flying Disc’ Reports,” December 18, 1947; Michael D. Swords, “ Project Sign and the Estimate of the Situation,” JUFOS 7 (2000): 36)
December 26 — At the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Chicago, Illinois, University of Iowa astronomer Charles C. Wylie proposes a coast-to-coast sky patrol to report on rockets, meteors, or flying saucers. He says that “mass hysteria” about saucers could have been prevented with a sky patrol in place. (“ Sky Patrol Recommended by Scientist,” Richmond (Va.) Times Dispatch, December 27, 1947, p. 8; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: Volume 1, 1947, The Author, February 1991, p. 76)
December — By now, ATIC has received 156 UFO reports. Aerodynamicists at ATIC and AMC agree that no German design can match UFO performance. The USAF Aeromedical Laboratory says that even if such a craft can be built, the human body cannot withstand the maneuvers, and USAF materials specialists say that no known material can withstand them either, as well as the heat of high speeds. Ruppelt later writes, “Why couldn’t these people, whoever they might be, stand these horrible maneuver forces? Why judge them by earthly standards? I found a memo to this effect was in the old Project Sign files.” (Ruppelt, p. 28)
December 30 — Gen. Laurence C. Craigie, director of USAF R&D and successor to Gen. Curtis LeMay (who has returned to Europe), advises the AMC commanding general that USAF policy is not to ignore UFO reports, but to collect, evaluate, and act on the information. He establishes Project Sign (Project HT-304 under USAF Technical Instruction no. TI-2185) in a memo titled “Flying Discs.” Alfred Loedding, who is convinced that the flying discs are extraterrestrial, may have come up with the “Sign” designation. It carries a 2A restricted classification. Craigie, after his retirement from the Air Force in 1955, indicates that he believes UFOs are a waste of time and has only approved Project Sign because of internal USAF politics. ( Sparks, p. 11; Gen. Laurence C. Craigie, “ Flying Discs,” Memorandum to Commanding General, Air Materiel Command, December 30, 1947; “ Report by the Director of Intelligence, USAF, to the Joint Intelligence Committee on Unidentified Aerial Objects,” April 28, 1949, p. 2; Condon, p. 896; Michael David Hall and Wendy Ann Connors, “ Alfred Loedding: New Insight on the Man behind Project Sign,” IUR 23, no. 4 (Winter 1998): 24; Clark III 934; Clark IV 1044–1045)
1948
CANADA, Weyburn, Saskatchewan. Mrs. T.C. Orsted saw, out of the west window of her farm house, a glowing orange object shaped like two saucers edge-to-edge (higher on top). It was no higher than the height of two tall trees, a bit smaller than a small airplane. In 1974, she revisited that farm and was taken to the same west area to see an oval ring of thick, dark- green grass growing in the stubble, 25 ft. long and 15 ft. across. The ring itself was 3 ft. thick. At intervals in the oval grass ring were indentations as big as a plate where nothing grew. (CUPOS , from Mrs. Orsted)
David T. Keating, an employee of the USAF Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft group, is flying with the 166th Fighter Squadron of the Ohio National Guard out of Lockbourne AFB [now Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base] in Lockbourne, Ohio. While executing a flip of his P-51 at 18,000 feet, he sees a silvery disc zoom above his plane. He goes in pursuit of it at 325 mph and closes to within 240 feet of it. It seems to be 40 feet in diameter and 6 feet thick, with a vertical stabilizer rudder on the end. He keeps flying after it even when he loses sight of it. “About 10 miles south of the Ohio River,” he claims, “I spotted litter on a hillside and a path that had obviously been ripped up by a crashing plane.” Short on fuel, he returns to Lockbourne. He persuades his major to fly over the crash scene, and they send a truck to retrieve the remains. (Helen Knox, “Ridge Newcomer Tells of Game of Tag with ‘Saucer,’” The Oak Ridger, September 18, 1950; Clark III 325; Clark IV 361)
An airman stationed in Arizona is called out with a scientific team to examine a flying saucer that has crashed near Taos, New Mexico. When he arrives, the area is roped off and under military guard. The object is metallic with a flat circular airfoil. The cabin at the top center is too small for a normal-sized human. He is told by workers on the scene that bodies of “little men” have been removed from the craft. They discover that the ship is constructed of interlocking sections pinned together, but they cannot locate a power plant, except possibly some electromagnets below the cabin. (L. J[ames] Lorenzen, “ Aimé Michel’s Orthotenic Lines,” APRO Bulletin, July 1958, pp. 6–7; Clark III 325; Clark IV 362)
British author and ex-MI5 operative Bernard Newman publishes a novel titled The Flying Saucer, the first book to use that phrase in its title. The story revolves around a group of scientists who create a fake Martian threat in order to bring the world together. Plot elements include a trio of staged saucer crashes (in New Mexico, Russia, and the UK), propaganda, and even an alien autopsy. (Bernard Newman, The Flying Saucer, Gollancz, 1948; Andrew May, “ The Flying Saucer,” Retro-Forteana, June 30, 2013; Kremlin 43–45; Eghigian, After, p. 65)
1948? Sylvia Hall, 11, wakes up at her home on the corner of Riggs Road and Lateral 1 Road south of Yakima, Washington, when her bedroom fills with bluish-white light pouring in through the closed west window. Some 100 feet above the ground is a huge bright cloud. Gliding down from it in groups of four on something like a ramp are tall people with bluish-silvery robes. She watches them for 10 minutes, then she has an overpowering desire to go back to bed. She tells no one about the experience until she is an adult. (Greg Long, “ Strangeness at Yakima,” IUR 19, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1994): 16–17)
January 6 — 3:00 p.m. Bernice Zaikowski, 61, of Chehalis, Washington, hears a “sizzling and whizzing” sound and looks up to see a “birdman” hovering 200 feet above her barn. She watches “a man equipped with long silver wings fastened over the shoulders with a strap” ascend rapidly, hover, bank, then fly away. “He flew in an upright position and appeared to be manipulating controls strapped to his chest.” The wings do not flap; instead they retract close to his body during ascent, and are extended to hover or proceed in horizontal flight. Zaikowski says five other adult witnesses and a number of children also see the birdman. (“ ‘Flying Man’ Is Chehalis Report,” Coos Bay (Oreg.) World, January 21, 1948, p. 2; “Is It a Bird? A Plane? No! It’s Birdman,” Portland Oregonian, January 21, 1948, p. 10; “ Woman Says No Mistake over Miracle,” Portland Oregon Journal, January 21, 1948, p. 13; Lyle Zapato, “ The Birdmen of Cascadia,” ZPi blog, March 24, 2007; Loren Coleman, “ 1948 ‘Birdmen’ Cases Revisited,” Cryptomundo, May 12, 2008; Clark III 270, 777; Clark IV 310, 858)
January 7 — 1:00 p.m. Kentucky State Police telephone Commanding Officer Col. Guy F. Hix’s office at Godman Army Airfield in Fort Knox, Kentucky, reporting an unidentified object near Elizabethtown, Kentucky. Another call to Hix comes from state police at about 1:10 p.m. of an observation by a civilian in Madisonville, Kentucky, through a Finch telescope of a cone-shaped object about 100 feet tall by 43 feet wide, at an altitude of 4 miles and moving at 10 mph. This is apparently General Mills Skyhook balloon Flight B, which passes about 40 miles to the southwest of Madisonville. Other reports come in from Lexington and Mannsville, Kentucky. (“ Spyglasses Search through the Southwest Sky but Great What-Was-It Keeps Out of Sight,” Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal, January 9, 1948, p. 12; Sparks, p. 30)
January 7 — 1:20–2:10 p.m. Army Flight Service reports to Godman Army Airfield control tower that the object is over Irvington then Owensboro, Kentucky. Godman Tower Operator Tech/Sgt Quinton A. Blackwell, Capt. James F. Duesler Jr., Base Air Inspector Lt. Col. E. Garrison Wood, and other USAF personnel see a round or ice-cream-cone-shaped white or silver object with a revolving red streamer toward the south beginning at 1:50 p.m. Many others see it as well after 2:07 p.m., such as Operations Officer Capt. Cary W. Carter and Col. Guy F. Hix. ( Sparks, p. 30)
January 7 — 1:45–3:50 p.m. A circular object is reported by civilians over Elizabethtown, Madisonville, Lexington, Maysville, Irvington, and Owensboro, Kentucky. In the Godman Army Airfield control tower at Fort Knox, Tech/Sgt. Quinton A. Blackwell and others spot an object shaped like an ice cream cone with a red light around the lower part in the southwest at 1:45 p.m. Base Commander Col. Guy Hix says it is about one-quarter the size of the full moon and white in color. The object maintains a constant angular position as seen from Godman as it apparently moves away at about 240–300 mph at an altitude of 50,000–60,000 feet. Capt. Thomas F. Mantell Jr., a 25-year-old Kentucky Air National Guard pilot, and three others are flying F-51D fighters to Louisville, Kentucky. After Mantell reports his position to Standiford Field in Louisville at 2:50 p.m., Blackwell breaks in over the radio to request Mantell to intercept and identify the object. Mantell and two other fighters (piloted by Lieuts. Albert William Clements and B. A. Hammond), not equipped with oxygen masks, begin pursuit. Flying at 300 mph and gradually climbing, Mantell gradually approaches the UFO from below. At about 3:10 p.m., in one of his last radio reports, Mantell says he is approaching 20,000 feet and the UFO “appears to be a metallic object or possibly reflection of sun from a metallic object, and it is of tremendous size” (although a later report corrects his transmission to “It’s above me and I’m gaining on it”). Two other F-51Ds quit the chase, no longer able to see Mantell or the object. Mantell continues to perhaps 25,000 feet, blacks out, and crashes at 3:18 p.m. about 4 miles south-southwest of Franklin, Kentucky. The UFO disappears from view behind a cloud at Godman at 3:50 p.m. The Project Sign staff, still not yet formally organized, are under pressure to come up with some kind of answer, so they quickly float Venus (offhandedly suggested by Ohio State University astronomer J. Allen Hynek) as an explanation. This implausible explanation is not even believed by the Air Force, but it remains unchallenged for several years. In 1952, Ruppelt reopens the case and identifies the object as a secret Skyhook balloon, although he cannot confirm a launch that day. Army veteran Clifford Stone finds later that there have been no Skyhook launches since late December. However, Barry J. Greenwood and Robert Todd tentatively identify the balloon as one launched from Camp Ripley near Little Falls, Minnesota, on January 6. Researchers Francis Ridge and Brad Sparks declared in 2010 that there was sufficient doubt about the balloon explanation and other details to place the case back into the unidentified slot. (Wikipedia, “ Mantell UFO incident”; NICAP, “ The Mantell Case”; Sparks, pp. 30–31; “ Chase for Flying Disk Blamed in Crash Death,” Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal, January 9, 1948, pp. 1, 12; “ Flier Dies Chasing a ‘Flying Saucer,’” New York Times, January 9, 1948, p. 11; “ Did Airman Hit ‘Saucer,’ Fall to Death?” Nashville Tennessean, January 9, 1948, pp. 1, 4; Keyhoe 1950, pp. 15–21; Flight Handbook, USAF Series F-51D Aircraft, January 20, 1954; Harold T. Wilkins, Flying Saucers on the Attack, Citadel, 1954, pp. 89–92; Ruppelt, pp. 31–32; Donald H. Menzel and Lyle G. Boyd, The World of Flying Saucers, Doubleday, 1963, pp. 33–39; Loren E. Gross, UFOs: A History, 1948, The Author, 1988, pp. 2–8; Good Above, pp. 262–263; “ The Mantell UFO: A Smoking Gun, Maybe!” Just Cause, no. 39 (March 1994): 9–10; “ The Mantell UFO: A Smoking Gun, Maybe! Part Two” Just Cause, no. 40 (June 1994): 8–12; “ UFO Confrontation: Kentucky” segment of Sightings, Season 3, Episode 18, February 12, 1995; “ Mantell Re-Examined” segment of Sightings, Season 5, Episode 3, October 18, 1996; Christopher D. Allan, “ The Mantell Case—50 Years Later,” IUR 23, no. 1 (Spring 1998): 7–9, 31–32; Michael D. Swords, “ Project Sign and the Estimate of the Situation,” JUFOS 7 (2000): 37; Michael D. Swords, GrassRoots UFOs: Case Reports from the Timmerman Files, Fund for UFO Research, 2005, pp. 137–138; Good Need, pp. 104–105; Center for UFO Studies, [ clippings and case materials on Mantell case]; The Black Vault, [ Mantell documents and photos]; Francis Ridge, The Mantell Incident: An Anatomy of a Re-Investigation, The Author, 2010; Swords 51–52; Kevin D. Randle, “ The Mantell Analyses,” A Different Perspective, September 21, 2017; Clark III 706–710; “ Captain Thomas F. Mantell’s Plane Crashed after Chasing a UFO over Kentucky on January 7, 1948,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, November 30, 2023; Powell, Keyhoe, 61–63; Graff 37–39, 75–77; Eghigian, After, p. 49; Clark IV 424, 773–776)
January 7 — 4:45–7:06 p.m. USAF 1Lt. Paul I. Orner tracks an unidentified white light with red coloration in a weather theodolite at Godman Army Airfield in Fort Knox, Kentucky, for more than 2 hours. ( Sparks, p. 31)
January 7 — 7:15 p.m. Air Traffic Controller and pilot Alex A. Boudreaux and VHF Direction-Finding (DF) Operator and amateur astronomer Frank M. Eisele, 103rd AACS Squadron, at Lockbourne AFB [now Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base] in Lockbourne, Ohio, spot a bright object to the southwest of the airfield that appears and disappears intermittently. Fighter pilot USAF Capt. Charles E. McGee sees the object on runway 23 landing approach when he is at about 1,800 feet. The light seems to be at about 3,000 feet to the southwest about 4–5 miles away, then later on the ground to the west about 6–7 miles away. USAF VHF DF Operator and pilot Albert R. Pickering, Detachment 733, 103rd AACS Squadron, is awakened by the sudden emergence of a lighted amber-colored round or oval object about the size of a C-47 or larger [60+ feet] dropping out of the overcast bank 10,000 feet overhead. Lockbourne Control Tower at the same time radios a report of the object, which then maneuvers over to Commercial Point about 3–5 miles away to the west-southwest, then makes three full 360° circles over one spot in 30-40 seconds per turn over the runway, at a speed of more than 500 mph, leaving a luminous, amber-colored trail or exhaust about 5 times its length. Then the UFO goes to another location and does more 360° turns. At one point, it disappears into the overcast for one minute, then reappears. Just before departing, it hovers or “appeared to touch down” on the grass extension past the end of the Lockbourne AFB runway for 10 seconds then leaves at 120° (ESE) heading into the overcast. It is also sighted by the pilot of a C-45 at 5,000 feet off the right wing at 7:53 p.m. (NICAP, “ Object Circles Base at High Speed / Touches Down”; Sparks, p. 32)
January 7 — 4:45–7:06 p.m. USAF 1Lt. Paul I. Orner tracks an unidentified white light with red coloration in a weather theodolite at Godman Army Airfield in Fort Knox, Kentucky, for more than 2 hours. ( Sparks, p. 31)
January 7 — 7:15 p.m. Air Traffic Controller and pilot Alex A. Boudreaux and VHF Direction-Finding (DF) Operator and amateur astronomer Frank M. Eisele, 103rd AACS Squadron, at Lockbourne AFB [now Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base] in Lockbourne, Ohio, spot a bright object to the southwest of the airfield that appears and disappears intermittently. Fighter pilot USAF Capt. Charles E. McGee sees the object on runway 23 landing approach when he is at about 1,800 feet. The light seems to be at about 3,000 feet to the southwest about 4–5 miles away, then later on the ground to the west about 6–7 miles away. USAF VHF DF Operator and pilot Albert R. Pickering, Detachment 733, 103rd AACS Squadron, is awakened by the sudden emergence of a lighted amber-colored round or oval object about the size of a C-47 or larger [60+ feet] dropping out of the overcast bank 10,000 feet overhead. Lockbourne Control Tower at the same time radios a report of the object, which then maneuvers over to Commercial Point about 3–5 miles away to the west-southwest, then makes three full 360° circles over one spot in 30-40 seconds per turn over the runway, at a speed of more than 500 mph, leaving a luminous, amber-colored trail or exhaust about 5 times its length. Then the UFO goes to another location and does more 360° turns. At one point, it disappears into the overcast for one minute, then reappears. Just before departing, it hovers or “appeared to touch down” on the grass extension past the end of the Lockbourne AFB runway for 10 seconds then leaves at 120° (ESE) heading into the overcast. It is also sighted by the pilot of a C-45 at 5,000 feet off the right wing at 7:53 p.m. (NICAP, “ Object Circles Base at High Speed / Touches Down”; Sparks, p. 32)
January 7 — 7:35 p.m. Base personnel at Clinton County AFB [now Wilmington Air Park] near Wilmington, Ohio, where Skyhooks are launched a couple years later, watch a quickly maneuvering object. It dances up and down and changes from red to green before speeding to the southwest. Sgt. LeRoy Ziegler thinks he can detect a faint exhaust trail. Project Sign calls it Venus, because it disappears about the time Venus does. (NICAP, “ Object Circles Base at High Speed / Touches Down”; “ Strange Phenomena Seen in Sky Here,” Wilmington (Ohio) News-Journal, January 8, 1948, p. 1; “ Ball of Red Fire Reported at Wilmington,” Dayton (Ohio) Herald, January 9, 1948, p. 25; Francis Ridge, The Mantell Incident: An Anatomy of a Re-Investigation, The Author, 2010, part 2-11)
January 9 - 11:30 p.m. Eastern Airlines pilot Hugh DuBose, flying a DC-3 aircraft at 3,000 feet altitude near Cartersville, Georgia, observes a circular object with a flat top cross his flight path at the same altitude and then turn earthward. The object is light sky-blue in color and is traveling at an estimated speed of 400 mph. (NICAP, " Object Passes DC-3, Turns"; Sparks, p. 32)
January 21 — Col. Riley F. Ennis, chief of the Army Intelligence Division, in a memo reiterates the Schulgen Draft of Collection Memorandum and stresses the need to investigate Soviet development of a jet- propelled flying wing aircraft. (Department of the Army, “ Unconventional Aircraft,” Intelligence Collection Memorandum number 7, January 21, 1948)
January 22 — Project Sign officially launches at Wright Field [now Wright-Patterson Air Force Base] near Dayton, Ohio. The primary investigators are Capt. Robert R. Sneider (project chief), Alfred Loedding (T-3 engineer), Lawrence Truettner (T-2 engineer), and Col. Albert Deyarmond (analyst in Intelligence Analysis Division). Also involved are Maj. Raymond Llewellyn (chief of special projects branch), Lt. Howard W. Smith, George W. Towles, and others as assigned. How much interest Col. Howard M. McCoy takes in the project is unknown. Its task is to collect, collate, evaluate, and distribute information on sightings in the atmosphere “which can be considered of concern to national security.” Ruppelt later says that to be considered an “unknown,” it has to come from a competent observer and contain a reasonable amount of data. (NICAP, “ Project Sign Begins, 22 Jan 1948”; Sparks, p. 11; Ruppelt, p. 10; Michael David Hall and Wendy Ann Connors, “ Alfred Loedding: New Insight on the Man behind Project Sign,” IUR 23, no. 4 (Winter 1998): 24; Michael D. Swords, “ Project Sign and the Estimate of the Situation,” JUFOS 7 (2000): 36–37; Thomas Tulien, Project Sign, “History of the United States Air Force UFO Programs”; Clark III 934; Kate Dorsch, Reliable Witnesses, Crackpot Science: UFO Investigations in Cold War America, 1947–1977, dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 2019, pp. 38–43; Graff 39–40; Clark IV 1045)
January 23 — Col. William E. Clingerman, writing for Col. Howard M. McCoy at Wright Field, asks Lt. Col. George Garrett of Air Force Intelligence for all files on “Swedish incidents” in 1946 and 1947. He receives at least 44 documents, none of which have been released. (Jan Aldrich, “ Investigating the Ghost Rockets,” IUR 23, no. 4 (Winter 1998): 13; Swords 30)
January 26 — Project Sign becomes formally operational as Project HT-304. Lt. Col. James C. Beam becomes its first project director. ( Sparks, p. 13; Clark III 937; Clark IV 1047)
January 31 — The Research and Development Board dismisses flying saucers as “a mirage induced by mass self-hypnosis” in stories that appear in newspapers of this day. (“‘Flying Discs’ Book Declared Closed,” Pendleton East Oregonian, January 31, 1948; Project 1947, “ UFO Reports, 1948”; Swords 52–53; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1948, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2000, p. 15)
February — 2:00 a.m. Glancing out his window while getting a drink of water, farmer C. Bruce Stevenson notices a bight orange-amber glow near his farm buildings a few miles from Circleville, Ohio. He expects to find the buildings on fire, but instead there is a large, domed flying saucer gliding silently over the roof of his pig house about 100 feet away. The UFO, about 60 feet in diameter, maintains a slow speed and low altitude until it disappears from sight. (“ Bruce Stevenson Reveals Close-Up View of Saucer,” Circleville (Ohio) Herald, August 2, 1952, pp. 1–2; “ Bruce Stevenson Certain Saucer Wasn’t Reflection,” Circleville (Ohio) Herald, August 7, 1952, p. 1; Project 1947, “ UFO Reports, 1948”; Pete Hartinger, “ America’s First Classic Close Encounter,” Pickaway Quarterly, Fall 1996, pp. 11–13; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1948 Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2000, pp. 15–17)
February 4 — Capt. Richard W. Geuss, acting assistant adjutant general, writes a memo on behalf of Lieut. Gen. George E. Stratemeyer, to ADC and USAF commanding generals on “Investigation and Reporting of ‘Flying Disc’ Incidents.” It specifies that Air Force commanders are charged with evaluating military UFO incidents, in cooperation with CIC personnel and local FBI offices. Even hoaxes are to be passed on to the FBI. (Capt. Richard W. Geuss, “ Investigation and Reporting of ‘Flying Disc’ Incidents,” February 4, 1948)
February 12 —Brig. Gen. Charles P. Cabell, chief of the Air Intelligence Requirements Division, sends a secret memo to Maj. Gen. Samuel E. Anderson. director of Plans and Operations, stating that the Commanding General of AMC feels that the responsibility for collecting information on “flying disks” should be complemented by a requirement that all USAF installations “provide a minimum of one each aircraft, with necessary crews, on a continuous alert basis. These aircraft should be equipped with gun camera, and such armament as deemed advisable, in order to secure photographs necessary to the obtainment of all possible data on any reported and sighted unusual phenomena, of the ‘flying disk’ type, in the atmosphere.” (Good Above, p. 263)
February 18 — 5:00 p.m. A smoke trail begins over Nebraska and runs south. A bolide explodes over Norcatur, Kansas, and the concussion from the blast breaks windows and rocks buildings over a wide area of Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. A huge shower of meteoritic stones fall over a large area of Norton County, Kansas, and Furnas County, Nebraska. Two Army B-29 bombers circle the area until nightfall. A farmer near Stockton, Kansas, sees a hovering object that leaves a bare spot in the ground. Kenneth Arnold is persuaded that reports of the Norton County meteorite fall might actually have been UFO- related. Astronomer Lincoln LaPaz directs the recovery of the massive achondritic meteorite in 1948. More than 100 stones are recovered, including one weighing about one ton. (Wikipedia, “ Norton County (meteorite)”; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1948, The Author, 1988, pp. 15–16; Michael D. Swords, “ Project Sign and the Estimate of the Situation,” JUFOS 7 (2000): 37–40; Luna Meteorite Hunters, “ Norton County, KS Fall 18FEB1948 More Than 60 Years Ago,” February 26, 2009; “ Norton County,” Meteorite Recon, October 8, 2015)
February 20 — 2:00 a.m. In Palm Beach, Florida, lawyer and writer Charles Francis Coe and his son Alan see a globe of light shooting across the sky to the northeast at terrific speed. Coe calls it a “ray or blob of light” and insists it is not a meteor. (“ Mystery ‘Globe’ Seen by Editor,” Palm Beach (Fla.) Post, February 21, 1948, p. 1; “True Mystic Experiences,” Fate 1, no. 3 (Fall 1948): 105–113; Kenneth Arnold and Ray Palmer, The Coming of the Saucers, Palmer, 1952, p. 139)
February 20 — 1:15 p.m. Six surveyors, including Idaho Power Company surveyor E. G. Hall, see a small flat, heart-shaped UFO flying in the sky at Emmett, Idaho. Through his theodolite it looks fuzzy across its back edge as if “dipped in cream.” He says it is about the size of a Piper Cub airplane and flying point first below the cloud level at between 2,000 and 4,000 feet. (Emmett (Idaho) Messenger, February 26, 1948; Kenneth Arnold, “Are Space Visitors Here?” Fate 1, no. 2 (Summer 1948): 13–14; Harold T. Wilkins, Flying Saucers on the Attack, Citadel, 1954, p. 98; Michel, Truth About FS, 67–68)
February 25 — The London Times reports that rockets have recently been seen in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, coming from the direction of Peenemünde, East Germany. The observations are almost invariably at 9:30 a.m., and the objects are traveling between 4,500 and 6,750 mph and ranging in altitude from tree- top level to 25,000 feet. They emit a bluish-green flame but leave no persistent trail. One is seen off Skagen, Denmark, by Capt. A. Harvedt, the pilot of a Norwegian Det Norske Luftfarsselskap airliner, who times it as it disappears over the horizon in 4 seconds. (London Times, February 25, 1948, p. 3; Loren E. Gross, UFOs: A History, 1948, The Author, 1988, p. 18; Clark III 530; Clark IV 579)
March 3 — Maj. Gen. Samuel E. Anderson, USAF Director of Plans and Operations at the Pentagon, rejects a proposal by Col. Howard M. McCoy and Brig. Gen. Charles P. Cabell for stationing fighter aircraft at all bases on continuous alert for UFOs. It costs too much and proper interceptions are unlikely. He orders all bases to send UFO information to Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio. (Maj. Gen. S. E. Anderson, “ Flying Discs,” March 3, 1948; Good Above, pp. 263–264)
March 10 - Chihuahua Airport in Mexico is visited by a hovering disc. A few days later, on Mar 10, four discs appear over Central Airport in Mexico City in view of hundreds of witnesses.
March 12 — Maj. Earl S. Browning Jr., in a memo to the European command of the 970th CIC, writes that the Horten brothers have been located and interrogated by US officials. Walter Horten has remained in Germany as an officer in the German Air Force. He thinks that sufficient types of flying wing prototypes existed when the Russians invaded Germany and may have served as models for flying discs. Reimar Horten had emigrated to Argentina when the war ended. (Jacobsen, Area 51, p. 43)
March 17 — Memo on “Flying Discs” from Maj. Gen. George C. McDonald, director of USAF intelligence, to the AMC commander, considers Col. Howard M. McCoy’s proposal to maintain fighters on alert for UFOs “unfeasible.” (Maj. Gen. George C. McDonald, “ Flying Discs,” March 17, 1948)
March 17–18 — The USAF Scientific Advisory Board meets in Room 3E-869 of the Pentagon, with physicist Theodore von Kármán presiding. Col. Howard M. McCoy is present and speaks briefly about Project Sign, saying it has over 300 reports, many of them from experienced observers: “I can’t even tell you how much we would give to have one of those crash in an area so that we could recover whatever they are.” (Howard McCoy, “ Scientific Advisory Board Conference Held 17–18 March 1948, Room 3E-869, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.”)
March 23 — RAF pilot John Cunningham reaches an altitude of 59,430 feet in a de Havilland Vampire turbojet. (Wikipedia, “ John Cunningham (RAF officer)”)
March 25 — 5:00 a.m. According to writer Frank Scully, who hears the tale from a scientist he refers to as “Dr. Gee” and a Texas oilman, a UFO crashes on a rocky plateau off Hart Canyon Road 12 miles east of Aztec, New Mexico. When Air Force investigators and government scientists arrive on the scene, they crawl through a broken porthole and find the bodies of 16 small humanlike beings (3–3.5 feet tall) dressed in the “style of 1890.” Their skin is charred a chocolate color, apparently as a result of the rush of terrestrial air through the shattered window. After a thorough study, the scientists conclude that the “vehicle probably flew on magnetic lines of force.” Segments of the craft, as well as the bodies, are supposedly transported to Wright Field in Ohio. Dr. Gee, who claims to have been on the scene, said the UFO is likely from Venus, as Martians “would probably be three or four times as large as human beings.” Soon afterward, a crash occurs in Arizona and 16 bodies are taken from the wreckage. A third spaceship goes down near Phoenix with 2 dead occupants. The story turns out to be a hoax dreamed up by two con men named Silas Newton and Leo GeBauer (“Dr. Gee,” although Scully claims this was a composite character incorporating 8 informants, one of whom is said to be geophysicist Carl A. Heiland). The hoax is loosely based on a 1949 science fiction film titled The Flying Saucer. GeBauer and especially Newton are in later years involved in various swindles and fraudulent mining claims. In 1987, William S. Steinman and Wendelle C. Stevens release UFO Crash at Aztec, which draws on speculation, rumor, unnamed informants, and paranoia to defend and embellish the original story. The latest to champion the Aztec crash is a North Carolina man named Scott Ramsey, who with his wife Suzanne has spent thousands of dollars looking for and interviewing witnesses and trying to prove it involves a real UFO crash and coverup in his 2015 book The Aztec UFO Incident. Ramsey thinks the object was tracked on radar by Air Force Station P-8 near El Vado Dam. (Wikipedia, “ Aztec, New Mexico crashed saucer hoax”; Frank Scully, Behind the Flying Saucers, Holt, 1950; Frank Scully, “What I’ve Learned Since Writing ‘Behind the Flying Saucers,’” Pageant, February 1951, pp. 76–81; J. P. Cahn, “ The Flying Saucers and the Mysterious Little Men,” True, September 1952, pp. 17–19, 102–112; Frank Scully, “ Scully Breaks a Long Silence,” Nexus 2, no. 3 (March 1955): 13–16; J. P. Cahn, “ Flying Saucer Swindlers,” True, August 1956, pp. 36–37, 69–72; William S. Steinman Jr. and Wendelle C. Stevens, UFO Crash at Aztec, UFO Photo Archives, 1986; Good Above, pp. 388–394; William E. Jones and Rebecca D. Minshall, “ Aztec, New Mexico—A Crash Story Reexamined,” IUR 16, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1991): 11–15, 23; Good Need, pp. 117–123; Jerome Clark, review of The Aztec Incident, in Journal of Scientific Exploration 26, no. 3 (2012): 709–716; Scott Ramsey, Suzanne Ramsey, and Frank Thayer, The Aztec UFO Incident, New Page, 2015; Curt Collins, “ Operation Hush-Hush: The UFO Crash and ET Bodies Cover-Up,” The Saucers That Time Forgot, February 9, 2018; Clark III 594–595, 1044–1047; Curt Collins, “ Flying Saucer Swindlers: Silas Newton and the UFO Crash,” The Saucers That Time Forgot, April 5, 2020; Robert Sheaffer, “ The Frank Scully ‘Crashed Saucer at Aztec’ Hoax (1950),” The Debunker’s Domain; Chris Root, “ Of Flying Saucers and Fraud: The Silas M. Newton Story,” Denver (Colo.) Public library Special Collections and Archives monthly newsletter, July 16, 2021; Coulthart 2023, pp. 156–157; “ Frank Scully, Silas M. Newton, and the Case of the 1948 Aztec, New Mexico, UFO Crash,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, December 21, 2023; Clark IV 654–655, 1159–1162)
Spring — Ray Palmer and Flying magazine editor Curtis Fuller publish the first issue of Fate magazine at Clark Publishing Company in Chicago, Illinois. It features a first-hand story and a 30-page UFO roundup by Kenneth Arnold, as well as a history of unconventional aircraft by Curtis Fuller. Palmer and Fuller use the shared pseudonym “Robert N. Webster.” The issue sells a healthy 50,000 copies. It is still being published in 2025. (Kenneth Arnold, “ I Did See the Flying Disks!” Fate 1, no. 1 (Spring 1948): 4–10; Kenneth Arnold, “ The Mystery of the Flying Disks,” Fate 1, no. 1 (Spring 1948): 18–48; Robert N. Webster [Curtis Fuller], “ What Were the ‘Doughnuts’?” Fate 1, no. 1 (Spring 1948): 12–17; Clark III 872; Clark IV 967)
Spring — Kenneth Arnold visits the Landing Aids Experiment Station in Arcata, California, and interviews Kenneth W. Ehlers, a radar technician (and later physicist) working on airport operational systems, including radar. He has been accumulating information on unidentified radar targets (he calls them “gizmos”) that cannot be seen with the naked eye and sending reports on their flight paths to Navy meteorologist Florence Van Straten and Luis Walter Alvarez, the inventor of Ground Control Approach System radar. In many cases, the target indicates a small solid target flying around 30 mph. The targets always fly in the same path from northwest to southeast, along the coast. Sometimes they come to a complete halt; at other times they split into two objects, merging later. Ehlers notes that the targets have been attributed to insects, but he is skeptical. Later, he suspects they might be plasmas occurring at the inversion layer, but that does not explain their behavior. (Wesley Price, “ The Sky Is Haunted,” Saturday Evening Post 220, no. 36 (March 6, 1948): 13; Ray Palmer, “New Report on the Flying Saucers,” Fate 4, no. 1 (January 1951): 63–81; “ Landing Aids Experiment Station,” Transocean Air Lines; Greg Long, “ In Search of Gizmos: A 1947 Radar Case,” IUR 19, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1994): 15–20)
Spring? — President Truman asks Col. Robert B. Landry, his USAF aide, to provide him with quarterly verbal reports on the state of UFO information and research. He does so to the end of 1952, with possibly 18 briefings in all. (James R. Fuchs, “ Oral History Interview with Robert B. Landry,” Harry S. Truman Library and Museum, February 28, 1974)
April — Morning. US Weather Bureau meteorologist Walter A. Minozewski at the Richmond, Virginia, weather station and his staff catch sight of a bright metallic, elliptical disc while they are tracking a small ceiling balloon at 15,000 feet. He checks his observation through a theodolite telescope. The disc flies just below the balloon and remains in sight for 15 seconds, appearing much bigger than the balloon. It has a flat, level bottom and a dome on top. It remains on a westward heading at high speed, then vanishes off into the distance. (Ruppelt, p. 41; Bloecher, p. I-1)
April 1 — 9:55 a.m. USAF 1stLt. Robert W. Meyers is leading a flight of four P-47s from the 67th Fighter Group about 9 miles southeast of Sorsogon City, Luzon, Philippines. At 1,500 feet, he notices an unusual silvery object about 3 miles to the east. Shaped like a flying wing or half- moon with a “turtle back,” it resembles no military craft in use at the time. The object flies below the squadron at 200 mph and an altitude of about 1,000 feet. Meyers estimates it is about 30 feet wide and 20 feet long. When he attempts to contact the other three P-47s, he realizes his radio is dead. As he makes a 270° left turn to get a closer look, the object makes a 90° left turn and moves away at tremendous speed. It is only visible for about 5 seconds. (NICAP, “ P-47 Flight Encounters Half-Moon Object”; Sparks, p. 33; Powell, Scientist, 65)
April 5 — Afternoon. At Holloman AFB, near Alamogordo, New Mexico, three highly trained balloon observers (Joseph Olson, Johnson, and Chance) are working on a secret project for the Air Force’s Watson Laboratories. They see two objects. One observer follows one object, and the others follow the second as they diverge. All are certain that the objects aren’t balloons. They are large, whitish, roundish, very high, faster than any aircraft, and perform rapid, erratic motions. One object is lost at a low altitude. The other goes up quickly and seems to just disappear. The observation lasts about 30 seconds. The case is deemed important enough to send Alfred Loedding and one of Clingerman’s assistants, Lt. Col. James C. Beam (the head of Project Sign), to New Mexico to interview Project Mogul scientist James W. Peoples and the other witnesses. Unfortunately, they are gone when Sign arrives. (They are later interviewed at the USAF Watson Laboratory complex in Red Bank, New Jersey.) The witnesses are very sure of themselves and the case is classed as “Unidentified.” While at Holloman, Loedding and Beam talk with Lt. Herbert G. Markley, who has worked with the Watson team. Markley remembers one of them speaking of unusual radar returns from their equipment, but later the Watson personnel say that these were probably just “angels” (spurious echoes due to atmospheric microstructures, insects, equipment malfunction, or other stimuli). Markley does report that UFOs are seen around Holloman often. He himself has seen a disc in late August 1947 and flat, round aeroforms on at least two further occasions. (NICAP, “ Team Watches 35-Meter Disc”; Sparks, p. 33; Ruppelt, p. 71; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1948, The Author, 1988, pp. 24–27; Michael D. Swords, “ Project Sign and the Estimate of the Situation,” JUFOS 7 (2000): 40–41; Project 1947, “ Holloman AFB UFO Sightings”)
April 7 or 8 - 3:00 p.m. Viola Johnson and James Pittman see three "flying men" circling Longview, Washington, at 250-300 feet and going as fast as a freight train. She says they are "dressed in khaki-colored flying suits with helmets over their faces." (Jim Stuart, "3 `Flying Minute Men' Seen over Longview on Wednesday," Longview (Wash.) Daily News, April 9, 1948; " Heck, Them Discs Just Ain't in It; See What's Flying," Spokane (Wash.) Chronicle, April 9, 1948, p. 1; " Weird Things Enliven Skies Here and There," Kitsap (Wash.) Sun, April 9, 1948, p. 1; " Two Report Winged Men Circling above Longview," Portland Oregonian, April 10, 1948, Sec. 2, p. 4; " 3 Men without Planes or Parachutes Reported Flying over Washington State," San Francisco (Calif.) Examiner, April 10, 1948, p. 4; " Reports of Birdmen Have Washington Folks Up in Air," Fresno (Calif.) Bee, April 11, 1948, p. 19; Clark III 777)
April 15 — 6:17 a.m. The X-Ray nuclear device is detonated near Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands. B-17 pilotless drone aircraft are flown through the cloud, and a drone light tank is used to recover soil samples from the crater. Unfortunately, it becomes bogged and must be towed out 10 days later. (Wikipedia, “ Operation Sandstone”)
April 23 — A preliminary 25-page report, written by Project Sign’s Col. Howard M. McCoy and Lt. Col. James C. Beam, summarizes UFO reports received through February 1, with attached memos and documents. It is addressed to Chief of Staff Hoyt Vandenberg and Director of Intelligence Charles P. Cabell. The Rhodes photos and 99 other cases are listed. A comment by chemist Irving Langmuir is appended, noting his doubts about the reality of flying discs. (Col. Howard M. McCoy, “ Project Sign,” April 23, 1948; Swords 54–55)
April 27–28 — Physicist Joseph Kaplan, a member of the USAF Scientific Advisory Board, visits the Kirtland AFB Office of Special Investigations, AEC’s Sandia Base, and Los Alamos in New Mexico, under orders from Theodore Von Kármán, chairman of the USAF Scientific Advisory Board, to review UFO reports and investigations from the area. Kaplan and Lincoln LaPaz meet with security personnel at Los Alamos. Kaplan reports that “these occurrences relate to the National Defense of the United States” and should be investigated scientifically.” (Good Above, p. 266)
May — An article on secret Skyhook balloons (without mentioning the project name) by Devon Francis is published in Popular Science. (Devon Francis, “ New Balloons Explore Roof of the Airways,” Popular Science, May 1948, pp. 98–104)
Early May — An unknown shining object passes from the northwest over Adapazari, Sakarya province, Turkey, explodes in the air, and drops parts in a nearby village, killing a dog. The debris is confirmed as coming from a rocket, but the US Air Force asks the air attaché in Ankara to investigate a connection with “flying disc” experiments conducted by the Russians. (Project Blue Book file, 1948-05-9670225-Adapazari-Turkey-170)
May 5 — An Efficiency Rating report is written up for Alfred Loedding from Miles E. Goll, which mentions his work as a monitor for Project Sign. (Miles E. Goll, “ Efficiency Rating of Mr. Alfred C. Loedding,” May 5, 1948)
May 7 — Afternoon. Mr. and Mrs. Fordyce J. Kaiser and their housekeeper Jean Bray, at 251 W. Waldorf Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee, see 50–60 unusual objects, apparently moving very high and fast, traveling in straight lines with slight zigzagging. They are shiny like bright aluminum with silvery trails. Lt. Col. James C. Beam of Project Sign goes to investigate. On the way back, he consults with astronomer Paul Herget of the Cincinnati Observatory in Ohio, who thinks the objects are meteors and recommends Ohio State University astronomer J. Allen Hynek in Columbus as a project consultant. (NICAP, “ May 7, 1948; Memphis, Tenn. (BBU)”; Sparks, p. 34; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1948, The Author, 1988, pp. 28–29; Michael D. Swords, “ Project Sign and the Estimate of the Situation,” JUFOS 7 (2000): 41; Swords 55–56)
May 12 — European Command HQ sends the director of intelligence at the US Forces in Austria a memo alleging that Walter Horten has admitted he has been in contact with the Russians. (Jacobsen, Area 51, p. 43)
May 14 — The RAND Corporation is established as a nonprofit organization to offer research and analysis to the US military. It is financed by the US government, endowments, corporations, universities, and private individuals. On November 1, Douglas Aircraft’s Project RAND contract is formally transferred to the RAND Corporation. (Wikipedia, “ RAND Corporation”)
May 15 — During the Zebra nuclear detonation at Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands, a manned aircraft accidentally flies through the mushroom cloud. Because the pilot and crew “suffered no ill effects,” the Air Force decides that piloted aircraft could collect samples. The Los Alamos, New Mexico, personnel assigned to remove the filters from the B-17 drones have apparently carried out the same procedure on X-Ray and Yoke without problems, but this time three of them suffer radiation burns on their hands serious enough to be hospitalized and need skin grafting. One of the men who carries out the procedure for Yoke is then also found to have burns on his hands and is also hospitalized but is discharged on May 28. Once again, the drone tank gives trouble and bogs in the crater, but the soil samples are retrieved by the backup drone tank. Both tanks are subsequently dumped in the ocean. (Wikipedia, “ Operation Sandstone”; Jacobsen, Area 51, p. 224)
May 15 — A piston-driven YB-35 flying wing bomber makes its first and only flight at Edwards AFB in California. (Wikipedia, “ Northrop YB-35”)
May 17 — Day. William A. Bonneville sees a bright white ball, three times as bright as a locomotive headlight, sail over the hills to the northwest between Plevna and Miles City, Montana. It moves south, then west, repeating these maneuvers for 20 minutes until it flies into a dark cloud. It is silent, and a long, bright light shoots out from beneath. (Michael D. Swords, “ Project Sign and the Estimate of the Situation,” JUFOS 7 (2000): 41–44)
May 22 — Mrs. Lile Connor of Utica, Michigan, sees a man-sized, bat-like figure flapping its wings while it flies south. (“Aerial Freaks Replace Those Flying Saucers,” Detroit (Mich.) Times, May 30, 1948)
May 27 — Bruce Falls and two other men watch a flying object shaped like a bird moving silently east above Livernois and Eight Mile Road in Ferndale, Michigan, at about 2,000 feet. It flies swiftly and does not flap its wings. (“Aerial Freaks Replace Those Flying Saucers,” Detroit (Mich.) Times, May 30, 1948)
Late May — 11:40 a.m. Sgt. T. G. Jones and three other officers and two crew are aboard a York transport aircraft, accompanied by a formation of six Meteor jets, cruising at 10,000 feet above the Oxford/Bicester area in England, bound for RAF Acklington. Visiting US Maj. Robin Olds is in one of the jets. They encounter a 100-foot oval object with three bumps or protrusions on the bottom, as Jones describes it through binoculars. Ground radar tracks the object, which is stationary and above 25,000 feet. Two jets go up to try to get a better look and get within a few thousand feet. The object departs vertically at a speed of 1,500 mph. (Jenny Randles, UFO Conspiracy, Cassell, 1987, pp. 92–93)
May 28 - 3:00 p.m. USAF Reserve 1st Lt. Alexander Kokolonis is flying a C-47 at 6,000 feet six miles east of Monroe, Michigan, when he sees out of the navigator's window three discs 2 miles to the left. He estimates they are 300-400 feet in diameter, silvery-gold, and traveling well over 500 mph. They are seen for only 10-15 seconds. Shortly afterwards, Kokolonis sees two similar objects and he alerts M/Sgt Ernest Davis Jr., who also sees them. (NICAP, " Air Force Transport Buzzed by 3 UFOs"; Michael D. Swords, " Project Sign and the Estimate of the Situation," JUFOS 7 (2000): 45)
May 31 - 1:20 p.m. A cigar-shaped object moves through the sky from the northwest at terrific speed over Wilmington, North Carolina. Mrs. H. D. Alspach, Mrs. Charles Colvin, and Mrs. Isabell Hufham see the object emit smoke. It appears about 3 feet long. It slows down over the Cape Fear River, veers off to the east, and then speeds away at a high altitude. (NICAP, " Cigar Slows Down Then Speeds Up"; Sparks, p. 34; " Flying Object Reported Seen in Wilmington," Asheville (N.C.) Citizen- Times, June 1, 1948, p. 10; Clark III 530; Clark IV 580)
Summer — USAF Maj. Edwin A. Jerome reports that a high-speed radar target appears during an inspection visit at Goose Bay AFB [now CFB Goose Bay], Labrador. It is calculated at going 9,000 mph at an altitude of 60,000 feet. The commanders assume that the US equipment is faulty, but the Canadians have tracked the same target. The following day, an object hovers over the base at 45,000 feet and moving only 10 mph. (NICAP, “ Edwin Jerome Radar Case”; UFOEv, pp. 83–84; Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979, pp. 151–152; Chris Rutkowski and Geoff Dittman, The Canadian UFO Report, Dundurn Press, 2006, pp. 51–52; Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, p. 264)
Summer [possibly 1958] — Early afternoon. Aircraft instrumentation engineer Victor G. Didelot watches an elliptical UFO moving rapidly west to east roughly parallel to the shoreline of Lake Erie in Erie, Pennsylvania. It suddenly and silently ascends vertically at three times its horizontal speed and disappears. (UFOEv, pp. 55–56)
Summer — Physicist Carl A. Mitchell sees three luminescent greenish discs, one second apart, passing across the sky above Easton, Pennsylvania, from north to south. (UFOEv, p. 49)
June — Paul Solem has his first contact with a flying saucer when he, his wife Ada, and his brother-in-law see three round, glowing objects speeding toward them over a field on his ranch in Howe, Idaho. At a distance of 500 feet, two of the objects veer away to the north over Saddle Mountain, while the other hovers. Impulsively, Solem frames a mental question: Who are you? Where are you from?” A voice inside his head replies, “We are from another planet. You will hear from us later.” (Clark III 1094; Clark IV 1210)
June 16 - Soviet test pilot Arkady Ivanovich Apraksin is flying at an altitude of 6.5 miles above a solid layer of clouds south of the Kapustin Yar site, Astrakhan Oblast, Russia. He sees an unconventional aircraft in the shape of a cucumber with cones of light radiating from it descending across his path. The base tells him it has tracked the object on radar and given it instructions to land, but it does not respond. Apraksin is ordered to intercept it and open fire if it refuses to land. When he closes to within 6 miles, the light beams open up like a fan and shine into his aircraft, blinding him. The plane's electrical systems malfunction. He glides the plane to a safe landing after the UFO disappears. Apraksin is interrogated heavily. (Joe Brill, " UFO's behind the Iron Curtain," Skylook, no. 87 (February 1975): 14-15; Good Above, p. 221)
June 18 — The National Security Council issues Directive 10/2, calling for covert action against the USSR, and granting the authority to carry out covert operations against “hostile foreign states or groups” that could, if needed, be denied by the US government. To this end, the Office of Policy Coordination (OPC) is created inside the new CIA. Frank Wisner, the head of the OPC, answers not to the CIA director, but to the secretaries of defense, state, and the NSC, and the OPC’s actions are a secret even from the head of the CIA. Most CIA stations have two station chiefs, one working for the OSO, and one working for the OPC. (“ Note on U.S. Covert Actions,” from Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XII, Western Europe, Office of the Historian, Foreign Service Institute, US Department of State)
June 29 — 5:45 a.m. Two Dallas Morning News routemen, Lloyd Barr and Johnnie Acree, spot a round, shiny, whirling object near Cotton Center, Texas. It flies southwest at about 1,500 feet and remains visible for about two minutes. (“ Flying Saucers Are Staging a Comeback,” Hobart (Okla.) Democrat-Chief, June 29, 1948, p. 1)
June 29 — ATIC’s chief of operations, C. A. Griffith, writes to a military representative in Norway to send all UFO reports to Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio. (Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1948, The Author, 1988, pp. 32–33)
June 30 - A couple are driving near Hecla, South Dakota, when they see an unusual star. They stop the car and get out, but it is not moving. They drive on and stop again. A few pieces break off the original star and arrange themselves in a triangle formation. They all now look like polished aluminum; they rise to a great height and vanish. ( Sparks, p. 35; Michael D. Swords, " Project Sign and the Estimate of the Situation," JUFOS 7 (2000): 45-46; Swords 57)
July - 1:00 p.m. Former Air Force pilot Don Newman and three friends watch a disc-shaped, domed UFO, about 100 feet in diameter, maneuvering over Pasco, Washington. "The exterior finish appears to be spun or burnished aluminum." The object slows, then accelerates rapidly, dives, and climbs over the area. (NICAP, " Summary of letter from Witness to Major Keyhoe, dated March 10, 1958"; UFOEv, p. 38)
July 1 — A Maj. Hammer is flying above Rapid City AFB [now Ellsworth AFB], South Dakota, when he sees 21 brilliant, yellow-white, oval-shaped objects. They are about 100 feet in diameter and flying in a tight diamond formation. They make a high-speed dive, level, make a perfect turn in formation, angle upwards at 30°–40°, and accelerate out of sight. He estimates their cruising speed at 500 mph. ( Sparks, p. 35; Swords 57–58)
July 4 — Day. Edward E. Thompson watches a brilliant spherical UFO for five minutes while sitting in Johnson Park in Camden, New Jersey, across from the Cooper Free Public Library. (“ Report from the Readers,” Fate 1, no. 4 (Winter 1949): 93–94)
July 7 — A silver, disc-shaped object allegedly crashes some 30 miles south-southwest of Laredo, Texas. US servicemen are reportedly dispatched from a nearby military base to cordon off the UFO crash site until a special US retrieval team arrives to examine the wreckage and carry it away to a military base in San Antonio, Texas. Supposedly the badly burned body of a nonhuman entity is recovered from the crash site. Ufologist Leonard Stringfield hears rumors of the crash in 1977, but few further details emerge. Early in 1978, Stringfield describes the humanoid found at the crash site as “about 4 feet, 6 inches tall, completely hairless, with hands that had no thumbs.” That description seems to fit the body shown in two photographs that are mailed to Willard F. McIntyre in December 1978. The body depicted in the photos sent to McIntyre has come to be known as the “Tomato Man” due to its large, roundish head. Many UFO researchers, including Ron Schaffner and Kevin Randle, believe the body is that of a human pilot who is badly disfigured by intense heat following a plane crash. They argue that one of the photos shows a pair of eyeglasses, such as a human pilot would wear, near the body. (Leonard H. Stringfield, “ Retrievals of the Third Kind, Part 1,” Flying Saucer Review 25, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1979): 13, 15–16; Gray Barker, “Archives Reveal More Crashed UFOs,” Gray Barker’s Newsletter 14 (March 1982): 5–6; William S. Steinman and Wendelle C. Stevens, UFO Crash at Aztec, UFO Photo Archives, 1986, pp. 402–422; Good Above, pp. 397–398; Kevin D. Randle, A History of UFO Crashes, Avon, 1995, p. 188; Noe Torres and Ruben Uriarte, The Other Roswell: UFO Crash on the Texas–Mexico Border, Roswell Books, 2008; “ Laredo 1948,” Texas UFO Museum and Research Library, March 8, 2009; Clark III 324; Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos, “ The ‘Tomato Man’ in Retrospective,” Academia.edu, 2022; Clark IV 360)
July 9 — Caramia and Carpenter, two officers of the USAF 72nd Reconnaissance Group, are fishing at Fielding Lake, Alaska, when they hear a loud roar and notice about 20 gray discs or spheres moving at 500 mph in loose formation from west-northwest to east-southeast at about 5,000 feet. (Barry Greenwood, “ The Estimate of the Situation: Well, Not Exactly!” UFO Historical Revue, no. 16 (July 2015): 5–10)
July 9 — 9:47 p.m. While on the ground in Osborn, Ohio, the USAF Project Sign officer who had flown to investigate the Hecla case, sees a self-luminous, yellow-white object flying at 500–600 mph. It seems to pulse its lights at 3-second intervals as it moves away. ( Sparks, p. 35; Swords 58)
July 14 — Day. Charles W. Shangle Jr. watches two groups of about 16 UFOs maneuvering at 300–600 mph over Boise, Idaho. Two of the objects exhibit a “falling leaf” motion. (Charles W. Shangle Jr., [ Letter], Popular Science, July 1948, p. 16; “True Mystic Experiences,” Fate 2, no. 1 (May 1949): 75–79; Ferris Weddle, “ Flying Saucers Are His Hobby,” Deseret News [Salt Lake City, Utah], June 3, 1951, magazine, p. 14)
July 17 — 4:50 p.m. Two Kirtland AFB sergeants on a fishing trip with their families five miles south of San Acacia Diversion Dam, New Mexico, see a group of 7 aluminum-like, spherical objects approach from the south at 20,000 feet pass overhead at 1,500 mph. They first appear like snub-nosed jet fighters of an unknown type, shifting from V-formation to L-formation to circular formation to no regular formation. A regular pulsating flashing light appears in the group at 30° from zenith to the north, and at this oblique angle the objects do not appear circular. There is no noise or trail. (NICAP, “ Two Military Families Report Seven Objects”; Swords 58)
July 20 — The Netherlands government reports that a wingless, cigar-shaped object with two decks of windows is seen flying rapidly on four separate occasions by two Dutch citizens over The Hague (and/or Arnhem). (NICAP, “ High V-2-Like Craft Observed”; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1948, The Author, 1988, p. 86; Clark III 935; Clark IV 1045)
July 21 — The USAF Research and Development division sends a formal letter to the RAND Corporation authorizing them to select scientists to evaluate the possibility that the flying discs might be human-built spaceships. RAND’s reply is not known. (W. R. Clingerman to USAF Chief of Staff, “ Request for Study by Rand Project,” October 22, 1948; Swords 58)
July 24 — 1:45 a.m. A bright object is seen at Robins AFB in Houston County, Georgia, by ground maintenance crewman Walter Massey, who sees a “stream of fire” in the north. As it moves overhead, it seems more cylindrical. It moves off to the west. (NICAP, “ July 24, 1948, 0250E, Warner Robins AFB, Georgia”)
July 24 — 2:45 a.m. Capt. Clarence S. Chiles and copilot John B. Whitted are flying an Eastern Airlines DC-3 at 5,000 feet, 20 miles southwest of Montgomery, Alabama, when they see an object about 100 feet long moving rapidly toward them on their right. Torpedo- shaped and wingless, the object has flames jetting 50 feet from its rear. There are two rows of square windows through which a bright light is glowing. They only see it for 5–10 seconds. It is half a mile away and moving at about 700 mph. After it passes the plane it appears to swoop into a cloud bank at 6,000 feet. One passenger, Clarence L. McKelvie of Columbus, Ohio, also sees it. Many ufologists now consider the object to be a fireball meteor. Martin Shough writes: “There is nothing in this case that convincingly rules out a fragmenting fireball, and the ‘airship effect’ which causes the eye to see a line of glowing fragments as lighted windows in an elongated machine has been a widely known feature of such sightings at least since Hartmann made a pretty good study of it in the Condon Report. Other observers in neighboring states saw on their far western horizon an ‘unusually bright meteor’ that could have been the same fireball on a near-horizontal trajectory heading SW over the Alabama-Georgia border area. Chiles-Whitted saw it only for a few seconds going by above and to their right heading SW on a near reciprocal heading to them but miles higher and much faster then they thought. As it approached them, the angular rate of the object would rise geometrically in a hockey-stick curve which, interpreted in terms of an illusory near-miss with another ‘aircraft,’ could suggest the appearance of a climb and an avoiding veer.” (Wikipedia, “ Chiles-Whitted UFO Encounter”; NICAP, “ Chiles-Whitted Case”; Sparks, p. 36; “ Strange New Wingless Plane Seen,” Knoxville (Tenn.) Journal, July 25, 1948, pp. 1, 4; “ Atlanta Pilots Report Wingless Sky Monster,” Atlanta (Ga.) Constitution, July 25, 1948, pp. 1, 8; “ ‘Sky Devil-Ship’ Scares Pilots: Air Chief Wishes He Had One,” Atlanta (Ga.) Journal, July 25, 1948, p. 1; “ Mysterious ‘Ball of Fire’ Trailing Tail of Flame Sighted over Atlanta,” Atlanta (Ga.) Constitution, July 27, 1948, pp. 1, 4; Kenneth Arnold and Ray Palmer, The Coming of the Saucers, Palmer, 1952, pp. 90–91; Ruppelt, pp. 40–41; Donald Menzel and Lyle G. Boyd, The World of Flying Saucers: A Major Myth of the Space Age, Doubleday, 1963, pp. 109–113; UFOEv, p. 48; Dale Huffman, “ UFOs Just Debris, Blue Book Staff Confirms,” Dayton (Ohio) Daily News, July 16, 1968, p. 21; James E. McDonald, “ Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, pp. 42–43; Philip J. Klass, UFOs Explained, Random House, 1975, pp. 8–10; Loren E. Gross, UFOs: A History, Vol. 1, July 1947–December 1948, The Author, 1980, pp. 34–48; Good Above, pp. 264, 479; Curtis Peebles, Watch the Skies! A Chronicle of the Flying Saucer Myth, 1994, pp. 22–23; Michael D. Swords, “ Project Sign and the Estimate of the Situation,” JUFOS 7 (2000): 46–47; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs: a History: 1948, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2000, pp. 53–60; Joel Carpenter, “ Watershed: The Chiles-Whitted ‘Rocketship’ Sighting,” 2002; Martin Shough, “ Analysis of the Chiles-Whitted Sightings, July 24, 1948,” February 2011; Swords 58–60; Kevin D. Randle, “ Chiles/Whitted and Skepticism,” A Different Perspective, January 21, 2016; Clark III 234–236, 391; John Greenewald, “ Project Blue Book: The Chiles-Whitted UFO Encounter, July 24, 1948, Montgomery, Alabama,” The Black Vault, May 15, 2023; Graff 45; Eghigian, After, pp. 49–50, 58; Clark IV 274–276, 437)
July 24 - (see above) Montgomery, Alabama. This involves two pilots who saw a UFO from their airplane and it nearly collided into them. That was their impression. The pilot's names are Clarence Chiles and John Withead. It was 2:45am. It was Childs who first saw what he called an unusual light, dead ahead of him from his cockpit. It appeared to be closing rapidly and was moving so fast it was leaving a glowing streak. He turned to his crew member, John Withead and said "look, here comes a new army jet". That was his first impression. Thinking this was some sort of new experimental aircraft. But as this object began to speed directly at them in a slight dive and growing rapidly, he was suddenly hit with the overwhelming sensation that this object was was about to collide into them head on. So we quickly took his DC3 plane into a bank to the left. At the same time, he said this strange object turned to its left as if to avoid the airliner. John Withead looked out the right side of the windows as this object streaked by and said it was no farther than a half mile off their wing tip. And 500 feet higher than their plane. He said it looked like a hundred foot long rocket ship right out of a Buck Rogers comic strip. It had two rows of brightly lit windows or ports of some kind and the bottom of the craft glowed a strange bluish color. They could also see that there was an exhaust plume on its tail which was very brilliant and almost caused their night vision to go away. They watched this thing disappear as it climbed up into a thunder cloud. It was only in view for about five seconds. It took them a few moments to recover their composure. Clarence Childs the other crew member decided to go into the passenger cabin to see if anyone else had seen this thing. Only one gentleman by the name of Clarence McKelvey, who was an editor from Columbus, Ohio was awake. He told John Withead that he had seen only a quote "strange eerie streak." He said it was cherry red in color but he saw no major detail. As soon as they landed they talked to reporters and the incident became front page news across the country.
July 25 — Chief of Air Force Intelligence Gen. Charles Cabell phones Col. Howard M. McCoy’s office at Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio. Sign is ordered to get into the field immediately and investigate the Chiles-Whitted case. By that afternoon, Loedding, Deyarmond, and Llewellyn (now apparently director of Project Sign) are flown by Capt. Clarence Groseclose to Atlanta, Georgia. ( Sparks, p. 13; Swords 60; Clark III 937; Clark IV 1047)
July 26 — Loedding, Deyarmond, and Llewellyn interview Chiles and Whitted in the Henry Grady Hotel, Atlanta, Georgia. They are impressed with their account. Mulling the case through September, Project Sign is disturbed even more than the Mantell incident, according to Ruppelt. Capt. Sneider considers the shape aerodynamically feasible; consultant J. Allen Hynek says it might be a fireball but considers that “far-fetched.” (Swords 60)
July 26 — Aeronautical engineer Molt Taylor speculates to the Associated Press that “If we can build such craft, what is to prevent others from doing so, assuming that a similar order of intelligence exists on other planets? You and I may see the day when we will be united with Russia defending this planet against attack from space.” (“ It May Be Men from Mars, Expert Says of ‘Saucers,’” San Francisco Examiner, July 28, 1948, p. 32; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1948, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2000, p. 65)
July 27 — Air Intelligence Memorandum on “Pattern of Flying Saucers” requires that a study be made by the Air Intelligence Division to examine the pattern of tactics of reported UFOs and develop conclusions as to their probability. This leads to the EEI “Analysis of Flying Object Incidents in the United States” (100-203-79) of December 10. The JIC report gives the incorrect date as August 6. (Col. Brooke E. Allen, “ Analysis of Flying Object Incidents in the U.S.,” October 11, 1948; “ Report by the Director of Intelligence, USAF, to the Joint Intelligence Committee on Unidentified Aerial Objects,” April 28, 1949, p. 2; Jan L. Aldrich, “ New Top Secret Document Revealed,” Project 1947)
July 29 — 9:18 a.m. James Toney and Robert Huggins, both employees of an Indianapolis, Indiana,
rug cleaning firm, are in a truck headed west near the intersection of 56th Street and Fall Creek Boulevard
when they see a shiny, propeller-shaped, aluminum object with 10–12 small cups protruding from either blade.
It is 6–8 feet long and flying silently above the trees at 30 feet altitude some 300 feet away heading south.
It approaches to about 100 feet at its closest. The object glides across the road at 25–30 mph in a slight
descent then makes a 20° bank to the east and goes down in a wooded area. Toney and Huggins stop the truck
and get out to look, but the object has disappeared behind trees. A later search finds no traces. (NICAP, “
Close Encounter with ‘Propeller-Shaped’ Object”;
Sparks
July 31 — 8:25 a.m. Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Swigert of south-central Indianapolis, Indiana, see a
cymbal-shaped or domed-disc object to the west of their home. It is about 20 feet across, 6–8 feet thick,
white without any shine but shadowing on upper right. It flies straight and level from horizon to horizon,
west to east heading 90°. They estimate its altitude as 2,000 feet covering a distance of 5 miles in 10
seconds. It shimmers in the sun as if spinning, is silent, and has no trail. (NICAP, “
Cymbal-Shaped Object Observed by Couple”;
Sparks, p. 37; Loren E. Gross,
The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs: a History: 1948, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2000,
pp. 61–63) August 5 — This date given by
Edward Ruppelt for the lost “Estimate of the Situation,” in which Project Sign concludes that UFOs are
interplanetary, is probably too early. See September 30. August 11 - Between 12:00 and 12:15 p.m. Two boys playing outside near Hamel, Minnesota,
see a round, dull gray or silver object 2 feet in diameter and 1 foot thick, like inverted plates
approach them from the northwest. It drops down between the boys from a height of 12 feet and lands
8 feet away, like a balloon, with a metallic clinking sound and a train whistle noise. It spins once,
shoots up 20 feet, makes a whistling noise again, hovers, shoots up to a height of 30 feet. maneuvers
to avoid phone lines and trees, then flies away to the northeast. CIC Special Agent Capt. Charles L.
Victor finds an area 2 feet in diameter where the ground shows signs of extreme pressure. (
Sparks,
p. 37; Wilkins, Attack,
pp. 104-105) August 15 — Morning. Future ufologist
Walter H. Andrus Jr., his wife
Genevieve, and son Donald see four UFOs flying in formation east to west over downtown, Phoenix,
Arizona. They simply vanish in sequence, then the first three reappear one at a time in the northwest
where they pass out of sight to the west. (Story,
pp. 17–18) August 21 — A possible Russian rocket trail is seen over Katrineholm, Sweden, that remains visible
for three hours “resembling a brilliant star surrounded by streamers of fire like the tentacles of an octopus.”
However, there is no known record of a launch on this date of a V-2 or R-1 missile from the Russian base at
Kapustin Yar, Astrakhan Oblast, Russia. It may be the same object viewed by Swedish Armed Forces Supreme
Commander
Helge Jung of an “aerial explosion considered to be some form of guided missile originating from Estonian
islands, possibly Dagö or Osel.” (“
‘Sky Octopus’ Seen above Swedish Town,” Richmond (Ind.) Palladium-Item, August 23, 1948, p. 2; “Sky Octopus
over Sweden,” Fate 2, no. 1 (May 1949): 35; Jan Aldrich, “
Investigating the Ghost Rockets,” IUR 23, no. 4 (Winter 1998): 14) September — About this time Capt. Robert R. Sneider becomes a co-chief of Project Sign with Lt.
Howard W. Smith. (
Sparks, pp. 13–14; Clark III 937; Clark IV 1047) September 1 — The CIA Office of Policy Coordination is formally established with the responsibility
to engage in “propaganda, economic warfare, preventive direct action, including sabotage, antisabotage,
demolition and evacuation procedures; subversion against hostile states, including assistance to underground
resistance groups,guerrillas and refugee liberation groups, and support of indigenous anti-communist elements
in threatened countries of the free world.” (Wikipedia, “
Office of Policy Coordination”) September 15 — USAF Maj.
Dick Johnson reaches an official airspeed record of 671 mph (slightly more than
Yeager’s first record) in a North American F-86A-3 Sabre at Muroc [now Edwards] AFB, California.
(Wikipedia, “
North American F-86 Sabre”) September 16 - Before dawn. Fred Scott, 63, is walking around Grassy Mountain, Malheur
County, Oregon, when he looks up and sees two "flying persons" to the south. They are 150-250
feet up, one following the other at a distance of 8-10 feet. Their wings are narrow and rounded
at the tip and do not flap. Their legs are unusually short. They remain visible while Scott walks
for at least another mile. (Center for UFO Studies,
HUMCAT Index 1940-1949, p. 43; Clark III 270; Clark IV 310) September 23 — 9:40 a.m. At Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, a group of people
are waiting for an airplane at the landing strip when one of them notices something glint in the sun.
It is a flat, circular object, high in the northern sky. The appearance and relative size is the same
as a dime held edgewise and slightly tipped, about 50 feet away. (NICAP, “
Flat Dime On-Edge Observed by Lab Personnel”;
Sparks, p. 38; Michael D. Swords, “
The Lost Words of Edward Ruppelt,” IUR 20, no. 2 (Mar./
Apr. 1995): 14–15; Clark III 437. September 26 — 2:00 p.m. P. L. Lewis sees a white object moving rapidly across the sky at
Port Hope, Ontario, then disappear when it is nearly overhead. Other white objects follow at about
50 mph in a northeasterly direction, accompanied by strands of spider web. Lewis speculates that
the objects are balls of spiders’ threads, held together by thistledown. (P. R. Bishop, “
Cobwebs or Flying Saucers?” Weather 4 (1949): 121–122; Philip J. Imbrogno, Files from the Edge:
A Paranormal Investigator’s Explorations into High Strangeness, Llewellyn, 2010, p. 54; Clark III 124;
Clark IV 151) September 30? — Project Sign officer Capt. Robert R. Sneider has decided that the time has come to
climax Project Sign’s task and write the required “Estimate of the Situation.” Every intelligence operation’s
task is ultimately to present such a best-guess summary, strongly backed with as much fact as possible. Using
the July 24 Chiles-Whitted case as the core and collecting around it many cases from the summer of 1947 to
September 1948, Sneider composes the document. The most recent case known to have been listed in the document
is the September 23 Los Alamos National Laboratory sighting in New Mexico. Two prominent USAF intelligence
officers (
Edward J. Ruppelt and
Dewey J. Fournet Jr.) see the document in 1952. “It was a rather thick document with a black cover and it
was printed on legal-sized paper. Stamped across the front were the words TOP SECRET.” Ruppelt says the
Estimate concludes that the best evidence indicated an extraterrestrial origin for UFOs. Sneider is probably
the primary author. Col.
Albert Deyarmond, Alfred Loedding, and Lawrence Truettner almost certainly are part of the writing. Maj.
Raymond Llewellyn certainly looks in. All these people, as well as higher-ups in Col. William Clingerman’s
and Col. Howard M. McCoy’s offices, must approve it, at least in some sense. And an Estimate of UFOs as
extraterrestrial is no small thing to assent to. The Estimate is probably addressed to Chief of Staff Gen.
Hoyt Vandenberg, but it really is meant for Director of Intelligence Gen.
Charles P. Cabell. It is probably sent near the end of September, just before the George Gorman “UFO
dogfight” in Fargo, North Dakota, on October 1. It probably lands in Col. George Garrett’s Collections office
and is hand-carried to Cabell. Cabell may or may not be shocked. With a pro-ETH Wright-Patterson intelligence
group on one side, an anti-ETH Pentagon Intelligence Requirements Office on the other, and open-minded
collections officers and the powerful Research and Development chief (Gen.
Donald L. Putt) in between, Cabell doesn’t want to decide this on his own. He hands the Estimate
further upstairs to Vandenberg himself, who rejects it and bats it back to Cabell with a strong sense of
disapproval. Ruppelt adds that some months later the Estimate is completely declassified and “all but a
few copies” are destroyed. (Ruppelt,
pp. 28, 41, 45; Hynek UFO Report,
pp. 13–14; Kevin D. Randle, The UFO Casebook, Warner, 1989,
pp. 28–31; Michael D. Swords, “
The Lost Words of Edward Ruppelt,” IUR 20, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1995): 14–15; Michael D. Swords, “
Project Sign and the Estimate of the Situation,” JUFOS 7 (2000): 48–51; Swords 62; Clark III 436–437, 935;
Kate Dorsch,
Reliable Witnesses, Crackpot Science: UFO Investigations in Cold War America, 1947–1977, dissertation,
University of Pennsylvania, 2019, pp. 88–89; Graff 47–48; Clark IV 481–482, 1045) October —
Vannevar Bush resigns as chairman of the Research and Development Board, passing the job on to
Karl Taylor Compton. (Michael Hall and Wendy Connors, “
The Research and Development Board: Unanswered Questions,” IUR 26, no. 2 (Summer 2001): 9) October 1 — The first Joint Army-Navy-Air Force Publication (JANAP) 146, based on
Bernard Baruch Jr.’s CIRES system, is issued. It consists of instructions for military and civilian personnel
on how to report sightings of enemy aircraft, missiles, submarines, and surface vessels. This version does not
include UFOs. It is tabled shortly afterward by Maj. Gen.
Cabell. (Antonio F. Rullán, “
Blue Book UFO Reports at Sea by Ships: Analysis of the Blue Book Ship Database,” December 10, 2002, pp.
8–9; Swords 122) October 1 — 9:00 p.m. 2d Lieut. George F. Gorman of the North Dakota National Guard, flying an F-51
near Fargo, North Dakota, spots an object traveling east to west. He describes it as a light 6–8 inches in
diameter displaying incredible movements. He repeatedly gives chase beginning at 9:07 p.m., but each time
is outmaneuvered by the light, which moves up to 600 mph. On his first pass he gets as close as 500 feet from
the light at about 5,000 feet altitude. Gorman climbs to 14,000 feet but stalled out, unable to intercept the
light, which is at about 16,000 feet. The light makes evasive and aggressive maneuvers, such as seeming to try
to ram the F-51. When it drops to 11,000 feet, Gorman attempts to dive at it, but the light pulls up, rises
vertically, and disappears at high speed. The light is also seen by airport control tower operators
Lloyd D. Jensen and Manuel E. Johnson, as well as others on the ground and pilot Arthur E. Cannon flying
a Piper Cub at 1,600 feet. Jensen watches the dogfight through 6x30 binoculars, the UFO appearing perfectly
round with sharp edges and no fuzzy outline. Project Sign personnel arrive within hours and interview the
witnesses. Eventually they conclude the object was a balloon, with evasive maneuvers the product of Gorman’s
imagination, since ground observers do not see anything comparable. Some ufologists, among them
Aimé Michel and James E. McDonald, have rejected the balloon explanation. (Wikipedia, “
Gorman dogfight”; NICAP, “
Gorman (Fargo) Case”;
Sparks, p. 39; “
Fargo Pilot Tells of Chasing ‘Flying Disk,’” Fargo (N.Dak.) Forum, October 3, 1948, pp. 1–2; “
Dogfight with Mysterious Flying Object Told by Pilot,” Decatur (Ill.) Daily Review, October 3, 1948, p.
1; “
Pilot Tells of Long Dogfight with Queer Flying Object,” St. Louis (Mo.) Globe-Democrat, October 3, 1948,
p. 10; “
Flying Ball Plays Tag with Pilot,” Knoxville (Tenn.) Journal, October 3, 1948, p. 4; “
Pilot, ‘Disk’ Have Half Hour Tussle,” Lincoln (Nebr.) Sunday Journal and Star, October 3, 1948, p. 1; “
Wright Field Officers Probe ‘Disk’ Report,” Fargo (N.Dak.) Forum, October 4, 1948, p. ; Keyhoe 1950,
pp. 102–107; Ruppelt,
pp. 41–43; Donald H. Menzel and Lyle G. Boyd, The World of Flying Saucers, Doubleday, 1963, pp. 80–82,
111–114; Story,
pp. 151–152; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs: A History, 1948, The Author, 1988, pp. 56–64; Michael D. Swords, GrassRoots UFOs: Case Reports from
the Timmerman Files, Fund for UFO Research, 2005, p. 138; Clark III 536–537, 949; Tracy Briggs, “
Fargo’s Most Famous UFO Sighting Happened in the Skies above a Bison Football Game,” Fargo (N.Dak.) Forum,
December 15, 2020; Graff 49–50; Clark IV 424, 425, 586–596, 1063) October 7 — A document from Project Sign to Garrett and
Cabell is an upbeat Sneider report on the initial investigation of the Gorman dogfight, making the object
sound extremely unusual and intelligent in behavior. This is almost like a supplement to the Estimate. (Michael
D. Swords, “
Project Sign and the Estimate of the Situation,” JUFOS 7 (2000): 50) October 7 — A set of letters, composed not by Sneider but actually by Samuel Z. Hunnicutt, a member
of T-2 and the Sign team, and approved by MCI heavyweights Howard M. McCoy, Clingerman, and
Leland Money, goes out to the CIA, US Army Intelligence, and the Office of Naval Intelligence. The query:
What domestic technological developments do you know of that might explain UFOs and help us differentiate them
from inimical (Soviet) foreign developments? (Michael D. Swords, “
Project Sign and the Estimate of the Situation,” JUFOS 7 (2000): 50) October 12 (or 22) — Project Sign’s Col. William R. Clingerman writes a letter to USAF Chiefs of Staff
requesting a study of UFOs by the RAND Corporation, similar to the one made by USAF R&D in July, especially the
possibility that “some of the unidentified aerial objects that have been reported both in the United States and
in foreign lands may have been experimental spaceships.... it is believed more likely that they represent the
effort of a foreign nation, rather than a product from beyond the Earth.” (Col. W. R. Clingerman, “
Request for Study by Rand Project,” October 12(?), 1948; Swords 58, 492–493) October 15 — 11:05 p.m. On night patrol, 1st Lt. Oliver “Bud” Hemphill Jr. of the 68th Fighter Squadron
is flying a Northrup F-61 Black Widow some 50 miles northwest of Fukuoka, Japan, when the crew picks up an object
on radar going 200 mph. As he closes to intercept, the object speeds up to 1,200 mph then slows down again. The
plane tries closing in six times, but each time the object speeds away. On one pass the crew sees the object’s
silhouette, which looks like a “rifle bullet” 20–30 feet long. The object “seems cognizant of the whereabouts of
the F-61 at all times.” Radar operator Barton Halter thinks it is a “new type of aircraft.” (NICAP, “
F-61 ‘Black Widow’ Radar Case”;
Sparks, p. 40; James E. McDonald, “
Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House
Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, pp. 69–70; Hynek UFO Report,
pp. 134–137; Martin Shough,
RADCAT: Radar Catalogue: A Review of Twenty-One Ground and Airborne Radar UAP Contact Reports Generally Related to
Aviation Safety for the Period October 15, 1948, to September 19, 1976, National Aviation Reporting Center on
Anomalous Phenomena, NARCAP Report TR-6, December 8, 2002, pp. 3–4; Thomas Tulien, “
Fukuoka (Kyushu) Japan, 15 October 1948: The Original ‘Tic-Tac’ UFO,” Sign Oral History Project, 2024) October 20 — The US Air Force Security Service is activated at Arlington Hall in Washington, D.C.,
with the mission of cryptology and communications security. (Wikipedia, “
United States Air Force Security Service”) October 29 - Five US Air Force pilots observe a silvery object over Neubiberg Air Base
[now closed] near Munich, Germany. The object disappears at a terrific speed after having remained
over the air base more than 30 minutes. A similar object is seen days before by another group of
American pilots. (Jan Aldrich, "
Early Top Secret UFO Document Discovered," 2000) October 29 — Five US Air Force pilots observe a silvery object over Neubiberg Air Base [now closed]
near Munich, Germany. The object disappears at a terrific speed after having remained over the air base more
than 30 minutes. A similar object is seen days before by another group of American pilots. (Jan Aldrich, “
Early Top Secret UFO Document Discovered,” 2000) Late 1948 — The search for a suitable US location for nuclear testing, codenamed “Project Nutmeg,”
commences under the direction of expert meteorologist and Navy Captain Howard B. Hutchinson. The government is
looking for a place where nuclear tests would have little impact on the American people or the American economy.
Five primary sites are considered: Dugway Proving Ground, Utah; Alamogordo–White Sands Guided Missile Range,
New Mexico; an area in Nevada between Fallon and Eureka; the Tonopah–Las Vegas Bombing and Gunnery Range (the
site finally chosen in 1950, now part of Nellis Air Force Base); and the Pamlico Sound area off the coast of
North Carolina. (“
Project Nutmeg: The Birth of the Nevada Test Site,” National Nuclear Security Administration, June 2004;
Philip Howard, “
Project Nutmeg,” Village Craftsmen, April 21, 2012; Diane Tennant, “
How Outer Banks Almost Became a Nuclear Test Site,” Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, January 27, 2013) November 1 — Radar operator M/Sgt Francis H. Mills at Goose Bay AFB [now CFB Goose Bay], Labrador,
tracks an object too large for a bird, too small for a plane, flying at 60 mph. Not confirmed visually.
(NICAP, “
600 MPH Track at Goose Bay”;
Sparks, p. 42; NICAP, “
October 29, October 30, and November 1, 1948, Incident Nos. 188, 195, and 196: Goose Bay, Labrador,”
June 28, 2009) November 3 — Against most predictions,
Harry S. Truman wins the US presidential election against Republican
Thomas E. Dewey. Secretary of Defense
James Forrestal, like everyone else, expects to have a new boss in January. His relationship with Air Force
Secretary
Stuart Symington has deteriorated, and he has not obtained a budget consensus from the Joint Chiefs. His mental
health, physical condition, and authority are deteriorating. He is convinced that “foreign-looking men” are following
him and that Symington is spying on him. Secret Service Chief
Urbanus E. Baughman begins to think Forrestal is suffering from a “total psychotic breakdown.” November 3 — Gen.
Charles Cabell writes a firm letter to Wright Field in Ohio, asking Project Sign for another Estimate. It
is possibly composed by Maj. Aaron “Jere” Boggs or Col.
Edward H. Porter at the USAF Defensive Air Branch. While admitting that the objects seem real, it also
cautions that they are not identified. (Read: You may not identify them as extraterrestrial craft.) (Maj.
Gen. C. P. Cabell, “
Flying Object Incidents in the United States,” November 3, 1948; Michael D. Swords, “
Project Sign and the Estimate of the Situation,” JUFOS 7 (2000): 50–51, 62; Swords 62, 64) November 3 or 4 — 9:30 p.m. US Army Col. William P. Hayes is driving 10 miles east of Vaughn, New
Mexico, on US Highway 60 when he sees a reddish-white ball of light, 1 foot in diameter, falling vertically
and bursting about 100–200 feet from the ground, some 1,200 feet north of the road. (NICAP, “
Another Object in Vertical Descent Explodes near Colonel”) November 4 — A USAF Europe document transmits some information on the Swedish ghost rockets. “They
have been reported by so many sources and from such a variety of places that we are convinced that they cannot
be disregarded and must be explained on some basis which is perhaps slightly beyond the scope of our present
intelligence thinking.” One of the objects was observed crashing into a lake by Swedish Gen.
Helge Jung and his party. A salvage operation was unsuccessful. USAF officers visit Swedish Air Intelligence
officials who have reached the conclusion that “these phenomena are obviously the result of a high technical skill
which cannot be credited to any presently known culture on earth.” The document is distributed to the CIA (which
in response to a FOIA request claims no record), Armament Intelligence Branch, and AMC. (“
USAFE 14, TT 1524, Top Secret,” November 4, 1948; Jan Aldrich, “
Early Top Secret UFO Document Discovered,” 2000; Good Need,
p. 115; Swords 62–63) November 6 - Two UFOs, maneuvering like planes in a dogfight, are tracked on USAF radar
over Wakkanai, Japan. (NICAP, "
Target Circles Radar Site";
Sparks, p. 42; Keyhoe, FS from OS,
p. 34) November 8 — A letter is sent with Col. Howard M. McCoy’s signature to Gen.
Cabell. Written by Sign operative
Albert Deyarmond, it is overtly submissive but covertly rebellious. It contains several comments agreeing
with Cabell that the UFO phenomenon is not identifiable and that no concrete physical proof exists to identify
it. At the same time it drops all sorts of hints, doubtless the same arguments used in the original Estimate,
that the objects really are extraterrestrial whether the Pentagon thinks so or not: It mentions the ETH; it
mentions plotting waves against planetary approaches and finding a correlation; it mentions the books of
Charles Fort as indicating that this has been going on for at least a century; it mentions that odd shapes
(like the Chiles-Whitted case) can fly but require more advanced power plants than we have. (Col. H. M. McCoy, “
Flying Object Incidents in the United States,” November 8, 1948; Michael D. Swords, “
The McCoy Letter,” IUR 22, no. 1 (Spring 1997): 12–17, 27; Michael D. Swords, “
Project Sign and the Estimate of the Situation,” JUFOS 7 (2000): 51, 63–64; Swords 62, 65, 494–496) November 12 — Project Sign personnel travel to the National Bureau of Standards in Washington, D.C.,
to attempt to convince
Cabell and
Vandenberg on the ETH. It includes Sneider, and perhaps
Deyarmond, Loedding, Truettner, and Howard M. McCoy. On the Pentagon side,
Boggs and
Cabell are there and perhaps Vandenberg, and they are having none of the ETH. Back at Wright-Patterson AFB in
Ohio, Deyarmond and Truettner begin writing a sanitized Project Sign report. More scientific oversight is requested
for Sign personnel. The Scientific Advisory Board and
George Valley of MIT are to be made aware of all cases. So
too are Boggs’s office, ONI, and maybe even the NBS.
Hynek is to be formally commissioned for an assessment, as well as
Irving Langmuir and Project RAND. (Col. H. M. McCoy, “
Transmittal of Project ‘SIGN’ Incident Summaries,” November 12, 1948; Michael D. Swords, “
Project Sign and the Estimate of the Situation,” JUFOS 7 (2000): 51–52; Swords 65) Mid-November — Late afternoon. Clifford DeWitt Fife hears a whirring in the air near Nevada, Missouri.
He looks up and sees a hovering, disc-like object. Two bright objects drop down out of the disc about 200–300
feet, then speed off to the southwest. The large object moves off to the northeast. (Nevada (Mo.) Daily Mail,
November 30, 1948; Herbert S. Taylor, “
Satellite Objects: A Further Look,” IUR 29, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 7) November 18 — 10:00 p.m. USAF Reserve pilot Lt. Henry G. Combs is flying a T-6 Texas combat trainer
when he sees an object flying west to east over Andrews AFB, Maryland. It has one continuously glowing white
light. The sighting is corroborated by S/Sgt John Kushner, as well as other witnesses on the ground, who says
it does “not look like an aircraft.” Combs makes a pass to check on it, but it takes evasive action and he
duels with it for 10 minutes. The object performs very tight curves and quick accelerations to more than 500 mph.
Combs’s copilots Lt. Kenwood Jackson and Lt.
Glen L. Stalker, say the object “could climb vertically, then would drop behind” the aircraft and continue
to circle the field. (NICAP, “
The Lt. Combs / T-6 Encounter”;
Sparks, p. 42; Richard H. Hall, Uninvited Guests, Aurora, 1988,
pp. 236–237; Jazz Shaw, “
Incident 207: A Tic Tac over Washington, DC, in 1948?” The DeBrief, March 10, 2023; Powell, Scientist, 7) November 23 — 9:30 p.m. US Army Col. William P. Hayes sees a bright white, round light “larger than a
basketball” descend slowly as he is driving 10 miles west of Vaughan, New Mexico. It explodes without a sound
some 100–200 feet above the ground. (NICAP, “
Another Object in Vertical Descent Explodes near Colonel”;
Sparks, p. 43; Clark III 539; Clark IV 598) November 23 — 10:20 p.m. The first documented ground radar–visual UFO case takes place at Fürstenfeldbruck
Air Base [now closed] in Bavaria, Germany. A UFO is seen circling at 27,000 feet. An F-80 pilot sent to intercept
it describes it as bright red. It climbs abruptly to 50,000 feet at 900 mph. A second F-80 pilot verifies the report.
(NICAP, “
Grnd Visual / Grnd Radar Track Object at 27,000ʹ”;
Sparks, p. 43; Ruppelt,
p. 46) November 24 — Writer
Sidney Shalett has asked for USAF cooperation in writing an article on UFOs for the Saturday Evening Post.
In a “Memorandum for the Record,” the USAF Directorate of Intelligence indicates that “publicity of this nature
is undesirable but, if such articles are written, they will be less harmful to the national interest if a degree
of guidance in their preparation is exercised.” Signed November 24 by
Cabell, Director of Intelligence. ([Maj. Gen. Charles P. Cabell], “
Memorandum for Record,” November 24, 1948; Michael Hall and Wendy Connors, “
Flying Saucers: Behind the Cold War Veil of Military Intelligence (Part II),” European Journal of UFO and
Abduction Studies 3, no. 1 (March 2002): 2, 18–22; Clark III 932; Clark IV 1043) November 30 — Maj. Gen.
Charles P. Cabell, in an Air Staff Summary Sheet, admits that he has tried to dissuade the press from
publishing articles like
Shalett’s. Cabell has asked Secretary
Forrestal for permission to feed Shalett some statistics, but the memo is apparently never sent. (Maj.
Gen. C. P. Cabell, “
Publicity on Flying Saucer Incidents,” Air Staff Summary Sheet, November 30, 1948; “
Memorandum for Mr. Forrestal” [unsent]) November 30 — Letter from Col. Howard M. McCoy at AMC Dayton to Commanding General, Air Defense
Command, Mitchel AFB [now closed], Long Island, New York. “It is requested that all reports of unusual
sightings by radar stations of your command be made directly to this Headquarters by the most expeditious
means.” (NICAP, “
1948 UFO Chronology”) November 30 — An interim report by Project Sign, one that apparently takes seriously the possibility
that UFOs represent interplanetary probes, is accidentally destroyed. USAF Intelligence later requests a
replacement copy from TID at Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio. A recent FOIA to the National Archives answers
that such a document would be in Project Blue Book files, but it is not. (Jan Aldrich) December — A first-strike war plan (Sizzle) is developed to use 133 nuclear aerial bombs against 70
cities of the USSR. (“
Nuclear ‘Pincher’: The START II Treaty, the American ‘Escalation of Superiority’ Strategy, and Russia’s Strategic
Nuclear Forces,” from Sovetskaya Rossiya, April 8, 1995) December 3 — 8:15 p.m. Sgt. Bruce Earlin McFarland, control tower operator at Fairfield-Suisun AFB
[now Travis AFB] at Fairfield, California, watches for 25 seconds a round, white light fly with variable speed
(200–400 mph) and a bouncing motion, finally disappearing after a rapid, erratic climb to 20,000 feet. (NICAP, “
Fairfield-Suisun AFB, Dec. 3, 1948, UFO Report”;
Sparks, p. 43) December 5 — 2:00 a.m. A University of New Mexico student sees a brilliant green “meteor”. (Clark III
539; Clark IV 598) December 5 —9:05 p.m. Pilot Capt.
William R. Goade is flying a USAF C-47 from Denver to Phoenix. Just west of Las Vegas, New Mexico, he
and his copilot Maj. Roger Carter spot a bright green flash. Some 22 minutes later, an identical flash rises
from the east slope of Sandia Peak and follows a parabolic curve as the C-47 passes 20 miles northeast of
Albuquerque. Around 9:35 p.m., Capt. Ernest Van Lloyd and the crew of Pioneer Airlines Flight 63 also see
the second object, described as first orange, then green, near Montezuma, New Mexico. He attempts evasive
action, but the object drops close to ground level. (NICAP, “
AFOSI Case 8: AF C-47 Pilot Observes UFO Similar to Green Flare”; NICAP, “
AFOSI Case 9: Commercial Pilot Reports Green Flare”;
Sparks, p. 43; Clark III 539; Clark IV 597) December 5 — Night. A civilian driving on US Highway 160 near Blanca, Colorado, sees a bright green
fireball traveling west on a horizontal course at great speed. (Clark III 539; Clark IV 597) December 6 —Lt. Col. Doyle Rees, commander of the Seventeenth District AFOSI at Kirtland AFB,
New Mexico, orders an investigation into the previous night’s green fireball. (Clark III 539; Clark IV 597) December 6 — Project Sign is ordered to send copies of all its future cases and analyses to Maj.
Boggs of the Office of Defensive Air, the ONI, and the USAF Scientific Advisory Board. (Swords 65) December 6 — 10:55 p.m. Atomic Energy Security Service Officer Joseph Toulouse sees a greenish flare
one-third the apparent size of the moon at Sandia Base outside Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is visible for 3
seconds before it arcs downward and vanishes. (NICAP, “
AFOSI Case 10: AESS Observed Green Flare Directly over Sandia Base”;
Sparks, p. 44; Clark III 539; Clark IV 598) December 8 — Two AFOSI officers, Capts. Melvin E. Neef and John J. Stahl Jr., interview every agency
that might know something about green-flare operations but come up short. That evening, they are flying a T-7
out of Kirtland AFB, Albuquerque, New Mexico, at 5,000 feet when they see a brilliant green light, larger and
more brilliant than a meteor or flare, traveling a flat trajectory 2,000 feet above them. They see it for 2
seconds before it burns out. (NICAP, “
AFOSI Case 11: Agents in T-7 Observe Intense Green Fireball at 13,000ʹ”;
Sparks, p. 44; Clark III 539; Clark IV 597–598 December 9 — Capt. Neef informs
Lincoln LaPaz, director of meteoritics at the University of New Mexico, about the green fireball sightings.
He says they do not sound like any meteors he is familiar with. (Clark III 539; Clark IV 598) December 10 — The revised Project Sign report is issued, Air Intelligence Report Number 100-203-79,
“Analysis of Flying Object Incidents in the U.S.” (AIR 203) [Some copies are confusingly dated April 28, 1949.]
This is the culmination of Sign’s work since early August, augmented by ONI collaboration over the past two
months. UFOs are not extraterrestrial (the idea is hardly noticed). UFOs are probably real, but if so, there
is a small chance that they are Soviet and therefore dangerous. All in all, the word “Soviet” dominates the
commentary. (US Air Force, Directorate of Intelligence,
Analysis of Flying Object Incidents in the U.S.: Summary and Conclusions, Air Intelligence Report 100-203-
79, December 10, 1948;
copy, dated April 28, 1949; Good Above,
pp. 265,
480–481; Bruce Maccabee, “
Hiding the Hardware,” IUR 16, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1991): 7–8; Michael D. Swords, “
Project Sign and the Estimate of the Situation,” JUFOS 7 (2000): 52; Swords 65–66; John Greenewald, “
The Somewhat Lost Top Secret 1948 UFO Report: A Glimpse into America’s Early Encounter with the Unknown,”
The Black Vault, February 21, 2024) December 12 — 9:02 p.m.
Lincoln LaPaz and two USAF officers (Sandia Base Intelligence Officer Lt. Allan B. Clark and Sandia’s AF-
Civil Air Patrol Liaison Officer Maj. Charles L. Phillips) see a green fireball near Bernal, New Mexico. He
calculates that it is flying directly over Los Alamos National Laboratory, and it maintains its horizontal
flight at the low altitude (for a meteor) of 8–10 miles. LaPaz arranges with the Atomic Energy Security
Service to set up a patrol with Speed Graphic cameras to try to photograph the fireballs. (NICAP, “
AFOSI Case 13: LaPaz, Captain, CAP Intel Officer Observed Green Fireball”;
Sparks, p. 46; Good Above,
p. 266; Joel Carpenter, “
Green Fireball Chronology,” October 6, 2011; Clark III 539–540; Clark IV 598) December 13 — Project Sign files are sent to the Navy by Col.
William R. Clingerman (NICAP, “
Project ‘SIGN’ Files Sent Directly to the Navy,” December 13, 1948) December 13 - Aeronautical engineer
James E. Lipp writes an 8-page memo to Brig. Gen.
Donald Putt on "Special Design and Performance
Characteristics That Are Believed to Distinguish Spaceships." Rejecting out of hand any links
between UFO sightings and space travelers, it later appears as an appendix in the Project Grudge
report. (James E. Lipp, "
Special Design and Performance Characteristics That Are Believed to Distinguish Spaceships,"
December 13, 1948) December 16 — Astronomer
J. Allen Hynek is officially tasked by Project Sign with studying UFO cases for astronomical explanations.
(AMC contract W33-038-1118). (O’Connell 44–46) December 16 — Brig. Gen.
Donald Putt, Director of USAF Research and Development, orders that the code word Sign be changed to Grudge
(since the Air Force bears a grudge against UFO reports, according to
Ruppelt), effective in February. Morale plummets. (
Sparks, p. 11; “
Report by the Director of Intelligence, USAF, to the Joint Intelligence Committee on Unidentified Aerial
Objects,” April 28, 1949) December 20 — Sneider sends his summary of the Chiles-Whitted case, Air Intelligence Report number
102-122-79, to
Cabell. It is later called “The Ghost of the Estimate” by some researchers. (Capt. Robert R. Sneider, [
untitled memorandum], December 20, 1948; Michael D. Swords, “
Project Sign and the Estimate of the Situation,” JUFOS 7 (2000): 52) December 20 — In a confidential memo to Lt. Col. Doyle Rees, LaPaz argues that the green fireball
he saw on December 12 was no meteor he has ever studied. He writes that the object moved far too slowly to
have been a meteor and left no “trail of sparks or dust cloud” as would be typical of meteors flying at low
altitudes. Other anomalous characteristics were the intense lime-green color, low altitude of only 8–10 miles
yet exhibiting no sound, flat rather than arced trajectory, and turning on and off like a light switch. The
interest in green fireballs inspires the creation of an informal group, the Los Alamos Astrophysical Association,
whose members, all scientists and engineers with security clearances, are permitted to examine some classified
Project Sign reports. This is essentially the beginning of Project Twinkle. (World History Project, “
Project Twinkle Established to Monitor Green Fireball Sightings”; Clark III 540; Clark IV 598) December 20 — 8:54 p.m. Shortly after they have packed up their Speed Graphic cameras provided by
LaPaz to try to photograph the green fireballs, personnel (William D. Wilson, Buford G. Truett, Clifford
E. Strang, and George S. Skipper) at an Atomic Energy Security Service post west of Los Alamos, New Mexico,
spot a blue-white fireball moving in a nearly flat trajectory. Two objects separate from the main body and
trail behind it. Thanks to an independent observation at another site, LaPaz is able to triangulate its flight
path as 7–8 miles, west to east toward Los Alamos. (NICAP, “
AFOSI Case 14: AESS OP Sighted Green Fireball with Triangulation”;
Sparks, p. 46; Clark III 540; Clark IV 598) December 29 — The Fourth Army sums up the UFO situation in the southwest in a statement.
In December 5–28, there were 23 reports of “flares or moving lights.” All but two are in New Mexico
and are an intense white or greenish-white light. (Clark III 540; Clark IV 598) Evening. USAF Brig. Gen.
William M. Garland is stationed at Mather AFB [now Sacramento Mather Airport]
in Sacramento, California. He and a few other people, including some command pilots, are sitting in their yard
when they see a “bright, silvery, round object” going too fast for an airplane. (Jan L. Aldrich, “
Brigadier General William Madison Garland, USAF”) Estonian refugee and Los Angeles photographer Nicholas von Poppen confides to George Tyler that he was
asked to photograph a large flying saucer at an unnamed military base in New Mexico. He takes photos for two
days from every conceivable angle, including the four dead occupants, all strapped in swivel-back seats. The
aliens are about 4 feet tall and albino-like. In the craft is a book with strange symbols and a device like a
large electronic tube that beeps intermittently. However, the tale seems to be a fictional story written by
Tyler and enhanced by Gray Barker. (Gray Barker, “Chasing the Flying Saucers,” Flying Saucers, November 1960,
pp. 22–28; Gray Barker, “Von Poppen Update,” Gray Barker’s Newsletter, no. 17 (December 1982): 8; William S.
Steinman and Wendelle C. Stevens, UFO Crash at Aztec, UFO Photo Archives, 1986; “More about That ‘Roswell
Alien Photo,’” Focus 5, nos. 1–3 (March 31, 1991): 26–28; Clark III 330; Clark IV 366–367) 1:00 a.m. A group of soldiers of the 2nd Armored Division stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, are tasked
with standing guard over a plateau in a remote, fenced-off part of the base. After a few weeks, they see bright
lights in the sky. They approach the plateau and descend slowly and silently. Suddenly, part of the plateau
opens up and they can see light coming from inside. The lights descend into the opening, which closes over
them. (Michael D. Swords, “
Timmermania: A Step Too Far into the Timmerman Files?” IUR 27, no. 4 (Winter 2002–2003): 9; Michael D. Swords,
GrassRoots UFOs: Case Reports from the Timmerman Files, Fund for UFO Research, 2005, p. 146) Day. A student pilot is flying a two-seat Taylorcraft over Los Angeles, California. Just as he turns
to a westerly flight heading, he sees an object speeding across the sky from north to south. Suddenly it stops
abruptly, and the pilot heads toward the object climbing to within a few hundred feet. An intense flash of white
comes from its tail and in less than a minute it is completely out of sight. (“
Recently Reported,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 10 (October 1981): 5) January — Project Sign personnel begin to be reassigned. Loedding disappears from project records.
Deyarmond’s attention goes elsewhere. Truettner makes one last serious attempt at interviewing about nuclear
propulsion (at Oak Ridge, Tennessee) and is given a negative opinion on UFOs by Col.
Ralph L. Wassell. He, too, disappears from the project. The civilian members are relieved of their duties and
reassigned to other intelligence tasks within T-2. For Loedding in particular, his role and prestige are never
the same. After a few further years of intelligence work, both he and Truettner leave AMC. For the higher military
ranks (Llewelyn and Sneider), all we know is that they are soon no longer involved, perhaps not even assigned to
the same base. Even Clingerman and Howard M. McCoy become less involved, perhaps because they have also heard that
their tenures will soon be up and they will be sent to school and then transferred. The only persons left active
on the project are two of the lower ranks: Lieut. Howard W. Smith and civilian George W. Towles. Their job is
reduced basically to collection and filing. In this condition, or worse, the Air Force commitment to a UFO
investigation project will remain until the summer of 1951. (Michael D. Swords, “
Project Sign and the Estimate of the Situation,” JUFOS 7 (2000): 52–53; Clark III 937; Clark IV 1047) January — Early morning. Sarah Elizabeth Lampe watches an odd, disc-like electrical discharge, about
3 feet in diameter, that persists for “fully two minutes” during the Big Snow, 8 miles from Beatty, Nevada.
(“True Mystic Experiences,” Fate 4, no. 2 (March 1951): 84–89) January 1 - 5:00 p.m. Pilot
Thomas A. Rush and his wife are in a private plane with two
passengers flying east of Jackson, Mississippi, into North Jackson Airpark. They see a cigar-
shaped object, 60 feet long and 10 feet wide, cross their path at an altitude of 1,500-1,600
feet. It is only about 500 feet distant and seems to be either dark blue or black in color.
It is shaped like a megaphone, tapering from a diameter of roughly 10 feet at the front end
to four feet at the trailing end. Its speed is approximately 200 mph, and it accelerates to
400-500 mph. The object makes a 50° turn and is visible for 10-12 seconds. (NICAP, "
Cigar-Shaped Object Encountered by Bush Pilot"; Sparks, p. 46; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: 1949, January-June, The Author,
1988, pp. 1-2; Jazz Shaw, "
From the Project Blue Book Archives: A Few Lesser-Known
UFO Cases from Yesteryear," The Debrief, March 7, 2023) January 4 — 2:00 p.m. USAF pilot Capt.
Paul R. Stoney, on the ground at Hickam Field [now part of Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam] near
Honolulu, Hawaii, sees a flat, white, elliptical object about the size of a T-6 aircraft, circle at
about 3,000 feet while oscillating to the right and left. It is apparently several miles off the base
and slowly circling. It is bright white on the underside and darker on top and possesses no other
structures. It proceeds for 15 minutes to make “rhythmical undulation” maneuvers in a cyclical manner.
The “object seemed to maneuver under control at all times completing 360° turns and 90° turns.” The
object then “departed climbing (into the northeast) at accelerated speed out of sight.” (NICAP, “
Disc Circles, Maneuvers, Climbs into the NE”;
Sparks, p. 47) January 5 — The USAF Technical Information Division at Wright-Patterson AFB near Dayton, Ohio,
transmits Project Sign’s list of UFO incidents to the Air Weather Service for analysis and recommendations.
(Jan Aldrich) January 6 — 5:30 p.m. PFC Everitt sees a bright-white, diamond-shaped light in horizontal
flight from southeast to northwest above the Ordnance section at Kirtland AFB, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
It is about 1,500–2,000 feet altitude and flying faster than a jet. Possible meteor. (NICAP, “
Diamond-Shaped Light”;
Sparks, p. 47) January 7 — The Research and Development Board writes a memo to USAF Intelligence on the green
fireballs. It is signed by David Z. Beckley, chief of the R&DB Technical Intelligence Branch. (Michael
Hall and Wendy Connors, “
The Research and Development Board: Unanswered Questions,” IUR 26, no. 2 (Summer 2001): 10) January 10 — FBI special agent Charlton C. McSwain sends a memo to
J. Edgar Hoover enumerating the views of an AMC resident engineer (identified only as “Mr. E”) with the
Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft project at Oak Ridge National Laboratories in Tennessee that
the flying discs are human-made nuclear missiles originating in Russia. (Bruce S. Maccabee, “
UFO Related Information from the FBI Files, Part [4],” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 123 (February 1978): 10–15;
Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: 1949, January–June, The Author, 1988, pp. 6–10) January 11 — Angered over his opposition to defense economization policies and meeting secretly with
Thomas Dewey’s Republicans, Truman tells
Forrestal that
Louis A. Johnson will soon replace him as Secretary
of Defense. btw: Truman was a heartless prick who undoubtedly requested the assasination of Forestal.
Just fyi. January 13 — Col. Eustis L. Poland of US Army Intelligence (G-2) sends a memo on behalf of the Commander
of Fourth Army at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, to the Director of Army Intelligence concerning the
green fireballs. It recommends a scientific study because “these incidents are of such great importance, especially
as they are occurring in the vicinity of sensitive installations.” (Col. Eustis L. Poland, “
Unconventional Aircraft,” January 13, 1949; Good Above,
pp. 265,
482) January 24 — An FBI memo from
D. M. Ladd to
Hoover documents speculation on a Soviet nuclear-powered disc by USAF Col.
Clyde D. Gasser of the Nuclear Energy for the Propulsion of Aircraft (NEPA) project at Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
Gasser reports rumors coming from Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio that nuclear-powered disc-shaped planes might
be making incursions into US airspace and returning to the USSR over the North Pole. (D. M. Ladd, “
Flying Discs,” January 24, 1949) January 27 — 10:20–11:20 p.m. Capt.
Eckerman Sannes, acting chief of the Aircraft Branch at Eglin AFB near Valparaiso, Florida,
and his wife are driving slowly on Cortez Road between Bradenton and Cortez, Florida, when they
observe a “cucumber-shaped” object. The object, seen through binoculars, seems as long as two
Pullman cars, with 7 lighted, square windows. It is throwing sparks and approximately 8–10 miles
away. In the first sighting at 10:20 p.m., the object approaches from the south going north,
moving from an altitude of 8,000 feet in a gradual descent until lost behind trees. In the second
sighting at 11:20 p.m., the object is seen in the north, heading south and making a gradual turn
to the west. It descends then climbs with a bouncing motion (up 4,000 feet, down 2,000 feet) at
about 400–500 mph, resulting in an overall climb and loss to view at an altitude of around 40,000
feet. The bouncing appears to start after the final 270° course change to the west. (NICAP, “
Two Sightings of Object with Lighted Windows”;
Sparks, p. 49) January 30 — 5:54 p.m. Hundreds of people see a green meteor come out of the northwest and vanish
southwest of Roswell, New Mexico. It is completely silent. (NICAP, “
AFOSI Case 18: Green Fireball Event Witnessed in New Mexico”;
Sparks, p. 49; Commanding Officer, Kirtland AFB, “
Nr. OSI-1-90,” January 31, 1949; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: 1949, January–June, The Author, 1988, pp. 15–16; Clark III 540; Clark IV 598–599) January 31 — Kirtland AFB in New Mexico notifies the Pentagon that it will launch an immediate
investigation of the green fireballs, noting that “local commanders [are] perturbed by implications of
phenomena.”
LaPaz speaks to dozens of witnesses of the January 30 fireball and manages a rough triangulation of the
fireball’s 143-mile path from Amarillo to Lamesa, Texas. He estimates its speed at 25,000–50,000 mph, with
a beginning altitude of 60,000 feet and a final altitude around 40,000 feet. LaPaz accompanies search teams
to bring back any fragments. They end up in the area of Lamesa but give up after a few days of fruitless
search. He later tells AFOSI agent Paul Ryan that the fireballs are artificial, perhaps radio-controlled
missiles directed by enemy agents in the Southwest. (Commanding Officer, Kirtland AFB, “
Nr. OSI-1-90,” January 31, 1949; Clark III 540; Clark IV 599) January 31 — The FBI field office in San Antonio, Texas, issues a memo on UFOs, “Protection of Vital
Installations.” It is sent to
Hoover, G-2, ONI, OSI, and mentions a meeting among these groups on UFOs, “considered top secret by intelligence
officers of both the army and the air forces.” (SAC, San Antonio, “
Protection of Vital Installations, Bureau File #65-58300,” January 31, 1949; ClearIntent,
p. 149; Good Above,
pp. 267,
483) February — Chemist
H. Marshall Chadwell, from the New York office of the Atomic Energy Commission, is appointed assistant
director of scientific intelligence at the CIA. (Jan Aldrich) Early February — Writer
Sidney Shalett is given a guided tour of AMC at Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio, a glimpse of low-interest
UFO cases, and a few conservative opinions by Air Force personnel. (Swords 73) February 1 — Col. Hanna (?), assistant chief of the Power Plant Laboratory (at Wright-Patterson?)
and project engineer for Project Sign, meets with other Project Sign personnel and concludes that nuclear-
powered UFOs are improbable. (Project Status Report on Project Sign, February 4, 1949; Jan Aldrich) February 8 — UCLA geophysicist
Joseph Kaplan meets with
LaPaz at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. He finds LaPaz’s understanding of the green fireball
reports unsettling. He discusses the matter with Capt. Melvin Neef and Maj. William Godsoe (Fourth Army
Intelligence liaison officer at Sandia Base). He promises to alert Scientific Advisory Board chairman
Von Kármán and urge an investigation. (Clark III 540; Clark IV 599) February 11 —
Kaplan meets in Washington, D.C., with
Von Kármán, who is impressed enough to write Gen.
Charles P. Cabell that the green fireballs look like a serious issue that needs to be addressed, perhaps
by
LaPaz. (Swords 79, 497) February 11 — Project Sign releases a final sanitized report, “Unidentified Aerial Objects:
Project ‘Sign,’” Technical Report F-TR-2274-1A, authored by Lawrence Truettner and
Albert B. Deyarmond and approved by Col. Clingerman (chief of USAF Technical Intelligence Division) and Col. Howard M. McCoy (chief of the Intelligence Department). 72 pages are visible in the NICAP copy and 1,537 pages
(some illegible) are available on the Blue Book microfilm. Its conclusions, that 20% of the “incidents have
been identified as conventional aerial objects,” are based on 273 reports (243 US and 30 foreign) and it
summarizes the characteristics of four types of UFOs: flying discs, cigar-shaped objects, spherical objects,
and balls of light. It acknowledges the possibility that “these aerial objects are visitors from another planet”
and refers to commentary in Appendix D by
James Everett Lipp of the RAND Corporation (his December 13, 1948, letter to Brig. Gen.
Donald Putt. “No definite and conclusive evidence is yet available that would prove or disprove the existence
of these unidentified objects as real aircraft of unknown and unconventional configuration. It is unlikely that
positive proof of their existence will be obtained without examination of the remains of crashed objects....
Evaluation of reports of unidentified objects is a necessary activity of military intelligence agencies. Such
sightings are inevitable, and under wartime conditions rapid and convincing solutions of such occurrences are
necessary to maintain morale of military and civilian personnel. In this respect, it is considered that the
establishment of procedures and training of personnel is in itself worth the effort expended on this project.”
In Appendix C, physicist
George E. Valley breaks down the characteristics and patterns of the most reliable sightings. Truettner
and Deyarmond, in a between-the-lines rebuke of
Cabell’s order not to consider the ETH, recommend that if enough cases are examined and proven to have no
security risks, then the project should be terminated. The report is distributed to AMC, USAF Intelligence
Directorate, ONR, Cambridge Labs, Air Weather Services,
Hynek at Ohio State University, the RAND Project, and the USAF Scientific Advisory Board. (
Sparks, p. 12; L. H. Truettner and A. B. Deyarmond,
Unidentified Aerial Objects: Project “Sign,” Air Materiel Command Technical Report no. F-TR-2274-IA,
February 1949; Swords 72; Clark III 457, 935; Graff 51–54; Eghigian, After, p. 59; Clark IV 502–503, 1045) February 12 — Project Sign officially becomes Project Grudge. (
Sparks, p. 12; Clark III 932; Eghigian, After, p. 59; Clark IV 1042) February 15 — Maj. Gen.
Cabell sets out a revised list of Air Intelligence reporting requirements for “unconventional aircraft.”
(Maj. Gen. C. P. Cabell, “
Unconventional Aircraft,” Air Intelligence Requirements Memorandum no. 5, February 15, 1949) February 16 — A Conference on Aerial Phenomena is held at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory in New
Mexico with military representatives—meteoriticist
Lincoln LaPaz and physicists
Norris E. Bradbury,
Marshall Holloway,
Frederick Reines, and
Edward Teller—in attendance. Representatives from Project Grudge are noticeably absent. LaPaz tells the
attendees that while most meteors are blue-green, the green fireballs are described as pale green or yellow-
green. Normal meteors rarely move in long, horizontal paths with nearly constant velocities. He says there
are 10 incidents that strongly fit the pattern and 20 others that might. The scientists agree to set up a series
of instrument stations to photograph and analyze the fireballs. Teller thinks the fireballs might be
electrical-optical phenomena. Navy Commander Richard S. Mandelkorn, who is in attendance, writes in his
report that “there is cause for concern of the continued occurrences of unexplainable phenomena of
this nature in the vicinity of sensitive installations.” (Cmdr. Richard S. Mandelkorn,
Report of a Trip to Los Alamos, New Mexico, 16 February 1949, February 18, 1949; Lt. Col. Doyle Rees, [
Minutes of February 16 Conference on Aerial Phenomena, Los Alamos], March 29, 1949; Ruppelt,
pp. 50–54; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: 1949, January–June, The Author, 1988, pp. 23–53; Good Above,
pp. 265–266; Swords 79–80; Clark IV 599) February 17 — 5:57 p.m. University of New Mexico Professor of Civil Engineering Marvin May
sees a brilliant white object in the west at 6° elevation for less than 6 minutes in Albuquerque, New
Mexico. The object is first round then shifts to an ellipse as it approaches, then it appears to be
elongated like a bent pipe with corners, one full moon in length. It makes a slight climbing turn to
the north, shifts to peach color as it makes a rapid sharp turning climb to the south, disappearing
in cloudless sky by diminishing in size and brightness. At the same time, 100 guards at Sandia Base,
New Mexico, including the officer of the guard, see a yellow-orange cigar-shaped object for seven
minutes. (NICAP, “
AFOSI Case 24: Vertical Climb, Then Leveled Off”;
Sparks, p. 50) February 18 —
Cabell writes
von Kármán and says he has a transcript of the Los Alamos meeting and that Hynek is studying the green
fireballs topic. He adds: “It seems unlikely that domestic incidents can be attributed to the activity of
a foreign power or a science unknown to our specialists.” (Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: 1949, January–June, The Author, 1988, pp. 12–13) February 18 — A Fourth Air Force letter quotes Project Sign’s requirements for radar reporting,
as stated by the Continental Air Command (NORAD’s predecessor) on February 4. The USAF Air Defense Command
is subordinate to ConAC at this time. The requirements admit that a “large number of targets appearing on
radar screens remain unidentified.” It refers to Col. Howard M. McCoy’s November 30, 1948, letter on Sign’
s preference for radar tracks of aerial objects that show extremely fast or slow speeds, vertical or near
vertical ascent or descent, extraordinary maneuverability, and extreme altitudes. (Clark III 810; Clark IV
903) February 23 — Col. Howard M. McCoy sends Capt. Roger Groseclose and Lt. Howard Smith to Kirtland
AFB’s Office of Special Investigations to discuss the green fireballs with
LaPaz and Neef and to mollify them for not showing up at the February 16 conference. (Clark III 541;
Clark IV 599) February 24 — Groseclose and Smith have an unpleasant exchange with Neef,
LaPaz, Agent Jack Boling, and Army Maj. Godsoe, who says it’s not worth AFOSI’s time to conduct
investigations for AMC. The AMC officers retort that the fireballs are not an Army concern. Groseclose
and Smith say they are concerned with all anomalous aerial phenomena. Disgusted, Godsoe leaves the room.
Groseclose and Smith then turn on LaPaz, criticizing him for only sending AMC raw data and not finished
analyses. LaPaz says he is on leave as a volunteer and must go back to the University of New Mexico,
unless he sees a contract. However, AMC agrees to set up a network of observation posts with cameras,
transits, and trained personnel. (Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: 1949, January–June, The Author, 1988, pp. 11, 14–15; Clark III 541; Clark IV 599 February or March - 4:30 p.m. A representative of the International Petroleum Company, a
subsidiary of Standard Oil of New Jersey, is driving north along the Pan-American Highway
about 6 miles south of Lima, Peru, when he sees a metallic disc hovering low above the desert
on his right. He walks over to it, and three mummy-like creatures about 5 feet tall emerge.
They speak to him in both English and Spanish, explaining to him that they come from another
star system, are concerned about our use of atomic energy, use solar power, no longer have
sex, and reproduce by subdividing. They invite him inside the disc, which from the inside
has transparent walls. He sees no instruments, only a padded ledge. (Lorenzen, UFOs over the
Americas, Signet, 1968, pp. 122-148) March — Strategic Air Command head Gen.
Curtis LeMay delivers the first SAC Emergency War Plan, which calls for dropping 133 atomic bombs on 70
cities in the USSR within 30 days. LeMay predicts that World War III will last no longer than 30 days.
(Wikipedia, “
Curtis LeMay”) March 2 —
Sidney Shalett provides the USAF Directorate of Intelligence a draft of his upcoming article for review.
The Air Force is not pleased, objecting to Shalett stating an “official” USAF position, his claim that the Air
Force is his sole source of information (although it is), a quote by
Irving Langmuir criticizing Project Sign, and any inference that the Air Force and Navy are not cooperating.
(Swords 73) March 6–7 — 8:30 p.m. Army Pvts. Martin Fensterman and Frank Luisi, on security patrol
near Killeen Base [now West Fort Hood], Texas, a nuclear weapons storage site, see a flash of pale
blue light in the sky to the northeast. At 8:55 p.m., a quarter mile away, Pvt. Harold Moore sees
a white light with an orange trail flash across the western horizon. At 9:00 p.m., from inside the
base boundary, Sgt. Hubert Vickery and Pfc. John Ransom notice a pale blue-white light streaking
across the western sky low over the horizon. Between 1:15 and 2:00 a.m., four more security patrols
report burst of lights like a flash bulb. (
Sparks, pp. 50–51; SAC, San Antonio, “
Protection of Vital Installations, Bureau File 65-58300,” March 22, 1949; “
Fort Hood Sightings, 1949,” Texas UFO Museum and
Research Library, February 5, 2014; Clark III 541–542, 1053; Clark IV 600, 1168) March 8 — 1:03 a.m. Two infantrymen half a mile apart at Killeen Base, Texas, see apparently separate
streaking bright lights (one white, the other yellowish red). The latter one covers 60° of sky, appearing and
disappearing at about the same angle above the horizon. Cpl. Luke Sims is able to run 10 paces to a field
telephone before it vanishes. All observers insist these are not meteors and are more like flares. (NICAP, “
Killeen Base, Camp Hood, Texas, OSI Case 39”;
Sparks, p. 52; SAC, San Antonio, “
Protection of Vital Installations, Bureau File 65-58300,” March 22, 1949; Clark III 542; Clark IV 600) March 13 — 9:53 p.m. Two MPs guarding the Technical Area at Sandia Base, New Mexico,
see a silent, spherical object, bluish- or greenish-white, with a flaming blue tail twice as
long as the body, which is apparently half the size of the full moon. (NICAP, “
March 13, 1949, Sandia Base, NM, OSI Case 40”;
Sparks, p. 52) March 15 —A memo on UFOs to
Willard Machle by physicist
Albert M. Stone from the CIA Office of Scientific Investigation dismisses the idea of UFOs as foreign
aircraft and suggests they are misidentifications of other phenomena. (“
Flying Saucers,” letter from Dr. Machle to Dr. Stone, March 15, 1949; ClearIntent,
p. 113) March 17 — Seven sightings of large, green, red, and white flares take place at Killeen Base,
Texas, including the previously skeptical Capt. Horace McCulloch, assistant G-2 of the Second Armored
Division at Camp Hood, who is driving between Camp Hood and Killeen Base to prepare a test firing of
some flares to prove that recent sightings are not anomalous. McCulloch puts the entire base on alert. (
Sparks, p. 52; Clark III 542; Clark IV 600) March 22 — SAC San Antonio, Texas, sends a memo to FBI headquarters regarding the January 31
communication on Protection of Vital Installations, emphasizing that USAF and the Army consider the matter
“secret.” Fourth Army Intelligence is now calling UFOs “unconventional aircraft” and ATIC’s office is now
Project Grudge. It also discusses green fireball cases. (SAC, San Antonio, “
Protection of Vital Installations, Bureau File 65-58300,” March 22, 1949) March 25 —
J. Edgar Hoover sends a memo to a large number of FBI offices indicating that “flying discs are believed
to be man-made missiles rather than natural phenomenon,” probably made in Russia. (John Edgar Hoover, “
Flying Discs,” March 25, 1949; ClearIntent,
p. 161) March 28 —
James Forrestal leaves office in a formal ceremony. He rides back to the Pentagon with his opponent
Stuart Symington, who talks to him about something troubling. Forrestal appears traumatized. Forrestal
sits in his office, dazed and incoherent, repeating, “You are a loyal fellow.” March 31 —
Forrestal is flown to Hobe Beach, Florida, to stay with his friend Under Secretary of State
Robert A. Lovett, where his wife is vacationing. He meets with psychiatrist
William C. Menninger (who diagnoses “severe depression” of the type “seen in operational fatigue during
the war”) and psychologist Capt.
George N. Raines from the Naval Hospital at Bethesda, Maryland. Forrestal has several hysterical episodes
when they are there, ranting about Communists following him, and perhaps one suicide attempt. March 31 — CIA’s H. L. Bowers writes a memo to Dr.
Machle, “Notes and Comments on Unidentified Aerial Objects--Project Sign,” stating that
Deyarmond thinks UFOs will turn out to be another “sea serpent.” Nonetheless, they must be investigated.
(Document released to
Brad Sparks but not in subsequent CIA FOIA releases; Good Above,
p. 330) March 31 —11:50 p.m. Lieut. Frederick Davis, on patrol east of Killeen Base, Texas,
sees a reddish-white ball of fire passing horizontally above the base airstrip. After 10–15
seconds it disappears without descending. He notes interference on the telephone line when he
calls the report in. (NICAP, “
Field Telephone Affected by BOL”;
Sparks, p. 53; Clark III 542; Clark IV 600) April 2 —
Menninger and
Raines fly
Forrestal to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, where he can be treated quietly. On
the drive to the hospital from the airport, Forrestal attempts to jump out of the car but is restrained.
Forrestal declares he does not expect to leave the hospital alive. He is admitted under the care of Raines,
who diagnoses him with involutional melancholia and places him in a VIP suite on the 16th floor. Forrestal’s
personal diaries are removed from his old office and taken to the White House, where they remain for a year. April 3 — Broadcaster
Walter Winchell announces on his radio program that the “flying saucers, never explained by anyone in
authority are now definitely known to have been guided missiles shot all the way from Russia.” (Michael
David Hall and Wendy Ann Connors, Captain Edward J. Ruppelt: Summer of the Saucers, Rose Press International,
2000, p. 14; “
Anatomy of a Hoax, Part Two,” Saturday Night Uforia; Clark III 542; Clark IV 600) April 5 —10:00 p.m. A huge green fireball with a red afterglow is seen streaking approximately
300 feet above the southern slope of Fejarito Mountain, near Los Alamos, New Mexico. It disappears behind
the mountain. Another fireball is seen at 11:00 p.m., and the next two nights. (NICAP, “
1949 UFO Chronology”;
Sparks, p. 54) April 8 — In response to
Winchell’s claim, the Air Force admits it is impossible to “deny categorically”
that the flying saucers originate in Russia. A spokesman says that some unknown incidents are placed in a
classified category, denied to everyone except authorized military personnel. (“
Air Force Isn’t Committing Self on Flying Disks,” Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Gazette, April 8, 1949, p. 22) April 9 —
Forrestal has been treated for one week at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, with
narcosis through sodium amytal. For the next 30 days, he undergoes a regimen of insulin sub-shock combined
with psycho-therapeutic interviews.
Raines says the treatment occasionally throws Forrestal into a confused state with a great deal of agitation
and confusion. April 14 — Col. Reid Lumsden, commander of the AFOSI district office at Kelly AFB [now Kelly Field
Annex] in San Antonio, Texas, hands the Army reports of flares at Killeen Base to Col. William Carpenter,
deputy director of special investigations at the Pentagon. Carpenter promises to investigate. (Clark III 542;
Clark IV 600) April 16 and 18 — Mysterious flares are again observed at Killeen Base, Texas. (Brad Sparks and Jerome
Clark, “
The Southwestern Lights, Part Three,” IUR 10, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1985): 10; Clark III 542; Clark IV 601) April 18 — The US Air Force Security Service moves its headquarters from Arlington Hall in Washington,
D.C., to Brooks Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. (Wikipedia, “
Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency”) April 19 — AFOSI at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, sends to USAF headquarters a list of all green fireball
reports it has investigated (39 in all) from December 5 to April 12. The common characteristics of most of the
incidents are: “a. Green color, sometimes described as greenish-white, bright green, yellow-green, or blue
green. b. Horizontal path, sometimes with minor variations. c. Speed less than that of a meteor, but more than
any known type of aircraft. d. No sound associated with observation. e. No persistent trail or dust cloud. f.
Period of visibility from one to five seconds.” (“
The Scientific Advisory Board to the Chief of Staff, United States Air Force, Conference,” November 3, 1949;
Swords 133–135; Clark III 541; Clark IV 599–600) April 22 — 9:05 a.m. A round, flat, thin, metallic disc is seen traveling west to east,
dropping slowly, over Cliff, New Mexico. (
Sparks, p. 55) April 24 — 10:30 a.m. General Mills meteorologist
Charles B. Moore and four Navy Skyhook balloon launch crewmen (Navy Chief Fire Controlman William Akers,
Davidson, Fitzsimmons, Moorman) see a white, round object, shadowed yellowish on one side, cross the sky from
the south to the east, three miles north of Arrey, New Mexico. Joseph Gordon Vaeth is present as the Navy
representative in charge of ground handling. Moore tracks it for 60 seconds on a theodolite. The distance is
unknown, but assuming the object is 57 miles away, it would have a velocity of 18,000 mph, a width of 40 feet,
and a length of 100 feet; but this is speculative. (NICAP, “
White Sands Incident / C. B. Moore Case”;
Sparks, pp. 56–57; R. B. McLaughlin, [
Letter to J. A. VanAllen], May 12, 1949; Robert McLaughlin, “
How Scientists Tracked a Flying Saucer,” True, March 1950, pp. 25–27, 96–99; J. Gordon Vaeth, 200 Miles
Up: The Conquest of the Upper Air, Ronald Press, 1956 ed.,
pp. 114–116; UFOEv,
pp. 2–3; James E. McDonald, “
Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House
Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, pp. 63–64; Hynek, The UFO
Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974,
pp. 72–73; ClearIntent,
pp. 114–115; Brad Sparks and Jerome Clark, “
The Southwestern Lights, Part Three,” IUR 10, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1985): 8–9; Kevin D. Randle, “
Charles Moore, New Mexico UFOs, and the Air Force,” IUR 20, no. 5 (Winter 1995): 3–4; Michael D. Swords, “
1952: Ruppelt’s Big Year,” IUR 28, no. 4 (Winter 2003–2004): 10; Michael D. Swords, “
Balloons, Missiles, and UFOs,” IUR 29, no. 1 (Spring 2004):16–17; Swords 84–85; “
Arrey, NM Case of 4-24-1949 — Prof. Charles B. Moore,” Ufology: A Primer in Audio, 1938–1959, November 21.
2013; Clark III 376, 541; Clark IV 420, 600) April 25 — 6:30 a.m. A man named Abreu and a friend are fishing at Springer Lake, northwest
of Springer, New Mexico, when they hear a high-pitched whistle and see a number of silvery-white balls
passing overhead quickly. They reappear repeatedly over the next hour. (NICAP, “
Various Formations Observed”;
Sparks, p. 57; Clark III 541; Clark IV 600) April 25 — Lt. Col. Doyle Rees wires AFOSI headquarters to ask if he can send two of his men to AMC
to find out if Project Grudge plans to do anything about the green fireballs. Before Rees has a response,
Joseph Kaplan arrives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, having been directed there by AF Intelligence Director
Maj. Gen.
Charles Cabell and Scientific Advisory Board Chairman
Theodore von Kármán, who wants Kaplan to set up a field investigation. They emphasize that Grudge is not to
be informed. (Loren E. Gross,
The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1949 January–June, Supplemental Notes, The Author,
2000, p. 52; Clark III 542; Clark IV 600–601) April 27 — Rees,
Kaplan, and
LaPaz brief Armed Forces Special Weapons Project personnel at Sandia Base, New Mexico. LaPaz outlines plans
for a network of visual, photographic, spectrographic, and radar observations covering Los Alamos, Sandia, and
White Sands. Scientist William D. Crozier of the New Mexico School of Mines offers to handle air sampling. Rees
urges that the Killeen Base in Texas be included. Kaplan, who says the project is “of extreme importance” because
“these occurrences relate to the National Defense of the United States,” recommends LaPaz to handle the project.
(Lt. Col. Doyle Rees, “
Unknown (Aerial Phenomena),” May 12, 1949; Loren E. Gross,
The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1949 January–June, Supplemental Notes, The Author,
2000, pp. 60–62; Clark III 542, 916–917; Clark IV 601, 1027) April 27 — USAF Directorate of Intelligence briefs the USAF Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations on
UFOs. “Investigations continue in an effort to find definite explanations for the many unidentified aerial
objects which have been reported during the past two years.” (“
Unidentified Aerial Objects,” Air Brief, Special Study Part Two, April 27, 1949; Loren E. Gross,
The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1949 January–June, Supplemental Notes, The Author,
2000, pp. 57–58) April 27 — A 22-page memorandum for the press (629-49) on “Project Saucer” is released by the Pentagon
Office of Public Information, scheduled deliberately to coincide with part one of
Shalett’s article in the Saturday Evening Post. The writer is unknown, but it is more pro-ETH than the current
Project Grudge mentality, listing several solid and dramatic cases. It concludes: “The ‘saucers’ are not a joke.
Neither are they a cause for alarm to the population.” The discrepancy between Shalett’s mostly dismissive tone
and the positivity of the Project Saucer statement causes Maj.
Donald E. Keyhoe to wonder if there is a major disagreement about UFOs within the Air Force. (National
Military Establishment, Office of Public Information, “
Project ‘Saucer,’” April 27, 1949; Jack Vincent, “
AF Probe Proves ‘Flying Saucers’ Are Not a Joke,” Dayton (Ohio) Journal Herald, April 27, 1949, pp. 1, 9;
Swords 74–75; Eghigian, After, pp. 56–57) April 27 — 9:20 p.m. Two Army patrolmen southeast of Killeen Base, Texas, see a blinking
violet light no more than 1.5 inches in diameter and only 10–12 feet from them, 6–7 feet above the
ground. During the 60-second observation, the light passes through the branches of a tree. At 9:25
p.m., 2 miles away, four Army soldiers see a 4-inch light with a 2–4-inch metallic cone attached to
the back. It silently approaches them in a level flight at 60–70 mph. It disappears to the southwest
at a distance of 150 feet. At about 9:37 p.m., a 2-inch-wide purplish-white light appears 100 feet
away to the northwest, flying in a zig-zag fashion in a level path 6–7 feet above the ground. When
they attempt to approach it to investigate, it suddenly zooms away down the road at a high rate of
speed before the light shuts off and the object disappears. A third light shows up at 9:39 p.m. in
the west-southwest. (NICAP, “
Close Encounters with Drones/Probes at Weapons Storage Site”;
Sparks, pp. 57–58; Brad Sparks and Jerome Clark, “
The Southwestern Lights, Part Three,” IUR 10, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1985):
10; Clark III 542; Jazz Shaw, “
From the Project Blue Book Archives: A Few Lesser-Known
UFO Cases from Yesteryear,” The Debrief, March 7, 2023; Clark IV 601) April 28 — USAF Director of Intelligence
Charles Cabell sends a report on “Unidentified Aerial Objects” to the Joint Intelligence Committee. It summarizes
the history of Project Sign up to its redesignation as Grudge and adds an appendix on “Unidentified Aerial Objects:
Fact and Discussion,” which is basically a short version of the sanitized February 11 Sign report, with some
green fireball information added. It recommends sending reports of unidentified “light phenomena” to the scientific
community and reports of “atomic powered craft of unusual design” to the AEC. It concludes that “There are numerous
reports from reliable and competent observers for which a conclusive explanation has not been made” and that some
“involve configurations and described performance which might conceivably represent an advanced aerodynamical
development. A few unexplained incidents surpass these limits of credulity. It is unlikely that a foreign power
would expose a superior aerial weapon by a prolonged ineffectual penetration of the United States.” This essentially
resurrects the ETH as a possibility, without clearly stating it. (“
Report by the Director of Intelligence, USAF, to the Joint Intelligence Committee on Unidentified Aerial Objects,”
April 28, 1949; Jan Aldrich, “
Top-Secret 1949 Document,” IUR 23, no. 1 (Spring 1998): 3–6, 31; Loren E. Gross,
The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1949 January–June, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2000,
p. 64; Swords 76–77) April 28 — Some printed copies of Air Intelligence Report 100-203-79, “Analysis of Flying Object
Incidents in the United States,” bear this date, although it was originally released December 10, 1948. (US
Air Force, Directorate of Intelligence,
Analysis of Flying Object Incidents in the U.S.: Summary and Conclusions, Air Intelligence Report 100-203-
79, December 10, 1948; copy, dated April 28, 1949) April 28 —
Kaplan,
LaPaz, Rees, and Neef meet with security officers at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico to discuss
green fireball observations at that facility. (Loren E. Gross,
The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1949 January–June, Supplemental Notes, The Author,
2000, pp. 62–63) April 28 — 8:00 a.m. Businessman and private pilot
Leon A. Faber is flying at 3,000 feet near the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, Indiana,
when he sees a metallic disc moving east about 10,000 feet away. He is chatting with some ham radio
operators on the ground during the 5 minutes the object is in sight before it disappears. (NICAP, “
Flying Saucer Observed from Aircraft”; NICAP, [
newsclips]; “
‘Flying Saucer’ Sighted over Gary by Incredulous Businessman-Flyer,”
Terre Haute (Ind.) Star, April 29, 1949, pp. 1–2) April 28 — 5:45 p.m. W. Howard Hamm, John J. Huber, and H. C. “Tex” Keahey see a very
large, bright, sausage-shaped object travel from northeast to southwest over the rim of the Catalina
Mountains near Tucson, Arizona, over a period of 12 minutes. The object is shiny metallic and reflects
the sun, apparently revolving as it moves like the “slow roll of an airplane.” There is no noise, nor
is there exhaust or a vapor trail. There are no wings or engines or “protuberances of any sort.” It
appears to be traveling at 300–600 mph. (NICAP, “
Cigar-Shaped Object Observed in Daylight”; Clark III 541; Clark IV 600) April 28 — 8:30 p.m. Several security patrols at Killeen Base, Texas, report nine separate
sightings of lights southeast of the base. Most change color from white to red to green. On one
occasion, four lights appear together; on another, 8–10 show up in each other’s company. No debris
or evidence of flares are found. (
Sparks, p. 58; Brad Sparks and Jerome Clark, “
The Southwestern Lights, Part Three,” IUR 10, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1985):
10; Clark III 543; Clark IV 601) April 29 — The April 30 issue of the Saturday Evening Post with part one of
Sidney Shalett’s “What You Can Believe about Flying
Saucers” hits the newsstands. The USAF Public Relations Office has cooperated fully with journalist
Shalett, who sets out a fairly even-handed introduction to the UFO phenomenon. (Sidney Shalett, “
What You Can Believe about Flying Saucers, Part One,” Saturday Evening Post, April 30, 1949,
pp. 20–21, 136–139; Swords 73; Graff 55–56) April 30 —
Hynek turns in his astronomical analysis of Project Sign’s 237 cases. His contract with Sign is over. (J.
Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974,
pp. 199–200; Hynek UFO Report,
p. 17; O’Connell 45; John Greenewald, “
Report on Unidentified Aerial and Celestial Objects, Project 364, April 30, 1949, by Dr. J. Allen Hynek,”
The Black Vault, August 25, 2022) May 4 — The US Fourth Army creates an operational plan for a green fireball observation and tracking
network at Killeen Base in Camp Hood, Texas. Although it lacks cameras, it has four six-man observation posts
equipped with instruments to obtain directional bearings. One of the posts serves as the plotting center to
coordinate and triangulate UFO sightings. Each day, a roving patrol gets new orders. (Brad Sparks and Jerome
Clark, “
The Southwestern Lights, Part Three,” IUR 10, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1985): 10–12; Thomas Tulien, ed.,
Proceedings of the Sign Historical Group UFO History Workshop, Sign Historical Group, November 2001, pp.
43–44; Clark III 543, 1053; “
1949-05-04: US Army Establishes UFO Tracking Net at Killeen Base,” Tom Owens UAP YouTube channel, May 16,
2020; Clark IV 1168) May 5 — 11:40 a.m. Army officers Maj. Charles D. May Jr., Maj. James N. Olhausen, and
Capt.
Molloy C. Vaughn on the Waco no. 4 firing range at Fort Bliss, Texas, watch for 30–50 seconds
two oblong white discs pass through a field of fire. They are flying at about 200–250 mph at an
altitude of 1,000 feet. The objects make a shallow turn. (NICAP, “
May 5, 1949, 1140 MST, Fort Bliss, Texas”;
Sparks, p. 59) May 6 - Soviet test pilot Arkady Ivanovich Apraksin takes a new airplane for a flight at
the Kapustin Yar site, Astrakhan Oblast, Russia. At its maximum ceiling of 9.3 miles, he encounters
a cucumber-shaped object, similar to the one he encountered on June 16, 1948, that directs cones of
light at his aircraft from a distance of 6-7 miles. The lights cause his communications equipment
to fail and damage part of his plexiglass cockpit canopy that results in a loss of air pressure.
He manages to land on the banks of the Volga River 30 miles from Saratov. He wakes up in a hospital
in Saratov. He again undergoes intense interrogation, psychotherapy, and medical procedures. (Joe
Brill, "
UFO's behind the Iron Curtain," Skylook, no. 87 (February
1975): 15; Good Above,
pp. 221-223) May 6 — Part two of
Shalett’s article on UFOs appears in the May 7 issue of the Saturday Evening Post, which takes
a more skeptical tone than the first part, with the Gorman case receiving a particularly harsh thrashing.
However, he treats Chiles-Whitted favorably and ends with some hints on how to make good observations.
Within a few days, the frequency of UFO reports hits an all-time high. USAF issues another long press
release completely debunking UFOs, but it has no effect. (Sidney Shalett, “
What You Can Believe about Flying Saucers, Part Two,” Saturday Evening Post, May 7, 1949, pp. 36,
184–186; Ruppelt,
p. 63; Swords 74) May 7 — 6:00 p.m. A Mr. and Mrs. Vaughn are sitting outside their home in St. Louis, Missouri,
near the Mississippi River when they see a strange craft fly over their location. They describe it as
being more triangular in shape than a “saucer.” They both describe it as a ruddy brown or red color
and it is shaped like a stingray, except without the typical stinging tail. It flies rapidly and seems
to oscillate from side to side. They watch it for 45 seconds. Grudge investigators eventually write the
sighting off as “probably” being an aircraft, despite the fact that no record is found of any commercial
or military aircraft flying over their home at that time. (
Sparks, p. 60; Jazz Shaw, “
From the Project Blue Book Archives: A Few Lesser-
Known UFO Cases from Yesteryear,” The Debrief, March 7, 2023) May 9 — An article in Time magazine reports on the Air Force press release, remarking that “Spinners
of yarns about flying saucers, including a score or so of Air Force pilots, stuck stoutly to their stories.” (“
Things That Go Whiz,” Time, May 9, 1949; “
Anatomy of a Hoax, Part Six,” Saturday Night Uforia) May 9 — Editor
Ken Purdy asks Maj.
Donald E. Keyhoe to investigate the flying saucer mystery for True magazine, warning him to watch out for
“fake tips” from the Pentagon. Keyhoe is initially skeptical, but after talking to his old friends Adm. Delmer
S. Fahrney and Adm. Calvin M. Bolster, his opinion changes. (Keyhoe 1950,
pp. 18–22,
41; Powell, Keyhoe, 64–67; Graff 57–58) May 9 — Naval Unit Commander
Robert B. McLaughlin, with several other officers, witnesses a white object overhead during the
launch of a WAC Corporal B rocket at White Sands Proving Ground, New Mexico. It disappears “in a
blinding burst of speed to the west.” (R. B. McLaughlin, [
Letter to J. A. VanAllen], May 12, 1949;
Sparks, p. 61) May 9 - 2:30 p.m. A professional flight engineer and former military pilot is relaxing in
a lawn chair outside his home at 939 Benton Boulevard in Tucson, Arizona, when he sees two
round objects pass directly overhead. Their shape could have been mistaken as balloons until
they execute a turn in formation, banking in the process. At that point, he can clearly see
that they are flat, and he estimates them to be roughly 25 feet in diameter. Also, he
estimates that they are traveling between 750 and 1,000 miles per hour, faster than anything
should have been flying at that time. They make another course correction and continue on
until they pass out of sight over the nearby mountains. (National Archives, [Blue Book file],
"
Tucson, Arizona, May 1949: Incident Number: 337"; Jazz Shaw, "
From the Project Blue Book Archives: A Few Lesser-
Known UFO Cases from Yesteryear," The Debrief, March 7, 2023) May 12 — Commander
McLaughlin writes to his friend, atmospheric physicist
James Van Allen, describing the
Moore theodolite case and his own sighting a few days earlier.
He thinks they must involve technology because they have been seen accelerating and maneuvering.
(R. B. McLaughlin, [
Letter to J. A. VanAllen], May 12, 1949) May 18 —
Walter Winchell, in his “On Broadway” syndicated column, writes: “The N.Y. World-Telegram on
Saturday [May 14] confirmed this reporter’s exclusive report of several weeks before—which newspapermen
have denied—about the Flying Saucers . . . Said the front-page piece in the W-T: ‘Air Force people are
convinced the flying disc is real. The clincher came when the air force got a picture recently of three
discs flying formation over Stephenville, Newfoundland. [The July 10, 1947, hole-in-the-cloud case?]
They outdistanced our fastest ships. Some air force men believe the discs are a new type flying machine
utilizing gyroscopic principles’ . . . At the time we added that the reality of the flying discs or
saucers could not be denied truthfully.” (Walter Winchell, “
On Broadway,” Burlington (N.C.) Daily Times-News,
May 18, 1949, p. 4; “
Anatomy of a Hoax, Part Two,” Saturday Night Uforia) May 19 — Wright-Patterson Air Material Intelligence Commander Col. Howard M. McCoy forwards a copy
of the Project Sign final report to the Research and Development Board, along with some appendices that later
find their way into the Project Grudge final report. (Michael Hall and Wendy Connors, “
The Research and Development Board: Unanswered Questions,”
IUR 26, no. 2 (Summer 2001): 10) May 19 — The Fourth Army’s observation system near Killeen Base, Texas (without cameras,
but with four 6-man observation posts equipped with instruments), is revealed to the intelligence
community at one of its weekly meetings. Two trucks serve as a roving Artillery Patrol observation
post linked to the Killeen plotting center by radio. AFOSI Lt. Col.
Doyle Rees has meanwhile set up a 24-hour visual observation post in the Sandia Mountains near
Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is equipped with a wide-angle-lens camera fitted with a spectrographic
grating. (Brad Sparks and Jerome Clark, “
The Southwestern Lights, Part Three,” IUR 10, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1985): 12; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs: A History: January–June 1949, The Author, 1988, p. 86; Loren E. Gross,
The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1949 January–June, Supplemental Notes,
The Author, 2000, pp. 86–87; Thomas Tulien, ed.,
Proceedings of the Sign Historical Group UFO History Workshop, Sign Historical Group, November 2001, pp. 43–44; Clark III 543; Clark IV 601) May 21 - 1:30 p.m. An F-82 is dispatched from Moses Lake AFB [now Grant County International
Airport] in Washington State to intercept a UFO that is hovering in restricted air space over the
Hanford Atomic Works at an altitude of 17,000-20,000 feet. The silvery disc is seen from the ground
at Hanford and on radar. Before the F-82 can take off, the disc speeds away faster than a jet fighter.
It disappears from ground radar and the F-82 cannot locate it. (NICAP, "
Hanford AEC Plant / F-82/RV Case";
Sparks, p. 63; Hynek UFO Report,
p. 141) May 22 — 1:45 a.m. At the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland,
Forrestal is awake and refuses a sedative. Five minutes later, the Navy corpsman guarding him finds the
room empty. Forrestal’s body is found on a third-floor roof below the 16th-floor kitchen, No suicide note is
found other than part of a translation of
Sophocles’s tragedy Ajax that he is copying. (Wikipedia, “
James Forrestal”; J. C. Hawkins, Betrayal at Bethesda: The Intertwined Fates of James Forrestal, Joseph
McCarthy, and John F. Kennedy, The Author, 2017; David Martin, The Assassination of James Forrestal, McCabe,
2019) May 24 — 5:00 p.m. Five witnesses (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics’ Ames Laboratory
employees Don Heaphy, Gilbert Rivera and his wife, Mrs. Roy L. McBeth, and Mrs. William McBeth) on a
fishing boat on the Rogue River, Oregon, near Elephant Rock, see a round, silvery object the size of
a transport aircraft. It comes from the east, then turns southwest and leaves no exhaust trail. The
disc appears flattened and has a wrinkled surface with a vertical stabilizer fin. The time of
observation is less than 3 minutes. (NICAP, “
The Rogue River Incident”;
Sparks, p. 64; Bruce S. Maccabee, “
Addendum: Sighting at Rogue River, Oregon, May 24, 1949,” Journal of UFO Studies, orig. ser. 3
(1983): 45–52; Bruce Maccabee, UFO FBI Connection, Llewellyn, 2000,
pp. 105–111; Bruce Maccabee, “
An Assessment of the UFO Sighting at Rogue River, Oregon (May 24, 1949),” December 2009; Swords
83–84; Clark III 377; Clark IV 420) May 27 — 2:25 p.m. Pilot and businessman
Joseph Shell, ferrying an SNJ trainer for North American Aviation from Red Bluff, California, to
Burns, Oregon, sees 5–8 oval objects, twice as long as wide and one-fifth as thick, around Hart Mountain,
Oregon. They fly in trail formation, with an interval equal to 3–4 times their length, except that the
second and third are closer together. (NICAP, “
Pilot Encounters 5–8 Egg-Shaped Metallic Objects”;
Sparks, p. 65) May 31 — The Air Force Office of Special Investigations sends Project Grudge a copy of
Rees’s report on
Kaplan’s visit on April 28, the trip that USAF Intelligence had arranged to explore the possibility
of a clandestine investigation separate from Grudge. Thus AMC learns of the conspiracy to keep it in
the dark, but Rees fails to mention the involvement of USAF Intelligence. (Brad Sparks and Jerome Clark, “
The Southwestern Lights, Part Three,” IUR 10, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1985): 15; Loren E. Gross,
The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1949 January–June, Supplemental Notes, The
Author, 2000, pp. 60–63, 88) May 31 — The Navy review board, convened by Adm.
Morton D. Willcutts, completes hearings on
James Forrestal’s death. The cause of death is remarkably inconclusive, and the investigation
leaves many questions unanswered. Summer — The gouge is said to be still visible in the debris field near Corona, New Mexico.
Mack Brazel, having found various scraps and bits for the past two years, mentions to someone
in a bar in Corona that he has some material. The next day, a Capt. Armstrong and three others from
Roswell Army Air Field supposedly confiscate the pieces. Summer — 4:00 p.m. The French Navy patrol boat
La Rusé (formerly the USS PC-472) encounters a cigar-shaped bluish object about one mile away
off Casablanca, Morocco. The crew watches it for 1 minute until it shoots toward the horizon and
out of sight. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p, 36) Summer — 1:00 p.m. Rep.
Albert J. Engel (R-Mich.) sees a UFO at Elsie, Michigan, with other witnesses, two of whom chase
it in an airplane. The object speeds away. (“
‘Flying Saucer’ Discussions Go On,” Reidsville (N.C.) Review, April 5, 1950, p. 1) June 6 —9:05 p.m. Two observation posts at Killeen Base, Fort Hood, Texas, spot a hovering
orange light. Lts. Virgil Williams and Marvin L. Jones are at one site and Lts. Bernard G. Raferty and
Alfred H. Jones are at the other. When they triangulate its location, they find it is 3 miles south
of one observation post and 4.5 miles south of the plotting center, hovering 5,280 feet in the air. It
is 30–70 feet in diameter. Suddenly it starts moving in level flight, then bursts into small particles.
The duration is less than 3 minutes. This observation involves the first real-time triangulation of a
UFO sighting. (
Sparks, p. 66; Brad Sparks and Jerome Clark, “
The Southwestern Lights, Part Three,” IUR 10, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1985): 12; Thomas Tulien, ed.,
Proceedings of the Sign Historical Group UFO History Workshop, Sign Historical Group, November 2001,
p. 43; Clark III 543, 1053; Clark IV 601, 1168) June 14 — 3:35 p.m. A crew of Navy engineers under Capt.
Robert Bright McLaughlin is testing an Air Force V-2 rocket at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.
When the V-2 attains a speed of 2,000 feet per second in its upward flight, it is joined by two smaller
circular objects that pace it, one on each side. One then passes through the rocket’s exhaust, joins the
other, and together accelerate upwards leaving the V-2 behind. Five other missile observation crews also
see the objects. (NICAP, “
Two UFOs Pace V-2 Rocket”;
Sparks, p. 66; Robert McLaughlin, “
How Scientists Tracked a Flying Saucer,” True, March 1950, pp. 25–27, 96–99; Swords 92–93) June 17 — An animator employed by the Lockheed Company sees a metallic disc approaching from
the northeast in Glendale, California. It disappears to the northwest. (Keith Basterfield, “
Which Aerospace Company Is Hiding a UAP Black Project?” Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena—Scientific
Research, August 28, 2021) June 20 — 6:10 p.m. Architect John Paul Jones is relaxing in his garden at “Ivy Cottage”
in Paget, Bermuda, with his wife and two American friends—Josephine Watley and Camelia Allen—when he
spots a bright object resembling a star about 45 to 50 degrees above the northern horizon. As the object
begins moving steadily southward, he alerts the others. The object shines with a silvery glow and
maintains a consistent shape and brightness. It moves in a straight path, increasing in apparent size,
and eventually passes overhead. Jones estimates its altitude at 20,000 feet and speed at over 400 mph.
After a brief pause, the object suddenly shoots straight upward at tremendous speed until it vanishes.
A weather balloon launched that day from Kindley Air Force Base [now L. F. Wade International Airport]
on St. David’s Island is discounted due to its different flight path and behavior. The incident lasts
about 15 minutes. (“
‘Flying Saucer’ Seen over Bermuda,” Sunday Royal Gazette (Hamilton, Bermuda), July 3, 1949, p. 1) June 22 - Three women (one a schoolteacher, another a biologist working at Oak Ridge, Tennessee,
and a third who is the wife of a member of the Security Division, AEC, Oak Ridge) observe an odd trio
of "flying saucers" for about 15 minutes: "It was described as consisting of two identical rectangular-
shaped objects which appeared to be coordinated in movement and which moved in wave-like motion. The
third object was circular in shape and appeared to be in level flight between and above the two
rectangular objects. The rectangular objects appeared to be bright metal on top but dark underneath,
while the color of the circular object was the same as that of frosted glass. The `flying saucer,' when
last sighted, was in level flight and was flying in a northwesterly direction. The weather was clear
with high cumulus clouds. The `flying saucer' flew at speed of from 10 to 15 mph over an area just
about the center of Oak Ridge." (Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: 1949, January-June, The Author, 1988, pp. 83-84) June 28 — 9:15 p.m. Rev.
Orland Taft Arnett and his wife
Opal are sitting in their front yard in Jackson, Tennessee, when they spot two flying saucers overhead,
moving westward. The objects are about the size of a man’s hat and emit a reddish glow. Arnett says they
resemble birds at play, diving and zooming around each other before disappearing after about a minute. (“
Here We Go Again! Preacher and Wife See Flying Saucer,” Johnson City (Tenn.) Press, June 28, 1949, p. 15) June 29 — 6:30 p.m. A former US Air Force tech sergeant observes three separate flights of three
V-shaped or triangular objects from his front porch in Baltimore, Maryland. The objects veer sharply into
a cloud at 2,500 feet altitude and then fly around it repeatedly. They have the ability to reverse their
course 180° instantaneously. Through binoculars, they look like black, open boomerangs. More objects join
them until there are 15–20, and he watches them for two hours. The formation moves from southeast to northeast
and disappears. Fifteen other witness also see the display. (Marler
126–128) July 3 - 10:40 a.m. Aeronautical engineer
Molt Taylor, airport manager at Longview, Washington, is preparing for an air show when someone
points out an object in the sky to the northwest. He announces it over the PA system to the crowd of
150-200 observers, including pilots, who watch a metallic disc cross to the southeast with a falling-
leaf motion. Estimated altitude is 30,000 feet at 300 mph, with the approximate size of 100 feet. A
second object is seen at 10:49 a.m. for 2 minutes. A third sighting takes place at 11:25 a.m. An
object approaches from the west at about the same altitude, oscillating at 48 per minute, and disappears
into the sun. (NICAP, "
Metallic Discus Object Observed by 150-200 Observers";
Sparks, p. 67; "
Flying Discs Seen by Longview Flier," Daily Olympian
(Wash.), July 1, 1949, p. 1; James E. McDonald, "
Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects," in Symposium on Unidentified
Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July
29, 1968, pp. 48-49; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: 1949, July-December, The Author, 1988, p. 4; Loren
E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: 1949, July-December: Supplemental Notes, The Author,
2000, pp. 9-10; Swords 82-83) July 13 —
Kaplan responds to a July 1 letter from Gen.
Charles P. Cabell inquiring about his April visit to Los Alamos, New Mexico. He explains that he has
deliberately waited two months to report because he wanted to have a cooling off period from the deep
impression the New Mexico witnesses had on him. Moreover, he wants to see if the green fireballs are still
reported (they are) before he recommends a full-scale instrumented program. He says that
Norris Bradbury, the Los Alamos lab director, has urged that a classified scientific conference be held
to discuss the phenomena. Kaplan suspects that the fireballs are an auroral phenomenon, but concedes that their
horizontal motion and southern appearance are “difficult to explain.” He recommends a photographic and
spectrographic patrol that would stay on to look out for the fireballs. (Brad Sparks and Jerome Clark, “
The Southwestern Lights, Part Three,” IUR 10, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1985): 15; Clark III 544; Clark IV 602) July 14 — According to a dubious document acquired by
Timothy S. Cooper, this is the date of an alleged meeting at Blair House, where President
Truman proposes that the “know how” of any new technology acquired from crashed UFOs be shared with Canada
and the UK. (CIA Office of Scientific Intelligence, “
Information Report: Analysis of the Corona and Oscura Peak, NM Wreckage of Unidentified Lenticular Aerodyne
Technology,” October 30, 1950) July 24 — 12:03 p.m. Harry F. Clark, manager of a flying service, is flying a Piper PA-16 Clipper
at 19,000 feet 10 miles northwest of Mountain Home, Idaho, when he sees a tight formation of 7 delta-shaped
objects, 35–55 feet in diameter near his plane. They make a perfect and unbanked right turn 1,500 feet ahead
of his plane, then they turn right again, passing the aircraft at about 450–500 mph. Clark’s engine
runs rough during the sighting, which lasts 10 minutes. After he lands, he finds all his spark plugs
burned out. When the Air Force investigates the case, they request the spark plugs. (NICAP, “
Piper Clipper Encounters Seven Delta-Shaped Objects”;
Sparks, p. 68; Dave Johnson, “
Pilot Spots Weird V-Shaped Objects Flying over Mountain Home Desert,” Boise Idaho Daily Statesman,
July 25, 1949, pp. 1–2; Curt Collins, “
Triangular UFO Formation in Idaho, July 24, 1949,” The Saucers That Time Forgot, October 12, 2023;
Powell, Scientist, 84–85) July 24 — 8:30 p.m. An Air Force major and captain watch seven bluish-white lights pass
over Fort Worth, Texas, in a V formation, moving rapidly from south to north. The distance between
the lights does not vary during the 4–5 seconds they are visible. (Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: 1949 July–December, The Author, 1988, p. 13; Clark III 692; Clark IV 768) July 24 — A green fireball is seen falling close to Socorro, New Mexico. The next day,
scientist
William D. Crozier collects dust samples from the School of Mines campus at Socorro. The samples
contain copper particles of unusually large size. (
Sparks, p. 68; Clark III 543–544; Clark IV 601) August —
George Adamski publishes Pioneers of Space, detailing his out-of-body visits to the Moon, Mars, and Venus.
In private correspondence he later explains “how one may venture from one place to another, while his physical
is in one place and he is in another. That is the way I have written this book. I actually have gone to the
places I speak of.” He writes that the inhabitants have embraced Cosmic Law and live in prosperity and peace.
(George Adamski [ghost-written by Lucy McGinnis], Pioneers of Space: A Trip to the Moon, Mars, and Venus,
Leonard-Freefield, 1949; “
Palomar Mountain, 1940–1960: From Obscurity to World Fame,” The Adamski Case, September 22, 2019; Eghigian,
After, pp. 118–119) August — Actor, producer, and director
Mikel Conrad, in promoting his soon-to-be-released film The Flying Saucer, claims that the movie contains
actual footage of a spaceship recovered in Alaska by government agents. He produces a bogus FBI agent to
“confirm” the story. The Air Force Office of Special Investigations interviews Conrad, who admits to perpetrating
a publicity hoax. (Louella Parsons, “
In Hollywood,” Washington (D.C.) Times-Herald, September 21, 1949, p. 30; Jerome Clark, “
A Catalog of Early Crash Claims,” IUR 18, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1993): 16; Internet Movie Database, “
The Flying Saucer”; Wade Williams III, “The Life and Times of Mikel Conrad, the Boy from Columbus Who
Brought the First Flying Saucer to Hollywood,” Filmfax 2, no. 2 (October 1987): 24–29, 48–51) August 8 — 11:30 p.m. Six airmen and tower operators at Medford Municipal Airport [now
the Rogue Valley International–Medford Airport] in Oregon see 1–7 shiny objects traveling at variable
speeds at an estimated altitude of 30,000 feet. They fly in formation for a while, then break off and
return to formation again. Control tower operators using binoculars seem to distinguish wings on the
objects. They remain visible until around 12:30 a.m. (NICAP, “
Winged Objects Cavort over Airport”) August 10 — USAF’s Air Materiel Command issues a final 600-page report, “Unidentified Flying Objects—
Project Grudge,” Technical Report 102-AC-49/15-100, or “The Grudge Report,” authored by Lt. Howard W. Smith
and George W. Towles.
Hynek’s April analysis is included as an appendix. Based on 237 cases, Hynek finds that 32% can be explained
astronomically. Others say 12% are balloons, 33% are other misidentifications, hoaxes, or insufficient information.
That leaves 23% (55) classed as unknowns. Despite this, witnesses are mostly deluded, hysterical, lying, or crazy,
and “further study along present lines would only confirm the findings presented herein.” The report concludes there
is little evidence to prove UFOs are real and do not represent a security threat. Sightings are explained as
misinterpretations, “mild” mass hysteria, hoaxes, or psychopathology. It recommends that press releases be created
to “aid in dispelling public apprehension.” On the other hand, it suggests that military and government agencies
interested in “psychological warfare” be informed of the findings. Appendix D is written by USAF Scientific Advisory
Board member
George E. Valley, who writes that extraterrestrial civilizations “might observe that on Earth we now have
atomic bombs and are fast developing rockets. In view of the past history of mankind, they should be alarmed.
We should, therefore, expect at this time above all to behold such visitations.” Project Grudge enters a period
of dormancy until July 1950. The report is classified Secret until August 1, 1952. (
Sparks, p. 12; Lt. Howard W. Smith and George W. Towles, “
Unidentified Flying Objects—Project Grudge,” Air Materiel Command Technical Report 102-AC-49/15-100; Hynek UFO
Report,
p. 18; Clark III 932; Kate Dorsch,
Reliable Witnesses, Crackpot Science: UFO Investigations in Cold War America, 1947–1977, dissertation, University
of Pennsylvania, 2019, pp. 44–48; Graff 59–60; Eghigian, After, p. 60; Clark IV 1043 August 10 — The National Military Establishment is renamed the Department of Defense to unify the
Army, Navy, and Air Force under the Secretary of Defense. It establishes the Joint Chiefs of Staff. (Wikipedia, “
United States Department of Defense”) August 16 - A young girl in Wola Drzewiecka, Poland, sees a dark green object nearby like
two bowls put together and about 5 feet in diameter. She walks right up to it and touches its
metallic surface with her index finger, getting a mild electric vibration and making her fingertip
turn red. The object begins rotating, then rises up and disappears to the south at an altitude of
50 feet. In the distance she sees another object that she says remained in the same spot for several
days. (Poland 18-19) August 17 —
Lincoln LaPaz submits the sixth of a series of reports on “anomalous luminous phenomena.” He notes
that “Many of the green fireballs now appearing descend in nearly vertical paths, whereas, in earlier months
almost all of the green fireballs observed moved almost horizontally. There appears to be a concentration of
New Mexico incidents near weekends, especially on Sunday and near the hour of 8:00.” (Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: 1949 July–December, The Author, 1988, pp. 28–29; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: 1949 July–December, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2000, p. 22; Clark III 544; Clark IV
602) August 17 — Due to a tip from Stewart Smith of Baltimore, Maryland, Air Force investigator Capt.
Claudius Belk and the Maryland State Police discover some disc-shaped experimental aircraft in an abandoned
tobacco barn in Glen Burnie, Maryland. At first, an Air Force spokesman states that they “could well be the
prototype of what have been reported as flying saucers,” but one day later that statement is retracted when
they discover that the aircraft were built by inventor Jonathan E. Caldwell, who had abandoned the barn in
1941 and moved to Nevada. (“
Air Force Disowns ‘Flying Disk’ Finds,” New York Times, August 21, 1949, p. 39; Curt Collins, “
The Other Air Force Captured Flying Saucer Retraction,” The Saucers That Time Forgot, October 22, 2020) August 18 —
LaPaz and USAF scientists meet with William D. Crozier to find out about his July 25 dust collection in
Socorro, New Mexico. Crozier says he thinks the copper particles may have come from a campus building, although
samples from the open country contain the same particles. LaPaz notes that copper is extremely rare in meteorites,
although it might explain the yellow-green color of the fireballs. He suggests that further air and ground
samples be taken in areas where the fireballs are seen. (Clark III 543–544; Clark IV 601–602) August 19 — Two prospectors, Buck Fitzgerald and Mase Garney, report that a flying saucer
crashed near them in Death Valley, California. Two little men jump out and start running. The
prospectors chase them over a sand dune, but lose them. (“
‘Little Men’ in Flying Disc,” San Francisco Examiner, August 20, 1949, p. 2; Patrick Gross,
URECAT, August 22, 2006; Clark III 269; Clark IV 309) August 19 — 8:15–11:00 p.m. Rev.
Gregory Miller, pastor of the St. Peter and Paul Church in Norwood, Ohio, has purchased from Army
surplus an 8-million-candlepower searchlight for his church carnival. Sgt. Donald R. Berger, a ROTC
student at the University of Cincinnati, is to operate it. During the festivities, Berger’s sweeping
searchlight suddenly flashes across a stationary circular object in the sky. Miller and others join
in and observe. When Berger moves the searchlight away, the disc continues to glow. Hundreds of calls
are received by Cincinnati Post and Cincinnati Enquirer offices regarding fireballs and comet-like
objects all across the Cincinnati area this first night. The searchlight picks up the same or similar
objects on nine further occasions, the last being on March 10, 1950. (NICAP, “
The Ohio Searchlight Incident”; “
Flying Saucer Reported Again,” Circleville (Ohio) Herald, September 12, 1949, p. 1; “
Soldier Reports ‘Flying Saucer,’” Logan (Ohio) Daily News, September 12, 1949, p. 2; “Those Things
Again,” Athens (Ohio) Messenger, September 12, 1949, p. 1; “Oh, Look, Ma—That Thing’s Here Again,” Lima
(Ohio) News, September 12, 1949, p. 1; Leo Hirtl, “
The Seven Hills,” Cincinnati (Ohio) Post, September 15, 1949, p. 8; “
More Proof That ‘Saucers’ Exist,” CRIFO Orbit 1, no. 5 (August 6, 1954): 1–2; Leonard H.
Stringfield,
Inside Saucer Post…3-0 Blue, The Author, 1957, pp. 73–78; Stringfield, Situation Red, Fawcett Crest,
1977,
pp. 172–174; Patrick Gross, “
The Norwood Searchlight Incident”; “
The 1949 Norwood, Ohio, Searchlight UFO Incident,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, July 1, 2024) August 20 —10:45 p.m. Astronomer
Clyde Tombaugh, his
wife, and
mother-in-law see a formation of rectangular bluish-green lights in the backyard of his home
at Las Cruces, New Mexico. As they silently move toward the south-southeast, the individual rectangles
become foreshortened and their intensity dulls. After about 3 seconds, they fade from view at about 35°
above the horizon. (NICAP, “
Tombaugh Observes UFO Formation”;
Sparks, p. 70; H. B. Darrach Jr. and Robert Ginna, “
Have We Visitors from Space?” Life, April 7, 1952, p. 89; Donald H. Menzel, Flying Saucers, 1953,
pp. 36–38; “
Dr. Clyde Tombaugh Provides Details on His Own Famous Sighting,” CSI News Letter, no. 10 (December
15, 1957): 27; Donald Menzel and Lyle Boyd, The World of Flying Saucers, 1963, pp. 266–270; UFOEv,
p. 53; James E. McDonald, “
Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings,
US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, pp. 59–60; Swords
81–82; “
Las Cruces, NM Case of 4-20-1949 – Clyde Tombaugh,” Ufology: A Primer in Audio, 1938–1959, November
21, 2013; Clark III 1129–1130; “
The Tombaugh Sighting | Ufos # 11 Live - September 1, 2024,” Ufo Sunset YouTube channel, September 1,
2024; Clark IV 1281–1282) August 29 — 7:00 a.m. The Soviet Union secretly conducts its first successful nuclear weapon test (First
Lightning) at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in Kazakhstan. The design is very similar to the first US “Fat Man”
plutonium bomb. The project is led by physicist
Igor Kurchatov. (Wikipedia, “
RDS-1”) September 1 — Col.
John M. Schweizer Jr., executive officer to the director of US Air Force intelligence, writes in a memo
to the director, Maj. Gen.
Millard Lewis: “reports that fall in the ‘fireball’ category will no longer be included in HQ Air Materiel
Command and Directorate of Intelligence, HQ USAF, investigative activity on unidentified aerial incidents.” AMC
hands green fireball reports over to the USAF Cambridge Research Laboratory at Hanscom AFB in Bedford,
Massachusetts. AFOIN rejects an Army request for further facilities to study the green fireballs from field
locations. (Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: 1949 July–December, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2000, pp. 30–31, 34–35; Clark III
543; Clark IV 601) September 14 — The Geophysical Sciences Branch of the Air Force Research and Development orders the
new AMC commander Lt. Gen.
Benjamin Chidlaw to have the Cambridge Research Laboratory in Massachusetts evaluate the New Mexico and
Texas green fireball cases and consider the creation of an instrumented network. AMC is directed to send
representatives from Boston to a meeting in New Mexico. (Lt. Col. John McK. Tucker, “
Light Phenomena,” September 14, 1949; Brad Sparks and Jerome Clark, “
The Southwestern Lights, Part Three,” IUR 10, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1985): 16; Clark III 544; Clark IV 602) September 14 - 9:30-10:00 p.m. Two residents of Lubbock, Texas, see 9 clusters of objects
"similar to ducks flying in formation," bright silver and roughly round in shape. There are as
many as 50 objects in all the formations except one. They seem to be traveling at 5,000 feet
altitude, going north to south. Each light is visible for about 10 seconds, but it takes 30
minutes for all the objects to pass overhead. One witness is convinced the objects are ducks.
(Clark III 692-693; Clark IV 768) September 26 — 6:30 p.m.
Lester Wolfe and five others 5 miles southeast of Lexington, Nebraska, are threshing wheat when
they see three objects coming from the general direction of the sun (southwest). As the objects move,
they give off a dazzling brilliance. They maintain a level flight with two of the objects changing
positions as they fly. The power of the illumination remains constant throughout the incident (no
pulses or flashes). Once the objects reach a direction northwest of the observers, they make a
smooth 90° turn straight upwards and climb rapidly out of sight. Dean Wolfe is a recent graduate of
a two-year course in aeronautical design and thinks the objects look like domed discs when viewed
face forward, but are more like stubby, wingless, tailless fuselages when seen from the side. About
5 miles away,
Don,
Minnie,
Elmer and
Irene Ballheim see two fast-moving objects flying in the distance at level flight before abruptly
turning straight up and flying upward. This group of people does not know their distant neighbors. (NICAP, “
90-Degree Turn Straight Up”; Swords 83–84) September 27 — 1:30 and 3:00 a.m. At least five observers at Sandia Base, New Mexico, see
fireballs of various colors traveling either in an arc or in tangent to the Earth. (
Sparks, p. 71; Francis Ridge, “
The Nuclear Connection Project: The New Mexico Sightings,” September 3, 2005) September or October - A Swiss Air Force officer sees a silvery disc 20 feet in diameter with
jagged edges above Payerne, Vaud, Switzerland. He observes it flying at about 700 mph for 12
seconds. (Center for UFO Studies, [Payerne case file]) Fall — A radar-tracking UFO case takes place at a key atomic base (probably Los Alamos, New
Mexico). The base radar scope covers 200 miles of sky up to 100,000 feet. A legitimate radar contact
tracks five apparently metallic objects at a great height moving south and crossing the radar scope
in less than 4 minutes (an average of about 4,500 mph). (H. B. Darrach Jr. and Robert Ginna, “
Have We Visitors from Space?” Life, April 7, 1952,
p. 89) Fall — Night.
Donald Bushnell and his wife
Laura are traveling along a straight highway in New Mexico. Suddenly a disc about 50–60 feet across
comes straight down the road toward them about 4 feet off the ground. It raises up a little before
reaching the car and passes overhead. As it does so, his radio turns to static. (Jim Downing, “
‘Saucer’ Unnerved Tulsan,” Tulsa (Okla.) Tribune, December 10,
1957, p. 24;
Schopick, p. 77) October — Alma Lawson of Los Angeles, California, claims she was a member of a scientific
expedition that visited the crash site of a flying saucer in Mexico. A shepherd is said to have
discovered the disk, which contained the burned bodies of six small men. Automobile dealer Ernest
Gates claims he heard on the radio about a saucer crash with little men near Mexico City. Ray L.
Dimmick of Los Angeles tells a similar story; at first he claims he inspected the craft himself on
March 3, 1949, at a secret Mexico City military installation, but later says he was told the story.
(Sam Petok, “
Find Discs from Space in Mexico?” Detroit (Mich.) Free
Press, October 31, 1949, pp. 1, 8; “
Flying Saucer—with 2-Foot Pilot: That’s Mr. Dimmick’s Gimmick from
Mexico,” Oakland (Calif.) Tribune, March 10, 1950, p. 6; “
Has the Air Force Secured ‘Material Evidence’?” Flying Saucer News-Service Research Bulletin, no.
10 (September 20, 1955): 3–6) October 5 —
Donald Keyhoe tells the press relations office at the Pentagon that he intends to publish an article in
True that highlights the interplanetary hypothesis. They tell him that there are no security issues involved.
(Powell, Keyhoe, 68) October 10 — 1:07 a.m. A bluish-green fireball is seen moving to the northeast at 45° above the horizon
at Sandia Base, New Mexico. Duration is from 4 to 15 seconds. (Francis Ridge, “
The Nuclear Connection Project: The New Mexico Sightings,” September 3, 2005) October 11 — The Navy releases only a brief summary of its findings in the death of
James Forrestal. The complete transcript is not released until 2004. (Ayn Rand Institute Watch, “
The Willcutts Report on the Death of James Forrestal”) October 11 — 10:45 a.m. USAF M/Sgt. Ralph M. Stevens, a tech aide in lower atmospheric research at
Holloman AFB near Alamogordo, New Mexico, and Sgt. Marion H. Graves are at Ryan Site #4 tracking a balloon
launch by theodolite when they spot a high-speed, round, white, dish-shaped object in the northwest. The
object flies straight overhead and disappears at 60° elevation in the southeast. Its size is compared to that
of a B-29 [141 feet long] at a range of 150,000 feet, or about 1/10 the size of the full moon. (NICAP, “
High-Speed Dish-Shaped Object Tracked”) October 12 — Columnist
Frank Scully writes an article in Variety alleging that the US government has retrieved crashed
spaceships in the southwestern desert. One that crashed in the Mojave Desert was 100 feet across and
propelled by magnetism. The craft contained 16 small men, all dead and wearing clothes “similar to
those of 1890” but of a “material unknown to us.” (Frank Scully, “
Scully’s Scrapbook,” Variety, October 12, 1949, p. 61; Clark III 595,
1044) October 12 — 11:15 a.m. S/Sgt Clifford B. Hart, a flight engineer, and two others at Holloman
AFB near Alamogordo, New Mexico, observe a round, white, or aluminum-colored object moving across the sky
from south to north. It then veers to the northeast where it disappears. Hart estimates the size of the
object as comparable to a B-29 aircraft, with a speed of 1,500 mph at an estimated altitude of 35,000
feet. The object is in sight for 45–60 seconds. Other witnesses are aircraft mechanics S/Sgt J. D. Denning
and S/Sgt Harry A. Boggs. (NICAP, “
H. S. Object Observed by Flight Engineer and Mechanics”) October 14 — At another conference in Los Alamos, New Mexico, attended by 16 representatives of
AFOSI, AMC (
Joseph Kaplan and Maj.
Frederic C. E. Oder), Fourth Army, the FBI, AFSWP, and Los Alamos scientists (
Edward Teller,
George Gamow, and
Stanislaw Ulam), the green fireballs are identified as probably atmospheric in origin, but more observational
data is needed.
LaPaz and Neef speak at length. Oder’s Cambridge Research Laboratory at Hanscom AFB in Bedford, Massachusetts,
is selected for a field project, under LaPaz’s supervision. (Brad Sparks and Jerome Clark, “
The Southwestern Lights, Part Three,” IUR 10, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1985): 16; Good Above,
pp. 266–267; Swords 81; Clark III 544; Clark IV 602) October 14 — 1:15 p.m.
Harley C. Marshall, manager of public relations at Palomar Observatory in
San Diego County, California, is driving away from the observatory when he sees a perfect “V of V’s”
formation of about 16–18 silver objects without tails or wings overhead traveling at high speed to the
northwest and emitting a sound like jets. He stops and watches them disappear behind the cloud cover.
Returning to the observatory, he phones electrician
Benjamin B. Traxler, who at 1:20 p.m. sees one dark UFO traveling to the southwest. Marshall checks the
Navy Electronics Laboratory Geiger counter on site and sees that the needle has jumped off the scale for
several seconds. For the next 10 days, another 21 incidents of off-scale cosmic-ray detector incidents
occur at scattered times, fitting a periodic 1.5-hour time schedule, a phenomenon not seen before or after,
and unexplainable by equipment failure or radio interference from aircraft. Two representatives of the Office
of Naval Research and two from the Naval Electronics Laboratory in Point Loma, California (
Joseph P. Maxfield and Gene Luther Bloom), visit the observatory to investigate the readings, but not
before they stop in at Alice Wells’s Palomar Gardens Café on the way in. After
George Adamski claims he has seen increased UFO activity in the area (including a sighting about the same
time as another observation by Traxler on October 21), they ask him if he would send them any photos he might
take with one of his telescopes. He gives them a copy of a telescopic photo he took in February 1949 with his
15-inch reflector. The Naval Electronics Lab later attributes the photo to “electric discharge which frequently
occurs in cameras during film pulling in dry or cold climates.” Several Navy aircraft of differing prop and
jet types are flown near the observatory using radio, altimeter, and radars on October 21 and November 2 in an
unsuccessful effort to trigger the Geiger counter. (NICAP, “
Geiger Counters Detect UFO Presence”;
Sparks, pp. 74–75; Maurice Weekley and George Adamski, “Flying Saucers As Astronomers See Them,” Fate 3,
no. 6 (September 1950): 56–59; Eric Herr, “
George Adamski: An Historical Note,” Flying Saucer Review 34, no. 3 (September 1989): 15; Colin Bennett,
Looking for Orthon, Paraview, 2001,
pp. 29–30; Swords 86–87; Clark III 38, 949–950; Clark IV 57, 1063–1064) October 23 — 7:15–10:45 p.m. Rev.
Gregory Miller has set up his searchlight once again at St. Peter and Paul Church in Norwood, Ohio.
Sgt. Berger turns on the light and picks up a large object in the beam. At about 10:00 p.m., the searchlight
picks up two distinct groups of five triangular objects that seem to emerge from the main disc. They descend
on the beam then turn out of it. The same performance is repeated 30 minutes later. About 50 persons,
including newspaper reporters observe the objects. Miller takes several photographs and asks Sgt. Leo Davidson
of the Norwood police department to film the display. He uses three rolls, 25 feet each, and a Hugo-Meyer
F-19-3" camera with telephoto lens. Davidson also takes 10 still photographs of the large disc-shaped
object that flies in and out of the searchlight beam, using a Speed-Graphic camera with a 14-inch Wallensach
telephoto lens. Two of these are exceptional shots, showing both the parent object and the smaller group.
These two pictures are last seen by Time-Life correspondent Harry Mayo, who has prepared a feature story
for Time, which was to include them. But Mayo’s story and Miller’s photos were not used in Time or Life and,
in spite of requests by Miller, these two photos are never returned. (Harry Mayo, “
What Glows on Here? Norwood Muses,” Cincinnati Post, April 6, 1950, p. 1; “
More Proof That ‘Saucers’ Exist,” CRIFO Orbit 1, no. 5 (August 6, 1954): 1–2; NICAP, “
The Ohio Searchlight Incident”; Kenny Young, “
Norwood and Project Grudge”; Patrick Gross, “
The Norwood Searchlight Incident”) November 3 —
Joseph Kaplan brings the green fireball plan to the USAF Scientific Advisory Board at the Pentagon.
By this time, he is convinced the fireballs are a rare type of meteor. But others are puzzled by the
brightness, trajectories, and soundlessness, Kaplan says, “This high selectivity of direction seems to
indicate that some group was trying to pinpoint Los Alamos with a new sort of weapon.” (Clark III 544;
Clark IV 602) November 3 —
Karl Taylor Compton resigns as chairman of the Research and Development Board around the same time that
Lawrence R. Hafstad succeeds
Lloyd Berkner as executive secretary. (Michael Hall and Wendy Connors, “
The Research and Development Board: Unanswered Questions,” IUR 26, no. 2 (Summer 2001): 9) November 3 — 11:00 a.m. USAF Capt. William H. Donnelly is driving south about 2 miles north of
Rosarito, Baja California, Mexico, with a friend when he sees four objects to the east at a high
altitude. All are oval and a metallic white color. They are constantly changing formation, moving up
and down, back and forth. The objects continue to fly south rapidly and move in a horizontal line and
disappear from sight in 20–40 seconds. (Jan Aldrich) November 14 — 10:30 p.m. USNR Commander
J. R. Bodler is in charge of a merchant vessel (possibly the
USS Hemminger) in the Strait of Hormuz between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. He observes
a huge, pulsating submarine light wheel, some 1,000–1,500 feet in diameter, one mile from his ship. It
is revolving around an ill-defined center with streaks of light like searchlight beams moving
counterclockwise “like the spokes of a gigantic wheel.” He thinks it is caused by natural phosphorescence,
stimulated by some marine life. (J. R. Bodler, “
An Unexplained Phenomenon of the Sea,” US Naval Institute Proceedings 72
(January 1952): 66–67; Carl Feindt, “
Report #63,” waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 128–131) November 23 — Columnist
Frank Scully writes a second column in Variety on a crashed saucer allegedly found in the Mojave
Desert. Scientists supposedly retrieved a radio from it that “seemingly works on magnetic waves.” Its
dead crew are said to be from the planet Venus. (Frank Scully, “
Scully’s Scrapbook,” Variety, November 23, 1949, p. 24) November 27 — 5:49 p.m. Civil Aeronautics Administration Chief Controller W. W. Jones watches
a blue-white fireball moving 5°–7° per second over Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
(Francis Ridge, “
The Nuclear Connection Project: The New Mexico Sightings,” September 3, 2005) November 27 - 6:00 p.m. Kirtland AFB Deputy Base Commander Lt. Col. Charles E. Lancaster Jr. is
driving near McIntosh, New Mexico, when he sees a green fireball descend near Albuquerque. (
Sparks,
p. 77) December — Capt.
Bernard Baruch Jr. suggests to Gen.
Hoyt Vandenberg that UFOs be added to JANAP 146 as required reporting subjects and that civilian pilots report
UFO sightings according to military chains of command. (Swords 122) December 2–3 — The US government releases radioactive fission products at the Hanford Site plutonium
production facility in eastern Washington in an operation called Green Run. The radioisotopes are supposed to
be detected by US Air Force reconnaissance. Sources cite 5,500–12,000 curies of iodine-131 are released and
an even greater amount of xenon-133. The radiation is distributed over 500,000 acres encompassing three small
towns and causes the cessation of intentional radioactive releases at Hanford until 1962, when more experiments
commence. There are some indications that many other tests are conducted in the 1940s prior to Green Run,
although this is a particularly large test. Evidence suggests that filters to remove the iodine are disabled
during the test. (Wikipedia, “
Green Run”) December 4 - 5:00 p.m. Mario Restier is returning home from his father's place in Volta Redonda,
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, when he notices a disc land about 32-50 feet from the road. He hears a voice
telling him not to be afraid and asking if he wants to know what it's all about. Two beings about 5
feet 5 inches emerge from the UFO wearing togas and helmets. Restier asks them if they believe in
God, and they answer, "God is one." Encouraged, he enters the craft where he is offered a trip, put
in a tub filled with liquid, and taken on a trip to a city on another world. He is shown a screen
that depicts human nature, ambitions, and violence. After about 6 hours, he is returned to the spot
where he was abducted. Returning to his father's house, he finds it is April 14, 1950, and has
lost nearly four months of earth time. (Brazil 23-24) December 20 — Following consideration by the Defense Department’s Research and Development Board,
Joseph Kaplan’s green fireball project is approved by AMC. (Col. B. G. Holzman, “
Light Phenomena,” December 20, 1949; Brad Sparks and Jerome Clark, “
The Southwestern Lights, Part Three,” IUR 10, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1985): 16; Clark III 544; Clark IV 602) December 24 — The January 1950 issue of True magazine is published, with
Donald Keyhoe’s article, “The Flying Saucers Are Real.” Keyhoe argues that the Air Force knows UFOs
are real, alien, and covering up information from the public in order to avoid panic: “For the past 175
years, the planet Earth has been under systematic close-range examination by living, intelligent observers
from another planet.” The Air Force finds itself buried in letters, telegrams, and phone calls demanding
information about flying saucers. (“
Discs Called Craft of Another Planet,” St. Louis (Mo.) Post-Dispatch,
December 27, 1949, p. 10A; Donald E. Keyhoe, “
The Flying Saucers Are Real,” True, January 1950, pp. 11–13, 83–87; Clark III 458, 933; Powell,
Keyhoe, 69–71; Graff 61–62; Clark IV 503, 1043) December 27 — USAF announces that Project Grudge is terminated. Its files are put into storage. The
Grudge report is released again, reiterating that UFOs are the “result of (1) misinterpretations of various
conventional objects; (2) a mild form of mass hysteria; or (3) hoaxes.” (Clark III 932–933; Clark IV 1043) ARGENTINA, Bahia Blanca. An engineer was driving when he saw a metallic disc on the ground.
He claimed to have looked inside to see three small beings dead. They wore brown coveralls and
were in seats. He returned to his hotel and told friends, who drove to the spot and found a heap
of ashes and saw a cigar-shaped object overhead. They also saw two discs which were 30 ft. in
diamters. (FSR) William Ortiz, a deaf-mute, claims to have the first of three close encounters (the others
in 1969 and 1975) with large-eyed aliens in UFOs in Colombia. After the first two events, he
finds his hearing temporarily restored. The entities communicate to him using hand signals.
("
First Reported CEIII Alien Communicating with Deaf-Mute,"
CUFOS Associate Newsletter 3, no. 4 (Aug./Sept. 1982): 1, 3) Sometime in the 1950s, a Soviet Navy officer serving at Sevastopol Naval Base on the
Crimean Peninsula, Russia, observes and photographs a strange object ascending from behind
a battle cruiser in the Black Sea. The officer later gives copy of the photo to his friend,
Russian linguist
Andrey Korsakov. (Paul Stonehill, "
Amazing Soviet-Era UFO Sightings in and over Water Bodies," Rense.com, October 23, 2000;
Dolan, USO1, 181-182) January - On the Seattle, Washington, to Anchorage, Alaska, route, an air freighter
is paced for five minutes by a UFO. When the pilots try to close in, the craft zooms away at
terrific speed. Later, the airline head reports that intelligence officers quizzed the pilots
for hours. "From their questions," he said, "I could tell they had a good idea of what the
saucers are. One officer admitted they did, but he wouldn't say any more." (Keyhoe 1950,
p. 9) January 6 — Early morning. Manuel Zuniga blames a traffic accident on Kansas Avenue at 1st
Street in Kansas City, Kansas, on a fireball or UFO that moves in front of his car, blinding him with
its bright light. He is arrested for reckless driving and driving while intoxicated. (“
Doubt over Crash Cause,” Kansas City (Mo.) Star, January 6, 1950, p. 1) January 7 — 10:15 p.m. The assistant maintenance officer at Holloman AFB is driving
south of Corona, New Mexico, when he sees a green fireball. It descends at a 60° angle, then
levels out and travels 10° east before dropping out of sight behind a mountain. When first
seen, it is yellowish-white, changes to orange as it descends, then turns bright blue-green
as it levels out and disappears. (NICAP, “
January 7, 1950, Corona, NM, OSI Case 161”;
Sparks, p. 78; Clark III 544; Clark IV 602) January 9 — Time magazine reports on rumors of crashed saucers and small humanoids in New
Mexico. (“
Visitors from Venus,” Time, January 9, 1950) January 12 — 11:25 p.m. A B-29 aircraft is flying over the Gulf of Mexico (southwest of
Florida) on a course of 260° when three objects are noted on the radar scope orbiting the B-29 from
all quadrants. The objects are noticed by the radar operator, aircraft commander, navigator, and
bombardier. One object is first sighted on a bearing of 330° traveling south. The objects travel
across the scope in approximately 15–20 seconds on the 100-mile range setting. In a few minutes this
object is joined by two others, which disappear in a few minutes. At short ranges the object is large
and well-defined on the radar scope. The object goes off for about 100 miles, turns and comes in as
if for an attack, passes through the center of the scope, and emerges on the other side. The estimated
speed of the object is 2,500–3,000 mph. The one object remains on the radar scope for approximately
30 minutes, following the B-29 all the time. The radar operator switches ranges on the scope and picks
up the object on the 20- and 50-mile settings. Twice the object comes to within 20 miles of the
aircraft and then apparently has the ability to hover, because the movement on the radar scope ceases
for 5–15 seconds. After altering course the object no longer appears, but the radar is jammed for
approximately 10 minutes. The crew makes no visual sighting. (NICAP, “
B-29 Radar Tracks Objects”;
Sparks, p. 79; Clark III 58; Clark IV 78–79) January 22 — 2:40 a.m. Navy patrol pilot Lieut. Smith makes a routine security flight
out of Naval Air Station Kodiak [now Coast Guard Base Kodiak], Alaska. He obtains a radar reading
on an object 20 miles north. It quickly vanishes. At 2:48, he tracks a similar object 10 miles
southeast. Kodiak radar reports no known aircraft in the vicinity, but they are seeing the same
track. At 3:00 a.m., the tug
USS Tillamook is south of Kodiak when one of the men on deck sees a “very fast-moving red glow
light, which appeared to be of exhaust nature.” The object comes from the southeast, moves clockwise
around Kodiak, and returns to the southeast. Another officer sees it for 30 seconds and describes
it as a “large ball of orange fire.” At 4:40 a.m., Lieut. Smith picks up another blip moving so fast
that it leaves a trail on his screen. His crew sees the UFO close a five-mile gap in 10 seconds, an
apparent speed of 1,800 mph. Witnesses report two orange lights that rotate around a common center.
The object makes a sharp turn and heads directly towards Smith’s plane. Smith considers this a
threatening situation and turns off his lights; the UFO flies by and disappears. At least 35 copies
of Smith’s report are sent to FBI, CIA, AFOSI, and the State Department. None are ever officially
released or published. (NICAP, “
USN P2V3 Patrol Plane and USS Tillamook Encounter”;
Sparks, p. 80; ClearIntent,
pp. 165–166; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: Volume 5, January–March 1950, The Author, 1983,
pp. 11–13; Martin Shough,
RADCAT: Radar Catalogue: A Review of Twenty-One Ground and Airborne Radar UAP Contact Reports Generally Related
to Aviation Safety for the Period October 15, 1948, to September 19, 1976, National Aviation Reporting Center
on Anomalous Phenomena, NARCAP Report TR-6, December 8, 2002, pp. 4–12; Swords 90–91; Clark III 58, 997; Clark
IV 79, 1110) February 26 - 2:45 p.m. Three witnesses observe a bronze-colored object that looks like two cigarette
ashtrays placed face to face over Vancouver, British Columbia. It slows down as it passes overhead and wobbles
as it moves along. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada's UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, p. 64) January 24 —4:50 p.m. USAF Capt. G. B. Edwards and copilot Theron C. Fehrevach are flying a C-45
transport plane from Pope AFB [now Pope Field], Fayetteville, North Carolina, to Bolling AFB [now Joint Base
Anacostia-Bolling], Washington, D.C. While at 5,000 feet near Blacksburg, Virginia, Fehrevach notices a dark,
200–250 foot in diameter, hemispherical parachute-shaped object above them about 5–10 miles away. A large black
smoky region is below it, possibly obscuring the lower portion of a sphere. The UFO is darker than the 50%
cloud cover and “easy to distinguish as not being cloud.” The object moves smoothly without any noticeable
turn radius. Edwards puts the C-45 into a climb to 7,000 feet so they are at the same altitude as the UFO and
turns to head directly toward it. Army Courier Service passenger 1st Lt.
John H. Van Santen is alerted by Fehrevach and also sees the object move right then left again, then they
all see the object recede at high speed and disappear. About 90 seconds later the object reappears about 30°–45°
to the right of their heading, then oscillates right to left. It moves horizontally to dead ahead again and
disappears by receding in the distance at high speed. (NICAP, “
C-25 Transport Crew Encounters Object”; Swords 91; Martin Shough and Wim van Utrecht, “
Blackstone, Virginia, USA: January 24, 1950,” September 30, 2015) Late January — 11:00 p.m. Romeo Ernesto Suarez is walking north between Rio Grande and San Sebastián,
Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, on high ground about one-third of a mile from the ocean. Suddenly he hears a violent
disturbance in the water. Several sheep nearby are startled and run away. A luminous oval object appears to
emerge from the water a quarter-mile from shore, rises vertically, makes a 90° turn, and disappears toward the
northwest. (Joseph M. Brill, “
Are UFOs Operating from Underwater Bases off the Coast of Argentina?” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 130 (September
1979): 3, 4; Dolan, USO1, 137–138) January 26 — 4:00 p.m. Lt. Col.
Lester F. Mathison, commanding officer of the 625th Aircraft and Warning Squadron at Elmendorf AFB [now
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson], Anchorage, Alaska, notices three reddish objects above the cirrus cloud
layer at 25,000–30,000 feet. They are moving to the north in a sightly curled trail fashion and disappear
into some clouds. (“
Extract: History of the 57th Fighter-Interceptor Wing, January 1–March 31, 1950 (Elmendorf AFB, Alaska),”
UFO Historical Revue, no. 8 (February 2001): 7–8) February 1 — A meteor-like object spewing smoke is seen by many people over Tucson, Arizona. The
radio operator at Davis-Monthan AFB asks 1st Lieut.
Roy L. Jones Jr. to investigate it in his B-29, but he cannot catch up with it.
Edwin Francis Carpenter, head of the University of Arizona astronomy department, says he is certain
the object is not a meteor. (
Sparks, p. 81; Bob Campbell, “
Flying Saucer over Tucson? B-29 Fails to Catch Object,” Tucson (Ariz.) Daily Citizen, February 2, 1950, p.
1; Ace Bushnell, “
Sky Mystery? Tucson People Differ Widely,” Tucson (Ariz.) Daily Citizen, February 3, 1950, p. 1; Keyhoe 1950,
pp. 10–12) February 5 — 5:10 p.m. Four people at Falmouth Airport [now part of Frances Crane Wildlife Management
Area north of Hatchville, Massachusetts] see two illuminated cylindrical objects in the western sky. The witnesses
include
Marvin R. Odom, owner of the airport, and Lt.
Philip Foushee Jr. of Otis AFB [now Otis Air National Guard Base] near Mashpee. As the objects are maneuvering,
a fireball drops from one. Five minutes later they both climb at high speed and disappear from view. (NICAP, “
Feb. 5, 1950; Teaticket, Mass.”;
Sparks, p. 81; Hyannis (Mass.) Cape Cod Standard Times, February 6, 1950) mid-February — Romeo Ernesto Suarez again sees a UFO as he is walking between Rio Gallegos and Puerto
Santa Cruz, Argentina. Four small luminous objects emerge vertically from the Atlantic Ocean, approach the coast
in formation, then pass over toward the Andres Mountains. Joseph M. Brill, “
Are UFOs Operating from Underwater Bases off the Coast of Argentina?” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 130 (September
1979): 3, 4; Dolan, USO1, 138) February 22 — Navy pilots and others see two glowing UFOs, confirmed by radar, above the Naval Air
Station at Key West, Florida. A plane is sent to investigate but it is “hopelessly outdistanced.” After hovering
momentarily at a high altitude (50 miles?), they speed away. (
Sparks, p. 81; Keyhoe 1950,
p. 12) February 24 — 7:30 p.m. USAF Cpl.
Lertis E. Stanfield and other Holloman AFB Photographic Branch project staff at an observation post at
Datil, New Mexico, take five photos (using a Cineflex camera with 3-inch focal length lens) of a circular,
luminous white object that changes to red and green. Its angular velocity is greater than 0.5°/min in azimuth
calculated by
Lincoln LaPaz. The object moves in a smooth straight-line motion from about 8:00–9:30 p.m. to the west,
blinking red and green. It disappears at high altitude. (NICAP, “
AFOSI Case 175; Datil Observation Post Photographs Object”;
Sparks, p. 82) February 26 — 2:45 p.m. Three witnesses observe a bronze-colored object that looks like two cigarette
ashtrays placed face to face over Vancouver, British Columbia. It slows down as it passes overhead and wobbles
as it moves along. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, p. 64) February 27 — 7:00 a.m. A private pilot, Richard Lemmon, is flying a Fairchild PT-19 training aircraft
at an altitude of 2,000 feet above Pinckneyville, Illinois, with his wife when he notices a strange object at
5,000 feet. He flies higher and sees a disk about 60 feet across and 10 feet thick. It tilts, turns, and moves
away at about 150 mph. (NICAP, “
Pilot Observes Discus from PT-19”;
Sparks, p. 83; “
Pilot Tells about Seeing Flying Disc,” DeKalb (Ill.) Daily Chronicle, March 14, 1950, p. 2) March 3 — At Selfridge AFB [now Selfridge Air National Guard Base] near Mount Clemens, Michigan, a
lone UFO causes multiple radar trackings and is logged at speeds up to 1,500 mph. (NICAP, “
Object Descends Vertically, Levels Out”;
Sparks, p. 83; Patrick Gross, “
Selfridge AFB, Michigan, March 3, 1950”) March 8 — Mid-morning. TWA pilot Capt. W. H. Kerr reports to the CAA that he and two other
TWA pilots (D. W. Miller and
Malvern H. Rabeneck) are watching a UFO hovering at high altitude near Dayton, Ohio. The CAA has already
received about 20 other reports about it from Vandalia, Ohio. ATIC control tower operators at Wright-Patterson
AFB pick it up visually and on radar (“a good, solid target”). Four F-51 interceptors are sent up. They see it
as a huge, round, metallic object, but clouds move in. The object climbs vertically out of sight at high speed.
ATIC calls it the planet Venus, with radar returns from ice-laden clouds. (NICAP, “
Three Aircraft Spot UFO / Radar Track at ATIC”; Ruppelt,
pp. 72–75; UFOEv,
p. 84; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: Volume 5, January–March 1950, The Author, 1983, pp. 32–37; Clark III 377; Clark IV 421) March 9 — Dusk. A publisher and others see a bright disc leaving a vapor trail near Orangeburg,
South Carolina, for 15 minutes. It sinks out of sight. (“
‘Flying Saucer’ Seen Here; Witnesses Say Real McCoy,” Orangeburg (S.C.) Times and Democrat, March 10, 1950,
p. 10; “
Flying Objects Seen Again,” Florence (S.C.) Morning News, March 10, 1950, p. 1; UFOEv,
p. 149) March 11 - 8:00 p.m.
Constance Raguindin sees a "falling star" as she and her mother and two
children are driving south of Salinas, California. When it comes closer and swoops toward the car at
an altitude of 2,500 feet, she says it looks "like two dinner plates placed together." It performs a
"loop the loop" maneuver and speeds away to the south.
Hiram S. Don sees the object from a distance and describes it as egg-shaped. However, astronomer
Olin J. Eggen at Lick Observatory says the object is probably a large meteor. ("
Score Report Weird Saucer over Salinas," Santa Ana (Calif.) Register, March 12, 1950, pp. A1-A2; "
Little Men Here Again, This Time over Salinas," Los Angeles (Calif.) Times,
March 12, 1950, p. 2; "Astronomers Believe `Flying Saucer' Was Meteor California Persons Saw," Dunkirk
(N.Y.) Evening Observer, March 13, 1950, p. 14; "
Scientist Says Flying Saucer Was Meteor," St. Albans (Vt.) Daily
Messenger, March 13, 1950, p. 1; Project 1947, "
UFO Reports,
1950") March 13 — Early morning. Army Signal Corps (Reserve) Maj. Taylor in Clarksburg, California, is
sleeping when an odd droning noise wakes him up. Going outside, he notices the noise is coming from a
brilliant light in the sky, one-half the size of the full moon. It sways for about 15 minutes, then moves
away. (Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: Volume 5, January–March 1950, The Author, 1983, p. 49) March 13 — Day. At the Central Airport in Mexico City, Mexico, Santiago Smith (weather observer for
Mexicana de Aviación), J. de la Vega of the airport commander’s office, and others see a total of four UFOs
passing overhead. Smith observes one of them through a theodolite, describing it as the shape of a “half-moon.” (“
‘Saucers’ No Illusion: Hundreds See Shy Visitors,” Oakland (Calif.) Tribune, March 14, 1950, p. 9; UFOEv,
p. 44; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: Volume 5, January–March 1950, The Author, 1983, pp. 50–51) March 15. ARGENTINA, Lago. Wilfredo Arvalo saw a disc land while another hovered over
it. Through the transparent dome he saw four tall men, dressed in cellophane-like suits. He
reached a point 500 ft. from the object. He returned the next day with fellov workers and found
burned grass. A similar object was seen in the area by other witnesses. (APRO March 15 — An Air Force Captain Hall, flying in Guatemala, hears from other pilots at La Aurora
Airport in Guatemala City that large, fast, and highly maneuverable objects have flown directly over the
runway. The stories also appear in the local press. When Hall returns to Brookley Air Force Base [now Mobile
Aeroplex at Brookley] in Mobile, Alabama, he is interrogated by a USAF intelligence officer and told: “Listen,
there is no such thing as a flying saucer. You won’t discuss them.” (Swords 96)
March 15 — 6:15 p.m. Craig Hunter, a medical doctor of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, is stopped
with car troubles on the side of the road between Clearfield and Penfield, Pennsylvania, when he hears a
“hissing, whistling sound.” He looks up and sees “a circular object” between 250 and 400 feet above him,
traveling northwest. He says it is about 150 feet in circumference and composed of three concentric circles
that are rotating, two of them apparently in opposite directions. At the center it is 15–20 feet thick and its
speed is 60–70 mph. The noise suggests to him rocket propulsion. Suddenly it emits a fireball that is visible
above the road for about 30 seconds. The object moves away to the west after he has it in sight for about 2.5
minutes. (“
Doctor Sees Saucer, Makes Rough Sketch,” Galveston (Tex.) Daily News, March 18, 1950, pp. 1, 7; “
Saucers or Imagination,” Galveston (Tex.) Daily News, March 20, 1950, p. 4; “
‘Flying Saucer’ Discussion Revives As Physician Retells Story of Seeing Object in Sky above Penfield Pike on
March 15,” Clearfield (Pa.) Progress, March 31, 1950, pp. 1, 3; Center for UFO Studies,
HUMCAT Index 1950–1951, p. 6; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs: A History, Volume 5: January–March 1950, The Author, 1983, pp 52–53) March 16 — Just before 12:00 noon. Chief Petty Officer Charles Lewis sees a flying disc streak across
the sky at Naval Air Station Dallas [later Grand Prairie Armed Forces Reserve Complex] near Dallas, Texas. It
buzzes a high-flying B-36. It hovers under the bomber for a moment, then flies off and disappears. NAS Commander Capt.
Milton Adolphus Nation vouches for Lewis and says that the base tower operators had seen a UFO 10 days before.
(NICAP, “
Disc Buzzes B-36”; “‘Flying Saucers’ Sighted by Two,” Dallas Morning News, March 18, 1950; Ruppelt,
p. 75; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs: A History, Volume 5: January–March 1950, The Author, 1983, pp 53–54) March 17 — 9:15 a.m.–noon. About a dozen shiny “saucer-like discs” appear above Farmington, New Mexico,
zip around for 10 minutes then move off to the northeast. At 10:30 a.m., a red object is joined by three silvery
discs and put on a “dogfight.” At 11:15 a.m., a huge swarm comes into view. Former Army Engineer captain and
Farmington Times business manager
Clayton J. Boddy Jr. is walking on Broadway Avenue with two friends when he sees a large cluster of 50–100
objects moving at high speed. Private pilot John Eaton sees a red object at the center of the formation of
silvery discs, which appear to be twice the size of a B-29 bomber. Some estimates say that the UFOs are seen
by half the town’s population, or about 3,000 people, for 20 minutes.
Harold F. Thatcher, director of the Farmington branch of the US Soil Conservation Service, triangulates one
disc’s flight and calculates it is traveling at 1,000 mph. After maneuvering in formation, they speed away at a
height of 15,000–20,000 feet. (NICAP, “
The Farmington Invasion”;
Sparks, p. 84; “
Farmington ‘Invaded’ by Saucer Squadron,” Santa Fe New Mexican, March 17, 1950, p. 1; “
Huge ‘Saucer’ Armada Jolts Farmington,” Farmington (N.Mex.) Daily Times, March 18, 1950, p. 1; “
Hundreds at Farmington Report Large Force of Flying Saucers,” Albuquerque (N.Mex.) Journal, March 18, pp. 1,
14; “
Farmingtonites Crane to See More ‘Saucers,’” Santa Fe New Mexican, March 19, 1950, p. 1; “
Farmington Still Talks about Discs,” Albuquerque (N.Mex.) Journal, March 19, 1950, p. 1; Ruppelt,
pp. 75–76; James E. McDonald, “
Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US
House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, pp. 47–48; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: Volume 5, January–March 1950, The Author, 1983, pp. 56–64; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: Volume 5, January–March 1950: Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2000, pp. 25–36; David Marler, “
The Flying Saucer Invasion of 1950: Farmington, New Mexico and Beyond,” David Marler, UFO Researcher, February
2018; Mike Easterling, “
Farmington Reaches 70th Anniversary of Mass UFO Sighting,” Farmington (N.Mex.) Daily Times, March 17, 2020; “
The 1950 Farmington, New Mexico, UFO Armada Discussed by Eyewitnesses,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel,
December 5, 2023) March 18 — 8:40 a.m. Private pilot Robert Fisher, flying a Beechcraft Bonanza over Bradford, Illinois,
encounters an oval object with a metallic sheen. He can still see the object when it flies behind some thin
clouds. It moves away at an estimated speed of 600–1,000 mph. (UFOEv,
p. 38) March 18 — 6:30 p.m. At Lago Argentino, Santa Cruz, Argentina, rancher Wilfredo H. Arévalo watches a
disc-shaped object land while a second object “like a gramophone record” hovers above. He walks to within 500
feet of the object, which is giving off a greenish-blue vapor and a smell of burning benzine. The disc has a
cabin in the center in which he can see four tall men dressed in something like cellophane. They notice Arévalo
and shine a searchlight at him. Flames shoot out from the base and the object rises with a faint hum, both
objects disappearing to the west. Arévalo finds burnt grass. Possible newspaper hoax. (La Razón (Buenos Aires),
April 13, 1950; La Razón (Buenos Aires), April 23, 1950; Cristián Vogt, El misterio de los platos voladores,
Editorial La Mandrágora, 1956; Gordon Creighton, “
The ‘Humanoids’ in Latin America,” in Charles Bowen, ed., The Humanoids, special issue of FSR, Oct./Dec.
1966, pp. 30, 32; Roberto E. Banchs,
La fenomenología humanoide en la Argentina, Edition Especial of UFO Press, no. 4a (August 1977): 13; Roberto Banchs, “
La peonza voladora de Lago Argentino,” Cuadernos de Ufologia, ser. 2, no. 11 (1991): 14–18; Luis R. González, “
Firsthumcat (Catálogo de los primeros casos de humanoides) 1° parte,” Cuadernos de Ufologia, ser. 3, no.
31 (2005): 133–134; Clark III 267; Clark IV 307) March 20 — 9:26 p.m. Chicago and Southern Airlines Capt.
Jack Adams and First Officer G. W. Anderson Jr., flying a DC-3 at 2,000 feet and heading west from Memphis,
Tennessee, to Little Rock, Arkansas, see a circular disc 100 feet in diameter approximately over Hazen, Arkansas.
In the top center of the object is an extremely bright light blinking at an estimated 3 flashes per second. The
bottom of the object appears to have 9–12 symmetrical oval or circular portholes in a circle approximately 75%
of the distance from the center to the outer edge. The object passes directly in front of the airliner at a
distance of not more than 2,640 feet and approximately 1,000 feet higher than the airliner. They watch the object
for 25–35 seconds. Adams estimates its speed is greater than 1,000 mph. (NICAP, “
DC-3 Encounters 100ʹ Disc”;
Sparks, p. 85; Little Rock Arkansas Gazette, July 24, 1955; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: Volume 5, January–March 1950, The Author, 1990, pp. 67–70; Loren E. Gross,
The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1950 January–March, Supplemental Notes, The Author,
2000, pp. 38–42; Tom Howell YouTube channel, “
UFO from the 1950s,” October 3, 2006; Swords 95–96) March 21 — 1:00–1:30 p.m. Sergeant Woods at Sandia Base, New Mexico, reports four round, silvery
objects to the northeast. The objects appear to be more maneuverable than any known aircraft. The maneuvers
are similar to those in dogfights involving two aircraft, but there seems to be no similarity to a conventional
plane. They make right-angle turns and reverse direction instantaneously. The duration is about 30 minutes.
Other witnesses at Sandia and Kirtland AFB report similar observations. (NICAP, “
Base Personnel Sight Strange Objects”;
Sparks, p. 85) March 22 — 11:00 a.m. Eleven sergeants in the 4925th Test Group watch a UFO northwest of Kirtland AFB,
New Mexico. The shape is “similar to a flying wing air craft and tan in color, turning to brown around the edges.”
It first travels northwesterly at 25,000–30,000 feet, then turns north and disappears with a tremendous burst
of speed. (NICAP, “
Atomic Test Group Witnesses UFO in Broad Daylight”;
Sparks, p. 85; Clark III 692; Clark IV 768) March 26 — Day.
Bertram A. Totten, a clerk at the Library of Congress, is flying his plane at 5,000 feet over Fairfax County,
Virginia, when he spots an aluminum-colored disc about 40 feet in diameter and 10 feet thick flying 1,000 feet
below him. He dives toward it, but it speeds up into the overcast. It glints when the sun hits it, and he notices
a vapor trail. (Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: Volume 5, January–March 1950, The Author, 1983, pp. 79–80) March 26 — 8:50 p.m. CAA Tower operator Marie Hislop Mathews and United Airlines employees Robert
Higbee and Fred Hinkle see a brilliant light northeast of Hubbard Field [now Reno–Tahoe International Airport]
outside Reno, Nevada. It hangs motionless for 5–6 minutes, then moves slowly across the sky with a green light
on either side of it. It suddenly zooms upward into a cloud bank. (“
Reno’s Repute As Convention City May Be Interplanetary,” Reno Evening Gazette, March 27, 1950, p. 11; UFOEv,
pp. 44–45) March 27 — 10:30 a.m. USAF antiaircraft radar operator Cpl. Bolfango tracks a stationary target on
radar over the Motobu Peninsula, Okinawa, Japan, at 18 miles range for 10 minutes at 13,000 feet. The object
then moves on a 220° heading for 16.9 miles in 2 minutes (about 500 mph) to a point over a mountain, where it
is lost. (NICAP, “
Tracked Stationary Target at 18 Miles”;
Sparks, p. 85) March 28 —
Samuel Eaton Thompson is on his way home to Centralia, Washington, from Markham. He drives through a wooded
area between Morton and Mineral and decides to stop to take a break. On foot, he comes upon a large, globe-shaped
craft hovering above a clearing. Naked children with dark tans and blond hair are playing on steps that lead from
an open door to the side of the UFO. Several naked adults—humanoid, attractive, and also deeply tanned—then appear
at the ship’s door. After realizing that Thompson means them no harm, they beckon him closer. The crew consists of
20 adults and 25 children, the latter from about 5–15 years of age. Thompson claims to have spent the next 40 hours
with the humanoids. They are from Venus, he learns, and have stopped at Earth despite the fact that other Venusian
saucers have been shot at by Earth-based military forces. The Venusians further claims that they are vegetarian and
that they never grow ill. Thompson also claims the Venusians are naïve and childlike; they do not know who has built
their flying saucers and seem to possess little to no curiosity. He goes back to get a camera and tries to take photos,
but the object is too bright to appear on film. Thompson returns home on March 30. (“Centralian Tells Strange Tale
of Visiting Venus Space Ship in Eastern Lewis County,” Centralia (Wash.) Daily Chronicle, April 1, 1950; Elmer J. Olson, “
Sam Thompson Saw ‘Em—Saucer People,” Centralia (Wash.) Daily Chronicle, March 25, 1967, p. 6; Jerome Clark,
“The Coming of the Venusians,” Fate 34, no. 1 (January 1981): 49–55; Nick Redfern, “
A Sensational Saucer Saga!” Mysterious Universe, January 19,
2012; Clark III 1127–1129; Patrick Gross,
URECAT, November 16, 2018; Clark IV 1275–1277) March 30–April 3 — Nine reports by fishermen and Coast Guard personnel of unidentified submarines off
Eureka, California, spur the US Navy to send the
USS Colahan on a five-day search to track down the source. (“
Sub Search Ends,” Alameda (Calif.) Times Star, April 3, 1950, pp. 1–2; “
Submarines Contacted Off Shore, Officer Says,” Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, April 4, 1950, pp. 1, 15; “
Another Sub Sighted; Air Search Underway,” Riverside (Calif.) Daily Press, April 11, 1950, p. 1; “
Navy’s ‘Mysterious Object’ Regarded As Possible Sub,” Escondido (Calif.) Daily Times-Advocate, November 10,
1950, p. 1; Dolan, USO1, 136–137) Spring — Commander Augusto Vars Ortega of the Chilean Navy takes about 1,200 feet of color film of
UFOs— one above the other, turning at tremendous speeds—in Antarctica. When NICAP asks the Chilean Embassy
about the film in 1956, it tells
Keyhoe that the film is classified and not available. (Dan Lloyd, “
Things Are Hotting Up in the Antarctic,” Flying Saucer Review 11,
no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1965): 5) April - Daytime. While working on her lawn in Canby, Oregon, Ellen Jonerson glances
over at her neighbor's yard and sees a 12-inch-tall man with his back turned to her. When he
turns around, she sees that he has a heavily tanned face, is of stocky build, and wears overalls
and a plaid shirt. There is a skullcap on his head. She dashes inside to call a friend, then runs
outside again in time to see the figure "waddling" away. He walks under a parked car and disappears.
Kenneth Arnold, who interviews her, is convinced of her sincerity. ("
Some of Flying Saucers May Be Alive, Boise Flier Tells Science Fiction Fans," Portland Oregonian,
September 6, 1950, p. 8; Center for UFO Studies,
HUMCAT Index, 1950-1951, p. 2; Clark III 270; Clark IV 310) April 6 — 4:45 p.m. Lt.
John J. Sevila, a pilot with the 131st Fighter Squadron, hears a sound like a flight of jet airplanes and
rushes out of his house in Springfield, Massachusetts, to see them. Instead, he sees a perfectly circular object
moving slowly westward at an altitude of 25,000 feet. He watches it for 5 minutes as it moves at a speed of 50–100
mph. When the sun hits it directly, it shines like a mirror. (The Thunderbolt 1, no. 12 (April 1950): 5; “
Pilot Claims He Saw Flying Saucer in Maine,” Rutland (Vt.) Daily Herald, April
14, 1950, p. 3; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs: A History, Volume 6, April–July 1950, The Author, 1990, p. 9) April 7 — A CAA control tower operator at Logan Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, watches a blue light
split into two lights that revolve around each other for 10 minutes. (
Sparks, p. 86; Hynek UFO Report,
pp. 65–68) April 7 - Newsman
Edward R. Murrow produces the first extended TV commentary on UFOs, "The Case of the Flying
Saucer" on CBS. He begins with the
Kenneth Arnold case, mentions Muroc AFB cases and
Mantell, and quotes both True magazine and
Donald Menzel. Also on the show are
Henry J. Taylor, engineer
Charles H. Zimmerman, and
Charlie Ross, as well as people on the street. ("
Transcript of Ed Murrow-Kenneth Arnold Telephone Conversation," CUFOS Associate Newsletter 5,
no. 1 (Feb./March 1984): 3; Edward R. Murrow, "
The Case of the Flying Saucer [audio only]," Bryce Zabel YouTube channel, February 24, 2018) April 7 - Multiple witnesses at Logan Airport in Boston, MA view a dramatic UFO display. April 8 — 11:00 a.m. David Lightfoot, 12, and Charles Lightfoot, 9, are fishing in a creek northeast
of Amarillo, Texas, when they see what looks like a balloon about 20° above the horizon, moving from the south.
It passes only a few feet above them, circles slowly, and disappears over a small hill to the north. David runs
after it and sees that it has landed and is a blue-gray disk about as large as an automobile tire and about 1.5
feet tall. The top of it is spinning quickly, but a central spindle is motionless. David follows after it and
lunges at it, touching its hot and slick surface briefly, but it takes off straight up with a whistling noise,
emitting a gas that turns the boy’s arms red and raises some welts. Charles watches it take off from about 300
feet. David’s arms heal up after some salve is applied. Possible hoax. (“So You Saw a Flying Disc? This Boy Touched
One,” Amarillo (Tex.) Sunday News-Globe, April 9, 1950, pp. 1, 27; Keyhoe, FS from OS,
p. 114; C. W. Fitch, “
Monitoring and Scanning Discs,” APRO Bulletin, January 1963, p. 5; Olsen, sec. 3, pp. 3–4; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, A History: Volume 6, April–July 1950, The Author, 1990, p. 14; Loren E. Gross,
The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, A History: 1950, April–July, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2000,
pp. 20–25; “
The Red Spray Case and Scientific Paradigms | Ufos # 3: April 21, 2024,” Ufo Sunset Youtube channel, April 21,
2024) April 10 — 7:00 p.m. Several University of California, Berkeley, graduate students, including
Garniss H. Curtis,
Robert Scott Creely, and
Louis I. Briggs, watch a bright light moving against the wind at about 10–15 mph at 1,500 feet altitude about
3–4 miles away from Berkeley, California, for two hours. It turns slowly to the south then turns around and heads
slowly back. Four high school students in Monterey, California, see a gleaming object over San Francisco in the
early afternoon. (NICAP case file; “
Saucer Visits San Francisco, Schoolboys Say,” Los Angeles Times, April 12, 1950, p. 17) April 12 — Nine transient dots of light in a line turn up on a photographic plate image in the Palomar
Sky Survey. They are not seen on plates in the identical part of the sky 30 years later, 6 days later, or 30
minutes earlier. The dots are discovered in 2021 by Beatriz Villarroel, a postdoctoral researcher at the Nordic
Institute of Theoretical Physics, in 2021. She rules out astrophysical explanations, passing airplanes, asteroids,
and other known light sources as well as contamination caused by nuclear fallout. (Beatriz Villarroel, et al., “
Exploring Nine Simultaneously Occurring Transients on April 12th 1950,” Scientific Reports 11, no. 12794 (June
17, 2021); Beatriz Villarroel and Geoff Marcy, “
A New Era of Optical SETI: The Search for Artificial Objects of Non-Human Origin,” The Debrief, February 20,
2023; “Astronomical Transients,” Fortean Times 442 (March 2024): 24–25) April 12 - Serviceman B.G. Hunter observes an object land on the tarmac at Tradewinds Airport
in Amarillo, TX. After staying for five minutes, the object departs, leaving burn marks. April 16 - a 6-foot-wide metallic disc is seen by multiple observers to crash on the runway
at Laredo Airport, TX. A short humanoid exits and collapses on the ground. April 17 — More than 15 people report seeing a UFO for 20 minutes at 2,000 feet on the eastern horizon
at Los Alamos, New Mexico. One scientist watches the object through a telescope and says it looks flat, circular,
metallic, and roughly 9 feet in diameter. It moves faster than any conventional aircraft. (Sparks, p. 86; Loren E.
Gross,
UFOs, a History: Volume 6, April–July 1950, The Author, 1990, p. 26) April 17 — 8:15 p.m. Two high school students, Joseph Dumas and Edward Brogan, are driving along
Breckwood Boulevard in Springfield, Massachusetts, when they see a red object approach. Dumas pulls his car
to the side to let it pass. It seems to be in two parts, and it is moving up and down and making a high-
pitched whistling noise. It passes them at about 100 feet away, then goes straight up and disappears. (“
Saucers Fly Tandem Now,” Springfield (Mass.) Morning Union, April 18, 1950, p. 25; Project 1947, “
UFO Reports, 1950”) April 24. ITALY, Varese. Bruno Facchini saw a dark mass hovering 200 yds. from his
home. A man dressed in tight-fitting clothes and wearing a helmet appeared to be making repairs.
There were three other figure s working around the object. A trap through which light had been
shining was closed and the object took off. The occupants were of normal size, they made sounds,
pointed a camera-like device at the witness, a beam of light was projected towards him and he
was knocked a way. At the site, metal fraqments were found, also four circular imprints and
patches of scorched grass. The incident had other witnesses. (Vallee III) April 25 — Early morning. Military security patrols at the deactivated Dugway Proving Ground in
western Utah view a series of unusual lights and objects moving above an ammunition storage area. One object
is “surrounded by an aura of spears of light jutting diagonally from the main body.” (Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History, Volume 6: April–July 1950, The Author, 1990, p. 34) April 25 — 3:00 p.m. Enrique Hausmann Muller takes a film of a bright, circular UFO with rays of
flame spinning off its edge in a pinwheel fashion in Montuïri, Majorca, Balearic Islands, Spain. Probable
hoax. (UFOEv,
p. 88; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: Volume 6, April–July 1950, The Author, 1990, p. 32; Matías Morey Ripoll, “
El Caso Hausmann: Una Aproximación desde Ibiza,” UFO Fotocat Blog, September 20, 2019; Centro Ufologico
Nazionale, [
Hausmann photo]) April 27 — While preparing for an MX-776A Shrike air-to-ground missile test at White Sands Proving
Ground, New Mexico, Charles Riggs, a member of the Project Twinkle cinetheodolite camera crew supplied by
Land-Air Inc., sees, tracks, and manages to film four high-flying objects streaking across the sky. Another
station also tracks the objects. The photos show only a smudgy dark object, but the triangulation results in
a calculation by mathematician Wilbur L. Mitchell and Capt. Perry Bryant of the objects’ size as 30 feet in
diameter and 150,000 feet in altitude. (NICAP, “
Cinetheodolite Film Taken by Tracking Station”;
Sparks, p. 88; Ruppelt,
p. 88; Good Above,
pp. 354–355; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: Volume 6, April–July 1950, The Author, 1990, pp. 35–37; Bruce Maccabee, “
The White Sands Films,” IUR 21, no. 1 (Spring 1996): 22–25; Thomas Tulien, ed.,
Proceedings of the Sign Historical Group UFO History Workshop, Sign Historical Group, November 2001, p.
44; Clark III 544; Clark IV 602) April 27 — 8:25 p.m. TWA Flight 117 pilot Capt. Robert Adickes and Flight Officer Robert F. Manning
are flying near Goshen, Indiana, when they see a bright-red disc-shaped UFO behind their DC-3. It overtakes
the plane in about 2 minutes. Stewardess Gloria Henshaw and 11 passengers (including Boeing engineers C. H.
Jenkins and
Dean C. Bourland and executives E. J. Fitzgerald and S. N. Miller) also see the object. It veers off at 400
mph, drops down to 1,500 feet, and disappears. (NICAP, “
Adickes TWA DC-3 Case”;
Sparks, p. 89; “
Two TWA Pilots See Flying Disc in Indiana,” Denver Rocky Mountain News, April 29, 1950, p. 13; Donald E. Keyhoe, “
Flight 117 and the Flying Saucer,” True, August 1950, pp. 24–25, 75–79; Keyhoe, FS from OS,
pp. 145–148; James E. McDonald, “
Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House
Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, pp. 46–47; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: Volume 6, April–July 1950, The Author, 1990, pp. 36–38) May 5 — 11:30 p.m. Capt. Marcellus D. O’Sullivan, 1Lt.
William J. Reisinger, and three enlisted men of the 625th Aircraft and Warning Squadron at Elmendorf AFB
[now Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson], Anchorage, Alaska, see a reddish-orange object hovering in the sky for
5 minutes. It puts on a burst of speed and disappears over the horizon. (“
From History: 57th Fighter Interceptor Wing (Alaska), January–June 1950,” UFO Historical Revue, no. 5
(July 1999): 8) May 11 -7:30 p.m.
Evelyn Trent, who lives on a farm nine miles from McMinnville, Oregon [near Sheridan, Oregon],
is walking back to her farmhouse after feeding rabbits. Before reaching the house, she sees a slow-
moving, metallic disk-shaped object heading in her direction from the northeast. She yells for her
husband
Paul, who is inside the house; he comes out and also sees the object. After a short time, he
goes back inside to get a camera and manages to take two photos of the object before it speeds away
to the west. Paul Trent's father briefly sees the object before it flies away. The Trents assume
they have seen some exotic military aircraft. They do not develop the film in the camera until they
use it up and show the photos only to a few friends. Eventually it reaches the cover of Life magazine,
but the Trents show no desire to make any money from the photos. Although the Colorado project
initially thinks the photos seem genuine, three Interface Pilote pour l'Analyse de Clichés d'OVNIs
researchers in 2013-2015 claim to find evidence of a model suspended from a string. Researcher
Brad Sparks finds major mathematical and scientific
errors in IPACO's work. (Wikipedia, "
McMinnville UFO Photographs"; NICAP, "
Trent / McMinnville Photos";
Sparks, p. 90; "At Long Last-Authentic Photographs of Flying Saucer?" McMinnville (Oreg.)
Telephone-Register, June 8, 1950, p. 1; "`
Disc Picture' Published in McMinnville Paper," Salem
(Oreg.) Statesman Journal, June 9, 1950, p. 1; "McMinnville Farmer, Wife See `Saucer,' Display
Photographs to Prove Claim," Portland Oregonian, June 10, 1950, p. 7; "
Farmer Trent's Flying Saucer," Life, June 26, 1950,
p. 29; Condon,
pp. 396-407; Bruce S. Maccabee, "
On the Possibility that the McMinnville Photos Show a Distant Unidentified Object (UO),"
Proceedings of the 1976 CUFOS Conference, Center for UFO Studies, 1976, pp. 152-163; Hynek UFO
Report,
pp. 244-245; Story,
pp. 223-226; Bruce S. Maccabee, "
The McMinnville Photos," The Spectrum of UFO Research, CUFOS, 1988, pp. 13-57; Bruce S. Maccabee, "
The Trent Farm Photos," April 2000; Bruce S. Maccabee, "The Trent Farm Photos Appendix," April
2000; Bruce S. Maccabee, "
The McMinnville Photos," May 2000; Michael D. Swords, "
Can We Learn Anything from UFO Photos? Part Five,"
The Big Study, July 15, 2012; "
McMinnville, OR CE-II Photo Case of 5-11-1950 - Mrs. Paul Trent,"
Ufology: A Primer in Audio, 1938-1959, November 21, 2013; Antoine Cousyn, François Louange, and Geoff Quick, "
The McMinnville Pictures," Interface Pilote pour l'Analyse de Clichés d'OVNIs, May 2014; Robert
Sheaffer, "
The Trent UFO Photos: McMinnville, Oregon, May 11, 1950," The Debunker's Domain, September 10, 2014;
Robert Sheaffer, "
The Trent UFO Photos-`Best' of All Time-Finally Busted?"
Skeptical Inquirer 39 (Jan./Feb. 2015); John Killen, "
Past Tense Oregon: UFO Photos Taken near McMinnville in
1950 Still Raise Questions," Portland Oregonian, May 12, 2015; J. J. Valdés, "
The Trent/McMinnville UFO Photos: A Down-to-Earth Perspective,"
Historical Inquiry, August 19, 2016; Clark III 702-704; Eghigian, After, pp. 67-68; "
Oldest Most Authentic UFO Photos? McMinnville UFO and the Trent's Photos," Edge of Reality YouTube
channel, December 7, 2024; Clark IV 799-803) May 15 — Afternoon. Architect Enrique Carotenuto Bossa is driving in an isolated region in Bahía
Blanca Partido (possibly between Macachín and Estación Hidalgo Ferrocarril Sarmiento), La Pampa, Argentina,
when he sees a metallic disc resting on the ground to the left of the highway. He stops the car to investigate,
approaches it, and sees an open door in its side. He goes inside and sees a “curved divan with three seats,
two of which were occupied by small beings covered from head to foot (except for an opening for the face (in
a kind of tight-fitting overall of a brown color.” The bodies are about 4 feet tall, and their faces seem
charred or burnt. In front of them is a screen with “rays playing on it,” and on top of the screen is a rotating
globe. The engineer runs out and drives back to his hotel. He returns the next day with two companions and finds
only an ash heap. But they look up and see three UFOs—one a cigar-shaped object and two discs, hovering above
them at 1,800 feet. The discs merge with the cigar and speed away. (El Universal (Caracas, Venezuela), May 7,
1955; “
Man Enters Grounded Disc,” APRO Bulletin, August 1955, pp. 1–3; Stringfield, Situation Red, Fawcett Crest, 1977,
pp. 80–83; Willy Smith, “
The Curious Case of the Argentine Crashed Saucer,” IUR 11, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1986): 18–19; Roberto E. Banchs
and Richard W. Heiden, “
Crash Landing in the Pampas,” IUR 24, no. 2 (Summer 1999): 4–10, 30; Richard W. Heiden, “
Bossa Revisited,” IUR 28, no. 3 (Fall 2003): 28; Roberto Banchs, “
General Acha (LP): Un Accidentado Aterrizaje (Primera Parte),” Marcianitos Verdes, July 4, 2009; Clark III
327–328; Clark IV 364) May 20 — 12:15 p.m. Meteorologist
Seymour L. Hess is strolling the grounds of Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, when he notices a round,
gray-colored object approaching from the southeast at about 12,000 feet altitude. He follows it with a 4x spyglass
as it passes in front of a small cumulus cloud. Hess estimates it is about 4 feet in diameter and moving about 100
mph. (“
Astronomer, Pilots Catch Sight of Discs,” Salem Oregon Statesman,
May 23, 1950, p. 1; UFOEv,
p. 3; James E. McDonald, “
Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House
Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, pp. 61–62; Condon,
pp. 245–248; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: Volume 6, April–July 1950, The Author, 1990, p. 48; Loren E. Gross,
The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs: A History, 1950 April–July, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2000,
p. 47; Clark III 376; Clark IV 420) May 21 — 7:30 a.m.
Felix Zanon, 60, of Montrose, Colorado, sees a huge round object flashing in the sun. As the object
hovers, he summons his wife
Pearl and his son
Billy from the house to take a look with him. As the three watch, a second object approaches and joins next
to the first object. After a while, both objects leave together heading north toward Cerro Summit before altering
course and heading in an eastern direction before vanishing. Other witnesses claim to see the objects. (“
See Huge Silver Discs,” Pottsville (Pa.) Republican and Herald, May 22, 1950, p. 5; “
Rancher Reports Seeing Flying Discs,” Lexington (Ky.) Herald, May 22, 1950, p. 10; “
Montrose,” Grand Junction (Colo.) Daily Sentinel, May 23, 1950, p. 6; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: Volume 6, April–July 1950, The Author, 1990, p. 48; Loren E. Gross,
The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs: A History, 1950 April–July, Supplemental Notes, The Author,
2000, p. 47) May 21 — 3:50 p.m. T/Sgt Edward Eles,
Earl DuQuoin, and four other airmen of the 187th Fighter Squadron of the Wyoming National Guard are on the
airfield at the Municipal Airport in Cheyenne, Wyoming, when they see a V-shaped formation of four round, pure-
white discs flying in a northerly direction. In a matter of seconds, the objects change formation and make a
sharp right-angle turn, flying single file, and speed out of sight. (Cheyenne Wyoming State Tribune, May 22,
1950, p. 1; “
Astronomer, Pilots Catch Sight of Discs,” Salem Oregon Statesman,
May 23, 1950, p. 1; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: Volume 6, April–July 1950, The Author, 1990,
p. 49) May 24? - Midday. J. A. Blackmore finishes lunch at a grazing property near Mount Gambier,
South Australia, when he spots a UFO. His companions-Lewis and Cyril Blackmore and Peter McQuade-see
it too. The object is very high, completely silent, emits no smoke or flame, and moves southeast. It
stays in view for five or six seconds, traveling faster than any airplane they have ever seen. ("
Flying Saucer," Inverell (N.S.W.) Times, May 31, 1950, p. 1; "
Four See `Saucer,'" Sydney (N.S.W.) Daily Telegraph, May 31, 1950, p. 13) May 24 — During an MX-674 Tarzon controllable vertical bomb test at Holloman AFB, New Mexico, Floyd
Fannon and other USAF crew members see eight unidentified objects. They separately track and film two of the
objects down the North American Aviation missile firing range. Project Twinkle cinetheodolite station P-8 films
one object to the northeast for 6 frames (1.0 sec) moving uniformly to the south. Cinetheodolite station P-10,
located 5.7 miles down range to the north from P-8 and 7 feet higher, films another object, hence no triangulation
is possible. Analysts estimate that the objects were higher than 40,000 feet, traveling more than 2,000 mph, and
over 300 feet in diameter. (NICAP, “
Cinetheodolite Film Taken by Tracking Station”;
Sparks, p. 91; Ruppelt,
p. 89; Good Above,
pp. 354–355; Bruce Maccabee, “
The White Sands Films,” IUR 21, no. 1 (Spring 1996): 22–25; Bruce
Maccabee, UFO FBI Connection, Llewellyn, 2000,
pp. 143,
150–151; Clark III 544; Clark IV 602) May 29 — 9:20 p.m. Capt.
Willis T. Sperry, copilot Bill Gates, flight engineer
Robert Arnholt, a stewardess, and several passengers on an American Airlines DC-6 airliner headed southwest
out of Washington, D.C., en route to Nashville, Tennessee, are flying at 7,500 feet at 250 mph. About 7 miles
west of Mount Vernon, Virginia, Gates alerts Sperry to a bright blue or bluish light ahead of them and increasing
in size. Sperry makes an evasive 45° turn to the right and the object passes from 11 o’clock to 7 o’clock position
to the left at a slightly higher altitude. The light very briefly passes between the aircraft and the upper part
of the moon, revealing an object with a long silhouette (somewhat reminiscent of a submarine) without visible
wings or empennage. The blue light is on the front of the object. Sperry turns left back onto his original course
to get the object back in view, but it apparently stays stationary for about 30 seconds. Gates then notices the
object circling around to the right side. Sperry banks right again, while the object paces the airliner about
20–30 seconds before it climbs to the east at a 30° angle at “fantastic” speed and disappears. (NICAP, “
Capt. Willis Sperry Sighting”;
Sparks, p. 91; “
New Type of Saucer Is Reported—Like a Submarine with Lights,” Asheville (N.C.) Times, May 30, 1950, p. 16; “
‘Saucer’ Like Sub Reported by Pilot,” Buffalo (N.Y.) News, May 31, 1950, p. 64; “
Strange Craft Seen by Pilot near Capital,” Fort Worth (Tex.) Star-Telegram, June 1, 1950, p. 8; Donald E.
Keyhoe, “
Flight 117 and the Flying Saucer,” True, August 1950, pp. 24, 78–79; Ruppelt,
pp. 85–86; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: Volume 6, April–July 1950, The Author, 1990, pp. 52–53; Loren E. Gross,
The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, A History: 1950, April–July, Supplemental Notes, The Author,
2000, pp. 52–54; Project 1947, “
UFO Reports 1950”; “
American Airlines CE-II Case of 5-29-1950 – Capt. Willis Sperry,” Ufology: A Primer in Audio, 1938–1959,
November 21, 2013) Summer — Afternoon. Four Indigenous men are fishing in Lac Du Flambeau, Wisconsin, when they
notice a disturbance in the water. It continues for 20 seconds, then a disk-shaped object rises up and
hovers for 6–10 seconds, generating waves. It then accelerated and disappears from sight almost
instantaneously. (National UFO Reporting Center, “
NUFORC UFO Sighting,” March 19, 2009; Dolan, USO1, 138–139) Summer — Evening. An 8- or 10-foot-disc lands in a field behind Mrs. Mason Vaughan’s house in
Beaverdam, Virginia. From an open cockpit a “man with unusual goggles or headpiece” looks out. Surprised,
the disc takes off abruptly, breaking off a limb from an oak tree on the way up. (Center for UFO Studies,
HUMCAT Index 1950–1951, p. 20; Clark III 267; Clark IV 307) June 1 - A pilot on patrol from RAF Tangmere in West Sussex, England, sights a "bright circular metallic
object" that speeds past his Gloster Meteor jet fighter at 20,000 feet. As he undergoes a debriefing by squadron
intelligence, he finds out that four RAF controllers at the radar station at RAF Wartling near Eastbourne have, at
the same time, tracked an "unusual response" that vanishes from their screens, moving at terrific speed. (UK Flying
Saucer Working Party,
Unidentified Flying Objects, June 1951, pp. 2-3; David Clarke, "
Flying Saucer Working Party," Dr. David Clarke Folklore and Journalism, January 3, 2015) June 6 — F-86 Sabre fighter aircraft assigned to the 654th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron
at Grenier Air Force Base [now Manchester–Boston Regional Airport] in Manchester, New Hampshire, are ordered
to fly with “hot” guns for “certain missions involving interception of unidentified tracks.” (Powell,
Scientist, 112, 114) June 12 — 4:00 p.m. Working in a quarry somewhere in California, geologist John Zimmerman and
civil engineer Charles Fisher are watching a jet aircraft speeding through the sky and leaving a vapor
trail. Suddenly Zimmerman notices that the vapor trail has been cut. Looking more closely, he notices a
metallic disc making vertical loops around the jet. Two other discs come into view and perform the same
aerobatics. (Wells Alan Webb, Mars, the New Frontier, Fearon, 1956, p. 124; UFOEv,
p. 50; Clark III 376; Clark IV 420 June 13 — Day. Erineo Medina is sitting near an auto parts shop in Alice, Texas, when he looks
up from rolling a cigarette and sees a flying saucer. He drops his tobacco tin in surprise. The saucer,
described as a perfectly round, mirror-like gray disc, silently whizzes by about 1,000 feet up, heading
north. Medina’s companion, Loreto Sanchez, also sees it, and they alert nearby café customers who witness
it before it vanishes. Policeman Saragoza Garcia hears the commotion, but the object is gone by the time
he steps outside. (“
Alice Man Looks up, Sees Saucer,” Corpus Christi (Tex.) Caller-Times, June 14, 1950, p. 12B) June 17 — Oskar Linke and his 11-year-old daughter Gabriele are walking toward Haselbach,
Thuringia, East Germany, in the twilight when she notices something about 420 feet away. It appears to
be two men dressed in shiny metallic clothing who are stooped over and looking at something on the ground.
Linke approaches to 30 feet away, looks over a small fence, and sees a large object about 40 feet in diameter
that looks like a huge frying pan. It has two rows of holes in its periphery and a black conical tower about
9 feet high. The two men suddenly jump inside. The inside lights up, the object starts humming and rises
slowly from the ground, rotating like a top. It rises from the ground with the aid of a central cylinder
and is surrounded by flames, then takes off in the direction of Stockheim. Later he finds a circular
depression in the ground at the spot. Linke resettles in West Berlin in 1951. He tells his story to a notary
there on July 1, 1952, which is how it turns up in the Western press and explains a confusion in the date
of the sighting. (NICAP, “
CE III by Two Witnesses / Oskar Linke Case”;
Sparks, p. 92; Central Intelligence Agency, “
‘Flying Saucers’ in East Germany,” July 9, 1952; Leonard G. Cramp, Space, Gravity, and the Flying Saucer,
British Book Centre, 1955,
pp. 158–161; Olsen, Sec. 3, pp. 8–9; Hynek UFO Report,
pp. 203–206; Ted Bloecher, “
Herr Linke and the Flying Warming Pan,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 153 (November 1980): 6–9; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: 1952, June–July 20th, The Author, 1986, pp. 32–34; Good Above,
pp. 513–514; Martin S. Kottmeyer, “
Missing Linke,” Magonia Supplement, no. 48 (October 2003): 3–5; “
East Germany 1950 Landing Case, Humanoid Pilots Seen,” Journal of UFO History 2, no. 3 (July/Aug. 2005):
8–9; Andreas Müller, “
Das Haselbach-UFO von 1950: Die Augenzeugin spricht,”
grenzWissenschaft-aktuell.de, January 26, 2016) June 21 — 1:35 a.m. Control tower operators Cpl. Roger G. Pryor and S/Sgt.
Ellis R. Lorimer and airways communications staffer S/Sgt. Virgil Cappuro watch a flying disc speeding
at 1,000–1,500 mph over Hamilton AFB [now closed] in Novato, California. The object shoots blue flame and
makes a roar like thunder as it makes five passes over the base. They observe it through binoculars for 25
minutes. (NICAP, “
Disc Makes Five Passes at Control Tower”;
Sparks, p. 92; “
Saucer’s Roar ‘Like Thunder,’ Say Observers,” Long Beach (Calif.) Press-Telegram, June 21, 1950, p. 1; “
Disc, ‘Roaring Like Thunder,’ Is Reported at Hamilton Field,”
Dayton (Ohio) Daily News, June 21, 1950, p. 1; “
GIs Report Seeing ‘Saucer’ at Air Base on West Coast,”
Dayton (Ohio) Journal Herald, June 22, 1950, p. 2) June 24 - A cigar-shaped UFO paces a United Airlines plane (Capt. E. L. Remlin, First Officer
David Stewart, and observer Capt.
Samuel B. Wiper) for 20 minutes near Daggett, California. The object is also seen by the crew of
another airliner and a navy transport plane. The Navy pilot sees for 3 minutes a dark gray object
with heat radiation at the tail end. He estimates altitude as 50,000-100,000 feet and a speed of
1,000-1,500 mph. The crews discuss the matter with two CAA ground stations. The object is also
reported by hundreds of witnesses over a distance of 300-400 miles from southern California to
Nevada and southeastern Utah and was covered in local newspapers. (NICAP, "
Three Aircraft Crews Observe UFO"; Sparks, p. 93; "
Blazing Object Seen Speeding over Nevada," Los Angeles (Calif.) Times, June 25, 1950, p. 3; "
Fiery Object Reports Are Still Coming," Reno Nevada State Journal, June 28, 1950, p. 8; UFOEv,
p. 31; David Rudiak, "
1950 California-Nevada Cigar-Shaped UFO," Roswell Proof, 2005) June 27 — Around 12:35 p.m. Nearly a dozen residents of Modesto, California, report seeing a
mysterious object in the sky, described as either a “flying saucer” or a “ball of fire.” Witnesses say
it moves from east to west at about 40,000 feet. Eight employees of a local automobile agency describe
it as a burning metallic substance trailing vapor or smoke. The object is also observed by several people
in Modesto’s rural areas. (“
Modesto Sees Saucer,” San Francisco (Calif.) Examiner, June 28, 1950, p. 19) June 27 — 4:15 p.m. Al Hixenbaugh, a photographer for the Louisville Times, is at the corner
of Longest and Everett avenues in Louisville, Kentucky, when he hears the sound of a DC-3 airplane overhead.
He looks up and sees the plane as well as a large disc with a slight corona around it. He shoots 50 feet of
film with his 16mm movie camera as the object remains motionless for 10 seconds before it starts getting
smaller and disappears to the west. (
Sparks, p. 93; [
film with commentary]; Louisville (Ky.) Times, June 28, 1950, p. 1; “
‘Saucer’ Filmed,” Lexington (Ky.) Herald, June 29, 1950, p. 13; “
Kentucky Newsman Records Flying Saucer in Movie Film,”
Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle, June 29, 1950, p. 10; “
How to Film UFO’s,” Saucers 6, no. 3 (August 1958): 3) June 29 — Afternoon. A brilliant white object is seen in the western sky by many residents of
Phoenix, Arizona, for three hours.
William A. Rhodes watches the object through an 80x telescope and estimates that it is 50–62 miles
high and 225 miles west of Phoenix. American Airlines pilot Bob Rentz places it west of Wickenburg at
6:00 p.m. Weather bureau observers say it is round with a sharp cone projecting from its base and a
round protuberance at its top. (Jim Blakeslee, “
City Agog over Strange Object in Sky,” Phoenix Arizona Republic, June 30, 1950, p. 1) June 30 — Midnight. Rev. Ross Vermillion, a former bomber pilot, and his wife are driving
9 miles west of Kingman, Kansas, when they see a bright red light hovering over US Hwy 54 near Cunningham,
Kansas. They estimate it to be about 250 feet in diameter with a small canopy on top. The family of druggist
Dwayne Mulnix of Meade, Kansas, also sees the object and they stop and watch it for about 20 minutes along
the highway. They begin to drive closer, but it speeds away. As seen in the bright moonlight, the object
looks made of bright metal and has an elliptical body “as big as the cross-section of a B-29” with a rotor
turning counterclockwise around its body. (NICAP, “
WWII Pilot Tells of Seeing Flying Saucer”; “
World War II Pilot Tells of Seeing a Flying Saucer,” Lawrence (Kan.) Journal World, July 1, 1950, p. 7;
Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: Volume 6, April–July 1950, The Author, 1990,
pp. 66–69) June 30 — 11:15 p.m. Two navy men (Petty Officer Carter and Able Seaman Connelly) at Royal Canadian
Naval Air Station Shearwater, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, are pulling duty on radar watch from dusk until dawn.
They report four separate radar contacts bearing 160° at 5 miles over 90 minutes. Visual confirmation of two
glowing objects is made by a chief petty officer in North Dartmouth. (NICAP, “
Navy Men Report Radar Contact”) July - Claude Blondeau is at Guyancourt Airport in Yvelines, France when two discs land
on the runway. Doors open and out step two human-looking ETs. July — Mid-day. Electronics engineer Cliff Booth is having lunch in his office at a private
contractor’s building at Holloman AFB, New Mexico, when he gets a call that a UFO has been reported by
one of the range stations. Booth and an Askania cinetheodolite operator are asked to drive to another
range station with a manually operated Askania and look for the object. Through the finders on the
theodolite the object presents a side view to the observers and appears to be cigar-shaped and metallic,
with a straw-colored iridescent radiance or luster. It also has fins one-third of the way back from the
front of the fuselage and a row of at least three oblong ports extending to the rear of the object and
located above the center line of the fuselage. The ports are a dark smoky gray but not luminescent. The
object hovers in an almost horizontal position, elevation 20°–25°, azimuth northeast. Shortly after the
men focus the instrument on the object to take a film, it begins maneuvering. Turning toward the camera,
the object moves in, and the men can see the front—a round shape with the fins extending out from the
sides. It then drops abruptly, as though beginning to fall, but stops. It moves toward the camera, turns
sideways, then drops as before, but this time it exposes the side view again. The operator leaves to report
the coordinates to headquarters, and when he returns the object is gone. The men turn over their exposed film
to the Data Reduction Division for development and analysis. A week or so later they are called in and
questioned by a young first lieutenant unknown to them who asks them over and over again if they have taken
pictures and to describe the object they had seen. Then they are asked if they can identify the film of the
object they photographed. One of the men becomes angry about the questioning, telling the officer he had seen
what he reported, had photographed the object, and is convinced it is some sort of a vehicle from outer space.
He is shown a film of 14 frames on a Recordak projector. The black-and-white presentation shows a blurred
ellipsoid with a dark center, but no details. (Puzzled about the film, he later talks to a mathematician-analyst
employed by Land-Air, Inc.; she conjectured the object had been oscillating in the air, preventing a stable
image.) The men are then told by their superiors to forget the whole thing. (Lorenzen, FS Hoax,
pp. 27–29; Project 1947, “
APRO Files: Coral E. Lorenzen, Holloman Air Force Base UFO Sighting, July, 1950”) July — 1:45 p.m. A Civil Aviation Authority flight engineer observes a “wingless, fuselage-shaped”
object maneuvering over Cincinnati, Ohio. The object climbs at a steep angle to 16,000–18,000 feet, hesitates,
dives, and speeds away to the west. (UFOEv,
p. 45) July 2 - Dusk. While picnicking on the shore of Sawbill Bay on Marmion Lake, western Ontario,
an anonymous employee of the Steep Rock Iron Mine claims to have seen a UFO resting on the water's
surface. A hatch opens and 10 figures, 3-4 feet tall, emerge, wearing shiny, metallic clothing.
They seem to be drawing in lake water with a hose. The object soon rises and hovers, then swiftly
takes off. The story appears in the mine's house newsletter, then gets picked up by some Canadian
newspapers and Fate magazine in its February/March 1952 issue. However, Robert Badgley, a Scarborough,
Ontario, member of APRO, finds in 1974 that Steep Rock employee Gordon Edwards had written the
fictitious tale to entertain readers of the newsletter and to satirize saucer stories. ("`Flying
Saucer' Lands on Lake Near Atikokan, `Letter' Says," Port Arthur (Ont.) News Chronicle, September
18, 1950, pp. 1-2; "
Steep Rock Flying Saucer," Fate 5, no. 2 (February-March 1952):
68-72; "
1950 Steep Rock Lake, Ontario Case Possible Hoax,"
APRO Bulletin 26, no. 5 (November 1977): 5; John Robert Colombo, Mysterious Canada, Doubleday
Canada, 1988,
pp. 231-232; John Robert Columbo, UFOs over Canada, Hounslow, 1991,
pp. 32-41; Patrick Gross,
URECAT, January 31, 2007; Clark III 595; Hammerson Peters, "
The Little Green Men of Steep Rock Lake," Mysteries of
Canada, September 7, 2018; Clark IV 655) July 4 — Evening. Aerojet engineer
Daniel Fry is alone during the holiday at White Sands Proving Ground, New Mexico, when a flying saucer
appears and hovers just above the ground. Fry approaches and strokes its surface when a voice booms, “Better
not touch the hull, pal, it’s still hot.” After some conversation with the disembodied extraterrestrial named
Alan, he is invited on board the craft, which flies him to New York and back in 30 minutes. Alan is originally
from Lemuria, but his people moved to Mars, and now they are back to help with scientific progress and end wars.
Fry has further encounters and becomes a celebrity on the contactee circuit. He finally meets Alan in person in
1961. (Daniel Fry,
The White Sands Incident, New Age, 1954; Daniel Fry, Alan’s Message: To Men of Earth, New Age, 1954; Bryant
and Helen Reeve, Flying Saucer Pilgrimage, Amherst Press, 1957,
pp. 104–110; Clark III 518–520; Eghigian, After, pp. 132–133; Clark IV 567–569) July 8 — 2:00 p.m. Three US Coast Guardsmen are in Peril Strait off Chichagof Island, Alaska, when
they notice a white barbell-shaped object moving overhead to the west. It appears to be banking and climbing
as it maintains its course. They estimate it is 100 feet long by 60 feet high and moving at 350 mph. They
have it in sight for two and a half minutes. (Powell, Scientist, 50–51) July 11 — Two Navy aircraft crews from NAS Millington [now Naval Support Activity Mid-South] in
Tennessee, across the Mississippi River from Osceola, Arkansas, see a domed disc pass in front of them.
Airborne radar confirms it. The object first appears as a round ball; after it crosses their flight path,
it appears like an upside-down shallow bowl. (NICAP, “
Air, Radar/Visual over Arkansas”;
Sparks, p. 93; “
Millington Men Report Seeing ‘Flying Saucer’ and Tracing It,” Memphis (Tenn.) Commercial Appeal, July 12,
1950, p. 1; “
Navy Pilots Claim They Tracked ‘Flying Saucer’ On Radar Scope,” Anniston (Ala.) Star, July 12, 1950, p. 2) August - Multiple witnesses at the Medford Airport in Oregon observe four metallic discs circle
overhead for three hours. August — 2:00 p.m. Hugh O’Neill views a cigar-shaped object hovering silently about 2–5 miles
off the Big Sur coast at Anderson Creek, California, at an elevation of 500–1,000 feet. It moves swiftly
away to the south, then returns less than 2 minutes later and slowly circles above the ocean twice for 90
seconds, disappearing again to the south. (Henry Miller, Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch, New
Directions, 1957,
p. 75; Loren E. Gross,
The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs a History: 1950 August–December, Supplemental Notes, The
Author, 2000, p. 3) August 4 — A memo from Army Maj.
Ulysses Grant Carlan states that UFOs since July 30 have been seen at the Hanford Site in Washington State.
They are above 15,000 feet. Jets attempting interception fail. The AEC says that the investigation is continuing.
(Maj. U. G. Carlan, “
Flying Discs,” August 4, 1950; Good Above,
p. 267,
485; Nukes 46; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: Volume 6, April–July 1950, The Author, 1990, p. 71) August 4 — The crew (Master Nils Lewring, Chief Mate Jacob Koelwyn) of the
M/V Marcala in the North Atlantic between Nova Scotia and the US Eastern seaboard watch an aluminum-colored
cylinder-shaped UFO, apparently 10 feet in diameter, 50–100 feet above the surface. It initially moves 25 mph,
makes no noise, wobbles slightly, disappears over the horizon, then reappears. The ship’s captain watches the
object through binoculars for 90 seconds. One of the other witnesses describes the sighting as “one of the most
frightening experiences I have ever had.” (NICAP, “
Object 100ʹ above Sea Observed by Ship MV Marcala”; Central Intelligence Agency, “
Unidentified Airborne Object,” August 4, 1950; “
Ship Officers, Crew Report Seeing Flying Saucer in Area,” Wilmington (Del.) Journal–Every Evening,
August 7, 1950, p. 9; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: Volume 7, August–December 1950, The Author, 1982, pp. 1–3; ClearIntent,
pp. 115–116; Good Above,
pp. 340–341; Dolan, USO1, 139–141) August 12 — 1:30 p.m. Mr. and Mrs. Bud Oliver are at the state forestry lookout tower on Round Top
Mountain north of Medford, Oregon, when they see two UFOs, one disc-shaped, the other oblong. They are about
100 feet apart, and the oblong one is tumbling in the air end over end. (“
Lookouts Report Seeing ‘Saucers’ North of Medford,” Medford (Oreg.) Mail-Tribune, August 17, 1950, p. 9) August 14 - 11:27 a.m. Flight Lt.
Stan J. Hubbard and two other officers at Farnborough Airfield,
Hampshire, England, hear a humming noise. Hubbard looks up and sees a flat gray disc, about 100 feet in
diameter, at an altitude of 700-1,000 feet. He watches it for 30 seconds as it flies at a speed of 800-
1,000 mph and makes a series of S-turns, oscillating as it moves. The other two officers see nothing.
(Good Need,
pp. 149-151; David Clarke and Andy Roberts, Out of
the Shadows, Piatkus, 2002, pp. 87-93; UFOFiles2,
pp. 40-42; David Clarke, "
Flying Saucer Working Party," Dr. David Clarke Folklore
and Journalism, January 3, 2015; David Clarke, "Phantoms of the Sky," Fortean Times 445 (June 2024):
28, 30-31, 33) August 15 — 11:30 a.m.
Nicholas Mariana and his secretary Virginia Raunig are inspecting the Great Falls, Montana, baseball stadium
in preparation for a game. He walks up to the grandstand and notices two fast-moving bright lights “like two new
dimes in the sky.” He rushes to his car, parked 60 feet away, and gets his 16mm movie camera from the glove
compartment. He films the objects passing behind a water tower, which provides a frame of reference for measuring
distance, size, altitude, azimuth, and speed. In October he takes it to an Air Force officer for analysis. USAF
notes that two jet interceptors were in the area and might be the objects on the film, but Mariana and Raunig had
seen those too. Controversy soon arises when Mariana claims that the first 35 frames of his film—which he says most
clearly show the UFOs as rotating disks—are missing. People in the Great Falls area who view Mariana’s film support
him. They claim that the missing frames clearly show the UFOs as spinning, metallic disks with a “notch or band”
along their outer edges. USAF personnel deny this accusation and insist that they have removed only a single frame
of film that was damaged in the analysis. In 1952, Blue Book reviews the film; so does
Robert M. L. Baker Jr. in 1954, and the Colorado project in 1967. All studies of the film agree that it was not
faked and that the objects appear to be disc-shaped. (Wikipedia, “
Mariana UFO incident”; NICAP, “
Nick Mariana / Montana UFO Color Film”; “
Air Force Takes over Films of Flying Disks,” Spokane (Wash.) Chronicle, October 5, 1950, p. 8; “
Colored Films on Saucers to Be Shown,” Twin Falls (Idaho) Times-News, October 19, 1950, p. 17;
Ruppelt, pp. 219–220; UFOs Yes, 81–108; Condon,
pp. 407–415; Margaret Sachs, The UFO Encyclopedia, Putnam, 1980,
pp. 127–128); James R. Leming, “
Montana Movie,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 223 (November 1986): 10–11, 17–18;
Barry Greenwood, “
On the Question of Tampering with the 1950 Great Falls UFO Film,” UFO Historical Revue, no. 7 (September 2000):
1–8; Michael D. Swords, GrassRoots UFOs: Case Reports from the Timmerman Files, Fund for UFO Research, 2005, pp.
138–139; Michael D. Swords, “
Can You Learn Anything from UFO Photos? Part Three,”
The Big Study, July 7, 2012; “
Nick Mariana UFO Footage 1950 Great Falls Montana,” parkerdonaldmusic YouTube channel, September 29,
2012; Clark III 767–769; Patrick Gross, “
The Great Falls, Montana, UFO Color Film, August 15, 1950”; Clark IV 848–850) September - 7:00 a.m. Three US Navy planes on a combat mission 100 miles south of the Yalu River in
Korea are approached from below by two huge discs, at least 600-700 feet in diameter, traveling at 1,000-1,200
mph. The radar shows them as 1.5 miles away. Suddenly the objects halt, back up, and begin a jittering motion,
keeping pace with them, circling above and below. When one pilot readies his guns, the aircraft radar goes haywire,
apparently jammed. His radio transmitter is blocked by a buzzing noise. The discs are silvery and shaped like a
"coolie's hat, with oblong ports from which emanated a copper-green colored light which gradually shifted to
pale pastel-colored lights." A shimmering red ring circles the top portion of the disc. The objects soon speed
away in the direction from which they had come. (Lorenzen, FS Hoax,
pp. 30-32; Haines, Korea,
pp. 28-30; Powell, Scientist, 85) September 5 — 4:09 p.m. Flight Lt.
Stan J. Hubbard is standing on the watchtower at Farnborough Airfield, Hampshire, England, with five other
officers, one of whom is Wing Commander Frank Jolliffe. They all see, at a range of 10–15 miles, a light gray
disc following a rectangular flight path, consisting of a “falling leaf, horizontal flight, an upward “falling
leaf,” then another horizontal stretch. The Working Party concludes they have imperfectly viewed some conventional
aircraft. (David Clarke and Andy Roberts, Out of the Shadows, Piatkus, 2002, pp. 87–93; Good Need,
pp. 150–151; UFOFiles2,
p. 41; David Clarke, “
Flying Saucer Working Party,” Dr. David Clarke Folklore and Journalism, January 3, 2015) September 6 — 9:15 a.m.
Herve Rancourt sees a round object above a jet plane while working on a housing project in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
The object, about half an inch in apparent diameter, moves so fast that it easily overtakes the jet. Rancourt watches
it for 15 to 20 seconds.
Joseph Brunelle of Turners Falls, his coworker and a World War II Air Corps
veteran, also observes the object. Both men describe it as having a whitish cast. Rancourt notes that the object
appears to gain altitude during a second sighting. The object is judged to be flying at an altitude of about 12,000–
13,000 feet. (“
Air Force Vet Reports Seeing Flying Saucer,” Springfield (Mass.) Morning Union, September 7, 1950, p. 30) September 7 - 7:00 p.m. Many residents of Joliet, Illinois, report seeing a bright object
with trailing streamers in the northwestern Sky. Possible jet airplane. ("
News Briefs," Jacksonville (Ill.) Daily Journal,
September 9, 1950, p. 1) September 15 — Afternoon. Jack Spencer and four other senior test flight personnel at Farnborough
Airfield, Hampshire, England, are on the roof of the flight control building when they see a flat disc about
10 miles to the south. The object goes from a fluttering, hovering position to a slight dive at high speed.
The sequence is repeated several times, with some changes in height. The disc follows a rectangular flight
path, consisting of a “falling leaf” motion, fast horizontal motion, an upward falling leaf, and another
horizontal stretch. Finally it speeds away toward the horizon and vanishes. (David Clarke, “Phantoms of the
Sky,” Fortean Times 445 (June 2024): 28, 33–34) September 21 — MIT research associate and Air National Guard Maj.
Myron Herbert Ligda and
Joseph V. Connelly are testing radar near Provincetown, Massachusetts, under contract to the US Signal
Corps, when they track an unknown object on a converging course with two F-86s. The clear target passes the
planes at a speed of at least 1,200 mph, makes a right turn, then passes directly over or under the F-86s.
(NICAP, “
SCR-615B Tracks UFO”;
Sparks, p. 100; Hynek UFO Report,
pp. 139–141; Martin Shough,
RADCAT: Radar Catalogue: A Review of Twenty-One Ground and Airborne Radar UAP Contact Reports Generally Related
to Aviation Safety for the Period October 15, 1948, to September 19, 1976, National Aviation Reporting Center
on Anomalous Phenomena, NARCAP Report TR-6, December 8, 2002, pp. 21–24; Swords 104) September 26 — 10:00 p.m. Policemen John Collins and Joseph Keenan are patrolling on Vare Avenue near
26th Street in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, when they see something like a parachute drifting down ahead
of them at treetop level. It is about 6 feet in diameter and settles in an open field. After summoning Sgt.
Joseph Cook and Patrolman James Casper, they go into the field to investigate. When they turn their flashlights
on it, it gives off a purplish glow, “almost a mist, that looked as though it contained crystals.” Collins touches
it and it dissolves in his hand, leaving an odorless, sticky residue. It completely evaporates in 25 minutes. This
event inspires producer
Jack H. Harris to ask his friend Irvine H. Millgate to come up with a story for what eventually becomes the
1958 horror film The Blob. (“
Flying ‘Saucer’ Just Dissolves,” Philadelphia Inquirer,
September 27, 1950, pp. 1–2; “
Sticky Purple Light,” Fate 4, no. 8 (Nov./Dec. 1951): 35; Frank Edwards, Strange World, Ace, 1964,
pp. 212–213; Vincent Gaddis, Mysterious Fires and Lights, David McKay, 1967, p. 42; Bruce S. Maccabee, “
UFO Related Information from the FBI File, Part 7,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 132 (Nov./Dec. 1978): 11, 14–15;
Rebekah McKendry, “
The Supposedly True Story behind the Classic Film The Blob!” 13th Floor, October 21, 2015; Clark III 1102;
Jake Rossen, “
The Real-Life Creepy Blob That Inspired The Blob,” Mental Floss, May 5,
2021; Clark IV 1228) September 27. Philadelphia, PA. Police officers John Collins and Joseph Kennan saw
an object 6 ft. in diameter float to earth in an open field. They approached the object with
flashlights. Collins tried to pick the object up, the part touched by his band dissolved,
leaving a sticky odorless residue. Within a half hour the entire object had evaporated. A
spot remained at the site. (News clips) October 3 — Geochemist J. D. Laudermilk watches a disc moving with a wobbling motion at 750 mph behind
a mountain peak near Pomona, California. (UFOEv,
p. 49) October 5 — A California Central Airlines plane, piloted by Capt. Cecil Hardin and Flight Officer
Jack Conroy, is buzzed by a wing-like UFO with 8 bright lights between San Fernando and Van Nuys, California.
Bands of blue light are visible across its width. (NICAP, “
Mysterious Object Buzzes Airliner”; “
Now Add This to Saucer Mysteries,” Los Angeles Daily News, October 6, 1950, p. 2; UFOEv, p. 34) October 12–December 30 — Some 15 radar and visual sightings of UFOs take place over restricted airspace
at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. After the observation on October 23, an unexplained increase in alpha-beta background
radiation is detected; after the November 29 sighting, an alpha and gamma ray increase is correlated with
unidentified radar targets in the area. (NICAP, “
Huge Saucer over K-25 Area”;
Sparks, pp. 100–102; Memo from Strategic Air Command Knoxville to Director of FBI, “‘Flying Saucers’ Observed
over Oak Ridge Area,” October 25, 1950; “
Saucers Bob Up Again in Reports,” Knoxville (Tenn.) Journal, October 26, 1950, pp. 1, 9; J. Edgar Hoover, [
teletype in response], December 5, 1950; Hynek UFO Report,
pp. 142–143; ClearIntent,
pp. 171–173; Bruce S. Maccabee, “
NCP-14: Saucers over Oak Ridge,” from UFO–FBI Connection, Llewellyn, 2000, pp. 163–181; Francis Ridge, “
The Oak Ridge Sightings including All the Tennessee Blue Book Unknowns,” September 22, 2005; Swords 106–107;
Clark III 950; Clark IV 1064) October 12 — 11:25 p.m. A military radar unit at Knoxville (Tenn.) Airport suddenly detects 11
“and possibly more” unidentified targets moving over the restricted flight zone at Oak Ridge. At 11:30,
the radar station commander scrambles an F-82 fighter, which is airborne nine minutes later. The fighter
is directed toward two targets, but the pilot sees nothing. Ground observations also fail to detect anything
in the sky. (NICAP, “
Military Radar at Knoxville Tracks Eleven Objects”; Memo from Strategic Air Command Knoxville to Director
of FBI, “‘Flying Saucers’ Observed over Oak Ridge Area,” October 25, 1950; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: Volume 7, August–December 1950, The Author, 1982, p. 35) October 15 - 4:20 p.m. After taking off from Raleigh, North Carolina, Miami Airlines DC-4
pilot Capt. George A. Woodward and copilot William Bardsley see four round, metallic objects descending
slowly near Pope AFB [now Pope Field] at Fort Bragg. They look like two saucers fitted together and
are about 100 feet in diameter, flying in a line about 25 feet apart. The pilots pursue the objects
for about 3 minutes, but the objects recede then shoot away at tremendous speed. Around the same time,
a similar object crosses the path of an Air Force jet near Pope AFB. (NICAP, "
Pilots Report 100-Ft Round Objects"; NICAP, "
Aluminum-Like Object Crosses Path of Jet") October 23 — 4:30 p.m. Francis Miller, an employee at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak
Ridge, Tennessee, is driving along a road when he sees an object less than half a mile away and between
1,000 and 2,000 feet up. It appears as an “aluminum flash” traveling in a south-southeast direction. He
only sees it for a few seconds. Later it is discovered that a Geiger counter in the vicinity has registered
a burst of alpha and beta radiation, although there is no known leakage of radiation from the facility.
An expert from the Health and Research Division analyzed the readings from the Geiger counter and pronounced
them unexplained. (NICAP, “
Lab Employee Sees ‘the Flying Saucer’ / Radiation Detected”; Clark III 950; Clark IV 1064) October 24 — 6:23 p.m. An unidentified target appears on radar at Knoxville (Tenn.) Airport,
flying in restricted air space above Oak Ridge, Tennessee. A fighter jet is scrambled to the area but
fails to see anything, and the target disappears at 7:20 p.m. At 6:30 p.m., a flying object appears at
an altitude of 5,000 in approximately the same location in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, as the previous day’s
sighting. (NICAP, “
Asst Security Chief UFO / Knoxville Tracks”; Clark III 950; Clark IV 1064) November 5 - Four Pan American Airways employees (Fred Wilkinson, Patrick Joseph Maloney,
Fred Perrior, and E. Newman) see a bright object fly east to west over Heathrow Airport, London,
at 1,000 mph. ("Was It a Flying Saucer over London?" London Sunday Dispatch, November 12, 1950,
p. 1; "Saucers over England," Fate 4, no. 2 (March 1951): 18 November 7 — A military pilot flying a Douglas AD-4Q Skyraider near Lakehurst, New Jersey,
engages in a dogfight with a steady white light that he at first mistakes for an aircraft. He gets on
its tail, then the light reverses suddenly and passes 100–200 feet above his plane at incredible speed.
He again tails it and the same thing happens. The light continues to “turn about me in wide, climbing
turns, making about two orbits to my one.” He abandons chase at 11,500 feet. (NICAP, “
Light Makes 5–6 Head On Passes at Navy Plane”;
Sparks, p. 102; Hynek UFO Report,
pp. 68–70) November 9 — The destroyer
USS Blue, based in San Diego, makes radar contact with an unidentified vessel, possibly a submarine,
off the coast of southern California. (“
Navy’s ‘Mysterious Object’ Regarded As Possible Sub,” Escondido (Calif.) Daily Times-Advocate, November
10, 1950, p. 1; Dolan, USO1, 136–137) November 26–27 —11:50 p.m. A “mysterious lighted object” flashing red, white, and green lights
is seen above Huron (South Dakota) Regional Airport. Weather Bureau observer Gene Fowler,
Winfield Henry of the Civil Aeronautics Administration, and Gordon Moore and Chet Fuqua, ground personnel
at Western Airlines, go up to the roof of the airport administration building for a better look. Fowler is able
to watch it through a theodolite used for weather balloons for 8 minutes. He says, “The azimuth reading changed
from 147 degrees to 161 degrees during that period and went up seven degrees vertically.” The Rapid City
weather bureau and Aberdeen CAA in South Dakota estimate the object is 40–50 miles northwest of Bismarck,
North Dakota. The object reappears at 1:30 a.m. and is visible, sometimes hovering, until 3:00 a.m. when it
disappears to the northwest. In Aberdeen, CAA aircraft communicator William B. Hiller sees a star-like object
at 2:00 a.m. and watches it for 90 minutes. It changes colors, glowing white, green, and red alternately.
(“
Mysterious Sight May Be ‘Saucer,’” Rapid City (S.Dak.) Journal, November 27, 1950, p. 3; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: Volume 7, August–December 1950, The Author, 1982, pp. 59–60) November 27 —
Bill Blair, a commercial pilot and flight instructor, watches six elliptical
objects in loose echelon formation over Evansville, Wisconsin. They are making noises like a helicopter
and are flying at 500 mph at 10,000 feet. (UFOEv,
p. 34) November 29 — 5:55 p.m. Numerous unidentified targets appear on the radar scope at the 662nd
AW Radar Detachment at McGhee Tyson Airport, Alcoa, Tennessee. The targets are above the restricted area
at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. A fighter aircraft is scrambled, but reports no visual contact. Most of the targets
are visible on the radar scope for 2–3 hours. At 7:00 p.m., the graph record of a Geiger counter at Oak
Ridge indicates an unaccountable rise in alpha particles and a slight rise in gamma radiation at the same
time. The AEC advises that there are no known “argon releases” at the facility. (NICAP, “
Radar Tracks UFOs over Oak Ridge”; Clark III 950; Clark IV 1064) November 30 — 1:51 p.m. A single unidentified target appeared on Knoxville, Tennessee,
radar scopes ranging 12–21 miles west to northwest of the station, disappearing at 2:05 p.m. At
5:30 p.m., numerous unaccountable targets appear on radar. They are so numerous they cannot be
counted or plotted, and they remain visible until approximately 11:30 p.m. or 12:00 midnight. At
least nine highly qualified persons witness the radar blips. (NICAP, “
Radar Tracks UFOs over Oak Ridge”; Clark III 950; Clark IV 1064) December — The US seaplane tender
USS Gardiners Bay is steaming up the channel from Incheon, South Korea, when the crew sees two
mysterious, smoke-trailing objects that strike the water at tremendous speed. Two columns of water
rise to 100 feet in height. No aircraft are sighted overhead. (“
Sighting Flying Discs Again?” Naval Aviation News 32, no. 2 (February 1951): 26; Sanderson, InvRes,
p. 43; Dolan, USO1, 141) December 6 — While F-94s are being tested at Dyess AFB near Abilene, Texas, radar catches a
UFO on a high-speed intercept course with the planes. Some personnel see the object shortly afterward.
Col.
Robert B. Willingham claims it is not a missile. It makes 90° turns at high speed. NORAD tracks it
and the object is said to crash near the Mexican border near Del Rio, Texas. Willingham and a copilot
take a light aircraft to the site but are escorted away. They do see part of the crash field and pick
up a small piece of metal from the ground. Willingham takes it to a Marine Corps metallurgy lab in
Hagerstown, Maryland, for analysis but never sees it again. Dubious MJ-12 documents apparently refer to
this UFO crash as occurring on the Mexico side of the US border in the area between El Indio, Texas, and
Guerrero, Coahuila, Mexico. (Leonard H. Stringfield,
UFO Crash Retrievals: Status Report II, The UFO Crash/Retrieval Syndrome: New Sources, New Data, The
Author, January 1980, p. 58; Kevin D. Randle, A History of UFO Crashes, Avon, 1995,
pp. 192–193; “
Del Rio 1955,” Texas UFO Museum and Research Library,
March 22, 2010; Kevin D. Randle, “
Del Rio UFO Crash and MJ-12,” A Different Perspective, July 21, 2010;
Kevin D. Randle, “
MJ-12’s Fatal Flaw and Robert Willingham,” IUR 33, no. 4 (May 2011): 4–7; “
El Indio 1950,” Texas UFO Museum and Research Library,
February 5, 2014; Clark III 338; “
Dr. Eric Davis Confirms Del Rio, Texas, UFO Event Was a Successful
Crash Retrieval,” Silva Record, October 28, 2018; Kevin D. Randle, “
UFO Crash Retrievals: Three with Explanations,” A Different Perspective, January 15, 2024; “
F-86 Sabre Pilot Robert Willingham Talks Witnessing a UFO Crash near the Texas-Mexico Border,
1955,” Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, July 8, 2024; Clark IV 374–375) December 6 — 5:00 p.m. Former aircraft purchasing agent
Harry Lamp and four boys spot a 75-foot silver object hovering at 3,000 feet above the
northern part of Fort Myers, Florida. Through 10x binoculars Lamp sees it is 3–4 feet thick
at the edges and 14 feet thick in the center, which revolves as it hovers. The object has a
red rim with two white and two orange jets along it. It flies away at high speed. (NICAP, “
Large Object with Bubble on Top”;
Sparks, p. 103) December 10 — 7:30 p.m. RAF Group-Captain B. S. Cartmel and two friends are at the
Wilderness Golf Course near Sevenoaks, Kent, England, when they see a bright light moving east
to west in complete silence. It maintains a steady height of 3,000 feet moving at 130–150 mph
and is visible for 5 minutes. (Good Above,
pp. 28–29) December 13 - 4:55 p.m. J. G. F. Moult and his mother are sitting at their home in Kimberley, South
Africa, when they observe a bright object "like a huge mirror in the sky," hovering, and moving laterally and
up and down for about 3 minutes. It goes behind a cloud but can still be seen, appearing like a "piece of magnesium
wire burning with a bright, purplish-white light." It dives through the clouds, turns sharply, and shoots out of
sight. (David Marais, "
The Outspan Magazine, January 1, 1954") Late December — USAF Capt. J. E. Broyles sees an aluminum-like oval object with a conical tail moving
slowly in the sky near Cheyenne, Wyoming. (UFOEv,
p. 20) December 27 — Sunset. A TWA flight, piloted by Capt. Art Shutts, is enroute from
Chicago to Kansas City. Near Bradford, Illinois, Shutts notices a bright white light ahead
of the plane, also flashing red and green occasionally. It begins to “wobble and swerve unsteadily,”
then streaks back and forth in a north-south line through an arc of 10–30°, changing direction abruptly.
He notices that the horizon near the UFO appears to vibrate as if light is distorted, especially after
the object puts on a burst of speed. It dims to a pinpoint and begins to slowly move south. Suddenly
it lurches, accelerates rapidly, zooms upward at a 45° angle, makes a nearly square turn, plunges
downward, and disappears below the horizon to the north. It is visible for 25 minutes. (William A.
Dixon, “Saucers or Illusions?” Air Facts 14 (September 1951): 37–43; UFOEv,
p. 40) While flying an F-86 Sabrejet over West Germany, USAF pilot Gordon Cooper sees several
metallic discs flying at a high altitude. He claims to "have two days of observation of
many flights of them, of different sizes, flying in fighter formation, generally from east
to west over Europe." (Gordon Cooper and Bruce Henderson, Leap of Faith: An Astronaut's
Journey into the Unknown, HarperCollins, 2000, pp. 80-81; "
UFO Sightings by Astronauts," Syti.net, January 30, 2001; "
Astronaut Gordon Cooper Talks about UFOs," Elhardt YouTube channel, December 27, 2007;
James Oberg, "
The Puzzle of Astronaut Gordon Cooper's UFO Stories,"
jamesoberg.com, 2014) January 1 — 7:00 a.m. Katie Sowell watches an object about 30–50 feet in diameter, like two
“upside down saucers” revolving counterclockwise and darting low over her farmhouse near Oak Grove,
Louisiana. It has rectangular, opaque windows. It is seen for 15–20 minutes at close range. It banks
and disappears, going straight up. (Huntsville (Ala.) Times, February 5, 1974; Loren E. Gross,
The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1951, Supplemental Notes,
The Author, 2000, pp. 1–2) January 16 — Raymond Dugan and Raymond E. Stiles, members of the General Mills Aeronautical
Research Laboratory balloon project, observe a round disc near their Skyhook balloon over Artesia, New
Mexico. The balloon is at a height of 112,000 feet. A short time later, Dugan, Stiles, and four civilian
pilots at Artesia Airport see two similar objects circling the same balloon that then fly off to the
northeast. (NICAP, “
Two Discs Approach Skyhook”; Project Blue Book, [
Artesia documents];
Sparks, p. 104; Ruppelt,
p. 120; Jacques Vallée and Janine Vallée, Challenge to Science: The UFO Enigma, Regnery, 1966,
pp. 1–3; Carl Sagan and Thornton Page, eds., UFO’s: A Scientific Debate, Cornell University, 1972,
pp. xxi–xxii; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974,
pp. 69–70; Swords 166) January 20 - 9:20 p.m. Sioux City, Iowa, CAA Control Tower operator John M. Williams
sees an odd light in the west. Capt.
Lawrence W. Vinther and copilot
James F. Bachmeier of Mid-Continent Airlines Flight 9 takes off
and Vinther is asked by the tower to look for the light. While still in a climbing turn at
about 1,000 feet, the pilots spot the object to the north-northwest at about 8,000 feet and 4
miles away. It looks like a B-29 fuselage with wings but no engines and blinks some lights like
running lights. The object comes towards the DC-3, flies across the nose within 200 feet, then
suddenly reappears on the other side, paralleling them for 2-3 seconds. The object then flies
under them and disappears to the northwest. This is one of the first reports to make it into
the CIRVIS system specified by JANAP 146. (NICAP, "
UFO Buzzes DC-3";
Sparks, p. 104; Lawrence W. Vinther, "
Another Saucer Mystery," Flying 48 (June 1951): 23, 56,
reprinted by Project 1947; H. B. Darrach Jr. and Robet Ginna, "
Have We Visitors from Space?" Life 32, no. 14 (April
7, 1952): 90-91; Ruppelt,
pp. 84-85; Jan Aldrich; James E. McDonald, "
Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects," in Symposium on
Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong.,
nd Sess., July 29, 1968, pp. 43-44) January 21 — 4:20 p.m. A UFO that appears to be over the restricted area at Oak Ridge National
Laboratory, Tennessee, is sighted on the radarscope of an F-82 fighter. The GCI gives the go-ahead to
intercept the target. The radar set on the F-82 is locked on and the run begins. The interception is
unsuccessful, and the fighter returns to base. In all, three passes are made at targets, all with radar
indications, but they cannot be completed since the target is over the restricted area that includes the
X-10 plant. (NICAP, “
F-82 Attempts Intercept of UFO over AEC Plant / Radar”;
Sparks, p. 104) January 22 — 11:00 a.m. USAF pilots Capt.
Ernest W. Spradley Jr. of Aerial Photo Lab and Capt. James E. Cocker of All-Weather Flying Division
(both based at Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio), a General Mills Aeronautical lab project engineer named
McAleese, and another airman are flying in a C-47 heading east about 50 miles southeast of Holloman AFB,
New Mexico, at about 10,000–12,000 feet, tracking a Project Gopher plastic balloon at about 50,000–70,000
feet, when they see a bright star-like object adjacent to the pear-shaped balloon. As they approach and
fly under the balloon, they notice the object descend to the balloon’s level and grow larger in apparent
size until about one-quarter to one-half the size of the 70-foot balloon. It appears to be round and flat
like a dime, milky white or silvery in color, with a clear outline. Cocker and McAleese leave the cockpit
and go to the astrodome to observe the object. After 3 minutes they see the object separate from the balloon
and head west at high speed. After about 1 minute it emits a series of 3 bright photoflashes at one-second
intervals and disappears from sight. (NICAP, “
C-47 Crew Encounter Object near ‘Gopher’”; NICAP, “
White Object Paces Balloon”;
Sparks, p. 105; Swords 114–115) January 28 — 9:26 p.m. A series of blue-green flashes of light in the sky are noticed by alarmed
residents over a three-mile area on the east side of Detroit, Michigan. At the same time, radios and television
sets flicker and house lights dim. The event last for 15 minutes. On January 30, Detroit Edison Company
explains the lights were caused by a lightning arrester at Eight Mile and Mound Road that blew during
testing, causing a power surge that caused lights to fail. (“
Weird Flashes Play Havoc on East Side,” Detroit (Mich.) Free Press, January 29, 1951, p. 1; “
Power Test Causes Eerie Light Flashes,” Detroit (Mich.) Free Press, January 30, 1951, p. 7) February 9 — 9:55 p.m. The crew (including Lt.
Fred W. Kingdon Jr. and US Naval Reserve Lt.
Graham E. Bethune) and passengers of a US Navy R5D transport flying west from Keflavík, Iceland, at
10,000 feet about 212 miles northeast of Gander, Newfoundland, observe a large orange-rimmed UFO with a
dark center. It is about 400 feet in diameter and first seen moving above the surface of the ocean. As
the plane approaches, the object changes colors, executes a sudden 180° turn and disappears over the
horizon. Over time, several attempts to disguise the participants (such as Lt. George Williams on
February 21) have resulted in confusion over the date. (NICAP, “
The Bethune Encounter”; NICAP, “
Huge Object Rushes up from Ocean Surface”; Keyhoe, FSTS, pp. 9–26; “
Casebook: February 8, 1951,” UFO Investigator, September 1970, p. 3; “
Casebook: February 8, 1951,” UFO Investigator, October 1970, p. 3; “
Unidentified Flying Object: A Provocative Tale,” Naval Aviation News, June 1973, pp. 18–19,
reprinted by Project 1947; Keyhoe, Aliens from Space, Signet ed., 1974,
pp. 78–79; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, A History: 1951, The Author, 1983, pp. 10–11; Good Above,
pp. 268,
486; Graham E. Bethune, “
Lights on the Surface,” 1999; Good Need,
pp. 137–139; Kevin H. Knuth, Robert M. Powell, and Peter A. Reali, “
Estimating Flight Characteristics of Anomalous Unidentified Aerial Vehicles,” Entropy, September
25, 2019; Patrick Gross, “
The Bethune Flight 124 Airmiss in 1951”; Dolan, USO1, 142–144) February 19 — 7:20 a.m. Capt. Jack Bicknell and Radio Officer D. W. Merrifield are flying a
Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar aircraft out of Nairobi, Kenya, when they see a bright object hanging motionless
about 10,000 above Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanganyika [now Tanzania]. They watch it for 3 minutes, then tell
the passengers about it. Bicknell observes it through binoculars and sees a “metallic, bullet-shaped
object which must have been over 200 feet long.” It has a vertical fin at one end, and at regular intervals
along the fuselage are vertical dark bands. It remains completely stationary for 17 minutes. Two passengers
take photos of it. Radio Officer Roy Overstreet, a passenger, shoots 30 feet of color film with a telescopic
lens on his cine camera. Then it begins rising and moving eastward, disappearing at 40,000 feet. It leaves
no vapor trail. A still from Overstreet’s film, showing only a tiny dot of light, is published in the Natal
Mercury on March 14, but the film is now considered lost and the other photos have never surfaced. (NICAP, “
Lodestar Crew Sees Stationary Silver Elongated Object”;
Sparks, p. 105; “
The Flying Saucer: Captain Bicknell’s Own Story,” Nairobi (Kenya) Sunday Post, February 25, 1951, p. 15; “
The Most Authentic Flying Saucer Story of Them All,” London Sunday Dispatch, February 25, 1951, p. 1; “
Pilot Made Sketch of ‘Flying Saucer,’” London Sunday Dispatch, March 4, 1951, p. 1; “‘Saucer’ Flies on
Ciné Film: Or Does It?” Natal Mercury (Durban, South Africa), March 14, 1951; “
Two Classic Sightings,” Flying Saucer Review 9, no. 3 (May/June 1963): 11–12; Center for UFO Studies, [
case documents]; UFOEv, p. 124; Patrick Gross, “
February 19, 1951, Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa”; Barry Greenwood, “
Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanganyika, February 19, 1951: Photo Located,” UFO Historical Revue, no. 16 (July 2015): 1–4) March - 11:30 p.m. Operations Officer Robert Wood is aboard the USS Dyess approximately
125 miles southeast of Cape May, New Jersey, when he picks up a radar target coming in from due
east at a speed of 98-104 mph and an altitude of 3,000-4,000 feet. It stops and hovers about 30
miles away. Wood notifies the bridge, and the captain orders the ship to change course toward
the object. About 30 minutes later, the UFO suddenly takes off toward the north at 3,000 mph,
getting to within 35-40 miles south of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, before it zooms straight
up. Altitude-determining radar tracks the object to 100 miles altitude. ("
March, 1951: Approximately 125 Miles SE of Cape May, N.J.," Project 1947 March 14 — A group of nine Bell Aircraft engineers are flying at 15,000 feet in a B-50 Superfortress
near Holloman AFB, New Mexico, during a test of a secret Bell aircraft. They spot a group of unknown objects
flying in a confusing “swirl” that breaks into a V-formation and back to a “swirl,” then a V again. The objects
are slightly higher than the aircraft and seem to be moving at high velocity. The engineers insist the objects
are not geese, which actually can fly this high. (This may be the same incident as the August 30, 1950, case at
Holloman.) (Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: Volume 8, 1951, The Author, 1983, pp. 21–22) March 15 — 10:20 a.m. George F. Floate, chief engineer of the Delhi Flying Club, and two assistants
observe a swirly white cloud moving from north to south at about 4,000 feet altitude near the club’s hanger
in New Delhi, India. The cloud is about 700 feet in length. At the end of it a bullet-shaped object appears,
approximately 100 feet long and as big around as a C-47 fuselage. The witnesses shout out, and 17–20 people
rush out of the hanger and see the object. It heads south for about 3 minutes where it makes an apparent loop,
coming back over the field. At the top of the loop it is out of sight, but it is seen again in its dive. After
recovering straight and level flight, the UFO proceeds to the southwest until it is lost to sight. Its speed is
estimated at three times greater than the cruising speed of a British Vampire jet. The total duration is about
7 minutes. (NICAP, “
20+ Top Shelf Witnesses / Metallic Cigar”;
Sparks, p. 106) Early spring — Dusk. US Army Pfc.
Francis P. Wall is on maneuvers with the 27th Infantry Regiment near
Cheorwon, South Korea, when he sees an orange light like a jack-o-lantern coming down a mountain.
Artillery airbursts do not seem to harm it. As it approaches, it turns into a brilliant blue-green
disc pulsating with light. Wall asks permission to shoot and fires a round from his M-1 rifle at it.
The object starts moving erratically from side to side, flashes on and off, and makes an engine-like
noise. It sweeps the soldiers with a beam of light, and they feel a burning and tingling sensation.
They retreat to their bunkers and continue to watch the object, which is still lighting up the area,
and then it shoots away at a 45° angle. (Haines, Korea,
pp. 18–27; Richard F. Haines, “
GI Fires on UFO in Korea,” IUR 15, no. 6 (Nov./Dec.
1990): 23–24) April 7? - Night. New Zealand sailor
Adrian Hayter is navigating his 32-foot yawl, Sheila II, into Djibouti on the Gulf of Tadjoura
when he and his crewmate Mike notice a light to the southeast that seems to be drawing nearer. It
appears similar to a lighthouse beam that is sweeping under the surface. It lights up the sails
with a bright greenish light as it passes under the yawl, then moves to the western horizon. Another
beam appears in the east, followed by four others at regular intervals and in complete silence.
(Adrian Hayter, Sheila in the Wind, Hodder and Stoughton, 1959,
p. 99; Dolan, USO1, 144-145) May 15 — While serving with US occupation forces in Austria, a soldier meets a helmeted
figure who paralyzes him with a pencil-like weapon and leads him into a saucer, which they enter
through an opening in the top. The craft flies into space to a Mars-like planet where it lands
on a platform in a field. The soldier sees similar beings in the parking lot as well as two other
craft containing humans. The alien pilot returns the man the same spot on earth, in what may be an
early abduction narrative. (Ron Powell, “
Citizen Editor Talks to Man Who ‘Visited Mars,’”
Prince George (B.C.) Citizen, December 11, 1957, p. 1, 3; “
Trip to Mars,” Space Craft Digest, Fall 1958, pp. 13–16; Charles Bowen, “
Fantasy or Truth? A New Look at an Old Contact Claim,” Flying Saucer
Review 13, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1967): 11–14; Martin S. Kottmeyer, “
Tin Moons and False Prophets,” The REALL News 14, no. 5 (September
2006): 1, 4–14; Clark III 272–273; Clark IV 312–313) May 22 - 3:20 a.m. American Airlines pilot Capt. W. R. Hunt observes a blue-white, star-
like object gyrating around the airplane at 21,000 feet for 20 minutes about 100 miles southwest
of Dodge City, Kansas. It moves backward and forward, then up and down, then dives below the plane
and speeds away. ("
Mysterious Bright Light `Plays Tag' with Airliner over Kansas," Iola
(Kan.) Register, May 22, 1951, p. 1; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: Volume 8, 1951, The Author, 1983, p. 26) Summer — Day. Army Lt. George Kinman is flying an F-51 over Augusta, Georgia at 250 mph
when he notices an object ahead approaching him. Before he can take evasive action, a white disc
twice as big as his plane dips and passes underneath, just missing his propellor. He swings the
aircraft around, but the object is out of sight. After 15 seconds, it returns, coming straight
toward him and dipping at the last minute. It repeats the performance several times for 5–10 minutes.
On the last pass, it zooms above him, just missing his canopy. (“
Flying Saucer ‘Attack’ Related by Army Flier,” Los Angeles (Calif.)
Evening Citizen News, July 30, 1952, p. 1; UFOEv,
p. 23; Clark III 377; Clark IV 421 Summer — 2:00 a.m. A US Navy petty officer is on watch at NAS Quonset Point [now Quonset Point
Air National Guard Station], Rhode Island, when a bright object, seemingly coming from the sea from the
direction of Newport to the south, approaches and hovers directly overhead at an altitude of 200 feet.
He becomes nervous and charges his carbine, but as soon as he loads it, the object disappears. (Carl Feindt, “
Report #925,” waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 148–149) June — Project Grudge only has one person on staff to investigate UFO reports, Lt.
Jerry W. Cummings, who has replaced James J. Rodgers and J. L. Rohn. He reorganizes the system
and uses a more open-minded approach. (
Sparks, p. 14; Edward J. Ruppelt, “
What Our Air Force Found Out about Flying Saucers,” True, May 1954, p. 26; Jacobs, UFO
Controversy in America, Signet ed., 1976,
pp. 56–57; Swords 121; Clark III 933, 937; Clark IV 1043, 1047) June 1 — 10:00 p.m. An ATIC official at Wright-Patterson AFB is driving west near Dayton, Ohio,
when he sees a large, bluish-white light moving parallel to the car. It looks like a “stubby cigar.” After
15–20 seconds, it makes a right-angle turn, becomes circular, and rapidly disappears. Its speed is “faster
than an airplane, slower than a meteor.” (UFOEv,
p. 23) June 19 - Day. Mechanic Joseph Matiszewski hears a whistling sound as he is walking in
Sonderborg, Denmark, and sees an object land in a nearby meadow. Approaching to within 150 feet
of it, he finds himself paralyzed and notices that birds have stopped singing and cows seem
rozen in place. Four men with brown skin and wearing black shiny suits and translucent helmets
emerge from the object and send Matiszewski some telepathic messages. Eight smaller objects are
ejected from the large one and float above it. Other figures inside the craft and on its deck
appear to be making repairs. The objects ascend to about 300 feet and climb rapidly after that.
The paralysis subsides. (Gordon Creighton, "
A New FSR Catalogue, Part 2," Flying Saucer Review 16,
no. 2 (March/April 1970): 29; Walter Webb, "UFOs and Paralysis," Official UFO, February 1976, p. 48;
Willy Wegner, "
UFO-bogen: Kapitel 19: Rumfolkene viser sig," Skeptica, September 1, 2004; Patrick Gross,
URECAT, July 1, 2007) July 1 - 10:50 p.m. Four night pilots of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing in different areas
around Seoul, Korea, simultaneously report a large green ball, very bright and trailing streaks of
red then blue, passing overhead at 10,000-15,000 feet. (
Sparks, p. 106; Haines, Korea,
p. 31) July 9 — Day. USAF Lt.
George H. Kinmon II, stationed at Lawson AFB [now Lawson Army Airfield]
with the 117th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, is flying an F-51 over Dearing, Georgia, when he sees a
white disc “completely round and spinning in a clockwise direction.” It makes a headlong pass at his
aircraft. It travels at “tremendous speed” and leaves no vapor trail. (NICAP, “
Aerial Encounter with Disc”;
Sparks, p. 107; “
Saucer Ahead!—Fire at Will,” Tucson (Ariz.) Daily Citizen, July 30,
1952, p. 6; “Saucer Attacked Me, Pilot Declares,” Cleveland (Ohio) Press, July 30, 1952, p. 1,
reprinted in Saucer Attack, April 1998; “Pilot Says His Plane Was Attacked by Flying Saucer,”
Lowell (Mass.) Sun, July 30, 1952, p. 30; UFOEv,
p. 23; Richard H. Hall, Uninvited Guests, Aurora, 1988,
pp. 328–330) July 14 — Morning. During a guided missile launch, two radar operators at White Sands Missile Range,
New Mexico, catch a fast-moving object on their scope. At the same time, a tracker watching a B-29 with
binoculars sees a large UFO near the bomber. Another observer sights the UFO and, with a 35mm camera,
shoots 200 feet of film. The UFO shows on the film as a round, bright spot. The film has never been
released. (NICAP, “
White Sands Radar/Visual”;
Sparks, p. 107; Keyhoe, FS from OS,
p. 48; UFOEv,
pp. 84,
88; Project 1947, “
Radar and Visual UFO Sighting, White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico—July 14, 1951”; Good Above,
pp. 354–355) August 3 — 11:00 p.m.
Walter N. Webb, nature counselor at Camp Big Silver on the shore of Silver Lake in southern Michigan,
3 miles south of Pinckney, is showing two boy campers some celestial objects through a reflecting telescope.
He sees a glowing, yellowish light moving westward at a low elevation in an undulating path over hills to
the south. It disappears behind the hills before he can train his telescope on it. (UFOEv,
p. 50) August 11 — Former USAF pilot
Robert O. Dodge watches three disc-like UFOs in formation over
Portland, Oregon. (UFOEv,
p. 34) Mid-August — 10:30 a.m. Mining engineer Alfred Roos hears a swishing sound at his ranch 10 miles
east of Silver City, New Mexico. He looks up and sees two lens-shaped UFOs swooping at tremendous speed
then hovering. They go back and forth between his location and Fort Bayard, two miles to the northwest,
where they finally disappear into a cloud. (UFOEv,
p. 56) Mid-August — Midnight. A witness is on his porch in Waco, Texas, looking at the sky when
he sees a V-shaped formation of 10–20 round, luminous objects silently pass over from west to east
in a matter of seconds. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 41–42) August 17 — 11:30 a.m.
Otto Bock, a German scientist with a specialty
in optics who came to the US as part of Operation Paperclip, observes a high-altitude, metallic
object through his 20x telescope for about 4 hours. He says the sighting is confirmed by four other
persons. (Project 1947, “
Letter to Donald Keyhoe: Otto Bock, August 22, 1951”) August 20 — The CIA, approved by DCI
Roscoe Hillenkoetter, starts Project Artichoke to study hypnosis, morphine addiction, and LSD
to produce amnesia and other vulnerable states in subjects, as a way of exploring interrogation
methods. (Wikipedia, “
Project Artichoke”; [Central Intelligence Agency], “
Project Artichoke,” declassified(?), January 31, 1975) August 23 —
Frank Wisner succeeds
Allen Dulles as CIA Deputy Director of Plans in the Office of Policy Coordination, with
Richard Helms as chief of operations. In this position, Wisner is instrumental in supporting
pro-American forces that toppled
Mohammed Mossadegh in Iran in 1953 and
Jacobo Árbenz in Guatemala in 1954. Sometime this year he visits
Richard M. Bissell Jr. and asks him to finance OPC operations by diverting some Marshall Plan
funds, presumably for covert black ops. (Jacobsen, Area 51,
pp. 45–46) August 25 — Evening. Joseph Bryant and his wife, at 407 West Powell Street, Brownfield,
Texas, see a loose group of glowing lights heading north to south. They are a “little bigger than
a star.” A few minutes later a second group flies over, and then a third, which circles around the
house. This time Bryant can hear them, and he identifies them as plovers. When he hears about the
Lubbock lights, he is sure the professors are seeing plovers. (Clark III 691–692 August 25 — 9:10 p.m. Three Texas Technical College professors (geologist
Wilbur Irvin Robinson, chemist
Aaron Gustav “Gus” Oberg, and petroleum engineer
William Lyon Ducker Jr.) are sitting in a backyard at Lubbock, Texas, when they see a fast-
moving, semicircular formation of 20–30 lights, as intense as bright stars but larger. Blue-green
and silent, they move across the sky in seconds. A second group appears and repeats the performance.
Others, including Carl Hemminger at Texas Tech, report seeing the same objects the same night.
J. Russell Heitman, head of the Texas Tech journalism department,
says he had seen an identical group of lights several days earlier. The professors watch 10–12
such flights through November 1 (including on September 1 and 5), sometimes accompanied by colleagues
Ellis Richard Heineman, E. F. George,
Grayson Mead, and John Brand. Some researchers, including
Ruppelt and
Hynek, think the witnesses are seeing migrating plovers attracted to Lubbock’s new vapor street
lights, although Ruppelt changes his mind later. (Wikipedia, “
Lubbock Lights”; NICAP, “
The Lubbock Lights / Carl Hart Photos”; “
Three Professors Witness ‘Strings of Beads’ in Sky,”
Anniston (Ala.) Star, August 27, 1951, p. 1; “
Strange Lights in Skies Plagueing Night Observers in Lubbock Section,”
Corsicana (Tex.) Daily Sun, September 1, 1951, p. 1; Ruppelt,
pp. 96–99; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: Volume 8, 1951, The Author, 1983, pp. 45–55; “
Lubbock 1951,” Texas UFO Museum and Research Library,
November 15, 1999; Swords 130–132; Clark III 688–690; Kevin D. Randle, “
Coast-to-Coast AM: The Lubbock Lights,” A Different Perspective, February
23, 2023; Clark IV 764–770) August 25 — Around 9:58 p.m. Hugh Young, a security guard at Sandia Base, and his wife
Emily are in their trailer home in east Albuquerque, New Mexico, and watch a large object like a
flying wing, but 1.5 times as large as a B-36, flying at 80 feet at about 300 mph. It has glowing
white lights on the trailing edge of the wing and is completely silent. (NICAP, “
Flying Wing over Sandia Base”;
Sparks, p. 108; Ruppelt,
pp. 96–98; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: Volume 8, 1951, The Author, 1983, pp. 46–47; Clark
III 691; Kevin D. Randle, “
Coast-to-Coast AM: The Lubbock Lights,” A Different Perspective, February
23, 2023; Clark IV 767) August 26 — 1:18 a.m. Airman Richard Rains and two other airmen at Ellington Air Force
Base [now Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base] in Houston, Texas, watch a yellowish light pass
swiftly overhead from south to north. It slows nearly to a stop when directly overhead, accelerates
again, then slows again almost to a halt. The object then zig-zags off at a nearly perpendicular
angle to its original course, though still northerly. It then ascends and blinks on and off at 2-
second intervals, finally fading from sight. (Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: 1952, August, [incorrect date], The Author, 1986, p. 71) August 26 — 8:28 p.m. A radar station at Larson AFB [now Grant County International
Airport], near Moses Lake, Washington, tracks a UFO at 13,000 feet going 950 mph on two different
sets, AN/CPS-1 and AN/CPS-4, for about 6 minutes. An F-86 is scrambled, but radar contact is lost
before the plane gets off the ground. An electronic signal is received from this object that appears
to be a mode-one IFF response from an AN/APX-6 transponder. This response is received twice at
approximately 115 miles and 80 miles from the radar station. (NICAP, “
Two Radars Track 900 MPH Target;
Sparks, p. 108; Ruppelt,
pp. 96–98,
108–109; Clark III 692; Clark IV 767) August 27 — At a conference at Holloman AFB, New Mexico, on the green fireballs, Project
Twinkle’s Maj.
Edward A. Doty expresses skepticism about the project. Meteorologist
Bernard “Duke” Gildenberg tells those assembled that
he has never seen anything out of the ordinary, nor has astronomer
Clyde Tombaugh. The commanding officer at Holloman wants to cease allocating funds for the project.
(Clark III 545; Clark IV 603) August 28 — Project Twinkle personnel talk to
LaPaz about the green fireballs and he insists they are not meteors. (Clark III 545; Clark IV
603) August 30 — 11:30 p.m. A Texas Tech freshman named Carl Hart Jr. sees the same formation
of 18–20 lights over Lubbock, Texas, and takes five photos. He gets the roll of film developed the
next day and takes it to the Lubbock Morning Avalanche, which puts them out on the Associated Press
wire. ATIC examines the photos and notes that the “two rows of spots behaved differently. One row
only shows slight variation from a precise V formation throughout, whereas the other now appears to
pass from above the first row, through it to a position below.” Biologist James Cecil Cross looks at
the Lubbock photos under a microscope and rules out the bird explanation. While investigating the
Lubbock Lights,
Ruppelt also learns that several people in and around Lubbock claim to have seen a “flying wing”
moving over the city. Among the witnesses is the wife of Dr.
Ducker, who reports that in August 1951 she observed a “huge, soundless flying wing” pass over
her house. Ruppelt knows that USAF does possess a “flying wing” jet bomber, and he feels that at
least some of the sightings are caused by the bomber, although he cannot explain why, according to
the witnesses, the wing makes no sound as it flies overhead. Ruppelt says that in addition to Project
Grudge investigators, another group of people who, “because of their association with the government,
had complete access to our files” (scientists convinced of the ETH) were also looking into the Lubbock
cases. In March 1955, Ducker sends Ruppelt a telegram indicating that he has figured out that the
lights are a “natural phenomenon” and requests no further publicity in his book. However, Texas Tech
mathematics professor
Ralph Sylvester Underwood has also observed three flights and estimates
the objects are at 2,000 feet altitude and flying at 700 mph—much too fast for birds. (NICAP, “
The Lubbock Lights / Carl Hart Photos”; “Flying ‘Whatsits’ Seen Again,” Lubbock (Tex.) Morning
Avalanche, September 1, 1951, pp. 1, 10; “Opinion Divided over Reports of Objects Seen in Lubbock
Skies,” Lubbock (Tex.) Avalanche-Journal, September 2, 1951, pp. 1, 14; “‘Flying Whatsits’ Stir Dispute
in Area,” Lubbock (Tex.) Morning Avalanche, September 6, 1951, pp. 1, 10; “‘Flying Whatsits’ Seen as
Possible ‘Space Visitors,’” Lubbock (Tex.) Avalanche-Journal, April 4, 1952; H. B. Darrach Jr. and
Robert Ginna, “
Have We Visitors from Space?” Life, April 7, 1952,
pp. 80–84; “‘Lubbock Lights’ a Mirage?” Lubbock (Tex.) Avalanche-Journal, June 2, 1952; “‘Lubbock
Lights’ Again News,” Lubbock (Tex.) Avalanche-Journal, June 11, 1952; Donald H. Menzel, Flying Saucers,
Harvard University, 1953,
pp. 34–38; ‘“Lubbock Lights’ Puzzle Solved, Chief Air Force Prober
Claims,” Lubbock (Tex.) Avalanche-Journal, January 19, 1956; Ruppelt,
pp. 96–110; UFOEv
88,
92; “
After 20 Years: ‘Lubbock Lights’ Mystery Unsolved,”
Lubbock (Tex.) Avalanche-Journal, August 25, 1971, pp. 1, 10; “
Casebook: Investigator Researches Significant 1951 Case
near Lubbock, Tex.,” UFO Investigator, May 1972, pp. 3–4; Kevin D. Randle, “The Lubbock Lights,”
Official UFO, November 1976, pp. 28–29, 42–44; Kevin D. Randle, “
Carl Hart and the Lubbock Lights,” IUR 18, no. 5
(Sept./Oct. 1993): 17–19; Michael D. Swords, “
Classic Cases from the APRO Files,” IUR 24, no. 2 (Summer 1999):
22; “
Lubbock 1951,” Texas UFO Museum and Research Library,
November 15, 1999; Michael David Hall and Wendy Ann Connors, Captain Edward J. Ruppelt: Summer of
the Saucers, Rose Press International, 2000, pp. 30–35; Donald R. Burleson, “
New Findings on the Lubbock Lights,”
IUR 26, no. 2 (Summer 2001): 3–5; “
Lubbock Lights and Roswell,” Texas UFO Museum and
Research Library, December 7, 2005; Kevin D. Randle, “
Carl Hart and the Lubbock Lights,” A Different Perspective, August
24, 2006; Michael D. Swords, “
Can We Learn Anything from UFO Photos? Part Five,” The
Big Study, July 15, 2012; Swords 131–132; Clark III 690–694; Kevin D. Randle, “
History’s Project Blue Book: The Lubbock Lights,” A Different Perspective,
January 25, 2019; Kevin D. Randle, The Best of Project Blue Book, Flying Disk Press, 2020, chapter 5;
Kevin D. Randle, “
Carl Hart, Jr., the Lubbock Lights Photographer Has Died,” A Different
Perspective, April 1, 2021; Kevin D. Randle, “
Coast-to-Coast AM: The Lubbock Lights,” A Different Perspective,
February 23, 2023; Clark IV 764–770) August 31 — 12:45 p.m. Mrs. Tom Tilson and one or two other women are driving north on
Hwy 70 near Matador, Texas, when they see to the west a pear-shaped object the length of a B-29
fuselage (100 feet). It is aluminum or silver-yellow with a port or some type of aperture on the
side, and it moves with its smaller end forward, drifting slowly at about 150 feet altitude. It
then shoots up in a circular fashion and out of sight after a few seconds. (
Sparks, p. 109; Clark III 692; Clark IV 767) September — 9:00 p.m. Louise McDougall is sitting on the lawn outside her trailer park
in Bloomington, California, when she has the feeling someone is watching her. She looks up and sees
a flying saucer hovering some 20 feet up. It is lenticular, perhaps 100 feet in diameter, and dull
silver metallic in appearance. There are tall, rectangular windows in its lower half, in which can
be seen against an amber glow four men, in one-piece “jump suits,” with shoulder-length hair. She
turns a spotlight on the saucer, whereupon it shoots off silently at incredible speed. About 15 minutes
later it returns, hovering in the same spot, the figures still visible at the windows. After 6 or 7
minutes, it takes off again to the southeast. McDougall’s husband and three other people also see it.
(Patrick Gross,
URECAT, September 15, 2006; Clark III 267; Clark IV 307 September 10 — 11:10 a.m. At the Army Signal Corps radar center at Fort Monmouth [now
closed], New Jersey, a student operator demonstrating radar functions to a group of visiting
officers picks up a target that is moving too fast to be tracked automatically. The object seems
to be following the coastline. He follows it off and on for 3 minutes, after which it disappears
to the northeast, flying at 700 mph. At 11:35 a.m., a T-33 jet trainer piloted by Lt.
Wilbert S. Rogers, with Maj. Edward Ballard as passenger, spots a
“silver-colored object about the size of a fighter plane” flying at 900 mph at 5,000–8,000 feet
over Sandy Hook. It makes a 90° banking turn and disappears out to sea. At 3:15 p.m., a second
radar tracking occurs, but this slower object turns out to be a balloon. (NICAP, “
The Fort Monmouth Radar Incident”; NICAP, “
The Sandy Hook / T-33 Incident”;
Sparks, p. 110; “
Air Force Pilots Report ‘Object’ Going 900 MPH,” Waukesha (Wis.) Daily
Freeman, September 11, 1951, p. 3; Edward J. Ruppelt, “
What Our Air Force Found Out about Flying
Saucers,” True, May 1954, p. 26; James E. McDonald, “
Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings,
US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, p. 66; Good Above,
pp. 269,
487; Thomas Tulien, ed.,
Proceedings of the Sign Historical Group UFO History Workshop, Sign Historical Group, November
2001, pp. 45–46; Swords 124–127; Clark III 513–515; Covert 40–41; Clark IV 562–564) September 11 — 10:50 a.m. Two radars at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, pick up another object
moving at 1,000 mph. At 1:30 p.m., another radar target appears, apparently hovering. Overcast conditions
prevent a visual sighting. The radar then shows it ascending at a rapid rate then streaking to the south
at 700+ mph. (Clark III 514; Clark IV 563 Fall - Navy pilot Lt. Cmdr.
Marvin C. Davies is flying a plane off a CVE class aircraft carrier
near Korea when the crew tracks a radar target 3 miles astern. The object has apparently been
circling the fleet at an altitude of 5,000 feet and speeds of "slow" to 1,000 mph. The UFO has been
tracked on 14 ship radars for 7 hours. It stops circling and takes up a position behind the plane's
wingman, remaining there 5 minutes, then departing at high speed. (Project 1947, "
UFO Reports, Korea"; UFOEv,
p. 84) October 16 - 11:01 a.m. Air Force pilots flying three F-94 fighters out of McChord AFB
[now Joint Base Lewis-McChord] and naval ground personnel see a round, gray object flying
soundlessly at high speed and high altitude west of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Oak
Harbor, Washington. Photos taken from the F-94s show the object. After 50 minutes, the
aircraft abandon the chase. The Air Force attributes the sighting to Venus. (NICAP, "
3 F-94's Encounter Round Grey Object / Photos Taken";
Sparks, p. 115; Clark III 391-392; Clark IV 436-437) October 30 - 6:40 a.m. A group of servicemen are preparing to observe the Buster Charlie
atomic test at Area 7 of the Nevada Test Site. Just before the blast, they see at an altitude
of a few thousand feet a formation of 18 silvery, rotating, disc-shaped objects, each with a
dome, arranged in six groups of three stretched out in a horizontal row. They fly low over
the test site, hover for 30-60 seconds, and depart at an angle, disappearing in seconds.
(Nukes 68-71) November 7 - Evening. A steamship captain and crew watch an elongated orange object
with six glowing "portholes" speed toward Ontario over Lake Superior. (UFOEv,
p. 146) December 5 - Early morning. Swedish
Prince Carl Bernadotte and a friend,
Berl Gutenberg, are driving near Stockholm, Sweden, when they see a bright flash of light
illuminate the sky. Bernadotte stops the car and opens the door to listen for sounds. They go
immediately to the Stockholm Criminal Investigation Department, who reports the incident to
the Security Police and the military UFO desk. The report is instantly classified, even though
the object is probably a meteor. (Swords 366) The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is established in Livermore, California, as an
offshoot of the UC Radiation Laboratory at Berkeley. It is intended to spur innovation and
provide competition to the nuclear weapon design laboratory at Los Alamos, New Mexico.
Edward Teller and
Ernest Lawrence, director of the Radiation Laboratory at Berkeley, are regarded as
its cofounders. Los Alamos and Livermore soon establish a rivalry, fighting for weapons contracts
and feasibility-study awards. (Wikipedia, “
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory”) An anonymous occupation soldier in Austria meets a diving suit-clad being who paralyzes
him, pulls him inside a UFO, and flies him to an otherworldly place he takes to be Mars. He
sees other humans who do not acknowledge him. Then he is returned to his base. (Prince George
(B.C.) Citizen, December 11, 1957) 1952? — An anonymous occupation soldier in Austria meets a diving suit–clad being who
paralyzes him, pulls him inside a UFO, and flies him to an otherworldly place he takes to be Mars.
He sees other humans who do not acknowledge him. Then he is returned to his base. (Prince George
(B.C.) Citizen, December 11, 1957) 6:30 a.m. A carpool of people on their way to work at United Airlines in San Mateo,
California, observe five smaller objects merging with a much larger, diamond-shaped object. The
big one is about 150–200 feet long, charcoal or gunmetal in color, and is hovering 50–75 feet
above some salt flats. The UFOs are directly in front of them to the east, about 1,500–1,800
feet away. One of the witnesses, airplane mechanic
Leonard L. Musel, says the smaller objects
enter the large object through a “transparent tail or sleeve.” After they are aboard, the bigger
UFO turns edgewise and zooms off at a fantastic speed. (Herbert S. Taylor, “
Satellite Objects: A Further Look,” IUR 29, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 7) Night. USAF Pvt.
Sinclair Taylor is on guard duty at Camp Okubo in Uji, on the southern outskirts of Kyoto,
Japan, when he hears flapping sounds and sees what seems to be an enormous bird. As it gets
closer to him, Taylor sees that it is a winged man well over 7 feet tall with a wingspread of
7 feet. Taylor fires at it repeatedly with his rifle and thinks he hit it, but he can’t find the
body. (Sinclair Taylor, “The Bird Thing,” Fate 13, no. 12 (December 1960): 53–54; Clark III 778;
Clark IV 859) January — Civilian Saucer Intelligence in Los Angeles, California, obtains a post office
box and invites UFO witnesses to write in and report their sightings. Within a few months the group
is inundated with reports, which it turns over to “qualified engineers” to be logged and evaluated.
Significant cases are turned over to USAF’s Air Technical Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson AFB. (“
The Civilian Saucer Investigation,” Civilian Saucer
Investigation Quarterly Review, no. 1 (September 1952): 2; Richard W. Williams, “
Summary of Findings in CSI’s First 220 Sighting Reports,”
Civilian Saucer Investigation Quarterly Review, no. 1 (September 1952): 1) January — Eldon L. White, working as a rigger for the US Air Force on Shemya, Aleutian
Islands, Alaska, hears an odd whirring sound that causes him to look up. He sees a gray, bat-shaped
object about 300 feet above him, falling leaf-like into the water. The leading edge of its wing has
openings that emit a greenish-yellow glow, and it has a dome that is pulsating with red light. It is
about 30 feet across and has a protruding rod on its base. It stops and hovers for several seconds
about 75 feet above the sea, then enters the water at an angle and disappears. (Carl Feindt, “
Report #817,” waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 150–152) January 1 —10:54 p.m. Warrant Officer W. J. Yeo (a master telecomm specialist) and Sgt.
D. V. Crandell watch a silent, reddish-orange object circle and maneuver for nearly 9 minutes
at RCAF Station North Bay, Ontario. It appears to be very large and travels at supersonic speed. (“
‘Saucers’ Seen Here: 2 Sighted at RCAF Station,” North Bay (Ont.) Nugget, April 15, 1952, pp.
1–2; Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979,
p. 92) January 3 — Brig. Gen.
William M. Garland, Assistant for the Production of
Intelligence, writes a secret memorandum for General
John A. Samford that lays down the investigative shortcomings of Project Grudge and suggests
policies and agendas for the immediate future. Garland mentions that the aircraft inventions and
models by the
Horten brothers had fallen into the hands of the Soviets at the end of World War II.
(Brig. Gen. William M. Garland, “
(Secret) Contemplated Action to Determine the Nature and Origin of the Phenomena Connected with
the Reports of Unusual Flying Objects,” January 3, 1952; Swords 141–143; Kremlin 34) January 20 - 7:20 p.m. Two master sergeants, both intelligence specialists, are walking
down a street at Fairchild AFB near Spokane, Washington, when they notice a large, bluish-
white, spherical object approaching from the east. It passes north of their position, traveling
horizontally and silently, and disappears in the west. They notice it has a long blue tail. It
travels underneath low cloud cover at 4,700 feet at 1,400 mph. (NICAP, "
Large Sphere with Blue Tail at 500'";
Sparks, p. 118; Ruppelt,
p. 12) January 21 — 9:50 a.m. A Navy pilot lieutenant commander in a TBM Avenger chases a white,
dome-shaped object over Mitchel AFB [now closed] on Long Island, New York. It accelerates rapidly,
makes a 180° turn, and heads out to sea. He estimates it is traveling at least at 300 mph. It looks
like a parachute canopy and has a dark undersurface. Although there is a balloon in the area, its
flight path is completely different. (NICAP, “
TBM Chases Climbing and Accelerating Object”;
Sparks, p. 118; Ruppelt,
pp. 121–123) January 22 — 12:20 a.m. At a northern Alaska outpost, Murphy Dome Air Force Station, radar
captures a UFO traveling 1,500 mph at 23,000 feet. When an F-94 is sent to intercept, the target
stops, slows down, reverses course, and heads directly for the radar station. It comes within 30
miles, then disappears from the screen. The F-94 heads back to refuel, and a second fighter is scrambled.
This pilot gets a strong radar return. At first, the object is almost stationary, but then it dives
suddenly, at which point ground radar picks it up again. A third F-94 is sent up, also tracks the object
on radar, and closes to within 900 feet. At this point, the pilot pulls away to avoid a collision, as the
UFO is nearly immobile. Since none of the pilots obtained a visual sighting, the Air Force concludes that
the radar returns are weather-related, although the pilots strongly dispute this. (NICAP, “
Alaskan Radar Case”;
Sparks, pp. 119–120; Ruppelt,
pp. 123–127; US Air Force,
Projects Grudge and Blue Book Reports 1–12, NICAP, 1968, pp. 138–139; Carl Sagan and Thornton
Page, eds., UFO’s: A Scientific Debate, Cornell University, 1972,
p. xxi) January 29 — Evening. Violet M. Winstead and her husband are at an open-air movie theater
on Guam when they and others at the theater see an orange light passing silently overhead. (Violet
M. Winstead,
Letter, IUR 9, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1984): 3) January 29 — Night. A bright orange, disc-shaped object, also described as a “huge ball
of fire,” paces two B-29s on the same night, 80 miles from each other over the towns of Wonsan and
Sunchon, North Korea. (NICAP, “
Rotating Light Seen by B-29 Crew”; NICAP, “
B-29 Crew Followed by UFO”;
Sparks, p. 121; “
‘Disks’ Seen in Korea,” New York Times, February 20, 1952, p. 3; Haines, Korea,
pp. 33–37; Patrick Gross, “
UFO US Military Reports, Korea, 1952”) February 2 — 7:35 p.m. Radar operators aboard the aircraft carrier
USS Philippine Sea pick up an unidentified target off the east coast of Korea. It is first detected at a
distance of 25 miles; when it closes to 20 miles, it makes a wide turn to the east directly away from the
carrier, accelerating from 600 to 1,800 mph at 52,000 feet altitude. It splits into two targets 5–12 miles
apart on a slightly zigzag course to the north. They disappear about 110 miles away. Observers on the carrier
see three exhaust flames. A USAF analyst estimates the speed of one track to be 767 mph and the speed of another
track 1,257 mph. (NICAP, “
USS Philippine Sea Tracks Approaching Target”;
Sparks, p. 121; Hynek UFO Report,
pp. 126–127; Jan L. Aldrich, “
The USS Philippine Sea, February 2, 1952,” Project 1947; Jan L. Aldrich, “
U.S. Navy Documents Concerning the USS Philippine Sea Report from Dr. Hynek’s Files,” Project 1947; “
USS Philippine Sea Operation Officer’s Testimony,” Project 1947; Martin Shough,
RADCAT: Radar Catalogue: A Review of Twenty-One Ground and Airborne Radar UAP Contact Reports Generally
Related to Aviation Safety for the Period October 15, 1948, to September 19, 1976, National Aviation
Reporting Center on Anomalous Phenomena, NARCAP Report TR-6, December 8, 2002, pp. 24–26) February 20 - 3:00 p.m. Rev.
Albert Baller is sitting in a train at the station in Greenfield, Massachusetts, when he
sees a "sharp flash of light about 35° or more above the horizon." Looking upward, he sees three
perfectly circular, silver objects approaching in a V-formation. They are moving at about the
"speed of a second hand on a watch." They stop and hover for 10 seconds. The lead object reverses
and pulls into a line with the other two between them. Then they depart in a direction at right
angles to their approach. (UFOEv,
p. 69) February 23 or 24 — 11:15 p.m. The navigator on a B-29 bomber sees a pulsating bluish cylinder
while the aircraft is evading antiaircraft fire near Sinuiju, North Korea. It arrives high and fast, makes
several turns, and levels out underneath the aircraft. (
Sparks, p. 122) February 29 — Project Grudge issues a secret Status Report #4, classified “secret.” (US
Air Force,
Projects Grudge and Blue Book Reports 1–12, NICAP, 1968, pp. 65–78) March 3 —
Robert Emmett Ginna Jr. of Life visits the Air Technical
Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio, to obtain material for his UFO article.
Walther Riedel, former German rocket scientist at Peenemünde, Germany, tells Ginna he has kept
notes on UFO sightings from all over the world: “I am completely convinced that they have an out-of-
world basis.” He also meets with Air Force UFO spokesman
Albert M. Chop. Air Materiel Command claims it is investigating every serious UFO report, but it
can’t find the files he requests. Ginna becomes suspicious. (“
Status of Project Blue Book,” T52-6888, [1952]; Jan L. Aldrich, “
Have We Visitors from Space?” Project 1947; Michael D. Swords, “
1952: Ruppelt’s Big Year,” IUR 28, no. 4 (Winter
2003–2004): 9; Swords 120–121) March 10 - 6:45 a.m.
Clarence K. Greenwood, inspector of engineering metals, sees two
dark objects come from behind him at an altitude of 5,000-7,500 feet while he is waiting for a
bus in Oakland, California. They pick up speed, one of them moving in a pendulum-like motion. He
thinks they are about 45 feet long. (UFOEv,
pp. 56-57) March 14 — Evening. US Secretary of the Navy
Dan A. Kimball is flying to Hawaii when he sees two discs moving at 1,500 mph. The UFOs circle
his plane twice, then move on 50 miles east to another Navy plane carrying Adm.
Arthur W. Radford. The UFOs circle Radford’s plane then zoom up out of sight. Kimball sends a
report to the Air Force, but hears nothing back, despite USAF demanding reports from all Navy witnesses.
Kimball threatens to initiate Naval reports on UFOs through ONR to be kept separate from Blue Book.
Keyhoe hears about this from both Kimball and Chief of ONR Adm.
Calvin M. Bolster. The report is never made public, but the story
is mentioned in the Boston Traveler magazine. (NICAP, “
Admiral Radford & Navy Sec. Kimball Planes Buzzed”; NICAP, “
Navy Secy Dan Kimball’s Pilot’s Sighting, March 14, 1952”; Bill Schofield, “
Have You Heard,” Boston Traveler, May 5, 1952; Keyhoe, FS from OS,
p. 50; Swords 165) March 15 — 10:45 p.m. Donald F. Stewart and George Tyler III are driving northbound on the Governor
Ritchie Highway in Glen Burnie, Maryland. A 50-foot silvery domed disc with two portholes and an apparent
hatch appears from the northeast and hovers above their car, causing the engine to fail, magnetizing the wiring,
and cracking the paint. Stewart takes a sub-machine gun from the back of the car and debates whether to fire it
at the object, which remains in view for 3 minutes before turning on its edge and speeding away to the southwest.
Tyler changes his story later, denying he was involved. (NICAP, “
E-M Effects on Car from Domed Disc”;
Sparks, p. 124; “
Missing ‘Flying Saucer’ Reported Sighted Here,” Baltimore (Md.) American, March 16, 1952; Hynek UFO Report,
pp. 196–198; Randle, Levelland, 2021, pp. 61–64, 229; Powell, Scientific, 86–87; Kevin D. Randle, “
Car Stalling and a Bungled Project Blue Book Investigation,” A Different Perspective, May 27, 2024) March 26 — Day. Henry C. Davis is looking out at the ocean through his second-floor window in Long
Beach, California, and listening to the radio. He spots two yellow discs in the sky about one mile high and
2 miles away. He thinks they are 1,000 feet apart and moving southeast to northwest at 100 mph. As they pass,
his radio goes to static twice. (
Schopick, p. 78) March 29 — 11:20 a.m. Near Misawa, Japan, USAF Lt.
David Conant Brigham is flying a T-6 target plane on a practice intercept mission for two
F-84s. The first F-84 overtakes him at 6,000 feet when the T-6 pilot notices a small disc gaining
on the interceptor. The UFO curves toward the F-84, decelerates rapidly, then flips on edge in a
90° bank. It flies between the two aircraft, pulls away, flips again, passes the F-84, crosses in
front, and accelerates out of sight in a near vertical climb. Both pilots notice the object, which
comes within 30–50 feet of the T-6. At one point it is moving with a fluttering motion, rocking back
and forth in 40° banks at one-second intervals. The pilot estimates it is only 8 inches in diameter.
There is a ripple around the edge. (NICAP, “
Brigham/T6 Case: UFO Makes Pass at F-84”;
Sparks, p. 123; “
Air Force Reveals Flying Disk ‘Made Pass’ at Jet Fighter-Bomber over
Northern Japan,” Scranton (Pa.) Times, January 28, 1953, p. 7; Keyhoe, FS from OS, p. 192; C. W. Fitch, “
Monitoring and Scanning UFOs,” APRO Bulletin, March
1963, p. 5; UFOEv,
p. 5; Clark III 377; Powell, Scientist, 46; Clark
IV 421) March 29 — Two fiery discs are sighted over the uranium mines in the southern part of the Belgian
Congo near Elisabethville [modern Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo]. With a diameter of approximately
36–45 feet, they travel in a precise and light manner, both vertically and horizontally. They emit hissing and
buzzing sounds. Changes in elevation from 2,400 to 3,000 feet are accomplished in a few seconds. The discs often
move down to within 60 feet of the treetops. A Commander Pierre of the Belgian Air Force sets out in pursuit in a
fighter plane from the city airport. On his first approach he comes to within about 260 feet of one of the discs.
Suddenly they hover in one spot then takes off in a unique zigzag flight to the northeast at an estimated speed
of 930 mph. Pierre gives up his pursuit after about 15 minutes. (NICAP, “
Two Discs over Uranium Mines / Jet in Pursuit”;
Sparks, p. 123; Good Above,
p. 512; Covert 41) March 31 — Project Blue Book issues its Status Report #5. (US Air Force,
Projects Grudge and Blue Book Reports 1–12, NICAP, 1968, pp. 81–94) April? — Amateur astronomer
W. Gordon Graham sees a UFO “like a smoke ring, elliptical in shape, and
having two bright pinpoints of light along its main axis” at London, Ontario. It sails overhead from west to
east. (London (Ont.) Free Press, May 1, 1952; UFOEv,
p. 49) April 2 — 9:00 a.m. While on a fishing trip to Lake Mead, Nevada, with his wife and
M/Sgt Lester Gossett, M/Sgt Sheldon Smith observes a large silver UFO at a high altitude. It
looks like a B-36 without wings. Smith observes it right after a flight of F-86s overfly the
area at about 15,000 feet. After watching the hovering object for about an hour at a much higher
altitude than the vapor trails from the F-86s, it suddenly disappears. (NICAP, “
B-36 without Wings”; Powell, Scientist, 40) April 3 — 8:23 a.m. Three civilian Air Force pilot instructors,
Chauncey P. “Chick” Logan, C. M. Jasper, and Paul Wilkerson, and several others observe a
bright-silver oval object above the airport in Benson, Arizona. Hovering at 55,000 feet, the
object is in view for nearly an hour, during which time it stays in the same position in the sky.
Logan flies a T-6 trainer aircraft up to 13,500 feet to better observe the object, but there is
no change in apparent size. (NICAP, “
Seven Pilots Observe Huge Object”; Ellsworth Moe, “
Big Unknown Aerial Object Reported by Marana Pilots,” Tucson Arizona Daily Star, April 4,
1952, pp. 1, 14; “
Airmen See Big ‘Saucer’,” Flagstaff Arizona Daily Sun, April 4, 1954, p. 1;
Sparks, p. 124; Powell, Scientist, 40) April 5 - 10:40 a.m. Four civilians-Mr. and Mrs. L. G. Ryan, R. L. Stokes, and D. Schook-
see a large, dull-gray, circular object, followed by two similar ones, flying straight and
level at high speed over Phoenix, Arizona. (Sparks, p. 124; Powell, Scientist, 40) April 5 - 9:15 p.m. Lewis E. Van Dercar, an amateur astronomer, and his 9-year-old son see
four dark, circular objects with mostly fuzzy edges, cross the lower edge of the full moon
from their home at N.E. 18th Street in Miami, Florida. (NICAP, [case file];
Sparks, p. 124; Powell, Scientist, 40) April 5 - Near 12:00 midnight. Four members of the 372nd Bomb Squadron stationed at Kadena
Air Base in Okinawa, Japan-A/1C P. T. Burnett, T/Sgt S. Ball, A/1C J. W. Johnston, and A/1C J.
C. Holder-watch a white, steady light flying an erratic course at about 20,000 feet from the
north horizon to the base area. It moves over the base at high speed (faster than a jet),
zig-zagging, stopping, and maneuvering again. After 10 minutes, it shoots straight up and
disappears to the west. (NICAP, "
Object Zig-Zags over Base";
Sparks, p. 124) April 6 — 2:59 p.m.
Herman L. Russell is near Draughan-Miller AFB [now Draughan-Miller Central Texas Regional Airport] in
Temple, Texas, when he sees 50–75 grayish-white, metallic spots in the north-northwest at an elevation of
about 30°–40°. They are randomly arranged within a circular formation that is only one full moon in area.
The spots flash in unison every 12–15 seconds for a period of 2 seconds, as if they are tilting on a
horizontal axis. After two minutes, the cluster becomes less dense in the center and more dense at the
outer rim. Russell estimates its distance at 15–25 miles at a height about 50,000 feet. They disappear by
fading into the distance. (NICAP, “
50–75 Discs in Formation”;
Sparks, p. 125; Powell, Scientist, 40) April 7 — During war games taking place in the vicinity of Lampasas, Texas, nicknamed
Operation Longhorn, the Air Force announces that a new “aerial light” attached to a B-26 aircraft is in
use that makes an “attacking bomber look like a ball of fire in the sky.” It is essentially a bright
magnesium searchlight (dubbed a “Hell Roarer” flare) that can illuminate a battlefield for nighttime
photography. USAF Public Information Officer Capt. Irving Rappaport implies it could be mistaken for a
flying saucer. (“
Light Makes Bomber Resemble Ball of Fire,” Chambersburg (Pa.) Public Opinion, April 7, 1952, p. 3; “
It’s No Saucer! Strange Objects in the Sky Are Nothing New in Dayton,” Dayton (Ohio) Daily News,
November 9, 1952, magazine supplement, p. 7; Curt Collins, “
UFOs: Confusing the Public,” The Saucers That Time Forgot, January 27, 2022) April 12 — 8:30 p.m. W/O E. H. Rossell and Flight Sgt. Reginald McRae are driving on
RCAF Station North Bay, Ontario, when they see a bright amber disc arrive from the southwest, move across
the airfield, stop, and then take off in the opposite direction at an angle of 30° at terrific speed. (NICAP, “
Amber Disc Stops, Reverses Direction”; “
Flying Saucers Could Be Real Admit Top Canadian Scientists,” Ottawa (Ont.) Journal, April 16, 1952,
pp. 1, 16; “
Flying Discs No Joke Now in Air Force,” Ottawa (Ont.) Journal, April 16, 1952, p. 3; Yurko Bondarchuk,
UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979,
pp. 92–94) April 16 — 10:58 p.m. Four high-altitude contrails heading east-southeast toward Alaska
are seen by US defense observers at Nunivak Island, Alaska. Air Defense Command becomes frantic
about a possible Soviet attack. (NICAP, “
UFOs and Alert Scare, April 1952”; NICAP, “
Another Radar-Inspired National Alert”; “
3 Plane Vapors Cause Alert at Alaska Stations,” Long Beach (Calif.) Independent, April 18,
1952, p. 18; “
Radar Scare,” Miami (Fla.) Herald, April 19, 1952, p. 23; Clark IV 892) April 17 — 5:10 a.m. Radar at Caswell Air Force Station [now closed] in Limestone, Maine,
tracks five unknown targets headed southwest into the US. Three are later identified as off-course
civilian airliners, while two remain unidentified. The Air Force Intelligence warns Brig. Gen.
Woodbury Burgess, at ADC Headquarters, Ent AFB [now the US Olympic Training Center] in Colorado
Springs, Colorado, that a classified source (possibly an electronic intercept) has provided an
“indication” of ominous Soviet military activity. With the simultaneous appearance of two waves (including
the earlier Alaskan contrails) of unidentified targets, there is no alternative. At 5:11 a.m., ADC Commander Gen.
Frederic H. Smith Jr. orders America’s first nationwide Air Defense Readiness alert. SAC is notified
to prepare launching nuclear missiles. The alert is canceled at 7:40 a.m. after no further activity is
reported. (NICAP, “
Another Radar-Inspired National Alert”; Clark IV 892) April 17 — 12:05 p.m. Air Force T/S Orville Lawson,
Rudy Toncer (sheet metal shop foreman), and sheet metal shop workers R. K. Van Houtin, Edward Gregory,
and
Charles Ruliffson at Nellis Air Force Base, near Las Vegas, see 18 circular objects flying an easterly
course that carry them over or very close to the Nevada Test Site. They watch the objects for about 30
seconds. (NICAP, “
April 17, 1952: Nellis AFB, Nevada Large Group of Circular UFOs”; “
Work Crew Spots Flying Saucers over A-Test Site,” Salt Lake Tribune, April 18, 1952, p. 1; “5 Say They
Saw Flying Saucers,” Las Vegas Nevada Morning Star, April 18, 1952; “
Flying Saucers Reported near Atom Test Site,” Greensburg (Ind.) Daily News, April 18, 1952, p. 9; Loren E.
Gross,
UFOs, a History: 1952, January–May, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2001, pp. 61–62; Nukes 83) April 20 — 9:15 p.m. Naval aviation student Edmund Kogut and his wife Shirley are at
a drive-in movie theater in Flint, Michigan, when they see several groups of UFOs fly over. There
are 2–9 objects in a group and about 20 groups, all flying in a straight line except for some
changes in direction accomplished unlike any known aircraft. They are shaped like conventional
aircraft but have an odd reddish glow surrounding them. (NICAP, [
Flint, Michigan, case documents];
Sparks, p. 128) April 22 — The Canadian Defence Research Board establishes a UFO study group that meets for the
first time today. Project Second Storey, formed by
Omond M. Solandt, DRB chairman, meets at least five times. It is chaired by astrophysicist
Peter M. Millman and includes
Wilbert B. Smith and representatives from Naval Intelligence, Military Operations and Planning, and
the Defence Research Board. At its April 24 meeting, it decides to meet with the US government on UFO
matters. (“
Project Second Storey Minutes, 1952.04.24”; Stuart Nixon, “
W. B. Smith: The Man behind Project Magnet,” UFO Quarterly Review
1, no. 1 (Jan./Mar. 1973): 2–17; Good Above,
p. 186; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: 1952, January–May, The Author, 1993, p. 53; Chris Rutkowski and Geoff Dittman, The
Canadian UFO Report, Dundurn Press, 2006, p. 225–226; Clark III 1078; Clark IV 1194) April 22 — Around 9:00 p.m. A B-29 combat crew on the ground at Naha Air Base on Okinawa,
Japan, observes an elliptical-shaped object at an altitude of 1,000–1,500 feet flying east to west.
One minute later, two more objects are observed flying the same course. Five minutes later, two more
objects appear flying in the same direction. All five objects are elliptical in shape and apparently
2–3 feet in length. The objects have a brilliant white light that blinks at 1–2 second intervals as
they perform erratic maneuvers. The estimated speed of the objects is 1,150 mph. (NICAP, [
case file];
Sparks, p. 128; Powell, Scientist, 40) April 23 — 9:30 a.m. R. C. Munroe, engineering standards section head for Raytheon Manufacturing
Company, notices an object near an AT-6 Texan trainer aircraft above Lexington, Massachusetts. He estimates
its altitude at 40,000 feet. It decelerates abruptly and goes into a flat turn. He writes, “It is inconceivable
to me that any human being could have withstood the deceleration or acceleration displayed by this aircraft.”
(UFOEv,
p. 57) April 23 - 10:45 a.m. Engineers
Carl Hawk and
Marvin Harvey are at Sandia Base, Albuquerque,
New Mexico, when they look up to watch a jet fighter as it shoots to the north above the Sandia
Mountains. They also notice a soundless, flat, rectangular, wing-like object streaking through
the sky from east to west above Tijeras Canyon. The object is completely black except for a
distinct, bright yellow "V" on its bottom. Two slight points extend from its rear corners.
Hawk estimates that it is passing overhead at 2,000 feet altitude at 200-400 mph and is
roughly 60 feet wide by 20 feet long. They watch it for 10 seconds until it disappears in a
cloud above downtown Albuquerque. ("
What Soared Across Duke City Sky That Day in April, 1952?" Albuquerque (N.Mex.) Tribune,
November 21, 1957, p. 8) April 25 — 11:00 a.m. Biochemist Robert A. Whitmore and bacteriologist
E. Stanley Yawger Jr. are driving to their office in San Jose, California, when they see a metallic-
looking disc rotating around a vertical axis and wobbling. It is moving slowly over the office and is
about 4–5 feet in diameter. It flies in a slow arc. Then they see a black object hovering at a high altitude
under an overcast. This one is about 100 feet in diameter. Two identical objects come into view out of the
clouds. The three objects “jittered about like boats in a stream.” Then the small disc stops spinning,
hovers, then shoots upwards, followed by one of the black objects. The remaining two objects linger another
minute or so, then take off separately. The episode lasts 15 minutes. Whitmore calls Moffett Field in Santa
Clara County, but hangs up before reporting the sighting, which they describe as a “most disturbing
experience.” The object “utilized some propulsion method not in the physics books.” (NICAP, “
Scientist Sighting / Extraordinary Propulsion Implied”; Richard H. Hall, Uninvited Guests, Aurora, 1988,
pp. 241–242; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: 1952, January–May, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2001, pp. 69–75) April 30 — 6:00 p.m. Six members of the 3rd Platoon, Heavy Mortar Company, 180th Infantry Regiment
at the front lines around Panmunjeom, Korea, see two silvery wingless objects, one behind the other, flying
in a valley in a southeasterly direction. Pfc H. B. Webb thinks they are flying at 900–1,000 mph. Some slower
northbound F-86 Sabre jets pass above them. They make a rumbling sound. (Haines, Korea,
p. 63) May — Army radar specialist Jay Nogle is stationed near Washington, D.C., when he picks up an
unknown target on his M33 scope at an altitude of 18,000 feet about 130 miles from the capital (which
would put it over eastern Pennsylvania). Two other Army units also detect the object, which remains
stationary for 30 minutes before moving. By the time the object reaches the edge of the radar scope, it
is traveling at 1,000 mph. The report goes all the way to the Pentagon, where orders are given to fire on
it if it returns. Nogle says that radar targets are frequently seen in May or June, and units have their
antiaircraft guns loaded after the first incident. When 12 F-94 Starfire jets are scrambled from McGuire
AFB [now part of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst] in Burlington County, New Jersey, the targets move
speedily out of range. (Swords 153) Early May — Lt. Thomas A. Featherstone is operating Ground Control Approach radar at NAS Willow
Grove [now NAS Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove] in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, when it picks up a target
in bad weather conditions near the center of the scope. By the next sweep (32 rpm) the target has moved
almost five miles, indicating the object was moving approximately 3,600 mph. It is seen to move as the
trace sweeps past it. By the fourth sweep, the target has moved off to the 10-mile limit of the GCA scope.
The target is visible on two radar scopes, operating on two different frequencies. A similar object is
tracked the following day under similar weather conditions. (NICAP, “
Target Follows Sweep”) Early May — 10:00 p.m. A senior CIA official is having a lawn party at his home near Alexandria,
Virginia, for some VIPs. He and two others notice a light approaching silently from the west. It stops then
climbs almost vertically, stops again, then levels out. Then it goes into a nearly vertical dive, levels out,
and streaks off to the east. (Ruppelt,
pp. 135–136; Swords 148) May 1 — 9:10 a.m. Air intelligence officer Maj.
Rudolph Pestalozzi and an airman standing outside the Davis-Monthan AFB base hospital, Tucson, Arizona,
watch two shiny, round objects overtake a B-36 flying above. The objects slow down to match the plane’s speed
and remain in formation with them for 20 seconds. Then they make a sharp, no-radius turn away from the B-36,
moving away a bit. Then one of the objects stops and hovers. Both are silent, and the crew estimates they have
a diameter of 20–25 feet and a thickness of 10–12 feet. (NICAP, “
The Case of the Missing Report”;
Sparks, p. 131; Hynek UFO Report,
pp. 109–112,
292–294; UFOEv II 73–74; Good Need,
pp. 166–167) May 1 — 10:50 a.m. At George AFB [now Southern California Logistics Airport] near Victorville,
California, five independent witnesses in the base control tower see a group of five white discs moving in
formation for about 30 seconds. The objects appear very maneuverable, seem to almost collide, then break
away in a right-angle turn. They are traveling an estimated 900–1,200 mph and are 1,000–1,200 feet in diameter.
Four miles away at Apple Valley, California, the base’s wing director of personnel, playing on a golf course,
sees one of the UFOs at the same time. (NICAP, “
George AFB / Apple Valley, CA Radar Case”;
Sparks, p. 131; Hynek UFO Report,
pp. 107–109; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: 1952, January–May, The Author, 1993, pp. 70–71; Good Need,
p. 166; Michael D. Swords, “
Intelligent Motions,” IUR 33, no. 1 (March 2010): 10, 15; Swords 147–148; Clark III 376; Clark IV 420) May 1 — 1:45 p.m. Albuquerque Journal composing room employee Eugene Cline sees four silvery
objects seemingly playing tag with a formation of 12 Air Force bombers—either B-29s or B-50s—flying west
over Albuquerque, New Mexico. The round objects are keeping up with the planes at the same altitude,
moving in a “tumbling or pitching manner.” One object shoots straight up and takes off in a southerly
direction. About the same time, workmen (one of them Howard Burgess) erecting an antenna at nearby Sandia
Base watch three UFOs pass directly overhead. One comes from the west and moves south; another comes from
the north and moves south; and a third, tan-colored rather than silver like the others, passes low overhead
and looks like a “cylinder tumbling end over end.” Burgess and the others are debriefed and sworn to
secrecy about what they have witnessed. (“
Flying Saucers Play Tag with Bombers over City,” Albuquerque (N.Mex.) Journal, May 2, 1952, p. 2; Nukes
56–58) May 7 — 12:22 a.m. Mrs. Hanley Marks sees a light-green, ball-shaped object fall from the sky into
the Sandia Mountains, New Mexico, from her home in the Bel-Air neighborhood of Albuquerque. (“
Fireball Falls near Sandias Early Today,” Albuquerque Journal, May 7, 1952, p. 1; “
Green Fireball Falls in Southwest, Three Here Report,” Albuquerque Journal, May 7, 1952, p. 9) May 7 — 12:15 p.m. A Captain Morris and three enlisted men at Keesler AFB, Biloxi, Mississippi,
see one or two aluminum or silver cylindrical objects darting in and out of the clouds 10 times. ([
Blue Book case report]”;
Sparks, p. 131) May 7 — 4:30 p.m. Magazine writer Ed Keffel, in the company of João Martins, takes five photographs
of a UFO over Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In the first, the UFO resembles an airplane coming
directly toward them over a large group of trees. The second shows the object as disc-shaped. The third photo
is taken as the object tilts slightly, showing both the top with a slight dome and the now obvious disc shape.
More trees, including a very tall palm, can be seen in the photograph. The fourth picture, taken as the object
tilts the other way, shows a raised ring on the bottom. The final picture is taken as the object is nearly vertical,
seen over part of the ocean and some distant hills. The UFO disappears shortly afterward. NICAP does not see any
negatives and is skeptical. The Colorado project finds a “glaring internal inconsistency” in the illumination
and dismisses the photos as hoaxes. Today, the best evidence seems to suggest the case is a hoax, perpetrated
by two magazine writers who wanted an interesting story. (NICAP, “
Barra da Tijuca Photos”; Olavo T. Fontes, “
The Barra da Tijuca Disc,” APRO Special Report no. 1 (October 1961): 1–6; Condon,
pp. 83,
415–418; Swords 460–461; Cláudio Tsuyoshi Suenaga, “
Os 90 Anos do O Cruzeiro, a Revista que Inaugurou a Era Moderna dos Discos Voadores no Brasil,” October 11, 2018; “
O caso da Barra da Tijuca,” Fenomenum, February 17, 2022) May 8 — 2:27 a.m. Pan American Airways pilot Clayton C. Gallagher and his copilot, flying a
Lockheed Constellation aircraft at 8,000 feet en route from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to New York, see a
light, 10 times the size of an airplane landing light, approach them over the Atlantic Ocean east of
South Carolina. It streaks past their left wing about a quarter mile away, followed by two smaller
orange balls of fire. Probable meteor. (NICAP, “
Three UAO Sighted by Constellation Crew”;
Sparks, p. 131; Ruppelt,
pp. 133–135; “
San Juan Puerto Rico Pan Am CE-II Case of 5-8-52 – Jay Glick,” Ufology: A Primer in Audio, 1938–1959,
November 21, 2013; Tim Printy, “
May 8, 1952: Atlantic Ocean off Jacksonville, Fla.,” SUNlite 15, no. 3 (May/June 2023): 3–5) May 10 — 3:00 p.m. USAF Lt. Col. Maurice G. Bechtel and his wife are in the yard of their home
in Albuquerque, New Mexico, when they see two silvery disc-shaped objects flying straight and level, one
after the other, moving southwest to northeast at above 20,000 feet. The first object seems to waver on
its axis, the second object follows a similar path but at a higher altitude. The first object is the size
of a B-36 at high altitude. Bechtel alerts the radar station but it is unable to track the objects. (NICAP, “
Two Discs Observed by Lt. Colonel and Wife”;
Sparks, p. 132) May 10 — 8:30 p.m. A British scientist and others at Paphos, Cyprus, see a luminous circular
object rise from the sea and waver back and forth before fading from sight directly overhead. (NICAP, “
Paphos, SW Cyprus”;
Sparks, p. 132; Good Above,
p. 540; Covert 23; Dolan, USO1, 154–155) May 10 — 10:45 p.m. Four employees of DuPont Corporation at the AEC’s Savannah River Laboratory
near Jackson, South Carolina, see four disc-shaped objects approach, then two other discs pass high
overhead from different directions. They are a luminous yellow-gold color and move at a high rate of
speed. One of the discs approaches at such a low altitude that it must ascend to pass over some tall
tanks at the facility. One witness says that the objects are weaving from left to right while continuing
on a steady course. The case is investigated by the FBI and passed on to the Pentagon and the Atomic
Energy Commission. Tim Printy thinks the objects may have been birds illuminated by ground lighting. (NICAP, “
Objects Sighted near Vital Installation”;
Sparks, p. 132; memo from J. Edgar Hoover to USAF Director of Special Investigations, “
Flying Disks Reportedly Seen in Vicinity of Savannah River Plant Atomic Energy Commission,” May 25,
1952, [p. 19]; Nukes 84; Tim Printy, “
The 701 Club: Case #1198, Ellenton, South Carolina, May 10, 1952,” SUNlite 15, no. 3 (May/June 2023): 5–6) May 12 — 8:45 p.m. A UFO is seen by Walker AFB T/Sgt. Raymond Bare in a car in downtown Roswell,
New Mexico. The object is blue-green in color, and its estimated altitude above the terrain is 20,000–
30,000 feet. It appears to be about 40–50 miles distant over some low mountains east of Ruidosa. The object
travels three times over approximately the same south-to-north / east-to-west, swaying, triangular course.
Rate of speed cannot be precisely estimated but is faster than that of a jet aircraft. Intensity of color
brightness varies with the object’s altitude. The Air Force explains it as the planet Venus, but Venus is
on the other side of the earth at the time. (NICAP, “
High-Speed Object Maneuvers over Mountains”;
Sparks, p. 132; Clark III 390–391; Clark IV 436) May 15 — 6:35 p.m. The pilot of an F-51 assigned to the 18th Fighter Bomber Group flying at 9,000
feet over North Korea encounters a silver object estimated to be 50 feet in diameter. It appears ahead of
him to the right and begins climbing at 1,000 mph to the east, pauses, then descends into some haze. (Haines, Korea,
pp. 39–40) May 15 — 8:00 p.m. Two F-86E pilots of the 61st Fighter-Interceptor Wing are on a mission in North
Korea when they see a silvery disc larger than a MiG aircraft 20 miles away and below them at 8,000–10,000
feet. Seen for only 3–5 seconds, the object is traveling at 1,200–1,500 mph in a rolling maneuver. (Haines, Korea,
p. 39) May 17 — 9:30 p.m. Mr. R. Baits is on the beach at Derna, Libya, with three companions when he
notices a soft orange-yellow light traveling soundlessly toward them from inland at great speed and in a
straight line. Suddenly, as it reaches a point overhead, it swerves to the east over the town, gaining
height. After a few seconds it moves to the south and begins zigzagging until it fades away into the
background of stars. (“
Mystery Light’s Erratic Course,” Newcastle (UK) Evening Chronicle, June 13, 1952, p. 13; [Letter], “
It Was a Light,” Newcastle (UK) Evening Chronicle, June 13, 1952, p. 3) Late May — 1:00–3:00 a.m. Royal Canadian Navy Commander George R. McFarlane is officer of the watch
on the Canadian warship
HMCS Iroquois in the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Guam en route to Korea. He sees many different lights,
some single, others in formations of 3, 5, or 6, appearing and disappearing instantly. Suddenly one of the objects
appears off the port bow at close range and low elevation. McFarlane and the signalman on watch see that the light
is attached to a disc-shaped object with two dozen black windows running along its side. It hovers nearby for at
least 15 minutes. (Good Need,
pp. 142–143) May 23 — After 11:00 p.m. Lockheed worker
Orfeo Angelucci is driving home on Victory Boulevard from his job in Burbank, California, when he senses
a force and sees a red, glowing UFO. After a while he begins to follow it, and after he crosses the Los Angeles
River and turns onto Forest Lawn Drive, he gets to within 30 feet of it when it hovers. Just before it streaks
away, two smaller green globes, 3 feet in diameter, shoot out of it and approach him. He hears a voice saying,
“Don’t be afraid, Orfeo, we are friends.” This begins his contact with benevolent beings from other planets.
(Orfeo Angelucci and Paul M. Vest, “I Traveled in a Flying Saucer,” Mystic Magazine, no. 1 (November 1953):
55–61; Gray Barker, “
A Ride in a Flying Saucer,” The Saucerian 1, no. 2 (November 1953): 30–31; Orfeo Angelucci, The Secret of
the Saucers, Amherst Press, 1955,
pp. 1–15; Bryant and Helen Reeve, Flying Saucer Pilgrimage, Amherst Press, 1957,
pp. 222–232; Clark III 127–129; Håkan Blomqvist, “
Orfeo Angelucci and the Esoteric Tradition,” Håkan Blomqvist’s Blog, December 14, 2019; “
Orfeo Angelucci in a Rare Recording on Meeting Extraterrestrial Entities and The Secret of the Saucers,”
Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, August 2, 2023; Eghigian, After, pp.134–135; Clark IV 154–157) May 25 — 9:27 a.m. An Air Force captain in charge of the navigation section of Combat Crew
Training School at Randolph AFB near San Antonio, Texas, his wife, and another pilot see a group of
about 12 orange-white, tear-drop shaped lights in 3 groups of 4 moving from west to east at 2,000 mph
and 10,000 feet altitude. They hear deep, soft intermittent noise. (NICAP, “
Randolph AFB, Texas, May 25, 1952, UFO Report”;
Sparks, p. 134; Ruppelt,
p. 140) May 26 — 3:20 a.m. Ground radar alerts the crew of an F-94 Starfire interceptor jet over North
Korea that an unidentified target is on its tail. The jet turns, descends to 2,500 feet, and both the pilot,
1Lt John W. Martin, and radar operator, 1Lt. Edward A. Monard, see a brilliant white light above and straight
ahead. They make one pass within 600 feet of the object, but due to its brilliance they cannot identify its
shape. The pilot makes six more close passes, but still cannot identify it. Their aircraft radar does not pick
up the object. After the last pass, the radar operator briefly thinks he sees something following them, and
ground radar tells them there is an unknown target on their tail. The pilot banks to the right to get behind
the target, and this time the aircraft radar locks onto the object, which is ahead of them. In less than a minute,
the F-94 is within 3.4 miles of the target. The UFO then performs a steady climbing turn and accelerates away
reaching a distance of nearly 15 miles from the jet in 12–15 seconds, breaking radar contact.
Robert Powell estimates that the object is speeding away at 5,371 mph and sustaining 16.7 g-forces, which is
roughly what USAF Brig. Gen.
Charles Y. Banfill estimates shortly after the incident. (NICAP, “
F-94 Has UFO on Its Tail, Radar Tracks”;
Sparks, p. 135; Haines, Korea,
pp. 40–44; Powell, Scientist, 70–72) May 28 - 1:45 p.m. Albuquerque, New Mexico, fire department employees Martin Romero and
Don Atteberry see two circular objects, one shiny silver and the other orange or light brown,
performing fast maneuvers on three different occasions over the course of an hour above the
northeast part of the city. (NICAP, [Blue Book case documents];
Sparks, p. 135) May 28 — 8:30–8:40 p.m. A green fireball about one-third the size of the full moon is seen in
Albuquerque, New Mexico, from eight ground points and five aircraft.
Lincoln LaPaz pinpoints the fall near Santa Fe. Around the same time, the crew of a Flying Tiger Line
C-46 near Otto, New Mexico, sees a green fireball rise up and drop steeply down. (“
2 Green Fireballs Seen by Many, LaPaz Reports,” Albuquerque Journal, May 29, 1952, p. 2) May 28–29 — During a night refueling mission at 8:10 p.m., the crews of five USAF B-29 bombers
see green spherical objects. The primary sighting takes place near Albuquerque, New Mexico, and involves
three B-29s flying at 15,000 feet. Another sighting takes place around 11:30 p.m. about 10 miles southwest
of Tulsa, Oklahoma. That crew is flying at 25,000 feet. Three hours later the final sighting takes place
near Enid, Oklahoma, also with a B-29 at 25,000 feet. The aircrews making these reports do not think the
objects are meteorites. (NICAP, “
Five B-29 Bomber Crews Observe Green Objects”;
Sparks, p. 135) May 30 — Around 12:00 midnight. Multiple pilots and observers from Seattle, Washington, to
Vancouver, British Columbia, witness a huge fireball in the sky. Captain Mickey Milliken, flying from
Victoria to Vancouver, sees the fireball at exactly 12:36 a.m. and says it explodes near his aircraft,
startling him. Ken St. John at the Vancouver airport tower also sees the bright orange object with a
greenish halo moving northeast and records it in the logbook, describing a long, thin object with a tube-
like extension and a meteorite-like tail. A United Air Lines captain south of Bellingham, Washington, also
observes the phenomenon. (“
Huge ‘Fireball’ Seen by Pilots of Airplanes,” Nanaimo (B.C.) Daily News, May 30, 1952, p. 1) May 30 — USAF Maj.
William D. Leet, copilot on a C-54 transport mission at 8,500 feet near Oshima, Japan, sees a dark object
hovering in clouds for 7 minutes. It disappears, speeding away in seconds. (NICAP, “
C-54 Crew Encounters Round Black Object”;
Sparks, p. 136; Loren E. Gross,
The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1952 January–May, Supplemental Notes, The Author,
2000, pp. 82–83) May 31 — About 4:00 a.m. Over a ground radar site near Cheorwon, South Korea, several US soldiers
see a bright UFO that looks like a falling star, except that it stops falling and begins to climb again. It
then moves northeast at 150 mph, reverses course twice, moves in jerky motions, turns seemingly simultaneously,
then climbs at a 45° angle and disappears from sight within 3–4 seconds. One guard hears a pulsating sound. An
F-94 attempts to intercept the brilliant white object, which takes clearly evasive maneuvers with superior speed,
maneuverability, and climbing ability. It pulls away at 30,000 feet. The object is tracked on the F-94’s airborne
radar. (NICAP, “
Jerky Object Observed and Tracked on Radar”;
Sparks, p. 136; Hynek UFO Report,
pp. 87–90; Haines, Korea,
pp. 63–64; Patrick Gross, “
UFO US Military Reports, Korea, 1952”; Powell, Scientist, 65–66) June — Jet pilots allegedly discover the wreck of a flying disc on Spitsbergen in the Svalbard
archipelago, Norway. It is taken to Narvik, where it is identified as either a Russian or extraterrestrial
device. Other variants of the legend claim it is a Nazi device or that it is actually discovered on Heligoland,
Germany, in the North Sea.
Nick Redfern suspects the story is planted by either Soviet or US intelligence. (“Auf Spitzbergen landete
Fliegende Untertasse,” Saarbrücker Zeitung [Saarbrücken, Germany], June 28, 1952; Hessische Nachrichten [Kassel,
Germany], July 26, 1954; E. W. Grenfell, “
First Report on the Captured Flying Saucer,” Sir! September 1954, pp. 16–17, 56–57; Le Lorrain, October 15,
1954; Verdens Gang [Oslo, Norway], December 19, 1954; Edwards, FS—Serious Business, 1966,
pp. 44–48; Condon,
pp. 90–91; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: 1952, June–July 10th, The Author, 1986, pp. 31–32; William Steinman and Wendelle C. Stevens,
UFO Crash at Aztec, UFO Photo Archives, 1987, pp. 353–366; Pat Bontempo, “Incident at Heligoland,” UFO Universe 5
(Spring 1989): 18–22; Ole Jonny Brænne, “
Legend of the Spitsbergen Saucer,” IUR 17, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1992): 14–20; Kremlin 45–46; Clark III 327; Kevin D.
Randle, “
Spitsbergen Crash/Retrieval and David Grusch,” A Different Perspective, May 26, 2024; Clark IV 363) June? — 9:00 p.m.
Francis Y. Kelson, a US Army soldier temporarily assigned to the US Navy, is on a landing ship, dock (LSD), possibly
the
USS Donner, as part of a Corps of Engineers operation called Operation SUNAC (Support and Supply for North
Atlantic Construction). While in the North Atlantic Ocean en route from Norfolk, Virginia, to Cape Chidley,
Newfoundland, he and another soldier are on deck when they hear an intense, high-pitched whining noise. They
notice two dull-white lights in the water ahead, apparently 5 feet in diameter, 20 feet apart, and only 10
feet from the hull. A Navy bosun’s mate comes on board and tells them they had been tracking the object on
sonar for 2 hours and it had been pacing them from 2 miles off their stern. After 20 minutes, the whining
noise increases in intensity and the lights pull forward and move toward land. The two soldiers are told not
to reveal what they had seen. (Carl Feindt, “
Report #1147,” waterufo.net; Bernard Kessler, “
Cape Chidley Labrador: 1952, Operation SUNAC”; Dolan, USO1, 152–154) June — Sunset. In Tombstone, Arizona, Navy Lieut. Cmdr. John C. Williams, his wife Josephine, and
a guest see a “huge circular object” flying toward them from the direction of Tucson. Suddenly it stops in
mid-flight, hovers, then reverses direction and retraces its course. A few seconds later it returns, stops gain,
and appears to oscillate and tilt from one side to the other. Again it reverses its course, repeating everything
2–3 more times. (UFOEv,
p.30) Early June — 9:00 or 10:00 p.m. Violet M. Winstead and her husband are driving in a narrow valley
somewhere between Charleston and White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, when they see a number of lights on a
bridge crossing the valley. They begin blinking off, one by one. When they get to the bridge, they see no
street lights. (Violet M. Winstead,
Letter, IUR 9, no.1 (Jan./Feb. 1984): 3) June 1 — 2:40 a.m. A cargo ship anchored at the wharf in Port-Gentil, Gabon, observes a mysterious
object fly from behind the city, make a double loop, pass over the roadstead, and then dive toward the sea.
(ClearIntent,
p. 119) June 1 — Morning. The chief of a radar test section for Hughes Aircraft Company tracks an unidentified
target coming across the San Gabriel Mountains north of Los Angeles, California. It is moving at 180 mph toward
Santa Monica at an altitude of 11,000 feet. The object suddenly triples its speed to 550 mph, turns, and climbs
over Los Angeles at 35,000 feet per minute. The target then levels out for a few seconds, goes into a high-speed
dive, and levels out again at 55,000 feet. They lose the blip somewhere near Riverside. (NICAP, “
Radar Tracks Object Which Suddenly Climbs to 55,000 Feet”; Ruppelt,
pp. 141–143) June Around 11 p.m. Little Spring Creek, TN. Marks of legs and center spike in chirt
(sic), along with small heelless footprints. Man hears strange sounds and weird music, sees a
shiny thing on the ground, with bright light coming through an open door. 4 or 5 men, high-
pitched voices. 4~ to 5 ft. tall dancing and singing. Object aluminum colored, glowing orange
and blue in spots, some of which were too bright to look at directly. Rotating lights on
translucent ball at top. Object on 4 legs, each with a ball at the end , and a center spike.
Stood 3-4 ft. off the ground, 7-8 ft. thick at center, like 2 saucers stuck together. Men
reloaded object, advanced toward witness with things in their hands that looked like quns,
but stopped, apparently unwilling lo cross a creek. Men walked up rammp or steps into object,
which rose. vertically in a twisting, corkscrew motion, glowing brighter as it rose. (Stanley
L. Ingram "Recent Sightings " page 65 in "Unidentified Flying Objects Over the Tennessee Valley"
by W.A. Darbro and Ingram, South Publishing Co., Huntsville, Ala. 1974. via Fred Herritt) June 6 — 8:42 a.m. Flight Sgt.
Kenneth Dudley Smith from the 77th RAAF Squadron at Kimpo Air Base [now Gimpo International Airport]
in Seoul, Korea, observes a dull silver object in the shape of a coin and about 50–60 feet long performing
spinning and tumbling maneuvers for 4 minutes at 345 mph. Flight Sgt. Kenneth Fawner also sees the UFO for
30 seconds. ([
Blue Book case documents];
Sparks, p. 137; Project 1947, “
UFO Documents: 1952, Korea”; Powell, Scientist, 48) June 8 — 10:50 a.m. Four flat, round, shiny objects in a diamond formation are seen in Albuquerque,
New Mexico, from the ground by Mr. and Mrs. J. D. Markland. The objects are approximately 15,000 feet in
altitude and traveling 300 mph. There is no audible sound. They are first seen at about 60° above the horizon
to the north and are traveling to the southwest at approximately 240°. (NICAP, “
Diamond Formation of Flat Objects Observed”;
Sparks, p. 138; Michael D. Swords, “
Intelligent Motions,” IUR 33, no. 1 (March 2010): 10, 15) June 8 —
Lewis P. West and his brother
Grant observe “two gray metallic discs with silver edges” on the western horizon in Ogden, Utah. The objects
“seem to hover over the mountains, then dart away and back at terrific speed.” (“
Ogden Neighbors Watch ‘Saucer’ for 90 Minutes,” Ogden (Utah) Standard-Examiner, July 29, 1952, p. 1) June 8 — During a launch of a pibal balloon at Calgary, Alberta, a silvery ellipse with a sharp
outline reflecting sunlight and an aspect ratio of 8:1 crosses the field of vision of the observer’s theodolite.
(Arthur Bray, The UFO Connection, Jupiter Publishing, 1979, p. 186; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: 1952, June–July 20th, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2001, p. 14) June 11 - 6:44 p.m. Two round objects, dark blue with gray centers, are seen moving southwest
to northwest for 40 seconds at 500 mph and 6,000 feet altitude several miles east of O'Hare
Airport in Chicago, Illinois. One passes the other before disappearing. (Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: 1952, June-July 20th, The Author, 1986, pp. 10-11) June 13 — 1:00 a.m. M. Veillot and M. Damiens, air traffic control operators at Paris–Le
Bourget Airport, France, watch a prominent orange-red light hover in the sky for about one hour.
Eventually it begins moving and crosses the sky southwest of the airport, accelerating rapidly. The
light is also seen by M. Navarri, the pilot of an approaching Air France plane. (Michel, Truth About
FS, 165–166) June 15 — 8:32 a.m. A meteorological assistant on reserve army maneuvers sees a large silver
disc in the sky southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia. It moves southwest for 30 seconds at an altitude of
5,000–8,000 feet and then rises and merges in 2–5 seconds with altocumulus clouds at 11,000–12,000 feet.
Its diameter is about 100 feet and speed at least 800 mph. (Good Above,
p. 184) June 15 - 4:20 p.m. A round shiny object is seen over Gordonsville, Virginia. At 4:25
p.m., the crew of a commercial airliner reports a silver sphere over Richmond, Virginia. At 4:33
p.m., a Marine fighter jet is scrambled from Marine Corps Base Quantico in Prince William County,
Virginia, and attempts to intercept a target south of Gordonsville but fails and returns to base.
At 5:43 p.m., an Air Force fighter attempts to intercept the same shiny sphere but after reaching
35,000 feet turns back. At 7:35 p.m., a UFO emitting a golden glow is seen over Blackstone, Virginia.
Fighter jets from Langley AFB in Hampton, Virginia, are scrambled, but the object is gone by the
time they get there at 8:05 p.m. ("
Rubin Says `Thing' Spotted in Va. Skies Was a Fireball," Richmond
(Va.) News Leader, June 16, 1952, p. 8; "
Lighted Ball Cruises in Sky near Richmond," Richmond
(Va.) Times-Dispatch, June 16, 1952, pp. 1, 4; "
Mysterious Sight Stirs `Saucer' Talk in Powhatan," Hopewell (Va.)
News, June 16, 1952, p. 1; "
Aerial Object Baffling to Observers in Virginia," Richmond (Va.)
Times-Dispatch, June 17, 1952, pp. 1, 8; "
Mysterious Object Sighted over State Resembled Balloon to Two Observers,"
Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch, June 18, 1952, p. 2; Ruppelt,
pp. 144-145) June 15 — Night. A. G. Stuart is heading east across the Snake River bridge east of Pasco,
Washington, when he witnesses an object that glows like a “red-hot stove in the night” hovering above
the water. It moves slowly toward the southwest, before disappearing. Stuart described the object as
being “almost a block across, egg-shaped and at an estimated altitude of 500 feet.” (“
Glowing Object Reported Seen,” Spokane (Wash.) Spokesman-Review, June 17, 1952, p. 6) June 15 — 11:50 p.m. Edward Duke, a former Navy radar technician, sees an unidentified cigar-shaped
object in the vicinity of Standiford Field [now Louisville International Airport], Louisville, Kentucky. It
has a light on either side of the fuselage and a reddish hue on the trailing end. The object appears to be
moving at about 400–500 mph and maneuvers around in several directions for 15 minutes, then descends and
flies away to the northeast. ([
Blue Book document];
Sparks, p. 138) June 16 — 8:30 p.m. USAF B-29 maintenance specialist S/Sgt. James C. Sparks, 6th Bomb Wing (Heavy), is
walking between buildings #590 and T-588 at Walker Air Force Base [now closed] in Roswell, New Mexico. He sees
first one object in the southeast about 1 mile distant resembling the shadow of a landing B-29 or B-50. As it
passes overhead, he also notices 5–7 silverish-gray round objects, in a half-moon formation, flying at an
estimated 500–600 mph at about 5,000 feet altitude in a line heading to the northwest. They disappear at about
1–2 miles. When nearly overhead, the object on the east breaks formation by 10° further to the right. Sparks
can hear no engine noise. (NICAP, “
5–7 Silver-Grey Round Objects Fly over Base”;
Sparks, p. 138) June 17 — 1:28 a.m. A USAF F-94 pilot sees a light like a bright star cross the nose of his jet at
blinding speed over Cape Cod, Massachusetts, for 15 seconds. (
Sparks, p. 138) June 17 — 7:30–10:20 p.m. Many witnesses at McChord AFB [now Joint Base Lewis-McChord] south
of Tacoma, Washington, see 5–6 yellowish discs, tracked by radar and theodolite. Several F-94s are scrambled.
(NICAP, “
1–5 Silver Yellow Objects Stop and Start”;
Sparks, p. 138; Michael D. Swords, “
Intelligent Motions,” IUR 33, no. 1 (March 2010): 11, 15) June 17 — 8:45 p.m. Orville Foster, a US Weather Bureau observer at the Pueblo (Colorado) Memorial
Airport, watches a UFO through the bureau’s theodolite. It circles leisurely for 10 minutes, then disappears
toward the northeast. (“‘Flying Saucer’ Sighted at Pueblo1949
1950
1951
1952
June 18 — 5:00 p.m. USAF Capt. Erie P. Ashton and 2nd Lt. Clifton Ashley, while flying a B-25 about 100 miles east of March AFB [now March Air Reserve Base] in southern California, sight a silver object at approximately 11,000 feet in altitude off their left wing. The object is longer than it is wide and is in sight for about 39 minutes. (NICAP, “ UFO Paces B-25”; Sparks, p. 138; Ruppelt, p. 146)
June 18 — According to Sgt. Richard Doty’s 1980s disinformation, the living alien retrieved in 1949 (EBE-1) and kept at Los Alamos, New Mexico, dies of unknown causes. (Clark III 364; Clark IV 408)
June 19 —2:37 a.m. At Goose Bay AFB [now CFB Goose Bay], Labrador, radar men pick up a UFO track. 2nd Lt. A’Gostino and others outside see a strange, red-lighted object come in over the field. The radar blip suddenly enlarges, as if the device has banked, exposing a larger surface to the radar beam. The watching airmen see the red light wobble or flutter. After a moment the light turns white and quickly disappears. Apparently, the unknown craft has gone into a steep climb. Keyhoe assumes the radar and visual sightings are simultaneous, but Blue Book records indicate they are separate. (NICAP, “ Target Suddenly Enlarges”; Sparks, p. 139; Keyhoe, FS from OS, p. 52; Ruppelt, p. 146; Chris Rutkowski and Geoff Dittman, The Canadian UFO Report, Dundurn Press, 2006, pp. 55–56)
June 19 — 1:30 p.m. Four silvery UFOs are seen by many witnesses in Tacoma, Washington, flying silently at a high altitude. Unofficial sources report that the objects are tracked on radar at McChord AFB [now Joint Base Lewis-McChord] in Tacoma and jets are scrambled. (Tacoma (Wash.) Reporter, June 20, 1952; Shoot 9; Michael D. Swords, “ Intelligent Motions,” IUR 33, no. 1 (March 2010): 11, 15)
June 19 — 6:00 p.m. Army Capt. Harold Hermann and his wife see a round, silver UFO speeding across the sky at Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania. (“ ‘Flying Saucers’ Sighted,” New York Times, June 24, 1952, p. 26)
June 19 — 9:50 p.m. A former Army Air Force ground crew member sees a UFO flying in a swirling motion over the backyard of his home in Trenton, New Jersey. (Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, June–July 20th, The Author, 1986, p. 17)
June 20 — 3:03 p.m. A flight of four US Marine Corps captains and pilots ( Bobbie Foster, Richard Francisco, Teddy L. Pittman, and Ronnie A. McDonald) of F4U-4B Corsair fighters with the 7302nd Squadron over central Korea see a silvery- white object passing below them, banking into a left turn. As the object circles around, Foster dives toward the object, which appears to be 10–20 feet in diameter. It flies away at an estimated speed of 1,000 mph and disappears toward friendly lines. (NICAP, “ F4U-4B Corsairs Encounter Circling UFO”; Sparks, p. 139)
June 20 — 11:58 p.m. A Ground Observer Corps spotter at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, sees a small (6–8 inches in diameter), slow-moving UFO near the AEC plant. GCI radar obtains the target, but it fades from the scope. An F-97 on combat air patrol engages in a “dogfight” with the object, which makes “ramming attacks” at the aircraft. It blinks until it speeds away. (NICAP, “ Radar Visual near AEC Plant”; Sparks, p. 139; Ruppelt, p. 43)
June 21 — 12:30 p.m. T/Sgt. Howard Davis, flight engineer of a B-29 bomber flying at 8,000 feet altitude near Kelly AFB [now Kelly Field] in San Antonio, Texas, sees a small, flat object with a sharply pointed front and rounded rear. It is white with a dark blue center and red rim and trails sparks as it dives past the B-29 at a distance of 500 feet in one second. (NICAP, “ B-29 Encounters Flat Object with Pointed Front”; Sparks, p. 140)
June 22 — 10:45 p.m. Two US Marine sergeants see a 4-foot diameter orange object dive at a runway from the north, dropping from 800 to 100 feet altitude over the west end of the runway at Pyeongtaek military base, South Korea, shooting 2–5-foot red flames. It then heads west at about 300–450 mph for 2–3 seconds, hovers briefly over a hill, turns 180° in 45–60 seconds, flashes, heads east a half mile, flashes again, and blinks out. No sound. ( Sparks, p. 140; Hynek UFO Report, pp. 82–83)
June 23 — 1:30 a.m. USAF ADC radar operators Lt. A. N. Robinson Jr. and Airman Ray H. Foote, plus 5 other controllers, officers, and maintenance technicians at Kirksville Air Force Station in Missouri, track a hard target with a clear sharp return about the size of a B-29. It suddenly appears 85 miles north- northwest of the station, moving at a constant speed of about 3,600+ mph on a straight path for about 125 miles for 2 minutes. Then it vanishes. A second target appears at 1:35 a.m. (NICAP, “ Seven ADC Men Track 3,600 MPH Target”; Sparks, p. 141; Michael D. Swords, “ Case Missing,” IUR 19, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1994): 20)
June 23 — 3:30 a.m. Secretary Martha Milligan sees a bullet-shaped object emitting a burnt-orange exhaust fly straight and level over Oak Ridge, Tennessee. (NICAP, “ June 23, 1952: Oak Ridge, Tenn.”; Sparks, p. 141)
June 23 — 10:00 a.m. National Guard Lt. Col. Oren Laramore Depp [ Johnny Depp’s grandfather] sees two objects looking like giant soap bubbles reflecting yellow and lavender colors flying in line over Owensboro, Kentucky. ( Sparks, p. 141)
June 23 — 4:05 p.m. Airport weather observer Rex Thompson sees a round disc with a metallic shine flash and flutter like a flipped coin for 5–7 minutes over Geiger Field [now Spokane International Airport], Spokane, Washington. (NICAP, “ June 23, 1952: Spokane, Wash.”; Sparks, p. 140)
June 23 — 9:00 p.m. 2d Lt. K. Thompson sees a very large light flying straight and level for 10 minutes at McChord AFB [now Joint Base Lews-McChord] near Tacoma, Washington. ( Sparks, p. 140; Michael D. Swords, “ Intelligent Motions,” IUR 33, no. 1 (March 2010): 11, 15)
June 24 — The first issue of Ouranos is published by the Commission Internationale d’Enquêtes sur les Soucoupes Volantes, in Paris. ( Ouranos, no. 1)
June 25 — Wilbert B. Smith writes an “Interim Report on Project Magnet,” in which he states: “If, as appears evident, the flying saucers are emissaries from some other civilization, and actually do operate no magnetic principles, we have before us the fact that we have missed something in magnetic theory but have a good indication of the direction in which to look for the missing quantities.” (Good Above, p. 185)
June 25 — 8:30 p.m. Mrs. Daniel Norbury and Lawrence Matheis see a bright yellow-white, egg-shaped object, sometimes with a red tail, make seven circles over Chicago, Illinois. (NICAP, “ June 25, 1952: Chicago, Illinois”; Sparks, p. 141)
June 27–30 — Ruppelt visits McChord AFB in Tacoma, Washington, to look into recent sightings there. Capt. Harnnagy of the 4704 Air Defense Wing Intelligence tells him that the objects are always seen in the northern sky around 8:00 p.m. (Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, June–July 20th, The Author, 1986, pp. 23–24)
June 28 — 1:20 p.m. Two observers at the Cargo Air Service hangar at Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque, New Mexico, see two silvery discs high in the sky and moving to the south. They noiselessly climb nearly vertically at high speed, one going south-southeast, the other heading almost due east. The observation lasts 30 seconds. ( Sparks, p. 142; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 68–69)
June 29 — 5:45 p.m. Three Air Force police officers of the 83rd Air Base Squadron at O’Hare Airport in Chicago spot a flat, oval object as it hovers between two radio towers about 7 miles away. It is bright silver in color, encircled by white haze, and appears about 30 feet in diameter. During the next 45 minutes the object moves to the southwest and then back north. It accelerates instantaneously to a speed faster than a jet fighter. ([ Blue Book documents]; Sparks, p. 143)
June 30 — Ruppelt says that by this time there is a split in opinion in the military about what to do about UFOs. One group assumes that UFOs are interplanetary, and information must be withheld at a top-secret level. “The enthusiasm of this group took a firm hold in the Pentagon, at Air Defense Command headquarters, on the Research and Development Board, and many other agencies.” (Ruppelt, pp. 152–153)
Summer — Night. Radar at MacDill AFB in Tampa, Florida, picks up a target at 40,000 feet flying at 460 mph. A nearby B-29 volunteers to investigate, searching until midnight. The pilot, a USAF colonel, finally reports a visual sighting of the UFO, flying at 40,000 feet and 250 mph and appearing as a glowing white light shaped like a football. The object changes course and disappears at high speed. (UFOEv, p. 25)
July - Afternoon. A man driving a car near Schenectady, New York, sees an oblong object hovering nearby. A gondola lowers from the object and a bunch of "Navy officers in white hats" rush to the windows. All are wearing huge dark glasses. The gondola goes back up, and three smaller UFOs appear and go inside the bigger one. (Center for UFO Studies, HUMCAT Index 1952-1953, p. 10; Clark III 267; Clark IV 307)
July 1 — 7:25 a.m. A Ground Observer Corps spotter sees a UFO headed southwest across Boston, Massachusetts. Two F-94s are scrambled. Erwin W. Nelson and his wife at Lynn, Massachusetts, notice two vapor trails from the climbing jets, look around, and see in the west a bright silver “cigar shaped object about six times as long as it was wide” heading over Boston at a very high altitude. An identical UFO is following the first some distance back. No vapor trails are visible. The witnesses watch the F-94s search back and forth far below the UFOs. At 7:30, USAF Capt. Robert E. Metcalf, petroleum officer for the 6520th Test Support Wing, and USAF air policemen M/Sgt James Stiner and M/Sgt Joseph R. Bosh, 6520th Air Police Squadron, at Hanscom Field, Bedford, Massachusetts, see the two jets, look for what they are intercepting, and see to the east a 100-foot-long silvery ellipse “fatter than a cigar” traveling southwest. At two points, the object seems to hover, then continues at about 40,000 feet. The object’s path intersects contrails of the two jets heading southeast. Metcalf loses sight of the object on his way to the tower after a few minutes, then sees it again at about 7:40 a.m., noting it has increased distance “considerably,” but finally loses sight of it at the tower. ([ Blue Book document]; Sparks, p. 144; Ruppelt, pp. 150–151; UFOEv, p. 160)
July 1 — 8:40–9:15 a.m. Two silvery objects move south along the East Coast and hover near Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, for about 5 minutes at 50,000 feet. As radar at Fort Monmouth detects the objects, they put on a burst of speed and head southwest toward Washington, D.C., confirmed visually. At about 12:00 noon, a physics professor at George Washington University in D.C. sees a grayish UFO hovering and arcing back and forth across the sky for about 8 minutes. He guesses about 500 people are watching the object. (NICAP, “ Objects Tracked at 50,000ʹ, G/V”; Sparks, p. 144; Ruppelt, pp. 151–152; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, June–July 20th, The Author, 1986, pp. 36–37; Clark III 377; Clark IV 421)
July 2 — 11:10 a.m. As he is driving on a highway seven miles north of Tremonton, Utah, US Navy Chief Petty Officer Delbert C. Newhouse and his wife see a strange object in the sky. Newhouse pulls the car to the side of the road, gets out, and watches 12–14 UFOs at about 10,000 feet. Looking like “two pie pans, one inverted on top of the other,” they are clustered in a loose formation, “milling around.” He takes about 75 seconds worth of film through the telephoto lens of his 16mm movie camera, though the objects have receded a bit to shiny points of light. At one point a single object leaves the pack, heading east, and Newhouse holds the camera still so the UFO crosses the field of view. He repeats the procedure 3-4 times. Blue Book obtains the film and sends it to the USAF Photo-Reconnaissance Laboratory and the Navy’s Photo Interpretation Laboratory. Both analyses eliminate the possibility of aircraft or balloons. (NICAP, “ The Tremonton, Utah / Newhouse Color Film”; [ Tremonton film], Project Blue Book archives; Victor P. Keay, “ Flying Saucers,” memorandum to FBI Assistant Director Alan H. Belmont, October 27, 1952; Keyhoe, FS from OS, pp. 151–154; Ruppelt, pp. 220–222; UFOEv, pp. 88, 112; Condon, pp. 418–426; Kevin Randle, “UFO’s Caught by the Movie Camera,” Official UFO, Fall 1976, p. 71; Hynek UFO Report, pp. 235–239; “ Turner on Tremonton,” IUR 3, no. 5 (May 1978): 6; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, June–July 20th, The Author, 1986, pp. 39–40; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, June–July 20th: Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2001, pp. 32–39; Swords 149; “ Delbert Newhouse UFO Footage, 1952, Tremonton, Utah,” parkerdonaldmusic YouTube channel, September 29, 2012; Kevin D. Randle, “ Newhouse’s Tremonton, Utah Movie Revisited,” A Different Perspective, December 12, 2013; Patrick Gross, “ Tremonton, Utah, UFO Color Film of July 2, 1952”; “ Tremonton, UT Photo Case of 7/2/1952 – CWO Delbert W. Newhouse,” Ufology: A Primer in Audio, 1938–1959, November 21, 2013; Clark III 1203–1204; Clark IV 1377–1379; “ Navy Photographer Delbert C. Newhouse on His Famous 1952 UFO Film + Footage Breakdown,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, July 24, 2025; Michael D. Swords, “ Peeking into the Corners of 1952, Part Five,” Center for UFO Studies, July 28, 2025)
July 3 — 4:15 a.m. A witness on the Manitou Beach Highway near Rome Center, Michigan, watches two circular lights about 20 feet in diameter flying horizontally at tremendous speed at only a few hundred feet altitude. (NICAP, “ July 3, 1952: Selfridge AFB, Mich.”; Sparks, p. 145)
July 3 — 11:50 p.m. Mrs. J. D. Arbuckle sees two bright pastel-green discs fly straight and level very fast for 6 seconds over Chicago, Illinois. The next day the Air Force public information office at O’Hare Airport says it has received 16 reports of UFOs over Chicago in the past week. An Air Force spokesman says that jet patrols are on alert 24 hours a day. ( Sparks, p. 145; “ Deny Reports of ‘Saucers’ Alerts,” Waterloo (Iowa) Courier, July 4, 1952, p. 1)
July 5 — 6:00 a.m. Four commercial pilots flying at 9,000 feet above the Hanford atomic site in Washington State observe a disc just below a deck of wispy clouds directly above their C-46. The witnesses are Capt. John Baldwin, Capt. George Robertson, H. D. Shenkel, and Steven Summers. Baldwin says that the disc stands still at first and then seems to back away and change shape, becoming flat, gaining speed, and then disappearing. Robertson says “we couldn’t pick it up on our radar. We reversed our course and went back, but we couldn’t spot it again.” (NICAP, “ C-46 Crew Observe Disc over AEC Plant”; Sparks, p. 145; “ Flyers Report Saucers near Atomic Plant,” Dayton (Ohio) Daily News, July 6, 1952, p. 1; “ Pilots See ‘Saucer’ over Atom Plant,” Madison Wisconsin State Journal, July 6, 1952, p. 3; Hynek UFO Report, p. 53; Swords 149)
July 5 — 7:58 p.m. Oklahoma State Patrolman Arthur Myers Hamilton is flying five miles south- southeast of Norman, Oklahoma, in a State Patrol airplane when he sees three dark discs 4–8 miles away at 6,000 feet hover for 15 seconds then fly away, silhouetted against a dark cloud. (NICAP, “ Three Dark Discs Sighted from State Patrol Airplane”; Sparks, p. 145)
July 8 — A commissionaire on duty at an army depot in Ottawa, Ontario, sees a bright orange light about a quarter size of the full moon travel from south to north, turn, and travel south again. (Jan Aldrich; Project Magnet Case X)
July 9 — 12:45 p.m. USAF Maj. Claude K. Griffin is driving one mile north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, when he sees a luminous white object shaped like an airfoil moving slowly and erratically like a corkscrew. He estimates its size at 100 feet, distance at 15–20 miles, and altitude at 30,000 feet, heading northwest. Griffin stops the car to watch for 12 minutes. USAF Maj. E. R. Hayden and his wife come out of their house and look at the object in a 4x rifle scope. He describes it as rectangular, silver on one side, and black on the other. It flutters as it moves slowly north- northwest above 20,000 feet 20 miles away. It gains altitude and gradually diminishes to a black dot, then accelerates to a high speed and disappears. ([ Blue Book documents]; Sparks, p. 145)
July 9 — 5:30 p.m. Farmer John Mittl watches an aluminum, oval-shaped object silently change direction and attitude above his farm 2 miles east of Kutztown, Pennsylvania, finally tipping on end and departing. He manages to take three photos. (“ Selected Air Force Documents, Kutztown, Pennsylvania, July 9, 1952,” Saturday Night Uforia; Claude Falkstrom and Curt Collins, “ John Mittl: From Unsolved UFOs to Astral Encounters,” The Saucers That Time Forgot,” July 13, 2018)
July 9 — 10:00 p.m. Maryland State Police Lt. C. C. Serman and Trooper 1-c Robert Weir are on patrol on the extension of Church Street near US Highway 50 in Hebron, Maryland, when they see a glowing ball of yellow light approaching them. Believing it to be a car with one headlight out, the officers continue toward it. Fearing a collision, they swerve their cruiser into a ditch and stop. The light also stops 20 feet in front of them and hovers and bobs above the road. After a few minutes, the policemen drive slowly forward and the light retreats, keeping a distinct distance away. Finally, the policemen speed toward the light at 50 mph. The luminous ball retreats, staying just a few yards ahead of the cruiser before veering off the road and into a meadow, then vanishes. Troopers Robert W. Burckhardt and Edward Bracey are in another car and also see the maneuvering light. Burckhardt claims he has seen the light on several occasions and says it is about as big as a wash basin and dances around the wooded road and into the trees. (“ Police Chase Mysterious Glow,” Salisbury (Md.) Daily Times, July 10, 1952, p. 1; “ Crowds Try to See Mysterious Light,” Salisbury (Md.) Daily Times, July 11, 1952, p. 1; “ Curious Miss Mystery Light,” Salisbury (Md.) Daily Times, July 12, 1952, pp. 1–2; “ Life Photographer Seeks ‘Ghost Light,’” Salisbury (Md.) Daily Times, July 14, 1952, p. 1; “ Professor Believes Ghost Light Is Gas,” Salisbury (Md.) Daily Times, July 16, 1952, p. 1; C. Maxwell Cade and Delphine Davis, The Taming of the Thunderbolts, Abelard-Schuman, 1969, pp. 99–104)
July 10 — 8:18 p.m. Capt. James E. Lundy and First Officer Leon Blanks are flying a National Airlines C-60 airplane 15 miles south of Quantico, Virginia, when they see an object resembling an aircraft landing light. The object becomes brighter as it approaches from the north. It then performs a climbing turn away from the aircraft and its appearance changes, resembling a light emitted by a red flare. Visible for 10 minutes, it is flying too fast for any known aircraft. (NICAP, “ Light Maneuvers near C-60 Airliner”; Sparks, p. 146)
July 10 — Night. A Marine pilot on night maneuvers near Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, spots two green objects shoot straight across the sky at terrific speed at a high altitude. (“ Radar Sees ‘Saucers,’ AF Investigating,” Miami (Fla.) News, July 22, 1952, pp. 1A, 6A)
July 10 — Night. Forty crew members of the Canadian destroyer HMCS Crusader off Korea see two shiny discs and track them on radar. The radar fix places them at 10,560 feet altitude and 7 miles distant. (NICAP, “ Naval Destroyer Observes Two Discs / Tracks on Radar”)
July 11 — The Air Technical Liaison Office, Directorate of Intelligence for the Far East Air Force, prepares Intelligence Report #29-52, detailing Air Force, Navy, and Marine radar UFO reports for 1950–1952 in Korea and Japan. (Capt. Charles J. Malven, “ FLYOBRPT: Japan/Korea Area,” IR-29-52, July 11, 1952)
July 12 — 8:42 p.m. O’Hare AFB weather observer Capt. W. J. Shea and a civilian, Jane Morrison, watch three lights, one main red light with smaller white lights on each side, traveling 500 mph at 40,000– 50,000 feet over Montrose Beach, Chicago, Illinois, from the west-northwest. They accelerate to the south and make a 180° turn heading north-northwest, then disappear. The UFO is seen by 400+ people, with 14 others making reports to the 4706th Defense Wing located at O’Hare Airport. ( Sparks, pp. 146–147; Ruppelt, p. 153)
July 12 — 9:04 p.m. Two USAF F-86 Sabre jets with the 62nd Flight Squadron are flying at 22,000 feet on a routine training mission (or on a scramble mission) over Arlington Heights, Illinois. Capt. Robert W. Casey Jr., after coming out of a right turn, sees an oblong yellowish lighted object with an exhaust moving in a straight course about 15 miles away south of Elgin, Illinois, at 22,000 feet traveling at 800 mph. The F-86 pursues at maximum speed, but the object pulls away. Both pilots hear a strange radio transmission on their restricted communications channel during the pursuit saying the name of the pursuit pilot, Casey, in an ethereal “ghost-like” monotone. Apparently, this is a prank by Casey’s fighter pilot buddies at the 62nd who are monitoring his channel, though this is later officially denied by the 62nd. (NICAP, “ F-86 on Scramble Mission / Strange Radio Transmission”; Sparks, p. 147)
July 13 — 4:00 a.m. Capt. William Bruen, piloting National Airline Flight 611 heading north from Jacksonville, Florida, sees a round ball of bluish-white light about 60 miles southwest of Washington, D.C., hovering to the west then ascending to the airliner’s altitude of 11,000 feet, then parallel course off left wing at about 2 miles distance. It takes off upwards at 1,000 mph when Bruen turns on all aircraft lights. (NICAP, “ Light Ascends, Paces Aircraft, Takes Off Vertically”; Sparks, p. 148; Hynek UFO Report, pp. 90–91)
July 14 — 9:12 p.m. Some 8,000 feet above the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland/Virginia, Capt. William B. Nash and copilot First Officer William H. Fortenberry, flying a Pan American Airways DC-4 from New York City to Miami, Florida, with an off-duty crew, see six crimson dots at 30°. The dots are streaking in their direction like tracer bullets. As they get closer, they resolve into reddish-orange circles, about 100 feet in diameter and 15 feet thick, with sharply defined edges. Nash says they are holding a “narrow echelon formation” at 2,000 feet, below the airplane’s own altitude. When they are nearly underneath the aircraft, “they flipped on edge, the sides to the left of us going up and the glowing surfaces facing right. While all were in the edgewise position, the last five slid over and past the leader so that the echelon was now tail foremost.” Then they all flip over again into a flat attitude. Two new, brighter UFOs join the formation, and the lights of all eight objects blink out then come on again. They all speed westward (Nash estimates 6,000–12,000 mph) and climb in a graceful 45° arc. The entire sighting lasts only 15 seconds. The crew in the passenger area does not see the objects. Possible corroboration comes from a sighting in Camden, New Jersey, although the date is uncertain. Intelligence agents in Miami promptly interview Nash and Fortenberry separately. (Wikipedia, “ Nash-Fortenberry UFO sighting”; NICAP, “ Nash / Fortenberry Case”; Sparks, p. 150; “ Miami Pilots Spot 8 Saucers Flying in Formation,” Miami (Fla.) Herald, July 16, 1952, pp. 1A, 8A; “ Two Pilots Add to Flying Saucer Lore,” Washington (N.C.) Daily News, July 16, 1952, p. 1; “ Pilots Spot 8 Saucers Flying in Norfolk Area,” Washington (D.C.) Daily News, July 16, 1952, p. 7; “ Rockets, Tracers or Them Devilish Flying Saucers,” Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, July 17, 1952, pp. 36, 30; The Witness, “ A Precise Report on Flying Saucers—or Something,” Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, July 20, 1952, p. 6; William B. Nash and William H. Fortenberry, “ We Flew Above Flying Saucers,” True, October 1952, pp. 65, 110–112; Keyhoe, FS from OS, pp. 57–58; William B. Nash, “ Does the Air Force Have ‘Hardware from Outer Space’?” The Saucerian 3, no. 1 (January 1955): 29–31; “ An Airline Captain Speaks Out,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 6 (Oct./Nov. 1962): 5–6; Donald H. Menzel and Lyle G. Boyd, The World of Flying Saucers, Doubleday, 1963, pp. 260–265; UFOEv, pp. 13, 38–39; James E. McDonald, “ Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, p. 47; Ron Story, UFOs and the Limits to Science, New English Library, 1981, pp. 118–123; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, June–July 20th, The Author, 1986, pp. 55–57; Good Above, pp. 269–270; Steuart Campbell, The UFO Mystery Solved, Explicit Books, 1994, pp. 70–71; “ The Pilot’s Tale,” Saturday Night Uforia; Michael D. Swords, “ Classic Cases from the APRO Files,” IUR 24, no. 2 (Summer 1999): 21–22; Thomas Tulien, “ The 1952 Nash/Fortenberry Sighting Revisited,” IUR 27, no. 1 (Spring 2002): 20–23, 27–28, reprinted in Project 1947; Shoot 22–24; Michael D. Swords, “ Intelligent Motions,” IUR 33, no. 1 (March 2010): 11, 15; Swords 149–150; Clark III 791; Powell, Scientist, 49; Clark IV 871–872)
July 15. GERMANY, Gleimershausen. Former Mayor Oskar Linke and his 12-year-old stepdaughter saw a landed circular object and occupants. Witnesses moved to within 30 ft. Object was 50 ft. across with two rows of holes along the side, each about l ft. in diameter. A black cylindrical tower was seen at the top center; it was about 10 ft. high, went through the disc and the object was resting on it. Object slowly ascended, whistling sound was heard. Several people in a nearby village saw it flying overhead. A circular depression where the tower had rested was found. (The New York Enquirer. 07-21-52)
July 16 — 9:35 a.m. US Coast Guard photographer Seaman Shell R. Alpert sees several bright lights through a window screen (no glass) from his position inside the photo lab at Coast Guard Air Station Salem [now Winter Island Marine Park], Massachusetts, while cleaning a camera. He watches them for 5–6 seconds, calls out to Hospitalman 1st Class Thomas E. Flaherty from sick bay to see them (but Flaherty looks out the window too late to see anything but an ambiguous flash). Alpert sees the objects dim then brighten suddenly. He grabs a camera and films 4 roughly elliptical irregular blobs of light in formation through the screen, on Super XX cut film 4-by-5-inch format. The lights disappear suddenly in a flash. Blue Book explains the photo as showing reflections of light sources from inside the building, but this ignores the fact that the window is open, and the camera is not pointed through glass. However, Alpert may have created a double exposure earlier with some unknown light source and claimed that this was the image taken. ( Sparks, p. 151; “ Where Better to See,” Nexus, no. 8 (February 1955): 3; UFOEv, p. 88; Joe Nyman and Barry Greenwood, “ The July 1952 Coast Guard Photo Revisited,” IUR 26, no. 4 (Winter 2001–2002): 3–5, 25–30; Michael D. Lampen, “ Mystery Alpert Objects,” IUR 27, no. 2 (Summer 2002): 27; “ The Photographer’s Tale,” Saturday Night Uforia, December 3, 2012; Charlie Wiser, “ Bright Lights of Salem, 1952,” How Many Dollars, July 21, 2023)
July 16 — 9:00 p.m. Paul R. Hill, an aeronautical research engineer, is watching the sky with his future wife, Frances Hoback, on Chesapeake Avenue (near LaSalle Avenue) in Hampton, Virginia, when he notices two amber-colored lights coming in over Hampton Roads from the south at 500 mph. They slow down and make a U turn, moving side by side until they revolve around each other at a high rate of speed in a tight circle 200–300 feet in diameter. A third UFO comes racing up from the direction of Virginia Beach and falls in several hundred feet below the other two, making a V formation. A fourth UFO comes in from up the James River and joins the group, which heads south at 500 mph. “Their ability to make tight circling turns was amazing.” Around 9:03 p.m., the four UFOs have moved out of sight to the south. (NICAP, “ Two Pairs of Objects Maneuver Overhead”; [ Blue Book documents]; Sparks, p. 150; UFOEv, p. 57)
July 17 — 6:30 p.m. A woman leaving Yarmouth Harbour, Nova Scotia, on the SS Yarmouth watches seven silvery objects in an inverted triangular formation for 2 minutes. They hover momentarily, descend slowly, and disappear. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 268–269)
July 17 or 18 — 10:10 p.m. T/Sgt. Thurman C. Mahone and A/3c Gene A. Jennings at Lockbourne AFB [now Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base] in Lockbourne, Ohio, see an amber-colored, elliptical-shaped object with a small flame at the rear, periodically increasing in brightness. It moves swiftly, giving off a resonant beating sound. (NICAP, “ July 18, 1952: Lockbourne, Ohio”; Sparks, p. 151)
July 18 — Early morning. American Airlines pilot Capt. Paul L. Carpenter, First Officer George Fell, and Flight Engineer Quilici watch several dull-red objects with a “yellowish tinge” speeding around in the air at an altitude of 25,000–30,000 feet near Denver, Colorado, during a non-stop flight from Los Angeles to Chicago. A maximum of three objects are seen at one time over a 2-minute period. Carpenter says they seem to be about 100 miles away. The first object is moving south by southeast. One minute after it disappears, two more come into view going westward and another one eastward. “The two traveling westward disappeared about two seconds then reappeared traveling eastward.” (Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, June–July 20th, The Author, 1986, p. 60)
July 18 — Capt. Edward Ruppelt tells the press in Dayton, Ohio, that ground radar has tracked UFOs at speeds of 1,500– 2,000 mph, that jet fighters scrambled to intercept them have failed, and that “persons making these reports actually see something in the sky,” but the Air Force does not know what they are. (“ ‘Saucer’ Sightings Spur AF’s Drive to End Mystery,” Dayton (Ohio) Journal Herald, July 18, 1952, pp. 1, 10; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, June–July 20th, The Author, 1986, p. 66)
July 18 — 6:10 p.m. André Frégnale is hiking near Lac Chauvet, Puy-de-Dôme, France, when he sees a disc flying west to east in a straight line at constant speed. He immediately takes two photos when the object is at its largest apparent size, then two others when it is moving away to his left. It is in view for 50 seconds. (“ Une soucoupe volante,” Le Méridional, July 25, 1952, pp. 1, 8; Pierre Guérin, “ A Scientific Analysis of Four Photographs of a Flying Disk near Lac Chauvet (France),” Journal of Scientific Exploration 8, no. 4 (1994): 447–469; Alain Delmon, “ Les Cas Solides: Lac Chauvet, France, 1952,” Les OVNIs: Intelligences non-humaines ou mythe moderne?, December 26, 2003)
July 18 — 9:45 p.m. Three Air Force officers and four enlisted men at Patrick AFB, near Cocoa Beach, Florida, see a series of hovering and maneuvering red-orange lights moving in a variety of directions. (NICAP, “ Hovering and Maneuvering Lights”; Sparks, p. 151)
July 19 — 2:55 a.m. An experienced civilian pilot watches an elliptical-shaped object with a light fringe over Williston, North Dakota, for 5 minutes. It descends fast and makes a 360° then a 180° turn. ( Sparks, p. 151)
July 19 — 6:28 a.m. Carolyn Smith, a Ground Observer Corps volunteer in Baltimore, Maryland, sees two blue, round objects, each with an exhaust trail, flying northeast at 2,000 feet. Suddenly they shoot straight up and disappear. (NICAP, “ July 19, 1952, 1128Z, Baltimore, Maryland, Report of Unconventional Aircraft”; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, A History, 1952: June–July 20th, The Author, 1986, p. 68; Clark III 1254; Clark IV 1434)
July 19 — 10:00 a.m. Engineer John A. Anderson and other technicians at the Savannah River Atomic Site near Aiken, South Carolina, watch a greenish glowing object dart back and forth silently and erratically at high speed above the plant. It is in view for 2 minutes, moving constantly and changing direction at sharp angles. The object disappears over the horizon at “tremendous velocity.” (NICAP, “ Multiple Witnesses Observe Strange Maneuvering Object”; James E. McDonald, “ Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, p. 51; Nukes 47–48)
July 19 — 4:30 p.m. Agricultural engineer Pedro Bardi and others on a farm in the Madre de Dios region of Peru see a UFO flying at 325 feet shortly after their short-wave radio goes dead. Bardi says it is a bit smaller than a DC-3 and is making a buzzing sound. It shows up 4 minutes later at Puerto Maldonado, 75 miles away, and Customs Administrator Domingo Troncosco photographs it. The photo shows an elongated object trailing smoke, passing over the top of a tree and in front of a cumulus cloud. (Curt Collins, “ The Case of the Smoking Saucer,” In Honor of Jim Moseley, November 3, 2014; Curt Collins, “ Jim Moseley: The Case of the Smoking Saucer,” The Saucers That Time Forgot, August 18, 2018)
July 19 — 10:00 p.m. Six luminous round objects are seen by a Chicago, Illinois, woman moving horizontally and vertically as they cavort around in the sky. The same night, a UFO is seen by three witnesses at the Ground Observer Corps post at the city hall in Elgin, Illinois. (Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, June–July 20th, The Author, 1986, p. 68)
July 19 — 11:35 p.m. USAF pilot Capt. Charles John Powley and his wife Janet see two star-like lights maneuver, hover, and speed up for 5–7 minutes over Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. (NICAP, “ Three Groups of Witnesses See Strange Lights”; Sparks, p. 151; Hynek UFO Report, pp. 73–77; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, A History, 1952: June–July 20th, The Author, 1986, p. 69; Michael D. Swords, “ Intelligent Motions,” IUR 33, no. 1 (March 2010): 12, 15; Clark III 1254; Clark IV 1434)
July 19–20 — 11:40 p.m. Air traffic controller Edward Nugent at Washington National [now Ronald Reagan National] Airport’s Air Route Traffic Control (ARTC) in D.C. picks up a formation of seven objects on his long-range radar. They are southeast of Andrews AFB [now Joint Base Andrews] in Prince George’s County, Maryland, moving along at 100–130 mph. Two of the targets suddenly accelerate and vanish off the scope within seconds. One apparently reaches a speed of 7,000 mph. A second, shorter-range radar in the airport control tower (operated by Howard Cocklin and Joseph Zacko Jr.) and another at Andrews AFB has also tracked the objects. For 6 hours, between 8 and 10 UFOs are tracked on radar. Senior Air Traffic Controller Harry G. Barnes says that “They followed no set course, were not in any formation, and we only seemed to be able to track them for about three miles at a time…. I can safely deduce that they performed gyrations which no known aircraft could perform.” Several Capitol Airlines pilots (one of them Capt. S. C. “Casey” Pierman) see the objects visually as white or orange lights in restricted air space over the White House and Capitol. Ground observers at Andrews (Capt. Harold C. May, Staff/Sgt Charles Davenport) watch red or orange lights. Radar and visual sightings are also taking place at Bolling AFB [now Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling] in Washington, D.C. By 3:00 a.m., the UFOs are all gone, just as two F-94 interceptors arrive belatedly from New Castle AFB [now New Castle Air National Guard Base] in Delaware, because the runways at both Andrews and Bolling are closed for repairs. The jets depart, and the UFOs return, observed by Capt. Howard Dermott, a Capitol Airlines pilot, and Sgt. Davenport at Andrews. Radar trackings continue, the last at 5:30 a.m. Civilian radio engineer E. W. Chambers sees five huge discs circling in a loose formation; they tilt upward and leave in a steep ascent. Blips appear on radar for at least another day, until the evening of July 20. (Wikipedia, “ 1952 Washington, D.C., UFO incident”; NICAP, “ The Washington National Sightings”; NICAP, “ Andrews Tower Radar Confirms Washington Target”; Sparks, p. 151; Harry G. Barnes to Chief, Facility Operations, “ Unidentified Targets,” July 20, 1952; “ Flying Objects near Washington Spotted by Both Pilots and Radar,” New York Times, July 22, 1952, p. 27; “ Radar Spots Mysterious Sky Objects,” Birmingham (Ala.) News, July 22, 1952, pp. 1–2; “ Saucers Swarm over Capital: Radar Picks Up Scores in Early Hours,” Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Gazette, July 29, 1952, p. 1; Harry G. Barnes, “ Radar Man Tells How He Tracked Flying Saucers over Washington,” Kingsport (Tenn.) Times, July 31, 1952, p. 18; “ Washington’s Blips: ‘Somethings’ over the Capital Are Traced on Radar,” Life, August 4, 1952, pp. 39–40; Donald E. Keyhoe, “ What Radar Tells about Flying Saucers,” True, December 1952, pp. 25–27, 94–99; Ruppelt, pp. 158–161; Donald H. Menzel and Lyle G. Boyd, The World of Flying Saucers, Doubleday, 1963, pp. 155–160; James E. McDonald, “ Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, pp. 71–72; Condon, pp. 153–157, 862–867; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, June–July 20th, The Author, 1986, pp. 69–72. 75–84; Kevin D. Randle, Invasion Washington: UFOs over the Capitol, HarperTorch, 2001, pp. 32–58; Peter Carlson, “ 50 Years Ago, Unidentified Flying Objects from Way Beyond the Beltway Seized the Capital’s Imagination,” Washington Post, July 21, 2002; Michael D. Swords, GrassRoots UFOs: Case Reports from the Timmerman Files, Fund for UFO Research, 2005, p. 139; Shoot 28–34; Swords 154–155; Clark III 1250–1252; Sianna Boschetti, “ In the Early 1950s, D.C. Was Obsessed with UFOs: Here’s Why,” dcist, December 9, 2019; Powell, Keyhoe, 84–86; Graff 79–81; Eghigian, After, pp. 69–70; Clark IV 1430–1432)
July 19 — 12:00 midnight. Associated Press reporter Saul Pett sees an intensely glowing, non-blinking orange ball of light moving steadily overhead in River Edge, New Jersey, from the northwest to the southeast for 1-2 minutes. He says it is moving too fast and steady to be a balloon. (“ Flying Saucer Is Spotted by Newsman in River Edge,” Bergen (N.J.) Evening Record, July 22, 1952, pp. 1–2; “ The River Edge, N.J. Case,” Weird Science-Fantasy (EC, 1954 series), no. 26 (December 1954); Richard H. Hall, “ The 1952 Sighting Wave: Radar-Visual Sightings Establish UFOs As a Serious Mystery, Part 2, The Flap Begins,” Journal of UFO History 2, no. 2 (May/June 2005): 3, 5)
July 19 — 12:00 midnight. A part-time farmer named Constantine and a hired hand named Davis are curing tobacco when they see two cigar-shaped objects—one hovering, the other moving to the east—for 3–4 minutes near Centerville, Virginia. Both objects are translucent, lit from within, and emit an exhaust from one end. They both ascend until they disappear. ( Sparks, p. 151)
July 20 — 12:15 a.m. A chemistry professor in Lavallette, New Jersey, watches two orange-red lights performing maneuvers at a speed of about 100 mph. They are seen independently by six witnesses in a boat. (NICAP, “ Three Groups of Witnesses See Strange Lights”; Hynek UFO Report, pp. 73–77; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, A History, 1952: June–July 20th, The Author, 1986, pp. 73–74; Clark III 1254; Clark IV 1434)
July 21 — 10:30 a.m. Radar used to measure wind velocity in the upper atmosphere at Dobbins Air Force Base, Marietta, Georgia, detects an unusual object flying at 50,000 feet. Observing the blip are four radar technicians who state that “it could have been an electromagnetic phenomenon but they did not believe it was.” A second blip appears on the radar moving toward the wind-finding weather balloon and passing through it three separate times. USAF officials report “in private conversations” that the object moves at 1,200 mph, slows considerably for 3–5 minutes, then disappears. The Civilian Defense director in Atlanta, George M. “Pup” Phillips, receives a report of the object but has “no details.” Col. Murray C. Woodbury, commander of the 35th Air Division at Dobbins, checks with “defense officials in Washington” before telling the press that such reports are sent to the Air Technical Intelligence Center (Project Blue Book) in Dayton, Ohio, for evaluation. Surprisingly, he admits, “We try to intercept such objects and identify them, but so far we have been unsuccessful.” (NICAP, “ Blip Makes Passes on Wind-Finding Target”; Sparks, p. 152; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1952 July 21st–31st, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2001, p. 3)
July 21 — 6:30 p.m. USAF pilot Capt. Edward E. Dougher and WAF Lt. Josephine J. Stong, separated by one mile on the ground in Wiesbaden, Germany, see 4 bright yellowish lights. Dougher watches them separate, with two climbing and two flying away level in the opposite direction. His wife Barbara joins him as they fly away. Stong sees two reddish lights fly in opposite directions for 10–15 minutes. (NICAP, “ Separated Witnesses Observe Maneuvering Lights”; Sparks, p. 152; Michael D. Swords, “ Intelligent Motions,” IUR 33, no. 1 (March 2010): 12, 15)
July 22 — 12:00 noon. Two Air Force officers, Col. Bailey and Maj. Kemper, aboard a C-45 observe a shining oval object headed toward them above Stafford, Maryland. It moves in irregular starts and stops, turning so that it follows alongside the aircraft. (Loren E. Gross, UFOs, A History: 1952, July 21st–July 31st, The Author, 1986, p. 5; Clark III 1254; Clark IV 1434)
July 22 — 9:50 p.m. Several residents of Pennington, New Jersey, see a large, dull yellow or orange light passing overhead, apparently in front of an aircraft. (Loren E. Gross, UFOs, A History: 1952, July 21st–July 31st, The Author, 1986, p. 6; Clark III 1254; Clark IV 1434)
July 22 — Night. An Operation Skywatch observer in Westfield, Maine, reports a disk-like object. (“ New Flying ‘Disks’ Seen,” New York Times, July 24, 1952, p. 29)
July 22 — 10:00 p.m. Eubert T. White and his wife Dorothy see three silvery objects whizzing across the sky above Worcester, Massachusetts, “like planes in attack formation.” One of the objects has a bluish glow in the front and a reddish tint behind it. (“Strange Objects in Worcester Sky,” Lawrence (Mass.) Eagle, July 23, 1952; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1952 July 21st–31st, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2001, p. 14; Shoot 36)
July 22 — 10:20 p.m. A bluish-green UFO is seen over Boston, Massachusetts, and a few minutes later it is picked up by GCI radar. When Ground Control vectors an F-94 toward the UFO, the pilot sees the UFO near Braintree and locks on to it with his own radar. But the object easily leaves the jet behind. The Air Force suspects the object is a weather balloon released from Westover AFB [now Westover Air Reserve Base] near Springfield, Massachusetts. (NICAP, “ F-94B Chases Object / With Airborne Radar Tracking”; Sparks, pp. 154–155; Keyhoe, FS from OS, p. 67)
July 22–23 — 10:30 p.m. An air traffic control tower operator at MacDill AFB in Tampa, Florida, watches for 30 minutes a red-greenish-blue object to the west-southwest at about 45° elevation with 2 other objects to the north of it, smaller and lower in elevation. He spots another object to the south-southeast about 30° elevation at 11:30 p.m. MacDill radar tracks an object at 12:03 a.m. 37 miles away at 41,200 feet altitude heading almost directly toward the base at 532 mph. It also tracks an object to the south-southeast at an altitude of 41,000 feet (reportedly Navy and CAA radars also track the object). At 12:08 a.m., the pilot and copilot of a B-29 bomber on landing approach are vectored by MacDill tower operator to investigate the UFO. They see a high-speed object at 40,000 feet heading towards MacDill and traveling faster than the B-29. The B-29 fire control radar locks onto the object and prepares to fire just as the UFO changes course and disappears at 4,600 mph. Four airmen at the MacDill radar site see an object as it passes nearly overhead. MacDill radar loses the object at about 12:15 a.m. Civilians in Tampa also see two yellowish-orange discs maneuvering around the air base. ( Sparks, p. 156; “ MacDill Mum on Saucers Spotted Here,” Tampa (Fla.) Daily Times, July 23, 1952, p. 1)
July 22–23 — 10:50 p.m.–3:47 a.m. Crews of several USAF F-94 jet interceptors from Dover AFB, Delaware, make 13 visual sightings and one radar tracking of blue-white lights around Trenton, New Jersey, continuing until 12:45 a.m. White, green, and blue lights are seen by ground observers and F-94 pilots moving in arcs and blinking out suddenly. One F-94 crew gets a radar lock-on from 30,000 feet away of an object the size of an F-94. At 9,000 feet distance, the object makes a sharp right turn, suddenly drops in height, and disappears. (NICAP, “ One of Fourteen Sightings Corroborated by Radar”; Sparks, p. 156; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, A History: 1952, July 21st–July 31st, The Author, 1986, p. 10; Clark III 1254; Clark IV 1434)
July 23 — 2:15 a.m. Seaman Henry J. Arnpriester is on watch at Nahant (Massachusetts) Coast Guard Station [now closed] when he sees two bluish lights approximately 5 feet in diameter. They appear as flat, disc-shaped objects having no aerodynamic features and move without sound or exhaust trail at a speed faster than a four-engine airliner at an altitude of 1,100 to 2,000 feet. When they are approximately 1.5 miles from the point of observation, they execute an extremely sharp turn similar to the path of a ball bouncing off a wall. ( Sparks, p. 156; “ Saucers Seen, NH Base Told,” Concord (N.H.) Monitor, July 23, 1952, p. 1; “ New Flying ‘Disks’ Seen,” New York Times, July 24, 1952, p. 29; “ Ground Observers See Silver Disks over New England,” Los Angeles (Calif.) Times, July 24, 1952, p. 12; “ Silver Disks over Boston,” Long Branch (N.J.) Daily Record, July 24, 1952, p. 8; Lt. Col. Robert S. Jones, “ Spot Intelligence Report,” July 29, 1952; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1952 July 21st–31st, The Author, 1995, p. 9; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1952 July 21st–31st, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2001, pp. 7–8; Shoot, pp. 76–77)
July 23 — 7:36 a.m. US Navy radar at Jamestown, Rhode Island, tracks a high-speed target heading north at 42,000 feet. It is confirmed by ADC radar at Camp Hero [now closed] at Montauk Point, New York. F-94s and F-86s are scrambled unsuccessfully from Westover AFB [now Westover Air National Guard Base] in Chicopee, Massachusetts. (NICAP, “ Jets Scrambled / High Speed Object at 45,000ʹ Feet”; Sparks, p. 156)
July 23 — 8:40 a.m. The crews of three USAF F-94 jet interceptors see a large silver object, shaped like a long pear with 2–3 squares beneath it, flying at 170–210 mph over Pottstown, Pennsylvania. A smaller object, delta-shaped or swept-back, flies around it at 1,150-1,720 mph. ([ Blue Book document]; Sparks, p. 157)
July 23 — 12:50 p.m. Crews of two USAF F-94 jet interceptors flying at 35,000–46,000 feet altitude near Altoona, Pennsylvania, see three cylindrical objects in a vertical-stack formation fly at an altitude of 50,000–80,000 feet for 20 minutes. (NICAP, “ July 23, 1952: Altoona, Penna.”; Sparks, p. 157)
July 23 — 7:00–8:00 p.m. Owner Edwin C. Johnston and more than 20 employees of Aircraft Hydroforming at Culver City, California, see a bright silvery elliptical object that moves northwest over the Northrup aircraft plant in nearby Hawthorne, then stops and hovers. Two small discs emerge and circle around the area before rejoining the mother ship. The object then climbs straight up out of sight at tremendous speed. (“ Aircraft Co. Owner Sees ‘Discs’ Four Nights in Row,” Redlands (Calif.) Daily Facts, July 24, 1952, p. 9)
July 23 — 7:15 p.m. Many witnesses at Lockbourne AFB [now Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base] in Lockbourne, Ohio, including visiting Capt. Eugene E. McManus from Turner AFB [now Naval Air Station Albany] in Albany, Georgia, observe four round, fluorescent white objects hovering near the base at 75,000 feet. An Air force pilot named Capt. Swartz in Flight Service at Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio, radios in the report that the objects are balloons. Two F-84 jets are scrambled at 8:15 p.m. and identify them as a balloon cluster. The objects, seen over many other areas of central Ohio (Capt. Edward J. Ruppelt says he was called out to see it over Wright-Patterson), are probably USAF reconnaissance balloons sent up from Clinton County Airport in Wilmington, Ohio. (NICAP, “ July 23, 1952, Lockbourne, Ohio, UFO Report”; Clark III 395–398; Clark IV 441–444)
July 23 — 9:00 p.m. Fairfax County Patrolman James Murphy, A1c Mary Ann O’Connor, S/Sgt J. Sasser, and Simon Thacker see a red object south-southwest of Alexandria, Virginia. It hovers for 10–15 minutes, then disappears silently to the west at a high rate of speed. The same night, a supposed CIA agent and Navy Commander, Alvin E. Moore, reports finding a stone near Vienna, Virginia, that he thinks is connected to an alleged incident where a jet pilot shot at a UFO and knocks off some material. (NICAP, “ July 23, 1952: Alexandria, Virginia, UFO Report and the ‘Fragment’”; Keyhoe, FS Conspiracy, pp. 272–273; Frank Edwards, FS Serious Business, Bantam ed., 1966, pp. 48–50; Ted Zachary [Todd Zechel], “The Case of the Missing Physical Evidence,” Saga UFO Report 5, no. 3 (November 1977): 30–32, 52–54; Steven Stoikes, “Stolen: Physical Evidence of a UFO,” Fate 31, no. 9 (September 1978): 49–57; [Letters], Alvin E. Moore, Steven Stoikes, Fate 31, no. 11 (November 1978): 113–15; [Letter], Alvin E. Moore, Fate 32, no. 3 (March 1979): 117; Alvin E. Moore, Mystery of the Skymen, Saucerian, 1979; “ Early Crashed Disc Data Uncovered,” Just Cause, new ser., no. 7 (March 1986): 3–4; Alvin E. Moore, The Secret UFO Diary of CIA Operative, Comm. Alvin E. Moore: Exposing the Existence of Alien Skymen, Global Communications, 1997, pp. 45–47; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1952 July 21st–31st, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2001, pp. 41–46; Clark III 1254; Micah Hanks, “ Fragmented Facts: AARO Report Unearths Odd Claims Involving U.S. Recovery of Material from 1952 UFO Incident,” The Debrief, March 12, 2024; Jeff Knox, X thread on Alvin Moore case, March 12, 2024; “ The Alvin Moore Sample and Wilbert Smith’s Story | Jeff Knox (Ufos # 9 – August 4, 2024),” Ufo Sunset YouTube channel, August 7, 2024; Powell, Keyhoe, 364; Clark IV 1434)
July 23 — Night. Contactee Orfeo Angelucci feels compelled to walk over the Glendale-Hyperion Bridge in Glendale, California. He feels an odd sensation and suddenly sees in front of him a soap-bubble-like object that turns into a metallic craft. He gets aboard and is taken on his first trip into outer space. (Orfeo Angelucci, The Secret of the Saucers, Amherst Press, 1955, pp. 18–36; Clark III 127–128; “ Orfeo Angelucci in a Rare Recording on Meeting Extraterrestrial Entities & The Secret of the Saucers,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, August 2, 2023; Clark IV 155–156)
July 24 — 3:40 p.m. Two USAF pilots, Lt. Col. John L. McGinn and Lt. Col. John R. Barton, are flying a B-25 out of Hamilton AFB [now closed] in Novato, California, for Colorado Springs. They are over Carson Sink, Nevada, at 11,000 feet when they see three unknown objects make a left bank and fly to within 400–600 yards of the plane. They are three bright silver, delta-wing craft with no tails and no canopies. The pilots see a clean upper triangular wing with a definite ridge that runs from the nose to the tail. They estimate the speed as at least three times that of any conventional jet. (NICAP, “ B-26 Crew Encounters 3 Triangular UFOs”; NICAP, “ The Carson Sink Case”; Sparks, p. 157; Ruppelt, pp. 10–12; Michael Hall, “ When UFOs Were Serious Business: Then and Today,” IUR 28, no. 4 (Winter 2003–2004): 5; Michael D. Swords, “ Intelligent Motions,” IUR 33, no. 1 (March 2010): 12, 15)
July 25 (or April 25) — 3:00 a.m. Carlo Rossi is on his way to a fishing spot on the Serchio river near San Pietro a Vico, Lucca, Italy. He notices an odd light above the river and finds that it belongs to an enormous disc-shaped object with a transparent dome. It is about 82 feet in diameter and apparently taking up water through a long tube. The object is standing in the river on three legs and has a ladder reaching down next to the tube. Rossi thinks it is hovering by means of propellors. Suddenly a porthole opens, and a human figure looks out and notices him. Rossi begins to leave, but a green ray passes above his head and he feels an electric shock. The object takes off and disappears to the west. (“ Le Nostre Analisi: Precisazioni sul Caso di S. Pietro e Vico (1952),” Notiziario UFO, no. 67 (July/Sept. 1975): 4–9; Patrick Gross, URECAT, September 12, 2006; 1Pinotti 42–46)
July 25 — Capt. J. W. Titus of the 140th Wing Medical Group sees two oval-shaped objects flying in formation at 400–600 mph in Portales, New Mexico. They are silent and leave no vapor trail. At one point, they make an abrupt 80° turn and fly off to the north. (Nukes 85–86)
July 26 — 12:15 a.m. Ground observers at Hampton, Virginia, see a luminous, alternately bright- silver, red, and green object hovering over the James River Bridge at about 1,500 ft for 30 minutes. It then ascends toward the east, where it is seen by the Langley AFB tower. USAF crews of two F-94s and ground observers see four round silver-bluish objects in V-formation that shoot straight up and disappear at 5,000 feet, one tracked by US Navy ground radar at Norfolk and by airborne radar. (NICAP, “ Navy Ground Radar/ and Airborne Radars Track UFOs”; Clark III 1254; Clark IV 1434)
July 26–27 — 8:15 p.m. Flying saucers return to the nation’s capital, only one week after a massive number of radar-visual UFO sightings above restricted air space in Washington, D.C. At 8:15 p.m., pilot Capt. Berkow and a stewardess of a National Airlines flight near Washington National Airport [now Ronald Reagan National] see several objects resembling the glow of a cigarette high above them. The lights move at around 100 mph. Soon, the airport and Andrews AFB in Maryland are tracking a dozen UFOs throughout much of the sky, all traveling 90–100 mph. By midnight, two F-94s are scrambled from New Castle AFB in Delaware to intercept them. National Airport staff hustle newspaper reporters away from the air traffic control tower, saying that interceptions are classified (but Project Blue Book chief Capt. Edward J. Ruppelt suspects that the Air Force does not want the press around when they finally get a good look at a saucer). The UFOs are seen on radar for 2 hours, but when the jets approach, the blips disappear. When the pilots return to base, they show up again. Reports are reaching Langley AFB about rotating objects that give off alternating colors over Newport News, Virginia. Another F-94 is scrambled, the pilot gets a radar lock, and the target speeds away. At National Airport, the objects reappear shortly before dawn, and two more F-94s are scrambled. The pilots obtain radar locks; again, the objects speed away. USAF press spokesman Albert M. Chop is in the airport radar tower and notes that everyone there believes the targets are “very probably caused by solid metallic objects.” One F-94 pilot, Lieut. William Patterson, says, “I saw several bright lights. I was at my maximum speed, but even then I had no closing speed.” A USAF air intelligence report later states that the radar crew is emphatic that the returns are solid and not temperature invers ions. In 1969, however, Colorado project physicist Gordon David Thayer concludes that the radar events involved temperature inversions. He believes the visual sightings were caused by meteors and scintillating stars. University of Arizona atmospheric physicist James McDonald disagreed, arguing that Thayer’s own data did not support his conclusion. Colorado project psychologist Michael Wertheimer interviewed many of the radar operators; nearly all disagree with the inversion explanation and maintain that all experienced radar operators have no trouble identifying such phenomena. (NICAP, “ The Washington National Sightings”; Sparks, p. 158; Richard Hall, “ The Washington Invasion, July 26/27, 1952”; Paul Sampson, “ ‘Saucer’ Outran Jet, Pilot Reveals,” Washington Post, July 28, 1952, pp. 1, 4; “ Jets on Guard for ‘Saucers’: Interceptors Chase Lights in D.C. Skies,” Washington (D.C.) Times Herald, July 28, 1952, p. 1; John G. Norris, “ Jets Poised for Pursuit; ‘Saucer’ Peril Discounted,” Washington Post, July 29, 1952, pp. 1, 7; Ruppelt, pp. 163–167; Condon, pp. 157–158, 862–867; Loren E. Gross, UFO’s: A History 1952, July 21st–July 31st, The Author, 1986, pp. 20–31; Good Above, pp. 270–272; Patrick Gross, “ The Washington D.C. UFO Flap of 1952”; Thomas Tulien, “ Oral History Interview with Albert M. Chop,” November 1999, pp. 10–13; Kevin D. Randle, Invasion Washington: UFOs over the Capitol, HarperTorch, 2001, pp. 68–76, 127–148, 253–260; Shoot 42–47; G. David Thayer, “ Inside the Colorado UFO Project,” 2002; Swords 156–159; “ Washington National Airport Case of 7-29-1952 – Albert M. Chop,” Ufology: A Primer in Audio, 1938–1959, November 21, 2013; “ Washington National Airport Case of 7-29-1952 – James Ritchie of the CAA,” Ufology: A Primer in Audio, 1938–1959, November 21, 2013; Clark III 1252–1255; Graff 81–82; Clark IV 1432–1433)
July 26 — 5:15 p.m. Air Defense Command radar detects a UFO over Williams, California. An F-94 jet interceptor is scrambled and locks onto the object with its radar. The crew sees a yellow-orange light. As confirmed by ground and airborne radar, the UFO plays tag with the F-94, alternately accelerating away when it gets close, then slowing down until it catches up again. (NICAP, “ F-94 Intercept with ADC Detection”; Sparks, p. 158)
July 26 — 11:00 p.m. Three women in Oran, Algeria, notice a large, orange-red, luminous patch in the sky. It travels from east to west, halts, then vanishes. It is one of many UFOs seen in the province of Oran over several weeks. (ClearIntent, pp. 120–121)
July 27 — 10:40 a.m. Bowling Green State University biologist Charles H. Otis sees a “flotilla” of UFOs “seemingly floating along, making no sound” at 3724 Dexter Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan. He grabs a pair of 5x binoculars and studies them until they disappear. He counts 15 of them in a loose formation, moving slowly. One object leaves the formation and disappears in a burst of speed. The body of each seems to be elongated but split at the rear. A bright glow is visible in the front, and they have a bifurcated tail streaming out horizontally, never changing in length. (NICAP, “ 15 Objects Traveling South”; UFOEv, pp. 50–51)
July 27 — 6:35 p.m. A group of eight pilots and engineers see a large, silvery object moving rapidly at a high altitude over Manhattan Beach, California. After it makes a turn, the UFO separates into 7 discs that form into groups, circle, and speed out of sight. Former Navy pilot and aircraft engineer J. E. Kempf says the formation looks like a “stack of coins.” (NICAP, “ Large Object Separates into 7 Discs”; Sparks, p. 159; Michael D. Swords, “ Intelligent Motions,” IUR 33, no. 1 (March 2010): 13, 15)
July 28 — Early morning. While napping between shifts as a heavy-equipment operator in the Nevada desert, Truman Bethurum is awakened by 8 small men who “seem to be of Latin extraction.” They take him to a nearby flying saucer where he meets the captain, a “gorgeous woman, shorter than any of the men, neatly attired, and also having a Latin appearance: coal black hair and olive complexion. She appeared to be about 42 years old,” although Bethurum learns that she is hundreds of years old. Her name is Aura Rhanes. Her ship is called a “scow,” and her crew is from the planet Clarion, a world that is always on the other side of the moon. He later tells this story and his later adventures in his 1954 book Aboard a Flying Saucer, ghostwritten by Mary Kay Tennison. (Truman Bethurum, “ I Was Inside a Flying Saucer,” Saucers 1, no. 2 (1953): 4–5; Truman Bethurum, Aboard a Flying Saucer, DeVorss, 1954; Bryant and Helen Reeve, Flying Saucer Pilgrimage, Amherst Press, 1957, pp. 17–22; Timothy Green Beckley, ed., Messages from the People of the Planet Clarion: The True Experiences of Truman Bethurum, Inner Light Publications, 1995, pp. 45–50; Clark III 192–194; Eghigian, After, pp. 124–126; Clark IV 228–229)
July 28 — USAF Maj. Gen. John A. Samford secretly orders a deemphasis on or elimination of human anecdotal UFO reports. Instead, they would be “going on instruments,” as worded in his briefing, so that he can close down Blue Book. Technological hurdles and budget limits greatly delay the plan, but Blue Book does transition into a propaganda debunking mission over the next 6 months. (Clark III 813, 1032; Clark IV 906, 1147)
July 28 — Late afternoon. Ruppelt and Maj. Ed Gregory arrive in Washington, D.C., dodging newspaper reporters at the Roger Smith Hotel. Blue Book receives an astonishing total of 50 UFO reports in a single day. UFO inquiries are jamming the Pentagon telephones. Air Force and CIA officials concede that the Soviet Union might take advantage of the confusion. (Ruppelt, pp. 166–167)
July 28 — According to the United Press, the Air Defense Command has alerted jet interceptor pilots to take off instantly in pursuit of any flying saucers. The International News Service amplifies this by quoting the Air Force that orders have been issued to shoot them down if they refuse to land. USAF Director of Operations Gen. Roger M. Ramey issues an ambiguous public denial that the interceptors have been ordered to shoot down any saucers. However, USAF Deputy Press Officer Lt. Col. Moncel A. Monts states that “jet pilots are, and have been, under orders to investigate unidentified objects and to shoot them down if they can’t talk them down.” (“ Jets Ready to Chase Lights,” Washington (D.C.) Daily News, July 28, 1952, p. 2; “ Air Force Alerted for ‘Discs’: Sightings over Washington Put Jets at Ready,” Honolulu Star-Bulletin, July 28, 1952, p. 1; “ Jets on 24-Hour Alert to Shoot Down ‘Saucers,’” San Francisco Examiner, July 29, 1952, p. 2; Shoot 49–50; David Rudiak, “ 1952 Flying Saucer ‘Shoot Down’ Stories,” Roswell Proof; David Rudiak, “ Background on Gen. Roger M. Ramey,” June 4, 2013)
July 28 — President Truman, resting in Kansas City, Missouri, after the Democratic Convention, calls CIA Director Walter Bedell Smith and asks him to investigate the Air Force’s mishandling of the Washington National sightings. Smith later directs, through Deputy Director for Intelligence Loftus E. Becker, that a CIA/OSI group be put together to review the USAF UFO intelligence program at ATIC. Truman’s involvement is meant to be kept Top Secret and is not revealed until 1992. (Clark III 1012; Clark IV 1126)
July 28 — Canadian researcher Wilbert B. Smith allegedly shows Rear Admiral Herbert B. Knowles a metallic piece from a saucer that was shot down near Washington, D.C., by a US Navy jet. It is twice the size of a man’s thumb and has been loaned to him by the Air Force, but he must return it to the CIA (or another secret agency). However, as researcher Jeff Knox points out, the material is supposedly from the Alvin E. Moore case of July 23, 1952, and Smith did not get the sample “until at least the end of 1954 (Moore gave it to Goodspeed on September 15, 1954, who gave it to Smith upon his return to Canada, it was returned to Moore by mid-1955). He could not have shown Knowles the sample before 1955.” At some point in early 1953, the sample is analyzed at Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio, where Howard C. Cross, a senior staff member at Battelle, identifies the sample as a “very basic slag from an open-hearth furnace.” ( Letter from Howard C. Cross to Miles E. Goll, February 4, 1953; David Rudiak, “ Wilbert B. Smith,” Roswell Proof; [Adm. Herbert B. Knowles on the Alan Douglas radio program, September 12, 1966], Wendy Connors, Project Blue Book [audio], Disc 04, Track 90; Frank Edwards, FS Serious Business, Bantam ed., 1966, pp. 48–49; Condon, pp. 90–91; “ Early Crashed Disc Data Uncovered,” Just Cause, new ser. 7 (March 1986): 3–4; Good Above, p. 188; Micah Hanks, “ Fragmented Facts: AARO Report Unearths Odd Claims Involving U.S. Recovery of Material from 1952 UFO Incident,” The Debrief, March 12, 2024; Jeff Knox, X thread on Alvin Moore case, March 12, 2024; “ The Alvin Moore Sample and Wilbert Smith’s Story | Jeff Knox (Ufos # 9 – August 4, 2024),” Ufo Sunset YouTube channel, August 7, 2024)
July 28 — UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill writes to William Sidney, Secretary of State for Air, and scientific adviser and friend Lord Cherwell, saying, “What does all this stuff about flying saucers amount to? What can it mean? What is the truth? Let me have a report at your convenience.” The response, dated August 9, begins: “The various reports about unidentified flying objects, described by the Press as ‘flying saucers,’ were the subject of a full Intelligence study in 1951” [presumably the report by the Flying Saucer Working Party]. (Good Above, pp. 30, 448–449; UFOFiles2, pp. 43–44; “ Records Show Winston Churchill’s Interest in UFOs,” The Cosmic Report, December 12, 2020; Jenny Randles, “Splicing the Mainbrace, Part Two,” Fortean Times 426 (Christmas 2022): 27)
July 28 — 8:30 p.m. Lieut. William A. Thiel, assistant base operations officer at Lake Charles Air Force Station [now closed] in Lake Charles, Louisiana, sees a luminous globe trailing a long streak of blue flame moving from south to north over the eastern portion of the base at 5,000 feet. It disappears in five seconds and makes no sound. (Dick Wintermute, “ Sight ‘Discs’ At LC Airbase,” Opelousas (La.) Daily World, August 28, 1952, p. 2)
July 29 — 1:30 a.m. An Air Defense Command radar outside of Osceola, Wisconsin, picks up some unidentified targets. Four F-51s from St. Paul, Minnesota, are scrambled, but the targets are moving around so quickly that it is impossible to vector in on a single target. The F-51 pilots see many lights; one pilot at 25,000 feet sees an object blaze across the nose of his airplane. Two other pilots vainly try to climb up to a hovering light that is in the same position as the radar targets. ATIC’s Robert M. Olsson and Wendell Swanson explain the radar incident as a temperature inversion and the visual sighting as a meteor. (NICAP, “ Clusters of Small Targets and One Large Target”; Sparks, p. 161; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1952 July 21st–31st, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2001, pp. 80–85)
July 29 — Early morning. CAA radar tracks 8–12 UFOs at a time traveling 100–120 mph in a 10-mile arc around Washington, D.C. When an Eastern Airlines pilot tries to check on the radar targets at the request of the CAA at 3:00 a.m., he sees nothing. The targets disappear from CAA radar when the airliner approaches then come back in behind him after he passes through the area. (“ Radar Shows More Flying ‘Whatzits’ over Capital,” Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch, July 30, 1952, pp. 1, 9; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1952 July 21st–31st, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2001, p. 84)
July 29 — 10:00 a.m. President Truman tells his air force liaison, Robert B. Landry, to find out what is going on with UFOs. Landry calls ATIC and eventually reaches Ruppelt, who tells him that weather may have caused the radar targets, but there is no proof. He later learns that Truman is listening in. There is some evidence that Truman or Landry soon contact the National Security Council directly to find out how to proceed with the UFO problem. (Ruppelt, p. 167; Swords 170)
July 29 — 10:00 a.m. Several employees of Los Alamos Scientific Labs, New Mexico (including Robert B. Leachman, W. Schafer, E. T. Jurney), see a white object moving east to west with a gyrating motion. Two jet interceptors from Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque arrive 5 minutes later. The object disappears but reappears in front of the jets, makes a 360° turn, comes around in back, follows for 2 minutes, then disappears. (NICAP, “ Jets Scrambled from Kirtland”; Sparks, p. 161; Hynek UFO Report, pp. 61–64)
July 29 — Four weather observers at Walker AFB [now closed] in Roswell, New Mexico, watch several high-speed discs through a theodolite. ( Sparks, p. 161; Hynek UFO Report, pp. 114–115)
July 29 — An FBI memo from Victor P. Keay on “Flying Saucers” discusses a classified briefing about UFOs by Cmdr. Randall Boyd Jr. of the Air Intelligence Estimates Division to Norman W. Philcox, an FBI liaison to the Air Force. The Air Force has “failed to arrive at any satisfactory conclusion” on UFOs. Reports are being received from all parts of the US and distant parts of the world. Boyd explains that USAF has made no progress in ascertaining the nature of UFOs, but it is filing them into three classifications: reports by civilians on the ground, reports by commercial or military pilots, and reports by pilots that are confirmed by radar or ground observations. He concludes by writing that it is “not entirely impossible that the objects sighted may possibly be ships from another planet such as Mars,” but he adds that “air intelligence is fairly certain that these objects are not ships or missiles from another nation in this world.” (ClearIntent, pp. 175–177; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1952 July 21st–31st, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2001, pp. 55–56)
July 29 — Ralph L. Clark, acting assistant director of the CIA Office of Scientific Intelligence, sends a memo to OSI Deputy Director Robert Amory Jr., indicating that the agency will be looking into UFO matters a bit more thoroughly, even though it has been collecting cases for the past three years (since 1949): “a special study group has been formed to review the subject to date. D/CI [ Walter Bedell Smith] will participate in this study with AD/SI [ H. Marshall Chadwell], and a report should be ready about 15 August.” It alludes to his meeting with CIA rocket consultant Frederick C. Durant and others the previous day. (Ralph L. Clark, “ Recent Sightings of Unexplained Objects,” July 29, 1952, reprinted in “The CUFON 1952 CIA UFO-Related Document Sampler”; Good Above, pp. 330, 505)
July 29 — Robert L. Farnsworth, president of the United States Rocket Society, urges President Truman and defense officials to restrain the US armed forces from shooting at UFOs. He says that hostile action might alienate us from “beings of far superior powers.” (Robert L. Farnsworth, [ Telegram to President Truman], July 28, 1952; “ A Pro-Saucer Voice Heard,” New York Daily News, July 30, 1952, p. 2; “ Rocket Expert Warns on Firing at ‘Saucers,’” Long Beach (Calif.) Independent, July 30, 1952, p. 14; Curt Collins, “ The Rocket Expert Who Stopped the War on UFOs,” The Saucers That Time Forgot, July 20, 2023)
July 29 — An orange, oblong stationary object is observed at the airport in Macdonald, Manitoba, in the south-southwestern sky for 2 minutes. It seems to change into a group of small round lights. They all disappear together. (Jan Aldrich; Project Second Storey)
July 29 — 4:00 p.m. The Air Force holds its largest and longest press conference since the end of World War II. Maj. Gen. John A. Samford, director of USAF intelligence, leads it. He is accompanied by Eighth Air Force Maj. Gen. Roger M. Ramey, director of operations and commander of the Eighth Air Force; USAF Col. Donald L. Bower, Technical Analysis Division, Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC), Wright- Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio; Project Blue Book head Capt. Edward J. Ruppelt; USAF Capt. Roy L. James, ATIC radar specialist; and Burgoyne L. Griffing, electronics branch, ATIC. Samford says that the Air Force has been monitoring US air space since 1947. Approximately 20% of UFO reports come from “credible observers of relatively incredible things,” which keeps the Air Force concerned. He explains that the Washington, D.C., sightings earlier in July were caused by “weather phenomena” that caused radar beams to bend and pick up objects on the ground. James offers more technical explanations about temperature inversions that cause radar echoes. Pro-UFO Maj. Dewey J. Fournet Jr., USAF public relations officer Al Chop, and Navy radar specialist Lieut. John Holcomb are conspicuous by their absence. (NICAP, “ General Samford’s Press Conference,” July 29, 1952; “ AF Thinks ‘Saucers’ Friendly, Eager to Identify Them,” Washington (D.C.) Daily News, July 30, 1952, p. 3; “ The Air Force Makes a Pass at the Saucer Stories,” Life 33, no. 6 (August 11, 1952): 35; Keyhoe, FS from OS, pp. 71–89, 90; Ruppelt, pp. 168–169; Don Berliner, with Marie Galbreath and Antonio Huneeus, UFO Briefing Document: The Best Available Evidence, Dell, 2000, pp. 60–63; “ General Samford’s UFO Press Conference, Pentagon, July 29, 1952,” knightskross YouTube channel, August 3, 2010; Kevin D. Randle, Invasion Washington: UFOs over the Capitol, HarperTorch, 2001, pp. 77–126; Shoot 53–57; Swords 159–163; Clark III 1253; Powell, Keyhoe, 84–88; Clark IV 1433)
July 29 — 9:15 p.m. Air Force Reserve Lt. Col. Robert G. LeCompte sees a flight of at least 10 luminous objects pass over Albuquerque, New Mexico. At first they appear overhead in no pattern, heading north, then shift to a V formation. They then shift into two rows. (NICAP, “ AF Reserve Colonel Observes Rapid Ellipse”; Sparks, p. 163; Michael D. Swords, “ Intelligent Motions,” IUR 33, no. 1 (March 2010): 13, 15)
July 29 — 9:35 p.m. Marine Pfc Ralph C. Mayher, using 16 mm film exposed at 24 frames per second, obtains footage of a high-speed UFO over Miami Beach, Florida. Retaining a few frames for personal study, Mayher submits the main portion of the film to the Air Force for analysis. The film is never returned, and no analysis report is ever released. Enlargements of a few frames show a fiery looking, roughly circular object, symmetrical, with two small peaks or projection on opposite sides of the disc. The CIA examines the film in 1957 and returns it with no comment or analysis. The Mayher case features prominently in the subsequent lawsuit by Ground Saucer Watch against the CIA and is important because it is a confirmed case of direct interaction of the CIA with a witness, clearly indicating that there was CIA interest in the subject. (NICAP, “ Ralph Mayer / Miami Film”; Ralph Mayer, “ I Proved Flying Saucers Are Real,” Pic, June 1954; Good Above, pp. 355–356)
July 29 (or July 28) — 9:40 p.m. An Aircraft and Warning Station in Port Huron, Michigan, tracks an unidentified return on radar for 20 minutes. GCI asks Capt. Edward J. Slowinski flying an F-94B on a practice run to investigate. The pilot sees a bright, flashing, colored light in the location of the blip 29 miles west of Port Huron and follows it for 20 minutes. Slowinski is unable to close on the object. (NICAP, “ Key Radar Case (CCL #17)”; Sparks, p. 160; James E. McDonald, “ Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, pp. 72–73; Center for UFO Studies, [ documents and case files])
July 29 — 9:50 p.m. Scripps-Howard reporter Howard Doyle Kline sees a cluster of glowing white objects overhead in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The objects shift around into various patterns, including a perfect V at one point. Their shifts in position are incredibly swift and fantastically violent, he says. “They made” a flying saucer believer out of me.” He reports the incident to Lincoln LaPaz, University of New Mexico meteoriticist, and Col. William A. Matheny, commander of the 34th Air Defense Division. The report, which is one probably used in Maj. Dewey Fournet’s Motion Study, is missing from the Project Blue Book files. (Doyle Kline, “ Flight of Luminous Objects Maneuvers over City,” Albuquerque (N.Mex.) Tribune, July 30, 1952, p. 1; “ ‘Flying Saucers?’ Now I Believe,’” San Francisco (Calif.) News, August 2, 1952; New York World-Telegram, August 2, 1952; UFOEv, pp. 69–70; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1952 July 21st–31st, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2001, p. 95; Michael D. Swords, “ Intelligent Motions,” IUR 33, no. 1 (March 2010): 13, 15)
July 30 — Flight Sgt. Roland Hughes of No. 20 Squadron RAF is on a training flight in a de Havilland Vampire FB-9 jet fighter and returning to base at RAF Oldenburg, Germany, when he sees a “gleaming silver, metallic disc” drop down from above and fly alongside his aircraft for several seconds before speeding off. The object is about 100 feet long. Its surface is shiny “like tinfoil,” highly reflective, and “without a single crease or crinkle in it.” On August 5, Hughes is ordered to fly to RAF Faßberg for further questioning. He arrives and finds a number of officers, including his commander and the UK Minister of Supply, Duncan Sandys ( Winston Churchill‘s son-in-law), who asks Hughes how many beers he had before his saucer sighting. The Air Commanding Officer then reveals that the object had also been tracked on radar going faster than any known aircraft. This convinces Sandys that the case is a serious one, a view that he communicates to Lord Cherwell, the government’s chief scientific adviser, in a letter, saying there is “ample evidence of some unfamiliar and unexplained phenomenon.” (UFOFiles2, pp. 44–46; “ The UFO Sighting That Convinced a Government Minister,” The Telegraph (UK), May 27, 2012)
July 30 - 1:10 p.m. Willie Vaught of Alexandria, Indiana, sees a strange looking cloud and calls her two teenage daughters ( Laura and Patsy) and Laura Oliver to see it. While looking at it, they see six flat, aluminum- like objects streak across the cloud, merge, and disappear within a minute. (" Alexandria Family Reports Seeing `Flying Saucers,'" Alexandria (Ind.) Times-Tribune, July 31, 1952, p. 1; Herbert S. Taylor, " Mystery Clouds and the UFO Connection," IUR 29, no. 4 (July 2005): 19)
August — Hollywood producer Clarence Greene and a friend see a “sphere of light” in the sky over Los Angeles, California. Visible for 5 minutes, the object alternately hovers and turns before speeding off over the horizon. The next morning, Greene tells his business partner Russell Rouse about the sighting. As he reflects on the experience, he grows ever more irritated by the stigma attached to UFO sightings. (Clark III 1188; Clark IV 1362)
August 1 — 10:00 a.m. Ground Observer Corps spotter Charlotte Blodgett sees some shiny discs with a “blister or round spot on the side” above Elmira, New York. Many others see the objects as well, including a newsman for the Elmira Advertiser, who sees three objects resembling pancakes. Many people in Afton, New York, watch a “flotilla” of objects in the vicinity of the sun for two hours. Some 300 employees of the Scintilla Magneto Plant in Sidney, New York, rush outside to watch some 60–75 spheres passing above. At Otego, a large crowd spots 5–6 bright discs over a period of about an hour. (“ ‘Saucers’ Dime a Dozen in State,” Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald-Journal, August 2, 1952, pp. 1–2; Loren E. Gross, UFOs: A History, August 1952, The Author, 1986, p. 17)
August 1 — 10:51 a.m. An Air Defense Command radar site on Campbell Hill at Bellefontaine, Ohio, tracks a target 20 miles NNW of Wright-Patterson AFB, traveling 500 mph against the wind. It vectors two F-86s piloted by Maj. James B. Smith and Lt. Donald J. Hemmer. They make visual contact but climb to 48,000 feet twice without reaching it. Smith gets a weak return on his radar gun sight and shoots a gun camera film of a white or silvery sphere estimated at 60,000 feet. They break off the intercept at 11:13 a.m. about 100 miles west-southwest of Dayton. The film reportedly shows a UFO in the upper right of the frames with noticeable motion to the lower left. Although Blue Book Capt. Edward J. Ruppelt’s assistants Lt. Anderson G. Flues and Lt. Robert Olsson initially declare the case an “unknown,” Ruppelt changes that evaluation a few weeks later after ATIC Technical Analysis Division Chief Col. Donald L. Bower transfers out, explaining it as two separate but coincidental IFOs—a weather balloon and a jet. Ruppelt goes to great lengths to debunk the case in his ADC briefings to the Robertson Panel. (NICAP, “ Gun Camera R/V Case”; Center for UFO Studies, [ Blue Book documents and files]; Sparks, p. 165; Condon, pp. 161–163; Hynek UFO Report, p. 21; Shoot 71–73; Patrick Gross, “ The Bellefontaine, Ohio, Radar/Visual/Photographic Case, 1952”; Clark III 392–395; Clark IV 438–440)
August 1 — 2:00 p.m. Harold Coffman and his wife see a brilliant, milk-white disc flying low above Sharonville, Ohio. It wobbles a bit and ascends at a 10° angle, making a slight crackling sound. It turns sharply left and disappears. (“ G.E. Is Focal Point,” CRIFO Newsletter 1, no. 2 (May 7, 1954): 2)
August 1 — 4:00 p.m. Henry Staley, chief of fire and safety at the General Electric aviation plant in Cincinnati, Ohio, is watching a small plane flying south near the plant when he and three others notice a blinding light in the east. It is coming from an oval object as big as the Moon and looks “like burning magnesium.” Soundless, it leaves a faint trail behind it. The object stops abruptly overhead for 30 seconds, pulsates, and changes to an elongated shape. Fire inspector George E. Kyle thinks the object is rotating, then slowly speeds up, “looking like an egg,” then disappears into the horizon going 2–3 times as fast as a jet. (“ G.E. Is Focal Point,” CRIFO Newsletter 1, no. 2 (May 7, 1954): 2)
August 1 — 8:30–9:00 p.m. We, the People, a 30-minute TV news show produced by Life magazine, devotes its airtime to the recent UFO sightings over Washington, D.C. WNBW-TV, which originates the program, rents a DC-3 airliner, fills it with 20 newsmen, and has the plane circle over Washington, just in case the saucers return. On the ground in the radar room of Washington National Airport there are more newsmen and TV cameras. The show features editors and journalists Frank Blair, David Brinkley, Clay Blair, and various UFO witnesses. (“ Can’t Find Saucers,” Gettysburg (Pa.) Times, August 2, 1952, p. 1; “ NBC Saucer Hunt for TV Program Proves Fruitless,” Blytheville (Ark.) Courier, August 2, 1952, p. 1; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, August, The Author, 1986, pp. 18–19; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, A History: 1952, August, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2002, p. 9; Curt Collins, “ UFOs on TV: The 1952 Washington, DC Saucer Flap,” The Saucers That Time Forgot, July 5, 2018)
August 2 — 3:00 a.m. USAF 1st Lt. W. A. Theil and enlisted man Edwards see a red ball with a trail of blue flame fly straight and level over Lake Charles, Louisiana. ( Sparks, p. 165)
August 2 [or July 30] — George Hunt Williamson and his wife Betty are visited in Prescott, Arizona, by two other metaphysics enthusiasts, Alfred C. Bailey and his wife Betty of Winslow, Arizona. This evening, in the course of an automatic-writing experiment using a sort of Ouija board, they receive a message from an extraterrestrial in a spacecraft. In the days and weeks that follow, “Nah-9 of Solar X Group” and many other planetary and star people communicate with them. The space people call earth “Saras.” Nah-9 says that the good men of Saras must unite with good space people to avert a calamity. More Ouija sessions take place through August 17. A message comes through that they will be contacted via radio with an International Morse Code message on August 22. Bailey approaches a coworker on the Santa Fe Railroad, a ham radio operator named Lyman Streeter, and asks for his help in picking up the space signals. (George Hunt Williamson and Alfred C. Bailey, The Saucers Speak! New Age, 1954; Michael D. Swords, “ Strange Days,” IUR 30, no. 4 (Aug. 2006): 21–22; Zirger and Martinelli, The Incredible Life of George Hunt Williamson, Verdechiari, 2016, pp. 178–181; Clark III 1283; Clark IV 1466)
August 2 — 9:00–11:00 p.m. The South Bend (Ind.) Tribune sponsors “Operation Flying Saucer,” essentially encouraging people to keep an eye out for UFOs. It is aided by the South Bend Ground Observer Corps Filter Center, an amateur astronomy club that sets up an array of telescopes in the Notre Dame football stadium, and volunteers from an amateur radio club. The newspaper receives hundreds of calls. Air Force officials monitoring the results state later that most of the reports are easily explained, although perhaps 120 are of interest. (“ Area Girds for First Big Saucer Hunt,” South Bend (Ind.) Tribune, August 2, 1952, p. 1; “ 100,000 Scan Sky; No Saucers,” South Bend (Ind.) Tribune, August 3, 1952, pp. 1, 8; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, August, The Author, 1986, pp. 17–18)
August 2 — 9:30 p.m. Charles Rhoades sees a round, amber-colored object with a bright white light around its circumference flying above Ada, Oklahoma. It tilts on its side, and within minutes 10 other discs are observed by many people in town. (“ Ada Residents Get Peek at ‘Saucers,’” Lawton (Okla.) Constitution and Morning Press, August 3, 1952, p. 1; “ ‘Somethings’ Seen over Ada,” Ada (Okla.) Evening News, August 3, 1952, p. 1; “ Many Persons at Ada Spot Flying Saucers,” Muskogee (Okla.) Daily Phoenix, August 4, 1952, p. 4; Loren E. Gross, UFOs: A History, August 1952, The Author, 1986, p. 19)
August 3 — 3:00 p.m. An Air Force master sergeant on the ship Santa Luisa observes three round, flat, metallic objects hovering at 30,000–40,000 feet some 10 miles away from his position at the mouth of the Rio Guayas near Isla Puná, Ecuador. After 5 seconds, one object dives to the west then turns back northwest. They all disappear after another 5 seconds. (Project 1947, [ case documents]; Project 1947, “ UFO Reports, 1952”)
August 3 — 4:15 p.m. Two huge silvery discs are observed visually and tracked on radar for 1 hour and 15 minutes over Hamilton AFB [now closed] near Novato, California. The ground observers are pilots Capt. Leslie R. Hadley, Capt. Wayne T. Perske, and 2d Lt. Duane A. Swimley. They dive at each other and maneuver as if in a dogfight. After F-86s are dispatched to intercept, 6 more objects appear, take up a diamond formation, and accelerate out of sight. (NICAP, “ Eight Huge Objects Observed by 8 Witnesses and Radar”; Sparks, p. 165; Project 1947, “ Hamilton Air Force Base, Hamilton, California, August 3, 1952”; Loren E. Gross, UFOs: A History, August 1952, The Author, 1986, pp. 20–21; Michael D. Swords, “ Intelligent Motions,” IUR 33, no. 1 (March 2010): 14, 15)
August 3 — 4:27 p.m. Observers near Fort Bragg, California, notice a flat object in the sky that they estimate is about 4 feet in diameter at 5,500 feet. (Loren E. Gross, UFOs: A History, August 1952, The Author, 1986, p. 20)
August 3 — 10:20 p.m. Civilian engineer Paul L. Anderson sees 3 light-green cylindrical objects at Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. They are hovering at 45° elevation in an inverted-V formation, switching to echelon when one object moves with a rolling motion along its long axis. It disappears by rapidly rising vertically. The observation lasts 9 minutes. (NICAP, “ Three Cylindrical Objects Observed by Engineers”; Sparks, p. 165; Loren E. Gross, UFOs: A History, August 1952, The Author, 1986, pp. 19–20; Michael D. Swords, “ Intelligent Motions,” IUR 33, no. 1 (March 2010): 14, 15)
August 5 — 12:25 a.m. A trio of brilliant white dots of indefinite shape, at an altitude of an estimated 5,000 feet, passes over Westover AFB [now Westover Reserve Air Base] in Chicopee, Massachusetts. The second object is half the size of the first, and the third is half the size of the second one. The first one resembles an automobile headlight. The appearance of other two is not given. The three are in a triangular formation. No jet activity is recorded over the airbase at the time and witnesses say the objects are moving “faster than jets.” (Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, August, The Author, 1986, p. 23)
August 5 — 5:13 a.m. Capt. Ray Sullivan and the crew of a Pan American–Grace Airways DC-3 flying between Lima and Huacho, Peru, see three discs in a V-formation maneuvering around their aircraft at an estimated speed of 93 mph. (NICAP, “ DC-3 Crew Encounters Three Saucers in V-Formation”)
August 5 — Day. During a daylight observation of Venus, astronomer James C. Bartlett Jr. watches two discs fly overhead in a southerly direction at Baltimore, Maryland. They move away to the east, then two more objects with dome-like protrusions in the center fly past. (“ Two Huge UFOs Sighted by Baltimore Astronomer,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 5 (Aug./Sept. 1958): 1, 3)
August 5 — 9:46–12:00 midnight. A visual sighting is made at 9:46 p.m. by an observer on the ground at Manassas, Virginia, who spots a brilliant oval flying south. About 10:50 p.m., Andrews AFB in Maryland picks up two unidentified blips moving slowly and steadily away from Washington, D.C., on a course toward Mount Vernon, Virginia. Minutes later the fluorescent screens at Andrews show two more UFOs to the east of the field moving for a short distance, stopping, and then moving again. The speed of the targets is a slow 60 mph. The height of the targets is unknown. Planes from both Andrews AFB and Bolling AFB are sent up to investigate but rainy weather forces them to turn back after they reach 15,000 feet altitude. Around 12:00 midnight yet another target appears on radar, and jets from New Castle AFB in Delaware are scrambled. The jets see no UFOs when they arrived over Washington; however, a spokesman for Andrews radar tells the press that “no radar sightings were made while the planes were overhead.” (“ Flock of ‘Saucer’ Objects Again Puzzles Wash. DC,” Visalia (Calif.) Times-Delta, August 6, 1952, p. 1; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, August, The Author, 1986, pp. 23–24)
August 5 — 10:45 p.m. Eight residents of Camden, New Jersey, report a bright, round, orange object hovering or moving slowly in the western sky. (“ 8 City Residents Report ‘Saucers’ on Nocturnal Sweep through Sky,” Camden (N.J.) Courier-Post, August 6, 1952, p. 16)
August 5 — 11:45 p.m. A complex radar-visual sighting takes place at Haneda AFB [later Tokyo International Airport], Japan. Control tower operators watch a disc as it passes over Tokyo Bay at about 1,500 feet. It is a dark round shape surrounded by a bright light with a curved outer edge and smaller lights around it. While being tracked on radar, a scramble alert is issued at 11:55 p.m., and an F-94 Starfire jet from nearby Johnson Air Base [now Iruma Air Base] in Sayama, Saitama Prefecture, goes after the object. The interceptor, piloted by 1Lt. Wesley R. Holder and Radar Observer 1Lt. Aaron M. Jones Jr., chases the object, which speeds away while being tracked by onboard radar. During the next 30 minutes, the UFO disappears and reappears throughout the sky, vanishes when the jet closes in, performs intricate maneuvers, and at one point splits into three radar targets. The jet searches over Tokyo Bay until 12:33 a.m. when it is recalled. (NICAP, “ F-94 Pilots Tracked Object for 90 Seconds”; Sparks, p. 166; Ruppelt, pp. 187–189; Condon, pp. 123–126; James E. McDonald, “ Science in Default: Twenty-Two Years of Inadequate UFO Investigations,” paper presented at the Symposium on UFOs, 134th Meeting, AAAS, Boston, December 27, 1969, pp. 20–34; Carl Sagan and Thornton Page, eds., UFO’s: A Scientific Debate, Cornell University, 1972, p. xxiv; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, August, The Author, 1986, pp. 24–27; Martin L. Shough, “Radar and the UFO,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, pp. 217–219; Martin Shough, RADCAT: Radar Catalogue: A Review of Twenty-One Ground and Airborne Radar UAP Contact Reports Generally Related to Aviation Safety for the Period October 15, 1948, to September 19, 1976, National Aviation Reporting Center on Anomalous Phenomena, NARCAP Report TR-6, December 8, 2002, pp. 26–42; Patrick Gross, “ The Haneda AFB Case, Japan, August 5, 1952”)
August 6. Lumberton, North Carolina. James J. Allen, 51, saw a round object 8 ft. long, 6 ft. high land within 10 ft. of him. Small occupants seen. Footprints found. (The Robesonian, Lumberton, 08-07-52)
August 6 — 9:00 p.m. James J. Allen sees a UFO 6 feet high, 8 feet long, and lighted inside strike the chimney of his home in West Lumberton, North Carolina. It crashes into his backyard. When he approaches it, the lights go off and he sees a man about 30 inches tall standing next to it. He asks if he is hurt, then the figure reenters the vehicle and it zooms away. (“ West Lumberton Event Added to Growing ‘Saucer’ Reports,” Lumberton (N.C.) Robesonian, August 7, 1952, pp. 1, 4; Clark III 326; Curt Collins, “ James J. Allen’s Alien Encounter Embarrassment: Aug. 6, 1952,” The Saucers That Time Forgot, January 19, 2018; Clark IV 363)
August 7 — 12:02 a.m. At Kerkrade, Netherlands, marine engineer Will Jansen watches a domed object swoop down to a low altitude, hover, zigzag, then speed away. He sees a similar object hovering further away. It finally tilts up vertically and shoots out of sight. (UFOEv, p. 122)
August 7 — 9:08 a.m. Mrs. Susan Pzuhl (or Pfuhl) observes over San Antonio, Texas, four round UFOs that give off a color similar to white-hot metal. The objects appear to be approximately 18 inches in diameter and are observed one at a time at intervals of approximately 20 minutes. With the exception of one object that moves slowly, the speed must have been 3 times as fast as a propeller-driven aircraft. No sound can be heard. Their maneuvers consist of radical directional change by the first object, straight and level flight by the second object, a slight directional change by the third object, and a large circular maneuver by the fourth object. An aircraft passes under the fourth object with no apparent reaction by the plane or the object. It vanishes suddenly like an extinguished light. Duration is 70 minutes. (NICAP, “ Four 18ʺ UFOs Observed”; Sparks, p. 166)
August 7 — 3:00 p.m. Two Ground Observer Corps skywatchers in Silverton, Oregon, Ida Pfeifer and Dorothy Sthamann, see an aluminum-colored object 3 miles away that appears at first triangular, then more saucer shaped. Army and air observers in Portland confirm that jet interceptors are at that moment in pursuit of the object. Replacement skywatchers Sadie Barkhurst and Mrs. Olaf Teglund also see the object at 5:00 p.m. All agree that the UFO is headed east at a moderate speed, but darts “fiercely” toward the interceptor when it approaches. (“ Flying Saucer at Silverton,” Salem (Oreg.) Capital Journal, August 9, 1952, p. 14)
August 7 — 9:00 p.m. A dazzling mass of colored light is seen in the sky above Youngstown, New York. US Coast Guard personnel at Shawnee Aircraft Control and Warning Base in Old Fort Niagara, New York, and Air Force personnel of the 136th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Niagara Falls (N.Y.) Municipal Airport, all see the object, although Maj. Richard Barr at Shawnee declines to say whether it has turned up on radar. Marine sales businessman L. C. Pierce looks at it with a sextant and estimates its height as 70,000 feet. The object approaches the mouth of the Niagara River from the north, then moves west, where it stops and hovers above the Welland Canal in Ontario. It later disappears to the north. (“ Saucers in This Area, Reported,” Niagara Falls (Ont.) Review, August 9, 1952, p. 1)
August 9 — 1:45 a.m. A/3C Joseph F. Raley is walking to work at Lake Charles Air Force Station [now closed] in Lake Charles, Louisiana, when he observes a disc-like object from a distance away of 3,000–5,000 feet. The object is at an estimated altitude of 5,000 feet. It moves several hundred mph faster than any known jet aircraft. No sound is heard. The object is first seen moving north to south until it crosses the air station, where it stops and hovers for approximately 2 seconds, then takes off to the west. (NICAP, “ Faster-Than-Jet Disc Stops, Hovers Two Seconds, Accelerates”; Dick Wintermute, “ Sight ‘Discs’ At LC Airbase,” Opelousas (La.) Daily World, August 28, 1952, p. 2; Sparks, p. 167)
August 10 — 2:10 a.m. A pair of grayish-orange, oval-shaped objects are seen near Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi. In view about 2 seconds, the objects make veering turns to the right and left before disappearing to the northeast. (Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, August, The Author, 1986, p. 33)
August 10 — 5:38 p.m. Roy E. Munson is resting in his hammock at 1231 Widergren Drive, Rockford, Illinois, when he sees a disc-shaped object moving west to east and streaking across the sky in 6 seconds. Within minutes, another appears on the same flight path. Some family members and neighbors join him to watch the objects, which keep appearing for the next 90 minutes by which time a total of 54 have gone by. Munson alerts the CAA operator at the Rockford airport, who calls O’Hare Airport in Chicago, which sends two USAF jet interceptors to the area. They appear just as the last of the discs, which seem surrounded by a haze, disappears. Of the 54 objects, 36 appear larger that the others and move faster. Fifty follow the straight west-to-east path out of sight. Three deviate from the path to the north, and one deviates to the south. (NICAP, “ Rockford, Illinois, Monday, August 11, 1952”)
August 12 — 1:43 a.m. An Air Force F-94B jet fighter from Dover AFB in Delaware is flying at 20,000 feet when both the pilot and his radar crewman sight a glowing object 45° to their left and at a lower altitude, with the waters of the Delaware Bay as a dark backdrop. Curious, the jet pilot adjusts his course and heads directly at the object, which is stationary. In an apparent reaction, the object loses some of its brilliance and diminishes in size, apparently moving away. The pilot determines that the object had halted above Cape May, New Jersey, where it again hovers. Without success, the pilot tries to raise the local CCI station on the radio on F channel to request a radar scan of the Cape May area. Low on fuel, the pilot cannot pursue the UFO any further, so he breaks off the chase and heads for home. The UFO follows the jet, increasing in apparent size as it draws near and overtakes it. Eventually, the UFO loses interest and flies away to the south. (Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, August, The Author, 1986, p. 36)
August 13 — Around 7:00 p.m. Two civilians in the Tampa, Florida, area watch three UFOs. One object changes its course abruptly to the west, moving in excess of 600 mph. The same object hovers for about 5 minutes then moves at an excessive rate back to the east and resumes its course to the north and disappears. The two other objects do not alter course but disappear to the north. (Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, August, The Author, 1986, p. 39)
August 13 — 7:57 p.m. A group of seven strong, stationary targets becomes visible in an area about 15 miles north-northeast of the radar antenna at Washington National Airport [now Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport] in Arlington County, Virginia. During the next two or three antenna revolutions, the area on the scope between Washington and Baltimore becomes heavily sprinkled with stationary targets in a belt about 6 miles wide. A group of additional targets becomes visible in an area approximately 10–15 miles southeast of the radar antenna. For the next four and one-half hours, many unidentified targets are carefully plotted with a grease pencil on the face of the Type VG scope. The time for each is entered on these plots in order to calculate ground speeds. To secure a permanent record, time data and track plots are transferred from the scope face to a sheet of frosted acetate. The targets disappear at 12:30 a.m. The Civil Aeronautics Administration concludes that the targets are ground returns caused by temperature inversions in the lower atmosphere. Two similar radar cases featuring multiple targets in Indianapolis on November 4–5 also lead them to conclude that the episodes (and by extension the Washington, D.C., events in July) are “ground returns caused by reflection phenomena closely connected with the temperature inversions in the lower atmosphere.” (NICAP, “ Multiple Targets over Washington”; Richard C. Borden and Tirey K. Vickers, A Preliminary Study of Unidentified Targets Observed on Air Traffic Control Radars, Civil Aeronautics Administration, Technical Development and Evaluation Center, Technical Development Report, no. 180, May 1953)
August 13 — Night. Pioneer Airlines pilot Capt. Max M. Jacoby sees a mystery light while on a routine test flight out of Dallas Love Field, Texas. He tries to intercept it, but the light evades him and disappears. (Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, August, The Author, 1986, p. 39)
August 13 — 9:10 p.m. A witness in Oakland, California, calls Hamilton AFB [now closed] in Novato to notify them he is watching “two balls of fire” making a 10-mile circle and leaving in the direction of Hamilton. When the report is made to Capt. Kenneth Broden, Hamilton AFB Airdrome Officer, he orders an F-94 jet scrambled to search the bay between Oakland and the air base. (Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, August, The Author, 1986, p. 39)
August 13 — 9:45 p.m. In Tokyo, Japan, US Marine Corps pilot Maj. James D. McGough sees an orange light fly a left orbit at 8,000 feet and 230 mph, then spiral down to no more than 1,500 feet, remain stationary for 2–3 minutes, and go out. An attempted interception is unsuccessful. (NICAP, “ Orange Light Maneuvers Then Stops in Mid-Air”; Sparks, p. 167)
August 13 — 11:10 p.m. USAF Reserve Capt. Stanley W. Thompson sees a formation of lighted objects flying rapidly over Tucson, Arizona. (Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, August, The Author, 1986, p. 39)
August 14 — Australian Minister for Air William McMahon states facetiously in Parliament that flying saucer reports are “probably based on flights of imagination,” but indicates he will “cause a thorough investigation to be made.” (Swords 376)
August 14 — 12:00 noon. The chief test pilot for the Australian Government Aircraft Factories is flying a Vampire aircraft between 35,000 and 36,000 feet near Rockhampton, Queensland, when he looks east toward the coast and sees a large circular light at a lower altitude. The light is the color of an incandescent lightbulb. After about one minute, 6–10 smaller lights emerge from the larger object and surround it for 2 minutes before disappearing. After another 2 minutes, the large light also disappears. (Bill Chalker, “ The Early Days of the Public UFO Drama in Australia: Even an Atomic Connection of a Sort,” The OzFiles, October 2, 2023)
August 14 — 7:15 p.m. In Mill Valley, California, taxi owner Bob Robertson looks up while painting his house and sees “a large transparent balloon-like object” that is “iridescent like a soap bubble.” The object hovers motionless before it shrinks to the size of a teacup and vanishes entirely. His wife also sees it, but it disappears before neighbors can get outside. He estimates the object is visible for about a minute and a half. He speculates it might be “an air or gas pocket formed by diving jet planes.” (“ Flying Cup Joins Saucers in Sky over M.V.: Seen by Two,” Mill Valley (Calif.) Record, August 16, 1952, p. 1)
August 14 — 7:20 p.m. People on the docks of Phillippeville [modern Skikda], Algeria, see an enormous red disc leaving behind a greenish trail. At 9:15 p.m., two people in Constantine, Algeria, watch a luminous object flying at high speed. It emits a bright light. (ClearIntent, p. 122)
August 14 — 12:00 noon. RAAF Flight Lt. William H. Scott, chief test pilot of the Government Aircraft Factories, is flying a de Havilland Vampire jet between 35,000 and 36,000 feet near Rockhampton, Queensland. Looking east toward the coast, he sees a large, circular light at a lower elevation. It is the color of an ordinary incandescent light bulb. After about 60 seconds, 6–10 smaller lights break off from the main light, surrounding it for 2 minutes before disappearing. After another 2 minutes, the big light also disappears. ([ RAAF case file]; Swords 376)
August 14 — 10:30 p.m. A yellow ball of light undulates up and down and from side to side over the Mathieson chemical plant in Lake Charles, Louisiana. It is also seen to shoot ahead abruptly and come to a halt in the same manner. Witnesses estimate that the ball passes over at 5,000 feet, growing fainter and fainter as it moves away. (Dick Wintermute, “ Sight ‘Discs’ At LC Airbase,” Opelousas (La.) Daily World, August 28, 1952, p. 2; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, August, The Author, 1986, p. 43)
Mid-August — 10:30 p.m. John D. Moorman, deputy sheriff of Starke County, is fishing in a boat with Surphin Casper on the Tippecanoe River about 3 miles northwest of Monterey, Indiana. Moorman looks up and sees 7–8 objects hovering. They watch for a few seconds until the objects move away to the west. About half of them return east momentarily, and all of them disappear by blinking out. (NICAP case file)
August 15 — 4:20 a.m. Ground Observer Corps observers in Davis, California, see a rainbow- colored, round object hovering in the air. Soon they notice eight more objects of a strange appearance. At 5:30 a.m., two more UFOs are seen, one moving west while the other moves east. The Air Force scrambles a F-94 jet interceptor to search the area at altitudes of 10,000–20,000 feet. The military claims the pilot can see nothing unusual, although the GOC spotters say that the UFOs and the jet are both visible in the sky at the same time and possibly at the same altitude. At 5:00 a.m., in Napa, California, GOC post observer Diane Robinson sights a “cigar-shaped silver thing” traveling at tremendous speed at 10,000 feet toward the southwest. (NICAP, “ GOC Spotter Reports Cigar-Shaped Object”; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, August, The Author, 1986, p. 43)
August 19 West Palm Beach, Florida. A witness saw a round dark object above him in a clearing. It had a turret on top. Red balls of liqht were emitted and he was burned. He saw a creature on the object. Grass roots were scorched. (Ruppelt)
August 19 — 2:38 p.m. Ground Observer Corps observer Albert Lathrop sees two objects shaped like fat bullets flying straight, level, and fast over Red Bluff, California. ( Sparks, p. 167)
August 19 — 8:00 p.m. An oval disc is seen above Boron Air Force Station [now closed] in Boron, California. Two jet fighters are guided into the area by Capt. Ralph J. Borgerson at the base, but the object speeds away to the east as they close in. ( Sparks, p. 167; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, August, The Author, 1986, p. 49)
August 19 — About 10:00 p.m. Scoutmaster D[unham] S[anborn] “Sonny” DesVergers is driving with three scouts on the edge of the Everglades south of West Palm Beach, Florida, when he sees a light in a wild palmetto grove. The boys do not see it, so he drives on. Another boy admits he has seen a light in that direction too, so DesVergers returns to the spot and goes into the grove, telling the boys to stay in the car unless he is delayed. Soon all three boys see red lights flashing in the grove. This alarms them, and they go to a nearby house for help. They return to see DesVergers staggering out of the grove, incoherently saying he has been zapped into semiconsciousness by some kind of red flare coming from a hatch in a red ball of light. It burns his cap as well. An area of flattened and burned grass is found after the event. DesVergers has a reputation as a prankster and hopes to monetize his story somehow, but the scouts do corroborate his story and there are physical traces. Grass samples from the site sent to the Air Force show root damage extending 4 inches or more into the soil, suggesting overheating, possibly by microwave radiation. Karl Pflock thinks it is a hoax, but Jerry Clark isn’t 100% sure. (NICAP, “ Florida Scoutmaster Case”; “ Attack by Flying Saucer Described by Scoutmaster,” Miami (Fla.) Daily News, August 24, 1952, pp. 1A, 4A; “ ‘Line Forms at Left’ for That Saucer Yarn,” Miami (Fla.) Daily News, August 25, 1952, p. 1A; “ Boy Scout Wants New Saucer Hunt,” Miami (Fla.) Daily News, August 26, 1952, p. 2A; “ ‘Saucer’ Witnesses Talking,” Miami (Fla.) Daily News, August 27, 1952, pp. 1A, 8A; Gray Barker, They Knew Too Much about Flying Saucers, University Books, 1956, pp. 70–75; Ruppelt, pp. 176–186; Olsen, sec. 3, pp. 13–16; Story, pp. 128–131; Jenny Randles, UFO Reality, p. 143; Karl T. Pflock, “ The Best Hoax in UFO History?” 1997; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1952 August, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2001, pp. 115–119; “ The Scoutmaster’s Tale,” Saturday Night Uforia, March 27, 2013; Clark III 496–498; “ Scoutmaster Sonny DesVergers Got Burned by a UFO: Encounter Remembered by Eyewitness Chuck Stevens,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, August 2023; Clark IV 545–546; Michael D. Swords, “ Peeking into the Corners of 1952, Part Three,” Center for UFO Studies, June 10, 2025)
August 21 — 10:10 p.m. Ground Observer Corps Supervisor D. C. Scott spots a yellowish-white light flying in the sky at 2,000 feet northeast of Elgin, Illinois. Several times it rises to 5,000 feet in three minutes, hovers, then descends again. Scott alerts Capt. Everett A. Turner at the Chicago Filter Center, who tells him to call again when the light settles down. After one hour and 23 minutes the light begins to hover, Scott calls Turner again, and Turner has at least one F-86 Sabre jet scrambled from O’Hare Airport in Chicago. The pilot makes four passes between 10,000 and 2,000 feet. On the fourth pass, it heads directly toward the light, which blinks out. (“ Jets Pursue Mystery Light,” Carbondale Southern Illinoisan, August 23, 1952, p. 1; UFOEv, p. 66; Shoot 102–103)
August 22–23 — Evening. Lyman Streeter sees unusual lights near Winslow, Arizona, and hears strange signals on his ham radio. Not long afterward, Lyman, his wife, and Alfred C. Bailey hear a mysterious code coming through the air itself. Eventually, at 2:00 a.m., a Morse Code-like message comes through the radio from Regga of Mars and Zo and Nah-9 from Neptune. Zo refers to Affa from Uranus, who thinks earth is too evil. He also warns them that the evil Orion Solar System is coming to earth in a “square star body.” Williamson arrives from Prescott on August 23. (George Hunt Williamson and Alfred C. Bailey, The Saucers Speak! New Age, 1954; Michael D. Swords, “ Strange Days,” IUR 30, no. 4 (Aug. 2006): 22; Clark III 1283–1284; Clark IV 1466–1467)
August 24 — 10:15 a.m. USAF Col. Gerald W. Johnson is flying an F-84G when he sees two silver balls in the vicinity of Hermanas (a ghost town), New Mexico. They seem to be 6 feet in diameter and 2 miles away. One seems to change into a long, gray object as it is turning to the right. After 3 minutes they disappear, then reappear 7 minutes later, by which time the F-84 is over El Paso, Texas. One after the other, the objects climb straight up 2,000–3,000 feet. (NICAP, “ F-84 Encounters Two Silver Balls”; Sparks, p. 168; Michael D. Swords, “ Intelligent Motions,” IUR 33, no. 1 (March 2010): 14, 15)
August 25 — 3:40 p.m. At Holloman AFB, New Mexico, plant supervisor Fred Lee and foreman Lawrence A. Aguilar watch a round silver object for 5 minutes. It flies south, turns and flies north, makes a 360° turn, then flies away vertically. (NICAP, “ Silver Sphere Maneuvers over Base”; Sparks, p. 168)
August 25 — 5:50 a.m. William Squyres, a radio station musician at KOAM [now KKOW-AM] is driving from his home northeast of Frontenac, Kansas, to the station at Pittsburg. He is in his 1952 Jeep station wagon on a rough gravel road about a quarter of a mile from US Highway 160 when he sees a large, disc-shaped object hovering 10 feet in the air on the right side of the road 750 feet away. The UFO looks like two bowls placed together end to end, 75 feet long, 40 feet wide, and 15 feet high in the midsection. Through a window he can see the head and shoulders of a motionless human figure. Along its outer edge are a series of propellers 6–8 inches in diameter, spaced closely together and mounted on a bracket so they revolve “in a horizontal plane” along the edge of the object. He stops and gets out to watch it. As he is walking toward the object, it rises into the air and flies away at great speed. ( Sparks, p. 168; “‘Flying Saucer’ with Men Inside Seen by Pittsburg Radio Employe,” Neosho (Mo.) Daily Democrat, August 26, 1952, p. 1; “ Probe ‘Flying Saucer’ Report,” Wichita (Kan.) Eagle, August 27, 1952, p. 1; Gray Barker, They Knew Too Much about Flying Saucers, University Books, 1956, pp. 76–78; Olsen, sec. 3, pp. 16–18; Hynek UFO Report, pp. 200–203; Patrick Gross, “ Project Blue Book Unexplained Cases”; “ Pittsburg, KS CE-III – William Squyres Interviewed by Frank Edwards,” Ufology: A Primer in Audio, 1938– 1959, November 21, 2013; Clark III 378; Clark IV 422)
August 25. Pittsburg, Kansas. Bill Squire, of radio station KOAM saw a disc-shaped object in a field and saw four persons in it. A bluish light filled the interior. It was 75 ft. long and 10 ft. thick. He was less than 100 ft. away as it ascended vertically. Sound was heard "like a covey of quail." Weeds and grass were crushed and blown over a wide area. (Kansas Newsletter)
August 25 — 9:25 p.m. Affa of Uranus contacts the Baileys, the Streeters, and the Williamsons (as well as two students named Ronald Tucker and Betty Bowen) by radio, using 405 or 450 kilocycles. Zo and Um of Neptune, Regga of Mars, and other aliens continue sending messages by both radio and telepathy. Streeter sees a dark spot in the sky that he claims is Affa. Williamson sees a blue light that he thinks is Zo. Everyone signs an affidavit that the events have truly taken place. (George Hunt Williamson and Alfred C. Bailey, The Saucers Speak! New Age, 1954; Michael D. Swords, “ Strange Days,” IUR 30, no. 4 (August 2006): 22, 24; Clark III 1284; Clark IV 1467)
August 26 — Day. Marion Cranston [or Graston] sees two silver balls pass overhead noiselessly at her home in Watkins Glen, New York. Five minutes later, three carpenters (Ray Andrew, Alfred Sullivan, and Clayton Crout) working on a building at Glen Eldridge Point in the town of Hector, New York, see a silver object fall into Seneca Lake, throw up a 10-foot splash, then disappear underwater. Several witnesses in Trumansburg, New York, see five jet planes apparently in pursuit of a saucer (“ State Police Told Flying Disk Dived into Seneca Lake,” Binghamton (N.Y.) Press, August 26, 1952, p. 28; “ Saucers Reported at Watkins Glen, Trumansburg,” Sayre (Pa.) Evening Times, August 26, 1952, p. 10; Dolan, USO1, 155–156)
August 27. Lumberton, North Carolina. Gabriel Durocher and 4 other people independently reported seeing an unusual object. Durocher was walkinq home when he saw the object in a field. The object was glowing blue-white and 30 ft. away. Blue, yellow and red sparks were seen as the object started to spin and ascend. It ascended vertically. It was about 30 ft. in diameter and 10 ft. thick. A depressed area was found at the site. (The Robesonian, Lumberton, NC.)
August 27 — 4:45 a.m. Two meteorological officers at Macdonald Airport in Manitoba see a disc-shaped object with shadows on it. It makes two turns around the airfield. When the rotating airport beacon light strikes it, the object glints like shiny aluminum, speeds away to the northeast, and vanishes. (Good Above, pp. 184–185)
August 28 — A family on the ground in Le Roy, New York, sees a disc making tight vertical circles around an airliner. (UFOEv, p. 10)
August 28 — 9:30 p.m. Three civilians in Chickasaw, Alabama, report to Brookley AFB [now Mobile Downtown Airport] in Mobile, Alabama, their observation of multiple red stationary and maneuvering objects to the south, and another one moving from south to west, all in the direction of Brookley. AFOSI agent Charles A. Robinson arrives in Chickasaw at 9:50 p.m. to investigate and sees the same four objects to the south and southwest at an estimated 8–12 miles distance. One fiery red object is stationary for 15 minutes then drifts 15°–20° to the right after which it is stationary again. Radar operator A/2C Irl A. Whitaker visually spots a red-green object over Chickasaw to the north. USAF duty officer Capt. William E. Edwards and control tower operators see one object to the southwest to the right and lower than the moon, and another object to the west at 10°–20° elevation. The latter is confirmed by radar as a stationary target at four miles range and 4,000 feet altitude. Robinson and others see one object explode, and another does a figure 8 maneuver. There are 4–6 objects larger than a star or planet varying from fiery red, red-blue, red-green, and sparkling diamond appearance. A civilian Air Force employee sees a flat oval shape. (NICAP, “ GCA Paints Stationary Target”; Sparks, p. 169)
August 29 — 10:50 a.m. Pilot LtJG William A. O’Flaherty and navigator LtJG R. S. Moore are flying a PB4Y-2 Privateer patrol plane west of Thule Air Base, near Qaanaaq, Greenland. They are following an 85-foot-diameter Skyhook balloon launched from an icebreaker, US Coast Guard Cutter Eastwind, when, upon release of the parachute instrument package from the balloon, they see 3 white discs or globes, about ½ to almost the full apparent size of the balloon, in triangle formation clustered to the right of the Skyhook instrument package at 74,000 feet for some 2–3 minutes. (NICAP, “ Three Objects Shake Up Air Crew”; Sparks, p. 170; “ Arctic Navy Pilot Reports Seeing Strange Phenomena,” Omaha (Nebr.) Evening World-Herald, October 18, 1952, p. 4; Cmdr. Edward P. Stafford, “ Cosmic Curiousity,” Naval History 18, no. 5 (October 2004); “ August–December 1952 Sighting Chronology,” Journal of UFO History 2, no. 4 (Sept./Oct. 2005): 5, 8)
August 29 - 8:35 p.m. Civil Air Patrol pilot Carlton A. Magruder sees three aluminum-colored objects with a red- yellow exhaust over Colorado Springs, Colorado. They are 50 feet in diameter and 10 feet high, flying in line at about 1,500 mph. (NICAP, " Pilot Reports Three Objects 50' in Diameter"; Sparks, p. 169; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, August, The Author, 1986, p. 80)
Late summer — As a Signal Corps employee working the night shift, Vivian Walton handles decoded teletype messages inside a high-security building at the Defense Supply Center near Columbus, Ohio. She walks into the photo lab, where colleague Joe Sheehy is developing photos, one of which he says is a UFO that had landed in the “hill country” somewhere near Columbus. He says the object is 30 feet in diameter and unoccupied, with minimal damage. A few days later, an alert is sounded, allegedly because of danger of attack by UFOs. Walton claims the downed UFO has gone through the depot on the way to Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton. (James W. Moseley, “ The Wright Field Story, or Who’s Lying?” Nexus 1, no. 3 (September 1954): 11–15; James W. Moseley, “ Who’s Lying? The Wright Field Story,” The Saucerian 3, no. 1 (January 1955): 32–36; James W. Moseley, The Wright Field Story, Saucerian, 1971; Irena Scott and Pete Hartinger, “ Defense Construction and Supply Company (DCSC),” Ohio UFO Notebook, no. 6 (July 1993): 27–29; Jerome Clark, “ A Catalog of Early Crash Claims,” IUR 18, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1993): 18; Irena Scott and William E. Jones, “ Crash Claims,” IUR 18, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1993): 21; Good Need, p. 159; Robert R. Young, “ A Hoax Retold?” IUR 19, no. 3 (May/June 1994): 19; James W. Moseley and Karl Pflock, Shockingly Close to the Truth! Confessions of a Grave-Robbing Ufologist, Prometheus, 2002, pp. 111–114; Clark III 329; Clark IV 365–366)
September — 10:00 a.m. A radar scope near Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque, New Mexico, picks up an unknown target approaching at 700 mph then slows down to 100 mph northeast of the airfield. Two F-86 Sabre jets are scrambled but at first cannot locate the target. The second pilot suddenly spots what seems to be a balloon but as he gets closer it looks more like a “doughnut without a hole.” He gets as close as 1,500 feet before the object accelerates. When it is again at a range of 3,000 feet, the pilot begins firing at the object, but it pulls up in a climb and disappears in seconds. Capt. Ruppelt is given this report by an intelligence officer (probably Lt. Glen Parrish) at the base, who is about to forward the incident report to ATIC but the commanding officer (Brig. Gen. William A. Matheny) orders it destroyed. Parrish shows the last copy of the report to Ruppelt during a visit to Kirtland. (NICAP, “ F-86 Shooting Incident / 700 MPH Target”; Ruppelt, pp. 1–5)
September - Morning. Stewart Sanborn and his relatives, Gordon and Dorothy Sanborn, are waiting to catch the ferry across Okanagan Lake to Kelowna, British Columbia. They notice an odd white boat on the lake approaching them about one-half mile north. It looks like a round hard hat sitting on a platter. Suddenly its wake vanishes and they realize it is in the air. It stops and hovers 50 feet above the water and only 100 feet away from them. It seems to be about 30 feet in diameter and surrounded by a haze. It remains there for one minute, then starts moving back across the lake. It reaches the opposite shore in 5-6 minutes, then soars upward and disappears. (" UFO Startles Ferry Crowd," Canadian UFO Report 1, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1969): 5-8; Dolan, USO1, 157-159)
September 1 — 8:23 p.m. Air Defense Command radar at Yaak Air Force Station in Montana picks up UFOs exhibiting changes of direction as many as five times a minute. Some course changes are 90° and speeds are measured at 1,400–1,600 mph. Six blips at one time appear on the FPS-3 radar scopes and the strange targets come within 10 miles of the GCI site. So close is the indicated range the radar personnel leave their windowless operations room to check the sky. Six objects can be seen an estimated 10 miles away. When first spotted, the UFOs are in an in-trail formation, and shortly thereafter that changes to an in-line abreast grouping. Finally, the UFOs switch to a vertical stack. S/Sgt. William Kelly remembers tracking the UFOs on the radar executing vertical climbs that exceed the limit of the site’s height-finding equipment. (NICAP, “ Radar/Visual at Air Force Radar Site”; Sparks, p. 170; Ruppelt, p. 194; UFOEv, p. 85; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, September–October, The Author, 1986, pp. 2–3; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1953, August–December, The Author, 1990, p. 5)
September 1 — 10:30 p.m. An ex-artillery officer named Bowman and 24 others at Marietta, Georgia, see a red, white, and blue-green object that spins and shoots off sparks. An unidentified witness using binoculars sees two large objects shaped like spinning tops with red, blue, and green colors, flying side by side and leaving a sparkling trail for 30 minutes. At 10:50 p.m., a former Army Air Force B-25 gunner sees two large white disc-shaped objects with green vapor trails fly in trail formation, merge, and fly away quickly. (NICAP, “ Two Discs in Trail Formation”; Sparks, p. 170)
September 2 — 12:01 a.m. CAA radar controllers Robert L. Terneuzen (GCA), Ralph L. Frick, Dale E. Warner, Warren J. Weber, and Radar Maintenance Technician Gordon R. Copeland track as many as 30 targets simultaneously at Midway Airport in Chicago, flying in various directions with an average speed of 175 mph at about 2,000 feet. The 755th Aircraft Control and Weapons radar station in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, claims that the Midway Airport Tower supervisor has called them at 2:50 a.m., saying there are 40 targets plotted by airport radar flying from 3,000 to 6,000 feet at a speed of 120–150 mph. The targets are the size of blips from light planes or larger (the best target quality is in the 6–10-mile range) and move in no particular pattern—sometimes erratically and sometimes in straight lines up to 15 miles long. In at least one instance, the targets fly in formation with an aircraft. At 5:14 a.m., the Air Defense Command is alerted and authorizes the scramble of two jets from the 4706th Interceptor Wing at O’Hare Airport in Chicago. At 5:55 a.m., a pair of F-86 Sabre jets piloted by Capt. William W. Maitland and Lt. Beverly L. Dunjill, lift off and are vectored right through the targets as shown on radar, making passes at 800 and at 4,000 feet without making contact. The F-86s are evidently without airborne radar because they only mention visual descriptions. The Civil Aeronautics Administration controller at the airport guides them toward the targets in an attempt to ram whatever might be there. Maitland and Dunjill later tell the media: “We didn’t see anything. We didn’t hit anything. We went through the target showing on the scope and there was nothing there— not even a cloud.” The jets break off their aerial search at 6:19 a.m. and return to base. By 7:00 a.m. all of the mysterious targets disappear off the scopes toward the south. The Midway radar crews are convinced the targets are returns from tangible bodies, but CAA chief Bob Zeigler overrules them and blames “peculiar atmospheric conditions.” (NICAP, “ 40 Targets at Midway Airport”; Sparks, p. 171; “ Sabre Jets Fly through ‘Object,’” Spokane (Wash.) Spokesman-Review, September 3, 1952, p. 1; Clark IV 81–84)
September 3 — 9:00 a.m. Instructor pilot Donald L. McCraven and N. D. Thomas observe a dark elliptical object reflecting sunlight 6 miles north of Tucson, Arizona. The object makes three well-coordinated turns with no perceptible sound. It moves at tremendous speed during a slight climb and is observed for approximately 90 seconds. (NICAP, “ Dark Ellipse Makes Three Coordinated Turns”; Sparks, p. 172)
September 6 — 10:10 a.m. Walter Borys and George McCracken, two guards at the Osborn Prison Farm [now Osborn Correctional Institute] in Somers, Connecticut, are with 13 inmates in the yard when they hear an odd motor noise and see a silvery object in the northern sky. It appears to be descending in a zigzag motion but stops and shoots upward at a right angle at terrific speed after releasing a puff of smoke. Other witnesses in the area think it is a jet aircraft. (Hartford (Conn.) Courant, September 7, 1952, p. 1; “ Prison Guards Report Strange Object in Sky,” Springfield (Mass.) Morning Union, September 8, 1952, p. 12; Audrey H. Hennis, “ The ‘Flying Saucer’ Was from a Jet’s After-Burner,” Hartford (Conn.) Courant, September 19, 1952, p. 18; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, September–October, The Author, 1986, pp. 11–12; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, September–October, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2002, p. 17)
September 8 — 9:00 a.m. John Mansfield and Otis Williams see a mysterious object in the western sky of Merkel, Texas. The object, about six feet in size and white in color, flies very fast and high toward the north. It makes no noise and appears to be oval-shaped, though the men are unsure of its exact form. (“ Mystery Sky Object Sighted,” Abilene (Tex.) Reporter-News, September 9, 1952, p. 11)
September 8 — 12:00 noon. Residents report what they believe are parachute jumpers landing in a wooded area between Brooks and Monroe, Maine, causing an alarm. Dow Field, Bangor, and Maine State Police are notified, prompting jets to patrol the skies and state troopers to search the area on foot. The search is called off when Augusta officials determine the invaders are actually “large fluffy pieces of vegetable matter” drifting across the state. These mysterious objects float at about 200 feet above the ground before disappearing. (“ Now It’s Flying Vegetable Matter Alarming People,” Bangor (Maine) Daily News, September 9, 1952, p. 2)
September 9 — Several witnesses see a metallic sphere drop from an altitude of 2,600–3,300 feet to 1,600 feet above Lake Lugano, Switzerland. It bursts into pieces, then falls into the lake near Morcote. (Carl Feindt, “ Report #87,” waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 156–157)
September 9 — 9:00 p.m. US Air Force civilian illustrator E. J. Colisimo sees a disc with lights along part of its circumference over Rabat, Morocco. It is flying twice as fast as a T-33 jet trainer in a slightly curved path. (NICAP, “ Disc Twice As Fast As T-33”; Sparks, p. 172)
September 10 — 2:30 p.m. The wife of a civilian employee at Andrews AFB [now Joint Base Andrews] in Prince George’s County, Maryland, sees a shiny, metallic, elliptical, silent object moving back and forth near the base. It is visible for 2–3 minutes. (Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, September–October, The Author, 1986, p. 25)
September 12 — 1:30 a.m. Two oil well drillers, William Darling and Donald Davis, see a lighted object with windows on one side circling 150 feet above the ground silently for nearly 30 minutes at Bladensburg, Ohio. Suddenly it makes a noise like steam blowing and shoots out of sight. (“Report from the Readers,” Fate 6, no. 2 (February 1953): 108)
September 12 — Around 7:15 p.m., in Flatwoods, West Virginia, two brothers, Edward and Fred May, and their friend Tommy Hyer (ages 13, 12, and 10 respectively) witness a bright object cross the sky, coming to rest on land belonging to local farmer G. Bailey Fisher. The boys go to the home of the May brothers’ mother, Kathleen May, where they tell the story of having seen a UFO crash land. From there, Mrs. May, accompanied by the three boys, local children Neil Nunley, 14, and Ronnie Shaver, 10, and West Virginia National Guardsman Eugene Lemon, 17, walk to the Fisher farm. At the top of a hill, they reportedly see a large pulsating “ball of fire” about 50 feet to their right. They also detect a pungent mist that makes their eyes and noses burn. Lemon then notices two small lights over to the left of the object, underneath a nearby oak tree and directs his flashlight towards them, revealing a creature, which May reports as bounding towards them. Other sources describe it as emitting a shrill hissing noise before gliding towards them, changing direction and then heading off towards the red light. The group flees in panic. Sheriff Robert L. Carr and his deputy Burnell J. Long search the area separately, but find no trace of the encounter other than the smell. Early the next morning, A. Lee Stewart, co-owner of the Braxton Democrat, visits the site of the encounter for a second time and discovers two elongated tracks in the mud, as well as traces of a thick black liquid. It is later revealed that the tracks are likely those of a 1942 Chevrolet pickup truck driven by local Max Lockard, who had gone to the site to look for the creature some hours prior to Stewert’s discovery. Ivan T. Sanderson interviews the witnesses several days later and concludes that a flight of “intelligently controlled objects flew over West Virginia.” The Air Force concludes that people have seen a meteor and that the monster was only the glowing eyes of a barn owl. Joe Nickell also concludes in 2000 that the bright light in the sky reported by the witnesses on September 12 was most likely a meteor, that the pulsating red light is likely an aircraft navigation/hazard beacon, and that the creature described by witnesses closely resembles a barn owl. Nickell claims that the experience was distorted by the heightened state of anxiety felt by the witnesses after having observed the original meteor. However, Frank C. Feschino has done extensive research to support his hypothesis that the Flatwoods incident was only one small part of a major UFO display involving multiple objects (many of them reported as “meteors” or “balls of fire” or “flaming planes”) passing in westerly and other directions across the eastern and southern United States between 6:50 and 7:25 p.m. The trajectory of one of these objects (moving first northwest then northeast then south) alone takes it over Baltimore, Catonsville, Frederick, Hagerstown, Cumberland, and Garrett County, Maryland; Preston County, Morgantown, Fairmont, Wheeling, Charleston, Parkersburg, Nitro, Ward, and Chelyan, West Virginia; Selma, Columbus, Zanesville, St. Clairsville, Ohio; it is last seen moving south around Bluefield, West Virginia. Another object is seen over Washington, D.C., heading due west towards West Virginia, apparently landing in Flatwoods. A third object travels southwest over Roanoke and Pulaski, Virginia, possibly landing near Arcadia, Tennessee. Feschino thinks that these three objects had been damaged by fire directed at them by Air Force interceptors. Five other objects are observed in North Carolina in that time period, and these Feschino suspects may have been attempting to look for and assist the damaged objects. He also speculates that the disappearance of an F-94 jet fighter out of Tyndall AFB in Panama City, Florida, piloted by 2Lt John A. Jones and radar operator 2Lt John S. DelCurto, might have involved a tragic UFO interception that began three hours earlier; the last known contact with the fighter is at 5:43 p.m. over the Gulf of Mexico 70 miles northwest of Tampa, the accident takes place under unusual circumstances, and the wreckage has never been found. Feschino thinks that a UFO damaged in dogfights with many interceptors over the Gulf might have triggered the second battle over the Atlantic seaboard around 7:00 p.m. Then a second wave of multiple objects is observed 8:00–8:10 p.m. in the Washington, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, and West Virginia region that, according to Feschino, involves a search for a second downed UFO. Although Feschino jumps to many conclusions and his documentation for specific incidents and conditions is somewhat confusing, he may well have grasped more truth than the meteor-and-owl explanation of the skeptics. (Wikipedia,“ Flatwoods Monster”; “Braxton Co. Residents Faint, Become Ill After Run-In With Weird 10-Foot Monster,” Charleston (W.Va.) Daily Mail, September 14, 1952; “‘Monster’ Held Illusion Created by Meteor’s Gas,” Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette, September 23, 1952, p. 3; Gray Barker, “The Monster and the Saucer,” Fate 6, no. 1 (January 1953): 12–17; “ More on the ‘Green Monster,’” Civilian Saucer Investigation Quarterly Bulletin 1, no. 2 (Winter 1953): 3; Gray Barker, “ W.Va. ‘Monster’: A Full Report,” The Saucerian 1, no. 1 (September 1953): 8–21; Keyhoe, FS from OS, pp. 116–120; James Haught, “Martian or Mirage? ‘Braxton Monster’ Shocked a World, And at Least One Expert Says It Came From Beyond,” Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette, October 31, 1954, p. 50; George Snitowksy as told to Paul Lieb, “ The West Virginia Monster,” Male, July 1955, pp. 39, 78–79; Holt Byrne, “ The Flatwoods Monster,” Beckley (W.Va.) Post Herald and the Raleigh Register, September 11, 1955, p. 7; Gray Barker, They Knew Too Much about Flying Saucers, University Books, 1956, pp. 11–35; “Glowing Object Was Jet Ship,” Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette, October 7, 1956; Terry Marchal, “Flatwoods Revisited,” Charleston (W.Va.) Sunday Gazette-Mail, State Magazine, March 6, 1966, pp. 6M–7M; Holt Byrne, “ The Phantom of Flatwoods,” Charleston (W.Va.) Sunday Gazette-Mail, State Magazine, March 6, 1966, p. 8M,17M; Ivan T. Sanderson, Uninvited Visitors, Cowles, 1967, pp. 39–51; Adrian Gwin, “Was ‘Monster’ a Hoax—Are UFOs for Real? Hmmmm, a Possibility,” Charleston (W.Va.) Daily Mail, December 7, 1977; Northern Ontario UFO Research and Study, “ The Braxton Democrat”; Joe Nickell, “ The Flatwoods UFO Monster,” Skeptical Inquirer 24, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 2000): 15–19, reprinted in The Real X-Files, University Press of Kentucky, 2001, pp. 301–311; Frank C. Feschino, The Braxton County Monster: The Cover-Up of the Flatwoods Monster Revealed, Quarrier Press, 2004; Shoot 112–313, 320–327; Lon D. Strickler, “ The Flatwoods Monster, Braxton County, WV, Sept. 1952,” Phantoms and Monsters, March 10, 2010; “ Here There Be Monsters,” Saturday Night Uforia, 2011; Michael D. Swords, “ Peeking at Ivan’s SITU Files: The Flatwoods Monster,” The Big Study, April 11, 2011; “ The Flatwoods Monster Case: Ivan Sanderson’s 1953 Report, Free Movie,” ParanormalX YouTube channel, April 18, 2012; “ Flatwoods, WV CE-III – Dr. Ivan Sanderson,” Ufology: A Primer in Audio, 1938–1959, November 21, 2013; Ryan Haupt, “ The Braxton County Monster,” Skeptoid podcast, September 30, 2014; Tony Breeden, “ The Flatwoods Monster: The First Close Encounter of the Third Kind?” Creation Exotheology, September 12, 2017; Terence E. Hanley, “ Barker and Bender on the Case, Part Two,” Tellers of Weird Tales, December 10, 2017; Terence E. Hanley, “ Barker and Bender on the Case, Part Four,” Tellers of Weird Tales, December 10, 2017; Clark III 494–495; David White, “ Worse Than Frankenstein: The Story of West Virginia’s Second-Most-Famous Monster,” The Ancient and Esoteric Order of the Jackalope, October 31, 2022; “ ‘Flatwoods Monster’ Witnessed after 1952 UFO Landing Discussed by Ivan Sanderson & Stanton Friedman,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, November 14, 2023; Clark IV 542–544; Mckee, Saucerian, pp. 28–30, 37; Michael D. Swords, “ Peeking into the Corners of 1952, Part Six,” Center for UFO Studies, August 19, 2025)
September 12. Flatwoods, West Virginia. A group of children saw a disc land on a nearby hill. Group of young people and one adult went to the area. They saw a large sphere and a large creature. Some of the people became quite ill, two parallel skid marks and a large circular area of flattened grass were found at the site.(APRO)
September 14 — 4:30 a.m. Fred J. Brown is preparing to milk the cows at the Everglades Experiment Station [now the Everglades Research and Education Center] in Belle Glade, Florida, when he spots a circular object about 35 feet in diameter hovering about 100 feet above the ground. It has a row of red and amber lights spaced around the outside rim and the underside. As it descends to about 40 feet, the 13 cows bolt as the object disappears to the west. As Brown is rounding up the cows, the object appears again, moving from south to north at a speed of 30 mph, making a high-voltage buzzing noise, and emitting an odor “like acid or ammonia” that makes Brown’s eyes smart. The cows stampede once again. The object’s glow illuminates the ground as it passes, and it gains altitude and disappears again. (“ Cattle Stampeded Twice by Mysterious ‘Object,’” Palm Beach (Fla.) Times, September 16, 1952, p. 1; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, September/October, The Author, 1986, pp. 28-29)
September 14 — 10:13 p.m. The Danish destroyer Willemoes, during the Exercise Mainbrace maneuvers, is north of Bornholm island, Denmark, in the Baltic Sea. Lt.Cmdr. G. Schmidt-Jensen and several members of the crew see an unidentified object, triangular in shape, that moves at high speed toward the southeast. It emits a greenish glow and jets three rays of fire from its rear. Jensen estimates the speed at 930 mph. (NICAP, “ Operation Mainbrace Sightings”; Ruppelt, pp. 195–196; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, September–October, The Author, 1986, p. 28; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, September/October, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 1986, p. 29; Marler 128–129, 265)
September 19 — 10:53 a.m. During Exercise Mainbrace maneuvers, a silvery, spherical UFO appears near RAF Topcliffe in North Yorkshire, England, following an RAF Meteor jet (possibly piloted by Flight Lt. John W. Kilburn and Flight Lt. Marian Cybulski) about to land. It has been following about 5 miles behind the jet at15,000 feet, swinging like a “falling sycamore leaf” and descending. As the jet turns toward Dishforth, the object follows but begins rotating on its axis then suddenly accelerates and disappears. Several ground crew members of RAF 269 Squadron (Master Signaller Albert Thomson, Sgt. Flight Engineer Thomas Deweys, Flight Lt. R. Paris, and Leading Aircraftman George Grime) and civilians also see it. Prince Philip suggests to RAF Air Marshal Peter Horsley, who is serving as equerry to the duke, that he investigate credible reports of UFOs, especially those by fighter pilots who have seen them. He arranges for RAF Fighter Command to send copies of any reports for examination at Buckingham Palace and begins an informal study that lasts until 1955. (NICAP, “ Swaying Silver Object Follows Jet”; Sparks, p. 173; “ Check for ‘Saucers’ at Naval Maneuver,” El Paso (Tex.) Herald-Post, September 20, 1952, p. 16; Ruppelt, pp. 195–196; Richard Hall, “ Military Secrecy: Sailors, Soldiers, and Airmen,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 153 (November 1980): 4–5; Richard Hall, “ Operation Mainbrace Sightings”; Good Above, pp. 31–32, 450; UFOFiles2, p. 47; Nick Redfern, “ UFOs and NATO: The Mainbrace Affair,” Mysterious Universe, April 22, 2014; Clark III 376; David Clarke, “The Prince and the Saucers,” Fortean Times 406 (June 2021): 18–19; David Clarke, “Phantoms of the Sky,” Fortean Times 445 (June 2024): 28, 35; Clark IV 420)
September 20? — Sometime during Exercise Mainbrace, at the underground RAF Ash, near Woodnesborough, Kent, England, Senior Aircraftman William Maguire tracks on radar a huge UFO high above the English Channel for 18 minutes. Eventually it splits into three and speeds away, one object to the north, another toward France, and the third toward Eastern Europe. (Good Need, p. 152; Nick Redfern, “ UFOs, NATO, and Military Encounters,” Interesting and Curiosities, October 28, 2018)
September 20 — Naval personnel on the US aircraft carrier USS Franklin D. Roosevelt in the North Sea observe a silvery sphere moving across the sky behind the fleet. Photographer Wallace Litwin takes three color photos that are developed and examined by naval intelligence officers. Ruppelt says they “turned out to be excellent … judging by the size of the object in each successive photo, one could see that it was moving rapidly.” No balloon has been launched. (NICAP, “ Object Photographed during Operation Mainbrace”; Ruppelt, pp. 195–196; UFOEv, p. 162; “ In the News 1952,” Saturday Night Uforia, 2013)
September 20 — 7:30 p.m. At Air Base Karup in Jutland, Denmark, three Danish Air Force officers see a shiny, metallic UFO pass overhead and disappear in clouds to the east. (Aimé Michel, The Truth about FS, 133; UFOEv, p. 162)
September 21 — Six RAF Meteor jets flying above the North Sea observe a shiny sphere approaching from the direction of the Mainbrace fleet. It eludes their pursuit and disappears. As they are returning, it reappears following one of the jets, but when he turns to chase it, it speeds away. Ruppelt says the Mainbrace sightings forced the RAF to “officially recognize the UFO.” (NICAP, “ Six RAF Jets Approached by Shiny Sphere”; Sparks, p. 173; Ruppelt, p. 196)
September 22 — Night. A UFO hovers over the Army’s Camp Drum [now Fort Drum] near Watertown, New York, for 30 minutes. Eight soldiers say the object is 200 feet across, trailing red-orange sparks. (“ Mysterious, Gyrating Object Looks Down on Camp Drum,” Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle, September 27, 1952, p. 1)
September 26 — 11:16 p.m. The pilot and crew of a USAF C-124 see two distinct green lights to the right and slightly above the plane, about 400 miles north-northwest of the Azores Islands. At one point, they appear to turn toward the plane. They remain visible until the plane sights the islands. (NICAP, “ Air Crews Observe Green Lights”; Sparks, p. 174)
September 27 — 9:00 p.m. Five witnesses observe an illuminated, cigar-shaped object flying above the RAAF Woomera Range Complex in South Australia during an open-air movie screening. Warrant Officer E. J. V. Hanley watches a lighted object with a spurting light at the rear, traveling horizontally from west to east. Another officer describes it as “lit up like a neon light with a haze around it.” It is whitish in color with the exhausts “yellowish or cream.” The Black Vault, [ Woomera case documents]; Coulthart 2023, pp. 42–43)
September 27–28 — Throughout West Germany, Denmark, and southern Sweden, there are widespread UFO reports. A luminous object with a comet-like tail is seen moving irregularly near Hamburg and Kiel, Germany. Once, three satellite objects are reported moving around a larger object. A cigar-shaped UFO moving silently eastward is also seen. (UFOEv, p. 163)
September 28 — 2:00 p.m. Williamson, Streeter, and Bailey attempt to meet the saucer intelligences for a landing somewhere in the Arizona desert, but apparently get lost. They return to Streeter’s home, where the radio sends sinister-sounding messages about the radio being dangerous, a man coming, and Streeter having a deep secret (perhaps that Streeter has attempted psychic contact once before in 1950). (George Hunt Williamson and Alfred C. Bailey, The Saucers Speak! New Age, 1954; Michael D. Swords, “ Strange Days,” IUR 30, no. 4 (Aug. 2006): 22)
September 28 — 8:35 p.m.–10:09 p.m. USAF radar operator A/3c Carlton L. Hall, stationed on the southwest coast of Tsushima Island, Japan, notices unusual targets on six separate occasions, each time for a duration of 2–4 sweeps. On two separate outbound tracks from Itazuke Air Base [now Fukuoka Airport], a series of targets appear directly behind aircraft when entering an azimuth of 50°–70° from nearby Tsutsusaki Lighthouse. The objects appear as normal aircraft but are rounder in shape, trailing about 2–3 miles to the rear of the aircraft. A/2c Warren D. Grovenstein also observes four of these anomalies with Hall. ([ Blue Book report])
September 29 — 6:30 p.m. Capt. Dursemaine, commanding officer of the Gendarmerie Maritime en Allemagne, watches a luminous, egg-shaped object with a black spot in its center flying at an altitude of 3.7 miles above his home 1.2 miles south of Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It emits a low- pitched hum and white exhaust. (Jan Aldrich)
September 30 — 10:30 a.m. A North American Aviation Company film crew, headed by Dick Beemer, is at Edwards AFB in southern California to film some tests. They are at Rogers Dry Lake when a B-29 passes overhead. Cameraman Carlos Garcia sees an unusual object moving near the plane. A second object appears. Soon the whole crew is looking up. Beemer says the objects are silent, leave no vapor trail, take turns maneuvering around each other, and look like “flattened spheres.” They have a color motion picture camera with them, but the UFOs are too near the sun. (UFOEv, pp. 57–58)
Fall — Evening. Paul Solem has his second contact with a flying saucer around the Lost River Sinks a few miles from his ranch in Howe, Idaho. After watching a metallic object land, Solem sees a man with long blond hair and dressed in a white uniform standing next to it. He tells Solem to call him “Paul 2.” He says he is from Venus and tells Solem to work with Indians in North America in preparing for a postapocalyptic social order. This will be the first of many contacts for Solem. Over the next 17 years he wanders through the western states, speaking with Indians and contactees, gathers a small group of followers, and generally avoids the limelight. (Clark III 1094; Clark IV 1210–1211)
October 2? — Shortly before 7:00 a.m. One Thursday this month, Johannes Nordlien is waiting for coworkers when he hears a howling sound. A white, saucer-shaped object, 13 feet in diameter, comes in from the west at high speed and passes him only 325 feet away. It falls with a violent splash into the river Lågen [Gudbrandsdalslågen?] in Norway. When his colleagues show up, the water is still roiling. (Ole Jonny Brænne, “ Observations of Unidentified Submarine Objects in Norway,” IUR 20, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1995): 12; Dolan, USO1, 159–160)
October 6 - 7:20 p.m. A couple driving along the Boulevard Guañajibo in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, notice a bright white light above the ocean moving southwest. They continue south to Punta Guañajibo, where the object appears to be west of Cabo Rojo. It remains motionless for a few minutes, changing colors from white to red, then green, blue, and back to white. The man notes a reflection on the water from the object. After 5 minutes, it either disappears beyond the horizon or into the water, but a glow remains in the spot for about 20 minutes. The object reappears as a bright point of red light and moves northwest, low above the water, in a random and unstructured pattern, including zigzags. It disappears around 8:00 p.m. (Carl Feindt, " Report #1162," waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 160-161)
October 13 — 7:08 p.m. USAF pilot Maj. William D. Leet and his engineer, flying a C-54 troop carrier, watch an elliptical UFO hovering in clouds near Oshima, Japan. It speeds away after 7 minutes. (UFOEv, p. 24)
October 17 — Early afternoon. Residents of Oloron-Sainte-Marie, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France, see a large cigar-shaped structure in the blue sky, inclined at a 45° angle. The witnesses include the family of Yves Prigent, general superintendent of the local high school. A plume of white smoke is seen escaping from its upper end. At some distance in front of the cylinder, about 30 round, puffy objects with a central red spot are following the same trajectory. The smaller objects move in pairs following a broken, zig-zag path. They leave an abundant trail of a white substance (angel’s hair) behind them, which slowly falls to the ground as it disperses. For several hours, clumps of it hang on the trees, on the telephone wires, and on the roofs of houses. (“ Les Soucoupes Volantes vues à Oloron le 17 Octobre,” France-Dimanche, October 26, 1952, in The Spectrum of UFO Research, CUFOS, 1988, p. 114; “ Strange Craft Litters French Town with Thread-Like Substance,” Civilian Saucer Investigation Quarterly Bulletin1, no. 2 (Winter 1953): 4–5; Jimmy Guieu, Flying Saucers Come from Another World, Hutchinson, 1956, pp. 87–92; Jacques Vallée and Janine Vallée, Challenge to Science: The UFO Enigma, Regnery, 1966, pp. 120–121; Patrick Gross, “ Documents: Found in the Attic”; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, September–October, The Author, 1986, pp. 73–74; Lotharson, “ Unidentified Flying Spiders in Southern France?” Shards of Magonia, March 12, 2017; Clark III 123; Clark IV 150–151)
October 17. FRANCE, Oloron. Yves Prigent, a teacher at Oloron College and others observed about 30 yellow discs with red domes (seen through binoculars) traveling SW across the sky, followed by a long, thin, white cylindrical object, tilted at a 45 degree angle. When two of the discs approached each other, a whitish trail would appear between them. White smoke was reported coming out of the top cylinder, and large amounts of white filaments fell to the ground, on trees, telephone lines and roofs of houses. The substance remained for several hours. (Vallee I & II)
October 17. FRANCE, Geronce. White filaments seen coming to ground at time of UFO sighting. (Stringfield)
October 18 — 9:44 p.m. Journalist Keith Hooper is returning home from an assignment for the Adelaide Advertiser when he sees a greenish-white, cigar-shaped object about the size of a Boeing 707 some 10 miles away over the Adelaide Hills, South Australia, moving southeast to northwest. The object makes a sharp, right-angle turn upward, recedes, then vanishes at tremendous speed. The duration is 5–7 seconds. (Keith Hooper, “ My Flying Saucer,” Sydney (N.S.W.) Morning Herald, March 13, 1965, p. 13)
October 21 — Afternoon. Flight Lt. Michael Swiney and a student pilot, Royal Navy Lt. David Crofts, are flying a Meteor T.7 trainer out of RAF Little Rissington, Gloucester, England, for a high- altitude navigation exercise at 35,000 feet. Not long after breaking out of a cloud during a climb at 13,000–14,000 feet, they see three circular, white objects in front of them. As the aircraft get closer and turns to avoid them, the objects become visible as discs. They disappear quickly when the pilot looks away briefly. Two Meteor F.8 fighters are scrambled from RAF Tangmere [now closed] in West Sussex to chase three unknown radar targets moving at 3,000 mph but fail to intercept them. (Wikipedia, “ Little Rissington UFO incident”; David Clarke and Andy Roberts, Out of the Shadows, Piatkus, 2002, pp. 98–102; UFOFiles2, pp. 47–49; David Clarke, “What on Earth Is Going On?” Fortean Times 445 (June 2024): 32)
Late October — Night. Radioman Tom Kramer is serving aboard the USS Curtiss, the AEC flagship for Ivy Mike, the first detonation of a hydrogen bomb at Elugelab Atoll in the Marshall Islands. After an onboard movie, Kramer and other crewmen see a round, silent, bright white light that is motionless at first, then starts zigzagging for less than 10 seconds and takes off at high speed. (Nukes 100–101)
Late October — 3:45 a.m. Seaman Abelardo Marquez, posted on the USS Fletcher near Eniwetak Atoll for the upcoming Ivy Mike thermonuclear test, is going on duty to the bridge when he notices that the ship is uncharacteristically moving at full speed. Other crew members tell him it is because of a round white light that has been moving above the ship. Marquez sees it descending, then it stops and hovers about 40°–45° above the horizon and perhaps one-half mile from the ship. Capt. Grover L. Rawlings is talking with other officers on the bridge, saying they do not know what the light is, and that is not tracked on radar. After about 4–5 minutes, the light takes off straight up at the same speed it had descended. (Nukes 101–105)
October 27 — 2:03 a.m. Customs officer Gabriel Gachignard observes a cigar-shaped object land briefly on a runway of the airport at Marignane, Bouches-du-Rhône, France, 300 feet away, producing a dull sound. The object is dark with four lighted windows. It takes off with a “swish” and a shower of sparks when he runs toward it. (Jimmy Guieu, Flying Saucers Come from Another World, Hutchinson, 1956, p. 53; Michel, The Truth about FS, pp. 152–156; Jacques Vallee and Janine Vallee, Challenge to Science: The UFO Enigma, Regnery, 1966, pp. 6–11; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, September–October, The Author, 1986, pp. 82–84; Clark III 243–244; Clark IV 283–284)
October 27 FRANCE, Gaillac. Sighting similar to that at Oloron, Oct 17. (Vallee II)
October 27 — 4:00 p.m. Residents of Gaillac, Tarn, France, see a formation of 16 disc-shaped UFOs ranged in twos. An elongated cylinder is in the center of the objects, all of which are discharging angel’s hair like glass wool. (Aimé Michel, The Truth about FS, p. 148; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, September–October, The Author, 1986, pp. 84–85; Lotharson, “ Unidentified Flying Spiders in Southern France?” Shards of Magonia, March 12, 2017)
October 29 — 5:10 a.m. Two USAF F-94 crews see a white luminous object maneuvering at high speed for 20 minutes above Hempstead, Long Island, New York. Lt. David H. Goodnough, with the cooperation of Lt. Doyle C. Williams, writes: “Based on my experience in fighter tactics ... it is my opinion that the object was controlled by something having visual contact with our aircraft. The power and acceleration abilities were beyond the capabilities of any known United States aircraft.” (NICAP, “ Two F-94’s Encounter Controlled Object”; Sparks, p. 177)
October 31 — 7:40 p.m. USAF Lieut. James E. Allen sees an orange, blimp-shaped object as he is driving 4 miles south of Fayetteville, Georgia. It appears in the north at treetop level about 600 feet away and is traveling toward him at 60–70 mph. He estimates it is about 80 feet long and 20 feet wide. As it passes over his car at an altitude of 500 feet, his radio fades out. He gets out of the car and watches it linger overhead about 20 seconds, tilt at a 45° angle, then shoot away to the east at high speed. (NICAP, “ Close Encounter with Maneuvering ‘Blimp,’”; Sparks, p. 177; Hynek UFO Report, pp. 191–192)
November. IRELAND, Dublin. A child was burned when a strange disc, 25 cm. in diameter, landed near there. (Vallee III)
November — Aladino Félix and a friend are climbing a hill near Angatuba, São Paulo, Brazil. When they get to the top, Félix claims they see numerous UFOs flying around. Félix comes back another day by himself; eventually a saucer lands and he is invited inside to meet its crew and examine the technology. Several months later, he is visited at his home in São Paulo by the saucer captain, who claims to come from one or two of the satellites of Jupiter. Félix, under the pseudonym of Dino Kraspedon, writes about his various conversations with the spaceman in Meu Contato com os discos voadores in 1957. He writes other mystical and religious tracts under the names Dunatos Menorá and Sábado Dinotos. In 1967–1968, Félix is operating a right-wing terrorism group that sets off bombs, steals arms and explosives, and robs a bank. He serves three years in prison. (Dino Kraspedon, My Contact with Flying Saucers, Neville Spearman, 1959; “ Dino Kraspedon,” Flying Saucer Review 15, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1969): 32; Zirger and Martinelli, The Incredible Life of George Hunt Williamson, Verdechiari, 2016, pp. 164–165; Clark III 661–662; Dom Phillips, “ Brazil Cult Leader Who ‘Contacted Aliens’ Backed Dictatorship with Terror Attacks, Documents Show,” The Guardian (UK), October 3, 2018; Eghigian, After, p, 137; Clark IV 737)
November 16 -Around 5:00 p.m. An air traffic controller at Florence Airport, South Carolina, watches a huge, gleaming disc through binoculars and sees it tilt up sharply before climbing out of sight. About 6 minutes later, people see a group of round, glowing objects north of Landrum, South Carolina. David S. Bunch takes 40 minutes of film with an 8mm camera and telephoto lens before the UFOs disappear to the west. Keyhoe reviews the film along with some Air Force officers. It shows five glowing, oval-shaped objects. ( Sparks, p. 180; [ film], Project Blue Book, National Archives; Keyhoe, FS from OS, pp. 4-5; UFOEv, p. 89)
November 19 - Pilot J. Slade Nash reaches 698.5 mph in a North American F-86D Sabre over the Salton Sea, California. (Bryan R. Swopes, " 19 November 1952," This Day in Aviation, 2018)
November 25 — 6:05 p.m. Two objects traveling at an estimated speed of 275 mph are detected by radar attached to antiaircraft guns in the Panama Canal Zone. The objects remain over the Canal Zone until 11:42 p.m., maneuvering from 1,000 feet to 28,000 feet in altitude. Three Air Force bombers and a Navy patrol plane were sent up but were unable to catch the elusive objects. (NICAP, “ Two Objects Tracked by A/A Gun Radar”; “Sky Objects Mystify Canal Zone,” Washington (D.C.) Post, December 21, 1952; Condon, pp. 168–170)
November 26 — 5:56 p.m. An F-94B from the USAF 59th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron at Goose Bay AFB [now CFB Goose Bay], Labrador, for 15 minutes chases a maneuverable object that changes color from white to red, heading south or southwest. The fighter gets a brief radar lock-on. ( Sparks, p. 181; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1952, November–December, The Author, 1986, p. 44)
November 30 — 12:30 a.m. Numerous slow-moving 90–100 mph radar targets appear on the MEW VG-2 radar at Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C. Suggestive of anomalous propagation, but they are unlike the July 1952 cases since there is no visual confirmation, no other radars confirming, and no fighters scrambled. A pilot at 6,000 feet sees nothing. CAA Senior Airways Specialist Austin M. Stapf claims the same thing was observed at same time on November 29, and that the Andrews AFB watch supervisor could not visually confirm targets over Andrews displayed on the ARTCC radar scope. ( Sparks, p. 181)
December 1 — A V formation of 30 flying "objects" was seen by a Bristol, Connecticut woman and her neighbor. She said "They were definately round and wobbled from side to side as they floated by. They looked like flat ashtrays." Vol 2, No 2, Space Review, April, 1953 (Albert K. Bender).
December 4 — 8:46 p.m. USAF pilot Lt. Robert O. Arnold, 3640th Pilot Training Wing, Laredo AFB [now Laredo International Airport], Texas, is flying a T-28 trainer at 6,000 feet when he sees a bright bluish- white glowing object below him at about 1,500–2,000 feet and rapidly climbing to his level. It shows no navigation lights. He tightens his left turn to keep the object in view, but it suddenly climbs to 9,000 feet in several seconds and drops down to his altitude again, then stops and hovers. Arnold pursues but after 2 seconds the object suddenly heads towards him on a collision course at high speed at 8:53 p.m., wavering slightly at about 300 feet. He sees the object as a blurred reddish-bluish haze smaller than his T-28. It rapidly ascends to 15,000 feet then circles left as if positioning for another pass. In fear Arnold turns off his running lights, spirals down to 1,500 feet while keeping the object in sight as it continues to head towards him in a dive, then pulls up and climbs out of sight. A lighted weather balloon is launched at 8:53 p.m. from Laredo AFB but it is not observed near any aircraft. (NICAP, “ The Laredo / ‘Earl Fogle’ Case”; Keyhoe, FS from OS, pp. 3–4, 17–18; Sparks, p. 182)
December 6 — 5:24 a.m. The pilots of a USAF B-29 (1st Lt. Norman Karas and 1st Lt. William W. Naumann) over the Gulf of Mexico 100 miles south of Louisiana track five unidentified blips on the bomber’s radar. They maneuver around the plane at a speed of 5,240 mph. The crew sees some flashes of light, but the targets are 20 miles or more away. The five UFOs merge with a huge blip that accelerates and vanishes at a speed of 9,000 mph. Additional crewmen involved are 1st Lt. William W. Naumann, Jr., Staff Sgt B. R. Purcell, Staff Sgt. William J. De Rause, 2nd Lt. Robert J. Eckert, and Staff Sgt. Harry D. Shogren. (NICAP, “ B-29 Encounters High Speed Objects over Gulf”; Sparks, p. 183; Keyhoe, FS from OS, pp. 161–166; Condon, pp. 148–150; Patrick Gross, “ B-29 Radar and Visual Multiple Witnesses Observations, Dec. 6, 1952”)
December 10 — 7:15 p.m. The pilot and radar observer of an F-94 patrolling from Moses Lake AFB [now the Grant County International Airport] spots a light over the Hanford nuclear plant near Richland, Washington, while flying at 26,000 feet. They contact the ground control station, which reports that they know of no planes in the area and that their ground radar shows nothing. They close in on the object, which is large, white, and round and features a dim reddish light coming from two windows. They lose visual contact then get a lock-on from their ARC-33 airborne radar. As they attempt to close in, the object reverses direction and dives away. They attempt several more times to approach the light and have to alter course to avoid a collision that seems imminent. (NICAP, “ F-94 R/V with Round Object”; Sparks, p. 185; Ruppelt, pp. 61–62; James E. McDonald, “ Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, p. 66; Condon, pp. 140–141; Center for UFO Studies, [ case file]; Keyhoe, Aliens from Space, Signet ed., 1974, pp. 3–4; Martin Shough, RADCAT: Radar Catalogue: A Review of Twenty-One Ground and Airborne Radar UAP Contact Reports Generally Related to Aviation Safety for the Period October 15, 1948, to September 19, 1976, National Aviation Reporting Center on Anomalous Phenomena, NARCAP Report TR-6, December 8, 2002, pp. 42–46; Patrick Gross, “ Radar Visual Aircraft UFO Encounter near Hanford Nuclear Plant, December 10, 1952”)
December 15 — 7:15 p.m. Two Air Force pilots get a momentary lock on a strange object above Goose Bay, Labrador. A T-33 and an F-94B (piloted by Capt. E. T. Johnson and Radar Observer Lt. H. S. Norris) see a bright red and white light. (NICAP, “ Momentary Lock On”; Sparks, p. 186; Condon, pp. 126–127; Martin Shough, RADCAT: Radar Catalogue: A Review of Twenty-One Ground and Airborne Radar UAP Contact Reports Generally Related to Aviation Safety for the Period October 15, 1948, to September 19, 1976, National Aviation Reporting Center on Anomalous Phenomena, NARCAP Report TR-6, December 8, 2002, pp. 46–48)
December 21 — Lyman Streeter and five other witnesses observe a large, cigar-shaped object over Winslow, Arizona. (Michael D. Swords, “ Strange Days,” IUR 30, no. 4 (Aug. 2006): 24)
December 21 — Evening. J. E. Hawkey, civil commissioner of Fort Victoria [now Masvingo], Zimbabwe, is driving near Mvuma when he sees a bright red light crossing the road about 30 feet in the air, then hovering. Suddenly it shoots straight up and disappears. After a short while it descends some distance away and travels straight down the road. Hawkey follows it at about 80 mph, after which it speeds up and disappears at three or more times the speed. He has the object in sight for about 20 minutes. (Southern Rhodesia Newsletter; Jan Aldrich)
December 22 — 7:30 p.m. An instrument technician driving toward Larson AFB [now Grant County International Airport] near Moses Lake, Washington, stops his car to watch a hat-shaped glowing object rising vertically in odd spurts right and left, then level off at high speed. The object glows white with a red side when it is rotated. Halfway through a roll the light disappears, then it holds stationary in the sky with jumpy movements. Duration is about 15 minutes. (NICAP, “ Hat-Shaped Object Observed by Technician”; Sparks, p. 186)
December 29 — 7:48 p.m. Col. Donald J. M. Blakeslee, 27th Fighter Escort Wing, while flying near Misawa, northern Honshu, Japan, in an F-84G at 27,000 feet altitude, observes an object like a rotating cluster of lights colored white, green, and red. He reports that the object is “rotating slowly in a counterclockwise direction,” or from east to west, and moving slowly west at aircraft speed. It is projecting three beams of light. Blakeslee climbs to 35,000 feet, at which point he is level with the unknown object. He attempts a pursuit, but the UFO disappears in 30 seconds. Four other aircraft in the vicinity of Chitose Air Force Base [now Chitose Air Base] on Hokkaido also see the object. Radar operators at Misawa Air Base on Honshu had notified their counterparts at Chitose of a radar target heading their way, but it disappears shortly afterward and is never correlated with the visual observation. (NICAP, “ Col. Blakeslee / F-84 Incident”; Sparks, p. 187; “Blakeslee Flies Jet in 600 mph Chase after Mysterious Sky Balls,” Painesville (Ohio) Telegraph, January 22, 1953 p. 1; “U.S. Jet Pilots Chase Light Clusters Flying at Blinding Speed over Northern Japan,” Washington (D.C.) Post, January 22, 1953; “ Strange ‘Flying Ferris Wheels’ Seen by Jet Pilots near Tsugaru Straights,” The Wingspread (Misawa Air Base) 2, no. 8 (January 23, 1953): 1; Keyhoe, FS from OS, pp. 189–191; Keyhoe, FS Conspiracy, pp. 46–47; Swords 212–213)
December 29 — 9:05 p.m. Capt. William T. Bowley and Capt. Herbert T. Lange, both of Perrin AFB [now North Texas Regional Airport] near Denison, Texas, are piloting a B-26 on a training flight headed west at 6,000 feet altitude and 300 mph when they see a large, intense, bluish-white light near Vega, Texas. It is about 350 feet long at their 11 o’clock position, paralleling their course at the same altitude and closing slightly. After 5 minutes, the object suddenly climbs vertically 7,000 feet in 5 seconds (about 2,000 mph) to disappear in thin clouds at 13,000 feet and causing the clouds to glow as if lit by a searchlight. Bowley radios the CAA controller in Tucumcari, New Mexico. Shortly after, the object reappears under the clouds and the CAA controller is told to look for it but he can’t see it (possibly because he is told to look in the wring direction). After 2 minutes, it climbs to the west and disappears. (NICAP, “ Object Closing on B-36 Suddenly Climbs”; Sparks, p. 187)
Late 1952 - Evening. An Air Force pilot and a student are flying an F-84 Thunderjet [or more likely a Lockheed T-33 trainer] on the home leg of a training flight over West Texas when the student notes an out-of-place light. At first the pilot thinks it's Venus, but they realize it is moving. The student steers the plane toward the light, but it zooms past them at high speed. The pilot takes the stick and turns the aircraft to follow it. The light, which now looks like a metallic domed disc with windows, passes them again. The pilot accelerates to more than 500 mph and pursues it; the disc roars past them again. The chase goes on for 10-15 minutes until a final pass when the object shines a bright light into the cockpit. The pilot takes an evasive measure and flies back to base. (CUFOS case file; Michael D. Swords, " Peeking into the Corners of 1952, Part One," Center for UFO Studies, May 4, 2025)
1953
During off-shore combat maneuvers, a squadron of carrier-based Navy AD-3 attack planes is approached by a rocket-shaped UFO that swoops down on the flight from above. The object levels off about 1,000 feet overhead, slows, and paces the aircraft. When the Squadron Commander leads his flight in pursuit of the UFO, it turns sharply so that its tail is pointed away and shoots upward out of sight in seconds. (Keyhoe, FSTS, pp. 266–267).
Midday. A member of the crew of a Shell tanker in Hong Kong harbor, China, watches, along with many others on shore and aboard the ship, a silver-white disc hovering at 6,000–7,000 feet. Within a second or so, it moves a full 45° arc to an area where there are some white clouds at about 5,000 fee. It shines through the cloud cover like the moon through a mist. (J. Allen Hynek, “ A Daylight Disc in Hong Kong Harbor,” IUR 2, no. 8 (August 1977): wrap)
Frederick Phillip Stone founds the Australian Flying Saucer Club in Adelaide, South Australia. In 1955 it becomes the Australian Flying Saucer Research Society and publishes the Australian Saucer Record through 1963. From 1962 to 1971, it publishes Panorama. ( Australian Saucer Record 1, no. 2 (2nd Quarter, 1955); Panorama 1, no. 1 (1962); Keith Basterfield, “ The South Australian UFO Story,” 2007; Eghigian, After, p. 104)
January — Beams of microwaves, varying between 2.5 and 4 gigahertz, from Soviet sources aimed at the US embassy in Moscow are first detected, increasing in intensity by 1975. Detected by routine background radiation testing, the beams come from a source in a Soviet apartment building about 325 feet west of the embassy, affecting the west façade of the central building, with highest intensities between the third and eighth floors. The microwave transmissions are only five microwatts per square centimeter, well below the power level of microwave ovens and well below what would be needed to heat anything. Shielding is put in place by 1964, but the discovery is kept secret. (Wikipedia, “ Moscow Signal”; J. Mark Elwood, “ Microwaves in the Cold War: The Moscow Embassy Study and Its Interpretation,” Environmental Health 11 (2012))
January 1 — Physician Charles Laughead of East Lansing, Michigan, meets George Adamski during a trip to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, and hears about his contact in the desert with Orthon, who left imprints in the sand displaying mysterious symbols. When he returns, he shows them to his wife Lillian who, after five months, deciphers them somehow. She thinks that the left imprint represents the sinking of Mu and Atlantis, and the right one signifies the reappearance of the lost continents in the future. (Clark III 717–718; Clark IV 786)
NEW ZEALAND, Gisborn. White filaments seen coming to ground at time of UFO sightinq. (Stringfield)
January 1 — 8:45 p.m. While driving on Hwy 91 between Craig and Wolf Creek, Montana, Warner E. Anderson, manager of a photo shop with wartime air spotter experience; Mrs. Greta C. Wills, manager of women’s apparel store; and teenager Marlene Wills see a saucer-shaped object above horizon about 5 miles away to the southwest. The object is an estimated 25–40 feet long and 6–8 or 18–25 feet thick and looks like two soup bowls joined at the rims. It has a red glowing bottom and portholes. The object dives low over the Missouri River to within 150–300 feet away then climbs fast horizontally at an estimated 3,600 mph to the northeast. (NICAP, “ The 1953 UFO Chronology”; Sparks, p. 188)
January 3 — The 4602d Air Intelligence Service Squadron (AISS) is reorganized at Ent AFB [now the US Olympic Training Center] in Colorado Springs, Colorado, by Air Defense Command Regulation AFR 24-4. Its primary mission is the collection of air combat intelligence, and it has detachments at numerous military bases nationwide. (CUFON, “ 4602d AISS Unit History Sampler”; Brian Skow and Terry Endres, “ The 4602d Air Intelligence Service Squadron and UFOs,” IUR 20, no. 5 (Winter 1995): 9)
January 6 — 1:05 a.m. The 147th AC&W Squadron at Duncanville, Texas, is notified by the CAA at Meacham Field [now Fort Worth Meacham International Airport] about a UFO northeast of Dallas. Tinker AFB in Oklahoma City reports a radar target 20 miles southwest of Paris, Texas. An arrowhead-shaped UFO with green and white lights is seen by some witnesses in the Dallas area. (NICAP, “ Arrow-Shaped Object Tracked at 600 Knots”; Sparks, p. 188; “ ‘Flying Arrowhead’ Seen over Dallas: ‘Not a Star or a Plane,’” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 6, 1953, p. 1; Loren E. Gross, UFOs: A History, 1953, January–February, The Author, 1988, pp. 6–7)
January 8 — 7:15–7:30 a.m. USAF ADC 82nd Fighter Interceptor Squadron personnel at Larson AFB [now Grant County International Airport], Moses Lake, Washington, all on the ground, see a green, disc-shaped object about the size of large weather balloon flying to the southwest. It has a vertical bobbing motion and makes sideways movements at about 8,000 feet below scattered clouds. It moves away against the wind until it disappears in the distance. The object is also observed by base personnel at Ephrata, Washington. An F-94 is scrambled at 7:43 a.m. and searches for 30 minutes, but the UFO is gone. (NICAP, “ The 1953 UFO Chronology”; Sparks, p. 188; James E. McDonald, “ Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, pp. 50–51)
January 8 — 10:20 p.m. A triangular object with a brilliant reddish glow is seen for 10 minutes at Mosgiel, New Zealand. It fades, then reappears with a rising and falling motion, accompanied by a small white light. (“ The New Zealand Sightings,” Flying Saucer News, no. 1 (Spring 1953): 8)
January 9 — Howard C. Cross, a senior staff member at Battelle, writes a letter to Col. Miles E. Goll of ATIC, arguing that “agreement between Project Stork [Battelle’s study] and ATIC should be reached as to what can and what cannot be discussed at the meeting in Washington on January 14–16.” Referring to the Air Force’s plan for an instrumented study of UFO sightings, he suggests a “controlled experiment” be undertaken by USAF to obtain physical data. This would consist of “observation posts with complete visual skywatch, with radar and photographic coverage, plus all other instruments necessary or helpful in obtaining positive and reliable data on everything in the air over the area.” The suggestion is that “Many different types of aerial activity should be secretly and purposefully scheduled within the area,” meaning that the Air Force would release balloons to generate spurious UFO phenomena. The memo is a desperate effort to buy time for Battelle to finish its statistical analysis. Jacques Vallée speculates that this letter by Cross (to whom Vallée assigns the pseudonym “Pentacle”) could have led to the military setting up artificial UFO waves and simulated cases in selected areas; however, this is clearly not the case, as Jennie Zeidman and Mark Rodeghier elaborately demonstrate in IUR. ( H. C. Cross letter to Miles E. Goll, January 9, 1953; Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, p. 191; Jacobs, The UFO Controversy, Signet ed., 1976, p. 79; The Hynek UFO Report, p. 21; Jennie Zeidman, “ I Remember Blue Book,” IUR 16, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1991): 7–12, 23; Jacques Vallée, Forbidden Science, North Atlantic, 1992, p. 428; “ The Pentacle Memo: How Important?” Just Cause, no. 35 (March 1993): 1–8; Jennie Zeidman and Mark Rodeghier, “ The Pentacle Letter and the Battelle UFO Project,” IUR 18, no. 3 (May/June 1993): 4–12, 19–21; NICAP, “ The ‘Pentacle Memorandum,’ Including Text of Correspondence with Dr. Jacques Vallee,” August 17, 1993; Thomas Tulien, ed., Proceedings of the Sign Historical Group UFO History Workshop, Sign Historical Group, November 2001, p. 48; Clark III 1014, 1214–1215; Francis Ridge, “ The 1952 Top-Secret USAF Instrumented UFO Data Collection Plan,” The SCU Review 4, no. 3 (August 21, 2023): 9–11; Clark IV 1128, 1390–1391)
January 9 — Radio station KVET in Kerrville, Texas, blames a 75-second interruption in its operation on a red-orange oval object seen by four junior high school students over the city at the same time. Ivan Young, 13, and Edgar Rasmussen, 14, see the object fly in from the west, circle, and disappear to the north. They see two fins on its end shooting out red and green flames. It is making a buzzing noise. KVET engineer Britt Lamb says the radio interference is the weirdest he has ever seen—heavy static “with a roar that traveled up and down the scale.” (“ Fiery Object Jams Radio at Kerrville,” Fort Worth (Tex.) Star-Telegram, January 10, 1953, p. 2; Schopick, pp. 78–79)
January 9 — 6:50 p.m. An F-94, crewed by Lt. Melvin E. Conine and Lt. Walter D. Kowley, makes radar contact with a target at a range of about 13.5 miles over Misawa Air Base, Honshu, Japan. The radar locks on at 15,000 feet and contact is broken at a range of 600 feet. The object looks like a spinning object emitting colored lights. The radar observer reports unusual interference on the set throughout the mission, but the set appears to be operative both before and after. The radar contact lasts approximately 2 minutes. (NICAP, “ F-94 Radar/Visual of Rotating UFO”; Sparks, p. 189; “ Strange ‘Flying Ferris Wheels’ Seen by Jet Pilots near Tsugaru Straights,” The Wingspread (Misawa Air Base) 2, no. 8 (January 23, 1953): 1)
January 9 — 7:27 p.m. B-29 copilot 1st Lt. Charles C. Loveless sees a V-formation of bluish-white lights approaching his aircraft over Santa Ana, California. Pilot 1st Lt. Lowell D. Brandt turns to avoid them. (NICAP, “ B-29 Bomber Crew Watch V-Formation”; UFOEv, p. 21)
January 10 — 4:45 p.m. Retired Air Force Col. Robert McNab and a Mr. Hunter of the Federal Security Agency see a flat object to the northwest of their location 8 miles west of Sonoma, California. It is traveling about 2,400 mph and makes three 360° right turns in 2–3 seconds each in about 1/8 the radius required for jets (about 1/4 mile) and two abrupt 90° turns to the right and left, each turn 5 seconds apart. It almost stops, accelerates to its original high speed, almost stops again, speeds up again, and finally flies out of sight vertically. (NICAP, “ Flat Object at 2,400 MPH”; Sparks, p. 189; The Hynek UFO Report, pp. 115–116)
January 12 — 1:00 p.m. Maurício Ramos is driving on grassy terrain near Santana dos Montes, Minas Gerais, Brazil, when he sees a luminous, metallic disc smaller than a Volkswagen hovering 6 feet from the ground. He approaches to within 6 feet of it, and a door opens. Two entitles shorter than 5 feet tall, wearing lead-colored clothing with shiny balls fitted to the shoes, jump out. Ramos thinks they invite him aboard, but he does not answer because he is getting an increasingly severe headache as he watches. When the headache goes away, the disc and creatures have disappeared. (“ Pesquisas sobre Tripulantes de DV,” Boletim SBEDV, no. 55/59 (1967): 1–2, 8–9; Brazil 25–26)
January 12 — At George Adamski’s request, a young woman friend of his calls the FBI to alert them about a young associate of his, Karl Hunrath, who is staying at Palomar Gardens and appears unstable. Hunrath has a “magnetic machine” that he calls Bosco, after an alien who had visited his bedroom once, and he claims it can disrupt the flight of flying saucers as well as airplane engines. An FBI agent shows up at the café the same day with an Air Force intelligence officer. Adamski tells them what he knows about Hunrath, then launches into an account of his space contacts and provides them with Venusian writings and spacecraft photos. (Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1953, January–February, The Author, 1988, pp. 5, 10)
January 14 — 9:30 a.m. The opening meeting of the Robertson Panel convenes in the OSI conference room at CIA Building “M” in Washington, D.C. Present are scientists Howard P. Robertson, Samuel A. Goudsmit, Luis Walter Alvarez, and Thornton Leigh Page. CIA members Philip Grandin Strong, Lt. Col. Frederick C. E. Oder, David B. Stevenson, and Frederick C. Durant are also present. All are skeptical, if not openly hostile to UFO reports. Page later says that “H. P. Robertson told us in the first private (no outsiders) session that our job was to reduce public concern and show that UFO reports could be explained by conventional reasoning.” The panel first reviews the CIA OSI study from August, the ATIC November 21 meeting, the December 4 IAC decision, the visit to ATIC by Chadwell and Robertson, and CIA concern over potential national security dangers. They watch the Montana and Utah films. Lt. Robert S. Neasham and Harry Woo of the Navy Photo Interpretation Laboratory report on their analyses of both films, which conclude that the objects are unidentified. Ruppelt speaks for 40 minutes on the Blue Book method of UFO investigation. It is possibly here that he first suggests using 4602nd AISS field units to conduct Blue Book field investigations. The meeting adjourns at 5:15 p.m. (Frederick C. Durant, “ Report of Meetings of Scientific Advisory Panel on Unidentified Flying Objects, January 14–18, 1953,” memorandum for Assistant Director for Scientific Intelligence, February 16, 1953; Good Above, pp. 335–339; “ Letters Exchanged between CUFON and Dr. Thornton Page,” October 3, 1992; Michael D. Swords, “ Dr. Robertson Requests the Honor of Your Attendance,” IUR 20, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1995): 16–20; Swords 188–192; Clark III 1014–1015; Clark IV 1128–1129)
January 15 — The second day of the Robertson Panel. Ruppelt completes his presentation, then Hynek discusses Battelle’s Project Stork. The CIA shows a film of seagulls in flight. Lt. Col. Oder gives a 40-minute presentation on Project Twinkle. In the afternoon, Gen. William M. Garland states his desire to increase the use of thoroughly briefed USAF intelligence officers to investigate UFO reports, declassify as many reports as possible, and enlarge Blue Book. Other USAF representatives discuss the difficulties of setting up instrument watches to monitor sightings. (Frederick C. Durant, “ Report of Meetings of Scientific Advisory Panel on Unidentified Flying Objects, January 14–18, 1953, ” memorandum for Assistant Director for Scientific Intelligence, February 16, 1953; Michael D. Swords, “ Dr. Robertson Requests the Honor of Your Attendance,” IUR 20, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1995): 16–20; “ Robertson Panel – Dr. J. Allen Hynek,” Ufology: A Primer in Audio, 1938–1959, November 21, 2013; O’Connell 87–89; Clark III 1015; Clark IV 1129)
January 16 — The third day of the Robertson Panel. Hynek speaks again, followed by Maj. Dewey Fournet, who talks about his motion studies of UFOs that indicate controlled flight. Physicist Lloyd Berkner joins the panel in the afternoon. In the afternoon, panel members talk about conclusions they have reached, and Robertson agrees to draft a report for review (although it has already been written by Durant prior to the meetings, which Fournet has suspected). (Frederick C. Durant, “ Report of Meetings of Scientific Advisory Panel on Unidentified Flying Objects, January 14–18, 1953, ” memorandum for Assistant Director for Scientific Intelligence, February 16, 1953; Michael D. Swords, “ Dr. Robertson Requests the Honor of Your Attendance,” IUR 20, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1995): 16–20; “ Robertson Panel – Dr. Lloyd Berkner,” Ufology: A Primer in Audio, 1938–1959, November 21, 2013; O’Connell 87–89; Clark III 1015; Clark IV 1129; Michael D. Swords, “ Peeking into the Corners of 1952, Part Four,” Center for UFO Studies, July 4, 2025)
January 17 — The final day of the Robertson Panel. The panel reviews Robertson’s draft report ( Berkner has already seen it) and puts it into final form. (By 11:00 a.m., both CIA Director Walter Bedell Smith and Gen. John A. Samford have seen and approved the draft.) The scientists agree that since most sightings can be explained, the rest can be accounted for with further investigation, which is a “great waste of effort.” They reject Fournet’s UFO reports as “raw” and “unevaluated.” The Montana film is said to depict aircraft. They reject the Navy analysis of the Utah film, calling the objects “high reflectivity of seagulls in bright sunlight.” Because the “mass receipt of low-grade reports [tends] to overload channels of communication with material quite irrelevant to hostile objects that might some day appear” (a phony issue invented by Thornton Page), the Air Force should embark on a debunking campaign that would “result in reduction of public interest in flying saucers” with the help of scientific pronouncements (suggested by Hynek) and media, including Walt Disney Inc. animated cartoons. Blue Book should be expanded to 18 staff members (it has 5) so that it can educate and debunk effectively, but this never happens. Civilian UFO groups such as CSI and APRO should be watched “because of their potentially great influence on mass thinking if widespread sightings should occur. The apparent irresponsibility and the possible use of such groups for subversive purposes should be kept in mind.” The panel and report are kept classified until a brief summary is declassified in 1958, and the CIA’s involvement is kept secret until 1966. (Frederick C. Durant, “ Report of Meetings of Scientific Advisory Panel on Unidentified Flying Objects, January 14–18, 1953,” memorandum for Assistant Director for Scientific Intelligence, February 16, 1953; “ CIA Evades, Then Denies Charge of Attempted UFO Censorship,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 4 (June 1958): 4; “ 1953 CIA Report Debunks UFOs and the Public,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 10 (Oct./Nov. 1966): 3; Michael D. Swords, “ Dr. Robertson Requests the Honor of Your Attendance,” IUR 20, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1995): 16–20; Swords 192–200; Clark III 1014–1016; John Greenewald, “ The Robertson Panel, the Scientific Advisory Panel on Unidentified Flying Objects Convened by the CIA, ” The Black Vault, August 8, 2023; Graff 89–93; Eghigian, After, pp. 72–74; Clark IV 1129–1131)
January 17 — 3:55 p.m. Geologist/salesman John Townsend Sackett is riding in a bus with about a dozen passengers near Guatemala City, Guatemala, when he observes a brilliant greenish-gold object, shaped like the Goodyear blimp. It is later described as being about twice the size of a DC-3. The object is traveling at about 400 mph straight and level in a northwesterly direction at about 6,500 feet. It almost stops in mid-flight then rises vertically about 1,500 feet, hovers for about 2 seconds, then immediately resumes flight at a new altitude. The object is lost to view because of intervening terrain. (NICAP, “ Blimp-Like Object Sighted by Geologist”; Sparks, p. 189)
January 18 — Upon Hynek’s return to Ohio State University from the Robertson Panel, he and his new research assistant Jennie Zeidman come up with the name “Project Henry” to describe his consultancy with the Air Force. It is based on the Flit bug-spray advertisement that has a woman saying, “Quick, Henry, the Flit!” About once a week, a courier from Battelle arrives at Hynek’s office with a manila envelope stuffed with teletype UFO reports for him to examine. Hynek travels to the Blue Book facility in Building 263 at Wright-Patterson about 2–3 times a month, with Zeidman sometimes accompanying him. (Jennie Zeidman, “ I Remember Blue Book,” IUR 16, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1991): 7–12, 23)
January 20 — Robertson writes a letter to Chadwell, saying “perhaps that’ll take care of the Forteans for a while” and mentions an upcoming meeting with the “NSA group” on February 5. ( Letter from H. P. Robertson to H. Marshall Chadwell, January 20, 1953; Swords 189)
January 23 — Lockheed employee Nathan C. Price files a patent for a disc-shaped aircraft capable of landing or taking off vertically. It is never built, but it is designed for long-range flights at speeds up to Mach 4, with a ceiling around 100,000 feet. (Google Patents, “ High Velocity High Altitude VTOL Aircraft”)
January 24 — Ruppelt travels to Ent AFB [now the US Olympic Training Center] in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to brief the 4602nd AISS on how they might help Blue Book investigate UFOs. He also requests to transfer to Air Defense Command here after his time at Blue Book is up. (Clark III 918; Clark IV 1028)
January 26 — Air Force Press Officer Albert M. Chop writes a letter to Keyhoe’s publisher Henry Holt & Co., declaring that all the sighting reports he is using for his upcoming Flying Saucers from Outer Space were cleared and made available to him from Air Technical Intelligence records. (Albert E. Chop, Letter to Henry Holt & Company, January 26, 1953; Good Above, p. 542)
January 27 — CIA Assistant Director H. Marshall Chadwell writes a letter to MIT physicist Julius Adams Stratton, bringing him up to date on “the problem of ‘unidentified flying objects’” and mentioning the Robertson panel, listing its charge, possible explanations, and a handout from Dewey Fournet illustrating his motion studies that indicate apparent intelligent control by UFOs in flight. ( Letter from H. Marshall Chadwell to Julius A. Stratton, January 27, 1953)
January 28 — 1:06 p.m. R. W. Love and a Mr. Ferrenti, while engaged in retrieving radio- controlled drones on a boat 1,100 yards offshore and south of Naval Air Station Point Mugu [now Naval Base Ventura County] near Oxnard, California, see a white, flat disc with fuzzy or shimmering edges rapidly approach from the northwest flying straight and level, overtake a jet aircraft, pass overhead, and disappear in the haze to the east. (NICAP, “ Flat Disc Observed Overtaking Jet”; Sparks, p. 190)
January 28 — A Maj. Geyer at Mitchel AFB [now closed] near Uniondale, New York, investigates reports of a UFO seen by both civilian and military witnesses. The UFO is an oval object glowing with different colors and having a tail or projection. He quickly concludes that it is a meteor and submits a report to Blue Book. However, one of the witnesses, author Marie Armstrong Essipoff ( Ben Hecht’s first wife), later writes to Keyhoe saying that she had told Geyer that the object wobbled and it had a turret on top. She draws a picture and Geyer says it looks like one of their flight simulators. But it’s “still a meteor,” he says. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs a History, 1953, January–February Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2002, pp. 24–25; Swords 199–200)
January 28 — 7:55 p.m. The control tower at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro [now closed], California, spots a large, luminous, red object and asks Maj. Harvey N. Patton to give chase. He pursues it from Newport Beach to Long Beach and has it in sight for 3–4 minutes but is unable to gain on it. (NICAP, “ Marine Fighter Asked to Check on Amber Object”; “ ‘Saucers’ over L.B. Outrace Jet,” Long Beach (Calif.) Press-Telegram, January 29, 1953, pp. A1–A14; Harvey Patton, “ Jet Pilot Tells of Weird Chase after ‘Saucer,’” Long Beach (Calif.) Press-Telegram, January 29, 1953, pp. A1–A14)
January 28 — 9:40 p.m. Maj. Hal W. Lamb, USAF senior pilot at Moody AFB in Valdosta, Georgia, apparently sees the setting planet Venus (although this is disputed) changing color and shape while flying a T-33 (or an F-86). It is also seen by Turner AFB [now Naval Air Station Albany] tower operators in Albany [not Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta], Georgia (with time errors of about 10 minutes). About the same time, two GCA radar maintenance men at Turner AFB radar track three moving targets and a stationary target. At 10:10 p.m., the GCA reports two stationary targets at 17 and 27 miles, both 300° azimuth. No visual confirmation, though binoculars are used. (NICAP, “ Several Radar Contacts”; Sparks, p. 191; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1953, January–March, The Author, 1988, p. 66; Marler 129–130)
January 29 — A briefing of the Office of Naval Estimates Board by the CIA on UFOs includes the showing of the Utah and Montana films. (Frederick C. Durant, “ Briefing of ONE Board on Unidentified Flying Objects,” January 30, 1953)
January 29 - 9:55 a.m. A small gray oval-shaped object is seen between Houlton and Chatham, Maine, by 2nd Lt. Fred T. Goetting Jr., pilot of an F-94B. Goetting points out the object to his radar observer, Lt. Howard C. Kelley. The object appears to be 10° above the F-94B, which is at 23,000 feet. Goetting attempts to intercept the object at a speed of 0.8 Mach. This chase continues for 8 minutes without the F-94 gaining, and the chase is broken off because of low fuel. The object is seen by at least two fighter aircraft from other squadrons. (NICAP, " Gray Oval Sighted by 3 Fighter Aircraft"; Sparks, p. 191; The Hynek UFO Report, p. 58)
January 29 — 9:55 a.m. A small gray oval-shaped object is seen between Houlton and Chatham, Maine, by 2nd Lt. Fred T. Goetting Jr., pilot of an F-94B. Goetting points out the object to his radar observer, Lt. Howard C. Kelley. The object appears to be 10° above the F-94B, which is at 23,000 feet. Goetting attempts to intercept the object at a speed of 0.8 Mach. This chase continues for 8 minutes without the F-94 gaining, and the chase is broken off because of low fuel. The object is seen by at least two fighter aircraft from other squadrons. (NICAP, “ Gray Oval Sighted by 3 Fighter Aircraft”; Sparks, p. 191; The Hynek UFO Report, p. 58)
January 29 — 11:30 p.m. A farmer named Lloyd C. Booth just north of Conway, South Carolina, hears a commotion of animals, grabs his .22 revolver, and sees an oblong-shaped, lighted object 10 feet above the trees moving slowly or hovering, with a low humming sound. He shoots at the object twice. The first bullet bounces off with a metallic sound; at the second shot the object tilts slightly and ascends at a 65° angle to the west at 600–700mph and disappears. One of his cows had died the previous evening. (NICAP, “ Man Fires 0.22 at Hovering Object”; Sparks, p. 191; “ SC. Man Tells of Studying Hovering ‘Flying Saucer,’ Shooting into It,” Columbia (S.C.) The State, February 7, 1953, pp. 1, 3; “ Says He Observed and Shot ‘Flying Saucer,’” Columbia (S.C.) The State, February 8, 1953, p. 3-D; “ CAA Man Says Booth Saw Navy Blimp,” Columbia (S.C.) The State, February 16, 1953, p. 1; “ Conway S.C. Man Shoots Saucer,” APRO Bulletin 1, no. 5 (March 15, 1953): 1, 4–5; Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, pp. 64–66)
January 29 — 2:20 p.m. Northrup test pilot Rex Hardy Jr., test pilot Chester Mathews, and Northrup photographer Jim Wilkinson see four metallic, disc-shaped object the size of a B-36 flying in squadron formation over Malibu Beach, California. They estimate their height as 20,000 feet and speed as 1,200 mph. They watch for about 5 minutes. (NICAP, “ Four B-36-Sized Discs Observed by 3-Man Crew”; “ More Discs Sighted By Southland Fliers,” Long Beach (Calif.) Independent, January 31, 1953, p. 12; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 50; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1953, January–February, The Author, 1988, pp. 66–69)
February 3 - 8:00 p.m. George Hunt Williamson and his wife Betty Jane watch two UFOs near the ground from their home on Brookside Boulevard in Prescott, Arizona. Another UFO passes over the house at 10:00 p.m. (" Personal Chat with Space Cadet Told by Professor," Prescott (Ariz.) Evening Courier, March 10, 1953, pp. 1, 3; Zirger and Martinelli, The Incredible Life of George Hunt Williamson, Verdechiari, 2016, pp. 363-364)
January 31 — Project Blue Book issues its Status Report #9. (US Air Force, Projects Grudge and Blue Book Reports 1–12, NICAP, 1968, pp. 155–174)
February — Albert K. Bender appoints Gray Barker as the International Flying Saucer Bureau’s chief investigator. ( “IFSB Forms Dept. of Investigation,” Space Review 2, no. 2 (April 1953): 1; Clark III 189; Clark 225; Mckee, Saucerian, p. 33)
February 1 — Gray Barker mentions in a letter to Time magazine that he is publishing an “amateur” zine called The Saucerian with accounts of sightings, articles, and fiction. (Luis Rodriguez, “ A Flying Saucer Sighting in the Time Inc. Records,” From the Stacks (New-York Historical Society), September 4, 2019)
February 1 — 9:30 p.m. A T-33 flying 10 miles west of Terre Haute, Indiana, sights a close group of moving lights changing color from red to blue, to green to yellow. The pilot estimates their altitude to range between 15,000 feet to 30,000 feet flying in a manner similar to conventional aircraft. Searchlights from the St. Louis, Missouri, area seem to be following the unidentified lights. (NICAP, “ T-33 Pilot Observes Unidentified Lights”)
February 3 — 8:00 p.m. George Hunt Williamson and his wife Betty Jane watch two UFOs near the ground from their home on Brookside Boulevard in Prescott, Arizona. Another UFO passes over the house at 10:00 p.m. (“ Personal Chat with Space Cadet Told by Professor,” Prescott (Ariz.) Evening Courier, March 10, 1953, pp. 1, 3; Zirger and Martinelli, The Incredible Life of George Hunt Williamson, Verdechiari, 2016, pp. 363–364)
February 4 — 1:50 p.m. US Weather Bureau observer Stanley H. Brown in Yuma, Arizona, tracks with a theodolite a white, oblong object. It is surrounded by a thin white mist and flies straight up and levels off. After 20 seconds, the object is joined by a second one that flies away twice and returns. Both are lost to sight behind clouds to the south-southwest. The sighting lasts 5 minutes. (NICAP, “ Theodolite Tracking of Two Elliptical Objects”; Sparks, p. 191; James E. McDonald, “ Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, pp. 62–63)
February 6 - 1:34 a.m. A B-36 aircraft piloted by Maj. Leo J. Moffatt is over Rosalia, Washington, when he sees one round white omnidirectional light at an altitude of approximately 7,000 feet on a southeast course, circling and rising as it proceeds. It is observed visually for a period of 3-5 minutes. The B-36 makes a 180° descending turn toward the light, which is estimated to be moving at a speed of 170-230 mph. Blue Book explains it as a weather balloon launched from Geiger Field [now Spokane International Airport]. (NICAP, " B-36 Encounters Light at 7,000'"; Sparks, p. 192; James E. McDonald, " Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects," in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, pp. 67-68).
February 6 — Journalist Donald Thomson and four other persons in Victoria, Australia, found the Australian Flying Saucer Investigation Committee. (Bill Chalker, “ The Early Days of the Public UFO Drama in Australia: Even an Atomic Connection of a Sort,” The OzFiles, October 2, 2023)
February 7 — 9:22 p.m. A USAF F-94 crew and other witnesses near Nemuro, Hokkaido, Japan, see a bright orange object change color to red and green at intervals and disappear behind a cloud. It is also tracked by ground radar. (NICAP, “ F-94 Crew in Air and Ground Radar Tracking”; Sparks, p. 192; Condon, p. 122)
February 9 — Al Chop has written a press release on the Utah film with the approval of Capt. Harry B. Smith of AFOIN. They decide to also release the USAF (possible aircraft) and Navy (self-luminous or light sources) analyses, otherwise the press might suspect a cover-up. The release would state that, although no positive identification has been made, further analysis will result in an identification. Gen. Garland approves the release, which then goes on to the Pentagon, which “screamed ‘No!’” Ruppelt is ordered into silence. Chop says the CIA “killed the whole program. We’ve been ordered to work up a national debunking campaign, planting articles in magazines and arranging broadcasts to make UFO reports seem like poppycock.” Ruppelt tells Keyhoe that Blue Book must even discredit USAF pilots who report UFOs. “It’s a raw deal, but we can’t buck the CIA.” (Ruppelt, p. 228; Keyhoe, Aliens from Space, Signet ed., 1974, pp. 70–71; The Hynek UFO Report, pp. 236–237)
February 9 — CIA agent Hayden Channing writes a memo to the Domestic Contact Division describing a recent [late January?] public meeting of the Civilian Saucer Investigation group in Los Angeles, California. North American Aviation project engineer Walther A. Riedel is a member of the organization, and he describes the analyses of the UFO reports it receives. Only about 25 sightings are unidentified, and these they forward to Project Blue Book. Channing writes: “Apparently, an eye and interest are also directed to the USSR for reactions to sightings as reported in the PRAVDA.” (Hayden Channing, “ California Committee for Saucer Investigation,” February 9, 1953)
February 11 (or 19) — 10:00 p.m. At the Naval Auxiliary Air Station [now Northeastern Regional Airport] in Edenton, North Carolina, Marine 1st Lt. Edward Balocco is on intercept stand-by duty when the alert whistle goes off. Minutes later he is in his F9F Panther jet heading north to Virginia Beach, Virginia, while being vectored to an unknown target by the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in Havelock, North Carolina. By the time he gets close to the target, it has disappeared from radar at Norfolk, Virginia. After searching the area for 15 minutes, he heads back for fuel. Flying south at 20,000 feet, he notices a light below him on the port side on or near the ocean. After turning his navigation lights back on, he notices that the light has risen to his altitude and is only 2,000 feet away. Closing in on it, he sees it is a disc with blinking red lights. At 350 feet away, his cockpit is bathed in blue-white light and everything seems motionless and silent. He looks at his gloved hand and he can see the bones in his hand like an X-ray. Suddenly there is a flash, and the UFO breaks away as sound and motion return. Balocco tries to pursue it again unsuccessfully. Captain Thomas Riggs, whose F9F Panther has also been scrambled, reports the UFO is moving south along the North Carolina coast. He is debriefed and told not to mention the incident. (“ Cherry Point, N.C.,” APRO Bulletin 1, no. 5 (March 15, 1953): 9–10; Good Need, pp. 183–184; Shoot 60–61)
Mid-February — Weapons engineer Chester W. Lytle Sr., deputy director of operations for SAC’s Eighth Air Force Headquarters, is visiting Eielson AFB near Moose Creek, Alaska, with Gen. William H. Blanchard when he finds out his wife is about to give birth in Chicago, Illinois. Blanchard offers to personally fly him in a bomber to an air force base in Illinois so he can get home quickly. During the long flight, their conversation turns to UFOs. Blanchard unexpectedly mentions the 1947 Roswell incident and that a crashed alien spacecraft had indeed been recovered. He tells Lytle that four dead humanoid beings had been aboard. (Nukes 478–481)
February 23 — Project Stork’s William T. Reid writes to Miles E. Goll at Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio, saying that UFO reports have been processed through October 15, 1952, and evaluations completed for reports through July 31, 1952. (“ Seven Status Reports for Project Stork, Part 4 of 4 Parts,” CUFON)
February 25 — Pentagon press officer Albert M. Chop writes to Maj. Donald E. Keyhoe and verifies that the files on 41 cases investigated by the Air Force for his upcoming book Flying Saucers from Outer Space were indeed cleared for release by ATIC. (Albert M. Chop, Letter to Donald E. Keyhoe, February 25, 1953; Keyhoe, FS from OS, pp. 253–259; NICAP, “ The Chop Clearance List”)
Late February — ADC commander Benjamin Chidlaw at Ent AFB [now US Olympic Training Center] near Colorado Springs, Colorado, tells future UFO researcher Robert C. Gardner that he has “stacks of reports about flying saucers. We take them seriously when you consider we have lost many men and planes trying to intercept them.” (Stringfield, 3-0 Blue, p. 91; Stringfield, Situation Red, Fawcett Crest, 1977, pp. 137–138)
February 27 — Project Blue Book issues its Status Report #10, classified “secret.” (US Air Force, Projects Grudge and Blue Book Reports 1–12, NICAP, 1968, pp. 175–198)
February 28 — Capt. Edward J. Ruppelt transfers out of Blue Book for a seven-month assignment in Denver, Colorado. He is replaced by Lt. Robert M. Olsson, who has one staff member. (Ruppelt, p. 228; Clark III 918, 937; Clark IV 1028, 1047)
March — 10:00 a.m. Pilot Howard C. Strand is flying a routine patrol mission in a F-94B out of Selfridge AFB [now Selfridge Air National Guard Base] near Mount Clemens, Michigan, when he is asked to check out a radar target over downtown Detroit. He and his radar operator see tiny specks that seem to be a ragged formation of aircraft. As he approaches, he cannot see any wings or tails. Ground radar has the UFOs as “good, strong targets.” Strand looks at his instruments briefly and when he looks up the objects are gone, though ground radar tracks them another 4 minutes. Gordon Thayer calls it an inferior mirage. (Condon, pp. 151–153; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1953 March–July, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2002, pp. 24–26)
March — Harvard University astronomer Donald H. Menzel publishes Flying Saucers, in which he explains all UFO sightings as light reflections and refractions via mirages and temperature inversions. Kenneth Arnold was fooled by reflective layers of haze in 1947, and Thomas Mantell likely saw a mock sun in 1948, he writes. It is the first book-length argument against UFOs, one of the few published by an academic institution, and the first UFO book by a scientist. ATIC personnel are displeased that Menzel has used a few classified reports supplied to him for an examination of patterns, which he has never produced. However, he has an imaginative vision of what Venus looks like, with “warm seas” in which life teems. (Donald H. Menzel, Flying Saucers, Harvard University, 1953; Getty Images, “ Dr. Donald H. Menzel, Harvard Professor and Native Denverite, Refers to His Book,” March 13, 1953; Clark III 457–458, 742; Graff 96–97; Clark IV 503, 823)
March — Gen. John A. Samford is interviewed in See magazine and provides straightforward, factual answers about Project Blue Book, UFOs, and the inadequacy of Menzel’s theories. He claims the view of the Air Force is that “many credible people have seen incredible things.” (Swords 210–211)
March 3 - 1:25 p.m. USAF Capt. Roderick D. Thompson, 3600th Fighter Training Group out of Luke AFB near Glendale, Arizona, is an instructor pilot flying an F-84 at 25,000 feet over Blythe, California. He spots am object 300-500 feet wide leaving a contrail crossing his path from left to right at about 35,000-45,000 feet at about 400 mph. It is visible only by condensation vapor emitted from its manta- ray shaped flat surface. Student pilots flying two F-84s, Lt. Jack E. Brasher and Lt. Thomas W. Hale, also see the object but do not follow in pursuit. When Thompson turns to pursue it, the object makes a slight dipping turn to the northwest and begins climbing at about 20°. It appears to be very thin and immediately begins to form a heavy condensation trail behind it for roughly 1,000 feet and splits in two. Thompson reaches 30,000 feet and closes to within roughly 5-10 miles to a point over the Colorado River north of Parker Dam on the Arizona border. He takes 151 frames of gun camera film of the object with a 16mm N-9 camera, apparently at 16 fps 1/40 second exposure setting. (NICAP, " Three F-94 Pilots Encounter Manta-Ray, Gun Camera Shots"; Sparks, p. 194; Ruppelt, pp. 229-231; Barry J. Greenwood, " The Luke Air Force Base UFO Sighting," Flying Saucer Review 24, no. 2 (August 1978): 11-15; Swords 213-214; " Luke AFB, Arizona, 03/03/1953," US National Archives YouTube channel, October 24, 2013)
March 5 — Brig. Gen. Woodbury M. Burgess, commander at Ent AFB [now the US Olympic Training Center] in Colorado Springs, Colorado, sends a memo to Air Defense Command and the director of intelligence at Ent suggesting that field teams of 4602nd personnel interview UFO witnesses. (Maj. Robert C. Brown, “ Utilisation of 4602nd AISS Personnel in Project Blue Book Field Investigations,” March 5, 1953; Kevin D. Randle, “ UFO Coverup: The Early Days,” A Different Perspective, June 20, 2011)
March 8 — Journalist Peter H. Wyden’s interview with Ruppelt appears in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Ruppelt tells him that Project Blue Book “has no evidence of any of these objects being anything other than misinterpretations of known objects…. We can’t say positively because our data isn’t good enough. But we’re not worried.” The lengthy article provides a good overview of Blue Book’s investigations and staff of seven, including Ruppelt’s assistants Lt. Anderson G. Flues and Max Futch. (Peter Wyden, “ They’re Still Chasing Flying Saucers,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 8, 1953, p. 1G)
March 8 — 9:02 p.m. Physics teacher Leigh Van Etten, two other teachers, and 10 students at Kents Hill School, Maine, watch a big red ball of fire moving west-northwest for 12 minutes before it disappears beyond the horizon. He estimates it is about 40–60 miles away. (Jennie Zeidman, “ I Remember Blue Book,” IUR 16, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1991): 10)
March 14 — 11:43 p.m. Lt. Robert J. Wooten is flying a Navy P2V-5 antisubmarine plane over the Sea of Japan northwest of Nishinoshima, Japan, when he encounters an “electrifying display” of groups of 5–10 colored lights, totaling 90–100, slowly moving to the left side of the aircraft at a range of 3–7 miles and maintaining an extremely precise formation. Some of the objects are also tracked on radar. A 1955 RAND report falsely attributes this to an armada of 100 MiG-15 fighter aircraft (actually only 11) that menaced four US Navy Panther jets from the carrier USS Oriskany, but this earlier incident took place on November 18, 1952, resulting in damage to one of the MiGs. (NICAP, “ Groups of Lights / IFF Signals”; Sparks, p. 195; Swords 214; Clark III 53–59; Clark IV 74–78)
March 15 — The International Flying Saucer Bureau declares today World Contact Day and calls upon the UFO occupants to make a public appearance on earth. Albert Bender makes an attempt to contact the space people psychically and supposedly receives a message that they are here on Earth and have been watching him. (Wikipedia, “ World Contact Day”; Albert K. Bender, FS and the Three Men, Saucerian, 1962, pp. 82–86; Mckee, Saucerian, pp. 113–114)
March 17 — An FBI agent and two AFOSI officers interview George Adamski and ask him to draft a statement saying that neither the FBI nor Air Force has approved material used in his speeches. (Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1953, March–July, The Author, 1989, pp. 4–5; Clark III 44; Clark IV 63)
March 18 — Ohio Northern University’s Project A reports that UFOs are usually disc-shaped, silent, and fast-moving. “Our major conclusion to date is that no one explanation fits all sightings, and about 20% of all the sightings definitely fit the category of unnatural phenomena.” (Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1953, March–July, The Author, 1989, pp. 15, 18)
March 22 — 2:00 a.m. Sara Shaw and Jan Whitley [pseudonyms], who share an isolated one-bedroom cabin in the forest around Tujunga Canyon north of Burbank, California, wake up when an odd light shines through the window. An eerie silence falls over the cabin and neighboring forest. They get out of bed but feel paralyzed. Then suddenly and inexplicably, it is 4:20 a.m. Shaw, who was originally kneeling on the bed, is now sitting on it with her feet on the floor. The two women flee the cabin. As they run, they pass an apparition or “vaporous something” with the “head and shoulders of a long-haired” person. When they return to the cabin two days later, they feel a sense of dread. Shaw can remember nothing more and the two women move apart. In 1975 Shaw watches a UFO documentary that evokes some memories, and she contacts ufologist Ann Druffel. During three hypnotic regression sessions—December 5, 1975; February 26, 1976; and October 22, 1978—Shaw recalls her abduction by black-garbed aliens. She undergoes a physical examination and the aliens show her a cure for cancer. (Ann Druffel and D. Scott Rogo, The Tujunga Canyon Contacts, Prentice-Hall, 1980, updated in New American Library, 1989; Ann Druffel, “Alien Encounter at Tujunga,” Fate 33, no. 4 (April 1980): 32–39; UFOEv II 525–526; Eghigian, After, p. 278)
March 23 — Gen. Burgess’s 4602nd AISS plan is approved. It is seen as aiding ATIC and giving AISS personnel valuable experience in field interrogations and cooperating with other agencies (Kevin D. Randle, “ UFO Cover Up: The Early Days,” A Different Perspective, June 20, 2011; Kevin D. Randle, The Government UFO Files, Visible Ink, 2014, p. 249)
March 24 — The Upshot-Knothole Nancy nuclear test at Nevada Test Site Area 4 sends radioactive fallout on livestock across the region, including those grazing at Papoose Lake, Nevada. Sixteen horses and numerous cows belonging to local farmers, the Stewart brothers, die from acute radiation poisoning. The Army compensates them for the horses, but claim the cows died from Vitamin A deficiency. (Wikipedia, “ Operation Upshot–Knothole”; Jacobsen, Area 51, p. 102)
Spring — After 12:00 noon. RAF Flight Lt. Cyril George Townsend-Withers is asked to test some new ECM radar equipment using an experimental English Electric Canberra aircraft. The jet has been stripped of all removable parts to make it as light as possible. With this modification, he is able to leave RAF Boscombe Down [now MoD Boscombe Down] in Wiltshire, England, and soar to 55,000 feet, then a record for the aircraft. Cruising over Salisbury Plain, Townsend-Withers picks up a blip on his screen. It shows an object traveling 5 miles behind him and maintaining a steady course. His immediate reaction is to curse the “anomalous propagation” effects that they have gone to so much trouble to avoid. However, he soon becomes aware that this was an image of something flying right behind them. The science officer goes up to the turret to take a look and sees, glinting in the sun or pouring out a fantastic amount of its own light, a round shape trailing in their wake. Townsend-Withers calls his pilot on the microphone and tells him that he can see an unknown and suggests trying to outpace it. They reach 260 mph but the thing cannot be shaken off, so the pilot executes a sweeping radius turn. As the Canberra comes around from its turn, the object comes into view dead ahead. For half a minute they are on a collision course, swiftly trying to calculate what to do next. The object is round like a thin disc, but with two small tailfins at the rear. It seems to be metallic and enormous, and it is simply sitting there waiting for them to fly right into it. Suddenly, it flips vertically into the air and climbs upwards at an astonishing rate. Leaving no vapor trail, wake, or detectable sound, the object vanishes within just a couple of seconds. (NICAP, “ Canberra Crew Encounters UFO / Radar/Visual”; Jenny Randles, “ Collision Course,” IUR 27, no. 4 (Winter 2002–2003): 16–18; Jenny Randles, “Scramble, UFO! Part Three, The Team,” Fortean Times 388 (January 2020): 31)
Spring — A US Army radar specialist with secret security clearance at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, claims that he and a small number of other radar technicians are summoned to view a special 16-millimeter film at the base theater. The 5-minute film first presents a desert scene dominated by a silver, disc-shaped object embedded in the sand with a domed section at the top. At the bottom is an open hatch. A subsequent scene shows 10–15 military personnel standing around the craft, which is 15–20 feet wide. The view switches to an apparent interior shot of the object, which has a panel with several levers. Another scene inside a tent shows two tables on which are three small dead bodies. Their heads are large with small noses, mouths, and eyes. The film ends abruptly. Two weeks later, he is approached by an intelligence officer who tells him to forget the movie because it was a hoax. (Leonard H. Stringfield, “ Retrievals of the Third Kind, Part 1,” Flying Saucer Review 25, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1979): 13, 17–18; Clark III 341; Clark IV 377)
Spring — Richard Hughes’s Flying Saucer Club in Hove, Sussex, England, begins publishing Flying Saucer News. ( Flying Saucer News, no. 1 (Spring 1953))
April — Wilbert B. Smith is drafting a report on Project Magnet for the Canadian Department of Transport. He writes Keyhoe that their conclusion will probably be that UFOs are alien vehicles. (Clark III 1078; Clark IV 1195)
April–June — The US Army Chemical Corps’ Dew II project involves the secret release of fluorescent particles (zinc cadmium sulfide) and plant spores (Lycopodium) from an aircraft over St. Louis, Missouri. (Minneapolis, Minnesota, was a previous target.) It only targets black ghetto sections of St. Louis and arranges for local police surveillance “to minimize the possibility of loss of equipment.” The Army reports “much less curiosity and interference” than Minneapolis. Dew II is described in a 1953 Army report that remains classified at the time of a 1997 report by the US National Research Council concerning the zinc cadmium sulfide dispersion program. (Leonard A. Cole, Clouds of Secrecy: The Army’s Germ Warfare Tests over Populated Areas, Rowman & Littlefield, 1988, pp. 63–65)
April 12 — 4:10 p.m. Ten round, flat, metallic objects changing formation are observed traveling at a high rate of speed at an estimated altitude of 7,500 feet over Sweetwater, Nevada. No trail, sound, or exhaust are noted. The objects pass under the right nacelle of the observers’ C-47 aircraft, which is en route to Stead AFB [now Reno Stead Airport]. The copilot takes control of the aircraft and turns to the right in a tight 300° turn for a better view. The objects are then picked up unassisted by two more members of the crew. The objects are seen in a right turn of a greater radius than that of the C-47 and at a lower altitude. They are observed for approximately 120° of their turn and disappear on a heading of 300°. Observers are unable to estimate the speed of the objects because of the distance and the large turn radius. (NICAP, “ Ten Round Flat Objects Changing Formation”; Sparks, p. 197)
April 13 — The MKUltra project is launched on the order of CIA Director Allen Dulles and under the direction of Sidney Gottlieb. Its aim is to develop mind-controlling drugs for use against the Soviet bloc, largely in response to alleged Soviet, Chinese, and North Korean use of mind-control techniques on US prisoners of war in Korea. The project attempts to produce a perfect truth drug for use in interrogating suspected Soviet spies, and generally to explore any other possibilities of mind control. Another MKUltra effort, Subproject 54, is the Navy’s top secret “Perfect Concussion” program, which uses subaural frequency blasts to erase memory. However, the program is never carried out. Because most MKUltra records are deliberately destroyed in 1973 by order of then–CIA director Richard Helms, it is difficult, if not impossible, for investigators to gain a complete understanding of the more than 150 individually funded research subprojects sponsored by MKUltra and related CIA programs. A cache of some 20,000 documents survive Helms’s purge, as they are incorrectly stored in a financial-records building and discovered following a FOIA request in 1977. These documents are fully investigated during the Senate Hearings of 1977. (Wikipedia, “ MKUltra”; US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Project MKUltra, the CIA’s Program of Research in Behavioral Modification, 95th Congress, 1st Session, August 3, 1977; John D. Marks, The Search for the “Manchurian Candidate”: The CIA and Mind Control, Times Books, 1978; Jon Ronson, The Men Who Stare at Goats, Simon & Schuster, 2004; “ Project MK-Ultra: The CIA’s Experiments with Mind Control,” ZazenLife.com, December 2011; Stephen Kinzer, Poisoner in Chief: Sidney Gottlieb and the CIA Search for Mind Control, Henry Holt, 2019)
April 14 - 9:23-11:50 p.m. A Navy P2V Neptune spy plane on an electronic intelligence (ELINT/ferret) mission over the Sea of Japan (about 200 miles southeast of Vladivostok, Russia) is paced and attacked by 10 agile and highly maneuverable UFOs. The encounter takes place with only 400 feet of distance between the aircraft and the sea. The objects make more than "70 aggressive non-firing passes" in "high-speed runs," many just a few hundred feet directly underneath the Navy aircraft for just over an hour. The UFOs transmit Morse Code light signals (the letter "D"), an unprecedented occurrence in UFO history. The objects are tracked on radar and by the Navy's ELINT systems (which pick up and analyze radar beams emitted from the objects) for almost two and a half hours. (NICAP, " Two Lights Flashing Morse Code Letter `D'"; Sparks, p. 198; Clark III 53-59, 997; Clark IV 73-78, 1110)
April 16 - 3:45 p.m. The crew of a commercial Maritime Central airliner flying at 9,000 feet above Chatham, New Brunswick, watches a metallic disc approach their plane and pass underneath. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada's UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 64-67)
April 19 — 1:00 p.m. Four US Army reconnaissance observers (including pilot Lt. Julius T. Morgan, Lt. James O. Rymus, and Lt. Jack E. Myers) in two aircraft see a white, rounded, delta-shaped object 5–7 feet in diameter flying at 60–80 mph with a “vibrating” motion over Communist-held territory in Korea. An official G-2 Intelligence Report says the object is in the Old Baldy (Hill 266) and Pork Chop Hill areas. Radar supposedly tracks them also moving faster than sound (>767 mph). ( Sparks, p. 199; “ Small ‘Delta-Shaped Object’ Sighted over Commie Lines,” Eugene (Oreg.) Register-Guard, April 20, 1953, p. 2; NICAP, [ news clippings]; Jennie Zeidman, “ I Remember Blue Book,” IUR 16, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1991): 9)
April 23 — Gen. Charles P. Cabell becomes deputy director of the CIA.
April 23 — 3:00 p.m. Two witnesses in Iberville [now Saint-Jean-de-Richelieu], Quebec, see a disc the size of a car approach their house while they are eating dinner. It stops 250 feet above the Richelieu River a bit more than a half-mile away. The man runs outside for a better look and sees that it as a dome and is spinning as it hovers. After 15 seconds it flies to the southwest and disappears. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 65, 68–69, 151)
May — A flawed CAA report states the July 1952 Washington National Airport radar returns were weather targets. (Civil Aviation Authority, A Preliminary Study of Unidentified Targets Observed on Air Traffic Control, Technical Development Report 180, May 1953)
May — CIA Assistant Director H. Marshall Chadwell transfers chief responsibility for keeping abreast of UFOs to OSI’s Physics and Electronic Division. Todos M. Odarenko, chief of the division, does not want to take on the problem, saying it requires too much analytic and clerical time. Given the Robertson Panel findings, he proposes to call the project “inactive” and devote only one part-time analyst and a file clerk to maintain a reference file of activities of USAF and other agencies on UFOs. (Gerald K. Haines, “ CIA’s Role in the Study of UFOs, 1947–90,” Studies in Intelligence, 1997, p. 72)
May — The Air Force publishes, under the signatures of Chief of Staff Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg and Air Adjutant General Col. Kenneth E. Thiebaud, Air Force Manual 200-3, titled Handbook for Air Intelligence Officers. It is classified Restricted. Intended as a general guide for air intelligence officers conducting any type of investigation, the 6-page manual’s only illustration is of an Air Force plane accompanied by three flying saucers; the caption is “The Air Technical Intelligence center is responsible for the prevention of technological surprises.” It is d iscovered by Keyhoe in 1961 because someone forgot to reclassify the manual as Confidential in November 1953 when the Restricted classification is retired. (Department of the Air Force, Handbook for Air Intelligence Officers, Air Force Manual 200-3, May 1953, chapter 9, pp. 9-1–9-6; Keyhoe, Aliens from Space, Signet ed., 1974, p. 80)
May — The Australian Flying Saucer Bureau begins publishing the Australian Flying Saucer Magazine.
It publishes six issues through May 1955. (Wikipedia, “
Australian ufology
May 1 — 11:35 p.m. USAF pilot Capt. R. L. Emberry and radar operator 1Lt J. R. Morin are flying an F-94
interceptor at 24,000 feet about 10 miles south of Goose Bay AFB [now CFB Goose Bay], Labrador. Both men
and a control tower operator see a white light with a visible afterburner at 10,000 feet. The F-94 pursues it, both
climbing to 40,000 feet, but the object climbs out of sight after 30 minutes. (NICAP, “
Unidentified Evades Interception by F-94”;
Sparks, p. 199; Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, p. 262) May 2 — BOAC Flight 783, a de Havilland Comet 1, crashes in a severe thundersquall six minutes
after taking off from Calcutta-Dum Dum [now Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport], India, killing
all 43 on board. Witnesses observe the wingless Comet on fire plunging into the village of Jagalgori. A
British aviation investigator, J. H. Lett, announces that the plane “collided with a fairly heavy body” and
UFO rumors persist for about a year. However, leading investigators suspect structural failure. (Wikipedia, “
de Havilland Comet”; Stringfield, Situation Red, Fawcett Crest, 1977,
p. 141) May 4 - 1:50 a.m. A witness sees a football-shaped, metallic object caught in the glare of a
rotating beacon near Goose Bay AFB [now CFB Goose Bay], Labrador. It is traveling south at high
speed and a low altitude, and disappears into low-hanging stratus clouds. She hears a sound "like
tins striking together." (
Sparks, p. 199; Chris Rutkowski, Canada's UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, p. 262) May 5 — 9:45 a.m. Chemist Wells Alan Webb is standing in a field near the Vacuum Cooling Company plant,
not far from Spain Flying Field and about a mile north of Yuma AFB [now Marine Corps Air Station Yuma] near
Yuma, Arizona, when he sees a fuzzy-white oblong object at an angle of 45° in the north. He observes it both
with the naked eye and with Polaroid glasses with a greenish tint that he uses for cloud observations. It is about
one-half the diameter of the full moon. After 5 minutes, the object moves to a position 30° eastward and suddenly
becomes circular in appearance, becoming gradually smaller. Three concentric dark rings appear around the
object, the largest about six times its diameter when viewed with Polaroid glasses. Webb thinks that the rings are
the result of the rotation of polarized light scattered from the atmosphere (Faraday effect). (NICAP, “
Polaroid Glasses Expose Concentric Circles around Disc”; Wells Alan Webb, Mars, the New Frontier: Lowell’s
Hypothesis, Fearon, 1956, pp. 126–127; “
Book Reviews,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 2 (Aug./Sept. 1957): 24; UFOEv,
p. 51) May 10 — 6:08 p.m. Capt. B. L. Jones is flying an Australian National Airways DC-3 just south of
Mackay, Queensland. He radios the local control tower that a “strange object like a lighted glass dome” is
maneuvering around his plane. He and his copilot watch the object for about 5 minutes during which time it
climbs and dives at a speed of 200–700 mph. Finally, it crosses the path of the aircraft and disappears
swiftly to the west. A Mr. W. Overell, the officer in charge at Mackay tower, sees the light climbing from
about 4,000–5,000 feet in the west at great speed, although the radar shows no other aircraft in the vicinity. (“
‘Flying Saucer’ Buzzing My Plane,” Brisbane (Queensland) Sunday Mail, May 17, 1953, p. 1; “
Inquiry on ‘Flying Saucer,’” Sydney (N.S.W.) Daily Telegraph, May 18, 1953, p. 7; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole
Story, Signet, 1969, p. 52; Swords 377–378) May 10 — 11:00 p.m. Capt. Bob Jackson is piloting an Australian National Airways DC-3 near Woronora
Dam, New South Wales, when he sees an object with an orange-colored light at the tail flash past toward the
east near Wollongong. The radar tower at Mascot shows no traffic in the area. About 2 minutes later, the object
reappears, makes a complete circle around the airliner, and speeds away toward the coast. (“
Fear of Ridicule, So Kept Quiet,” Adelaide (S.A.) News, January 5, 1954, p. 5; Swords 378) May 11 — A declassified MKUltra document indicates hypnosis is a major focus. Experimental goals
include: the creation of “hypnotically induced anxieties,” “hypnotically increasing ability to learn and
recall complex written matter,” studying hypnosis and polygraph examinations, “hypnotically increasing
ability to observe and recall complex arrangements of physical objects,” and studying "relationship of
personality to susceptibility to hypnosis.” Experiments are conducted with drug-induced hypnosis and with
anterograde and retrograde amnesia while under the influence of such drugs. (Wikipedia, “
MKUltra”) May 12 — 3:20 a.m. USAF F-94 pilot Lt. D. C. Rogers and radar operator Lt. J. A. Lane track a radar
target about 39 miles northwest of Goose Bay AFB [now CFB Goose Bay], Labrador. Rogers attempts to intercept but
cannot make visual contact. (
Sparks, p. 199; Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, p. 262) May 16 — 8:15 p.m. Photographer Herman Charmanne is near Bouffioulx, Belgium, when he hears a strange
metallic vibration. Looking up, he sees a long white trail in the wake of an object that shoots off at a great
speed. The object, a luminous sphere, stops and hovers, allowing him to take two photos that depict a fried-egg-
looking shape with a long tail. Recent analyses indicate that the photos are likely the result of a chemical
reaction during the developing process, perhaps a flammable fluid deliberately poured on the image carrier that
is then ignited. (Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos and Wim van Utrecht,
Belgium in UFO Photographs, Volume 1 (1950–1988), FOTOCAT Report no. 7, 2017, pp. 12–30) May 18 — 6:55 p.m. A bright, luminous object is seen over Abadan, Iran. It travels very fast and is
visible for 20 minutes. It is also seen over oil fields in Khuzestan Province. (ClearIntent,
pp. 129–130) May 20 — At the junction of Jordan and Marble Creeks in Plumas National Forest, northern California,
titanium prospector John Q. Black sees a silvery object, 8 feet in diameter, land on a nearby sand bar. On
June 20 the saucer returns, along with a barrel-chested “midget pilot” wearing a “forest-green outfit” and a
“peak-billed cap with a cord” around it. The UFO is about 40 feet away, resting on a rock, and has tripod-like
landing gear. The pilot fills a rubber-like pail with creek water and goes back inside the craft (which has
one small window) after hearing Black step on a stick. The craft takes off at a 45° angle with a hissing sound.
Black had seen the same object on March 20, for a total of seven times. Black is alone for each sighting, so
his partner John Van Allen cannot corroborate the story. The UFO’s expected return on July 20 does not occur,
perhaps because scores of sightseers descend on the Brush Creek area (snack bars are set up so that no one goes
hungry during the vigil). (Coral Lorenzen, “
Saucer Men with Buckets!!” APRO Bulletin 2, no. 1 (July 15, 1953): 1, 5; “
Miners and Friend with Camera Wait Return of Men from Mars,” Stockton (Calif.) Evening and Sunday Record,
July 20, 1953, p. 1; “Little Men in Flying Saucer Miss Brush Creek Rendezvous,” San Francisco (Calif.) Chronicle,
July 21, 1953, p. 3; “
Recent Sightings,” APRO Bulletin 2, no. 2 (September 15, 1953): 6; Gray Barker, “
The Report on the Brush Creek Saucer,” The Saucerian 1, no. 2 (November 1953): 12–20; Wallace Kunkel,
“The Little Man Who Wasn’t There,” Fate 7, no. 5 (May 1954): 48–52; Harold T. Wilkins, Flying Saucers on
the Attack, Citadel, 1954,
pp. 261–262; Gray Barker, They Knew Too Much about Flying Saucers, University Books, 1956,
pp. 36–58;
Coral Lorenzen, “
UFO Occupants in United States Reports,” in Charles Bowen, ed., The Humanoids, special issue of FSR,
Oct./Dec. 1966, pp. 52, 53; Lorenzen, Occupants, Signet, 1967,
pp. 118–119; Patrick Gross, URECAT, December 15, 2006; Curt Collins, “
Flying Saucer Ambush: Brush Creek, CA, 1953,” The Saucers That Time Forgot, November 17, 2017; Clark III
269; Clark IV 309) May 20. Brush Creek, California. A miner. John Q. Black, saw a silvery disc , 7 ft.
in diameter and 6 ft. thick land on a sandbar within 50 ft. of the witness. He saw a creature
about the size of a midget get out of the craft, scoop up water in a shiny pail and hand it
inside. The witness and his partner John van Allen saw marks in the sand about 1 ft. wide that
looked like "elephant feet" (1) and ("The Humanoids" p . 146) May 21 — 10:00 a.m. Eight disc-like objects are observed maneuvering in the sky for an hour or so
above Prescott, Arizona, by sportsmen’s club president Bill Beers, post office employee Ray Temple, and O.
Ed Olson. Two of the discs are stationary, while the other six discs participate in maneuvers similar to a
dogfight. The six swoop around in formation, peel off, and shoot directly up and down in a maneuver that
cannot be duplicated by a plane. When they move, they vary from very slow to speeds faster than a jet plane. (“
Flying Saucers Return to Prescott,” Prescott (Ariz.) Evening Courier, May 22, 1953, pp. 1–2; Nukes 87) May 21 — Date of an alleged UFO crash and retrieval near Kingman, Arizona. “Fritz Werner”
[pseudonym of
Arthur G. Stansel Jr.] claims to have worked as an Air Force engineer
on the retrieval of a “teardrop-shaped cigar” made of a dull material. He catches a glimpse of a small
alien body lying in a tent. An informant in 1977 tells
Leonard Stringfield that he had seen three alien bodies in a crate at Wright-Patterson AFB in
Ohio after a UFO crash in Arizona. Researcher Harry Drew thinks there might have been three crashes
of UFOs within a six-day period in May 1953. (Raymond E. Fowler, “What about Crashed UFOs,” Official
UFO, April 1976, pp. 55–57; Stringfield, Situation Red, Fawcett Crest, 1977,
pp. 171–185; Leonard H. Stringfield, “
Retrievals of the Third Kind: Part 1,” Flying Saucer
Review 25, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1979): 13, 18–19; Leonard H. Stringfield, “
Retrievals of the Third Kind: Part 2,” Flying Saucer
Review 25, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1979): 6–7; Raymond E. Fowler, Casebook of a UFO Investigator, Prentice-
Hall, 1981,
pp. 199–203; Harry Lebelson, “
The Kingman, Arizona UFO Enigma: A Closer Look,” Pursuit 19, no. 4 (Winter 1986): 162–165;
Good Above,
pp. 398–400; Kevin D. Randle, A History of UFO Crashes, Avon, 1995,
pp. 57–68; Leonard H. Stringfield, UFO Crash Retrievals: Status
Report VII, Search for Proof in a Hall of Mirrors, The Author, February 1994,
pp. 3–5; Linda Moulton Howe, “
Part 1: An Alleged 1953 UFO Crash and Burial near Garrison, Utah,”
Earthfiles, November 10, 2005; Kevin D. Randle, “
Kingman UFO Crash…Really?” A Different Perspective, May 11, 2011;
Clark III 335–338; George Knapp, “
I-Team: Kingman UFO Incident in 1953 Followed Nevada Explosions;
Radar Blamed,” KLAS-TV, Las Vegas, Nevada, February 3, 2020; Kevin D. Randle, “
Kingman UFO Crash,” A Different Perspective, May 14, 2020; Kevin D. Randle, “
Kingman Rises from the Dead?” A Different Perspective, March 3, 2021;
Kevin D. Randle, “
UFO Crash Retrievals: Three with Explanations,” A Different Perspective,
January 15, 2024; Adam Goldsack, “
The Kingman UFO Incident (1953),” The Unidentified, June 8, 2024; David Rudiak, “
Kingman UFO Crash Main Page,” Roswell Proof, August 2024; Kevin D. Randle, “
The Kingman UFO Crash Conundrum,” A Different
Perspective, August 14, 2024; Kevin D. Randle, “
David Rudiak, Kingman UFO Crash, and Other Rabbit Holes,”
A Different Perspective, September 1, 2024; Kevin D. Randle, “
Kingman UFO Crash and Michael Schratt,” A Different Perspective,
September 26, 2024; Clark IV 372–374; “
Area 51 Whistleblower, an Eyewitness, and a Researcher Talk about the 1953 Crashed UFO
in Kingman, AZ,” Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, January 3, 2025; Kevin D. Randle, “
Kingman UFO Crash Again,” A Different Perspective, April 14, 2025; Kevin D. Randle, “
Chasing Footnotes (Sort Of): Kingman Edition,”
A Different Perspective, June 29, 2025) May 23 — Radar tracks a target over Cape Province, South Africa, that makes six passes at more than
1,250 mph at 5,000–15,000 feet altitude. (Aimé Michel, The Truth about FS, p. 123; James E. McDonald, “
Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House
Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, pp. 70–71) May 24? — Day. Natives at the Garden Point Mission [now Pirlangimpi], Melville Island, Northern
Territory, Australia, spot a “flying saucer” moving at tremendous speed over Shark Bay. They call Brother G.
Clark, the mission superintendent, who also sees the object. The object flies horizontally, trailing flame and
smoke, before disappearing northward. The sighting is reported to Naval Intelligence. (“
Aborigines See ‘Flying Saucer,’” Sydney (N.S.W.) Daily Mirror, May 26, 1953, p. 3; “
Aborigines See ‘Saucer,’” Canberra (ACT) Times, May 27, 1953, p. 6) May 26 — 5:10 a.m. D. Beyers, driving 80 miles south of Brandvlei in Northern Cape Province, South
Africa, sees a bright yellowish-green light in the clouds, then emerges. The light has the appearance of
“burning hydrogen” and emits three streaks that maintain a fixed position with regard to the main light.
He watches it for 50 minutes. (ClearIntent,
p. 130) May 30 — After a small, bright-blue object with a strange irregular motion passes overhead at Palmerston
North, New Zealand, numerous filaments of a “substance resembling spider webs, white in color and ashy in texture”
float to earth. (“
Palmerston North, New Zealand,” APRO Bulletin 2, no. 2 (September 15, 1953): 8; Charles A. Maney and Richard
Hall, The Challenge of Unidentified Flying Objects, NICAP, 1961,
pp. 59–60; Clark III 124; Clark IV 151) May 30. NEW ZEALAND, Christchurch. White filaments seen coming to ground at time of UFO
sighting. (Stringfield) May 31 — Project Blue Book issues its Status Report #11. (US Air Force,
Projects Grudge and Blue Book Reports 1–12, NICAP, 1968, pp. 199–214) Summer —Two F-94 jets are scrambled at Ernest Harmon Air Force Base [now Stephenville International
Airport], near Stephenville, Newfoundland, after base radar picks up an unknown target. One of the pilots gets
radar and visual confirmation, then radios that he is going into a steep climb to give chase. The jet crashes
into a mountain. The base is supposedly placed on red alert. (Stringfield, Situation Red, Fawcett Crest, 1977,
p. 142) Summer — 10:00 p.m. A family is returning home on Scenic Avenue in Central Point, Oregon, when they
see three entities along the side of the road only 6 feet away. They stop the car, and the beings glide across
the road and disappear into the woods. They are 4 feet high, white, with satiny fur, and resemble very large
geese, but with no beaks or wings. (“
No UFO Seen: Just Creatures,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 5, no. 2 (April/May 1984): 3) June — Night. An F-94C Starfire with classified electronic gear takes off from Otis AFB [now Otis
Air National Guard Base] in western Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Piloted by Capt. Suggs and radar operator Lt.
Robert Markhoff, the jet takes off in a westerly direction. Shortly after attaining 1,500 feet over the Base
Rifle Range, the engine quits functioning and the electrical system fails. The jet’s nose drops and Suggs
signals Barkhoff to bail out. Suggs bails out and he and his parachute wind up in a homeowner’s backyard.
The jet should have crashed nearby, but neither Markhoff or the airplane can be located, despite months of
searching. Although this account comes from M/Sgt
Clarence O. Dargie, and investigator
Raymond Fowler obtains the accident report from Norton AFB [now San Bernardino International Airport],
California, there appears to be no open record of this incident. The F-94C models, especially at first, have
fire-control problems and electrical short circuiting. (Raymond Fowler, UFOs: Interplanetary Visitors, Prentice-
Hall, 1974,
pp. 287–291; Bob Pratt, “
Conversations with Major Donald Keyhoe,” Mutual UFO Network; Good Need,
pp. 189–191; Barry Greenwood, “
Questions on a 1953 Cape Cod Mystery,” UFO Historical Revue, no. 8 (February 2001): 1–3) June — Secretary of Defense
Charles Erwin Wilson abolishes the Research and Development Board for the politically motivated reason
that suspected communist sympathizer
Robert Oppenheimer is a sitting member. (Michael Hall and Wendy Connors, “
The Research and Development Board: Unanswered Questions,” IUR 26, no. 2 (Summer 2001): 9) June —
Max B. Miller publishes the first issue of Saucers, a digest-sized quarterly of Flying Saucers International
in Los Angeles, California. It continues until the Fall 1959 issue. (
Saucers 1, no. 1 (1953); Clark III 1033; Clark IV 1149) June 2 — 6:29 p.m. Robert Booth, his wife Catherine, and sister-in-law Maria Stevens
are in their backyard in East Cleveland, Ohio, when they spot four cigar-shaped flying objects.
The objects appear in formation, two and two, coming from the northeast, all flying northwest.
They remain visible for only two or three seconds before vanishing over the horizon. (“
What? Yes Sir! Flying Saucers,” East Cleveland (Ohio) Leader, June
4, 1953, p. 1) June 9 —
Sidney Gottlieb approves Project MKUltra’s “Subproject 8” on LSD. Experiments include administering
LSD to mental patients, prisoners, drug addicts, and prostitutes—“people who could not fight back,” as one
agency officer puts it. June 12 — Lt. Robert M. Olsson and
J. Allen Hynek visit
Coral Lorenzen at the Hotel Schroeder in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and try to convince her that it is in the
national interest for her to reduce excitement about UFOs by publishing cases. (Lorenzen, FS Hoax,
pp. 82–83; Swords 197; Powell, Keyhoe, 101–102) June 17 — 7:30 a.m. Several witnesses in Galveston, Texas, see a large, cigar-shaped
object silently flying in from the Gulf of Mexico. One estimates it to be about 300 feet long
and no greater than 150 feet in the air. The object makes a cloud and disappears. (“
NUFORC Sighting 17561,” National UFO Reporting Center, August 5, 2001; Herbert S. Taylor, “
Mystery Clouds and the UFO Connection,” IUR 29, no. 4 (July 2005): 19 June 18 — 2:30 a.m. Hilda Walker, her husband Lloyd, and 14-year-old Judy Myers are sitting on the
porch of a house on Third Street in Houston, Texas, when they notice the entire front yard falling into a
shadow. A shadowy thing settles in a nearby tree, and they look up to see a winged “batman” balancing on a
tree limb. It is about 6.5 feet tall, wearing a dark cape and skin-tight dark pants, and quarter-length boots.
Fifteen minutes later, the figure melts away. They hear a swooshing noise across the street and see a rocket-
shaped object moving upward and trailing smoke, and then they see a “flying paintbrush” with a fiery tail
flying along the northeastern horizon. (“
Rocket-Propelled ‘Batman’ Zooms across Houston Sky,” Austin (Tex.) American, June 19, 1953, p. 1; “
Mysterious ‘Batman’ Seen by Five Persons in Houston,” El Paso (Tex.) Times, June 19, 1953, p. 19; “
Houston Police Investigate; Mysterious ‘Batman’ Seen Perched in Tree,” Shreveport (La.) Times, June 19,
1953, p. 1; William C. Thompson, “Houston Bat Man,” Fate 6, no. 10 (October 1953): 26–27; Clark III 1106;
Clark IV 1232) June 20. Brush Creek, CA. Incident identical to that of May 20, 1953 in same location.
(Humanoids ) June 23 — 7:40 p.m. Mr. and Mrs. L. Bakker and their four children observe two brilliant,
disc-shaped objects moving at high speed across the sky in San Antonio, Texas. The discs travel from
the west, pass directly overhead, and then vanish toward the north. Bakker, a research chemist with
over 15 years of celestial observation experience, cannot identify the objects. Despite the setting
sun, the discs appear so bright and clear that the entire family sees them for nearly a minute. (“
Two Disc-Shaped Objects Sighted over San Antonio,”
Corpus Christi (Tex.) Caller-Times, June 24, 1953, p. 1; “
Angeloans Also Sight a Saucer in Evening Sky,” San Angelo (Tex.) Evening
Standard, June 24, 1953,
p. 2; “
Scientist and Family Witness Disks Flight,”
Fort Worth (Tex.) Star-Telegram, June 25, 1953, p. 17) June 24 — 11:30 a.m. A weather observer stationed at remote Simiutaq island, western Greenland, is
tracking a weather balloon with a theodolite. He notices a rotating red object flying from southeast to northwest
and approaching the balloon, which is at 18,000 feet. The object collides with the balloon, disintegrating it.
Afterward, it hovers in a circular motion for 15 seconds and departs into the wind. He watches it another 5
minutes until it is lost to view. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 69–70) June 24 — Night. A flight of US Navy F2H Banshee jets out of NAS Quonset Point [now Quonset Point
Air National Guard Station] are on a night training mission over southern Rhode Island when two aircraft in
the formation collide in mid-air. The crash occurs at 19,000 feet near or over the Exeter/West Greenwich town
lines, and debris is scattered for several miles in all directions. The pilot of one Banshee, Lt. Jg.
Jack Oliver Snipes, is killed. An emergency cable sent to the Director of Air Force Intelligence in the
Pentagon indicates that “flying objects” are seen by the pilots prior to the accident. Its distribution list
includes the fledgling National Security Agency. (Good Above,
pp. 272–273,
488; “
Exeter/West Greenwich, Rhode Island: June 24, 1953,” New England Aviation History, October 2017) June 24. Hampton Bay , NY. Woman saw a round object 100 ft. in diameter. Lighted
red band around the middle, oscillating motion. Noise similar to swarm of bees. Four portholes
seen in top section a long with red lights. Seen for 3 minutes. Two days later a yellowish moss
was observed at the site. Obiect hovered over water. (Vallee III) Late June - Some 300 people in West Berlin, Germany, see three silvery UFOs on several
occasions. Moving in a zigzag motion and accelerating at high speed. Rudolf Hermes, a director
at Tempelhof Airport [now closed], says the witnesses describe the objects as "shiny." ("
Triangle Saucers Reported Seen near Berlin," Lancaster (Pa.) Sunday News, July 4, 1954, p. 19) June 30 — 11:45 p.m. An orange-colored, oval object is seen for a period of 20 minutes in the
northern sky moving to the southeast by at least 10 personnel of the US 912th Air Control and Warning Squadron
stationed at Ramore Air Station radar site [now CFS Ramore], 3 miles west of Ramore, Ontario. The first person
to see it is A/2c Dean McDonald who comes out of the maintenance room to inspect a power unit that has caused
a minor breakdown of the search radar set. He calls two other airmen to witness it. One of the two thinks the
object is the moon. The first airman gets hysterical and calls the Charge of Quarters at the Domestic Area
three miles to the southwest. At least seven witnesses in that area see the object, and two of them report
that the moon is visible and the UFO is distinct and separate. The object soon fades away slowly to the north.
(NICAP, “
Ramore, Ontario, Pinetree Line Radar Site, UFO Sighting, June 30, 1953”; [
Project Blue Book file]) July — The 4602nd AISS has taken over nearly all of Blue Book’s field investigations. The unit then
is supposed to send the reports to ATIC for evaluation or explanation, and ATIC would determine if a follow-up
investigation is needed. In practice, the 4602d does much of the analysis. (Ruppelt,
p. 232; Jacobs, The UFO Controversy, Signet ed., 1976,
p. 119) July — Lt. Robert M. Olsson of Project Blue Book sends five supposedly unsolved UFO cases of 1953
to Cal Tech physicist
Howard P. Robertson in an effort to see if any change in the Robertson Panel’s conclusions is warranted.
One of them is the Sea of Japan ELINT case of April 14. Apparently, Robertson’s mind is not changed. He is now
heading up the Robertson Committee of the newly formed National Security Agency, tasked with developing
better use of intercepted communications and radars in order to provide strategic warning of a military attack
by the Soviet Union. (Clark III 55) July 1 — 1:00 p.m. A cowherd, Maximo Munoz Olivares [or Hernáiz], 14, sees a “big balloon” on the
ground behind him in Villares del Saz, Cuenca, Spain, after a faint whistling attracts his attention. Shaped
like a water jug, the object is metallic. Through an opening come three dwarfs 2 feet tall, with yellow faces,
narrow eyes, and oriental features. They speak in a language he cannot understand. They are dressed in blue
and have a sort of flat hat with a visor in front and a metal sheet on their arms. One of them smacks the
boy’s face, then they reenter the machine, which glows very brightly, makes a soft whistling sound, and goes
off “like a rocket.” Footprints and four holes 2 inches deep, forming a perfect square 13 inches in size,
are found by police. Possible hoax. (Antonio Ribera, “
The Landing at Villares del Saz,” in Charles Bowen, ed., The Humanoids, special issue of FSR, Oct./Dec.
1966, pp. 28–30; Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos,
A Catalogue of 200 Type I UFO Events in Spain and Portugal, Center for UFO Studies, 1976, p. 3; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: 1953, March–July, The Author, 1989, pp. 92–93; Clark III 270; Eghigian, After, p. 144;
Clark IV 310) July 2. SPAIN, Villares des Saz. Maximo Munes Olivares , 14, saw a "big balloon" on
the ground when a faint whistling sound attracted his attention. It was metallic. Three dwarfs
emerged. They were dressed in blue. They re-entered the object, which glowed very brightly, made
a soft whistling sound and went off "like a rocket." Foot prints and four holes 2 in. deep
forming a perfect square of 14 in. were found by police. (Vallee III) July 6 —
Albert Bender has his first alleged meeting with three men in black suits who visit him in his home in
Bridgeport, Connecticut. They give him a small fragment of metal that he can use to summon hem for further
contacts by holding it in his hand and repeating the word “Kazik.” (Albert K. Bender, FS and the Three Men,
Saucerian, 1962,
pp. 89–93; Mckee, Saucerian, pp. 113–114) July 7 — Evening. An Atlanta, Georgia, barber named Edward Watters buys a monkey from a pet shop,
shaves and kills it, cuts off its tail, then takes it with two friends, Tom Wilson and Arnold Payne, to US
Highway 78 near Leland [now part of Mableton], Georgia, and waits for the first car to stop. They tell the
driver, who turns out to be Cobb County policeman
Sherley Brown, that they had seen a flying saucer and accidentally killed one of its occupants. They bring
the dead animal to the Atlanta Constitution office, where reporter Thomas McRae notifies the FBI, which alerts
the Air Force at Dobbins AFB [now Dobbins Air Reserve Base] in Marietta. The animal is taken to Emory University
Hospital in Atlanta, where Anatomy Professor Marion Hines identifies it properly as a shaved Capuchin monkey.
Watters admits the hoax and is fined $40 by a judge. (Wikipedia, “
Martian Monkey”; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: 1953, March–July, The Author, 1989, pp. 96–102; “
Monkey from Mars Graces Ga. Crime Lab Display,” NBC News, July 29, 2008; Clark III 593; Clark IV 653; “
The Notorious and Cruel 1953 Mableton UFO Hoax,” Cobb County (Ga.) Courier, August 27, 2025) July 16 — Lt. Col. William F. Barns attains an official world airspeed record of 716 mph in a North
American F-86D Sabre over the Salton Sea, California. (Wikipedia, “
North American F-86D Sabre”; “
16 July 1953,” This Day in Aviation History, July 16, 2021) July 19 — 3:00 p.m. After an F-86 has been circling over a particular spot in Oak Ridge, Tennessee,
a black object emerges from a high white cloud and takes up its position after the plane has left toward
Knoxville. “This object was extremely black in color, having an appearance of a deep black metal exterior with
a fine gloss. It did not leave a vapor trail or were there any lights of shine noticed. No sound was heard.
The object flew east at a tremendous speed for what appeared to be approximately three miles where it stopped.
The object was then joined by two more of these same objects. A formation similar to a spread V was formed and
the objects, at a tremendous speed flew in an eastward direction.” The report is made by the Atomic Energy
Commission and addressed to Army Adjutant General
William Edward Bergin in Washington, D.C. (NICAP, “
Black Objects Maneuver over Area nr F-86”; “
Air Space Violation at Oak Ridge, Tennessee,” July 27, 1953) July 20 —
Ed Ruppelt returns to Project Blue Book as either acting chief or consultant until August 31. (
Sparks, p. 14; Clark III 55) July 25 — The Air Technical Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (Project Blue Book,
essentially) issues How to Make FLYOBRPTS, a 68-page manual for Air Force intelligence officers and others
who are required to make UFO reports. Its classification is “restricted.” It contains much useful information and
at least one whimsical cartoon. Blue Book chief
Edward Ruppelt possibly has a hand in writing the manual. (Air Technical Intelligence Center,
How to Make FLYOBRPTS, July 26, 1953) July 26 - 9:39 p.m. At Perrin AFB [now North Texas Regional Airport] in Sherman, Texas, ground
observers see 7 UFOs, each carrying a bright red light, hovering at 5,000-8,000 feet. They are in
a formation of two groups of three, and one trailing, then come together to form the letter "Z."
Then they circle, gain altitude, and fade from sight. Citizens in Sherman and Denison also see the
objects. Total duration is 16 minutes. This is classified as a "Vital Intelligence Sighting" and
sent to the Air Defense Command, the Secretary of Defense, and the CIA. (
CIRVIS Report, July 26, 1953) July 30 — Science journalist
John Joseph O’Neill observes through a telescope a feature on the western edge of the lunar Mare Crisium
that he interprets as a giant natural bridge. The observation is prematurely confirmed by amateur Welsh astronomer
Hugh Percy Wilkins. Although it turns out to be an illusion, the location is still known as O’Neill’s bridge.
When viewing conditions are poor or the telescope’s aperture is small, the feature resembles a bridge joining the
tips of the capes Promontorium Lavinium and Promontorium Olivium. If viewing conditions are good and the instrument
is large enough, the feature is seen as two small, eroded crater pits. (The Moon Wiki, “
O’Neill’s Bridge”; Andrew May, “The Lost Ruins of the Moon,” Fortean Times 358 (October 2017): 56–57) July 30–August 1 — A large UFO is seen for three nights over Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in
California. Park Superintendent
Elvind T. Scoyen and his staff observe it once at close range. On August 1, a squadron of Air Force fighters
sees the object streaking downward just before midnight. It stops abruptly then shoots upward. (Keyhoe, Aliens from
Space, Signet ed., 1974,
pp. 40–41) July 31 — Lt. Robert Olsson leaves Project Blue Book. He later tells Ruppelt his 5-month tenure “was
like being president of Antarctica on a nonexpedition year.” He is replaced by Airman 1C Max G. Futch. (
Sparks, p. 14; Ruppelt,
p. 228; Clark III 55, 937; Clark IV 75, 1047) July 31 — 7:00 p.m. Five Poles and two Germans see a disc-shaped object about 16 feet in diameter
land in a field near a railroad track on Wolin Island, Poland. After several minutes it rises up and flies
away at great speed. (Bronislaw Rzepecki, “
UFOs and Ufologists in Poland,” IUR 11, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1986): 15; Vallée, Magonia,
p. 203) August —
Wilbert B. Smith completes his classified report on Project Magnet for the Canadian Department of
Transport, writing that it can be deduced that UFOs are 100 or more feet in diameter, they can travel at speeds
of several thousand miles per hour, and can reach high altitudes. “It is difficult to reconcile this performance
with the capabilities of our technology [and] we are forced to the conclusion that the vehicles are probably
extraterrestrial, in spite of our prejudices to the contrary.” The DOT agrees to his proposal to set up an
electronic station for a “24-hour watch for flying saucers” in a hut at Shirley’s Bay, off Lake Manitou, Ontario.
quipment includes an ionospheric reactor, electronic sound measurement devices, gamma-ray detector, gravimeter,
magnetometer, and radio set. (“
Canada Plans Flying Saucer Observatory,” Washington (D.C.) Times-Herald, November 13, 1953, p. 27; “
Flying Saucers Project Denied,” New York Times, November 14, 1953, p. 3; Clark III 1078–1079; Clark IV
1195) August 1 — The US Air Force Security Service moves its headquarters from Brooks Air Force Base [now
closed] to Kelly Air Force Base [now Kelly Field Annex], both in San Antonio, Texas. (Wikipedia, “
Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Agency”) August 5 —
Gray Barker launches The Saucerian in Clarksburg, West Virginia, which covers UFO reports, monster yarns,
contactee tales, and the latest rumors about
Albert K. Bender. The centerpiece of the first issue is a lengthy report on the Flatwoods monster. The
zine continues through Spring 1955. (
The Saucerian 1, no. 1 (September 1953); Clark III 178; Clark IV 214; Mckee, Saucerian, pp. 34–37) August 5–6 — Around 8:00 p.m. Ground Observer Corps observer Phyllis Killian spots a UFO in Black
Hawk, South Dakota. Soon after, radar at Ellsworth AFB near Rapid City tracks a “well-defined, solid, and
bright” object. The base scrambles an F-84 and the pilot sees the UFO. Many witnesses see the object accelerate
and climb. The F-84 pursues but can reach no closer than 3 miles. Now low on fuel, the F-84 returns, followed
by the UFO. Immediately, another F-84 is sent up. Before long, the pilot receives strong radar returns of a
target right in front of him. Fear prevails and he breaks off the chase. The UFO goes off the scope, traveling
northeast. Reports soon come from Brunswick of a fast-moving, bright blue object, similar to the Rapid City
object. It hovers near an air filter center, performing more maneuvers and disappearing after midnight. Before
it leaves, three more UFOs are seen at 10,000 feet for three hours.
Ruppelt personally investigates and calls it “the best” in the USAF files,
Hynek writes that the “entire incident…has too much of an Alice-in-Wonderland flavor for comfort.”
Menzel blames the star Capella. The official file is several hundred pages long. (NICAP, “
The Rapid City / Ellsworth AFB Incident (RV)”;
Sparks, p. 203; Edward J. Ruppelt, “
What Our Air Force Found Out about Flying Saucers,” True, May 1954, pp. 19–20; Ruppelt,
pp. 232–235; Condon,
pp. 132–136; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: 1953, August–December, The Author, 1990, pp. 2–3; Swords 215; Jan Aldrich; Patrick Gross, “
The Ellsworth AFB Radar Multiple Visual Case, 1953”; Powell, Keyhoe, 137) August 6 — 5:00 p.m.–12:00 midnight. An estimated 75 objects with lights are seen by many witnesses
on the ground around Naval Air Station Barbers Point [now Kalaeloa Airport], Hawaii, from the airport control
tower and from the air. Many are also detected by radar. At 9:00 p.m., the crew of a Navy patrol aircraft
reports three head-on passes. These close calls alarm the pilot so much he lands immediately. Jet fighters are
scrambled and the same night an interceptor pilot sees a “glowing blob” rising rapidly toward him. It comes to
a sudden stop just behind his aircraft then accelerates briefly until it is beside him for four more seconds
before accelerating away out of sight at several times his own top speed. (Keyhoe,
FS Conspiracy, p. 63; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: 1953, August–December, The Author, 1990, p. 30) August 9 - 9:34 p.m. Supervisor Larry E. Towner and other Ground Observer Corps personnel
report a glowing disc about 200 feet in diameter over Moscow, Idaho. At 10:10 p.m., the first of
two F-86s is scrambled. The object lingers, with other lights seen, until around 5:00 a.m. (NICAP, "
Three F-86's Chase Disc Spotted by GOC"; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: 1953, August-December, The Author,
1990, pp. 3-4) August 10 — Wilbert B. Smith issues another report on Project Magnet, in which he concludes there
is a “substantial probability of the real existence of extraterrestrial vehicles” that use a “technology
considerably in advance of what we have.” The report is eventually sent to Prime Minister
Louis St. Laurent. (Good Above,
pp. 185,
187) August 12 — The USSR tests its first thermonuclear device, RDS-6s or Joe 4, at the Semipalatinsk Test
Site in Kazakhstan. A tenfold increase in explosive power is achieved by a combination of fusion energy and neutron-
initiated fission. Scholars dispute the authenticity of RDS-6 as a true thermonuclear device, as it does not manage
to produce a yield consistent with a true hydrogen bomb. (Wikipedia, “
RDS-6s”) August 13 — Paramount Pictures’ The War of the Worlds premieres in New York City. It is a modern
retelling of
H. G. Wells’s story of an invasion from Mars and features a Northrop YB-49 flying wing dropping an atomic
bomb on the invading Martians. The color footage comes from a test flight. The film is produced by
George Pal, directed by
Byron Haskin, and stars
Gene Barry and
Ann Robinson. (Wikipedia, “
The War of the Worlds (1953 film)”; Internet Movie Database, “
The War of the Worlds”; Bill Warren, Keep Watching the Skies!, McFarland, 2010, pp. 876–887) August 16–18 — Flying Saucers International, directed by Max Miller, holds the first UFO conference
at the Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles, California, featuring contactee speakers
Orfeo Angelucci,
Truman Bethurum,
George Van Tassel, and
George Adamski, as well as
Frank Scully, science-fiction illustrator
Mel Hunter, and the
Amazing Criswell. Some 1,500 people attend, and 2,000 are turned away at the door. On the final day, the
attendees vote to petition the US government to release all UFO data that does not jeopardize national
security, and someone manages to draft and sent a letter to President
Eisenhower. (Jack Jones, “
Flying Saucer Believers Hear Erstwhile Skeptic,” Los Angeles Daily News, August 18, 1953, p. 8; Orfeo Angelucci, “
A Release: On Flying Saucers First Convention,” Interplanetary News Digest 1, no. 2 (October 1953): 1;
Max Miller, “
First Flying Saucer Convention,” Saucers 1, no. 3 (December 1953): 2–4; Frank Scully, “
Summary of Lecture Given at Convention,” Saucers 1, no. 3 (December 1953): 3–4; Max Miller, “
Editorial,” Saucers 2, no. 3 (September 1954): 2–3; Story,
p. 91; Loren E. Gross,
UFOs, a History: 1953 August–December, The Author, 1990, pp. 7–8; James W. Moseley and Karl T. Pflock,
Shockingly Close to the Truth! Confessions of a Grave-Robbing Ufologist, Prometheus, 2002, pp. 72–75;
Clark III 1033; Clark IV 1149) August 17. MEXICO, Ciudad Valles. Salvidor Villanueva, 40 , noted failure in his auto
engine. As he tried to make repairs he was approached by two men, 4 ft. tall wearing gray coveralls
and carrying helmets. An object 40 ft. across, disc-shaped with a dome and humming sound was seen.
It ascended vertically at high speed. Bushes and sticks were found broken at the site. This formed
a circle 40 to 45 ft. across. (FSR l-70) August 17?- Lina Ivanova Kravets is in her garden in Shtanivka, Ukraine, when she sees a
trio of intruders cutting branches off her apple, plum, and cherry trees. Approaching closer,
she sees they are 11-foot-tall entities wearing dark overalls, helmets, and gloves. They claim
to be extraterrestrials, converse with her about God and their peaceful home world that is
prone to natural disasters and somehow affected by the earth's wars, and insist they are on a
mission to rescue a missing scout team. They then point out a silvery sphere hovering just
above the ground with similar tall being standing next to it. Before the lengthy encounter
ends, the beings offer Kravets a piece of bread the size of a small coin. Breaking it open,
she sees something dark and odorless inside, so she refuses it. The beings then walk to the
sphere in a peculiar waddling manner, wave as they enter, and take off in the craft at terrific
speed. (Peter Rogerson, "
INTCAT 1953"; Joshua Cutchin, "The Great Alien Bake-Off," Fortean Times 332
(November 2015): 44) August 18. Ashboro, North Carolina. Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Dixon found a perfect 18 ft.
circle in their front yard. The circle had a substance that appeared to be some kind af powder
and had a burned odor although it did not kill or scorch the grass. (George Fawcett) August 19 - 9:00 p.m. A small, fast-moving, ricocheting fireball rips a foot-wide hole through
a metal billboard at Middlestone Avenue and Front Street in East New Haven, Connecticut. IFSB
investigator
August C. Roberts and Joseph Barbieri steal a piece of the sign during an investigation by Naval
Ordnance personnel. IFSB sends the sample to Col.
Robert B. Emerson, an Army physicist at Louisiana State University
in Baton Rouge, who contacts friends at Oak Ridge Laboratory in Tennessee to have it analyzed,
but nothing else is heard of this sample. APRO arranges for a separate analysis of the deposits
on the sign performed by Anderson Laboratories in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the Chicago Spectrographic
Service Laboratory. They determine that the fragments consist of copper and copper oxide and are
not meteoritic.
Michael D. Swords suggests that Roberts's retrieval of the metal fragments would have attracted
the attention of federal officials. (NICAP, "
New Haven Signboard Case"; "Mystery Blast Shatters Sign," New Haven (Conn.) Journal-Courier,
August 20, 1953; "
Blast Rips Sign in Conn.: W. Haven Object Pierces Steel,"
APRO Bulletin 2, no. 2 (September 15, 1953): 1, 4; "
Metal Gives Evidence in Saucer Hunt," Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Gazette, October 21, 1953, p. 14;
Keyhoe,
FS Conspiracy, pp. 30, 233-234; Gray Barker, They Knew Too Much about Flying Saucers,
University Books, 1956,
pp. 90-91; Albert K. Bender, FS and the Three Men, Saucerian, 1962,
pp. 128-131; Michael D. Swords, "
Tales from the Barker Zone," IUR 17, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1992): 5-7; James W. Moseley and Karl
T. Pflock, Shockingly Close to the Truth: Confessions of a Grave-Robbing Ufologist, Prometheus,
2002, pp. 40-41; Clark III 728-729; Clark IV 809; Mckee, Saucerian, p. 38) August 20 — 9:05 p.m. The crew of a TB-29 sees a grayish oval object near Castle AFB [now Castle Airport
Aviation and Development Center], northeast of Atwater, California. The UFO makes four passes at the plane, then
dives vertically as if it consists of two objects. (NICAP, “
TB-29 Crew Files CIRVIS Report”;
Sparks, p. 203; Covert 23) August 21 — Test pilot Lt. Col.
Marion Eugene Carl reaches an unofficial altitude of 83,235 feet in a Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket. (Wikipedia, “
Marion Eugene Carl”) August 22 - Dusk. Mexico City taxi driver Salvador Villanueva Medina is chauffeuring some
American tourists to do some shopping in Nuevo Laredo, but the car breaks down just north of
Ciudad Valles. The tourists catch a ride back to town and leave Villanueva behind to try to fix
their car. He is approached by a short man with a white face and wearing a one-piece garment
who claims to be an aviator. He walks away after a short time but returns with a companion at
night when Villanueva is trying to sleep in the car. He realizes that they are space people and
accompanies them to their spacecraft, where they tell him about life on other planets. Later he
claims to have visited their planet, which he assumes is Venus. Villanueva's tale is heavily
influenced by
George Adamski. (Desmond Leslie, "
Mexican Taxi Driver Meets Saucer Crew?" Flying Saucer
Review 2, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1956): 8-12; Bryant and Helen Reeve, Flying Saucer Pilgrimage, Amherst
Press, 1957,
pp. 55-70,
82-83; Salvador Villaneuva Medina, Yo estuve en el
planeta Venus, The Author, 1958; Patrick Gross,
"URECAT," June 26, 2007; Eghigian, After, pp.
128-130) August 23 — 12:00 noon. Tom P. Drury, deputy director of the Civilian Aviation Department at Port
Moresby, Papua New Guinea, takes 24 frames of 8mm color film of a silvery object that emerges from a cloud
and climbs quickly, leaving a vapor trail. The Royal Australian Air Force and USAF intelligence are said to
have studied the film, which has since disappeared, with only a few third-generation stills of poor quality
remaining. Later researchers suspect a daytime meteor. (NICAP, “
Drury Film / Saucer-Like Object Climbing”;
Sparks, p. 204; “
‘Missile’ over N.G. Reported,” Warwick (Queensland) Daily News, September 7, 1953, p. 2; “
Flying Saucer Filmed,” Lithgow (N.S.W.) Mercury, January 25, 1954, p. 2; “
America Will Examine Our ‘Saucer’ Film,” Perth West Australian, January 25, 1954, p. 1; Edgar Jarrold, “
The Port Moresby Photos
August 24 — Contactee George Van Tassel gets to step, for the first time, inside a flying saucer, when an extraterrestrial named Solganda wakes him up and leads him to a waiting ship, giving him a tour of the interior and a technique for rejuvenating the human body before dropping him off and shooting back into space. (George W. Van Tassel, Into This World and Out Again, The Author, 1956, pp. 80–84; Jody Rosen, “ Welcome to the Integratron,” New York Times Magazine, August 20, 2014; Lesla Miller Schnur, “ G. W. Van Tassel’s Integraton,” The Haunted Librarian, August 27, 2021; Eric Wills, “ Good Vibrations,” The American Scholar, April 15, 2024)
August 26 — USAF issues Air Force Regulation 200-2, which tightens UFO reporting and investigating procedures, further restricting the release of UFO information and superseding Air Force Letter 200-5. It directs that all confirmed UFO reports be sent electronically to air force intelligence. Tangible evidence must go to ATIC in Dayton. It also confines UFO investigations to three groups: USAF intelligence at the Pentagon, the 4602nd AISS, and ATIC (although ATIC only gets reports after they go to the 4602nd). Sightings are only to be discussed with “authorized personnel.” Reports by USAF personnel no longer go to Project Blue Book, which is now only a PR front. Some good cases still go there, but far fewer unidentifieds. Only solved cases are to be discussed publicly; those still unidentified are to remain classified at the Restricted level. (“ Unidentified Flying Objects Reporting,” Air Force Regulation 200-2, August 26, 1953; Swords 198–199; Clark III 918; Clark IV 1028)
August 27 — 9:45 p.m. A USAF pilot, M/Sgt, and others, all on the ground, see a meandering light for 50 minutes at Greenville AFB [now Mid-Delta Regional Airport], Mississippi. ( Sparks, p. 204)
August 28 — A Ground Observer Corps volunteer watches 14 cigar-shaped UFOs silently moving over San Rafael, California. One appears to be leading the formation at about 200 mph. They are first seen heading west through breaks in the clouds, then turn north and disappear behind clouds. (Good Above, p. 278)
August 31 — Edward J. Ruppelt leaves Project Blue Book permanently to take up a job as senior engineer at Northrop Aircraft, leaving Max Futch in charge as acting chief through December. ( Sparks, p. 14; Clark III 55; Powell, Keyhoe, 111)
September — George Adamski’s account (ghostwritten or at least heavily edited by Clara John) of his meeting in the desert with the Venusian named Orthon is appended to an already completed manuscript on modern and historical UFO reports by Irish occultist Desmond Leslie and published as Flying Saucers Have Landed. It begins appearing in bookstores in the US, UK, and Canada this month. Leslie asserts that the first spaceman (a Venusian) arrived on earth in 18,617,841 B.C. [in the early Miocene Epoch] and claims that early UFOs were called vimanas in Sanskrit epics like the Ramayana. He also argues that the Great Pyramid and megalithic structures were built with levitation techniques derived from space people. (Desmond Leslie and George Adamski, Flying Saucers Have Landed, British Book Centre, 1953; Arthur C. Clarke, “ Reviews: Flying Saucers Have Landed,” Journal of the British Interplanetary Society 13, no. 2 (March 1954): 119–122; Clark III 40, 103; Curt Collins, “ The Woman Who Made UFO News,” The Saucers That Time Forgot, December 19, 2024; Clark IV 59, 131)
September - Airline stewardess Gloria Lee of Westchester, California, begins to hear a voice in her head that identifies itself as "J.W.," a resident of Jupiter. Lee insists on a physical visit. Not long afterward, as she is hanging wash in her backyard, she hears the voice say, "Well, you've been wanting to see me." She looks up and sees "a saucer, big as life, flying toward Santa Monica." She has other experiences and founds the Cosmon Research Organization to publish and study J.W.'s teachings, much of which resemble philosophy in the 1882 book Oahspe, produced by automatic writing by John Ballou Newbrough. She goes on the contactee lecture circuit. (Gloria Lee, Why We Are Here: By J.W., a Being from Jupiter through the Instrumentation of Gloria Lee, Cosmon Research Foundation, 1959; Gloria Lee, The Changing Conditions of Your World, Cosmon Research Foundation, 1962; Clark III 682-683; Eghigian, After, p. 140; Clark IV 758)
September — Genevieve A. Johnston begins publishing the contactee newsletter Interplanetary News Digest in Joshua Tree, California. It continues through spring 1955. ( Interplanetary News Digest 1, no. 1 (September 1953))
September — Night. A witness, F. Campaña, near Santoña, Spain, sees a bright blue object rise at a 75° angle from the Cantabrian Sea about 2 miles away. It is visible for one minute before it passes out of sight. (Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos, A Catalogue of 200 Type-I UFO Events in Spain and Portugal, CUFOS, April 1976, p. 3; Dolan, USO1, 163)
September 4. FRANCE, Tennerre. A woman saw two objects on the ground and 3-5 f t. tall men running towards the object. They had large heads and wore helmets and boots. One entered the elongated object which was 18 ft. wide. It took a vertical position resting on a tripod and took off with a spherical object into which the other two creatures had gone. Traces were found. (Vallee III)
September 7 — British pilot Neville Duke reaches 728 mph in a Hawker Hunter Mk.3 at Littlehampton, England. (Wikipedia, “ Neville Duke”)
September 7 — 6:30 p.m. Don P. Hollister, a technical writer for Goodyear Aircraft, notices a grayish-blue object heading north directly over his backyard in Cleveland, Ohio, at less than 3,000 feet altitude. It is shaped like an equilateral triangle but rounded somewhat on the sides and angles. It is rotating on a central axis. The object disappears after 5 seconds. (UFOEv, p. 70)
September 10 — Truck driver Gene Davis is traveling on State Highway 67 between Breckenridge and Graham, Texas, when he sees a triangular object cross the road in front of him at a height of about 6–7 feet. He estimates it is about 4 feet from one tip of the triangle to the next, about one foot thick, and appears to be made of shiny metal. Another driver headed in the opposite direction also sees the object. They both jump out of their vehicles, but by that time the object is hovering in a field about 200 feet away and some 9–10 feet off the ground. It takes off straight up. (“ Driver Asserts Flying Saucer Crossed Path,” Freeport (Tex.) Daily Facts-Review, September 11, 1953, p. 7)
September 12? — Morning. Three men in black suits allegedly visit Albert K. Bender in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and inquire about a paper on the origin of the flying saucers that he has just mailed to a friend. They apparently threaten him, in a series of visits that began in August, to convince him to end his saucer research. (Albert K. Bender, FS and the Three Men, Saucerian, 1962, pp. 94–128; Mckee, Saucerian, pp. 40–41, 70–71, 113–115)
September 14 — Albert K. Bender sends letters to associates in his International Flying Saucer Bureau, advising them, not to sign up any new members until after the release of the October issue of Space Review. ([Gray Barker], “ Editorial: The I.F.S.B. Closing,” The Saucerian 2, no. 1 (February 1954): 2; Albert K. Bender, FS and the Three Men, Saucerian, 1962, pp. 103–104; Mckee, Saucerian, p. 41)
September 15–19 — Operation Top Hat, a “local field exercise,” takes place at the Army Chemical School [now the US Army CBRN School] at Fort McClellan [now closed], Alabama. The experiments use Chemical Corps personnel to test decontamination methods for biological and chemical weapons, including sulfur mustard and nerve agents. The personnel are deliberately exposed to these contaminants, are not volunteers, and are not informed of the tests. In a 1975 Pentagon Inspector General’s report, the military maintain that Operation Top Hat is not subject to the guidelines requiring approval because it is a line-of-duty exercise in the Chemical Corps. (Wikipedia, “ Operation Top Hat”)
September 26 — British pilot Mike Lithgow attains an official world airspeed record of 736 mph in a Supermarine Swift F 4 at Castel Idris, Tripoli, Libya. (Wikipedia, “ Mike Lithgow”)
September 28 — 7:10 p.m. In Palmdale, California, a UFO appears on an F-94C radarscope for a period of 15 seconds. The object is traveling on a 60° course at an estimated speed of 2,300 mph. It is 4 miles away when first seen and compares with a C-47 in size on the radarscope. The F-94 was moving at 345 mph at 21,000 feet. The same or another object is observed visually from another F-94C for six seconds at 7:00 p.m. The object is described as round, orange in color, and traveling on the same course as the first object. (NICAP, “ F-94C Tracks UFO at 200 Knots”; Sparks, p. 204)
Late September — Night. Baltimore, Maryland, astronomer James C. Bartlett Jr. is observing a transit of the star Fomalhaut when he notices four large lights moving slowly in the sky. He looks at them through binoculars and sees that they are on the noses of two enormous cigar- shaped objects at about 3,000 feet altitude. He can also see an apparent cabin and portholes and he hears a sound like a piston engine. (“ Two Huge UFOs Sighted by Baltimore Astronomer,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 5 (Aug./Sept. 1958): 1, 3)
September 30 — Project Blue Book issues its Status Report #12. (US Air Force, Projects Grudge and Blue Book Reports 1–12, NICAP, 1968, pp. 215–235)
Autumn — Dusk. Cecil Tenney is driving near Dutton, Montana, when he sees a cigar-shaped object about 200 feet away. Apparently in trouble, it belches fire and smoke, and after a few minutes he hears an explosion. Balls of fire rain down from the sky. He tells the story to a highway patrol officer at a nearby bar before driving on to Conrad, Montana. That evening a colonel from Great Falls AFB [now Malmstrom AFB] calls and tells him to show up at the base in the morning. He is interrogated there for 30 minutes, and on the way out sees soldiers carrying bags that he thinks might contain body parts. (Leonard H. Stringfield, “Retrievals of the Third Kind: A Case Study of Alleged UFOs and Occupants in Military Custody,” MUFON 1978 UFO Symposium Proceedings, Mutual UFO Network, 1978, pp. 77–105; Clark III 342; Clark IV 378)
October — The final issue of Space Review edited by Albert K. Bender states that UFOs are “no longer a mystery. The source is already known, but any information about this is being withheld by orders from a higher source.” After January 1, 1954, the IFSB will no longer investigate flying saucers. With the effective shut-down of Bender’s IFSB, its English branch in Bristol becomes the British Flying Saucer Bureau, with Edward L. Plunkett as president. It affiliates with the Flying Saucer Club in Hove, Sussex. (“ Statement of Importance,” Space Review 2, no. 4 (October 1953): 1, 7–8; “ Strange News from America,” Flying Saucer News, no. 3 (Autumn 1953): 6, 13; Albert K. Bender, Flying Saucers and the Three Men, Saucerian, 1962, pp. 133–135; Clark III 189; Clark IV 225; Mckee, Saucerian, p. 42)
October 1— Donald E. Keyhoe’s Flying Saucers from Outer Space is published by Henry Holt. Excerpts appear in the October 20 issue of Look. His message is that aliens are here, the military knows it, and they are covering it up from the public to avoid panic. He has gotten clearance from Ruppelt and Chop to include 51 classified UFO reports from the Air Technical Intelligence Center, which runs Project Blue Book. The Air Force states that Keyhoe is misrepresenting their analyses, so he sends a telegram to USAF Secretary Harold E. Talbott and Gen. Sory Smith, saying that if he really misrepresented anything, as a Marine Corps officer he should be disciplined. The Air Force offers no comment. In the book, he takes note of a curious document (never published and now lost) prepared by USAF Col. William C. Odell titled “Planet Earth: Host to Extraterrestrial Life,” in which he speculates on aliens crossing space in search of new planets to live on once their own fails. (Wikipedia, “ Flying Saucers from Outer Space”; Donald E. Keyhoe, Flying Saucers from Outer Space, Holt, 1953; Douglas Larsen, “ Saucer Scribe Believes Public Convinced Reports Are Authentic,” Hazelton (Pa.) Plain Speaker, December 16, 1953, p. 5; Keyhoe, FS Conspiracy, p. 55; James W. Moseley and Karl T. Pflock, Shockingly Close to the Truth! Confessions of a Grave-Robbing Ufologist, Prometheus, 2002, pp. 44–45; Michael D. Swords, “ Colonel Odell and the Invasion of Earth,” IUR 30, no. 3 (May 2006): 3–6; Powell, Keyhoe, 130; Graff 99–100)
October 3 - USN pilot James B. Verdin reaches 753 mph in a Douglas F4D Skyray over the Salton Sea, California. (Wikipedia, " Douglas F4D Skyray")
October 4 — Dominick Lucchesi and August Roberts visit Albert K. Bender in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to find out what he meant in his October editorial about flying saucers no longer being a mystery. His answers are evasive. However, over the next few months, he confides to Gray Barker and a few others that three menacing men dressed in black suits have called on him, told him the answer to the UFO mystery, and insisted that he will go to jail if he repeats it. The experience allegedly terrifies him, and that is why he has decided to close the International Flying Saucer Bureau. Barker immortalizes the episode in a 1956 book, They Knew Too Much about Flying Saucers, and Bender breaks his long silence in 1962 with Flying Saucers and the Three Men, in which he claims that the visitors are not government agents but monsters from the distant planet Kazik. Even Barker concedes privately that he cannot swallow Bender’s fantastic tale of abduction to the South Pole by monstrous space beings. Bender does little to promote the book and soon moves to Los Angeles and secures an unlisted telephone number. However, the book does reveal Bender’s long-time obsession with science fiction, horror movies, and the occult. (“ Statement of Importance,” Space Review 2, no. 4 (October 1953): 1, 7–8; Coral Lorenzen, “ The Editorial,” APRO Bulletin 2, no. 3 (November 15, 1953): 2, 5–6; Lem M’Collum, “ Saucerers Here Ordered to Quit,” Bridgeport (Conn.) Sunday Herald, November 22, 1953, reprinted in The Saucerian (Bulletin), December 1953, p. 1–2; “ The Bender IFSB Affair,” APRO Bulletin 2, no. 4 (January 15, 1954): 4–5; [Gray Barker], “ Editorial: The I.F.S.B. Closing,” The Saucerian 2, no. 1 (February 1954): 1–10; Gray Barker, They Knew Too Much about Flying Saucers, University Books, 1956, pp. 127–135; George Hunt Williamson, “ The Silence Group,” Saucerian Bulletin 1, no. 5 (November 15, 1956): 6; Lonzo Dove, “ Gray Barker’s ‘Three Men in Black,’” Saucer News 6, no. 3 (June 1959): 6–13; Albert K. Bender, Flying Saucers and the Three Men, Saucerian, 1962, pp. 135–139; Story, pp. 50–51; Brian Burden, “ MIBs and the Intelligence Community,” Awareness 9, no. 1 (Spring 1980): 6, 7–8; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, A History: 1953, August–December, The Author, 1990, pp. 40–41; Michael D. Swords, “ Tales from the Barker Zone,” IUR 17, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1992): 6; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History, 1953, August–December, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2002, p. 38; “ Men in Black – Albert K. Bender on MIB and International Flying Saucer Bureau,” Ufology: A Primer in Audio 1938–1959, November 21, 2013; Clark III 189–192, 623, 728–729; Eghigian, After, pp. 97–98; Clark IV 224–227, 807–809; Mckee, Saucerian, pp. 40–45, 54–55, 113–115)
October 9 — 3:50 p.m. A UFO is seen at Caulfield, Melbourne, Victoria, discharging a white trail described as “strange shiney filaments” that cover wires and trees. A sample turns out to be a “nylon-like amorphous mass with traces of magnesium, calcium, boron, and silicon.” It shrinks from 3 inches to one-half inch in an air-tight container. (“ Wispy Threads from Sky,” Australian Flying Saucer Review (UFOIC), no. 9 (November 1966): 12; Keith Basterfield, “ Angel Hair: An Australian Perspective,” IUR 27, no. 1 (Spring 2002): 6; Brian Boldman, “ Angel Hair Physical Analyses: A Review,” JUFOS 9 (2006): 101)
October 9 — 4:30 p.m. Three unidentified objects are tracked on radar at RAF Bawdsey [now Bawdsey Manor], Suffolk, England, at an altitude of 36,000 feet above the Netherlands. Soon they are tracked flying east to west over the Harwich area. Some jets at RAF Waterbeach [now Waterbeach Barracks], Cambridgeshire, are scrambled but can locate nothing. Airmen at Bawdsey can see nothing but four contrails heading north. The objects then reverse and move back across the English Channel at 32,000–34,000 feet. The apparent speed on the approach is 430 mph, increasing to 483 mph on the short leg over the UK and 564 mph on the return. (NICAP, “ Three UFOs Flew over Area, Tracked on Radar”; “ English Channel,” APRO Bulletin 2, no. 6 (May 15, 1954): 12; “ Sightings Continue at a Steady Pace during Last Half of 1953,” Civilian Saucer Investigation Quarterly Bulletin, no. 4 (Winter 1954): 2, 3; Covert 24–25)
October 15 — 10:10 a.m. During the tracking of a Project Grab Bag balloon launch, a 40-foot object leaving a brief vapor trail is seen by three General Mills Aeronautical Lab research engineers ( James A. Winker, Fletcher L. Bartholomew, and Richard J. Reilly) near Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is traveling south in horizontal flight at 1,100 mph, moving 10° in nine seconds at about 40,000 ft altitude and 25° elevation. The object goes into a vertical dive for about 10-15 seconds, then glows or flashes in the sun two or three times for 1 second each. It is seen in the theodolite as a gray mass. It levels off and the vapor trail stops. (NICAP, “ Project GRAB BAG Sighting”; Sparks, p. 205; Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine eds., 1974, pp. 71–72; Hynek UFO Report, pp. 113–114)
October 16 — Harvard astronomer Donald Menzel writes to USAF Director of Intelligence Gen. John A. Samford that he would like to meet with ATIC officers in Washington, D.C. (Good Above, p. 278)
October 16 — 4:00–4:30 p.m. Emerson “Slim” F. Morris watches a large, cigar-shaped object as it approaches Brigantine, New Jersey, from over the Atlantic. It releases several smaller objects from both ends. The smaller discs are white, rotating counterclockwise, and rapidly speed away. Before the large object disappears, it emits a blinding ray of light toward the ground that hurts Morris’s eyes. (Herbert S. Taylor, “ Satellite Objects: A Further Look,” IUR 29, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 7)
October 19 — 12:10 a.m. Capt. J. L. Kidd is flying an American Airlines DC-6 between Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., when over the Conowingo Dam, Maryland, his copilot sees something gleaming in the moonlight dead ahead and closing rapidly. Kidd blinks on his landing lights and the UFO beams back a blinding light back at the DC-6. Kidd puts the plane into a steep dive. Caught unaware, the passengers are tossed about the cabin, many suffering injuries. Kidd radios Washington National Airport [now Ronald Reagan International Airport] to report a near collision and complain about air traffic. Air traffic control reports no known aircraft in his vicinity. (Keyhoe, FS Conspiracy, pp. 60–61; Good Above, p. 282; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1953, August–December, The Author, 1990, pp. 34, 38)
October 20 — The NSA Robertson Committee report is completed and classified top secret. It recommends better and faster use of electronic intelligence in radar activity that might indicate an imminent attack, noting that the Air Force is not cooperating with the Army or Navy on these matters. (Clark III 55–56)
October 22 — Menzel meets with USAF headquarters personnel (including Col. George E. Perry) and ATIC at the Pentagon. (Good Above, p. 279)
October 25 — 8:15–8:30 p.m. Air Force weather observers at Lubbock, Texas, notice a V formation of 5–7 dull white lights sweep north to south. In three seconds, the formation goes from a point overhead to 3° above the horizon where they disappear. Other groups of two or more lights follow at about 5-minute intervals. (“ Lubbock Lights Repeat,” Civilian Saucer Investigations Quarterly Bulletin, no. 4 (Winter 1954): 4–5; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1953, August–December, The Author, 1990, pp. 35–36; Clark III 693; Clark IV 769)
October 29 — USAF pilot Frank Kendall Everest Jr. reaches 755 mph in a North American F-100 Super Sabre over the Salton Sea, California. (Wikipedia, “ Frank Kendall Everest Jr.”)
October 31 — 9:10 p.m. Air Force weather observers at Lubbock, Texas, again view a large V formation of lights passing directly overhead from northwest to east-southeast. They are seen again 5 minutes later on the western horizon. (“ Lubbock Lights Repeat,” Civilian Saucer Investigations Quarterly Bulletin, no. 4 (Winter 1954): 4–5; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1953, August–December, The Author, 1990, pp. 35–36; Clark III 693–694; Clark IV 769)
November. NORWAY, Gjersjoen Bridge. Mr. Trygve, Mrs. Buflot and a neighbor saw an object rise from behind a hill and follow their car, stopping ahead of them just above the ground. They stopped, and felt "pricklings" until the craft took off vertically. A watch stopped working, and numerous people vouch for the fact that the paint on the car changed from beige to dark green. (Vallee III)
November — Capt. Charles A. Hardin takes charge of Project Blue Book. ( Sparks, p. 14; Clark III 918, 937; Clark IV 1029, 1047)
November — Maverick Austrian psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich reads Keyhoe’s book, Flying Saucers from Outer Space, and becomes fascinated with the subject, theorizing that UFOs are spaceships powered by orgone energy. He claims to see them flying over Orgonon, his home and laboratory in Rangeley, Maine, shaped like thin cigars with windows, leaving streams of black Deadly Orgone Radiation in their wake, which he believes the aliens are scattering to destroy the Earth. He and his son Peter spend their nights searching for UFOs through telescopes and binoculars, and sometimes, when they believe they have found one, they roll out a cloudbuster to suck the energy out of the perceived or imagined UFO. Reich later claims he has shot several of them down. (Peter Reich, A Book of Dreams, Harper & Row, 1973, pp. 145–146; Myron R. Sharaf, Fury on Earth: A Biography of Wilhelm Reich, Deutsch, 1983, pp. 413–414; Christopher Turner, Adventures in the Orgasmatron: Wilhelm Reich and the Invention of Sex, HarperCollins, 2011, pp. 370–376; Mckee, Saucerian, pp. 82–84)
November — Terence M. Tibando, 5, is on a walk around RCAF Station St. Jean, Quebec, with his mother and baby brother James when they see a domed, disc-shaped, silvery object flying over the military buildings at an altitude of 300–500 feet. It hovers momentarily then flies off. A few nights later, three small luminous beings (similar to Casper the Friendly Ghost) float through his bedroom wall. Tibando becomes frightened and calls out to his mother several times, who inspects the room and finds nothing. However, they reappear after she leaves, and this happens once more. The beings walk around to the head of his bed and appear luminously white with small mouths and large, human-like eyes. He pulls the bedcovers over his head to hide, but soon falls asleep. From that time on, he begins drawing pictures of rockets, planets, and stars. (Nigel Watson, “UAPs and Luminous Ghosts,” Fortean Times 415 (February 2022): 30–31)
November — 6:30 p.m. Trygve Jansen and two other witnesses are driving north on the Gamle Mossevei road at the Gjersjøen bridge, Norway, when they see an object rise from behind a hill, swing out over the lake, and move back to the road, circling and following their car. Suddenly it stops and hovers above the road 30 feet in front of them, emitting a green light. Jansen stops, and all three witnesses experience mild electrical shocks until the object rises and disappears. When he returns home, Jansen’s wife points out that the car’s beige paint has turned a bright green. (Carl Olsen, “ Chased by a Flying Saucer!” Flying Saucer Review 2, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1956): 16; K. Gösta Rehn, “ Saucer Blocked Road in Norway,” APRO Bulletin, March 1962, pp. 1, 3)
November 3 — 10:00 a.m. An RAF NF.10 Vampire pilot (Flight Lt. Terry S. Johnson) and navigator (Flying Officer Geoffrey Smythe) flying at 30,000 feet near RAF West Malling [now closed], Kent, England, see a star- like light far above them. Suddenly it moves toward them at tremendous speed. They see it as circular and emitting a bright light around its periphery. The duration is 30 seconds. Air Minister George Ward calls it a “balloon”; when author Desmond Leslie calls him up to suggest this is incorrect, Ward tells him: “I know it wasn’t a balloon. You know it wasn’t a balloon. But until I’ve got a saucer on the ground in Hyde Park and can charge the public sixpence a go to enter, it must be balloons, otherwise the government would fall and I’d lose my job.” It is possible that this object was a Skyhook balloon launched from Holloman AFB in New Mexico on October 27 that failed to drop into the Atlantic after a 12-hour flight. (Desmond Leslie, “ Politicians and the UFO,” Flying Saucer Review 9, no. 3 (May/June 1963): 8–9; Good Above, pp. 35, 53; Good Need, p. 154; UFOFiles2, pp. 57, 62–63; David Clarke, “The Prince and the Saucers,” Fortean Times 406 (June 2021): 18)
November 3 — 2:45 p.m. In Lee, southeast London, a solid target is tracked on radar by the 256th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment moving slowly at a distance of 17 miles. Through a telescope it appears to be a circular white object. The target is tracked for 25 minutes by four aircraft technicians, including Sgt. H. Waller, who says it is about 350–450 feet in diameter and definitely not a balloon. The War Office claims the object is a radiosonde balloon. (NICAP, “ Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment Tracks UFO”; “ ‘Glowing’ Object Only a Balloon,” Palm Beach (Fla.) Post, November 20, 1953, p. 14; Keyhoe, FS Conspiracy, p. 79; Good Above, pp. 35–36)
November 5 — President Eisenhower issues Executive Order 10501, abolishing the classification of “Restricted.” UFO sightings are unaffected, as meaningful sightings are classified at higher levels. There are now explicit guidelines for the remaining three classification levels to prevent a systematic flood of classified documents coming from the Pentagon and other agencies. The Pentagon responds by creating its own “special access” labels to further insulate classified information from outside influence. (“ Executive Order 10501”)
November 16 - A fluffy material streams out of a UFO over the San Fernando Valley, California, and falls to the ground mostly near the intersection of White Oak Avenue and Haynes Street in Reseda. A reporter who examines it describes it as "a fluffy blanket dead-white, almost ephemeral in its delicacy and apparently electrically charged." Mr. and Mrs. Louis D'Angelo of Reseda see a huge silvery ball flying up, down, and sideways; the substance seems to come out of its back end. Clinging bits of web-like material remain on trees and telephone lines for several months. She reports that it has static qualities. (Keyhoe, FS Conspiracy, pp. 227-228; Olsen, sec. 3, pp. 26-27; Clark III 124; Clark IV 151)
November 16 — 9:00 p.m. Keyhoe debates Time magazine’s science editor, Jonathan Norton Leonard, on ABC Radio’s America’s Town Meeting on the Air on “Flying Saucers: Fact or Illusion?” Leonard tries to refute Keyhoe’s assertions of Air Force secrecy, while Keyhoe cites many cases and documents from his book that Leonard dismisses out of hand. (“ Keyhoe/Leonard Debate – Town Meeting 11.16.1953,” in Ufology: A Primer in Audio, 1939–1959, November 21, 2013)
November 19 — Bacteriologist Frank Olson is a leading scientist at the army’s Chemical Corps, Special Operations Division at Fort Detrick, Maryland. SOD supplies the CIA with an array of deadly microbes and chemicals that cannot be detected in an autopsy. It also supplies delivery methods for anthrax. The CIA pays SOD $200,000 a year for these services until 1969. Olson is duped into a meeting with MKUltra Director Sidney Gottlieb at a secluded cabin. Olson has a very bad trip and still hasn’t recovered after several days. (H. P. Albarelli Jr., A Terrible Mistake: The Murder of Frank Olson and the CIA’s Cold War Experiments, Trine Day, 2009; Stephen Kinzer, “ The Secret History of Fort Detrick, the CIA’s Base for Mind Control Experiments,” Politico Magazine, September 15, 2019)
November 20 — Australian Minister for Air William McMahon tells Parliament that all UFO reports “are still being investigated closely and recorded as an aid to further research,” but the RAAF’s approach is a bit more ad hoc. (“ Flying Saucers Start World-wide Storm in a Teacup,” Launceston (Tas.) Examiner, November 21, 1953, p. 4; Swords 377)
November 20 — An American woman sends a registered letter to US Air Force Intelligence at Wright- Patterson AFB near Dayton, Ohio, that contains a recently channeled message from Ashtar, commandant of the Vela space fleet, containing a “friendly warning” that if Earth people do not abandon war, the space people will disrupt planetary production, transportation, and communications. (Harold T. Wilkins, Flying Saucers Uncensored, Citadel, 1955, pp. 75–76 )
November 22 — Navy Capt. Walter Karig, author of the 1947 novel Zotz!, writes “Operation UFO: The Official Truth about Flying Saucers” for The American Weekly newspaper insert. He covers Secretary of the Navy Kimball’s 1952 UFO sighting and the ONR saucer probe. He emphasizes the Air Force’s 20% unexplained rate and does not rule out the extraterrestrial hypothesis. (Walter Karig, “ Operation UFO: The Official Truth about Flying Saucers,” American Weekly insert, San Francisco Examiner, November 22, 1953, pp. 4–5; Swords 217)
November 22 — 10:00 p.m. A man who works in the supply transport office of the RAAF Woomera Rocket Range near Woomera, South Australia, sees a green object like a saucer fly to the north between Woocalla and Birthday Siding. It is emitting blue exhaust. Another man driving the same route around 2:00 a.m. about 50 miles from Woomera sees a bluish-green circular object moving north. It is seen again by another man in the same area around 2:30 a.m. A fourth party sees two orange flares dropping from the sky near Pimba at 3:15 a.m. All of the objects are at an altitude of more than 5,000 feet. (Keith Basterfield, “ Listing of Reports from Woomera, South Australia,” 2008)
November 23 — Evening. ADC radar detects an unknown object moving at 500 mph over Lake Superior. An F-89C Scorpion interceptor, piloted by Lt. Felix Moncla Jr., with radar observer Lt. Robert L. Wilson in the rear cockpit, is dispatched from Kinross AFB [now Chippewa County International Airport], south of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The jet heads toward the target under radar guidance. At 8,000 feet, 160 miles northwest of the Soo Locks, the blips of the F-89 and the UFO merge then fade from the screen. Nothing more is heard from the plane and no trace of it is found. Attempts are made to contact Moncla via radio, but without success. A search and rescue operation by both the USAF and the Royal Canadian Air Force is quickly mounted, but fails to find any trace of the plane or its pilots. Weather conditions are a factor in hampering the search. A Pentagon spokesman claims the UFO is an RCAF C-47 Dakota VC-912 that was never closer than 3-4 miles to the F-89, which has crashed for unknown reasons. In 2006, a group of divers claimed to have discovered the F-89 and taken photos on side-scan sonar, but the claim is a hoax. (NICAP, “ UFO Intercept / Missing F-89 Case”; “ Two More Truax Fliers Lost,” Wisconsin State Journal, November 25, 1953, pp. 1–2; Keyhoe, FS Conspiracy, pp. 13–23; UFOEv, pp. 114–115; Keyhoe, Aliens from Space, Signet ed., 1974, pp. 166–167; Raymond E. Fowler, UFOs: Interplanetary Visitors, Exposition, 1974, pp. 291–293; Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979, pp. 106–109; Good Above, p. 273; Andrew Griffin, “ Missing! Avoyelles Parish Man’s Disappearance Still a Mystery after 50 Years,” Alexandria (La.) Town Talk, July 20, 2003, pp. E1, E3; Clark III 654–656; Clark IV 730–732)
November 24 — The UK House of Commons discusses the November 3 Lee case and others. Nigel Birch, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, explains the sightings as experimental weather balloons. MP George Isaacs asks, “Will the Minister agree that this story about flying saucers is all ballooney?” (Good Above, p. 36; Isaac Koi, “ UFOs in Parliament (UK),” Isaac Koi—UFOs and Parliament, 2024)
November 28 — Day. Francisco de Assis Teixeira and Pedro Serrate are duck hunting on a bay of the Rio Guaporé near Surpresa, Rondônia, Brazil. Teixeira sees an unusual aircraft pass above his head and silently land on the surface of the water about 150 feet away. Serrate, who is stationed in a tree, is even closer. The object is elongated, about 13 feet long, with a glass-like dome and a base made of blue metal. At the rear are two curved tubes and something like a rudder. Serrate can see six white people with red hair inside, all wearing dark blue clothing. The occupants apparently see him looking at them, and the object immediately takes off. (Lorenzen, Encounters with UFO Occupants, Berkley Medallion, 1976, pp. 371–372; Dolan, USO1, 163–166)
November 28 — Frank Olson is depressed, incoherent, and uncommunicative after his LSD dose nine days earlier. His CIA contacts take him to a “doctor” in New York City, who prescribes him alcohol. He then plunges to his death from the 10th floor window of the Hotel Statler in New York City. The US government calls it a suicide, the Olson family alleges murder because, especially in the aftermath of his LSD experience, he has become a security risk who might divulge state secrets associated with highly classified CIA programs of which he has direct personal knowledge. A few days before his death, Olson quits his position as acting chief of the Special Operations Division at Camp Detrick [later Fort Detrick] in Frederick, Maryland, because of a severe moral crisis concerning the nature of his biological weapons research. Among Olson’s concerns are the development of assassination materials used by the CIA. The CIA’s use of biological warfare materials in covert operations, experimentation with biological weapons in populated areas, collaboration with former Nazi scientists under Operation Paperclip, LSD mind-control research, and the use of psychoactive drugs during “terminal” interrogations under a program code-named Project Artichoke. Later forensic evidence conflicts with the official version of events; when Olson’s body is exhumed in 1994, cranial injuries indicate that Olson was knocked unconscious before he exited the window. The medical examiner terms Olson’s death a “homicide.” (Michael Ignatieff, “ What Did the C.I.A. Do to His Father?” New York Times Magazine, April 1, 2001, pp. 56–61; H. P. Albarelli Jr., A Terrible Mistake: The Murder of Frank Olson and the CIA’s Cold War Experiments, Trine Day, 2009; Stephen Kinzer, “ The Secret History of Fort Detrick, the CIA’s Base for Mind Control Experiments,” Politico Magazine, September 15, 2019)
December. CANADA, Sherbrook, Nova Scotia. Witness saw two "indescribable" shadows, a while later a large round object took off some 350 ft. away with a blue-green light. Police found broken bushes as evidence of an enormous weight. Animals reacted. (Vallee III)
December — Australian UFO researcher Edgar Jarrold is visited four times by a mysterious man who swears him to secrecy. What the visitor tells him amazes him “beyond belief,” but he never publicly reveals who the man is. However, it turns out that the man is Gordon Deller, a minor figure in Australian ufology who has some quaint and original theories about the saucers. He believes that UFOs are piloted by etherians from another dimension. He tells Jarrold this, along with some insights into a geological cataclysm and telepathic communication. Harold Fulton, a ufologist from New Zealand, suspects Deller is a nut. However, Jarrold’s obsession with UFOs leads to the breakup of his family and the disintegration of his personal life by 1955. (“ Editorial: The I.F.S.B. Closing,” The Saucerian 2, no. 1 (February 1954): 6–7; Clark III 632–633, 729; Clark IV 694–695, 810)
December 7 - 9:30 p.m. Pfc Alfred V. De Bonise and Sgt1C James Conley of the 89th Anti-Aircraft Battalion at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, spot a white object, "shining like a star." It makes a noise like an artillery shell in flight. It moves erratically and eventually falls out of sight. (Good Above, p. 280; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1953, August-December, The Author, 1990, p. 60)
December 7 — Radio Moscow proclaims that saucers are “figments of the imagination of western warmongers.” (Frank Edwards, FS Serious Business, Bantam ed., 1966, p. 156)
December 8 — CIA Office of Scientific Intelligence Chief of Operations Staff Philip Grandin Strong writes a memo to the Assistant Director of Scientific Intelligence saying that Keyhoe’s book Flying Saucers from Outer Space has been reviewed by “one of our consultants” for “possible security violations” related to the CIA’s UFO involvement. It notes that Keyhoe suspects the Robertson panel meeting but has no solid knowledge of it. The memo suggests that no breach is involved and an investigation would only lend undue attention to Keyhoe’s claims. (P. G. Strong, “ Report on Book Entitled ‘Flying Saucers from Outer Space,’” memo, December 8, 1953)
December 8 — The US Air Force downplays its interest in UFOs, suggesting that most sightings are explainable by weather balloons, meteors, and Venus, with radar reports easily attributable to temperature inversions, “ionized clouds,” and ground reflections. Project Blue Book is not even mentioned, although the Air Technical Information Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is credited with “regular investigations of reports of flying saucers.” Air Force spokesmen mention a plan to install, in airport control towers, special cameras covered by a diffraction grid that will act as a makeshift spectrometer and supposedly help identify unknown lights. The plan was first suggested by physicist Joseph Kaplan in 1952 to help in identifying the green fireballs. (“ AF Studies, But No Longer Jumps at ‘Saucer’ Reports,” Baltimore (Md.) Sun, December 8, 1953, p. 29; Jenny Randles, UFO Conspiracy, Cassell, 1987, p. 45; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1953 August–December, The Author, 1990, pp. 60, 60-B)
December 9 - 3:45 p.m. Charles Huaut sees a luminous, golden, round object poised motionless at a high altitude over Saint-Émilion, Gironde, France. After 10 minutes it noiselessly changes position and assumes the form of several horseshoes enveloped in smoke trails. Then it disappears. (Central Intelligence Agency, " Sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects," April 20, 1954, p. 2; ClearIntent, p. 130)
December 15 — 2:37 p.m. While flying a Transair Sweden DC-3 in the vicinity of Hässleholm, Skåne, Sweden, pilot Ulf Christiernsson and flight mechanic Olle Johansson encounter an “unorthodox, metallic, symmetric, round object” closing in on their aircraft for about 10 seconds. It passes about 1,970 feet under the DC-3 at an altitude of 7,055 feet. Air Force Gen. Bengt Nordenskiöld calls in reports from all relevant Swedish radar stations to identify the object, and the Defence Research Institute spends many hours reconstructing the event. However, the owner of a local perfume company confessed in late December to releasing 300 hydrogen-filled balloons south of Hässleholm as an advertising promotion around 12:30 p.m. that day. (Swords 365)
December 15 — James W. Moseley visits George Adamski at the Palomar Gardens café in California, where he tells his story about meeting a spaceman in the desert to numerous people. Adamski provides the skeptical Moseley with some details about Venusians who are passing as earth people, a six-hour film he had watched showing beings on another planet, and his use of telepathy during the interview. (James W. Moseley and Karl T, Pflock, Shockingly Close to the Truth!, Prometheus, 2002, pp. 64–69; Eghigian, After, p. 123)
December 16 — The British Air Ministry sends orders to all RAF stations saying that UFO reports are to be classified “Restricted” and personnel must not communicate any sighting information to unauthorized persons. Reports must be sent to the air intelligence branch DDI (Tech) that is now responsible for UFO investigations. (UFOFiles2, pp. 57–60)
December 16 — 4:58 p.m. Lockheed Skunk Works chief Clarence L. “Kelly” Johnson and his wife Althea (near Agoura, California) and a Lockheed crew (Rudy Thoren, Roy Wimmer, and 3 others) flying the WV-2 Warning Star aircraft near Long Beach, California, independently of each other observe a black flying-wing (or ellipse or crescent-shaped) object about 170–230 feet wide flying at about 15,000 ±2,000 feet altitude to the west, hovering about 30–60 miles away. At 5:04 p.m., after four minutes (to the Johnsons) and six minutes (to WV-2 crew) the UFO suddenly takes off in a shallow climb accelerating to approximately earth escape velocity (25,000 mph) to the west over the Pacific. It disappears in 10–13 seconds (to WV-2 crew) or in 90 seconds (to Johnson using 8x binoculars) after reaching 90+ miles altitude. (NICAP, “ The Lockheed UFO Case”; Sparks, p. 206; Joel Carpenter, “ The Lockheed UFO Case, 1953,” IUR 26, no. 3 (Fall 2001): 6–9, 33)
December 17 — After the crew of a Swedish airliner reports a wingless circular UFO over Hässleholm, Sweden, the Swedish Armed Forces orders a full-scale investigation. Capt. Ulf Christiernsson says the object is an “entirely unorthodox, metallic, symmetrical, and circular object.” Later reports claim it is a radiosonde balloon. ( Sparks, p. 206; “ Swedish Pilot Spots Mystery Object above Clouds; Called ‘Russ Robot,’” Long Beach (Calif.) Press-Telegram, December 18, 1953, p. A-9; UFOEv, p. 121)
December 24 — 8:04 a.m. US Navy Lts. J. B. Howard and L. D. Linhard, flying F9F-2 jet fighters, see 10 silver oval objects flying in formation at 450+ mph, straight and level, over El Cajon, California. (NICAP, “ Navy Lts. Encounter 10 Oval Objects”; Sparks, p. 206)
December 26 — The first of a series of articles in the Washington (D.C.) Times-Herald by Richard Reilly questions the Air Force’s openness about UFOs. (Richard Reilly, “Air Force Baffled by Flying Discs,” Washington (D.C.) Times-Herald, December 26, 1953; “ Saucer Bandwagon,” APRO Bulletin 2, no. 4 (January 15, 1954): 8; “ The American Scene,” Flying Saucers (Civilian Saucer Investigation (NZ)) 1, no. 4 (March 1954): 4–10; Dolan, p. 145)
December 30 — 9:05 p.m. Pfc Norman Viet, on guard duty at the tank park in Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, watches a blinking red light about 18 inches in diameter moving slowly over a tree line about 200 feet away. It soon drops down out of sight. Fifteen minutes later it is seen again, rising up and floating toward the tank shed. Viet says it is completely soundless. At 10:15 p.m. it returns, also witnessed by Sgt. Francis R. Salinder, who alerts the base and a combat team searches the area. At midnight, a red light appears above the search area, spooking a guard. (“Marines Chase Flying Object with 'Copter,” Washington (D.C.) Post, January 4, 1954; Evert Clark, “ Are They Hiding Those Lights under a Bushel?” Washington (D.C.) Daily News, January 5, 1954, p. 3; “ Attempted Landing at Quantico,” APRO Bulletin 2, no. 4 (January 15, 1954): 1; John C. Ross, “The Lights That Failed,” Fate, May 1954, p. 39; Wilkins, FS Uncensored, Citadel, 1955, p. 202; Keyhoe, FS Conspiracy, pp. 89–91; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1953, August–December, The Author, 1990, p. 75; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1954, January–May, The Author, 1990, pp. 1, 3)
1954
MEXICO. A flying object was witnessed by many citizens. It was watched by all at a distance of less than 50 ft. Until it finally left, leaving behind a circle of flattened corn. To date nothing grows in the circle. (Data-Net)
Day. The aircraft carrier USS Franklin D. Roosevelt encounters two cigar-shaped objects and two round disks that emerge from the ocean at an unknown location. The ship attempts to activate its weapons to engage the objects, but the mechanism fails. The episode lasts for 26 minutes, with one of the cigar-shaped objects diving into the water. (Carl Feindt, " Report #1079," waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 166-170)
An official in the UK Deputy Directorate of Intelligence (Technical) mentions to investigator Ronald N. Russell that the DDI has 15,000 reports on file since 1947 stored in nine drawers in three wooden filing cabinets with Yale locks, doubly secured by a hinged plate locked with a large padlock. (John Pitt, "` Tell Us Please, Mr. Birch,'" Flying Saucer Review 2, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1956): 10-13; Good Above, p. 33)
1954 — A promotional photo of a Martin B-57 Canberra bomber taken near Edwards Air Force Base in California shows a saucer-like object in the upper right portion of the frame. No one actually reports seeing the object, which seems to be trailing the B-57 in flight. NICAP photoanalyst Ralph Rankow points out that the object has dimension, does not appear to be a scratch or rub on the film, and has a pattern of light and shadow consistent with the rest of the photo. (Robert A. Schmidt, “ The Strange Case of the B-57 Photographs,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 6 (August 1971): 1–2; Story, pp. 36–37)
Day. The aircraft carrier USS Franklin D. Roosevelt encounters two cigar-shaped objects and two round disks that emerge from the ocean at an unknown location. The ship attempts to activate its weapons to engage the objects, but the mechanism fails. The episode lasts for 26 minutes, with one of the cigar-shaped objects diving into the water. (Carl Feindt, “ Report #1079,” waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 166–170)
January - 5:00 a.m. A strange object streaks across the sky over Harts Range, Northern Territory, Australia, seen and heard by four Native Australians. On the same day, an anonymous photographer is taking photos of Mount Gillen, Northern Territory, when suddenly an enormous (150 feet) round object appears from behind it. It moves high, then drops low. He takes a photo, then it shoots off at high speed to the west. The photo, reproduced in the newspaper, shows a dubious-looking round object on edge with six spokes. (" Flying Saucer at Harts Range?" Alice Springs (N.T.) Centralian Advocate, January 15, 1954, p. 1; "` Unknown' Claims Snapped Flying Saucer over Alice," Alice Springs (N.T.) Centralian Advocate, February 5, 1954, p. 1; Keith Basterfield, " Cold Case: The Mount Gillen Photograph, Alice Springs, 1954," Unidentified Aerial Phenomena-Scientific Research, January 12, 2012)
January 1 — 10:15 a.m. Capt. Douglas Barker, a pilot with Australian National Airways, is at his home in Doncaster East, Melbourne, Victoria. He sees a “metallic, mushroom-shaped object” flying over the Yarra River valley toward the Templestowe brickworks in the northwest. He estimates it is traveling at 700 mph at a height of 2,000 feet. Its apparent size is four times that of a DC-4 aircraft. It is oscillating rapidly in and out of thick cloud. It is elliptical with a “long shaft about the same length as its body hanging below it.” Total duration of the sighting is 12 seconds. (NICAP, “ Mushroom Flying over Yarra Valley”; “ ‘Flying Saucer’ Pilot Reports,” Melbourne (Vic.) Herald, January 1, 1954, p. 1; “ ‘Flying Saucer’ Reported by A.N.A. Captain,” Cairns (Tas.) Post, January 2, 1954, p. 1; “ Pilot Said He Saw a ‘Flying Mushroom,’” Sydney (N.S.W.) Daily Telegraph, January 2, 1954, p. 9; “ Air Pilot Sees Saucer in Victoria,” Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, N.S.W.), January 2, 1954, p. 1; “ First ‘Saucer’ of 1954,” Brisbane (Queens.) Courier-Mail, January 4, 1954, p. 5)
January 1–2 — 10:35 p.m.–12:05 a.m. Navy pilot Lt. JG George G. Morgan of Naval Air Station Lakehurst [now Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst], Toms River, New Jersey, police chief Richard Clement, police officer Oliver G. Osborne, and other witnesses see 3–12 round white objects with fuzzy edges slightly smaller than the full moon hovering in the south for 90 minutes as 2 objects circled around another one. They then switch places. Some witnesses attempt to drive toward the objects to investigate. The objects suddenly depart to the southwest at extremely high speed, growing smaller until they disappear in 1–2 seconds. Multiple independent witnesses across a baseline of at least 12 miles allow for triangulation that locates the objects near Beach Haven, New Jersey, from distances of 15–40 miles. At least five witnesses use binoculars. Hynek calculates a departure speed of 90,000mph, a hovering altitude of 4 miles, and a diameter of 1,500 feet. (NICAP, “ Multiple-Witness Sightings Triangulate Location”; Sparks, p. 207; Swords 223–224)
January 4 — Shortly after 9:00 p.m. A round luminous machine, coming from the south, lands at the Marignane Airfield [now Marseille Provence Airport], Bouches-du-Rhône, France. There is only one witness present, a fireman at the airport named Chesneau. The machine disappears while he is telephoning the control tower. Careful scrutiny of the runway the next morning turns up a few pieces of metallic debris. The story is confirmed by a Marseille resident who is driving from Arles to Marseille and sees a large, round, reddish fireball, but places the time at 10:45 p.m. (Jimmy Guieu, Les soucoupes volantes viennent d’un autre monde, Fleuve Noir, 1954; ClearIntent, p. 132; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” March 15, 2003)
January 7 — 4:27 a.m. A fiery disk, followed by a luminous trail, is seen in Arras, Pas- de-Calais, France. The disc remains motionless in the sky for an instant, after which it flies away and disappears over the horizon. (ClearIntent, p. 133; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” December 4, 2005)
January 9 — Three residents of Lunéville, Meurthe-et-Moselle, France, see a round object flying from north to south. The object flies more slowly than a jet plane and leaves a luminous yellow trail. It flies noiselessly, although it appears to be at a low altitude. Several students of the College de Lunéville also see the object. (ClearIntent, p. 132; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” December 28, 2004)
January 10 — 5:25–5:40 p.m. James E. McDonald, two other University of Chicago meteorologists, and another passenger are driving on Hwy 83 north of Sonoita, Arizona, when McDonald spots a brilliant white stationary object in the southwest above the Santa Rita Mountains about 10 miles away. They lose sight of it as the car moves on. McDonald searches carefully for alternate explanations, but can find none, so he reports the sighting to the Air Force in a 4-page letter. ( Sparks, p. 207; Ann Druffel, Firestorm, Wild Flower, 2003, pp. 19–20; Clark III 695; Clark IV 791–792)
January 18 — Cosette Weiss of Las Cruces, New Mexico, is visiting the Kilbourne Hole, a maar volcanic crater in the Potrillo Volcanic Field of southern New Mexico, to collect gemstones with a companion, Mrs. Sanders. They discover 25–30 disc-shaped tracks in the sand. The largest are about 2 feet in diameter, perfectly round, and consist of four concentric rings. They find more fresh tracks on January 22. Sanders reports this to White Sands Proving Grounds. Two Army security agents, Capt. Ross Orcutt and CID agent Henry Herman, spend the night of February 6 at the location and report that the tracks are “nothing more than a combination of wind, sand, and roots.” The mystery lights seen in the area by Weiss are labeled “vehicular traffic.” (“Report from the Readers,” Fate 7, no. 6 (June 1954): 109–129; Michael D. Swords, “ Fun and Games in the Desert near Las Cruces,” IUR 30, no. 3 (May 2006): 21)
January 18 — 1:30 p.m. Many people in Saint-Arnaud [now El Eulma], Algeria, observe an object that leaves a double trail of white smoke, making an immense circle over the town. Several officers at Bordj de la Remonte fort (southwest of Magra) hear the object make a strange sound. It seems to arrive from the north. A meteorological station near Oued Hmimim (southeast of Constantine) observes a double trail of smoke at 2:00 p.m., but it concludes that the smoke comes from a plane flying at great altitude. At 2:30 p.m., inhabitants of Sétif see an object arrive from the east, emitting bluish smoke trails and moving relatively slowly. After circling above the town for several seconds, it suddenly heads back in the direction of Saint-Arnaud at great speed. Witnesses describe it as it being cigar-shaped and flying at high altitude. Finally, at 4:45 p.m., a large, luminous, rectangular-shaped object is seen over Ouled Djellal (125 miles southwest of Sétif) for over 30 minutes following a rectilinear course. The object comes from the east and disappears toward the west. (ClearIntent, p. 133)
January 29 — Afternoon. Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Whitaker are driving 6 miles south of Santa Ana, California, when they see a round object emitting a blurry light-blue light moving off a hilly field. It passes over their car at an altitude of 25 feet. The radio goes blank and the motor coughs and continues to act roughly after the UFO had gone. Whitaker estimates it is 60 feet in diameter and traveling at 600 mph. It makes a vertical ascent and disappears. ( Schopick, p. 5)
February. San Bernardino, CA. Engineer A.P. Wheeler driving when he saw a metallic object resting on the road ahead. He stopped lO meters from it. The object was a disc on which a hatch was seen. Object ascended disturbing gravel below. Object disappeared in 30 seconds. (MUFOB)
February — Mr. and Mrs. Forster of Peekskill, New York, see a UFO on the ground with a woman close by. She holds a tube in one hand and a box in the other, wears luminous clothing and a hood over part of her head. Mrs. Forster has to be taken to the hospital in a state of shock. (Dominick C. Lucchesi, “ They Saw a Saucer Woman,” The Saucerian 2, no. 2 (September 1954): 12–17; Vallée, Magonia, p. 205; Clark III 267; Clark IV 307–308)
February — Newlyweds Ernest L. Norman and Ruth E. Norman found a contactee group, the Unarius Academy of Science, in Los Angeles, California. Ernest, a spiritualist medium, wants the group to promote the interdimensional science of life expounded in the books he has written, all of them channeled psychically from extraterrestrial intelligences. Both claim impressive credentials from past lives. Ruth styles herself the Archangel Uriel and after the death of Ernest in 1971, she becomes the public face of Unarius. Before her death in 1993, she predicts a mass landing of flying saucers in 2001 on a piece of scrubland near the Unarius headquarters in El Cajon, California. (Wikipedia, “ Unarius Academy of Science”; Douglas Curran, In Advance of the Landing: Folk Concepts of Outer Space, Abbeville, 1985, pp. 27–37; Clark III 1186–1187; Clark IV 1361)
February 1 — 10:00 a.m. Mrs. W. J. Daily of La Puente, California, sees a silvery, bright, round object through binoculars. It tilts, revealing a fiery-red bottom. The UFO spins and drifts away with an odd-looking vapor trail. A large amount of cobwebby substance falls on her property. She takes three samples to the Mount Wilson Observatory. The material apparently falls over three city blocks, catching on trees, fences, and telephone wires. Mrs. Mel Barnes sees a similar white object spewing the material. (“ Valley Mystery Craft Spins Web,” San Fernando Valley (Calif.) Times, February 15, 1954, p. 11; James C. McNamara, “Angel’s Hair,” Pageant 10 (November 1954): 52–56; R. DeWitt Miller, Stranger Than Life, Ace, 1955, pp. 95–101; Olsen, sec. 3, p. 27; Story, p. 19; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1954, January–May, The Author, 1990, pp. 24–25; Michael D. Swords, “ Angel Hair: Spindrift between Worlds,” IUR 32, no. 1 (August 2008): 4–5)
February 4 — 11:00 p.m. A target is detected by the Carswell AFB [now Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth] Ground Control Approach radar, near Fort Worth, Texas, at a distance of 13–15 miles to the southwest. A “mystery aircraft” passes over Carswell tower at just over 3,000 feet. Seen through binoculars, the UFO has a long fuselage, elliptical wings, some kind of stabilizer, a bright light on its nose and tail, two yellowish lights on the bottom, and possible lights on each wing tip. It is silent. The report is sent directly to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, CIA, and NSA. (NICAP, “ Radar/Visual with Two Radars”; Sparks, p. 208; Good Above, pp. 281–282, 495–496; Martin Shough, RADCAT: Radar Catalogue: A Review of Twenty-One Ground and Airborne Radar UAP Contact Reports Generally Related to Aviation Safety for the Period October 15, 1948, to September 19, 1976, National Aviation Reporting Center on Anomalous Phenomena, NARCAP Report TR-6, December 8, 2002, pp. 48–51)
February 15 — American syndicated columnist Dorothy Kilgallen writes: “Flying saucers are regarded as of such vital importance that they will be the subject of a special hush-hush meeting of world military heads next summer.” (Dorothy Kilgallen, “ Voice of Broadway” column, Dover (Ohio) Daily Reporter, February 15, 1954, p. 8)
February 17 - Commercial airline representatives meet with Military Air Transport Service officers at the Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, California, and are told that pilots are subject to JANAP 146 (CIRVIS) and must radio reports to the nearest airport and make no public statements or face a prison term of 10 years and/or a fine of $10,000. (Raymond E. Fowler, Casebook of a UFO Investigator, Prentice-Hall, 1981, pp. 182-183; Good Above, p. 283)
February 20–21 — President Eisenhower is on a golf vacation at Smoke Tree Ranch in Palm Springs, California, when he breaks the porcelain cap of his “upper left central incisor” and has it repaired by Dr. Francis A. Purcell. However, the incident is not reported in the press, and rumors start buzzing that he made a secret trip to Edwards Air Force Base to view the remains of aliens who had crashed at Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947. Later stories claim he actually visited with live aliens and conducted a treaty with them. The lack of any dental record from Purcell’s office has fueled the rumors, but Ike’s dental history is thoroughly covered in the November 1995 issue of the Bulletin of the History of Dentistry. (“ ‘Object’ Studied at Edwards Air Base as ‘Brass Curtain’ Falls around Saucer Data,” Flying Saucer News-Service Research Bulletin 1, no. 9 (August 20, 1955): 3; Wilkins, FS Uncensored, Citadel, 1955, pp. 45–48; Riley Crabb, Flying Saucers and the Coming Space Probes, The Author, 1959; Michael D. Swords, “ Tales from the Barker Zone,” IUR 17, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1992): 4–10; Jerome Clark, “ A Catalog of Early Crash Claims,” IUR 18, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1993): 18, 24; James M. Mixson, “ A History of Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Oral Health,” Journal of the History of Dentistry 43, no. 3 (November 1995): 93–103; Juan A. Lorenzo Rivas, “ President Eisenhower’s ‘E.T.’ Encounter: What Really Happened at Muroc Base?” Flying Saucer Review 44, no. 3 (Autumn 1999): 2–6; Gordon Creighton, “ More on the ‘Muroc’ Story,” Flying Saucer Review 44, no. 3 (Autumn 1999): 6–10; Michael E. Salla, “ Eisenhower’s 1954 Meeting with Extraterrestrials: The Fiftieth Anniversary of First Contact?” Research Study No. 8, Exopolitics, February 12, 2004; Peter Carlson, “ Ike and the Alien Ambassadors,” Washington Post, February 19, 2004; Good Need, pp. 208–209; John Joyce, “ Ike’s Space Alien Encounter,” The Ike Blog, November 10, 2011; Clark III 330–331; Clark IV 367–368)
March? — Two Native Australians, employees of Arthur Pope, see a UFO at close range at Santa Teresa Mission 50 miles south [more like 20 miles southeast] of Alice Springs, Northern Territory. One named Sonny is riding up over a ridge when a spherical object flies directly toward him then veers away. Sonny feels a heavy wind when the UFO passes. Others see the object, which has a glassy appearance, with four trails of smoke coming from each side. (“ Claims Natives Terrified by Flying Saucer 50 Miles from Alice,” Alice Springs (N.T.) Centralian Advocate, April 2, 1954, p. 1; Keith Basterfield, “ Alice Springs: 1954 Encounter,” Unidentified Aerial Phenomena—Scientific Research, February 7, 2012)
March 1 — Numerous bathers at the beaches near Montevideo, Uruguay, observe a metallic disc emitting yellowish reflections. It remains stationary for 2 minutes at an altitude of several thousand feet. (Lorenzen, The Whole Story, Signet, 1969; ClearIntent, p. 133; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1954, January–May, The Author, 1990, p. 45; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs: A History, 1954 January–May, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2002, p. 19)
March 5 — A photo supposedly taken near Rouen, France, by a fighter pilot is actually a retouched photo showing the 1950 McMinnville, Oregon, UFO photo taken by Paul Trent. (NICAP, “ RAF Flying Review Photo”; RAF Flying Review, July 1957, p. 15)
March 8 — 11:07 p.m. A red disc-shaped UFO flies over Laredo AFB [now Laredo International Airport], Texas. It tilts to a vertical orientation and then shoots straight up into the sky. It is reported by a pilot. Ten to twenty nocturnal lights in a crescent formation—possibly a single crescent- shaped object—fly over San Antonio, Texas. They make no sound. (Keyhoe, FS Conspiracy, p. 110)
March 9 - 3:57 a.m. John H. Stewart is driving north on Paddock Road in Cincinnati, Ohio. He sees a bright halo of pulsating, bluish-white light moving slowly toward the south. Inside the halo is a dark, ellipsoidal body, seemingly solid and soundless. The object hovers for 7-8 minutes above the General Electric plant. Stewart estimates its size as a half dollar held at arm's length and its altitude as 2,000-3,000 feet. The object starts moving to the east, changes color to yellow then red, and disappears straight up. (" Saucer Marginalia," CRIFO Newsletter 1, no. 1 (April 7, 1954): 4)
March 18 — 4:25 p.m. Two conservation officers stationed on Hecla Island in Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba, are driving their snowmobile across the frozen lake when they see a slim silver object 100 feet long and only 8 feet thick. They watch the object as it changes orientation from vertical to horizontal and back again. They estimate it is 15,000 feet high and 10 miles away. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, p. 69)
March 25 — 3:20 p.m. USMC Capt. Dan C. Holland is flying one of three jets with the 3rd Marine Air Wing on an easterly heading at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at about 26,000 feet and 400+ mph. He sees a gleaming white, ball-shaped object with a gold ring around the lower third, about 2 times size of his jet, descending vertically on a collision course. He takes evasive action and radios the other jet pilots to look. The object suddenly stops 3,000–4,000 feet above his jet. He banks toward it and activates the gun camera, but the UFO accelerates and disappears to the east at tremendous speed in about 15 seconds. The other two pilots flying ahead of him do not see the object. (NICAP, “ Ball with Golden Rings Stops near F-9F”; Sparks, p. 211; “ Pilot’s Tale: ‘Flying Saucer’ Reported,” Miami (Fla.) News, March 26, 1954, p. 2; “ Saucer Skeptic Sees ‘Object,’” Stars and Stripes, March 28, 1954, p. 3; Keyhoe, FS Conspiracy, pp. 115–116; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1954, January–May, The Author, 1990, pp. 61–62)
March 28 — 1:25 a.m. Capt. Sperry and his copilot on United Air Lines Flight 600, flying east at 19,000 feet 12 miles east of Cherokee (near Creston), Wyoming, spot a bright green glowing object at 12°–15° above the horizon coming downward at an angle of 30° to the left of vertical and disappearing behind a cloud bank. It is also seen by the pilot of a DC-3 west of Sinclair, Wyoming, at 13,000 feet. ( Sparks, p. 211; Good Above, pp. 283–284)
Late spring — Noon. A family living in a cottage on the outskirts of Norco, California, is sitting down for lunch when they hear a metallic droning sound. The mother and daughter go outside and see an object like a rowboat with a transparent dome, 20 feet long and 10 feet wide, pass slowly overhead, then stop and hover over a nearby tree. Inside the dome are five helmeted men staring at the witnesses. Their “rather long faces” are olive-colored, and their eyes and hair are dark. After a minute the droning sound resumes, and the object takes off slowly. (Donald B. Hanlon, “ Occupants Observed at Norco,” Flying Saucer Review 14, no. 3 (May/June 1968): 15–16; Clark III 267; Clark IV 308)
April — 2:00 p.m. Two male witnesses watch through binoculars a vividly white object hovering high in the sky for 10 minutes above Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. A cone-shaped mist appears on its leeward side, then the object shoots straight up and disappears. (Jessup, The UFO Annual, Citadel, 1956; Nukes 114)
April 4–5 — Contactee George Van Tassel holds the first Giant Rock Interplanetary Spacecraft Convention at Giant Rock, a huge boulder in the Mojave Desert near Landers, California. Speakers include Orfeo Angelucci, Truman Bethurum, Daniel Fry, and George Hunt Williamson. It draws a crowd variously estimated at 2,500 to 6,000. (“ Interplanetary Spacecraft Convention Draws 6,000,” San Bernardino County (Calif.) Sun, April 5, 1954, p. 9; “ The Grapevine,” APRO Bulletin, May 15, 1954, p. 3; Jacqueline Sanders, “ The Van Tassel Saucer Meeting,” The Saucerian 2, no. 2 (September 1954): 15–17; Clark III 531, 717; Clark IV 581, 785)
April 7 — 11:05 p.m. US Navy sailors and Marines, as well as nuclear scientists from Los Alamos and Sandia Laboratories in New Mexico, are aboard the AEC flagship USS Curtiss cruising between Bikini and Enewetak atolls in the Marshall Islands just hours after the Castle Koon thermonuclear test on Bikini. An unidentified oval-shaped luminous object, yellowish- orange in color, passes silently over the ship from bow to stern, traveling at a high rate of speed and low altitude. Once it is clear of the ship, the object performs some zigzag maneuvers before racing away at high speed. (Nukes 107–109)
April 8 - 4:30-5:00 p.m. Lelah H. Stoker of 3121 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago, Illinois, sees a brilliant white round-topped disc, parachute-shaped, with a humanoid suspended beneath it, skim back and forth over the water of Lake Michigan. Stoker calls the Coast Guard. A cutter appears after 10 minutes, then the UFO approaches the shore. Stoker sees a short human-like occupant in a green, tight, one-piece suit suspended below the object. It gets out in undergrowth along the shore then walks around. When the cutter gives up searching, the occupant returns to the object which moves back over the lake then takes off at high speed to the east. (NICAP, " Lady Observes Saucer / Small Entity Gets Out"; Sparks, p. 211; Ted Bloecher, " A Humanoid Report from Chicago, Illinois," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 159 (May 1981): 9-14; Clark III 270; Clark IV 310-311)
April 12 — Approximately 7:00 p.m. An anonymous source of Leonard H. Stringfield’s claims he is stationed at Roswell AFB in New Mexico for special training in the Sikorsky H-19 helicopter when he and his other crew members are scrambled for a flight 35–40 miles to the north-northwest where a silvery UFO has crashed edgewise into the sand. Four small bodies are allegedly scattered outside the craft, clad in dark-blue, tight-fitting uniforms. The informant is ordered to take several photos from different angles while the helicopter hovers at 30 feet altitude. The helicopter then is ordered to land about 100 feet away from the object. Several ground vehicles arrive on the scene and 15–20 men emerge to surround the area. The informant reports an overpowering stench pervading the scene, which causes one man to throw up. He then takes more photos of the crashed UFO and alien bodies. One of the ground crew tells him there are more dead bodies inside the craft. After returning to Roswell AFB he and the others are debriefed by intelligence officers for three days in isolation. On April 15, the helicopter crew is flown to the site again, where it has been cleaned up as if nothing has happened. He hears a rumor that the UFO has been stored at Hangar 18 on the base. Another rumor goes around that a UFO has also crashed at Bandelier, New Mexico, on April 24. The informant has recurring nightmares about the event for the next 30+ years. (Leonard H. Stringfield, UFO Crash Retrievals: Status Report III, Amassing the Evidence, The Author, 1982, pp. 81–85)
April 14 — Night. Capt. John M. Schidel of United Air Lines Flight 193 is forced to make a sharp climbing turn in order to avoid colliding with an unknown object over Long Beach, California. One passenger (Coles Barber) is thrown to the floor and suffers a knee fracture, and stewardess Naomi J. Penaat breaks an ankle. The object is only in sight for 2 seconds. (“ Two Injured As Airliner Banks in Sudden Turn,” Los Angeles Times, April 16, 1954, p. II-3; Keyhoe, FS Conspiracy, pp. 130–132)
April 18 — Airline pilot William B. Nash writes to his friend Capt. William Joseph Hull about the emphatic denials of UFO reality issued by the Air Force shortly after his March 23 speech. He reveals that in August 1952 he was participating in a TV panel in New York City when someone in the WJZ-TV studio said he had just gotten back from Washington, D.C., where he has been given the “whole story” about the National Airport sightings. He claims the Air Force had operated a radio found in a retrieved saucer and that had caused the flurry of sightings. Nash also admits hearing rumors, especially one from syndicated aviation columnist Robert S. Allen, about a pro-UFO report that USAF was going to release in the fall of 1952 but never did. (Michael Hall, “ Was There a Second Estimate of the Situation?” IUR 27, no. 1 (Spring 2002): 11–12)
April 18 — Colin McCarthy and two other men are driving an Austin sedan in the Australian outback near the border of Western Australia and South Australia when a UFO begins pacing them. They snap some 200 photos and take some ciné film of the object. Shortly after they report the incident, a helicopter suddenly appears and lands in front of their car. An RAAF officer gets out, walks over to their car, and confiscates the photos and film. They are never returned. (Stan Seers and William Lasich, “ North Queensland UFO Saga, 1966,” Flying Saucer Review 29, no. 1 (October 1983): 20–21; Good Above, p. 163)
April 22 — 2:00 p.m. USN Seaman Apprentice James B. Stephens Jr. and Seaman Bernard G. Klein Jr., are driving a vehicle on the Naval Outlying Field San Nicolas Island, California, when they see a 4–6-foot long, gray, cigar-shaped object with a pointed nose traveling just above the ground on a near-parallel course. The object suddenly hits the ground, sends up a cloud of dirt, and disappears from sight. They stop and search for 20+ minutes but find nothing. (NICAP, “ April 22, 1954: San Nicholas Island, Calif.”; Sparks, p. 212)
April 22 — 10:30 p.m. Six workers from the Reynolds Metals plant in Jones Mills, Arkansas, are waiting on a carpool near Pearcy, Arkansas, to go to work when they see a gleaming white ball about 10 feet in diameter float 50 feet above a house. It appears alternately as a sphere and an oblong, and sometimes it circles and sometimes hovers above the house for a total of 20 minutes. One man claims it approaches him to within a few feet, causing him to duck behind a car. One of the vehicles has a spotlight that they try to point at the object, but it always avoids the beam. (“Flying Saucer! Flying Ball! 6 Swear They Saw the Thing,” Hot Springs (Ark.) Sentinel-Record, April 23, 1954, pp. 1, 3; “ Fire Ball Sighted in Arkansas Skies,” Montgomery Alabama Journal, April 23, 1954, p. 11; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1954, January–May, The Author, 1990, pp. 76–77; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1954, January–May, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2002, p. 35)
Late April — Afternoon. Roger Mougeolle and Gilbert Doridant are logging in a clearing in a forest area near Bois-de-Champ, Vosges, France, when they hear a noise above them “like the sound of a train passing over a metal bridge.” They then see three metallic, cigar-shaped objects silently approaching them from over a nearby hill. Two pass over them, but the third slowly descends above their clearing and stops only a few feet from the ground. It is over 600 feet long. Doridant flees, but Mougeolle walks toward it and touches it. The object is smooth, cold, and hard like steel. He touches it with his woodsman’s axe, and he is instantly thrown about 18 feet away toward the base of a large rock. He feels paralyzed for a few minutes, but the object ascends and disappears, and he can move again. (Joël Mesnard, “ The ‘Steel Airship’ at Bois-de-Champ (April 1954),” Flying Saucer Review 32, no. 5 (August 1987): 16–19)
April 29 — 10:11 p.m. An unidentified illuminated object is seen above the Second Army Radio Station, Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, by the supervisor radio operator and two coworkers, Cpl. Flath and Pfc. Hough. Described as round, the color of the sun, and 3–4 times the size of a star, the UFO appears in the southwest, blinking on and off. As it reaches the station, it stops blinking and disappears by going straight up. The sighting lasts 7 minutes. (Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1954, January–May, The Author, 1990, p. 86; Good Above, p. 281)
April 30 — 5:00 p.m. Frances Swan of Eliot, Maine, has her first contact with extraterrestrials when she hears a whitling sound in her left ear and feels compelled to write, “We come will help keep peace on Eu do not be frightened.” Another messages comes on May 3 from an alien named Affa, calling from an enormous spaceship that has arrived from Uranus. In the days that follow, Swan receives other messages from Affa, as well as from Ponnar of Pluto and Alomar of Mercury and other beings representing the Universal Association of Planets. (Randall Fitzgerald, “Messages: The Case History of a Contactee,” Second Look 1, no. 12 (October 1979): 12–18, 28–29; Clark III 1118; Clark IV 1244)
May — Midnight. Capt. Uthai Lunayatjata is on a training flight with a student, flying out of the Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base near Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand. While flying toward the city at an altitude of 3,000 feet, he sees an orange fireball about 6 feet in diameter approaching his T-6 Texan on a parallel course to his right. It passes them at 800–1,000 mph. The control tower reports no other aircraft in the area. Lunayatjata makes a 180° turn to the right to follow it, and he notices a smaller fireball, blue in color, that is apparently attached to the orange ball. Before he completes the turn, the fireball makes a fast half-circle and appears about 600 feet off his tail, reduces its speed, and paces them for a short distance at their speed of 140– 160 mph. They notice that the center of the orange fireball is dark. After 20 seconds it increases speed, flies ahead, and makes a right-hand climbing turn. Lunayatjata chases it up to about 5,000 feet but cannot get close, and it disappears in the distance. (“ Pilot of Royal Thai Air Force Describes Encounter with UFO over Korat,” CRIFO Orbit 2, no. 7 (October 7, 1955): 3)
May 5 — 4:45 p.m. Sydney Baker is at a radar post in the RAAF Woomera Range Complex in South Australia when he notices a gray, circular object at 60,000 feet maneuvering around an English Electric Canberra aircraft he is monitoring from about 35 miles away. It appears to be traveling three times as fast as the Canberra. He watches it for about 5 minutes before it shoots out of sight to the south at about 3,600 mph. The same object is apparently tracked on Woomera radar at approximately the same time. (NICAP, [ case documents]; Bill Chalker, The Oz Files: The Australian UFO Story, Duffy and Snellgrove, 1996, p. 85; Swords 381–383; Coulthart 2023, pp. 42, 44; Bill Chalker, “ ‘Tommy Leader’: Tom Dalton-Morgan and the 3% UFO Solution,” TheOzFiles, June 25, 2024)
May 7 — Naval radar around Washington, D.C., tracks a huge object maneuvering at 90,000 feet and moving down to 15 miles altitude. (Keyhoe, FS Conspiracy, pp. 144–145)
May 8 — George King is washing dishes in his flat in Maida Vale, London, England, when he receives a psychic message telling him that he has been chosen to be the voice of the Interplanetary Parliament. Several days later, while he is in a meditative trance, an Indian yoga master enters his flat and tells him he has been selected to act as the Primary Terrestrial Channel for messages from cosmic intelligences who are visiting Earth. (Douglas Curran, In Advance of the Landing: Folk Concepts of Outer Space, Abbeville, 1985, p. 63; “ Dr. George King’s Initial Contact in May 1954,” The Aetherius Society YouTube channel, April 15, 2010)
May 12 — 12:45 a.m. Three USAF Air Policemen (A/1C Mason W. Augst, A/1C George F. Wright, and A/1C Elmer A. Cruver) are standing guard next to a hangar at National Airport in Washington, D.C. They see a formation of two UFOs fly over the Capitol building. The objects are glowing white. They appear just above the horizon to the northeast in a straight line, make a 90° turn, then move away to the south. The objects reappear twice more, at 1:15 a.m. and 2:10 a.m. Each pass takes 45 seconds. ( Sparks, p. 212; Frank Edwards, FS—Here and Now!, Lyle Stuart, 1967, pp. 84–85; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1954, January–May, The Author, 1990, p. 94)
May 12 - 3:00 a.m. In Douglas, Arizona, residents see a translucent saucer with a glowing blue light hovering about a mile high. By 6:00 a.m., local radio stations receive a flood of calls, and townspeople gather to watch the object, describing it as a "long luminous star." Later that morning, scientists from Holloman Air Force Base arrive and identify the object as a 116-foot-wide "Moby Dick" weather balloon that has lost its grounding valve. The balloon drifts 15 miles up and across the region, chased by a ground crew. The Air Force eventually gives up the pursuit, offering a $25 reward for its recovery. (" `Saucers' Are Back," Tucson Arizona Daily Star, May 13, 1954, p. B1)
May 12 — 4:00 p.m. White, silky filaments fall in strands averaging 30 feet in length over Shepparton, Victoria, Australia. A witness gathers some and, although they become wrinkled, they do not disintegrate. An analysis indicates in is a “pure white, silky, odorless, warm on touch like cotton, and different from cobwebs.” The threads are not sticky and stretch easily. It resembles raw silk or nylon, is not water soluble, and burns rapidly. (Keith Basterfield, “ Angel Hair: An Australian Perspective,” IUR 27, no. 1 (Spring 2002): 6–7; Brian Boldman, “ Angel Hair Physical Analyses: A Review,” JUFOS 9 (2006): 101)
May 14 — Around 12 noon. A flight of Marine Reserve jets led by Maj. Charles Scarborough is headed north near Dallas, Texas. At a point 6 miles west of the city, Scarborough sights 16 unidentified objects in groups of four, dead ahead but at higher altitude, 15° above. He radios Capt. Roy L. Jorgensen, whose jet he has in sight by its contrail. Jorgensen, at a higher altitude, sees the UFOs below his left wing. Just as the two pilots try to box in the UFOs, Scarborough sees them fade from glowing white to orange and disappear, apparently speeding away due north. Triangulation shows that the UFOs were at about 32,000 feet. (NICAP, “ Four Navy Fighters Encounter 16 UFOs”; Sparks, p. 213; “ 4 Jet Fighters Report Race with ‘Saucers’ over Dallas,” Dallas (Tex.) Times Herald, May 18, 1954; “ 4 Pilots Report Flying Saucers over Dallas Area,” Abilene (Tex.) Reporter-News, May 18, 1954, p. 8-B; UFOEv, p. 32)
May 20. ENGLAND, Bruton, Somerset. Nigel Frapple, cycling home from a dance, saw first a terrific light in a field and then a huge circular metallic object, 5O ft. across, with a brilliant flame-colored light coming from a central cockpit, hovering 20 ft. above the ground about 80-100 ft. away. After a minute it moved off towards the northwest, climbing and increasing speed. There was a slight swishing sound heard. The same sort of object was seen near Ringwood in Hampshire the same night. The next day Mr. Frapple and a reporter examined the field and found "grass pushed flat in an area 100 ft. in diameter, and scorched in places." (The Humanoids)
May 24 — 12:25 p.m. While flying on a photographic mapping mission 10 miles west-northwest of Richmond, Indiana, in a B-17, USAF Maj. Leo N. Brubaker observes and photographs a bright object below the plane for 45 seconds. The aircraft is flying at an altitude of 18,500 feet at 253 mph. The speed of the object is estimated at 506 mph. The object travels six miles at that speed. The photos are taken with a USAF T-11 mapping camera. Brubaker denies the object is a sundog. (NICAP, “ B-17 Photographic Mission Case”; Sparks, p. 213)
May 30 — 12:25 a.m. David Reese, Christopher Muir, and four others are at the doorstep of a house in East Malvern, Victoria, Australia, when they see an orange, oval-shaped UFO appear in the sky at close range. The UFO maneuvers in a downward curve and then pulls up. A cloud of yellow smoke and flame is seen at the rear. Three of the witnesses see shapes that look like human-shaped shadows inside the craft. (Bill Chalker, The Oz Files: The Australian UFO Story, Duffy and Snellgrove, 1996, p. 79; UFO Evidence, “ Human Figures Seen in Saucer”; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 January–May, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2002, pp. 46–50)
June 1 - 9:00 p.m. The crew of a USAF B-47 jet bomber is flying at 34,000 feet some 400 miles south of Minneapolis, Minnesota, when they spot an unknown object with running lights moving 10,000 feet away. The UFO paces the aircraft for one hour and is seen both above and below (24,000-44,000 feet) the aircraft at various times. (NICAP, " Object with Running Lights Encountered by B-47"; Clark III 997; Clark IV 1110)
June 4 — 11:10 p.m. Southern Pacific engineer Paul F. Livingston and fireman C. J. Rausch observe a brilliant white and green object flying high and horizontally from west to east over Black Butte near Mount Shasta, California. The object, cigar-shaped and about 15 to 20 feet long, moves at a speed comparable to a falling star. It remains visible to Livingston for about a minute and to Rausch for 30 seconds. The sighting occurs while they are stopped with their helper engine on eastbound freight train No. 634. (“ Flying Saucer at Black Butte, Says Livingston,” Dunsmuir (Calif.) News, June 10, 1954, p. 1; “ Siskiyou Trainmen See Cigar Shaped Object,” Sacramento (Calif.) Bee, June 12, 1954, p. 18)
June 5 — 6:23 p.m. Janette Brown, 16, is standing on Princes Highway (M1) at Dandenong, Victoria, Australia, when she hears a loud drumming noise. A large, dark cylinder, about 30 feet long and 15 feet high with a canopy and window on top and a window at each end, appears above a nearby factory. She shines a flashlight on it, and it whirrs toward her. It hovers about 60 feet away. Her friend, Jeanette Johnston, 13, arrives and watches it before it disappears behind trees. Janette’s wristwatch stops, although it starts running again when it is demagnetized. The case is investigated for the RAAF by University of Melbourne physicist O. H. “Harry” Turner. (“‘Saucer' Terrifies Two Schoolgirls,” Melbourne (Vic.) Argus, June 9, 1954, p. 3; “‘Saucers’ Do Exist—And Why!” Melbourne (Vic.) Argus, June 26, 1954, p. 7; Bill Chalker, “ UFOs: Sub Rosa* Down Under The Australian Military and Government Role in the UFO Controversy, Part 1)” (1996); UFO Evidence, “ Teenage Girls See Saucer”)
June 8 — Two Office of Naval Intelligence officers, Captains John Bromley and Harry Baltazzi, visit contactee Frances Swan at her home in Eliot, Maine, and through her interview the spaceman Affa, who agrees to communicate with them by radio on June 10. When that does not happen, Rear Adm. Carl F. Espe, head of the Office of Naval Intelligence, writes to Rear Adm. Herbert B. Knowles on July 8 saying that ONI will pursue the matter no further. He turns the letters over to the Navy’s Bureau of Aeronautics. (Randall Fitzgerald, “Messages: The Case History of a Contactee,” Second Look 1, no. 12 (October 1979): 12–18, 28–29; Clark III 1118; “ The Obscure Case of Contactee Frances Swan with Alien Contact through Automatic Writing and Channeling,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, June 27, 2023; Clark IV 1244)
June 9 — Col. Frank Milani, director of Civil Defense in Baltimore, Maryland, demands that the Air Force ease its restrictions on UFO information and blasts its policy on Lou Corbin’s radio show. (“ Every Woman’s Hour (WFBR Radio) with Helen Brooks and Lou Corbin, Special Broadcast, ‘Unidentified Flying Objects,’ Wednesday, June 9, 1954,” transcribed in Project 1947; “ That Was No Saucer the Air Force Tossed at Civil Defense,” Washington (D.C.) Daily News, June 10, 1954, p. 10; “ Opinions,” APRO Bulletin 3, no. 1 (July 1954): 11–12; Keyhoe, FS Conspiracy, pp. 157–160; Frank Edwards, FS Serious Business, Bantam ed., 1966, pp. 137–138; Project 1947, “ UFO Reports, 1954”; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1954, June–August, The Author, 1990, pp. 11–12)
June 12? — Keyhoe and Edwards find out about the O’Mara interview, and Edwards puts it on his radio broadcast, generating more press calls to ATIC. Capt. Charles A. Hardin, head of Blue Book, states that “Colonel O’Mara’s words were misinterpreted. What he meant to say was that if all the sightings were reported to the Air Force, they would total about 700 a week.” (Keyhoe, FS Conspiracy, pp. 157–160; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1954, June–August, The Author, 1990, pp. 11–14)
June 12 — 11:30 p.m. Walter L. Tatspaugh of Hyattsville, Maryland, observes a large bluish-green oval or round object circling and hovering in the sky for at least 45 minutes. The Baltimore GOC Filter Center allegedly tracks an object on radar over Wilmington, Delaware, for an hour. Two F-86D fighters are scrambled but cannot reach it. (NICAP, “ Object Tracked / Jets Scrambled”; Keyhoe, FS Conspiracy, pp. 161–162; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, A History: 1954 June–August, The Author, 1990, p. 18)
June 14 — A UFO is again tracked over Wilmington, Delaware, flying in a rectangular course at 75,000 feet for more than 2 hours. (Keyhoe, FS Conspiracy, pp. 161–162; UFOEv, p. 66)
June 14 — A CIA memorandum for the record by CIA Assistant Director of Scientific Intelligence H. Marshall Chadwell confirms that the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC), under the US Air Force, holds primary responsibility for collecting and analyzing reports of unconventional air vehicles. The CIA receives intelligence only in cases where foreign involvement or potential disinformation is suspected. (“ Intelligence Responsibilities for Non-Conventional Types of Air Vehicles,” Central Intelligence Agency, June 14, 1954; “ CIA Memo Outlines Who Handles UFO Intelligence,” Unredacted, June 20, 2025)
June 18 — 7:35 p.m. Monsignor Émile Élie Verhille, Apostolic Vicar of Fort-Rousset [modern Owando, Republic of the Congo], reports in the Brazzaville newspaper La Semaine de L’akf that he and others had seen a UFO over Laketi Mission in the Mossaka District. A luminous globe arrives from the north and heads towards Laketi. It suddenly stops, rises and falls, stops again, gyrates, and seems to shake. A noise like that of an airplane engine is heard until the moment when it also stops. Seen through binoculars, the object has a dark mass in the center with light rays of unequal length coming out of it alternately. It goes through its maneuvers for 15 minutes then shoots back over the northern horizon. (ClearIntent, p. 134)
June 21 — 1:00 a.m. Near Ridgeway, Ontario, Guy and Valeria Baker see a hovering, domed disc about 40 feet in diameter with several rotating, flashing lights around the rim. They drive to get a closer look. The object crosses the road in front of them and lands in a field. The car stalls, and they watch as the lights move around the area. They find a large, brown, circular spot in the pasture where the disc has been resting. ( Schopick, pp. 6–7; Valeria Baker, [ Letter], Canadian UFO Report 4, no. 3 (Spring 1977): 22; Mark Rodeghier, UFO Reports Involving Vehicle Interference, CUFOS, 1981, p. 2; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 June–August, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2002, pp. 12–13; Clark III 377; Clark IV 421)
June 21. CANADA, Ridgeway, Ontario. Mr. and Mrs. Guy Baker reported a round object some 50 ft. in diameter. They reported a dome and multi-colored lights. The Baker car would not start during the observation. There was a large, brown circular area where the object was seen. (Vallee III)
June 22 — 8:14 p.m. An unidentified radar blip located over central Vancouver Island, British Columbia, responds to coded IFF Mode 1 signals from the Naselle Air Force Station radar site [now Fort Stevens Historic Site] in southwestern Washington State, and instantly transmits back the correct coded responses. The blip is tracked on 3 ground radars at both Naselle and McChord AFB [now Joint Base Lewis- McChord] in Tacoma. The UFO splits into two (or consists of two objects in close formation), separates, and outmaneuvers one of two F-86D jet interceptors, both of which also radar-tracked the UFOs. Possible visual sightings of the radar target are called in to sheriff’s offices and news media. The case is forwarded to Project Blue Book, but it does not appear in its files. (NICAP, “ Coded IFF Signal from UFO”; Sparks, p. 215)
June 23 — 8:00 or 9:00 p.m. Pilot Capt. Harry Roe Jr., flying an Ohio Air National Guard F-51 Mustang fighter at 240 mph from Dayton to Columbus, Ohio, sees a round white object with no exhaust trailing him in the same position a little above and behind at close range, possibly detected on airborne radar. Roe maneuvers to try to lose it or collide with it, but the UFO remains in relatively the same position until it departs to the southeast. S/Sgt Maynard Harris at Wright- Patterson AFB picks up the plane and the UFO on radar. He scrambles two F-86s in the Columbus area to check it out, but they see nothing. At 10:00 p.m., Maj. Frank J. Gshwandtner and 2nd Lt. Robert P. Lommori, flying in the Columbus area in an RB-47E aircraft, observe a white object the size of a baseball at 25,000 feet. The object is extremely fast and makes a gradual turn to begin a slight climb. It then flies out of sight. The duration is 30 seconds. (NICAP, “ F-51 Trailed by Object / Lt. Roe Sighting”; NICAP, “ Something Follows C-47 and Observed by RB-47 Crew”; Sparks, p. 216; “ Object ‘Chases’ Plane Home: Saucer Watchers Ready,” Dayton (Ohio) Journal Herald, June 25, 1954, p. 12; “ That Light Observed by Others,” Chillicothe (Ohio) Gazette, June 25, 1954, pp. 1, 22; “ Columbus Pilot Reports Seeing Flying Saucer,” Sidney (Ohio) Daily News, June 25, 1954, p. 9; Keyhoe, FS Conspiracy, pp. 167–168)
Late June — Some 300 people in West Berlin, Germany, see three silvery UFOs on several occasions. Moving in a zigzag motion and accelerating at high speed. Rudolf Hermes, a director at Tempelhof Airport [now closed], says the witnesses describe the objects as “shiny.” (“ Triangle Saucers Reported Seen near Berlin,” Lancaster (Pa.) Sunday News, July 4, 1954, p. 19)
Late June — Contactee Dorothy Martin meets with Charles and Lillian Laughead at their home in East Lansing, Michigan. Convinced of their mutual mission, the three begin receiving psychic messages revealing that spaceships will begin picking up enlightened earthlings, hinting that this is to save them from an impending nuclear holocaust, although this later shifts to a geological disaster. Both alone and with the Laugheads, Martin is directed to meet physical space people at various spots. (Clark III 718; Clark IV 786)
June 26 — Around 7:30 a.m. A metallic blob is seen high in the sky near Columbus, Ohio. According to a newspaper article, a crew of an airliner is asked to investigate; the crew circles under the object while the 60 passengers take a look. Zanesville Radio says at 5:55 a.m. a round, silvery object is detected on an azimuth of 80°. At 5:35 a.m., an Air Force charter flight, No. 46 AF 23-24 to Wilmington, Delaware, flying at 3,000 feet observes an object in the Zanesville, Ohio, area at approximately 18,000 to 20,000 feet. (NICAP, “ Airliner Investigates Strange Object”; Keyhoe, FS Conspiracy, pp. 168–169)
June 27 — The Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant, at the Institute of Physics and Power Engineering in Obninsk, Kaluga Oblast, Russia, becomes the first grid-connected nuclear power plant in the world. The plan achieves criticality on May 6 and now is set up to provide electrical power to Moscow. (Wikipedia, “ Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant”)
June 28 — Keyhoe replies to a letter from Ruppelt asking him for business advice after his retirement from the Air Force. Keyhoe advises: “If you didn’t have to travel out of your area, you would make some money. They’d want about a 30-minute talk, for noonday clubs; 45 minutes to an hour for evening talks. My trouble was that I was scheduled for isolated talks involving expensive travel—to Milwaukee, Kansas City, Buffalo, etc. Considering the lost time, plus expenses, I figure I barely broke even; however, I did it at first in order to get more people talking about my book. I learned later that one good TV program, on a network, is worth twenty such lectures, probably worth a hundred of them.” (Curt Collins, “ Donald E. Keyhoe: From Saucers to Swamp Gas,” The Saucers That Time Forgot, September 14, 2023)
June 29 — 5:03 p.m. A BOAC Stratocruiser leaves New York City bound for London, England. 30 minutes later, Capt. James R. Howard receives directions from Boston Air Traffic Center to hold his position over the Rhode Island coast. Howard circles for 10–12 minutes, after which Boston tells him to detour over Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Around 11:30 p.m. while crossing at 19,000 feet near Sept-Îles, Quebec, Howard, his copilot Lee Boyd, and navigator H. McDonnell see a large cigar-shaped object and six smaller black ovals moving the same speed as his airliner, 265 mph, on a parallel course. The small objects are strung out in a line, changing relative positions but always at the same level. The large object slowly and continually changes shape, “in a way that a swarm of bees might alter its appearance.” They appear opaque, hard-edged, gray in color, with no lights or flames visible. Goose Bay AFB [now CFB Goose Bay], Labrador, orders an F-94 to vector toward the location. Just as Howard is giving the pilot his position, the small objects disappear. McDonnell says they enter the large object. As the F-94 approaches, the large object dwindles in size and disappears. Howard lands at Goose Bay and is questioned by RCAF and USAF officials (McConnell says they take the flight logs); when he lands in London, the Air Ministry does the same, telling the pilots they viewed a solar eclipse (which took place at 7:00 a.m. on June 30). Howard later hears that there are UFO sightings in Massachusetts while he is in a holding pattern, and he contests in the December 11 issue of Everybody’s Magazine that what he saw was solid, not a mirage. Gordon Thayer of the Colorado project identifies the objects as superior mirages, reflections of the “dark terrain below seen against the bright, ‘silvery’ sky to the left of the setting sun,” a “phenomenon so rare that it apparently has never been reported before or since.” James McDonald disagrees. In 2010, ufologist Martin Shough reexamines the case and concludes that the object might well have been an unusual mirage. (NICAP, “ BOAC Stratocruiser Case”; Sparks, p. 216; “ Flying Saucer, 6 Butter Chips Chase British Airliner near U.S.,” Long Beach (Calif.) Independent, July 2, 1954, p. 8; James Howard, “ We Were Shadowed from Outer Space,” Everybody’s Weekly, December 11, 1954; John Carnell, “ BOAC’s Flying Jellyfish,” Fate 7, no. 11 (November 1954): 16–23; Leonard Cramp, “ Mystery over Labrador,” Flying Saucer Review 1, no. 1 (Spring 1955): 6–8; UFOEv, p. 126; James E. McDonald, “ Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, p. 46; Condon, pp. 139–140; “ Are They ‘Projections’?,” Flying Saucer Review 27, no. 3 (November 1981): 1–2; “ A Record Put Straight,” Flying Saucer Review 27, no. 6 (June 1982): 1–2; James Howard, “ The BOAC Labrador Sighting of 1954,” Flying Saucer Review 27, no. 6 (June 1982): 2–3; Good Above, pp. 189–191; Phillip Robertson, “ Some Considerations on the Seven Isles, Quebec, Canada, Case of June 29, 1954,” May 31, 1991; “ Captain James Howard Reflects on His Sighting of 1954 (BOAC),” nutsandbolts ufo YouTube channel, March 7, 2009; Martin Shough, “ Study of an Unusual Phenomenon Observed by BOAC Aircrew over Labrador, Newfoundland, June 29, 1954,” September 2009; “ BOAC Pilot Case of 7-2-1954 – Capt. James Howard,” Ufology: A Primer in Audio, 1938–1959, November 21, 2013; “ BOAC Pilot Case of 7-2-1954 – Stewardess Daphne Webster,” Ufology: A Primer in Audio, 1938–1959, November 21, 2013; Martin Shough, “ The BOAC Labrador Sighting of June 29, 1954,” Caelestia, October 31, 2018; Clark III 195; Kevin D. Randle, “ Coast to Coast AM: The Labrador Sighting from 1954,” A Different Perspective, March 31, 2023; Covert 54–55; Clark IV 230–231)
June 30 — 2:17 p.m. Johnny Björnulf and Raun Conradi are aboard one of three Scandinavian Airlines planes flying above the Lifjell plateau, Telemark, Norway, to observe a total solar eclipse. Conradi takes some footage through a window on the north (port) side of one airplane. When developed it shows two small light sources that are fairly obvious window reflections, but media coverage causes much confusion about the circumstances under which the film is shot. (“ Pictures of Solar Eclipse Shows Saucer-Like Objects,” Hanford (Calif.) Sentinel, July 7, 1954, p. 1; E. Graham, “ Scandinavian Eclipse Expedition Films U.F.O.s,” Flying Saucer Review 2, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1956): 6–7; UFOEv, p. 5; Clas Svahn, “ The Björnulf Solar Eclipse Film,” Clas Svahns Blogg, October 6, 2006)
June 30 — 6:50 p.m. Four civilians and several military personnel at Brookley AFB [now Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley] in Mobile, Alabama, see a brilliant silver or white object with short stubby wings approach from the south, circle over Mobile, then depart to the northeast. A radar contact at 6:30 p.m. with a stationary object is evidently unrelated anomalous propagation. (NICAP, “ Object with Short Stubby Wings Tracked on Radar”; Sparks, p. 216; “ Do We Shoot or Salute, Sir?” Long Beach (Calif.) Independent, July 2, 1954, p. 8)
Summer — George Hunt Williamson spends a few months in Noblesville, Indiana, working at Soulcraft Publications, run by mystic and fascist William Dudley Pelley. Mostly he contributes UFO news for the magazine, but some of Pelley’s antisemitic attitudes creep into Williamson’s later writings. (Zirger and Martinelli, The Incredible Life of George Hunt Williamson, Verdechiari, 2016, pp. 100–103; Clark III 1285; Jason Daley, “ The Screenwriting Mystic Who Wanted to Be the American Führer,” Smithsonian Magazine, October 3, 2018; Clark IV 1468)
Summer — Late night. A young girl in Arbutus, Maryland, wakes up when a bright light shines into her bedroom window. Looking outside, she sees a triangle of brilliant white lights parallel to the ground, illuminating everything, hanging in the air, and pointing directly at her. All of a sudden they are gone. Fort the next two days, she has a fever that forces her to stay home from school. (Michael D. Swords, “ Timmerman’s Triangles,” IUR 29, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 17)
Summer (or Summer 1955) — Evening. Dianne Vezza and two other teen girls are sitting in a backyard in Marietta, Ohio, when they see a star-like light moving at great speed. Suddenly it comes to a dead stop and two other stars speed in and come to an abrupt stop. The three objects form a perfect triangle. An oval object then becomes visible as the starlike objects disappear. Two other oval objects take up the same triangular position with the first. They then begin a light display with wildly colored lights that continues for a few seconds. The lights go out, and each of the objects beams a bright white light to the center of the triangle. The beams meet in the center for a few seconds and then go out. The oval objects disappear and the starlike lights return, but they soon speed off in different directions faster than a jet. The display is completely soundless. (Michael D. Swords, “ Another Type of UFO Display,” IUR 30, no. 2 (January 2006): 11)
July — A saucer-buff zine titled Nexus is first published by James W. Moseley in New Jersey. Although he states that “flying saucers exist and are probably interplanetary,” he makes it clear that the newsletter will be “poking fun at our fellow saucer-enthusiasts.” (“ Greetings Fellow Saucer Fiends!” Nexus 1, no. 1 (July 1954): 1; James W. Moseley and Karl T. Pflock, Shockingly Close to the Truth: Confessions of a Grave-Robbing Ufologist, Prometheus, 2002, pp. 106–108; Clark III 775, 1032; Curt Collins, “ Saucer News Archives: The Historic UFO Magazine by Jim Moseley,” The Saucers That Time Forgot, September 28, 2023; Clark IV 856, 1147; Mckee, Saucerian, pp. 53–54)
July 2 — 11:05 a.m. An F-94C Starfire takes off from Griffiss AFB [now Griffiss Business and Technology Park] in Rome, New York, on an operational training mission. It is only a few miles out when the Griffiss control tower orders the plane diverted to intercept an unidentified aircraft. When Pilot Lt. William E. Atkins cannot find the aircraft, the controller tells him about a second unidentified aircraft, which Atkins identifies as an Air Force C-47. The control tower vectors him back to the first target. Atkins cannot see any aircraft above the cloud cover, so he descends below the clouds. During the descent, a furnace- like heat fills the cockpit and the engine plenum chamber fire warning light goes on. Atkins shuts the engine off, but the light remains on. Atkins and his radar man, Henry F. Coudon [or Condon], eject, landing without injury. At 11:27 a.m., the plane crashes into the town of Walesville, west of Utica, striking a building and an auto, killing 4 people, and injuring 5 others. Atkins tells reporters about the heat but clams up under Air Force pressure. The official investigation confirms the fire was caused by a malfunction of the fire detector circuit. There is no evidence of an in-flight fire. Kevin Randle suspects a balloon is responsible for one of the radar targets, because an apparent balloon is sighted later, from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m., in a 25-square-mile area from Rome to Frankfort, New York. (NICAP, “ The Walesville Incident / F-94 Crash”; “ ‘Balloon’ Excites Utica,” New York Times, July 3, 1954, p. 13; “ Abandoned Jet Kills 3 in Car, 1 in House,” New York Times, July 3, 1954, pp. 1, 6; “ Jet Plane Crashes in Flames, Kills 3 in Auto, One in House,” Syracuse (N.Y.) Post-Standard, July 3, 1954, pp. 1, 3; “ Probe Is Opened in Fatal Jet Crash at Walesville,” Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald-Journal, July 3, 1954, pp. 1, 2; Keyhoe, FS Conspiracy, pp. 174–177; Condon, p. 161; Keyhoe, Aliens from Space, Signet ed., 1974, pp. 22–23; Kevin D. Randle, “ Walesville Revisited,” IUR 25, no. 3 (Fall 2000): 3–5; Frank J. Reid, “ Keyhoe’s Context,” IUR 25, no. 3 (Fall 2000): 6–7, 28–29; Kevin D. Randle, “ Walesville UFO Jet Chase,” A Different Perspective, March 28, 2009)
July 3 - Nine green spheres hover, speed away at 2,600 mph, and are tracked on radar at 24,000 feet 20 miles north of Albuquerque, New Mexico. (UFOEv, p. 85)
July 3 — 8:15 a.m. The captain, officers, and 463 passengers of a Dutch ocean liner watch a “greenish-colored, saucer-shaped object about half the size of a full moon” speed across the sky and disappear in clouds. (Ruppelt, p. 237) [same as July 29 entry?]
July 8 — 9:25 p.m. Amateur astronomer Harold Hill is at his observatory in Orrell, Greater Manchester, England, when he sees a bright star in the southern sky that he at first thinks is a supernova. Soon it resolves itself into a bright, metallic globe with a cluster of 15–20 smaller, dimmer objects moving around. Clouds intervene and when they clear, he sees two bright objects, gyrating and flashing and moving slowly around each other. The objects are at a great altitude, because even through binoculars they have “shown no sensible size.” The total time of the observation is 25 minutes, after which clouds obscure the objects from view. (“ Strange Sight Seen over…Wigan,” Flying Saucer News, no. 6 (Summer 1954): 7; “An Unusual Sky Phenomenon,” Strolling Astronomer 9 (1955): 48; “ Through the Telescope: Lights on the Moon,” CRIFO Orbit 2, no. 9 (December 2, 1955): 2–3; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: January 1, 1947–December 31, 1959, The Author, 2003, pp. 80–81)
July 9 — Die Weltwoche in Zürich, Switzerland, publishes two letters by psychologist Carl Jung, who says he has been interested in UFOs since 1946, but he has difficulty comprehending what they might be, since they seem to have both subjective and objective properties. (“ Dr. Carl Jung on Unidentified Flying Objects,” Flying Saucer Review 1, no. 2 (May/June 1955): 17–18; Clark III 636–637; Clark IV 700–701)
July 11 — UK Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding states in an article in the London Sunday Telegraph that “I am convinced that these objects do exist and that they are not manufactured by any nation on earth. I can therefore see no alternative to accepting the theory that they come from some extraterrestrial source.” (“ I Believe In Flying Saucers,” London Sunday Dispatch, July 11, 1954, p. 6; UFOEv, p. 122; Good Above, pp. 47–48)
July 13 - 1:00 p.m. Bill Fitchpatrick and his wife Grace spot a round, silver object in the sky south of Eldon, Missouri, near the Corral Drive- In Theater on Highway 54. As they exit the driveway, Grace notices the strange object beyond the screen and points it out to her husband. She wonders if it might be a jet aircraft, but Bill, a former Air Force worker, says no. They watch the basketball-sized object, which has no wings, hover in the distance before it vanishes almost instantly. (" Flying Saucer Seen near Drive-In; Nighttime Space Ships Are Planets," Miller County (Mo.) Autogram-Sentinel, July 29, 1954, p. 1)
July 20 — Two men are chased in their car by a UFO near Oslo, Norway, and stop to observe it. Afterward, one of the witnesses’ watches stops working and the car’s paint changes color. (Vallée, Magonia, p. 207)
July 20–21 — Ruppelt visits the Project Blue Book office at Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio to gather information for his upcoming book. He is told that all UFO publicity is handled by a lieutenant colonel in Air Force intelligence. He writes in an August 3 letter to Keyhoe: “They claim to have gotten the unknowns down to about 10% but from what I saw this was just due to a more skeptical attitude. The reports are just as good as the ones we got and their analysis procedures are a hell of a lot worse.” (Donald E. Keyhoe, “ The Captain Ruppelt Letters,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 2 (October 1961): 6; Clark III 1023; Clark IV 1137)
July 23 —The US Navy issues a new directive that orders the immediate reporting of UFO sightings (FLYOBRPTs) to the director of AFOSI, ATIC, commanding officer of Eastern ADC, director of Naval Intelligence, commanding officer of the Eastern Sea Frontier, and the commandant of the Potomac River Naval Command. The directive cites JANAP 146, AFR 200-2, OPNAV 3820, and Directive 3820.2 and is intended to plug leaks coming from navy and marine personnel. It is unpublicized but unclassified, so it threatens disclosure of AFR 200-2, which is still classified. USAF begins work on a new version of AFR 200-2 without the “restricted” label. (Keyhoe, FS Conspiracy, pp. 188–189, 309–311)
July 24–25 — A security officer at the Naval Bureau of Aeronautics develops a personal interest in the Frances Swan contact case and accepts Rear Adm. Knowles’s invitation to Eliot, Maine, to visit with Swan. On his return, he gives the FBI a report on his visit. On July 29 an FBI agent interviews him, and on August 9 J. Edgar Hoover sends an account of the interview to Rear Adm. Carl F. Espe and to the Army’s Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2. Hoover writes, “No further action is being taken in this matter by this Bureau.” (Randall Fitzgerald, “Messages: The Case History of a Contactee,” Second Look 1, no. 12 (October 1979): 12–18, 28–29; Clark III 1118; Clark IV 1244)
July 25 — Policeman J. H. Flanagan and friends see 6 UFOs over Enkeldoorn [now Chivhu], Zimbabwe. Nearly stationary, they are visible for about 20 minutes and disappear when night falls. (ClearIntent, p. 134)
July 28 — Wilbert B. Smith, at the invitation of retired Navy Rear Adm. Herbert B. Knowles, visits contactee Frances Swan in Eliot, Maine, his neighbor. Her two space friends, Affa and Alomar, direct Swan’s hand to draw a series of circles demonstrating the use of magnetic fields in spacecraft propulsion. Smith asks the aliens to communicate by radio at an appointed time a few days later, but the message does not come through. Nevertheless, Smith attempts to decipher the alien charts in hopes of learning how to build a saucer for Canada. (Randall Fitzgerald, “Messages: The Case History of a Contactee,” Second Look 1, no. 12 (October 1979): 12–18, 28–29; Clark III 1079–1080; Clark IV 1195–1196)
July 28 — 8:00 p.m. Capt. Jan P. Boshoff and five officers of the Dutch ocean liner SS Groote Beer see a moon-like object rising out of the Atlantic Ocean 90 miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. They watch it through a sextant, allowing them to estimate its rate of ascent at a half degree in 2 minutes, and a distance of 2.5 miles away from the ship. After 10 minutes it disappears behind some low clouds. (“ News of Interest in Shipping World: Vessel Sights Moonlike Object in Sky Over Sea—Unloading Charges Denounced,” New York Times, July 30, 1954, p. 33; “ Airliner [sic] Reports Flying Saucer 80 Miles off N.Y.,” New Rochelle (N.Y.) Standard-Star, July 30, 1954, p. 18; “ Well, It Wasn’t Flying Dutchman Cap’n Saw,” New York Daily News, July 30, 1954, p. 6; “ Kapitein van ‘Grote Beer’ zag vliegende schotel,” De Arubaanse Courant (Aruba), August 16, 1954, p. 2; Jared Hamilton, “Saucers over Italy,” Fate 8, no. 3 (March 1955): 14, 18; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1954, June–August, The Author, 1990, p. 60; Remseey2907, “ In 1954 Captain, Crew and Passengers,” Reddit r/UFOs, 2020; Dolan, USO1, 170–171)
July 31 — 12:40 a.m. The Atomic Energy Commission’s National Reactor Testing Station near Idaho Falls, Idaho, is suddenly lit up by a blinding glow that explodes in the night sky. Kelly Brooks and A. L. Taylor say the source of the light remains motionless for a few seconds, then shoots upwards at a tremendous speed. (“AEC Workers Again See Strange Lights,” Idaho Falls Post Register, August 2, 1954, pp. 1, 9; “Idaho AEC Workers Sight Mysterious Light in Sky,” Nampa Idaho Free Press, August 3, 1954, p. 10; Keyhoe, FS Conspiracy, p. 168)
August — 10:30 p.m. An astronomer sees a bright white disc, 20 times the apparent size of the moon, moving from west to northeast at a high rate of speed over Park Hills, Kentucky. The seemingly solid object is about 100 feet in diameter and flying at an altitude of 500 feet. It disappears abruptly after 3–4 seconds. (“ Astronomers and UFO’s: A Survey, Part 2, Sightings,” IUR 2, no. 4 (April 1977): 3)
August 1 — 11:15 p.m. Desmond O’Reilly and others at Templeogue Tennis Club in Dublin, Ireland, watch an object fly over the Dublin Mountains in the direction of Howth. Initially he thinks he is looking at a meteor because he can only see it when it passes by gaps in the clouds. He watches it split into two pieces. (Irish Times, August 5, 1954; Shane Cochrane, “Ireland vs. the Flying Saucers,” Fortean Times 317 (September 2014): 54)
August 1 — 11:30 p.m. P. D. McCormack sees a bluish-white object flying at 1,000 mph at an altitude of 5,000 feet above the Dublin Mountains, Ireland, to the south. The trails seem to “fall away from the object at each side.” Two men fishing in the River Dargle near Powerscourt, County Wicklow, see a rocket-shaped object dropping balls of fire. At 11:35 p.m., on the North Beach in Rush, County Dublin, Mrs. W. Gray and others watch an object “like a bright electric bulb” fly overhead from the mountains and out to sea. Possible meteor. (Irish Times, August 3, 5, 1954; Shane Cochrane, “Ireland vs. the Flying Saucers,” Fortean Times 317 (September 2014): 54)
August 2 — The US Joint Chiefs of Staff direct the establishment of a Continental Air Defense Command. Secretary of Defense Charles Erwin Wilson announces the command’s formation publicly later in the month to integrate “the air defense capabilities of the three military departments into an air defense system responsible to the control of one military commander.” (Wikipedia, “ Continental Air Defense Command”)
August 4 — 11:00 p.m.–12:00 midnight. Ten firemen and their chief observe two flying saucers over The Hague, Netherlands. The objects are seen in the clear night air at a high altitude. They move at incredible speed, at times remaining motionless for as long as 30 seconds. They are described as flat ovals with whitish-gray light. All agree that the objects are neither aircraft or balloons. (De Telegraaf (Amsterdam), August 6, 1954; ClearIntent, p. 134; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1954, June–August, The Author, 1990, p. 69)
August 6 — A bright white ball shoots across the sky over Santa Fe, New Mexico, leaving a luminous trail that persists for 15 minutes. Meteorite expert Lincoln LaPaz says it is not a meteor. It apparently disrupts TV signals and aircraft transmissions, but not ham radio. (Wilkins, FS Uncensored, Citadel, 1955, p. 226)
August 7–8 — One of the first UFO meetings in California is held on the slopes of Palomar Mountain, with lectures by George Adamski, Daniel Fry, Truman Bethurum, and Desmond Leslie. (“ Palomar Mountain, 1940–1960: From Obscurity to World Fame,” The Adamski Case, September 22, 2019)
August 9 — 3:01 p.m. Project Magnet’s only UFO incident of note occurs when the Shirley’s Bay, Ontario, gravimeter indicates a greater deflection in the gravitational field than a conventional object would cause. Heavy clouds obstruct Wilbert B. Smith’s view of the sky. (“ Wilbert B. Smith,” Northern Ontario UFO Research and Study; Stuart Nixon, “ W. B. Smith: The Man behind Project Magnet,” UFO Quarterly Review 1, no. 1 (Jan./Mar. 1973): 2–17; Good Above, p. 186; Clark III 1079; Clark IV 1195)
August 10. CANADA, Hemmingford, Quebec. After his children reported that an object had been seen, the father and the eldest son went to a field where the object had been seen. The children described it as orange in color. The grass was depressed in an area 53 ft. in diameter. (Vallee III)
August 10 — The Canadian Department of Transport officially folds Project Magnet but permits Wilbert B. Smith to continue using its facility on his own time at no expense to the government. Smith continues his work privately until his death in December 1962. (Story, p. 276)
August 11 — Frank Edwards is fired by his sponsor at the Mutual Broadcasting Network, the American Federation of Labor. He had offered to resign on August 7, citing a conflict over the type of material he has been required to report on, including AFL interests and George Meany’s personal outlook. His UFO reportage may or may not be an issue. (Frank Edwards, “ The Plot to Silence Me,” Fate 10, no. 6 (June 1957): 17–23; Clark III 435; Clark IV 480)
August 11 — 8:54 p.m. A1C Chase E. Lewis, tower operator at Lawson AFB [now Lawson Army Airfield] in Fort Benning, Columbus, Georgia, sees a strange stationary object in the west. It varies in brightness, changing color from white to red to orange to white again, with seemingly high-speed motions. An Army helicopter piloted by WO R. T. Wade is sent to investigate; he locates the object 20 miles west of Lawson at 2,000 feet. Wade abandons the chase due to low fuel after 2 minutes. At 9:05 p.m., two additional tower operators (including A1C William N. Watson) view the object. A second Army helicopter, piloted by U. S. Tarma, is diverted to the object at 9:27 p.m. He sees it, but it disappears at 9:29 p.m. (NICAP, “ Two Helicopters Encounter Venus (CIRVIS)”; Sparks, p. 219; Good Above, pp. 284–285; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1954, June–August, The Author, 1990, pp. 77–80)
August 11 — 8:55 p.m. P. L. Percharde, electrical engineer and assistant manager of the Moeller Shipwrecker Company, of Okinawa, sees a line of blue lights underneath a blue circle with a black center fly over the SS Docteur Angier off Yoron-Jima, Japan, and climb, illuminating and agitating the clouds. ( Sparks, p. 219; Patrick Gross, “ Disk Seen from SS Docteur Angier, August 11, 1954”)
August 12 — 2:29 a.m. Four military men on US Army helicopters at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, Alabama, see a glowing red disc soar around the base tower. There are both ground and air witnesses, as well as radar- visual confirmation. (Good Above, pp. 284–285, 493–494)
August 12 — An updated version of AFR 200-2 is issued by the Department of the Air Force and declassified by Air Force Chief of Staff Nathan Twining. The public can now know that the 4602nd Air Intelligence Service Squadron was brought in to assist ATIC (Blue Book) with preliminary and field UFO investigations, and that USAF considers UFOs to be “any airborne object which by performance, aerodynamic characteristics, or unusual features, does not conform to any presently known aircraft or missile type, or which cannot be positively identified as a familiar object.” It lists the objectives of UFO reporting as: “First as a possible threat to the security of the United States and its forces, and secondly, to determine technical aspects involved.” (Department of the Air Force, “ Unidentified Flying Objects Reporting,” Air Force Regulation 200-2, August 12, 1954; Good Above, pp. 489–492; Clark III 921; Clark IV 1031)
August 16 — 5:00 p.m. A green ball is seen in the sky over Tananarive [now Antananarivo], Madagascar, and disappears behind a hill. It reappears a minute later and flies over the higher part of Tananarive. When the object flies in front of them, some witnesses see a lentil-shaped device with a silvery metallic aspect enveloped in electric luminous gas. According to Jean-Luc Bruneau, inspector general at the Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique, Gen. Charles de Gaulle is concerned about this sighting and quietly approves having a French study group involved with investigating UFO cases. (Comité d’Études Approfondies, “UFOs and Defense: What Should We Prepare For?” part 1, July 1999, pp. 17–18; Gildas Bourdais, “ Summary of Some Cases Noted in the COMETA report,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 377 (September 1999): 13; Gildas Bourdais, “ From GEPAN to SEPRA: Official UFO Studies in France,” IUR 25, no. 4 (Winter 2000–2001): 11; “ 1954, Tananarive, Madagascar: Multiple Witnesses to UFOs,” UFO Casebook, July 30, 2008; Patrick Gross, “ Tananarive, Madagascar, August 1954”; “ Madagascar Multiple Witness CE-II of 8-16-1954 – Edmond Carpraunac,” Ufology: A Primer in Audio, 1938–1959, November 21, 2013)
August 20 - Morning. Edith Jacobsen, 24, and Åsta Solvang, 32, are on a blueberry-picking trip to Oyfjellet, near Mosjoen, Norway, with their uncle, Halvdan Jacobsen. The two sisters wander off to a fen when suddenly they see a man in the distance. They approach him and he smiles and stretches out his hand, but he only brushes Edith's palm with it. He has long hair with a natural wave, a dark complexion, and a tight-fitting suit with a wide belt. He begins to talk but they can't understand him. It does not sound like Norwegian, English, German, Spanish, French, or Russian. He takes out a "little mirror" from a pocket and with something like a pencil draws circles, apparently representing planets. He finally indicates he wants the women to accompany him and he takes them to a landed disc in a clearing. It is gray-blue and looks like two giant pot lids put together. He makes a sign to not come too close, then he opens a hatch on the top, crawls in, and shuts the door. The sisters hear a faint humming and the UFO rises while rotating on its own axis. (" Flyvende tallarken med en mann landet ved Mosjoen!" Harstad Tidende, August 25, 1954, p. 1; " Spaceman Lands in Norway?" Flying Saucer Review 1, no. 4 (Sept./Oct. 1955): 6-7; Gordon Creighton, " Mosjoen: An Early Norwegian CE-III Case," Flying Saucer Review 34, no. 2 (June 1989): 1-7; Clark III 267-268; Clark IV 308)
August 23 — 1:00 a.m. Businessman Bernard Miserey has just parked his car in a garage at Vernon, Eure, France, when he notices a sudden illumination. He sees an object like an enormous (300 feet long) cigar standing on end, hovering above the north bank of the Seine River about 1,000 feet away. Suddenly from the bottom of the object comes a horizontal disc that drops, slows, and suddenly dives horizontally across the river at him. It vanishes at a high rate of speed toward the southwest. Three other discs follow in sequence. A fifth disc drops much lower than the earlier ones and remains still for an instant, swaying slightly. During this time the cigar has faded and sinks into darkness. The spectacle has lasted 45 minutes. Two police officers and an Army engineer also see the display. (Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, pp. 19–21; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1954, June–August, The Author, 1990, pp. 85–86; Herbert S. Taylor, “ Satellite Objects and Cloud Cigars,” IUR 29, no. 1 (Spring 2004): 4–5; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” February 2, 2007; Clark III 293; Clark IV 333)
August 26 — 9:35 p.m. Crowds of people in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland. see an object traveling at great speed over Bray Head. It is a brilliant blue light, traveling at “2,000 miles an hour” toward the sea before changing direction and moving toward Wicklow. (Irish Times, August 27, 1954; Shane Cochrane, “Ireland vs. the Flying Saucers,” Fortean Times 317 (September 2014): 54)
August 27. CANADA, Boston Creek, Ontario. A round object was reported by Bill Supa. He stated that it landed some 1,000 ft. away. The object moved away as he approachcd it. An area of depressed grass was found. (Vallee III)
August 28 — 8:30 p.m. Several USAF fighter pilots pursue a triangular formation of 15 objects near Tinker AFB, Oklahoma City, tracked by ground radar. As the jets approach, the formation breaks, changes to a semicircle, and the objects speed up and vanish to the west. (NICAP, “ USAF Fighters Report Formation Tracked by Radar”; “ Airforce Keeps Eyes Peeled at Reports of Strange Objects,” Oklahoma City Daily Oklahoman, August 29, 1954, p. 2; Sparks, p. 220; Keyhoe, FS Conspiracy, pp. 25–26)
August 29 — A witness in Mérida, Venezuela, sees a large, intensely yellow, glowing object moving at great speed from west to east. When it reaches the Sierra Nevada de Mérida, it suddenly stops and two disc-shaped blue objects emerge from it. All three continue to the east and disappear behind buildings. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 58)
August 29 — 11:05 p.m. First Officer H. G. Gardner and Engineer J. V. D. Whitisy, flying on a Royal Dutch Airlines DC-4, see 3–4 dark, lens-shaped objects over Prins Christianssund radio and weather station, Greenland. They veer north and change position in formation. (NICAP, “ Lens-Shaped Objects Veer North”; Sparks, p. 220)
August 30 — The Atomic Energy Act goes into effect, covering the development, regulation, and disposal of nuclear materials and facilities in the US. It makes it possible for the government to allow private companies to gain technical information about nuclear energy production and the production of fissile materials. (Wikipedia, “ Atomic Energy Act of 1954”; Dustin Slaughter, “ UAP Disclosure Act Challenges Department of Energy Secrecy,” The UAP Register, September 18, 2023)
August 30 — Contactee Dorothy Martin of Oak Park, Illinois, and Charles and Lilian Laughead of Michigan send out a 7-page press release announcing that a geological disaster will cause great environmental changes in North America and Europe. It warns that December 20 will be the last available date for evacuation, as a great flood will strike on December 21. Martin and her followers hope to board a landed flying saucer before doom falls. (“ The End of the World,” The Saucerian 3, no. 2 (Spring 1955): 4–7, 55–60; Leon Festinger, Henry Riecken, and Stanley Schachter, When Prophecy Fails, University of Minnesota, 1956; Wikipedia, “ When Prophecy Fails”; Julie Beck, “ The Christmas the Aliens Didn’t Come,” The Atlantic, December 18, 2015; Clark III 718; Clark IV 786)
August 31— 7:10 p.m. RAN Lieutenant J. A. “Shamus” O’Farrell is returning to HMAS Albatross Naval Air Station near Nowra, New South Wales, after a night cross-country in a Hawker Sea Fury aircraft. After contacting Nowra, O’Farrell sees a very bright light closing fast at one o’clock. It crosses in front of his aircraft, taking up position on his port beam, where it appears to orbit. A second and similar light is observed at nine o’clock. It passes about a mile in front of the Sea Fury and then turns in the position where the first light was observed. According to O’Farrell, the apparent crossing speeds of the lights are the fastest he has ever encountered. He has been flying at 250 mph. O’Farrell contacts Albatross, which in turn confirms that it has two radar “paints” in company with him. Radar operator Petty Officer Keith Jessop confirms the presence of 2 objects near the Sea Fury on the GCI remote display. The two lights reform at nine o’clock and then disappear on a northeasterly heading. O’Farrell can only make out “a vague shape with the white light situated centrally on top.” The Directorate of Naval Intelligence at the time writes that O’Farrell is “an entirely credible witness” and that he “was visibly shaken by his experience but remains adamant that he saw these objects.” News of the incident leaks out in December, but the official RAN file remains classified until 1982. (NICAP, “ ‘Sea Fury’ Encounter”; James E. McDonald, “ Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, p. 70; Good Above, p. 162; Bill Chalker, “ The Australian Government and UFOs,” IUR 22, no. 3 (Fall 1997): 18–19; “ The Sea Fury Incident,” Australian Disclosure Project, April 30, 2006; Swords 379–380; An Adelaide UFO Researcher, “ The ‘Sea Fury’ Radar Incident Revisited,” 2017)
August 31 — Deputy Department of Transport Minister John Baldwin closes the Shirley’s Bay, Ontario, UFO station to save money, although he says Smith can work on his own time. (“ Saucer Station Closes,” The Saucerian, no. 6 (Spring 1955): 12; Stuart Nixon, “ W. B. Smith: The Man behind Project Magnet,” UFO Quarterly Review 1, no. 1 (Jan./Mar. 1973): 2–17; Andrew King, “ Close Encounters of the Ottawa Kind,” Ottawa Rewind, December 17, 2013; Clark III 1079; Clark IV 1195)
September 1 —The Continental Air Defense Command is established, primarily to defend the continental United States against air attack. It is also tasked to support US commanders in the Pacific, Atlantic, Caribbean, Alaska, Northeast, and of Strategic Air Command in their missions to the maximum extent consistent with its primary mission. ADC’s commander, Gen. Benjamin W. Chidlaw, becomes the first CINCONAD, and USAF is designated as the executive agency. (Wikipedia, “ Continental Air Defense Command”)
September 2 — Dusk. John Jacob Swaim, 12, is working on a tractor at his family’s farm in Coldwater, Kansas, when he sees a small man about 3 feet tall with long, pointed ears and a pointed nose standing in a crouched position about 20 feet away. It is dressed in a shiny garment and has two cylinders strapped on its back. The being floats to a nearby UFO hovering 5 feet from the ground. The next day his father and Sheriff Floyd Hadley find pear-shaped footprints, wide at the toes and tapering to a narrow heel. (“ ‘Pint-Sized Man with Pointed Ears Flees in Saucer’ As Boy Approaches,” Wichita (Kan.) Beacon, September 8, 1954, pp. 1A, 1C; “Lad Spots Weird Little Man Who Takes Off in a ‘Cucumber Ship,’” Hutchinson (Kan.) News, September 15, 1954; “ Footprints Found at ‘Saucer’ Scene,” Lincoln (Nebr.) Star, September 24, 1954, p. 8; “ Little Man in Kansas Wheat Field,” The Saucerian, no. 6 (Spring 1955): 12–13; Clark III 270–271; Curt Collins, “ A Flying Cucumber Comes to Kansas, Sept. 1954,” The Saucers That Time Forgot, February 23, 2018; Clark IV 311)
September 2. Coldwater, Kansas. A 12-year-old farm boy running a tractor saw a small being 20 ft. away. Disc 50 ft. in diameter was hoverinq 5 ft. above the ground. Being ran to object. Footprints found, pear-shaped, 4 1/2 in. long, 2 in. across the toe area. (Letter from the witness to the Wichita Evening Eagle, 9-8-54)
September 3 — 4:30 p.m. USAF Maj. Robert J. Waste and the 9-man crew of his B-47 bomber are flying at 25,000 feet in the vicinity of Dallas, Texas, on their way to Barksdale AFB in Bossier City, Louisiana. Carswell AFB [now Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth] in Texas directs them to be on the lookout for unusual objects. The crew discovers they are being paced by a missile-shaped object only 100 feet overhead that is slightly larger and longer than their own fuselage. It has two rows of oval-shaped portholes along the sides and an orange exhaust. The bottom of the object seems to be glowing. After pacing the B-47 a short time, it shoots ahead and zooms upward at incredible speed. Carswell tells them to pursue, but they can’t keep up. The UFO then descends to within 300 feet of the bomber and begins circling it. The UFO stays with the plane, pacing it above and below, and performing figure-eights and other maneuvers for over an hour. Two other B-47s in the squadron are behind the lead bomber and also view the object. The UFO finally shoots upward and disappears again. Waste takes 32 frames of 35mm color film of the UFO with his personal camera, but his film and that of his copilot is confiscated during a 3-day debriefing at Barksdale. (Paul Cerny, “ Close Encounter at 25,000 Feet: Government Coverup,” IUR 8, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1983): 6–7; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 September, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2002, pp. 1–2)
September 7 — 12:30 a.m. Robert Chovel and two others are driving home from the theater in Hirson, Aisne, France, when they see a luminous red-orange disc flying above the railroad tracks. It stops suddenly across the road, 900–1,200 feet from the ground. When the car reaches the bridge at Buire, the object shoots away at great speed. (ClearIntent, p. 134; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” May 12, 2003)
September 7 — 7:15 a.m. Two bricklayers, Emile Renard, 27, and Yves de Gillaboz, 23, see a bluish-gray object floating less than 2 feet above a beet field as they are bicycling between Harponville and Contay, Somme, France. It looks like an unfinished haystack “with a plate turned upside down on top of it.” It has a diameter of 33 feet, and they notice it has a kind of door. Some black smoke appears to be issuing from a pipe in its base, which is oscillating. The observation lasts more than 3 minutes. They walk toward the object, but when they are about 500 feet away it rises rapidly about 50 feet, slows down, then heads northwest, disappearing in the fog. (Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, p. 35; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” March 20, 2003; Clark III 377; Clark IV 421)
September 7 — Around 8:00 p.m. Edward H. Pilsworth, an amateur astronomer, and Robert Fitzke observe an unexplained light in the western sky of Battle Creek, Michigan. Pilsworth picks it up through his telescope, describing it as a “sun-orange glow light about equal to a star of 2½ magnitude.” The light takes on a flare- like appearance but “blinks as if sending out code messages” and then glows with a steady light. Pilsworth notes that the object “appeared to be in an upper strata of air” and “traveled as if it were following air currents.” As it climbs toward the zenith, the light reaches a point near the northern horizon and appears to hang in the air, as if buffeted by wind. Though weather balloons are released in the area, the timing seems to rule them out. (“ Unexplained Light in Sky Blinks As If Sending Code,” Battle Creek (Mich.) Enquirer, September 8, 1954, p. 30; “ Mystery Light Glows Again to Puzzle Local Observers,” Battle Creek (Mich.) Enquirer, September 9, 1954, p. 3)
September 8 — 11:00 p.m. Thomas Farquhar sees a “large oval-shaped disc,” crackling and hissing, fly over Derryhubbert, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. He thinks it is about 3 feet wide and flying at a height of 2,000 feet. Daniel McWilliam and James Bingham, in Carrickfergus, County Antrim, see a rocket soar into the sky and explode silently. Mr. L. Hauser is on a boat leaving Belfast when he sees a rocket come up out of the sea and explode when it reaches about 15,000 feet. (Belfast Telegraph, September 9–11, 1954; Shane Cochrane, “Ireland vs. the Flying Saucers,” Fortean Times 317 (September 2014): 54)
September 9 — 2:20 a.m. Mr. K. M. Gibbons of Nelson, New Zealand, gets out of bed and sees through the window three discs hovering above a mudflat 3 miles away in a V-formation. They radiate a blue-white light from their edges. He grabs a camera with a telephoto lens and takes a photo. After 5 minutes, the discs begin to wobble, tip on edge, then shoot vertically out of sight. Other reports come from the area that morning. The photo shows a blurry oval with a small dark area on top. (“ Foreign Sightings and New Zealand’s First Genuine Photos of Saucers,” CRIFO Newsletter 1, no. 8 (November 5, 1954): 5–6; Wilkins, FS Uncensored, Citadel, 1955, opp. p. 96; UFOEv, pp. 89, 92)
September 10. FRANCE, Quarouble. Marius Dewilde was reading after his wife and children had retired. He heard his dog barking, thinking it might be a prowler, he took a flashlight and went outside. He walked to his garden, found nothing en route, then spotted a dark mass on the railroad tracks less than 18 ft. from his door. The dog was suddenly quite frightened and Dewilde heard footsteps and turned the flashlight towards the dark mass. Less than 12 ft. away, were two creatures walking towards the dark mass. Both were less than 3 1/2 ft. tall, with large heads. Dewilde ran towards them, intending to stop them. When he was about 6 ft. from them he was blinded by a very powerful light somewhat like a magnesium flare which came from a square opening in the dark mass. He tried to move but his legs would not function. The beam of light finally went out and the object started to ascend, a low whistling sound was heard. A thick dark steam was seen at the bottom of the object. At about 100 ft. altitude, the object took on a reddish glow and was gone in less than a minute. Upon returning to the area with police and other officials, they found five places on three of the wooden ties which had identical impressions, each about an inch and a half square. The marks were fresh and sharp, indicating tbat the ties had been subjected to very great pressure at those five points. An examination of the gravel of the roadbed showed that the stones were brittle as if calcined at very high temperature. Also, several residents in the area reported that they had seen a reddish object moving in the sky at about the time Dewilde indicated the object had left. (Vallee III}
September 10 — 8:30 p.m. Antoine Mazaud is walking home from his fields at Mourieras, north of Bugeat, Corrèze, France, when he is confronted by a helmeted being of average height who makes friendly gestures. It shakes hands with him and embraces him while uttering unintelligible words. Then it goes back into the brush, enters a cigar-shaped object about 13 feet long, which takes off to the northwest. A few minutes later, witnesses in Limoges report a disc-shaped, red object leaving a bluish trail. (Mark Cashman, “ Behavioral Classification System for UFO Occupants,” IUR 24, no. 1 (Spring 1999): 18; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” June 21, 2005)
September 10 — Around 10:30 p.m. 34-year-old metal worker Marius Dewilde comes out of his house at Quarouble, Nord, France, to see why his dog is barking. He hears hurried footsteps on his right and with his flashlight sees two creatures just beyond his fence walking in single file toward a dark object sitting on the railroad tracks. The creatures are about 3.5 feet tall with wide shoulders, short legs, and helmets covering large heads. No faces or arms are visible. When he tries to cut them off and gets within 6 feet, he finds himself paralyzed as a powerful orange beam of light is projected at him from a square opening in the dark object. The creatures continue toward the railroad tracks, a door closes, the dark object rises to 100 feet, hovers, and speeds away. Five imprints on three wooden railroad ties are found, made by an object that an engineer estimates must have weighed 30 tons. French police and the French Air Force investigate the case. (Wikipedia, “ Marius Dewilde”; “ 2 Little Armless Men ‘Visit’ Frenchman in Flying Saucer,” Minneapolis (Minn.) Morning Tribune, September 14, 1954, p. 9; “ In France, Rumors Are Flying… Or Maybe They Are Saucers,” Washington (D,C,) Evening Star, October 18, 1954, p. 4; “ Martians over France,” Time, October 25, 1954; “ Astral Adventurers: Frenchmen Report Meetings with Unlikely Creatures,” Life, November 1, 1954, p. 29; Gray Barker, “ Europe Invaded by Little Men,” The Saucerian 3, no. 1 (January 1955): 15–17; Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, pp. 44–46; Marc Thirouin, “ Marius Dewilde n’a pas menti,” Ouranos, no. 24 (1959): 11–13; Marc Thirouin, “ Marius Dewilde n’a pas menti,” Ouranos, no. 25 (1960): 20–25; Vallée, Magonia, pp. 17–18, 209; Jean F. Gilles, “ The Bankruptcy of the French UFO Research Body, GEPAN,” Flying Saucer Review 28, no. 5 (June 1983): 15–16; Loren E. Gross, UFOs: A History, 1954 September, 1991, pp. 18–20; Mark Cashman, “ Behavioral Classification System for UFO Occupants,” IUR 24, no. 1 (Spring 1999): 18; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” July 22, 2004; James Miller, “ Seeing the Future of Civilization in the Skies of Quarouble: UFO Encounters and the Problem of Empire in Postwar France,” in Alexander C. T. Geppert, ed., Imagining Outer Space: European Astroculture in the Twentieth Century, Palgrave Macmillan, 2012, pp. 245–264; Clark III 268–269; “ 1954 MF #UFOB [CASE] Marius Dewilde Saw a UFO Land, Two Beings Walking Around,” UFOB | Your UAP Library YouTube channel, September 15, 2022; “ Marius Dewilde 10 septembre 1954,” Dailymotion [Pathé video and Temps X show]; Covert 27; Eghigian, After, pp. 144–146; Clark IV 309)
September 12 or 13 — Late afternoon. A witness is driving a van in the vicinity of Quarouble, Nord, France, when he sees a domed disc descending vertically into a small thicket about 160 feet off the road and land. He can see a kind of gallery around the dome where human-like beings are standing. He stops the car, gets out, and walks toward the object, but when he gets closer the object shines a green ray at him. The disc immediately ascends vertically, then moves gently away. His paralysis ceases. A rush of air shakes him at the time it takes off. (Marc Thirouin, “ Marius Dewilde n’a pas menti,” Ouranos, no. 25 (1960): 25; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” March 23, 2006)
September 14 — 5:00 p.m. Farm worker Georges Fortin, 34, and more than 200 other witnesses in Saint- Prouant, Vendée, France, watch a cigar or carrot-shaped UFO as it emerges from a cloud, tilts toward the ground, hovers, and then elevates its front end quickly into a vertical position. It emits vapor from its lower end. Next, a metallic disc-shaped object flies out, spins around the cigar, and then reenters the vertical object. (Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, pp. 23–26; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1954 September, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2002, pp. 9–10; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” July 2, 2004; Herbert S. Taylor, “ Satellite Objects and Cloud Cigars,” IUR 29, no. 1 (Spring 2004): 5; Herbert S. Taylor, “ Cloud Cigars: A Further Look,” IUR 30, no. 3 (May 2006): 10–12; Martin Shough and Wim van Utrecht, “ ‘Cloud Cigar’ over Saint-Prouant, France,” June 13, 2011; Clark III 293; Clark IV 333)
September 14 — Night. Several people see a circular UFO over Helsinki, Finland. Flying at 2,600 feet, it gives off an intense light and leaves a trail of reddish smoke about 3 times its diameter. It is visible 7 seconds. (ClearIntent, p. 134)
September 15 — Ijapada Chatterjee, the manager of the Kadori mica mine, and hundreds of others watch a disc descend to an altitude of 500 feet over three adjoining villages (Kadori, Barshi, and Mangalda) in the Manbhum district, West Bengal, India. It hovers, then soars upwards at terrific speed, creating a tremendous gust of wind. The UFO is over a mine that supplies beryllium for the US Atomic Energy Commission. (“800 Biharis See Flying Saucer,” Times of India (Bombay), October 3, 1954; “ India,” CRIFO Newsletter 1, no. 10 (January 7, 1955): 3–4; UFOEv, p. 124; Olsen, sec. 3, p. 33; Project 1947, “ UFO Reports, 1954”)
September 16 — 6:00 a.m. The radio transmitter for WMEV in Marion, Virginia, fails as a round, shiny object, 10–15 feet in diameter, flies over the tower toward the east. (“ Flying Saucers Are Sighted in Virginia,” Lancaster (Pa.) Intelligencer-Journal, September 17, 1954, p. 44; Schopick, p. 79)
September 17 — Around 4:45 p.m. Hundreds of people see a UFO over Rome, Italy, making staccato thunder sounds as it hovers. It makes a brief dive, returns to position, then zooms straight up, leaving a stream of white smoke behind. Around 5:45 p.m., Lt. Bruno Giustiniani and other personnel at a military unit at Ciampino Airport in Rome see it as a “half cigar” moving at 179 mph at 3,500 feet. Blue Book receives a teletype about the object, saying it is in the shape of a jellyfish when stationary but in the shape of a cigar when in motion. At 6:49 p.m., radar at Pratica di Mare Air Base south of Rome picks up a target for 20–45 minutes, plotting a slow course along the coast. (Michael Chinigo, “ ‘Flying Cigar’ in Rome’s Sky,” San Francisco (Calif.) Examiner, September 19, 1954, p. 16; “ Case File Review,” CRIFO Newsletter 1, no. 7 (October 1, 1954): 7, 8; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1954 September, The Author, 1994, pp. 24–27; 1Pinotti 54–58)
September 17 — 7:15 p.m. A widow named Mellé sees a luminous, orange-yellow, cigar-shaped object near her villa in Gelles, Puy-de-Dôme, France. Her neighbors also see it and watch for 5 minutes. Possible contrail. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” April 11, 2006)
September 18 — 8:15 p.m. A M. Güitta is driving along the coastal road in Casablanca, Morocco, when he sees a gray disc diving toward him in his rear-view mirror. He ducks instinctively and the object passes him on the left at ground level and at a terrific speed. It is followed by a strong gust of cold air that blows the car to the left. The object disappears in the distance ahead of him. (Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, pp. 60–61)
September 18 — 8:30 p.m. A round glowing UFO is seen approaching then hovering above Danané, Ivory Coast, by many people: a Catholic priest named Fr. Myard, the local chief of police, a Dr. Mariani, a businessman named Sory Diallo, and a group of women. The object moves again at 9:05 p.m., changes from a circle to an ellipse, then flies away. (Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, p. 61; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1954 September, The Author, 1994, pp. 28–29)
September 18 — 8:40 p.m. A huge green fireball streaks across Colorado and New Mexico. It zooms above Santa Fe, New Mexico, giving off a blinding glare and takes 30 seconds to cross the sky, disturbing TV and radio signals. Lincoln LaPaz remarks that it does not seem to be an ordinary meteor. ( Sparks, p. 220; Keyhoe, FS Conspiracy, pp. 198–199; Ruppelt, p. 47)
September 19 — 10:00 p.m. Yves David, 28, is riding his moped on the D-1 road south of Cenon-sur-Vienne, France, when his headlight begins malfunctioning and he feels a prickling sensation like electricity. He sees a 9-foot-long UFO in the road ahead and a small man in a diving suit coming toward him. It touches David on the shoulder, mutters something incomprehensible, and returns to the object. The object emits a green light that temporarily stuns David before it takes off. (Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, pp. 58–59; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” March 20, 2003; Clark III 269; Clark IV 309)
Late September — Night. Neil Deane is in a sailboat somewhere off the Georgia coast when a disturbance in the water causes the boat to slow down, despite the sails being full. He starts up an auxiliary motor and backs away. The water calms down and he notices a “ghost ship” where the disturbance had been, about 300–400 feet away. He backs away again to avoid a collision, but the object rises into the air, revealing running lights and a glow, and disappears in the direction of the coast. He notices patches of foam in the water where the object had been. (Neil Deane, as told to George Earley, “Encounter in the Gulf Stream,” Beyond Reality, no. 18 (January 1976); Carl Feindt, “ Report #104,” waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 172–173)
September 20 — 11:00 p.m. Elie Cisterne, a worker at La Chassagne farm near Ussel, Corrèze, France, is returning home on his tractor when he sees a luminous object coming toward him. He jumps off the tractor and lies down, fearful, as the object stops a short distance above the road and hovers silently for several minutes. Cisterne runs away when the UFO starts moving again, flying over his tractor and into the distance. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” December 29, 2005)
September 21 — 9:45 p.m. A guard at the Santa Maria Airport in Vila so Porto, Azores, sees a 10 x 5-foot, light metallic blue, pecan-shaped object with a clear glass or plastic nose and door, poles or aerials on its nose. It hums or whines as it hovers, then lands vertically 50 feet away. A blond man, 5 feet 10 inches tall, appears, speaks in a strange language, pats the guard on the shoulder, gets in the object, hooks up his harness, pushes a button, takes off with the object’s nose pointed up, then levels off and climbs vertically. (NICAP, “ Blond Humanoid Reported by Airport Guard”; Sparks, p. 220)
September 21 — Leonard Stringfield has a private talk for 26 minutes with Lt. Col. John O’Mara, USAF Deputy Commander for Intelligence, who tells him that flying saucers do exist—three types, actually: a craft from outer space, a secret US aircraft, and unexplained natural phenomena. (Leonard Stringfield, “ Private Talk with Lt. Colonel John O’Mara, Deputy Commander, Intelligence, Confirms the Existence of ‘Flying Saucers,’” CRIFO Newsletter 1, no. 7 (October 1, 1954): 1; Powell, Keyhoe, 143)
September 22 — Shortly after 8:00 p.m. Mme. Gamundi is driving on the N7 north of Fontainebleau, France, when she notices a light in the sky. She stops and gets out and sees a huge luminous ball hanging motionless. It is reddish and surrounded by a luminous, moving smoke. Suddenly, another bright ball emerges from the bottom, falls, slows, turns, and disappears at high speed. At least 4 other objects emerge. When an aircraft from Orly Airport approaches, the ball rises at high speed and disappears. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” April 9, 2006)
September 22 — 11:00 p.m. Jean Besse, a draftsman for a power company in Tulle, Corrèze, France, watches a UFO through binoculars. It changes color three times in a few seconds. Probably astronomical. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” March 23, 2006)
September 23 — Afternoon. Several residents of Bayonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France, see three mysterious objects high in the sky. One witness, policeman M. Corrions, says they are arranged in the shape of a triangle. Possible helicopters. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” April 20, 2006)
September 23 — 9:00 p.m. Irene Vrignolles sees a “flying cigar” that lands slowly in a meadow behind a rectory in Lencouacq, Landes, France. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” December 16, 2005)
September 24 — Hoaxed story of an alleged sighting by Cesar Cardoso at Castelo Branco, Portugal, who sees two entities in shining metal suits emerge from a landed UFO and pick up flowers, shrubs, and twigs. (Crosby S. Noyes, “ In France, Rumors Are Flying … Or Maybe They Are Saucers,” Washington (D.C.) Evening Star, October 18, 1954, p. 4; Wilkins, FS Uncensored, Citadel, 1955, p. 58; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1954 September, The Author, 1994, pp. 71–72; Mark Cashman, “ Behavioral Classification System for UFO Occupants,” IUR 24, no. 1 (Spring 1999): 18; Patrick Gross, URECAT, December 8, 2006)
September 26 — 2:30 p.m. At Chabeuil, Drôme, France, Lucette Leboeuf is walking her dog when she sees a short being wearing a translucent helmet and diving suit. She can see large eyes looking at her through the helmet. The creature approaches her, hopping. The dog barks at it and she runs away and hides in a bush. About 15 feet away, she sees an object about 16 feet in diameter resembling a top with a flat top. It rises above the cornfield and takes off at tremendous speed. Other people notice a circular area about 10 feet in diameter where the ground and grass are tightly packed. Tree branches are broken from above. Shocked, she stays in bed for two days. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap”)
September 27 — 8:30 p.m. 12-year-old Raymond Romand and two other children on an isolated farm near Prémanon, Jura, France, see a brilliant rectangular object. He sees two occupants and throws stones at them, but he is thrown to the ground by an “ice-cold invisible force.” Raymond confesses 6 weeks later that he made up the whole story, including making some physical trace marks. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” March 7, 2003)
September 28 — Around 12:00 midnight. Two witnesses at Rixheim, Haut-Rhin, France, watch an elongated luminous object through binoculars. Ten or more smaller luminous points are circling it in all directions. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” April 1, 2014)
September 28 — 10:30 p.m. Vintner M. Mercier of Saint-Armand-Montrond, Cher, France, notices that someone has stolen grapes from his vineyard and decides to stay up late and catch the thief. He sees a luminous object descend and three figures emerge. He is then paralyzed and loses consciousness. There is no sign of anything when he wakes up. Probable hoax. (Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, pp. 97–98; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” April 5, 2007)
September 30 — Gen. Jimmy Doolittle submits a 69-page classified report on clandestine operations directly to President Eisenhower. It negates the Second Hoover Commission’s recommendation on intelligence oversight. It says: “We must develop effective espionage and counterespionage services and must learn to subvert, sabotage, and destroy our enemies by more clever, more sophisticated, and more effective methods than those used against us.” (Richard A. Best Jr. and Herbert Andrew Boerstling, “ Proposals for Intelligence Reorganization, 1949–1996,” Report to the US House Select Committee on Intelligence, Congressional Research Service, February 28, 1996, p. 11)
September 30 - Aviation pioneer Eugène Farnier watches an unknown object for 20 minutes above his property at Jouy-sue-Morin, Seine-et-Marne, France. It is swinging back and forth over an area of about 984 feet. Farnier thinks it looks similar to the cigar-shaped object seen at Marignane in October 1952. (Patrick Gross, " UFOs in the Daily Press")
September 30 — Around 4:30 p.m. Georges Gatay and his team of construction workers at Marcilly- sur-Vienne, Indre-et-Loire, France, see a disc-shaped object on the ground with a small, helmeted being standing nearby. In his hand he holds an elongated object: “It could have been a pistol, or it could have been a metal rod.” On his chest is a light projector. Gatay tries to run, but he finds himself helplessly nailed to the spot. He is thus “paralyzed” during the whole observation until the object leaves. So are his seven coworkers, in a unique case of collective physiological reaction. Almost certainly a hoax. (Vallée, Magonia, pp. 68–69; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1954 September, The Author, 1994, pp. 79–81; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1954 September, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2002, p. 12; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” November 8, 2006)
September 30 — Night. A sailor at the helm of the tanker Port-Lyautey sees, about 1,600 feet away in the Bay of Biscay, a red, saucer-shaped object grazing the surface of the water and then quickly ascending vertically and disappearing, leaving a red flame. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” April 9, 2006; Dolan, USO1, 173–174)
October — Day. RAF pilot Michael Forrest, stationed at RAF Sek Kong [now Shek Kong Airfield] near Hong Kong is scrambled in a de Haviland Vampire ground attack fighter to intercept a target detected by ground radar approaching from China. The target appears to be the size of an aircraft and traveling at high speed with a continuous track. Ground control tells him that at times it is stationary, but it has the ability to change direction and height at fantastic speeds. Forrest and another pilot are vectored into the blip at 30,000 feet, but they can see nothing. Ground radar insists the blip is right there with them. After 15 minutes the aircraft break off and head home. On the base, he is told that the blip was caused by “anomalous propagation.” (“‘Scrambled for Bogies’: An Incident at RAF Sek Kong,” Fortean Times 403 (March 2021): 45) 1954, October 1 — The Swedish Defense Ministry allegedly requests a secret investigation into UFOs. (Keyhoe, FS Conspiracy, p. 27)
October 1 — 9:20 a.m. An RCAF test pilot is flying at 30,000 feet over Montreal, Quebec, in an F-86 Sabre Mk 5 jet fighter when he notices a contrail high over the north end of Lake Champlain. He climbs to 51,000 feet at 540 mph but is unable to close on the object, which appears to him as a black dot. He turns to a different heading and sees that the contrail makes a similar turn about 10,000 feet above him. As he returns to Montreal, the contrail climbs at a 45° angle and disappears to the east. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 91–92)
October 1 — 4:00 p.m. An anonymous man and his dog are paralyzed as a luminous white object dives toward them and climbs away again at Bry-sur-Marne, Val-de-Marne, France. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” March 25, 2003)
October 1 — 6:45 p.m. Bernard Devoisin and René Condette are bicycling west of Ligescourt in the direction of Vron, Somme, France. They see a glowing orange object shaped like a beehive in the middle of the road. A small entity, about 3 feet tall and dressed in a “diving suit,” is standing close to it. When they get to within 200 feet of it, the object takes off at great speed. (Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, pp. 118–119; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” May 8, 2004)
October 1 — 7:50 p.m. Mechanic Ernest Delattre, 19, is riding to his home in Croix d’Épine, Oise, France, on his motor scooter when a bright egg-shaped object lands on the left side of the road 45 feet away. He sees short, dark shapes “like potato bags” moving around the object. He speeds up and the UFO changes its color and takes off. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” March 27, 2003)
October 1 — Around 10:00 p.m. Jean Defiz, a factory worker in Bergerac, Dordogne, France, is returning home on his bicycle when he sees a large shooting star. Later, he sees an intense light in his yard and rushes out to see a disc rise with a whistling sound. It becomes luminous and flies off. A neighbor also sees it and estimates it is 10 feet wide. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap”)
October 2 — The French Air Ministry allegedly launches a UFO investigation after 267 citizens come forward to report UFOs. (Wilkins, FS Uncensored, Citadel, 1955, pp. 60–61)
October 2 — 3:45 p.m. A teacher, Mlle. Jaillet, along with 23 schoolchildren, see an elongated object in the sky to the southeast at Les Rousses, Jura, France. It approaches rapidly and they see it is a “cloud cigar.” It switches from horizontal to vertical and hovers. At one point, a gleaming yellow disc emerges from it and moves away. The long object switches to horizontal again and moves away to the northwest. The incident lasts 4–5 minutes. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” March 25, 2003)
October 3 — Dawn. Stockyard employee Angelo Girardo is going to his job in Bressuire, Deux-Sèvres, France, when he sees a small being wearing a diving suit standing near a circular craft about 10 feet in diameter. It swiftly takes off. Hoax. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” August 3, 2007; Clark III 269; Clark IV 309)
October 3 — 7:20 p.m. Villagers of Chéreng, Nord, France, are having their Ducasse festival meal when they see a fast, luminous object in the sky suddenly stop, give off sparks, and descend to ground level. As people run to the spot, it takes off again. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” January 9, 2009)
October 3 — 11:15 p.m. Young farmer Jean Allary sees a circular object near Ronsenac, Charente, France, that seems to be gliding on or near the ground, has luminous spots, and lights up as it takes off. He finds flattened and scorched grass over an area 25 feet across. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” January 31, 2007)
October 4 — 8:00 p.m. In Poncey-sur-l’Ignon, Côte-d’Or, France, Mme. Yvette (or Thérèse) Fourneret sees a luminous orange object about 10 feet wide land in a meadow on her farm. She runs to tell some men, who arrive at the spot with rifles but find nothing. Instead, they discover a strange quadrilateral hole from which soil appears to be sucked up. The roots of plants are not damaged. The French Air Force and local police investigate and learn there are other witnesses. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” March 10, 2003; Covert 27–28)
October 5 — A spindle-shaped UFO is seen for 20 minutes by hundreds of people over El Mahalla El Kubra, Egypt. At Bahnay, aerial cylinders emit dark smoke. One explodes, knocking a farmer to the ground, and kills two cows, whose hides show burn marks. Lt. Tewrik takes a photo of a rotating UFO that emits smoke above El-Qantara el-Sharqîya on the western side of the Suez Canal. He sends it to the Egyptian Army and to Khedivial Astronomical Observatory in Helwan. Adm. Youssef Hammad, director of the Egyptian Ports and Lights Administration, alerts pilots and astronomers to keep watch for UFOs over Cairo. (Wilkins, FS Uncensored, Citadel, 1955, pp. 231–232; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 October, The Author, 1991, p. 12)
October 5 — 4:00 a.m. Pierre Lucas, a baker in Loctudy, Finistère, France, is getting water from his well when he sees a UFO hovering nearby. A small being comes out of the object; it has an oval head covered with hair and large eyes. The creature touches Lucas’s shoulder and speaks to him in an unknown language. He calls for his boss, and the creature runs into the object and takes off. (“ Science: Martians over France,” Time, October 25, 1954, p. 71; “ Astral Adventurers: Frenchmen Report Meetings with Unlikely Creatures,” Life, November 1, 1954, p. 28; “ France Abuzz over Saucers: Craze Matches Witch-Hunting,” Boston (Mass.) Globe, December 12, 1954, p. 54; “ Troubled European Skies,” The Saucerian 3, no. 2 (Spring 1955): 20; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 October, The Author, 1991, pp. 10–11; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” October 3, 2003)
October 5 — 7:15 a.m. A road worker named Narcy sees an object near a road in Mertrud, Haute Marne, France. He also sees a hairy dwarf wearing an orange, tight-fitting jacket climb through a porthole on the UFO, which consists of a cigar-shaped section under a flat disc. Tracks are found. Probable hoax. (“ Science: Martians over France,” Time, October 25, 1954, p. 71; “ Astral Adventurers: Frenchmen Report Meetings with Unlikely Creatures,” Life, November 1, 1954, p. 28; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 October, The Author, 1991, pp. 19, 22, 30; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” March 25, 2003)
October 5 - 3:45 p.m. In Beaumont, Puy-de-Dôme, France, witnesses Brun, Marfaron, Douti, and Marplat see a luminous ball moving west to east 1,500 feet away from them. It approaches to within 450 feet, and they feel paralyzed with faintness as a nitrobenzene odor spreads around them. (Patrick Gross, " The 1954 French Flap," March 24, 2006)
October 6 — Around 6:00 a.m. Mechanic Joseph Roy is riding to work on his bicycle at Isles-sur-Suippe, Marne, France, and sees a dazzling light at low altitude. It blinks out. When he gets to the spot where it disappeared, he sees a large object like an artillery shell 9 feet long. A small, dark form is standing in front of it. Roy becomes frightened and races to the nearest gendarmerie. Probable confusion, helicopter, and military personnel. (Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, p. 142; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 October, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2002, p. 19; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” January 16, 2006)
October 6 — 9:30 p.m. Two soldiers at the military barracks in La Fère, Aisne, France, watch a luminous craft in the shape of an artillery shell landed on the ground less than a quarter-mile away. As one soldier approaches it, he becomes paralyzed. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” April 9, 2006)
October 7 — 6:20 a.m. A group of workers at the Renault manufacturing plant at Le Mans, Sarthe, France, are bicycling to work when they feel an unpleasant tickling at the same moment an intense greenish light is emitted from a luminous object hovering above the Route N23 road. They are almost paralyzed, then the UFO leaves, flying low over the fields. (Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, p. 143; Schopick, pp. 8–9; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” October 22, 2004)
October 7 — The Italian Air Ministry allegedly sets up UFO detection posts for 24/7 vigilance. (Wilkins, FS Uncensored, Citadel, 1955, p. 232)
October 7 — 2:30 p.m. Farmer René Margaillon goes to work and notices a mysterious object about 300 feet away in a field between Monteux and Althen-des-Paluds, Vauclude, France. He approaches the object, which is about 8 feet tall and phosphorescent. Suddenly it disappears and he feels suffocated. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” April 5, 2003)
October 7 — Night. Witnesses at Corbigny, Nièvre, France, see a luminous cylinder that appears orange when vertical and motionless, and white when moving forward horizontally. At one point, two small discs emerge from its lower part. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” September 12, 2005)
October 8 — 7:30 p.m. Four children—Gilbert Calda, 12, Daniel Hirsch, 9, J. P. Hirsch, 5, and Robert Maguin, 16—are roller skating at Pournoy-la-Chétive, Moselle, France, when they see a luminous object near the cemetery. It is round, about 8 feet in diameter, and standing on three legs. A dwarf, about 4 feet tall, dressed in black, with a face covered in hair and large eyes, emerges and shines a blinding light at them. It says something in an unknown language. The children run away but look back in time to see the object flying away high in the sky. (Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, p. 154; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” March 7, 2003; Clark III 269; Clark IV 309)
October 9 — The US Air Force releases a press statement saying that after studying 3,500 reports, it has found “no authentic physical evidence” that UFOs are spaceships or weapons. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 October, The Author, 1991, p. 22)
October 9 — 4:00 p.m. Jean Bertrand is driving near Carcassonne, Aude, France, when he comes upon a metallic sphere in the road ahead. The top half seems to be transparent, and he sees two human-shaped figures inside. As he approaches, the object takes off at high speed. Probable helicopter. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” March 26, 2003)
October 9 — Around 7:00 p.m. Roger Barrault, a worker in Lavoux, Vienne, France, is riding a bicycle when he is stopped on the road by a double beam of light coming from a 4-foot-tall figure that looks like a diver. It wears boots without heels and has brilliant eyes and a large moustache. Hoax. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” March 26, 2003)
October 9 — 8:30 p.m. Jean-Pierre Mitto and his two cousins are driving on Road 631 from Toulouse to Briatexte, Tarn, France, at a crossroads known as “La Caiffe” when they see two small figures about the size of 11-year-old children cross the road. They enter a pasture where a convex disc rises vertically and shoots upwards rapidly. It is about 20 feet in diameter and orange. Brown, oily residue is found at the site. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” March 26, 2003)
October 9 — 9:20 p.m. Mechanics André Bartoli and Jean-Jacques Lalevée see the sky light up with a yellow-orange glow in Cuisy, Seine-et-Marne, France. Bartoli’s car motor and headlights fail, and they both see a yellow-orange cigar-shaped object moving to the southwest. (Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, pp. 150–152; Schopick, pp. 9–11; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” August 26, 2004)
October 9 — 10:15 p.m. Max Favell, a representative of a German firm in Beirut, Lebanon, sees a white flying object land. It takes off vertically, spinning, and is lost to sight. (Vallée, Magonia, pp. 222–223)
October 9 — Evening. As he is driving home from his job as a movie projectionist in Rinkerode [now part of Drensteinfurt], North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany, Willi Hoge sees a blue light to one side of the road. He looks closer and sees four small figures with big heads and chests and small, thin legs, apparently doing repair work on a spindle-shaped machine. All are dressed in one-piece elastic body suits. (Wilkins, FS Uncensored, Citadel, 1955, p. 233; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 October, The Author, 1991, p. 24)
October 10 — The Royal Observatory of Belgium in Uccle announces it will act as a clearinghouse for UFO reports. (Wilkins, FS Uncensored, Citadel, 1955, p. 233)
October 10 — A cylindrical UFO with red and green lights is seen over Alexandria, Egypt. (Wilkins, FS Uncensored, Citadel, 1955, pp. 232–233)
October 10 — 11:45 a.m. Marius Dewilde, along with his 3-year-old son, allegedly has a second encounter with a UFO occupant at Quarouble, Nord, France. He claims he can see beings moving around inside a landed saucer. One emerges, wearing a diving suit and helmet, and speaks to them in an unknown language. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” April 3, 2003)
October 10 — Day. On the Greek island of Lesbos, off the coast of Turkey, a father and son are out hunting when they see a cigar-shaped object moving horizontally before separating in two. Two objects then appear to move vertically, at a steady distance from each other, until they are lost in the horizon. (Orestis Lazanakis, “ UAP in Greece,” UAP Check, July 27, 2024)
October 10 — In a newspaper interview, lfred Loedding alludes to the 1948 Estimate of the Situation without calling it that. Loedding shows a study of some 100+ UFO reports to one of the “country’s leading scientists,” who glances at it briefly, then declares that “flying saucers are a figment of the imagination.” Shortly afterwards, the skeptics in Project Sign win out, and Loedding’s efforts are ignored. (Trenton (N.J.) Sunday Times-Advertiser, October 10, 1954; Michael Hall, “ Was There a Second Estimate of the Situation?” IUR 27, no. 1 (Spring 2002): 13, 32)
October 10 — Night. M. Laugère, an SNCF railway employee, is near the railroad bridge over Le Cher in Montluçon, Allier, France, when he sees a torpedo-shaped metallic object resting on four legs either on or adjacent to an SNCF fuel tank. Next to it is a man covered in hair. Laugère asks him what he is doing and the man replies in an unintelligible language, although he hears the word “gasoil.” Laugère leaves to alert his colleagues, but turning around he sees the object rise silently and disappear from view. An apparent prank by co-workers of the witness. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” October 24, 2004)
October 11 — 4:15 a.m. Baptiste Jourdy is delivering milk near Fonfrède, Loire, France, when the truck engine dies and the headlights fail. He gets out to investigate and sees a glowing, multicolored object, moving at great speed, cross the road and disappear in the distance. The headlights return and he starts the truck again. (Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, p. 157; Schopick, pp. 11–12; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” April 6, 2003)
October 11 — 4:30 a.m. Two merchants, Henri Gallois and Louis Vigneron, are traveling to a fair in a van near Clamercy, Nièvre, France, when they both feel electrical shocks. The van motor dies, and the headlights go out. They become paralyzed and see on the ground, 150 feet away, a round object with three small figures around it. The figures go inside the object, which then leaves rapidly. The headlights come back on, the paralysis ends, and the engine can be restarted. Hoax. (Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, p. 158; Schopick, pp. 12–13; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” April 7, 2003)
October 11 — 6:00 a.m. Baptiste Potin of Méral, Mayenne, France, is riding a bicycle to his workplace when he spots a huge orange ball in the sky that seems to be above Saint-Poix. It apparently descends to the ground as he approaches, barring the road. After watching it 8–10 minutes, it rises slowly and disappears in the northwest. He finds when he arrives at a farm that he is covered in white fluff embedded in his clothes. Probably an observation of the moon, accompanied by plant seeds. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” April 14, 2003)
October 11 — The Romanian magazine Contemporanul claims that UFOs are US propaganda designed to “stir up against Moscow a flying-saucer psychosis.” (“ Saucers Are Not!” Cincinnati (Ohio) Enquirer, October 12, 1954, p. 4; Ruppelt, p. 238)
October 11 — 9:50 p.m. Julia Juste, Maria Barbereau, and Marion Tanneur are driving along D14 about 1 mile from Chateauneuf-sur-Charente, Charente, France. Two luminous globes, one smaller than the other, appear in the sky ahead of them at low altitude, and their car stalls and the headlights go out. The larger one becomes brilliant white with a reddish halo. After 5 minutes, they move out of sight in the Charente valley. (Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, p. 160; Schopick, p. 13; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” April 6, 2003)
October 12 - Morning. A UFO supposedly lands in a populous district on the south side of Tehran, Iran. It is said to have tried to kidnap a terrified man, Ghasim Faili, who says that on waking up he sees the UFO within 60 feet of him. It emits a magnetic force to capture him, but he shouts and neighbors gather, forcing the apparatus to take off. Later sources add some dubious details. (Gordon Creighton, " Attempted Abduction by UFO Entity?" Flying Saucer Review 13, no. 2 (March/April 1967): 23-24; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 October, The Author, 1991, pp. 42, 50; Patrick Gross, URECAT, July 20, 2007
October 12 — Afternoon. A French engineer driving to Kenitra, Morocco, sees a small figure in a metallic suit climbing abroad a UFO that quickly lifts off and flies away. The location is said to be Mamora Forest, which could be modern Mehdya, on the coast. (Lorenzen, Occupants, Signet, 1967, p. 95)
October 12 — Around 2:00 p.m. A math professor at Lisieux named Bon is in Saint-Germain-de-Livet, Calvados, France, when he sees a silvery disc with a diameter of 21–24 feet hovering over a wooden area off the road. It dives toward the ground, then rises suddenly and silently into the sky at tremendous speed. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” October 24, 2004)
October 13 — 4:30 p.m. A Mr. Carcénac sees a white object at high altitude heading toward the northwest at Graulhet, Tarn, France, that he at first takes for an airplane. He retrieves some opera glasses, through which he makes out a disc shape that is swaying as it moves at a high speed. After a few seconds, it explodes. A smaller silvery object moves away from the explosion to the south and disappears. Fragments from the airburst fall gently to the ground. Others rush to the spot and see debris, some of it like silvery filaments, catching on trees and telephone wires. It wilts away when handled. Possible hoax. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” September 9, 2004)
October 13 — 7:35 p.m. Three witnesses (Olivier, Perano, and a third man) see a reddish disc about 12 feet in diameter near Bourrasol, a suburb of Toulouse, France. A small being about 4 feet tall is standing nearby wearing a diver’s suit. Its head is large, and it has enormous eyes. One witness approaches to within 60–70 feet and is paralyzed. The UFO soon takes off. Definite hoax. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” April 24, 2003)
October 14 — 6:30 a.m. A resident of Shamsabad [which one?], Iran, sees a star-like object about 300 feet away from his house. Approaching to 60 feet, he sees a “short young man” who is standing on a circular piece of metal in the middle of the object and glancing around him. The man seems to be “laughing” at the witness. The UFO shoots up into the air and vanishes. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 October, The Author, 1991, p. 42)
October 14 — Keyhoe hears from an informant that the 4602nd AISS has a “crashed object” program. His contact Lou Corbin thinks the Air Force already has some recovered material. (Keyhoe, FS Conspiracy, pp. 214–215)
October 14 — A farmer and his wife see a light green object traveling at tremendous speed, possibly 3,000 mph, in Kenya. (Wilkins, FS Uncensored, Citadel, 1955, p. 234)
October 14 — 12:00 noon. Farmer Antonio Crepaldi is leading his cows to a pond near Ca’ Pisani, Rovigo, Italy, when an egg-shaped object emitting intense heat swoop over his house at an altitude of 50 feet. The cows panic and run away, apparently suffering burns. Some haystacks catch fire. The sighting lats 2 minutes. (1Pinotti 59)
October 14 — 4:15 p.m. Flight Lt. James R. Salandin of the 604th Fighter Squadron is flying a Gloster Meteor F.8 out of North Weald Airfield, Essex, England, at 16,000 feet. He sees three objects heading towards him. Two of them (one gold, one silver) veer off to his port side, while the third closes to within a few hundred yards before veering to his port side. It is saucer-shaped with “buns” on top and underneath, silvery and metallic, with no portholes or flames. The report is sent to the Air Ministry where it disappears. (NICAP, “ Gloster ‘Meteor’ Encounters Disc / Salandin Case”; “ Week-end Pilot in Near Collision with Flying Saucer,” Flying Saucer Review 1, no. 1 (Spring 1955): 2; Geoffrey Norris, “ Something in the Sky,” RAF Flying Review, July 1957, pp. 14, 15; “ The Famous Salandin Sighting,” Flying Saucer Review 30, no. 2 (December 1984): 13–15; Good Above, pp. 36–38; Good Need, pp. 154–155; Patrick Gross, “ October 14, 1954, North Weald, Essex, UFO Encounters RAF Meteor Jet”)
October 14 — 6:20 p.m. André Cognard is driving on the D60 road to the east of Gueugnon, Saône-et-Loire, France, when a brilliant reddish fireball passes near his car to the west at low altitude. It is so bright that he stops his car. Probable meteor. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” April 20, 2003)
October 14 — Twilight. A witness is riding a moped on the road between Saint-Romain-sous-Gourdon and Les Brosses Tillots, Saône-et-Loire, France. Suddenly his motor fails and, as he gets off the cycle, a bright circular object bursts ahead of him. He walks back with his moped and is able to start it again. (Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, p. 175; Schopick, p. 14; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” September 25, 2004)
October 15 — Early in the morning. A large, luminous, red object streaks across the sky above Hungary. A teacher from Györ-Moson-Sopron county takes two photos of what is an apparent meteor. (Hobana and Weverbergh 199–201)
October 15 — In Boaria Pisani, Padua, Italy, a farmer is leading his cows to a pond when he sees an object fly over his house. The cows panic and run away, knocking a girl to the ground, while the object emits a burst of light. The farmer runs to the house and then faints. Three other persons see the craft depart. It is dark in color but surrounded by short blue and yellow flames. The object is egg-shaped, flies at 50 feet above the ground, and emits intense heat. The little pond is found desiccated, and haystacks catch fire as it flies over while the cattle suffers burns. (Vallée, Magonia, pp. 229–230)
October 15 — Afternoon. Farmers near the Po della Donzella river channel, Veneto, Italy, see a disc- shaped object land then take off vertically. At the site is a deep crater about 18 feet in diameter. Poplar trees are partially burned. (Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, p. 181)
October 15 — 7:45 p.m. Veterinarian Henri Robert of Londinières in Normandy, France, is driving on route RN 314, near Baillolet, Seine-Maritime, France. He sees four orange objects flying one above the other at 1,000 feet. One floats down like a leaf, landing about 350 feet in front of his car. Robert feels an electric shock and his engine dies for 20 seconds and the object disappears. Robert continues driving. As he is going through the village of Bailleul-Neuville, he sees in his headlights a four-foot-tall bluish-gray figure with arms and legs spread. His headlights go off then on again. He then sees on his left a 27-foot-long cigar-shaped object at the edge of a slope. It takes off vertically and quickly moves toward the north. Possible hoax. (Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, pp. 184–185; Schopick, pp. 15–16; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” April 7, 2004)
October 15–25 — Thousands of witnesses in the former Yugoslavia report low-flying UFOs and high-flying cigar-shaped objects, especially around Ljubljana, Slovenia; Sarajevo, Bosnia; and Belgrade, Serbia. Yugoslavia announces on October 27 that it intends to launch an official investigation. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 61; Hobana and Weverbergh 90–91)
October 17 — Around 9:30 a.m. Guy Puyfourcat is returning from the fields near Cier-de-Rivière, Haute-Garonne, France, with his mare on a halter. The horse suddenly becomes restless and jumpy. A gray object about 4 feet in diameter rises from one side of the road and passes over them. The mare rises about 9 feet into the air and Puyfourcat releases her, and the animal falls to the ground and is unable to move for 10 minutes. The UFO moves away at high speed. (François Lagarde, “ Une jument s’envole au départ d’un M.O.C.,” Lumières dans la Nuit, no. 109 (December 1970): 17–18; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” October 16, 2007; Sébastien Marti, “ Le mystère de l'Ovni de Cier,” La Dépêche, December 24, 2008)
October 17 — 2:30 p.m. Maxime Pignatelli, 65, is hunting with his dog on the banks of the Durance River near Corbières, Alpes-de-Hautes-Provence, France. He sees a gray object about 12 feet long and 3 feet high on the ground about 130 feet away. Two helmeted figures emerge from a dome. The man flees. His dog also retreats a bit later, walking awkwardly as if partly paralyzed. (Jacques Vallée, “ Un siècle d’atterrissages,” Lumières dans la Nuit, no. 103 (December 1969): 7; Francis Schaefer and Pierre Delval, “ Un recit d’atterrissage inedit à Corbières,” Phénomènes Inconnus 1, no. 14 (1971): 10–13; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” May 20, 2003)
October 17 — Around 8:30 p.m. Several motorists driving on route D10 toward Conflans-sur-Lanterne, Haute-Saône, France, notice a bright red, luminous object hovering above a field adjacent to the road. They stop at a nearby café and alert the owner, Mr. Beuclair, and a crossing guard. Beuclair and his daughter walk toward the object for a closer look, but it approaches them silently and rapidly, stopping about 60 feet away. The witnesses see the object is circular with a hemispherical section on top. Suddenly white and red rays burst from underneath the object. The Beuclairs retreat, but the object remains in view for several more minutes before flying away at high speed. (Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, p. 188; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” December 4, 2005)
October 18 — 5:30 p.m. A M. Bachelard is driving a light truck southeast of Gelles, Puy-de-Dôme, France. As he goes around a bend, he feels paralyzed and his truck slows down to less than 20 mph. In a nearby field he sees an elongated object about 5 feet high. A few minutes later he reaches the village of Coheix, which is off his normal route, and starts telling people about the event. Later ufologists suspect there may be some missing time involved. (Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, p. 198; Schopick, pp. 16–17; M. and Mme. Ameil, “ Gelles (Puy-de-Dôme),” Lumières dans la Nuit, no. 97 (December 1968): 11; “ The Landing at Gelles,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 5 (June 1971): iii; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 October, The Author, 1991, pp. 65–66; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” March 20, 2003)
October 18 — 6:00 p.m. Two farmers near Saint-Cirgues, Haute-Loire, France, watch two bright balls connected by a rod for 15 minutes. They disappear at a fast pace. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” December 21, 2006)
October 18 — 9:00 p.m. M. and Mme. Labussière are driving on the N150 southwest of Saintes, Charente- Maritime, France, when they see a balance-shaped object in the sky. One side is red and the other orange, while the rod connecting them is a luminous green. The object pauses above a field near their car, which they pull over to watch more closely. The green rod soon dissipates, and the two balls settle in the field. In the dim light emitted by the objects, the Labussières see a small creature emerge from each, walk toward each other, pass without stopping, and enter the other object. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” December 29, 2003)
October 19 — 8:00 p.m. A M. Fillonneau is driving in Criteuil-la-Madeleine, Charente, France, when he sees a bright fireball. His headlights go out and the engine stops, and he finds that his battery is completely dead and the headlight bulbs burned out. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” February 5, 2007)
October 19 — Around 12:00 midnight. Renzo Pugina has just put his car in his garage at Parravicino, Como, Italy, when he sees a humanoid about 4 feet 3 inches tall in a scaly, luminous suit standing near a tree. The lower part of its body is like a cone. It aims a light beam at Pugina that paralyzes him briefly. He only manages to move some fingers, but with some concentration makes a clenching motion with his fist on the garage keys that he holds in his hand. Freed from the temporary paralysis, he runs to attack the intruder, who flees with a soft whirring sound. A police investigation finds a spot of oil at the location. (Vallée, Magonia, pp. 235–236; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 October, The Author, 1991, p. 74; 1Pinotti 60)
October 20 — 6:30 p.m. Jean Schonbrenner is driving a truck southbound near Turquestein-Blancrupt, Moselle, France, when he sees a bright glow ahead on route N393. He continues to drive but feels paralyzed, his hands glued to the wheel. At about 30 feet away, his engine stops and the yellow-orange glow rises slowly and heads northwest. He feels a sensation of warmth and sees that the glow contains a cone-shaped object. (Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, p. 203; Schopick, pp. 17–18; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” April 21, 2003)
October 20 — 9:15 p.m. Jean Lalle (or Jean Lasse) is riding a motorcycle between Biozat, Alliers, and Effiat, Puy-de-Dôme, France, when his engine dies suddenly. He sees an egg-shaped object with a bright trail climbing in the sky. The motorcycle restarts once the object has left. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” December 21, 2005)
October 21 — 2:30 a.m. Construction worker Lazlo Ujvari is riding his bicycle to work from his farmhouse near Saint-Remy, Vosges, France, when he slows down and walks the bike to avoid a rough patch of road. He encounters a man wearing a helmet who is pointing a revolver at him and speaking to him in an unfamiliar language. Ujvari speaks to him in Russian, and the man asks him in Russian, “Where am I? In Spain or Italy?” Ujvari replies that he is in France, and the man asks how far it is to the German border. Ujvari says about 100 kilometers in a straight line. Then the unknown man asks him what time it is. Ujvari says it is about 2:30. The man switches the revolver to hos left hand, takes out a watch from his clothing and says, “You lie, it’s four!” Then he asks the direction to Marseilles, and Ujvari gives him an estimate. The man tells him to “go, now” and Ujvari continues walking, followed by the man. Then he sees a gray domed disc, about 10 feet in diameter, landed in the road ahead. The man says goodbye and apparently gets on the UFO as Ujvari jumps on his bicycle. He hears a whistling sound and sees the object take off vertically, lit by a headlight on its dome, then levels off and speeds away to the southeast. (Vallée, Magonia, pp. 146–147; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” May 14, 2003)
October 21 — A young man hears a rustling sound and sees a landed UFO outside Melito di Napoli, Italy. It gives off a powerful bronze-green light. He then sees an occupant dressed in a diving suit emerge. A dog begins barking and the entity retreats inside and takes off. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 October, The Author, 1991, p. 74; 1Pinotti 61)
October 21 — 4:45 p.m. Jessie Roestenburg and her two children observe a disc-shaped, aluminum object hovering above their house in Ranton, Stafford, England. Through two transparent panels they see two men with white skin, having shoulder-length hair and high foreheads. They wear transparent helmets and turquoise-blue clothing resembling ski suits. The object hovers at a tilted angle while the two occupants look at the scene “sternly, not in an unkind fashion, but almost sadly, compassionately.” (Charles Bowen, “ Few and Far Between,” in Charles Bowen, ed., The Humanoids, special issue of FSR, Oct./Dec. 1966, p. 4; Gordon Creighton, “ The Roestenburg Story (1954),” Flying Saucer Review 38, no. 1 (Spring 1993): 6–9; Clark III 268; Curt Collins, “ Jessie Roestenburg’s 1954 UFO Encounter and Beyond,” Blue Blurry Lines, October 19, 2018; Clark IV 308)
October 21 — Evening. A motorist is driving on the D220 road with his 4-year-old son between Paillé and Pouzou, Charente-Maritime, France. He feels a tingling like electric shocks all over his body. The child cries, the engine stops, and the headlights go out as a luminous red body with a tail flashes briefly in front of them. (Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, p. 204; Schopick, pp. 18–19; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” April 21, 2003)
October 21 — 9:25 p.m. Three observers at the Woomera Test Range in South Australia see an erratic, dancing light adjacent to rocket Launcher Apron 1, Range B, approximately 500 feet away. The light alternates from deep orange to yellow and is egg-shaped. Its apparent size is three times the magnitude of Venus. (NICAP, “ Dancing Light Adjacent to Rocket Launcher”)
Mid-October — A merchant and his deliveryman are driving a van northeast of the village of Erquières, Pas-de-Calais, France, when they see a blinding light in front of them. As it passes over the van, the engine stalls and the headlights fail. Both men feel an electric shock. (Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, pp. 204–205; Schopick, p. 19; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” March 12, 2005)
October 22 — Afternoon. Roger Reveillé is walking in the Fôret de Lusigny, Aube, France, when he hears a rustling noise. He looks up and sees an oval-shaped object about 20 feet long at treetop level. At the same time he feels an intense heat that also seems to be creating a thick fog. After a few minutes the object disappears upward, but the heat continues. Although it is raining, the ground underneath where the object had been is dry. (Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, p. 204; Schopick, p. 18; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” September 28, 2003)
October 22 — 3:00 p.m. Principal Rodney Warrick and teacher Mrs. George Dittmar of Jerome, Ohio, Special School watch a large, silvery, cigar-shaped object hanging motionless in the sky. Soon it takes off, and in its wake it leaves a trail of whitish, web-like substance that floats down and begins to hang from wires along the road. It descends in both strands and balls for 45 minutes. Both adults get greenish stains on their hands from it. All of it dissipates, but the substance placed in closed jars dissipates more slowly. (“ Jerome Teachers, Students Watch Strange Occurrence in the Sky,” Marysville (Ohio) Evening Journal-Tribune, October 25, 1954, p. 1; “ Strange ‘Flying Cigar’ Puzzles Union Countians,” Marion (Ohio) Star, November 2, 1954, pp. 1, 10; “ ‘Saucer’ Trailing ‘Angel’s Hair’ Seen in Ohio,” Dayton (Ohio) Journal-Herald, November 2, 1954, p. 11; “ Web-Spinning Saucer Visits Marysville, Ohio,” CRIFO Newsletter 1, no. 9 (December 3, 1954): 5; “ Jerome ‘Object’ Still Unexplained: Ex-Chief Recalls 1954 Sighting at School,” Marysville (Ohio) Journal Tribune, July 22, 1958, p. 8; Charles A. Maney and Richard Hall, The Challenge of Unidentified Flying Objects, NICAP, 1961, pp. 40–42; Michael D. Swords, “ Angel Hair: Spindrift between Worlds,” IUR 32, no. 1 (August 2008): 3–4; Clark III 124; Clark IV 151)
October 22 — 5:30 p.m. Casimir Starovski, a miner, meets a strange figure in Erchin Forest, near Lewarde, Nord, France. It has large, slanted, protruding eyes and a squat, furry body. Its nose is flat, it has thick lips, and it wears a skullcap on its oversized head. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” December 21, 2005; Clark III 269; Clark IV 309–310)
October 22 — 11:00 p.m. A witness is walking along the jetty on the beach at Guéthary, Pyrénées- Atlantiques, France, when he sees a disk emitting four greenish lights rise up from the Bay of Biscay. It goes beneath the surface again, and the witness can see its glow underwater, moving away, until it reemerges and flies away at great speed. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” January 15, 2006; Dolan, USO1, 174)
October 23 — 1:30 a.m. A woman in Cincinnati, Ohio, has fallen asleep listening to the radio. Suddenly it makes a harsh shrieking noise and the volume increases. Dogs begin barking in the neighborhood, so she looks outside and sees a large reddish-orange disc with a halo around it moving in a circle overhead. After a minute it moves off to the south. (“ The Fort Wayne and Cincinnati Tie-In,” CRIFO Newsletter 1, no. 9 (December 3, 1954): 5)
October 23 — 3:00 a.m. A farmer named Carmelo Papotto near Tripoli, Libya, watches a UFO land 150 feet away with a sound like a compressor. It seems to be an oval machine with six wheels and complex machinery. The top half is transparent and flooded with bright light. Aboard are six men in yellowish overalls with human faces. When he touches part of the object, he gets an electric shock. One occupant warns him to stay away. For the next 20 minutes he watches them fiddle with instruments. The object then rises to 150 feet and takes off at a dizzying speed. (The Sunday Ghibli (Tripoli), October 31, 1954; Vallée, Magonia, p. 237; Mark Cashman, “ Behavioral Classification System for UFO Occupants,” IUR 24, no. 1 (Spring 1999): 17–18; 1Pinotti 61–62)
October 24 — Rocket expert Hermann Oberth writes in the American Weekly: “It is my thesis that flying saucers are real and that they are space ships from another solar system. I think that they possibly are manned by intelligent observers who are members of a race that may have been investigating our Earth for centuries.” He thinks UFOs might fly by “distorting the gravitational field.” (Hermann Oberth, “ Flying Saucers Come from a Distant World,” American Weekly, October 24, 1954, in Cincinnati Enquirer; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 October, The Author, 1991, p. 83; Hermann Oberth, “ Lecture Notes for Lecture about Flying Saucers, 1954,” Australian UFO Bulletin, September 1991, pp. 4–9)
October 24 — A small man with strange glowing eyes is seen near Aïn El Turk, Algeria, along the coast. (Vallée, Magonia, p. 237)
October 24 — 1:00–6:00 p.m. Officers and men at the Canoas Air Force Base near Porto Alegre, Brazil, watch a number of “circular silver-colored” objects moving at high speed. They are also seen by personnel of Varig airlines and some civilians. There are more than 100 witnesses. The chief military witness, jet pilot Lt. H. Ferraz de Almeida, sees a dull silver object moving apparently slowly above the base in a zigzag fashion. He estimates its altitude as 40,000–45,000 feet and suggests that its real speed must be tremendous. Maj. J. Magalhaes Mota is watching the same object as another one rapidly approaches the first and stops next to it. The second object then moves rapidly, abruptly changes course, and flies off in an arc. When the object is in motion, it is surrounded by a misty halo, and when it stops the halo disappears. Their movements appear mechanical and intermittent. The report is forwarded to the Air Ministry in Rio de Janeiro with a request to investigate. Brazilian Air Force Chief of Intelligence Col. João Adil de Oliviera heads the investigation, which concludes on December 2 that the “saucers appear to be some kind of revolutionary aircraft” that are not “conventional phenomena or illusions.” (Keyhoe, FS Conspiracy, p. 212; UFOEv, p. 119; Swords 461–462)
October 25 — 6:15 a.m. Several UFOs, some described as spear-shaped and others as egg-shaped, speed over Belgrade, Yugoslavia [now Serbia], trailing bluish tails for about an hour. Witnesses include aeronautical engineer Vladimir Ajvas, AF Capt. Stjepan Djitkol, and staff at the nearby Zemun Polje Airport. Milorad B. Protić and other astronomers at Belgrade Observatory track the object and determine that it is not a meteor. After the launch of Sputnik in November 1957, Protić decides that the object must have been an experimental Soviet satellite. The event is a culmination of UFO sightings over Yugoslavia since October 15, few of which make the newspapers. (UFOEv, p. 123; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 68; Hobana and Weverbergh 90–91)
October 25 — Lucien Jeune, mayor of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Vaucluse, France, following numerous UFO sightings, issues a police order prohibiting “The overflight, landing, and take-off of aircraft, so-called flying saucers or flying cigars, on the communal territory.” The announcement, which also threatens the confiscation of any craft and the arrest of occupants, is done as a publicity stunt. Claude Avril, the city mayor in 2016, refuses to rescind it. (Louis de Gouyon Matignon, “ The French Anti-UFO Municipal Law of 1954,” Space Legal Issues, May 29, 2019)
October 25 — 7:30 p.m. Farmer Gilbert Hée is gathering pears on his farm at Les-Jonquerets-de-Livet [now Mesnil-en-Ouche], Eure, France, when he sees an elongated object about 7 feet long with a green and a red light at both ends resting in the pasture. Some cows have gathered around it. The object is moving slowly and stops at a barbed wire fence. Hée goes inside. At 11:00 p.m., his son-in-law René Marais and a friend, Jean Chéradame, arrive on a motorcycle. Chéradame agrees to ride into the field and take a look, but he only goes 300 feet along the road before the engine fails. He falls from the bike and sees two short creatures walking stiffly and wearing bright clothes. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” April 11, 2004)
October 26 — 10:45 p.m. Aimé Bousard is returning on his bicycle from the town hall at Alleyrat, Creuse, France, to his residence at La Vaureille when he sees a figure crouching on the roadway. When he stops, the figure stands up and points two powerful light-blue lights at him. The entity is 5 feet 3 inches tall and dressed in a diver’s suit. It has two green lights on either side of its head. Bousard is paralyzed for 10 minutes while the lights are aimed at him. Then the entity crosses the road and disappears and Bousard can move again. Gendarmes investigate and note that his right hand is swollen and he has difficulty writing. They find a 27-inch circle of disturbed earth at the site. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” September 6, 2007)
October 27 — 1:30 p.m. More than 10,000 soccer fans witness two luminous discs during a game at Florence, Italy. A large amount of “white filaments” falls that clings to everything. Engineering student Alfredo Jacopozzi collects samples in a jar and takes it to Prof. Cozzi at the Institute of Chemistry at the University of Florence. The lab finds the samples have a “fibrous structure, with mechanical resistance to contraction and torsion, burns rapidly, leaving a transparent residue.” It contains calcium, silicon, aluminum, magnesium, iron, and boron. (“ Italy, Too!” Flying Saucer News, no. 7 (Winter 1954–1955): 6; Charles A. Maney, “ The Phenomena of Angel Hair,” Flying Saucer Review 2, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1956): pp. 16–18, 31; Stringfield, 3-0 Blue, CRIFO, 1957, pp. 49–53; Charles A. Maney and Richard Hall, The Challenge of Unidentified Flying Objects, NICAP, 1961, pp. 58–63; Roberto Pinotti, “ The Italian Scene,” Flying Saucer Review 16, no. 3 (May/June 1970): pp. 7–9; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 October, The Author, 1991, pp. 86–87; Brian Boldman, “ Angel Hair Physical Analyses: A Review,” JUFOS 9 (2006): 101; Michael D. Swords, “ Angel Hair: Spindrift between Worlds,” IUR 32, no. 1 (August 2008): 5–6; Deirdre Pirro, “ Unexpected Fans,” The Florentine, June 17, 2010; Richard Padula, “ The Day UFOs Stopped Play,” BBC News, October 24, 2014; “ Door 9: Football, Geothermal Energy and the 1954 Wave of UFOs,” Geological Society of London Blog, December 9, 2014; 1Pinotti 63–64; Clark III 124; Max De Luca, “ The Eye in the Tuscan Sky: The Day a UFO Sighting Stopped a Fiorentina Match,” These Football Times, April 21, 2020; Clark IV 151)
October 28 — Hoaxed report of a landed UFO and occupants at Tradate, Italy, near Milan. (Frank Edwards, FS Serious Business, Bantam ed., 1966, pp. 108–109; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 October, The Author, 1991, p. 89; 1Pinotti 64)
October 28 — Three luminous UFOs soar over Rome, Italy, seen by Associated Press reporter Maurizio Andreolo and US Ambassador Clare Booth Luce. Some witnesses report “fine cotton or wool particles” falling from them. (Keyhoe, FS Conspiracy, pp. 212–213; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 October, The Author, 1991, p. 91; 1Pinotti 64)
October 30 — 1:00 p.m. UFO researcher Alberto Perego is driving past the church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, Italy, when he notices a crowd of about 100 people gazing up at the sky. He sees two “white dots” moving toward the south then vanish in opposite directions. Later, two other objects appear and move to the north at an altitude of about 6,500 feet. (Alberto Perego, “ The Great ‘Cross’ above the Vatican,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 15 (June 1973): 3)
Late October–early November — The UK War Office receives six reports of 40–50 unidentified radar targets that appear from nowhere, usually at midday, flying at a height of 12,000 feet. The targets first appear in a U-formation, then converge into two parallel lines and take up a Z-formation before disappearing. The location of the radar trackings is not revealed. (Good Above, pp. 38–39)
November 1 — 6:00 a.m. Jack Holloway sees a large, round object that leaves a vapor trail that sprays sparks and moves at high speed for a few seconds to the south of Salem, Oregon. (NICAP case file)
November 1 — 6:30 a.m. Rosa Lotti Dainelli sets out for the church at the castle of Cennina, Arezzo, Italy. As she passes through a wooded area, she sees a spindle-shaped object standing upright next to a cypress tree. It has two portholes and a little door, through which she can see two chairs. Two little men come out from behind the object; they are dressed in gray suits, cloaks that come down to their waists, and red helmets. They speak in an unintelligible language and snatch flowers from her hands and throw them inside the UFO. Dainelli flees, glancing back only once. (La Domenica del Corriere, cover, November 14, 1954; “Calze e garofani attirano i marziani?” Tutti, November 14, 1954; “ Now They’re in Italy,” Life, November 29, 1954, p. 133; “ Caso Rosa Lotti in Dainelli,” Notiziario UFO, no. 44 (March/Apr. 1972): 11–15; Sergio Conti, “ The Cennina Landing of 1954,” Flying Saucer Review 18, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1972): 11–15; “ Dossier retrospettivo,” Notiziario UFO, no. 77 (Jan./Mar. 1977): 10–15; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 November–December, The Author, 1991, pp. 1–5; Clark III 228–229; 1Pinotti 65–74; Northern Ontario UFO Research and Study, “ The 1954 Cennina Landing and Encounter with Humanoids”; Società Cooperativa Dramatica Filarmonica di Ambra, “ Incontro con umanoidi di Rosa Dainelli nei Lotti”; Eghigian, After, p. 146; Clark IV 269–270)
November 1 — 10:40 p.m. Gonzalo Rubinos Ramos is driving at a spot called Curva del Obispo 42 kilometers from A Coruña, Galicia, Spain, when his engine stalls and the lights go out. He sees a large glowing red object near the road. After a while it moves upwards with a “soft explosion.” At the same time, the radio-telegraph station in A Coruña is affected by severe interference and static. Probable meteor. (Antonio Ribera, “ A UFO Survey of Spain: More Evidence,” Flying Saucer Review 9, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1963): 16; Herbert S. Taylor, “ An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part Two,” IUR 34, no. 1 (Sept. 2011): 18; Juan Carlos Victorio, “ El ‘platillo volante’ de Órdenes (A Coruña),” Misterios del Aire, April 17, 2018)
November 1. ITALY, Cennina. Witness walking through wooded area saw a metal cylinder and two small occupants. Also seen by two young boys. Severa] witnesses saw cylinder ascending and descending in area at time of sighting. Traces.
November 2 - 10:30 a.m. Taxi driver Maurilio Braga Godoi leaves the streetcar trailer at Santo Amaro, a suburb of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and starts to walk home. When he arrives at the corner of Rua Andaguara, he is startled to find a glowing, circular object landed in an empty lot. It is about 90-120 feet in diameter and surrounded in a violet glow. He approaches it hesitantly from 60 feet away, feeling like running but he is rooted to the spot and is unable to call for help. The anxiety dissipates, and he walks toward it again, noticing a sliding door on the object. He goes inside, entering a circular room illuminated by a soft light. On a table he sees some maps, including one of South America with mushroom-shaped marks on it. He looks up and sees three humanoids less than 5 feet tall with dark brown skin and dressed in a light gray coverall and a belt that holds what might be a weapon. They appear to be conversing in an unknown language. He tries talking to them, but they don't understand. He backs out of the object, dragging his feet. He jumps out of the door and runs away. Looking back at the object from 30 feet away, he sees it is hovering 30 feet above the ground then takes off swiftly and silently. Godoi is examined by psychiatrists, who find him neither neurotic nor psychotic. (Lorenzen, Occupants, Signet, 1967, pp. 198-199; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse, UFOs: A History, 1954 November- December, Supplemental Notes, The author, 2002, pp. 3-5)
November 4 — A laborer named Jose Alves of Pontal, São Paulo, Brazil, is night fishing in the Rio Pardo in a deserted spot. He sees a silvery, glowing UFO like two washbowls placed on top of each other, closing in from a westerly direction and wobbling. It lands near him and three little men emerge from a window, 3 feet tall with dark brown skin. They are dressed in white clothes with tightly fitting skullcaps, and collect samples of grass, herbs, and leaves, as well as water, which they put into a metal tube. They jump back into the object, which takes off vertically. (Patrick Gross, URECAT, November 22, 2006)
November 4 (or 7) — 3:15 p.m. A motorcyclist, Gianni Cambosu, sees a silvery, disc-shaped object about 50 feet in diameter land near the road at Monte Ortobene, Sardinia, Italy. He swerves sharply to avoid it and falls off his cycle. A taxi driver, Francesco Tanca, stops to observe the object, which is making a soft whirring sound before it takes off. (Wilkins, FS Uncensored, Citadel, 1955, pp. 237–238; 1Pinotti 76)
November 5 — 10:09 a.m. A witness in La Roche-en-Brénil, Côte d’Or, France, sees an orange object making a noise like a generator land in a nearby pasture. He notices three men standing near it. One is holding a box that emits a beam of light and the other two hold objects that look like weapons. Physical traces are found at the landing site: a white substance and a circle 10 feet in diameter. (“ Fouillez les archives: La Roche-en-Brénil,” Lumières dans la Nuit, no. 125 (May 1973): 22–23; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 November–December, The Author, 1991, p. 10; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse, UFOs: A History, 1954 November–December, Supplemental Notes, The author, 2002, pp. 10–11; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” April 16, 2003)
November 6 — 11:00 a.m. Alberto Perego is in the Tuscolana district in Rome, Italy, when he sees dozens of small, white objects in the sky at a height of 4–5 miles. They are moving at variable speeds, as high as 750–850 mph. At first he calculates that there are about 50 of them, but later realizes there are 100. Sometimes they are single, other times in pairs, threes, fours, sevens, or twelves. Frequently they are in diamond formations of four or V- formations of seven. At 12:00 noon, a formation of 20 objects appears from the east, followed by another 20 moving from the west. The two V-formations converge until their vertices form a St. Andrews cross, with 10 objects to each bar. The convergence takes place over the Trastevere–Monte Mario district above Vatican City. The cross then performs a three-quarter turn on its axis, turning into an X-formation, then breaks off into two separate curves that take off in opposite directions. Another concentration of about 100 objects appears 10 minutes later and Perego notices shining filaments falling from the sky. He grabs a handful of the glassy substance, which evaporates in a few hours. (Alberto Perego, “ The Great ‘Cross’ above the Vatican,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 15 (June 1973): 4–5; 1Pinotti 76–80)
November 7 — 11:30 a.m. Alberto Perego is returning from the Tuscolana district of Rome, Italy, when he sees more formations of about 50 white objects that remain for about two-and-a-half hours. They arrive from different directions and always information. More filamentous material falls from the sky. (Alberto Perego, “ The Great ‘Cross’ above the Vatican,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 15 (June 1973): 5; 1Pinotti 80)
November 8 — 6:00 p.m. Witnesses near Voussac, Allier, France, in the Vacheresse Forest watch a luminous sphere land and then dim, fading to black. Investigators find an area 12–15 feet in diameter where there are no leaves and the ground seems excavated. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” April 18, 2003)
November 8 — 7:30 p.m. Blacksmith André Chaillou is riding a moped one mile north of Loublande, Deux-Sèvres, France, when he notices a small blue light in front of him. His engine fails and he nearly falls off the bike. The blue dot is projecting a strong light and hovering about 6 feet in the air. He finds himself temporarily paralyzed with a tingling in his hands. The blue light goes out and he is able to move again and restart his moped, but the light reappears about 450 feet away, seemingly 18 feet long and cone-shaped. It takes off vertically with a whistling sound. (Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” October 22, 2006)
November 10 — An agronomist and his family encounter a landed UFO along a road in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Two men with long hair and one-piece suits emerge and approach them with raised arms. The witnesses speed away. (Lorenzen, FS Hoax, pp. 48–49; Clark III 268; Clark IV 308)
November 11 (or 14) — 7:45 p.m. Near Isola, Spezia, Italy, Amerigo (or Americo) Lorenzini sees a cigar-shaped UFO land and a trio of small creatures wearing diving suits emerge. They walk over to Lorenzini’s rabbit cages and stare at the animals, talking in a strange language. He runs inside to grab his gun and tries to pull the trigger as they are taking some rabbits to the UFO, but he becomes paralyzed. The UFO takes off, leaving a bright trail. (“ Recent Sightings,” APRO Bulletin 3, no. 3 (November 15, 1954): 5, 7; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 November–December, The Author, 1991, pp. 20–21; Peter Rogerson, “ INTCAT 1954”; 1Pinotti 88; Clark III 269; Clark IV 309)
November 12 — 11:30 a.m. Alberto Perego watches even more formations of white objects over Rome. He has contacted the Italian air defense office, which tells him that the objects would be out of radar range. This time the objects are also observed by Fr. Zilwes, a Brazilian priest at the Vatican Observatory in Castel Gandolfo, Italy. (Alberto Perego, “ The Great ‘Cross’ above the Vatican,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 15 (June 1973): 5–6; 1Pinotti 81–82)
November 12 — 3:00–6:00 p.m. A white, motionless object appears over Louisville, Kentucky. A radar unit 30 miles southwest of Louisville tracks the object but loses sight about 12 miles northwest of Godman Army Airfield at Fort Knox. It is later sighted at Bedford, Indiana. Kentucky National Guard pilot Lt. Col. Lee J. Merkel notifies Wright-Patterson AFB near Dayton, Ohio, which sends an F-86 to investigate. The pilot sees nothing and returns to the base. Merkel and another National Guard pilot give chase in F-51 Mustangs, but they are also unsuccessful. Merkel says the object is moving into the wind, which is not likely for a balloon. Henry P. Julliard, deputy director of Standiford Field [now Louisville International Airport] follows the object for 45 minutes on the weather bureau’s theodolite; he says the object has no more motion than a star and that after sundown the object turns amber. (NICAP, “ Sphere Startles Thousands”; “ That ‘Thing’ in the Sky Still ‘Unidentified Object,’” Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal, November 13, 1954, pp. 1, 12; “ Louisville Stops Work to Watch Saucer,” CRIFO Newsletter 1, no. 9 (December 3, 1954): 3–4; UFOEv, p. 134; Hynek UFO Report, pp. 51–52)
November 13 — 2:00 a.m. A witness is driving a 4 CV Renault auto in Buchy, Seine-Maritime, France, and sees a luminous object take off as he feels a mild electric shock and is paralyzed. His car engine slows but does not stall. The object leaves, the paralysis goes away, and the car returns to normal. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 November–December, The Author, 1991, p. 20; Patrick Gross, “ The 1954 French Flap,” October 22, 2006)
November 13 — 3:30 a.m. Railroad worker José Rodrigues comes across three figures in tight-fitting suits inspecting the ground with the help of luminous objects near railroad tracks near Urai, Paraná, Brazil. They see him and run back into the UFO. (NICAP, “ Railroad Men See ‘Men’ Inspecting Tracks”; “Vistos no norte do Paraná e nos céus de Pôrto Alegre,” Correio da Manhã (Rio de Janeiro), November 14, 1954; “ Recent Sightings,” APRO Bulletin 3, no. 3 (November 15, 1954): 5, 7)
November 14 — Two or three tractor drivers in Forli, Italy, watch a bright-red, luminous UFO approach them in a farm field. As it approaches, the engine that works by internal combustion fail, but the diesel engine still runs. The men run away; when they return, the UFO has departed. The engine that failed still causes some trouble after the sighting. (“ Recent Sightings,” APRO Bulletin 3, no. 3 (November 15, 1954): 5, 7; Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, p. 211; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 62–63, 145; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 November–December, The Author, 1991, p. 21)
November 17 — 4:10 p.m. Iden K. Zimmerman is standing just under the roof of a shed by the railing of gate number six of the Willamette Falls Locks in Oregon City, Oregon. His gloved hands are resting on the railing. He feels something like “icy rain” on his hands. The rain seems to penetrate his clothing and gloves as if his arms are bare. He feels the same thing on his legs, from the knees down. Looking up, he sees a bright orange object as large as the full moon flying in a straight line from west to east. It disappears over the Crown Zellerbach Paper Mill roof across the river. He can find no trace of rain on the wooden deck or cement walks, and the moisture disappears from his clothing. A few minutes later he begins to feel dizzy and has trouble maintaining his balance. The effect wears off in about one hour. (Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, pp. 16–17)
November 17–18 — Blue Book head Capt. Charles Hardin and Allen Hynek meet with Col. John M. White Jr., commander of the 4602nd AISS at Ent AFB [now the US Olympic Training Center] in order to help out with a guide for investigating and processing UFO reports. (Col. John M. White Jr., “ Report of Visit of ATIC Representatives,” November 23, 1954, in History of 4602d Air Intelligence Service Squadron, vol. 1, January 1–June 30, 1955, pp. 55–57)
November 21 — 11:30 a.m. Copilot Cmdr. Armando Braulino, pilot Cmdr. Pedro Luiz Teixeira, steward, radio operator, and passengers of National Airlines Douglas PP-ANM airliner at 9,000 feet over Paraíbo do Sul, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, see a UFO formation, described as disc-shaped with cupola or dome on top, like aluminum with a polished surface. The formation is coming from the northeast at 7,200 feet and passes below the airliner at high speed. The duration is 40–50 seconds. (NICAP, “ Shiny Objects Encountered by Airliner”; “ Why Flying Saucers Are Not All Earth-Made Devices,” CRIFO Newsletter 1, no. 12 (March 4, 1955): 1, 3)
November 22 — Charles Laughead is forced to resign his position at Michigan State College [now Michigan State University] in East Lansing, Michigan, because of his flying saucer activities. (“ The End of the World,” The Saucerian 3, no. 2 (Spring 1955): 4–7, 55–60; Clark III 718; Clark IV 787)
November 22 — Anor Ferreira da Silva, a bored telegraph operator in Caratinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil, transmits a Morse code message to his friend Geraldo Bastos in Belo Horizonte, claiming that a flying saucer has crashed in a nearby quarry. His messages continue for an hour, repeatedly asking the authorities to defend the city from Martian invaders. Bastos takes the messages seriously, and a friend looking over his shoulder runs out to the nearest newspaper office to relay the news. The telephone system of Caratinga shuts down from all the press inquiries, and soon the Brazilian military investigates, finding nothing amiss in the city. (John Gosling, Waging the War of the Worlds, McFarland, 2009, pp. 114–119)
November 22 — 9:45 p.m. At Santa Maria Air Force Base, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, radio operator Arquimedes Fernandez sees a strange cloud above the trees, like an upside-down washbowl. It is a solid body 160 feet across, oscillating with a small light on top. Fernandez radios a report to weather headquarters at Porto Alegre. The object remains in view until his duty shift ends at 1:15 a.m. (Lorenzen, FS Hoax, pp. 51–52; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 November–December, The Author, 1991, pp. 28–29)
November 23 — Afternoon. A UFO follows three 10-year-old girls (Anne Storedal, Tora Storedal, and Tora Moy Haugo) returning home from school in Torpo, Viken County, Norway. It descends and hovers only 3 or 4 feet away from them. It is round, about 10 feet in diameter, and the bottom is black, trimmed with yellow spots which could have been lights, with a number of small “red jags.” The upper part is a transparent dome; a man who is operating controls is visible inside. He wears black trousers, a black jacket, and immense red goggles over his eyes. He stares at one of the girls. When the craft ascends it collides with a high-tension power line making a shower of sparks, and the girls run away. They notice a smell “like fried sausages.” A “streak” is found in the snow, apparently left by the craft having brushed the surface of the ground. (Oddvar J. Larsen, “Were the Flying Saucers in Norway Real?” Sir magazine, August 1956, pp. 49, 70–72 “ Remarkable Norwegian Near-Landing Case of 1954 Now Published,” CSI News Letter, no. 19 (May 1, 1957): 16; Center for UFO Studies, HUMCAT Index 1954, p. 160; Clark III 268; Clark IV 308)
November 28 — A group of peasants at Palmarito, Mérida, Venezuela, see a strange craft land. Three small-statured beings emerge from it. (Patrick Gross, URECAT, November 5, 2006)
November 28 — Night. A 37-year-old medical doctor is being driven by his chauffeur along Highway 54 south of Manila in the Philippines. As he looks out the window, he notices a bright orange glow in the south at an elevation of 30°. When it appears to approach them, he tells the driver to stop the car. The object is traveling due north and continues to approach soundlessly for about 3 minutes then stops at an elevation of 45° and a distance of 8,000 feet. It is circular with a dome-shaped top and a flat bottom. It appears to be 65–70 feet in diameter and 18–20 feet high, with four evenly spaced yellow spots along the side. The color is bright orange with red flecks. After standing still for one minute, it begins moving south, then reverses direction, continues north at a constant altitude, and disappears. (NICAP, “ Domed Disc Stops, Reverses Course”; Sparks, p. 222; Olsen, sec. 3, p. 39)
November 29 — 2:00 a.m. Meat merchants José Ponce and Gustavo Gonzáles are driving a panel truck along Calle Bella Vista in Petare, Caracas, Venezuela. They find their way blocked by a 10-foot-wide, glowing ball hovering 6 feet above the street. When they get out to investigate, they are confronted by a dwarfish creature covered with stiff, bristly hair. Gonzáles grabs it, but it tosses him to one side. Two more dwarfs, gathering dirt and rocks nearby, approach. Ponce sees them and runs to find a police station. Gonzáles recovers in time to see two of the entities climb through an opening in the UFO. The third comes toward him, claws extended, and Gonzáles tries to stab it in the shoulder with his knife, but the blade glances off. One of the dwarfs inside the UFO points a tube at Gonzáles that emits a brilliant beam of energy. He is paralyzed and temporarily blinded but manages to stagger to the police station. A doctor at the emergency room at Esquina de Sálas hospital treats an abrasion on Gonzáles’s left side. Other witnesses to a UFO in the area come forward. (“ Petare, Venezuela,” APRO Bulletin 3, no. 3 (November 15, 1954): 11; Mary Louise Edgar, “ Ex-Wacoan in Venezuela Relates Saucer Saga There,” Waco (Tex.) Tribune-Herald, February 13, 1955, p. III-7; “ US Press Reps Visit Caracas,” APRO Bulletin 3, no. 5 (April 15, 1955, pp. 1–3; Keyhoe, FS Conspiracy, pp. 239–240; Lorenzen, FS Hoax, pp. 57–58; Frank Edwards, FS Serious Business, Bantam ed., 1966, pp. 100–102; Lorenzen, Encounters with UFO Occupants, Berkley Medallion, 1976, pp. 144–145; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 November–December, The Author, 1991, pp. 32–33; Michael D. Swords, “ Classic Cases from the APRO Files,” IUR 24, no. 2 (Summer 1999): 31; Patrick Gross, URECAT, November 4, 2006; Clark III 269; Clark IV 71–72, 310)
December — Aviation inventor Bill Lear sees a flying disc giving off greenish light near Palm Springs, California. It hovers for 2 seconds then swiftly moves out of sight. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1955 January–June, The Author, 1992, p, 22)
December — The US Air Force acknowledges that it is contemplating a “New type of jet aircraft, powered by a turbine larger than any now in use, [that] is expected to take off, land vertically, and be able to hover. It may cruise at 1,500 knots and have a range of 15,000 nautical miles.” It speculates: “If the Soviets now have such an aircraft in operational use, would the United States air defense system be able to detect, identify, intercept and destroy a bomber or reconnaissance aircraft moving at a 1,500 knot clip at an altitude of 65,000 feet?” (“ The Flying Disc,” Air Intelligence Digest 7, no 12 (December 1954): 6+)
December — Contactee Orfeo Angelucci, now working in Twentynine Palms, California, is at Tiny’s Café when he meets someone named Adam, who claims to have read his book and gives him some kind of mind-altering pill. After taking the pill, Angelucci finds himself in an “exalted state” and talks freely with Adam about outer space and politics. Prior to this time, Angelucci has caught the attention of the FBI because he has been approached several times by a group of seeming left-wing agents. (Orfeo Angelucci, The Son of the Sun, DeVorss, 1959; Kremlin 100–107)
December — Charles Laughead and his wife Lillian meet George Hunt Williamson at a lecture he is giving in Detroit, Michigan. (Zirger and Martinelli, The Incredible Life of George Hunt Williamson, Verdechiari, 2016, p. 103)
December 1 — President Eisenhower approves the development of the Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance plane as a CIA project under the direction of Allen Dulles. (Wikipedia, “ Lockheed U-2”)
December 2 — 2:10 p.m. A French military radar site at Ceita, Morocco, tracks a target that is also observed visually by the crew of a fighter in the air. The target is recorded for about one hour, with its altitude varying from 23.000 to 59,000 feet and speed from 6 to 137 mph. (Jacques Vallée and Janine Vallée, Challenge to Science: The UFO Enigma, Regnery, 1966, pp. 186–187; Martin Shough, RADCAT: Radar Catalogue: A Review of Twenty-One Ground and Airborne Radar UAP Contact Reports Generally Related to Aviation Safety for the Period October 15, 1948, to September 19, 1976, National Aviation Reporting Center on Anomalous Phenomena, NARCAP Report TR-6, December 8, 2002, pp. 51–54)
December 3 — Morning. Victoriano Maeso, Luis Brugeda, and Francisco Huertos are at Las Gastanas farm about 3 miles from Granja de Torrehermosa, Badajoz, Spain, when they hear an unusual noise and notice an object in the branches of an oak tree about 165 feet away. It is pyramid-shaped and about 8 feet high and 2 feet in diameter, with four fins and a box suspended from it by apparent ropes. They approach it, but the object rises and disappears toward the west. This observation is the first of about a dozen others reported over the next two weeks in Badajoz, Zaragoza, Teruel, Guipúzcoa, and Huelva provinces that seem to involve wayward balloons released in Germany by Radio Free Europe that carry leaflets intended to be dropped in the Soviet bloc. (Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos and Juan Carlos Victorio Uranga, “ Los ovnis de diciembre de 1954,” Academia.edu)
December 3 — 12:12 p.m. Sargent Prentiss Mellen, a flight instructor, and his wife Dottie are driving along Highway 49 in Gulfport, Mississippi, near the Mississippi Aluminum Company building. They see a round, flat object about 30–35 feet in diameter, hovering with an up-and-down motion, and rotating on its vertical axis at high speed. It ascends at a 10–20° angle, moving off to the east at an estimated speed of 500–600 mph. It appears to be shaped as though two plates were placed together. (NICAP, “ Couple Observe Rotating Object”; Sparks, p. 222; Olsen, sec. 3, p. 39; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 November–December, The Author, 1991, pp. 44–45)
December 5 — 8:15 a.m. Miguel Sevil is hunting in the Montes de Zuera north of Zaragoza, Spain, when he hears a prolonged whistle and sees a luminous, transparent object landed about 165 feet away. It has several rods protruding from it, each apparently with a propeller. Two men about 6 feet tall with blond hair and speaking an unintelligible language enter the UFO through a door on the side. It rises vertically at tremendous speed and disappears. Probable hoax. (Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos and Juan Carlos Victorio Uranga, “ Los ovnis de diciembre de 1954,” Academia.edu)
December 7 — A Project Blue Book memo acknowledges the many “Foreign Sightings” in Europe, but attributes the cause to an increase in “meteorite activity” and overseas translations of Keyhoe’s book Flying Saucers from Outer Space. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 November–December, The Author, 1991, pp. 49)
December 7 — 1:15 p.m. R. H. Kleyweg, officer-in-charge of the meteorological station at Upington, Northern Cape, South Africa, is looking for a red balloon he has just released. He sees an object just east of the sun, moving slowly west, but when he begins tracking it with a theodolite, he realizes it is white, not red. It looks like a half circle with sunlight gleaming from its sloped top. He follows it for 3 minutes, but then it accelerates and he cannot keep it in sight. (UFOEv, p. 124; James E. McDonald, “ Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, p. 63)
December 9 — Giovanni Aquilante, a farmer of Gricignano d’Aversa, Caserta, Italy, disappears after leaving home to work in the fields. His family and police fail to find him. On December 10, near 12:00 midnight, two of Aquilante’s sons and a friend see two mysterious entities with luminous eyes in a field. They quickly vanish. Aquilante returns home on the morning of December 11, silent and shocked, and explains that he met two “dwarfs” in the field wearing multicolored suits. They float him in the air and take him to “unknown places.” They release him, but promise to come back for him later. Aquilante is terrified of being abducted again. (1Pinotti 89)
December 9 — Evening. Farmer Olmiro de Costa e Rosa is feeding his animals at Linha Bela Vista, said to be 2.5 miles from Venâncio Aires, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, when he hears a sound like a sewing machine that causes some of his cows to run. An object shaped like an “enormous polished brass kettle” with a rectangular structure on top is hovering in the air with an oscillating motion. Two small humanoids “enveloped in a kind of yellow sack from head to toe” are standing in a nearby field. As he approaches, one runs toward him and the other raises its arm. The first one kneels down and plucks a tobacco plant from the field, then both jump into the craft, which vanishes within a few seconds. (Lorenzen, FS Hoax, pp. 52–53; Patrick Gross, URECAT, December 27, 2007; Clark III 268, 378; Clark IV 308, 422)
December 9 — Night. Lorenzo Flores and Jésus Gómez are hunting rabbits near an unfindable town called Carera [or, alternatively, between the equally unfindable places Chico and Cerro de las Tres Torros] along the Transandean Highway in Venezuela. They run across a huge red UFO like two washbowls put together hovering above the road with flames spurting out. Four small hairy figures, 3 feet tall, scramble out and grab Gómez and try to drag him toward the craft. Flores strikes one with his gun butt, but it has no effect and feels like striking rock. The wooden rifle butt cracks from the impact. Gómez faints from fright, and both men are scratched and bruised. A passing motorist takes them to a police station, their clothes torn and skin abraded. When they tell their story to the police, it is obvious that their shirts have been shredded into ribbons. (“ Hunters Clawed and Beaten,” APRO Bulletin 3, no. 4 (January 15, 1955): 2; Lorenzen, FS Hoax, pp. 56–57; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 November–December, The Author, 1991, pp. 51–52; Mark Cashman, “ Behavioral Classification System for UFO Occupants,” IUR 24, no. 1 (Spring 1999): 18; Clark III 270; Clark IV 310)
December 10 - An American petroleum engineer takes a photo of a formation of UFOs over El Tigre, Venezuela. (" Engineer Snaps Photo of Covey of Flying Saucers," APRO Bulletin 3, no. 4 (January 15, 1955): 4; Lorenzen, FS Hoax, p. 50; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 November-December, The Author, 1991, p. 52)
December 10 - 6:30 p.m. A doctor is driving near Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda Air Base in Caracas, Venezuela, when he and his father see two little men running near the road and ducking into shrubbery. Moments later a UFO rises up from the same spot and zooms away. (" Doctor Sees Little Men, Disc," APRO Bulletin 3, no. 4 (January 15, 1955): 4; Lorenzen, FS Hoax, pp. 49-50; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 November-December, The Author, 1991, p. 52)
December 14 — 11:00 a.m. Three bright lights appear in the sky above Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil. Around 12:00 noon, they descend to a lower altitude, and witnesses see they are metallic discs. The Brazilian Air Force scrambles some jets, but they fail to intercept any of the objects. By 1:00 p.m., several groups of witnesses around the city are watching when two of the objects take off to the south, while the third comes closer and approaches some buildings in the city center. Chief of Police Col. Carlos Assunção sees a “reddish and slightly bluish object” moving at incredible speed. Maxim Cicaida, a professional photographer for Foto Heisler, snaps a photo of the disc above a building. He sends the negatives to the Brazilian Naval School in Rio de Janeiro, but they are never returned, and no analysis is released. (Brazil 29–31)
December 15 — A man is fishing in a river near Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, when he sees an unusual object landing a few hundred feet away. His dog gets nervous and begins to howl. He uses his telescopic gunsight to get a closer look. He sees two spheres of different sizes, the smaller one revolving around the larger one, which is about 6 feet above the ground and has three balls attached to its underside. Soon he sees small beings come down from the large object, moving rapidly. One is holding a phosphorescent bucket, and another has a metallic tube that is cone-shaped at one end. They use these tools to collect calcareous soil from the riverbank. They take two buckets’ worth inside the craft, which then takes off. The witness later finds square-shaped holes in the riverbank. Col. Adil de Oliveira of the Brazilian Air Force has the soil analyzed and it yields a composition of 61% silica, 19% aluminum oxide, 11% magnesium and iron, with other trace elements. (Lorenzen, Flying Saucer Occupants, Signet, 1967, pp. 195–196)
December 15 — Asked about UFOs at a press conference, Eisenhower says that no reports have come to him, “either verbally or in written form,” and it is “completely inaccurate to believe that they came from any outside planet or otherwise.” Immediately after the press conference, Eisenhower asks for a full briefing on UFOs. (“ The President’s News Conference,” December 15, 1954; “ President Discounts ‘Saucer’ from Space,” New York Times, December 16, 1954, pp. 1, 26; Keyhoe, FS Conspiracy, p. 238; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 November–December, The Author, 1991, p. 62)
December 16 — Jésus Paz, Luis Mejia, and another young man are driving home after dinner at a restaurant in San Carlos, Venezuela, when Paz stops to relieve himself in a park. He claims he is jumped by a hairy dwarf from a flying disc (both of which his friends see when he screams). His friends rush the unconscious Paz to a hospital. (“ In Venezuela: Hairy Dwarves!” APRO Bulletin 3, no. 4 (January 15, 1955): 1–2; “ Little-Men Visited Venezuela,” Flying Saucers (CSI NZ) 2, no. 4 (March 1955): 17; Keyhoe, FS Conspiracy, pp. 242–243; Lorenzen, FS Hoax, pp. 50–51; Gordon Creighton, “ The Humanoids in Latin America,” in Charles Bowen, ed., The Humanoids, special issue of FSR, Oct./Dec. 1966, p. 35; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 November–December, The Author, 1991, p. 60; Mark Cashman, “ Behavioral Classification System for UFO Occupants,” IUR 24, no. 1 (Spring 1999): 18)
December 19 — 11:00 p.m. José Parra, an 18-year-old jockey, watches a disc-shaped UFO land in Valencia, Venezuela. Six 3-foot-tall humanoids disembark and set about collecting vegetation samples and loading stones into the disc. When he tries to approach them, he is paralyzed by a violet beam aimed at him by one of the creatures. All the short beings enter the craft and it takes off. The UFO leaves behind ground traces. (“ ‘Little Men’ Fail in Kidnap Attempt!!” APRO Bulletin 3, no. 4 (January 15, 1955): 3; Keyhoe, FS Conspiracy, p. 243; Gordon Creighton, “ The Humanoids in Latin America,” in Charles Bowen, ed., The Humanoids, Special Issue 1 of FSR, Oct./Nov. 1966, p. 35; Patrick Gross, URECAT, November 24, 2006; Clark III 270; Clark IV 310)
December 19. VENEZUELA, Valencia. Jose Parra, an 18-year-old jockey was training when he saw six small men loading rocks into a disc hovering near the ground. He tried to run but a violet-colored beam from a device held by one of the men stopped him. Footprints were found. (FSR)
December 26 — 8:30 p.m. Willis St.-Jean, a hoistman at the Agaunico Mine on the shore of Lake Timiskaming northeast of Cobalt, Ontario, sees a bright white light maneuvering in the sky. He calls John Hunt, a reporter at the North Bay Nugget office in Cobalt, to drive 3 miles to the mine to view it. The light is emanating from a large, rotating, slightly wedge-shaped disc. They watch the object for an hour after he arrives there. It circles, moves away, dances in the sky, disappears (apparently when it banks), and returns repeatedly, and at one point it flies over the lake, illuminating the surface. It disappears for good shortly after 10:15 p.m. (John Hunt, “ Reporter Sees ‘Saucer’ over Cobalt Mine,” North Bay (Ont.) Nugget, December 27, 1954, p. 1)
December 27 — Elizabeth Klarer, having been alerted by her sister May that the local Zulu people are reporting appearances of a mythical lightning bird in the sky, travels from Johannesburg, South Africa, with her children to a hill southwest of Rosetta, KwaZulu Natal, that she later calls Flying Saucer Hill. There she claims to see a star ship descend and hover 8 feet above the ground, emitting a soft hum. Its hull is spinning, though its central dome remains stationary. The friendly extraterrestrial Akon, with whom she has been in telepathic contact, is clearly visible through one of three portholes, but a blast of heat emanating from the ship prevents her from approaching. The UFO leaves by shooting high into the sky. (Elizabeth Klarer, Beyond the Light Barrier, Howard Timmins, 1980; Clark III 657; Clark IV 732)
December 28 — The NSC 5412/2 Special Group, often referred simply as the Special Group, is an initially secret, but later public, subcommittee of the US National Security Council responsible for coordinating government covert operations. Presidential Directive NSC 5412/2 assigns responsibility for coordination of covert actions to representatives of the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the President respectively. All proposals pass through the Special Group on the way to Richard Helms at the CIA, who is responsible for covert operations. It changes names several times to avoid public exposure. In 1964, it is known as the 303 Committee, and in 1970 it is renamed the 40 Committee. Within this organization—which includes such familiar names as Nelson Rockefeller, Robert McNamara, McGeorge Bundy, Gordon Gray, and Allen Dulles—is a subcommittee dealing with science and technology. It is here that the connection between the corporate and financial world and government-held technological secrets can be found. (Wikipedia, “ Oversight of United States covert operations”; Gregory W. Pedlow and Donald E. Welzenbach, The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance: The U-2 and OXCART Programs, 1954–1974, CIA History Staff, 1992, p. 188)
December 30 — Fifty residents of Lima, Peru, watch a flight of 5 iridescent silver UFOs for at least 5 minutes. ( La Nación (Lima, Peru), December 31, 1954; “ Flying Saucers,” Hartford (Conn.) Courant, January 1, 1955, p. 1; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1954 November–December, The Author, 1991, p. 78)
1955
Early January — 2:30 a.m. Snowplow operators Manuel “Swede” Erickson and Barney Thompson are driving east along the Weston-Elgin Highway toward Tollgate, Oregon, when they see an unusually bright light directly in front of them. It approaches them and grows brighter, then begins to move up and down and sideways. The light is bright enough to cast a shadow over the truck. It moves to the right through some trees and returns to the highway behind them. They turn the truck around and attempt to follow it, but it recedes. They resume traveling east, and the light follows them. They have it in sight for about 2 hours, after which it takes off down the Umatilla Canyon, stopping occasionally. They see a similar bluish light about two weeks later at about 4:00 a.m. for two nights in a row. Other witnesses turn up. (“ Strange Blue Lights Reported Bouncing over Blue Mountain Area,” La Grande (Oreg.) Evening Observer, January 28, 1955, p. 1; Fred Schneiter, “ Eerie Blue Light Said Live ‘Thing,’” La Grande (Oreg.) Evening Observer, January 29, 1955, p. 1; “Strange Light Bobbing over Blue Mt. Area,” Eugene (Oreg.) Register-Guard, January 30, 1955, p. 8; Fred Schneiter, “ Blue Light Fails to Reappear,” La Grande (Oreg.) Evening Observer, January 31, 1955, p. 2; “ Recent Sightings,” APRO Bulletin 3, no. 5 (April 15, 1955): 7, 8)
January 24 — A message from the US Air Attaché in Afghanistan to ATIC at Wright- Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, mentions the “reported landing of a flying saucer” near the town of Takala [according to the coordinates, near the modern village of Bayram in Baghlan Province]. It is supposedly metallic, 49 feet in circumference, with small glass windows around the leading edge. (USAIRA Afghanistan to COMATIC WPAFB Ohio, [ communication], January 26, 1955; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History, 1956, January–April, The Author, 1993, pp. 17–19; Clark III 327; Clark IV 363–364)
January 31 — 2:00 a.m. Peruvian Air Force Commander Guillermo Serpa and Col. Juan Rodriguez Cavero are returning to El Pata Air Force Base near Talara, Peru, by car through the Sechura Desert on the Pan-American Highway 1N when they see a bright light in the sky ahead. The object, a deep red domed disc, draws nearer and Serpa stops the car to observe it. It tilts slightly toward them, making occasional clicking sounds. Several minutes later it accelerates quickly in their direction, changing to a bright orange color then to a bright white as it shoots past them at terrific speed. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs a History: 1955, January–June, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2002, pp. 14–18)
February 1 — 7:55 p.m. Instructor Capt. Delwyn F. Ritzdorf and aviation cadet Frederick W. Miller are flying a TB-25 bomber-trainer about 20 miles east of Cochise, Arizona, at 13,000 feet and 238 mph when they see a bright round object with red and white hues. It approaches them then hovers off the left wing for 5 minutes about 5° above the horizontal. Radio interference prevents Ritzdorf from reporting the sighting. The object climbs rapidly on a parallel flight track for 3 minutes before pulling away at 500–600 mph and disappearing. (NICAP, “ Huge Metallic Disc Paces B-25”)
February 2 — 11:15 a.m. A Venezuelan Aeropostal airliner piloted by Captain Dario Celis is flying between Barquisimeto and Valera, Venezuela, at 7,500 feet. Celis and his copilot B. J. Cortes spot a strange, round “apparatus” flying swiftly toward the plane. Rotating counterclockwise, the object shines with a greenish light. Around its center is a red ring or band that emits flashes of brilliant light. Above and below this band are lighted portholes. Hurriedly the pilot cuts in his mike to call the Barquisimeto radio station. After reporting the UFO, he waits for an answer, but the receiver is dead. Later the radio operators state that just as the pilot began his report, communication is cut off. The copilot banks toward the rotating UFO. Instantly the object whirls downward, then levels off, and races away at tremendous speed. (NICAP, “ Plane Encounters Saucer and Radio Goes Dead”; Keyhoe, FS Conspiracy, pp. 249–250)
February 6 — Several witnesses in Greymouth, New Zealand, see a dazzling, silvery, cigar- shaped object moving inland at a high speed. Two observers see it consisting of two parts, with the leading part larger than the other. A loud explosion like a thunderclap is heard, causing the earth to tremble slightly. (“ World Roundup,” Flying Saucer Review 1, no. 2 (May/June 1955): 8)
February 21 — Early morning. “Cobwebby gray fibers” fall in Horseheads, New York, covering one-half square mile. Some “ragged sheets” are many feet in length. Chemist Charles B. Rutenber of Elmira College in Elmira, New York, describes it as “badly damaged, slightly radioactive cotton fiber” that might have come from a Nevada atomic test. He concludes it is a “short-staple cotton, possibly lint from waste cotton used in industrial plants.” John B. Diffenderfer, a chemist at a local Westinghouse laboratory, finds it is 30% carbon, with calcium, silica, aluminum, iron, and 10 other trace elements. He thinks it comes from powdered milk residue, perhaps from the Dairylea milk processing plant in Elmira. But milk plant chemists Louis R. Hermani and Robert L. Mix say the material is composed of “cotton and wool fibers with pieces of fine copper wire mixed in” and looks like it comes from a carpet sweeper bag. (“ Further Tests Made of Fibers Collected in Horseheads Area,” Elmira (N.Y.) Star-Gazette, February 23, 1955, p. 13; Brian Boldman, “ Angel Hair Physical Analyses: A Review,” JUFOS 9 (2006): 101–102)
February 23 - 8:30 a.m. Frederick S. Briggs, a bricklayer and former army sergeant employed at Broadlands, Romsey, Hampshire, England, the manor then owned by Lord Mountbatten, Prince Philip's uncle, sees a large disc-shaped UFO over a nearby meadow as he is bicycling to work. The object is shaped like a spinning top, metallic, and about 20-30 feet in diameter with portholes around the center. Watching from less than 100 yards away, Briggs estimates that the object is 80 feet above the ground. He sees a humanoid figure dressed in what look like overalls and a helmet descend from the craft on some sort of column with a platform at the bottom. He is then dazzled by a bright blue light from the craft and falls over, unable to move, as if held by a strange force. The UFO then flies off at high speed. Mountbatten takes a personal interest in this incident, interviews Briggs, and searches the area of the meadow over which the UFO is seen. He subsequently has a statement prepared, detailing Briggs's claims. This story is written up by Desmond Leslie in Flying Saucer Review in 1981. Mountbatten's signed statement on the incident is held with many of his other private papers at the Broadlands Archive. ( Desmond Leslie, " Did Flying Saucers Land at Broadlands?" Flying Saucer Review 26, no. 5 (January 1981): 2-4; Good Above, pp. 40-42, 451-454; Colin Bennett, Looking for Orthon, Paraview, pp. 162-164; Patrick Gross, URECAT, February 7, 2008)
March 11 — Douglas Clarke sees a circular object with a glowing rim over Bexleyheath, London, England. From his bedroom, he notices the object and steps onto a ledge to observe it. The object moves from the northwest toward Dartford to the southeast, then turns around and returns before disappearing in the north. He estimates it to be at 500 feet altitude. (“ World Roundup,” Flying Saucer Review 1, no. 2 (May/ June 1955): 6, 7)
March 24 - 2:30 p.m. The pilot of a private Beechcraft plane is flying at 1,500 feet with a student in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan. They see a domed disc with three windows about 900 feet on their left that appears to change color from white to orange and back again. Over the next few minutes, the object flies over, in front of, and under the airplane. When the pilot puts the plane into a dive, the craft stays with it. The plane's instruments stop working. The pilot makes a steep right turn but the object still paces the plane. When the Beechcraft's engine begins to stall, the pilot calls Naha Airport on Okinawa, which alerts the US Kadena Air Base. Two jets are scrambled, but by the time they arrive the object is long gone. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 65-66)
March 29? — Early morning. A bus driving past Wright-Patterson AFB near Dayton, Ohio, sees a silver, triangular object hovering above the base for 15 minutes. (“ Sightings,” APRO Bulletin, August 1955, p. 9)
April 8 - 9:30 a.m. Four members of the Ground Observer Corps in Rockford, Illinois, witness a UFO near their post and send in a report to the Filter Center in Chicago. Within minutes, jets are scrambled on an intercept mission and reportedly fire on the mysterious object, causing it to explode. Before the explosion, however, the GOC observers see a smaller round object shoot out of the side of the parent device. In horizontal flight it passes the jets, then turns on edge and disappears straight up into the sky. Civil Defense Director John C. Gregory in Rockford, reports the object is said to be a quarter-mile in diameter. (NICAP, " Silver Disc Shot Down over Rockford"; " U.S. Jets Fire on UFO," CRIFO Newsletter 2, no. 3 (June 3, 1955): 2-3; " The Rockford, Illinois Incident: More Evidence," CRIFO Orbit 2, no. 4 (July 1, 1955): 3; " Official Postscript to the Rockford Incident," CRIFO Orbit 2, no. 5 (August 5, 1955): 2; Lewis Barton, " If It Moves-Shoot," Flying Saucer Review 1, no. 3 (July/Aug. 1955): 11; " Readers' Questions," UFO Investigator 1, no. 8 (June 1959): 8)
May - 15-year-old Jacques Vallée and his mother see a "gray, metallic disc with a clear bubble on top" hovering above a church in Pontoise, France. (Jacques Vallée, Forbidden Science, North Atlantic, 1992, pp. 15-16)
May 4 - Afternoon. Lt. Col. Edward J. Stealy, commander of the 57th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Keflavík Airfield, Iceland, and 1stLt. Joseph Burt see 10-15 flying objects, 60-70 feet in diameter, at about 25,000 feet. They fly in loose formation for about 4-5 seconds and are traveling at a tremendous rate of speed (perhaps 1,150 mph). (NICAP, " Air Force Officers Observe 10 Maneuvering Objects"; Sparks, p. 226; Olsen, sec. 3, p. 40; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1955 January-June, The Author, 1992, pp. 57-58; Clark III 376; Clark IV 420)
June 8 - 2:44 p.m. An RB-47 flying at 30,000 feet south of Bathurst Island, Nunavut, detects a UFO briefly on its gun-control radar and makes visual contact for 20 minutes with an object trailing 5-10 miles behind it. A second RB-47 some 80 miles behind the first spots the contrail left behind as the UFO disappears. (Clifford E. Stone, UFOs Are Real, SPI Books, 1997, pp. 73-76; Tim Printy, " The RB-47 Contacts from 1955," SUNlite 4, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 2012): 36; Clark III 995-996; Clark IV 1108-1109)
Late July - A man, a female companion, and two children are picnicking on a Lake Ontario beach in St. Catharines, Ontario, when a silvery disc approaches them rapidly across the water, then hovers above them before heading to another family nearby. It swings back to the original group, "moving like a clock pendulum." The man flees to his car but finds it will not start. Through the windows of the UFO, just a few feet above the ground, the witnesses see the faces of four pale-faced men with black hoods covering their ears and heads, sitting straight and rigid. The object shoots over the lake, ascends rapidly, and disappears. (Clark III 268; Clark IV 308)
July 26 - A brilliant round object with a trail 4-5 times its own length approaches National Airport [now Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport] in Washington, D.C., stops, oscillates, and moves off at high speed. Ceiling lights at the airport go out when the object approaches and returns to operation when the UFO departs. (UFOEv, p. 135)
August 21-22 - About 7:00 p.m. Billy Ray Taylor goes into the backyard of the Elmer "Lucky" Sutton farmhouse 7 miles north of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and sees a bright object come from the south-southwest, pass over, and descend into a gully about 500 feet north and about 35-40 feet lower elevation. Glennie Lankford and 6 other adults (Elmer Sutton, Vera Sutton, John Charley Sutton, Alene Sutton, June Taylor, O. P. Baker) plus 3 children (Charlton, Lonnie, and Mary Lankford), see several gremlin-like creatures float down from trees and approach the house from the dark. They are about 3 feet high with roundish heads, elephantine ears, slit-like mouths extending ear to ear, huge and wide-set eyes, no visible necks, and long arms ending in clawed hands. They wear glowing silver clothing. When they run, they drop on all fours. When one of them approaches the house, Sutton and Taylor fire shotguns through the window screen, scoring a direct hit. The creature is knocked over, but gets up and scuttles off. Taylor walks out the door and one of the creatures grabs at his head. This activity continues the greater part of the night and includes heavy gunfire at times. Sutton fires point blank at it, knocking it from the roof, but it just "floats down." At about 11:00 p.m. they run out of ammunition, and the entire group flees in terror in two cars and drives at high speed into Hopkinsville to report the incident to the police. A state patrolman leaves the Shady Oaks restaurant 3 miles north of Hopkinsville in a car to respond to the call and sees several meteor-like objects streaking over him sounding like artillery fire. He sees two in a series looking like meteors coming from the southwest, headed towards Kelly from the direction of Fort Campbell, a US Army installation. City, county, state, and military police and reporters drive out to the Sutton farm to investigate from 11:30 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. The UFO entities return at about 2:30 a.m. Glennie Lankford is trying to get to sleep when she sees one outside her window stretching its claw-like hands up to the screen. Elmer Sutton again shoots at them without effect. The last one is seen at about 5:15 a.m. Clark writes that investigations by "police, Air Force officers from nearby Fort Campbell, and civilian ufologists found no evidence of a hoax"; however, Brian Dunning reports that "the claim that Air Force investigators showed up the next day at Mrs. Lankford's house has been published a number of times by later authors, but I could find no corroborating evidence of this." Dunning also observes that "the four military police who accompanied the police officers on the night of the event were from an Army base [Fort Campbell], not an Air Force base." Skeptic Joe Nickell notes that the family could have misidentified great horned owls, which are nocturnal, fly silently, have yellow eyes, and aggressively defend their nests. He thinks Taylor and Sutton were drinking heavily. Meteor sightings also occurred at the time that could explain Billy Ray Taylor's claim that he saw "a bright light streak across the sky and disappear beyond a tree line some distance from the house." (Wikipedia, " Kelly-Hopkinsville encounter"; NICAP, " Sutton (Kelly / Hopkinsville) Encounter"; Sparks, p. 230; " Story of Space-Ship, 12 Little Men Probed Today," Hopkinsville Kentucky New Era, August 22, 1955, p. 1; " Little Green Men Harass Kentucky Farm Family," Waco (Tex.) News-Tribune, August 23, 1955, pp. 1, 8; " The Controversial Little Green Men and the Tingling Facts," CRIFO Orbit 2, no. 6 (September 2, 1955): 3-4; Jacqueline Sanders, " Panic in Kentucky," in Gray Barker ed., The Saucerian Review, Gray Barker, 1956, pp. 19-23; Leonard H. Stringfield, Inside Saucer Post.3-0 Blue, CRIFO, 1957, pp. 63-69; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 172-178; Isabel Davis and Ted Bloecher, Close Encounter at Kelly and Others of 1955, CUFOS, 1978; " The Close Encounter of the Third Kind at Kelly Re-examined," IUR 3, no. 5 (May 1978): 4-6; Story, pp. 190-192; Kim Hansen, "UFO Casebook," UFOs 1947- 1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, pp. 53-56; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1955 July-September 15th, The Author, 1992, pp. 54-75; John W. Coates, " Kelly Case Reconsidered," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 299 (March 1993): 15-16; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1955 July-September 15th, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2002, pp. 18-36; Michele Carlton, "Children of Kelly Witness Firmly Believe Their Father Shot at Entities," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 418 (February 2003): 9-10; Joe Nickell, "Siege of `Little Green Men': The 1955 Kelly, Kentucky, Incident," Skeptical Inquirer 30, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 2006); Brian Dunning, "The Kelly-Hopkinsville Encounter," Skeptoid podcast no. 331, October 9, 2012; Rodney Schmaltz and Scott O. Lilienfeld, "Hauntings, Homeopathy, and the Hopkinsville Goblins: Using Pseudoscience to Teach Scientific Thinking," Frontiers in Psychology 5 (2014): 336ff.; Clark III 642-643; "The Kelly-Hopkinsville Encounter | Documentary," Fire of Learning YouTube channel, October 20, 2020; Patrick Gross, "The Kelly-Hopkinsville Case, 1955"; Eghigian, After, pp. 150-155; Clark IV 717-719)
August 16 - Early morning. Truck driver Ernest Suddards and his 13-year-old son are returning home to Bradford, West Yorks, England, when their headlights light up a small figure in the street. It is 4 feet tall, dressed in skin-tight black clothes, and is hopping forward in a series of jerky movements. A circular, silvery object, perforated with holes, appears on the figure's chest just below its throat. It approaches the truck then turns away abruptly into a passage. Suddards alerts the police, but they find nothing. (Jack Ibson, "Did a Space Visitor Land in Bradford?" Flying Saucer News, no. 10 (Autumn 1955): 4-5; Arthur Constance, The Inexplicable Sky, Citadel, 1956, pp. 221-223; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1955 July-September 15th, The Author, 1992, p. 50; Patrick Gross, URECAT, February 19, 2008)
August 29 - 2:00 p.m. A group of children is playing in the garden of Mr. and Mrs. Douglas in Riverside, California, when they observe a hovering object that disappears and reappears as a spinning disk with curved lines radiating from it. Other objects, silvery and semi-transparent, soon appear and are seen by all the children. They emit musical sounds as they vanish and reappear. One of the objects lands, and a creature the size of a 4-year-old child, transparent and wearing a belt with a bright disk, appears nearby. Another creature emerges and speaks to one of the boys. All the children experience visions of the object and the creatures, as well as "arms" that seem to beckon to them. ("Squadron of Flying Saucers Causes Neighborhood Riot," Riverside (Calif.) Daily Press, August 30, 1955; " Recent News Reports," Saucer News 2, no. 8 (Oct./Nov. 1955): 8; " Children's Day at Casa Blanca, A Strange Story: Etheric Entities?" Uranus 2, no. 4 (February 1956): 67-71; Gordon Creighton, " The Extraordinary Happenings at Casa Blanca," Flying Saucer Review 13, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1967): 16-18; Isabel Davis and Ted Bloecher, Close Encounter at Kelly and Others of 1955, CUFOS, 1978, pp. 186-189; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1955 July-September 15th, The Author, 1992, pp. 78-81)
September 2-4 - 9:05 p.m. Eddy Geddes notices a fireball as he is driving to Kalispell, Montana, from Whitefish. He stops at a Ground Observer post and notifies the women stationed there. Jets are scrambled from Malmstrom AFB in Great Falls and arrive shortly after midnight, long after the object is gone, but another fireball is apparently seen later. The same scenario occurs on September 4 when five F-94C Starfire jets (as well as other aircraft from Great Falls and Spokane, Washington, are sent to the Kalispell area. (" Air Force Jets Called in Search for `Fireball' over Kalispell," The Missoulian, September 5, 1955, p. 7; " Recent Sightings," APRO Bulletin, September 15, 1956, p. 19)
October - 8:00 p.m. A student at St. Joseph's Minor Seminary in Peterborough, New Hampshire, sees four glowing, bluish-white objects to the southwest. One appears to be on the ground with 3-4 figures beside it. He goes into the recreation room to find more witnesses. When they go outside, the objects are slowly moving above the school building toward the northeast. (" New Hampshire," CUFOS Associate Newsletter 6, no. 2 (April/May 1985): 4-5)
November 25 - 10:30 a.m. Colorado State Senator Samuel Tesitor Taylor sees an unusual cigar-shaped object near La Veta, Colorado. It is greenish- blue in color, appears luminous, and is completely silent. He estimates it is flying at 7,000-8,000 feet, traveling about 10 miles in 5 seconds, and suddenly disappears from view over Mount Mestas to the northeast. (NICAP, " Senator Sees Dirigible")
December 11 - 9:00 p.m. Near Jacksonville, Florida, two airline pilots and ground observers see a fast-maneuvering, orange-red, round object, with ground radar tracking. Two USN jets on a practice night-flying mission are vectored to the object by a Naval Air Station Jacksonville controller. On approach the object suddenly rises up to 30,000 feet then dives back down in a circle, buzzing the jets. ( Sparks, p. 232; UFO Ev, p. 32; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, A History, 1955, September 15th-December 31st, The Author, 1993, p. 110)
1956
French ufologist Aimé Michel publishes The Truth about Flying Saucers, one of the best early books on UFOs, originally published in French in 1954. (Aimé Michel, The Truth about Flying Saucers, Criterion, 1956; " First Read: Aimé Michel's `The Truth about Flying Saucers,'" Magonia, February 25, 2012)
1956 — Soviet polar aviator Valentin Akkuratov is flying a Tupolev Tu-4 aircraft near Cape Morris Jesup, Greenland, performing strategic ice reconnaissance. Dropping down below the clouds, he sees an unknown object moving on the port side parallel to his course. It looks like a “large pearl-colored lens with wavy, pulsating edges.” Thinking it is a US aircraft, Akkuratov heads back into the clouds. After flying for 40 minutes to the southeast, the cloud cover ends and Akkuratov encounters it again. He decides to approach the object, which changes course and paces the airplane at the same speed. After 15–18 minutes, the UFO sharply alters course, speeds ahead, and rises quickly until it disappears. (Felix Ziegel, “ Unidentified Flying Objects,” Soviet Life, no. 137 (February 1968): 27–29; Good Above, pp. 226–227)
1956 — Fishermen at lake Ozero Blagodati, Primorsky Krai, Russia, allegedly see an enormous silvery object with an apparent diameter of 4,900 feet rapidly flying above them at 1,960 feet. It resembles a hat with red portholes around its rim and is accompanied by loud grinding sounds and black smoke. The object emits numerous thin metal threads resembling horse hairs that the fishermen pick up the next day. The object crashes into the Sea of Japan. (Stonehill and Mantle, Russia’s USO Secrets, Flying Disk, 2020, pp. 113–114)
1956 or 1957 — 7:45 p.m. W. J. Kyncy is aboard the destroyer USS Maddox in the North Pacific between Midway Island and Japan. He and some 30 other sailors on the stern see a steady orange light coming toward them at about 50 mph. It stops for 2 minutes about 1,300 feet away at about 400 feet altitude. It begins moving again at 35 mph then blinks out after 5–10 seconds. (“ Correspondence,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 3, no. 4 (Aug./Sept. 1982): 6)
January 8 - 7:00 a.m. Four Chilean researchers on Robert Island, in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, see two silent, metallic objects hovering in the sky in an upright position. One is almost on the meridian, while the other is about 30° from it, reflecting the sun's rays. Each has the apparent diameter of the full moon. Around 9:00 a.m., the lower object shifts to a horizontal position, shoots off to the west, loses its metallic luster, and makes an acute angle turn without changing speed. Then it performs some zigzag maneuvers, braking sharply and accelerating instantly, then returns to its original position after 5 minutes. Shortly afterward, the second object conducts similar maneuvers for 3 minutes. The team's Geiger counter indicates that the ambient radioactivity has increased to a dangerous 40 times the background. They take several photos, color and black-and-white, of the UFOs. The objects remain in the sky, but at dusk the researchers walk north along the coast and take refuge in a moraine. They see the objects moving past the summit of a mountain and shooting a flash of light. During the night, some cirrus clouds allow the team to determine that the objects are at an altitude of nearly 5 miles and their length is around 500 feet. At 11:00 p.m. a snowstorm sets in and clouds cover the objects. The Geiger counter indicates diminished radiation. (" Antarctic Robert Island Case, January 8, 1956," Project 1947; Clark A 1956 Antarctic UAP Case," SCU Review 6, no. 1 (January 27, 2025): 16-21)
January 15 — 8:00 p.m. An object the apparent size of a washtub is seen falling into the sea 150 feet offshore from Busan, South Korea, by large numbers of townspeople. The glow continues for an hour and a half before the object sinks. Korean and American military authorities are alerted. Military Police Cpl. Ben Elliot observes the glow, which resembles burning alcohol or benzene. (Samuel Norman, “Recent UFOs over Japan,” Fate 9, no. 6 (June 1956): 22–24; Carl Feindt, “ Report #127,” waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 182–184)
January 18? — Four people at the beach at Los Caracas, Venezuela, watch a pulsating red light fly out from behind a hill and land in the sea. It vanishes but is later seen floating on the surface. Thinking an airplane has crashed, one of the witnesses attempts to reach the spot with some other men in a motorboat, but the engine fails. The Coast Guard, which conducts a 15-hour search for the object, has to tow the boat back to shore the following day. (“ The Venezuelan Sea-Saucer,” CRIFO Orbit 2, no. 12 (March 2, 1956): 4–5; “ Recent Sightings,” APRO Bulletin, July 1956, p. 9, 10; Dolan, USO1, 184–185)
January 31 — 3:24 p.m. Kentucky National Guard pilot Lt. Col. Lee J. Merkel is flying an F-51 Mustang out of Standiford Field [now Louisville International Airport] in Louisville, Kentucky, on a maintenance test flight. His aircraft crashes 10 miles north of Bedford, Indiana, following some confusing information from various sources about an unknown radar target or visual observation in the vicinity. (“ Recent UFO Sightings,” CSI News Letter, no. 14 (May 6, 1956): 3; ClearIntent, pp. 62–63; Good Need, pp. 215–216; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, A History: 1956, January–April, The Author, 1993, p. 21)
February 9 — 1:30 a.m. Patrolmen Marvin Poer and John Freeland see a ball of fire plunge behind the breakwater at Redondo Beach, California. It bobs on the water’s surface before sinking into 15 feet of water some 300 feet off the shore. Five county lifeguards row out to look for it and retrieve a US Army Signal Corps battery light that was dropped from an airplane. (“ Sea Cools Mystery of Hot Disk,” Los Angeles (Calif.) Mirror-News, February 9, 1956, p. 8; “ Sea-Saucer or Searchlight?” CRIFO Orbit 2, no. 12 (March 2, 1956): 4)
February 12 — 10:55 p.m. Two F-89D fighters flying at 20,000 feet, one crewed by pilot Bowen and radar observer Crawford, suddenly see a green and red object 40 miles southeast of Goose Bay AFB [now CFB Goose Bay], Labrador. It rapidly circles their jet, and the other fighter tracks it on radar but cannot see it visually. About 15 minutes later, operators at Goose Bay paint a stationary target about 40 miles southwest of the base. The two pilots vector toward the object and obtain radar contact, but it vanishes when they get within 8 miles. (NICAP, “ Green & Red Object Circles Jet, Tracked on Radar (BBU 3969)”; Sparks, p. 233; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, A History: 1956, January–April, The Author, 1993, p. 41; Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, p. 262)
February 17 - 10:50 p.m. Air traffic controllers at Orly Airport, Paris, France, see a target appear on their radar screens that is twice the size of a conventional aircraft. It cruises around, hovers, and accelerates at fantastic speeds, and is tracked for a total of 4 hours. When it first appears on radar it is directly above Gometz-le-Châtel, Seine et Oise, and 30 seconds later it is 19 miles away, having moved at nearly 2,500 mph. A second, smaller target appears, identified as an Air France DC-3 airliner flying over the Les Mureaux military base, Yvelines, at 4,500 feet (800 feet lower than the UFO). Orly radios the pilot to alert him to the unidentified target. Radio Officer Beaupertuis sees the object through a window on the starboard side of the plane-enormous in size, indistinct in outline, and lit in some areas with a red glow. Capt. Michel Desavoye confirms the sighting, saying he and the crew watched the object for 30 seconds and are certain it is no civil airliner. The sighting duration is nearly 3 hours. (NICAP, " Large UFO Tracked on Ground Radar"; " A Saucer Shows Up over Paris and Creates a Stir in a Radar Room and a Cockpit," Flying Saucer Review 2, no. 2 (March/April 1956): 3; Patrick Gross, " Orly Airport, France, February 1956")
February 25 — In the review article “The Latest on the Flying Saucer,” Saturday Review editors ask five people— Harold T. Wilkins, Donald E. Keyhoe, Donald H. Menzel, Edward J. Ruppelt, and Jackie Gleason—whether they ever saw a saucer and what they think they are. Gleason writes that he never saw one, but he thinks “it is almost certain that their jumping off place is the moon. I think that their purpose in visiting us is to get geographic information and to find out all that they would have to contend with if they decide to make an absolute communication with us.” (“The Latest on the Flying Saucer,” Saturday Review, February 25, 1956; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, A History: 1956, January–April, The Author, 1993, pp. 43–44)
March 17 - An unidentified object turns up on stellar photos taken by the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey. (Stephen Bruehl and Beatriz Villaroel, " Some Transients in the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (POSS-I) May Be Associated with Above-Ground Nuclear Testing and Reports of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena," Research Square, July 25, 2025; Baptiste Friscourt, " New Study Has Found a Possible Link between UAP and Nuclear Tests," Sentinel News, July 25, 2025)
April — An annotated copy of the paperback edition of Morris K. Jessup’s The Case for the UFO (1955) is sent in a manila envelope from Seminole, Texas, to Adm. Frederick R. Furth, chief of the Office of Naval Research. The annotations are written in three different colors of ink, apparently by three persons, A, B, and Jemi, who claim to know a great deal about the UFO intelligences. They mention space people, underwater cities, force fields, and much more. The book falls into the possession of Maj. Darrell L. Ritter, USMC aeronautical project officer at ONR, who brings it to the attention of ONR Capt. Sidney Sherby and ONR Projects Officer Cmdr. George W. Hoover, who become interested and get permission (as long as it does not involve official naval personnel) to send the copy to the Varo Manufacturing Company, in Garland, Texas, which has contracts with the military. Varo publishes 25 spiral-bound copies of the book in black and red ink, which shows the annotations. Meanwhile, Jessup has been receiving at least two strange letters (January 13 and May 25, 1956) from someone calling himself Carlos Miguel Allende, which claim that as a result of a strange experiment at sea utilizing principles of Einstein’s Field Theory, a destroyer (identified by some as the USS Eldridge and others by the USS Engstrom, which were not in the Philadelphia Navy Yard at the time) and all its crew became invisible in October 1943, but the sailors showed side effects. Allende says he has witnessed all of this. Sherby talks to Jessup about the Varo edition; Jessup isn’t much interested but tells him about the Allende letters, which talk about the same things as the annotations and are obviously written by the same person. Gray Barker’s Saucerian Press publishes the Varo edition in July 1972. Sometime in the 1970s, Carlos Allende appears at APRO headquarters and confesses that the whole annotations thing was a hoax, but he surfaces a few years later saying that the CIA coerced him into saying it was a hoax. In the late 1970s, Robert A. Goerman identifies Allende as Carl Allen, who lives near him in Pennsylvania. In the October 1980 issue of Fate, Goerman explains the entire mess, saying that Allen had written all three of the annotation types. Bill Moore and Charles Berlitz take the whole thing seriously enough to write The Philadelphia Experiment in 1979, which links the force fields back to T. Townsend Brown, later the founder of NICAP. (Morris K. Jessup, The Case for the UFO, annotated Varo ed., Saucerian, 1972; Wikipedia, “ Philadelphia Experiment”; Ivan T. Sanderson, “ Jessup and the Allende Case,” Pursuit 1, no. 4 (September 30, 1968): 8–10; “ Allende Letters a Hoax,” APRO Bulletin, July/Aug. 1969, pp. 1, 3; William L. Moore, with Charles Berlitz, The Philadelphia Experiment: Project Invisibility, Grosset and Dunlap, 1979; Robert A. Goerman, “Alias Carlos Allende,” Fate 33, no. 10 (October 1980): 69–75; Robert A. Goerman, The Allende Dossier, The Author, 1982; Kevin D. Randle, “ The Allende Letters,” A Different Perspective, July 5, 2009; Kevin D. Randle, “ Chasing Sources: The Philadelphia Experiment,” A Different Perspective, August 9, 2016; Andrew H. Hochheimer, “ Carlos Miguel Allende or Carl Meredith Allen or…,” The Philadelphia Experiment from A–Z, August 13, 2016; Andrew H. Hochheimer, “ The Varo Edition,” The Philadelphia Experiment from A–Z, December 13, 2016; Clark III 95–97, 598; Clark IV 122–125, 657–658)
April 7 - Elizabeth Klarer returns to Flying Saucer Hill southwest of Rosetta, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, drawn by a strange compulsion. The spaceship is waiting for her, and Akon takes her in his hands and says, "Not afraid this time?" He leads her on board the craft, which she learns also carries a second alien, who looks much like Akon except he is darker and more muscular. As the ship first rises into space, Akon says he has been watching her for some time. He lets her look at the earth below through a viewing lens that also has x-ray capability. The saucer goes to a "mother ship" filled with friendly space people. At one point a huge video image projected on the wall allows her to view scenes from their home planet, Meton, in the Alpha Centauri system. They serve her a vegetarian meal. Klarer and Akon begin a lifelong romantic attachment that includes sexual activity. (" Landing in South Africa," Flying Saucer Review 2, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1956): 2-5; Edgar Sievers, " Encounter in South Africa," Uranus 3, no. 3 (December 1956): 46-49; " Elizabeth Klarer's Flying Saucer," Flying Saucers from Other Worlds, June 1957, pp. 65-69, 75; Elizabeth Klarer, Beyond the Light Barrier, Howard Timmins, 1980; Paul Seaburn, " Woman from Earth Claimed to Have Already Been to Proxima b," Mysterious Universe, August 31, 2016; " Beyond the Light Barrier | Elizabeth Klarer (Documentary)," Elizabeth Klarer YouTube channel, January 6, 2017; Clark III 657, 1056; " Elizabeth Klarer: Live Speech of Her UFO Experiences," Objects Tree YouTube channel, March 3, 2022; Internet Movie Database, Beyond the Light Barrier, 2023; Eghigian, After, pp. 139-140; Clark IV 732, 1171)
April 8 - 10:15 p.m. Capt. Raymond E. Ryan, First Officer William Neff, flight attendant Phyllis Reynolds, and many passengers take off on American Airlines Flight 715 from Albany, New York, heading north then nearly due west at 260 mph and 6,000 feet north of Schenectady, when a brilliant white light about 2-3 miles away is spotted about 90° to the left appearing like an airliner heading in to land at Albany. The white light moves about 90° to dead ahead position about 8-10 miles away at high speed, estimated at about 800-1,000 mph, where it changes color to orange and seems to block the airliner's path or risk collision. It disappears briefly and reappears as an orange light again but standing still ahead of the airliner to the west. The Convair airliner contacts Griffiss AFB [now Griffiss International Airport], Rome, New York, where controllers ask Ryan to turn his lights off and on to help identify aircraft. He is told the airliner is seen and the orange UFO are to the south. The airliner is ordered to maintain course to follow the UFO to the west, skipping its scheduled landing at Syracuse after nearly 30 minutes of following the object. The promised fighter jet interception is never seen. The object disappears at high speed to the northwest towards Oswego, New York. (NICAP, " Air Force Requests Plane Loaded with Passengers to Chase UFO"; Sparks, p. 236; " Airliner Chases Bright Light Miles across the State," Buffalo (N.Y.) Evening News, April 10, 1956, p. 1; " Unidentified Aerial `Bright Object' Mystifies Area Fliers, CAA Man," Albany (N.Y.) Times-Union, April 11, 1956; " April 8, 1956," CSI News Letter, no. 14 (May 6, 1956): 5-6; " Cover-Up Suspected in Reported Air-UFO Chase," UFO Investigator 1, no. 3 (January 1958): 10-12; UFOEv, p. 117; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1956, January- April, The Author, 1993, pp. 59-75; " American Airlines CE-II Pilot Case of 4-8-1956 - Capt. Ryan and Co-Pilot Neff," Ufology: A Primer in Audio, 1938-1959, November 21, 2013 )
April 13 — 1:20 a.m. A ham radio operator at an unknown location picks up a US Navy communication regarding a large luminous object that plunges into the sea about one-half mile to the north, presumably in the Pacific Ocean. The transmitting ship or airplane cruises in circles around the spot but can find no debris or trace of the object. (“ Another Navy Report,” Akualele Research Group Bulletin 2, no. 5 (August 1, 1957): 1; Dolan, USO1, 186–188)
April 28 — In one of the few early instances in which the Roswell incident is mentioned, broadcaster Frank Edwards states, in a question-and-answer session following his talk at the Civilian Saucer Intelligence of New York public meeting at the Pythian Temple, “According to what I was told, they threw troops in a circle all around that place, and would let nobody in for five days.” (“ Public Meeting of April 28, 1956,” Civilian Saucer Intelligence of New York, [Publication], no. 13, pp. 9–10)
May 1 — Air Force Manual section 190-4 goes into effect. It affects all USAF official press releases, statements to Congress and the public, and publications about UFOs. It requires the Secretary of the Air Force Office of Information to “delete all evidence of UFO reality and intelligent control, which would, of course, contradict the Air Force stand that UFOs do not exist.” NICAP is made aware of the regulation in 1962 when former USAF information spokesman Maj. William T. Coleman admits to a NICAP member that Maj. Lawrence J. Tacker’s book Flying Saucers and the US Air Force was reviewed under AFM 190-4. (“ Air Force Reveals Censorship Controls,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 4 (July 1962): 1; “ New Air Force Attacks on NICAP,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 7 (Jan./Feb. 1963): 3)
May 1 - 7:55 p.m. Koto Ward, a factory worker, along with many others, see a large bright object flying low over the rooftops in Tokyo, Japan. Turuko Kurihara, in a different location, sees a greenish object at 7:59 p.m. The object makes no noise but causes severe distortion on the TV sets in the area. ("` Flying Saucers' over Tokyo," Flying Saucers (N.Z.) 4, no. 2 (Sept. 1956): 18; Schopick, p. 103
May 17 — 10:22 a.m. Kent Myer and Clayton Campbell spot 20 silver-gray, disc-shaped objects in the western sky over Ada, Oklahoma, while at the playground of Washington School. The discs move from south to north at a slight angle and appear to fly in tight “V” formations, with four in each group. The boys note the objects aren’t moving at high speed and make no sound, leaving no contrails or visible exhaust. Kent observes that each disc has a dark spot in the center and estimates they remain in view for 30–40 seconds before disappearing behind smoke from a nearby cement plant. (“ Ada Boys Specific on What They Saw That Might Be ‘Saucers,’” Ada (Okla.) Evening News, May 20, 1956, p. 7; “ World Roundup,” Flying Saucer Review 2, no. 4 (July 1956): 23, 27; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1956 May–July, The Author, 1993, p. 28)
Summer - 11:30 p.m. A cigar-shaped UFO with lighted portholes is seen by two witnesses in the southwest part of Springfield, Illinois. The car driven by one of the witnesses quits, and the UFO seems to affect the traffic lights as well. The object looks slightly smaller than a blimp. After about 30 seconds it moves straight up and disappears. (Michael D. Swords, " The Timmerman Files," IUR 26, no. 4 (Winter 2001-2002): 14, 30)
June (or June 1957) — RNZAF Airman Derek Mansell is a passenger in a Bristol 170 Freighter Mk 31M near Wellington, New Zealand, when the aircraft encounters severe turbulence and its compass and other instruments spin wildly. All communications fail and the engine spurts intermittently for 25 minutes before everything returns to normal. When the Freighter lands at RNZAF Base Ohakea near Bulls, the pilot of a Douglas C-47 Dakota lands and asks them whether they had seen a huge metallic disc about 250 feet in diameter with a blue light on top and a red light on the bottom, which he had observed just above the Freighter pacing it. The Dakota crew apparently took photos, but these have not turned up. After a two-hour debriefing, both crews are told never to discuss the matter. (Good Above, pp. 432–433)
June - 10:00 p.m. Two women are driving north toward New Hampshire, Ohio, when a bright light approaches them from a small wooded area. They stop their car to look at it. The light is attached to a large rectangular object resembling a railroad box car that settles near the ground at the edge of the highway opposite to them about 30 feet away. Suddenly the side of the object facing them lights up from inside with a pale green light and they can see three small entities. One is standing next to a console "operating some kind of controls," and the two others are also active. For 5 minutes, they appear to be observing the women. The entities have dark hair on their heads and arms and are wearing short-sleeved smocks. The object moves up and away toward the southwest and disappears. (" Unreported 1956 CEIII Discovered in Ohio," CUFOS Associate Newsletter 3, no. 3 (June/July 1982): 4-5)
June 6 — 6:30 a.m. A cosmetics salesman named Bierman is driving on US Highway 70 about 3–5 miles west of Banning, California, when he notices an object on his right, about 300 feet away and 100 feet in the air. It first appears silvery and cigar-shaped. Bierman stops his car to watch the object, which moves across the highway in front of him then banks left, changing to a domed-disc shape, somewhat bluish, about 20 feet in diameter. It re-crosses the highway in back of him, circling back to its original position in 8–9 seconds, then zooming away silently at tremendous speed toward the west-northwest. (NICAP, “ Domed Disc Maneuvers at CE Range”; Sparks, p. 238; Olsen, sec. 3, pp. 46–47)
July 10 — The Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, coastline and suburbs are draped with “angel hair” that hangs from utility lines and trees. It vanishes within hours, but a sample is recovered for analysis by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Organisation. It cannot be identified, although six scientists rule out wool, cotton, feathers, cellulose, and synthetic fibers. (Keith Basterfield, “ Angel Hair: An Australian Perspective,” IUR 27, no. 1 (Spring 2002): 7; Brian Boldman, “ Angel Hair Physical Analyses: A Review,” JUFOS 9 (2006): 102)
July 16 — 7:00 p.m. Lawyer (or law professor) João de Freitas Guimarães is taking a walk on the beach at Caraguatatuba, São Paulo, Brazil, when he observes a hat-shaped, luminous object leave the sea between São Sebastião and Ilhabela and land only a few yards away from him. A door opens, a metallic stairway emerges, and two tall, human-looking men with long, fair hair emerge wearing green jumpsuits. Through gestures, they encourage him to enter the craft. Inside, the saucer takes off and the crew communicate with him telepathically, telling him about a radiation protection system that exists around the ship and that they have left the atmosphere. They are supposedly from Venus. His alleged trip lasts an hour. When he returns, his watch no longer works. (Luiz do Rosário Real, “ Caso Dr. Freitas Guimarães,” April 1976; Vallée, Magonia, pp. 257–258; Equipe UFO,“ João de Freitas Guimarães, o advogado que passeou em um UFO,” Portal UFO, October 1, 2013; Clark III 548–549; Brazil 32–35; Clark IV 237–238, 606–607)
July 17 - Elizabeth Klarer takes several photos of a silvery disc as it is hovering around Flying Saucer Hill, southwest of Rosetta, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. (Clark III 657-658; Clark IV 732-733)
July 19 — Naval Air Station Hutchinson [now Hutchinson Air Force Station], Kansas, reports tracking “a moving unidentified object” on radar, observed visually by state police as a “teardrop shaped” light source. Witnesses report “noticeable maneuvers of UFO vertically and horizontally over a wide area of the sky.” (NICAP, “ NAS Tracks UFO”)
July 20 — Three witnesses in the Panorama City neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, independently observe a huge, ball-shaped object from which emerge three beings. They are nearly 6 feet tall and have long, blond hair, and wear tight, green suits. (Donald B. Hanlon, “ Questions on the Occupants,” in Charles Bowen, ed., The Humanoids, special issue of FSR, Oct./Dec. 1966, p. 64)
July 22 — 5:30 a.m. Mrs. Ray Brown sees an egg-shaped object giving off a green-colored light from its rear end over Highway City, California. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 72)
Late July — A group of US Navy pilots based at Naval Air Station Los Alamitos [now Joint Forces Training Base–Los Alamitos], California, tell news reporters from Orange County News Service that they have orders to shoot down any UFOs that seem hostile. The pilots say this is a standard command issued to pilots on the US to Hawaii run. (“ Unanswered Questions: No. 4, Have UFOs Been Fired Upon?” Flying Saucer Review 3, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1957): 18–19)
July 23 — 9:30 p.m. Virginia Maratea and her sister-in-law watch several yellow lights “the size of golf balls held at arm’s length” moving swiftly through the sky in Putney, Vermont, sometimes coming to a complete stop and turning blue-white. When jets roar over, they dart away and return later. At a later time, they see a glowing red, bar-bell-shaped object the size of a large bomber moving swiftly in the west. (“ Case 236,” CRIFO Orbit 3, no. 9 (December 7, 1956): 1–2)
July 26 — Night. Two disc-shaped objects are suspended in mid-air, one above the other, over the aircraft carrier USS Franklin D. Roosevelt as it is berthed in the port of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. They are 75–100 feet in diameter and have two rows of counter-rotating lights. The upper one releases a ball of fire that drops into the top of the lower one. Within seconds they vanish with tremendous speed. One of the witnesses is Petty Officer 3rd Class (OI) Leon Treadwell, who signs papers agreeing he will tell no one for 20 years. Chief Warrant Officer John C. Hau reports that the ship’s radar tracked a cigar-shaped object the day before or after. (NICAP, “ Huge Cigar Observed and Tracked on Radar”; “Another Account of ‘56 Sighting,” Rockford (Ill.) Register-Star, July 9, 1992; Jon Baughman, “ UFOs Shadowed US Aircraft Carrier,” Broad Top Bulletin (Saxton, Pa.), December 1, 1999; Good Need, p. 231; Mutual UFO Network of Ohio, “ USS Franklin D. Roosevelt, CVA-42,” 2000; Dolan, USO1, 188–190)
July 26 — 8:20 p.m. Physician J. L. Bennet and his wife watch two spinning, powder-blue lights for 10 minutes outside his home in Kilburn Estate, in District 21 near King Albert Park, Singapore. They dart about the sky “like fish in a tank,” come together, hover, and separate at great speed, disappearing from sight. He manages to take several photos, one of which shows two objects, one a nearly perfect oval, the other blurred. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 73)
July 28 — 3:30 a.m. Willard Wood sees a bright object in the sky while driving near Cadillac, Michigan. Thinking it’s a plane, he stops to listen for engines but hears nothing. He describes the object as resembling a clear glass light bulb that dims and bobs in the sky. He reports it to the police, prompting officers John Langley and Merrill Taylor to investigate. Langley and Taylor observe the object repeatedly approach and withdraw. As the stars fade and night turns to dawn, the object appears to grow brighter. Then, in a few minutes, it fades out completely. Taylor insists it is not a star. Wood notes red flashes in the intense white light and estimates it comes as close as 300 feet to the ground. Despite efforts by Air Force interceptors and radar at Wurtsmith Air Force Base [now Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport] in Oscoda, Michigan, the object remains untraceable. (“ Shiny Object Spotted in Sky near Cadillac,” Detroit (Mich.) Free Press, July 29, 1956, p. 3; “ Now a Flying Bulb,” Sault St. Marie (Ont.) Daily Star, July 30, 1956, p. 10; “ Case 177,” CRIFO Orbit 3, no. 6 (September 7, 1956): 2)
July 28 — 9:55 p.m. Seven witnesses in Brentwood, California, see a sparkling green light flash through the sky and seemingly land in an orchard. Television reception is briefly interrupted. Sheriff’s deputies and reserve officers search a square-mile area for 3 hours but find nothing. (“ Mystery Light Falls in Contra Costa Co.,” Oakland (Calif.) Tribune, July 29, 1956, p. 1; “ Saucer Sightings Mount As Mars Swings Close,” CRIFO Orbit 3, no. 6 (September 7, 1956): 2)
August - Late night. Two young men are camping near Newark, Ohio, when they see five bright lights in a rigid V-formation. They fly in erratic, sharp-turning patterns for about 5 minutes, including sharp 30° turns. One man takes a photo. They report the sighting to the newspapers and the Air Force, but a USAF officer confiscate both the print and the negatives; the newspaper's copies are also taken. (Michael D. Swords, " Timmerman's Triangles," IUR 29, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 16)
August 2 — 4:00 a.m. Jesse G. Kirby Jr., his wife, and two children are driving home overnight from Colorado Springs, Colorado, when they see a bright round object releasing beams of light intermittently from its top and bottom, but never simultaneously, as they are passing between Amarillo and Memphis, Texas. It is visible from time to time between the clouds for a total of 2 hours, 15 minutes. It gradually appears to be moving upward, diminishing to the size of a star, and is no longer seen. Kirby photographs the object with a Kodak 620 camera and submits two photos to the Air Force for analysis. The photos show an odd exhaust trail of glowing material. Over one year later, Project Blue Book suggests the photos either show a missile trail or is a hoax. (“ Strange Light Photographed near Amarillo a Year Ago,” Lubbock (Tex.) Morning Avalanche, November 5, 1957, p. 1; “ Air Force Denies UFO Witnesses Muzzled Despite Order at Dallas,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 3 (January 1958): 21; Curt Collins, “ UFO Exploitation: The 1956 Texas Photo Fumble,” The Saucers That Time Forgot, January 15, 2023)
August 10 - 5:00 p.m. Lilla Padgett and a friend hear the sound of a motor above them on Empire Boulevard in Brooklyn, New York, and notice a domed metallic disc hovering about 1,200-1,500 feet in the air. After 90 seconds, it suddenly tilts and takes off at an incredible speed to the north. ( NICAP case file)
August 11 — T. Townsend Brown develops a tentative prospectus for a National Committee for the Investigation of Aerial Phenomena in Washington, D.C., that will “direct a united scientific investigation of aerial phenomena” with a minimum staff of 12 and a Board of Governors. (NICAP, Tentative Prospectus, August 11, 1956; Powell, Keyhoe, 176–178)
August 13–14 — 9:30 p.m. A radar-visual UFO sighting begins at RAF Bentwaters [now Bentwaters Parks], Suffolk, England. A blip traveling approximately 4,000–8,000 mph on an east-west course is picked up on radar. It moves in a straight line to a position about 15 miles northwest of Bentwaters. Within a few minutes, about a dozen normal targets are spotted 8 miles southwest, moving northeast at about 100 mph. In front of the targets are three objects in a triangular formation, about 1,000 feet apart. All the targets then appear to converge into one extremely large target (several times the size of a B-36), which continues moving to the northeast, then stops for a few minutes, then resumes, and is lost to radar. The entire sighting up to this point takes 25 minutes. Five minutes later, another solid target appears, flying east to west at 4,000 mph or more, then vanishes when it moves out of range. A T-33 trainer from the 512th Fighter Interceptor Squadron crewed by 1st Lts. Charles Metz and Andrew Rowe is sent to investigate the radar contacts, but sees nothing. No visual sightings of the objects are made from Bentwaters in this period, with the exception of a single amber star-like object which was subsequently identified as probably being Mars. At 10:55 p.m., another target is picked up 30 miles to the east, traveling west at 2,000–4,000 mph. It passes directly overhead and is seen as a white light by both air (a C-47 at 4,000 feet reports it passed underneath him) and ground observers. Bentwaters notifies RAF Lakenheath, also in Suffolk, about what is going on, and Lakenheath personnel see a luminous object stop, then zoom off to the east. Also, two white lights are seen joining from different directions, which are tracked on two screens at Lakenheath. According to T/Sgt. Forrest Perkins, watch supervisor at the Lakenheath radar center, at midnight Lakenheath notifies RAF Neatishead, Norfolk, that a strange object is buzzing the base. A de Havilland Venom night fighter is scrambled, directed by Neatishead radar controller Flight Lt. Freddie H. C. Wimbledon. Perkins and Wimbledon claim the jets are sent up around midnight, but the crews think it is at 2:00 a.m. The Venom, crewed by Flight Officers David Chambers and John Brady from 23 Squadron at RAF Waterbeach [now closed] in Cambridgeshire, finds the object on radar north of Cambridge and sees it as a bright white light, which then disappears. The navigator says it is the “clearest target I have ever seen on radar.” The object, however, is behind the plane and stays there for some time, despite climbs, dives, and circling. Ground radar operators say that the object is glued right behind the fighter. After 10 minutes, the fighter heads back. The UFO follows briefly, then stops and hovers. Another Venom, crewed by Flight Officers Ian Fraser-Ker and Ivan Logan, is scrambled at 2:40 a.m. but experiences engine problems and aborts. Ministry of Defence officer Ralph Noyes says that one of the Venom pilots has taken a gun-camera film, which was later shown at a briefing in Whitehall. The object is tracked on two radars, leaving the area at 600 mph. The encounter is classified until 1969, when it is analyzed by the Colorado project. Gordon Thayer suggests that the “apparently rational, intelligent behavior of the UFO suggests a mechanical device of unknown origin as the most probable explanation of this sighting.” A later investigation is conducted by David Clarke, Andy Roberts, and Jenny Randles. In contrast to the reports given in the original classified teleprinter message (from 3910th Air Base Group to ADC at Ent AFB, now the US Olympic Training Center) three days after the event and in the accounts of both Wimbledon and Perkins, the air crews now state that the radar contacts were unimpressive and that no “tail-chase” or action on the part of the target occurred. They also assert no visual contacts were made. Chambers and Brady comment that “my feeling is that there was nothing there, it was some sort of mistake,” while Ivan Logan, the second Venom’s navigator, states that “all we saw was a blip which rather indicated a stationary target.” At the time 23 Squadron decides that the radar contact had, if anything, been with a weather balloon. Martin Shough concludes that there are actually several incidents at different times and places and that the relationship between each is unclear. (Wikipedia, “ Lakenheath-Bentwaters incident”; NICAP, “ Several Incidents of R/V at Bentwaters”; Sparks, p. 238; Center for UFO Studies, [ case documents 1, case documents 2, case documents 3]; Condon, pp. 163–164, 248–256; James E. McDonald, “ Science in Default: Twenty-Two Years of Inadequate UFO Investigations,” paper presented at the Symposium on UFOs, 134th Meeting, AAAS, Boston, December 27, 1969, pp. 9–20; James E. McDonald, “ UFOs over Lakenheath in 1956,” Flying Saucer Review 16, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1970): 9–17, 29; Gordon D. Thayer, “ UFO Encounter II,” Astronautics and Aeronautics 9, no. 9 (September 1971): 60–64; Carl Sagan and Thornton Page, eds., UFO’s: A Scientific Debate, Cornell University, 1972, pp. xxv–xxvi; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, p. 91; Philip J. Klass, UFOs Explained, Random House, 1974, pp. 255–276; RAF Fighter Controller (Rtd.), “ UFOs over Lakenheath,” Flying Saucer Review 24, no. 1 (June 1978): 31; Ian Ridpath, “ New Light on Lakenheath,” IUR 3, no. 8 (August 1978): 6–7; Martin L. Shough, “ Background & History”; Martin L. Shough, “Radar and the UFO,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, pp. 219–226; Good Above, pp. 44–46; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, A History, 1956: August, The Author, 1994, pp. 28–42, 72; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, A History, 1956: September–October, The Author, 1994, pp. 22–26; Ivan Logan, [ Letter to Dave Clarke], October 23, 2000; Don Berliner, with Marie Galbreath and Antonio Huneeus, UFO Briefing Document: The Best Available Evidence, Dell, 2000, pp. 64–66; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, A History, 1956 August: Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2003, pp. 9–30; David Clarke, Paul Fuller, Jenny Randles, Andy Roberts, and Martin Shough, “ The RAF Lakenheath/Bentwaters/Neatishead Incidents,” The Lakenheath Collaboration, 2003; David Clarke, “ Lakenheath-Bentwaters UFO,” Dr. David Clarke: Folklore and Journalism, 2011; UFOFiles2, pp. 66–69; Clark III 665–670; Thomas Tulien, “ RAF Bentwaters/Lakenheath, Air-Visual/Radar UFO Observation, 13–14 August 1956,” The Author, 2022; Clark IV 739–745)
August 21 - After 8:00 p.m. Businessman J. Gordon Campbell is flying his private plane at 4,000 feet near Billings, Montana, when he sees a black, elongated object with knobs at each end (like a dog bone) rapidly approaching. He estimates its length at 150 feet. It hovers, then speeds away. Seconds later, four similar objects appear, hover, then speed away. The Billings control tower does not track any of them. (UFOEv, p. 64; Olsen, sec. 3, p. 48)
August 27 — 7:20 p.m. Royal Canadian Air Force pilot Robert James “Chick” Childerhose is flying nearly due west over the Canadian Rockies near Fort Macleod, Alberta. He is flying at 36,000 feet in the second position (far left side) of a formation of four F-86 Sabre jet aircraft. While approaching a large thunderhead (cumulonimbus) at a ground speed of about 460 mph, he sees at a much lower altitude a “bright light which was sharply defined and disc-shaped” or “like a shiny silver dollar sitting horizontal.” He takes a color photo. An analysis suggests that it would have been radiating in excess of a gigawatt of power within the spectral range of the film. (NICAP, “ RCAF Pilot Photographs Object Radiating Power”; Michael E. King, in Flying Saucers, no 31, October 1958, cover and pp 6–11; Robert J. Childerhose, “ Flying Saucers: Still with Us,” Toronto (Ont.) Telegram, January 9, 1965, via Saucers, Space, and Science, no. 38 (Spring 1965): 2–4; “ RCAF Jet Pilot Report,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 2 (April/May 1965): 6; Phil Klass, UFOs—Identified, Random House, 1968, pp. 146–148 and plate 5a; Condon, pp. 733–734; Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979, p. 111; Jacques Vallée, “ Estimates of Power Optical Output in Six Cases of Unexplained Aerial Objects with Defined Luminosity Characteristics,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 12, no. 3 (1998): 346–348; Bruce Maccabee, “ Optical Power Output of an Unidentified High Altitude Light Source,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 13, no. 2 (1998): 207–209; Peter A. Sturrock, The UFO Enigma, Warner, 1999, pp. 217–220; Richard F. Haines, “ Analysis of Photograph of a High-Speed Ball of Light,” JUFOS 8 (2003): 27–48; Chris Rutkowski and Geoff Dittman, The Canadian UFO Report, Dundurn Press, 2006, pp. 68–69; Clark IV 1006)
August 27 — 9:55 p.m. Mrs. R. S. Pope goes outside to her clothesline at her home in Juniata Township, [Blair County?], Pennsylvania. She sees a bright disc hovering 4 feet off the ground to the north. It seems to be 2–3 feet in diameter and is lighting up her backyard. The object has a dome protruding from its top. As she watches it, she feels a cold breeze emanating from it. It rises vertically 20 feet, then heads north, gains altitude, and moves out of sight. She has watched it for 3 minutes. ( Sparks, p. 238; Olsen, sec. 3, p. 48)
August 28 — 11:30 p.m. León Febres, Miguel Talavera, Jesús Prada, and Tomás Hernández are returning home in Calabozo, Venezuela, when the ground around them is lit up by a bright white light. Looking up, they see a large disc hovering silently. Several smaller objects emerge from the large disc, leaving behind a wake of phosphorescent smoke that dissipates quickly. The whole group flies off to the west in a V formation with the large object in the lead. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 74)
August 29 — T. Townsend Brown files incorporation papers for a new UFO group, the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) in Washington, D.C. (Little Listening Post, [ press release], August 30, 1956; “ ‘Toward a Broader Understanding…’: The Story of How NICAP Began,” UFO Investigator, October 1971, pp. 2–3; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1956 August, The Author, 1994, pp. 46–56, 82, 85; Clark III 792; Powell, Keyhoe, 178–182; Clark IV 872)
August 30 — Day. Two RAF Gloster Javelin interceptors, one piloted by E. H. “Wilbur” Wright, are flying west over the English Channel south of the Isle of Wight, England, when one of the navigators obtains a radar return at 19 miles distance (later calculations indicate it has a diameter of 600 feet). The pilots get permission to abandon their test exercise and investigate the object. Wright turns north toward the object on his right wing, but it has apparently slowed down and is maintaining its position. The second Javelin pilot has caught up from behind and confirms radar and visual sightings. The two aircraft bank steeply so the object is at 15 miles dead ahead on the radar screen They close the distance to 10 miles and see that the object has a metallic gray appearance. At 8 miles distance, the object suddenly climbs vertically too fast for radar to track (estimated at 18,000 mph) and vanishes. After landing at RAF Odiham in Hampshire, the crews are told that ground radar at RAF Sopley [now closed] has tracked the object. They are ordered not to speak about the event. (Jenny Randles, “Scramble, UFO!” Fortean Times 386 (December 2019): 26–27)
September — Just before 8:00 a.m. A domed, disc-shaped craft allegedly lands within White Sands Proving Ground, New Mexico, just 150 feet away from US Highway 70. Radios and ignition systems of passing cars go dead, as witnesses—including two USAF colonels, two sergeants, and dozens of base personnel—observe the object as it takes off with a whirring sound. All personnel at Holloman AFB are assembled in a hangar, debriefed, and sworn to secrecy. (Ralph and Judy Blum, Beyond Earth: Man’s Contact with UFOs, Bantam, 1974; Good Need, pp. 219–220)
September 4 — Several fireball-like objects fly over Copenhagen, Denmark, tracked by radar at about 1,800 mph. (UFOEv, p. 79)
September 7 — 12:30 p.m. Thomas J. and Maud Hutchinson watch an object drop out of low clouds and land in the middle of a bog at The Loup (near Moneymore), County Derry, Northern Ireland. They wade 600 feet into the bog until they come upon the small (3 feet high, 18 inches in diameter), red, rubbery, motionless object. There are 3 white stripes around the middle and it is pointed at both ends. Hutchinson kicks the object, which rolls over then resumes its upright position. He picks it up and is surprised at its lightness (estimated 2 pounds); the top is spinning while the bottom (a small, saucer-shaped base) remains stationary. It appears to be made of canvas-like material. They try to take it back with them, but Thomas has to put it down to negotiate a hedge, and the object takes off and disappears. (“ Irishman Caught a ‘Saucer,’” The Guardian (UK), September 8, 1956, p. 10; Desmond Leslie, “ The Strangest UFO Case of All,” Flying Saucer Review 2, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1956): 2–4; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 74–76; Clark III 328; Clark IV 364)
September 8 — 4:00 a.m. Three men are fishing on a US Steel pier on Lake Michigan at Gary, Indiana. They notice four domed discs in the sky moving in single file from east to west. They stop abruptly, and the lead object tilts at a 45° angle. All of them wobble as they hover and seem to be spinning clockwise as sparks drop from their bases. The lead object then levels off and all four dart forward about 1,000 feet, hover momentarily, then shoot up at a 45°–60° angle and disappear. The duration of the sighting is 2 minutes. ( Letter to J. Allen Hynek)
September 12 — 11:30 a.m. Riverside County Schools Consultant Dwight Lewis sees an oval object emerge from a cloud of smoke and ashes coming from a forest fire in Elsinore, California. It hovers for 5 minutes at about 5,000 feet, glittering in the sun. It moves away in a southerly direction. (“ Case 218,” CRIFO Orbit 3, no. 8 (November 2, 1956): 1; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1956, September–October, The Author, 1994, pp. 19, 23)
September 15 - About 6:30 a.m. A married couple is driving in Salem, Indiana, when they notice a saucer hovering about 100 feet away in a field by the road. They stop the car and get out for a better look. The object is gunmetal gray in color and looks like two shallow bowls with a dark gap between them. Wisps of smoke are coming from the gap. The object looks as large as the town's courthouse. It begins undulating as it hovers. After 5 minutes, it tips over on its edge and vanishes. (NICAP case file)
September 22 — 7:50 p.m. Amateur astronomer Reuben O. Borrud in Williston, North Dakota, sees a dull-metallic, elliptical object the size of a small airplane, oscillating side to side as it moves at 150 mph above the Missouri River. (Williston (N.Dak.) Plains Register, September 22, 1956; “ Case 222,” CRIFO Orbit 3, no. 8 (November 2, 1956): 3; Richard F. Haines and Franklin Carter, “ A 1956 Military Aircraft–UFO Close Encounter,” IUR 25, no. 1 (Spring 2000): 25)
September 25 — Leonard Stringfield’s wife Adelia observes several white tufts of angel’s hair floating down in the front yard of their home in Cincinnati, Ohio. She places it in an airtight jar. After the Stringfields contact the Air Force, M/Sgt Oliver D. Hill retrieves the sample on October 12. Analysis was done by C. G. Cocks and L. Leatherland, who find that the fibers are “multifilament bundles” that are characteristic of “regenerated cellulose fibers, either viscose or cuprammonium rayon,” perhaps from a defective filter. (Brian Boldman, “ Angel Hair Physical Analyses: A Review,” JUFOS 9 (2006): 102–103)
Fall - More than 30 pilots, navigators, and flight engineers are on their way home from special duty in Europe on a US Navy Super Constellation transport. When they are about 50 miles northeast of Gander, Newfoundland, the pilot notices a cluster of lights beneath the aircraft. Suddenly, the lights dim and spread out, the largest light ascending on an apparent collision course with the transport. As it reaches the plane's altitude, it tilts, shoots to one side, and paces them at a distance of 300 feet. It is a huge metallic disc, 30 feet thick at the center and 350-400 feet wide, with a blurry glow around the rim. Gradually it pulls ahead, tilts upward, accelerates, and zooms away in 5-8 seconds. Gander Airport confirms that it had a radar target near them. (Keyhoe, FSTS, pp. 16-19; Keyhoe, Aliens from Space, Signet ed., 1974, pp. 78-84; Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979, pp. 104-106)
Fall - A man in Falls City, Nebraska, sees a winged human with a demonic face that approaches him from three blocks away. It is about 8-9 feet tall and approaches him closely, hovering in the air about 25 feet away. As it passes over him, the man feels numb and paralyzed. The episode haunts him for the next 23 years when he talks to an investigator. (" Winged Wonder over Falls City?" Journal of the Fortean Research Center 1, no. 1 (April 1986): 3-4; Clark III 778; Clark IV 859)
Fall or winter - Shortly after 12:00 noon. An Air Force Convair RB-36H of the 28th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing based at Ellsworth AFB, Rapid City, South Dakota, captained by Lt. C. Lenny Marquis, is flying in northern South Dakota at 423 mph when one of the crew sees a metallic disc 100 feet in diameter fly toward the airplane from the left and take up a fixed position on the left wing less than 300 feet away. Other crew members rush to the portholes to take photos. The object has a low dome at the top with three round openings or light sources. The bottom is nearly flat. Its narrow vertical sides are populated by many separate light sources, each a different color. The rest of the disc is a "light golden" hue. After 5-8 minutes, the object suddenly accelerates in parallel with the B-36 and then rises about 30° above the horizontal. The peripheral lights become brighter and turn greenish as it speeds out of sight in several seconds. Both inflight and ground radars detect the object. Substitute navigator Lt. Jimmie Lloyd says the crew turned in all photos, logs, and equipment to an intelligence unit after landing. (Richard F. Haines and Franklin Carter, " A 1956 Military Aircraft-UFO Close Encounter," IUR 25, no. 1 (Spring 2000): 22-25)
October 2 - 3:45 a.m. Harry J. Sturdevant is on duty as a night watchman at Herbert Elkin and Company, a construction firm in Trenton, New Jersey. He sees a cigar-shaped object some 60-100 feet long and 15 feet in diameter swiftly descending toward him. Emitting a red glow, the object is making a hissing noise like steam and generating a foul odor. It swoops past him and vanishes. He loses his sense of taste and smell, possibly permanently. His face is burned to the point where he cannot shave for two weeks. He begins to lose hearing in his right ear. When he returns to work the next day, he finds leaves on the ground that have burned up like tissue paper. Sturdevant applies for workmen's compensation from the state for his medical expenses. An adjudicator awards him the money based on the fact that he may have only thought he saw something, but was injured when he went to investigate it, which his job required. However, the state denies his claim and it is reversed in 1958. (" Eerie Object Reported Hovering over River," Camden (N.J.) Courier-Post, October 3, 1956, p. 2; " Case 229," CRIFO Orbit 3, no. 8 (November 2, 1956): 4; "Watchman Wins UFO Injury Grant," The Trentonian (Trenton, N.J.), November 27, 1956, pp. 1-2; Emil Sloboda, " He Collected on a Flying Saucer," Fate 10, no. 6 (June 1957): 66-69; " No Workmen's Compensation for `Flying Saucer' Observer," Paterson (N.J.) Evening News, April 23, 1958, p. 11; Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, p. 9; Curt Collins, " Injured on the Job by a UFO," The Saucers That Time Forgot, February 13, 2025)
October 7 — 10:45 p.m. UFO reports by police and civilians around Merced, California, reach Castle AFB [now Castle Airport Aviation and Development Center] and a lighted elliptical object about 100–120 feet in diameter is seen by the tower. Two interceptors are scrambled. The object ducks under and above a narrow cloud bank. The pilots can see it from various angles and as close as a few hundred yards. It appears to be a flattened circular shape. The pilots decide to fly one above and one below the overcast. Ground radar picks up the planes but not the UFO. One pilot breaks off to return but sees that the UFO is now chasing his buddy’s plane. Several officers arrive from another base to debrief the pilots and they appear very knowledgeable about UFOs. They seek “confirmation, not information” and tell the pilots not to discuss the sighting at all. Citizen witnesses are told the pilots were chasing ducks or geese. ( Sparks, p. 239; Richard H. Hall, Uninvited Guests, Aurora, 1988, pp. 242–244; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1956 November– December, The Author, 1994, pp. 52, 59)
October 9 — 3:30 p.m. Mrs. James Petrey and three other witnesses in Springdale, Ohio, watch six pinpoints of light moving up and down and side to side at great speed. A silverish streak seems to connect three of the objects. Later, a large number of red objects, swarming like birds, fly in from the east in a straight horizontal path, “flopping over and over,” then disappear behind some trees. (“ Case 231,” CRIFO Orbit 3, no. 8 (November 2, 1956): 4)
October 10 — 10:30 p.m. Stockbreeder Giuseppe Fenu is returning to his home near Villamassargia, Sardinia, Italy, when he sees a luminous globe moving north to south. Suddenly it vanishes over the horizon, and three more globes appear in formation. About 30 minutes later, Fenu and other witnesses see a luminous cigar-shaped object about 60 feet long with a bluish- colored strip running along its perimeter. The strip is intersected by vertical bands like “grid holes.” The globes begin to circle around the large object. (Renato Albanesi, “ The Italian Scene: Part 2,” Flying Saucer Review 9, no. 2 (Feb./Mar. 1963): 3–4)
November 14 — 10:10 p.m. Captain William Joseph Hull and his copilot Peter H. Macintosh are flying Capital Airlines Flight 77 from New York City to Mobile, Alabama. While approximately above Jackson, Alabama, at 25,000 feet they see something like a brilliant meteor flash by the aircraft. The object stops, hovers, and engages in a range of acrobatics (crazy gyrations, lazy 8’s, square chandeliers, 90° turns) for several minutes before shooting out over the Gulf of Mexico at “fantastic speed” and diminishing to a pinpoint. (NICAP, “ Capital Airlines Pilots Sees Acrobatic UFO”; Sparks, p. 240; Sign Historical Group, “ Captain Joe Hull’s UFO Sighting”; “ UFO Encounter Convinces Airline Captain, Former Skeptic,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 2 (Aug./Sept. 1957): 21; Condon, pp. 127–129; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: November–December 1956, The Author, 1994, p. 19; Swords 230–231; Powell, Scientist, 66
November 16 — Morning. Telephones and an automatic railroad block mechanism in Lemmon, South Dakota, fail to operate as a glowing red object about 3 feet in diameter flies over the railroad yards. (Mobridge (S.Dak.) Tribune, November 22, 1956; Schopick, pp. 21–22; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1956, November–December, The Author, 1994, p. 24; Richard F. Haines and Franklin Carter, “ A 1956 Military Aircraft–UFO Close Encounter,” IUR 25, no. 1 (Spring 2000): 25; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1956 November–December, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2003, p. 14)
November 21 — 8:23 p.m. A customs officer named Ueda and a maritime safety officer named Kume are walking along Number 1 Pier, Kobe, Japan, when they hear an explosion. They see something resembling fireworks on the bay and watch as two whirling balls of fire submerge. (Evening Okayama News, November 21, 1957; Sanderson, InvRes, p. 46)
November 25 - 4:30 a.m. Police radio at Hot Springs, South Dakota, picks up transmissions made by a jet interceptor from the 54th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Ellsworth AFB in Rapid City that makes three passes at a brilliantly lit UFO bobbing up and down in the sky. On the third pass, the pilot reports that the object registers on his radar. It is rumored that a blip is picked up on ground radar by the 740th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron. Pennington County Sheriff Glenn Best and patrolman C. D. Erickson in Rapid City watch a UFO with a light changing from green, red, and white lights for 30 minutes; an upward-shining white light appears at intervals. They follow it toward the Badlands. (NICAP, " Gnd/Air/Visual, Jets Scrambled"; "` Saucers' Stir Speculation," Rapid City (S.Dak.) Daily Journal, November 26, 1956, p. 1; " Hills Residents Tell of Shining Objects," Rapid City (S.Dak.) Daily Journal, November 26, 1956, pp. 1, 7; Pierre (S.Dak.) Capitol Journal, November 26, 1956; " Case 256," CRIFO Orbit 3, no. 10 (January 4, 1957): 2-3; UFOEv, pp. 22, 79; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1956, November-December, The Author, 1994, pp. 30-31-A; Richard F. Haines and Franklin Carter, " A 1956 Military Aircraft-UFO Close Encounter," IUR 25, no. 1 (Spring 2000): 25; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1956 November-December, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2003, pp. 20, 22-23)
November 30 — About 12:15 p.m. Charles Malott, 17, is driving his truck north on State Highway 61 about 2.5 miles south of Petersburg, Indiana, when he hears a loud noise behind him. He pulls to the side of the road and finds that the noise is coming from a spherical object about 16 feet in diameter slowly rising from some woods about 3,000 feet away. After attaining a height of 150 feet, the object becomes silent and takes off at great speed to the northeast. (“ Case 275,” CRIFO Orbit 3, no. 11 (February 1, 1957): 3)
December 1 - 12:20 a.m. A round object, red to orange in color, is observed moving at approximately 1,000 foot above Valley City, North Dakota. It moves rapidly up, down, sideways, and hovers. A police car approaches it, but the car loses radio contact with the station. Valley City also loses contact with Jamestown, South Dakota. All radio contact returns after the object leaves the area. (NICAP, [ Blue Book file])
December 3 — Day. Curvin F. Bush and Robert Bryant, guards at the nearby Walters Art Gallery, are standing at the intersection of Charles and Centre streets in Baltimore, Maryland, when they see a bright disc-shaped object streak away from a transport plane. The plane then reverses its direction from northeast to southwest to follow the object, which is spinning counterclockwise and disappears behind a building. (“ Museum Guards Report Strange Antics Overhead,” Baltimore Sun, December 4, 1956, p. 40)
December 10 — 2:00 p.m. A US Air Force pilot sees a silver object with a “straight wing, having engine rods or large wing pods [or] intakes” flying at 56,000–62,000 feet for 15 minutes at Victoria, Texas. The pilot’s description is a dead ringer for a secret U-2 aircraft, which is what Blue Book suspects. (Mark Rodeghier, “ The U-2 Spy Plane and Blue Book: Another Look,” IUR 27, no. 3 (Fall 2002): 20–21)
December 13 - Capt. Karl Hars Dersson and the crew of the Danish ship Dorthe Mærsk view an intensely bright, cone-shaped fireball giving off weird flashes of light north of Isla La Orchila, Venezuela. It gets brighter as it descends, then explodes on hitting the water. The crew hears a loud concussion. Afterwards, the surface of the sea shimmers with various colors and is disturbed for 5 minutes. (" Recent Sightings," APRO Bulletin, January 1957, p. 6; " Disc Submerged in Brazilian River," APRO Bulletin, January 1964, pp. 1, 2; Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, pp. 50-51; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1956 November-December, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2003, pp. 39-40; Dolan, USO1, 205-206)
December 15 — 11:00 a.m. While out gathering Christmas greens near Derry, New Hampshire, A. G. Horne looks up and sees a 2-foot tall green dwarf with a high-domed head, floppy ears, a face like a bloodhound, and lidless eyes like a snake. His skin hangs in folds like an elephant’s. After a few minutes, the being “started for me with a kind of screeching sound,” and Horne flees. (Center for UFO Studies, HUMCAT Index 1956, p. 23; Clark III 271; Clark IV 311)
December 17 —NICAP Executive Vice Chairman T. Townsend Brown issues a Progress Report no. 1 before resigning and appointing Nicolas de Rochefort to replace him. Keyhoe has been appointed editorial consultant for its newsletter. (NICAP, Progress Report no. 1, December 17, 1956, pp. one, two, three, four, five)
December 17 — 4:20 p.m. Near Itazuke Air Base [now Fukuoka Airport] in Fukuoka, Japan, a USAF pilot flying an F-86D interceptor picks up a large blip on airborne radar. The pilot sees a tan object, round on top, at 9.2 miles and closes to within 5.7 miles. The object starts to pull away from the fighter and at 13.8 miles all radar disappears. The pilot estimates its speed as 1,700–2,000 mph. Both the pilot and his wingman report interference resembling ECM (radar jamming). (NICAP, “ Radar/Visual from F-86”; Sparks, p. 240; “ Jet Chase of Large Circular Object Investigated by Far East Air Force,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 2 (Aug./Sept. 1957): 1–2; “Jet Planes Chased Big Flying Object,” Auckland (N.Z.) Star, October 4, 1957; Richard Hall, “ Radar/Visual UFOs and Air Force Debunking,” IUR 18, no. 3 (May/June 1993): 15–16)
December 17 — Night. Marie Carow goes outside her home in Conashaugh, Pennsylvania, with a flashlight and discovers two little men, 3.5 and 3 feet tall, standing motionless in her back lawn. Both wear helmets and snug-fitting suits of silvery material. Carow shines the light on them for 3 minutes, then runs back to tell her husband. 15 minutes later, they are gone. (J. E. Myer, “ Space Men,” Pike County (Pa.) Dispatch, April 17, 1958, p. 6; Berthold Eric Schwarz, “ UFO Occupants: Fact or Fantasy?” Flying Saucer Review 15, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1969): 16–18; Patrick Gross, URECAT, October 18, 2007; Clark III 269; Clark IV 309)
December 21 — At a special meeting, the NICAP Executive Committee annuls the appointment of Nicolas de Rochefort as Executive Vice Chairman and continues T. Townsend Brown in the office as pro tempore vice chairman. (NICAP, Progress Report no. 2, January 7, 1957, p. 2)
1957
Morris K. Jessup publishes The Expanding Case for the UFO, which argues that human “little people” (like the pygmy peoples of the Congo basin) were “planted” from UFOs thousands of years ago. Citing reports of anomalous lights on the moon, Jessup speculates that the pygmy races either colonized the moon or came to the Earth from there. They are the remnants of an advanced civilization that developed levitation, teleportation, and space flight, but had to leave Earth when Atlantis and Mu were sinking into the oceans. (Morris K. Jessup, The Expanding Case for the UFO, Citadel, 1957; Jerome Clark, “ Vimanas Have Landed: Ancient Astronautics in Ufology,” IUR 22, no. 3 (Fall 1997): 26; Clark III 106–107, 463, 635; Clark IV 133–134, 508, 697)
Metaphysical author George Hunt Williamson writes Other Tongues—Other Flesh (although it bears a copyright date of 1953), the first of three books that set forth an alternative occult history shaped by Atlantis, Lemuria, reincarnation, and space people—both benign and malevolent. He writes that space people first arrived 1 billion years ago [prior to the earliest known multicellular life on land], were 12 feet tall, and built an underground city beneath Lake Titicaca, Peru. Migrants from the “Sirius system” arrive during the Miocene Epoch [23–5 million years ago] looking for terrestrial bodies to inhabit—they select the evolving apes. The next visitation took place in Arizona in 10,000 B.C. [the beginning of the Neolithic Revolution] when Venusians land and interact with the Lemurians. Records documenting earth’s unknown history are hidden in various inaccessible places (“secret places of the lion”) around the globe. He also claims that space people are still on Earth to mix, mate, and marry with us. Williamson’s book Secret Places of the Lion follows in 1958 and Road in the Sky in 1959. These are among the first ancient astronaut books. In the latter book, Williamson claims that the Hopi’s ancestors are Martians, while their neighbors the Navajo are from Maldek, the planet whose destruction formed the asteroid belt. (George Hunt Williamson, Other Tongues—Other Flesh, Amherst, [1957]; George Hunt Williamson, Secret Places of the Lion, Destiny Books ed., [1958] 1996; Jerome Clark, “ Vimanas Have Landed: Ancient Astronautics in Ufology,” IUR 22, no. 3 (Fall 1997): 23–26; Zirger and Martinelli, The Incredible Life of George Hunt Williamson, Verdechiari, 2016, pp. 113–120, 235–243; Clark III 104–106, 1286; Clark IV 131–133, 1470)
New Jersey contactee Howard Menger releases an album of “Authentic Music from Another Planet,” featuring a narrative by Menger and bland piano music written by his wife Connie (under her nom de plume Marla Baxter, sister of the blonde spacewoman he had met in 1946). (Discogs, “ Authentic Music from Another Planet”; “ Authentic Music from Another Planet by Howard Menger,” Libertad450 YouTube channel, February 22, 2016; Clark III 739; Clark IV 820)
Otis T. Carr announces his invention of a fourth-dimensional space vehicle, a Circular-Foil Spacecraft powered by an Utron Electric Accumulator that makes use of the “free energy of the universe.” (Clark III 860; Clark IV 947)
Ground Saucer Watch is established in Phoenix, Arizona, by Ted Starrett. William H. Spaulding is the Western Division Director, with James A. Spaulding as the Eastern Division Director in Cleveland, Ohio. It publishes Ground Saucer Watch Bulletin from 1976 to 1982. By 1979, GSW has analyzed nearly 700 UFO photographs and films, of which they verify 38 as bona fide. (Margaret Sachs, The UFO Encyclopedia, Putnam, 1980, p, 132)
Hayden C. Hewes founds the International UFO Bureau in Edmond, Oklahoma. It publishes the Interplanetary Intelligence Report from 1965 to 1966.
Wilbert B. Smith founds the Ottawa Flying Saucer Club in Ontario, where members meet each month in the basement of his house. (Eghigian, After, p. 107)
Contactee Yusuke Matsumura founds the Cosmic Brotherhood Association in Japan. Matsumura claims to have contacts with extraterrestrial intelligences and prophesies a global cataclysm following a shift in the earth’s axial tilt in the early 1960s, offering members the chance to escape with the Space Brothers. The group later focuses on ancient astronauts and becomes inactive in the early 1970s. (“ Cosmic Brotherhood Association (CBA),” Kook Science; “[ End of Days Prophecy],” excite.news, August 19, 2018; Eghigian, After, p. 228)
Engineer Pantelimon Mizof and others see an object in the Bucegi Mountains, Romania, pass over them silently and land. Some of them approach to get a better look, but when they are 150 feet away, it takes off suddenly. (Hobana and Weverbergh 158-159)
2:00 a.m. The Navy icebreaker USS Burton Island is in the Bering Sea when the crew sees an object emerge from the water in front of the ship. It hovers for 2-3 minutes then sinks back into the water. The ship's radar is said to have picked it up. (Carl Feindt, " Report #1173"; Dolan, USO1, 193 )
The Victorian branch of the Australian Flying Saucer Research Society becomes a separate organization, the Victorian UFO Research Society. It publishes the Australian UFO Bulletin from 1957 to September 2007, edited by Les Bristol. ( Australian UFO Bulletin 1, no. 3 (December 1957); Keith Basterfield, Vladimir Godic, and Pony Godic, “ Australian Ufology: A Review,” JUFOS 2 (1990): 24)
January — Contactee Gabriel Green establishes the Los Angeles Interplanetary Study Groups, which in 1959 evolves into Amalgamated Flying Saucer Clubs of America in Los Angeles, California. It assumes that UFOs are piloted by friendly extraterrestrials. Around the same time, Green announces his meeting with flying saucer crewmen from the hitherto unknown planet Korendor, orbiting the triple star Alpha Centauri. At its peak, AFSCA has more than 5,000 members. (Wikipedia, “ Gabriel Green”; Thy Kingdom Come, no. 4 (April/May 1957); Clark III 99; Clark IV 126–127)
January — Norbert F. Gariety begins publishing S.P.A.C.E. (Saucer Phenomena and Celestial Enigma), a monthly newsletter, in Coral Gables, Florida. It continues until January 1963. ( S.P.A.C.E., no. 1 (January 1957)
January 1 — Shortly before 12:00 midnight. Herbert Naderson and his wife and sons are driving northeast to their home in Ashby, Minnesota, when they see a triangular object traveling slowly at a high altitude. They watch it for 45 minutes. (“Strange Light Seen in Sky toward Ashby,” Fergus Falls (Minn.) Daily Journal, January 3, 1957, p. 7; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 January–March 22nd, The Author, 1995, p. 2)
January 14–16 — T. Townsend Brown has proven so financially inept that the NICAP board asks him to step down. Delmer S. Fahrney replaces him as board chairman, Keyhoe steps in as director, and Fahrney convenes a press conference in which he announces that UFOs are under intelligent control, but that they are not American or Soviet aircraft: “No agency in this country or Russia is able to duplicate at this time the speeds and accelerations which radars and observers indicate these flying objects are able to achieve.” Stringfield is made public relations adviser. (T. Townsend Brown, Letter to NICAP Board of Governors, January 16, 1957; NICAP, [ press release], January 16, 1957; FBI Records: The Vault, “ Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects by Admiral Delmar S. Fahrney, USN (Ret.), Chairman of the Board of Governors of NICAP,” p. 8; “ High Speed Objects Reported in the Sky,” New York Times, January 17, 1957, p. 31; Morris K. Jessup, “ A Report on Washington D.C.’s NICAP (National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena,” Saucer News 4, no. 2 (Feb./Mar. 1957): 5, 16; Jacobs, UFO Controversy in America, Signet ed., 1976, pp. 129–132; Stringfield, Situation Red, Fawcett Crest, 1977, p. 15; Curtis Peebles, Watch the Skies! Smithsonian, 1994, pp. 114–116; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 January–March 22nd, The Author, 1995, pp. 14– 20; Clark III 792; Jack Brewer, “ Jessup Letters Reflect NICAP Turmoil,” Expanding Frontiers Research, November 21, 2023; Powell, Keyhoe, 199–204; Graff 120–121; Clark IV 872–873)
January 16 — 8:00 p.m. The crews of two Air Force B-25s are flying about 90 miles north of Sweetwater, Texas, when they see a round white object make rapid maneuvers. Lt. Col. Howard T. Wright notes that his radio compass starts pointing directly toward the object, following its movements, instead of the beacon at its destination at Reese AFB [now Reese Technology Center] in Lubbock, Texas. The entire object begins blinking on and off and continues to follow the plane for an hour. When the aircraft gets within range of Lubbock, the object moves toward the aircraft, hangs motionless in front of them for 5 seconds, then flies away on a straight-line course in about 12 seconds. One of the B-25s refuels and is sent on a 4-hour search of the vicinity with no results. (NICAP, “ Object Maneuvers near B-25’s / EME”; Sparks, p. 241; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 January–March 22nd, The Author, 1995, pp. 20–22; Swords 244–245; Powell, Scientist, 90–91)
January 21 — 10:45 a.m. Near Kagnew Station [now closed], Asmara, Eritrea, five enlisted men of the US Army’s 4th Detachment of the Second Signal Service Battalion (M/Sgt Billy J. Woodruff, Sgt. Frank Haverly, SP2 Robert O. Clewell, SP2 George R. Dean, and SP3 Gerald L. Fennell) watch a large, shiny, metal sphere hovering at about 2,000 feet. It suddenly disappears but reappears later for a few minutes, then disappears again. Later in the day, Woodruff and Capt. Jesse M. Strong see two brownish, disc-shaped objects maneuvering in formation at a high altitude. One breaks away from the other, moving at high speed. (UFOEv, p. 29)
January 27 — Former CIA director Rear Adm. Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter joins NICAP’s board of directors. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 January–March 22nd, The Author, 1995, p. 31; Powell, Keyhoe, 208–209)
January 31 — US Army Order number 30-13, “Sightings of Unconventional Aircraft,” stipulates that personnel involved in sightings must “not discuss or disseminate such information to persons or agencies other than their superior officer(s) and other personnel authorized by the Acting Chief of Staff, G-2, this headquarters,” by order of Col. Charles L. Olin. (“ Air Force Sees Plenty: Tells Nothing,” CSI News Letter, no. 8 (July 25, 1957): 7–8)
February — Project MKUltra chief Sidney Gottlieb organizes field trials of psilocybin for injection into 9 black inmates at the Addiction Center in Lexington, Kentucky. Allen Dulles approves psychiatrist Donald Ewen Cameron’s application for mind-control experiments to be administered at the Allan Memorial Institute of McGill University in Montreal, funded through the Society for the Investigation of Human Ecology, a CIA cutout organization. Cameron does not know that the money originates from the CIA. In addition to LSD, Cameron experiments with various paralytic drugs, electroconvulsive therapy at 30–40 times the normal power, and sensory deprivation in a “sleep room.” This is a dimly lit dormitory of about 20 beds, which the nurses call “The Zombie Room.” His “psychic driving” experiments consist of putting subjects into drug-induced comas for weeks at a time (up to three months in one case) while playing tape loops of noise or simple repetitive statements. His experiments are typically carried out on patients who have entered the institute for minor problems such as anxiety disorders and postpartum depression, many of whom suffer permanently from his actions. His treatments result in victims’ incontinence, amnesia, forgetting how to talk, forgetting their parents, and thinking their interrogators are their parents. The Canadian government is apparently unaware of these activities. Naomi Klein argues that Cameron’s research and his contribution to the MKUltra project are actually not about mind control and brainwashing, but about designing “a scientifically based system for extracting information from ‘resistant sources.’ In other words, torture.” (John D. Marks, The Search for the “Manchurian Candidate”: The CIA and Mind Control, Times Books, 1978; Anne Collins, In the Sleep Room: The Story of the CIA Brainwashing Experiments in Canada, Lester & Orpen Dennys, 1988; Gordon Thomas, Journey into Madness: The True Story of Secret CIA Mind Control and Medical Abuse, Bantam, 1989; Naomi Klein, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, Picador, 2008; Jim Keith, Mind Control, World Control: The Encyclopedia of Mind Control, 2014)
February — Chilean authorities allegedly discover a 3,000-foot-long translucent craft on the slope of a volcano north of Ollagüe, Chile. Inside is a manufactured object, one foot in circumference, made of an aluminum-like metal. (“Raro y gigantesco objeto hallaron en Andes Chileno,” La Prensa (Lima, Peru), February 14, 1957, p. 1; “ UFO Found in South American Andes?” Saucers 5, no. 1 (Spring 1957): 4; Clark III 328; Clark IV 365)
February 3 (or 10) — 10:15 p.m. Ina Salter is driving on Redding Road toward Georgetown, Connecticut, when she sees a cigar-shaped object about 10–15 feet hovering low to the left of the road. It has 3–4 portholes, about 18–20 inches in diameter, illuminated with a yellowish light. She can see some shadows moving inside. The object has a large square opening on its base. As she approaches it, the object suddenly rises straight up, hovers for a second or two at treetop height, then speeds away, still parallel to the ground. (“ Connecticut Landing, 1957,” APRO Bulletin, March 1962, p. 1)
February 13 — 2:30 a.m. The USAF operations director and three tower controllers at two radar sites within Lincoln AFB [now Lincoln Airport, Nebraska], the GCA and NCOIC, track several targets flying behind an airliner at a distance of 5–6 miles and traveling twice as fast. There is no IFF response. The objects hover and move at high speed. One splits into two objects, another executes an 180° turn. The radar blips are the size of a B-47. (NICAP, “ Radar/Visual at Lincoln AFB”; Sparks, p. 241; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 96–97)
February 13 — 9:40 p.m. Amateur astronomer Steve Papina is walking south in Placerville, California, when he notices off to his left the ionized track of what he takes to be a meteor. It is about 20° above the eastern horizon, rising at a 70° angle. The trail begins widening at about 35° above the horizon and veers in a westerly direction. Suddenly a black disc appears directly in front of the trail, whose diameter is approximately the width of the trail and the size of a nickel held at a distance of 5 feet. Its surface is not smooth but crisscrossed with grooves. It continues to move from east to west and acquires a white, dusty appearance before speeding directly away from Papina at high speed. (“ ALPO Refers Sighting to APRO,” APRO Bulletin, July 1957, p. 3; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 76–77)
February 15 - 10:00 p.m. A large, circular object is seen by independent witnesses in Wardle, Lancashire, England. Shortly afterward, a commercial aircraft is seen following the same course as the UFO and displaying unusually powerful lights. Later, at a point along the flight path, a small radio transmitter like those attached to balloons is found, then another piece of meteorological equipment in another spot. In the House of Commons, MP Tony Leavey asks the Secretary of State for Air for an explanation. On March 20, Under-Secretary of State for Air Ian Orr-Ewing responds, saying that the objects were toy balloons illuminated by a flashlight bulb released by Neil Robinson, a laundry mechanic from Rochdale. But on April 17, the Air Ministry sends an investigator to interview the witnesses and tells them not to talk about the sighting. Robinson says he has no idea how to launch a balloon, but there is some evidence that he has considerable technical know-how and a penchant for pranks. (" Airborne Object, Wardle," UK Parliament, Hansard, vol. 567, col. 374, March 20, 1957; Clifford Thornton, " The Wardle Mystery," Flying Saucer Review 3, no. 3 (May/June 1957): 4; Geoffrey Norris, " Something in the Sky," Royal Air Force Flying Review, July 1957, pp. 14-16, 46; Good Above, pp. 46-47; David Clarke, " The Wardle `Thing,'" Fortean Times 196 (June 2005): 40-41)
February 17 — 9:56 p.m. Ground Observer Corps volunteer Dave Henderson sees two “orangish-colored” spheres traveling northeast above Albany, Oregon. They are on a horizontal trajectory and going as fast or faster than a jet airplane. After about 7 seconds, the objects split apart and vanish. (“ ‘Flying Saucers’ Are Reported by Skywatcher Here,” Albany Greater Oregon, February 22, 1957, p. 1; “ UFO News,” Saucers 5, no. 2 (Summer 1957): 15)
February 19 — In testimony before the House Appropriations Committee, National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics officials Hugh Latimer Dryden and Jimmy Doolittle are asked about UFOs. They “flatly denied the existence of such space vehicles.” When asked why they don’t speak out more often, they remark that they “cannot compete with the science-fiction people.” (US House Appropriations Committee, Hearings, Independent Offices Appropriations for 1958, National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics, February 19, 1957, pp. 1417–1419)
February 26 — UK Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding writes to retired Italian diplomat Alberto Perego that he is most interested in “accounts of intelligible contacts between human beings and the occupants of interplanetary ships.” (Good Above, p. 48)
March 1 — Leonard H. Stringfield publishes the final issue of CRIFO Orbit. ( CRIFO Orbit 3, no. 12 (March 1, 1957); Clark III 1114; Clark IV 1240)
March 6 - 2:00 p.m. Hearing the family dogs barking in the backyard, Mary Martin, who lives on Shades of Death Road near Great Meadows, New Jersey, looks outside and sees the dogs looking at a white object that looks like a "huge derby hat" about 50 feet in diameter. It is rocking slightly in the air as it hovers about 10-15 feet above a field behind her house and making a low, rumbling sound. Beneath it are "streamers or lines" that "twinkle like the fragile strands" of Christmas tinsel. She watches it for a full minute until the object abruptly rises almost vertically at an "immense rate of speed." The dogs stop barking. ( Sparks, p. 241; " Sighting Reports," CSI Newsletter, no. 19 (May 1, 1957): 20, 23-24; Hynek UFO Report, pp. 150-154; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 January-March 22nd, The Author, 1995, pp. 65, 67-68; Clark III 377; Clark IV 421)
March 7 — Keyhoe issues a “personal statement” to potential NICAP associates in which he offers assurances that the organization is “beginning to operate as originally planned” and that membership fees have been cut in half from $15 to $7.50 annually. (Donald E. Keyhoe, [letter to potential NICAP members], March 7, 1957, pp. 1, 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b; Donald E. Keyhoe, [ letter to NICAP members], March 18, 1957; Powell, Keyhoe, 204–205)
March 8 — A pilot watches a UFO from the ground at Baudette, Minnesota. It is circular, 15–18 feet in diameter, and its odd glow shines on the snow-covered ground. It is flying so low that it seems to suck the loose snow up under it as it passes. (“Baudette Man Sees Mystery Air Object,” Baudette (Minn.) Region, March 15, 1957; Keyhoe, FSTS, p. 56; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 January–March 22nd, The Author, 1995, p. 74; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 January–March 22nd, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2003, p. 8)
March 8 — 9:45 p.m. Victor Hancock and Guy Miller are flying a DC-3 owned by the Tennessee Gas Transmission Company above Pasadena, Texas, when they see a UFO bearing three brilliant white lights. After the UFO speeds by the aircraft, it slows down. When the DC-3 catches up, it speeds ahead. This cat-and-mouse chase continues for some 10 minutes. (NICAP, “ UFO Maneuvers near DC-3”; “ Two Pilots Chase ‘Flying Saucer’ near Houston,” El Paso (Tex.) Herald-Post, March 9, 1957, p. 18; Keyhoe, FSTS, pp. 55–56; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 January–March 22nd, The Author, 1995, pp. 68–69)
March 9 — 4:33 a.m. Capt. Matthew A. Van Winkle, piloting a Pan American World Airways DC-6A airliner at a point over the Atlantic Ocean approximately 350 miles northeast of Jacksonville, Florida, observes a “burning greenish white round object” to the right of the aircraft that appears to be on a collision course. Van Winkle pulls the plane upward in a climb to avoid the object. This sudden maneuver causes four of the passengers to be thrown out of their seats, resulting in injuries. Copilot Dion W. Taylor and Flight Engineer John Washuta also observe the object. Washuta says the UFO is a high-intensity light that appears to stand still for approximately four seconds until it is lost to sight during the evasive action. Ed Perry, piloting Pan Am Flight 269 about 175 miles behind him, also sees it. Miami Air Traffic Control sends a flash message to the Civil Aeronautics Board describing the incident: “Pilot took evasive action, object appeared to have a brilliant greenish-white center with an outer ring which reflected the glow from the center. … Above description fits with what seven other flights saw…. Miami reports no missile activity…. Original reports of jet activity discounted.” The Air Force quickly explains the sighting as a meteor, but the CAB declares it unexplained after a thorough investigation. (NICAP, “ DC6-A Crew Take Evasive Action”; “ Capt. Matthew Van Winkle Tells Hair Raising Story of Near Hit with Luminous Object,” Greenfield (Ind.) Daily Reporter, March 11, 1957, p. 1; “ Three Injured As Pilot Avoids Fiery Object,” Eau Claire (Wis.) Daily Telegram, March 11, 1957, p. 12; “ Pan American Airliner Case Still Unsolved, Says CAB,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 1 (July 1957): 16–17; Keyhoe, FSTS, pp. 54–56; Frank Edwards, FS Serious Business, Bantam ed., 1966, pp. 38–39; Good Above, pp. 282–283; Swords 245–246)
March 20 — MPs in the House of Commons discuss the Wardle incident of February 15. MP Ian Orr-Ewing asserts that the object was a lighted balloon launched from a laundry in Rochdale. MP Tony Leavey replies that “it is most unlikely that that explanation will be accepted by those who saw this object.” (Good Above, pp. 46–47; Isaac Koi, “ UFOs in Parliament (UK),” Isaac Koi—UFOs and Parliament, 2024)
March 22 — 11:15 p.m. Mrs. Robert Beaudoin, the wife of an Air Force officer, along with her 17-year-old daughter Carol Litten, sees a series of unusual lights northeast of Camarillo, California. First they see a large, soundless, and pulsing light, with something like a pole on top, making fast and erratic motions. She calls a military friend and then 1st Lt. Leonard E. Ott at nearby Oxnard AFB [now Camarillo Airport]. At 12:30 a.m., they see a green object accompanied by two smaller red lights below the horizon of the Los Palos Hills. The green object seems to be hovering over the North American Rocketdyne plant in the Simi Hills. At this time both the green object and the red objects seem to jump around, and the two red objects are zooming past the green object at tremendous velocities. Ott inquires about radar and a Lt. Martin tells him that radar is detecting a stationary object in the same area. The sheriff’s office is contacted, and they send a patrol car. Deputy Sheriffs Segura and Rausch confirm Beaudoin’s report, with the exception that by that time there are five red objects flying well below the green one. All are in motion and constantly changing altitude. Radar calls Ott back and says they have a scramble underway and they will have the aircraft check the area upon their return. Upon the arrival of the interceptors from Oxnard the red objects join the green object and speed away up and to the east. The aircraft are unsuccessful and return to base. At this time two Navy aircraft are sent to the area. Somehow, between the time of this report to Oxnard and the later Air Force investigation by the 4602nd, these red objects are changed, on the report, to stars and the moon above. This happens despite the witness stating that the red lights were below the hills on the horizon. To deal with that, the Air Force adds the theory that a temperature inversion caused light to bend the images of the stars, or, alternatively, the witness saw lights on a barn. Beaudoin herself is judged hysterical due to her pregnancy. The Air Force’s explanation is completed without anyone bothering to interview the teenage daughter or taking anything associated with the airbase into account (for example, the radar returns). (NICAP, “ Objects Seen, Radar Tracked, Jets Scrambled”; Sparks, p. 242; “ Flying Saucer Reported, But Not Located,” Oxnard (Calif.) Press-Courier, March 23, 1957, p. 1; Russ Leadabrand, “Bright Red Light,” Pasadena (Calif.) Independent, March 26, 1957, p. 9; Lee Pitt, “ Aviation News,” Los Angeles (Calif.) Mirror-News, March 29, 1957, p. III-7; Keyhoe, FSTS, pp. 58–61; Hynek UFO Report, pp. 53–54; Swords 246–247; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 March 23rd–May 25th, The Author, 1995, pp. 1–9, 11–12)
March 22 - 11:55 p.m. A swiftly moving unknown rectangular target is picked up on Civil Aeronautics Administration radar at Los Angeles International Airport, California, at a position 10 miles to the northwest. Tower Operator Norman Johnson says that at a distance of 40 miles it comes to an abrupt halt and reverses course in about 3 seconds. It returns to about 20 miles away, reverses course again, and disappears off the scope. About 5 minutes later, two more objects appear, also traveling at high speed. These also disappear off the scope to the northwest. A minute or so later, a fourth object appears and speeds off the scope at an estimated 3,600 mph. Two F-89 jet fighters are dispatched to the area from Oxnard AFB. Probably coincidentally, the airport radar's electricity shuts off at 12:07 a.m. (NICAP, " Rectangular Targets Tracked on Radar? Maybe Not"; Sparks, p. 242; " Four Saucers over California at Speeds up to 3600 M.P.H., Revealed in Radar Report Certified by NICAP Board Members," UFO Investigator 1, no. 1 (July 1957): 1, 3-4, 29-30; Powell, Keyhoe, 215-216)
March 23 — Agriculturist Luis Petriera, along with several others, watches a glowing object plunge into Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela. No planes are missing. Officials drag the lake but find nothing. (“ Report from Venezuela,” APRO Bulletin, July 1957, p. 10)
March 25 — The FBI arrests Harold Jesse Berney of Mobile, Alabama, for defrauding Pauline Gobel, a Washington, D.C., secretary, of $40,000 in money and property. Berney claims to have visited Venus twice and become an expert in Venusian science. He is promoting a device he calls a ”modulator” (in fact, a TV antenna) that the space people have asked him to develop. (“ ‘Man from Venus’ Nabbed by FBI,” Evansville (Ind.) Courier and Press, March 26, 1957, p. 1; “ ‘Contact’ Claimant Arrested in Confidence Swindle,” CSI News Letter, no. 19 (May 1, 1957): 11; Clark III 597; Clark IV 656)
March 28 — AEC physician and Navy Capt. Charles Wesley Shilling releases a press statement saying that “excessively hot baths can be as damaging to the human sex glands as radioactive fallout in the amount received in the last five years from the testing of atomic weapons.” It is intended to counter the antinuclear activism of biochemist Linus Pauling. (“ Says Hot Baths As Bad for Sex Glands As Fallout,” Newport (R.I.) Daily News, March 29, 1957, p. 2)
Spring — Ray Palmer’s Other Worlds magazine evolves into Flying Saucers from Other Worlds, a more or less nonfiction magazine that features articles of widely varying credibility and a column of saucer fan-club news. The magazine alternates between the two titles before fully abandoning science fiction for UFOs toward the end of 1957. Gray Barker is credited as the “Eastern Editor” and contributes a regular column, “Chasing the Flying Saucers.” (Mckee, Saucerian, pp. 77–78)
Early April — USAF Brig. Gen. Arno H. Luehman, director of Air Force information, tells the press that “There’s no valid evidence that there are flying saucers.” (“ AF Intelligence Chief Visits Here,” Miami (Fla.) News, April 14, 1957, p. 12A)
April — 7:30 a.m. An anonymous resident of Córdoba, Argentina, is motorcycling to Rio Ceballos when his engine stops. He sees a large UFO hovering nearby, from which a human-like occupant emerges. He entices the man to enter the UFO with him. Inside, he sees 5–6 screens and intricate equipment, at each of which a similar occupant is seated. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 March 23rd–May 25th, The Author, 1995, pp. 63–64)
April 4 — Pilot Robert L. Sieker takes a U-2 covered in radar-deflecting paint for a test run out of Area 51 and flies almost 90 miles without incident when suddenly the paint causes the aircraft to overheat, spin out of control, and crash near Pioche, Nevada. Sieker ejects but is killed when a piece of metal hits him in the head. (Aviation Safety Network, “ Wikibase Occurrence #155905”)
April 4 — Five unusual radar contacts are detected simultaneously on three tracking radars of the Bombing Trials Unit based at RAF West Freugh [now MOD West Freugh], southeast of Stranraer, Scotland, and followed for 36 minutes. The three radars are located at two different sites near Luce Bay, Wigtownshire, Scotland. The object flashes across the sky at 60,000 feet, dives to 14,000 feet, circles, and speeds away. Wing Commander Walter Whitworth, in command at West Freugh, is ordered to say nothing about the object. Researcher Martin Shough notes that the case is unique in the UK in that there is “a document detailing an official technical investigation which is known to have had access to hard evidence—permanent radar recordings by multiple independent instruments—and which concluded in secret that real unidentified flying objects were detected.” After looking at 12 likely causes for the returns, Shough concludes that “There appears to be no satisfactory explanation of these radar targets.” (NICAP, “ Three Radars Track Maneuvering UFO”; Good Above, pp. 48–49; Martin Shough, “ Study of Unusual Radar Observations near RAF West Freugh, Wigtownshire, SW Scotland, April 4, 1957,” March 2010; Patrick Gross, “ The West Freugh Incident, 1957”; UFOFiles2, pp. 51–53)
April 8 — USAF Maj. Gen. Joe W. Kelly answers a question from Rep. Lee Metcalf (D-Mont.) and denies that the Air Force has muzzled pilots. “Answers are provided on any unidentified flying objects which have attracted national attention.” He admits that interceptors are still sent up “as a matter of security.” (Keyhoe, FSTS)
April 10 — Delmer S. Fahrney leaves NICAP’s board of directors for urgent and personal reasons, partially because his wife is seriously ill, but also because of the ridicule generated by his peers in the military. (NICAP Special Bulletin, April 22, 1957; Clark III 792–793; Powell, Keyhoe, 207; Clark IV 873)
April 14 — 3:00 p.m. Marie Garcin and Julia Rami are walking along road D24 a half-mile east of Vins-sur- Caramy, Var, France, when they hear a deafening noise and see a 5-foot-tall, 3-foot-wide, metallic, top-shaped object covered with vibrating sharp spines that is landing near a road sign. The sign starts to vibrate loudly, then the object hops over the road at a height of about 15–30 feet. Another witness, Jules Boglio, is about 1,000 feet away and sees the object land a second time in the adjoining road, then jump over another road sign which then vibrates loudly. Two other witnesses see the object at a much greater distance. (NICAP, “ Top-Shaped Object Hovers at 300”; Jimmy Guieu, “ Vins-sur-Caramy (Var), 14 avril 1957,” Ouranos, no. 21 (1957): 50–52; “ Soucoupe Lands Briefly in Provence,” CSI News Letter, no. 20 (July 25, 1957): 13; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 145–146; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 154–156)
April 15 — Two civilian technical representatives for the Philco Company see an object stalking a B-47 bomber during a landing approach at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Project Blue Book attributes the sighting to optical phenomena associated with the turbulence following the B-47. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 March 23rd–May 25th, The Author, 1995, pp. 39–40)
April 17 — Secretary of State for Air George Ward tells the House of Commons that the Air Ministry investigates UFO reports “whenever the details are sufficient.” (Isaac Koi, “ UFOs in Parliament (UK),” Isaac Koi—UFOs and Parliament, 2024)
April 19 - 11:52 a.m. Two metallic discs are seen entering the South Pacific Ocean about 300 miles southeast of Tokyo, Japan, by Japanese fisherman aboard the Kitsukawa Maru. A violent turbulence disturbs the ocean after they submerge. The objects are 30 feet long and wingless. (NICAP, " Two Discs Enter Pacific"; " Two Mystery Craft Dive into Pacific Ocean," S.P.A.C.E., no. 7 (July 1957): 5; Dolan, USO1, 190-191)
April 24 — 6:27 a.m. Project 57 is an open-air nuclear “dirty-bomb” test conducted in Area 13 at the Nellis Air Force Range, Nevada. The high explosives of a nuclear weapon are detonated asymmetrically to simulate an accidental detonation of an XW-25 warhead in an airplane crash. The purpose of the test is to verify that no yield would result, as well as study the extent of plutonium contamination. Some 4,000 galvanized steel pans sprayed with tacky resin are set up around a 10-by-16-square-mile block of land to capture plutonium samples. Some 68 air-sampler stations equipped with micropore paper are spread over 70 square miles. Mock-ups of sidewalks, curbs, and asphalt are set up in the desert; cars and trucks are added; giant air-sampling balloons are tethered in place; 9 burros, 109 beagles, 10 sheep, and 31 white rats are put in cages. Afterward, the contaminated area is fenced off and the contaminated equipment buried in place. Data from the test confirms that plutonium has a 24,000-year half-life; many of the test animals are killed, but security guard Richard Mingus manages not to inhale any particles. A radiological survey team detects alpha radiation, but no serious beta or gamma radiation. In 1981, the US Department of Energy decontaminates and decommissions the site. Hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of soil and debris are removed from Area 13 and disposed of in a waste facility at the Nevada Test Site. (Wikipedia, “ Project 57”; Jacobsen, Area 51, pp. 100–116)
Late spring - Between 6:30 and 7:00 p.m. Airman 2nd Class Wallace Fowler is sitting on the front steps of his barracks at Ellsworth AFB near Rapid City, South Dakota, when a silver domed disc with portholes appears directly above him. Shadows are moving behind the portholes. The UFO is motionless and the size of a house. After about 2-3 minutes it takes off straight up at high speed. Many others on the base have seen the object as well, and jets are scrambled. The UFO maneuvers around the jets as if toying with them. One of the pursuing jets allegedly goes missing and the wreckage is never found. (Good Need, pp. 218-219)
May — NICAP is fed a phony UFO crash story in the Everglades, Florida, by an Associated Press employee who is a “former Signal Corps engineer” with possible ties to the NSA. He admits faking the story but refuses to give any motive. (Keyhoe, FSTS, pp. 64–68)
May — 4:50 a.m. A truck driver pulls over at the edge of the disused RAF Winkleigh Airfield [now the site of the West of England Transport Collection], Devon, England, to drink some coffee. He notices an object like a metallic, fluorescent-blue submarine with tail fins sitting at the end of the runway. It is about the size of an airliner. He watches it a while, then gets out of the truck and approaches it. He has the object in sight a total of 10–15 minutes and realizes it is hovering just above the ground. When he is 600 feet away, he encounters a type of force field that prevents him from approaching. The object then rises straight up into the sky to about 1,200 feet and shoots off to the north. The force field disappears. (Ron Toth, “ UFO Landing at War-time Aerodrome,” Pegasus 2, no. 3 (May/June 1970): 2–4)
May — 6:00 a.m. Frances Stichler is working in her barn in Milford, Pennsylvania, when she hears a whirring sound and sees a bowl-shaped object approaching at a height of 15 feet. It is 15 feet in diameter with a rim about 3 feet wide. It hovers with one side tilted toward her 50 feet away. Its lone occupant, a helmeted figure with a long, olive-colored face and a shiny, light gray suit, gazes at her with a quizzical expression on his tanned face. It is sitting on the far rim with feet and legs hidden by the lower part of the object. Inside the open vehicle, she can see levers. After a minute, the object takes off to the southwest making a spinning sound. Her chickens do not seem disturbed by any of this. (Berthold Eric Schwarz, “ UFO Occupants: Fact or Fantasy?” Flying Saucer Review 15, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1969): 14–15; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 May 24th–July 31st, The Author, 1996, p. 10; Patrick Gross, URECAT, December 17, 2006; Clark III 268; Clark IV 308)
May? — 3:45 p.m. Two men in Orlando, Florida, see an oval object emerge from a larger cigar- shaped UFO about 75–100 feet long. (Herbert S. Taylor, “Satellite Objects: A Further Look,” IUR 29, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 7, 25)
May 1 — 7:00 a.m. A man driving a motorcycle about 9 miles from Pajas Blancas International Airport in Córdoba, Argentina, sees a UFO shortly after his engine fails. It is 65 feet in diameter and 16 feet thick, hovering about 50 feet above the ground. He hides in a ditch and sees the craft come down, making a sound similar to air escaping from a valve. A lift descends from its base almost to the ground. In it is a man of average height who makes friendly gestures. He is dressed in a plastic diving suit. The witness enters the machine and sees several people inside seated in front of instrument panels, lit by an extraordinary light. He is then escorted out, and the disc rises to the northwest. During the next hour, there are 6 other sightings made by independent witnesses. (Charles Bowen, “ A South American Trio,” Flying Saucer Review 11, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1965): 19–20, 22; Oscar A. Galíndez, “ A New Photograph,” Flying Saucer Review 11, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1965): 10, 23; Gordon Creighton, “ The Humanoids in Latin America,” in Charles Bowen, ed., The Humanoids, Special Issue 1 of FSR, Oct./Nov. 1966, p. 35; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 March 23rd–May 25th, The Author, 1995, pp. 61–64; Mark Cashman, “ Behavioral Classification System for UFO Occupants,” IUR 24, no. 1 (Spring 1999): 19)
May 2— 6:55–7:20 a.m. Frank E. Baker, supervisor of civilian camera operators at Edwards AFB, California, sends the standard two-man crews out to their Askania tracking telescopes for their daily shifts. Veterans James D. Bittick and John R. Gettys Jr. are in their pickup expecting a normal day. As they approach their station in the Mojave Desert, they see a bright object in the sky. It is initially at about a 45° elevation and seems to be hovering. They need to get permission from Baker to photograph anything, so they call it in, begin readying the scope, load the film, and wait for the okay. Gettys says the base of the object has a circular appearance when high in the sky. Baker gives them his approval and they begin filming, each viewing the object through spotting scopes while the film rolls. They shoot about 100 feet then stop. During filming, the object moves from 1 mile away to 5 miles. What they see is a disc-shaped object with a low dome on top. They contact the base, which scrambles two jets, but they are too late. After they turn the film in, three officers show up and interrogate them. Future astronaut Gordon Cooper claims he was there that day, involved with the tracking. (NICAP, “ Edwards AFB Case”; Sparks, p. 243; “ Unidentified Flying Object Filmed, Studied,” Miami (Fla.) News, May 12, 1957, p. 2; James E. McDonald, “ Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, pp. 75–76; Richard T. Leach, “Col. L. Gordon Cooper Speaks Out,” UFO 11, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1996): 24–28; Gordon Cooper and Bruce Henderson, Leap of Faith: An Astronaut’s Journey into the Unknown, HarperTorch, 2000, pp. 83–86; Michael D. Swords, “ As Great an Enigma As the UFOs Themselves,” IUR 30, no. 1 (October 2005): 10–12; Good Need, pp. 220–222; “ Astronaut Gordon Cooper Talks about UFOs,” Elhardt YouTube channel, December 27, 2007; Swords 247–248; Clark III 790; Clark IV 870)
May 10 — After 10:45 p.m. At Beaucourt-sur-l’Ancre, Somme, France, a 29-year-old Hungarian refugee named Michel Sekete (or Fekete) is cycling when he is “dazzled by a strange projectile.” He sees four men 4–5 feet tall approaching him in a threatening manner. One of them carries a bright light which prevents him from seeing much detail. He flees on his cycle to a nearby home, where others look out and see the occupants 300 feet away. The UFO is emitting red and white (or yellow) rays of light alternatively. They watch for about 20 minutes until 11:15 p.m. when the UFO takes off at a 45° angle. (“ Flying Saucer Just a Lady with a Lamp,” New York Daily News, May 12, 1957, p. 76; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 March 23rd–May 25th, The Author, 1995, pp. 69–72)
May 11 — While attending the Giant Rock Interplanetary Spacecraft Convention in the Mojave Desert near Landers, California, Wayne Sulo Aho goes for a walk and sees a “majestic egg-shaped light.” He directs a telepathic message to it, and the UFO lands 2 miles away. He begins receiving subtle psychic messages on his earthly mission. That night, Aho undergoes a “cosmic initiation.” (Wayne S. Aho, Mojave Desert Experience, May 11, 1957, New Age, 1972; Clark III 59; Clark IV 80)
May 15 — Secretary of State for Air George Ward responds to a question in the House of Commons by MP Frank Beswick concerning radar targets tracked over the English Channel on April 29 by saying that the speed of the objects was far less than 1000 mph as reported in the press. (Isaac Koi, “ UFOs in Parliament (UK),” Isaac Koi—UFOs and Parliament, 2024)
May 20? (or 1956?) — Near 12:00 midnight. USAF Lt. Milton Torres is flying F-86D Sabre fighters with the 406th Bomber Wing based at RAF Manston [now closed], Kent, England. He receives an order from an RAF controller, who is tracking an unidentified target from Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker [now closed] in Essex, to go up with a wingman to 32,000 feet over East Anglia in pursuit. Over the radio he receives an order to fire a salvo of rockets at the target; the order is so unusual that Torres seeks authentication before firing. Torres locates the large target on his aircraft radar, but when he closes in on it, it shoots away at tremendous speed, disappearing from the radar screens. The target might be explained by a secret CIA-MoD experiment, codenamed Palladium, to simulate an aircraft blip on Soviet radar screens. On his return to base, Torres is debriefed by a secret service agent and told his mission is top secret. (NICAP, “ Milton Torres / Intercept Mission”; “ U.S. Pilot Was Ordered to Shoot Down UFO,” Reuters, October 20, 2008; David Clarke, “Intercept and Destroy,” Fortean Times 242 (December 2008): 34–35; Paul Crickmore, “ Project Palladium: Testing Soviet Radars,” Tails Through Time, January 3, 2011; UFOFiles2, pp. 69–72; Curt Collins, “ Area 51, the CIA, and Cold War UFOS: T. D. Barnes,” Blue Blurry Lines, January 9, 2014; “ Milton Torres, F86D Pilot, Ordered to Shoot a UFO with Rockets after 50 Years,” The Portugal News, August 2, 2022)
May 26 — An article in the UK Empire News on “Flying Saucer Clubs Probe: Peace Messages ‘from Outer Space’” reveals that George King’s Aetherius Society has been publishing channeled messages in its Cosmic Voice newsletter that are antiwar and anti-nuclear. It attracts the attention of Scotland Yard’s Special Branch, thanks to an informant on the newspaper. King writes to explain that his group is religious and not political. A Special Branch officer visits King in his home in London, England, on May 31, and the group’s writings and activities are watched for at least the next two years. (Kremlin 121–126)
May 28 — Boltzmann, the first of 29 nuclear tests in Operation Plumbbob, takes place at the Nevada Test Site. At 12 kilotons, it is about the same size as the Hiroshima bomb and causes Area 51 personnel 11 miles away to be temporarily evacuated. Another test blast buckles aircraft hangar doors in Area 51, shatters windows in the mess hall, and breaks a dormitory ventilator panel. The Plumbbob tests continue until October 7, 1957. While most tests contribute to the development of warheads for intercontinental and intermediate range missiles, they also test air defense and anti-submarine warheads with small yields. (Wikipedia, “ Operation Plumbbob”)
May 31 — 7:17 a.m. A British airliner is flying over Kent, two miles south of Rochester, England, when both the captain and first officer see a brilliant light approaching them. All radio communications cut out. The UFO blinks out and the radio equipment goes back into operation. ( Schopick, pp. 122–123; Good Above, p. 50)
June — The UFO Investigation Centre (UFOIC) begins publishing the UFO Bulletin. It lasts through July 1959. (Clark IV 1270)
June 1 — Popular science writer and skeptic Martin Gardner publishes Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science, an expanded edition of his 1952 work In the Name of Science. A survey of what it described as pseudosciences and cult beliefs, it becomes a founding document in the nascent scientific skepticism movement. Chapter 5 tackles UFOs and criticizes Keyhoe, Scully, Gerald Heard, and Raymond Palmer as examples of misguided “Forteanism.” Besides fraud, the skies are teeming with weather balloons, stars, planets, aircraft, and birds that can be misidentified. He writes, “The more the public is confused, the easier it falls prey to doctrines of pseudo-science which may at some future date receive the backing of politically powerful groups.” (Martin Gardner, Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science, Dover, 1957)
June 3 - 9:35 p.m. Shortly after takeoff from Shreveport (Louisiana) Airport, Capt. Lynn Kern and Flight Officer Abbey Zimmerman, flying Trans-Texas Airlines Flight 103, are told by the control tower that a small light is visible nearby. They see the star-like, blue-green object at about 400 feet altitude. It then climbs rapidly to 1,000 feet and parallels the airliner at a higher altitude and about a half-mile away. Kern flashes his landing lights, and the object responds with a beam of light. A second blue-green, pulsating object joins the first on the opposite side of the airliner (then at 9,000 feet). A crew from the air tower confirms that it has both objects on radar and visually through binoculars. The objects head south, climbing to about 10,000 feet, and follow the airliner to Converse, Louisiana, where the pilot queries ADC radar site, England AFB [now Alexandria International Airport], which confirms the two targets in the airliner's vicinity. The objects disappear from sight in a cloud deck to the southwest. (NICAP, " Flight 103 & 2 UFOs Tracked on Radar"; Sparks, p. 244; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 94-96; Clark 997; Clark IV 1110)
June 5 — AEC Commissioner Willard Libby tells Congress that nuclear weapons testing is a “small risk” that must be measured against the “risk of annihilation.” (“Bomb Testing Is Viewed As Risk to Be Compared with Annihilation,” Spokane (Wash.) Chronicle, June 5, 1957, p. 2)
June 11 — CIA operative Wallace R. Lampshire sends a memo to CIA operative Richard M. Bissell Jr., explaining that the agency’s involvement with UFOs is passive, handing off reports to its geophysics or former weapons units. Lampshire has talked with Gen. Philip J. Strong, who knows of no Soviet technology that might be responsible for UFOs. (Staff memorandum from Wallace Lampshire to Richard Bissell, “Unidentified Flying Saucers (UFO),” June 11, 1957; Swords 264–265)
June 15 — 5:06 p.m. George Marsden is resting by the side of the road during a bicycle ride with his 10-year-old son at Mawdesley, Lancashire, England, when he sees a light in the sky. He gets out his 35x pocket telescope and sees that it is a Saturn-shaped object with portholes. It appears to be 25 feet in diameter and is moving horizontally west-northwest at 500–600 mph at an altitude of 6,000–7,000 feet. The object is silver with a bluish tint and is in sight for about 11 seconds before it takes off vertically. (UFOEv, p. 146; Center for UFO Studies, [case documents])
June 15 - A report in the UK weekly newspaper Reynold's News claims that an Air Ministry spokesman has admitted the agency conducts top secret UFO research in Room 801 of one of its offices on Northumberland Avenue, London, England. The spokesman says the room has "something like 10,000 sightings" on file and a large map of the British Isles with thousands of colored pins representing sightings. Flying Saucer Review editor Gordon Creighton says the office belongs to the Deputy Directorate of Intelligence (Technical), which employs UFO researchers full-time. (" The Secret of Room 801: Reynolds News Reporter," Flying Saucers (C.S.I. N. Z.) 5, no. 1 (July/Sept. 1957): 20; Good Above, p. 49; Marcus Lowth, " The Secrets of Room 801 and Britain's `Lost' 1950s UFO Cases," UFO Insight, October 14, 2021)
June 18 — 8:00 p.m. Captain C. G. Wertz and the crew of the Matson freighter Hawaiian Fisherman see two brightly lit objects off the port beam as they are steaming 150 miles off San Francisco, California. A third object joins them at 8:15. They appear as small moons, giving off a cold, white, unchanging light. The three move off in a V formation and pace the ship for a short time. The lights continue their controlled flight as dusk turns to night. (“Flying Saucers Back with Us,” Oakland (Calif.) Tribune, June 20, 1957, p. 46; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 78)
June 20 — Mysterious radar echoes begin turning up on Bluff Hill, near Invercargill, New Zealand, for several months. The targets are visible from several minutes up to an hour and are located somewhere in the ionosphere. Michael Gadsden of the Imperial College in London is in New Zealand for the International Geophysical Year and he says the targets’ movements are unusual and suspects that ionized particles are the cause. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 81–82)
Summer — P. Craig Phillips, curator of the Miami Seaquarium, and two other scientists witness a fall of angel hair for two hours as they are sailing northward toward the Florida Keys. Assuming them to be cobwebs from migrating airborne spiders, Phillips takes some samples and puts them in a mason jar. But when he uncaps the jar later in his office, no trace of the material is found, which is uncharacteristic of spider web. (UFOEv, pp. 99–100; Brian Boldman, “An Analysis of Angel Hair, 1947–2000,” IUR 26, no. 3 (Fall 2001): 15; Clark III 124; Clark IV 151–152)
Summer — Early morning. Contactee Trevor Constable and an associate named James Woods take many infrared photos of the desert sky over southern California. When developed, the film reveals a variety of shapes from vague blobs and amoeba-like forms to clearly defined discs. Constable calls them “critters” and thinks they are some kind of life form invisible to the naked eye. (Trevor James [Constable], They Live in the Sky, New Age, 1958; Clark III 1102; Clark IV 1228–1229)
Summer — Allan Haney and some friends “on a number of occasions” climb onto someone’s roof in Levelland, Texas, to watch 3–4 objects hovering over Reese AFB [now Reese Technology Center] in Lubbock, 26 miles to the east. (Donald R. Burleson, “Levelland, Texas, 1957: Case Reopened,” IUR 28, no. 1 (Spring 2003): 5)
Summer - A young boy and his mother are picnicking on the shore of Penobscot Bay near Camden, Maine, when they notice a silvery domed disk descending rapidly from the sky. It crashes into the water at a steep angle, but makes no sound and creates no ripples. The mother grabs her son and leaves the beach. (Carl Feindt, " Report #1116," waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 191-192)
Summer — 4:00 a.m. Two sport fishermen observe a huge, white-pink UFO come to the surface of the Straits of Florida off the Playa Bacuranao, near Havana, Cuba, creating white surf waves. The object flies overhead and drips salt water on their yacht. (Carl Feindt, “ Report #142,” waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 192
July — The Air Defense Command disbands the 4602nd AISS and reassigns UFO investigative duties to the 1006th AISS at Norton AFB [San Bernardino International Airport], California. Soon afterwards, the Air Force reduces funds for the unit, impairing its investigative ability. (Clark III 919; Clark IV 1029)
July — NICAP publishes the first issue of The UFO Investigator, in which it offers the Air Force an “8 point plan” of cooperation to end UFO secrecy and “assist in public understanding of the UFO problem.” (“ 8 Point Plan Offered Air Force,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 1 (July 1957): 1, 5, 25; Clark III 793; Powell, Keyhoe, 214–215; Clark IV 873)
Early July — NICAP learns that the US Senate Subcommittee on Investigations is considering hearings on UFOs and wants its assistance. Hillenkoetter suggests withholding the best cases, at least initially. (Keyhoe, FSTS, pp. 70–79; Powell, Keyhoe, 218–219)
July 5 — During the 74-kiloton Plumbbob Hood nuclear test at the Nevada Test Site, the Marine Corps conducts a tactical maneuver involving the use of a helicopter airlift, tactical air support, and an amphibian tractor called the LVTP5. Despite the AEC’s assurance that no thermonuclear devices are being tested, Hood is thermonuclear and is the largest atmospheric test in the continental US. All Area 51 personnel are evacuated prior to the blast, but the military neglects to secure the sensitive information in the buildings with security guards. Seventy anesthetized Chester White pigs in military uniforms (as test fabrics) are placed in cages a short distance from ground zero. Several types of wood houses are constructed to see how each handles the blast. The Mosler Safe Company sponsors the construction of a steel vault to withstand the blast. Some 100 soldiers, lying in trenches, are stationed to gauge the psychological impact of the bomb. The flash is visible from Canada to Mexico and 800 miles out in the Pacific. The blast wave reaches Los Angeles 25 minutes later. Afterwards, security guard Richard Mingus has to drive through a highly radioactive ground zero to reach the buildings at Area 51 ten miles away. Area 51 remains an evacuated ghost town until the summer of 1959. (Wikipedia, “Desert Rock exercises”; Jacobsen, Area 51, pp. 119–123)
July 10 — George Hunt Williamson, exploring in Peru from his base at the Monastery of the Seven Rays and spurred by his own channelings, rediscovers a wall of petroglyphs [now known as the Petroglyphs of Pusharo, in the Manú National Park] in an area northeast of Cuzco called Cadena del Pantiacolla. (George Hunt Williamson, “Project Scroll,” Flying Saucer Review 3, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1957): 18–19; George Hunt Williamson, Road in the Sky, Neville Spearman, 1959; Brother Philip [Williamson], Secret of the Andes, Neville Spearman, 1961; Zirger and Martinelli, The Incredible Life of George Hunt Williamson, Verdechiari, 2016, pp. 97–98, 109–115)
Mid-July — Keyhoe meets with US Rep. James C. Healey (D-N.Y.) regarding USAF secrecy about UFOs. He shows Healey the 1949 Grudge report and apparently convinces him that the Air Force’s explanations for the 24 cases are “sheer speculation” or “deliberately fitted.” He also presents him Gen. Joe W. Kelly’s April 8 letter to Lee Metcalf, indicating serious interest in UFOs. (Keyhoe, FSTS, pp. 81–82, 91, 96)
July 15 — In a letter to his associates around the world, George Adamski announces a Get Acquainted Program, in which messages from the Space Brothers will be passed on to designated representatives: “Information of the Brothers of other worlds, with whom I continue having more or less regular meetings, will be sent regularly to each national leader, who in turn will forward it to all of his assistants. They then will pass it on to their associates. The idea is that the citizens of each nation, through these efforts, will grow into closer united friendship with their countrymen, without discrimination or divisions of any kind.” Within two years, Adamski’s contact list consists of 22 names from 17 countries. (The Adamski Case, “Get Acquainted Program”; Eghigian, After, p. 121)
July 16 — 1:56 p.m. 1st Lt. Clifford E. Pocock, scope operator A2C Walter Lyons, and control technician A1C Armand Therrien at Las Vegas Air Force Station [now closed] at Angel Peak, Nevada, are using the FPS-3A L- band search radar and track an inbound target at about 6,200 mph when it “stopped abruptly” and “remained stationary” for 12 seconds to the east-northeast 85 miles away to the north of Grand Canyon in Arizona. Then it heads outbound at about 7,000 mph before disappearing at the radar’s maximum range at 224 miles (near Marble Canyon, Arizona). The target responds to encrypted military IFF transponder signals and transmits encrypted responses. (NICAP, “6200 MPH Target Hovers near Grand Canyon”; Sparks, p. 244; Clark III 997; Powell, Scientist, 92; Clark IV 1110)
July 17 — Before dawn. The crew of a USAF RB-47 reconnaissance aircraft is flying out of Forbes Field [now Topeka Regional Airport], Kansas, on an electronic warfare training flight over Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. The RB-47 is carrying a 6-man crew, of whom three are electronic warfare officers manning ECM gear in the aft portion of the aircraft. Their names are Lewis Dormon Chase, pilot; James H. McCoid, copilot; Thomas H. Hanley, navigator; John J. Provenzano, No. 1 monitor; Frank B. McClure, No. 2 monitor; and Walter A. Tuchscherer, No. 3 monitor. The crew detects on its Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) equipment an airborne radar source at 2.8 GHz that mimics some but not all of the signal characteristics of a common air defense ground radar. Aircraft normally do not carry such high-powered radars. As the key ELINT officer on the RB-47 puts it, “an antenna bigger than the airplane” would be required to emit as strong a signal as the one detected from the UFO. Because the UFO signal appears to have comparable or greater received signal strength than the one-megawatt ground radar beam and the UFO’s distance is about 5 times closer than the ground radar, a crude estimate of the UFO radar power output using the inverse-square law would be about 40 kilowatts. The maneuvering radar signal coincides in location with a bright UFO. At times the signal moves ahead of the RB-47, then circles around as if airborne, highly maneuverable, and flying faster than the RB-47. The 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing Intelligence report states that the Wing’s director of intelligence “has no doubt the electronic D/F’s coincided exactly with visual observations by a/c numerous times thus indicating positively the object being the signal source.” An air defense radar station near Dallas, Texas, reportedly confirms tracking a UFO at the same location reported by the RB-47 crew but later tries to deny it in an unclassified message to ATIC. The UFO is reportedly tracked by the RB-47’s airborne navigation radar as well, though the crew has differing recollections on this point. Twice the UFO blinks out visually when pursued by the RB-47. At the same time the strange signal disappears; either that, or the ground radar site and the RB-47 onboard radar loses the object from their scopes. At least once, the UFO suddenly reappears visually at about the same time the ground radar regains tracking of the object. The main part of the incident occupies 30 minutes over the Fort Worth, Texas, area from 5:30–6:00 a.m. Some earlier ELINT and visual incidents are noted as early as about 4:30 a.m., but they catch the crew off guard, and consequently reports at the time and later recollections have had to be carefully reconstructed. The UFO may have trailed the RB-47 up to 6:40 a.m. following the main events, for a total duration of possibly more than 126 minutes. The RB-47 incident is the first conclusive instrumented proof for the existence of UFOs. Calibrations of the RB-47’s electronic measurements provide an irrefutable case. When the Colorado Project scientists asked the Air Force for the Blue Book file on the RB-47 case, the file could not be found. Ultimately, the case was put together by better file searching at Blue Book, James E. McDonald’s success at locating several crew members and interviewing them, and FOIA searches that located more of the lost documents. Particularly in the George T. Gregory years at ATIC, this sort of rejection of the need to clarify almost any significant aspect of a UFO case was constant. If we did not know, from our earlier information, what Captain Gregory understood to be his duty as chief of Blue Book, we would label this as reckless and incompetent. Colorado project investigator Gordon Thayer declares the case unexplained, and later describes the official USAF explanation (airliner) as “literally ridiculous.” Brad Sparks sums it up in 1998 (and in 2018): “This case certainly now ranks as among the best documented unexplained UFO incidents in history, and it has the potential for further revealing disclosures if records of an extremely highly classified investigation can be found and released. All of the UFO observations by multiple visual observers, multiple ELINT receivers, and multiple radar sets, as well as the serendipitous calibrations of the UFO signals against the separately identifiable Duncanville radar signals, provide a unique, tight, interlocking web of intricately fitted evidence.” (NICAP, “RB-47 Incident”; Sparks, p. 244; UFOs Yes, 126–127; Condon, pp. 56, 136–139, 260–266; James E. McDonald, “Science in Default: Twenty-Two Years of Inadequate UFO Investigations,” paper presented at the Symposium on UFOs, 134th Meeting, AAAS, Boston, December 27, 1969, pp. 4–9; James E. McDonald, “The 1957 Gulf Coast RB-47 Incident,” Flying Saucer Review 16, no. 3 (May/June 1970): 2–6; “UFO Encounter 1: Sample Case Selected by the UFO Subcommittee of the AIAA,” Astronautics and Aeronautics, July 1971, pp. 66–70; Gert Herb, “A Rebuttal to Philip J. Klass’s Analysis of the RB-47 Incident of July 17, 1957,” CUFOS Bulletin, Summer 1977, pp. 3–10; Philip J. Klass, [response to Gert Herb], CUFOS Bulletin, Fall 1977, pp. 7–10; Gert Herb, “Gert Herb Replies,” CUFOS Bulletin, Fall 1977, pp. 9–10; Roy Craig, UFOs: An Insider’s View of the Official Quest for Evidence, University of North Texas, 1995, pp. 134–150; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 May 24th– July 31st, The Author, 1996, pp. 64–71; Center for UFO Studies, [case interviews]; Center for UFO Studies, [case documents]; Center for UFO Studies, [more case documents]; Martin Shough, RADCAT: Radar Catalogue: A Review of Twenty-One Ground and Airborne Radar UAP Contact Reports Generally Related to Aviation Safety for the Period October 15, 1948, to September 19, 1976, National Aviation Reporting Center on Anomalous Phenomena, NARCAP Report TR-6, December 8, 2002, pp. 55–97; Swords 248–249; Clark III 953–999; Covert 24; Powell, Scientist, 91–92; Clark IV 424, 892, 1067–1114)
July 17 - Flight 655 en route from Dallas to Los Angeles, piloted by Capt. Ed Bachner, has a near collision with an object "at least the size of a B-47" over the salt flats some 100 miles east of El Paso, Texas. Bachner puts the plane into a dive and the object passes only 50 feet above them. Two passengers suffer slight injuries and are taken to the hospital on landing. However, the Civil Aeronautics Administration establishes the UFO in this case is American Airlines Flight 966, which had departed El Paso en route to Dallas. (" Airline Pilot Tells How 85 Persons Missed Death," Los Angeles (Calif.) Mirror, July 18, 1957, p. 2; " Near Collision In Air Reported," Roanoke (Va.) Times, July 18, 1957, p. B-8; Letter from Roy Keeley, Director of CAA Office of Flight Operations and Airworthiness, to USAF Brig. Gen. Harold E. Watson, November 8, 1957, [Blue Book document, p. 57]; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 79; Good Above, p. 283; Richard F. Haines, " Aviation Safety in America: A Previously Neglected Factor," NARCAP Technical Report 01-2000, October 15, 2000, p. 52
July 17 — Keyhoe asks Ruppelt, who is now an engineer with Northrup Aircraft, to join the NICAP board following the I’ve Got a Secret Show on which he is appearing. Ruppelt considers it an honor, but declines two weeks later. (Keyhoe, FSTS, pp. 70–79; Powell, Keyhoe, 219–220)
July 18 — 10:46 p.m. Capt. Claiborne F. Bickham and a radar crew at Mount Lemmon Air Force Station [now closed] northeast of Tucson, Arizona, using both MPS-7 L-band search and MPS-14 S-band height-finder radars, track a stationary target at 42,000 feet to the northwest about 82 miles away south of Chandler. The target responds to encrypted military IFF Mode 3 transponder signals and transmits encrypted responses that result in “normal Mode 3 paint” on radar scopes. A very slight strobe comes from the object that appears like Electronic Counter Measures jamming. (NICAP, “Ground Radar Track Responds to IFF Mode 3”; Sparks, p. 245; Clark III 997–998; Powell, Scientist, 92; Clark IV 1110)
July 19 — The Plumbbob John nuclear test at Yucca Flats, Nevada, is the only test of the Air Force’s AIR-2 Genie missile with a nuclear warhead. On the ground, the Air Force carries out a public relations event by having five Air Force officers and a videographer stand under ground zero of the blast, which takes place at between 18,500 and 20,000 feet altitude, with the idea of demonstrating the possibility of the use of the weapon over civilian populations without ill effects. (Wikipedia, “Operation Plumbbob”)
July 22 — Night. Capt. G. M. Schemel, the pilot of a TWA Constellation aircraft, is flying at 18,000 feet near Amarillo, Texas, when a big red and green light bears down on his plane in a collision course. He puts the aircraft into a dive and the object passes above him. Schemel has to make an unscheduled landing at Amarillo to hospitalize one passenger who is injured during the maneuver. (“Kenosha Pilot Tells of Mysterious Object,” Kenosha (Wis.) News, July 24, 1957, p. 1; “Scientists Say Near Collisions May Involve Space Vehicles,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 2 (Aug./Sept. 1957): 9)
July 24 — Russian antiaircraft batteries on the Kuril Islands, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia, in the Pacific Ocean open fire on luminous, fast-moving UFOs. No hits are made. The US claims it has no aircraft in the area. However, at 10:00 a.m., two USAF pilots flying F-86s are scrambled to intercept a disc-shaped object over the Nemuro Strait, north of Hokkaido, Japan, that is tracked by ground radar and seen by ground witnesses. ( Sparks, p. 245; Keyhoe, Aliens from Space, Signet ed., 1974, p. 42)
July 24 — White Sands Missile Flight Safety Director Nathan Wagner is driving with his wife Alma south of Las Cruces, New Mexico, when they see a large, fast object at high altitude moving east toward the Organ Mountains. They watch it for 30 seconds until it disappears. (NICAP, “Missile Safety Chief Says Object Unknown”; “Space Vehicles Sighted?” El Paso (Tex.) Times, July 30, 1957, p. 1; “Missile Flight Safety Chief Reports Sighting of Large UFO,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 2 (Aug./Sept. 1957): 6; Swords 249)
July 25 — 12:25 a.m. USAF pilot 1st Lt. Robert S. Hipkins and alert center operator S/Sgt Raymond C. Henry, both 47th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, see a circular brilliant white object with six smaller pale-green lights on its perimeter moving slowly at constant altitude at Niagara Falls Municipal Airport in New York. It makes fast pivoting turns, maneuvering radically from southeast to northeast and disappears in about 5–8 minutes in a rapid, steep climb. A CPS-6B radar tracks it for 3 minutes. (NICAP, “CPS6 ADC Radar Tracks Brilliant White Light”; Sparks, p. 245; Condon, p. 145; Martin Shough, RADCAT: Radar Catalogue: A Review of Twenty-One Ground and Airborne Radar UAP Contact Reports Generally Related to Aviation Safety for the Period October 15, 1948, to September 19, 1976, National Aviation Reporting Center on Anomalous Phenomena, NARCAP Report TR-6, December 8, 2002, pp. 97–101)
July 25 — 4:00 a.m. Several workers are taking a break at the Daye Steel Plant in Huangshi, Hubei, China, when they hear a humming sound. They notice a bright spot in the clear sky that is increasing in apparent size. As it comes closer, it is seen as a circular plate giving off a dazzling white light and leaving a white trail. It flies above the observers at an altitude of 3,300 feet and produces a whistling sound that is louder than a jet. As the object approaches the witnesses, the low pitch changes to a high pitch. (Wendelle Stevens and Paul Dong, UFOs over Modern China, UFO Photo Archives, 1983)
July 28 — A Douglas Aircraft Company employee named Edward K. Current Jr. makes an emergency landing on the former U-2 airstrip at Groom Lake, Nevada. He claims he has been on a cross-country training flight when he became lost and ran low on fuel. The area is still evacuated for nuclear testing. (Jacobsen, Area 51, pp. 125–126; T. D. Barnes, “False Emergency Landings at Groom Lake,” Roadrunners Internationale, November 22, 2021)
July 30 — 10:30 a.m. Jack Stephenson is walking his dog four miles south of Galt, Ontario, when he sees an aluminum-colored object with a dome. It circles, stops, and hovers, then lands in a gulley surrounded by woods. He watches it for 45 minutes as it hovers about 2 feet off the ground. It finally takes off at a 45° angle to avoid a power line, then shoots away. Local residents examine the area and find burned patches on the ground and small tree limbs that are broken. There are four burned or charred areas, each about 1 foot 3 inches in diameter, forming a four-sided figure with these measurements: 20 feet x 20 feet x 6.5 feet x 11.5 feet. Two large three-toed prints are also found, but the relationship of the prints to the object is unknown. (“ Boy Reports ‘Saucer,’” Brantford (Ont.) Expositor, August 3, 1957, p. 1; “ Three-Toed Footprints Burn Marks on Ground Where Boy Saw ‘Saucer,’” Toronto (Ont.) Star, August 3, 1957, p. 3; “ Boy Says He Saw Saucer, Footprints,” Hamilton (Ont.) Spectator, August 3, 1957, p. 1; “ Says He Saw Flying Saucer for 45 Minutes,” Milk River (Alberta) Review, August 25, 1957; Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, pp. 51–53; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 May 24th–July 31st, The Author, 1996, pp. 86, 91–94; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 August–September, The Author, 1996, pp. 1, 4–8, 16)
August — Radar technician Edward Lovick Jr. begins work at Lockheed’s secret Advanced Development Projects facility (the Skunk Works) in Burbank, California. His first assignment is to investigate radar-deflecting technology for the U-2 aircraft. (Jacobsen, Area 51, pp. 126–127)
August — Night. A young woman is driving home after work in Peru, Indiana, and notices people standing along the road looking at the sky. She stops, and they point to a large black object hovering above some nearby trees at about 100 feet. It is about 1,000 feet long and has a “soft delta” shape with rounded corners and window-like lighted areas underneath. There seems to be movement within the lighted areas. In the middle of the bottom is a round area that looks like it might be the outline of an entryway. It moves slowly away, making a noise like a quiet vacuum cleaner. (Michael D. Swords, “Timmerman’s Triangles,” IUR 29, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 16)
August 1 — The North American Air Defense Command is announced by the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. (Wikipedia, “North American Aerospace Defense Command”)
August 3 — 7:45 p.m. 1st Lt. Robert J. Springer Jr., T/Sgt. Herman L. Giles, and 16 other air crewmen, while on routine Airborne Operations Center radar early warning patrol over the Pacific Ocean about 175 miles southwest of San Francisco, California, aboard an RC-121D aircraft, detect a radar target on IFF Mode 2 transponder only. At 7:56 p.m., the IFF target becomes a direct radar “skinpaint.” At 8:02 p.m., the IFF equipment APX-6/APX-7 is turned off, but the target is still tracked on airborne radar. At 8:15 p.m., the target is at a 2 o’clock position 10 miles away when the aircraft starts a right turn to reverse course, putting the target dead ahead. It suddenly takes off to the northwest at very high speed, disappearing 58 miles away. Radar contact is regained at 8:18 p.m. as the target is tracked moving right to left, crossing in front of the aircraft again, and closing distance to 8 miles at 11 o’clock. At 8:20 p.m., the target turns to head on a parallel path. The crew loses contact at 8:24 p.m., 15 miles behind the plane. No visual confirmation. (NICAP, “RC-121D Has IFF Radar Targets”; Sparks, p. 246; Clark III 998; Powell, Scientist, 92; Clark IV 1110–1111)
August 4 — An Italian Air Force noncommissioned officer on duty in the control tower at Naples International Airport, Italy, and about 30 other witnesses see a number of luminous, disc-shaped objects passing above them. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 80)
August 5 — 10:00 p.m. Policeman Ernst W. Akerberg and his wife Karin are at their summer cottage on the island of Gotland, Sweden, in the Baltic Sea when they see a disc-shaped object heading toward them from the sea. When it reaches the shore about 600 feet away, the object changes course and executes a sharp turn at less than 90° of arc and turns on its edge, swaying briefly. The disc moves toward the southeast and makes another sharp turn just over a half-mile away, again turning on its edge and fluttering before passing out of view. A second, smaller object approaches and goes through the same maneuvers. Air currents from both objects make the water surface ripple and the treetops swing. Estimated to be about 80 feet in diameter, the objects seem to be made of shining metal, and the upper part rotates slowly over the lower part. Both objects have a kind of tube with two red lights. They are silent except for a hollow clicking sound. (K. Gosta Rehn, “ Report from Scandinavia,” APRO Bulletin, January 1959, p. 4; Story, pp. 152–153; Clas Svahn, “ 1957 Diskusarna svängde framför polismannen,” Riksorganisationen UFO-Sverige)
August 14 — 8:55 p.m. Varig Airlines pilot Capt. Jorgé Campos Araujo and First Officer Edgar Onofre Soares observe a domed disc pacing their C-47 cargo plane at 6,300 feet over Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil. The UFO speeds up and crosses just in front of them, hovers briefly, then dives into the undercast at 5,700 feet. When the object hovers, it affects the engines, which cough and wheeze, and dims the cabin lights. (“ Tinha a forma de disco o objeto voador visto de bordo do avião da Varig,” Diario de Noticias (Porto Alegre, Brazil), August 16, 1957; “ Fazia y evoluçoes em torno do aviao, o objeto visto no CE’U,” A Nação (Blumenau, Brazil), August 23, 1957; Olavo T. Fontes, “ Top Secret Report Unveiled,” APRO Bulletin, September 1959, pp. 1, 5; UFOEv, p. 120; Lorenzen, FS Hoax, pp. 153–155; Schopick, pp. 123–127; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 August–September, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2003, pp. 11–13)
August 20 — 11:28 a.m. Shinichi Takeda takes a photo of a silvery disc near Enoshima Beach, Kanagawa, Japan. The object is also seen by his sister, who calls his attention to it. It gives off a brilliant glow at an estimated altitude of 3,000–4,000 feet, traveling north to south. The object makes a 90° left turn, speeds up, and disappears in the clouds. The photo shows capsule-shaped image near bank of cumulus clouds. A few minutes later, 15 people on the beach report a similar object that passes over at high speed. (NICAP, “ Capsule-Shaped Object in Clouds / Takeda Photo”)
August 20 or 22 — A member of the Argentine Air Force guarding a downed aircraft is in a tent near Quilinos, Córdoba, Argentina, when he hears a high-pitched hum. Dashing out, he sees a disc slowly descending, making the grass and plants flutter wildly. Reaching for his revolver, he feels that something is preventing him from drawing his weapon, which seems glued in his holster. A voice from the disc tells him in Spanish that spacecraft have a base in the Salta region and that they are here to warn about nuclear energy. The craft rises vertically and speeds off to the north. Probable hoax. (“UFO Bases in South America?” Flying Saucer Review 11, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1965): 30–31; Patrick Gross, URECAT, December 8, 2006)
August 22 — 3:40 p.m. A couple named Sheetz in a car at Naval Air Station Cecil [now Cecil Airport] in Jacksonville, Florida, chase a 50-foot, black, rotating, bell-shaped object bearing two bright white lights at the top. Their engine stalls when object hovers 10 feet away. Its underside resembles a disc with fins. When a jet takes off from the airfield, the object goes out of sight almost instantly. The car battery is completely dead. Noise from the object is compared to a helicopter, although there are no helicopters in the area. (NICAP, “Car Chases Bell-Shaped Object, Engine Stalls”; Sparks, p. 246; Mark Rodeghier, UFO Reports Involving Vehicle Interference, CUFOS, 1981, p. 7)
August 27 — Russia makes the first successful long flight of an ICBM, the R-7 Semyorka, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The dummy warhead lands in the Pacific Ocean. (Wikipedia, “R-7 Semyorka”)
August 27 — A Trendex poll on UFOs shows that 25.3% of Americans nationwide think flying saucers are from outer space, while 52.9 % are skeptical, many of them thinking that they are hallucinations, weather balloons, or US or foreign secret weapons. (Jack Boyle, “1 in 4 Believes ‘Saucers’ May Be from Space,” Roanoke (Va.) Times, August 25, 1957, p. 8; “Trendex Poll Shows 1 in 4 Believes UFOs Are Real,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 2 (Aug./Sept. 1957): 6)
August 28. PORTUGAL, Nazare. Carlos Raja , 19, and a girl were on the beach when they observed a dark object surrounded with a greenish light. It was perfectly circular. It came down to within 18 ft. of the ground, 350 ft. away, showing a small tower and a large curved window about 11 ft. wide, through which a yellowish light was seen. At one point the object shot a beam of yellow-green light from its base to the ground. After the object left, traces were found over an area of 14 sq. ft,; Stones and plant had vanished (DAta-Net)
August 30 - Night. A Capital Airlines pilot is flying a Viscount at 12,000 feet approaching Norfolk, Virginia, with a Northeast Airlines DC-6 directly above on the same heading at 20,000 feet. The Viscount pilot sees a brilliant object that "flew fast and then abruptly halted 20 miles in front of us at 60,000 feet altitude." The Northeast pilot tries to acquire the object on radar. With the antenna at 0° elevation, nothing is detected, but with the antenna elevated to 15° he acquires "an excellent blip right where I told him to look for the object." According to the Viscount pilot, the object "dissolved right in front of my eyes, and the crew above lost it from the scope at the same time. They said it just faded away." The entire incident lasts several minutes. (NICAP, " Two Aircraft Observe Object / Excellent Blip on Radar"; Condon, pp. 128-129; Martin Shough, RADCAT: Radar Catalogue: A Review of Twenty-One Ground and Airborne Radar UAP Contact Reports Generally Related to Aviation Safety for the Period October 15, 1948, to September 19, 1976, National Aviation Reporting Center on Anomalous Phenomena, NARCAP Report TR-6, December 8, 2002, pp. 101-102)
August 31 — After nuclear test Plumbbob Smokey, Army troops conduct an airlift assault. (Wikipedia, “Desert Rock exercises”)
August 31 — Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.) sends a letter to a constituent about UFOs, saying, “I, frankly, feel that there is a great deal to this.” (UFOEv, p. 173)
September — Soviet defector Nikolai Khokhlov suffers a sudden and severe illness while attending an anti- Communist meeting in Frankfurt, Germany. He is treated for thallium poisoning and survives. This case is often claimed to be the first radiological attack by the KGB, especially when compared to the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko in 2006, although it remains unclear what isotope was used, if any. Former KGB officer Stanislav Lekarev claims, however, that Khokhlov is poisoned by radioactive polonium (not thallium), exactly as Litvinenko is later. Litvinenko’s poisoning is also initially mistaken for thallium. A unique mechanism for administering poison is described by a knowledgeable source at the time as a pneumatically operated poison ice “atomizer” that leaves no wound or other evidence of the cause of death. (Wikipedia, “Nikolai Khokhlov”; Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin, The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB, Basic Books, 1999; Andy Wright, “The Russian Spy Who Convinced America to Take ESP Seriously,” Atlas Obscura, January 13, 2017; David Kurlander, “Ending in a Fall: America’s Response to the Poisoning of Soviet Defector Nikolai Khokhlov,” Café, September 3, 2020)
Early September - Several people fishing near Ubatuba, Sao Paulo, Brazil, watch a disc dive down from the sky and explode, showering the area with flaming fragments. One of the witnesses writes an anonymous letter and sends three pieces to O Globo, but no witnesses to the event have ever come forward. APRO representative Olavo T. Fontes examines the fragments, which are dull gray, irregular, and strongly oxidized. One sample is shot through with microscopic cracks and shows a fissure running through two-thirds of its length. All three have whitish smears of a powdery substance like cinders. Fontes takes one sample to the Mineral Production Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture for analysis, which shows it to be "magnesium of a high degree of purity." Chemist Luisa Maria A. Barbosa, who conducts a spectrographic analysis, says that not even trace elements are apparent. Fontes also has it analyzed by chemist Elson Teixeira and the Brazilian Army. The Laboratory of Crystallography conducts some X-ray diffraction work. All conclude that the material is pure magnesium, while one gives it a density of 1.866 (normal magnesium is 1.741). APRO sends a second fragment to the US Air Force, which accidentally destroys it. The third sample is sent to the Colorado Project in February 1968. Roy Craig runs tests on it at the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Division of the IRS in Washington and Dow Chemical's Metallurgical Laboratory. Both determine that the level of purity is not as high as was determined in 1957 (although this is now seen as a major misrepresentation of the actual results). APRO does two further tests with University of Arizona metallurgical engineer Walter A. Walker and Robert W. Johnson of the Materials Research Corporation at Orangeburg, New Jersey. Walker and Johnson both find that the sample "had undergone a directional crystal growth type of manufacture." Walker concludes that the material was likely exposed to the earth's atmosphere at elevated temperatures. Researchers Brad Sparks and Michael D. Swords examine Roy Craig's archived original notes from the Colorado Project and find that the team had covered up the fact that an abnormal concentration of magnesium isotope Mg-26 had indeed been found and knowingly misrepresented the sample to APRO as "essentially the same as terrestrial magnesium," blaming them for cherry-picking the Brazilian lab results. Peter A. Sturrock acquires the remnant of the samples from APRO and performs further analysis on two of them in 1997. In 2018, Michael Swords and Robert Powell borrow one Ubatuba sample from Sturrock and arrange for further tests at an accredited lab, finding variations well outside the normal range for magnesium, strontium, copper, and barium. (NICAP, " The Ubatuba Incident"; " Physical Evidence," APRO Bulletin, March 1960, pp. 1, 3; " The Physical Evidence Story," APRO Bulletin, May 1960, pp. 1-3, 8; " APRO Metal Extraterrestrial?" NICAP Special Bulletin, May 1960, p. 3; Olavo T. Fontes, " A Report on the Investigation of Magnesium Samples from a UFO Explosion over the Sea in the Ubatuba Region of Brazil," 1962; Lorenzen, FS Hoax, pp. 104-145; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 212- 216; Condon, pp. 94-97, 257-260; " APRO's New Findings on Ubatuba Magnesium," APRO Bulletin, July/Aug. 1970, pp. 1, 5; John Harney, " The Search for Physical Evidence, Part Three: The Ubatuba Magnesium," Merseyside UFO Bulletin 4, no. 2 (June 1971): 19-21; " Magnesium Study Continues," APRO Bulletin 31, no. 11 (January 1984): 6; Michael D. Swords, " Analysis of Alleged Fragments from an Exploding UFO near Ubatuba, Brazil: An Introduction," JUFOS 4 (1992): 1-5; Walter W. Walker and Robert W. Johnson, " Further Studies on the Ubatuba UFO Magnesium Samples," JUFOS 4 (1992): 6-25; Walter W. Walker, " Scientific Studies of the Ubatuba Magnesium Fragments: A 1992 Perspective," JUFOS 4 (1992): 26-37; Peter A. Sturrock, " Letter: Ubatuba," IUR 18, no. 2 (March/April 1993): 19; Paul R. Hill, Unconventional Flying Objects: A Scientific Analysis, Hampton Roads, 1995, pp. 226-234; Peter A. Sturrock, " Composition Analysis of the Brazil Magnesium," Journal of Scientific Exploration 15, no. 1 (2001): 69-95; Pierre Kaufmann and Peter A. Sturrock, " On Events Possibly Related to the `Brazil Magnesium,'" Journal of Scientific Exploration 18, no. 2 (2004): 283-291; Clark III 1143-1155; Brazil 510-517; " Analysis of the `Ubatuba' Material by Robert Powell," Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies, May 6, 2020; Robert M. Powell, Michael D. Swords, Mark Rodeghier, and Phyllis Budinger, " Isotope Ratios and Chemical Analysis of the 1957 Brazilian Ubatuba Fragment," Journal of Scientific Exploration 36, no. 1 (Spring 2022): 39-48; " Crashed UFO Material Analysis Discussed in a 1964 Radio Broadcast," Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, August 25, 2024; Clark IV 548, 1299-1310)
September — 3:00 p.m. Hélio Penteado and his foreman Zaca Sabiá are repairing a fence on Penteado’s farm in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil, when Sabiá’s dog begins growling at something in the mint field. They hear a loud, irritating sound and see a disc about 50 feet wide landing in the field and supported by three legs with spheres on the end that pierce the ground. Penteado goes closer to investigate and sees two beings about 4 feet tall leave the UFO wearing green coveralls. They seem to float along the ground and take a vessel from under the craft. One of them is carrying something like a gun or flamethrower. They pass through a fence on the way to a river. After 10 minutes the beings return with the vessel apparently full of river water. The entity with the flamethrower shoots it at a jacaranda tree and a eucalyptus tree, damaging their trunks. They reenter the object via the dome, which takes off toward the city. Back at his barn, Penteado notices that all his metallic tools are stacked in a cone, the birds are dead, his monkey is agitated, and his watch has stopped working. The same day, people observe a UFO over a hospital on the Avenida Julio Mesqita, where the object dumps two drops of liquid metal that falls in the street. The UFO goes so low that it hits the corner of a parked truck. An analysis of the metal by an unnamed organization (possibly the Brazilian Air Force) shows that the metal is high in magnesium. Penteado later goes to the landing site and takes plaster casts of the footprints, which he sends to the Agronomy Institute of Campinas. (“Caso do disco proximo de Campinas,” Boletim SBEDV, no. 14 (March 1, 1960): 1–3; Brazil 35–37)
September 1 — 12:00 midnight. Chief Inspector Reginald Jones and a fellow officer of the Glamorgan Police are patrolling the seafront at Porthcawl, Bridgend County, Wales. Suddenly a blood-red object with a jagged black streak across its center rises out of the Bristol Channel on the southwest horizon. Two more streaks appear above and below it. It then takes off at great speed toward the Atlantic Ocean. (“World Roundup,” Flying Saucer Review 3, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1957): 5, 9)
September 2 — After the Plumbbob Galileo nuclear shot at the Nevada Test Site, Army troops are tested to determine their psychological reactions to witnessing the nuclear detonation. (Wikipedia, “Desert Rock exercises”)
September 4 — Four Portuguese jet fighter-bombers under the command of Capt. José Lemos Ferreira are flying at night at 24,600 feet between Ota, Portugal, and Granada, Spain. Near Granada they turn to head to Portalegre, Portugal. At this point, Ferreira notices a UFO like a bright star with a scintillating, colored nucleus that changes from deep green to blue. The object suddenly grows to 5 or 6 times its original size, then shrinks to a barely visible yellow point. These changes repeat several times, possibly due to changes in position. The UFO maintains its position 90° to the left of the squadron. Suddenly a small circle of yellow light emerges from the object and three smaller yellow objects appear, maneuver, then disappear. (NICAP, “Portuguese Air Force Jets Have 40- Min. Encounter / E-M”; “Portuguese Pilots Meet Saucers,” Flying Saucer Review 4, no. 2 (March/April 1958): 7; Marciano Alves, “Air Force Pilots Spend 40 Minutes with Saucers,” Flying Saucer Review 4, no. 3 (May/June 1958): 2–3; Good Above, pp. 147–148; Kean, p. 50)
September 12 — NORAD’s command headquarters is established at Ent Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Canada and the United States agree that the NORAD commander will always be a US officer, with a Canadian vice commander, and Canada “agreed the command’s primary purpose would be…early warning and defense for SAC’s retaliatory forces.” Every continental US military radar UFO case in the Blue Book files from now on is a NORAD case because the subordinate USAF Air Defense Command belongs to NORAD. (Wikipedia, “North American Aerospace Defense Command”; Clark III 801; Clark IV 893)
September 16 — ATIC briefs Howard P. Robertson, now chairman of the Defense Science Board, on Project Blue Book, presumably because he wants to find out how the Air Force is implementing the recommendations of the 1953 Robertson Panel. The briefing book (including Special Report no. 14 as well as reports on Keyhoe and the UFO movie) is delivered by the Pentagon’s Maj. James F. Byrne. (Swords 265–266)
September 19 — The Plumbbob Rainier nuclear shot at the Nevada Test Site is the first fully contained underground nuclear test, meaning that no fission products are vented into the atmosphere. This test of 1.7 kilotons can be detected around the world by seismologists using ordinary seismic instruments. (Wikipedia, “Operation Plumbbob”)
September 20 — 3:05 p.m. A national defense alert is called when the first of two or three supersonic objects, varying in speed for the next 30 minutes from 800 to 12,000 mph and varying in altitude from 50,000 to 135,000 feet, is picked up over the Atlantic by NORAD radar at Montauk, New York. A second (or same) UFO heads straight toward SAC headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska, in what is perceived as a threat trajectory potentially aiming for a nuclear knockout kill of the entire US nuclear force. At 3:10 p.m., interception is attempted by two F-102 jets from Kinross AFB [now Chippewa County International Airport] south of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and later from Truax AFB [now Truax Field Air National Guard Base] northeast of Madison, Wisconsin. At 3:24 p.m., another UFO joins the first on a similar trajectory 150 miles behind. It passes over Ontario, Michigan, Illinois, and Iowa. The UFO sends radio replies to Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) interrogation signals, on different frequencies, confirming its location on the radar plots and making it impossible to explain as a malfunction or interference. Interception is impossible at these speeds and altitudes. SAC goes on high alert and apparently launches nuclear bombers toward Russia, but the alert is called off when the UFOs disappear. NORAD triggers a White House alert. High-level meetings of CIA and USAF intelligence, and the Intelligence Advisory Committee meet in executive session. The CIA Director of the Office of Scientific Intelligence, Herbert Scoville Jr., suggests that the object might be a maneuverable Soviet cruise missile, but that is not yet in the Soviet inventory. President Eisenhower is briefed multiple times. One year later, NORAD still cannot identify any malfunction that could possibly make the radar targets agree with the IFF signals. (NICAP, “Multiple Radars Track 4,500 MPH Target”; Sparks, pp. 249–250; [memo], R. Roach to A. H. Belmont, “Unidentified Flying Object Reported on September 20, 1957; Intelligence Advisory Committee / Watch Committee,” September 24, 1957; Swords 266–267; Clark III 802–804, 814–824; Brad Sparks, “NORAD National Air Defense UFO Alert, Sept. 20, 1957,” christophermellon.net, May 2, 2023; Clark IV 882–892, 894–895)
September 29 — 4:20 p.m. A nuclear waste storage tank explodes spontaneously at the Mayak plutonium production site (Chelyabinsk-40) for nuclear weapons and fuel reprocessing at Ozyorsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It launches a kilometer-tall pillar of dust and smoke into the sky. Gray radioactive ash and debris settles over the industrial zone. There are no immediate fatalities, though up to 200+ additional cancer deaths perhaps ensue from the radioactive contamination of some 20,000 square miles; 270,000 people are exposed to dangerous radiation levels. Over 30 small communities are removed from Soviet maps between 1958 and 1991. (Wikipedia, “Kyshtym disaster”; John Greenewald, “Declassified NRC Document Sheds Light on Kyshtym Nuclear Explosion,” The Black Vault, June 24, 2024)
October — Leonard H. Stringfield privately publishes Inside Saucer Post…3-0 Blue that summarizes his early years as a UFO investigator and as director of Civilian Research, Interplanetary Flying Objects. (Leonard H. Stringfield, Inside Saucer Post…3-0 Blue, The Author, 1957)
October — The Centro de Estudios Interplanetarios is founded in Barcelona, Spain, by Eduardo Buelta, Antonio Ribera, and Màrius Lleget. At its first meeting, Buelta is named president and Ribera vice-president. By January 1959 it is publishing a mimeographed bulletin, and from 1970 to 1981 it operates a quarterly magazine titled Stendek. Since then it has published occasional groups of papers on UFOs. ( Stendek 1, no. 1 (June 1970); Ignacio Cabria García, Entre ufólogos, creyentes y contactados, Cuadernos de Ufologia, 1993; Papers d’OVNIs, no. 1 (1994); Nous Papers d’OVNIs, no. 1 (December 2014); Eghigian, After, p. 104)
October — 10:00 p.m. Mrs. James Masterson and her sister Bernice Childers while driving see a reddish- orange disc, 30 feet in diameter, just above the treetops in Allen Park, Michigan. They chase it for a block or two before it streaks off. One of the women sees two figures wearing white Navy uniforms in a window on the lower section. (Center for UFO Studies, HUMCAT Index 1957, p. 16; Clark III 268; Clark IV 308)
October 1 — 11:10 a.m. Three witnesses in Santa Barbara, California, including H. F. Hoag from Victoria, British Columbia, are watching a jet’s vapor trail from La Mesa Park when they see a red object, approximately 100 feet in diameter, speed by. The object is silent and traverses a 90° arc of the sky in about 15 seconds. At the same time, the witnesses can also see the jet plane over Carpinteria to the east. On October 2, a 6:00 p.m. broadcast on Radio Station WATE reports that an Air Force jet interceptor had detected a UFO on its radar and pursued it. When the UFO comes into visual range, the pilot sees a circular object roughly the size of a B-29 bomber. Within seconds, the UFO accelerates away at an estimated speed of over 1,800 mph. (“ ‘Flying Object’ Seen by Victoria Visitor,” Santa Barbara (Calif.) News-Press, October 1, 1957, p. A-2; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History, 1957, October 1st–November 2nd, The Author, 1997, p. 2)
October 1 — The initial issue of NICAP’s newsletter, the UFO Investigator, comes under scrutiny and criticism from Air Force officials through Capt. George T. Gregory. Demonstrating a lack of regard for the potential value in studying the UFO phenomenon, an official letter condemns Keyhoe-led NICAP’s motives, characterizing the organization as an “instrument of rabble rousing and agitation.” This viewpoint is contained in a briefing given to the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History, 1957, October 1st–November 2nd, The Author, 1997, pp. 2, 4)
October 1 — 7:00 p.m. John Karcher, a former city councilman and farm owner, is outside Rochester, Pennsylvania, with his friend, Lee Plunkett, when they notice something unusual approaching from the west, flying at an altitude of about 2,000 feet. It is a luminous, torpedo-shaped object, estimated to be 200 feet long. Its top half is green, the bottom half reddish-orange, with a strip of yellow separating the two colors. The object is moving around 15 mph. Karcher grabs a pair of binoculars and calls some neighbors, a Mrs. Norderbugger and her daughter and son-in-law. The three of them also observe the object as it continues on a steady course southward, towards the Shippingport Atomic Power Station on the Ohio River. Karcher sees no further details through the binoculars and thinks the sighting is over when the UFO moves out of view. However, the object reappears after a few minutes, retracing its path. Karcher speculates that the object has made a U-turn over the nuclear facility, given its speed and the distance it traveled. (“County ‘Whatnik’ Report Is Probed,” Beaver Valley Times (Aliquippa, Pa.), November 8, 1957; NICAP, “ ‘Torpedo’ Circles Atomic Plant”; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History, 1957, October 1st–November 2nd, The Author, 1997, p. 1; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History, 1957, October 1st–November 2nd, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2003, pp. 1–3)
October 4 — The USSR launches the first artificial earth satellite, Sputnik 1, which transmits radio pulses for 21 days. Some 4% of Americans claim to have seen Sputnik in orbit. However, what most are actually seeing is the 100-foot-long R-7 rocket core stage, outfitted with reflective panels that make it a first magnitude object, trailing 600 miles behind the 22-inch satellite until October 26 when the batteries run out. The satellite is barely visible at sixth magnitude. (Wikipedia, “ Sputnik 1”; C. C. Furnas, “ Why Did U.S. Lose the Race? Critics Speak Up,” Life 43, no. 7 (October 21, 1957): 22–24; Walter N. Webb, “ Allen Hynek As I Knew Him,” IUR 18, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1993): 7; Graff 127–128)
October 4 — 10:00 a.m. A tadpole-like UFO is seen at Ichinoseki, Iwate Prefecture, Japan. Afterwards, material like spider web falls in great profusion around Saguramachi Middle School for about 2 hours. Chemical analysis reveals that it is organic, dissolvable in hydrochloric acid, and burns. The crystal structure is different from spider web. (“ Angel Hair,” Flying Saucer Review 4, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1958): 21; Robert N. Webster, “Things That Fall from UFO’s,” Fate 11, no. 10 (October 1958): 26; George M. Eberhart, “ Postcards with a UFO Theme,” IUR 29, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 21; Brian Boldman, “ Angel Hair Physical Analyses: A Review,” JUFOS 9 (2006): 103; Clark III 124–125; Clark IV 151, 153)
October 5 — 11:00 p.m. Antonio Vilas-Boas gets up from bed on his family’s farm near São Francisco de Sales, Minas Gerais, Brazil, to open a window and notices a silvery reflection over the corral. After a short time, it moves towards the window. He and his brother watch as an object approaches and lights up the room. It disappears. (Clark III 1226; Clark IV 1406)
October 6 — 4:15 p.m. Amateur astronomer Earl Sydow spots a bright object with the magnitude of the planet Venus through his telescope over Tucson, Arizona. Six other observers also watch the object, which measures approximately 3 minutes in diameter along its major axis and 1 minute along its minor axis. Smaller flat-white or silver-white objects, as many as 6–10, seem to emerge from the primary object as observations continue. The smaller objects are apparently short traces of light at some times and semi-wedge-shaped at other times. The smaller objects disappear from the field of the telescope until only the original object is visible, and it disappears as if moving directly away. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 80)
September 7. BRAZIL, Ubatuba. Several people were fishing when they sighted a disc-shaped object. It approached the beach at high speed and made a sharp turn upward c1imbed rapidly. Suddenly, the disc exploded; it fell in many pieces lnto the water. Some fell onto the beach and were picked up. Spectrographic analyssi showed the metal to be of unusual purity, with no detectable inclusion of other elements. The sample was almost 100% pure magnesium (APRO)
October 8 - Day. Four Fijians in a punt with an outboard motor off Nabouwalu, Viti Levu, Fiji, see a white, circular object, which is hovering about 20 feet above the ocean. They approach it. It appears to be revolving, and they can see the figure of a man standing on the outside. The figure shines a blinding light at their boat, which makes them feel dazed and weak. As they draw closer, the figure disappears and the object rises rapidly upward, disappearing straight up. R. O. Aveling, an official of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, sees a similar object at the same time but at a different location. It is hovering at about 5,000 feet and swinging in a balloon-like fashion. Its color varies from bright white to deep, flashing red. (New Zealand Herald, October 21, 1957; " Fiji Reports Sighting Object Like Texas Saucer," Honolulu (Hawaii) Advertiser, November 5, 1957, p. 1; " Strange Object Seen in South Pacific Skies," Long Beach (Calif.) Press-Telegram, November 5, 1957, p. 3; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 81; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History, 1957, October 1st-November 2nd, The Author, 1997, p. 19; Patrick Gross, URECAT, February 16, 2007; Bill Chalker, " The Great USO Show of Oz," TheOzFiles, August 26, 2022)
October 9 — Evening. Fire ignites Windscale Pile Number One, an air-cooled, graphite-moderated, uranium-fueled reactor used for plutonium and isotope production at the Windscale facility [now Sellafield] in Cumbria, England. It burns for three days, and there is a release of radioactive iodine that spreads across the UK, contaminating surrounding dairy farms, as well as the rest of Europe. (Wikipedia, “ Windscale fire”)
October 9 — Night. Radio station CKOV in Kelowna, British Columbia, after reports on Sputnik, rebroadcasts Orson Welles’s 1938 War of the Worlds radio drama. Some 60 phone calls come in from listeners who think that Russians have landed in North America. (“ Welles, ‘Moon,’ Terrify Town,” Windsor (Ont.) Star, October 10, 1957, p. 28)
October 9 - 7:24 p.m. The tower operator at Naval Air Station South Weymouth [now the Shea Field Naval Aviation Historical Museum], Massachusetts, sights a constant, conical, greenish- blue object with a phosphorescent glow through binoculars. In sight approximately 90 seconds, the observer sees no navigation lights. It is traveling faster than a jet plane on a track from northeast to south-southwest. The object comes out of the horizon and toward the end of its path makes three "crazy" gyrations then vanishes, possibly behind cloud cover. The object has no trail like a meteor. (Walter N. Webb, " Allen Hynek As I Knew Him," IUR 18, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1993): 7)
October 10 — 4:00 a.m. A huge fireball plunges from the sky near Myton, Utah, just missing a US Navy DC-6 transport plane out of NAS Alameda [now closed], California, with 36 persons aboard. Pilot Lt. Cmdr. W. F. Norris reports the incident to Salt Lake City Airport. (“ Big Fireball Perils Plane,” Oakland (Calif.) Tribune, October 10, 1957, p. 1)
October 10 — The coffee truck driven by Miguel Espanhol Navarrete and his driver stalls northwest of Ceres near Quebra Coco, Goiás, Brazil, as a UFO lands nearby. They see an intense light as they begin a steep ascent, and then realize that the flying object appears to be more than 600 feet long. It lights up the entire area, even though it is gliding at a great height. The driver panics and tries to speed away, but the truck’s engine stalls as the object approaches and flies over the vehicle about 130 feet away. The object is about 3 feet in diameter by 40 inches high and is unevenly oval, with the upper section greater than the lower section. It looks like two superimposed plates separated by a strip 65 feet thick. When it is at an altitude of 20 feet, the UFO stops in the air and its light goes out. It lands, a door opens, and seven apparently human people come out dressed in luminous suits. Then the crew reenters the UFO and takes off, stopping at about 1,650 feet altitude. At that moment a smaller object detaches itself from the larger one and flies north. The larger object follows in a southeasterly direction. Navarrete is interviewed by Judge Gabriel Barbosa de Andrade, then-Secretary of the Interior and justice of the State of Goiás; Joaquim Neves Pereira; and Antenor Gomes, then-Secretary of Public Security for Goiás. (Lorenzen, Occupants, Signet, 1967, pp. 192–193; Patrick Gross, URECAT, October 17, 2006; “ Caso Ceres,” Portal Fenomenum, June 15, 2016; Clark III 230, 268; Brazil 40–41; Clark IV 270, 308)
October 12 — 9:15 p.m. Many witnesses see a luminous oval object pass over Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela, at great speed. The same or a similar object is seen at Coro at 9:25 p.m. and at Trujillo at 12:00 midnight. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 82)
October 14 — 7:00 p.m. The Naval Air Station North Island tower in San Diego, California, directs a Navy S2F-1Tracker anti-submarine aircraft toward a bright light over Point Loma. The aircraft, piloted by Lt. Allen L. Ries, tracks the UFO on airborne radar at some points suddenly moving at 1,700 mph average speed (3,500 mph at peak) and 1,100 mph average relative to the aircraft’s (peak 2,200 mph). Radar indicates the object is about 12 miles ahead. After 3 minutes the aircraft loses the object visually and on radar. Blue Book explains this as the star Arcturus, which is in the wrong direction in the sky, then changes the explanation to a balloon. (NICAP, [ Blue Book documents]; Clark III 389–390; Clark IV 434–436)
October 14 — Around 9:30 p.m. Antonio Vilas-Boas and another brother are plowing and see a bright object hovering 300 feet in the air. He approaches it, but it evades him and disappears. (Clark III 1226–1227; Clark IV 1406)
October 15 — Retired RAAF Chief of the Air Staff George Jones observes at an unknown location “a brilliant white light at the bottom of a shadowy shape like a transparent balloon” flying silently at 40 mph at 1,500 feet altitude. (Bill Chalker, “ Air Marshall Sir George Jones and the UFO,” 2000)
October 15 — Afternoon. Robert Moudy sees a glowing object hovering above his combine in Franklin County, Indiana, at about 1,500 feet. It appears to be silver and platter-shaped, perhaps 12 feet in diameter, with a pink flame coming from its base. It makes a loud whirring noise as it hovers. When it starts ascending at a 22° angle, its color changes from pink to light blue and the combine stops working. He notices two stalled cars on a nearby road. (“ Indiana Farmer Says ‘Whatsit’ Was Overhead,” Indianapolis News, November 5, 1957, p. 17)
October 16. BRAZIL, Francisco de Sales. Antonio Villas Boas was plowing when he saw a red star in the sky that grew rapidly larger and soon appeared like a huge elongated egg. After it had hovered near him for some time, the tractor motor stopped and the lights went out. The object now appeared to be about 35 ft. long and 23 ft. wide, with a complex shape. Five occupants about 5 ft. tall, dressed in grey tight-fitting coveralls, forced the witness into the object, where he had sexual relations with a female occupant, was given a tour of the craft and released. The next day Villas Boas returned to the field and found three marks in the soft ground. (The Humanoids, p. 200)
October 16 — 1:00 a.m. Antonio Vilas-Boas is plowing alone near São Francisco de Sales, Minas Gerais, Brazil, when a red, egg-shaped object appears above him. His tractor motor and lights fail. It lands nearby and something grabs him as he tries to run away. Three small figures bring him into the object, where he is subjected to tests and made to have sex twice with a short, odd-looking woman with seemingly bleached hair, slanted eyes, and a pointed chin. Afterwards, she points to her belly then points to the sky. Then he is given a tour of the craft and taken outside again around 5:30 a.m. (“ The A.V.B. Contact Case,” Boletim SBEDV, no. 26/27 (Apr./July 1962): 7–9; Gordon Creighton, “ The Most Amazing Case of All, Part 1: A Brazilian Farmer’s Story,” Flying Saucer Review 11, no. 1 (Jan./ Feb. 1965): 13–17; Gordon Creighton, “ The Most Amazing Case of All, Part 2: Analysis of the Brazilian Farmer’s Story,” Flying Saucer Review 11, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1965): 5–8; Gordon Creighton, “ Postscript to the Most Amazing Case of All,” Flying Saucer Review 11, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1965): 24–26; Gordon Creighton, “ Even More Amazing…: Further Light on the A.V.B. Case,” Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1966): 23–27; Gordon Creighton, “ Even More Amazing…Part 2: The A.V.B. Case Continued,” Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1966): 22–25; Gordon Creighton, “ Even More Amazing…Part III,” Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1966): 14–16; Gordon Creighton, “ Even More Amazing…Part IV,” Flying Saucer Review 13, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1967): 25–27; Olavo T. Fontes, “ Even More Amazing…Part V,” Flying Saucer Review 13, no. 3 (May/June 1967): 22–25; Gordon Creighton, “ Even More Amazing…Part VI: The Medical Report,” Flying Saucer Review 14, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1968): 18–20; Lorenzen, Occupants, Signet, 1967, pp. 42–72; “ Brazil: New Light on a Sexual Abduction,” IUR/Probe, Sept. 1980, p. 79; Kim Hansen, “ UFO Casebook,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, pp. 56–59; Mark Cashman, “ Behavioral Classification System for UFO Occupants,” IUR 24, no. 1 (Spring 1999): 19; UFOEv II 526–528; “ Antonio Villas-Boas CE-IV Case of October 1957,” Ufology: A Primer in Audio, 1938–1959, November 21, 2013; “ Antonio Villas Boas: Um dos maiores casos de abdução da ufologia,” ovnis&ufos insanos YouTube channel, September 15, 2018; Brazil 41–47; Clark III 950, 1056, 1227–1229; “ The Mysterious Case of Antonio Villas Boas That Can’t Be Explained,” Unexplained Mysteries YouTube channel, October 9, 2019; Randle, 1973, pp. 36–41; Powell, Keyhoe, 273–274; Eghigian, After, pp. 157–162; Clark IV 548–549, 1172, 1064, 1406–1408)
October 16 — Day. Nurse Ella Louise Fortune is driving north of Tularosa, New Mexico, when she sees a brilliant-white, elliptical object hovering in a deep-blue sky. It seems to have a faint exhaust trail at one edge. She stops her car and snaps a 35mm Kodachrome photo. Analysts generally agree this is a bright lenticular cloud with a trail of ice crystals. (“ UAO Photographed over Holloman Test Range,” APRO Bulletin, May 1958, pp. 1, 7; John T. Hopf, “ Photographic Analysis of the Fortune Photo,” APRO Bulletin, September 1958, p. 3; UFOEv, p. 90; Story, p. 140; Walter N. Webb, “ The Fortune Photo Revisited,” IUR 18, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1993): 14–15; “ Gigantic Cigar-Shaped UFO Witnessed near Holloman Air Force Base, Discussed by Frank Edwards in 1958,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, December 30, 2023)
October 16 — Evening. Former Australian Air Marshal George Jones and his wife see a round object like a “flying balloon” moving silently at the speed of a jet over their home in Mentone, Victoria, Australia. It moves from south to north at an altitude of 1,000–1,500 feet. (“ Former Air Chief Describes ‘Flying Saucer,’” Canberra Times, January 4, 1958, p. 3; George Jones, “ Former Air Chief Sees Saucers,” Flying Saucer Review 4, no. 3 (May/June 1958): 6)
October 17 — Groundbreaking ceremonies take place in Green Bank, West Virginia, for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory established by the National Science Foundation. In 1958, the land is set aside by the Federal Communications Commission as a National Radio Quiet Zone where no fixed transmitters are allowed within the area closest to the telescope. All other fixed radio transmitters including TV and radio towers inside the zone are required to transmit in such a way that interference at the antennas is minimized by using limited power and highly directional antennas. (Wikipedia, “ National Radio Astronomy Observatory”; Wikipedia, “ United States National Radio Quiet Zone”; Graham DuShane, “ Radio Astronomy at Green Bank,” Science 126 (1957): 955)
October 21 — 9:18 p.m. Flying Officer D. W. Sweeney is flying a Meteor jet at 28,000 feet on a training exercise from RAF North Luffenham [now St. George’s Barracks] when he nearly collides with an unidentified object over RAF Gaydon [now closed], North Warwickshire, England. After taking evasive action, Sweeney tries to approach the object, whereupon its six lights go out and it disappears. The UFO is tracked on radar at RAF Langtoft [now closed] in South Kesteven. (“ UFO over British A-Bomber Base: Air Ministry Baffled,” Flying Saucer Review 4, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1958): 6; Good Above, pp. 50–51; Powell, Scientist, 24–25)
October 22 — The US Continental Army Command sends a memo to the Army Chief of Research and Development indicating its interest in the flying saucer concept and requesting initiation of a feasibility study of a “manned flying saucer.” (Richard P. Weinert, History of Army Aviation, 1950–1962, US Army Training and Doctrine Command, November 1976, pp. 220–221)
October 25 — On a farm near Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a housekeeper (pseudonym = Anazia Maria) is taking care of a family member who is dying of stomach cancer. She claims that two diminutive, long- haired beings emerge from a landed UFO, come inside the house, examine the girl for an hour with a device that looks like a flashlight, communicate telepathically to the family, cure the girl, and leave behind some medication to give her. (Olavo T. Fontes, “ Dying Girl Saved by Humanoid Surgeons,” Flying Saucer Review 13, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1967): 5–6)
October 30 — 9:00 p.m. Hugh Pulju and Shirley Moyer are driving 10 miles north of Casper, Wyoming, when a round, shiny object appears in the road about 250 feet ahead. Pulju tries to turn around, but the engine keeps stalling. It works well once he reaches a main highway. (“ ‘Mystery Object’ Is Reported Here,” Casper (Wyo.) Tribune-Herald, November 5, 1957, p. 1; Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, pp. 237–238; Schopick, p. 24)
October 31 — Keyhoe meets with Rep. James C. Healey again, who tells him the Air Force has “made a strong attempt to disprove your claims.” (Keyhoe, FSTS, p. 113)
October 31 — A businessman and his wife at Longchaumois, Jura, France, see a large lighted object with openings. It hovers close to the ground and takes off with a great increase in brightness, silently, at high speed. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957, October 1st–November 2nd, The Author, 1997, p. 83)
October 31 — 8:00 p.m. Barbara Jean Stokes, her husband Paul, and another couple are driving in Lumberton, North Carolina, when they spot an object about 200 feet long in the sky. Suddenly the object rises straight up and flames. As this happens, the car stalls until the object disappears a few seconds later. (“ Woman Says She Saw Ball of Fire on Road,” Charlotte (N.C.) Observer, November 5, 1957, p. 1)
Late October — Late one afternoon, a British RAF team is planning to return home from the Maralinga, South Australia, nuclear test site where the Operation Antler series of blasts have occurred (September 14, 25, October 9). They go outside and see a silvery-blue, metallic UFO with a flat base and a dome on top. Several squarish portholes are visible around the center. The object tilts at 45° and hovers. After 15 minutes, the UFO shoots up out of sight without a sound. One of the witnesses is Derek Murray, later a Home Office photographer. (Bill Chalker, “ The UFO Connection: Startling Implications for Australia’s North West Cape, and for Australia’s Security,” Flying Saucer Review 31, no. 5 (July 1986): 18–19; Jenny Randles, UFO Conspiracy, Cassell, 1987, pp. 94–95; Good Above, p. 163)
November — Lt. Gen. John A. Samford succeeds Maj. Gen. Ralph Canine as director of the National Security Agency.
November — Gene Duplantier launches the quarterly magazine Saucers, Space, and Science in Willowdale, Ontario. It continues through 1972. ( Saucers, Space & Science, no. 1 (November 1957))
November — Isabel Davis of Civilian Saucer Intelligence of New York writes a scathing critique of contactee claims in an issue of Fantastic Universe, highlighting the suspicious and contrived circumstances under which they take place, the extraterrestrials’ utopian home worlds, their ease of communication through telepathy, their vague promises of protection against future doom, and the inconsistent functioning of their technology. However, she gives credence to some UFO sightings involving occupants. (Isabel L. Davis, “ Meet the Extraterrestrial,” Fantastic Universe, November 1957, pp. 31–39)
November 1 — 9:15 a.m. More than 50 workers at the Luipaardsvlei mine near Krugersdorp, Gauteng, South Africa, watch two UFOs hanging motionless in the air at a great height until the afternoon. A Sabre jet from the South African Air Force is sent up to investigate. It climbs to 45,000 feet, but the objects are still above it. One of the witnesses is Maj. G. Ogilvie-Watson, from an ACF squadron at Pretoria. They move off at great speed. (“ Jet Unable to Reach UFO,” Flying Saucer Review 4, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1958): 2; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957, October 1st–November 2nd, The Author, 1997, p. 85)
November 2 — 3:30 a.m. Three miles west of Canadian, Texas, S/Sgt. Alfred A. Calvin and a civilian witness see a submarine-shaped object, red and white, about 40–60 feet long and about 10 feet high, at ground level. A figure is near the object holding a white flag. When he stops the car, a flash of light from the object coincides with the sudden failure of the headlights. (NICAP, “ Submarine-Shaped UFO, Entity, E-M Case”; Sparks, p. 253; Randle, Levelland, 2021, pp. 11–12)
November 2 — 8:30 p.m. A witness is driving between Seminole and Seagraves, Texas, on US Highway 62 when he sees lights on the road ahead. As he approaches them, his headlights go out and his engine dies. A few seconds later, the lights rise into the air and disappear. (Hobbs (N.Mex.) News-Sun, November 5, 1957; Schopick, p. 25)
November 2 — 10:50 p.m. Farmhand and veteran Pedro Saucedo and Joe Salaz are driving four miles west of Levelland, Texas, on Route 116 [now 114] south of Pettit (near its intersection with Five Mile Road). They see a flash of light to the right of the road. Then a 200-foot-long, 6-foot-wide blue rocket-shaped object, with yellow flame and white smoke coming from the rear, rises up out of the field, heads straight toward their truck, passes directly overhead at about 200 feet with a loud thundering roar, a rush of wind, and great heat. Their truck engine dies and the headlights to go out. The UFO disappears in the east towards Levelland. The lights come back on spontaneously and the engine restarts. A frightened Saucedo calls the occurrence in to Patrolman A. J. Fowler of the Levelland sheriff’s office. At Pettit, Texas, the same night, two grain combines, each with two engines, fail as a UFO passes overhead. The Air Force calls the Levelland sightings ball lightning or St. Elmo’s fire, even though there are no electrical storms in the area. Donald Menzel calls it a mirage. (Wikipedia, “ Levelland UFO case”; NICAP, “ The Levelland Sightings / Saucedo”; Sparks, p. 253; “ Flying ‘Fiery Object’ Seen,” Lubbock (Tex.) Avalanche-Journal, November 3, 1957, pp. 1, 14; “ Many West Texans See Mystery Flying Object,” Abilene (Tex.) Reporter-News, November 4, 1957, p. 1; “ Levelland ‘Flaming Thing’ Brings World Knocking at City’s Door,” Lubbock (Tex.) Morning Avalanche, November 4, 1957, pp. 1, 10; “ Whatnik Sidelines Sputnik, Woofnik,” Fort Worth (Tex.) Star-Telegram, November 4, 1957, pp. 1–2; “ The Levelland Case,” APRO Bulletin, November 1957, p. 1; “ Did the Air Force Deceive the Public about the November Sightings?” UFO Investigator 1, no. 3 (January 1958): 1, 3; Donald H. Menzel and Lyle G. Boyd, The World of Flying Saucers, Doubleday, 1963, pp. 174–176; UFOEv, p. 168; Schopick, pp. 26–27, 32; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 141–142, 146–147; Walter N. Webb, “ Allen Hynek As I Knew Him,” IUR 18, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1993): 8; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs: A History, 1957, November 3rd–5th, The Author, 1997, pp. pp. 1–13; Don Berliner, with Marie Galbreath and Antonio Huneeus, UFO Briefing Document: The Best Available Evidence, Dell, 2000, pp. 67–70; “ Levelland 1957,” Texas UFO Museum & Research Library, March 15, 2002; Donald R. Burleson, “ Levelland, Texas, 1957: Case Reopened,” IUR 28, no. 1 (Spring 2003): 4; Antonio F. Rullán, “ The Southwestern UFO Wave of 1957,” IUR 31, no. 3 (October 2007): 8–15, 22; Wendy Connors, “ Cops and Saucers: Law Enforcement and UFO’s, 1957–1981 Guide,” November 20, 2013, audioclip 1; “ Levelland, Texas, November 7, 1957: Bob Pierpoint, CBS News, Reports on the Levelland, TX UFO Incident,” UFO History YouTube channel, October 7, 2018; Clark III 683–684; Randle, Levelland, 2021, pp. 12–16, 43–55, 128–136, 150–152, 215–217, 234; Powell, Scientist, 41–42; Clark IV 758–759)
November 2 — 11:55 p.m. Two married couples driving near Shallowater, Texas, see a flash of orange light in the southwestern sky. The headlights and radio of their car fail for three seconds as they see the light. The car motor is not affected. (Mark Rodeghier, UFO Reports Involving Vehicle Interference, CUFOS, 1981, p. 9; Randle, Levelland, 2021, pp. 16, 220–221)
November 2 — About midnight. José Alvarez is driving along Route 51 in Whitharral, Texas, when he comes across a 200-foot-long object sitting in the road. His car engine stops as he approaches, and the headlights go out. At that point, the object rises quickly into the air. (UFOEv, p. 168; Schopick, pp. 27–28; Donald R. Burleson, “ Levelland, Texas, 1957: Case Reopened,” IUR 28, no. 1 (Spring 2003): 4; Randle, Levelland, 2021, p. 19)
November 2 - About midnight. Jim Wheeler sees a 200-foot-long, egg-shaped, brightly lit object on Route 114 four miles east of Levelland, Texas. As he gets close to it, his engine and lights cease functioning. He gets out of his car as the light ascends; its lights blink out, and his engine and lights resume functioning. (UFOEv, p. 168; Schopick, p. 27; Donald R. Burleson, " Levelland, Texas, 1957: Case Reopened," IUR 28, no. 1 (Spring 2003): 4; Randle, Levelland, 2021, pp. 17-18)
November 3 — 12:05 a.m. Texas Tech college student Newell H. Wright is driving west one mile west of Smyer, Texas, when the ammeter gauge on his car dashboard starts fluctuating widely. The car motor gradually goes out then the headlights and radio die. He gets out to check and sees a white or aluminum-colored, oval-shaped object flat on the bottom like a loaf of bread, with a bluish-green tint, about 75–125 feet long. After a few minutes, the object suddenly rises up from the road ahead and ascends almost vertically at great speed slightly to the north, disappearing in seconds. Afterward the car can start again. (NICAP, “ Oval-Shaped Object & EME on Ammeter”; Sparks, p. 254; “ Many West Texans See Mystery Flying Object,” Abilene (Tex.) Reporter-News, November 4, 1957, p. 1; UFOEv, p. 168; Schopick, pp. 28–29; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, p. 143; Donald R. Burleson, “ Levelland, Texas, 1957: Case Reopened,” IUR 28, no. 1 (Spring 2003): 4; Swords 253–256; Randle, Levelland, 2021, pp. 16–17, 212–214)
November 3 — 12:15 a.m. Frank Williams, a farmer, is near Whitharral, Texas, when he encounters an object described as an egg sitting on the crossroads. The UFO pulsates steadily; each time it glows bright, the car’s power goes on and off. The object leaves with a thunderous sound. (“ Whatnik Sidelines Sputnik, Woofnik,” Fort Worth (Tex.) Star-Telegram, November 4, 1957, pp. 1–2; “ Levelland ‘Flaming Thing’ Brings World Knocking at City’s Door,” Lubbock (Tex.) Morning Avalanche, November 4, 1957, pp. 1, 10; UFOEv, p. 168; Schopick, pp. 29–30; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 143–144; Donald R. Burleson, “ Levelland, Texas, 1957: Case Reopened,” IUR 28, no. 1 (Spring 2003): 4; Randle, Levelland, 2021, p. 17)
November 3 - 12:45 a.m. Ronald Martin is on Highway 116 near Smyer, Texas, when he sees a glowing red UFO land ahead of his truck, then turn to bluish-green. The truck's electrical system fails. When the UFO takes off, it turns reddish again. (" Many West Texans See Mystery Flying Object," Abilene (Tex.) Reporter-News, November 4, 1957, p. 1; " Levelland `Flaming Thing' Brings World Knocking at City's Door," Lubbock (Tex.) Morning Avalanche, November 4, 1957, pp. 1, 10; UFOEv, p. 168; Schopick, pp. 30-31; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, p. 144; Donald R. Burleson, " Levelland, Texas, 1957: Case Reopened," IUR 28, no. 1 (Spring 2003): 4; Randle, Levelland, 2021, pp. 18-19)
November 3 — Around 1:00 a.m. Levelland (Texas) Fire Marshall Ray Jones, while out driving around and looking for some explanation of the many UFO reports, sees a “streak of light” north of the Oklahoma Flat. His headlights dim and engine sputters as he sees the light. (UFOEv, p. 168; Schopick, p. 32; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 145–146); Randle, Levelland, 2021, p. 21)
November 3 — 1:15 a.m. James D. Long is 5 miles northwest of Levelland, Texas, on a farm-to-market road. He reports a bright object that is egg or oval-shaped, about 200 feet long, 200 feet away, sitting in the road. He hears a “thunderclap.” The car’s lights and motor quit. The object rises quickly and speeds away. (“ Flying ‘Fiery Object’ Seen,” Lubbock (Tex.) Avalanche-Journal, November 3, 1957, pp. 1, 14; UFOEv, p. 168; Schopick, p. 31; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 144–145; Randle, Levelland, 2021, p. 19)
November 3 — 1:30 a.m. Near the same spot as James Long, Hockley County (Texas) Sheriff Weir Clem and Pat McCullough see a flash of light “like a brilliant red sunset” 300–400 yards to the south of them, lighting up the pavement. (UFOEv, p. 168; Schopick, pp. 31–32; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 145–146; Donald R. Burleson, “ Levelland, Texas, 1957: Case Reopened,” IUR 28, no. 1 (Spring 2003): 4; Wendy Connors, “Cops and Saucers: Law Enforcement and UFO’s, 1957–1981 Guide,” November 20, 2013, audioclip 2; “ Levelland, Texas, November 8, 1957: Sheriff Weir Clem Is Interviewed by Anthony Edwards,” UFO History YouTube channel, October 7, 2018; Randle, Levelland, 2021, pp. 19–21, 170–181, 218–219)
November 3 — About 3:00 a.m. Two MPs at White Sands Missile Test Range, New Mexico, Cpl. Glenn H. Toy and Pfc. James E. Wilbanks, are making rounds in their jeep when they notice a bright object high in the sky. It drops down to about 150 feet and the light goes out. A few minutes later the light goes on again and it drops to the ground in a bunker area 3 miles away and goes out. The UFO is egg-shaped and about 225–300 feet in diameter. (NICAP, “ Three MPs Report Object over White Sands Base”; Sparks, p. 254; UFOEv, p. 169; Schopick, pp. 37–38; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 November 3rd–5th, The Author, 1997, p. 6; Swords 259; Randle, Levelland, 2021, pp. 23–27)
November 3 — 7:00 p.m. Edna Ireland is driving with two friends near Sibbald, Alberta, when a blinking light appears in the sky and passes nearly above the car toward the northwest. Their engine coughs and the headlights flicker. (“Satellites Apparently Not Lonely Way Up There,” Winnipeg (Man.) Tribune, November 7, 1957, p. 12; Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, p. 239; Schopick, pp. 42–43)
November 3 — 8:00 p.m. Army Specialist 3rd Class Henry R. Barlow and Specialist 3rd Class Forest R. Oakes, Army Garrison Detachment 5, are in a jeep patrol driving west near the site of the first A-bomb explosion, Trinity Site, in White Sands Proving Ground, New Mexico. They see a pulsating red light thar turns to white, possibly 200–300 feet in size and 4–5 miles away. It brightens and dims then sometimes goes out, rising in the sky from the ground or from about 50 feet over the bunker up to about 45° elevation until it looks like a star or point source. They watch it for 25 minutes before it disappears. Possibly Venus in the southwest, which sets at about 8:30 p.m. ( Sparks, p. 254; Schopick, p. 38; Randle, Levelland, 2021,pp. 27–31)
November 3 — The USSR launches Sputnik 2 carrying Laika the dog. (Wikipedia, “ Sputnik 2”)
November 4 — Portuguese Air Force Capt. Lenos Ferreira is conducting a training mission at the head of three jet fighters over Grenada, Spain, when he observes a luminous object changing color from an intense green to bright red. The object maintains a constant altitude while oscillating. Ferreira orders a change of course toward Córdoba, but the object follows his group for 40 minutes, dropping four smaller objects that also accompany the jets. Suddenly the objects go into a dive and disappear. (Patrick Gross, “ UFO Chasing Jet Fighter Squadron, Lisbon, 1957”)
November 4 — After 12:00 midnight. A young couple are returning to Amarillo, Texas, from Palo Duro Canyon when they see a glowing object in the middle of the road, surrounded by fog. As they drive closer and enter the fog, the car engine and battery die. Another car has to push them into town to get the battery recharged. (Amarillo (Tex.) Daily News, November 4, 1957; Schopick, pp. 43–44)
November 4 — 1:30 a.m. Chief Pilot Captain Jean Vincent de Beyssac and his copilot are flying a Varig Airlines C-46 cargo plane from Porto Alegre to São Paulo, Brazil. They are near Araranguá, Santa Catarina, when de Beyssac notices a red light on his left. It seems to be getting bigger, so he banks towards it out of curiosity. The light gets much bigger then begins to glow more brilliantly. The pilot and copilot smell smoke and, as they are looking for the source, the light disappears. De Beyssac returns to Porto Alegre. It turns out that the right engine’s magneto (or generator), automatic direction finder, and the radio (both receiver and transmitter) have burnt out, allegedly simultaneously. (NICAP, “ Aircraft Encounters UFO / ADF, etc. Affected”; Olavo T. Fontes, “ Top Secret Report Unveiled,” APRO Bulletin, September 1959, pp. 5–6; Lorenzen, FS Hoax, p. 155; Schopick, pp. 126–127; Patrick Gross, “ UFO / Aircraft Close Encounter in Brazil, 1957”)
November 4 — 2:00 a.m. Two sentries at the Fortaleza de Itaipu in Praia Grande, São Paulo, Brazil, watch an orange object approaching the fort. It holds its course until it is directly above them. Its diameter is at least as large as the wingspan of a DC-3 and scarcely 300 feet away. Suddenly there is a strange buzzing noise and the men feel a wave of glowing heat. One of them collapses on the spot, but the other succeeds in reaching safety in the shadow of the gun emplacements. His shouts of alarm rouse his comrades inside the fort, where the lights suddenly go out. In the meantime, the emergency power is switched on but immediately gives out. Only a few minutes after the alarm, two other men are out of the fort and at their sides. They too see the UFO, which is now heading out to sea. It leaves a luminous trail as it shoots away across the Atlantic. The two sentries are taken to a hospital in Rio de Janeiro. They suffer second and third-degree burns on large areas of their body, chiefly in areas covered by clothing. Afterwards, Brazilian Army and USAF personnel, along with investigators of the Brazilian Air Force, fly to the fort to interview them. There is some reason to think that Olavo T. Fontes made this case up, as no first-hand witnesses to the event have come forward. (NICAP, “ Fort Itaipu Incident”; Wikipedia, “ Caso do Forte de Itaipu”; Olavo T. Fontes, “ Top Secret Report Unveiled,” APRO Bulletin, September 1959, pp. 6–7; Jules Lemaître, “ A Strange Story from Brazil,” Flying Saucer Review 6, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1960): 9–11; Schopick, pp. 135–140; Clark II 537; Kevin D. Randle, “ Fort Itaipu and Footnotes,” A Different Perspective, October 12, 2014; Kevin D. Randle, “ Fort Itaipu and Olavo Fontes Revisited,” A Different Perspective, June 15, 2016; Clark IV 549)
November 4 — 3:12 a.m. At Elmwood Park, Illinois, three policemen (Clifford Shaw, Joseph Lukasek, and Dan Diglovanni) see a bright cigar-shaped object in the sky. The headlights and spotlight on the squad car dim. The car chases the UFO for a mile and a half, which dips and rises before speeding off. Fireman Bob Volz also sees a reddish-orange UFO about the same time. (NICAP, “ Bright Cylinder Chased by Police, E-M Effects”; Sparks, p. 255; Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, p. 239; Keyhoe, FSTS, p. 117; Schopick, pp. 90–91; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 November 3rd–5th, The Author, 1997, pp. 22–27; “ UFO Spotted over Elmwood Cemetery, Chased by Policemen Joe Lukasek and Clifford Shaw, Illinois, 1957,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, October 2023)
November 4 — 1:10 p.m. James W. Stokes, electronics technician at Holloman AFB, New Mexico, is driving on US Highway 54 about 8 miles south of Orogrande, New Mexico. The car radio fades, and the car slows as if the battery is failing. Stokes notices 6–12 cars ahead of him have also stopped and drivers are out looking at the sky (looking behind him to the northeast), including a Mr. Duncan and Allan D. Baker. Stokes stops and gets out, sees a pearl-white oval or egg-shaped object about 500 feet wide with a slight purplish tinge heading south at an estimated speed of 1,500–2,000 mph. It is below the elevation angle of the Sacramento Mountains ridgeline, descending from about 5,000 feet above ground level in a shallow dive to about 1,500–2,500 feet altitude as it swerves to pass to the south of Stokes and the other stopped cars. At its closest it is about 2–5 miles away. It then circles around headed west and disappears. The same or another object appears in the northeast (as if the object has completely circled) and performs the same rounded course but passing farther to the south of the parked cars and disappears in the west. Duncan takes a 35mm film of the object. Stokes notices a wave of heat from the object at closest approach. Later that evening he is sunburned, but it clears up the next day. The Air Force calls it a hoax based on the Levelland sightings. (NICAP, “ Stokes Incident”; Sparks, p. 255; “ Egg-Shaped UFO Stalls Cars on Highway,” Alamogordo (N.Mex.) Daily News, November 5, 1957, pp. 1, 6; “ The New Mexico Story,” APRO Bulletin, November 1957, pp. 1–2; L. J. Lorenzen, “ The Stokes Case,” APRO Bulletin, January 1958, pp. 2, 6; UFOEv, p. 169; Schopick, pp. 39–42; Swords 256–259; Randle, Levelland, 2021, pp. 32–42, 228; Clark III 377–378; Covert 43–44; Clark IV 421–422)
November 4 — 7:30 p.m. A Texas state border inspector is driving 3 miles southeast of El Paso Airport in Texas when his car engine stalls and the headlights go dim then out. He gets out and notices an object approaching that is making a whirring sound like an artillery shell. It passes above his car at about 150 feet, heading west and changing altitude occasionally. When it gets to the Franklin Mountains, it lifts into the air vertically. (NICAP, “ Egg-Shaped Object Stalls Car”; Hynek UFO Report, p. 181)
November 4 — 10:00 p.m. Jan Boucher, a policeman in Kodiak, Alaska, sees a red ball of fire with a greenish-yellow trail as he is patrolling on Mission Road. It apparently moves 50 feet above a nearby school. He tries to radio in a report but his radio gets interference for 2 minutes after the sighting. (Anchorage (Alaska) Daily News,November 7, 1957; Schopick, pp. 89–90)
November 4 — 10:45 p.m. CAA air traffic controllers R. M. Kaser and E. G. Brink see a highly maneuverable 15–20-foot egg-shaped object with a white light at its base circle over one end of Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at 150–200 mph. It comes down in a steep 30° dive as if landing on Runway 26 to the north of the tower at about 1,500 feet. Radar tracks part of this maneuver. The object then crosses the flight line, runways, and taxiways heading towards the tower at about 50 mph and 20–30 feet above ground, observed through 7x binoculars until it reaches about 3,000 feet near the northeast corner of the flood-lit restricted Manzano Nuclear Weapons Storage Area and a B-58 bomber service site. It hovers for 20–60 seconds, then heads east again at about 200–300 feet altitude. Suddenly it shoots up in a steep climb. Controllers contact Radar Approach Control, which tracks the object on CPN-18 radar traveling east, then turning south, circling the Albuquerque Low Frequency Range Station. It then heads north, disappearing at 10 miles and reappearing 20 minutes later to follow 1/2 mile behind a USAF C-46 that has just taken off to the south. It continues for 14 miles until both go off the scope. A hovering radar target then appears to the north over an outer marker for 90 seconds before fading. (Wikipedia, “ Kirtland AFB UFO sighting”; NICAP, “ Kirtland UFO Incident / Radar Case”; Sparks, p. 256; Condon, pp. 141–143; James E. McDonald, “ Science in Default: Twenty-Two Years of Inadequate UFO Investigations,” paper presented at the Symposium on UFOs, 134th Meeting, AAAS, Boston, December 27, 1969, pp. 34–38; James E. McDonald, “ The Kirtland Airfield UFO,” Flying Saucer Review 16, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1970): 6–8; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 87–90; Carl Sagan and Thornton Page, eds., UFO’s: A Scientific Debate, Cornell University, 1972, pp. xxiv–xxv; Martin Shough, RADCAT: Radar Catalogue: A Review of Twenty-One Ground and Airborne Radar UAP Contact Reports Generally Related to Aviation Safety for the Period October 15, 1948, to September 19, 1976, National Aviation Reporting Center on Anomalous Phenomena, NARCAP Report TR-6, December 8, 2002, pp. 102–106; Swords 259–260)
November 5 — 5:10 a.m. The US Coast Guard Cutter Sebago (WHEC-42), Commander Clarence H. Waring Jr., cruising in the Gulf of Mexico about 200 miles south of Mobile, Alabama, tracks a radar target at a range of 22 miles moving at 650 mph. It disappears at 55 miles range. Three other unusual radar contacts are made in the next 10 minutes. A visual object like a brilliant planet is seen at 5:21 a.m. speeding north to south for five seconds by Ensign Wayne Schotley, Lt. Donald E. Shaffer, 1stClass Quartermaster Kenneth Smith, and radio operator Thomas Kirk. The Air Force ascribes it to confused radar operators who mistake ordinary plane blips for a UFO. (NICAP, “ The Coast Guard Cutter Sebago Case”; Sparks, p. 256; Condon, pp. 165–167; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 November 3rd–5th, The Author, 1997, pp. 50–51; Martin Shough, RADCAT: Radar Catalogue: A Review of Twenty-One Ground and Airborne Radar UAP Contact Reports Generally Related to Aviation Safety for the Period October 15, 1948, to September 19, 1976, National Aviation Reporting Center on Anomalous Phenomena, NARCAP Report TR-6, December 8, 2002, pp. 106–111; Swords 260–262)
November 5 — Late afternoon. Grain buyer Reinhold O. Schmidt is driving through the countryside near Kearney, Nebraska, when he notices a large, cigar-shaped object resting in a field. He is soon escorted inside the spaceship, which turns out to be crewed by completely human-looking space aliens, four males and two females, who apparently speak perfect German and claim to be from the planet Saturn. They also claim to be interested in the recently launched Russian sputniks and the satellite-launching plans of the US. Later Schmidt brings local police to view the landing site, where they find deep imprints and some “mysterious green residue.” Schmidt also claims subsequent visits to the spaceship and many friendly conversations with its learned crew. Schmidt notices they drink MJB brand coffee, and also carry in their cigar-shaped craft an ordinary terrestrial MG sports car, which they use for running errands and buying groceries. (A schematic drawing of the ship’s interior in Schmidt’s later booklet depicts a Volkswagen Beetle.) Unlike most spaceships, the Saturnian ship has large propellers at both ends. Eventually Schmidt gets a ride up to earth orbit and a tour of the mother ship. On October 26, 1961, Schmidt is convicted in Oakland, California, for grand theft after bilking a widow out of $5,000 for a worthless mining venture in Tulare County, where he claims to have seen huge quartz crystals from a spaceship. Judge Donald K. Quayle sentences him to 1–10 years in prison. (“ Man Sticks to Story of Space Ship Tour in Nebraska Field,” Pittsburgh (Pa.) Press, November 6, 1957, p. 28; “ The Kearney, Nebraska ‘Contact’ Claim,” CSI News Letter, no. 22 (December 15, 1957): 12–13; “ Mr. Schmidt Meets Six Space Visitors,” Flying Saucer Review 4, no. 1 (Jan/Feb. 1958): 5; Reinhold O. Schmidt, The Kearney Incident—Up to Now, The Author, February 1958; Margaret Storm, “ Schmidt Sues U.S. Government,” Flying Saucer Review 4, no. 3 (May/June 1958): 4–5; Charles McK. Longcroft, “ Schmidt Claims More Contacts,” Flying Saucer Review 4, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1958): 4; Reinhold O. Schmidt, The Kearney Incident and To the Arctic Circle in a Spacecraft, The Author, 1959, reprinted in Reinhold Schmidt, “ The Reinhold Schmidt Story: ‘My Contact with Space People,’” AFSCA World Report 13/15 (Jan./June 1960): 2–18; Internet Movie Database, “ Edge of Tomorrow”; “Saucer Man Denies Courting Creditors,” Oakland (Calif.) Tribune, October 24, 1961, p. 12; “ Jurors to Ponder ‘Saucerman’ Case,” Oakland (Calif.) Tribune, October 25, 1961, p. 11; “ ‘Flying Saucer’ Figure Convicted,” Oakland (Calif.) Tribune, October 27, 1961, p. 8; “ Help Expose Frauds,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 8 (Mar./Apr. 1963): 5; Swords 262; Clark III 596–597, 1038– 1039; Curt Collins, “ The Trial of a UFO Gold Digger,” The Saucers That Time Forgot, August 27, 2020; Clark IV 656, 1153–1154)
November 5 — The Department of Defense Office of Public Affairs issues a new UFO fact sheet, emphasizing the high percentage of explained cases and the lack of a threat to national security. (UFOEv, p. 107; Swords 262)
November 5 — 6:30 p.m. Larry and Marilynn Beaman are driving near Antioch, Illinois, when they notice a ball of fire fluctuating from white to yellow pacing their car on the right side, about 1,000 feet up. It goes out for a time then switches back on. At its largest, it seems 30 feet in diameter. It follows them all the way to Ringwood and then lands in some trees behind a school building two blocks from where they live. It glitters like a welder’s arc and makes a sound like water swishing. Beaman rounds up some other witnesses and goes back to the landing site, but the object takes off, changes to purple, and moves away to the southwest. TV sets in town dim, finally losing both picture and sound during the same time period. (“Ringwood Residents Scared by ‘Thing,’” Aurora (Ill.) Beacon-News, November 7, 1957; Schopick, pp. 104–109; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 November 3rd–5th, The Author, 1997, pp. 76–78, 86)
November 5 — 8:43 p.m. A witness in Woodstock, Illinois, sees a large, red, triangular object with a green light in the front and a yellow light in the rear. It makes a low droning sound and moves west to east. Woodstock police officers and another individual in Genoa City see the same object. At 10:15 p.m., an amber or orange UFO 200 feet long is seen for 5 minutes at Delavan, Wisconsin. Project Blue Book claims it is an aurora or jet aircraft. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 November 3rd–5th, The Author, 1997, pp. 86, 88; Marler 131–132)
November 5 — 9:30 p.m. Civil service employee Lon Yarborough is driving along US Highway 81 about 1.5 miles southwest of San Antonio, Texas, when he sees an extremely bright object settle down in a ravine about 600 feet from him. The egg-shaped object is approximately 60 foot long and causes the lights and engine of his car to fail. The object rests a few minutes and finally takes off to the northeast. (NICAP, “ 60ʹ Egg-Shaped Object Disables Auto”; San Antonio (Tex.) Light, November 6, 1957; Schopick, pp. 44–45)
November 5 — 11:00 p.m. Two young men see a red light north of US Highway 62 at a point 38 miles west of Hobbs, New Mexico. They watch for 9–10 minutes, thinking it is an oil flare, but the light suddenly rises straight up. After pacing their car for a few minutes, the light turns toward the car, passes over it, and hovers over the Permian Basin Pipeline plant. As it passes overhead, the car engine sputters, then dies, and the lights go out. After the men coast the car down the road, the motor restarts and they drive away. The battery is found to be dead the following morning and the dashboard clock is stopped. ( Schopick, pp. 45–47; Mark Rodeghier, UFO Reports Involving Vehicle Interference, CUFOS, 1981, p. 12)
November 6 — Just after 12:00 midnight. A taxicab company owner, Joe Martinez, and one of his drivers, Alberto Gallegos, sees a UFO approach them in Santa Fe, New Mexico. They hear a humming sound as it comes close. The object is egg-shaped and multicolored. As it passes over their car, the engine stalls and the dashboard clock stops. The UFO then pulls up and moves rapidly into the southeast. One witness later discovers that his wristwatch has also stopped at the time of sighting. (Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, pp. 246–247; Schopick, pp. 47–48; Mark Rodeghier, UFO Reports Involving Vehicle Interference, CUFOS, 1981, p. 12)
November 6 — 4:30 a.m. William Rush II is driving on Long Point Road in Houston, Texas. A brilliant red, egg-shaped UFO kills his car engine and causes static on his radio. (Houston (Tex.) Chronicle, November 6, 1957; Schopick, p. 48)
November 6 — 5:40 a.m. Richard Kehoe is driving along Vista Del Mar in Playa Del Rey, California, when his engine fails. Two other cars on the highway are also affected, and the drivers (Ronald Burke and Joe Thomas) all get out. They see an egg-shaped object that seems to be wrapped in a blue haze. It is tan or cream- colored and has two metallic rings around it. Two smallish men, about 5 feet 5 inches tall and wearing black leather pants, a white belt, and a light-colored jersey, exit the object. They ask Kehoe and the others where they are and what time it is in something approaching English. They walk back to the object, which takes off. After it leaves, Kehoe’s car starts with no problem. (Lorenzen, Flying Saucer Occupants, Signet, 1967, pp. 126–127)
November 6 — 6:30 a.m. Everett Orain Clark, 12, of Dante, Knoxville, Tennessee, lets his dog Frisky outside and sees an object like an elongated egg in a field 300 feet away from his house. 20 minutes later, he calls to bring the dog back and sees Frisky with other dogs on the other side of the road close to the object. Clark walks toward the UFO and sees two men and women, apparently dressed in a normal manner. One of the men tries to catch Frisky who grunts and moves away. They are speaking in a foreign language that sounds like German to him. The four people go into the craft by seemingly walking right through the wall. Journalist Carson Brewer goes back to the site with Clark and finds an “oblong ring of pressed grass” 24 feet by 4.5 feet. In the afternoon, two men from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (engineer Wallace Russell Gambill and physicist N. D. Greene) collect soil samples and check for radiation (they find none). (“ Scientists Check ‘Space Ship’ Field,” Knoxville (Tenn.) News-Sentinel, November 7, 1957, pp. 1, 12; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 November 6th, The Author, 1997, pp. 17–19; Patrick Gross, URECAT, August 17, 2006; Clark III 672–673; Clark IV 308–309, 746–747)
November 6 — US scientists are “pretty shook up” about the recent UFO sightings, according to astronomer Charles F. “Chick” Capen in the November 7 El Paso Times. However, Capen talks more about missile launches and lunar photography than UFO sightings. (“ Sighting ‘Shakes’ Scientists,” El Paso (Tex.) Times, November 7, 1957, p. 21; “ El Pasoans Take Look at Sputnik,” El Paso (Tex.) Times, November 7, 1957, pp. 1, 3; Swords 264)
November 6. Montville, OH. Olden Moore, 28, was driving home when he saw an object like a bright meteor split into two pieces, one of which went straight up. The other got larger while its color changed from bright white to blue-green. It landed with a soft whirring sound, 500 ft. away. After observingg it for 15 minutes, Moore walked to the object, which was shaped like "a covared dish" 53 ft. in diameter, 18 ft. high, with a cone on top about 15 ft. high, surrounded by hze or fog, pulsating slowly. Holes, footprint and radioactivity were found at the site by Civil Defense Direcor Kenneth Locke (Vallee III).
December - Several UFO sightings take place along the Finland-Russia border. A cigar- shaped object is seen by two Finnish farmers moving horizontally at a high altitude from west to east. (Good Above, pp. 307-308)
November 6 — 5:00 p.m. Two Malay fisherman are in a waterway near Bagansiapiapi, Sumatra, Indonesia, when they see a black and red object swiftly approaching their boat and trailing black and greenish smoke. The top and bottom of the object are curved like discs. When it is 60 feet away it stops in mid-air about 35 feet above the water, and the bottom part continues to rotate as the water foams below it. The object is a triangular shape and white smoke is coming out from each point. The object speeds up and disappears, leaving behind black and greenish smoke lines. (Marler 133)
November 6 — Early evening. Varine “Rene” Gilham sees a brilliant object radiating a strong red light as he is using an outhouse on his farm near Merom, Indiana. The whole farm and surrounding area are bathed in the light for 10 minutes. A small object joins the larger one and the light grows more intense. The two objects fly away. The next day, Gilham has “sunburn” in many places. Two days later he is admitted to a hospital for treatment. (NICAP, “ Merom/Gilham Incident”; “Ironworker Burned by Shiny Object,” Sullivan (Ind.) Daily Times, November 11, 1957; “ Hush-Hush Adds to Mystery of Space Object’s Visitation,” Terre Haute (Ind.) Tribune, November 12, 1957, p. 1; Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, pp. 249–251; Frank Edwards, Flying Saucers—Serious Business, Bantam, 1966, pp. 32–33; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 November 6th, The Author, 1997, pp. 67, 72–73. Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 November 6th, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2003, pp. 6–7; Michael D. Swords, “ Messing Around with the Force,” IUR 31, no. 4 (March 2008): 30)
November 6 — 8:02 p.m. Six people in Toronto, Ontario, watch a yellow-white light travel silently from south to north across the eastern sky. One experiences static on his TV set as the object passes, slower than a meteor. (“Was It Sputnik or Vapor Trail?” Toronto (Ont.) Daily Star, November 6, 1957; Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, pp. 248–249; Schopick, pp. 80–81; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 November 6th, The Author, 1997, pp. 73–74)
November 6 — Night. Two state policemen, Calvin Showers and John Matulis, in Danville, Illinois, observe a brilliant white light that changes color successively to amber and orange. They chase it for 15 miles because the light appears to be low in the sky. During the chase, their communications radio does not function. The light eventually flies out of sight. (“ 2 State Troopers See ‘Object,’” Hammond (Ind.) Times, November 7, 1957, p. 12; “‘Experienced, Trusted’ State Troopers Follow Brilliant Flying Object 15 Miles As Squad Car Radio Goes Dead,” Du Quoin (Ill.) Call, November 7, 1957; “ Did the Air Force Deceive the Public about the November Sightings?” UFO Investigator 1, no. 3 (January 1958): 1, 7; Schopick, pp. 91–92; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 November 6th, The Author, 1997, pp. 50–52)
November 6 — 9:00 p.m. Jacques N. Jacobsen Jr. and three friends (William Munday, William Totten, and Robert Dawson) are in a hunting lodge on the Baskatong Reservoir, Quebec, listening to a battery-powered radio. Outside, they see a glowing, yellow-white sphere 2–3 miles away to the southwest. It remains in place for 15 minutes. During this time their portable radio goes silent, and one of the men’s shortwave radios is working on only one frequency that emits a strong, rapidly modulated tone that sounds like, but is not, Morse code. The UFO rises into the clouds and the radios function normally again. (“ First-Hand Report of a UFO Emitting a Radio Signal,” CSI News Letter, no. 22 (December 15, 1957): 9–10; Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, pp. 248–249; Schopick, pp. 79–80; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 November 6th, The Author, 1997, pp. 67, 70–71; Randle, Levelland, 2021, p. 114)
November 6 — 9:43 p.m. Kenneth J. Delano, who is participating in aurora and meteor watches for the International Geophysical Year, is observing the sky at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland, when he sees a brilliant white light in the northwest. He watches it approach until it is nearly overhead. Then a faint, silvery-gray, elliptical disc is visible for a few seconds above the light. It is silent, except for a faint whirring sound. He watches it for a total of 4 minutes until it passes behind some buildings. (Kenneth J. Delano, “ UFO over Baltimore,” IUR 32, no. 4 (October 2009): 17–18, 24)
November 6 — 11:30 p.m. Olden J. Moore is driving home in Montville, Ohio, when he sees an object like a bright meteor split into two pieces, one of which heads straight up. The other becomes larger while its color changes from bright white to blue green. It hovers about 200 feet above a field and lands with a soft whirring sound, perhaps 500 feet away. Moore watches cautiously for 15 minutes, then approaches it. The UFO is shaped like a “covered dish,” and is about 50 feet in diameter, 15 feet high, with a cone on top about 10 feet high. It is pulsating slowly, and a haze surrounds it. Moore goes home to get another witness (his wife) but when they return the UFO is gone. Mrs. Moore reports the sighting to County Sheriff Louis Robusky the next morning, and a civil defense director, Kenneth Locke, visits the site. Locke finds high levels of radioactivity (a maximum of 150 microroentgens/hour, suggestive of an approximately one-hour radionuclide half-life or less) two perfectly formed holes six inches in diameter, and unusual footprints that come from nowhere and go nowhere. (NICAP, “ Olden Moore Case / Close Encounter”; Sparks, p. 257; UFOEv, pp. 169–170; Center for UFO Studies, [ case files]; Clark III 772–773, 950; Clark IV 853–854, 1064)
November 7 — 1:45–1:55 a.m. Seven airmen at Holloman Air Force Base near Alamogordo, New Mexico—Bradford Rickets, James Cole, Dennis Murphy, Wayne Hurlburt, and Harry Uhlrich—see a UFO while on duty at a salvage yard on the north side of the base. The object makes a whistling noise and turns from white to orange to red. (Lorenzen, FSHoax, pp. 100–101)
November 7 — 7:25 a.m. Truck driver Malvin Stevens stops one mile east of House, Mississippi, because a silvery “blimp” about 5 feet high and 2 feet long is blocking the road. He walks toward it, a sliding door opens, and three small, pasty-faced men about 4.5 feet tall emerge. Stevens feels paralyzed. After a short time, the beings make a military about-face and reenter the UFO, which takes off vertically. (“ Flying Saucer Lands near Meridian Thursday,” Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger, November 8, 1957, p. 5; Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, pp. 263, 272–273; Center for UFO Studies, HUMCAT Index 1957, p. 32; Clark III 269; Clark IV 309)
November 7 — 9:20 a.m. Trent Lindsey and his wife and son Byron are driving on US Highway 54 near Orogrande, New Mexico, when Byron notices that the speedometer is jumping wildly back and forth from the top to the bottom of its range. It then stops just as suddenly. The three witnesses later see a metallic-appearing UFO high in the sky to the southwest. It continues moving away for three minutes until it was lost from view over the Organ Mountains. The speedometer functions normally after the UFO is gone. (“ Family Reports Seeing Large Object over NM,” Albuquerque (N.Mex.) Tribune, November 8, 1957, p. 1; Lorenzen, FSHoax, pp. 99–100)
November 7 — 9:38 a.m. Mysterious radio signals on the 108 megacycle radio band are recorded by RCA Communications at Riverhead, Long Island, New York. The signal is a continuous, tone-modulated hum at a low pitch of 200 cycles per second. The FCC admits it is baffled, but suspects that it comes from a radio amateur or equipment testing in the New York City area. Another report claims that Vanguard and Federal Communications Commission watchers at 18 monitoring stations throughout the Western Hemisphere are picking up signals at 14.286 megacycles, possibly connected with Sputnik 2. The signal is a long note of low pitch followed after a few seconds by two short notes. (“ Mystery Signals Are Unconnected with Satellites,” Fort Myers (Fla.) News-Press, November 8, 1957, pp. 1–2; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 83)
November 7 — 7:46 p.m. Bright, flashing objects hover for 30 minutes over the Atomic Energy Commission’s Pantex Plant 15 miles east of Amarillo, Texas. The UFOs are reported to the State Highway Patrol office by plant guards, and a patrolman dispatched to the plant arrives at 8:15 p.m. and sees a strange light. Guards at the plant are “all shook up” from watching three objects floating 50 feet above the ground. One of the objects apparently lands on Farin Road 2373, three miles north of Highway 60. Guards tell the patrolman they tried to approach the objects by turning off their lights, “but the things would just slip away from them when they got near.” They are unable to estimate the size of the objects but seem positive “they saw more than just lights.” (NICAP, “ Lights Shake Up Guards at Nuclear Plant”; Sparks, p. 258; “ Mystery Objects Sighted at Pantex,” Amarillo (Tex.) Globe-Times, November 8, 1957, p. 1)
November 7 — Night. Paul Rutledge, a packinghouse worker at Waterloo, Iowa, sees an object hovering above his garage. He can see two figures walking around inside. The object is about 30 feet long and has a shiny bottom and a glass top. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 84; Patrick Gross, URECAT, January 24, 2007)
November 8 — 3:03 a.m. Polish-Australian astronomer Antoni Przybylski and Dutch-American astronomer Bart Bok see a vivid pink object moving slowly across the sky at Mount Stromlo Observatory near Canberra, Australia. It is visible to the naked eye for two minutes. Przybylski has just finished observing Sputnik 1 and 2, so it wasn’t a satellite or a meteor. Assistant Director Arthur Robert Hogg thinks it might be circling the earth like a satellite. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957, November 7th–12th, The Author, 1998, p. 36; Michael D. Swords, “ Gazing at the Moons,” IUR 32, no. 4 (October 2009): 10–11; Center for UFO Studies, “ Moonwatch Mystery Satellites, 1958–1962”)
November 8 — 6:22 a.m. Connie Foster watches a lighted triangular object flying from southeast to northwest over Camarillo, California. It is moving with the base facing forward and has bright lights on the tips of the triangle. She watches it for nearly 30 minutes before it disappears. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957, November 7th–12th, The Author, 1998, p. 37)
November 8 — Spencer Whedon, chief of Air Intelligence at Wright-Patterson AFB near Dayton, Ohio, tells the press that of 5,700 UFO reports received by his office since 1940, 97% have been identified satisfactorily and the other 8% remain unidentified due to insufficient information. (“ Seeing Things? No, Sky Really Red,” Cincinnati (Ohio) Post, November 7, 1957, p. 8)
November 8 — 6:00 p.m. Pan Am Flight 7, a Boeing Stratocruiser flying across the Pacific mysteriously crashes midway between San Francisco and Honolulu. One of the crew is UFO witness Capt. William H. Fortenberry. The cause of the crash is never determined. Fortenberry’s journalist son, Ken H. Fortenberry, suspects that the bereaved and mentally unstable purser Oliver Eugene Crosthwaite, has deliberately caused the crash, killing himself and murdering 43 innocent people in the process. (Wikipedia, “ Pan Am Flight 7”; Ken H. Fortenberry, Flight 7 Is Missing: The Search for My Father’s Killer, Fayetteville Mafia, 2020)
November 8 — Night. 12 female and 4 male farmworkers are in a truck on the Newhailes Road returning to Edinburgh from picking Brussels sprouts in a nursey at Musselburgh, Scotland. One of them spots a gray, round object seemingly following the truck at a distance of 60 feet. Mary Horne says it is domed on the top and bottom. It follows them for 5–10 minutes then moves off towards Portobello leaving a double vapor trail. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957, November 7th–12th, The Author, 1998, pp. 54–55)
November 9 — 12:15 a.m. A man is driving in Sacramento, California, when his car engine and headlights fail. He looks up and sees an elongated egg-shaped object with delta-shaped wings, 150–200 feet long and 40–50 feet wide. The wings come back to about 30 feet from the rear of the fuselage. It has a bright bluish hue and leaves a bluish fluorescent trail. The sighting lasts 2–3 minutes. (Herbert S. Taylor, “ An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part Two,” IUR 34, no. 1 (September 2011): 19)
November 9 — 9:15 a.m. Eastern Airline pilot Capt. Truman Gile Jr. is preparing to take off from Lafayette (Louisiana) Airport when he sees a big silvery object about 20,000 feet in the air. Gile watches it for 3 minutes (or seconds) and it doesn’t move. He alerts copilot James E. Hall, the stewardess, and the ground agents, and they all watch it another 5 minutes (or seconds) before it fades away. (“Veteran Pilot Spots ‘Object’ at Lafayette,” New Orleans (La.) Item, November 10, 1957; “ Sooner Pilot Has View of Louisiana ‘Sky Spook,’” Duncan (Okla.) Banner, November 10, 1957, p. 15-T; “ Jean Mayo on Airliner When ‘Bright, Shiny Object’ Seen,” Jonesboro (Ark.) Sun, November 11, 1957, p. 1; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957, November 7th–12th, The Author, 1998, pp. 61–62)
November 9 — 7:20 p.m. Several witnesses are driving 12 miles northeast of Carrizozo, New Mexico, on US Highway 54 in the vicinity of White Oaks when a large, rapidly moving light approaches their car from the south and apparently causes the vehicle’s lighting system to fail. The light changes course and speeds off to the southwest. Jim and Coral Lorenzen are driving east on US Highway 380 about 10 miles east of Carrizozo when they spot an anomalous light that might be the same object. (Lorenzen, FSHoax, pp, 101–102)
November 10 — 1:25 a.m. Leita Mae Kuhn is checking the stove in her Doberman dog kennel at Madison, Ohio, when she notices a glowing, domed disc hovering 60 feet above the rear of the kennel. It is about 40 feet in diameter and emitting puffy clouds of smoke. Her eyes begin to burn after watching it for 20–30 minutes, and she runs back into the house and locks the door. She has rashes and her eyes hurt so badly she visits a doctor. (Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, pp. 11–12; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957, November 7th–12th, The Author, 1998, pp. 69–71; Michael D. Swords, “ Messing Around with the Force,” IUR 31, no. 4 (March 2008): 30–31; Michael D. Swords, “ Can UFOs Cause Physiological Effects? Part 1,” IUR 33, no. 4 (May 2011): 10)
November 10 — Residents of Skaryszew, Poland, watch a huge, radiant, cigar-shaped object slowly moving west. (Poland 20)
November 10 — Evening. UFO witness Olden Moore of Montville, Ohio, is visited by Sheriff Robusky, a deputy, and a USAF officer who asks him to go with them to Youngstown to be interviewed by military officers. They drive him to the field where the encounter took place and put him aboard a military helicopter. He is interviewed in Youngstown, then he is returned to the field at 11:00 p.m. (Clark III 773; Clark IV 854)
November 10 — 5:55 p.m. Wilfred S. Hardy, an assistant safety engineer at the Tokyo, Japan, Engineer Supply Center, sees (along with his wife and a Japanese boat boy) a huge cigar-shaped object with lighted portholes above Lake Imba-numa 10 miles away. He estimates it is about 200–500 feet long. The object lights up the entire lake, then disappears to the south 10 seconds later. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 86)
November 10 — 7:00 p.m. Many people see a UFO at Hammond, Indiana. Two policemen (Sgt. Charles J. Mauder, Office Steve Betuslak) see a red and white light hovering 500–1,000 feet overhead. They hear a beeping sound and there is interference on the police radio while the object is in view. Another witness sees a green light on a basket-shaped object; his car radio fails. The lights fly away when anyone tries to approach. (Aimé Michel, Straight-Line, p. 268; Schopick, pp. 92–95; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957, November 7th–12th, The Author, 1998, pp. 73, 75)
November 10 — Night. French astronomer Jacques Chapuis at Toulouse Observatory in France observes a maneuvering, yellow, star-like object for 5 minutes. It ascends straight up out of sight. (UFOEv, p. 50)
November 11 — A silvery elliptical UFO is seen flying below Western Airlines Flight 61 over the desert east of Los Angeles, California. Robert D. Hahn, a jewelry designer, is a passenger and describes it as a large, elliptical, metallic object with dark patches zigzagging about 200 feet above the ground. (UFOEv, p. 67)
November 13 — An object explodes over the State Hospital at Crownsville, Maryland, and two or three burned pieces of metal fall on the hospital grounds. It is recovered by employees William A. Zick and J. Caswell. The pieces are checked for radiation and confiscated by army intelligence officers at Fort George G. Meade. They are apparently sent to the Air Research and Development Center in Baltimore. An ARD colonel tells NICAP member and WFBR news director Lou Corbin that he has no idea what the metal is. Some of the material is perhaps sent to ATIC. (“ Metal Object from Skies Rushed to ATIC for Analysis,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 3 (January 1958): 5–6)
November 14 — Afternoon. Evalyn Riead hears a sputtering noise like someone is pulling into her driveway in Tamaroa, Illinois. She looks outside and sees a bright, moon-shaped object with a tail moving above the trees bordering US Highway 51. It disappears after 5–6 booms and 3 flashes of light. As soon as this happens, the lights in her home go out. Electrical power in a 4-mile area between Tamaroa and Du Bois is interrupted for 10 minutes. Power is restored when the company closes an open circuit breaker, but they could find no cause. (“ Current Cut Off As Flying ‘Thing’ Appears in Illinois,” Lima (Ohio) Citizen, November 15, 1957, p. 10; Schopick, pp. 140–141)
Mid-November — The US Senate Committee on Government Operations, chaired by Sen. John L. McClellan (D-Ark.), begins an inquiry into UFOs. Ruppelt is called to give testimony. (Ruppelt, 1960 ed., p. 253)
November 16 — Afternoon. Cynthia Appleton blacks out unexpectedly at her home in 87 Fentham Road in Aston, a suburb of Birmingham, England. On November 19, she feels faint again as the light outside dims, and a man with blond hair and wearing coveralls materializes in the center of the room. She hears him speaking to her telepathically. He tells her not to be afraid and that he is from a world he calls Gharnasvarn (which we know as Venus) and he shows her what seems to be a holographic image of two spaceships. She has other visitations by entities on January 7 and February 7, 1958. In September 1958, the spaceman informs her that she is pregnant, which is apparently true, as she gives birth on June 2, 1958, to a boy with blond hair that she and her husband Ron name Matthew. Appleton says the Venusians visited her a few more times, but the trail grows cold in July 1960. (“ Birmingham Woman Meets Spacemen,” Flying Saucer Review 4, no. 2 (March/April 1958): 5–6; Charles Bowen, “ Few and Far Between,” in Charles Bowen, ed., The Humanoids, special issue of FSR, Oct./Dec. 1966, pp. 3, 4; Charles Bowen, “ Strangers about the House,” Flying Saucer Review 14, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1968): 10–12; Jenny Randles, “ A Visitor from Gharnasvarn,” IUR 13, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1988): 4–8; Jenny Randles and Peter Hough, The Complete Book of UFOs, Piatkus, 1994, pp. 137–140; Martin Kottmeyer, “ Titium and Aston’s CE3K,” Magonia Monthly Supplement, no. 20 (October 1999): 1–2; Martyn Leek, “ The Riddle of Brum’s Alien Baby, 44 Years on: Where Is ‘Boy from Venus’?” Birmingham (UK) Sunday Mercury, January 26, 2003; Andy Roberts, “ The Space Baby,” Fortean Times 191 (December 2004): 32–38; Bill Chalker, “ Flying Saucery, Cosmic Bethlehem, and Midwich Cuckoos: The Cynthia Appleton Contacts (1957–1959),” Australian UFO Researcher Bill Chalker, 2005; Bill Chalker, “ Flying Saucery, Cosmic Bethlehem, and Midwich Cuckoos,” TheOzFiles, May 16, 2005; David Clarke and Andy Roberts, Flying Saucerers: A Social History of UFOlogy, Alternative Albion, 2007, pp. 96–103)
November 17 — An Air Force car with two officers comes to UFO witness Olden Moore’s house in Montville, Ohio. He is told they are taking him to Washington, D.C., for extended questioning. They drive him to a waiting airplane, which stops briefly at Wright-Patterson AFB to pick up one officer and drop another off. In Washington, Moore is housed in a building said to be a federal courthouse [US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces?]. He is kept there and interrogated for several days. Officers watch him constantly, even when he is sleeping. Toward the end of his stay, Moore is shown slides of UFO photos and a UFO film taken from inside a military plane. Moore is asked to sign a document that swears him to secrecy. (UFOEv, p. 114; Clark III 773; Clark IV 854)
November 21 — The Army Chief of Research and Development responds to CONARC’s October 22 request on the feasibility of building a manned “flying saucer,” stating that he had reviewed the Avrocar disc concept and that it looked promising. (Richard P. Weinert, History of Army Aviation, 1950–1962, US Army Training and Doctrine Command, November 1976, pp. 220–221; Wikipedia, “ Avro Canada VZ-9 Avrocar”)
November 21 — Merchant Hans Haugaard Hansen is driving out of Gesten, Denmark, on the road to Egholt when he sees a triangular UFO moving low over a field some 300–600 feet away. It is emitting a red or orange light and makes no sound. The bottom of the object is solid, but the upper part is transparent, and he can see two figures inside. He stops the car to watch as it moves about 40 mph. Similar objects are seen at Jordrup and Vorbasse. Lt. Col. Hans-Christian Petersen of the Danish Air Force (and later in the year a co-founder of Skandinavisk UFO Information) is taking the reports seriously. (“ Flying Saucer Reports Pour in from Denmark,” Flying Saucer Review 4, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1958): 2; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957, November 13th–30th, The Author, 1998, p. 56; Willy Wegner, “ UFO bogen, Kapitel 19: Rumfolkene viser sig,” Skeptica, September 1, 2004)
November 21 — Night. Frank Dickenson and two friends are driving up Reasty Hill near the village of Silpho, North Yorkshire, England, when their car stalls and they see a glowing object in the sky that appears to fall to the ground on a ridge above Broxa Forest. Dickenson leaves the car with a flashlight, climbs up a bank, and finds in a patch of bracken a metallic saucer shaped like a “large flattish spinning top,” 18 inches in diameter and weighing 33 pounds. As he returns to tell his friends, he passes a young couple walking toward the scene. When the tree men return to search for it, the disc is gone. Dickenson places an advertisement in a Scarborough newspaper about the disc, and he is able to recover it for £10 from a man who claims he was the mystery man on the moor. Photos taken by UFO researcher John Dale show that the copper base of the object is inscribed with a mystery script. The top of the disc is made from layers of laminated metal that has been painted with a white substance. The two halves are stuck together with a grayish substance resembling cellulose, and a pencil-thick iron rod runs through a “white metal bearing” in the top. When the bearing is drilled out, they find a heap of ash inside the cavity, as well as pieces of fused glass and a tightly rolled cylinder of copper. Also inside is a tiny booklet of 17 sheets of thin copper foil fastened at one edge. The booklet is engraved with script similar to that found on the outside. The coded script is translated by a café proprietor from Scarborough named Philip Longbottom, who claims the 2,000- word inscription is from an alien named Ulo, with later text added by an apparently female companion named Tarngee. A metallurgist at the University of Manchester analyzes the disc and finds the outer casing is made primarily from lead, and the copper foil is triple laminated and unusually free from impurities. In 2017, David Clarke discovers that five specimens from the Silpho disc have been preserved in a tin cigarette box housed in London’s Science Museum. The specimens were sent to aviation historian Charles Harvard Gibbs-Smith in 1963 by Essex ufologist C. C. Stevens for analysis. Gibbs-Smith judged the items to be of terrestrial origin, and they were donated to the Science Museum with his papers after his death in 1981. Veteran Scarborough Evening News editor Mick Jefferson said in 2003 the newspaper had long ago exposed the object as a hoax made from a “domestic hot-water cylinder.” However, the hoaxers have never surfaced. (“ The Silpho Moor Mystery,” Flying Saucer Review 4, no. 2 (March/April 1958): 4; “ Silpho Moor Controversy,” Flying Saucer Review 4, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1958): 19; Philip Longbottom, “ The Silpho Moor Mystery,” Flying Saucer Review 4, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1958): 15–17; Jenny Randles, UFO Retrievals, Blandford, 1995, pp. 77–82; “ Missing Wreckage of UFO Which ‘Crash Landed’ in Yorkshire Is Found, 60 Years On,” The Yorkshire Post, February 8, 2018; “ Silpho Moor ‘UFO Bits’ Found in Science Museum Archive,” BBC News, February 9, 2018; David Clarke, “The Return of the Silpho Moor Saucer,” Fortean Times 364 (March 2018): 42–46)
November 23 — 6:10 p.m. Fighter pilot 1st Lt. Joseph F. Long’s car engine stalls 30 miles west of Tonopah, Nevada. He hears a high-pitched whining noise and sees four 50-foot, domed, saucer-shaped UFOs landed on the right side of the road about 900–1,200 feet away. They are glowing brightly and equipped with three landing gears. Long estimates they are about 10–15 feet tall. When he approaches to within 50 feet of the closest object, the hum increases in intensity and Long’s ears begin to hurt. The objects take off abruptly, retracting the landing gears. They rise about 50 feet into the air and proceed across the highway to the north at about 10 mph. The total time of the sighting is 20 minutes. Shallow, bowl-shaped ground impressions in the shape of a triangle are found at the landing site. (NICAP, “ Four Huge Saucers Land near Car, Engine Stalls”; Sparks, p. 259; Hynek UFO Report, pp. 182–186; Willy Smith, On Pilots and UFOs, UNICAT Project, 1997, pp. 71–80; UFOEv II 74–75; Good Need, pp. 222–223, 228; Randle, Levelland, 2021, pp. 101–106)
November 23 — 7:30 p.m. Six truck drivers watch a strange object with three lights in a triangular pattern hovering above a field off State Highway 8 just north of the Butler Valley Turnpike exit in Richland Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. It has a green light at the bottom, a red light at the right corner, and a yellow light at the left corner. They get out of their car and approach the object, but when they are 75 feet away, it moves to the east, then south. They go back to the car and shine their lights on the object, which is about 20 feet above some trees. The lights go out and the object disappears. (“ 3-Lighted ‘Whatsit’ Floats over Field,” Pittsburgh (Pa.) Sun-Telegraph, November 27, 1957, p. 3)
November 25 — 10:00 p.m. All the lights in the town of Mogi Mirim, São Paulo, Brazil, suddenly dim and fail. Numerous people see a circular light traveling directly overhead. Two similar lights follow a short time later. The blackout only lasts 5 minutes, but the power station has no explanation. ( Schopick, pp. 141–142)
November 26 — 8:41 p.m. Radar technicians at West Mesa Air Force Station [now closed] 9.5 miles west of Albuquerque, New Mexico, detect a target emitting a civilian mode 3 signal while traveling at a speed of 3,500 mph. (NICAP, “ Blip Tracked at 3,000 Knots”; Powell, Scientist, 93)
November 27 — The director of an engineering firm and four of his staff members see five black, disc- shaped objects hovering in the French Alps for 8 minutes. The group performs a series of maneuvers, after which a parachute-shaped object emerges from one of them. Suddenly they all shoot away at supersonic speed toward the Swiss border. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 87)
November 28 — 8:30 p.m. Regino Lacuesta is driving on the Hawaii Belt Road near Hakalau, Hawaii, when his car engine begins sputtering. Suddenly he sees a bright flash of light 20 feet above the highway in front of him. The engine dies, the headlights go out, and the car rolls to a stop at the point where the light had been. Lacuesta feels numb and cannot move. Soon the headlights come on and the car starts up again, although it is in high gear and he has not touched the starter. He drives straight home to Ninole. (“ Big Isle Man Says Light from Sky Stalled His Car,” Honolulu Star-Bulletin, November 29, 1957, p. 1; Schopick, pp. 49–51)
November 29 — 2:30 a.m. Capt. Fred Sutton, skipper of the fishing trawler Ella Hewett, is 4 miles off Port Jack, Douglas, Isle of Man, when an orange ball of fire crosses the sky. As it passes over the hull of the small boat, the vessel grows luminous, with firefly-like sparks of luminescence everywhere. The fireball bursts like fireworks, seen by others on the island as well as Scotland. The crew notices that the white paint on the metal railings at the edge of the boat has disappeared, leaving only the red undercoating. At daybreak, however, the paintwork is perfectly normal again. (Jenny Randles, “ Mysterious Island: The UFO Legacy of the Isle of Man,” IUR 29, no. 1 (Spring 2004): 13–14)
November 29 — Two German expatriates, G. R. Miczaika and Eberhart W. Wahl, form Project Space Track in Building 1535 of the Geophysics Research Directorate at the Air Force Cambridge Research Center at Hanscom AFB in Bedford, Massachusetts. Its mission is to track and compute orbits for all artificial earth satellites and space probes, including US and Soviet payloads, booster rockets, and debris. (Wikipedia, “ Project Space Track”)
November 30? — Morning. The newly established Brazilian Navy meteorological station on Ilha da Trindade, Brazil, is tracking a launched weather balloon by radio and with a theodolite. Suddenly the radio signals from the balloon change frequency. The technician observing with the theodolite tells Capt. Carlos Alberto Bacellar that there is another object near the balloon. Bacellar rushes out to look and sees a silvery speck moving from one side to the other and making tight turns. Through the 20x theodolite scope, the object looks distinctly oval, silvery-white in color, and reflecting sunlight from a metallic surface. It changes shape occasionally, possibly indicating oscillation. The balloon bursts at the appropriate time, but the object remains in sight for nearly 3 hours. (Olavo T. Fontes, “ The UAO Sightings at the Island of Trindade, Part 1,” APRO Bulletin, January 1960, pp. 5–9)
December — National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) 11-10-57 predicts that the Soviets will “probably have a first operational capability with up to 10 prototype ICBMs” at “sometime during the period from mid- 1958 to mid-1959.” The numbers of the missile gap start to inflate. (Wikipedia, “ Missile gap”)
December — A classified Canadian Department of National Defence memorandum states that the “RCAF has no official policy concerning the subject” of UFOs and “there has never been a serious investigation of any report on file” at RCAF headquarters. (Gregory M. Kanon, “ UFOs and the Canadian Government, Part One,” Canadian UFO Report, no. 22 (1975): 22)
December — Several UFO sightings take place along the Finland-Russia border. A cigar-shaped object is seen by two Finnish farmers moving horizontally at a high altitude from west to east. (Good Above, pp. 307–308)
December - Walter K. Buhler launches the Sociedade Brasiliera de Estudos sobre Discos Voadores in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It publishes the Boletim SBEDV through 1988. ( Boletim SBEDV, no. 1 (December 1957)
December — Night. Edmund Rucker is awakened by a roaring noise in El Cajon, California, and watches a strange object land near his house. Its windows are lighted and he can see some strange-looking heads inside. An opening becomes visible, and four creatures emerge. They have large heads, dome-like foreheads, and bulging eyeballs. They deliver a message to Rucker in English, saying they have philanthropic and scientific purposes. (Mark Cashman, “ Behavioral Classification System for UFO Occupants,” IUR 24, no. 1 (Spring 1999): 19; Patrick Gross, URECAT, July 28, 2007)
December — Keyhoe is invited to appear on the CBS Armstrong Circle Theater anthology drama TV program hosted by Douglas Edwards to talk about UFOs with Kenneth Arnold and Clarence S. Chiles. Others invited are Edward J. Ruppelt, Donald Menzel, and an Air Force representative. But Keyhoe finds out that it will not be a panel discussion but a scripted conversation, and he will only have 7 minutes. He is promised he will have final say over his part of the script, and he agrees. However, writer Irve Tunick cuts out critical portions of Keyhoe’s material (including references to the Estimate of the Situation and the Robertson Panel), saying it is too long. Ruppelt, Chiles, and Arnold soon withdraw from the program, expanding Keyhoe’s segment to 11 minutes. (Clark III 167–168; Clark IV 194–195)
December 1 — 1:30 a.m. Swissair pilot Walter Borner is flying a DC-6B at 18,000 feet over Ras El-Kanayis, Egypt, when he sees a “giant, red, burning cylinder falling down vertically, leaving a yellowish trail.” It is possible that this is the reentry of the final stage of the rocket that launched Sputnik I. (Luis Schoenherr, “ Unknown Missiles,” IUR 19, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1994): 22)
December 3 — 2:30 p.m. Z. Thad Fogl, radio officer of the SS Ramsey, claims to have taken a photo of a saucer off the coast of San Pedro, California. The photo appears in Flying Saucer Review in 1959 and Life in 1966. However, in 1967 Fogl admits that he had faked the photo using parts of plastic airplane models. (NICAP, “ Disc with Landing Gear Photo / Fogl Case”; “ Radio Officer’s Amazing Story: UFO Snapped from Ship,” Flying Saucer Review 5, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1959): 6– 7; B. E. Finch, “The Under-Carriage,” Flying Saucer Review 7, no. 2 (March/April 1961): 23–24; Paul O’Neil, “ A Well-Witnessed ‘Invasion’—by Something,” Life, April 1, 1966, pp. 24, 29; “ A Hoax Exposed,” Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1966): 7)
December 3 — 7:00 p.m. Many residents of the Menastash Ridge area of Ellensburg, Washington, watch a “strange ball of fire” for 20 minutes. A truck driver sees the light hovering above his truck, causing the motor to cough and sputter. His engine does not stop completely, however, so he drives away. The night is misty, but the object is so bright that it lights up the sky as if it were daytime. ( Schopick, pp. 51–52)
December 4 — Blue Book Capt. George T. Gregory complains that as a result of pressure from the press and public, “Assistant Secretary of Defense requested that ATIC immediately submit a preliminary analysis to the press” of the Levelland, Texas, cases, even though he has “limited data.” (J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, p. 147)
December 5 — 8:00 a.m. A round, silvery object crosses the sky above the meteorological station at Ilha da Trindade, Brazil, at about 6,000 feet. (Olavo T. Fontes, “ The UAO Sightings at the Island of Trindade, Part 1,” APRO Bulletin, January 1960, pp. 5–9)
December 5 — Morning. An unidentified beeping sound is picked up for three minutes on KBR Rural Public Power Radio in Ainsworth, Nebraska, operating at 72.3 AM. (“ Unidentified Beeping Heard on KBR Power Radio on Thursday,” Ainsworth (Nebr.) Star-Journal, December 12, 1957, p. 1)
December 6 — A letter written to contactee George Adamski on State Department stationery from R. E. Straith, Cultural Exchange Committee, is a hoax concocted by ufologists Gray Barker and James W. Moseley. The letter informs Adamski that the State Department knows his claims are true and they encourage his activities. (Max B. Miller, “ That State Department Letter,” Saucers 6, no. 2 (Spring 1958): 9–12; “ U.S. Govt. Has Evidence of Extra-Terrestrials,” Flying Saucer Review 4, no. 2 (March/April 1958): 2–3, 36; “ State Department Checking Apparent Hoax,” Confidential NICAP Bulletin, April 4, 1958, p. 1; “ Cosmic Science,” Saucerian Bulletin 3, no. 2 (May 1, 1958): 5–6; “ Adamski,” Flying Saucer Review 4, no. 3 (May/June 1958): 4; “ More on the Controversial State Department Letter,” Saucerian Bulletin 3, no. 3 (June 15, 1958): 10–13; “ The Straith Letter: And Then There Were Three,” APRO Bulletin, July 1958, pp. 7–8; “ Straith Letter False, State Department Tells Adamski,” Confidential NICAP Bulletin, July 9, 1958, p. 4; Max B. Miller, “ That State Department Letter,” Saucers 6, no. 2 (Summer 1959): 8–12; “ Adamski Answers Washington Denial Regarding R. E. Straith,” Flying Saucer Review 4, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1958): 8–9; “ More about Straith,” Saucerian Bulletin 3, no. 4 (October 15, 1958): 2–5; “ Justice Dept. Hunting ‘Straith’ Hoaxer,” NICAP Special Bulletin, November 1958, p. 4; “ Richard Ogden ‘Visited,’” Flying Saucer Review 4, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1958): 3; James D. Villard, “ The ‘R. E. Straith’ Case,” Saucers 6, no. 4 (Winter 1958/1959): 2–6; “ The Straith Letter,” CSI News Letter, no. 25 (July 15, 1959): 2; Gray Barker, “The Strange Case of R. E. Straith,” in Gray Barker, ed., Gray Barker’s Book of Adamski, Saucerian, 1966, pp. 61–78; Lou Zinsstag and Timothy Good, George Adamski: The Untold Story, Ceti, 1983, pp. 148–153; “ In Which We Offer a Possible Solution to the Long-Time Mystery of the Infamous ‘R. E. Straith’ Letter Written to George Adamski Many Years Ago (Circa 1957),” Saucer Smear 32, no. 1 (January 10, 1985): 1–2; “ Miscellaneous Ravings,” Saucer Smear 32, no. 3 (April 1, 1985): 3; James W. Moseley and Karl T. Pflock, Shockingly Close to the Truth! Confessions of a Grave-Robbing Ufologist, Prometheus, 2002, pp. 124–127, 381– 402; Curt Collins, “ George Adamski, R. E. Straith, and the Seven Letters of Mischief,” In Honor of Jim Moseley, February 10, 2014; Marc Hallet, A Critical Appraisal of George Adamski: The Man Who Spoke to the Space Brothers, The Author, 2016; Clark III 44–45, 178; Powell, Keyhoe, 235–238; Clark IV 63–64, 214; Mckee, Saucerian, pp. 90–96)
December 7 — 10:00 p.m. In western Victoria and eastern South Australia, witnesses see a moon-like object explode with a vivid flash. Unexpected blackouts are reported in the area. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 87)
December 8 — 5:30 p.m. A disc-shaped UFO with a dome and three pads on the underside suddenly comes toward a car with three passengers at Woodward, Oklahoma. The car heater, wipers, and radio fail and finally the car stalls out as the UFO hovers overhead at 200 feet. It emits a high-pitched whining sound. It is over 50 feet in diameter and has portholes. The whine increases in pitch after about two minutes, and the UFO rises vertically out of sight. The headlights come on and the engine of the car starts by itself. The driver spends 4 hours with two officers from Kirtland AFB in New Mexico who tell him of similar observations. (Vallée, Magonia, pp. 267–268)
December 8 — 9:00 p.m. Eight people traveling together in two cars on Highway 17 between Coulee City and Soap Lake, Washington, see a huge, fiery object pass overhead from north to south. Both cars stall out and their headlights also fail as the UFO passes overhead. In addition, the inside dome lights come on, even though they aren’t turned on. The cars remain stalled until the object passes out of sight. Police say the object stalled as many as six cars along that sparsely traveled road. ( Schopick, pp. 52–53)
December 11 — Night. Mexican pilot Gilberto Castillo del Valle is flying at 10,000 feet near Mexico City when a brilliant light illuminates his cockpit. He turns off the aircraft lights and sees a large luminous object darting from left to right and back again ahead of him. Passengers and crew also see the light, as do personnel at the Mexico City control tower. (“ Recent Sightings,” APRO Bulletin, May 1958, p. 8; Lorenzen, UFOs; The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 88)
December 12 — A USAF pilot attains 1,208 mph in a McDonnell F-101A Voodoo at Edwards AFB, California. (Wikipedia, “ McDonnell F-101 Voodoo”)
December 12 — 5:45 p.m. At least 13 witnesses see a bright light over the Sea of Japan. The object is tracked on radar and seen through binoculars. At 7:22 p.m., a scramble is ordered and two F-86D’s take off from Misawa Air Base, Japan. Multiple radar and visual sightings take place over the next three days. (NICAP, “ Jets Scrambled after Radar/Visual UFO”; Sparks, p. 261; Powell, Scientist, 25–26)
December 14 — Night. Ed Waslashi sees a lighted green object fall into a haystack on his farm at Langdon, North Dakota. He picks out a strange metallic substance from the ashes of the burned hay. The material finds its way to geologist Nicholas N. Kohanowski at the University of North Dakota, who finds that it is light, porous, and mostly magnesium dioxide. (“ What Is It?” Winona (Minn.) Daily News, December 17, 1957, p 1; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 87)
December 15 — 1:00–2:00 a.m. Three young men see a huge light in the sky at Almind, Denmark. It is oval-shaped, emits red or orange rays, and appears to be descending. They watch it for 18–19 minutes as it hovers at a 10° angle and quivers. Suddenly it becomes still and from its center emerge two small objects that drift away in a northerly direction and soon disappear. The large object lies on its side and quivers some more. Later it ascends and a fan-shaped tail of light spreads after it. The UFO is seen later along the coast and photographed. (“ Flying Saucer Reports Pour in from Denmark,” Flying Saucer Review 4, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1958): 2; Herbert S. Taylor, “ Satellite Objects: A Further Look,” IUR 29, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 25)
December 16 - Between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m. Mary M. Starr, a resident of Old Saybrook, Connecticut, and a former teacher with a master's degree from Yale, is awakened by a bright light in her room. A cigar-shaped object, brightly lit and with square portholes, hovers just above her clothesline. She can see men inside. The object is approximately 20-30 feet long and dark gray or black in color, hovering motionless about 5 feet above the ground. Through its lighted windows Starr sees two figures that pass each other, walking in opposite directions. (NICAP, " Cigar Hovers over Clothesline / Entities Observed"; " The Near-Landing at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, December 16, 1957," CSI News Letter, no. 25 (July 15, 1959): 9-10; Mary M. Starr, "My First UFO," Fate 13, no. 3 (March 1960): 61-62; Mary M. Starr, " My Visitor from Outer Space," Flying Saucer Review 6, no. 3 (May/ June 1960): 7-8; Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore, eds, UFOs: A New Look, NICAP, 1969, pp. 27-28; Center for UFO Studies, HUMCAT Index 1957, p. 42; Clark III 269; Clark IV 309)
December 16 — 8:45 p.m. A cargo train en route from Miguel Burnier to Chrockatt de Sá, Minas Gerais, Brazil, is followed by an object with an estimated diameter of six inches [at arm’s length?]. The UFO glows brightly and seems to be at a height of about 5,000 feet. The object gives off an intense orange light that is so strong that the faces of the witnesses take on an orange tint as they gaze upward. It appears round- shaped and maneuvers from the right to the left. The sighting lasts 10 minutes as some 20 people view the UFO. (“ Florianopolis, Santarina State,” S.P.A.C.E., no. 15 (March 1958): 2; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 December, The Author, 1998, p. 53)
December 17 — Skandinavisk UFO Information is founded in Denmark by Hans-Christian Petersen under the name Sydjysk UFO Information. It publishes the journal UFO-Nyt from 1958 to 2010. (Wikipedia, “ Skandinavisk UFO Information”)
December 17 — The US conducts its first successful launch of an SM-65A Atlas missile at Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Wikipedia, “ SM-65A Atlas”)
December 18 — Luis E. Corrales of Caracas, Venezuela, finds an odd luminous streak on a photographic plate recording the passage of Sputnik 2. It is a luminous trail running parallel to the satellite’s trail, then veering away. (“ Strange Luminosity Parallels Path of Sputnik II,” APRO Bulletin, March 1958, p. 3; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 December, The Author, 1998, p. 57)
December 21 — 6:30 p.m. Yvonne Torres de Mendonça, her three small children, and a servant are traveling in a jeep driven by her mechanic, Marcio Gonçalves, towards Ponta Porã, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, along the Paraguayan border. They see a large ball of light about the size of the full moon that starts moving toward them, and they realize that it is two lights flying silently side by side. The lights straddle the road, oscillating from one side to the other in a strange wobbling motion and spinning on their axes. One of them stops in mid-air and dives toward the ground in a falling-leaf motion 60 feet ahead of them, while the other maneuvers in circles around the jeep. The lights are spherical and encircled by a Saturn-like ring at the center. The upper hemisphere and rim are fiery red, while the lower hemisphere is silvery white. The two objects follow the jeep for 2 hours, all the way to town, maneuvering intelligently around them, especially when the jeep stops twice to evaluate the objects. (Olavo T. Fontes, “ Shadow of the Unknown, Part II: UAOs Chase Cars,” APRO Bulletin, March 1959, pp. 3–6; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 148–150; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 December, The Author, 1998, pp. 60–63; Clark III 245–246; Clark IV 285–286)
December 30 — Night. George Chowanski is cutting wood at his home in Schooley’s Mountain, New Jersey, when his two dogs begin to bark and howl. He hears a whirring noise like an electric shaver that persists for one minute. Then he sees a saucer-shaped object, 5 feet high and 15 feet wide, hovering about 2 feet above the ground in a grove of trees 100 feet from the back porch. Three individuals come out of the craft and walk about in the clearing. One of them bends over to pick something up and carries something heavy back to the object. After 2–3 minutes, it slowly rises, spiraling through the tall trees, and flies off. (Edna Slack and Carl Darby, “Strange Craft, Three Visitors Are Reported at Drakestown,” Dover-Lakeland (N.J.) News, March 6, 1958, pp. 1, 6; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 88–89; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1957 December, The Author, 1998, pp. 73–74)
December 31 — 7:50 a.m. Five workers (including the station doctor and Naval Lieut. Inacio Carlos Moreira) at the meteorological station at Ilha da Trindade, Brazil, watch a silvery, circular object pass overhead at 6,000 feet. (Olavo T. Fontes, “ The UAO Sightings at the Island of Trindade, Part 1,” APRO Bulletin, January 1960, pp. 5–9)
1958
The Atomic Energy Commission puts a barbed wire fence around Area 13 at the Nellis Air Force Range, Nevada, where the Project 57 “dirty bomb” had been detonated in April 1957, with signs indicating “do not enter / nuclear material.” (Jacobsen, Area 51, p. 297)
Project Orion, an effort to build a nuclear-powered spacecraft, begins at a maximum-security facility in Area 25 of the Nevada Test Site. Led by Ted Taylor of General Atomics and physicist Freeman Dyson, its initial focus is to send astronauts to Mars and back. The spaceship would be 16 stories tall and piloted by 150 men. Soon ARPA and the Air Force take over the project and redesign it for a space-based battleship that could launch nuclear missiles from space. But no one builds Orion and it is effectively disbanded by the 1963 nuclear test ban. (Wikipedia, “ Project Orion (nuclear propulsion)”; Jacobsen, Area 51, pp. 304–305)
French ufologist Aimé Michel publishes Flying Saucers and the Straight-Line Mystery, an examination of the UFO wave of September– October 1954 in France. The book’s preface is written by Gen. Lionel-Max Chassin, in which he expresses his opinion that UFOs are genuinely mysterious (“That strange things have been seen is now beyond question, and the ‘psychological’ explanations seem to have misfired”). Michel contends that each day’s sightings, when plotted on a map, occur along straight-line paths, even though different objects seem to figure in each sighting. The alignments, which he calls “orthotenic lines,” do not necessarily correspond to a trajectory. However, Jacques Vallée later concludes that the alignments can be explained by chance alone. (Aimé Michel, Flying Saucers and the Straight-Line Mystery, Criterion, 1958; Olavo T. Fontes, “ Orthotenic Survey in Brazil,” APRO Bulletin, July 1960, pp. 1, 3–4; “ An Evaluation of Aimé Michel’s Study of the Straight Line Mystery,” in Charles A. Maney and Richard Hall, The Challenge of Unidentified Flying Objects, NICAP, 1961, pp. 91–98; Antonio Ribera, “ Spanish Orthotenies in 1950,” Flying Saucer Review 7, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1961): 9–11; Jacques Vallée, “ Towards a Generalisation of Orthoteny and Its Applications to the North African Sightings,” Flying Saucer Review 8, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1962): 3–7; Aimé Michel, “ Global Orthoteny,” Flying Saucer Review 9, no. 3 (May/June 1963): 3–7; Peter M. Seeviour, “ Foundations of Orthoteny,” Flying Saucer Review 11, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1965): 10–12; Donald H. Menzel, “ Orthoteny: A Lost Cause,” Flying Saucer Review 11, no. 3 (May/June 1965): 9–11; Aimé Michel, “ Reflections of an Honest Liar,” Flying Saucer Review 11, no. 3 (May/June 1965): 11–14; Donald H. Menzel, “ Orthoteny: A Lost Cause, Part 2,” Flying Saucer Review 11, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1965): 26–28; Jacques Vallée and Janine Vallée, Challenge to Science: The UFO Enigma, Regnery, 1966, pp. 57–82; Condon, pp. 533–535; Don Johnson, “ New Lines in UFO Research: Orthoteny Revisited,” IUR 25, no. 1 (Spring 2000): 18–19, 32; Claude Maugé, “ Orthoteny: Lost Cause, or a Redeemed One?” IUR 25, no. 3 (Fall 2000): 24–28; Clark III 747, 858–860; Eghigian, After, p. 110; Clark IV 828–829, 946–947)
Trevor James Constable writes They Live in the Sky, which explains UFOs as etheric (good) and astral (bad) entities that are engaged in a battle for control of earthly minds. He bases this on his analysis of occult texts and channeled communications from cosmic informant Ashtar. The astral entities are based inside the earth, but they can leave it through an opening in the South Pole and fly 125,000 miles into space. Only the atomic bomb can penetrate the astral realm, which is why astrals disguised as benevolent Space Brothers argue fervently for nuclear disarmament. The men in black are reincarnated versions of Richard Shaver’s deros. (Trevor James [Constable]. They Live in the Sky, New Age, 1958; Trevor James [Constable], “ Scientists, Contactees, and Equilibrium,” Flying Saucer Review 6, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1960): 19–21; Clark III 173, 876–877, 1102; Clark IV 200, 970–971, 1228; Mckee, Saucerian, pp. 98–99)
Night. A sergeant in charge of a fire truck crash crew at an air base in South Korea is positioned near the runway awaiting an emergency landing by an American jet fighter low on fuel. The men see a bright light approaching from across the Yellow Sea. It grows bigger and, within several hundred yards of the shore, stops and hovers. The control tower operators, watching the object through binoculars, do not know what it is. Suddenly the object shines a beam of light straight down on the water. It soon goes out, but the water remains luminescent for a while before fading out. The object again shines a light on the water and turns it off a minute or so later. By this time, the jet that is low on fuel is landing. A second jet is asked to check out the object, which instantly shoots back toward China and disappears in seconds. (Bob Pratt, UFO Danger Zone: Terror and Death in Brazil—Where Next?, Horus House, 1996, online ed., p. 164; Carl W. Feindt, “ Beam of Light into a Body of Water,” IUR 33, no. 3 (December 2010): 22)
January — The US Senate Committee on Government Operations asks to meet with representatives from the Secretary of the Air Force Office of Legislative Action to discuss the possibility of holding open hearings on the Air Force UFO program. USAF fears “uncontrolled publicity,” but agrees to go along with it. Soon, however, Richard E. Horner, USAF assistant secretary for research and development, persuades the committee’s chief counsel, Donald O’Donnell, that hearings are “not in the best interest of the air force,” nor necessary for national security. Horner says Project Blue Book has things well in hand, and he tells Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.) that allegations about the Air Force withholding information are “entirely in error.” People who report UFOs simply want confidentiality, and the Air Force respects that. (Jacobs, UFO Controversy in America, Signet ed., 1976, pp. 140–141, 144; Clark III 919–920; Clark IV 1030)
January — Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Texas, asks for Keyhoe’s permission to use The Flying Saucer Conspiracy to develop a script for closed-circuit broadcast at the base. Keyhoe agrees. (Keyhoe, FSTS, p. 218)
January 1:30 a.m.. Near Niagara Falls, New York. Snow was all over the place, and driving was tough on the New York State Thruway. A woman was trying to see her son who was in the army, and she was battling the weather to get there. She was going slowly when she noticed a large, dark shape and an illuminated 50-foot pole in the center parkway ahead. The pole seemed to be retracting and getting shorter. As she closed on it, her motor slowed down and then stopped completely. Her headlights also went out.
January — 1:30 a.m. A woman is driving along the New York State Thruway near Niagara Falls, New York, when she sees an illuminated 50-foot pole in the center parkway ahead. It seems to be retracting and getting shorter. As she closes in on it, her engine stops and the headlights go out. The pole is attached to a saucer-shaped object, and she sees shadowy figures floating around it. The UFO rises and moves away, and she starts the car again. An area of snow a foot in diameter has melted dry where the pole has been. (Michael D. Swords, “ Messing Around with the Force,” IUR 31, no. 4 (Mar. 2008): 16)
January 1 — 7:50 a.m. The entire garrison at the meteorological station at Ilha da Trindade, Brazil, watches a bright point of light flashing over the ocean at a high rate of speed to the north. (Olavo T. Fontes, “ The UAO Sightings at the Island of Trindade, Part 1,” APRO Bulletin, January 1960, pp. 5–9; Clark III 1133; Clark IV 1284)
She began, out of curiosity, to get out, but thought better of it when she saw shadowy things, difficult to see but like some weird forms of "animals," suspended and moving about the illuminated rod. These disappeared, and the saucer-shaped object rose, spun, raced only 10 feet above the ground, and then elevated away. Her lights blinked on. She restarted her car and pulled up and parked as close to the landing spot as she could. She got out (isn't it marvelous how amazingly brave all these folks have been?), took her flashlight, and walked to the position of the disk, which was easy to find as the snow was melted there. An area of snow a foot in diameter had melted nearly dry with the grass showing. Later, she told her son about the experience. He advised: "don't talk about it." She concurred and said, "I don't want people calling me." But otherwise, she was curious and okay with the whole thing.
January 2 - Night. The Brazilian Navy tow ship Triunfo, traveling off the coast of Bahia, Brazil, watches an unknown object circle the ship for almost 10 minutes. It is round, encircled with an orange glow, and maneuvers at high speed, making sudden changes of course and right-angle turns. Occasionally it hovers briefly, sometimes close to the ship. (Olavo T. Fontes, " The UAO Sightings at the Island of Trindade, Part 1," APRO Bulletin, January 1960, pp. 5-9)
January 3 — Cliff DeLacey, a 23-year-old college student from Vallejo, California, shoots 90 seconds of film of UFOs at Diamond Head, Hawaii. DeLacey sees nine UFOs flashing across the sky and immediately grabs his camera. He is careful enough to shoot the tops of nearby trees, allowing a reference to the height and relative speed of the unknown objects. The objects appear to be about 3–4 miles away from the camera, flying at an altitude of 7,000–8,000 feet, and moving at a speed slightly greater than that of a jet. The silvery globules appear to be no more than 20 feet in diameter. They are spherical, and no tail fins or protrusions of any kind are visible. The film, in color, is said to be clear and to show at least two of the nine UFOs in considerable detail. (NICAP, “ ‘Genuine Flying Saucer…Caught on Movie Film’”; “ Flying Phenomena Captured on Film by Vallejo Student,” Vallejo (Calif.) Times-Herald, January 19, 1958, pp. 1–2; “ UFO ‘Student’ Tells Reaction,” Vallejo (Calif.) Times-Herald, January 23, 1958; Max B. Miller and Norman S. Kossuth, “ How to Film Unidentified Flying Objects,” Saucers 6, no. 3 (Autumn 1958): 8)
January 6 — Morning. Capt. Carlos Alberto Bacellar is tracking a weather balloon launch at the meteorological station at Ilha da Trindade, Brazil, when the balloon’s radio signals begin fading away without a loss in frequency. Soon, the balloon’s transmitter falls completely silent. Outside, the balloon is still visible and approaching a cumulus cloud at 14,000 feet. Suddenly, the balloon is sucked up into the cloud, reappearing 10 minutes later and ascending more rapidly, indicating it had released its instrument packed while inside the cloud. However, no parachute is see and the instruments are never recovered. A silvery object emerges from the cloud. Through the 20x theodolite, the object looks like a bright white half-moon. Bacellar follows it with the scope for 30 minutes. It eventually disappears in a cloud bank. (Olavo T. Fontes, “ The UAO Sightings at the Island of Trindade, Part 1,” APRO Bulletin, January 1960, pp. 5–9; Clark III 1133; Clark IV 1284)
January 10 — Day. Capt. Chrysólogo Rocha is sitting with his wife on the porch of a house in Guarujá, São Paulo, Brazil, overlooking the South Atlantic. He is trying to focus with his binoculars on what appears to be a small island. When he does get focused, he realizes the island is getting bigger and is in two parts, both a clear, gray color. One part is in the sea, while the other seems suspended above it. Without warning, both parts suddenly sink out of sight. Shortly afterwards, a steamer comes into view, on a course that will take it very close to the object. About 15 minutes later, when the ship is out of sight, the object again rises slowly out of the sea. He now sees clearly that the two parts are joined by several narrow upright shafts or tubes that are bright and visible to the naked eye. These shafts, “like beads on a necklace” pass in a “disorderly and simultaneous movement.” Shortly afterwards the two parts of the object close up again, and it disappears below the waves. Probably an inferior mirage of an island in combination with a towering effect. (Charles Bowen, “ A South American Trio,” Flying Saucer Review 11, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1965): 20–21; Wim van Utrecht, “ A UFO Dives in and Out of the Ocean,” Caelestia; Dolan, USO1, 195)
January 13 — 11:45 p.m. Brian Crittenden sees a dome-shaped light with a long narrow light underneath coming directly towards him as he is leaving a friend’s house southwest of Casino, New South Wales, Australia. He jumps into his car and heads home. The UFO chases his car along Benns Road, practically touching the telephone poles. His car radio develops interference when the UFO approaches him. It follows him all the way to town, 7 miles away. ( Schopick, p. 81; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1958 January–February, The Author, 1998, p. 21)
January 16 — Around 12:00 noon. As the International Geophysical Year research ship Almirante Saldanha is anchored on the south side of Ilha da Trindade, Brazil, 730 miles off the coast in the Atlantic Ocean, the commander and many crew members, including photographer Almiro Baraúna, see a Saturn-shaped object maneuvering over the island. It reportedly comes toward the island from the east, flies towards the Pico Desejado, makes a steep turn, and goes away very quickly to the northwest. Baraúna takes four photos with a Rolleiflex 2.8 model E. Commander Paulo Moreira da Silva of the Brazilian Navy Hydrography and Navigation Department (who technically outranks the ship’s captain, José Santos de Saldanha da Gama), is apparently an eyewitness and states, “the object was encircled by a greenish glow, our [meteorological] balloon was of a red color.” Baraúna is officially there to take photos of the island, underwater photos, photos of the IGY activities, and the ship’s operations. The radar detection of an unexplained supersonic target reportedly occurs the day before, at about 12:05 p.m. There is a power failure on the ship when the object is seen; the power returns upon the object’s departure. Instruments like radio transmitters and apparatus with magnetic needles cease operating while the flying object remains in the island’s proximity. Willy Smith’s April 20, 1983, interview of Baraúna takes on more significance: “I asked if the object had been detected by ship’s radar. He [Baraúna] replied that it hadn’t because all the electrical power aboard ship was out at the time. He was sure of the reality of the power outage because just before the object appeared a launch was being hauled up from the water by electric pulley, and it stopped midway just as the UFO appeared!” The ship’s log is provably incomplete since it does not even mention the UFO photo incident. A 1999 analysis by Martin J. Powell seems to indicate that the object photographed is an airplane, distorted by Baraúna through a double-exposure process. In August 2010, a major TV show in Brazil airs information stating that the original photographer had made hoax photographs in the past. (Wikipedia, “ Caso da Ilha da Trindade”; NICAP, “ Trindade Island Photo (E-M, Radar, AR) Case”; NICAP, “ The Trindade Island Photos (1/16/58)”; Sparks, p. 262; [ Project Blue Book case files]; Brazil, Department of the Navy, General Staff of the Fleet, Subdivision of Information, “ Clarification of the Observation of Unidentified Flying Objects Sighted on the Island of Trinidad, in the Period of 12/5/57 to 1/16/58,” March 2, 1958; Olavo T. Fontes, “ The UAO Sightings at the Island of Trindade, Part 1,” APRO Bulletin, January 1960, pp. 5–9; Olavo T. Fontes, “ UAO Sightings over Trindade, Part II,” APRO Bulletin, March 1960, pp. 5–8; Olavo T. Fontes, “ UAO Sightings at the Island of Trindade, Part III,” APRO Bulletin, May 1960, pp. 4–9; John T. Hopf, “ Exclusive IGY Photo Analysis,” APRO Bulletin, May 1960, pp. 1, 4; “ UFO Photo Certified by Brazilian Navy Labeled a Hoax by USAF,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 10 (July/August 1960): 3; Donald H. Menzel and Lyle G. Boyd, The World of Flying Saucers, Doubleday, 1963, pp. 206–216; “ New Evidence on IGY Photos,” APRO Bulletin, January 1965, pp. 1, 3–8; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 205–210; Story, pp. 366–369; Willy Smith, “ Trindade Revisited,” IUR 8, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1983): 3–5, 14; Willy Smith, “ UFOs in Latin America,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, pp. 109–111; Martin J. Powell, “ The Trindade Island UFO: A Detailed Study of Photos 1 and 2,” Aenigmatis, Summer 1999; Don Berliner, with Marie Galbreath and Antonio Huneeus, UFO Briefing Document: The Best Available Evidence, Dell, 2000, pp. 71–77; Martin Shough, “ The Trindade Island Photographs, 16 Jan 1958,” Aerial Phenomena Studies Index, 2004; Tim Printy, “ UFO over Trindade Island: Details Overlooked or Ignored,” March 2005; Kentaro Mori, “ Como forjar fotos OVNI, por Almiro Baraúna,” Ceticismo Aberto, January 17, 2008; Equipe UFO, “ Documento raro sobre o caso Trindade ressurge no exterior,” Portal UFO, August 31, 2010; Alexandre de Carvalho Borges, “ Caso Ilha da Trindade: Documentos sigilosos são revelados,” Além da Ciência, May 6, 2011; Swords 463–465; “ Trindade Isle Radar/Visual Case of 1-16-1958 – Almiro Barauna Interview by Dr. Hynek,” Ufology: A Primer in Audio, 1938–1959, November 21, 2013; Alexandre de Carvalho Borges, “ Caso Ilha da Trindade: O que não querem que você saiba,” Além da Ciência, May 19, 2015; Clark III 1132–1136; Alexandre de Carvalho Borges, “ Caso Ilha da Trindade: Um ardil publicitário ou uma sólida evidência dos UFOs?” Além da Ciência, April 20, 2021; Brazil 49–57; Patrick Gross, “ The Trindade Island Photographic Case of 1958”; Clark IV 1284–1288)
January 22 — The “UFO: The Enigma of the Skies” segment of Armstrong Circle Theater airs on CBS. USAF Reserve Lt. Col. Spencer Whedon from ATIC says all UFOs are explainable. Keyhoe comes on and starts reading his script for a few minutes, then shocks everyone by deviating from it, saying “And now, Mr. Edwards, I would like to make a disclosure, something which has never been revealed to the public. For the last six months our committee has been working with a Senate committee which is investigating official secrecy on UFOs. If the hearings are held, open hearings, I feel it would prove that the flying saucers are real—”. Then his microphone is cut off, although the filming continues. Menzel then appears, then USAF spokesman Richard E. Horner comes on afterward and says that the Air Force is not hiding anything about UFOs. Keyhoe later claims this is not censorship by the show, although he thinks it is the Air Force silence group at work. In April, CBS director of editing Herbert A. Carlborg tells NICAP that Keyhoe’s deviation “might lead to statements that neither this network nor the individuals on the program were authorized to release. As a consequence, public interest was served.” (“ Author Digresses on TV, Sound Is Cut,” New York Times, January 23, 1958, p. 55; “ Armstrong Circle Theatre,” APRO Bulletin, January 1958, p. 5; “ Major Keyhoe Cut Off the Air,” Flying Saucer Review 4, no. 2 (March/April 1958): 2–3; “ New Angle on Armstrong Show,” Confidential NICAP Bulletin, April 4, 1958, p. 4; Keyhoe, FSTS, pp. 22–23, 155–165; Good Above, pp. 286–287; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1958 January–February, The Author, 1998, pp. 23, 28–30, 35–39; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1958 March–April, The Author, 1998, pp. 10–17; Richard H. Hall, “ Air Force Censorship of TV Broadcast about UFOs Stirred Controversy in 1958,” Journal of UFO History 1, no. 6 (Jan./Feb. 2005): 3–6; Swords 272–273, 276; “ Armstrong Circle Theater: UFO, the Enigma of the Skies,” Ufology: A Primer in Audio, 1947–1964, Volume 1, March 29, 2013; “ Richard Horner, Ass’t Director of USAF Research and Development, on UFOs 1-22-1958,” Ufology: A Primer in Audio, 1938–1959, November 21, 2013; “ Irving Tunick, Producer of Armstrong Circle Theater on Keyhoe Censorship, LJN 1-23-1958,” Ufology: A Primer in Audio, 1938–1959, November 21, 2013; “ UFO Archives: Project Blue Book—Col. Spenser Whedon, Dr. Donald Menzel, Major Donald Keyhoe” [audio only], UFO Archives YouTube channel, May 22, 2014; Clark III 167–168; Powell, Keyhoe, 221–229; Graff 130–131; Clark IV 194–195; Curt Collins, “ The UFO Disclosure That Was Silenced,” The Saucers That Time Forgot, January 15, 2025)
January 23 — Capt. G. H. Oldenburgh, public information officer at Langley AFB, Virginia, writes to a NICAP member who has been denied a request to place an ad in the base newspaper asking for UFO reports: “I felt it would encourage Air Force personnel to violate present Air Force policy and specifically AF Regulation 200-2.” (Frank Edwards, FS Serious Business, Bantam ed., 1966, p. 51)
January 26 — 4:00 p.m. Some chemical workers at Shimada, Japan, see a bright object land and claim that beings fell from the sky without parachutes. They wear strange suits and speak an unknown language. (“ They Are Landing in Japan, Too,” Flying Saucer Review 4, no. 3 (May/June 1958): 33)
January 28 — Hillenkoetter announces that “two committees on Capitol Hill” are investigating the UFO controversy. Rep. William Hanes Ayres (R-Ohio) writes a letter to constituent Melvin V. Knapp, saying that “Congressional investigations have been held and are still being held on the problem of unidentified flying objects (UFO’s). Since most of the material presented to the committees is classified, the hearings are never printed. When conclusions are reached, they will be released if possible.” (“ Flying Saucer Proof Clouded by Air Force, Private Probers Say,” Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle, August 3, 1958, p. 8; UFOEv, p. 173)
January 30 — 11:45 p.m. Attorney José Valencia Dongo, his wife, and their nephew feel an electric shock as they are driving between Arequipa and Lima, Peru, at a point (roughly around the Yauca District) along the Pan American Highway 220 miles northwest of Arequipa. Several seconds later the headlights and engine of their car fails. They then see an inverted mushroom-shaped object, about 15 feet in diameter, descending from the sky. It hovers for about 8 minutes at a 150-foot altitude, glowing red. A truck and bus are also affected. (Civilian Saucer Intelligence, “ Shapes in the Sky,” Fantastic Universe, 10, no. 4 (October 1958): 111; Charles A. Maney and Richard Hall, The Challenge of Unidentified Flying Objects, NICAP, 1961, p. 82; Schopick, pp. 58–59; Mark Rodeghier, UFO Reports Involving Vehicle Interference, CUFOS, 1981, p. 14)
January 31 — A meeting is held in the office of Assistant Secretary of the Air Force Richard E. Horner under the auspices of the Subcommittee on Investigations of the Senate Committee on Government Operations, even though Sen. John L. McClellan (D-Ark.) and other senators are absent. The Air Force is represented by Maj. James F. Byrne, Maj. Joseph E. Boland, and Maj. Lawrence J. Tacker who meet with the subcommittee’s FBI liaisons. Tacker declares that USAF does not want a congressional investigation, and the McClellan effort dies immediately. (Swords 275)
January 31 — 10:48 p.m. The US launches its first satellite, Explorer 1, from Cape Canaveral Missile Annex, Florida. It is the first spacecraft to detect the Van Allen radiation belt. (Wikipedia, “Explorer 1”; Graff 132)
February — Keyhoe meets again with Rep. James C. Healey and tells him that the Armstrong Circle Theater incident was Air Force censorship. A few days later, Healey tells Keyhoe that the Air Force is claiming that the program proves “there are no such things as flying saucers.” Keyhoe gives Healey the facts about the 1956 Ryan case pointing to USAF ordering a commercial flight to pursue UFOs, citing the Meet the Millers tape from April 16, 1956, which he has obtained. He offers to get the committee a transcript. (Keyhoe, FSTS, pp. 166–167, 182– 184)
February — Ufologist Raymond Veillith launches the UFO journal Lumières dans la Nuit in Le Chambon-sur- Lignon, Haute-Loire, France. In the 1960s and 1970s it features a network of 2,000 investigators and a circulation in the thousands. It continues under various editors until at least 2018. (Lumières dans la Nuit, no. 1 (February 1958); Wikipedia, “Lumières dans la Nuit”; Story, p. 218; Eghigian, After, pp, 108–109)
February 1 — 9:20 a.m. Artist Eduardo Moll and his fiancée Juana are driving along the Avenida Costanera in Lima, Peru, when they observe a red-orange light flying low about 800 feet ahead. They drive closer, stop the car, and see it is a ball of fire with a white light underneath hovering about 30 feet in the air near an abandoned factory. The light consists of dozens of small crosses that flicker on and off, red and yellow, and a beam of white light comes from its base. The beam’s edge is sharply defined, but it does not illuminate the ground below it. Moll decides to walk toward the object. When he is 25 feet away, the light goes out and the object rises slowly to the east and gradually disappears. (Richard Greenwell, Un Estudio sobre los OVNIs, APRO, 2nd ed., April 1969; Percy Taira, “ El Avistamiento OVNI del pintor Eduardo Moll en 1958,” Expediente Oculto, February 24, 2012; Clark IV 1216–1217)
February 2 — An elliptical UFO with two porthole-like markings is seen somewhere in New South Wales, Australia. (UFOEv, p. 137)
February 3 — OTC Enterprises runs a two-page ad in a Baltimore, Maryland, newspaper and distributes a well- printed brochure announcing that Otis T. Carr has approached the US government and offered to build it a working spacecraft called the OTC-X1—circular, 45 feet in diameter and 15 feet high—for $20 million. He sets a date of December 7, 1959, to take a three-man crew on the spacecraft on a round trip to the Moon. Some press accounts treat Carr as if he is a real scientist. (“Saucerian Exclusive: Inventor Claims to Have Conquered Gravity!” The Saucerian Bulletin 3, no. 2 (May 1, 1958): 1–2; “Spaceship Designer, Inventor Offers Insight into Future via Electricity,” Rocky Mount (N.C.) Evening Telegram, June 6, 1958, p. B1; Robert J. Durant, “Otis T. Carr and the Free Energy Principle,” Saucer News 6, no. 1 (Dec. 1958/Jan. 1959): 10–12; Clark III 597, 860; Clark IV 656–657, 948)
February 5 — The Air Force revises AFR 200-2 and recreates the system of air base commanders conducting initial investigations of sightings in their areas. It also continues ATIC’s responsibility to “reduce the percentage of unidentifieds to the minimum.” (Department of the Air Force, “Intelligence: Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO),” Air Force Regulation 200-2, February 5, 1958; Department of the Air Force, “Intelligence: Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO),” Air Force Regulation 200-2A, July 3, 1958; Clark III 919; Clark IV 1029)
February 7 — In response to the launching of Sputnik, President Eisenhower creates the Advanced Research Projects Agency and houses it in the Pentagon. (Wikipedia, “DARPA”)
February 17 — Evening. Flora Evans and Bernice McIntosh twice encounter an intensely brilliant orange light about 15 feet in diameter that sends out peculiar grid-like or diamond-shaped patterns and lights up a canyon northeast of Alcalde, New Mexico, along what is now State Highway 68. The two women are temporarily blinded. Their trip home to Albuquerque inexplicably takes 4 hours instead of the normal 2 hours. Both witnesses are exhausted and have burned or reddened areas on their skin, some on their kneecaps and the back of their lower legs, even though they have not left the car. Evans has a reddened area shaped like a triangle on her back. An acquaintance, Paul Boyett, has a Geiger counter, with which he gets a high radiation count from both women on February 19. The next day Evans, who is working in some capacity in civil defense, goes to her doctor at the Lovelace Clinic in Albuquerque, to see about possible radiation burns and exposure. She overhears a comment about “178 roentgens” exposure, but the doctor says there is nothing to worry about. McIntosh’s symptoms (nausea, vomiting, rash) are initially more irritating but subside substantially, although both women have swellings in their lower legs, and both gain serious weight (some 50 pounds) over the next few months. (“ Sky Flash Gives Two Light Burns,” Albuquerque (N.Mex.) Journal, February 19, 1958, pp. 1, 4; “ Radiation Tests Are Taken by Women Who Saw Flashes,” Albuquerque (N.Mex.) Tribune, February 20, 1958, pp. 1–2; “ Test of ‘Burned’ Woman Shows No Reactions,” Albuquerque (N.Mex.) Journal, February 21, 1958, p. 13; “ Two Report Seeing Meteor,” Albuquerque (N.Mex.) Journal, February 23, 1958, p. 31; “ Recent UAO Radiation Cases,” APRO Bulletin, March 1958, pp. 5, 6; “To Burn or Not to Burn?” Fate 11, no. 7 (July 1958): 18–19; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1958 January–February, The Author, 1998, pp. 60–64; Michael D. Swords, “ Can UFOs Cause Physiological Effects? Part 2,” IUR 34, no. 1 (Sept. 2011): 4–5; Swords 280–281; Clark III 1–2, 950; Clark IV 16, 1064)
February 19 — 10:30 p.m. Cicero Claudino da Silva, Mustafa Esgaib, Alegario Campos, and João Manuel Vasquez are investigating the Ponta Porã case from December. They are at Porteiro Ortiz, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, along Highway 463 and shining their lights in the direction of the Paraguayan frontier when a reddish light appears and becomes larger, as if approaching them. The ground around their car is illuminated for a few seconds, and they realize that another red light is nearing them on the other side of the car. They head for Ponta Porã at breakneck speed. (Olavo T. Fontes, “ The Shadow of the Unknown,” APRO Bulletin, March 1959, p. 6)
February 24 - 3:05 a.m. Attorney Carlos José de Costa Pereira, Manoel Mendes, and Antônio de Araujo are driving near Santo Antônio de Jesus, Bahia, Brazil. The car engine sputters and fails. All attempts to detect the trouble fail. The next inhabited place is far away, so the travelers decide that the best thing to do is to sleep at that spot, beside the road. Next morning they will try to do something about their situation, getting help from some nearby village or farm. It was then that they notice a large luminous Saturn-shaped object silently approaching to about 240 feet from them and only 90 feet from the ground. It then descends in a falling-leaf pattern to about 12 feet. They can see it is about 60-75 feet in diameter with a rotating center section. Suddenly it climbs vertically to 600 feet, makes a tight circle, then tilts to 45° and makes a number of high-speed maneuvers, then descends again in a falling-leaf motion before shooting up vertically at tremendous speed. After this, the car starts easily and they proceed to Salvador. (Olavo T. Fontes, " The Shadow of the Unknown," APRO Bulletin, May 1959, p. 7; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 150-152; Schopick, pp. 59-61)
February 28 — USAF Director of Information Maj. Gen. Arno H. Luehman naively inquires of the McClellan Senate subcommittee whether, based on its “preliminary informal investigation,” it would state that the Air Force is investigating UFOs and not withholding information. (Arno H. Luehman to Director of Legislative Liaison, “McClellan Subcommittee Statement Concerning Air Force Handling of UFO Reports,” February 28, 1958; Swords 275)
February 28 — Brig. Gen. João Adil Oliveira, chief of the Brazilian Air Force’s General Staff information service, tells O Globo that the UFO phenomenon is a “fact confirmed by material evidence. There are thousands of documents, photos, and sighting evidence demonstrating its existence.” (Good Need, p. 233)
February 28 — Police detective Faustin Gallegos and his wife Dorothy see something like a “large medicine ball” descend and land in their back yard in Miami, Florida. Outside, he sees a football-shaped object 20 inches long and 8 inches high, lined with “thousands of minute cells resembling those of a honeycomb. It is clear and pulsating. He touches it and his fingers leave marks. They put it in a jar, but it evaporates on the way to the police station. (Faustin Gallegos, “The Pulsing Honeycomb from Space,” Fate 11, no. 9 (September 1958): 40–43; Clark III 1102; Clark IV 1228)
March — The Air Force releases parts of the 1953 Robertson Panel report, a mere three paragraphs recommending that “the national security agencies take immediate steps to strip the Unidentified Flying Objects of the special status they have been given and the aura of mystery they have unfortunately acquired.” (“CIA Evades, Then Denies Charge of Attempted UFO Censorship,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 4 (June 1958): 4)
March - A French Foreign Legionnaire on sentry duty at Bouamama, near Sidi Chami, Algeria, hears a whistling noise and sees an enormous, elliptical-shaped object descend and hover 115-131 feet above the ground 165 feet away. The object is surrounded by pale green light, and a relaxing emerald-green beam of light is coming from its base to the ground. Seemingly paralyzed, he stares at the object for 45-50 minutes. The noise returns, the object rises gently, and flies off at tremendous speed. (Joël Mesnard, " Tranquillizing Visitation at Bouahmama: An Algerian Report of 1958," Flying Saucer Review 19, no. 3 (May/June 1973): 17-18)
March 2 — The Brazilian Navy, after an analysis of the January 16 Ilha da Trindade sighting and photos, offers an ambiguous conclusion: “the existence of personal testimonies and of a photographer, of some value given the circumstances involved permit the admission that there are indications of the existence of the UFO.” (Brazil Department of the Navy, “Clarification of the Observation of Unidentified Flying Objects Sighted on the Island of Trinidad, in the Period of 12/5/57 to 1/16/58,” March 2, 1958)
March 3 — Gen. Joe W. Kelly responds to Luehman, falsely stating that the Air Force has done “considerable work” with the McClellan subcommittee. (Swords 275–276)
March 8 — A USAF radar site in Korea tracks a UFO slowly descending from 77,000 to 25,000 feet. (UFOEv, p. 80)
March 8 — Keyhoe appears on ABC’s The Mike Wallace Interview and mentions the Estimate of the Situation, Fournet’s motion study, and the CIA Robertson Panel. Wallace surprises him by saying Assistant Secretary of the Air Force Richard E. Horner told his producers that the Senate Committee “show no interest in any hearings.” This is news to Keyhoe. Wallace also quotes from the Robertson Panel summary that was just released. A few days later, Keyhoe receives two letters from the Senate Committee confirming that it “does not intend to investigate the United States Air Force.” (Keyhoe, FSTS, pp. 189–190; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1958 March–April, The Author, 1998, p. 9; “ Mike Wallace Interview of Maj. Donald E. Keyhoe: A Sequel to the Armstrong Circle Theater,” Journal of UFO History 2, no. 1 (March/April 2005): 8–11; Swords 272–273; “ NICAP – Maj. Donald E. Keyhoe Interviewed by Mike Wallace 3-8-1958,” Ufology: A Primer in Audio, 1938–1959, November 21, 2013; Powell, Keyhoe, 229–231; “ 1958 ‘UFOs Are Real’ Interview by Mike Wallace with Former Marine Air Corps Major Donald E. Keyhoe,” Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, February 26, 2024)
March 13 — Keyhoe writes a four-page letter to CIA Director Allen Dulles, criticizing the Air Force for its censorship on the Armstrong Circle Theater and asking for a copy of the Robertson Panel report. He asks Dulles if the CIA has been interrogating and intimidating UFO witnesses. (Powell, Keyhoe, 253–254)
March 14 — 8:45 a.m. Mr. and Mrs. W. F. Cummings and another witness see a 3-foot-long, round, black object approach from the west in Healdsburg, California. It touches the ground 50 feet away in the backyard, then takes off to the east, turns south, and disappears. (NICAP, [ case file]; Sparks, p. 263)
Late March — NICAP begins a new campaign to open another government UFO investigation. This time it approaches the Department of Justice, the National Security Council, the CIA, and the US Army. It receives rebuffs and denials. (Keyhoe, FSTS, p. 191)
March 31 — Ruppelt writes to Keyhoe that he is “completely out of the UFO business” and he thinks the “chances of UFOs being real are a billion to one.” (Powell, Keyhoe, 255)
April — Edgar Sievers begins publishing a pro-Adamski newsletter titled Approach in Pretoria, South Africa. It folds in March 1960. (Approach 1, no. 1 (April 1958))
April — 6:00 a.m. At some place along the Brazilian coast between Maceió and Paripueira, Alagoas, Brazil, Wilson Lustosa stops to ask some fishermen what they are looking at. He hears a humming sound and sees a disc-shaped object hovering about 50 feet above the ocean and 120 feet away. It has a small lighted dome on top and a band of square portholes around its midsection through which a red light is shining. Under the UFO the water seems disturbed. The object is visible for an hour. (Gordon W. Creighton, “ A Brazilian Sighting,” Flying Saucer Review 10, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1964): 18; Olsen, sec. 3, pp. 56–57; Clark III 378; Clark IV 422)
Early April — Night. A 2-foot red blinking light frightens children over the Walnut housing area in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania. Police officers Joseph Scala and Emanuel Mavero investigate and watch the bright disc for 10 minutes. Their police radio malfunctions. They try to get closer, but it disappears when they get to the top of a hill. (C. W. Fitch, “ Monitoring and Scanning Discs,” APRO Bulletin, September 1964, p. 5)
April 1 — 5:30 a.m. Passengers on two buses moving south out of Tucson, Arizona, see a V-formation of white, round objects moving at a high altitude southeast parallel to the East Benson Highway. They remain visible while one of the buses travels 15 miles. A spokesman at Davis-Monthan AFB says the next day that the objects are probably delta-wing F-102 aircraft. (“ Tucsonans Sight Flight of High-Flying Saucers,” Tucson Arizona Daily Star, April 2, 1958, p. 1; “ UFOs May Have Been F102s,” Tucson Arizona Daily Star, April 3, 1958, p. B-1)
April 4 — Wilton E. Lexow, chief of the CIA Applied Science Division, sends a memo to the assistant director for scientific intelligence regarding requests by Keyhoe and Leon Davidson to see a copy of the 1953 Robertson Panel report. Lexow indicates that Maj. Lawrence J. Tacker prefers all UFO information requests go to the Air Force for answering. He adds, “I think we can use this procedure as a precedent henceforth in all inquiries regarding UFO’s.” (Wilton E. Lexow, “Comments on Letters Dealing with UFOs,” April 4, 1958; Powell, Keyhoe, 293)
April 9 — A family in Cleveland, Ohio, sees a flight of nine UFOs that suddenly separates into two groups of four and five objects. (UFOEv, p. 15)
April 9 — 7:15 p.m. Mr. and Mrs. B. Mills are driving on St. Vincent Street in Nelson, New Zealand, when they see a bright-red triangular object with white lights around its perimeter. It is descending from the northeast at a 45° angle and moving across Tasman Bay. They see the object again, somewhat dimmer, around 8:00 p.m. from a friend’s house on Matipo Terrace. (“ Another ‘Object’ Reported,” Nelson (N.Z.) Evening Mail, April 12, 1958, reprinted in Space Probe 6, no. 1–2 (July/Dec. 1958): 27–28; “ Triangular Object over New Zealand,” Flying Saucer Review 4, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1958): 6)
April 9 — 9:30 p.m. Patrolman Roger Gordon spots two UFOs off the Pier in Newport Beach, California, after three fishermen point them out. About six other people also witness the hovering objects. Gordon observes the objects flying slowly at an altitude of about 500 feet, heading northeast. They appear flat, delta-winged, and have no tail or visible structure. About six red lights flash on and off in a series on their trailing edges. One object makes a sharp right turn and heads over Newport, while the other continues north along the coast, turning inland near the Santa Ana River. Gordon contacts El Toro Marine Corps Air Station to report the sighting. El Toro flight operations say they have no record of such activity. Teenage boys on the pier and others in a nearby apartment also report seeing the objects, describing them as silent, strange, and moving in unusual ways. Witnesses compare them to helicopters but note there is no noise or visible structure. The incident follows an earlier UFO sighting that week involving military and civilian authorities. (“ Two Mystery Flying Objects Sighted,” Anaheim (Calif.) Daily Bulletin, April 10, 1958, p. 1; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1958 March–April, The Author, 1998, p. 68)
April 10 - A Danish fighter pilot reports seeing a formation of UFOs. They are also tracked on radar at Skrydstrup Airport in Vojens, Denmark. The pilot attempts to overtake them, but they accelerate and disappear. The commander of Fighter Wing Skrydstrup appeals to the public to report any UFOs. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1958 March-April, The Author, 1998, p. 69)
April 10 — Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.) speaks out on the subject of UFOs after recent sightings in Arizona. He tells the press, “Flying saucers, unidentified objects or whatever you call them—are real,” and that the “Air Force has a project to investigate these reports but when you ask about them they clam up.” (“Senator Goldwater States Belief Flying Saucers Are Real,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 4 (June 1958): 6)
April 13 — 9:40 p.m. Lester Billheimer and Carl Kern watch an object shaped like a “solid right angle” glowing like a white neon light over Allentown, Pennsylvania. It travels northwest at first, then turns west and disappears after three seconds. (NICAP case file)
April 15 — Day. A witness in Broager, Denmark, sees a large, black, low-flying, triangular object. As it flies over town, a number of horseshoe-shaped objects emerge, emitting a strong light. Twenty other witnesses see a triangular “spaceship” at the same time. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1958 March–April, The Author, 1998, p. 77)
April 16 — Wibren Heslenga and Adrian Keet, while working on construction of a barn in Ingersoll, Ontario, watch several glowing objects approach from the north. The men describe them as having corners and approximately two farm fields distant. While the other objects hover in the air, one appears to land. Before the men can go to the landed object, it takes off straight up with a jerky movement and disappears from view along with the other objects. No ground markings can be found. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1958 March–April, The Author, 1998, pp. 77–79)
April 25 — The officer for UFO investigation in Denmark, Lt. Col. Hans-Christian Petersen, tells the magazine B-T that multiple-witness sightings are commonplace and that the current Danish wave is comparable to that of the US 1952 wave. “Nothing is gained by rejecting all the accounts as fantasy,” he tells reporters. Petersen has founded the Skandinavisk UFO Information group in December with five other Danish military jet pilots. (“Flying Saucer Reports Pour in from Denmark,” Flying Saucer Review 4, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1958): 2–4; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1958 March–April, The Author, 1998, pp. 97–99)
April 29 — Milton Hourcade founds the Centro de Investigación ed Objectos Volandores Identificados in Montevideo, Uruguay.
May 4 — Dewey Fournet confirms, in a statement to NICAP, the existence of the Estimate of the Situation and his own motion study from 1952. (UFOEv, p. 110; Swords 509)
May 5 - 3:40 p.m. Experienced pilot Carlos Alejo Rodriguez is flying his Piper Cub in the vicinity of Capitán de Corbeta Naval Air Base [now part of Capitán de Corbeta Carlos A. Curbelo International Airport] near San Carlos, Uruguay, when a brilliant top-like object (symmetrical above and below) suddenly approaches his plane head-on. The UFO is about 45-60 feet in diameter, stops about 6,500 feet away and "rocked twice, in a balancing motion." Rodriguez feels strong heat, so he removes his jacket and opens the aircraft windows. The UFO takes off abruptly toward the sea "at a fantastic speed," leaving a thin vapor trail. (NICAP, " Top-Like Object Heats Up Piper Cub"; UFOEv, p. 120; Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, p. 16)
May 6 — In a letter to NICAP member George Stocking of St. Petersburg, Florida, Ruppelt says he is “now convinced that the reports of UFO’s are nothing more than reports of balloons, aircraft, astronomical phenomena, etc. I don’t believe they are anything from outer space.” (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1958 May–July, The Author, 1999, p. 5; Powell, Keyhoe, 256)
May 7 — Keyhoe’s friend Lou Corbin has received from a military friend of Gen. Nathan Twining news that Twining is still concerned about UFOs. Keyhoe writes to him and receives a note from Twining’s executive officer, Col. James C. Sherrill: “No effective means have been developed for the establishment of communication by radio or otherwise with unknown aerial objects. The technical obstacles involved in such an endeavor, I am sure, are quite obvious to you.” (“Joint Chiefs of Staff Cite Technical Obstacles to Communicate with 'Unknown Aerial Objects,’” UFO Investigator 1, no. 4 (June 1958): 1, 3; Keyhoe, FSTS, pp. 198–199)
May 8 — US Rep. John E. Henderson (R-Ohio) writes to Secretary of Defense Neil H. McElroy asking about the status of UFO reports and the USAF investigation. ATIC decides to give Henderson a formal briefing. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1958 May–July, The Author, 1999, pp. 5–8, 42; Swords 276)
May 13 — 12:15 p.m. A Royal Canadian Air Force Dakota DC-3 is flying to RCAF Station Cold Lake, Alberta, from Victoria, British Columbia. When it changes its heading about 25 miles southwest of Calgary, Alberta, a large, thick, black cloud suddenly appears directly across its flight path at the same altitude. The VHF communications with Cold Lake and Calgary suddenly cease working. The cloud has indistinct, hazy edges, and it increases in size as the plane approaches at about 155 mph. The pilot unsuccessfully tries to radio Calgary to request a flight path change to avoid the cloud, which is now about 10 miles away. Suddenly he sees a brilliant white pinpoint of light materialize in the dark mass. It grows in size, forming a brilliant ball that quickly approaches the aircraft on a collision course. He braces himself, but the light disappears, and the black cloud vanishes. (Don Ledger, “ Two Spherical UAP Cases Witnessed by Pilots in Canadian Airspace,” IUR 33, no. 2 (July 2010): 7–9)
May 14 — 7:00 p.m. Artur Berlet is passing by a farm on the outskirts of Sarandi, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, when he sees a strange light about 500 feet away. He approaches and sees a landed disk about 90 feet in diameter. Some figures appear and a light hits him, whereupon he loses consciousness. He wakes up inside the craft, which has landed in a strange city. The crew members take him to a building outside, where he communicates in German with an alien named Acorc, who is from the planet Acart, where they have taken him. They return him to an area outside Sarandi, where he has to walk home. He has been gone eight days. (Artur Berlet, Discos Voadores: Da utopia à realidade, The author, 1967; Artur Berlet, UFO Contact from Planet Acart, UFO Photo Archives, 1988; Clark IV 234–235)
May 15 — The Soviets launch Sputnik 3 from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. (Wikipedia, “Sputnik 3”)
May 15 — Lackland AFB’s chief of education planning for the officer candidate school, Maj. Warren Akin, suggests, at a meeting of the Junior Chamber of Commerce in San Antonio, Texas, that UFOs are spacecraft. (“Visitors from Outer Space Already May Have Visited Us, Major Says,” San Antonio (Tex.) Express, May 16, 1958, p. 2)
May 16 — USAF Capt. Walter W. Irwin reaches 1,404 mph in a Lockheed YF-104A Starfighter at Edwards AFB, California. (Wikipedia, “Lockheed F-104 Starfighter”)
May 30 — 9:20 p.m. A science writer observes a red light begin a landing pattern near the south edge of an airfield in Uralsk, Kazakhstan. The light suddenly stops, hovers motionless for a few moments, makes a 90° turn, pauses again, and then gradually gets smaller over several minutes. A second red light joins the first, and after briefly hovering together, they separate and silently fly away. (Lloyd Mallan, “Complete Directory of UFOs, Part II,” Science and Mechanics 38, no. 1 (January 1967): 38, 68–69; Lloyd Mallan, The Official Guide to UFOs, Science and Mechanics, 1967, pp. 41–42, 81; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1958 May–July, The Author, 1999, pp. 28–31)
May 31–June 1 — The fifth Interplanetary Spacecraft Convention takes place at Giant Rock, near Landers, California. Dana Howard, Truman Bethurum, John McCoy, Wayne Aho, Daniel Fry, and Reinhold O. Schmidt join host George Van Tassel for two days of contactee conviviality. (Dana Howard, “Dana Howard Reporting the Giant Rock Convention, 1958,” Flying Saucer Review 4, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1958): 20–21, 25)
Summer — At an unidentified Air Force base in the Southwest US, two jets are vectored in on two UFOs flying together as seen on radar. As the jets close in, one UFO disappears from the radarscope and quickly reappears behind the first jet. The first pilot reverses his course and again tries to close in. The UFO climbs out of range. The second pilot has the same difficulty with the other UFO. (“ UFO Chase by AF Jets Revealed to NICAP,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 8 (June 1959): 7)
Summer — Evening. A mechanic at Holloman AFB, New Mexico, allegedly sees a disc-like craft hovering silently above the tarmac. As the object retracts its landing gear, he manages to alert another mechanic in time for them both to see it take off at high speed. The Air Force officers who interrogate them tell them the object was also seen by control tower operators. (“ White Sands Sightings Kept Secret, Now Told,” Skylook, no. 64 (March 1973): 4; “ UFO Landing in Proximity of Holloman Air Force Base Told,” Skylook, no. 65 (April 1973): 5; Good Need, p. 223)
June — A USAF officer secretly meets with Keyhoe and gives him three UFO reports and warns him that the Air Force will ask him for “certain UFO information. Think it over carefully before you decide.” NICAP could be in trouble, he says. Two days later, NICAP receives a request from the Air Force requesting any cases that indicate intelligent maneuvers by UFOs. Keyhoe refuses the request, sensing a setup. (Keyhoe, FSTS, pp. 199, 232–233)
June — Richard H. Hall joins NICAP as executive secretary and associate editor. (Keyhoe, FSTS, pp. 30, 208; Powell, Keyhoe, 233–234)
June — Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Texas, has prepared a 17-page TV script based on a straightforward interpretation of Keyhoe’s The Flying Saucer Conspiracy, even including the 1953 Moncla case. The script states that “the most logical explanation is that the saucers are interplanetary.” It also says that USAF has “concealed information which was thought to be of danger because of the impending possibility of hysteria and panic.” Keyhoe approves the script, but Lackland withdraws it from consideration by December. (Keyhoe, FSTS, pp. 219–227)
June — 4:00 a.m. A woman doctor at a resort at Sinaia, Romania, sees a silvery domed disc traveling slowly and silently toward the southeast at 1,500 feet. On its underside it has a bluish triangular section with rounded points. It passes within 900 feet of her hotel. (Hobana and Weverbergh 159–160)
June — 9:00 p.m. B. Muratov and his father are returning home to Chimbay, Uzbekistan, after a fishing expedition to the Aral Sea. They notice a disc-shaped object approaching them directly at low altitude from the northeast. It flies over them and see that its diameter is about 82 feet and it is traveling at 150–180 mph. Its hull is shiny and one side shines with a red color. A pipe is attached to one side, and it gives off a steady “zing zing zing” sound. (Stonehill and Mantle, Russia’s USO Secrets, Flying Disk, 2020, p. 123)
June 1 — 11:15 a.m. Bjørn Taraldsen, Nils M. Turi, Kate Julsen, and Rasmus Hykkerud watch a silent “unknown aircraft” like a twin-engine, delta-wing jet with no identifying marks plunge into the Altafjord, Troms og Finnmark, Norway. A column of water rises up, and dead fish float to the surface. The frigate KNM Arendal and the submarine KNM Sarpen, along with divers, search fruitlessly for more than a week, although the Arendal does get a sonar reading of a mobile object. (Ole Jonny Brænne, “ Observations of Unidentified Submarine Objects in Norway,” IUR 20, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1995): 12; Dolan, USO1, 195–196)
June 2 - 8:50 p.m. In Tanjong Malim, Perak, Malaysia, four teachers observe a mysterious white, cylindrical object streaking across the clear, moonlit sky. Mr. S. Seenikatty, a science master, first spots the object and points it out to his colleagues. The object travels in a straight line from west to east at a speed about four times faster than a jet fighter. It emits no vapor but appears solid, turning black when it crosses the moon's light. The witnesses watch the object for about eight minutes before it vanishes into the sky beyond the moon. (" Four See Mystery Object Streak over Town," Straits Times (Singapore), June 3, 1958, via Space Probe 6, no. 1-2 (July/Dec. 1958): 10
June 6 — Keyhoe writes to NICAP member George Stocking saying that Ruppelt has a job at an aircraft company that contracts with the Air Force and thus might be playing it safe about UFOs. (Clark III 1023; Clark IV 1137)
June 10 — MP George Chetwynd in the UK House of Commons asks the Air Ministry how many instances of UFOs were reported in the past 12 months and what steps were taken to look into them. Under-Secretary of State for Air Ian Orr-Ewing replies that 54 reports were received and that most were meteors, balloons, aircraft, and satellites. (“Unsatisfactory Answer to M.P.’s Question on UFOs by Undersecretary for Air,” Flying Saucer Review 4, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1958): 5; Good Above, p. 51; Isaac Koi, “UFOs in Parliament (UK),” Isaac Koi— UFOs and Parliament, 2024)
June 20 — USAF Maj. Joseph E. Boland and Maj. Lawrence J. Tacker brief Rep. John E. Henderson (R-Ohio) for one hour on the status of Air Force UFO investigations in the Capitol building in Columbus, Ohio. Also in attendance are Rep. William C. Cramer (R-Fla.), and Rep. Donald H. Magnuson (D-Wash.). Afterward, the legislators express confidence in the investigation and agree that publicity is unwise, “particularly in an open or closed formal congressional hearing.” ([documents], “20 June 1958 Briefing Representative Henderson,” USAF Historical Archives; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1958 May–July, The Author, 1999, pp. 48–50; Swords 276–277; Clark III 920; Clark IV 1030)
June 20 — 11:05 p.m. US Army Sgt. A. Parsley notices an unusual object from a point one mile north of the Army hospital at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The light-silver object is circular and the apparent size of the full moon (which is below the horizon). Its lower section is surrounded by a think greenish haze. He has it in view for 10 minutes. It is hovering at first, then begins a slight oscillating motion and speeds away due north. (NICAP, “ Communications Chief Reports Full Moon-Sized Object”; Sparks, p. 264)
June 25 — The US Air Force selects nine men to be the first astronauts in a pre-NASA program known as Man In Space Soonest. Among them are Neil Armstrong, Albert Scott Crossfield, Joseph A. Walker, and Robert Michael White. The program is canceled on August 1, 1958 and replaced by NASA’s Project Mercury. (Wikipedia, “Man In Space Soonest”; Dwayne A. Day, “A Darker Shade of Blue: The Unknown Air Force Manned Space Program,” The Space Review, September 12, 2022)
June 25 — 8:05 p.m. Rádio Renascença in Lisbon, Portugal, broadcasts a Portuguese-language version of The War of the Worlds with only the names of characters and places changed. The Martians are supposedly landing in Caracavelos, Portugal. A certain amount of confusion results. (John Gosling, Waging the War of the Worlds, McFarland, 2009, pp. 120–129)
June 26 — The New York sector becomes the first operational component of the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment, a system of large computers that coordinates data from many radar sites and processes it to produce a single unified image of airspace over a wide area. SAGE directs and controls the NORAD response to a Soviet air attack, operating in this role from the late 1950s into the 1980s. Its enormous computers and huge displays remain a part of Cold War lore. (Wikipedia, “Semi-Automatic Ground Environment”)
June 28 — Otis T. Carr and Norman Evans Colton appear on the Long John Nebel show on WOR-AM in New York City. After Carr praises his mentor, Nikola Tesla, another guest asks Carr to enumerate one or two of his discoveries. Carr feigns a memory lapse, then later is unable to recite even one of Newton’s three laws of motion. (Clark III 860; Clark IV 948)
June 28–29 — Lee Childers Jr., a baker from Detroit, Michigan, speaks at a flying saucer convention near Mountain View, Missouri, in the Ozarks hosted by contactee Buck Nelson. He claims that since April 1955 he has made 21 trips to other planets (and even to “Wolf Star 359 in the Titanian system” that has 2 planets revolving around it) on a saucer piloted by a spaceman named Commander Marcosan. He also went to a space station 2,000 miles in diameter called Trijanon. Other people tell their personal fantastic stories, among them Wayne Aho and Buck Nelson himself. (Buck Nelson, My Trip to Mars, the Moon, and Venus, Quill, 1956; “Out-of-This-World Ozark Convention,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 6, 1958, p. 71; Gray Barker, “Chasing the Flying Saucers,” Flying Saucers, no. 34 (May 1959): 19–43; Clark III 915; Clark IV 1025–1026)
June 29 — Day. Former RAF Flight Engineer Peter Spencer is flying in an Auster aircraft piloted by Dennis Jackson at 800 feet near the docks at Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England. A large black dumbbell appears below them, flying against the wind. Suddenly it rises up to their height and flies along with them for a while at their speed. Then it accelerates in a terrific burst of speed to a position above them. They try to follow it, but it speeds out over the docks at 1,000 feet and 800 mph. Spencer manages to take three photos of it, but the images show a speed blur. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1958, May–July, The Author, 1999, p. 59)
July — President Dwight Eisenhower requests permission from Pakistan to establish a secret US intelligence facility at Badaber (Peshawar Air Station) to fly U-2 reconnaissance missions over the Soviet Union. (Wikipedia, “1960 U-2 incident”)
July — Dusk. Michael D. Swords and his brother Tom are at home in St. Albans, West Virginia, and listening to WCHS-AM radio where someone is calling in a UFO report. They rush to a window and see a domed disc with a revolving top cruise quietly across the landscape. (Michael D. Swords, “ We Know Where You Live,” IUR 30, no. 2 (January 2006): 12)
July — Night. A 509th Refueling Mission is returning to an Air Force Base in New Hampshire [Pease AFB in Portsmouth?] from Goose Bay [now CFB Goose Bay], Labrador. The crew is flying a KC-97 at about 17,000– 18,000 feet. A light like a “moving star” appears. It approaches below the cloud cover and seems to be spherical and as bright as Venus. It soon becomes the apparent size of the Moon, lighting up the clouds above it. The light is a brilliant blue-white with two dark spots, possibly indicating a structure. The object angles upwards and speeds out of sight in 5 seconds. (Michael D. Swords, GrassRoots UFOs: Case Reports from the Timmerman Files, Fund for UFO Research, 2005, pp. 24–25)
July–September — A civilian in Washington, D.C., manages to repeatedly photograph “geometrically shaped flying objects as they passed between his telescope and the moon.” The photos are “remarkably clear and certainly indicated a phenomenon for which he had no ready explanation.” The writer of an October 1 memo, a CIA employee, requests advice on “how we might get our hands on these materials to examine them firsthand and to make a more complete analysis of them.” (ClearIntent, pp. 136–137)
July 8 — One hour before sunset. John A. Collins is fishing with a friend in a boat on Canistear Reservoir near Stockholm, New Jersey. They notice a bright light slowly and silently approaching from the south. It first appears as a cherry-red rectangle then, after 10 minutes, it tilts 45°, levels off, and tilts another 45°, turning from red to bluish-white to white. The object takes two 90° turns and approaches them once more, again turning cherry red. At its lowest point it was about 400 feet in altitude. After a total of 45 minutes, it speeds up, rises swiftly, and disappears. (Berthold E. Schwarz, “ UFOs in New Jersey,” Pursuit 7, no. 2 (April 1974): 31–32)
July 17 — Keyhoe writes to Ruppelt to say he is puzzled about his current stance on UFOs, but understands that he might be under pressure from the Air Force. (Michael Hall and Wendy Connors, “The Forgotten Correspondence of Edward J. Ruppelt: The Story behind Report on Unidentified Flying Objects,” pp. 15–16; Powell, Keyhoe, 257)
July 18 — 8:30 p.m. High-school student Chris Kauffman is gazing at the night sky in Albuquerque, New Mexico, when he sees an object shaped like an equilateral triangle pass directly overhead in a north to south direction at 70–100 mph and 1,000 feet altitude for 10 seconds. It is flying with one point of the triangle as a forward edge and has 12 small orange lights along its edges. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1958, May–July, The Author, 1999, pp. 76–77)
July 20 - 3:00 p.m. Three widely separated independent witnesses at a small private lake 4 miles north of Glennie, Michigan, hear a noise like an object hitting the water and see a 10-foot circle of foam in the water, which is apparently sizzling. The object takes a zigzag path along the lake surface for 200 feet, making violent movements, then sinks into 50 feet of water. ( Sparks, p. 264; Carl Feindt, " Report #160," waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 196-199)
July 29 — The National Aeronautics and Space Administration succeeds the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics. The new agency is to have a distinctly civilian orientation, encouraging peaceful applications in space science. (Wikipedia, “NASA”)
July 29 — An Associated Press writer in Alamogordo, New Mexico, sees an abridged version of Carl Jung’s 1954 letters on UFOs in the APRO Bulletin and jumps to the conclusion that the psychologist believes them to be extraterrestrial in origin. (“Dr. Carl Jung on Unidentified Flying Objects,” Flying Saucer Review 1, no. 2 (May/June 1955): 17–18; Carl Jung, “On Unconventional Aerial Objects,” APRO Bulletin, July 1958, pp. 1, 5; “Flying Saucers Are Real, Show Signs of Guidance, Jung Says after Study,” St. Louis (Mo.) Post-Dispatch, July 29, 1958, p. 1; “Dr. Jung Says ‘Saucers’ Exist: Bars Psychological Explanations,” New York Times, July 30, 1958, p. 13; “Dr. Jung Sets the Record Straight,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 5 (Aug./Sept. 1958): 1, 3–4; Clark III 637; Powell, Keyhoe, 264–265; Clark IV 701)
July 30 — Ruppelt writes Keyhoe back, saying he has “always been convinced that UFO’s were nothing more than reports of airplanes, balloons, astronomical phenomena, etc.” He says he is not being intimidated, he is just not interested in UFOs anymore and too busy. (Michael Hall and Wendy Connors, “The Forgotten Correspondence of Edward J. Ruppelt: The Story behind Report on Unidentified Flying Objects,” p. 16; Powell, Keyhoe, 257–258)
July 30 — MP George Chetwynd presses further questions in the UK House of Commons by asking the Secretary of State for Air George Ward what action is taken to identify unexplained UFOs. Ward replies that the unidentified reports are “not sufficiently precise.” (“More Questions in House of Commons,” Flying Saucer Review 4, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1958): iv; Good Above, pp. 51–52; Isaac Koi, “UFOs in Parliament (UK),” Isaac Koi—UFOs and Parliament, 2024)
August - Polish Air Force pilot Apoloniusz Czernów of the 3rd Fighter Regiment in Warsaw, is returning from an attempted balloon interception in the area around Swidnica, Poland. Flying at 26,000 feet, he sees another possible balloon 9 miles away at a height of 3,200 feet and turns his MiG-17 toward it. But when he approaches it, he sees it is a cigar-shaped object tilted at a 45° angle, silvery-orange in color, and pulsating with a weird light. He gets closer and the object ascends at high speed, heads north, changes to orange-red, and disappears. Base radar has detected nothing. (Poland 63-64)
August — A man living about 19 miles from Paraíba do Sul, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, notices a shiny object approaching him silently. It lands and he walks toward it, noticing that a porthole has opened up in the lower part of the craft. A blond, long-haired man’s head and shoulders emerge and the man gets out and walks toward him. He is wearing a light-colored coverall and makes gestures that the witness fails to understand. Apparently frustrated, the man walks back to the object, which takes off and vanishes rapidly. (Gordon Creighton, “ Three More Brazilian Cases,” Flying Saucer Review 13, no. 3 (May/June 1967): 5; Clark III 268; Clark IV 309)
August 1 — The Teak thermonuclear test, part of Operation Hardtack I, is launched from Johnston Atoll in the North Pacific Ocean and carries a payload of 3.8 megatons. The warhead is carried on a Redstone missile, which has a “program failure,” causing it to go straight up and detonate directly above the island. In a sanitized film record of the event, men in flip-flops and shorts can be seen ducking for cover as a phenomenal fireball consumes the sky overhead. During the Teak test, all crew on and around Johnston Atoll are given protective eyewear to prevent flash blindness from the explosion. Besides the hazard of blindness, thermal radiation is another concern—even at an altitude of 50 miles. A crew member on Johnston at the time is said to have received a slight sunburn from the amount of thermal radiation that had reached the island. While only slight to the crew member, it creates issues for the local fauna. Many birds are seen in distress. Unsure if this is caused by blindness or thermal radiation, the project members decide to take precautions to protect local wildlife during the next test. The explosion can be seen from Hawaii 806 miles away and is said to be visible for almost half an hour. After the explosion, high-frequency, long-distance communication is interrupted across the Pacific. Due to this failure, Johnston Atoll personnel are unable to contact their superiors to advise of the test results until about 8 hours after the detonation. The detonation disturbs Wernher Von Braun so greatly that he leaves the island shortly after comms are restored. The explosion causes the blue sky to turn red, white, and gray, and it creates an aurora 2,100 miles long along the geomagnetic meridian. (Wikipedia, “Operation Hardtack I”; Wikipedia, “Hardtack Teak”; Jacobsen, Area 51, pp. 170–171)
August 3 — 2:25 a.m. A sudden violet-orange brightness illuminates the sky over Rome, Italy, for about 3 seconds. Lights in the city dim, failing completely in some areas. Physician Angelo Corsi witnesses it 37 miles southeast of Rome in Sgurgola. After his car radio fails, and the house and streetlights go out, he sees a long whitish trail like a fan in the sky. At 2:22 a.m., in Rieti a sergeant and some guards see a yellow-green cigar-shaped object moving rapidly toward the southeast. It leaves a luminous trail that lights up roads, mountains, and houses for several seconds. A similar sight is seen in Naples. ( Schopick, pp. 142–143; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1958 August–September, The Author, 1999, pp. 1, 3)
August 8 — An informal two-hour hearing on UFOs is held by the House Subcommittee on Atmospheric Phenomena, chaired by Rep. William Natcher (D-Ky.), which is part of the Select Committee on Astronautics and Space Exploration, chaired by Rep. John W. McCormack (D-Mass.). Although McCormack wants an extended hearing in closed secret session, unrecorded, ATIC Capt. George T. Gregory persuades him to allow the Air Force to give a briefing, while allowing people like Menzel, Ruppelt, and Keyhoe to offer their opinions later. NICAP as a whole should be excluded, he emphasizes. The main witnesses turn out to be Gregory and Maj. Tacker. The subcommittee, which also includes Kenneth Keating (R-N.Y.) and Lee Metcalf (D-Mont.), commends Gregory for his presentation on Project Blue Book’s “improved” methods. The hearings were to have been extended to the following week, but they decide to call no more witnesses at the suggestion of scientific consultant Dr. Charles S. Sheldon II, who thus maneuvers Keyhoe out of appearing. ([documents], “8 August 1958, McCormack Sub- Committee Briefing,” USAF Historical Archives; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1958 August–September, The Author, 1999, pp. 5–27; Swords 277–279; Clark III 920; Powell, Keyhoe, 231–232; Graff 136; Clark IV 1030)
August 9 — Carl Jung issues a denial to the Associated Press about his “extraterrestrial” statement, saying that witnesses are “in need of fantasy.” He thinks “something is being seen,” but his interest is more in what they think they are seeing. (“Dr. Jung Says Flying Saucers Are a New ‘Savior Myth,’” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 9, 1958, p. 5; Coral Lorenzen, “Editorial,” APRO Bulletin, September 1958, p. 6; “Dr. Jung Sets Record Straight,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 5 (Aug./Sept. 1958): 1, 3–4; Powell, Keyhoe, 265–267)
August 11 — The Orange thermonuclear test is launched by Redstone missile from Johnston Atoll with a yield of 3.8 megatons. Although Orange is visible from Hawaii, it is not the great spectacle Teak had been. The light from the 28-mile-high blast is visible for about 5 minutes, but does not cause a large communication interruption; however, some commercial flights to Hawaii are said to have lost contact with air traffic controllers for a short period of time. (Wikipedia, “Operation Hardtack I”)
August 11 — Betty Jane Williamson dies in Lima, Peru, when her husband George Hunt Williamson is on a lecture tour in Europe. Her death is caused by malnutrition generated by an alternative diet regimen. James W. Moseley later circulates an outrageously false accusation that Williamson killed Betty by pushing her off a cliff, but the charge is a complete fabrication. (James W. Moseley and Karl T. Pflock, Shockingly Close to the Truth! Confessions of a Grave-Robbing Ufologist, Prometheus, 2002, pp. 137–138; Jerome Clark, “ The Trivialist,” IUR 27, no. 1 (Spring 2002): 15–19, 29–30; Zirger and Martinelli, The Incredible Life of George Hunt Williamson, Verdechiari, 2016, pp. 117, 123–124; Clark III 1286; Clark IV 1470)
August 16 — Around 5:00 p.m. Several persons on Lake Geneva, Switzerland, watch a bright light descending. It comes to hover about 45 feet above their boat. It is saucer-shaped, about 39 feet in diameter, and has a cabin on top with several windows. It causes a noticeable current in the water. After several leaps in the air, it flies off at high speed. (Vallée, Magonia, p. 272)
August 18 — After discovering that seven contactees have accidentally received membership cards, Donald Keyhoe sends each of them a telegram requesting their return and that any use would “constitute false pretenses.” Telegrams are sent to George Adamski, Orfeo Angelucci, Truman Bethurum, Howard Menger, Buck Nelson, Reinhold O. Schmidt, and George Van Tassel. Only Menger decides to keep his by paying for a membership. (“Contactees Told to Return NICAP Cards,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 5 (Aug./Sept. 1958): 4)
August 18 — 7:05 or 7:10 p.m. Typewriter repairman Alex Donald Chisholm is at home at 21950 Cunningham Avenue in Warren, Michigan, with Walter Moilanion and his wife and possibly a young daughter, when he sees a light much brighter than Venus in the vicinity of a flight of four military aircraft. He watches the object through 8x30 mm Japanese artillery-observer field glasses. It looks to be a Saturn- shaped grayish object like a “fried egg in pan.” Later it flips over, and another more elongated ring can be seen surrounding it. The object is about 60 feet long and is stationary for 5-8 minutes. However, the object is probably a Skyhook balloon launched from the University of Minnesota on August 17. (NICAP, [ case file]; Clark III 392; Clark IV 438)
August 27–September 6 — In Operation Argus, three nuclear warheads are launched from X-17 rockets from the deck of the USS Norton Sound in the South Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Africa. They explode approximately 300 miles into space. The tests are proposed by Nicholas Christofilos in an unpublished paper of the Livermore branch [now the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory] of the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory in Berkeley, California, as a means to verify the Christofilos effect, which argues that high-altitude nuclear detonations will create a radiation belt in the extreme upper regions of the Earth’s atmosphere (they do create artificial electron belts that persist several weeks), or an electronic pulse that could hypothetically damage the arming devices on Soviet ICBM warheads (they do not). (Wikipedia, “Operation Argus”)
August 27 — NICAP accepts the resignation of its office manager, treasurer, and typist Rose Hackett Campbell after she gives membership cards to George Adamski and other contactees. Richard H. Hall begins work at NICAP as associate editor. (“Resignations,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 5 (Aug./Sept. 1958): 2; “Richard Hall Becomes Assoc. Editor,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 5 (Aug./Sept. 1958): 2; Powell, Keyhoe, 239–249)
August 28 - 4:20 p.m. Two Ohio highway patrolmen are headed east on State Highway 125 about two miles east of Georgetown, Ohio, when they see a huge, silver disc apparently hovering near a power line and above a field to the northwest. It is about 500 feet away and 500 feet in the air, apparently solid, and wobbling slightly. The patrolmen turn the car around for a better look and drive back to their station where they call the dispatcher outside to view the object as well. The object moves upward for about 50 feet, then goes away at an angle, disappearing into the distance. (Delbert E. Anderson, " A Compelling Patrol," Ohio UFO Notebook, no. 11 (1996): 15; Powell, Scientist, 46)
September 8 - 6:40 p.m. At Offutt AFB, Omaha, Nebraska, SAC Operations Officer Maj. Paul A. Duich, plus several officers from USAF Ballistic Missiles Division, Los Angeles AFB in El Segundo, California; many other air base officers and airmen; and Offutt air traffic control tower personnel see a brilliant-white, elongated, cylindrical object hovering in the west just after sunset. The object is oriented vertically with the blunter end highest. After several minutes, the object turns dull orange-red and becomes sharper in outline. A swarm of about 10 "black specks" appears to "cavort" around the lower end of the object for about one minute before disappearing. Then the cylindrical object begins to rotate counterclockwise and starts drifting slowly to the south from due west and drops in elevation angle over about 5 minutes. During the final 5-minute observation, the object continues angular descent and gradually decreases in angular size, but it begins rotating clockwise until it disappears by fading into the slight atmospheric haze. A USAF colonel takes several color photos with a 35mm camera on a tripod but later claims nothing came out. ( Sparks, p. 265; UFOEv, pp. 25, 27; Olsen, sec. 3, pp. 58-59; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1958 August-September, The Author, 1999, pp. 59-63; Herbert S. Taylor, " Satellite Objects and Cloud Cigars," IUR 29, no. 1 (Spring 2004): 5-6; Swords 280)
September 12 — The Operation Hardtack II series of 37 nuclear tests takes place at the Nevada Test Site through October 30, all within 18 miles of Area 51. (Wikipedia, “Operation Hardtack II”)
September 13–14 — Howard Menger holds an East Coast Giant Rock gathering at his farm in New Jersey. (“An Inner Space Convention in Outer Jersey,” New York Post, September 15, 1958; Jules St. Germain, “Out of This World,” Argosy, January 1959, pp. 34–35, 100–101; Mckee, Saucerian, p. 102)
September 21 - 3:00 a.m. Mrs. William H. Fitzgerald of Sheffield Lake, Ohio, sees through her east-facing bedroom window a metallic domed disc, 12-22 feet in diameter and 6 feet thick. It sweeps in over the front lawn heading north and descending in a falling-leaf oscillating motion to about 6 feet altitude, then crosses over her driveway, and stops for several seconds about 40 feet away. It then reverses course heading south and hovers 5 feet above the lawn about 25 feet away, making a jetlike sound. The object wobbles and emits gray smoke, makes two tight clockwise turns, then rises and takes off straight up over the house towards the east. Her 10-year-old son also observes the event from another room. (NICAP, " 12' Diameter 6' Thick Disc within 40'"; UFO Research Committee of Akron, Ohio, The Fitzgerald Report: A Complete and Detailed Account of the Sighting of an Unidentified Flying Object, Sheffield Lake, Ohio, September 21, 1958, December 1, 1958; Coral Lorenzen, " The Fitzgerald Investigation: What It Means," Flying Saucers, May 1959, pp. 47-50; Donald Menzel and Lyle Boyd, The World of Flying Saucers, Doubleday, 1963, pp. 279-288; UFO Ev, p. 113; " A Documented Case of Governmental Dishonesty," Pursuit 5, no. 2 (April 1972): 28-30; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1958 August-September, The Author, 1999, pp. 68-72)
September 25 — The Project Moonwatch team in Portland, Oregon, is looking at the Moon when they see objects crossing the lunar disc. Occasionally they recognize the transit as a bird, but there are “tiny dark objects” that behave differently. All the objects pass in the same direction and in the same location for about one second. Supervisor Alex Geddes, who was not present, sends a supportive letter to the observers, thanking them for the data. (Michael D. Swords, “Gazing at the Moons,” IUR 32, no. 4 (October 2009): 15; CUFOS files, [1958–1962 Moonwatch Mystery Satellites], pp. 45–50)
September 29 — 5:30 a.m. Pvt. Jerome A. Scanlon, stationed at Nike missile base W-93 in Derwood, Maryland, is walking from his sentry post to the barracks to sound reveille when he hears a humming sound above him. He looks up and sees a teardrop-shaped object 300 feet up and coming in for a landing at 30 mph. It moves over trees, breaking branches, and lands about 1.5 miles away. Exhaust flames issue from its rear, and its luminous green skin illuminates the terrain. It rises again and disappears. Scanlon runs to inform Riney Farris, the sergeant of the guard, who has also seen the object. They go to the landing site and find broken branches and a scorched strip of earth and vegetation about half a mile long. After the story appears in newspapers, the Air Force explains the incident as repair trucks doing welding jobs. (“Brass to Hear GI’s Account of Fiery ‘Saucer,’” New York Journal-American, October 7, 1958; “‘Saucer’ Landed, Say Two Soldiers,” Goldsboro (N.C.) Record, October 9, 1958; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 90–91; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1958 August–September, The Author, 1999, p. 79)
September or October — Around 9:00 p.m. The USS Franklin D. Roosevelt is on a shakedown cruise in the Caribbean Sea out of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba, when at least 25 of the 3,000 crew members notice a light following the aircraft carrier. Fireman’s apprentice Chester C. Grusinski watches it as it comes close and sees a cigar-shaped object with portholes and figures inside looking out. Grusinki can feel heat coming from the object, and some of the ship’s power apparently goes out. After a few minutes, the object turns red-orange and takes off. (“U.S.S. Franklin D. Roosevelt CVA-42, Part II,” Ohio UFO Notebook, no. 9 (1995): 21–22; Chester C. Grusinski, “UFOs Seen by Crew of an American Aircraft Carrier (1952–1958),” Flying Saucer Review 40, no. 3 (Autumn 1995): 1–4; Jon Baughman, “A Moment in (Recent) History: UFOs Shadowed US Aircraft Carrier,” Broad Top Bulletin (Saxton, Pa.), December 1, 1999; Carl Feindt, “Report #1083,” waterufo.net; Gordon Creighton, “Confirmation of an Important U.S. Naval Sighting,” Flying Saucer Review 46, no. 2 (Summer 2001): 17–20; Good Need, pp. 234–236; Dolan, USO1, 199–202)
October — Maj. Robert J. Friend takes over as head of Project Blue Book, relieving Capt. George T. Gregory. About this time, a new USAF fact sheet states that investigative improvements have reduced unsolved sightings to 1.8%. The “refinement” comes from lumping “probable” and “possible” identifications into “identified.” At the same time, a secret staff study by USAF intelligence officers addresses the public relations problems caused by Keyhoe, who is characterized as a “political adventurer” allied with Ruppelt, both of whom are in the UFO “business” strictly for the money. Yet together “they represent a formidable team from which plenty of trouble can be expected.” The study recommends that 18–20 personnel be assigned to temporary UFO investigation duty. They would solve reports that have not been sent directly to Blue Book. Though ATIC urges implementation of the plan, Air Force Headquarters kills it. (Sparks, p. 14; Jacobs, UFO Controversy in America, Signet ed., 1976, pp. 146–151; Hynek UFO Report, pp. 25–27; Clark III 919, 920, 937; Clark IV 1029, 1030, 1047)
October 1 — NASA begins operations. It includes three major labs: Langley Aeronautical Laboratory [now Langley Research Center] in Hampton, Virginia; Ames Aeronautical Laboratory [now Ames Research Center] in Mountain View, California; and Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory [now Glenn Research Center] in Brook Park, Ohio. It incorporates elements of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency and the US Naval Research Laboratory. (Wikipedia, “NASA”)
October 2 — Shortly after 5:00 p.m. Naturalist Ivan T. Sanderson and his wife Alma see a dull-gray object, shaped like a pickle with a flat bottom, fly erratically in loops over the Delaware Water Gap near Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. It appears sometimes edge-on, other times oval or circular. It vanishes once but quickly reappears, continuing its rapid gyrations, and speeds away to the west after a 30-second performance. Sanderson writes: “The best way I can describe the motion is that somebody was flying a 1000-foot circular kite on a 500-foot lead in a 250-mile hurricane over Stroudsburg. The thing had just the erratic flipping, with sudden stops and sharp- angle turns, of a kite in a really rough updraft.” (NICAP, “Nickel-Shaped Object Flies Loops (Sanderson Case)”; Sparks, p. 266; UFOEv, p. 52; Ivan T. Sanderson, Uninvited Visitors, Tandem ed., 1969, pp. 33–38)
October 3 — 3:10 a.m. A Monon Railroad freight train is traveling between Owasco and Kirklin, Indiana, when a formation of four odd white lights crosses ahead of the train. The entire crew watch the UFOs turn and traverse the full length of the train, front to back (about a half mile). After passing the rear of the train, the objects swing east, turn back, and follow the train. The bright glow conceals their exact shape, but they appear flattened and sometimes fly on edge. The objects follow the train until the conductor shines a bright light on them. Immediately the objects speed away, but return quickly and continue to pace the train. Total time of observation is about 1 hour 10 minutes. Finally the UFOs move away to the northeast and disappear. (NICAP, “The Monon RR UFO Incident”; “They’re Back Again—in Indiana,” APRO Bulletin, November 1958, pp. 1, 3; Frank Edwards, “UFO Buzzes Train,” Fate 12, no. 2 (February 1959): 25–30; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1958 October, The Author, 1999, pp. 5–8; Jazz Shaw, “More Evidence the Pentagon Has Always Lied about UFOs,” Mysterious Universe, February 22, 2024)
October 7 - 2:55 p.m. Joseph Gwooz, master of the SS Nantucket, sees a gray, oval object in the sky at an altitude of 8,000-10,000 feet at the entrance to the Nantucket Channel, Massachusetts. It remains stationary for more than one minute, then shoots up and away to the northeast. (Charles A. Maney and Richard Hall, The Challenge of Unidentified Flying Objects, NICAP, 1961, p. 9; UFOEv, p. 71; Clark III 376-377; Clark IV 420-421)
October 7 — 6:02 p.m. Chemist John R. Townsend, special assistant for research and engineering to the Assistant Secretary of Defense, sees a large, stationary, sharply outlined Saturn-shaped silvery object (with a “gossamer” surface appearance and a rim or girdle around its equator) in a clear sky in Alexandria, Virginia. It rapidly rises at an estimated speed of 1,000 mph and disappears to the south after 40 seconds. At one point a passing Capitol Airlines Flight 407 flies directly between his line of sight and the UFO at 2 miles distance, allowing him to estimate the UFO’s size as about 500 feet. Townsend reenacts the timing by walking the half block down Lee Street to get a better feeling for its distance and size. (NICAP, “Saturn-Shaped Object Observed, Object Confirmed by Pilot”; Sparks, p. 267; Swords 282)
October 26 — 10:30 p.m. Alvin Cohen and Phillip Small are rounding a curve on Maryland Route 146 some 600– 900 feet south of the bridge at Loch Raven Reservoir, Maryland. They see a large (100 feet long) egg-shaped object hanging 100–150 feet above the bridge. When they drive to within 75 feet of it their car stalls and the dash lights turn off. They get out of the car and watch the UFO from behind it for 30–45 seconds. The UFO flashes a beam of white light and they feel heat on their faces. They also hear a dull explosion. The UFO rises vertically and disappears in 5–10 seconds. They are able to start the car and drive into Towson, Maryland, to make a phone call to the Ground Observer Corps and the police. Police Cpl. Kenneth Hartmann and Patrolman Richard Fink drive up and they tell them the story, then they go to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Baltimore and are given a cursory examination for burns. Other people in the neighborhood either see an object at the time or hear the boom. (NICAP, “Egg-Shaped Object & E-M Effects over Bridge”; Sparks, p. 268; “Baltimore’s Flying Saucer,” Baltimore (Md.) Evening Sun, December 15, 1958, p. 21; Schopick, pp. 62–63; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 132, 139–140; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1958 October, The Author, 1999, pp, 73–86; Clark III 686; Clark IV 761–762)
October 28 — 7:55 p.m. Jean Boyer is driving on Route Nationale 75 along the valley of Le Grand Buëch river near a cliff formation called Pont-la-Dame about 5.6 miles northeast of Aspres-sur-Buëch, Hautes-Alpes, France. He notices a luminous disc, like two plates together, motionless in the sky above Pont-la-Dame. It seems to be floating about 650–1,300 feet above the ground. He stops the car on a bridge roughly beneath the object for a better look. A smaller circle on the disc is emitting dark red sparks. After 2 minutes, the object shoots off a stream of blinding sparks and rises vertically, leaving a fiery trail and a faint glow that soon vanishes. At the same time, he feels a current of air that rocks his station wagon. (Jacques and Janine Vallée. Challenge to Science: The UFO Enigma, Regnery, 1966, pp. 194–197)
November — Skandinavisk UFO Information in Denmark begins publishing UFO-Nyt. (UFO-Nyt, November 1958)
November 3 - 2:01 p.m. At Minot, North Dakota, M/Sgt. William R. Butler, a medic, sees one bright-green object, shaped like a 10-cent piece, and one smaller, silver round object. The first object explodes, then the second object moves toward the location of the first at high speed. Sighting lasts 1 minute. ( Sparks, p. 268)
November 4 - 9:03 p.m. The pilot of a KB-50 USAF tanker is in the downwind leg of the traffic pattern during a ground-controlled approach to Pope AFB [now Pope Field] in Fayetteville, North Carolina, when he notices an object on a collision course. He and his flight crew also notice that "strange lights were observed in his cockpit while he was on the final approach..." He executes a go-around maneuver and climbs in altitude to await the disappearance of the object. Air Force tower personnel also see the UFO hovering above the airport, watching it through their binoculars for 20 minutes. They are convinced it is not an atmospheric phenomenon. They say that "the UFO presented a hazard to aircraft operating in the area." (NICAP, " Object on Collision Course with KB-50 Tanker, Circles"; Sparks, p. 268; Richard F. Haines, " Aviation Safety in America: A Previously Neglected Factor," NARCAP, October 15, 2000, pp. 53-54)
November 5 — MP Roy Mason asks the Air Minister in the UK House of Commons to what extent official records are kept of UFO sightings and what departments are involved. Air Minister George Ward replies in writing that reports involving national security are investigated but “nothing suggests that they are other than mundane.” (“Come Off It, Mr. Ward! ‘Nothing Suggests That They Are Other Than Mundane,’” Flying Saucer Review 5, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1959): 2; Good Above, p. 52; Isaac Koi, “UFOs in Parliament (UK),” Isaac Koi—UFOs and Parliament, 2024)
November 9 — Residents of Trinidad, Rio Dell, and other towns in northern California report showers of cobweblike material, some in strands 5–6 feet long. Two fishermen at sea, George Korkan and Jack Curry, say the substance settles on their boat in such quantity that it makes the boat appear “a million years old.” A sample obtained at McKinleyville is examined by biologist Erwin Bielfuss at Humboldt State College. He rules out mold or an animal product and suggests it is plant material or plastic. (“Cobweb Like Substance in Area Mystifies Zoologist,” Eureka (Calif.) Humboldt Standard, November 10, 1958, p. 5; UFOEv, p. 99)
November 9 — 10:00 p.m. Two carpenters, Stig Ekberg and Harry Sjöberg, are returning from Stockholm, Sweden, to their cabin on Väddö island, about 20 miles to the northeast. About 6 miles north of Älmstä the engine of their Ford V8 pickup begins to sputter and fail, and the headlights go out. They see a huge, shining object descending toward them and making a turn above Väddö Bay to the left of the road. It lands in the middle of the road about 300 feet in front of their car. The object illuminates the surrounding landscape with such a tremendous amount of light that a nearby barn is clearly visible. The air smells of ozone and smoldering insulation. They estimate it is 53 feet long and 20 feet high, with a bright glow underneath the object and a dazzling mist surrounding it. They watch the object for about 10 minutes, then the object gets brighter, lifts off the ground, moves to the left and up, makes a sudden turn, and speeds away in the direction it had come. Afterward, the air is stifling and hot, but the engine starts up right away. A few minutes later they return to the landing site and find flattened grass and a still- hot, smooth, triangular piece of metal the size of a matchbox, which they retrieve. They submit the metal to several labs over the next few years, apparently without ambiguous results, but in the process it is split into three pieces. Finally, an engineer in Linköping named Schalin finds the metal has the hardness of sapphire and a specific weight of 15.2. It can take several thousand degrees C. heat without getting red hot. One of the pieces is submitted to the US Air Force and not returned. In the early 1970s, another piece is examined by James Harder at the University of California, Berkeley, who establishes it is composed of tungsten carbide, cobalt, and traces of titanium, and that it has been manufactured. (Christer Nordin, “The Väddö Case,” Nordic UFO Newsletter, no. 1 (1981): 2–6; Jacques Vallée, “Physical Analyses in Ten Cases of Unexplained Aerial Objects with Material Samples,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 12, no. 3 (1998): 365–366)
November 11 — 1:35 a.m. A Mrs. Robert J. Kinney, who is a Lt. Col. in the Civil Air Patrol in Topeka, Kansas, wakes up when her bedroom floods with an amber-colored light and her three dogs begin barking. The source is a 25-foot diameter sphere that is sitting on the walkway in the yard about 30 feet away. Kinney opens a door to go out on a porch, but the light zooms straight up and out of sight. She goes back to bed and the phone rings; it is a neighbor who has seen the light going toward her house. At 7:30 a.m., the phone rings again; this time it is the controllers at the Philip Billard Municipal Airport, who know her well and tell her about the light they saw. In the evening, she finds there is an electrical failure on the east side of the house. Lights, radios, and refrigerators are not working. Kinney replaces some fuses, but not everything turns on again. An electrician comes and replaces some wiring on November 12, but Kinney’s eyes develop subconjunctival hemorrhages and sensitivity to bright light. She begins to wear sunglasses regularly. Both of her male dogs develop cataracts. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs: A History, 1958 November–December, The Author, 1999, pp. 5–7; Swords 287–288)
November 16 Dusk. SWEDEN, in Upland, near Stockholm. Two men found their car stopping and lights going out when they were three miles from Vaddo, their destination. In the next moment they caught sight of a shining object, about 17 yds. long and 8-9 yds. high, which swooped down from their right and landed about 60 yds. away. It was circular and blue, with a shining yellow rim which lit up a circular area of 90-100 yds. After about three minutes on the ground, the object began to move, then vanished into the air. After checking their car, which now started easily, the men drove to the spot where the "light" had been. They noticed a heaviness and "closeness " of the air, and saw that the grass was either pressed down or blown down. When they lighted the area with a flashlight, they discovered a bright, flat, thin "stone,"; which felt warm to their hands. (CUFOS)
November 17 —10:03 p.m. Somewhere in Russia a luminous object hovers and lands. It is seen for 2 minutes. (Vallée, Magonia, p. 273)
November 30 — Tom Gerber of the Boston Herald features interviews with unnamed Air Force officers who proclaim an “undeclared war on phony organizations that capitalize on the ‘mystery’ of flying saucers.” Supposedly, the Air Force has evidence that “perhaps as many as 100,000 persons belong to these UFO organizations” and are “making a wad of money.” As many as 16% of the UFO sightings investigated by USAF are “hoaxes originated by members or officials of these organizations”—an obvious swipe at NICAP. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs: A History, 1958 November–December, The Author, 1999, pp. 17–18; Swords 282–283)
December — The Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, is transferred to NASA from the Army, becoming the agency’s primary planetary spacecraft center. (Wikipedia, “Jet Propulsion Laboratory”)
December — Some 450 airline pilots have signed a petition protesting the official policy of debunking UFO sightings. One pilot describes the policy as a “lesson in lying, intrigue, and the ‘Big Brother’ attitude carried to the ultimate extreme.” Of the signatories, more than 50 personally have reported UFO sightings but are told by the Air Force that they are mistaken. USAF warns them that they face up to 10 years in prison under JANAP 146 if they reveal details of their sighting to the media. Because of situations like this, Maj. Friend unsuccessfully requests that Blue Book be transferred from ATIC to Air Research and Development Command on the grounds that UFOs are a scientific, not a military problem. His staff complains that the work is time-consuming and unproductive, and ARDC could speak to the public with authority and persuasiveness. ARDC briefly considers, then declines, the offer. (Good Above, p. 284; Clark III 922; Clark IV 1032)
Early December — Contactee Lee Childers visits a New York City group called the Bureau of UFO Research and Analysis to present a lecture. By now he is calling himself Prince Neosom of Tythan, which is 8.5 light years from Earth. He also answers to the name Dana. (Clark III 915; Clark IV 1025–1026)
December 1 — Adamski claims that during a delay on a Rock Island Railroad train from Kansas City, Missouri, to Davenport, Iowa, he steps outside to stretch his legs and is picked up by a car that takes him to a spacecraft concealed in a wooded area. The saucer takes him to Davenport, where another car brings him to his hotel. NICAP elaborately deconstructs this fiction. (“Adamski’s Latest Claim Blasted by NICAP Affiliate,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 8 (June 1959): 1, 3–4; Powell, Keyhoe, 279–280)
December 6 - Between 6:38 and 6:40 p.m. Along the border of Russia and India, an observer sees a bright UFO cross his field of vision through his telescope from north to south as he is observing Mars. He thinks it might be Sputnik 3, but the location and direction of the object do not bear that out. (ClearIntent, pp. 137-138)
December 6 — 5:44 a.m. The first launch of a Juno II, carrying Pioneer 3, at LC-5 at Cape Canaveral, Florida, suffers a premature first-stage cutoff, preventing the upper stages from achieving sufficient velocity. Pioneer 3 cannot escape Earth orbit but transmits data for some 40 hours before reentering the atmosphere. A malfunction in a propellant depletion circuit is found to be the cause of the failure, although the exact nature of it cannot be determined. The circuit is redesigned afterwards. (Wikipedia, “Juno II”)
December 18 — Sunrise. Launch control and safety officer Capt. Jack Hembree is near a launch tower beginning the fueling process for a PGM-11 Redstone missile test launch at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. He notices three or four bright, transparent spheres, each about 30 feet across, moving at a low elevation about 150 feet away from the missile. Each contains horizontal and vertical bands containing points of light. The spheres are moving as if connected. He watches them for 30–40 seconds, after which they move in unison at a high rate of speed, elongate slightly, and fly west out of sight. There are no other witnesses. (Steve Pokin, “Springfield Man Says He Was at White Sands Missile Range When He Saw a UFO in 1959,” Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader, July 11, 2021; Steve Pokin, “In 1958 He Saw a UFO, This Is What It Looked Like,” Springfield (Mo.) Daily Citizen, February 2, 2024; personal communication, Steve Pokin, February 2, 2024)
December 19 —John Lester, a writer for the Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger, has polled 1,000 US government radar operators over the past month and found that 80% have observed UFOs traveling at fantastic speeds, executing perfect 90° turns, steep vertical climbs, and hovering stops. They fly in formation and manage to stay just ahead of USAF jets scrambled to intercept them. Tacker responds immediately that the UFOs are natural phenomena (“lightning, meteors, and meteorites”). (John Lester, “Radar Experts Track Mysterious Flying Objects,” Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger, December 19, 1958, pp. 1–2; “AF Calls ‘Saucers’ Natural Phenomena,” Newark (N.J.) Star- Ledger, December 21, 1958, p. 2)
December 20 — 12:30 a.m. Franklin and Louise Richardson are driving on Spivey-Tapp road near School Creek, roughly 10 miles north of Lampasas, Texas, “headlight-hunting rabbits,” when they spot six blue-white lights, roughly Four times the size of a car headlight, hanging about 75 feet in the air about a quarter mile away. After a short while, the lights begin moving in no discernible pattern, jumping around and blinking on and off. Two of them break loose from the others and rapidly approach, coming within 150 feet of the car before slowly sinking into the ground. This is the first of several sightings the Richardsons encounter over the next six weeks. (“Lampasas Couple ‘Victims’ of Mysterious, Fast-Flying Lights,” Lampasas (Tex.) Record, January 29, 1959; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1958 November–December, The Author, 1999, pp. 44, 51)
December 20 — 2:55 a.m. Hans Gustafsson, a 24-year-old truck driver, and Stig Rydberg, a 30-year-old student, claim that while driving home to Helsingborg, Sweden, from a dance they see a strange light in a glade on their right near Domsten. They leave the car and walk up to the object, which turns out to be a disc-shaped vehicle 16 feet in diameter resting on 3 legs. The two are suddenly attacked by four gray creatures about 4 feet tall who try to drag them to the UFO. In January 1959, a medical doctor, Lars-Erik Essén, hypnotizes the men in what is perhaps the first use of hypnosis of a UFO witness, but the two manage to fool Essén. In the late 1980s, Gustafsson’s brother Artur reveals to ufologist Clas Svahn that before he died his brother had told him the story was a hoax. (“Tefatsupplevelserna sanna Hypno-analys har bekräftat,” Helsingborgs Dagblad, January 15, 1959, pp. 1–3; “A Saucer, Two Men, and ‘Little Creatures,’” APRO Bulletin, January 1959, pp. 1, 7–8; Douglas Hunt, “The Flying Jelly-Bag Horror,” Fate 13, no. 1 (January 1960): 68–71; Lorenzen, FS Hoax, pp. 60–64; Clas Svahn and Anders Liljegren, Domstensfallet: En svensk närkontakt 1958, AFU, 1989; Anders Liljegren, “Hoax Exposed after 30 Years,” AFU Newsletter 33 (January/June 1989): 16–20; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1958 November–December, The Author, 1999, pp. 44–50; Swords 366–367; Clark III 413–414; Rob Morphy, “Terrible Flying Jelly Bags aka Domsten Blobs (Sweden),” Cryptopia, May 6, 2018; Eghigian, After, pp. 273–274; Clark IV 459–460)
December 21 — A group of more than 50 commercial airline pilots, all of whom have had at least one UFO sighting, tell reporter John Lester with the Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger that the Air Force policy of censorship and denial regarding reports is the “Big Brother attitude carried to the ultimate extreme.” Most express disgust with the USAF methods of interrogating civilian pilots and complain about the gag order about publicly talking about their sightings under penalty of 10 years in prison or $10,000 in fines (JANAP 146). One says: “But you make your report anyhow and the Air Force tells you that the thing that paced your plane for 15 minutes was a mirage or a bolt of lightning. Nuts to that. Who needs it?” (“Pilots Ridicule AF Secrecy on Saucers,” Newark (N.J.) Star- Ledger, December 22, 1958, p. 4; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1958 November–December, The Author, 1999, p. 55)
December 22 - 3:00 p.m. In Muszyna, Poland, Stanislaw Kowalczewski, a physician, sees a disk emerge from an odd yellow cloud above a nearby mountain. He takes a photograph of it, then goes outside to look at the sky but does not see anything unusual. After developing the film, he sees two odd spots on it-a darker one at the bottom (the disk) and a fainter one at the top, which s eems to be a refraction or reflection. (Jerzy Pokrzywnicki, " O zjawisku obserwowanym 22 grudnia 1958 r. w Muszynie," Urania, no. 4 (1959): 142-145; Hobana andWeverbergh 67-68; Wiki Meteoritica, " Muszyna 1958"; Poland 21-23)
December 22 — A “top Washington official” leaks to the press that the US Air Force has captured “at least one and possibly two flying saucers.” He also claims that France has at least two, England one, Russia one, and possibly Brazil has one. The source concedes that he cannot confirm that the Air Force has a saucer “stashed away at a secret base.” (John Lester, “ Claims U.S. Has Captured Flying Saucer,” Jersey (N.J.) Journal, December 23, 1958, p. 3; Clark III 328; Clark IV 365)
December 28 — 3:30 p.m. Joseph Bennett, a farmer in Portglenone, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, is out walking and hears a noise like a rush of wind. A black object 7 feet across comes hurtling through the air about 20 feet above the ground from the direction of Lough Neagh. Moving from south to northwest, it crashes into an oak tree, splitting it in two at a height of 10 feet, then ascends and disappears in seconds. The tree has no burn or scorch marks. (“Mystery of Flying Object Which Cut Tree in Two,” Belfast (N. Ire.) Telegraph, December 30, 1958; “Q.U.B. Scientist Probes ‘Flying Axe’ Mystery,” Belfast (N. Ire.) Telegraph, December 31, 1958, p. 1; “Flying Object: ‘Evidence Is Too Flimsy,” Belfast (N. Ire.) Telegraph, January 1, 1959; “‘Flying Axe’ Was Really a Whirlwind, Say Forestry Experts,” Belfast (N. Ire.) Telegraph, January 2, 1959; “ UAOs Collide with Tree, Roof,” APRO Bulletin, March 1959, p. 2; “ We’re Not Roswell, We’re Portglenone,” Fortean Ireland, March 17, 2019; “ The Portglenone Incident,” Isle of Wéired, April 28, 2025)
1959
1959? — According to weapons specialist David Middleton, sometime in the late 1950s a few hours prior to a nuclear weapons test at the Nevada Test Site, he and several other technicians watch two silver discs race across then swoop down and maneuver near the detonation tower where the atomic weapon is mounted. The two objects fly a tight circle around the tower before zooming off at high velocity. The test is immediately postponed by senior AEC personnel. Middleton is debriefed and sworn to secrecy. (Nukes 58–59)
Night. Shortly before the test firing of a Black Knight rocket at the RAAF Woomera Range Complex in South Australia, the recovery officer, Percy Hawkins, sees an exceptionally bright greenish-white light traveling at high speed directly toward the test site at an altitude of about 2.8 miles. Group Captain Tom Dalton-Morgan, the officer in charge, and his team can see the light approaching from their elevated control building, even though they are located 87 miles to the southeast of Hawkins’s position. The light flies in silently and orbits around the range buildings some 5 miles to the south. When the object is east of the control building, it accelerates and climbs steeply away. (Tom Dalton-Morgan and Clive Williams, Tommy Leader, Griffon, 2007; Bill Chalker, “ ‘Tommy Leader’: Tom Dalton-Morgan and the 3% UFO Solution,” TheOzFiles, June 25, 2024)
The original US Navy Space Surveillance System goes into operation. From 1960 until the early 1990s the system is used in conjunction with a network of Baker-Nunn cameras that can see an object the size of a basketball at 25,000 miles. The system is operated by the US Navy for NORAD from 1961 to October 2004. Initially independent, it is run by Naval Space Command from 1993 to 2002, and then by Naval Network and Space Operations Command from 2002 to 2004, when it is taken over by the Air Force. (Wikipedia, “ Air Force Space Surveillance System”)
The US Army and CIA at Edgewood Arsenal at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, show significant interest in deploying a new drug, 3-quinuclidinyl benzilate (BZ), as a chemical warfare agent. The drug’s effects last for three days, perhaps as long as six. Between 1959 and 1975, some 2,800 soldiers are given BZ at Edgewood. (Reid Kirby, “ Paradise Lost: The Psycho Agents,” The CBW Conventions Bulletin, no. 71 (May 2006): 1–5)
Psychologist Carl Jung publishes Flying Saucers: A Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Skies in the UK, a translation of Ein moderner Mythus von Dingen, die am Himmel gesehen werden, published in Zürich, Switzerland, in 1958, in which he compares the discs to archetypes, dreams, visions, paintings, and the metaphysical symbol of a mandala: “the rounded wholeness of the mandala becomes a space ship controlled by an intelligent being.” He contends that flying saucer beliefs are a “living myth” that revolves around redemption and metaphysical hope. However, he remains puzzled by the physical evidence. (Carl Jung, Flying Saucers: A Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Skies, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1959; Georges Duplain, “ At the Frontiers of Knowledge: Interview with Professor C. G. Jung Regarding a Study on Flying Saucers,” trans. from the Gazette de Lausanne, 1959; Clark III 25, 637–638, 938–939; Eghigian, After, pp. 183–184; Clark IV 39–40, 701–702, 1049)
Inspired by the Sputnik missions, Russian mathematician Matest M. Agrest begins wondering whether extraterrestrials had visited Earth in ancient times. He is struck by references to gods coming to earth and Enoch being taken up into the heavens and wonders whether the megalithic stone terracing at Baalbek in Lebanon had been used as a launch site for spaceships, and that the destruction of Biblical Sodom and Gomorrah was the result of a nuclear explosion detonated by extraterrestrial beings. In February 1960, a summary of his speculations is published in Literaturnaya Gazeta under the title “Does the Trail Lead into Space?” Agrest is a major inspiration of later figures such as Erich von Däniken and Zecharia Sitchin, who in later decades popularize the idea of ancient astronauts. (“Следы ведут в...космос?” [Trail Leads to...Space?], Литературная Газета, February 9, 1960; Matest M. Agrest, “ On the Development of the Idea of Paleocontacts in the USSR at the Beginning of the 1960s,” RIAP Bulletin 8, no. 3–4 (July/Dec. 2002): 4–8; Eghigian, After, pp. 177–178)
The Soviet KGB has created its own disinformation Department D (Dezinformatsiya) in the First Chief Directorate, which under Yuri Andropov is later renamed Department A (for “active measures”). It specializes in the fabrication and dissemination of forged documents, tapes, letters, manuscripts, photos, rumors, and false intelligence. (Wikipedia, “ Active measures”; John Barron, KGB: The Secret Work of Soviet Secret Agents, Bantam, 1974; Richard H. Shultz and Roy Godson, Dezinformatsia: Active Measures in Soviet Strategy, Pergamon-Brassey’s, 1984)
George Van Tassel claims the space people have taught him a method of rejuvenating the human body. Using his new-found knowledge and funds provided by Howard Hughes, he completes the outer structure of the Integraton at Giant Rock, California, a four-story domed structure, 55 feet in diameter, built mostly of wood without nails, screws, iron, or steel. Van Tassel claims it will harness the EMF energy required for recharging the cells in our bodies. In the course of its construction, Van Tassel discovers that the Integraton functions as a time machine. (Wikipedia, “ Integraton”; Douglas Curran, In Advance of the Landing: Folk Concepts of Outer Space, Abbeville, 1985, pp. 79–81; Clark III 1219; David Clarke and Tom Clark, “Going ‘Out There’ in SoCal,” Fortean Times 388 (January 2020): 75–76; Clark IV 1395)
January — Leonard Hewins sees a fiery, round object come down near Stratford-on-Avon, England, from the east and land 300 feet away. A blue haze forms and three figures emerge and sit down with clumsy movements. Hewins is unable to move until the UFO takes off. (John D. Llewellyn, “ Stratford-on-Avon Landing with Occupants: January 1959,” Flying Saucer Review 13, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1967): 15; Patrick Gross, URECAT, March 9, 2008)
January — After 5:00 p.m. A couple and their daughter are strolling along the beach at Port Gawler, South Australia, when they notice a silhouetted sphere emerging from the waters of the Gulf Saint Vincent. Suddenly a curtain of white energy or matter silently erupts from its underside. The object moves closer to the witnesses, then hovers. Another object appears from the south and joins the first one temporarily then moves back south again. The first object takes off at an incredible speed. (Australian UFO Research Network, “ 1959”; Dolan, USO1, 202–203)
January 1 — Rocket scientist Wernher von Braun, on holiday in Germany, makes a cryptic statement about the failed launch of Pioneer 3 by a Juno II rocket on December 6, 1958: “We find ourselves faced by powers which are far stronger than we had hitherto assumed, and whose base is at present unknown to us. More I cannot say at present. We are now engaged in entering into closer contact with those powers, and in six or nine months’ time it may be possible to speak with more precision on the matter.” (Gordon W. Creighton, “ Unidentified Satellites,” Flying Saucer Review 7, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1961): 3, 6; Good Above, p. 370)
January 1 — 4:55 p.m. Deputy Fred Gunzelman of the Harbor Department in Corona del Mar, California, spots a bright object outside department headquarters. He summons Deputy Elmer Sandling and Sgt. Bruce Young and the three watch the object through binoculars, where it appears to be a disc- shaped object with a rotating tail. They notify the lifeguard headquarters at Newport Beach, where Lt. Mike Henry, Guard Jack Bell, and Lt. Jim Richards also see the UFO. The planet Venus is clearly visible in the same section of sky. During the 15 minutes it is visible, it starts moving to the southeast and then splits into four parts. Two rise vertically at high speed, another heads southeast, and the last remains stationary. (“ ‘Unidentified Flying Object’ Sighted off Newport Beach,” Santa Ana (Calif.) Register, January 2, 1959, p. 2; “ From Here and There,” APRO Bulletin, January 1959, pp. 6, 7; UFOEv, p. 137; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 95; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1959 January–March, The Author, 1999, pp. 1–2)
January 11 — Wilbert Smith speaks on UFOs at the Illuminating Engineering Society’s Canadian Regional Conference in Ottawa, Ontario. He claims that “Various items of ‘hardware’ are known to exist, but are usually clapped into security and are not available to the general public.” (Frank Edwards, FS Serious Business, Bantam ed., 1966, p. 48)
January 13 - 7:00 a.m. Robert Collins is driving a pickup truck south on Hartstown Road across Pymatuning Lake, Pennsylvania, when he sees a bright light approaching from the east and illuminating the ground. It stops above his truck, hovering 200 feet above it for several minutes. The truck's electrical system fails, the engine dies, and the headlights and radio go out. The object's light illuminates an area about 300 feet in front of him. It takes off and disappears in seconds, and the truck begins working again. (" Area Man's Encounter with Unidentified Flying Object Called Weirdest Experience," Greenville (Pa.) Record-Argus, January 31, 1959, pp. 1-2)
January 17 — George Adamski arrives in Auckland, New Zealand, on the first stop of a worldwide speaking tour where he is received by North Island Adamski Correspondence Group leaders Henk and Brenda Hinfelaar for a 6-week engagement starting with a talk in Kaikohe on January 20. (Marc Hallet, A Critical Appraisal of George Adamski: The Man Who Spoke to the Space Brothers, The Author, 2016; “ World Lecture Tour,” The Adamski Case, October 5, 2019)
January 18 — The latest in a series of UFO articles by John Lester discusses the significant financial investment made by the US government in the investigation of unidentified flying objects. The article estimates the Air Force, has spent approximately $200 million on UFO investigations. Of this amount, $75 million was allocated to the examination of around 7,500 UFO sightings since 1947, at an estimated cost of $10,000 per sighting. (John Lester, “Hunt for Flying Saucers Costs U.S. $200 Million,” Washington (D.C.) Star-Ledger, January 18, 1959; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1959 January–March, The Author, 1999, pp. 22–24)
January 18? — Eight people see a UFO over Stigsjö, Sweden. The round object, 18–24 feet in diameter, approaches slowly from the south over Lake Länsjön at a height of 900 feet. It is surrounded by a luminous ring 6 feet wide. It is visible for 3 minutes. (Stockholms-Tidningen, January 20, 1960; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1959 January–March, The Author, 1999, p. 25)
January 21 — 6:00 a.m. A flying object is seen crashing into the waters of the harbor at Gdynia, Poland. Rumors later claim that a rust-free fragment is retrieved by divers and, after being examined by the Polish navy, sent to Gdynia Polytechnic University [possibly the Polish Naval Academy]. A few days later, an injured occupant of the craft is allegedly found wandering in the area. He speaks no known language, wears an odd uniform, and apparently has burns on the face. He is taken to a hospital, but he dies when doctors attempt to remove an armband. His remains are said to have been shipped to the Soviet Union. (Hobana and Weverbergh 1–2; Poland 25–28, 115)
January 21 — MP Roy Mason asks the Air Minister another question in the UK House of Commons: What instructions have been sent to RAF stations about collecting military UFO reports, and what collaboration is there with Canada and the US? Air Minister George Ward replies that RAF units have standing instructions for handling reports, and there is no special collaboration with those countries. (“ Roy Mason Asks Another,” Flying Saucer Review 5, no. 2 (March/April 1959): 2; Good Above, p. 52; Isaac Koi, “ UFOs in Parliament (UK),” Isaac Koi—UFOs and Parliament, 2024)
January 25 — After 12:00 midnight. Franklin and Louise Richardson park on Spivey-Tapp road north of Lampasas, Texas, hoping to once again see the mysterious lights they encountered on December 20. They notice a large light about 20 miles to the northeast, “hopscotching” south rapidly, then making a right-angle turn and so that it is heading directly toward them. Panicked, Louise begins driving away, watching the light in the rear-view mirror. She accidentally hits some gravel on a curve, applies the brakes, and the car skids and hits some trees. The car is severely damaged, Louise is injured, and the light has disappeared. (“Lampasas Couple ‘Victims’ of Mysterious, Fast-Flying Lights,” Lampasas (Tex.) Record, January 29, 1959, via Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse, UFOs: A History: 1958 November–December, The Author, 1999, pp. 32–33, 44, 51; “ Lights That Flew, Danced, and Sank into the Ground,” CSI News Letter, issue no. 11 (July 15, 1959), p. 4)
January 28 — At a Symposium on Aerospace Technology by the Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences at the Astor Hotel in New York City, USAF Maj. Gen. Donald J. Keirn, assistant deputy chief of staff on development for nuclear systems, talks about nuclear aircraft propulsion. He mentions that if intelligent extraterrestrials do exist, “it is entirely possible that some of them may have passed through our stage of evolution, and may have already achieved a higher level of social and technological culture than our own.” He suggests using electromagnetic emissions to detect them, as they may be doing with us. (US Congress, Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, Hearings, Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Program, July 23, 1959, p. 153)
January 31 — The US Ground Observer Corps is deactivated with the advent of automated Army (Missile Master) and Air Force (SAGE) radar systems. (Wikipedia, “ Ground Observer Corps”)
February — 9:30 p.m. The people of Digeliotika, Greece, hear a humming noise coming from the direction of the sea. Running out of their homes, many people see a luminous disc circling the village for about 10 minutes. Radios fail to operate and the electrical current in one house fails completely. When the disc flies low over the house of the priest, Papa Costas, there is a loud noise and the whole house shakes. The object moves off to the west. Inspection of the house the next day reveals that many of the roof tiles have been displaced, and others are on the ground. (“ UAOs Collide with Tree, Roof,” APRO Bulletin, March 1959, p. 2)
February 1 — JANAP 146(D) integrates Canada into the CIRVIS reporting instructions. The Canadian Department of National Defence launches a series of Communications Instructions for Reporting Vital Intelligence Sightings in line with the JANAP procedures. (Gregory M. Kanon, “ UFOs and the Canadian Government,” Canadian UFO Report 3, no. 7 (Spring 1976): 17–18; Antonio F. Rullán, “ Blue Book UFO Reports at Sea by Ships: Analysis of the Blue Book Ship Database,” December 10, 2002, pp. 8–9)
February 12 — 6:10 p.m. Anna Ochipa sees a white cylindrical object, resembling a cigarette, jerking back and forth over a cloud in Miami, Florida, before it suddenly vanishes. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1959 January–March, The Author, 1999, p. 48)
February 17 — Hynek wants to start bringing together ATIC and Blue Book personnel for monthly meetings where scientific and PR problems are reviewed. To get it going, he meets with Air Force Intelligence, Secretary of the Air Force officials, and Blue Book staffers in the Pentagon. This meeting includes, besides Hynek, Maj. Robert J. Friend, Col. Leonard T. Glaser, Alex Francis Arcier, Maj. James F. Byrne, Maj. Joseph E. Boland, Maj. Lawrence J. Tacker, and Burgoyne Lee Griffing. The group agrees that eventually the term “UFOs” should be jettisoned and older unsolved cases reexamined in the light of “greater scientific knowledge” that will move them from unknowns to knowns. (Jacobs, UFO Controversy in America, Signet ed., 1976, pp. 148–149; Swords 286; Clark III 919; “ Saucer Reading Fest,” Saturday Night Uforia, January 25, 2019; Clark IV 1029)
February 20 — Pfc. Bernard G. “Gerry” Irwin, on leave from Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, is driving near Cedar City, Utah, when he stops to investigate what seems to be a crashing plane. He is later found unconscious in the snow and treated at the Cedar City hospital. He suffers from amnesia, continues to have fainting spells, and returns more than once to the site in some kind of fugue. He soon goes AWOL from the Army but returns and spends several more years in the service, rising to the rank of sergeant. He is living in Idaho in 2013, where David Booher interviews him about his PTSD-like symptoms. (“ Iron Police Puzzled by Unconscious Man,” Salt Lake City (Utah) Deseret News and Telegram, February 21, 1959, p. 7; “ Utah Mystery ‘Victim’ Awake,” Oklahoma City Daily Oklahoman, February 23, 1959, p. 15; “ Nampa Soldier Fails to Recall Events Following ‘Plane Crash,’” Boise Idaho Daily Statesman, February 23, 1959, p. 11; “ Soldier Leaves Hospital,” Boise Idaho Daily Statesman, February 24, 1959, p. 9; “ Injured GI Due at Bliss,” El Paso (Tex.) Times, February 24, 1959, p. 7; Coral Lorenzen, “ Soldier Sees Flash; Unconscious 24 Hours,” APRO Bulletin, March 1959, pp. 1, 10; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 97–99; Lorenzen, Encounters with UFO Occupants, Berkley Medallion, 1976, pp. 347–355; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1959 January–March, The Author, 1999, pp. 54–57; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1961 July–December, The Author, 2003, pp. 56–60; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1962 July–December, The Author, 2005, pp. 68–70; Kevin D. Randle, The UFO Dossier, Visible Ink, 2015, pp. 134–141; David Booher, No Return: The Gerry Irwin Story, UFO Abduction or Covert Operation? Anomalist, 2017; Clark III 2; “ Army Private’s UFO Encounter Shocks Military Officials,” Cristina Gomez YouTube channel, October 2, 2024; Cristina Gomez, “ 60 Years Later: Reassessing Army Official Gerry Irwin’s UFO Sighting and Its Aftermath,” Medium, October 3, 2024; Clark IV 16; David Booher, “ The Location Mystery Solved…by Gerry Himself!” February 2025)
February 20 — Just as the first working models of the Army’s VZ-9 Avrocar are being manufactured, the Canadian government cancels the Avro CF-105 Arrow program. Almost all Avro Canada employees are laid off, including those with the Special Projects Group. However, three days later, many of the Special Projects employees are rehired, but it isn’t quite business as usual. The USAF Project Office devoted to the Avro projects recommends that the WS-606A and all related work (including the Avrocar) be cancelled. However, in May the USAF authorizes Avro to continue its “flying saucer” programs. (Wikipedia, “ Avro Canada VZ-9 Avrocar”)
February 24 — 8:20 p.m. Capt. Peter W. Killian is flying an American Airlines flight from Newark to Detroit when he encounters three bright lights flying in a precise line. The initial detection takes place when the aircraft is flying at 8,500 feet and 50 mph about 13 miles west of Williamsport, Pennsylvania. At first Killian thinks he is seeing Orion’s sword, but he can see those stars elsewhere. One of the objects abruptly leaves formation and approaches the plane, slows down before Killian takes evasive action, then rejoins the other two. Killian alerts copilot James John Dee and then announces on the intercom for the passengers to take a look. He also puts out a call to nearby aircraft, and five other commercial airline pilots indicate that they can see the objects. The lights remain at about the 9 o’clock position for 40 minutes, providing an opportunity for many of the 35 passengers to observe them. They are also seen by the crews of two other planes flying much farther to the south, as well as by the tower operators in Pittsburgh. The Air Force quickly identifies the objects as the three Orion stars, changes that to an aerial refueling operation, then accuses Killian of being drunk. But an independent sighting of the UFOs by an Air Force transport plane 150 miles further south confirms Killian’s observation, and no refueling routes exist in central Pennsylvania. Brad Sparks uncovers new evidence in 2016 that supports the witnesses’ story. (NICAP, “ The Killian Case”; Sparks, p. 270; “ Pilot Reports Saucers: Says Airliner Passengers and Crew Saw Lights,” New York Times, February 26, 1959, p. 2; “ Flying Saucers Escort Airliner for 45 Minutes,” Flying Saucer Review 5, no. 3 (May/June 1959): 2, 4; UFOEv, pp. 116–117; Willy Smith, “ Over Pennsylvania,” IUR 23, no. 1 (Spring 1998): 13–14, 29–30; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1959 January–March, The Author, 1999, pp. 58–60; Swords 285; Patrick Gross, “ The Killian–Orion Belt Sightings, 1958”; “ American Airline Case of 2-23-1959 – Capt. Peter Killian,” Ufology: A Primer in Audio, 1938–1959, November 21, 2013; Clark III 385–387; Clark IV 431–433)
February 24 — 10:00 p.m. A 17-year-old male is home babysitting the family pets and his younger brother in Victorville, California, when he sees a bright light shining in his bedroom window. The dogs begin to howl and run around. He goes outside and sees a luminous object like an “elongated egg,” dull red with purple waves inside it, flying in a descending path toward his house. It passes over the front yard at a height of only 8–10 feet. As the object returns, he goes inside to get a gun, but as he goes outside the object is making a third pass and he goes back inside. When the parents return home, they find the dogs in a terrified state. (Hynek UFO Report, pp. 167–170; Swords 286–287)
Late February–April 15 — George Adamski continues his world lecture tour in Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, and Brisbane, Australia. (“ World Lecture Tour,” The Adamski Case, October 5, 2019)
February 25 — 8:45 a.m. Jim Dobbs Jr. is driving south on State Highway 18 south of Hobbs, New Mexico, when he sees an egg-shaped object glowing like radium on a watch dial. He estimates it is 10° above the southern horizon and traveling fast. His radio fades out and produces only a steady succession of two dots and a dash. The object disappears in the east after 30 seconds. (“ Hobbs Man Sees Glowing ‘Saucer,’ Hears Signals,” Alamogordo (N.Mex.) Daily News, February 26, 1959, p. 5; “ Hobbs Man Sees Glowing UFO, Hears Signals,” APRO Bulletin, March 1959, p. 1)
February 25 — Lt. Col. Lee B. James, chief of the Liaison Branch of the Army Ballistic Agency in Huntsville, Alabama, gives a talk at the Detroit Chapter of the Michigan Society of Professional Engineers on space flight. Because of the recent Killian incident, he is asked about UFOs. Referring to the witness on that aircraft, he says: “If they (35 passengers and several crew members) saw what they really saw, it would have to come from outer space—a civilization decades before ours.” (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1959 January– March, The Author, 1999, p. 68)
February 25 — 7:25 p.m. A pale-yellow light is seen by officials above one of the runways at London Airport [now Heathrow], England. Airport and air defense radars do not pick up any target. RAF Fighter Command Headquarters says the light fluctuates in intensity and is about 200 feet from the ground. It stays in one position for 20 minutes then climbs away at high speed. (“ Mystery Disc over Airport,” Birmingham (UK) Post, March 6, 1959, p. 11; “ Saucer over London for All U.K. Knows,” Toronto (Ont.) Daily Star, March 12, 1959, p. 13; Charles H. Gibbs-Smith, “ Venus and the Nose-Cone Light: A Study in the Lunacy of Explainistics,” Flying Saucer Review 5, no. 3 (May/ June 1959): 10–11, 31; UFOEv, p. 122; Good Above, p. 52)
February 28 — The US Air Force launches Discoverer 1, the first of a series of satellites that are part of the Corona spy program. The mission is a failure due to problems with the Agena upper stage. (Wikipedia, “ Discoverer 1”)
March - On the Baltic Sea coast near Kolobrzeg, Poland, soldiers watch the sea become turbulent as a triangular object, 12 feet in diameter, emerges, circles the barracks, and flies away at high speed. ("Pologne: Rapport surl'année 1959," Le Courier Interplanétaire, no. 56 (September 1961); Carl Feindt, " Report # 168," waterufo.net; Vallée, Magonia, p. 275)
March 11 — Rear Admiral George J. Dufek, on his way back from commanding Operation Deepfreeze in Antarctica, tells reporters in Wellington, New Zealand, that he does not think the existence of UFOs can be discounted: “I think it is very stupid for human beings to think no one else in the universe is as intelligent as we are.” Asked years later why he said this, he explains that it was because of sightings related to him by people who worked with him at the South Pole. (“ Stupid to Doubt Flying Saucers, Says Admiral,” Boston (Mass.) Globe, March 11, 1959, p. 15; Yvonne S. Durfield, “The Eyewitness Report of the Incredible UFO Invasion of Antarctica,” Ideal’s UFO Magazine, no. 2 (June 1978): 44–50; Swords 290)
March 11 — In the House of Commons, MP Albert Hunter asks John Hay, the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, about the light seen at London Airport on February 25. Hay responds that it was not reported to the Ministry. MP Geoffrey de Freitas asks the Secretary of State for Air George Ward whether he will make a statement about the case, and he replies that there is insufficient information. (“ Saucer over London for All U.K. Knows,” Toronto (Ont.) Daily Star, March 12, 1959, p. 13; Isaac Koi, “ UFOs in Parliament (UK),” Isaac Koi—UFOs and Parliament, 2024)
March 12 —Several witnesses at Bergen, Norway, see a bright object passing north to south, taking two minutes to move from horizon to horizon. Several minutes later another appears, following the same course. This is soon followed by three more in succession. (ClearIntent, p. 138)
March 13 — 2:00 a.m. Percy Briggs is driving from Purnong to Mannum, South Australia, with a load of vegetables and Claypans Postmaster C. Towill as passenger. They have just climbed Cournamont Hill near the Purnong Ferry over the Murray River. They see to the left of the road a huge dome-shaped object with 8–9 red and blue lights about 20 feet apart. The UFO soon rises from the ground at a 15° angle and moves away to the southwest. The separate lights merge into one big light. They watch it recede for about 10 minutes. (“ Purnong Landing,” Australian Saucer Record 5, no. 2 (1959): 3; “ Saucer Landings Reported at Punnong and Goolwa, Australia,” Flying Saucer Review 5, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1959): 6–7; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1959 January–March, The Author, 1999, pp. 79–80)
March 18 — 8:50 p.m. Jesse Wilson of Denville, New Jersey, is taking photos of the Moon through a telescope and captures an image of two groups of multiple objects. (Center for UFO Studies, [ case documents])
March 19 — USAF spokesman Maj. Lawrence J. Tacker retracts the dubious Orion explanation for the Killian case and says instead that the pilots saw B-47 bombers refueling in flight from a KC-97 tanker. Killian tells the papers, “I don’t care what the air force says,” he knows what refueling looks like and the UFOs were “at least three times the size of any tanker or bomber we have. They could travel at 2,000 mph. And they were not conventional aircraft.” (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1959 January– March, The Author, 1999, pp. 82–84)
March 20 — 5:30 p.m. Witold Sambrowski, an electronics engineer, sees two noiseless cigar-shaped, reddish-pink objects flying over Ostroleka, Poland. They are traveling horizontally at a speed greater than a jet. When the two vanish, a third appears and follows the path the others have taken. (Hobana and Weverbergh 211–212)
March 20 — 9:00 p.m. A farmer, Cirocco Elio, is driving home from Murray Bridge, South Australia. with his wife. His wife suddenly cries out in alarm, and he immediately slams on the brakes. In the sky ahead, they see what appears to be a blazing golden coin. It shines like a sun in the darkness, arching upward at tremendous speed before vanishing. (“ Spaceship Query in S.A. Township: Strange Objects in Sky,” Sydney (N.S.W.) Morning Herald, March 29, 1959, p. 5; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1959 January–March, The Author, 1999, pp. 86–87)
March 22 — 1:30 a.m. Mr. and Mrs. Gary Bond are driving near Ann Arbor, Michigan, when they see an intensely lighted object hovering about 2 miles to the southeast. It is about 200 feet in the air and just south of a main road. Intense shafts of light are shining from two oval ports at the bottom. As they drive closer, they can hear no sound and find it is about 50–75 feet from the road. The UFO parallels their car at first, then the light shafts go out, and a circle of 8–10 red lights appear on the bottom. Then it rises rapidly and disappears in seconds. A local radio astronomer, Allen Barrot, claims the couple saw the lights of his telescope. But the Air Force finds that the couple were never looking in the direction of Barrot’s observatory. (“Report Seeing Object Resembling Bird Cage in Sky,” Ann Arbor News, March 23, 1959; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1959 January–March, The Author, 1999, pp. 87–90; Swords 288–289)
March 25 — 7:36 p.m. A B-52 jet bomber on a sensitive Operation Head Start mission flying south over northern Montana becomes aware that something is following it when the tail gunner, T/Sgt Joe Cobb, picks up an object on his radar. It is also detected by the Electronics Warfare Officer, 1Lt Robert J. Millard, who determines that it is using two radar frequencies. They watch the target on an MB-9 scope for approximately one hour at ranges of 4.5 to 8.5 miles. A ground GCI station is notified upon initial contact with the object and an F-89J interceptor is launched at the time the object penetrates the Northern Air Defense Identification Zone and makes visual contact. The UFO has red and green bright flashing lights about 30-40 feet apart with a steady white light in between and somewhat to the rear, thus suggesting a delta or swept-wing aircraft about the size of a B-57 bomber. The pilot, 1Lt Austin E. Bond, closes to within 4 miles of the object when it changes its heading, increases speed. and begins to climb. The F-89 gives chase, but the object steadily pulls away and is lost by 8:42 p.m. The UFO demonstrates high performance and apparently emits an X-band signal at around 9130–9135 MHz. (NICAP, “ B-52 and Gnd Radar / Radar Visual / Radar Freqs from UFO”; Clark III 998; Clark IV 1111)
March 27 — Lou Corbin has told Keyhoe that Rep. Samuel Friedel (D-Md.) is “all set to hop on this Killian business” and begins to plan for Killian to meet with him. But Killian’s wife now tells Keyhoe that he is under strict orders from the Air Force not to talk to anyone about the sighting or risk losing his job. Soon afterwards, the Air Force releases a statement from Killian that says, “Having never seen night refueling of jets by a tanker, I suppose that could be what we saw.” (Keyhoe, FSTS, pp. 27–36; UFOEv, pp. 116–117)
March 31 — 11:30 p.m. Barry Neale, operator of the Port Elliot movie theater, is driving home to Goolwa, South Australia, and sees a dome-shaped, reddish-orange object with a row of evenly spaced portholes around it. He estimates it to be about 15 feet wide, and it is on the ground about 900 feet from the road. He sees it disappear to the east. (“ Saucer Landings Reported at Punnong and Goolwa, Australia,” Flying Saucer Review 5, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1959): 6–7; Michael Hervey, UFOs over the Southern Hemisphere, Robert Hale, 1975, p. 165; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1959 January–March, The Author, 1999, pp. 99–100)
Spring — Keyhoe meets with Hillenkoetter at the New York Yacht Club to discuss NICAP strategy. USAF Public Information Officer Lawrence J. Tacker has sent the organization a letter asking it to stop writing to Air Force personnel about UFOs. Keyhoe tells Hillenkoetter that three scientists have contacted a certain congressman to report UFO sightings. Hillenkoetter advises, “we’ll have to do something to speed things up.” (Keyhoe, FSTS, pp. 15, 247–248)
Spring - Soviet radar and Air Defense personnel observe UFOs circling and hovering for more than 24 hours above the headquarters of the Tactical Missile Command at Sverdlovsk, Russia. Fighter aircraft sent to intercept them report that the UFOs easily outmaneuver them and zigzag to avoid machine gun fire. (Flying Saucers, no. 47, May 1966, pp. 6-10; Good Above, p. 227)
Spring — Early evening. A weather officer with the US Fifth Air Force in Tokyo, Japan, is in the operations center when the staff tracks a UFO near Misawa Air Base on the north end of Honshu. One of the officers says this happens frequently, that the objects travel at 2,000 mph, and they often stop in one position and hover for 30 minutes to several hours before taking off westward along the Tsugaru Strait and disappearing in a burst of speed. The center commander orders the pilots of two specially equipped F-106s based at Misawa to intercept the target. One of the planes is having instrumentation problems, but the other goes up. After 10 minutes he is being guided toward the target through Misawa. The pilot says the object is circular and metallic with a cockpit on top. The commander calls the Pentagon for authorization for the pilot to fire on the UFO, and he gets permission for the pilot to make a firing pass. The pilot fires two missiles, but they detonate just at the edge of the object, as if it is protected. The UFO then turns toward the terrified pilot, and the command center watches as the two blips merge into one. The blip disappears. Crews search for wreckage for 4 days but find none. (Bruce Maccabee, “ Hiding the Hardware,” IUR 16, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1991): 8–9)
April 1 - An Air Force C-118 plane with four on board crashes between Sumner and Orting, Washington, about an hour after taking off from McChord AFB [now Joint Base Lewis-McChord] in Tacoma. Their last radio message indicates that they hit something or that something hit them. Bob Gribble and other UFO investigators find witnesses who claim to have seen two orange or yellow objects closing in on the plane. Best guess is that the plane hit a tree and the UFO observations are unrelated. (" Plane Crash Fiery," Centralia (Wash.) Daily Chronicle, April 2, 1959, p. 1; Bob Barry, " The Case of the Mysterious Airplane Crash," Saucer News 6, no. 4 (September 1959): 14-17; Bruce Sandham, " `Murder' on a Mountainside," Saucers, Space and Science, no. 62 (1971): 13-14; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1959 April-June, The Author 1999, pp. 2-4; Feliks Banel, " Bonney Lake Crash and UFO Mystery Reveal Hidden History," My Northwest, March 28, 2018)
April 7 — 8:00 p.m. Control tower operators at CFB St. Hubert [now Montreal/Saint-Hubert Airport], Quebec, spot a red, glowing light hanging in the sky for a few minutes at 3,000–7,000 feet altitude. It suddenly darts to the north at supersonic speed. (“ Flying Object over Defense Spot Baffles Air Force,” Marysville (Ohio) Journal-Tribune, April 13, 1959, p. 1; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 100)
April 9 — Rev. William Booth Gill sees an unusual light high up on the flank of Mount Pudi near the southeastern top of Papua New Guinea. At first he thinks it is someone carrying a lamp, but it reappears 10 minutes later on the opposite side of the mountain. (Clark III 533; Clark IV 583)
April 12 — 8:00 p.m. Control tower personnel and airport officials at St. Hubert Air Defence Command Base [now CFB St. Hubert], Quebec, as well as local residents watch a red ball of light hovering above the airfield at 3,000–7,000 feet. Descriptions vary from a black ball with a red light to a long red cigar. Radar does not pick it up. Suddenly it takes off toward Montreal to the north. (“ Red Light Still Mystery,” Montreal (Que.) Star, April 13, 1959, pp. 3–4; Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979, pp. 94–96)
April 17 — George Adamski meets with Sisir Kumar Maitra, head of the Department of Philosophy and dean of the Faculty of Arts of Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi during a stopover in Kolkata, India. (“ World Lecture Tour,” The Adamski Case, October 5, 2019)
April 18–May 14 — Adamski arrives in London, England, and appears on the TV show In Town Tonight on April 18 and on the BBC program Panorama on April 20 where he debates with astronomer Patrick Moore, a show that is seen by 9 million viewers. Both Gen. Frederick Browning and RAF Commander Peter Horsley meet with Adamski and Desmond Leslie during their visit to a private address in London. Adamski gives further lectures in Tunbridge Wells, Weston-super-Mare, Bournemouth, at Caxton Hall in London (on April 28), Birmingham University (April 29), Manchester (May 1), and several more around the British Isles. (“ World Lecture Tour,” The Adamski Case, October 5, 2019; David Clarke, “The Prince and the Saucers,” Fortean Times 406 (June 2021): 19)
April 19 — 3:00 p.m. Otis T. Carr and Norman Colton, who have been in Oklahoma since February, pretend to attempt the launch of their OTC-X1 spacecraft in a gravel pit 6 miles east of the Frontier City amusement park northeast of Oklahoma City. Frontier City obligingly erects a model of the spacecraft as a ride. However, Carr comes down with a mysterious throat ailment and goes to Mercy Hospital on April 17. He invites Long John Nebel to have a brief glimpse of the model, but Nebel thinks it looks like a jumble of unconnected parts. As it turns out, the OTC-X1 develops a “mercury leak” and the launch is delayed then canceled. Those who have come for the April 19 launch hear contactee Dana Howard talk about her trip to Venus, and Margaret Storm (Carr’s “publications editor” in Baltimore) declares that Carr is inspired by the “Divine Master St. Germain.” (“ Difficulties Put Off Flying Saucer Test,” Oklahoma City Daily Oklahoman, April 20, 1959, pp. 1–2, 13; Clark III 597, 860–861; Clark IV 656–657, 948)
April 20 — Ufologist Morris K. Jessup commits suicide in a Dade County park, Florida, from carbon monoxide poisoning. Some theorists connect his involvement with the Allende letters and the Philadelphia experiment to his death, but friends say Jessup has been discussing suicide with them for several months. (Dade County Department of Public Health, [ death certificate for Morris K. Jessup], April 21, 1959, reprinted in Saucerian Bulletin 4, no. 2 (September 1959): 24; “ Morris Jessup,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 8 (June 1959): 8; “ Jessup and the Allende Case,” Pursuit 1, no. 4 (September 30, 1968): 8–10; Clark III 635; Powell, Keyhoe, 277; Clark IV 697; Mckee, Saucerian, p. 100)
May — The first Avrocar, #58-7055, rolls out of the Avro Malton factory in Mississauga, Ontario. From June 9 to October 7 it is tested in a static hover rig. A second Avrocar is completed in August. (Wikipedia, “ Avro Canada VZ-9 Avrocar”; Graff 133)
May 4 — Otis T. Carr and his attorney are summoned to the county courthouse in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to answer questions about stock sales by OTC Enterprises, including a block of 21,000 shares to Frontier City promoter Jimmy Burge, oilman Frank Buttram, and publisher Edward K. Gaylord. Carr pleads the Fifth Amendment. (Clark III 861; Clark IV 948)
May 5 — Hynek’s newly formed UFO Advisory Panel holds its first meeting at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio. The panel consists of Hynek, Lt. Col. Richard M. Graham (chaplain), Lt. Col. Theodore J. Hieatt (PR), Maj. Leroy D. Pigg (psychologist), V. J. Handmacher (physicist), and L. V. Robinson (Harvard astronomer). (Jacobs, UFO Controversy in America, Signet ed., 1976, pp. 148–149; “ Saucer Reading Fest,” Saturday Night Uforia, January 25, 2019)
May 18 — George Adamski has an audience with Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands at Soestdijk Palace in Baarn on his world lecture tour, amid fiercely critical media coverage. The royal audience, scheduled to last 45 minutes, goes on for two hours, making Adamski 20 minutes late for his lecture in The Hague. The royal couple claim that the British royal family, especially Prince Philip, are also keen to meet Adamski. After the audience, Dutch Aeronautical Association president Cornelis Kolff says “The Queen showed an extraordinary interest in the whole subject.” Royal Netherlands Air Force Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Haye Schaper says, “The man’s a pathological case.” (“ World Lecture Tour,” The Adamski Case, October 5, 2019; David Clarke, “The Prince and the Saucers,” Fortean Times 406 (June 2021): 19)
May 20 - 5:30 p.m. Antonio Sanchez and Ernesto Fogliani are hunting rabbits about 7 miles from Pehuelches station, Buenos Aires, Argentina. They see a saucer-shaped, silvery machine resting on the ground about 980 feet away. They approach to about 490 feet when the object rises into the sky and disappears. At the spot where it was, they find the grass flattened in the shape of a large oval. (La Razon (Buenos Aires), May 24, 1959; " 20 May 1959," APRO Bulletin, July 1959, p. 8; Jacques Vallée and Janine Vallée, Challenge to Science: The UFO Enigma, Henry Regnery, 1966, p. 53; Oscar A. Uriondo, " Preliminary Catalogue of Type 1 Cases in Argentina," Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 12 (December 1972): 9; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1959 April-June, The Author, 1999, p. 32; Clark III 378; Clark IV 422)
May 25 — The UFO Advisory Panel meets again to “determine the type of information which should be used for correlation in bringing Special Report #14 up to date.” (“ Saucer Reading Fest,” Saturday Night Uforia, January 25, 2019)
Late May — Ruppelt tells Keyhoe he is revising his book to bring it more up to date and requests NICAP’s most recent information. He says the Air Force is giving its full cooperation and he is “middle of the road” on the UFO question. (Donald E. Keyhoe, “ Capt. Ruppelt Revising His UFO Book: Air Force Rumored to Be Pressuring Former Project Chief,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 8 (June 1959): 5–6; Keyhoe, FSTS, pp. 258–260)
May 26, 29 — Adamski gives two lectures in Zürich, Switzerland. At the second talk, he meets with organized resistance by a group of 300 students (in an audience of 700) who have been led to believe he will discredit Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky. When a reporter afterwards asks if he will accept an apology, Adamski replies that it should not be given to him, but to the Swiss public. Due to recurring heart problems, Adamski cancels his remaining lectures in Switzerland, Italy, Austria, and Denmark. (“ World Lecture Tour,” The Adamski Case, October 5, 2019)
May 28 — Otis T. Carr and two OTC Enterprises employees (Lari Kendrick and Charles O. Rhoades) are barred by a federal court order from selling any further stock in the company. The SEC contends that they have been selling unregistered securities fraudulently since November 18, 1955, using the US mail to do so. Contactee associate Wayne Aho escapes arraignment, while Norman Colton has fled the state and cannot be located. (Clark III 861; Clark IV 948)
May 28 — Welton P. Farrow, a local merchant from Waterville, Maine, while traveling from China Village, spots a yellow unidentified flying object near Winslow. He keeps it in view for about 10 minutes, describing it as having one thin cone and three long, thin horizontal lines. (“ Reports Seeing Unidentified Flying Object,” Waterville (Maine) Sentinel, June 17, 1959, p. 2)
May 28 — Night. Two observers on a Project Moonwatch team in San Antonio, Texas, see two silvery objects through their telescopes that shoot across the sky in less than one second, one curving away in a parabolic path, the other executing a more gradual hyperbolic curve. (Michael D. Swords, “ Gazing at the Moons,” IUR 32, no. 4 (October 2009): 13–14; Center for UFO Studies, “ Moonwatch Mystery Satellites, 1958–1962”)
June — The Argentine Navy bottles up a fast, submarine-like object in the Buenos Aires harbor, Argentina. It is shaped like a huge fish, is silver in color, and sports a tail like the stabilizer on a B-17. (Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, pp. 52–53)
June 12 — Keyhoe writes an open letter to Ruppelt that lists his past statements on UFOs and urges him not to let the Air Force intimidate him into retracting. (Donald E. Keyhoe, “ Capt. Ruppelt Revising His UFO Book: Air Force Rumored to Be Pressuring Former Project Chief,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 8 (June 1959): 5–6; Powell, Keyhoe, 280–281)
June 13 — Charles S. Sheldon II, technical director of the House Science and Astronautics Committee, writes to Richard H. Hall at NICAP to say that while he thinks UFOs are “extremely interesting,” they do not pose a national security threat.” (Swords 290)
June 13 — Adamski, along with follower Lou Zinsstag, meets with diplomat Alberto Perego and Mario Maioli at Ristorante La Cisterna in the Trastevere area of Rome, Italy, then go on an all-night taxi ride around the city. He returns to the United States via Copenhagen, Denmark, on June 17. (“ World Lecture Tour,” The Adamski Case, October 5, 2019; 1Pinotti 106)
June 21 - 1:00 a.m. Rev. William Booth Gill's assistant, Stephen Gill Moi, sees an "inverted saucer" in the sky above Boianai Mission, Papua New Guinea. (Norman E. G. Cruttwell, " Flying Saucers over Papua: A Report on Papuan Unidentified Flying Objects," March 1960; Norman E. G. Cruttwell, " Flying Saucers over Papua," in Charles Bowen, ed., UFOs in Two Worlds, special issue of FSR, August 1971, pp. 12-14; Clark III 533-534; Clark IV 583)
June 22 — 8:00 p.m. A large, luminous UFO passes over Salta, Argentina, and blacks out all electrical power for several minutes. (Bernardo Passíon, “ Report from Argentina,” APRO Bulletin, November 1959, p. 9; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1959 April–June, The Author, 1999, p. 56)
June 26–28 — 6:45 p.m. At Boianai Mission, Papua New Guinea, Rev. William Booth Gill and 38 others watch a platform-shaped object with legs that appears in the sky above Venus. It has an electric blue spotlight and is hovering about 500 feet away at a height of 300–400 feet. On top of the object, four humanlike figures, their bodies surrounded by illumination, are busy with some unknown task. The men and spotlight disappear at 7:20 p.m. and the object vanishes into the clouds. It reappears at 8:28 without the men or spotlight but now joined by second, third and fourth objects at 8:29, 8:35, and 8:35– 8:50 p.m., coming and going through the clouds. The main UFO, “large, clear, stationary,” gives off a red light and disappears overhead into clouds at 9:10 p.m., reappears at 9:20, moves across the sea to Giwa appearing white-red-blue, then disappears at 9:30. An overhead object reappears at 9:46, hovering, disappears behind a cloud at 10:10, reappears in a gap between clouds at 10:30, then is gone at 10:50. The next day, the object returns at 6:00–6:30 p.m. with two others, one to the west and one overhead. “Two of the figures seemed to be doing something near the center of the deck. They were occasionally bending over and raising their arms as though adjusting or setting up something (not visible). One figure seemed to be standing, looking down at us.” Father Gill and another teacher wave their arms, and two of the figures on the main object wave back. Gill waves a flashlight and the object moves back and forth laterally. Gill goes in for dinner and a church service; when he returns at 7:45 p.m., the UFO is gone. The next evening at 6:45 p.m., some eight objects align themselves across a section of the sky. No occupants are visible. Martin Kottmeyer suggests that Gill was watching a lighted squid-fishing boat close to shore, but Gill has confirmed the object was over his head. (“ Saucer Men Seen in Flight: Amazing Sighting from Papua,” Flying Saucer Review 5, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1959): 7–8; Norman E. G. Cruttwell, “ Flying Saucers over Papua: A Report on Papuan Unidentified Flying Objects,” March 1960; Norman E. G. Cruttwell, “ What Happened in Papua in 1959?” Flying Saucer Review 6, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1960): 3–7; “ Father Gill and the Rev. Lionel Browning,” Flying Saucer Review 7, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1961): 23–25; Norman E. G. Cruttwell, “The New Guinea Sightings,” APRO Bulletin, July 1961, pp. 5–8, September 1961, pp. 5–8, November 1961, pp. 4–6, January 1962, pp. 4–5, March 1962, pp. 4–6; Norman E. G. Cruttwell, “ Flying Saucers over Papua,” in Charles Bowen, ed., UFOs in Two Worlds, special issue of FSR, August 1971, pp. 3–38; Gordon Creighton, “ The New Guinea Sightings; A Note on Some Anthropological Aspects,” in Charles Bowen, ed., UFOs in Two Worlds, special issue of FSR, August 1971, p. 39; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 167–172, 271–273; Hynek UFO Report, pp. 216–223; “ Papua/Father Gill Revisited,” IUR 2, no. 11 (November 1977): 4–7; “ Papua/Father Gill Revisited, Part Two,” IUR 2, no. 12 (December 1977): 4–8; Jerome Clark, “Close Encounters: History’s Best Case,” Fate 31, no. 2 (February 1978): 38–46; Kim Hansen, “UFO Casebook,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, pp. 59–62; Martin Kottmeyer, “ Gill Again: The Father Gill Case Reconsidered,” Magonia, no. 54 (November 1995): 11–14; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1959 April–June, The Author, 1999, pp. 59–68, 69–71; Thomas E. Bullard, “ Defending UFOs,” IUR 34, no. 2 (Mar. 2012): 31–32; Swords 383–385; “ Papua, New Guinea CE-III Case of 6-26-1959 – Fr. William Gill,” Ufology: A Primer in Audio, 1938–1959, November 21, 2013; Bill Chalker, “ The Boianai Visitants of 1959,” The Black Vault, May 16, 2016; Clark III 533–536; Graff 256–257; Clark IV 583–586)
July — The Air Force reassigns UFO investigative duties to the 1127th Field Activities Group stationed at Fort Belvoir, Fairfax County, Virginia, replacing the 1006th AISS. The unit will also be responsible for Project Moon Dust and Operation Blue Fly. (Jacobs, UFO Controversy in America, Signet ed., 1976, p. 134; Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, “ Secret Projects and Open Eyes: A Response,” IUR 19, no. 3 (May/June 1994): 16–17; Clark III 919; Clark IV 1029)
July — Contactee Howard Menger’s book, From Outer Space to You, an account of his meetings with space people, is published by Gray Barker’s Saucerian Press. (Howard Menger, From Outer Space to You, Saucerian, 1959; Clark III 739; Clark IV 820; Mckee, Saucerian, pp. 104–107)
July — Contactee Gabriel Green rebrands his group as the Amalgamated Flying Saucer Clubs of America and publishes the AFSCA World Report from 1959 to 1961, UFO International from 1962 to 1965, and Flying Saucers International from 1966 to 1969. ( AFSCA Information Sheet, no. 1 (1959); AFSCA UFO International, no. 17 (Sept./Oct. 1962); Flying Saucers International, no. 24 (July 1966); Clark III 99; Clark IV 126–127)
July 5 — 9:30 a.m. A group of scouts and other witnesses on a beach in Matanzas, Cuba, see an oval, metallic object emerge from Matanzas Bay about 650 feet from the shore and hover a few feet above the surface. Seconds later, the object rises vertically into the air and disappears. (Clark IV 1312)
July 5–6 — US Navy Cmdr. Julius Larsen, an ONI liaison officer to the CIA’s Photographic Intelligence Center in Washington, D.C., rediscovers the Swan-Knowles-Affa correspondence from 1954 in a file and decides to follow up on it. He goes to Eliot, Maine, to visit Rear Adm. Knowles and interview Frances Swan. Larsen tries his hand at automatic writing and channels a message from Affa. Back in Washington on July 6, Larsen goes to director of the Photographic Intelligence Office, Arthur C. Lundahl, and tells the story to him and his assistant Lt. Robert S. Neasham. They urge Larsen to try to contact the extraterrestrials. Larsen goes into a trance, asks Affa questions, and writes the answers down. When Neasham challenges Affa to appear in person or let them see his spaceship, Larsen stops writing and tells Neasham to go to the window. Lundahl sees nothing unusual, but Neasham insists a spaceship is hiding behind some fluffy clouds. He also insists that he later contacted Washington National Airport and heard from the radar tower that the sector where the UFO appeared had been “blocked out.” Neasham urges Project Blue Book’s Maj. Robert Friend to come over for a briefing. He shows up on July 9 and hears Neasham’s version of the story, and Larsen even channels some messages. Friend goes back to Dayton, Ohio, and prepares a memo for his boss. (Robert Emenegger, UFOs: Past, Present, and Future, Ballantine, 1974; Jacobs, UFO Controversy in America, Signet ed., 1976, pp. 153–154; Randall Fitzgerald, “Messages: The Case History of a Contactee,” Second Look 1, no. 12 (October 1979): 12–18, 28–29; Clark III 1118–1119; Clark IV 1243–1244)
July 8 — Night. Mrs. Napau Abednego and other indigenous people on Prince of Wales Island in the Torres Strait off Queensland, Australia, see a huge, glowing red object land on top of a hill at Port Lihou. The same night, residents of nearby Thursday Island see a green UFO flying low, and a strange object is also reported at Mapoon Mission on the west coast of Cape York. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1959 July–September, The Author, 2000, p. 13)
July 11 — 6:02 a.m. A Pan American Boeing Stratocruiser piloted by Capt. George Wilson flying over the Pacific Ocean about 1,035 miles northeast of Honolulu, Hawaii, encounters a large bright light with 3–4 satellite lights in a line below, behind, and to the left of the main object. It makes a sharp right turn and disappears to the south. Copilot Richard Lorenzen and Flight Engineer Bob Scott also see the UFOs. Another Pan Am flight sees essentially the same phenomenon, as well as an Air Force bomber crew, a Slick Airways plane, and a Canadian Pacific airliner. (“ PanAm Pilots Spot Bright Flying Object,” Richmond (Calif.) Independent, July 11, 1959, p. 1; “ Flying Objects Puzzle Pilots,” Duncan (Okla.) Banner, July 12, 1959, pp. 1, 10; “ Veteran Pilot Claims He Saw Flying Saucers Over Pacific,” Santa Cruz (Calif.) Sentinel, July 12, 1959, p. 6; “ Five Pan-Pacific Pilots Sight UAO,” APRO Bulletin, July 1959, pp. 1–2; UFOEv, p. 125; Covert 43)
July 13 — 5:30 a.m. Eileen Moreland, a farmwoman in Blenheim, New Zealand, goes to the barn to milk her cows and sees a huge object, about 20–30 feet in diameter, with two intense green lights on its underside descend towards her and hover at rooftop height. It bathes her in green light. Two rows of jets around the middle shoot out orange flames. She can see two men inside, dressed in close- fitting suits of shiny material and opaque helmets. The jets turn on again, the object tilts, and it shoots up vertically at great speed, making a high-pitched sound. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1959 July–September, The Author, 2000, pp. 25–28; Richard H. Hall, “ Dyad ‘Scout Craft,’” IUR 25, no. 4 (Winter 2000–2001): 23; UFOEv II 457–458; Patrick Gross, URECAT, November 2, 2006)
July 14 — 8:22 p.m. Larry Godwin of Salisbury, North Carolina, sees a flash of light and hears a loud vibrato noise. His TV set mysteriously goes dead. Six other families in the area either hear the sound or report interference with their lights and TV sets. ( Schopick, pp. 111–113; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1959 July–September, The Author, 2000, pp. 29–30)
July 20 — A shuttlecock-shaped UFO is seen over the RAAF Woomera Range Complex in South Australia. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 100)
July 27 — 2:00 a.m. Don George, 17, witnesses two lights moving at a high rate of speed to the east across the sky in Cashmere, Washington. He describes their movement as jerky and different from airplane lights. (“ Sky Objects Puzzle Lad,” Spokane (Wash.) Spokesman-Review, July 28, 1959, p. 6)
July 27 — The UFO Advisory Panel meets at Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio to discuss trends and statistics and recent sightings. (“ FTD UFO Panel (1959–1960),” National Archives; “ Saucer Reading Fest,” Saturday Night Uforia, January 25, 2019)
July 28 — 2:10 p.m. Ray Stanford and a friend simultaneously take 8mm and 16mm film footage of three cigar-shaped objects maneuvering in the sky above his parents’ home at 2629 Lynch Street, Corpus Christi, Texas. A fourth UFO appears about 5 minutes later. At one point a jet aircraft appears to alter its course to fly closer to one of the objects. ([ Blue Book film footage]; Ray Stanford, “ The July 28 Movies,” Saucers 7, no. 3/4 (Fall/Winter 1959/1960): 20–23; “ Out of the Past,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 5, no. 4 (Aug./Sept. 1984): 5–7; “ Out of the Past,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 5, no. 5 (Oct./Nov. 1984): 7–8)
August — Stan Seers, president of the Queensland Flying Saucer Research Bureau [now UFO Research Queensland], is contacted by a man who requests a meeting with him in a Brisbane car park and offers him important information on UFOs. At the meeting he finds out that the man is an agent of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, who indicates he knows quite a bit about the group and its officers. By suggesting that ASIO could offer them significant information, the agent subsequently infiltrates the group and causes dissension and confusion. Some QFSRB members are pacifists, apparently, and are seeking to contact Russian scientists about the UFO phenomenon through the Soviet cultural organization VOKS. (Good Above, pp. 164–166 Kremlin 137–144)
August - 2:00 p.m. A son and his father are driving near Skiatook, Oklahoma. Upon nearing a bridge, the car engine dies. Another car is stopped on the other side of the bridge with its hood up. They see a metallic, domed disc with a flexible hose hovering less than a foot above the water of a creek. They watch it for 5 minutes, then the hose draws in and the disk rises to 10 feet, disturbing the water's surface into a foot-deep trench. It flies upward and the cars start again. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1959 July-September, The Author, 2000, pp. 59-61; Michael D. Swords, " Messing Around with the Force," IUR 31, no. 4 (March 2008): 16-17)
August — Kathleen O’Rourke is asleep with her two children in her bedroom in New Matamoras, Ohio, when her son yells her awake. There are a dozen globes of yellow light circling about a foot above his bed. They are about 3 inches in diameter. Then a second group enters the room, passing through the screen. They split, half joining the first and half sailing over Kathleen. They all then move to her bed and circle above her. Not one of the lights goes to her daughter’s bed. She presses the light switch, and the lights turn into straight-edged streaks of light and disappear. There are no holes in the screens. (Michael D. Swords, “ A Trick of the Light,” IUR 31, no. 2 (June 2007): 10)
August 9 — 7:30 p.m. Petroleum engineer Armando Uribe is returning home from Cerro Sombrero, Tierra del Fuego, Chile, with his wife and an 11-year-old housemaid when their pickup runs out of fuel. As they are waiting for another vehicle, the girl spots a bright blue light around 7:54 p.m. that is swinging in the air with a pendulum-like motion. As it approaches, they see it is an object like a metallic egg standing on end with two shafts of white light projecting from the bottom. A rose-colored, rotating device is on top. The object makes a quick movement when Uribe gets out of the truck, but then moves closer. Uribe points a rifle at it, and it quickly recedes and disappears. (Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, pp. 14–16; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1959 July–September, The Author, 2000, pp. 53–54)
August 13 — 4:00 p.m. Pilot Jack H. Goldsberry, flying a Cessna 170 from Hobbs to Albuquerque, New Mexico, at 8,000 feet, notices halfway between Roswell and Corona, that his Magnesyn electric compass has suddenly moved around a slow 360° rotation in about 4–5 seconds. His other standard magnetic compass is spinning wildly. About this time, he sees three small, gray, and slightly fuzzy elliptical objects in close echelon formation passing in front from left to right and around his plane at a distance about 450–600 feet at a speed of about 200 mph. The Magnesyn compass follows the objects’ position as they circle the plane, and after one full circle they disappear to the rear. Then both compasses settle back to normal. The controller at Albuquerque cancels his flight plan and orders him to land at Kirtland AFB, where he is interrogated by a USAF major, who tells him that he might become ill from the experience. (NICAP, “ Former Navy PBY Pilot Encounter / EME”; Sparks, p. 278; “ AF Secretly Warns Pilot of Danger,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 1 (March/April 1965): 5; Schopick, pp. 127–128; Swords 287; Clark III 950; Clark IV 1064)
August 13 — Around 9:45 p.m. Orville Shanks is driving with three passengers on Highway 332 north of Freeport, Texas, when they see a bright object with two satellite lights approach at low altitude. The car motor stalls and the headlights go out. The two lights appear to land, the main object follows them, continually changing colors and varying the intensity of its light. The motor and lights come back on when the UFOs cross the road, and Shanks drives on. About midnight they return, and the object is still there. Shanks gets out and approaches, but the UFO starts glowing brightly and making a noise, and they drive off again. (“ Object Lands in Texas, U.S.,” APRO Bulletin, September 1959, p. 3; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1959 July–September, The Author, 2000, pp. 55–60)
August 17 — The automatic keys at the power station in Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil, suddenly disconnect power to all four trunk lines. A technician at a substation 45 miles away reports that all the keys disconnected as a UFO passes overhead, traveling toward the main station along the power lines. The chief engineer resets all the keys but they turn off again. Outside he sees a bright object approaching at high speed. As soon as it passes, the entire system returns to normal. (Lorenzen, FSHoax, pp. 179–180; Schopick, pp. 143–145; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 152–153; McCampbell, Ufology, 1976, pp. 65–66; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1959 July–September, The Author, 2000, pp. 66–67)
August 25 - 11:00 a.m. At Eveking, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, Lutz Holtman walks towards a bright object in a forest and faints after he gets close to it. When he regains consciousness, he sees the UFO take off silently and vertically. The object is circular, has a tripod landing gear and two rows of bright openings, and is about 90 feet in diameter. (Vallée, Magonia, p. 277)
September — Employees of Lockheed’s Skunk Works are the first to return to Area 51 in Nevada to develop an aircraft that will replace the U-2. The Archangel-12 (A-12) spy plane will be designed to reduce its radar cross section by 50%. Following tests with wooden models at Burbank, California, proof-of-concept tests are to be carried out at Area 51 with full-scale mockups elevated onto 50-foot pylons. The CIA program to develop the follow-on aircraft to the U-2 is code-named Project Oxcart. EG&G agrees to move its radar test facility here. (Jacobsen, Area 51, p. 131; Peter W. Merlin, “ Area 51 Timeline,” Secret Heroes, November 10, 2021)
September — Physicists Giuseppe Cocconi and Philip Morrison propose using the 21 cm hydrogen line to detect potential radio signals from interstellar civilizations. (Giuseppe Cocconi and Philip Morrison, “ Searching for Interstellar Communications,” Nature 184 (1959): 844–846)
September — Harvard University psychologist Henry Murray begins what are widely considered unethical experiments, in which he uses 22 Harvard undergraduates as research subjects in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Among other purposes, experiments focus on measuring people’s reactions under extreme stress. The unwitting undergraduates are submitted to what Murray calls “vehement, sweeping, and personally abusive” attacks. Specific, tailored assaults on their egos, cherished ideas, and beliefs are used to cause high levels of stress and distress. The subjects then repeatedly view recorded footage of their reactions to this verbal abuse. Among them is 17-year-old Ted Kaczynski, a mathematician who goes on to become the Unabomber, a domestic terrorist targeting academics and technologists for 18 years. Alston Chase’s book Harvard and the Unabomber connects Kaczynski’s abusive experiences under Murray to his later criminal career. His participation in these experiments and his service in the OSS have led many to believe that Murray was a part of the MK Ultra program. His experiments are not so much for observing stress reactions, but for a study of brainwashing and enhanced interrogation techniques. (Wikipedia, “ Henry Murray”; Alston Chase, Harvard and the Unabomber: The Education of an American Terrorist, Norton, 2003)
September 7 — 2:00 a.m. Rural mail carrier Walter E. Ogden sees a glowing, pumpkin-shaped object about 40 feet above the trees in his pasture at Wallingford, Kentucky. After a minute, a bluish blaze of fire comes from the bottom and it rises about 500 feet, leaving a circular smoke ring. It then zooms away horizontally. Six days later, a 12-foot depressed ring of scorched earth is discovered on the spot, along with a kerosene smell. Air Force investigators show up and declare it a hoax. (“ Ask Probe,” Park City Daily News (Bowling Green, Ky.), September 14, 1959, p. 5; “Rural Mailman Has UFO Proof,” Raleigh Register (Beckley, W.Va.), September 18, 1959, p. 7; “ APRO Studies Soil Samples from Eastern Landings,” APRO Bulletin, November 1959, pp. 1, 3–4; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1959 July–September, The Author, 2000, pp. 74–75, 77–80)
September 9 — The first Atlas-D ICBM is successfully launched at Vandenberg AFB [now Vandenberg Space Force Base] near Lompoc, California, and Gen. Thomas S. Power, CINCSAC, declares the first ICBM to be operational. Shortly afterward, the first operational Atlas-D ICBM squadron goes on alert at Francis E. Warren AFB, west of Cheyenne, Wyoming. It is equipped with six SM-65D Atlas missiles based in above-ground launchers. (Wikipedia, “ Vandenberg Space Force Base”; Wikipedia, “ SM-65 Atlas”)
September 13 — 9:58 p.m. A radar target is tracked at Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque, New Mexico, moving at 2,300 mph at an altitude of 60,000 feet and heading northwest. A total of four radar stations track the object. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 103)
September 14 — Air Force Regulation 200-2 is revised, with additional emphasis on reducing the number of unknowns. This version devotes five full paragraphs to public release of information, which is now restricted to the Secretary of the Air Force’s Office of Information Services at the Pentagon. Local base commanders can release information only if an object is positively identified. Air Force personnel are not to contact private individuals on UFO cases or discuss their operations unless ordered to. (“ USAF UFO Program,” September 28, 1959; Clark III 920–921, 922; Clark IV 1031, 1033)
September 14 — The CIA emphasizes antiradar study, aerodynamic structural tests, and engineering designs, selecting the Lockheed A-12 over rival Convair’s Kingfish. Edward Lovick’s suggestion for adding cesium to the A-12’s fuel in order to ionize the exhaust and mask it from radar is also persuasive. Lockheed has also added twin canted fins instead of a single right-angle one. Project Oxcart is officially established. The A-12 design, a combination of their A-7 and A-11 submissions, emphasizes low radar cross section, extremely high altitude, and high-speed performance. (Wikipedia, “ Lockheed A-12”)
September 17 —The first powered X-15 flight is piloted by Albert Scott Crossfield out of the Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards AFB, California. (Wikipedia, “ North American X-15”)
September 21 — The Air Technical Intelligence Center is renamed the Aerospace Technical Intelligence Center. (NASIC, “ National Air and Space Intelligence Center Heritage”)
September 24 - About 4:55 a.m. In Redmond, Oregon, police officer Robert Dickerson sees a bright white light rapidly descending north of the airport. It stops abruptly and hovers about 200 feet above ground for several minutes, lighting up the juniper trees below. Dickerson drives toward it on the Prineville Highway, then turns toward the airport. The object turns reddish-orange and moves rapidly to about 10 miles northeast of the airport to hover again. Dickerson arrives at the airport to report his sighting in person to the FAA Air Traffic Communication Station. Flight Service Specialist Laverne Wertz, Dickerson, and others view the object through binoculars as flat and round with occasional flames extending from its edge. The FAA reports the UFO to Seattle Air Route Control Center in Washington at 5:10 a.m., which in turn reports it to Hamilton AFB [now closed], Novato, California, which scrambles six F-102 jets from Portland to intercept the object. FAA station observers see the object hover and emit long tongues of red, yellow, and green light that extend and retract at irregular intervals. As the jets approach the object from the southeast, it turns into a mushroom shape, emits red and yellow flames from the lower side, and ascends rapidly, disappearing above scattered clouds at about 14,000 feet. The object's departure forces one F-102 to swerve to avoid collision. Another nearly loses control from the UFO's turbulent wake. The UFO is tracked on one F-102 gunsight radar, but the jets cannot intercept. The UFO reappears about 20 miles south of Redmond at about 25,000 feet. The Seattle Center reports at 6:20 a.m. radar contact with the object about 25 miles south. The USAF Air Defense Center radar site at Klamath Falls, Oregon, tracks a large target abruptly changing course and vectors B-47 and F-89 aircraft to identify it. Redmond FAA controllers lose sight of the object. Seattle FAA reports at 7:11 a.m. that Klamath Falls radar still is tracking it at 25 miles south of Redmond but varies in altitude from 6,000 to 52,000 feet. The Air Force claims the UFOs are caused by false radar returns, with excitable witnesses imagining the glow. But locals notice the FAA is checking for abnormal radioactivity, so the Air Force changes its explanation to weather balloon. After NICAP obtains FAA logs showing all the details, the Air Force again changes its explanation to Venus. (NICAP, " Huge Disc Sparks Scramble"; " Recent Sightings," APRO Bulletin, January 1960, p. 3; " Federal Aviation Agency Report Exposes AF Cover-Up," UFO Investigator 1, no. 9 (March 1960): 1-3; " Air Force Contradicts FAA Report," NICAP Special Bulletin, May 1960, p. 2; UFOEv, pp. 44, 48, 113-114, 138; Keyhoe, Aliens from Space, Signet ed., 1974, pp. 33-36; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1959 July-September, The Author, 2000, pp. 81-86; WFAA, Dallas, Texas, " Archive 1959: Fighter Jets Sent to Intercept Redmond UFO," May 12, 2016; Patrick Gross, " The Redmond UFO Incident, USA, September 24, 1959"; Wendy Connors, "Cops and Saucers: Law Enforcement and UFO's, 1957-1981 Guide," November 20, 2013, audioclip 5; " Redmonds, OR CE-II Case of 9-7-1959 - News Interviews," Ufology: A Primer in Audio, 1938-1959, November 21, 2013; Clark III 950; Clark IV 1064)
September 28 — ATIC issues a staff study by Col. Richard R. Shoop reassessing its UFO investigating role. It recommends that the UFO program be transferred to the Air Research and Development Command, which has better scientific capabilities, and then implement an effective public relations campaign with the goal of “the eventual elimination of the program as a special project.” (“ USAF UFO Program,” September 28, 1959; Jacobs, UFO Controversy in America, Signet ed., p. 151; “ Saucer Reading Fest,” Saturday Night Uforia, January 25, 2019)
September 29 — Maj. R. O. Braswell, flying an Air Force C-47 at 6,500 feet over Texas, sees a “large red fire” that looks like a mushroom cloud. It is 5° above his plane, with its base at 12,000–15,000 feet and its top at 16,000 feet. (Keyhoe, Aliens from Space, Signet ed., 1974, pp. 160–161)
September 29 — The first attempt to hover a tethered Avrocar is made. After the vehicle becomes airborne, an uncontrollable roll and pitch-coupled oscillation starts that forces each of the three wheels into the ground in turn. The pilot, W. D. “Spud” Potocki, immediately shuts down all engines. Changes are made to the stability system to provide more control authority, while new tethers are investigated to improve the ability to control the problem. (Wikipedia, “ Avro Canada VZ-9 Avrocar”)
September 30 — Night. During a training flight with a student over Poznań, Poland, a pilot named Leszczyński sees two large circles of light with another pair some 12 miles away. He makes a close approach, but one of the objects shoots off while the other grows dimmer. After a short while, the dark object moves away. (Poland 63)
October — NICAP continues collecting statements in preparation for potential congressional hearings. It gets statements from USAF pilot and UFO witness Lt. Col. Richard T. Headrick, Sgt. James H. Sawyer, and Sgt. Oliver Dean. (Keyhoe, FSTS, pp. 252–254; UFOEv, p. 25)
October — 10:00 a.m. Fr. Raimundo Nascimento Teixeira, a professor at Don Bosco College, is walking in the Núcleo Bandeirante region in Brasília, Federal District, Brazil, when he sees a crowd watching a strange object moving and stopping in the blue sky. He sees a student of his with a box camera, and he takes six photos of what he calls a flying saucer. A few days later, Teixeira meets with another witness, Israel Pinheiro, president of the New Building Company, who takes the negatives of his three best photos to forward to the Brazilian Navy for analysis. A few months later, the Navy returns different photos and offers no technical report. (Roberto Affonso Beck, “ Um Fenômeno Desafiador,” September 2005, pp. 35–36; Clark III 197; Clark IV 233)
October 1 — 9:20 a.m. A radar target moving at 719 mph on a northwest course is tracked at Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque, New Mexico. At 10:29 a.m., another radar target is detected moving at 1,000 mph to the northwest. Its altitude is 41,000 feet. Two F-89J Scorpion fighters are scrambled to intercept it but they can see nothing. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 103–104)
October 2 — 12:20 a.m. For three hours, a Hercules radar site (#13) at McChord AFB [now Joint Base Lewis-McChord] near Tacoma, Washington, tracks a total of five objects that usually appear in pairs. The radar returns are said to be “weak.” Visually, at least one soundless, round. “quarter sized,” blue-white light is seen in the sky. ARTC reports no air traffic in the area of the radar site during the time of contact. The first object on radar is seen at 10° elevation. The last object seen on radar was at 20° elevation. The visual object is at 10° degrees elevation. When last observed, the visual object is 20° elevation. Flight patterns are erratic. Range changes from 12,000 feet to 24,000 feet, and azimuth from 190° to 170°. Objects seem to fade from the scope and visual contact when finally lost. Visual contact is disrupted by intermittent fog. (NICAP, “ Hercules Site Tracks Objects for Three Hours”; Condon, pp. 145–148; Swords 287)
October 6 — 8:15 p.m. Selective Service Lt. Col. L. Liggett and his wife and son watch a round, white-yellow light make several abrupt turns at high speed for 2 minutes from their home in the southeast portion of Lincoln, Nebraska. The object is about the size of a dime at arm’s length. ( Sparks, p. 281; Olsen, sec. 3, pp. 68–69)
October 8 — Night. Two amateur astronomers in Mobile, Alabama, observe an unknown object traverse the Moon’s disk from west to east directly over the crater Copernicus. They watch the fast-moving shape “every night the weather permitted for a period of 33 days.” They write to Project Moonwatch about the observations, but they reply that no other lunar observers have seen the phenomenon, so it must be closer to the Mobile observers. (Michael D. Swords, “ Gazing at the Moons,” IUR 32, no. 4 (October 2009): 15)
October 12 — 1:00 p.m. Multiple witnesses at Washington, Sharon, and Crawfordville, Georgia, watch “brown or black footballs” traveling southeast to west, followed by angel hair covering a vast area. The substance consists of “threads from 10ʹ to 50ʹ long connected at ¾ʺ intervals by minute particles resembling snowflakes.” The material falls for about 2 hours. Five samples are collected and sent to the Chemicals and Materials Laboratory at Robins AFB, Georgia. No unusual elements are discovered except for high amounts of silver in one and some silver in three others. The conjecture is that “cloud seeding with a silver salt could have caused the phenomenon.” (Brian Boldman, “ Angel Hair Physical Analyses: A Review,” JUFOS 9 (2006): 103–104)
October 13 — In his syndicated column, Joseph Alsop goes so far as to describe “classified intelligence” as placing the Soviet missile count as high as 1,500 by 1963, and the US will have only 130 at that time. (Joseph Alsop, “ True Missile Gap Picture Belies Pentagon Response,” Eugene (Oreg.) Register-Guard, October 13, 1959, p. 10)
October 22 - Night. Three witnesses are driving through Cumberland, Maryland, when they see a metallic disc emitting a bluish-green light around its edge. The driver abruptly stops, but leaves the car running. Suddenly the object drops down to 50 feet altitude and hovers 100 feet away in front of the car, making a humming vibration. As two of the witnesses open the door to get out, the car engine, lights, and radio fail. Shortly afterward, the disc shoots straight up, then forward, makes a 90° angle, then disappears in clouds. The car begins functioning normally again. (Whitney Bolton, " Looking Sideways," Santa Ana (Calif.) Register, November 5, 1959, p. D2; Schopick, pp. 67-68; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 104-105)
Late October - 6:55 p.m. Electrician Gideon Johansson is at home in Mariannelund, Småland, Sweden, when there is a power failure. He goes outside to look at the power lines when he bumps into his son Rolf, who points out a brilliant white object hovering above a three-story building. The object descends slowly and appears to be heading toward Johansson's garden. The machine oscillates three times and smashes into the top of a maple tree, descends through the branches and hovers about 18 inches above the ground. Only about 10 feet away, Johansson can see the object has a large window, through which two entities are visible. Their heads have high crown and they have big, friendly eyes. They have mall mouths and pointed chins and are wearing white uniforms with broad black belts. One seems to be working at an instrument panel. They are only the size of a 14-year-old. Soon the object moves up and shoots away in a flash. Glassy deposits are found on some power lines in addition to the damaged tree, and Johansson gets prickly pains in his lower body. (Anders Liljegren, " Mariannelund UFO and Occupants," Flying Saucer Review 16, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1970): 14-17)
November 2 — 12:00 noon. A substance described as angel hair falls from two UFOs seen in Evora, Portugal, and is collected and analyzed under a microscope by a school director, Dr. Amaral, and later by armed forces technicians and scientists at the University of Lisbon. The scientists conclude that the substance is produced by a small insect or some strange kind of single-celled organism about 4 millimeters in length. (Hayley Price, “ Evora Angel Hair,” UFO Weekly News; Nicole Guardiola, “ An Extraterrestrial Living Being, Captured and Studied Eighteen Years Ago,” translated from El País, October 13, 1978)
November 2 — Otto Struve, director of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory at Green Bank, West Virginia, announces in a lecture at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that he is certain there billions of planets in the Milky Way that could support intelligent life: “Whether it is human life, we don’t know, but I feel sure there is some form of life.” (“ Believes There Is Form of Life in Outer Space,” New Castle (Pa.) News, November 4, 1959, p. 8)
November 3 — Two businessmen driving between Woodlands and Kennington, New Zealand, watch a glowing 40-foot-long object with a balloon-like attachment on the underside hovering just above the trees. As they approach it in their car, it speeds off to the north. (“ New Zealand: Businessmen Frightened,” Flying Saucer Review 6, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1960): 17–18; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 100)
November 8 - A large, luminous object is seen moving at great speed over Kandahar, Afghanistan, to the northwest. Shortly afterward it explodes with a loud roar in nearby mountains, causing some slight earth tremors. Possible Russian missile test. (Good Above, p. 308)
November 16 — 8:00 p.m. Czech Air Force officer Commander Duchoň is driving with another officer named Bezák to a Czechoslovakian airfield [now in the Czech Republic] to supervise night-flying exercises. At about 6 miles from the airfield, the car engine begins to stall. Suddenly they see a light sapphire-colored band moving at high speed at an altitude of 1,600–2,600 feet. It is completely silent. Some minutes later they are able to start the car again. Personnel at the airfield tell them they had seen a flaming ball that rotated, made a 90° turn, and passed over the airfield again. The tower tracks the object on radar at an altitude of 3,000 feet during its second pass. The object is about 500 feet in diameter with a glowing ring around it. (“ Saucers and the Iron Curtain: A Report from Czechoslovakia,” Flying Saucer Review 6, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1960): 31–32)
December — The new edition of Ruppelt’s The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects is published with three new UFO debunking chapters, the last of which is completely different in tone from the rest of the book. He claims there is no Air Force secrecy on UFOs and NICAP is just a bunch of grandstanding nuts. (Michael Hall and Wendy Connors, “ The Forgotten Letters of Edward J. Ruppelt,” IUR 24, no. 4 (Winter 1999): 20–26, 30, 32; Swords 301; Clark III 1024; Powell, Keyhoe, 281–286; Clark IV 1138)
December — 5:45 a.m. Larry Jensen is driving to work on US Highway 99 near Proberta, California, when his radio begins making “snapping” noises, and his lights dim. He pulls over to the side of the road and gets out to check his headlights, which he finds are shining feebly. He notices a huge, bright, bluish-green, crescent-shaped object hovering about 60 feet above the road a quarter of a mile behind him. It appears to be 80–90 feet across and 15–20 feet thick. Suddenly and inexplicably, he finds his clothes are soaked and he feels an alarming feeling as if he is getting crushed inside. He also feels as if he is being sucked up into the object. He grabs for a car door, then collides with a side mirror and staggers backward, but manages to get inside. Looking out the right-door window, he sees the UFO a few miles away, heading northeast and climbing at a shallow angle over the Sierra foothills. It vanishes within 10 seconds. Jensen’s car lights come back on. He resumes driving, but 600 feet away is forced to stop because he smells burning rubber. The battery caps are blown out, and the battery is swollen out of shape, the generator is not working, and the armature and field wires have melted together. Later, he finds it odd that he has not encountered another single car during or after the episode. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1959 October– December, The Author, 2000, pp. 56–59; Clark III 866; Clark IV 961)
December 2 - A bright, circular object is seen in the sky heading southwest over Ghazni, Afghanistan. It disappears after 2 minutes. (Good Above, p. 308)
December 13 — Early evening. A rocket project officer at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, is out looking at the Moon with binoculars when a lighted object approaches the Moon very slowly in the six o’clock position. Once nearly in line with the lunar edge, it begins a precision journey, skirting the edge until it reaches three o’clock. It then leaves on a straight track directly away. During the observation, the man calls his wife and two neighbors to watch the performance. (Michael D. Swords, “ Gazing at the Moons,” IUR 32, no. 4 (October 2009): 14–15)
Late December — 10:00 p.m. Lorentz Johnsen sees a dark, silent object with a row of windows fly slowly by at an altitude of 500 feet, headed in the direction of Namsenfjorden, Trøndelag, Norway. It descends to about 160 feet, grows fiery red, then explodes with a crash and falls into the water. He says that it looks like a cover is torn off in one piece like a “curved sheet of metal.” (Ole Jonny Brænne, “ Observations of Unidentified Submarine Objects in Norway,” IUR 20, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1995): 13)
December 23 - 12:07 a.m. Kenneth Lindsley Jr. is near the intersection of Claribel Road and McHenry Avenue just north of Modesto, California, when he sees a bright orange "bowl- shaped" object descending toward him from about 2,000 feet. It drops to about 20 feet above the road, where it stays for about 2 minutes before ascending again. The object makes another appearance at 12:45 a.m. when he is walking further south near the new McHenry Bowl. Estelle Hendershott also sees a bright, stationary object above Modesto at 12:15 a.m. (" Bright Orange `Thing in Sky' Calls for Explanation," Modesto (Calif.) Bee, December 24, 1959, p. 1; " Women Report Seeing Bright Object in Sky," Modesto (Calif.) Bee, December 27, 1959, p. C-1; " Bowl-Shaped Object in Central California," APRO Bulletin, January 1960, p. 3)
Late December - 10:00 p.m. Lorentz Johnsen sees a dark, silent object with a row of windows fly slowly by at an altitude of 500 feet, headed in the direction of Namsenfjorden, Trondelag, Norway. It descends to about 160 feet, grows fiery red, then explodes with a crash and falls into the water. He says that it looks like a cover is torn off in one piece like a "curved sheet of metal." (Ole Jonny Brænne, " Observations of Unidentified Submarine Objects in Norway," IUR 20, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1995): 13)
December 23 — 12:07 a.m. Kenneth Lindsley Jr. is near the intersection of Claribel Road and McHenry Avenue just north of Modesto, California, when he sees a bright orange “bowl-shaped” object descending toward him from about 2,000 feet. It drops to about 20 feet above the road, where it stays for about 2 minutes before ascending again. The object makes another appearance at 12:45 a.m. when he is walking further south near the new McHenry Bowl. Estelle Hendershott also sees a bright, stationary object above Modesto at 12:15 a.m. (“ Bright Orange ‘Thing in Sky’ Calls for Explanation,” Modesto (Calif.) Bee, December 24, 1959, p. 1; “ Women Report Seeing Bright Object in Sky,” Modesto (Calif.) Bee, December 27, 1959, p. C-1; “ Bowl-Shaped Object in Central California,” APRO Bulletin, January 1960, p. 3)
December 24 — Maj. Gen. Richard E. O’Keefe, acting inspector general of the Air Force, issues instructions pertaining to “UFO business” to every air base commander in the US. The document is not intended for public distribution, but NICAP obtains a copy. Across the top are the words “UFOs Serious Business.” It says that UFOs “must be rapidly and accurately identified as serious USAF business in the ZI [Zone of Interior]” and specifies that UFO investigators “should be equipped with binoculars, camera, Geiger counter, magnifying glass and have a source for containers in which to store samples.” O’Keefe asks that UFO explanations be “reasonable and knowledgeable.” (“ AF General Warns UFO’s Serious, Will Increase,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 9 (March 1960): 1, 3; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1959 October–December, The Author, 2000, pp. 61, 65–66; Good Need, pp. 226, 229; Swords 286)
1960
Jim Lorenzen is hired as senior technical associate with the Kitt Peak National Observatory, so he and Coral move to Tucson, Arizona, from Alamogordo, New Mexico. On their third day in Tucson, an “exterminator” visits them, offering to inspect their rented premises for free. He fails to mention the name of his company, nor does he seem interested in his occupation. He talks with Coral about their reason for moving, where Jim is employed, and UFOs. (Lorenzen, Encounters with UFO Occupants, Berkley Medallion, 1976, pp. 3, 251; Clark III 50; Clark IV 68)
1960 — Night. During a pause in army maneuvers near Brno [now in the Czech Republic], soldiers see a peculiarly colored light above the city. After hovering a while, it vanishes but reappears in another part of the sky. Their commanding officer tells them to look at it with binoculars and check the radar. Headquarters sends up interceptors to chase the object, but every time one of them gets near, the light disappears from the radar screen, only to turn up elsewhere. The incident goes on for an hour before the light disappears for good. (Hobana and Weverbergh 90)
1960 — Night. A3C Larry W. Rogers, assigned to the USAF 3926th Air Police Squadron K-9 at Ben Guerir Air Base in Morocco, and five other members of his squadron are on guard at the north end of the base runway shortly after one of the French nuclear tests in the Reggane District of Algeria. They notice a group of small, glowing objects hovering above the Atlas Mountains to the southeast. After calling the observation in to their command post, they see 4–5 fighter jets launched from Zaragoza Air Base in Spain streaking toward the lights. As they approach, the lights suddenly begin moving around erratically, making sharp-angled turns and full circles. The encounter lasts 45 minutes, after which the jets return to Spain. The K-9 squadron is taken to headquarters for a debriefing, and Rogers is ordered to sign a non-disclosure statement. (Robert Hastings, “ UFOs Observed by U.S. Air Force Security Guards during French Atomic Testing in Algeria,” UFOs & Nukes blog, February 7, 2013)
1960 or 1961 — A woman and her father are driving along State Highway 2 near Point Pleasant, West Virginia, when a human-like figure appears in the road in front of them. She slows down and sees that it is gray and large. A pair of huge wings unfolds from its back and it takes off straight up and disappears in seconds. (John Keel, The Mothman Prophecies, Saturday Review, Tor ed., 2001, pp. 33–34; Clark III 779; Clark IV 860)
January 18 — 11:00 a.m. Lorna Nelson, wife of the Rev. Robert A. Nelson, Methodist minister at Kollupitiya, Colombo, Sri Lanka, is at Devon Cottage in Nuwara Eliya when she sees a cigar-shaped object flying high in the sky. The object is moving toward the east and descending in a cloudless sky. At arm’s length the object measures about 4 inches. Mrs. Nelson watches it for about 4 minutes and then rushes into the house for her binoculars. When she returns, the object is lower in the sky about the hills in the east. Two other people with her also witness the object. (“ Ceylon: Cigar Shape,” Flying Saucer Review 6, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1960): 22)
January 18 — 10:45 p.m. Leo Haley and Bert C. Baker are driving on US Highway 2, some 9 miles west of Lakota, North Dakota, when the headlights dim just as a brilliant green flash lights up the sky. In a field to the north about 1 mile away they can see a 5–6 foot crescent- shaped object with a 9-foot exhaust tail. (“ Report Seeing Bright Object Fall in Field,” Grand Forks (N.Dak.) Herald, January 21, 1960, p. 5; UFOEv, p. 75; Schopick, p. 69)
January 30 - Two Argentine Navy patrol ships allegedly detect two unknown underwater objects by sonar in the Golfo Nuevo, Chubut, Argentina. One object is lying on the seabed and the other is circling it. Two anti-submarine ships are summoned, and they drop depth charges. Both objects surface and race toward the entrance of the bay, with the Argentine ships firing on them. They dived back underwater, and the naval sonar detects four objects, then six. As they approach the anti-submarine nets at the entrance of the bay, some kind of explosion dismantles the ships’ sonar systems. (Nikolai Nepomniaschii, Iz Sekretnikh Arkhivov Razvedok Mira [From the Secret Archives of the World Intelligence Services], 1998); Vladimir G. Azhazha and Evgeny P. Litvinov, Подводные НЛО: Загадочные места мира [Underwater UFOs], 2015; Dolan, USO1, 210–211)
February — The US Navy reportedly detects a “dark satellite” thought to be a Soviet spy satellite in orbit. However, a follow-up article alleges that the object was “the remains of an Air Force Discoverer VIII satellite that had gone astray.” (“ Trackers Spot Mystery Object Orbiting Earth,” Washington (D.C.) Evening Star, February 11, 1960; Wikipedia, “ Corona (satellite)”)
February 5 - 11:15 p.m. Many people see a distinctly round UFO hover and maneuver slowly over or near the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and La Brea Avenue in Hollywood, California. Cars are stopped bumper-to-bumper, according to employees of several businesses around the intersection, with people gaping at the object overhead. Persons on hotel and apartment rooftops go out to see a bright "cherry-red, circular light." Two service-station attendants at the intersection, Jerry Darr and Charles Walker, say that "hundreds of people saw it- everybody was looking" as the light hovers for at least 5 minutes over a busy drive-in. Pen Meyer, another service station attendant a third of a mile to the north, watches it hovering for about 10 minutes. Harold Sherman, his wife, and two others watch it as it resumes motion very slowly eastward. After proceeding east for a distance of a block or two, it veers southeastward and passes out of sight. No sound is heard over street-noise background. (Los Angeles NICAP Subcommittee case files; James E. McDonald, " Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects," in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, pp. 54-57
February 6 — 11:15 p.m. The red object reappears over Hollywood, California, this time about one block further east, above Sunset Boulevard and Sycamore Avenue. A number of witnesses observe it hovering for about 10 minutes at an altitude of 500–600 feet. Then with a loud explosion it emits a brilliant bluish-white flash that extends downward and to the west, lighting up the ground all around La Brea Avenue. A mushroom-shaped cloud appears and dissipates. As the red light is extinguished, an object described by most witnesses as long, tubular, and about 70 feet long shoots upwards. A few seconds later, the red light appears about 1,000 feet above Sunset and La Brea for about 8 minutes. It then begins drifting slowly eastward, turns sharply toward the north-northeast, accelerates and climbs steeply, not stopping again until it is at a very high altitude well to the north. (Los Angeles NICAP Subcommittee case file; James E. McDonald, “ Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, pp. 54–57)
February 14 - 4:40 p.m. A silver, cigar-shaped object streaks across the sky over Nome, Alaska, following a curved flight path. (" Probe Mystery Flying Object," Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner, February 16, 1960, p. 1; " Second Alaska Sighting in Three Weeks," APRO Bulletin, March 1960, p. 2; " Other Recent Sightings," UFO Investigator 1, no. 9 (March 1960): 8; UFOEv, p. 138)
February 16 — 9:15 a.m. Retired industrial chemist Earl T. Ross sees an oval, light- colored object moving steadily toward the east from his home in Laguna Beach, California. Two seconds later, a similar object, wobbling on its axis, approaches and overtakes the first from a position lower in the sky, taking up a steady position behind and to the right of the first. Both objects move toward the hills on the horizon in about 8–10 seconds. (UFOEv, pp. 67–68)
February 22 — 5:30 p.m. Five people see a formation of circular, whitish UFOs that make a loud noise as they speed overhead at Sarnia, Ontario. Canadian National Railway employees say the objects are definitely not helicopters. One witness describes the sound they make as “whirling dynamos.” They move in formation on two levels, each projecting a beam of light toward the ground. (“ Other Recent Sightings,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 9 (March 1960): 8)
Early March? — Some Athabaskan-speaking First Nations scouts report to the mounted police that a flying saucer has crashed in heavy forest along the Fraser River near Agassiz, British Columbia. They refer to the object as a “sasquatch ship,” and it is said to be circular, about 600 feet in diameter, and made of white metal. The scouts say that it glows at night. (“ Canada: Athabasca Sasquatch Ship,” Flying Saucer Review 6, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1960): 22; Carl Feindt, “ Report #264,” waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 211–213)
March 4 — 5:55 p.m. Charles R. Morris and his wife, while watching his flying students perform aerobatics in Dubuque, Iowa, observe three elliptical UFOs moving in a line, glowing blue-white, and arcing from the southeast to the northeast. Morris runs inside to retrieve his camera, but his 8 mm Kodachrome film fails to capture them. The objects travel across an arc of about 135° over four minutes before disappearing while climbing slightly. NICAP member Alexander D. Mebane interviews Morris a few days later, confirming additional details. The UFOs, at their largest, appear to be about one-eighth the apparent size of the moon, produce no sound, and leave no trails. The third object occasionally lags behind. The Air Force interrogates Morris and informs him that no aircraft were scheduled in the area. He checks with Cedar Rapids Air Traffic Control, which confirms the same. ( Sparks, p. 283; “ Iowan Photographs 3 Flying Objects,” Council Bluffs (Iowa) Daily Nonpareil, March 6, 1960, p. 4C; UFOEv, p. 40; Kevin D. Randle, “UFOs Caught by the Movie Camera,” Official UFO, Fall 1976, p. 72)
March 6 — 5:15–5:27 a.m. Photographer Esse Jansson of Norrtälje, Sweden, goes out early in the morning to try to take a photo of an unidentified satellite, termed 1960 Alpha [however, the designation of 1960 Alpha 1 is reserved for the Pioneer 5 space probe, which isn’t launched until March 11], “which was expected to pass the Stockholm latitude in a southerly direction about 0525 hours.” He sees two objects that come from the north and move in a southeasterly direction. They are similar to phenomena he has seen before, but these objects reverse direction completely. One of his plates shows a third object. The CIA takes note of this and another mystery satellite viewed by a Swedish airplane and reported in Dagens Nyheter, March 8. ([ Light in the Sky New Satellite, Experts Believe], Dagens Nyheter (Stockholm), March 10, 1960; Central Intelligence Agency, “ UFO’s Sighted, Photographed in Sweden; Unidentified Satellite Seen,” FDD Note 1107, March 17, 1960; E. Jensen, “ Lidt Rapportnyt fra Sverige,” UFO-Nyt, June 1961, p. 112; “ Weltrundschau,” Weltraumbote, no. 60/61 (1961): 19–20; ClearIntent, p. 138)
March 24 - Two policemen are in the vicinity of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport in Missouri, one on the north side, the other on the south side. A bright light illuminates the entire area. Three objects in a V-formation whisk overhead. They are round, white, and 9 feet in diameter. (Swords 293)
April 25 - 9:00 p.m. Former town selectman Arnold W. Spencer watches a bright cigar- shaped object, "dark scarlet as the deepest red in a rainbow," hovering above Plymouth, New Hampshire. It is hanging low in the eastern sky, with vertical bands of pulsating light visible along its length. After 25 seconds, the UFO suddenly moves off silently toward the south at high speed, illuminating the branches of trees as it passes. (UFOEv, p. 68)
May 4 — 9:15 a.m. S. B. Parker Jr., an architect in Sarasota, Florida, sees a yellow, elliptical object with four evenly spaced, square windows. The object moves out of sight to the south at tree-top level within seconds. (UFOEv, p. 147; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: January–June 1960, The Author, 2003, pp. 82–83)
May 4 — 9:15 p.m. Charles S. Oates, chief technician at Charles Hayden Planetarium in Boston, and his wife Ruth observe a dark red spherical UFO in the eastern sky near their home in Bedford, Massachusetts. Moments earlier, Oates notices two bright white lights appearing and disappearing quickly, one after the other, in the same area. The sphere hovers at about 50° elevation near the constellation Boötes, pulsating from red to white and back to red. While Oates attempts to call other planetarium staff, his wife continues watching the object until it suddenly vanishes after about five minutes. (“ Sightings Increase As Mars Approaches Earth,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 10 (July/Aug. 1960): 5)
May 13 - 7:00 p.m. More than 100 people at Paracuru, Ceará, Brazil, watch a disc-shaped UFO. Flying about 600 feet in the air at low speed, the silent object maneuvers over the downtown area or a long time. About 60 feet in diameter, it hovers at an angle by a church. A strong bluish light is on top of it. The same day, 20 cities and towns in Céara state, four in Rio Grande do Norte, three in Pernambuco, two in Paraíba, two in Bahia, and one each in the states of Piauí and Maranhao report UFO sightings. (Olavo Fontes, " Orthoteny in Brazil, Part II," APRO Bulletin, September 1960, p. 5; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 220-221; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: January-June 1960, The Author, 2003, pp. 92-93)
May 14 — 4:00 a.m. Fisherman Raimundo Ursulino dos Santos sees two metallic discs landed on a sandy hill by the beach at Paracuru, Ceará, Brazil. As he approaches, he sees two humanlike beings outside, talking to each other. They are small and pallid. One is dressed in a blue suit with a helmet. Dos Santos turns and runs away. Marks in the sand are found later. (Olavo Fontes, “ Orthoteny in Brazil, Part II,” APRO Bulletin, September 1960, p. 5; Lorenzen, FSHoax, p. 200; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: January–June 1960, The Author, 2003, p. 93; Patrick Gross, URECAT, September 29, 2007)
May 19 — A silver-colored round object, 20–25 feet wide with hanging appendages, hovers 50–100 feet away from Indigenous observers in the village of Ekuk, Alaska, south of Dillingham. It barely clears electric wires 12 feet above the ground. It sucks up two empty five-gallon trashcans and drags them swirling along the ground. It flies between two houses and crosses to the other side of a ridge for 100 yards, drops the trashcans and sucks up some swirling grass, makes a loud sucking sound, then ascends rapidly. Thomas M. Conrow, chief of intelligence at a nearby Air Force Base, interviews the witnesses and concludes that “there still appears to be no logical explanation of the sighting.” At Wright Patterson AFB, Blue Book analysts classify it as a “weather balloon with a radar reflector,” even though it is traveling against the wind. ( Sparks, p. 284; Hynek UFO Report, pp. 146–149; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: January–June 1960, The Author, 2003, pp. 99–101; Clark III 920; Clark IV 1030–1031)
May 22 — 9:33 a.m. An observatory on Majorca, Balearic Islands, Spain, sees a white, triangular object one-quarter the size of the moon spinning on its own axis and maintaining a steady course. It cables a report to NASA in Washington, D.C. (UFOEv, p. 123)
Summer — 2:00 a.m. Two brothers are alerted by their journalist relative about an elusive UFO that local police in Walkerton, Ontario, have been pursuing for about an hour. They drive out along country roads until they get within 300 feet of the object, which is hovering around a large tree. The object is circular and apparently about 3 feet in diameter. It is very bright and changes color repeated. It then circles the tree purposefully for several minutes. The brothers climb a fence and approach it, but the UFO suddenly accelerates and disappears to the south. (J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 54–56)
June 1 — Bulkley Griffin, chief of the Worcester (Mass.) Evening Gazette’s Washington, D.C., Bureau, writes a well- reasoned story about the Air Force’s unilateral control of UFO information and its national security implications. He quotes Adm. Hillenkoetter’s opinion that UFOs are intelligently controlled and are neither US nor USSR devices, which is why he is pushing for a Congressional investigation. (Bulkley Griffin, “ Admiral Urges Congress to Probe Flying Saucers,” Springfield (Mass.) Morning Union, June 18, 1960, p. 10; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: January–June 1960, The Author, 2003, pp. 111–112)
June 22 - 6:20 p.m. John Person is setting up camp at Clan Lake, Northwest Territories, on a prospecting expedition and is waiting for his partner. He hears a noise like an aircraft approaching and something bounces on the ground and hits the surface of the lake about 1,700 feet behind him. Person sees an object 4-6 feet wide with arms or spokes is rotating rapidly in the water, but gradually slows down and stops spinning. When his partner arrives, they get into a canoe and travel to the impact area. They find an area of burned grass and another area where grass it cut up in small pieces. They use a pole to probe the lake bottom and find a channel that is one foot deeper at one end and three feet deeper at the other, RCMP Cpl. Matheson flies to the lake in a seaplane on July 19 and August 15 and finds the impact area as Person has described but no submerged object. (Royal Canadian Mounted Police, " Report of Strange Object Striking Clan Lake, Clan Lake Dist., N.W.T.," July 19, July 25, and August 25, 1960; " Did a UFO Crash at Clan Lake?" Mikey McBryan YouTube channel, October 2, 2020; Chris Rutkowski, Canada's UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 98-102)
July 1 — 10:30 a.m. Four witnesses at the Leefe Mine in Lincoln County, Wyoming, see a shiny disc move in from the south and hover above a slag heap. It has a diameter of at least 185 feet and is 14 feet thick. Five transparent bubbles are visible on the bottom as it rocks gently before moving off to the south at high speed. (“ UAO Hovers over Slag Dump,” APRO Bulletin, July 1960, p. 1; “ AF Says No File on Leefe Case,” APRO Bulletin, September 1960, p. 2; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 221)
July 2 — Early morning. A couple driving in the vicinity of Kankakee, Illinois, see the landscape light up with a bright blue light as a ball of fire approaches out of the south. It passes above their car dragging a trail of bluish light behind it. The inside of the car heats up uncomfortably, waking up their daughter and her husband who are asleep in the back. The light gradually fades and disappears in the north. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 221–223)
July 3 - 4:30 p.m. Argentine Air Force Capt. Hugo F. Niotti is driving north near Villa General Belgrano, Córdoba, Argentina, when he notices a dark object hovering to the right of the road. He stops his car, grabs his camera, and takes a photo of the object, which is moving slowly over a field. As he is winding the film to take another shot, the object accelerates and disappears into the clouds. The photo shows a conical object low above the ground, as well as a horse whose attention is attracted to the object. Analysis shows that the object is about 23 feet high, 20 feet in diameter, and 56 feet above the ground. (Guillermo C. Roncoroni and Gustavo J. Alvarez, " Foto de OVNI Avalada por la Fuerza Aerea Argentina," UFO Press 1, no. 3 (April 1977): 32-38; " Cone-Shaped UFO Photographed in Argentina," CUFOS Associate Newsletter 1, no. 8 (December 1980): 1; Johannes Koch, " Correspondence," CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 2 (February 1981): 2; Willy Smith, " The Yacanto, Cordoba, Argentina, Photograph, 07-03-1960," UFO Casebook; Willy Smith, "UFOs in Latin America," UFOs 1947-1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, pp. 104-106)
July 24 — 8:45 p.m. While State Policeman Fred Porcello is playing in the yard with his children in Portville, New York, his youngest son Fred Jr., 7, points out two lights in the sky. Porcello looks and sees two glowing reddish objects moving toward them in the southern sky. When not glowing, they appear to be dumbbell-shaped, silvery, and metallic. They change course to the north-northwest, then stop and hover, followed by a sharp right turn to the east. Then they swing back toward the south and move out of sight. The objects are visible 4–5 minutes. (UFOEv, p. 64)
August 11 - 3:10 p.m. Ray Hawks is operating a farm tractor at Left Hand Canyon near Altona, Colorado, when he hears a muffled explosion. Looking up, he watches a disc dropping vertically out of the cloud cover. It stops in midair about 650 feet away from him and 200 feet above the ground, wobbling a bit. When it stabilizes, he sees it looks like two concave discs joined together at the rim and dull aluminum in color. Bluish smoke is issuing from an apparent gap in its surface. An electric hum seems to come from inside the object. The section where the smoke is issuing is withdrawn inside, and a new section appears to replace it, settling in with a click. The hum increases in intensity, and the object appears to be surrounded by a heat haze. It then shoots up into the clouds and vanishes. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 223-225)
August 13–14 — 11:50 p.m.–2:05 a.m. California Highway Patrol officers Charles A. Carson and Stanley E. Scott are on patrol on a rural road 2 miles east of Corning, south of Red Bluff, California, when they see what they think at first is an airliner about to crash. It turns out to be a maneuvering, silent, football-shaped object, perhaps 150 feet long, with a red light at each end and as many as five white lights, descending to 100–200 feet altitude. Instead of reaching the ground, the object suddenly reverses course, climbs to 500 feet, and hovers. The officers radio the Tehama County sheriff’s office, and the dispatcher alerts all police cars in the area. The object starts moving towards them to a distance of 450 feet and sweeps the ground with a red beam apparently 6 feet in diameter that projects from the red lights on the end and flashes occasionally. Static appears on the police radio. When Scott switches on the patrol car’s own red beam and directs it at the object, it moves away instantly and drifts east. Carson and Scott try to follow in the patrol car as the object moves sometimes slowly, at other times swiftly, then they continue to watch it from an unoccupied fire tower. It is joined by a similar object from the south, then it disappears in the east. A duty officer at the Red Bluff Air Force Station [now closed] confirms tracking the UFO at the time but the commanding officer, Maj. Malden Leroy, denies it the next day. Two Tehama County sheriff’s officers on patrol see the object from a distance at Los Molines, and police dispatcher Clarence Fry in Red Bluff goes outside the station with four others to observe the lighted object. Other witnesses in the area continue to report odd lights and objects through August 19. (NICAP, “ Red Bluff Incident”; Sparks, p. 284; “ Mystery Flying Object Puzzles,” Red Bluff (Calif.) Daily News, August 16, 1960, p. 1; “ 6 ‘Objects’ Fly Formation near Mineral Lodge,” Red Bluff (Calif.) Daily News, August 17, 1960, p. 1; “ ‘Flying Object’ Identified Here,” Eureka (Calif.) Humboldt Standard, August 17, 1960, p. 1; “ Sonoma Officer Latest to See Flying Saucer,” Oakland (Calif.) Tribune, August 17, 1960, p. 30D; “ More Objects in Sky? New Reports Are Made,” Sacramento (Calif.) Bee, August 17, 1960, p. C3; Charles Driscoll, “ Earthmen Watch Sky and Wonder,” Sacramento (Calif.) Bee, August 18, 1960, pp. 1, 6; “ Flying Objects Seen by Many in the County,” Yreka (Calif.) Siskiyou Daily News, August 18, 1960, p. 1; “ ‘Satteloon Watchers’ See Strange Objects,” Concord (Calif.) Transcript, August 18, 1960, p. 1; “ Venus Dates Big Star,” San Francisco (Calif.) Examiner, August 18, 1960, sec. II, p. 8; “ False AF Answer in Red Bluff Case,” NICAP Special Bulletin, October 1960, pp. 1, 4; John R. Ross [Curtis Fuller], “State Cops Race ‘Flying Saucer,’” Fate 13, no. 12 (December 1960): 44–47; UFOEv, pp. 61–62, 112; Schopick, pp. 96–100; Lorenzen, FSHoax, pp. 180–182; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 153–156, 225; Hynek UFO Report, pp. 92–94; UFOEv II 169–170; Loren Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse, UFOs: A History 1960: July–December, The Author, 2003, pp. 42–55, 72–76; Swords 295–297; “ Red Bluff: 1960,” Saturday Night Uforia, February 16, 2017; Clark III 1002–1006; Clark IV 1115–1119)
August 18 — 9:58 p.m. A woman in Charleston, West Virginia, takes a time-lapse photo of a mystery satellite that is in the same part of the sky as NASA’s Echo I communications satellite, which is also in the photo below it. (Michael D. Swords, “ Gazing at the Moons,” IUR 32, no. 4 (October 2009): 13)
August 25 — The “dark satellite” is seen and photographed five times by Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation at Bethpage, Long Island, New York. It is supposed to be three times faster than the Echo 1 satellite and travels east to west in a retrograde orbit, rather than west to east. Its inclination to the equator is about 135°. The color of the object varies from “carrot to straw.” The Grumman observers estimate that the object is in an eccentric orbit with an apogee of as much as 4,200 miles and a perigee of about 300 miles. They immediately produce a proposal to the US Air Force to share data in the hopes of plotting a firm orbit for the mystery satellite. (NICAP, “ Grumman Mystery Satellite”; Gordon W. Creighton, “ Unidentified Satellites,” Flying Saucer Review 7, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1961): 3–6; “ The Unidentified Satellite: Grumman Aircraft Writes to One of Our Readers,” Flying Saucer Review 7, no. 2 (March/April 1961): 29; Blue Book files, “ Grumman Proposal for Optical Surveillance of the Retrograde Satellite,” 1961; UFOEv, p. 138; Michael D. Swords, “ Gazing at the Moons,” IUR 32, no. 4 (October 2009): 13; Center for UFO Studies, “ Moonwatch Mystery Satellites, 1958–1962”)
August 26 — 9:00 p.m. Director Robert I. Johnson and other staff at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, Illinois, observe a faint reddish object in the sky moving from east to west, apparently the same mystery satellite seen and photographed by the Grumman observers. (“ ‘Gazers’ Report Object Reverses Earth Orbit,” Salt Lake (Utah) Tribune, August 28, 1960, p. 10; “ It’s Official! A New ‘Thing’ Is Circling Sky,” Chicago Tribune, August 31, 1960, p. 17; “ Moonwatchers See Strange Object in the Sky,” Clinton (Ill.) Daily Journal and Public, August 31, 1960, p. 6; “ Astronomers Sight Strange Object in Sky,” Mattoon (Ill.) Journal Gazette, August 31, 1960, p. 1; “ Object Sightings Still Pour In, Study Continues,” Salt Lake (Utah) Tribune, August 31, 1960, p. 5; Michael D. Swords, “ Gazing at the Moons,” IUR 32, no. 4 (October 2009): 13; Swords 294; Center for UFO Studies, “ Moonwatch Mystery Satellites, 1958–1962”)
August 31 — Rep. Leonard G. Wolf (D-Iowa) makes a statement in the House on NICAP’s “Dangers of Secrecy on UFOs” report, saying that it is “imperative to end the risk of accidental war from defense forces’ confusion over UFOs.” He mentions NICAP board member Adm. Roscoe Hillenkoetter’s request that “Congress inform the public as to the facts.” Based on a there-year NICAP study, Wolf states that all defense personnel “should be told that the UFOs are real and should be trained to distinguish them—by their characteristic speeds and maneuvers— from conventional planes and missiles…. The American people must be convinced, by documented facts, that the UFOs could not be Soviet machines.” (“ NICAP UFO Report: Extension of Remarks of Hon. Leonard G. Wolf of Iowa in the House of Representatives, Wednesday, August 31, 1960,” Congressional Record, Proceedings and Debates of the 86th Congress, Second Session, vol. 106, Part 14, pp. 18955–18956; Good Need, p. 261)
Late August — Two men in a car near Butte Falls, Oregon, see a pale-white light hovering 300 feet ahead of them. They watch it for 15 minutes, then decide to drive closer. The light then rises to 100 feet and recedes, then changes to orange. No sound is heard. The light performs geometrical maneuvers, creating rectangle paths and other zig-zags. It then accelerates, changes back to white, and zooms off. (Swords 294)
Late August — Two men in a car near Butte Falls, Oregon, see a pale-white light hovering 300 feet ahead of them. They watch it for 15 minutes, then decide to drive closer. The light then rises to 100 feet and recedes, then changes to orange. No sound is heard. The light performs geometrical maneuvers, creating rectangle paths and other zig-zags. It then accelerates, changes back to white, and zooms off. (Swords 294)
Late August or early September — Evening. Rhodes McCarroll and his grandfather, sitting on the upstairs back porch of their home in Memphis, Tennessee, notice a glowing basketball-sized globe in the soil by the hedge. They watch it for 5 minutes, then see a figure standing behind the ball. It is a glowing nude, generally humanlike figure, about 6 feet tall, holding a light at chest level. The figure is square-shouldered and has disproportionately long legs that are narrow and pointed between the knees and ankles. The witnesses watch another 5 minutes, at which point the globe and the entity begin to fade and are gone from sight in another 5 minutes. (Rhodes McCarroll, Letter to Center for UFO Studies, July 31, 1978; Clark III 279–280; Clark IV 319–320)
September — Groom Lake in Nevada receives the name “Area 51” when A-12 test facility construction begins, including a new 8,500-foot runway (Runway 14/32) to replace the existing one built for the U-2. (Wikipedia, “ Area 51”)
September — CIA officer Richard M. Bissell Jr. and DCI Allen W. Dulles initiate talks with two leading figures of the Mafia, Johnny Roselli and Sam Giancana. Later, other crime bosses such as Carlos Marcello, Santo Trafficante Jr., and Meyer Lansky become involved in the first plot against Fidel Castro. The strategy is managed by Sheffield Edwards. Robert Maheu, a veteran of CIA counterespionage activities, is instructed to hire the Mafia to kill Castro. The advantage of employing the Mafia for this work is that it provides the CIA with a credible cover story. The Mafia are known to be angry with Castro for closing their profitable brothels and casinos in Cuba. On September 14, Maheu meets with Roselli in a New York City hotel and offers him $150,000 for the “removal” of Castro. James O’Connell, who identifies himself as Maheu’s associate but is really the chief of the CIA’s operational support division, is present during the meeting. Declassified documents do not reveal if Roselli, Giancana, or Trafficante accept a down payment for the job. According to CIA files, it is Giancana who suggests poison pills to add to Castro’s food or drinks. Such pills, manufactured by the CIA’s Technical Services Division, are given to Giancana’s nominee named Juan Orta. Giancana recommends him as being an official in the Cuban government with access to Castro. Allegedly, after several unsuccessful attempts to introduce the poison into Castro’s food, Orta abruptly demands to be let out of the mission, handing over the job to another unnamed participant. Later, a second attempt is mounted through Giancana and Trafficante using Tony Varona, the leader of the Cuban Exile Junta, who has, according to Trafficante, become “disaffected with the apparent ineffectual progress of the Junta.” Varona requests $10,000 in expenses and $1,000 worth of communications equipment. However, it is unknown how far the second attempt goes, as it is canceled due to the launching of the Bay of Pigs Invasion. (Wikipedia, “ Sam Giancana”; Wikipedia, “ Assassination attempts on Fidel Castro”)
September — MKUltra chief Sidney Gottlieb brings a vial of poison concealed in toothpaste to the Democratic Republic of the Congo with plans to place it on Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba’s toothbrush. The plot is abandoned, allegedly because CIA station chief Larry Devlin refuses permission. (Wikipedia, “ Patrice Lumumba”)
September — The USAF Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence turns down ATIC’s request for one additional staffer for Project Blue Book (raising it to 3) and additional funding. (Clark III 922; Clark IV 1032)
September 2 - 11:30 p.m. Richard Ireton and his wife are driving on US Highway 1 in Westbrook, Connecticut, when they notice what seems to be an aircraft about to crash. It veers close to the shore and the Iretons drive to the beach to look for it. They see a triangular-shaped object flying silently at the speed of a Piper Cub airplane, alternately hovering and moving horizontally and vertically. When it reaches the public beach, it takes off at great speed toward Long Island, New York. They see a similar object the next evening around 9:30 p.m. at Chalker Beach in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. (" `Flying Triangle' Seen in State," Hartford (Conn.) Courant, September 17, 1960, pp. 1-2)
September 8 — Night. Witnesses in Consett, South Shields, and Newcastle upon Tyne, England, see a triangular formation of lights with a red light in the center. (London Evening Chronicle, September 9, 1960; Marler 76)
September 4 — 2:00 p.m. J. H. Kirkpatrick and Warren Specht are monitoring an unpiloted Navy test drone at the China Lake Naval Ordnance Test Station [now Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake] near Ridgecrest, California, when they notice an object following their drone. The drone is at 8,000 feet and the UFO is several feet above and pacing it. The object is dumbbell-shaped and seems to be composed of a shiny red metal that reflects the sun. After 2 minutes, the object makes a sharp 45° turn and climbs out of sight within a few seconds. (Powell, Scientist, 51–52)
September 8 — Night. Witnesses in Consett, South Shields, and Newcastle upon Tyne, England, see a triangular formation of lights with a red light in the center. (London Evening Chronicle, September 9, 1960; Marler 76)
September 10 — A married couple in Scituate, Massachusetts, sees a trio of brilliant discs parked in a triangle formation in the sky. About 12° to the objects’ left is a huge cylinder. One witness watches them through binoculars, and the brilliance hurts his eyes for two hours. Two more discs seem to be attached to the top of the cylinder. Small domes sprinkle their surface. The large object disappears too quickly for the eye to follow. (Swords 294)
September 10 — 9:50 p.m. Mr. and Mrs. M. G. Evans see two light-gray glowing objects, saucer or boomerang-shaped, that swish when accelerating, over Ridgecrest, California. ( Sparks, p. 285; Swords 294)
September 14 — 2:50 a.m. A dispatcher in Lorain, Ohio, is taking a coffee break when he sees a light that he thinks is the Echo 1 satellite. As he watches it, knowing it is not the right time for Echo 1, he sees four objects traveling in a perfectly spaced line of flight. It makes a surprising right turn, after which the objects move on their way, apparently at a great height. (Michael D. Swords, “ I’ve Seen the Light…But What Was It?” IUR 32, no. 3 (July 2009): 3; Swords 294–295)
September 15 — 7:30 a.m. A witness sees a UFO hovering 300–400 feet above the Douglas Aircraft plant in Santa Monica, California, and calls it into the West Los Angeles police station. Desk Officer Don Anderson goes outside and sees a dark triangular object moving slowly to the northeast at 3,000 feet. It disappears in the vicinity of Santa Monica Boulevard and Beverly Glen Street. (“ Officer Reports Flying Triangle,” San Pedro (Calif.) News-Pilot, September 15, 1960, p. 1)
September 29 — 9:25 p.m. Five people are out looking for the Echo 1 satellite in New Westminster, British Columbia. After they spot it, they remain for a few minutes talking. One of them sees three objects come up from the southeast, pass overhead, and disappear over the rooftops in 10 seconds. The objects are luminous, round-cornered triangles. (Michael D. Swords, “ Timmerman’s Triangles,” IUR 29, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 16)
October — Reynolds Electrical and Engineering Company begins construction of “Project 51” at the
Nellis AFB complex in Nevada with double-shift personal schedules. They mark an Archimedean spiral on Area 51’s
dry lake approximately two miles across so that an A-12 pilot approaching the end of the overrun can abort
instead of plunging into the sagebrush. Area 51 pilots call it “The Hook.” For crosswind landings, they mark
two unpaved airstrips (runways 9/27 and 03/21) on the dry lakebed. (Wikipedia, “
Area 51
October 4 — 6:10 p.m. Rev. Lionel Browning and his wife are looking at a rainbow outside
their rectory in Cressy, Tasmania, when they see a gray, cigar-shaped object emerge from a raincloud.
It has 4 or 5 vertical, dark bands around its circumference and an aerial array that projects from the
top. Browning estimates it to be 100 feet long and about 4 miles distant. It moves north at about 60–70
mph at about 400 feet altitude. After one minute, it stops and is joined by 5–6 smaller objects that
emerge from a cloud. After another minute, all the UFOs abruptly reverse back into the rain squall at
the same speed. (“‘Flying Saucer’ Seen at Cressy
October 5 - A formation of UFOs is detected by the new Ballistic Missile Early Warning System at Thule Site J in Greenland. The objects appear to be heading directly toward North America from the direction of Russia. Within seconds, Strategic Air Command headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska, scrambles the crews of B-52 bombers armed with nuclear warheads to prepare a retaliatory strike. But at the last moment checks reveal that the objects are spurious radar echoes. Unusual atmospheric conditions create phantoms on the BMEWS that cannot be seen by other radars. (Eric Schlosser, Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Incident, and the Illusion of Safety, Penguin, 2013, pp. 253-254, 542)
October 10 — The first test of a Soviet mission to Mars, Mars 1M No. 1, is lost in a launch failure before it can begin its journey to study the interplanetary environment between Earth and Mars. (Wikipedia, “ Mars 1M No. 1”)
October 14 — The second Soviet attempt to explore Mars, Mars 1M No. 2, this time in a flyby trajectory, is destroyed after its carrier rocket fails to achieve orbit. (Wikipedia, “ Mars 1M No. 2”)
October 20 — Australian MP Gil Duthie asks Frederick Osborne, Australian Minister for Air, whether he has read the account of the UFO seen at Cressy, Tasmania. Osborne responds that he has, and he admits that the Department of Air receives UFO reports and shares them with the RAF and the US Air Force. However, all of them are “explainable on a perfectly normal basis.” (“ Flying Saucer Inquiry,” Canberra Times, November 18, 1960, p. 10; Swords 387; Clark III 352)
November 3 - 4:30 p.m. Two 8-year-old boys are walking over a small hill in rural Price County, Wisconsin, when they hear an odd high-pitched, humming noise. The air has become unusually warm. They look back and see an aluminum-colored object on the hill behind them. They run back toward it, but it lifts off and shoots away. They find the soil of the hill to be warm to the touch. (" Small Boys See Warm, Landed UAO," APRO Bulletin, January 1961, pp. 1, 4)
November 4 - House Majority Leader John W. McCormack (D-Mass.) writes to Keyhoe that "it was pretty well established by some, in our minds, that there were some objects flying around in space that were unexplainable." (" Congressmen Confirm AF Secrecy: Pressure for Investigation Increasing," UFO Investigator 1, no. 11 (Dec./Jan. 1960/1961): 1; UFOEv, p. 175)
November 15 — 10:40 a.m. A USAF B-57 Canberra reconnaissance aircraft operating out of RAAF Base East Sale, Victoria, Australia, encounters a UFO 15 miles north of Launceston, Tasmania. Capt. Douglas G. Ludlam and Capt. Joseph W. Ivins say it looks like a balloon about 70 feet in diameter and is flying at 35,000 feet, just below the B-57, and traveling at about 920 mph. It is in sight for 5–7 seconds before it disappears under the left wing. ( Sparks, p. 285; Bill Chalker, “ Australian A.F. UFO Report Files,” APRO Bulletin 30, no. 11 (December 1982): 4; Bill Chalker, “ The Cressy Affair,” in UFOs Sub Rosa Down Under, Part Five, Project 1947, 1997; Keith Basterfield, “ Cold UFO Cases: Stratospheric Balloons, Part 2,” Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena—Scientific Research, November 16, 2010; Clark III 352
November 20 — 2:45 a.m. Remy Carbonnier is dozing at his home in the Forêt de La Londe southwest of Rouen, France, when he is awakened by a green light shining into his room. It is coming from a round, domed object about 20 feet across standing on three thin legs on the railway track some 980 feet away. Flashes of orange light are coming from it. Around 3:30 a.m., the dome begins turning, the legs fold up, and the object takes of silently and is gone in 20 seconds to the southwest. (“ Flying Saucer with ‘Legs’ Lands in Normandy,” Flying Saucer Review 7, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1961): 9)
December 5 — Pentagon UFO spokesman Lt. Col. Lawrence J. Tacker publishes Flying Saucers and the U.S. Air Force, in which he blisteringly attacks critics of Project Blue Book, depicting them all as charlatans and opportunists and gullible believers. (“Editorial,” APRO Bulletin, November 1960, p. 2; Lawrence J. Tacker, Flying Saucers and the U.S. Air Force, Van Nostrand, 1960; “ AF Disavows Tacker Book As Official,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 2 (October 1961): 7; Clark III 922; Powell, Keyhoe, 290, 300)
December 5 — Keyhoe debates Lt. Col. Lawrence J. Tacker on the Today show, hosted by Dave Garroway. Tacker says he wrote the book Flying Saucers and the US Air Force because “I felt the Air Force was being set upon by Maj. Keyhoe, NICAP, and other hobby groups who believe in spaceships as an act of pure faith.” Keyhoe repeatedly challenges Tacker, whose statements ring hollow, and even Garroway asks Tacker pointed questions and coolly notes Tacker’s apparent ignorance of basic physics. The show generates numerous phone calls and letters to NBC, most of them critical of the Air Force. (“ New Debunking Campaign Backfires,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 11 (Dec.–Jan. 1960/1961): 1–2; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: July–December 1960, The Author, 2003, pp. 129–135; “ Dave Garroway Show NBC-TV UFO Discussion: Tacker vs. Keyhoe, December 5, 1960,” Journal of UFO History 1, no. 4 (Sept./Oct. 2004): 3–6; Clark III 922; “ Lt. Col. Lawrence Tacker Interview, UFOs in the Air Force, December 4, 1960,” The Black Vault YouTube channel, May 23, 2019; Powell, Keyhoe, 289–292; Clark IV 1032)
December 9 -8:30 p.m. Mme. Dhelens in the Château des Mailles (31 miles south of Carignan-de-Bordeaux), Gironde, France, sees a luminous oval object twice the size of an automobile hovering just above the ground in the château's park. It has two round portholes, behind which she sees indistinct shadows moving. It takes off, leaving a 12-foot circle of yellowed grass, which later dies. (" Nos Enquêtes: Carignan (Gironde), 9 déc. 1960)," Ouranos, no. 27 (August 1961): 7-12; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: July-December 1960, The Author, 2003, p. 138)
December 14 — The Brookings Research Institute in Washington, D.C., releases a 186-page report prepared for NASA titled Proposed Studies on the Implications of Peaceful Space Activities for Human Affairs. It is later published as a 272-page Committee Print for the House Committee on Science and Astronautics on March 24, 1961. The report includes a section on “Implications of a Discovery of Extraterrestrial Life.” It is sent to the House Committee on Science and Astronautics for approval by Rep. Overton Brooks (D-La.) and discusses the effects of meeting extraterrestrial life: “It is possible that if the intelligence of these creatures were sufficiently superior to ours, they would choose to have little if any contact with us.” It also speculates on the possibility of finding alien artifacts on earth and the possibility that contact might result in social disintegration. (Wikipedia, “ Brookings Report”; Proposed Studies on the Implications of Peaceful Space Activities for Human Affairs, committee print prepared for NASA by the Brookings Institution, Report of the US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 87th Congress, First Session, March 24, 1961, pp. 215–216, 225–226 (note 34))
December 14 — The first Single Integrated Operational Plan, titled SIOP-62, is completed. It describes a massive strike with the entire US arsenal of 3,200 warheads, totaling 7847 megatons, against Russia, China, and Soviet-aligned states with urban and other targets being hit simultaneously. Nine weapons are to be “laid down” on four targets in Leningrad [now St. Petersburg], 23 weapons on six target complexes in Moscow, and 18 on seven target areas in Kaliningrad. Weapons scientist George W. Rathjens looks through SAC’s atlas of Soviet cities, searching for the town that most closely resembles Hiroshima in size and industrial concentration. When he finds one that roughly matches, he asks how many bombs the SIOP “laid down” on that city. The reply: one 4.5 megaton bomb and three more 1.1 megaton weapons in case the big bomb is a dud. The execution of SIOP-62 is estimated to result in 285 million dead and 40 million casualties in the Soviet Union and China. Presented with all the facts and figures, USAF Gen. Thomas D. White finds the plan “splendid.” Disregarding the human aspect, SIOP-62 represents an outstanding technological achievement. (Wikipedia, “ Single Integrated Operational Plan”; Daniel Ellsberg, The Doomsday Machine, Bloomsbury, 2017, pp. 90–103)
December 24–25 —Midnight. At least a dozen observers at the Wade Folsom ranch near Durango, Colorado, see an object on the brow of a mountaintop to the north. Folsom says it is round, about 20 feet in diameter, filled with tiny blinking lights, has a dome on top, and hovering low above the ground in a clearing about 400 feet north of Florida Road. The top of the object looks like a “giant plastic dome” about 25 feet square. It is surrounded by a glow that changes from white to green, but after 15 minutes it dims suddenly and disappears. In the morning, Folsom takes his dog and two grandsons to the top of the mountain to look for traces, but finds nothing except broken tree limbs. About 3:00 p.m., the family’s pet dog comes running to the house, hurls herself at the door, dashes around the living room as if frightened, then drops dead. Disturbed, Ruth Stephenson and three other women go up the mountain to the estimated landing spot and find the damaged trees. They are about to turn back when a second family dog begins barking furiously. They climb higher up, following the dog until he stops at a spruce tree. Stephenson notices some strange giant human-shaped tracks leading up to the tree and toward a clump of cedar trees beyond. Another set of tracks imprinted in the snow resemble a hoof, although there are three hoofmarks together, in a cloverleaf patter, leading from the clump of cedars. She notes more broken limbs and scraped-off bark in this area. Another set of tracks look like a deer’s but with four toes instead of two. Other tracks look like a “giant frog” and a kangaroo’s trail moving in a straight line. Another set of tracks were human, but only 5 inches long. The women follow the tracks to a deserted mountain cabin, which the tracks have circled. Undersheriff Myron Darmour and Deputy Bill Hiser visit the site on December 27 and find some of the tracks but discount them, saying they are not in the area where the light was seen. Folsom thinks the dog has been poisoned. (Durango (Colo.) Herald, December 28, 1960; “ UAO Parked on Colorado Mountain Top,” APRO Bulletin, January 1961, pp. 1–3)
December 25 — 11:45 p.m. A man visiting relatives in Cottonwood, Minnesota, goes outside and sees an unusual light traveling in the north. The object obligingly comes closer, and 30 seconds later he can see it is a tan color and shaped like a hemisphere with a dome on top and a porthole on the left with light shining from it. A silvery glow outlines it. At its base is an opening that shows a whitish color. The object flutters down, rocking gently from side to side like a falling leaf. It stops, hovers, and ejects a whitish object from its rear. The smaller object floats to the west until it appears to be the size of a star. The larger UFO drops further down and releases two reddish objects that fly southeast and appear to flash green light beams at each other. Finally, they separate and go in different directions. The large object ascends, and the two red objects apparently reenter it, followed by the white object. The portal closes and the original object leaves in the same direction it has come. The duration of the sighting is 10–15 minutes. (“ 1960 Sighting of UAO Carrier,” APRO Bulletin, November 1962, p. 2)
December 27 — Blue Book officer Maj. Robert Friend and his boss at ATIC, Philip G. Evans, write a memo to Air Force Intelligence in the Pentagon. Friend complains about civilian UFO organizations supported by people for “financial gain, religious reasons, pure emotional outlet, ignorance, or possibly to use the organization as a ‘cold war’ tool.” He is upset by their accusations that the Air Force is withholding UFO information. (Swords 292)
1961
An Antonov AN-2P mail biplane takes off from an airfield at or near Sverdlovsk, Russia, bound for Kurgan with seven people on board. About 80–100 miles from Sverdlovsk, the aircraft disappears from the radar screen. Ground control cannot regain contact, so a search is launched with helicopters and troops. The aircraft is found in a small clearing in a dense forest, completely intact. The authorities state that it looks like it was placed there gently from above. All the mail is intact, and there is no sign of anyone on board. No marks or footprints are seen. A 100-foot wide, clearly defined circle of scorched grass and depressed earth is found at a distance of 328 feet from the plane. A report by the Moscow Aviation Institute claims that a UFO was tracked on radar at the control tower and that strange radio signals were heard at the time of the disappearance. (Good Above, pp. 228–229)
A UFO appears above the iron-ore mine of Catalina Huanca, owned by the Marcona Mining Company, near Apongo, Peru. It hovers for 5-15 minutes, only about 300 feet away from a young mining engineer. It is round and glowing, with windows on the upper part. The engineer gets a look at it through his theodolite, but it still looks fuzzy. The object reappears throughout the day, allowing all the mine workers (about 70) to view it. The following day it follows a supply truck for several hours as it exits the mine heading south over a dirt track. (S. Parker Gay Jr., " Peru, 1961," IUR 24, no. 3 (Fall 1999): 29)
January — Day. Government topographer Adolfo Paolini Pisani is driving a jeep along the highway between La Victoria and El Vigía, Mérida, Venezuela, when a truck passes him. A few minutes later, a brilliant metallic disc like polished blue steel swoops down and passes dangerously close above the hood of the truck. The truck rises a few feet into the air and overturns in the direction taken by the object, falling in a sandbank with its wheels in the air. The object ascends and is lost to view in a few seconds. Pisani stops his jeep to assist, but fortunately the lone driver has only a few scratches. (Horacio Gonzales, “ Disc Upsets Truck,” APRO Bulletin, September 1961, pp. 1, 3)
January 6 - 3:00 a.m. Luis G. Ferré Casas, his mother, and his sister notice a bright, disk-shaped object on a mountain about one mile from an estate at Torroja del Priorat, Tarragona, Spain. After watching it for 20 minutes, they get tired and retire to bed. (Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos, " Twelfth Night.And a UFO," Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 18 (February 1974): 10-12)
January 8 — Pravda asserts that “some regions” (including Uzbekistan and Tajikistan) of the USSR are reporting UFOs, but dismisses these reports as reflections on water, rainbows, atmospheric reflections, self- deception, or disinformation. It quotes physicist Lev Artsimovich saying that “it is about time that these tales be stopped no matter how breathtaking they may be.” (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: January–June 1961, The Author, 2003, pp. 5–6; Mikhail Gershtein, “ A Short History of UFO Research in the Former Soviet Union,” UAP Check, July 6, 2024)
January 10 — A US Navy A-1 Polaris missile is launched from a ground pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. A large disc appears somewhat close to the rocket and causes the tracking mechanism to lock on to the UFO. The diameter of the disc is approximately 20–25 feet and it is about 6–8 feet thick at its center. The tracking system returns to focus on the Polaris a bit downrange. The object is visually lost to ground observers and the primary witness ( Clark C. McClelland, with 10x50 binoculars) as it continues to move away. The original investigation is conducted by McClelland and his Florida NICAP subcommittee. (NICAP, “ UFO ‘Alters’ Tracking of Navy Polaris Test”; Sparks, p. 286; “ UFO Blocks Tracking of U.S. Rocket,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 6 (Oct./Nov. 1962): 1; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: January–June 1961, The Author, 2003, pp. 6–7)
January 17 — Eisenhower delivers a farewell address in a TV broadcast. Perhaps best known for advocating that the nation guard against the potential influence of the military–industrial complex, a term he is credited with coining, the speech also expresses concerns about planning for the future and the dangers of massive spending, especially deficit spending, the prospect of the domination of science through federal funding, and, conversely, the domination of science-based public policy by what he calls a “scientific- technological elite.” (Wikipedia, “ Eisenhower’s farewell address”; Dwight D. Eisenhower, “ Farewell Address,” January 17, 1961)
January 17 — 6:17 p.m. A former weather officer at Holloman AFB is driving with some companions near Cimarron, New Mexico, when they see three different groups of amber UFOs flying in V-formation about 15 miles away at 30,000 feet. There are six lights in the first group and eight in the second and third. They fly away to the southwest and then return to where they first appeared. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 226–227)
January 22 — 4:45 p.m. An elliptical, metallic-looking UFO approaches Eglin AFB near Valparaiso, Florida, from over the Gulf, makes a U-turn and speeds back over the Gulf. Harry Caslar is filming his son on the beach with 8mm movie film and captures the UFO. (“ UFOs Continue Earth Observation,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 12 (April/May 1961): 5; UFOEv, p. 95)
February (or April 17) — Forester Vasili Brodski finds a mysterious crater 100 feet long, 50 feet wide, and 10 feet deep on the bank of a frozen lake (possibly Lake Onega, or a lake nearby) in Karelia, Russia. It had not been there two days earlier. The base is remarkably smooth, and around the edge are lumps of grass and soil but no trace of the excavated dirt. Six investigators from Leningrad [now St. Petersburg] arrive and find odd, crumbling black pellets on the edge of the lake. Divers discover a 330-foot strip where the soil has been displaced along the floor of the lake, as if something slid along the ground and submerged, ploughing up the soil. Geologist Vsevolod Charmov examines ice, water, and soil samples but cannot explain a green discoloration on some of the submerged pieces of broken ice. The pellets seem to be an inorganic substance. (Hobana and Weverbergh 61–63; James D. White, “ UFO Research in Russia,” APRO Bulletin 24, no. 12 (June 1976): 5; Dolan, USO1, 216–219)
February 5–7 — Many people report strange lights flashing around in the sky over Maine. Some blink and move up and down. A Portland Press Herald editorial, February 9, says: “Mysterious objects ‘lit up like a ball of fire and going fast’ zoom over Portland. Unidentified shapes with green, yellow, and red lights hover over Brunswick, then dart away with ‘unbelievable quickness.’ Strange things are happening. . . The military had us just about convinced that no such objects existed. The only trouble was that many people— good, reliable observers—continued to see these things.” (UFOEv, p. 138)
February 16 — House Majority Leader John W. McCormack suggests to the press that the House Committee on Science and Astronautics might hold hearings on UFOs because he feels “the Air Force has not been giving out all the information it has on Unidentified Flying Objects.” (Bulkley Griffin, “ McCormack Asks Hearing on UFOs,” Worcester (Mass.) Evening Gazette, February 16, 1961; “ Is Air Force Hiding UFO Data?” Bangor (Maine) Daily News, February 18, 1961, pp. 1–2; Robert S. Allen and Paul Scott, “ Flying Saucers,” Bucyrus (Ohio) Telegraph-Forum, February 21, 1961, p. 9)
February 16 - 9:30 p.m. An object with two powerful beams of red and white light hovers at treetop level near Nugent's Airport and Sporting Camps in Millinocket, Maine. Observers watch for nearly five minutes as it appears to fall to the ground and vanish. Allen O. Nugent pinpoints the sighting near Donnelly Point and the tramway leading toward Allagash Stream and Mountain. Jerome Dickinson of Houlton first spots the object and informs others at camp. Witnesses include James Pierce, Jack Chisholm, Arthur Augustine, William Cameron, James Leighton, Norman Hathaway, and William Cyr. Dickinson and Hathaway later fly over the area in search of the object but find no evidence. Earlier that evening, Mildred Steeves of Bangor reports seeing a large bright object, describing it as softball-sized, fast-moving, and giving her an eerie feeling. (" Sportsmen Mystified by Red, White Beams in Sky," Bangor (Maine) Daily News, February 18, 1961, pp. 1-2)
February 28 — 3:20 a.m. Clarence Blackwood and his wife hear a roaring sound in the sky at their home in Lakeville, Massachusetts. They look out the bedroom window and see a fiery cigar-shaped object moving at low altitude to the northeast. It is bright yellow in the middle with a bright red edge and surrounded by thin clouds of black smoke. The object rolls back and forth rapidly and travels slowly to the southwest. It passes directly above their house, illuminating the bedroom. The lights that they have left on in the kitchen dim three times and go out for 4–5 minutes. The object returns at 3:40 and the kitchen lights repeat their previous actions. (“ Low-Flying UFO Puts Out Lights,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 1 (July/Aug. 1961): 5; Schopick, pp. 115–117)
March 10 - 8:45 p.m. Mr. F. Reynolds and his 15-year-old son Lloyd are camped in their trailer 900 feet from the Murray River, at Bowna, New South Wales, when they see what appears to be a huge trailer with four windows and a red light at the end standing by the water. A fire is visible to the right of the object, and they can see four figures moving quickly between the object and the fire. Reynolds watches through binoculars and sees the entire array moving sideways in a jerking manner. After 45 minutes, it is all gone from sight. In the morning they can find no traces on the soft mud flat. (" UFO Landing?" Australian Flying Saucer Review, no. 5 (July 1961): 1-2)
March 16 — 6:15 p.m. Brazilian meteorologist Rubens J. Villela, on the deck of the USS Glacier, watches a tear-shaped fireball over Admiralty Bay, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, in slow, level flight. It leaves a long orange trail like a tracer bullet, then abruptly divides in two as if exploding. It disappears after 10 seconds. (UFOEv, pp. 53–54; Ed Hyde, “U.F.O.’s—at 450 Fathoms,” Man’s Illustrated, March 1966, pp. 34–35, 48–50; James E. McDonald, “ Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, pp. 64–65; Sanderson, InvRes, p. 3; Timothy Good, Unearthly Disclosure, Century, 2000, pp. 20–25; Rubens J. Villela, “ A Further Antarctic Myth,” Polar Record 44, no. 1 (January 2008): 83–84; Dolan, USO1, 215–216)
Spring - Late evening. A couple parking in Millville, New Jersey, watch a bright light silently moving northward. It hovers, reverses direction, and maneuvers for 5 minutes. At one point it races directly at a star, abruptly stops, draws a neat, right-angled, half-box around it, and goes racing on. Finally it speeds out of sight in about 5 seconds. (J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, p. 44; Michael D. Swords, " We Know Where You Live," IUR 30, no. 2 (January 2006): 10)
April 18 — 11:00 a.m. Joe Simonton hears a whining sound on his farm four miles from Eagle River, Wisconsin, and sees a silvery object, 30 feet in diameter and 12 feet high, with exhaust pipes around the periphery, land nearby. A door opens and a man appears, about 5 feet tall and wearing a black, turtle-neck pullover with a white band at the belt, and black trousers with a vertical white band along the side. Two other figures are visible inside. The creature is holding a metallic jug and making gestures suggesting he wants a drink. Simonton takes the jug into his basement, fills it with water, and returns it to the man. Simonton notices one man frying on a flameless grill and motions for some food. Simonton receives four ordinary pancakes or cookies, 3 inches in diameter, perforated with small holes. The object takes off after 5 minutes. Simonton gives one of the pancakes to Judge Frank Wellington Carter, who then passes it on to the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena; another he gives to J. Allen Hynek for Project Blue Book; and the third he keeps for himself. A thorough analysis is performed on one of the pancakes by the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and the food is found to be made of terrestrial but tasteless ingredients, including hydrogenated oil and buckwheat flour. The Air Force concludes that Simonton is honest but has mistakenly conflated the reality of his breakfast with a dream. ( Sparks, p. 287; Center for UFO Studies, [ Hynek case documents]; Center for UFO Studies, [ case photos]; Center for UFO Studies, [ Lex Mebane case files]; Center for UFO Studies, [ NICAP case documents]; “ The Case of the Interplanetary Cookies,” APRO Bulletin, May 1961, pp. 1–3; “ Facts Behind the ‘Pancake’ Story,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 1 (July/Aug. 1961): 8; “ The Eagle River Incident: A New Contact Claim,” Flying Saucer Review 7, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1961): 7–8; “ A Re-Examination of the Simonton Case,” APRO Bulletin, September 1961, pp. 2–3; Waveney Girvan, “ Claimants, Ridicule, and a Piece of Cake,” Flying Saucer Review 7, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1961): 12–14; “ The Eagle River Incident: The Air Force Comments,” Flying Saucer Review 7, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1961): 20; “ ‘Cakes’ from Saucer Men,” Saucerian Bulletin 6, no. 1 (December 31, 1961): 1, 3–10; “ Saucers, Pancakes, and Such,” Science 135 (February 16, 1962): 518; “ The Eagle River Incident: A Letter from Joe Simonton,” Flying Saucer Review 8, no. 3 (May/June 1962): 9–10; Vallée, Magonia, pp. 23–25; Jerome Clark, “ The Pancakes of Eagle River,” IUR 21, no. 1 (Spring 1996): 3–8, 27; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: January–June 1961, The Author, 2003, pp. 32–34; Joshua Cutchin, “The Great Alien Bake-Off,” Fortean Times 332 (November 2015): 42–44; Clark III 421–426; “ 1961-04-18: Joe Simonton Pancake Encounter,” Tom Owens UAP YouTube channel, September 22, 2019; Brent Raynes and Richard Heiden, “ The Flying Saucer Pancake Caper of Joe Simonton,” Alternate Perceptions magazine, August 2021; “ Joe Simonton Talks Getting Pancakes from a Humanoid after a UFO Landed in His Back Garden, 1961,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, January 19, 2023; Clark IV 465–470)
April 29 - Around 4:00 p.m. Contractor John P. Gallagher is working at a home adjacent to Bailey's Beach, Newport, Rhode Island. He sees a red spherical object bobbing on the ocean waves about 600 feet from the shore. Suddenly the object rises into the air to 60 feet and moves out to sea at about 100 mph. (" Head' Floats-Flies," APRO Bulletin, July 1961, p. 4; Dolan, USO1, 220)
April 19 — 7:40 p.m. Commanding Officer C. J. Peterson of the minesweeper HMS Maxton sees a swiftly moving object as the ship is 33 miles off San Vito Lo Capo, Sicily, Italy. It is green and leaves an orange trail as it moves higher and disappears to the northwest. The ship’s crew sees a similar object on April 20 at 4:50 a.m. when it is 25 miles south of Capo Carbonara, Sardinia, Italy. (1Pinotti 112–113)
April 25 — US Air Force Intelligence Collection Guidance Letter no. 4, originally classified onfidential, describes and provides guidance for Project Moon Dust reporting. Several items of interest appear in the document: classification level of Moon Dust Alerts and reports, focus of Moon Dust on “foreign earth satellite vehicles,” and destination agencies for Moon Dust reports among them. Project Moon Dust is a covert project to exploit the discovery of Soviet hardware when it temporarily lands in American hands. (Department of the Air Force, “ MOON DUST Reporting,” Intelligence Collection Guidance Letter, no. 4, April 25, 1961; Kevin D. Randle, A History of UFO Crashes, Avon, 1995, pp. 157–169)
April 29 — Around 4:00 p.m. Contractor John P. Gallagher is working at a home adjacent to Bailey’s Beach, Newport, Rhode Island. He sees a red spherical object bobbing on the ocean waves about 600 feet from the shore. Suddenly the object rises into the air to 60 feet and moves out to sea at about 100 mph. (“ ‘Head’ Floats—Flies,” APRO Bulletin, July 1961, p. 4; Dolan, USO1, 220)
May — Rep. Overton Brooks (D-La.) appoints Rep. Joseph Karth (DFL-Minn.) head of a Subcommittee on Space Problems and Life Sciences. Karth and two other members plan for hearings in early 1962. The plan calls for a statement by Roscoe Hillenkoetter. NICAP releases a joint statement by 21 American scientists that calls for an open investigation by UFOs without secrecy. It says the Air Force should have a more straightforward information policy that releases all facts on major UFO sightings. (“ Scientists Urge Check on AF Investigation,” UFO Investigator 1, no. 12 (April/May 1961): 7; “ UFO Inquiry behind Closed Doors: NICAP Asks Right to Question Air Force,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 1 (July/ Aug. 1961): 1)
May 10 - Late evening. Richard Vogt, driving on a rural road south of Osakis, Minnesota, sees a "ball of fog approximately 3 feet in diameter" swiftly descending toward him at a 45° angle from a clear sky. Unable to take evasive action, Vogt can only stare as the object hits the upper part of his hood and windshield. The noisy impact generates a tremendous amount of heat; the windshield becomes extremely hot to the touch. The object leaves pit marks burned in the windshield, circular tracks on the glass, and burned specks in the finish of the hood. ("A Phenomenon?" Eagle Bend (Minn.) News, May 25, 1961; C. W. Fitch, " Monitoring and Scanning UFOs," APRO Bulletin, July 1963, p. 5; Clark III 716; Clark IV 784)
May 22 — 10:00 a.m. An oval, aluminum-colored object flies silently over the hills near Santa Teresa del Tuy, Venezuela, and lands on a hill near the site of earth-moving operations in the Paraiso del Tuy area. More than 20 witnesses, including engineers and surveyors, say the object is weaving through the hills, dodging trees, and flying at slow speed, before it stops above a patch of tall Guinea grass (Megathyrsus maximus). Rino del Negro jumps into his jeep and follows the path of the object, catching up with it just as it disappears behind a small hill. Driving further, he sees it take off and vanish behind some hills further away. On finding the patch of grass, he finds it flattened toward the ground in a roughly circular area about 60 feet in diameter. Three similar objects had been seen flying along the same route on May 21. (Horacio Gonzales, “ Venezuelan Reports,” APRO Bulletin, September 1961, pp. 4–5; Lorenzen, FSHoax, p. 185; Olsen, sec. 3, pp. 72–73)
Summer — Near Rybinsk, Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, crews are setting up new missile batteries as part of Moscow’s defensive network. A huge disc-shaped object allegedly appears at an estimated altitude of 12.5 miles, surrounded by a number of smaller objects. A nervous battery commander panics and gives unauthorized orders to fire a salvo at the disc. All the missiles explode at an estimated distance of 1.2 miles from the target. A third salvo is not fired, because at that point the smaller objects stall the electrical apparatus of the entire missile base. After the smaller disc rejoin the big UFO, the electrical systems return. (Flying Saucers, no. 47, May 1966, pp. 6–10; Good Above, pp. 227–228
)Summer — Capt. Robert Filler and Lt. Phil Lee, based with the 82d Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Travis AFB in Fairfield, California, are scrambled in their F-102 Delta Dagger jets to intercept a radar target that has been hovering at 50,000 feet for 30 minutes. They get a radar lock-on 20 miles out above the Sacramento Valley. The target is still stationary until they are 5 miles away, then the target moves quickly several times to a higher altitude. Filler estimates it is moving at 36,000 mph. (Good Need, pp. 245–246)
Summer - Day. Glenn E. Bradley watches a group of six metallic discs pass over his farm near Beloit, Ohio, at a low altitude. They are traveling in single file at about 30 mph and are spaced 1-2 miles apart. The objects are each about 60 feet in diameter at the bottom with a 30-foot dome on top. Within a transparent section in the center he can see two figures on each side. The objects begin banking to the left about 200-300 feet away. (" Soup Bowls over Ohio," CUFOS Associate Newsletter 6, no. 1 (Feb./March 1985): 4, 6)
June 3 — 6:35 a.m. Giacomo Barra, Giuseppe Pordoi, Filippo Marin, and Silvano Guardinfante are in a motorboat off Savona, Italy, when the boat begins to roll badly. More than one-half mile away, they notice the surface of the sea is “bulging like an enormous ball, with long billows going out.” An object emerges from the Ligurian Sea and stops still for a few seconds at a height of 30 feet and rocks slightly. A halo forms around the base and it shoots away quickly across the sea and vanishes towards the northwest. (Gordon W. Creighton, “ The Italian Scene: Part 4,” Flying Saucer Review 9, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1963): 11–12; Olsen, sec. 3, p. 73; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: January–June 1961, The Author, 2003, p. 50; 1Pinotti 117–118; Dolan, USO1, 220–222)
June 3 — A civilian weather observer sees an object through a theodolite at Mercury, Nevada. It remains in sight for 2 hours at an altitude of 80,000–120,000 feet. Project Blue Book evaluators correctly identify the object as a probable U-2 aircraft flying out of Nellis AFB. (Mark Rodeghier, “ The U-2 Spy Plane and Blue Book: Another Look,” IUR 27, no. 3 (Fall 2002): 21)
June 4 — Mrs. James W. (Alice) Annis, a librarian, sees a large, narrow, elliptical object hovering low in the sky to the north of Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania. Farther to the east, a cluster of smaller objects is hovering. She then watches the smaller objects streak across the sky to the larger one. All then move out of sight behind trees to the north-northwest. (“ Increased UFO Observation Shown by Reports,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 1(July/Aug. 1961): 7; UFOEv, p. 71; Herbert S. Taylor, “ Satellite Objects: A Further Look,” IUR 29, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 25)
June 5 — 2:30 a.m. Patrolman Jaime de Miranda and Astrogildo de Medeiros are called to the scene of a sighting on the Rodovia Anchieta highway 30 miles northwest of Santos, São Paulo, Brazil. When they arrive, they find about 20 cars stopped along the road and people watching a luminous disc-shaped object maneuvering in the area. The patrolmen try to signal the object by shining a spotlight on it, but they get no response. When they focus a red light on it, the object moves toward the cars at high speed. They take cover. Another responder, Marshal José Otavia Leite, is about to shoot at the object but other police prevent him. After 3 hours, the object gets dimmer. At 5:30 a.m., it is still visible through binoculars when it lands on the ground some distance from the highway. By daybreak it is no longer visible. (“ Object Dives on Highway Patrolman,” APRO Bulletin, July 1961, p. 5; “ No. 20,” Boletim SBEDV, nos. 22/23 (July/Nov. 1961): 11; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 227–228)
June 11 — 11:00 p.m. José-Gregorio Darnaude y Rojas Marcos, 28, is lying in a hammock in the front of his house on the Fuenteluega Estate in Sevilla, Spain, when he feels a peculiar prickling sensation throughout his whole body but particularly in his head. His dogs are cowering, the sheep go completely crazy, and the crickets and cicadas become silent. Suddenly, a luminous disc about 15 feet in diameter appears from behind the house, flying from northeast to southwest. It makes an abrupt 90° turn and moves directly toward him, hovering about 400 feet away from him and 80 feet in the air, changing colors from white to orange to red to purple several times. Darnaude runs inside, but the disc turns bright white and shots away at enormous speed. (Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos, “ Twelfth Night: And a UFO,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 18 (September 1974): 11)
June 19 - A flying object hovers for more than an hour above an airport at Exeter, Devon, England. Officials say: "We do not know what it is. It was seen on the radar screen and we have had it under observation for some time. We think it is pretty big. It appears to be shining brightly and is about 50,000 feet up." (UFOEv, pp. 80, 139)
June 28 — A dubious memorandum from President Kennedy asks the director of the CIA for a summary of “MJ-12 Intelligence Operations as they relate to Cold War Psychological Warfare Plans.” ( National Security Memorandum, John F. Kennedy to CIA Director Allen Dulles, June 28, 1961)
June 30 — 2:00 p.m. Residents of Warsaw, Poland, see a large, luminous, roughly spherical, slowly moving object in the sky. It supposedly remains visible for more than 8 hours. (Poland 29–31)
July or August — Dusk. Florin Gorănescu is staying at a villa in Lacul Roşu, Romania. He and two colleagues notice on top of a nearby high cliff an intensely red light that remains motionless until it begins moving slowly northeast. (Romania 13)
July 1 — The USAF Aerospace Technical Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson AFB becomes the Foreign Technology Division and is reassigned to Air Force Systems Command. Project Blue Book is included in the reorganization. FTD intelligence estimates are subsequently provided to the National Security Council through the 1962 United States Intelligence Board. FTD’s additional location at the Tonopah Test Range Airport conducts test and evaluation of captured Soviet fighter aircraft. ( Sparks, pp. 12–13; Wikipedia, “ National Air and Space Intelligence Center”; Clark III 938; Clark IV 1048)
July 1 — A new squadron that will become the 1st Aerospace Surveillance and Control Squadron becomes operational under the USAF Air Defense Command at Ent AFB [now the US Olympic Training Center], Colorado Springs, Colorado, part of NORAD’s Space Detection and Tracking System. The first squadron commander is Col. Robert Miller. The Space Track organization at Hanscom Field, Bedford, Massachusetts, assumes a backup role for squadron operations. (Wikipedia, “ 1st Space Operations Squadron”)
July 4 - 12:15 a.m. A woman and her daughter are on the roof of a flat in Ryde, Isle of Wight, England, when they notice five faraway lights in a row approaching them. Another light is above the others. Soon they can see that the lights are apparently portholes on an object shaped like a hovercraft (although their sketch looks more like a domed disk). The base of the object glows with an orange light. (Leonard G. Cramp, " Did a Scout Ship Touch Down on the Isle of Wight?" Flying Saucer Review 7, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1961): 16-17)
July 11 — 10:35 p.m. Jacques Vallée and others at the Paris Observatory in Meudon, France, see a mystery satellite as part of Project Moonwatch. The following day the director of the project confiscates all their data and destroys it, apparently in fear of being laughed at by the press, scientific colleagues, and the Americans. (Jacques Vallée, Forbidden Science, North Atlantic, 1992, pp. 41–42; Michael D. Swords, “ Gazing at the Moons,” IUR 32, no. 4 (October 2009): 11–12)
July 17 — 2:00 a.m. Two people driving about one mile north of Bonnie Springs Ranch [now the Ranch at Red Rock] in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Nevada, see in the rear-view mirror a low-flying object that overtakes their car, followed by a rush of cold air. It stops, circles the vehicle, flies off, and is lost to sight behind the mountains, where it might have landed, but an investigation by the military finds no trace. ( Sparks, p. 288; Vallée, Magonia, p. 282)
July 17 — After an FBI staffer in New Orleans inquiries about the propriety of joining NICAP, the Special Agent in Charge writes to J. Edgar Hoover saying that, although it has not been investigated by the FBI, “ NICAP is not the type of organization with which the Bureau’s name should become connected.” (SAC, New Orleans to Director, FBI, “ National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena, Miscellaneous—Information Concerning,” July 17, 1961)
August — Construction of essential facilities is completed at Area 51 in Nevada; three surplus Navy hangars are erected on the base’s north side. The original U-2 hangars are converted to maintenance and machine shops. Facilities in the main cantonment area include workshops and buildings for storage and administration, a commissary, control tower, fire station, and housing. The Navy also contributes more than 130 surplus Babbitt duplex housing units for long-term occupancy facilities. Older buildings are repaired, and additional facilities are constructed as necessary. A reservoir pond surrounded by trees serves as a recreational area one mile north of the base. Other recreational facilities included a gymnasium, a movie theater, and a baseball diamond. (Wikipedia, “ Area 51”)
August 4 — Rep. Thomas N. Downing (D-Va.) advises NICAP that the House Science and Astronautics Committee is considering hearings on UFOs by a three-man subcommittee headed by Rep. Joseph Karth. Meanwhile, Rep. Overton Brooks (D-La.) contacts Hillenkoetter and Keyhoe, asking them to prepare the best UFO cases and proof of official censorship for a meeting on August 24. (UFOEv, p. 139; Keyhoe, Aliens from Space, Signet ed., 1974, pp. 77–78)
August 5 — 8:20 a.m. John Lee-Steere sees a “snowy white meshlike substance” float to the ground from 12 white metallic discs traveling in pairs over the Mount Hale shearing station, 50 miles northwest of Meekatharra, Western Australia. Sheep-shearing contractor Edwin C. Payne picks up the material and it fades away in his hands. (“ Discs Trail White Fibrous Stuff,” APRO Bulletin, January 1962, p. 1; Keith Basterfield, “ Angel Hair: An Australian Perspective,” IUR 27, no. 1 (Spring 2002): 7; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: July–December 1961, The Author, 2003, p. 23; Clark III 124; Clark IV 151)
August 12 — 9:00 p.m. College seniors J. B. Furkenhoff and Tom Phipps see a large oval object with a fin extending from one edge to the center, like a sled with lighted car running boards, near Old Mission High School on 50th Street in Kansas City, Missouri. It hovers at 50 feet altitude for 3–5 minutes, then flies straight up, disappearing in about 5 seconds. ( Sparks, p. 289; Patrick Gross, “ Kansas City 1961, a Blue Book ‘Unknown’”)
Mid-August — House Committee staff consultant Richard P. Hines visits ATIC in Dayton, where Col. Robert Friend, Hynek, and other officials give him a tour, tell him that Project Blue Book has the UFO problem at hand, and that Rep. McCormack has been pressured by NICAP to hold hearings. Hines leaves ATIC “favorably impressed.” (Jacobs, UFO Controversy in America, Signet ed., 1976, pp. 160–161; Swords 293)
August 16 — George Hunt Williamson, now going by the name of Michel d’Obrenovic, arrives in Japan at the invitation of the Cosmic Brotherhood Association and its contactee leader Yusuke Matsumura. (Zirger and Martinelli, The Incredible Life of George Hunt Williamson, Verdechiari, 2016, pp. 129–130)
August 17 — Keyhoe writes a letter to Rep. Joseph Karth (D-Minn.), chair of a three-man House UFO Subcommittee, and offers to send him a copy of NICAP’s proposal for a UFO information agency. ( Donald E. Keyhoe to Joseph E. Karth, August 17, 1961)
August 22 - Adm. Roscoe Hillenkoetter signs a NICAP letter to Congress urging "immediate congressional action to reduce the dangers from secrecy about UFOs, including accidental war and the Russians falsely claiming UFOs are Soviet weapons. (Keyhoe, Aliens from Space, Signet ed., 1974, p. 85)
August 25? — Five people at Toulouse, France, see a luminous, yellow object, 24 feet in diameter, flying about 30 feet above a road. The object has horizontal and vertical bands of darker tone that give the appearance of “windows.” The UFO flies upwards very quickly when the car reaches town. (Vallée, Magonia, p. 282)
August 28 — Rep. Karth, after receiving a copy of NICAP’s plan to end UFO secrecy, writes a harsh letter to Keyhoe and attacks him for trying to defame and ridicule the Air Force. He had thought Keyhoe would be proving the existence of spaceships, but he knows now he cannot do this. Therefore, he is no longer interested in holding hearings. He tells a newspaper reporter that he will not be part of Keyhoe’s “cheap scheme to discredit the Air Force.” ( Letter from Joseph E. Karth to Donald E. Keyhoe, August 28, 1961; Jacobs, UFO Controversy in America, Signet ed., 1976, pp. 161–162; Powell, Keyhoe, 307–308)
September 2 — 4:40–4:50 p.m. A man named Ziegler is reclining outside his home in the northeast section of Albuquerque, New Mexico, when he sees a shiny round white object moving erratically to the west. At two different times it emits several small silvery objects about one- sixth the size of the main object. It fades out of sight to the south. (NICAP, “ Silver Object and Smaller Ones Emitted”; Sparks, p. 289; Herbert S. Taylor, “ Satellite Objects: A Further Look,” IUR 29, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 25)
September 6 — The National Reconnaissance Office is officially launched with headquarters in Chantilly, Virginia. It designs, builds, launches, and operates the reconnaissance satellites of the federal government, and provides satellite intelligence to several government agencies, particularly signals intelligence (SIGINT) to the National Security Agency, imagery intelligence (IMINT) to the National Geospace-Intelligence Agency, and measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT) to the Defense Intelligence Agency. Its existence remains top secret until September 18, 1992. The move creates a protocol that requires the CIA deputy director and the undersecretary of the Air Force to co-manage all space reconnaissance and aerial espionage programs. The public face of the NRO is the Office of Space Systems. (Wikipedia, “ National Reconnaissance Office”; Jacobsen, Area 51, pp. 168–169)
September 12 — After Richard H. Hall on September 1 sends Rep. Karth an interim response to his August 24 letter, Keyhoe also replies with a conciliatory letter, admitting he used “poor choice of words” and holding out a hope for congressional hearings on UFOs. ( Richard H. Hall to Joseph E. Karth, September 1, 1961; Donald E. Keyhoe to Joseph E. Karth, September 12, 1961; Powell, Keyhoe, 308)
September 16 — Rep. Overton Brooks (D-La.) dies of a heart attack; the August 24 meeting about UFO evidence has not taken place. He is replaced on the House Science and Astronautics Committee by Rep. George Paul Miller (D-Calif.) who indicates he will not order UFO hearings. (“ Rep. Brooks Dies in Washington,” Shreveport (La.) Journal, September 16, 1961, p. 1; Keyhoe, Aliens from Space, Signet ed., 1974, p. 78)
September 18 — Fourth Officer G. Gendall of the cargo ship Queensland Star, in the Indian Ocean, sees a white UFO through a cloud formation. It vanishes into the clouds and then reappears, dropping toward the sea. The water in the surrounding area grows intensely bright. Particles of white matter continue to fall into the sea after the object disappears, and the sky and water are illuminated for several minutes. (Sanderson, InvRes, pp. 47–48; Dolan, USO1, 222)
September 19 — 5:22 a.m. The North Concord Air Force Station [now closed] at East Mountain, Vermont, picks up an unidentified radar target at 62,000 feet for 18 minutes. It moves at a slow speed on an erratic course. (NICAP, “ Radar Tracks Object before and after Hill Abduction”)
September 19 — Keyhoe has smoothed things over with Rep. Karth, who writes: “Now that we better understand each other, I would hope we could properly proceed with a hearing early next year—providing the new chairman [Miller] authorizes hearings.” ( Joseph E. Karth to Donald E. Keyhoe, September 19, 1961; “ Majority Leader Support Indicates Early Congressional Action: Chairman Karth Backs Open Hearings,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 2 (October 1961): 1–2)
September 19-20 - 10:30 p.m. Barney and Betty Hill are driving home to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, from a vacation in Quebec, going south on US Highway 3. Near Groveton, New Hampshire, Betty sees a bright light moving upward and erratically, growing larger. Later, Barney stops the car at a scenic picnic area south of Twin Mountain. Through binoculars, Betty sees a solid object against the moon that "appeared to be flashing thin pencils of different colored lights." Barney thinks it's a plane, though it might be "playing games" with them. Barney drives slowly through Franconia Notch, watching the object. At one point it passes near the Old Man of the Mountain. About one mile south of Indian Head (north of Lincoln), the object rapidly descends toward their vehicle, causing Barney to stop in the middle of the highway. The huge, silent craft hovers approximately 80-100 feet above the Hills' 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air and fills the entire field of view in the windshield. It reminds Barney of a huge pancake. Carrying his pistol in his pocket, he steps away from the vehicle and moves closer to the object. Using the binoculars, Barney claims see about 8-11 humanoid figures who are peering out of the craft's windows, seeming to look at him. In unison, all but one figure move to what appears to be a panel on the rear wall of the hallway that encircles the front portion of the craft. The one remaining figure continues to look at Barney and communicates a message telling him to "stay where you are and keep looking." Barney has a recollection of observing the humanoid forms wearing glossy black uniforms and black caps. Red lights on what appears to be bat-wing fins begin to telescope out of the sides of the craft, and a long structure descends from the bottom of the craft. The UFO approaches to within 50-80 feet overhead and 300 feet away from him. Barney tears the binoculars away from his eyes and runs back to his car. In a near hysterical state, he tells Betty, "They're going to capture us!" He sees the object again shift its location to directly above the vehicle. He drives away at high speed, telling Betty to look for the object. She rolls down the window and looks up. Almost immediately, the Hills hear a rhythmic series of beeping or buzzing sounds which seem to bounce off the trunk of their vehicle. The car vibrates and a tingling sensation passes through them. At this point in time they experience the onset of an altered state of consciousness that leaves their minds dulled. A second series of beeping sounds return them to full consciousness. They find that they have traveled nearly 35 miles south, but have only vague, spotty memories of this section of road. They recall making a sudden, unplanned turn, encountering a roadblock, and observing a fiery orb in the road. At 5:00 a.m., they arrive home, about two hours later than expected. Barney feels compelled to examine his genitals, and they both take long showers. Betty notices a pinkish powder and a tear in her dress. There are shiny, concentric circles on their car's trunk that were not there the previous day. Betty and Barney experiment with a compass, noting that when they move it close to the spots, the needle whirls rapidly. But when they move it a few inches away from the shiny spots, it drops down. (Wikipedia, " Betty and Barney Hill incident"; NICAP, " The Betty and Barney Hill Case"; Sparks, p. 289; Walter N. Webb, " A Dramatic UFO Encounter in the White Mountains, New Hampshire: The Hill Case, Sept. 19-20, 1961," The Author, August 30, 1965; John G. Fuller, The Interrupted Journey, Dial, 1966; [ case documents and correspondence]; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 178-184; Mark Rodeghier, " Hypnosis and the Hill Abduction Case," IUR 19, no. 2 (March/April 1994): 4-6, 23-24; Robert H. Coddington, " The Hill Experience," IUR 19, no. 3 (May/June 1994): 18-19; Betty Hill, A Common Sense Approach to UFOs, The Author, 1995; Mark Cashman, " Behavioral Classification System for UFO Occupants," IUR 24, no. 1 (Spring 1999): 19; UFOEv II 528-529, 567-571; Michael D. Swords, GrassRoots UFOs: Case Reports from the Timmerman Files, Fund for UFO Research, 2005, p. 143; Stanton Friedman and Kathleen Marden, Captured! The Betty and Barney Hill UFO Experience, Weiser, 2007; Greg Sandow, " The Hill Case and the Limits of Ufology," IUR 31, no. 4 (March 2008): 3-7, 19-28; Clark III 577-592; Colin Dickey, " They Knew What They Had Seen," Slate, September 11, 2023; Matthew Bowman, The Abduction of Betty and Barney Hill: Alien Encounters, Civil Rights, and the New Age in America, Yale University, 2023; Randle, 1973, pp. 42-46; Graff 253-255; Nigel Watson, " On the Credibility of the Barney and Betty Hill Abduction Case," in Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos and Richard Heiden, eds., The Reliability of UFO Witness Testimony, UPIAR, 2023, pp. 220-228; " Rare, Extensive Betty Hill Interview on Her 1961 UFO Abduction with Husband Barney in New Hampshire," Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, February 27, 2024; Eghigian, After, pp. 162-168; Nigel Watson, "Fragments of Reality," Fortean Times 449 (October 2024): 26; Clark IV 17,635-649; " In a Rare Interview, Betty and Barney Hill Provide a Detailed Account of Their 1961 UFO Abduction," Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, August 28, 2025)
September 20 - 2:14 a.m. Pease AFB [now Pease Air National Guard Base] in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, picks up an unidentified radar blip 4 miles away from the base, with no visual contact. (NICAP, " Radar Tracks Object before and after Hill Abduction")
September 21-22 - Betty Hill calls Pease AFB and reports her UFO incident (without mentioning the figures). Maj. Paul W. Henderson of the 100th Bomb Wing calls back with a few questions.
September 24 — 11:35 p.m. Czeslaw K. Kawecki is walking along the sand dunes separating Łebsko Lake from the Baltic Sea to the west of Łeba, Poland. He hears the noise of rushing water and sees the surface of the sea rising from a spot about 1,000 feet from shore. Water gushes from the top, then a black object like an elongated triangle emerges and hovers, apparently sucking up water. A belt of white lights becomes visible, as well as a bent antenna on the object’s rounded top. He estimates it is 16 feet across and 20 feet high. After one minute, a second light appears on the underside, much brighter than the belt. The object then tilts for 30 seconds, then glides about 150 feet eastward, stops, and returns to its first position. Its base has some hook-shaped streaks, nd three triangular spikes, and a gleaming disk like polished silver that reflects the light. The object then moves north and upward at an angle, diminishing in size until it disappears. It is in view for 4–5 minutes. Two fisherman have also seen the display. (Leonard G. Cramp, Piece for a Jig-saw, Somerton, 1967, pp. 129–130; Dolan, USO1, 223–224)
September 26 — Betty Hill writes to Donald E. Keyhoe (mentioning the figures Barney remembers seeing) and asks for more information. She mentions that she and Barney are considering hypnosis. (Mark Rodeghier, “ Hypnosis and the Hill Abduction Case,” IUR 19, no. 2 (March/April 1994): 4–6, 23–24; Michael D. Swords, “ Radio Signals from Space, Alien Probes, and Betty Hill,” IUR 29, no. 4 (July 2005): 15)
September 27 — 7:57 a.m. The radar operator on a USAF Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft off the California coast spots five targets on his scope. Four of the objects are on a heading of 90°, and all of them are moving at a high rate of speed. They soon disappear into sea clutter. Three minutes later, two objects appear heading 70° then also disappear into sea clutter. The speed of one of the objects is measured at about 2,070 mph over a distance of 230 miles. While the two objects are on the scope, a single stationary object also appears. After remaining stationary for about two minutes, it moves on a heading of 265° at 70 mph and is lost in the sea clutter. The objects can only be painted with the IFF on. The radar is an APS-95. (NICAP, “ Uncorrelated Targets on APS-95”; Sparks, p. 290)
September 29–October 3 — Betty Hill has a series of intensely vivid dreams in which she and Barney encounter a strange roadblock and are approached by a group of men. She loses consciousness and awakes on board a craft where they are given a medical examination by “intelligent, humanoid beings.” (Clark III 581– 583; Clark IV 639–641)
Autumn — Evening. Emanoil Manoliu, son of the prominent novelist Mihail Sadoveanu, is at the Neamț Monastery west of Târgu Neamț, Romania, when he sees a blinding, multicolored light. After a few seconds it rises quickly and he can see it looks like a disc with a concave base about 20–23 feet long and 10 feet broad. It vanishes “like a tornado in the air” and he feels the rush of wind. The next day he goes to the site with a priest and finds an area of singed grass and a light imprint in the soil. (Hobana and Weverbergh 167–168)
October 2 — Around 12:00 noon. Waldo J. Harris, private pilot and real-estate broker, is getting ready to take off in a Mooney M20A from Utah Central Airport [now closed] in Granger, Utah, when he sees a bright spot in the sky. After he takes off, he notices that the light is still in the same location. He flies toward the object to get a better look, and sees that the UFO has no wings or tail and is hovering with a slight rocking motion. He later estimates the diameter at 35–50 feet, with a thickness of about 4 feet, and the appearance of sand- blasted aluminum. Harris estimates he has approached within 2 miles of the object before it rises abruptly and zooms away for 10 miles before it resumes a rocking hover. He approaches again, but it departs in about 2–3 seconds. Several other people, including airport controller Jay Galbraith, also see the UFO from the airport. Investigators from Hill AFB near Ogden arrive quickly. Airport attendant Russell M. Woods tells them he thinks the object was at 2,500 feet altitude. On October 9, Douglas M. Crouch forwards the Hill AFB official report, including transcripts of interviews, to Wright- Patterson AFB in Ohio, saying “No unusual meteorological or astronomical conditions were present to account for the sighting.” Nonetheless, Blue Book wanders from Venus to a research balloon to a sundog (an assessment James E. McDonald calls “nonsensical”) as explanations. (“ ‘Flying Saucer’ Observed over Valley,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City), October 3, 1961, p. 1B; “ Pentagon Calls Utah Saucer ‘Ballooney,’” Deseret News (Salt lake City), October 11, 1961, p. 12; “ Pilot Ground Crew, Observe Disc,” APRO Bulletin, January 1962, pp. 1, 3; UFOEv, pp. 1–2; James E. McDonald, “ Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, pp. 49–50; Clark III 1025–1028; Covert 42; Clark IV 1139–1142)
October 4–5 — Two IBM engineers, C. D. Jackson and Robert E. Hohmann, have lunch in Washington, D.C., with Donald Keyhoe, who shows them the letter from Betty Hill. (Michael D. Swords, “ Radio Signals from Space, Alien Probes, and Betty Hill,” IUR 29, no. 4 (July 2005): 15)
October 12 — After 8:00 p.m. Television commentator Frank Edwards is leaving the WTTV studio in Indianapolis, Indiana, when he notices a strange object in the distance. It is spherical and has a band of light around its middle. Red lights are blinking on the bottom of the object. The UFO itself is silvery, apparently metallic, and reflects the city’s lights. As Edwards watches, the UFO spirals upward, stops, hovers again, and speeds away to the south. The crew of a train on the Indianapolis Belt Railroad (fireman Jerry Carter and engineer Nolan S. Garman) say that the band of light is a row of square portholes from which a bright, pulsating white light is flashing. Two security guards at a meat-packing plant (Bud Kaesel and Walter Jamison) see the object pass directly overhead, rotating clockwise. (“ Frank Edwards Sights UAO,” APRO Bulletin, November 1961, p. 1; “ Frank Edwards, Many Witnesses, Sight UFO over Indianapolis,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 3 (Jan./Feb. 1962): 5; Olsen, sec. 3, pp. 76–77)
October 14 — 5:00 p.m. Mrs. Erwin Riley, a summer resident in Two Harbors, Minnesota, sees a large object slide into the water of Lake Superior about one mile from shore and bob about on the surface. She summons a neighbor, Jack Ray, and they both watch through binoculars, but they can’t make out what it is. At dusk, the Lake County Sheriff responds to their call, but he can’t see much due to swells on the lake surface. He calls the Air Force and Coast Guard to make sure it’s not part of a training exercise. Shortly afterward, Riley sees the object rise into the air and travel southeast at about the speed of a car. A Coast Guard search the next day turns up only a floating log. (“ Flying Log?” APRO Bulletin, November 1961, p. 3; Dolan, USO1, 225)
October 14 — 5:30 p.m. Mayor Michael Burson and his wife watch two pairs of UFOs move to the east above Sunset, Utah. The first pair looks like puffy cotton joined together by “stringy stuff,” and the second pair are metallic discs. (“ More Discs in Utah,” APRO Bulletin, March 1962, p. 2)
October 15 — 5:00 p.m. Mrs. John P. Vanicky and Norine Gribble are driving from Marquette, Michigan, to Hurley, Wisconsin, when they see a brown cigar-shaped object spouting fire from its rear and moving southeast. They stop the car and watch for 20 minutes until it disappears. (Mrs. John P. Vanicky, “ Tells of Seeing Strange Object in Sky Sunday,” Duluth (Minn.) News-Tribune, October 19, 1961, p. 28; “ Flying Log?” APRO Bulletin, November 1961, p. 3)
October 21 — 2:00 a.m. A brilliant fireball flashes in front of Richard and Rhonda DuBois’s car on US Highway 60 as they are driving between Datil and Pie Town, New Mexico. It then veers into the sky. Later, as they approach a canyon they see that the light is traveling along in front of them. It breaks into four lights that move along with the car, even as DuBois drives at 100 mph, until they stop at a roadside motel. The lights then zoom straight up and disappear. (“Woman Says Flying Objects Chase Car,” Garden Grove (Calif.) News, October 23, 1961; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 231; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: July–December 1961, The Author, 2003, p. 97)
October 21 — Webb, initially skeptical, winds up interviewing the Hills for 6 hours. He finds that their amnesia concerning some parts of the episode has unsettled them, and Betty tells him she had vivid nightmares for six straight nights a couple weeks after the incident. (Clark III 581; Clark IV 639)
October 26 — Walter Webb’s report to NICAP concludes that the Hills are telling the truth. (Walter N. Webb, “ A Dramatic UFO Encounter in the White Mountains, N.H., September 19–20, 1961,” NICAP Massachusetts Subcommittee, October 26, 1961; Mark Rodeghier, “ Hypnosis and the Hill Abduction Case,” IUR 19, no. 2 (March/April 1994): 4–6; Clark III 581; Clark IV 639)
October 30 — The Soviet RDS-202 hydrogen bomb, the 50-megaton Tsar Bomba, is supposedly the most powerful nuclear weapon ever tested. It is detonated at the Sukhoy Nos Cape of Severny Island, Novaya Zemla, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It flattens entire villages in surrounding areas and breaks windows in Finland 1,000 miles away. (Wikipedia, “ Tsar Bomba”)
October 30 - Engineer Carl H. Geary Jr. watches four luminous blue discs, each with a band of different-colored lights or portholes, moving slowly in a straight-line formation above Derry, Pennsylvania. They are apparently oscillating with a sideways motion. When they reach a hill, they give off a blue flash. Geary jumps in his car and paces them on a parallel road, but the objects finally disappear behind a mountain. (" Frequent UFO Operations, Many at Night," UFO Investigator 2, no. 3 (Jan./Feb. 1962): 6)
November 3 — 4:30 p.m. Mr. E. Adkins observes a brilliant object with an orange center flying south over Eyres Monsell, Leicester, England, at an estimated 600 mph. It is triangular in shape and about 300 feet wide. (“ Triangular Object over Eyres Monsell,” Flying Saucer Review 8, no. 2 (March/April 1962): 24)
November 13 — The AFCIN-1E-0 Draft Policy letter (Betz Memo) is prepared by Lt. Col. Norman M. Rosner for Col. Ward Reid Betz. Among other things, it specifies three peacetime functions of the 4602d Air Intelligence Service Squadron at Ent AFB [now the US Olympic Training Center], Colorado Springs, Colorado: UFO investigations, Project Moon Dust (an exploitation program to locate, recover, and deliver descended foreign space vehicles), and Operation Blue Fly (to facilitate delivery to the Foreign Technological Division of Moon Dust and other items of great technical intelligence interest). These three functions involve “employment of qualified field intelligence personnel on a quick reaction basis to recover or perform field exploitation of unidentified flying objects, or known Soviet/Bloc aerospace vehicles, weapons systems, and/or residual components of such equipment.” (US Department of the Air Force, “ AFCIN-1E-D/Colonel Betz,” November 13, 1961; Howard Blum, Out There: The Government’s Secret Quest for Extraterrestrials, Simon & Schuster, 1990, pp. 71–72; “ AFCIN- Paul Dean, “ The Rejuvenated ‘Betz Memo,’” UFOs: Documenting the Evidence, May 8, 2016; Kevin D. Randle, “ Coast to Coast AM: The Moon Dust Controversy,” A Different Perspective, April 30, 2021)
Late November — Evening. A group of four friends are hunting on a Sunday in the area of Harvey, North Dakota. As they are returning in the car, the two men in the front seat notice a descending glowing object in the sky ahead of them. Assuming they are witnessing a plane crash, they rush to the scene of its landing, where they find at 150 yards distance, a “silo-appearing craft which was sticking in the ground with this glow around it.” The men shine a hand spotlight and shine it on the object, whereupon they see four human-looking individuals standing around it. At this point they seem to hear an explosion and “everything went out.” The principal witness wakes up from dozing in the back seat as the car is negotiating soggy ground looking for the craft and crew. They return to the spot where the landing takes place, and they see the figures again, wearing white coveralls and standing 5 feet high. They get out of the car and one figure waves them away. Eventually, the men agree to return to a small town, possibly Martin, North Dakota, 11 miles away, where they find a police officer, who listens to the story and agrees to accompany them back to the site. They see red lights moving in the field and both cars go in pursuit of them. The lights go out, the police officer drives away, and the four men resume driving home. Two miles down the highway, the silo-like object reappears, landing gently 150 yards away with two of the figures watching them. Two of the men get out of the car again and shine the spotlight on the craft. One of the men is carrying a rifle; he drops on the ground and shoots, apparently hitting one of the figures in the right shoulder. The figure spins around, goes down on his knees, gets help from the other figure, then yells, “Now what the hell did you do that for?” Weirdly, as soon as the men return to the car, the two who have remained inside insist the rifle had not been removed and no shot was fired. The primary witness (who remains in the car) has no recollection of what happened to the craft and figures. By the time they get home, dawn is breaking, and their wives are waiting for them. They all know it has taken longer than it should have to return. A few hours later, around 12:00 noon, the principal witness is at work when three well-groomed, official-looking men visit him. He presumes they are Air Force intelligence officers who say they have a “report” about the previous night’s event. They ask him what clothes he was wearing and what the object looked like, but they never ask about the shooting. Later, they show up at his house and ask to see his hunting gear and boots. They tell him not to say anything more about the incident. In January 1968, US Border Patrol agent [later BATF agent] Donald E. Flickinger manages to interview the primary witness, who works as a supervisor at Minot AFB hospital, and two of the others, one a small-town high school superintendent and the other an active-duty Air Force sergeant. They all are “extremely reliable and responsible,” Flickinger says. (J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 164–165; Clark III 825–827; Clark IV 906–909)
Late November - 9:30 p.m. Real estate agent Cavalheiro Mendes is walking along the beach in Balneário Pinhal, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, when he sees a huge light 900 feet away. As he walks toward it, he sees it is a huge disc resting on the sand. He feels compelled to approach it and sees two helmeted figures come from behind the object. They seem to be telling him telepathically not to resist. Mendes finds he is completely unable to move. He feels one of them scratching his forearm with an instrument, then he blacks out. When he wakes up, he is nearly back to his beach house and it is 11:30 p.m. After a few weeks he feels anxious and sad for no apparent reason. He refuses to be hypnotized. (Lorenzen, Flying Saucer Occupants, Signet, 1967, pp. 199-200)
November 25 — IBM engineers C. D. Jackson and Robert E. Hohmann interview the Hills. One of them expresses surprise at how long the drive took. They are mysteriously interested in whether nitrates or chemicals containing nitrates are in their car. For the first time, Barney and Betty realize that there are two hours they cannot account for. Also present is a friend of the Hills, retired USAF Maj. James McDonald, a former intelligence officer. He suggests that Betty and Barney consult a hypnotist. (Mark Rodeghier, “ Hypnosis and the Hill Abduction Case,” IUR 19, no. 2 (March/April 1994): 6, 23–24; Michael D. Swords, “ Radio Signals from Space, Alien Probes, and Betty Hill,” IUR 29, no. 4 (July 2005): 15; Clark III 583; Tanner F. Boyle, “ Forbidden Science Dispatches #1,” Getting Spooked Substack, October 4, 2023; Clark IV 641)
December — Funding runs out for the Avrocar and it and related WS-606A supersonic VTOL programs are officially cancelled by the US military. (Wikipedia, “ Avro Canada VZ-9 Avrocar”; Joseph Trevithick and Tyler Rogoway, “ No, This Is Not A Secret UFO Crash Retrieval,” The Drive: The War Zone, November 29, 2023)
1962
According to a “former Project Blue Book Chief” (probably Maj. Friend) gun-camera films obtained during jet interceptor UFO chases are routinely referred to the CIA’s National Photographic Interpretation Center (established in 1961) for analysis. Richard H. Hall writes, “This cannot be documented at present, but I heard him say so to a UFO researcher colleague. None of the photoanalysis data in these cases has been released, nor has the existence of these films ever been acknowledged.” (Richard H. Hall, Uninvited Guests, Aurora, 1988, p. 179)
The Air Force tries once again to get rid of the UFO program, but its attempts to get NASA or the National Science Foundation to handle the program prove futile. It finally gives up the entire idea. The program remains at the Foreign Technology Division as a special project and without expanded resources. (Jacobs, UFO Controversy in America, Signet ed., 1976, p. 164)
1962 - Day. An Air Force pilot is flying a brand new B-52 with a full crew out of Wichita, Kansas, headed for an air base in the southwest. He notices a bright flash of sunlight in his left side and turns to see a metallic object "like polished chrome." It is pacing the aircraft near its left wingtip. The object is 4-8 feet in diameter and has no seams or markings. His First Officer is watching an identical object off the right wing, and the crewman in the tail reports that there is a round shiny metal ball following close behind the B-52. The top and bottom gunners also see spheres above and below the plane. The pilot goes into an evasive maneuver, but after 10-15 minutes the objects are maintaining their positions. He returns to his previous assigned altitude and heading. After a few minutes, the five objects leave, one at a time, first the bottom one, then the top, then the tail. The two objects on the wings shoot away at the same time and climb out of sight parallel to each other. After landing, the crew is told not to talk about the sighting at all. (Richard F. Haines, " NARCAP's Project Sphere: Are Spherical UAP a Threat to Aviation Safety?" IUR 33, no. 2 (July 2010): 5-6)
1962 - The Australian Navy’s destroyer HMAS Voyager is cruising in the Bass Strait when it detects a large underwater object with its sonar (and possibly visually as well). The ship gives chase, but it disappears from the sensors traveling at a speed of more than 100 knots. (Sheryl Gottschall, “ Third Australian National UFO Conference Review,” UFO Research Queensland, 2003; “Seeing Is Believing,” UFO Encounter, no. 222 (Feb./Mar. 2005); Carl Feindt, “ Report #912,” waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 228–230)
1962 - 12:00 midnight. Actor Jamie Farr and his wife Joy Ann are driving through the desert near Yuma, Arizona, when they notice a light moving erratically at the top of a mountain. It zig-zags across the sky as it approaches them, moving to within 150 feet, then 60 feet of their vehicle. They can see two lights, red and blue, revolving beneath the silent object. It paces them for a short time then moves away at incredible speed. (“ Jamie and Joy Farr Report UFO Sighting,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 1, no. 8 (December 1980): 3, 5)
1962 — The Argentine Navy creates a permanent commission for the study of UFOs, and the Argentine Air Force establishes a division for the same purpose. (Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos, “ Argentina: UFO Declassification,” UAPSG–GEFAI, July 29, 2020)
The first UFO book to be published in Russia is a translation of Harvard astronomer’s Donald Menzel’s Flying Saucers (1953). (О letayushchikh tarelkakh, Izdatelstvo Inostrannoy Literatuiy, 1962)
1962 - René and Françine Fouéré establish the Groupe d’Étude des Phénomènes Aériens in Paris, France, with an initial group of 60 interested members. The following year GEPA launches a magazine, Phénomènes Spatiaux, which is published through 1978. In 1964, Lionel-Max Chassin, now retired from the army, takes over as president. (Wikipedia, “ Group d’Étude des Phénomènes Aériens”)
1962 — French composer Paul Misraki writes Les Extraterrestres using the pseudonym Paul Thomas. He links modern UFO sightings with biblical and mythological tales and claims that angels are aliens, that the Bible and other ancient texts are filled with many UFO flying saucer sightings, and that throughout human history extraterrestrial visitors have intervened in human affairs. Misraki is also one of the first authors to suggest that apparitions may be UFO-related phenomena. (Paul Thomas [Paul Misraki], Les Extraterrestres, Plon, 1962; Jerome Clark, “ Vimanas Have Landed: Ancient Astronautics in Ufology,” IUR 22, no. 3 (Fall 1997): 28–29; Clark III 109; Clark IV 136)
Contactee Dorothy Martin moves from southern California to Mount Shasta in the northern part of the state. There she establishes the Association of Sananda and Sanat Kumara. Under the name Sister Thedra, she continues to practice channeling and participate in contactee groups until her death in 1992. (Jerome Clark, “The Odyssey of Sister Thedra,” in Diana G. Tumminia, ed., Alien Worlds: Social and Religious Dimensions of Extraterrestrial Contact, Syracuse University, 2007, pp. 25–41; Clark III 720; Clark IV 788)
January — The Federal Aviation Administration expands the restricted airspace in the vicinity of Groom Lake, Nevada, and the lakebed becomes the center of a 600-square-mile addition to restricted area R-4808N. (Wikipedia, “ Area 51”)
January — The IBM 7950 Harvest computer, designed to be used for cryptanalysis, is delivered to the National Security Agency. It includes Tractor, a large automated tape cartridge library. An NSA-conducted evaluation finds that Harvest is more powerful than the best commercially available machine by a factor of 50–200, depending on the task. It remains in use until 1976. One purpose of the machine is to search text for keywords from a watchlist. From a single foreign cipher system, Harvest is able to scan more than 7 million decrypts for any occurrences of some 7,000 key words in under four hours. The computer is also used for codebreaking, and this is enhanced by a system codenamed Rye, which allows remote access to Harvest. (Wikipedia, “ IBM 7950 Harvest”; “ Timeline of the IBM Stretch/Harvest Era (1956–1961),” computerhistory.org)
January 29 - A Royal Dutch Air Force pilot flying an F-86 Sabrejet sights a UFO over eastern Netherlands. The jet's radar also picks up the object and control tower radar (somewhere) is also tracking it. He attempts to give the object an urgent warning by radio, but it goes unheeded. He arms a Sidewinder rocket and tries to close in, but the UFO pulls away swiftly before he can fire. (" New Sightings by Navy, FAA, and Airline Observers: Dutch Jet Pilot Tries to Down UFO," UFO Investigator 2, no. 5 (Aug./Sept. 1962): 1-2)
February — Alex Birch, 14, snaps an out-of-focus photo of five domed discs that he and two friends see hovering 500 feet above his backyard in Mosborough, Sheffield, England. Alec and his father show the photo later to the Air Ministry, which pronounces them “temperature inversions” in October. However, in an interview on BBC-2 television on October 6, 1972, Alex confesses that he had superimposed images painted on glass over the backyard scenery, fooling even his father. (“ Schoolboy Snaps Saucer,” Flying Saucer Review 8, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1962): 4; “ The Alec Birch Photograph,” Flying Saucer Review 9, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1963): 29; Gordon Creighton, “ ‘No Kidding This Time. My Flying Saucers Photo Is Genuine!’ (–Alec Birch),” Flying Saucer Review 45, no. 2 (Summer 2000): 9–11; Clark III 603; David Clarke, “ New Claims in Film by the ‘Lad Who Photographed Flying Saucers,’” Dr. David Clarke Folklore and Journalism, August 6, 2022; Clark IV 662; Alex Birch, “ Alex Birch UFO’s”)
February 6 — The US Air Force issues the last of its UFO fact sheets (no. 179-62). In the future it will issue press releases. (“ Relax! Flying Saucers Belong to This World,” Boston (Mass.) Globe, February 7, 1962, p. 21; “ Answer to the AF Release,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 3 (January/February 1962): 4; UFOEv, p. 108)
February 9 — 3:30 a.m. Ronald Wildman is driving a new Vauxhall car through Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire, UK, when see sees a silent, white, oval-shaped object with black vents spaced at regular intervals around it. It is about 20–30 feet above the ground and at least 40 feet wide. When Wildman is within 60 feet of it, his car slows to 20 mph, but his headlights do not fade. The object keeps ahead of him by 20 feet for a while, then comes lower and a white haze appears around it. It veers off to the right at terrific speed and vanishes, brushing particles of frost from the tree tops onto his windshield. (“ The Ivinghoe Flying Saucer: Mr. Ronald Wildman’s Sensational Story,” Flying Saucer Review 8, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1962): 18, iv; Charles Bowen, “Silently, Out of the Night Sky,” The Unexplained, no. 5 (1980): 100)
February 24 — NORAD Requirement 64-73 states that its radar coverage “would provide warning from all directions, not just northern approaches.” (Clark III 811; Clark IV 903)
March — Chemical engineer Leon Davidson writes a two-part article in Saucer News explaining how he has become convinced that the CIA, especially under the influence of Allen Dulles, has engineered disinformation about UFOs and even manufactured some seemingly legitimate radar sightings as a tool in the Cold War. Its aim is to cause the Soviet Union to waste time and effort in preparing defenses against fictitious aircraft and weapons that the US might be developing. Furthermore, UFOs can be used to capture headlines, diverting attention from unwelcome news coverage of espionage operations. Davidson writes that Dulles has resorted to using contactees and UFO organizations as a propaganda vehicle. Messages supposedly from spacemen calling for a halt in nuclear testing could influence public opinion in a test ban treaty that, in effect, would benefit the US more than the Russians, since the Soviets were seen as overtaking the American lead in weapons development. Davidson attributes CIA involvement in the claims of George Adamski and Daniel Fry. He also points out that electronic countermeasures (ECM) equipment is capable of creating fake radar returns and goes so far as to say that secret working models of saucers, perhaps piloted by “midgets,” are responsible for some sightings. (Leon Davidson, “ ECM + CIA = UFO: Or, How to Cause Radar Sightings,” Flying Saucer Review 6, no. 2 (March/April 1960): 9–12; Leon Davidson, “ An Open Letter to Saucer Researchers, Part One,” Saucer News 9, no. 1 (March 1962): 8–11; Leon Davidson, “ An Open Letter to Saucer Researchers, Part Two,” Saucer News 9, no. 2 (June 1962): 8–10; Gerald K. Haines, “ CIA’s Role in the Study of UFOs, 1947–90,” Studies in Intelligence 40, no. 5 (1997): 67–84)
March 25 — The Hills meet with a psychiatrist (Duncan Stephens of the Exeter Clinic, New Hampshire) who rules out simultaneous hallucination. Around this time, Barney develops a series of warts in an almost geometrically perfect circular ring in his groin but does not associate his malaise with the UFO incident. (Clark III 583–584; Clark IV 641–642)
March 26 - 1:35 p.m. USAF Capt. J. M. Lowery, from an unspecified aircraft, sees a thin, cylindrical object, 1/3 snout, 2/3 tail fins, fly at an estimated Mach 2.7 (1,800 mph) at Ramstein Air Base near Ramstein-Miesenbach, Germany. At first sight the object appears like a small delta- wing fighter. When it reaches the 3 o'clock position, the object appears more like a sidewinder missile. As the object travels from the 3 o'clock position to the 5 o'clock position, the pilot has the impression of shape changing to the appearance of a dart target. The duration is 5-8 seconds. (NICAP, " Missile-Like Object Observed from Aircraft"; Sparks, p. 291; John Greenewald, " Project Blue Book: Ramstein Air Force Base UFO Encounter, March 26, 1962 (Unidentified)," The Black Vault, August 7, 2024)
March 27–30 — George Adamski claims to attend a Twelve Counsellors Meeting on Saturn that addresses the threat of nuclear war on Earth. In the report that he publishes in June, Adamski writes that the “present explosions of atomic energy are going in the wrong direction, and if these experiments do not stop, the only results will be a lost civilization… This is even affecting their planets.” Ridiculed by many, some of Adamski’s descriptions in the report about his trip clearly show this was a deeply spiritual experience for him, which may have unbalanced him for some time. (George Adamski, George Adamski’s Special Report: My Trip to the Twelve Counsellors Meeting That Took Place on Saturn, March 27– 30, 1962, Science of Life, 1962; “ Final Years,” The Adamski Case, June 11, 2009)
March 29 — 11:32 a.m. A group of six men (E. P. Taylor, R. C. Bauld, V. Watkins, M. Lush, R. E. Goodall, and M. Dentice) on a fishing trip at Kinloch, New Zealand, see a UFO hovering above Whangamata Bay from their boat, Ponui, which was about a half mile away from the Kinloch Marina. It resembles a parachute at first as it hovers for about 2 minutes, but through binoculars it appears to be rotating counterclockwise, and soon changes to the shape of a cross. It speeds away suddenly, disappearing in 4 seconds. (“ Fishermen See UFO,” Flying Saucer Review 8, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1962): 23)
Spring or summer — All base personnel on flying status attend a briefing in the theater at the Clinton-Sherman AFB [now the Clinton-Sherman Industrial Airpark] near Burns Flat, Oklahoma. The airmen are shown a short 20–30-minute Air Force film showing, spliced together without interpretation, five or six gun-camera clips apparently documenting attempts by aircraft to intercept UFOs. Afterward, the commander of the 4213d Strategic Wing reads a statement (probably JANAP 146(D)) stipulating fines and jail sentences for anyone publicly reporting a UFO sighting and hands out UFO sighting forms in the event of an incident. One technician recalls there is a section on reporting any electronic signature emitted from the UFO picked up by specific ECM devices. (Nukes 123–125)
April — An informant of Leonard H. Stringfield, a captain in the US Naval Reserve attached to the 354th Tactical Fighter Wing deployed to Wright-Patterson AFB as an exchange pilot, is leading his crew on a running trip through the base. They enter a hangar that they think contains an equipment room, but they are confronted by an air police sentry with a submachine gun. Nearby on two engine test stands is a strange object resembling a disc 12–15 feet long and 8 feet deep. It has no markings, insignia, or rivets. The object is roped off and eight guards are standing parade around it. The guard turns them away and they exit the hangar. The crew returns to its base in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, one week later, and the captain is reprimanded by the brigadier general of the combat wing, saying that he has broken security. He agrees that he has seen nothing. (Leonard H. Stringfield, UFO Crash Retrievals: Status Report III, Amassing the Evidence, The Author, June 1982, pp. 88–89)
April 18 — Evening. A red, glowing object is first seen at a great height over Oneida, New York, heading west silently. There are reports from Kansas and Colorado. NORAD radar picks up the object; ADC alerts several bases, including Nellis AFB near Las Vegas, Nevada. Fighters are scrambled from Luke AFB near Phoenix, Arizona, and the jets are possibly heard over Nephi, Utah, after the object passes overhead. Capt. Herman Gordon Shields, flying a C-119 two miles west of Levan, Utah, sees it as a slender object. A man in Silver City, Utah, claims that the object is a glowing ball of light about the size of a soccer ball. He says it is white with a yellowish tint and a bright yellow jagged flame coming from the rear: “As the object passed over Robinson [in Ogden, Utah?], it slowed down in [the] air, and after, [a] gasping sound was heard, the object spurted ahead again. After this procedure was repeated three or four times, the object arched over and began descending to earth after which the object turned bluish color and then burned out or went dark. After the object began to slow down it began to wobble or fishtail in its path.” Several people see the object over Eureka, Utah, apparently crashing and interrupting electrical service from a power plant close to the landing site. It is described as a “glowing, orange oval which emitted a low, whirring sound.” It takes off a few minutes later, continuing to the west. The object lights up the streets of Reno, Nevada, and then turns to Las Vegas. It blares brightly like a “tremendous, flaming sword” over Nellis AFB and then disappears from their radar scopes at 10,000 feet. Witnesses say the object is traveling almost horizontally northeast of Las Vegas until a final explosion occurs from the direction of Mesquite, Nevada. Sheriff’s deputy Walter Bun, who leads the search and rescue unit, moves the unit into the Spring Mountain area in jeeps to search for wreckage. They search through the night, and when the sun comes up they continue using aircraft. They do not find anything of importance except some ashes that might easily be the remains of a campfire started by a hunter some weeks earlier. When no one reports a downed or missing aircraft, Bun and the other deputies call off the search. The object seems to have changed direction, because at Reno it passes west to east, in Utah it is seen going southeast to northwest, and at Nephi it travels west. The duration of the sighting, from New York to Nevada, is only 32 minutes, giving a speed of 4,500 mph, below the speed of meteors. On May 8, the Air Force sends Hynek and Lt. Col. Robert Friend to Utah with Douglas M. Crouch, chief of criminal investigation at Hill AFB, south of Ogden, Utah. They determine it is a bolide. Blue Book lists it as two sightings: a multiple radar sighting at Nellis on April 18 with no visual (despite hundreds of observers in Las Vegas), and a bolide over Utah that it claims occurs on April 19. In reality, the Utah and Nevada sightings are only minutes apart (8:15 p.m. Mountain Time). However, there is quite a bit of information from numerous sources concerning this major incident, including Project Blue Book documents, and now possible confirmation by a radar man at ATIC. The case is also not explained in a Blue Book monthly sighting listing for April 1962. It is interesting that every one of these states except Utah has or was in the process of obtaining ICBM bases: New York (Plattsburg AFB); Kansas, (Forbes AFB and McConnell AFB); Utah (Minuteman production at Air Force Plant 77 at Hill AFB); Idaho (Mountain Home AFB); Montana (Malmstrom AFB); New Mexico (Walker AFB); Wyoming (F. E. Warren AFB); Arizona (Davis Monthan AFB); California (Beale AFB). (NICAP, “ National Air Defense Alert”; Sparks, p. 291; “Brilliant Red Explosion Flares in Las Vegas Sky,” Las Vegas (Nev.) Sun, April 19, 1962, pp. 1, 24; “ Meteor Lands in Utah, Lights Western Skies,” Los Angeles Times, April 19, 1962, p. 15; “ Brilliant Fireball Flashes in Skies,” Salt Lake City Deseret News, April 19, 1962, pp. 1, 5; “ “ Meteor Startles Reno,” Reno (Nev.) Gazette-Journal, April 19, 1962, p. 1; Las Vegas Sun, April 19, 1962; Frank Edwards, Strange World, Ace ed., 1964, pp. 38–41; Francis Ridge, “ A Puzzling Radar Incident: An Interview with a Man That Knew Quintanilla”; Kevin D. Randle, A History of UFO Crashes, Avon, 1995, pp. 79–94; Clark III 333–335; Randle, Levelland, 2021, pp. 87–99; Clark IV 370–372, 892)
April 24 - 7:45 p.m. Alice W. Gasslein and her mother, Estelle W. Wilkinson, are driving near their home in Springfield, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, when they see a large domed object emitting flashes of green light moving over the roofs of nearby homes. A rotating band around the main body consists of a series of square windows from which come shafts of bright white light. They drive back home to alert her husband, Joseph A. Gasslein, an aviation worker at Boeing. By that time, the UFO is about a half-mile distant, giving off colored lights. Around 8:10 p.m., the object returns, flying toward the Gassleins' home (south of Walsh Park) only 20 feet above ground level and passes over their backyard before making a sharp left turn and moving away to the east. (Olsen, sec. 3, pp. 78-80; " Out of the Past: A Very Close CE-1," IUR 10, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1985): 9-10, 14; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: January-June 1962, The Author, 2005, pp. 56-57)
April 30 — Just before 10:00 a.m. During a free-flight test (Flight 52) of the X-15 to a height of 246,700 feet (46.7 miles) by NASA pilot Joseph A. Walker from Edwards AFB, California, to Ely, Nevada, the instruments photograph 5–6 cylindrical objects. No visual confirmation. On May 11, at NASA’s Second National Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Space in Seattle, Washington, Walker mentions the objects photographed (and perhaps shows the slides; it is not mentioned in the proceedings). NICAP is unable to obtain the photos. NASA claims the objects are ice flaking off the aircraft (“fireflies”). They are described by a NASA spokesman as “barbell shaped, bright-orange in color, and passing in groups up to six behind the X-15.” Opinion ranges from “definitely something up there,” to “film spots,” to “sun rays on the lens.” Jacobsen implies it was the A-12 test the same day. (“ Walker’s Films Back Theory of Space Objects,” Dover (Ohio) Daily Reporter, May 11, 1962, p. 2; Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, May 11, 1962; “ AF Criticizes NASA Release of ‘Mystery Object’ Photo,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 5 (Aug./Sept. 1962): 8; Proceedings of the Second National Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Space, Seattle, Washington, May 8–10, 1962, NASA Office of Scientific and Technical Information, November 1962; UFOEv, p. 139; Good Above, p. 366; Leonard Stringfield, “ Roswell and the X-15: UFO Basics,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 259 (November 1989): 3–7; Curtis Peebles, “ Fireflies: The X-15 ‘UFO’ Sighting Controversy,” Magonia 78 (June 2002); Jacobsen, Area 51, p. 205)
Late April or early May — Three women and a 10-year-old boy are driving home to Granby, Connecticut, when two bright yellow lights appear in the sky ahead. The lights cross the road and disappear behind some shrubbery. Driving nearer and stopping, the witnesses see the lights hovering above a field, one above the other. The objects realign horizontally and move toward the car. The driver starts the car up and speeds away, but the lights are right behind her, only a few feet from the rear window and matching the car’s speed. The yellow lights are only a few feet in diameter and have a reddish patch that rotates. They follow the car for four minutes then turn away. (Swords 299– 300)
May 11 — 7:40 p.m. Argentine Rear Adm. Eladio M. Vázquez and Capt. Aldo Molinari watch a UFO from the US Military Mission at the Comandante Espora Air Naval Base in Bahía Blanca, Argentina. (“ In Argentina,” APRO Bulletin, July 1963, p. 4; UFOEv, p. 170)
May 13 — 4:00 a.m. Near Oncativo, Córdoba, Argentina, two women driving from Rosario see a long object flying at moderate altitude and emitting a powerful, multicolored light. They enter a fog and see through the trees a sort of “little house” on the ground, with green, red, and yellow lights set in an arrow-shaped arrangement. (Oscar A. Uriondo, “ Preliminary Catalogue of Type 1 Cases in Argentina,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 12 (December 1972): 10; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: January–June 1962, The Author, 2005, p. 62)
May 13 - 4:20 a.m. Three truckers (Valentino Tomassini, Guro Tomassini, and Humberto Zenobi) are driving from Bahia Blanca to Jacinto Aráuz, La Pampa, Argentina, when they see a lantern-like light resting in a nearby field. It brightens and dims alternately. As they slow down, a row of 20-30 lights come on. When they approach to within 210 feet of the object, it rises up and crosses the road at a height of 12 feet. Its lights go out, a reddish flame comes from the bottom, and it makes a soft humming noise. The UFO then divides into two parts that fly off in different directions. Navy Capt. Luis Sanchez Moreno, chief of intelligence at the Port Belgrano Naval Base, interviews the witnesses. At the landing site, grass is burned over an area 180 feet in diameter, and there are damp, gray-colored patches. These are taken for analysis to either or both the Port Belgrano Naval Base and Universidad Nacional del Sur, both in or near Bahia Blanca. It consists of calcium carbonate and potassium carbonate. (" Relatos de aparecimentos de discos na Argentina em 1962," SBEDV Boletim, no. 30 (Aug. 1962/ Feb. 1963): 14; " In Argentina," APRO Bulletin, July 1963, pp. 2, 4; UFOEv, pp. 170-171; Oscar A. Uriondo, " Preliminary Catalogue of Type 1 Cases in Argentina," Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 12 (December 1972): 10; Hector P. Anganuzzi, Historia de los Platos Voladores en la Argentina, Plus Ultra, 1976; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: January-June 1962, The Author, 2005, pp. 60-61)
May 18 — 7:00 p.m. Elizabeth Scott sees a cigar-shaped object hovering in the northwest sky at Pompano Beach, Florida. The underside is brilliantly lit and the top is dark. The object remains motionless for 9 minutes, moves slowly south for 30 seconds, then speeds up and disappears rapidly to the south “like a flash 0 of lightning.” (UFOEv, p. 71; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: January–June 1962, The Author, 2005, p. 64; Powell, Scientist, 66)
May 21 — Miguel Thomé, a reporter for La Nueva Provincia, takes several photos of a luminous object above Bahia Blanca, Argentina, one of which is exactly at a point when the object changes course. (“Fotografióse un objeto luminoso que cruzó ayer el cielo Bahiense,” La Nueva Provincia (Bahía Blanca), May 22, 1962, p. 5; UFOEv, p. 170; ClearIntent, pp. 138–139; “ Un avistaje de OVNI en Bahía Blanca aparece en los archivos de la CIA de Estados Unidos,” La Nueva (Bahía Blanca), February 3, 2016)
May 22 or 24 —A woman is hospitalized after she and her husband see an object land near Winifreda, Las Pampas, Argentina. Two large “robot-like creatures” emerge. Argentine Air Force investigators find a circle of scorched grass. (“ Flying Saucer Men Reported,” Vancouver (B.C.) Sun, May 25, 1962, p. 1; “ That Argentine Again,” Flying Saucer Review 8, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1962): 25; Lorenzen, Encounters with UFO Occupants, Berkley Medallion, 1976, p. 152; Keyhoe, Aliens from Space, Signet ed., 1974, pp. 187–188; Roberto E. Banchs, Los OVNIs y sus ocupantes, Tres Tiempos, 1980)
May 24. ARGENTINA, La Pampa. Woman saw an object on the ground with two robot-like creatures. Grass singed in a circle 18 ft. wide. (FSR 10-62 )
May 31 — 2:06 a.m. Second Officer C. J. Boyes and Midshipman M. Hibbert of the SS Telemachus are traveling south-southeast at the entrance to the Gulf of Thailand when they notice some beams of light moving across the surface from the southwest at a rate of 3 per second. Five minutes later, the beams change from straight lines to curved lines that rotate clockwise around a center point on the horizon. The beams change their orientation twice more, then disappear completely at 2:26 a.m. (Notice to Mariners, new ser., no. 38 (September 22, 1962); Sanderson, InvRes, pp. 105–106; Dolan, USO1, 226)
Summer — Col. Joseph J. Bryan III, special assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force and advisor to NATO, joins the board of NICAP. In 1959 he had contacted Keyhoe and asked to see some of his “really hot cases.” It is later revealed that he was also founder of the CIA’s psychological warfare staff. Bryan never discloses his CIA background to NICAP or Keyhoe. Although Bryan, the father of later UFO author C. D. B. Bryan, makes strong pro-UFO statements, he is later suspected of helping to discredit Keyhoe and undermine NICAP; his son and Richard H. Hall deny it. (“ AF Colonel, Noted Astronomer, Join Board,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 5 (Aug./Sept 1962): 2; “ Col. Joseph Bryan,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 8 (May/June 1966): 5; “ NI-CIA-AP or NICAP?” Just Cause 1, no. 7 (January 1979): 5–13; “ CE4K Author C. D. B. Bryan Dies,” Rigorous Intuition, December 18, 2009)
Summer — Around 9:00 p.m. Harvey Packard and five other men are fishing near East Peru, Maine, when three orange globes show up across the pond and begin dancing about. The globes move toward the witnesses, who get scared and jump in their car and speed away. The globes follow the car, one in the rear and the others on each side. The objects appear to be transparent, 3-foot spheres that easily pace the speeding vehicle. Occasionally they leave their positions and form into a triangle with squarish bridges between them, then split up and continue the car chase. The car radio is filled with static. Finally, they veer off and fly into the woods. (NICAP case file; Swords 300)
Summer — Donald MacKenzie, a shepherd, discovers some strange wreckage in a remote moor near Ardgay, Sutherland, Scotland, that he thinks is related to Sputnik. In October, a team from RAF Kinloss [now Kinloss Barracks] on the Moray Firth arrives to investigate. They find a strange box-shaped object, large enough to have carried a person and containing spaces for cameras and a brass panel that explains, in pictures, what the finder should do in the event of discovery to claim a reward. Buried nearby are a number of bottles of colorless fluid. The team is mystified and suspects something Russian but can’t confirm it. The debris now seems likely to have come from a secret spy balloon, one of many launched in 1955–1956 by the US Air Force from RAF Evanton [now closed], to take reconnaissance photos of Russian military and nuclear facilities. Once clear of Soviet territory, the balloons were designed to drop into the Pacific Ocean where its VHF beacon would guide recovery efforts. (David Clarke, “ The Scottish Roswell?” Dr. David Clarke: Folklore and Journalism, July 29, 2012)
June 5 — Contactee Gabriel Green runs for the US Senate in California and receives more than 171,000 votes in the Democratic primary, but at only 8.45% of the total votes, that is not enough to make it as the Democratic candidate. (Wikipedia, “ 1962 United States Senate election in California”; Sam Gordon, “ Candidates: ‘Why You Should Vote for Me,’” Los Angeles Evening Citizen News, June 2, 1962, p. 23; S. D. Tucker, False Economies: The Strangest, Least Successful, and Most Audacious Financial Follies, Plans, and Crazes of All Times, Amberly, 2018, chapter 3, excerpted in “Taxing Credulity,” Fortean Times 367 (June 2018): 52–55)
June 6 — 11:20 a.m. Six silent objects are seen at intervals over Caroda, New South Wales. A trail of shiny, web-like filaments falls and gradually disintegrates as they drift through the air. Witnesses say they are up to 5 feet long. (“ Wispy Threads from Sky,” Australian Flying Saucer Review (UFOIC), no. 9 (November 1966): 12; Michael Hervey, UFO over the Southern Hemisphere, Robert Hale, 1975, p. 59; Keith Basterfield, “ A Catalogue and Analysis of Australasian ‘Angel Hair’ Cases,” March 2001; Keith Basterfield, “ Angel Hair: An Australian Perspective,” IUR 27, no. 1 (Spring 2002): 7)
June 7 — A brilliant white light, approximately 20 times brighter than first magnitude stars, is seen at Hallett Station [now closed], Cape Hallett, East Antarctica, at 250° (true) azimuth, and 30° elevation. Over 5 minutes it remains stationary and is viewed both with binoculars and the naked eye. It appears circular. It is a dazzling gold color and observed between two mountain peaks. The sun at the time is below the horizon. After 5 minutes it moves in a southerly direction and is lost to view behind a peak. Project Blue Book concludes it is Jupiter, even though that planet’s position is only at 5° elevation. (NICAP, [ Blue Book documents]; Sparks, p. 292; Swords 298; Keith Basterfield, “ Dr. Paul E. Tyler’s Interest in UAP,” Unidentified Aerial Phenomena—Scientific Research, August 14, 2022)
June 19 — 6:03 p.m. C. L. Davis is walking due west on a footpath running adjacent to the railway from West End Lane to Ravenshaw Street in West Hempstead, London, England, when he sees a dull gray object in the shape of an inverted cup passing from north to south. It is moving at about 400–600 mph in shallow loops and disappears after about 6 minutes over Hammersmith. (“ London Sighting,” Flying Saucer Review 8, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1962): 21)
June 25-26 - 9:00 p.m.-2:00 a.m. John, 14, and James Westmoreland, 12, are camping out in their backyard at 7466 East 18th Street, Tucson, Arizona, with a friend, Ronald Black, 11. About 9:00 p.m. John notices a bright star in the west that moves occasionally, dips, and hovers. Around 11:45, they notice that the star is brighter and has moved closer, taking the shape of a triangle. At 12:15, the object noiselessly emits three green flares that take on a speedy horizontal flight path. They notice a second, ball-shaped object that races from west to east, flips, and stops at a higher elevation than the first. A "flare-like" light approaches the second and seems to be absorbed by it. The first UFO spits out more green flares, two of which disappear into the second object a few minutes later. The second object shoots out a rocket that disappears in the sky. A third whitish object, larger and disc-shaped, appears above Pontano Wash with a cone-shaped superstructure. Three stilt-like protuberances appear briefly then are drawn back in. The third object also drops something like a rope that extends to the ground for 3-5 minutes. The boys soon get sleepy and retire after a while, telling the mother, Pansy Westmoreland, about it in the morning. (" Saucers, Rockets Inhabit Night Sky," Tucson (Ariz.) Daily Citizen, June 26, 1962, p. 17; Coral E. Lorenzen, " Saucers Shoot Rockets over Tucson, Arizona," APRO Bulletin, July 1962, pp. 1, 3-4; Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, pp. 114-118)
July — After considerable production delays, Gray Barker publishes Flying Saucers and the Three Men, Albert Bender’s narrative of his contacts with three men in black who are actually aliens from the planet Kazik. (Albert K. Bender, Flying Saucers and the Three Men, Saucerian, 1962; Mckee, Saucerian, pp. 115–116)
July 7 — 11:10 p.m. Claude B. Taylor, chief scientist at Hallett Station [now closed], Cape Hallett, East Antarctica, sees an intense light followed by two smaller lights pass over the facility in a few seconds leaving a clearly visible trail. Its passage is registered by an all-sky camera used for the study of auroras. Probable bolide. (NICAP, [ Blue Book documents]; NICAP, “ Object Filmed by All Camera (IFO)”; “Seven Men Will Never Scoff Again,” Antarctic, September 1962, p. 120; Keith Basterfield, “ Dr. Paul E. Tyler’s Interest in UAP,” Unidentified Aerial Phenomena—Scientific Research, August 14, 2022)
July 9 - 9:00 p.m. An object larger than the moon speeds to the west in seconds above Whakatane, New Zealand, leaving a fiery trail that persists for several minutes. Constable Douglas Gray sees the object coming from north of White Island off the coast, lighting up the sky. (" Mystery Object over Whakatane, NZ," APRO Bulletin, May 1962, p. 6)
July 10 — 7:10 a.m. A group of Grumman S-2 Trackers are making touch and go landings at Naval Air Station New Iberia [now Acadiana Regional Airport] in Louisiana when suddenly a disc-shaped object comes in very fast and low, slows over the runway and hangar, then speeds out of sight while climbing at a 20°–30° angle. It has a rotating dome on top that appears to be equally divided into two sections—one half light gray, the other black. (“ New Sightings by Navy, FAA & Airline Observers,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 5 (Aug./Sept. 1962): 1–2)
July 17 — Maj. Robert Michael White is piloting Flight 62 of the X-15 at Edwards AFB, California. He flies it to 314,750 feet (59 miles), qualifying him for USAF astronaut wings. For this, he is featured on the cover of the August 3 issue of Life. At the top of his climb he sees a small grayish object “like a piece of paper” about 30–40 feet away. He exclaims, “There are things out there. There absolutely is!” (“ Space: Inside the Sky,” Time, July 27, 1962; “A New Highway to Space,” Life, August 3, 1962, pp. 54–57; Good Above, p. 366; Leonard Stringfield, “ Roswell and the X-15: UFO Basics,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 259 (November 1989): 3–7)
July 19 — 9:30 p.m. C. T. Loftus and H. Wilbert are fishing off Bay Head, New Jersey, when they see a star-like light moving faster than a jet. Soon three or more other lights appear, each from a different direction. Each light stops momentarily, then darts away a great distance generally in a straight line, its luminosity increasing as it moves. One object that is moving from south to north zig-zags as it darts about, but returns to a straight path eventually. The lights soon fade out after 7–10 minutes. ( Sparks, p. 292; Olsen, sec. 3, p. 81)
July 28 — Before dawn. The skipper of a chartered fishing boat 6 miles southeast of Avalon, Santa Catalina Island, California, sees several stationary lights low in the water dead ahead. Through binoculars he sees a squat, lighted structure in which several men are working, apparently the stern of a submarine with no markings and decks almost awash. He and another crew member see five men, “two in all-white garb, two in dark trousers and white shirts, and one in a sky-blue jumpsuit.” The craft swept in their direction toward the open sea, still on the surface, and the skipper has to turn hard to keep clear. It makes no noise and leaves no wake. (Marvin Miles, “ Report Studied on Soviet Sub off Catalina,” Los Angeles Times, October 25, 1962, pp. 1, 10; “ Submarine Saucers,” APRO Bulletin, May 1963, p. 2; Dolan, USO1, 230–231)
July 29 — 12:20 a.m. Mr. and Mrs. M. O. Barton and their family see a bright, cherry-red object shaped like a diamond flying slowly over Ocean Springs, Mississippi. It is first seen an estimated 2,000 feet from their house, moving from right to left and sometimes hovering. Its apparent shape changes to round, and its movements change to patterns of loops and squares in as little as one second. After 10 minutes of maneuvers, it fades away. ( Sparks, p. 292; Olsen, sec. 3, pp. 81–82)
August — 7:00 p.m. Three witnesses are driving south toward San José de Métan, Salta, Argentina, when they see a light against the mountains to the west. It approaches, growing as large as the full moon when it is 300 feet ahead of them. It has a bulge at the top and reddish-pink, green, and white blinking lights. It continues to approach and passes above a Fiat truck in the road ahead of them. The truck stops, and the witnesses stop their car as well, two of them walking into some nearby bushes to observe. The object now seems to be the diameter of a DC-3’s wingspan and is 150 feet in the air. The truck’s lights go out, and the object rocks back and forth, taking off to the north at a great rate of speed. Five minutes later, they drive up to the stopped truck, whose driver is scooping up dirt to cool its overheated engine down. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 157–158)
August — Night. Marilyn Chenarides, her younger brother Roger, and their mother Mildred Anderson are vacationing in a cabin on Movil Lake, Minnesota. The two women see a glowing red, domed disc with large windows hovering above the boat dock 50 feet away. Silhouetted in the windows are three entities who seem to be looking at them. The women shut off the cabin lights for a better look, and the UFO switches off its own lights. Anderson runs out of the cabin toward the object, which lifts and disappears rapidly. (“ The 1962 Occupants Case,” APRO Bulletin 21, no. 2 (Sept./Oct. 1972): 6)
August — Truck driver Vicente Bardoli frequently sees luminous objects entering and leaving the ocean as he drives his route on National Route 3 south of Bahia Blanca, Argentina. (Gordon W. Creighton, “ Argentina 1962: A Massive UFO Visitation,” Flying Saucer Review 10, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1964): 10, 11–13; Dolan, USO1, 232–233)
August 1 — After 11:00 p.m. Three men are fishing in two boats off the village Le Brusc, Six-Fours-les-Plages, Var, France, when they notice an elongated metallic object with a turret moving slowly on the surface about 980 feet away. It stops, and they see about a dozen “frogmen” come out of the sea and climb aboard the craft. The fishermen hail them, and the last diver to go inside turns and waves. The object then lifts out of the water and hovers above the waves. Red and green lights appear, along with a white searchlight beam that reaches their boats. The lights go out, the object glows orange, rotates, and rises to about 65 feet. Suddenly it shoots off horizontally, but circles back once as it climbs higher. (“ Sindbad the Sailor,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 14 (April 1973): 13–15; Dolan, USO1, 231–232)
August 2 — Around 12:00 midnight. Air traffic control operators at Cambá Punta Airport [now Doctor Fernando Piragine Niveyro International Airport], near Corrientes, Argentina, see an unidentified light approaching the airport. They call the airport manager, Luís Harvey, who arrives from home in a hurry and sees the light circling at high speed. Harvey orders a landing strip freed up but the light, apparently a spherical object, comes down, hovering and revolving a few feet above the same spot on the runway for 3–4 minutes, emitting strong blue, green, and orange flashes. Then it climbs and vanishes at staggering speed. (“ Argentina Confirms Navy Pilots’ Sightings to NICAP,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 6 (Oct./Nov. 1962): 4; Gordon W. Creighton, “ Argentina 1962: A Massive UFO Visitation,” Flying Saucer Review 10, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1964): 10, 11; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: July–December 1962, The Author, 2005, pp. 18–19; Patrick Gross, “ Camba Punta, Argentina, August 2, 1962”)
August 7 — Midnight. A contract worker at the not-yet-operational Titan II launch complex of the 570th Strategic Missile Squadron near Oracle, Arizona, sees a brilliant light descending over the site. He is joined by a colleague as the light gets larger. Both men go inside and contact Davis-Monthan AFB outside Tucson, which sends out two jet interceptors. When the aircraft arrive, the light takes off to the north and disappears rapidly. After the jets circle and head back, the light returns, descends toward the silo, and takes off vertically. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 235–236; Nukes 220–221)
August 17–19 — Evening. Walking home, diamond prospector Rivalino Mafra da Silva sees two small beings, about three feet tall, digging a hole near Duas Pontes, 17 miles north of Diamantina, Minas Gerais, Brazil. On August 19, Mafra da Silva and his sons are in bed when they are awakened by sounds and see a shadowy figure, apparently floating in the room. In the morning, he and his son Raimundo see two humming balls floating outside. They merge into one larger ball that moves toward Rivalino, enveloping him in yellow smoke. Raimundo says: “Then the yellow smoke dissolved. The balls were gone. The ground below was clean as if the dust had been removed by a big broom.” He tells his story to Lt. Wilson Lisbõa, chief of police at Diamantina, who conducts a search for 10 days. Only a few drops of blood are found. (Olavo T. Fontes, “ Man Kidnapped by Globes,” APRO Bulletin, September 1962, pp. 1, 3–5; “ The Brazilian Abduction: Boy’s Story Unshaken,” Flying Saucer Review 8, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1962): 10–12; Clark III 418–419; Brazil 123–127; Patrick Gross, URECAT; Eghigian, After, p. 156; Clark IV 463–464)
Late August — 2:00 p.m. Ann Druffel and Aileen Cummings are at Long Beach, California, when they see a small rectangular cloud over the Santa Catalina Channel. Its vapor appears to churn and it doubles in size, then elongates to 20–30 times its original size. (Ann Druffel, “ Santa Catalina Island Recurring ‘Cloud Cigars,’” in Proceedings of the 1976 CUFOS Conference, Chicago, 1976, pp. 63–64; Ann Druffel, “ Santa Catalina Channel Cloud Cigars,” IUR 31, no. 1 (January 2007): 12–13)
Late August - 7:00 p.m. Three witnesses are driving south toward San José de Métan, Salta, Argentina, when they see a light against the mountains to the west. It approaches, growing as large as the full moon when it is 300 feet ahead of them. It has a bulge at the top and reddish- pink, green, and white blinking lights. It continues to approach and passes above a Fiat truck in the road ahead of them. The truck stops, and the witnesses stop their car as well, two of them walking into some nearby bushes to observe. The object now seems to be the diameter of a DC-3's wingspan and is 150 feet in the air. The truck's lights go out, and the object rocks back and forth, taking off to the north at a great rate of speed. Five minutes later, they drive up to the stopped truck, whose driver is scooping up dirt to cool its overheated engine down. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 157-158)
August 26 — 12:05 a.m. Geraldo Bichara, 18, is standing guard at the Escola de Sargentos das Armas in Três Corações, Minas Gerais, Brazil, when an electrical blackout occurs in the city. Suddenly he is paralyzed by a light beam from an unseen object, apparently for a few minutes. In 1980, Bichara undergoes hypnosis and discovers that the incident was an abduction in which he is taken aboard a UFO by beings wearing pumpkin-colored jumpsuits and subjected to a medical examination. He attempts to flee at one point and grabs his rifle lying nearby, but he is still paralyzed. After about 2 hours he is returned to the guardhouse. (“ Caso Giraldo Bichara,” Grupo de Amigos que Estudam Mistérios e Ufologia, May 2014; Brazil 60–66)
August 26 — 12:30 a.m. Walter T. Jones Jr. watches a triangular formation of 6 white lights and one green light pass silently over Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for 3–5 minutes. (“ Another ‘Mother’ Ship?” APRO Bulletin, July 1963, p. 3)
August 27 — The US launches Mariner 2 to Venus, the first successful robotic space probe. En route to Venus, Mariner 2 measures the solar wind and interplanetary dust. As it flies by Venus on December 14, it scans the planet with its pair of radiometers, revealing that Venus has cool clouds and an extremely hot surface. (Wikipedia, “ Mariner 2”)
August 30 — 7:35–7:55 p.m. While having supper at an outdoor restaurant near Port-au-Prince, Haiti, three men, one of whom works for Techint Engineering Company, watch a UFO that approaches and hovers for 20 minutes. The engineer has a portable theodolite with him, and they set it up and track the object. It is a silvery-gray disc, like two rounded hubcaps together, and is spinning on its axis. It has an antenna on the top and exhaust ports all around its mid-line, and it is surrounded by gaseous emissions that run through all the colors of the spectrum. The object flips to a vertical alignment, showing its base, and then tips over so that its original topside is on the bottom. The object silently accelerates and disappears in 5 seconds. Project Blue Book concludes that the men were watching the planet Venus. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: July–December 1962, The Author, 2005, pp. 33–34; Swords 298–299)
September — California contactee Gloria Lee takes channeled blueprints for a spaceship to Washington, D.C., to show to government officials. She gets nowhere, but while in town she gets messages from her space contact J.W. saying that the space people are upset with human wars and nuclear weapons. J.W. orders her to go on a fast for peace until he sends a “light elevator” to take her to Jupiter. Her fast lasts from September 23 to November 28. No one pays attention. After about 66 days without eating, Lee’s husband, aircraft engineer William H. Byrd, summons an ambulance to take her to George Washington University Hospital. She dies there on December 3. Lee continues to channel post-mortem information through a medium named Nada-Yolanda (Pauline Sharpe) in the Miami-based Mark-Age MetaCenter. (Tristan, “ The Airline Stewardess Who Starved Herself to Death for Aliens,” Bizarre and Grotesque, December 18, 2016; Clark III 682–683; Clark IV 758)
September — Thomas M. Comella, writing under the pseudonym “Peter Kor,” proposes that UFOs originate, not from space (as he apparently thought when he favored the extraterrestrial hypothesis in the December 1955 issue of Fate), but from a reality “so strange that it cannot be confined to our three-dimensional world.” (Thomas M. Comella, “ Why the Real Saucer Is Interplanetary,” Fate 8, no. 12 (December 1955): 17–23; Peter Kor [Thomas M. Comella], “The Solution to the Flying Saucer Mystery,” Flying Saucers, September 1962, pp. 68–74; Clark III 877; Clark IV 971–972)
September 15 — 5:00 p.m. Two bright discs are seen over Oradell, New Jersey. At 6:00 p.m., former Navy flying officer J. J. McVicker sees two discs just across the state line near Oradell. At 7:50 p.m., Victor Cipolla sees a glowing object descend toward Oradell. Two other witnesses see one round object with a fin on top and another under it darting back and forth near Oradell Reservoir. At 7:55 p.m., three teens see and hear a bright, oval object land in the reservoir with a loud splash. A moment later, it lifts off and climbs silently at high speed. ( Sparks, p. 292; “ Disc Landing Reported in New Jersey,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 6 (Oct./Nov. 1962): 3–4; “Saucer ‘Flap’ in Northern New Jersey,” Saucer News 9, no. 4 (December 1962), pp. 14–15; UFOEv, p. 140; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: July–December 1962, The Author, 2005, pp. 48, 49; Dolan, USO1, 233–234)
September 18 - 5:00-5:15 a.m. Six police officers in five separate locations in northeast Ohio observe UFOs moving generally to the northeast or east, but in two of the observations the objects take off at high speed. State policeman David McCurry sees two white, oval-shaped objects near Minerva, Ohio. (UFOEv, p. 62; Wendy Connors, "Cops and Saucers: Law Enforcement and UFO's, 1957-1981 Guide," November 20, 2013, audioclip 6; "Ohio State Patrolman David McCurry's Eyewitness Testimony on His Sighting of 2 UFOs, Sept. 18, 1962," Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, February 5, 2025)
September 19 — During a test launch of an Avco Mark 4 reentry vehicle by an Atlas 8F missile at Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 11, an unidentified object is seen following the Mark 4 for 90 seconds. The post-flight report acknowledges the object’s presence but admits its origin or identity cannot be determined. (National Archives, “ Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) Sighting,” 1962; Geoff Cruickshank, “ The Hidden Truth behind a 1960s Nuclear Test: A Non-Human Craft Fell Down to Earth,” Liberation Times, December 21, 2024)
Fall — Arlene Cook is awakened by her young, terrified son, at their home in Anaheim, California. He says something is in his bedroom, so they go to investigate and see a half-dollar-sized light on his bed. The spot stays visible when she puts her hand on the bed or when she removes the covers, but she can find no source for the light. It then just switches off and does not return. (Michael D. Swords, “ A Trick of the Light,” IUR 31, no. 2 (June 2007): 8)
Fall — Patricia Ellingson is seeing “glowing, flame-like lights” in her bedroom in Azusa, California, every evening. She thinks they appear only when she is mentally calm. The lights are the size of a quarter, sometimes switch off abruptly, and other times fade out slowly. At times they do not appear for months, and she feels sad when they are not there. (Michael D. Swords, “ A Trick of the Light,” IUR 31, no. 2 (June 2007): 8)
October 2 — Night. A Boeing security guard at an unidentified Minuteman missile site near Moore, Montana [likely the M-01 launch site that is part of Malmstrom AFB complex], sees a tear-shaped object with a blue top and a red bottom. (“ Flying Objects Reported in Separated Areas,” Helena (Mont.) Independent-Record, October 3, 1962, p. 7)
October 2 — Night. Airmen on security patrol at Larson AFB [now Grant County International Airport] near Moses Lake, Washington, see a white light hovering a few hundred feet in the air near where the ICBM storage bunkers are located. It silently shoots into the air as the guards approach it. (“ Flying Objects Reported in Separated Areas,” Helena (Mont.) Independent-Record, October 3, 1962, p. 7; Nukes 145–147)
October 10? - Twilight. Residents of Spring Park Road in Jacksonville, Florida, watch small fireballs with fuzzy outlines moving around their houses. Some house lights dim and others go out entirely as the lights move about. J. P. Baker sees a fireball moving through a field behind his house. He goes inside to tell his wife, and she looks out the kitchen window a sees a brilliant "round ball, big as a No. 2 wash tub" and pinkish in color. It hovers outside the window less than 6 feet away, then floats around the corner of the house. One man sees a light moving along utility wires. Another woman reports a glow moving through her house; at one point it envelops her and her hand tingles. Gladys Faucette on Cascade Road sees a brilliant glow descend to within 3 feet of the ground. An electrical circuit goes out about the same time. (" Glowing Lights Invade Home," APRO Bulletin, November 1962, p. 1; " Great Balls of Fire! We Had a Glow On," NICAP Reporter 1, no. 4 (January 1963): 4; Covert 56)
October 12 — Dawn. An object like an orange or yellow meteor is observed over Forbes AFB [now Topeka Regional Airport], Topeka, Kansas. Its flight path is curved upward, with an occasional jerky motion; it moves quickly at first but slows down as it reaches the zenith. It is visible for 5 minutes before fading out. [ Blue Book documents]; Nukes 145)
October 23 — 5:00 p.m. R. O. Christensen is duck hunting near the Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area in Utah when he hears what sounds like a flock of ducks approaching. He looks west from his blind, he notices a silvery round globe about 3 feet in diameter moving from the west at the speed of a jet aircraft. It seems to be trailing some gray or silver cobwebby material. After it passes overhead, it swerves to the southeast and accelerates to a tremendous speed and disappears in 1–2 seconds. ( Sparks, p. 293; Olsen, sec. 3, p. 82)
October 26 — 6:15 a.m. Mrs. Alvie Frank sees several flat, glowing objects moving slowly about 11 miles south of Monte Vista, Colorado. (“ Variety of Objects in Colorado,” APRO Bulletin, January 1963, p. 1)
October 26 — 7:16 a.m. Bessie Rogers of Fort Collins, Colorado, spots a large, black parachute- shaped object weaving back and forth over the mountains somewhere between the south end of Horsetooth eservoir and Masonville. It flies around for about 10 minutes, disappears, and then returns. (“ Variety of Objects in Colorado,” APRO Bulletin, January 1963, p. 1)
Late October — Day. Two Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bombers are returning to Loring AFB [now the Loring Commerce Centre] near Limestone, Maine, following an Operation Chrome Dome mission. They are on final approach to landing when a huge, metallic-gray, cigar-shaped UFO descends over the flight line and hovers for a few minutes. It stretches halfway across the aircraft ramp area, which would make it half a mile wide. Jet engine mechanic Sgt. Christopher Smith is watching the scenario from the ground and notes that the UFO is silent and has no lights or visible openings. After the second B-52 lands, the UFO silently zooms away toward the east and disappears. All the ground witnesses and the flight crews do not talk about the incident afterward and act as if nothing happened. (Nukes 132–136, 138–139)
October 28 — 7:30 p.m. Mrs. Ellen D. Sylvester is driving with her three children in Norwood, South Australia, east of Adelaide, when they see an orange glow on the ground, perhaps 2–3 miles away. It has three legs, round windows, and the boy remarks that he can see people in it. One of the “men” gets out and descends to the ground. He appears to be doing something to one of the landing legs. He seems to have some trouble in making it retract, which finally he overcomes. He is about 6 feet tall, as his head reaches the outer fringe of the craft. He wears a helmet like a gas mask. He returns to the UFO, which begins to move slowly away, then very fast, and disappears in a northerly direction. Total time of observation is 40 minutes. (Keith Basterfield, “ ‘This Is One of the Most Remarkable Cases of a Flying Saucer…,’ Adelaide, 1962,” Unidentified Aerial Phenomena—Scientific Research, September 22, 2014)
November - Evening. A French businessman is driving along a minor road in Var department, southeastern France. It is raining heavily. Rounding a bend, he sees a group of figures in the road 260 feet ahead. He slows down to drive around them and sees that they are actually bizarre animals with the heads of birds and covered in plumage. Terrified, he speeds ahead and stops about 500 feet further ahead. Turing around, he sees the entities heading toward a luminous, dark-blue object hanging in the air over a field on the other side of the road. It resembles two plates upside down. The entities are sucked into the bottom of the object. He hears a "clack," and the UFO takes off at "prodigious speed." (Lyonel Trigano, " Strange Encounter in Var," Flying Saucer Review 14, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1968): 18; Clark III 280; Clark IV 320)
November 13 — Two IBM engineers, C. D. Jackson and Robert E. Hohmann, present a paper at the American Rocket Society annual meeting in Los Angeles, California, noting the alleged extraterrestrial signals detected by Nikola Tesla, Guglielmo Marconi, and David Todd between 1899 and 1924. They speculate that the signal source was 11 light years away, perhaps the Epsilon Eridani system. (C. D. Jackson and Robert E. Hohmann, “An Historic Report on Life in Space: Tesla, Marconi, Todd,” paper presented at the 17th Annual Meeting of the American Rocket Society, Los Angeles, November 13–18, 1962; Michael D. Swords, “ Radio Signals from Space, Alien Probes, and Betty Hill,” IUR 29, no. 4 (July 2005): 10–15)
November 17 - 9:00 p.m. Frederick L. Swindal, ex-Marine captain, and his wife Virginia are sitting on the front porch of their farm between Brooksville and Dade City, Florida, when they see an object with three lights flying at a high altitude from the northeast. At first they assume it is an airplane, but it stops and hovers for 5 minutes. The lights then move southeast at a high speed, and Swindal realizes that the lights are apparently on three different objects. They bounce up and down somewhat and vary the distance between each other. They are in sight for 3-5 minutes. ( Sparks, p. 293; UFOEv, p. 140; Olsen, sec. 3, pp. 82-83;)
November 30 — Two teenage boys in Lethbridge, Alberta, see an elliptical object hovering near a school building and decide to throw rocks at it. The object is about 8 feet in diameter and glowing blue. Their stones seem to ricochet off the UFO and forcefully returned, landing on structures behind the teens. (“ Children Frightened by ‘Sky Ghost,’” APRO Bulletin, January 1963, p. 6; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: July–December 1962, The Author, 2005, pp. 72–74)
December 1 - Evening. A husband and wife in East Point, Georgia, are watching the first- quarter Moon through a 6-inch reflector. In the dark area, well away from the terminator, the man sees a bright-red spot light up. It gets so bright that he points it out to his wife. She notices it starting to move across the illuminated portion of the Moon, then continues passing in a straight line across the blue Georgia sky, faster and faster until it is gone. (Michael D. Swords, " Gazing at the Moons," IUR 32, no. 4 (October 2009): 15)
December 12 — 4:30 p.m. Five schoolgirls in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, see a brightly glowing UFO. All five students independently sketch a Saturn-shaped object. (UFOEv, p. 124)
December 18 — 2:20 p.m. Night watchman Francesco Rizzi is reporting for work at a mill on Via Santa Valeria in Milan, Italy. In the center of the mill’s courtyard he hears a swishing sound and turns to see a domed metallic disc 12–15 feet in diameter with portholes hovering 3 feet above the ground. A door opens at the bottom and a small man just over 3 feet tall and wearing a luminous coverall emerges. The man motions Rizzi to come nearer, but he is frozen with fear. Another small man comes out of the disc, but they both return, the door closes behind them, and the object takes off in a cloud of white smoke. Rizzi reports the sighting to a colleague, the police, and the press, and soon loses his job. (Roberto Pinotti, “ Flying Saucers over Italy,” LUFORO Bulletin 3, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1962): 4, 5; “ The Italian Scene—Part 2,” Flying Saucer Review 9, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1963): 3, 5–6; Leonard G. Cramp, Piece for a Jig-Saw, Somerton, 1966, pp. 124–125; 1Pinotti 130–131)
December 21 — Ali R. Diaz is aboard a DC-3 tourist plane on a vacation trip to Angel Falls, Venezuela. He obtains color film of a UFO rising from the base of a mountain. The film shows a yellowish teardrop-shaped object rising across the face of Auyán-tepui plateau. The UFO seems to oscillate from side to side until it is lost in clouds. The falls and mountain provide location points throughout. (UFOEv, p. 96; R. M. L. Baker Jr., “Motion Pictures of UFOs,” in Carl Sagan and Thornton Page, eds., UFOs—A Scientific Debate, Cornell University, 1972, pp. 206–207; “ Angel Falls UFO Film 1962,” UFO History Group You Tube channel, August 30, 2014)
December 22 — About 3:00 a.m. At Ezeiza International Airport [now Ministro Pistarini International Airport] at Ezeiza Partido in Greater Buenos Aires, Argentina, tower operators Horacio Alora and Mario Pezzutto are watching an Aereolíneas Argentinas plane that is about to take off. It is also seen by an approaching DC-8 jet operated by Panagra, whose captain asks what the object is at the end of the runway. Alora sees a large, round, glowing object that has evidently descended when he is watching the airliner. The UFO immediately rises about 30 feet, hovers, then accelerates on a northeast course. (UFOEv, p. 119; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: July–December 1962, The Author, 2005, pp. 75–76)
1963
January — Night. Brothers Rosauro Antonio, Ricardo, and Victor Domingo López discover a burned area of grass in a field just over a mile from their house in Cañada de Alzogaray, near Burruyacú, Tucumán, Argentina. The burn is in the shape of two rings (each a foot wide and 10.8 feet in diameter) where the grass is burned down to its roots to a depth of 3–4 inches. They find a carbonized residue and whitish powder. Some days previously, a neighbor named Juan Gerónimo Pera, his wife, and children, had seen a luminous oval-shaped object that landed in the field. (Oscar A. Uriondo, “ Preliminary Catalogue of Type 1 Cases in Argentina,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 12 (December 1972): 11)
January 11 - At 11:00 p.m., at San Pietro Vernotico, Italy, farmer Antonio de Luca is awakened by restless animals and goes out to calm them. Fifteen minutes later he sees a domed disc some 132 feet long land in the village square. Dark figures are moving inside the transparent dome. He tries to approach but is paralyzed at 30 feet away. It ascends in the direction of Brindisi to the north, emitting a vertical beam of green light. (Gordon W. Creighton, " The Italian Scene-Part 4," Flying Saucer Review 9, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1963): 12; Vallée, Magonia, p. 290; Center for UFO Studies, HUMCAT Index 1963, p. 3; Pier Luigi Sani, " UFO in Italia: Analisi e commento del periodo 1955-1972," UFO Rivista di Informazione Ufologica, no. 8 (April 1990): 21-22; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: January-June 1963, The Author, 2005, p. 8; Mario Desiati, " Quando i cieli Pugliesi erano pieni di UFO," News Fortiane, no. 16 (July 2009): 7-8)
January 17 — A formation of objects passes over Entre Ríos province, Argentina, and discharges angel hair. Vitreous particles are recovered, which consist of an “amalgam of silicon, boron, calcium, and magnesium.” (Gordon Creighton, “ Argentina, 1963–64,” Flying Saucer Review 11, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1965): 15; Brian Boldman, “ Angel Hair Physical Analyses: A Review,” JUFOS 9 (2006): 104)
February 15 - 7:10 a.m. Farmer Charles Brew and his son Trevor are in a shed, milking a herd of cows near Moe, Victoria, Australia. Charles sees an object descend very steeply out of the east from a low cloud during a heavy rain, at about a 45° angle. The UFO is about 25 feet in diameter, and about 9-10 feet high. The lower portion, about 3 feet high, is rotating in an anticlockwise direction and is bluish. The upper portion appears to be stationary, battleship-gray in color, with a transparent dome on top. Protruding out of the dome is something resembling a broom handle. A sound, described as swishing or burbling, is heard by both Charles and Trevor, and it throws the nearby cows and horses into a panic. Keith Basterfield thinks the event might have been caused by a funnel cloud. (NICAP, " Rotating Object and Animal Reaction"; Sparks, p. 293; " Hallucinated Cows?" Flying Saucer Review 9, no. 3 (May/June 1963): 23; " Saucer Panics Cattle," APRO Bulletin, July 1963, p. 1; " The Case of the Frightened Cows," APRO Bulletin, September 1963, pp. 1, 3-4; " Flying Machine over Farm," Australian Flying Saucer Review, no. 8 (June 1965): 10; Bill Chalker, " Tully Saucer Nests of 1966, Part Two," IUR 23, no. 1 (Spring 1998): 15-16; Swords 388-390; Keith Basterfield, " Cold Case Review, Moe, Victoria: The RAAF Investigation," Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena-Scientific Research, January 29, 2015; Keith Basterfield, " Cold Case Review, Moe, Victoria: The VFSRS Investigation," Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena-Scientific Research, January 29, 2015; Keith Basterfield, " Cold Case Review, Moe, Victoria: The McDonald Investigation," Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena-Scientific Research, January 29, 2015; Keith Basterfield, " Cold Case Review, Moe, Victoria: My Analysis," Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena-Scientific Research, January 29, 2015; Keith Basterfield, " Moe, Victoria: Questions to Trevor Brew," Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena- Scientific Research, March 6, 2015; Keith Basterfield, " The 1963 Moe, Victoria, Sighting: James E. McDonald Audio Interview with Charles Brew," Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena-Scientific Research, September 15, 2016)
February 23 — 9:45 p.m. An oval object is seen in the sky above Highcliffe, Dorset, England. Emerald-green in color and surrounded by a glow, it hangs in the sky for 10 minutes before witnesses see two smaller objects emerge from it. These fly away and disappear over the English Channel. (Herbert S. Taylor, “ Satellite Objects and Cloud Cigars,” IUR 29, no. 1 (Spring 2004): 10)
February 28? — 3:15 a.m. A British sonar and radar operator aboard a Royal Navy ship 30–50 miles off the coast of Svalbard in the Arctic Ocean picks up an unknown target on three radar scopes. The ship’s best scope had a solid target about 100–120 feet in diameter at about 35,000 feet. A senior officer radios a nearby ship, which confirms the target. The object begins descending below the range of radar, and within seconds the two sonar operators pick up a strong echo from a fast-moving underwater object at a range of 10 miles, taking a zigzag path away from the ship. Afterward, the entire crew is reminded that they must never discuss the incident. (Walter N. Webb, “ Radar/Sonar Contact,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 199 (November 1984): 7–10; Dolan, USO1, 238–239)
March — The aircraft carrier USS Wasp is on a training exercise in the North Atlantic near Puerto Rico with five smaller ships and some submarines. A sonar operator aboard a destroyer reports that one of the subs has broken formation to chase an unidentified underwater object that is moving at more than 150 knots. Twelve other ships and aircraft are also tracking the unknown, which over the course of the next four days appears and reappears, maneuvering as far down as 27,000 feet in the Puerto Rico trench. (Sanderson, InvRes, pp. 17–19; Dolan, USO1, 239–240)
April 11 - 1:30 p.m. The pilots of a Boeing 707 airliner flying at 31,000 feet about 100 miles north of Puerto Rico see a disturbance like a "great round mound" in the sea below, more than half a mile in diameter. They watch it for more than 30 seconds, but it begins to subside as they proceed with their flight. (Lucius Farish and Dale Titler, "Mysteries of the Deep: Underwater UFOs," Official UFO 2, no. 3 (May 1977): 52-53; Carl Feindt, " Report #783," waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 241-242)
June 4 - 3:00 a.m. A multi-colored object about the size of a light truck reportedly lands near Lyle, Minnesota. Police search an area over 2 miles wide on both sides of the Iowa-Minnesota border, but they find no trace of it. (" Sighted along State Border: `Flying Saucers' Again," Albert Lea (Minn.) Evening Tribune, June 4, 1963, p. 1; " Aerial Reconnaissance Fails to Find Trace of Saucers," Austin (Minn.) Daily Herald, June 4, 1963, p. 1; " Search for UFO In Minnesota," APRO Bulletin, January 1964, p. 1; " The sighting which occurred," NJAAP Bulletin 2, no. 3 (January 1964): 4-6)
June 15 — 8:39 p.m. In the Indian Ocean southwest of India, 3rd Mate R. C. Chamberlin of the SS Thetis sees in the northwest a luminous disc travel at 1.5 times the angular speed of a satellite. Tim Printy suspects it is the Thor Agena stage used for the launch of several small satellites from Vandenburg AFB in California the same day. ( Sparks, p. 294; Tim Printy, “ The 701 Club: Case #8388, June 15, 1963,” SUNlite 5, no. 2 (March/April 2013): 25–29)
June 26 — Around 1:00 a.m. Enrico A. Gilberti Jr. and his wife Janet are awakened at their home on 344 Commercial Street, Weymouth, Massachusetts, by a loud roar. They look out the window and see a Saturn-shaped object moving slowly above the treetops 100 feet off the ground and 300 feet away. Gilberti describes it as “two hamburger buns one on top of another with a sandwiched piece of meat protruding around.” It is about 30–40 feet across and has two brilliant lights. The UFO follows some power lines across a field and disappears to the northeast. “The roar was deafening.” Neighbors hear the noise but do not see anything. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: January–June 1963, The Author, 2005, pp. 84–85)
June 26 — Four glowing greenish objects with halos are seen by a technician and many others at Pinecrest, California. Three objects moving westerly are approached by a similar object from the west. The fourth object stops and hovers as the three approach, split formation, and continue west. Then the fourth object continues east. (UFOEv, p. 140)
June 28 — 9:30 p.m. A man is driving along the Lyndoch-Gawler Road near Sandy Creek, South Australia, when he comes across a blood-red, glowing object, 25 feet across and 12 feet high, in the road ahead. He is within 12 feet of it when he hits the brakes. The object turns a lighter reddish-yellow and rises up into the air several hundred feet. It turns on its side and speeds away. This and other UFO incidents cause Sen. Jim Cavanagh to ask the federal government to make its UFO dossier public, but Minister for Air David Fairbairn refuses, saying that the vast majority of reports are explainable. (Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: January–June 1963, The Author, 2005, pp. 86–87)
July 16 - Farmer Roy Blanchard of Charlton, Wiltshire, England, discovers a strange crater on the ground overlapping his potato and barley fields. It is about 8 feet wide and 4 inches deep. A hole in the center is 3 feet deep and less than a foot in diameter. All vegetation inside the circle is burned, leaving only bare earth, and there are four slots in the ground around it, each about 4 feet long and a foot wide. A small piece of metal is found. Astronomer Patrick Moore states that a "shrimp-sized meteorite" has caused the crater. But a military investigation shows no burn or scratch marks or any trace of an explosion. (Waveney Girvan, " The Wiltshire Crater Mystery: The Meteorite That Never Was," Flying Saucer Review 9, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1963): 3-7; " Postscript to the Charlton Crater: What Mr. Salwood Saw," Flying Saucer Review 9, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1963): 8; Charles Bowen, " Back to Charlton," Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 3 (May/June 1966): 12; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: July-December 1963, The Author, 2005, pp. 12-16; UFOFiles2, p. 116; Nick Redfern, " The Curious Caper of the Charlton Crater, Part 1," Mysterious Universe, September 28, 2015; Nick Redfern, " The Curious Caper of the Charlton Crater, Part 2," Mysterious Universe, September 28, 2015; Matthew Richardson, " The Charlton Crater")
July 22 — 8:30 p.m. Michael Holland, 12, and two friends, Paul Lightfoot and Keith Kerfoot, are playing on a tip of wasteland opposite Redgate Drive in Parr, St. Helens, Merseyside, UK. They notice a silvery, shining object that descends and stops at 70 feet altitude. It has a red flashing light on top like a police car light. Something like a periscope emerges from it, swivels around, returns, and the object goes up quickly into an oddly tinted cloud that moves against the wind. (“ Was This the Charlton Saucer? A Contemporary Sighting in Lancashire,” Flying Saucer Review 10, no. 3 (May/June 1964): 24–25)
Late summer — Lorimer A. Grant, perhaps a US Navy chief petty officer, is on the destroyer USS Sarsfield steaming between Puerto Rico and Key West, Florida, when the ship’s sonar picks up a large object about 300–400 feet underwater. It seems to be 200 feet long and 40 feet wide. The ship circles the object, but no known submarines are in the area. When it does not identify itself, the ship drops concussion grenades, but it does not change speed or course. The ship then drops a large grappling hook, but it fails to catch on anything. The captain abandons the chase. (Argosy, July 1970; “USO,” INFO Journal, no. 9 (Fall 1972): 38; Carl Feindt, “ Report #268,” waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 245–246)
August 1 — Evening. A former RAF pilot and flight instructor sees a triangular UFO that lingers for a long time over Garston, Hertfordshire, England, then climbs out of sight. Thousands of other people in the London area, including an air traffic controller four miles away and future UFO researcher Timothy Good in Beckenham, London, also see the object, which has a tetrahedral shape and glassy appearance when seen through binoculars. A USAF F-100 Super Sabre from RAF Bentwaters [now Bentwaters Parks] in Woodbridge, Suffolk, and another plane from the De Havilland Aircraft Company are sent up to investigate but cannot get anywhere near the UFO, which is at an estimated 90,000 feet. An amateur astronomer in Bushey, Hertfordshire, takes a clear photo. The official explanation is a balloon. (UFOEv, p. 141; Good Above, p. 149)
August 4 — 11:30 p.m. Ronnie Austin and Phyllis Bruce are driving east on State Highway 15 past the Mount Vernon, Illinois, airport when they notice a bright white round object about 20° above the southwest horizon. It seems to be keeping pace with them for several miles. Suddenly it moves about 600 feet in front of them and to the left. When Austin drops Phyllis off at home in Wayne City, it is hanging in the southeast. They continue watching it about 15 minutes, then Austin leaves for home. As he turns east on a gravel road, it shoots ahead of him, taking on an orange hue. At one point it comes within 100 feet of his car, swerves upward, and passes above him as the car radio makes a whining noise and the car engine almost fails. The object then moves behind him from west to east. When he arrives home, it is hovering about 900 feet to the southeast. Ronnie is so shaken, he is given a sedative. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Orville Austin, and brother and sister also see the light, which finally becomes indistinguishable with a star by 1:10 a.m. (NICAP, “ The Wayne City Car Chase (EM RA Traces)”; “ Bright Light in Sky near Keenes Puzzles Police,” Mount Vernon (Ill.) Register-News, August 5, 1963, p. 1; “ Keenes Boy Tells Story of the ‘Flying Saucer,’” Mount Vernon (Ill.) Register-News, August 8, 1963, p. 1; Jeffrey G. Liss, “The Light That Chased a Car,” Fate 16, no. 11 (November 1963): 26–35; “ Light Chases Youths,” APRO Bulletin, January 1964, pp. 3-4; Schopick, pp. 81–88; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: July–December 1963, The Author, 2005, pp. 26–34; Clark III 950; Clark IV 1064)
August 10 — 9:32 p.m. Several airmen of the 91st Bombardment Wing at Glasgow Air Force Base [now closed] near Glasgow, Montana, are walking in the parking lot when a bright light appears above them, bathing everyone in an orange glow. It is coming from a disc-shaped object with a dome that has some odd characters carved in it. The object moves up, then to the right, then down and left. It makes a square, then an X within the square, stopping at all points before moving again. The underside of the object is a large panel of blue light. They watch it for 3 minutes, then it disappears. (“ Out of the Past,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 6, no. 2 (April/May 1985): 3)
August 12 - Night. A 10-year-old staying with his family at the Suez Hotel on Collins Avenue in Miami, Florida, is standing on the diving board of the hotel pool when he hears a churning sound and sees a disturbance in the Atlantic Ocean about 100 feet offshore. He sees a light attached to an object that is rising up into the sky. It moves parallel to the water for about 20-30 minutes before it disappears. (Carl Feindt, " Report #1583," waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 242-243)
August 20 — 9:30 p.m. Italian President Antonio Segni’s personal driver encounters a UFO near the entrance of the Castel Porziano Presidential Estate in Rome, Italy. When he sees a metallic domed disc with portholes moving in front of him in the driveway ahead, the driver stops the Fiat 2300 immediately. The UFO, about 65 feet diameter, passes a few feet above the car, making a hissing noise and causing the body to vibrate and the instruments to go crazy, then reverses course and passes over the car again with the same effect. It then tilts 90° and darts away to the west. It leaves behind a smell of heated metal. (“ Quando gli UFO arrivarona anche in Italia,” Oggi Notizie, November 26, 2011; 1Pinotti 148–151; Giulio Mancini, “ UFO sulla tenuta del Presidente a Castelporziano: Coinvolti gli USA,” Canaledieci, November 21, 2022)
August 21 or 22 — 6:30 p.m. Helge Mikalsen is fishing in Kågsund near Skjervøy, Norway, when he notices a flame shooting from a mountain on the island of Arnøya to the west. The flame is coming from an object rising vertically. When the flame dissipates, he sees a gray object that is moving against the wind to the east accompanied by a smaller object. As it hovers 50 feet above the water about 450 feet away, the larger one (105–120 feet long) appears to have five windows that are oval on top and about 6 feet tall. The smaller object is about 9 feet wide. After a few minutes a green light shoots from one of the windows toward Mikalsen, and he feels semi-paralyzed. He notices several dark things between the object and the water, as if it is drawing up some material. After 10 minutes, it tilts up and accelerates, speeding away to the north. (Nils J. Jacobsen, “ A Norwegian UFO Experience in 1963,” Flying Saucer Review 16, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1970): 18, 24; Dolan, USO1, 243–245)
August 28 — 7:00 p.m. José Marcos Gomes Vidal, 7, and his friends Fernando, 12, and Ronaldo Gualberto, 7, are in the Gualbertos’s backyard in Sagrada Familia, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, to wash a coffee strainer in a cistern. Suddenly, Fernando notices a glow coming from the top of an avocado tree. When he looks up, he sees a UFO hovering above the tree’s branches. The craft, which is spherical and has a pair of antennas on top, is completely transparent. It holds four human-like passengers sitting inside, one of whom sits in front of a machine that appears to be a control panel. The passengers are about 6 feet tall and dressed in spacesuits. They all have only one eye like a cyclops. Three of them are thin and bald, while the other looks like an overweight woman with blonde hair. The UFO shoots out two rays of yellow light. One of the cyclops appears between the lights, slowly floating down onto the ground. Once his boots touched the earth, the creature begins to walk toward José, who is completely unaware of what is happening since he is still collecting water. Fernando panics and tackles José, who falls to the ground, and Fernando gets back up and faces the cyclops. Now all three boys are aware of the visitor. The cyclops moves his head and makes hand signals. It speaks a few sounds in a strange language. The creature then turns around and stares back at the UFO. Fernando, spotting a brick on the ground, picks it up and aims it at the cyclops, who turns around and shoots Fernando’s hand with a yellow light from a triangular crest on his chest. Fernando drops the brick, and all three of the boys become calm and frozen. For a few more minutes, the cyclops speaks to them, then it points one of his fingers at the moon and begins to walk back toward the UFO. José asks if he will ever come back. The cyclops shakes his head affirmatively, plucks a plant from the ground, and then waves his hand at the UFO, which shoots out two rays of yellow light again. The cyclops slowly floats back up into the vehicle, and the UFO takes off eastward and disappears out of their sight. (Gordon Creighton, “ The ‘One-Eyed Entities’ of Belo Horizonte,” in Charles Bowen, ed., UFO Percipients, special issue no. 3 of FSR, September 1969, pp. 28–32; Tristan, “ The Alien Cyclops of Sagrada Familia,” Bizarre and Grotesque, March 24, 2016; Brazil 66–72)
September 12 — Patrick Loreno and 18 other men aboard Texas Tower 2, a USAF radar station 110 miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts [decommissioned later in the year and sunk], spot an object 3 miles from their location. They report the sighting to the Coast Guard and request an investigation, but the object sinks before a boat can get there. The object has a controlled light and smoke or steam appears on its surface. The men watch it for 20 minutes. There is no record of a ship or a submarine in the area. (“ Texas Tower Men See Light,” APRO Bulletin, May 1964, p. 8; Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, p. 53)
September 14 — Day. The Danish tender Kristine Maersk is 92 miles off Oporto, Portugal, when a starlike light appears at 25° altitude. It approaches the ship, descends about 10°, and turns a phosphorescent green. Ahead of it are 10–15 orange or red lights, ending with a purple light, most of which change positions. Second Officer Knud Rasmussen observes the object through binoculars for about 25 seconds. (“ Portugal: UFO at Sea,” Flying Saucer Review 10, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1964): 23–24)
September 14 — 3:15 p.m. US Forest Service instructor Edward A. Grant and his son see a round object over Susanville, California, that at first seems to be a balloon, but is moving erratically. The movements are very fast and the direction changes very definite. They watch it pass overhead for several minutes. Suddenly, a long cylindrical object with fins along its sides appears from the north and passes overhead toward the south. The round object moves very rapidly to intercept the long object, ejecting a yellowish-brown trail, and merges with it. ( Sparks, p. 295; Olsen, sec. 3 pp. 84–85; Herbert S. Taylor, “ Satellite Objects: A Further Look,” IUR 29, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 4)
September 19 - 6:50 p.m. More than 140 residents of Wonthaggi and South Dudley, Victoria, Australia, observe a mystery object like an orange beach ball maneuver in the sky for 25 minutes. At first it hovers, then it begins moving slowly and silently, putting on sudden and intermittent bursts of speed, before disappearing in an easterly direction into the Bass Strait. During the 25 minutes that the object is visible, TV sets malfunction in South Dudley, Wonthaggi, and lnverlock. TV sets variously display white screens, gray screens, double images, or snow and lines. Still other sets go completely blank. After the UFO leaves at 7:15, all TV sets resume normal operation. (" UAO's Upset TV Reception," APRO Bulletin, May 1964, pp. 1, 6; Schopick, pp. 109-111)
September 19 — 8:00 p.m. Four children in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, see a bright, oval object hover in a field and drop something. Approaching the site, they are confronted by a man about 10 feet tall dressed in a white “monk-like” suit who holds out his hands and makes unintelligible sounds. The children flee, and one girl is admitted to the hospital in shock. (Vallée, Magonia, p. 294; Mark Cashman, “ Behavioral Classification System for UFO Occupants,” IUR 24, no. 1 (Spring 1999): 18)
September 25 — 4:20 a.m. Police officer Galen Anderson is patrolling the streets of Sunnyvale, California, in a squad car when a radio call from other officers alerts him to a UFO. The object is moving east to west at an elevation of 45° and at the speed of a propeller-driven aircraft. The leading edge is brightly illuminated and the main body grayish with a small point of light visible on it. The object makes a turn toward the northwest, is momentarily visible edge-on, then quickly disappears from view after 45 seconds. Probable failed Atlas E rocket launch from Vandenberg AFB in Santa Barbara County, California. (“Big ‘Flying Squid’ Spotted over Area,” San Jose (Calif.) Mercury-News, September 26, 1963; “ Widely Seen UFO in Calif.,” APRO Bulletin, November 1963, p. 5; UFOEv, p. 63; Tim Printy, “ NICAP’s ‘The UFO Evidence’: Under Review,” SUNlite 4, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 2012): 7–8)
September 27 — Night. Fred Johnson steps outside his home in Eureka, Montana, to investigate why his dogs are barking. He sees a lighted object streak across the sky, leaving a brownish-blue trail. The object stops in the southeast and hangs in the sky for the rest of the evening, until he goes to bed. He calls his neighbors, who also witness it. It resembles an undersized moon and appears to be hundreds of miles away. (“ Sight Object in Sky,” Tobacco Valley News (Eureka, Montana), October 3, 1963, p. 1; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: July–December 1963, The Author, 2005, p. 59)
October — A Lisunov Li-2 airliner on the Guangdong to Wuhan, China, air route is chased by three luminous UFOs for 115 minutes. The pilots provide a minute-by-minute report by radio to the Chinese Civil Aeronautics Administration. After landing, the crew is debriefed by air traffic control, and the passengers are told not to discuss the incident with anyone. (Wendelle Stevens and Paul Dong, UFOs over Modern China, UFO Photo Archives, 1983, pp. 44–45)
October - 9:30 p.m. Five members of a family in Millersport, Ohio, see what seems to be an airplane on fire, but the house-sized object approaches and hovers about 300 feet away. They see a dark disc with a dome and antenna on top and three ball-shaped protrusions on the bottom. Around the rim are evenly spaced openings that emit fiery beams. In the dome, several large windows are visible in which a figure can be seen, at least by the mother. The dome rotates as the object hovers, and it makes a low humming noise. It finally rises slowly and makes a small circle in the air before speeding away. (Michael D. Swords, " Close Encounters of the First Kind: Do We Really Care? Part Two," The Big Study, February 15, 2012)
October 4 — 1:00 p.m. Connecticut State Representative Luther B. Martin sees a delta-shaped, silvery object leaving a flare-like trail at Hartland, Connecticut. A row of black markings is visible along the blunt forward edge as the object passes from south to north. He estimates its speed at 2,000 mph. (“ UFO Sightings Centered in Western U.S.,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 10 (Dec. 1963/Jan. 1964): 3)
October 12 — 3:30 a.m. Driving in a blinding rainstorm on the road between Monte Maíz and Isla Verde, Córdoba, Argentina, Eugenio Douglas feels heat and a prickly sensation all over his body. He sees a brilliant light in front of him. Temporarily blinded, he loses control of his truck and ends up in the ditch. Shaken but not injured, he gets out of the vehicle and looks up at the road, which he finds is blocked by an oval-shaped object at least 30 feet high. A door opens on the side and three huge “robots in human form” emerge. They wear helmets with short antennas and are 12–15 feet tall. Douglas takes a few shots at them with his revolver and runs away. The robots return to the UFO, which chases him down the road and eventually flies away. The next day, police find large footprints near the abandoned truck. (“ Robots Terrorize Truck Driver,” APRO Bulletin, January 1964, pp. 1–2; “ World Round-up,” Flying Saucer Review 10, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1964): 29–30; Gordon Creighton, “ Argentina, 1963–64,” Flying Saucer Review 11, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1965): 16–17; Charles Bowen, “ Reflections of an Editor,” BUFORA Bulletin, no. 1 (September 1981): 6, 9; Preston E. Dennett, “ UFO: Don’t Shoot!” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 299 (March 1993): 3, 5; Carlos Demaría, “ Caso de Eugenio Douglas en Monte Maiz, Cordoba en 1963,” Visión OVNI, March 23, 2002; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: July–December 1963, The Author, 2005, pp. 64–65; Roberto Banchs, “ Monte Maíz, Cordoba: La Vision Fantasmagorica de E. Douglas (11 Oct 1963),” Visión OVNI, November 10, 2008; Clark III 280; Eghigian, After, p. 156; Clark IV 320)
October 21 — 9:30 p.m. Yolié del Valle Moreno and her family at Trancas, Tucumán, Argentina, observe six strange objects for 40 minutes in the back courtyard of their house. One UFO hovers at ground level above some railroad tracks, while another with a dome and portholes is near another house. They can see some 40 humanlike figures (silhouettes) moving around within two bright lights linked by a prolongation or tube. When witnesses flash a light at the object, the house is flooded with a strong beam. The temperature rises inside the house and the inhabitants smell a strong sulfurous odor. All six objects are about 24 feet in diameter, have a white and a red beam of light, and leave a cloud of white smoke that does not disperse for 4 hours. Beneath the space where one of the objects has been rocking back and forth, the witnesses find innumerable white balls one- quarter-inch in diameter piled into a cone 3 feet high and within a circle 28–30 feet in diameter. They consist primarily of calcium carbonate. (Gordon Creighton, “ Argentina 1963–64, Part II,” Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1966): 23–24; Oscar A. Galindez, “ Trancas, after Seven Years,” Flying Saucer Review 17, no. 3 (May/June 1971): 14–20, 32; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: July–December 1963, The Author, 2005, pp. 66–74; Carlos Iurchuk, “ Los Asombrosos Fenomenos de Trancas por el Dr. Oscar Galindez,” Visión OVNI, January 1, 2009; Clark IV 1216)
October 23 — 11:00 p.m. Driving south of South River, New Jersey, on State Route 18, a man glimpses something like a flashlight off to his left, and three figures, 3–4 feet tall, cross the road in front of him. They are dressed in “tight-fitting silver-gray one-piece suits” that “seem to glow once they hit the headlights.” Their heads are found, but the witness can see no other features. They begin quickly “fluttering” across the road, faster than the “fastest sprinter.” (Center for UFO Studies, [ case documents]; Clark III 278; Clark IV 318)
October 31 — Eight-year-old Rute de Souza hears a strange roar and watches a silvery object coming towards her house near Iguape, São Paulo, Brazil. It soars above her, hits a palm tree, gyrates a bit in the air, then falls into the Rio Peropava near the opposite shore. She runs to get her mother and uncle, who also hear the sound. They see the river boiling up in the spot, followed by an eruption of muddy water and mud. Fishermen, including Tetsuo Ioshigawa, also view the event. The UFO is estimated to be 25 feet in diameter. Divers, both equipped and unequipped, fail to find any wreckage in the river, which is only 12 feet deep. (“ Disc Submerged in Brazilian River,” APRO Bulletin, January 1964, pp. 1–2; Coral Lorenzen, “Diving for Lost UFO,” Fate 17, no. 5 (May 1964): 62–65; Harry E. Rieseberg, “ A Submerged UFO?” Exploring the Unknown 6, no. 2 (December 1965): 64–67; Sanderson, InvRes, pp. 74–76; Clark III 339; Brazil 517; Clark IV 375; Dolan, USO1, 246–247)
November — 5:00 p.m. A man and his daughter are driving just north of Andover, New Jersey, when they see three strange lights in the sky. They are perfect ovals possibly a quarter mile high. The lights take off at a great speed in “perfect unison” toward the north. (Center for UFO Studies, [ case documents])
November 12 - The crew of the Argentine Naval auxiliary transport, ARA Punta Médanos, sees a large UFO off its stern [in the Atlantic Ocean?]. It is moving at high speed; when it appears, the needles of the ship's magnetic compass suddenly and simultaneously swing off course, pointing towards the UFO, which is about 6,000 feet away. The compasses return to normal after the object leaves. (" Argentine Navy Discloses Important E-M Case," UFO Investigator 3, no. 4 (Aug./Sept. 1965): 6; Schopick, pp. 3-4; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: July-December 1963, The Author, 2005, pp. 79-80; [ NICAP case files])
November 16 — Evening. Four teenagers—John Flaxton, Mervyn Hutchinson, Jenny Holloway, and another youth—are in Sandling Park near Saltwood, Kent, England, when they see a moving reddish- yellow “star” above the woods. It comes down at an angle of 60°, then vanishes. Moments later, they see a bright, golden light in a field about 240 feet away, floating 10 feet above the ground, and seemingly 15–20 feet across. It seems to move along with the teens for a short while. It disappears behind trees, then a dark figure shambles out of the woods. It is all black, about the size of a human but without a head and has bat wings. The teenagers run away. Other witnesses come forward to report strange lights and giant footprints in the woods. (Charles A. Strickland, “ Sightings at Saltwood, near Hythe, Kent,” LUFORO Bulletin 4, no. 5 (Nov./Dec./Jan. 1963–1964): 2–3; “ The Saltwood Mystery: Strange Happenings in Kent,” Flying Saucer Review 10, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1964): 11–12; A. Cecil Harper, “ A Saltwood Sighting,” BUFORA Journal and Bulletin 1, no. 1 (Summer 1964): 12; Rob Morphy, “ Bat Beast of Kent (England),” Cryptopia, March 5, 2010; Nick Redfern, “ Did Mothman Visit the UK in 1963?” Mysterious Universe, July 11, 2013; Nick Redfern, “ An Update on a Sinister Winged Monster,” Mysterious Universe, June 14, 2018; Theo Paijmans, “The Headless Horrors of Sandling Road,” Fortean Times 374 (Christmas 2018): 30–31; Clark III 779; Neil Arnold, “The Hythe Mothman: Monster, Ghost, or UFO?” Fortean Times 439 (Christmas 2023): 28–33; Clark IV 860)
November 20 — 6:00 p.m. Capt. J. Murray and three members of the crew of the Aberdeen collier Thrift see a flashing red light as they are traveling south in the North Sea from Aberdeen to Blyth, Northumberland, England. It passes within a mile of their port side, 15–30 feet above sea level and suddenly disappears 3 miles astern, presumably into the water. The collier, which puts about and makes for the object’s vanishing point, has 2 radar contacts on its screens, but they disappear as the ship approaches. They search for 3 hours but find no wreckage. (“ Mystery at Sea,” Flying Saucer Review 10, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1964): 22; Janet Gregory, “ UFOs Ahoy!” Flying Saucer Review 17, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1971): 29–30)
November 23 — 6:00 p.m. Two witnesses aboard the aircraft carrier USS Kearsage in the North Pacific Ocean see a bright light on the horizon behind the ship. As it rises, five lights become visible. Shortly afterward, the lights go below the horizon. (National UFO Reporting Center, “ NUFORC UFO Sighting 2906,” June 2, 1998; Dolan, USO1, 247–248)
Winter — A series of at least three incidents at Walker AFB [now closed] at Roswell, New Mexico, involve unidentified aerial craft maneuvering silently above an Atlas missile silo designated Site 9, northeast of Sunset, New Mexico. Three former missile personnel at the base—Jerry C. Nelson, Bob Caplan, and Gene Lamb—relay their experiences to Florida Today reporter Billy Cox in June 2001. (Billy Cox, “ UFO’s Haunt Missile Crews,” Florida Today, June 27, 2001; “ Affidavit of Jerome C. Nelson,” June 25, 2010; Nukes 147–152)
December 10 - 11:30 p.m. A large, bright, dome-shaped UFO lands at RAF Cosford in Shropshire, England, seen by two student cadets returning late from leave. It bathes the area in intense green light from a height of 10 feet, then disappears behind a hangar. Scorch marks are later found where the object had been. (" A Landing at Cosford? More Confusion at the Air Ministry," Flying Saucer Review 10, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1964): 17, iv; " The Cosford UFO: The Mystery Deepens," Flying Saucer Review 10, no. 3 (May/June 1964): 31-32; " The Lesson of Cosford," Flying Saucer Review 10, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1964): 1-2; Jenny Randles, " New Clues From Cosford," Northern UFO News, no. 180 (October 1980): 14; Good Above, pp. 56-58; Nicholas Redfern, " Cosford: An Enduring Mystery," UFO Times, no. 40 (Mar./Apr. 1996): 18-19; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: July-December 1963, The Author, 2005, pp. 85-86; " Mystery of the Alien Encounter," Wolverhampton (UK) AdNews, February 10, 2005, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 430 (May 2005): 7; " Air Base UFO Claims Denied," South Shields (UK) Gazette, April 14, 2005, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 433 (August 2005): 12; Nick Redfern, " UFO Landing or Much Ado about Nothing?" Mysterious Universe, October 20, 2016)
December 14 — 1:00 a.m. Leslie Immelman and W. T. Muller are driving about 12 miles north of Parys, South Africa, when they see something in the road that looks like an antelope. They turned back to investigate and saw that it was an apparently large dog. When they turn the car back toward the east, Immelman notices that the whole area has lit up so much that all the boulders and potholes in the road are visible. Suddenly a strange bright object appears ahead of them and approaches at high speed. Thinking it will hit the car, they both jump out, but the object dives over the car, ascends 50 feet, and hovers for 2 minutes. It is round and about 50 feet in diameter, glowing with an orange light and with a big blue light on one side that is illuminating the area. A long “fiery tail” protrudes from the blue light, emitting electrical sparks. Immelman can hear a low hum. The object shoots away to the south, changes course to the east, then returns to the car. This repeats 5–6 times before it disappears for good. (“ On the Road to Vereeniging,” Flying Saucer Review 10, no. 3 (May/June 1964): 27–28; Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: July–December 1963, The Author, 2005, pp. 86–87)
December 25 — Night. A fisherman in Libreville, Gabon, witnesses the landing of a craft from which a terrifying creature emerges. Humanoid in shape, the being produces sounds the fisherman cannot understand. It leaves footprints in the sand before returning to the machine, which then takes off. (“ Atterrissage d’un engin mysterieux au Gabon,” Lumières dans la Nuit, no. 70 (July/Sept. 1964): 5)
December 27 — At Bank’s Stables on Ivy Chimneys Road in Epping, Essex, England, trainee riding instructor Pauline Abbott, 16, is riding her horse into the riding yard when the animal stops and refuses to move. She hears a “squelching” noise coming from the field and sees a shiny white UFO on the ground. It is about 8 feet long, 3 feet high at the center, and has what looks like a window on one side that is brighter than the rest of the object. It takes off, flies horizontally for 100 feet, and disappears. Grass is found flattened over a circular area. Abbott finds marks forming a square with 8-foot sides within an 11-foot circular depression that contains a 3-foot central circle. (“ Landing in Essex,” Flying Saucer Review 10, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1964): 22–23; G. G. Doel, “ The Epping Sightings,” BUFORA Journal and Bulletin 1, no. 1 (Summer 1964): 5–6; J. Cleary-Baker, “ Evaluation by BUFORA Evaluating Officer,” BUFORA Journal and Bulletin 1, no. 1 (Summer 1964): 6–7)
1964
Night. The lookout on board a US Coast Guard ship in the Atlantic Ocean spots a light on the horizon. At first he thinks it is an approaching ship, but the radar officer detects no target. The lookout panics and thinks the light is coming after him. The next night, Joe Pickens is the lookout, and he sees a similar light that comes to within 600–1,200 feet of the ship. Other members of the crew also see the light and take photos. It remains in one spot for 5 minutes, then emits a 100-foot-long beam of light and takes off quickly. (Bob Teets, West Virginia UFOs: Close Encounters in the Mountain State, Headline, 1994, pp. 137–138; Carl Feindt, “ Report #628,” waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 256–257)
1964 — As the US Navy conducts an anti-submarine exercise supervised by the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center on Andros Island in the Bahamas, hydroacoustic equipment allegedly detects an unusual pulsating sound at a depth of 5 miles. (Vladimir G. Azhazha and Evgeny P. Litvinov, Подводные НЛО: Загадочные места мира [Underwater UFOs], 2015; Dolan, USO1, 257–258)
1964? — Day. Frank S. Kinsey and his brother-in-law are looking at Lake Casitas, north of Ventura, California, when they hear a loud noise and water splashing. They notice, rising out of the water, a round object with an “observation cone” on top. Through binoculars, Kinsey can see portholes through which a humanoid form is looking out at them. It hovers in the air about 20–30 feet from the surface. Kinsey grabs his camera, but the object starts moving away, making a loud noise like a jet, its outer cylinder rotating quickly as it changes colors from dark lavender to bright orange-yellow. He snaps a photo on Kodak Infrared film as the UFO speeds up and disappears over the mountains about 10 miles away. After it is developed, the photo shows something in the air above the lake on the left. ( MUFON case file; “ Witness Says UFO Came out of Water,” Skylook, no. 82 (September 1974): 8; Dolan, USO1, 256–257)
January 1 - Many witnesses in Shanghai, China, see a huge cigar-shaped UFO flying toward the southwest. MiG fighters are scrambled in pursuit but fail to intercept it. The official explanation is that it is a US missile. (Wendelle Stevens and Paul Dong, UFOs over Modern China, UFO Photo Archives, 1983, p. 45)
January 4 - Barney Hill has his first hypnosis session with Benjamin Simon. The sessions will continue until June 6. The Hills undergo sessions separately, and for the most part are instructed not to remember their experiences afterwards. Barney's sessions are particularly intense. However, by the end of the sessions, although they disagree with Simon on the nature of the experience, both the Hills and Simon agree that the therapy is successful. The stress and anxiety are gone. Simon submits a statement to the Hills' insurance company, which initially declines to pay, until Simon explains that he was treating them for what will later be called PTSD. ([audio excerpts from the complete hypnosis sessions conducted by Benjamin Simon on Barney Hill, 1964], in "CEIV: An Audio History of Alien Abduction and Animal Mutilation 1957-1976 Guide," part 1, part 2; Clark III 584-585; Clark IV 642-643
January 23 — The landing craft Loellen M. is in the Gulf of Carpentaria between Cape Grey and Groote Eylandt, Northern Territory, Australia, when a crew member notices the compass is malfunctioning (“haywire”) and the vessel is off course, He notices an odd phosphorescence in the water on the starboard side about 6 feet away from the ship. It is a ghostly, pulsating white light that is rotating in a clockwise direction. It seems to be “miles across.” As the light wheel moves to the ship’s port side, another rotating light approaches the ship’s starboard side. This undoubtedly involves some unusual bioluminescence, but it is significant that it is the first “unknown” in the RAAF’s UFO files. (Australian UFO Files, A703 580-1-1 Part 4 645645, pp. 269–271; Bill Chalker, “ The ‘First’ Official ‘Unknown’: The Electromagnetic Light Wheel near Groote Eylndt,” Project 1947 (1996); Swords 390; Bill Chalker, “ The Great USO Show of Oz,” TheOzFiles, August 26, 2022; Bill Chalker, “ The Rising USO Tide,” TheOzFiles, October 25, 2024; Dolan, USO1, 253)
February 3 - 2:00 a.m. Doris Player wakes up to see her bedroom illuminated near Gum Creek, South Australia, about 100 miles north of Adelaide. The light is coming from a circular object hovering about 200 feet above her garden. Suddenly a 5-foot 3-inch being wearing blue-green coveralls, a brown balaclava, and an open brown jacket appears. He wears elbow-length, black gloves with a cord going from his helmet to his left shoulder. He has a red face and a big nose and holds a black box that buzzes and clicks as he points it. The light goes out, and when her eyes adjust to the darkness, she sees that the entity has also disappeared. (Center for UFO Studies, HUMCAT Index 1964, p. 2; Colin McCarthy, " The Plympton Story," Flying Saucer Review 16, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1970): 32, 34; Mark Cashman, " Behavioral Classification System for UFO Occupants," IUR 24, no. 1 (Spring 1999): 19-20; " Documentary on UFO's, Adelaide, Australia, Part 1," MaS7eRjEd3ye YouTube channel, February 5, 2009, at 6:05; Thomas Brisson, " UBO's (Unidentified Box-like Objects), Part 2," Vomanomalous, July 15, 2014)
February 21 — Night. Senior Constable Payne and Constable McMillan are traveling in their police car in Para Hills, South Australia, when they notice a light flash to their left. As it approaches, it reminds Payne of a “big glass bowl with a terrifically strong light in it.” The spherical object is estimated to be about 8 inches in diameter. It zig-zags rapidly, slows down, and then accelerates at a great speed. The object originates from the west before it quickly turns north and vanishes. (“ Two Police Officers Watch UFO,” Australian Flying Saucer Review, no. 8 (June 1965): 12)
April 3 - 9:00 p.m. R. Wold, a graduate student in anthropology at the University of Wisconsin, and three others are heading west on County Highway C about one mile west of Monticello, Wisconsin. They notice two blinking red lights in the distance that they think might be police cars. However, they are too far above the ground and begin approaching. The object slows down to a hover behind some telephone wires about 300 feet from the car. By this time they have stopped the car and can see four red lights in a rectangular formation and one white light in front of the others, but no underlying structure. The object passes slowly beyond them, so Wold turns the car around and tries to chase the lights but they disappear to the east. ( Sparks, p. 296; Olsen, sec. 3, pp. 88-89)
April 11 — 6:30 p.m. Physiotherapist Warren B. Ochsner and his wife and two children are having a picnic on a hill about 10 miles northwest of Homer, New York. They see an unusually wide vapor trail in the sky stretching from northeast to southwest. At the far end of the white trail is a smoky, spiral portion about one mile long. The vapor trail drifts off. After 10 minutes, Ochsner notices that the spiral portion is still visible, having moved a bit to the west. With binoculars, he sees wisps of smoke streaming out of it. It changes from a horizontal to a vertical position with greater smoke activity. It stops and hangs there for 2–3 minutes before sinking into the clouds. After another 3 minutes, they see a horizontal pencil-shaped object moving from left to right on the horizon. A flash of white light erupts from its end and shoots forward a short distance then stops. It becomes thick in the middle, a cloud of smoke emanates from it, and it shoots backward rapidly. Again it hovers and changes to a saucer shape. It then divides into two parts, one above the other. The top object slowly recedes into the distance, while the bottom objects heads downward at a 45° angle, divides in two again, with the top part fading away and the bottom part assuming a vertical pencil shape, which fades away. The whole display takes 45 minutes. ( Sparks, p. 297; Olsen, sec. 3, pp. 89–92; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 60–61; Herbert S. Taylor, “ Satellite Objects and Cloud Cigars,” IUR 29, no. 1 (Spring 2004): 7–9)
April 13 — About 8:45 p.m. In Walthamstow, London, a bus driver sees a silver, cigar-shaped UFO rapidly descend, slicing through telephone wires before splashing into the River Lea. The object gouges a deep scar into the concrete towpath as it goes down. Police drag the river but find nothing, claiming the shallow water—only four to six feet deep—makes ducks a more likely explanation. The witness firmly rejects that possibility. (Walthamstow Guardian, April 17, 1964; “ Walthamstow ‘Object from Space,’” Flying Saucer Review 10, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1964): 21; Janet Gregory, “ UFOs Ahoy!” Flying Saucer Review 17, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1971): 29, 30)
April 20 — Early morning. During Operation Deep Freeze VII, six members of a US Coast Guard aircraft sight a V-formation of 9 glowing-white objects speeding at an estimated 35,000 feet altitude. They are flying a in a C-130 turbo-prop transport from McMurdo Station, Antarctica, with supplies. The right-side observer first sees the objects approaching at about 460 mph from above and to their right side. When they come abreast of the airplane, they slow to its speed. After a short time, they fly above the airplane and take up position above and to its left side. The pilot attempts to radio the ground but the radio is dead, and their radar also stops working. When the pilot tries to switch to auxiliary power, it too is not functioning. At one point the airplane’s engines stop (the oil begins to congeal in the cold air). Instead of losing altitude, it maintains “a steady altitude and course.” The airplane allegedly continues flying in complete silence, then it enters a “strange haze” (like a white-out) with the air filled with static electricity. There is electrical arcing from one observer’s body to metal inside the fuselage. The haze vanishes after about 20 minutes. The power suddenly returns, and the crew can restart the engines in sequence. The airplane has covered a distance of 305 miles during the 45–50 minutes at indicated airspeed of 184–218 knots. (NICAP, “ C-130 Crew Encounters UFO / EME to Radio and Radar”; “ 1964 Antarctica UFO Report,” APRO Bulletin 29, no. 3 (March 1981): 1–3; Richard F. Haines and Dominique F. Weinstein, A Preliminary Study of Fifty Seven Pilot Sighting Reports Involving Alleged Electro-Magnetic Effects on Aircraft Systems, NARCAP Technical Report 3, April 5, 2001, pp. 23–24)
April 22 — 9:00 p.m. Marie Morrow, Ruth Ovelette, and Morrow’s son are driving west about 10–15 miles east of Lordsburg, New Mexico, when a brilliantly luminous object sweeps about 10 feet above their car from behind, illuminating the interior and emitting a whirring, whining sound. The UFO then rises but maintains its course along the highway before veering toward the north and vanishes. (Wendell Faught, “ Plain Talk,” Deming (N.Mex.) Headlight, May 7, 1964, p. 1; “ Huge Light Buzzed Car in New Mexico,” APRO Bulletin, May 1964, p. 10; Clark III 1091–1092; Clark IV 1208)
April 24 — 10:00 a.m. Dairy farmer Gary Wilcox of Newark Valley, New York, is driving a tractor on his property when he sees a shiny object on the inside edge of a nearby patch of woods. He gets off the tractor and approaches the object, which is egg-shaped, 20 feet long, 16 feet wide, and four feet high. It is hovering two feet above the ground and making a sound like a car idling. He touches it and feels a hard metal. Two figures suddenly appear from under the object. They are 4 feet tall and 2 feet wide, dressed in seamless silvery garments. Each carries a tray filled with alfalfa, roots, soil, leaves, and brush. Wilcox hears a voice say, “Do not be alarmed. We have talked to people before.” They ask him what he is doing, and Wilcox says he is spreading manure. One humanoid asks if he can have some and converses some more about space exploration. They claim they are from Mars. After a while, the UFO takes off in a horizontal direction. Wilcox notices some small depressions where the figures were standing, as well as a thin, red, jellylike substance. (Reid A. Ochs, “ Tioga Agog over Space Visit Report,” Binghamton (N.Y.) Press and Sun-Bulletin, May 7, 1964, p. 2; Reid A. Ochs, “ Martian ‘Visit’ Stirs Tioga,” Binghamton (N.Y.) Press and Sun-Bulletin, May 7, 1964, p. 3; “ Moon Visit Present Tense to Him,” Binghamton (N.Y.) Press and Sun-Bulletin, May 22, 1964, pp. 21, 40; “ English-Speaking Little Men Land in New York State,” Saucer News 11, no. 3 (September 1964): 14–15; Olga M. Hotchkiss, “New York UFO and Its ‘Little People,’” Fate 17, no. 9 (September 1964): 38–42; Keith George, “ Everybody Is Talking Saucer Again,” Binghamton (N.Y.) Sunday Press, October 24, 1965, p. 5; Keith George, “ ‘I Know What I Saw’: Egg-Shaped Craft,” Binghamton (N.Y.) Sunday Press, October 24, 1965, p. 7C; Berthold E. Schwarz, “ Gary Wilcox and the Ufonauts,” in Charles Bowen, ed., UFO Percipients, special issue no. 3 of FSR, September 1969, pp. 20–27; Story, pp. 246–249; UFOEv II 474–476; Wendy Connors, “Newark Valley, NY,” Audioclip 10, CE III Humanoid Encounters, November 19, 2013; Clark III 795–799; Marcus Lowth, “ The Gary Wilcox Occupant Encounter: The Fertilizer Case,” UFO Insight, December 27, 2018; Clark IV 878–881)
April 24 — Around 5:50 p.m. Socorro, New Mexico, police officer Lonnie Zamora, while chasing a speeder, hears a continuous roaring sound and sees a brilliant blue “cone of flame” in the sky to the south-southwest. The bottom of the flame is out of sight behind a hill. Thinking there has been an explosion, he tries to pursue it, turning off to the right on a rough gravel road, but loses sight of it while trying to get the car up a steep hill. By the time he reaches the top, the sound stops and the flame is no longer visible. He then notices a metallic object in a ravine about 450 feet away. At first, he thinks it is an overturned car, but then he sees “two figures in what resembled white coveralls, pretty close to the object on the northwest side, as if inspecting it.” One seems to turn in a startled way as if he hears Zamora’s car approaching. The figures are small, and the object is oval- shaped and positioned so its long axis is horizontal. Zamora loses sight of object as he drives through a dip in the road. He radios headquarters that he is investigating a possible car accident. He stops a second time and gets out, hearing 2–3 loud thumping noises like a door shutting hard. He walks three steps to the front of the car to possibly 50 feet away from the object when he hears a very load roar increasing in volume and sees a smokeless blue-orange flame coming from beneath. He notes a red insignia or lettering on the side of the object. Zamora thinks it is going to explode and runs away, putting the car between him and the object and dropping to the ground. He feels some slight heat from the flame. The roaring noise stops, and Zamora looks up to see the UFO flying away to the southwest at a level height, just clearing an 8-foot dynamite shack. He runs back to the patrol car and radios headquarters, just as the object climbs slowly and goes past Box Canyon or Six Mile Canyon Mountain (about 6 miles away). The entire incident takes place in less than 2 minutes. Police Sgt. M. S. Chavez arrives, and they find burning brush (including a badly damaged creosote bush) where the UFO has been, as well as four asymmetrically placed, trapezoidal imprints 12–16 inches long, 6–8 inches wide, and 4–6 inches deep. An FBI agent, D. Arthur Byrnes Jr., who has heard about it on the police radio, speaks with Zamora in the evening. He notifies army intelligence at White Sands Missile Range, who sends Capt. Richard T. Holder. Military police arrive and collect samples, working by flashlight. The next morning, Holder gets a call from a colonel at the war room of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, asking for a report. T/Sgt. David Moody from ATIC and Maj. William Conner from Kirtland AFB check the area for radioactivity on April 26. Hynek arrives on April 28 and interviews Zamora and Chavez. Richard H. Hall and Ray Stanford arrive for NICAP and obtain some metal traces on a rock in the landing area; they take the sample to NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, where metallurgist Henry E. Frankel agrees to analyze the material. His tentative analysis suggests a zinc-iron alloy, perhaps from a zinc pail. In 1966, Blue Book chief Maj. Hector Quintanilla writes in a classified article in Studies in Intelligence that “This is the best-documented case on record, and still we have been unable, in spite of a thorough investigation, to find the vehicle or other stimulus that scared Zamora to the point of panic.” Some investigators think the case might involve a test of a Lunar Surveyor module from White Sands. (Wikipedia, “ Lonnie Zamora incident”; NICAP, “ Lonnie Zamora / Socorro Landing Case”; Sparks, p. 297; Center for UFO Studies, [ correspondence]; Center for UFO Studies, [case files: Files 1 and 4R, Files 2, Files 3, MiscR, Zamora]; Center for UFO Studies, [ Clippings1, Clippings2]; “ UAO Landing in New Mexico,” APRO Bulletin, May 1964, pp. 1, 3–10; “ Physical Evidence: Landing Reports,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 11 (July/Aug. 1964): 1, 4–5; Coral Lorenzen, “ UFO Lands in New Mexico” Fate 17, no. 8 (August 1964): 27–38; “ Socorro Analysis,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 12 (Sept./Oct. 1964): 4; Hector Quintanilla Jr., “ The Investigation of UFOs,” Studies in Intelligence 10, no. 4 (February 1966): 95–110; Olsen, sec. 3, pp. 92–97; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 165–166; Philip J. Klass, UFOs Explained, Random House, 1974, pp. 105–114; Lorenzen, Encounters with UFO Occupants, Berkley Medallion, 1976, pp. 8–11; Ray Stanford, Socorro ‘Saucer’ in a Pentagon Pantry, Blueapple, 1976; Hynek UFO Report, pp. 223–229; Richard H. Hall, “ Pentagon Pantry: Is the Cupboard Bare?” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 108 (November 1976): 15–18; Ray Stanford, “ The Pentagon Pantry Is Not Bare! Part 1,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 117 (July 1977): 13–15, 20; Ray Stanford, “ The Pentagon Pantry Is Not Bare! Part 2,” MUFON UFO Journal, no 117 (August 1977): 10–13; “ The Socorro, New Mexico, Landing: Additional Witnesses?” IUR 3, no. 9 (September 1978): 15; Robert Barrow, “ An Incredible Admission: What Did the Air Force Mean?” Pursuit 12, no. 1 (Winter 1979): 10–12; Story, pp. 341–344; Kenneth Eugene Firestone and Ronald L. Firestone, “ Socorro, New Mexico: Revisited,” Ground Saucer Watch, 1981; ClearIntent, pp. 139–141; Kim Hansen, “UFO Casebook,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, pp. 62–66; Good Above, pp. 343–345, 371–373; Jacques Vallée, Forbidden Science: Journals 1957–1969, North Atlantic, 1992, pp. 100–104; “ Solving the 1964 Socorro NM UFO Case: A Step-by-Step Chronology of Larry Robinson’s Investigation,” [1997]; Don Berliner, with Marie Galbreath and Antonio Huneeus, UFO Briefing Document: The Best Available Evidence, Dell, 2000, pp. 78–80; David E. Thomas, “ A Different Angle on the Socorro UFO of 1964,” New Mexicans for Science and Reason, 2001; UFOEv II 177–182; Paul Harden, “ The 1964 Socorro UFO Incident,” El Defensor Chieftain, August 2, 2008; Anthony Bragalia, “ The Socorro UFO Hoax, Part 3: Physical Evidence Points to a Prank,” Anthony Bragalia’s UFO Explorations, November 2009; Kevin D. Randle, “ Socorro UFO Landing Analysis,” A Different Perspective, November 22, 2009; Robert Sheaffer, “ A Socorro Student Hoax Confirmed?” Bad UFOs, August 12, 2012; Wendy Connors, “Cops and Saucers: Law Enforcement and UFO’s, 1957–1981 Guide,” November 20, 2013, audioclips 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12; Kevin D. Randle, “ The Socorro Symbol: Resolved?” A Different Perspective, October 15, 2016; Kevin D. Randle, “ No Socorro Solution by Chief of Project Blue Book,” A Different Perspective, November 7, 2017; Kevin D. Randle, “ Zamora vs. People,” A Different Perspective, November 9, 2017; Kevin D. Randle, Encounter in the Desert: The Case for Alien Contact at Socorro, New Page, 2017; Clark III 303, 1083–1093; “ Socorro, New Mexico, April 24, 1964: Officer Lonnie Zamora Is Interviewed on the Phone by NICAP’s Streeter Stuart,” UFO History YouTube channel, October 7, 2018; Justice Fodor, “ Ray Stanford and His NASA-Goddard UFO-Metal Cover-Up Claim,” Alien Expanse, February 14, 2019; “ UFOLEAX: Entrevista a Lonnie Zamora hecha pore el reportero Walter Shrode de Radio KSCR, Socorro,” UFOLEAX YouTube channel, February 10, 2021; Kevin D. Randle, “ Expedition Unknown in Socorro,” A Different Perspective, October 19, 2022; John Greenewald, “ Official Files on the Socorro UFO Landing, April 24, 1964,” The Black Vault, August 20, 2023; “ Policeman Lonnie Zamora in 1996, ’74 & ’64 on Witnessing a Landed Tic-Tac Shaped UFO in Socorro, NM,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, October 2023; Graff 187–191; Covert 70; William J. Granger, “ The Socorro Incident: Time for a Second Look,” SCU Review 5, no. 1 (January 27, 2024): 12–18; Eghigian, After, pp. 147–149; Clark IV 343, 1200–1210; Kevin D. Randle, “ A Good Match for the Zamora Symbol Has Been Found,” A Different Perspective, January 6, 2025; Kevin D. Randle, “ The Zamora Symbol Controversy,” A Different Perspective, January 17, 2025; John Greenewald, “ The Vault Files: The Socorro UFO Landing Incident, April 24, 1964,” The Black Vault, August 13, 2025)
April 25 — Morning. J. D. Hatch is driving on US Hwy 70 between Mescalero and Tularosa, New Mexico, when a bright oval object descends and seemingly lands on the other side of Round Mountain east of Tularosa. (“ Mystifying Flying Object Is Sighted: Unusual Marks Found,” Alamogordo (N.Mex.) Daily News, April 26, 1964, pp. 1, 6; Clark III 1092; Clark IV 1208)
April 25 — Evening. Two motorists driving on US Hwy 84 between Abiquiu and Espanola, New Mexico, see a strange object that is definitely not an airplane fly straight toward their car before shooting away. All they can see is a blue-flamed exhaust. (“ Mystery Object Report Is Told: Ground at La Madera Is Burned,” Albuquerque (N.Mex.) Tribune, April 27, 1964, p. 1; Clark III 1092; Clark IV 1208)
April 25? — Night. Two Spanish-speaking people 9 miles away from Golden, New Mexico, watch a light come down from the sky and leave three “smelted” circles some 2 feet in diameter and separated from each other by 20 feet. They mention this story to James Scartacinni, 15, and his grandfather visit the site the next day and find the circles, which they estimate must have been subjected to a temperature of 2,300° F. They return to town and call the state police, who notify the military. Almost immediately, men in uniform cordon off the area, dig up the burned areas to a depth of one foot, and carry the material away. (“ Hunting Old and New UFOs in New Mexico,” IUR 7, no. 2 (March 1982):12)
April 26 — Around 1:00 a.m. Orlando Gallegos steps outside his father’s ranch at La Madera, New Mexico, to chase away some horses in the yard. He sees a peculiar structure in the Rio Vallecitos creek bed some 900 feet away. It looks like a butane tank “as long as a telephone pole” about 14 feet in diameter, metallic, and shooting blue flames out of holes in the sides. As he watches over the next minute, the flames subside. It is still there when he goes inside, where no one else believes him. It is gone the next morning, but state police (including Capt. Martin E. Vigil, David Kingsbury, and Albert Vega) investigate and find the ground still smoldering and scorched with four depressions, one of them 8 by 12 inches in size. The charred area is in the shape of two overlapping circles and about 20 feet across. Hynek is refused authorization to go visit the site. ( Sparks, p. 298; “ Mystery Object Report Is Told,” Albuquerque Tribune, August 27, 1966, p. 1; Lorenzen, FSHoax, pp. 222–223; Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, pp. 54–55; “ Hunting Old and New UFOs in New Mexico,” IUR 7, no. 2 (March 1982):12–13; Clark III 1092; Covert 70; Clark IV 1208–1209)
April 28 — Early morning. Don Adams is driving in Edgewood, New Mexico, when his car stalls. He sees a glowing, greenish object 100 feet overhead and fires six rounds from a .32 pistol at it with no effect. He can hear the bullets bouncing off. It silently moves away to the north. (“ Shots Fired at Flying Object,” Santa Fe New Mexican, April 28, 1964, pp. 1–2; “ Edgewood Man Says He Shot at and Hit Flying Object,” Albuquerque (N.Mex.) Tribune, April 28, 1964, p. 1; “ Other Recent Sightings,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 11 (July/Aug. 1964): 7; “ Green Object at Edgewood,” APRO Bulletin, September 1964, p. 3)
April 28 — 12:00 noon. Sharon Stull, 10, observes an egg-shaped object hovering near Lowell Elementary School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She watches the object for about 10 minutes as it bounces up and down in the sky three times before it leaves. Shortly afterward, Sharon develops burns around her eyes and nose, which a physician diagnoses as “infra-red burns.” She insists she was not looking at the sun and tells police the object is in the northeast, while the sun is behind her. Her 8-year-old sister Robin also sees the object but quickly looks away and goes off to play. Police Lt. C. K. Jolly says he believes Sharon saw something real and that it caused her injuries. (“ ‘Infra-Red’ Burns Suffered by Girl Who ‘Saw’ Object,” Albuquerque (N.Mex.) Journal, April 29, 1964, p. 1)
April 28 — Early evening. A round, whitish object hovers then darts away over Anthony, New Mexico. State policeman Raúl Arteche sees it moving west over the Port of Entry near El Paso, Texas. He says it looks like the object Lonnie Zamora saw. (“ Other Recent Sightings,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 11 (July/Aug. 1964): 7)
April 30 — A B-57 pilot at Holloman AFB, Alamogordo, New Mexico, radios to the control tower that he is watching an egg-shaped, white UFO with markings that match the Socorro object. He continues to watch it as it lands at the base. Coral and Jim Lorenzen insist they heard the story from a reliable source. In addition, a ham radio operator claims to have heard the exchange between the pilot and control tower. Holloman AFB denies the incident occurred. Shortly afterward, an airman walks into a clothing store in Alamogordo and spins an incredible story of a UFO parked in a hangar under heavy guard at Holloman. A couple days later, he returns to the store and denies everything. (Coral Lorenzen, “ UAO Landing at Air Force Base,” APRO Bulletin, July 1964, pp. 1, 3–4; Coral Lorenzen, “ UFO Lands at Air Force Base,” Fate 17, no. 10 (October 1964): 45–52; Clark III 332; Clark IV 369)
April 30 — 10:30 p.m. Several children living in Canyon Ferry, Montana, see a lighted, egg-shaped object the size of an automobile land about 150 feet away, then take off. The witnesses are Linda Davis, 11, and children of the Harold Rust family. It leaves four 8 x 10 inch rectangular indentations in the ground, 4–8 inches deep, about 13 feet apart, and a burned area. ( Sparks, p. 298; “ Kids Called Hoaxers by U.S.A.F,” APRO Bulletin, July 1964, pp. 1, 5; Lorenzen, FSHoax, pp. 223–224)
May 5 — 8:30 a.m. Alfred Ernst, on his farm about 6 miles east of Comstock, Minnesota, sees a luminous UFO like a child’s top from about 1,500 feet away. It rises straight up and disappears into the overcast sky after a few seconds. Ernst and his brother find a crater-like depression, about 3 feet in diameter and 6 inches deep at the center, at the spot where the object was sitting. A series of smaller holes form an X around the larger depression. The earth seems burned on the perimeter of the hole and a whitish substance is found. (“Mystery ‘Ship’ Lands,” Barnesville (Minn.) Record-Review, May 7, 1964; “‘Space Ship’ Was Possibly Lightning,” Barnesville (Minn.) Record-Review, May 21, 1964; “ Physical Evidence: Landing Reports,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 11 (July/Aug. 1964): 5; Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, pp. 56–58)
May 13 — 10:15 p.m. Mrs. M. Walter McKarley and her children see a large round object that appears in their headlights after they pull into a driveway at Rio Vista, California. It seems to be resting on the ground about a quarter of a mile away. Higher in the sky is a small star-like object (probably Venus). As they drive away, the large object seems to pace their car for a short time. It then moves swiftly to the left and disappears behind a water tank. (“ Physical Evidence: Landing Reports,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 11 (July/Aug. 1964): 6; Ann Druffel, “ Mercury: A Possible Clue to UFO Propulsion? Part 1,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 196 (July/Aug. 1984): 15–17)
May 15 — Between 11:30 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. Two targets are simultaneously tracked on surveillance and FPS-16 radars at Stallion Site, the most northerly range of the Army-controlled Holloman–White Sands complex a few miles east of San Antonio, New Mexico. The targets are north of the radar site, performing “perfect, precise flight maneuvers” in tandem, involving separations and rejoins and “up-and-down ‘pogo’ maneuvers.” One radar operator obtains a visual sighting of two brown-colored, football-shaped objects that are flying at very low altitude and are lost from view behind buildings at the site. The two targets are displayed as skin paints. However,IFF transponder codes are also received on two different frequencies alternately. (NICAP, “ UFO Auto-Tracked, Sends Phony IFF”; Coral Lorenzen, “ UFO Lands at Air Force Base,” Fate 17, no. 10 (October 1964): 45, 48; Lorenzen, FSHoax, pp. 225–226)
May 19 — 7:00 a.m. Mike Bizon, 10, sees a square or spindle-shaped, bright-silver UFO on the ground in Hubbard, Oregon, while he is leading a cow out to pasture. The cow, normally eager to be let out, acts very reluctant and nervous. The object is resting on four legs in an adjacent wheat field. It rises slowly off the ground to the height of a telephone pole, then zooms straight up emitting a soft beeping sound. Bizon smells an odor like gas fumes. Three imprints in the shape of an equilateral triangle are found in an area of flattened wheat about 4 feet wide. (Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, pp. 53–54)
May 21 — 4:30 a.m. At Altus AFB, Oklahoma, Missile Site 7, southeast of Ranchland, Texas, a large bright light is seen directly over the facility below 10,000 feet. The light is bright enough to light up the silo cap. Its apparent size is as large as a basketball held at arm’s length. The object is first noticed hovering over the south fence of Site 7 for 8–10 minutes. (NICAP, “ Light Hovers over Missile Silo”; Nukes 159–160)
May 24 — James P. Templeton, using a Pentacon camera with Kodacolor X stock, takes a photo of his 5-year- old daughter Elizabeth when his family is picnicking on the marshes at Burgh by Sands, Cumbria, England. When the film is developed, a man, encased in a white spacesuit and helmet, is clearly visible behind Elizabeth’s head. Templeton and his family claim they had seen no one when the photo was taken. He tells the Carlisle police, who are puzzled. Kodak is intrigued enough to conduct an inquiry. They rule out a double exposure. However, one possibility is that the image is an overexposed view of the back of Templeton’s wife. After the photo receives some local publicity, Templeton gets a call from someone describing himself as an investigator. Templeton agrees to meet with him and an associate and visit the marsh. Two men dressed in dark business suits show up and drive him to the site. They refuse to give Templeton their names, referring to themselves only as “9” and “11.” They are mostly interested in finding out if any nearby animals had been agitated. Then they insist that the figure was just a passerby, get angry, and drive away, leaving Templeton stranded and having to walk home 5 miles away. (Gordon W. Creighton, “ The Mysterious Templeton Photograph,” Flying Saucer Review 10, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1964): 11–12; Jenny Randles, “ The Riddle of the Templeton Photograph,” IUR 20, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1995): 12–15; “ The Templeton photograph” [in color], Flying Saucer Review 46, no. 2 (Summer 2001): inside cover; Jenny Randles, “Casebook: The Solway Spaceman,” Fortean Times 196 (May 2005): 29; Andy Roberts and David Clarke, “Farewell to the Solway Spaceman?” Fortean Times 286 (April 2012): 28–29; Jenny Randles, “Moderations, Part One: Lost and Found Files,” Fortean Times 292 (September 2012): 29; Clark III 1126–1127; Patrick Gross, “ The Solway Firth Photograph, 1964”; “ The Solway Firth Spaceman Mystery,” Very Nearly Interesting YouTube channel, June 2023; Clark IV 1256–1258)
May 26 - 10:00 p.m. Mr. and Mrs. Terry Balliet, their family, and two neighbors see two UFOs in the northwest sky near Palmerton, Pennsylvania. One is a large, stationary, dome-like object emitting hazy whitish light from the underside. A smaller disc-like object is intermittently visible maneuvering around the larger one. It finally merges with the large object, which moves away to the east. The large object is seen twice more in the evening, moving back and forth from east to west. (" Other Recent Sightings," UFO Investigator 2, no. 11 (July/Aug. 1964): 7)
June - 6:30 p.m. Bert Gammie, his mother, and his daughter Lynn are driving along the northern shore of Green Lake, British Columbia, when they see a light above a mountain across the lake to the south. Soon they notice it is moving and is now almost directly overhead. He stops the car and gets out for a closer look. The object is circular, dull metallic, and has a series of vents in the tail trailing white, blue, red, and orange exhaust. They watch it for 3 minutes moving slowly to the north at about 50 mph and making a whistling noise. It makes a sharp right-angle turn, proceeds west, and disappears from sight. Gammie reports the sighting to the RCAF in Vancouver, and a senior air force officer visits him later and shows him a bulky portfolio of glossy UFO photos, many of them showing detailed features. Gammie tells him that the UFO he had seen did not exactly resemble any of the photos, and the officer tells him that the RCAF would not admit to interviewing him if the case receives any publicity. (" `That Awful Looking Shooting Star,'" Canadian UFO Report 3, no. 5 (1975): 14)
June 2 — 4:00 p.m. Charles Keith Davis, 8, is outside his grandmother’s home in Hobbs, New Mexico, when a small, tan, top-shaped object with a soot-like trail appears and hovers above the boy’s head, enveloping him in a cloud. He starts crying and screaming, and the object shoots straight up and disappears. His hair is singed and his face and ears are swollen and burned, although he does not feel any pain. They take him to the hospital, where doctors notice the soot embedded in his flesh. The burns respond well to treatment and he stays 5 nights in the hospital. (“ Hobbs Boy Says ‘Ball of Fire’ Burns His Face,” Hobbs (N.Mex.) Daily News-Sun, June 2, 1964, pp. 1, 5; “ Burned Boy Improving,” Hobbs (N.Mex.) Daily News-Sun, June 5, 1964, p. 1; “ Mystery Deepens: Burned Boy Had No Sense of Pain,” Hobbs (N.Mex.) Daily News-Sun, June 11, 1964, p. 1; “ Child Burned in New Mexico,” APRO Bulletin, November 1964, pp. 1, 3; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 191–192; “ UFO Retrospective,” Flying Saucer Digest, no. 128 (Winter 1995): 4–5)
June 2 — 10:30 p.m. Mrs. Bruce A. Holmes is driving about a half block from her home at 1105 McKinley Avenue in Sunnyvale, California, when she sees a blimp-shaped object hovering 150 feet in the air about one block away from her. The object has a square box area underneath it with light shining downward. She runs into her house to get her husband and they both watch the object, which is moving slowly to the east at a 40° angle. Suddenly it zips to the left behind a tree at high speed, then back across the same path and to the right, behind another tree. When it moves back to the center, another object has joined it. They continue toward the east and disappear. (Olsen, sec. 3, pp. 98–99)
June 8 — 9:30 p.m. Helen Reed is in her back yard about 2.5 miles west of Lawrenceville, Illinois, when she looks up and sees a strange object near the shed behind her barn about 10–15 feet above the ground. It has a number of circular lights around its perimeter and a blue light on top, and it seems to be 12–15 feet in diameter. She watches it move slowly east several hundred feet, make a sharp left turn, move a few hundred feet north, make a sharper turn, and return to about 50 feet away, where it hovers silently a few seconds. She notices that its yellow lights are quickly rotating counterclockwise. The object finally disappears to the north after 10 minutes. (Olsen, sec. 3, pp. 98–99)
June 14 — 8:35 p.m. Charles Englebrecht, 18, is watching TV at home in Dale, Indiana, when the house lights and TV suddenly go out. He notices that a small, bright orange-colored, basketball- sized object has landed in his back yard. As he goes out the side door and tries to approach it, he feels a tingling sensation and has difficulty moving. After a few seconds the sphere takes off and goes over the nearby barn. Several items in the backyard have been moved (lawn mower, chicken feeder). He smells sulfur or burning rubber and finds three imprints in a triangle with the dimensions of 2 feet by 4.5 feet by 4.5 feet. (NICAP, “ The Dale Landing Case”; “ Glowing Object at Dana being Probed,” Kokomo (Ind.) Tribune, June 15, 1964, p. 9; “ U.S. to Probe Strange Object,” Rushville (Ind.) Republican, June 16, 1964, p. 1)
June 30 — 1:00 a.m. Beauford E. Parham is driving near Lavonia, Georgia, on his way back from a business trip when he notices a brilliant light in the sky. It is moving towards his car at a 45° angle. In an instant it appears right in front of his headlights, no more than 5 feet away and a foot above the ground. Shaped like a giant top, it emits a “hissing sound like a million snakes.” The amber-colored UFO has a sharp, steeple-like cone rising from its top midsection. It moves above his car leaving a strong odor of embalming fluid and a gaseous vapor that leaves an oily substance over his car, even after repeated washings. After several passes over his car, it starts spinning and takes off vertically. Parham now notices his arms are beginning to burn. He immediately reports his sighting to the mayor of Lavonia, then personnel at the Anderson Regional Airport in South Carolina, where he meets local FAA officials who check his car for radiation. They get readings from the oily stains, as well as both his arms from the shoulder down. (NICAP, “ Lavonia / Tallulah Case (Radiation)”; “ Man Claims Car Buzzed by an Unknown Object,” Greenwood (S.C.) Index-Journal, July 3, 1964, p. 5; “ ‘Flying Object’ Blisters Car, Burns Arm, Man Says,” Atlanta (Ga.) Journal, July 3, 1964, p. 2; “ Wave of Close-Range Sightings Reported,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 11 (July/Aug. 1964): 1, 3; Joseph L. Ferriere, “ Great UFO Sightings of the 60’s,” Controversial Phenomena Bulletin, no. 9, May/June 1965): 18; Schopick, pp. 71–72; Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, pp. 5–7; Clark III 678–680; Clark IV 754–756)
July 7 — Around 9:00 p.m. Three members of the Henry Ivester family in Turnerville, Georgia, are watching TV when sudden interference prevents them from further viewing. They go out on the front porch and see an object moving silently above the trees 300 feet away. It stops to hover a few feet above a neighbor’s garden across the highway. Its bottom side is fully visible; on the dark upper side are three lights: red, clear, red. The red lights are blinking. As the object ascends, the lights go out. A brilliant green light then shines from the bottom, illuminating the trees. A foul odor “like embalming fluid or brake fluid” hangs in the air after the object leaves. (“ Unearthly Objects Hovering in Sky?” Atlanta (Ga.) Constitution, July 17, 1964, p. 23; Schopick, pp. 72–73; “ An Interesting UFO Story from Georgia,” The Paranormal Effect, October 3, 2010; Clark III 679)
July 12 — Assistant Professor Vyacheslav Zaitsev is aboard a Tupolev Tu-104 airliner above Bologoye, Tver Oblast, Russia, when he sees a huge disc with a domed cabin suddenly appear below the aircraft, fly a parallel course for a while, then swerve abruptly and speed away. (Felix Ziegel, “ Unidentified Flying Objects,” Soviet Life, no. 137 (February 1968): 28; “ Russian Scientist Confirms Important Cases,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 5 (March 1968): 6; Good Above, p. 220)
July 14 — After 11:00 p.m. Atlanta Constitution reporter Tom Winfield sees a top-shaped, misty-orange object circling above the southeast section of Gainesville, Georgia, at about 500 feet. It stops and hovers a few moments then shoots up out of sight. He takes a photo, but nothing registers on the film. (“ Unearthly Objects Hovering in Sky?” Atlanta (Ga.) Constitution, July 17, 1964, p. 23)
July 16 — Shortly after noon. Five boys (Edmund Travis, Randy Travis, Floyd Moore, Billy Dunlap, and Gary Dunlap) are playing around an apple tree at Conklin, New York, when they notice a shiny, dome-shaped object in a field along the roadside. Looking for the source of a whistling sound, the boys spot a 3-foot-tall humanoid figure crouching in a tree about 150 feet away. It is dressed in a shiny black uniform, short-sleeved shirt, and black helmet. The whistling appears to emanate from his stomach. The boys throw stones and apples at it, but the figure is too far away. After about 15 minutes, the figure, moving stiffly, falls backwards out of the tree and floats slowly into the bushes. They can see it crawling through the weeds back to the UFO. A round, flattened area is found in the field where the grass is crushed and bushes are broken. In the middle is dried, yellow moss that apparently has been subjected to great heat. Three depressions are where the UFO legs apparently were. (“ Water Boys for ‘Spaceman,’” Binghamton (N.Y.) Evening Press, July 17, 1964, p. 3; Story, pp. 86–87; Patrick Gross, URECAT, July 10, 2007; Clark III 296–297; Clark IV 336–337)
July 16 — 11:15 p.m. Northern Air Service pilot Kenneth Jannereth is flying at 4,500 feet 15 miles south of Houghton Lake, Michigan. He sees four lights coming up behind him to his left, speed up, and begin to overtake him. Two more lights join the others and stay on his wing about 200–300 feet away, following him for 5 minutes. They are flying in an echelon formation, stepping up to the rear. Suddenly they begin to dim and drift away. (NICAP, “ Maneuvering Echelon Formation Closes on Airplane”; Sparks, p. 299; “ ‘Sky Mystery’: Moving Lights Puzzle Local Pilot on Flight,” Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press, July 17, 1964, p. 2)
July 20 — 4:45 a.m. Joseph J. Winkel is driving east through a wooded area on State Highway 101 about 2 miles west of Littleton, Illinois. He notices a shadowy, cone-shaped object about 60 feet in diameter with reddish- purple flames coming from its end. It climbs to about 1,500 feet and levels off, coming directly toward him, then makes a sharp turn upward and nearly levels out again at 3,500 feet. The sparks turn bluish- yellow, making a ball of fire, and a few seconds later it shoots out of sight. Around the same time, a USAF Airman 1st Class sees a similar cone of light as he is driving east on US Highway 30 about 7.5 miles west of Clinton, Iowa. ( Sparks, p. 299; “ UFO Sighting Wave Persists,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 12 (Sept./Oct. 1964): 5; Jacques Vallée and Janine Vallée, Challenge to Science: The UFO Enigma, Henry Regnery, 1966, pp. 40–41; Olsen, sec. 3, pp. 100–101, 103)
July 20–21 — Evening. Many witnesses, including four police officers, in Madras, Oregon, see umbrella-shaped UFOs for more than 7 hours. The objects alternately hover and move at high speed, usually glowing red while stationary and changing color while accelerating. A daylight witness sees four clam-shaped objects moving silently in formation. (“ Strange Objects Viewed in Skies in Madras Area,” Bend (Oreg.) Bulletin, July 24, 1964, p. 3; “ UFO Explained,” Pendleton East Oregonian, July 29, 1964, p. 6; “ Madras Upset by Satellites,” Portland Oregonian, July 29, 1964, p. 16; “ Two Satellites Cause Reports,” Salem (Oreg.) Statesman Journal, July 29, 1964, p. 10; “ UFO Sighting Wave Persists,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 12 (Sept./Oct. 1964): 5)
Late July - 4:30 p.m. Richard H. VanPelt and his teenage son are driving on Beeler Road south of Shawnee High School in Lima, Ohio, when they see a Saturn-shaped metallic object hovering above Breese Road 600 feet away. It is about 1,200-1,500 feet in the air and has a revolving ring around its center. It suddenly starts to move to the southwest, then tips on end and with tremendous speed goes straight up and out of sight. (Richard H. VanPelt, " Letter," CUFOS Associate Newsletter 5, no. 3 (June/July 1984): 2)
July 27 — 8:50 p.m. Engineer Louis Daubert sees an unusual metallic object as he is driving on a rural road 17 miles northwest of Norwich, New York. It is spherical with a diameter of 25–30 feet and has a luminous ring surrounding it. It remains motionless for 4–5 minutes, then emits three blinding flashes of light and disappears. ( Sparks, p. 299; “ Glowing UFO Seen by Norwich Man,” Binghamton (N.Y.) Evening Press, July 28, 1964, pp. 17, 24; “ New York and Montana Flurries,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 12 (Sept./Oct. 1964): 6; Olsen, sec. 3, p. 101)
July 28 — 9:10 p.m. The crew of the Argentine tanker ship Cazador sees a “signal flare light” and hears voices as if from a ship in distress in the South Atlantic Ocean outside the Golfo San Jorge, Argentina. The Norwegian ship Sumber observes a very bright object traveling horizontally in the same area. (Joseph M. Brill, “ Are UFOs Operating from Underwater Bases off the Coast of Argentina?” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 130 (September 1979): 3, 4; Dolan, USO1, 259)
August — 7:00 p.m. Raimo Blomqvist is visiting with his parents at their summer cottage at Kallavesi lake, Finland, when he suddenly notices a strange, colorful ball of light coming from the sky. The light approaches and turns out to be an oval glowing object. While it is hovering above the shallow water of an island he sees something fall from the object and hears a sound resembling hot metal touching cold water. The object shoots straight upward. Blomqvist recovers a 2–2.5-inch piece of stone. In 1975, Blomqvist contacts UFO investigators and gives them the stone. The fragment is x-ray analyzed at Åbo Akademi University in Turku, which states that it appears to be volcanic. Analysts at the University of Turku look at it with a mass spectrometer and conclude it is mostly iron, not a piece of ore, not volcanic, not a meteorite, and not machined, although it has been subjected to a temperature of around 650° C. (“ Fragment Fell from UFO,” APRO Bulletin 26, no. 6 (December 1977): 1, 3; “ Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 3 (Mar. 1978): 2)
August — Midnight. Air Policeman Arthur McEnaney and other guards see a round UFO hovering above a four-silo Atlas complex near Francis E. Warren AFB, Cheyenne, Wyoming. (Nukes 159)
August 9 — 9:00 p.m. Baltazar Flores, Franciso Perez, Ruben Lozaya, and Elpidio Salas are camping near the Cerro Viejo, Sonora, Mexico, where they plan to explore for minerals. Suddenly a “dark, cloud-like object” approaches at high speed. As it passes by, the trees shake and they hear an explosion. They return the next day and less than 2 miles from their campsite they find a compact, gelatinous mass of green-turquoise color about 8 inches long. When they poke it with a stick, the stick becomes covered with a sticky substance like chewing gun. They report the incident to the authorities, but no one is interested. One of the witnesses returns 3 days later and finds most of the mass gone, with some residue on the rocks and grass. (“ Strange Gelatinous Fall in Mexico,” APRO Bulletin, November 1964, p. 1; Clark III 1102; Clark IV 1228)
August 10 — 5:16 a.m. Aircraft Commander Capt. B. C. Jones and Navigator 1/Lt. H. J. Cavendar are in a parked USAF C-124 transport plane on Wake Island in the Pacific Ocean. They see a reddish, blinking light approach the runway, stop, and reverse direction several times over a period of 2 minutes. (UFOEv II 53)
August 11 — 5:30 p.m. John Dodson, 15, and Frankie Jimenez, 14, are walking near the railroad tracks south of State Highway 281 east of Defiance, Ohio, not too far from the General Motors foundry. They see a slowly rotating whitish disc apparently hovering above a GM water tank. The object has a lighted flange-like base, a dome on top, and is making a whirring or hissing noise. It begins to move horizontally at a moderate speed, then shoots up vertically and disappears. (“ Maney Reports Boys’ Sighting,” APRO Bulletin, November 1964, p. 5)
August 15? - 2:44 a.m. Two brothers are headed to a fishing location on Upper Nemahbin Lake near Delafield, Wisconsin. Both see a "shooting star" that enters the water at a 75° angle about 3,000 feet away from their boat. It appears to be 200 feet in diameter. After being submerged for 10 seconds, it emerges from the water, accelerates, and disappears upward in 5-7 seconds. (Carl Feindt, " Report #1003," waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 260-261)
August 15 — 8:15 a.m. Edward J. Haug and C. R. Bubb are camping on the southeast side of Benson Lake in Yosemite National Park in California when they hear a sound of rushing air. They look up and see three silver spheres moving in a parallel course from east to west at a fantastic speed, disappearing in 3–4 seconds. ( Sparks, p. 300; Olsen, sec. 3, p. 102–103)
August 18 — 12:35 a.m. USAF Major D. W. Thompson and First Pilot 1st Lt. J. F. Jonke are flying a C-124 transport with the 31st Air Transport Squadron, 1607th Air Transport Wing, 200 miles east of Dover AFB in Delaware at 9,000 feet over the North Atlantic. A blurred reddish-white glare appears ahead and 500 feet below them on a collision course. Thompson takes evasive action, and the light makes a right turn and disappears. Air traffic control shows nothing on their radar in that location. (NICAP, “ Object on Collision Course with C-124”; Sparks, p. 300; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 50–51; Tim Printy, “ The 701 Club: Case #9053,” SUNlite 5, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 2013): 33–34)
August 22 — 9:35 p.m. Robert D. Briele, an engineer for WFBR-AM radio, and a friend watch a lighted triangular object pass directly overhead in Baltimore, Maryland. Through binoculars he can see a steady white light at each corner. A small green light is also on one corner and a red light in the center. The object moves slowly and silently from northeast to southwest, disappearing in 10 minutes. (“ UFO Sighting Wave Persists,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 12 (Sept./Oct. 1964): 5)
August 30 — Night. Clifford Runyon and Connie Thies are driving from Tipton to Bennett, Iowa, when they see a cigar-shaped object with two bright lights hovering 500 feet up in the eastern sky. The UFO climbs as they drive toward it, and their radio goes out and the car engine sputters. (“ UFO Sighting Wave Persists,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 12 (Sept./Oct. 1964): 5)
September 4 — 7:30 p.m. Two unidentified witnesses see a red glowing object in an oak forest near Glassboro, New Jersey, according to two boys who encounter the men the next day. The men show the boys some odd markings like a landing on the ground. Their father, NICAP member Ward Campbell, goes to the scene, takes measurements of a hole (30 inches across and just over 19 inches deep) surrounded by scorched earth, and finds broken branches of a sassafras tree and small metal fragments. Soon the Glassboro police visit the site, followed by curiosity seekers, Air Force personnel from McGuire AFB [now Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst], various ufologists, and a group of high school kids who examine the site as a science project. The Air Force rather summarily declares a hoax, although it’s unclear whether the confession by a prankster was credible or not, but by then the marks have been irretrievably altered by visitors. (“ Air Force to Probe Glassboro ‘Mystery,’” Camden (N.J.) Courier-Post, September 9, 1964, p. 14; “ Metal-Like Substance Studied by AF Team,” Camden (N.J.) Courier-Post, September 11, 1964, p. 6; Lawrence McMullen, “ Flying Saucer Scare Hoax, Says Scientist,” Camden (N.J.) Courier-Post, September 16, 1964, p. 22; “ Impressive Evidence in N.J. Landing Case,” UFO Investigator 2, no. 12 (Sept. /Oct. 1964): 1, 3; “ Exclusive Report on the Saucer Landing at Glassboro, N.J.,” Saucer News 11, no. 4 (December 1964): 1, 19–21; “ Jersey Youth Pays $10 Court Costs for Space Landing Hoax,” Philadelphia (Pa.) Inquirer, January 19, 1965, p. 31; “ Evidence Contradicts Hoax Claim,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 2 (April/May 1965): 8; Alphonso Zulli, “Glassboro UFO Landing Reviewed,” Fate 19, no. 9 (September 1966): 32–39; “Reports from Readers,” Fate 20, no. 5 (May 1967): 131–133; Ted Phillips, Physical Traces Associated with UFO Sightings, July 1975, p. 32; Kevin D. Randle, The UFO Casebook, Warner, 1989, pp. 118–129; Michael D. Swords, “ Glassboro, NJ UFO Event {?} 9/4/1964: What a Mess!” The Big Study, April 30, 2013)
September 5 — Early morning. Donald Schrum and his friends are bow-and-arrow hunting in an isolated area of Placer County, California, near the Loch Leven Lakes in the vicinity of Cisco Grove. Schrum becomes separated from his companions. At sunset on September 4 he decides to sleep in a tree for the night. Later he sees a white light zigzagging at low altitude and, thinking it is a helicopter, jumps out of the tree and lights fires to attract its attention. The light turns toward him and stops about 50–60 yards away. The object’s strange appearance frightens Schrum, so he climbs back up in the tree. After a while two humanoid beings and a robot-like creature approach the tree. From then on, Schrum is in a state of siege as the beings try to dislodge him from the tree. At one point a white vapor emanates from the robot’s mouth and Schrum blacks out, but wakes up again, nauseous, and begins lighting matches and throwing them down to frighten the beings away; they back away. Finally, he shoots an arrow at the robot; when it hits, there is an arc flash and the robot is knocked backwards. This is repeated two more times, and the humanoids scatter each time. A second robot appears and a vapor renders Schrum unconscious. When he awakes, he discovers that the two humanoids are climbing up the tree toward him, so he shakes the tree and throws things down at them to ward them off. The same actions are repeated all night. Near dawn, more beings approach and “large volumes of smoke” drift up and he blacks out. He awakes hanging from his belt, and the creatures are gone. Later, when reunited with his companions, Schrum finds that one of the other hunters, who also have gotten lost and separated from their camp, saw the UFO. (NICAP, “ Cisco Grove / Alien Encounter”; Sparks, p. 301; “ California Man Is Beseiged [sic] by ‘Occupants,’” APRO Bulletin, July/August 1966, p. 5; Coral E. Lorenzen, “ UFO Occupants in the United States,” in Charles Bowen, ed., The Humanoids, special issue of FSR, Oct./Dec. 1966, pp. 52, 61–63; Lorenzen, Occupants, pp. 137–140; Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, pp. 17–23; Hynek UFO Report, pp. 210–212; Richard H. Hall, Uninvited Guests, Aurora, 1988, pp. 248–249; Richard F. Haines, CE-5: Close Encounters of the Fifth Kind, pp. 362–365; Ted Bloecher and Paul Cerny, “ The Cisco Grove Bow and Arrow Case of 1964,” IUR 20, no. 5 (Winter 1995): 16–22, 32; Noe Torres and Ruben Uriarte, Aliens in the Forest: The Cisco Grove UFO Encounter, The Authors, 2011; “ Aliens in the Forest: The Cisco Grove UFO Encounter,” Noe Torres YouTube channel, December 10, 2011; “ Eyewitness Discloses Startling 1964 Alien UFO Encounter,” Noe Torres YouTube channel, January 29, 2012; Clark III 236–240; Eghigian, After, pp. 155–156; Clark IV 277–280)
September 14 — 10:55 p.m. Astronomers Luis Ferro and Renato Matteassi at the San Miguel Observatory, Buenos Aires, Argentina, watch an object with the apparent size twice that of the Moon passing across the constellation Lyra. The central portion is white and green, while the rear looks like half-rings of blue. Its speed is estimated as three times the speed of sound. They watch it for 3 minutes moving toward Jupiter. (Gordon Creighton, “ Argentina 1963/1964: Part IV,” Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 3 (May/June 1966): 28)
September 15 — 8:27 a.m. USAF Lt. Robert Jacobs is officer-in-charge of photo-optical instrumentation for the 1369th Photographic Squadron at Vandenberg AFB [now Vandenberg Space Force Base] near Lompoc, California. His crew films an SM-65F Atlas missile launch where a UFO allegedly causes the ICBM’s warhead to malfunction over Big Sur, California. At the time of the filming, apparently no one knows anything about a UFO sighting. But the next morning, Jacobs is ordered to report to the office of Maj. Florenz J. Mansmann, First Strategic Aerospace Division, his commanding officer, where he is shown the film, which shows a UFO chasing the warhead as it travels downrange. It circles the warhead and shoots a beam of light at it at four different points. The warhead then tumbles away. Jacobs is told to forget it ever happened and the film is confiscated. Kingston George, the project engineer for the experiments and who probably never saw the film, “identified” the object as “nothing to do with UFOs” in an article in the Skeptical Enquirer. Before Mansmann’s death, and 40 years after the actual event, the major confirms the UFO incident in writing. The controversy centers on the opinions of some researchers who suggest that the telescope imaging system is not adequate enough to produce the results described by Jacobs and Mansmann. However, several other researchers have shown that, with the viewing conditions at the height of the equipment used, and the imaging systems operating at that shoot, the incident could have occurred as described. (NICAP, “ The Big Sur Filming / UFO Disables Dummy Warhead?”; Robert Jacobs, “ How a UFO Destroyed an American Rocket,” Flying Saucer Review 29, no. 1 (October 1983): 23–24; T. Scott Crain Jr., “ UFO Intercepts Rocket,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 225 (January 1987): 5–6; T. Scott Crain Jr., “ UFO Filmed Circling Atlas Rocket,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 245 (September 1988): 10-11; Bob Jacobs, “ Deliberate Deception: The Big Sur UFO Filming,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 249 (January 1989): 3–8; [ Letters], James Oberg and Bob Jacobs, MUFON UFO Journal, no. 251 (March 1989): 20–21; Kingston A. George, “ The Big Sur ‘UFO’: An Identified Flying Object,” Skeptical Inquirer 17 (Winter 1993): 180–187; Robert Hastings, “ A Shot across the Bow: Another Look at the Big Sur Incident,” IUR 31, no. 1 (January 2007): 3–11, 20–24; Mark Rodeghier, “ Image Resolution of the Optical System at Big Sur,” IUR 31, no. 1 (January 2007): 20; Robert Hastings, “ Answers on Big Sur,” IUR 31, no. 4 (Mar. 2008): 18; Robert Hastings, “ Deep Denial or Disinformation?” UFOs & Nukes blog, May 5, 2009; Robert L. Hastings, “ UFOs Are Stalking and Intercepting Dummy Nuclear Warheads during Test Flights,” UFOs & Nukes, August 23, 2011; Nukes 187–217; Coulthart 2023, pp. 51–52; Robert Hastings, “Big Sur UFO Film: Government Whistleblower Reveals He Watched It,” Part 1, Part 2, UFOs & Nukes blog, February 12, 23, 2024; “ UFO Attacks Nuclear Missile Warhead: The Big Sur UAP Incident / 3D Animation,” Mac Mave Studios YouTube channel, June 24, 2024; Geoff Cruickshank, “ Did a UFO Sabotage a Cold War Missile Test? The Evidence Is Buried in the Archives,” Liberation Times, January 3, 2025)
September 16 - 6:55 p.m. Several teenagers at Little Hulton, Greater Manchester, England, watch a noiseless, pearly white triangular object traveling with its base forward toward the north. (" Manchester Disbeliever's Testimony," Flying Saucer Review 10, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1964): 25)
September 18–24 — Numerous high-speed UFOs are reported and tracked on radar in an area between Surabaya, Malang, and Bangkalan, Java, Indonesia. Antiaircraft batteries and Air Force pilots reportedly open fire on them, even though officials suspect they could be British aircraft from the HMS Victorious protecting Malaysia. (Good Above, p. 429; Rahadian Rundjan, “ Mencari UFO di Langit Indonesia,” Historia, June 19, 2017)
September 20 — Night. A man is driving north from Caleta Olivia, Santa Cruz, to Comodoro Rivadivia, Chubut, Argentina, when he sees three or four orange objects fall one after the other into the Golfo San Jorge. He stops his car and sees flames appear behind the objects. Driving on, he observes other luminous objects emerge from the gulf and circle rapidly before rising up into the sky. (Oscar A. Galindez, “ Implicaciones marinas del fenómeno OVNI,” Ovnis: Un desafio a la ciencia, no. 6 (March/April 1975): 3, 5–7, citing El Rivadavia (diario), Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina, September 21, 1964; Joseph M. Brill, “ Are UFOs Operating from Underwater Bases off the Coast of Argentina?” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 130 (September 1979): 3, 4; Virgilio Sanchez-Ocejo and Wendelle C. Stevens, UFO Contact from Undersea, UFO Photo Archives, 1982, p. 167; Carl Feindt, Report #287, waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 259–260)
Late 1964 — Deputy Missile Combat Crew Commander 1Lt. Philip E. Moore is on duty in Site 7 (east of Hagerman, New Mexico), one of the 579th Strategic Missile Squadron’s underground Atlas missile launch facilities at Walker AFB [now closed] in Roswell, New Mexico. He gets a call from an adjacent missile silo around 10–15 miles away, saying that a UFO is hovering and maneuvering over their site. Maj. Dan Gilbert sends three enlisted crew members—T/Sgt. Jack Nevins, Airman1C Bob Garner, and Airman 1C Mike Rundag—above ground to see what is going on. They see a silent light that moves very quickly (instant stop and instant go) back and forth between Site 6 and Site 8. Gilbert goes up and sees the same activity. (Robert Hastings, “ Three Former U.S. Air Force ICBM Launch Officers Speak Out about UFOs,” UFOs and Nukes blog, October 6, 2013; Nukes 152–157)
October - An engineer and three technicians at the Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia, see a triangular-shaped object speed in from the north, make a 90° turn, and disappear in under a minute. They all agree that it moved faster than a jet. (Harold H. Deneault Jr., "UFOs Return to Washington," Fate 18, no. 7 (July 1965): 48-49)
October 7 — 11:10 p.m. R. Shannon and his wife see a blood-red triangle in the sky above Dulwich, London, England. They watch it for 10 minutes before it begins revolving swiftly, almost to a blur, then explodes silently and disappears. (R. Shannon, “ Dulwich De-Materialisation?” Flying Saucer Review 11, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1965): 28)
October 11 — 4:00 p.m. Engineer David Hanson, accountant Vincent Flaherty, and a third friend are in Brockton, Massachusetts, when they hear two sonic booms and see two jet fighters leaving contrails. Behind them is a whitish, dome-shaped object. When it catches up with the jets, the object descends slowly and levels off onto a horizontal path. Finally it accelerates up and out of sight in seconds. (“ Disc Chases Jets,” UFO Investigator, May/June 1966, p. 4; Raymond E. Fowler, Casebook of a UFO Investigator, 1981, p. 31; UFOEv II 155; Powell, Scientist, 66)
October 29 — 12:00 midnight–3:00 a.m. Irene Page watches a sparkling ball of light that maneuvers around her yard, illuminating her property in Brimfield, Massachusetts. When she first sees it, the TV set fades, and lights in the room blink on and off several times. (“ Flashing UFO Seen Three Hours,” APRO Bulletin, July/Aug. 1965, p. 7)
November — 2:00 a.m. An informant (later identified as Aaron David Kaback) of Leonard H. Stringfield, a PFC at Fort Riley, Kansas, is on guard duty at the motor pool with three other soldiers of the 1st Army Division when they are summoned by the officer of the day to join him by a vehicle in a remote area on the base described as a training area in Camp Forsyth. After parking the vehicle by the side of the road, they hike about a half mile across an open field. Ahead, the searchlight beam from a Huey helicopter plays down on the field and is focused on a large, round object resting on the ground. About 10 other Army personnel are already on site, including a major general. The PFC is ordered to patrol the grounded craft by circling around it and to “shoot anyone if they tried to force their way to the craft.” He is sharply told to keep this incident secret. The helicopter circles overhead while personnel check the craft with instruments. On several occasions during his 2.5 hours of guard duty, the PFC gets close to the metallic craft and it seems warm. The craft is stuck in the soil at a tilt, is about 35–48 feet in diameter and 12–18 feet high. In the middle of its smooth, aluminum-like surface is a black band made up of squares, each jutting out about 10 inches. A fin-like device protrudes from the rear and beneath it is an aperture that may be an exhaust valve. The next day, he hears that UFOs had been seen in the area prior to the landing. Kendrick contacts Leonard Stringfield about his story. A subsequent investigation by Citizens Against UFO Secrecy finds many discrepancies in Kaback’s account and very little credibility. (“ Ft. Riley Landing: Hoax or Delusion?” Just Cause 1, no. 6 (September 1978): 11–14; Leonard H. Stringfield, “ Retrievals of the Third Kind, Part 3,” Flying Saucer Review 25, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1979): 8, 10–11; Kevin D. Randle, A History of UFO Crashes, HarperCollins, 1995, p. 201; Clark III 603–604; Clark IV 663–664; “ Two Military Whistleblowers Discuss Their UFO Experiences from 1964, Which Might Be Connected,” Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, March 6, 2025)
November 3 — 8:15 p.m. A barking dog alerts the caretaker of the Butano Creek Girl Scout Camp near Pescadero, California. He goes outside and sees a bright light maneuvering erratically in the northeast. He flashes an SOS signal at it with a flashlight, and the light silently moves toward him. He flashes more SOS signals and it moves even closer, hovering above some trees a half mile away and moving back and forth. It lights up the sky like a full moon. The caretaker and another employee run into a cabin to get their wives. The four watch for a while longer, then flash another SOS. The light approaches again, then retreats, dims, and takes off. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 242)
November 9 — 8:00 p.m. Trevor Foss responds to his son’s call to watch a light in the northern sky over Kailoa Station, Gisborne, New Zealand. Through night binoculars he sees a ball of light traveling south toward him. It takes 5 minutes to reach the southern horizon and has rotating light beams that project downward and to the rear, as well as 6 jet-like blue flames. (“ Farmer Observes Sphere,” APRO Bulletin, January 1965, p. 8)
November 14 — Midnight. Astronomers at the San Miguel Observatory, Buenos Aires, Argentina, see an elongated, flat, reddish-orange object crossing the sky from east to west and then back again at a speed 4.5 times that of a satellite. (“ Mystery Object over Argentina,” APRO Bulletin, January 1965, p. 2; Gordon Creighton, “ Argentina 1963/1964: Part IV,” Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 3 (May/June 1966): 28)
November 19 — 9:00 p.m. The USS Gyatt destroyer is stationed in the Atlantic Ocean about 220 miles northwest of Puerto Rico for training exercises when its radar detects a target approaching the island from the northeast. Anomalous targets that respond to an IFF code have been detected on radar on November 16–18, although no other aircraft are in the training area. The ship relays a message to Roosevelt Roads Naval Station [now José Aponte de la Torre Airport] in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, which then contacts Lt. Cmdr. K. H. Woodsbury, pilot of an F-8C aircraft of Utility Squadron Eight that is already flying in the neighborhood at an altitude of 30,000 feet. The aircraft reports a stranger closing in very fast. The pilot describes the object as delta-shaped and about the size of a fighter. Its color is black or gray and it has no contrail or lights except for a light source emitting from the tail during periods of acceleration. The pilot pursues the object but cannot intercept. The target accelerates out of sight in a wide starboard turn climbing through 50,000 feet at about an 18°–20° angle in excess of Mach 1. The commanding officer of the squadron, T. D. Fosdick, summarizes: “There is no reasonable explanation for this target. Its speed, acceleration, ceiling and ability to decelerate exceed any aircraft I have ever seen or heard of.” During the encounter the SPS-49 radar is jammed for a short period of time. A final radar encounter takes place in the Caribbean on November 24. (NICAP, “ U.S.S. Gyatt Tackles Bogey”; Sparks, p. 302; Antonio F. Rullán, “ Blue Book UFO Reports at Sea by Ships: Analysis of the Blue Book Ship Database,” December 10, 2002, pp. 43–44; Powell, Scientist, 93)
November 22 — 10:45 p.m. Private pilot George Henry Lissauer is driving near Georgetown, South Carolina, when he sees two large, silvery, oval-shaped UFOs, each accompanied by 6–8 smaller objects. The formations are moving slowly at about 3,000 feet altitude. After 2–3 minutes, the smaller objects go into the larger objects and disappear. Lissauer goes directly to Myrtle AFB [now Myrtle Beach International Airport] and reports them. (“ Increased Landings Hint New UFO Phase,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 3 (June/July 1965): 2; Herbert S. Taylor, “ Satellite Objects: A Further Look,” IUR 29, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 3)
November 25 — 12:45 a.m. A 29-year-old woman sees two lighted objects land on a hilltop near New Berlin, New York. Through binoculars she can see some 9–11 humanoid beings apparently engaged in repair work on a round object with landing struts for four hours. Some of them are holding boxes filled with unusual gadgets. The next day, she and her husband and father-in-law find two equilateral triangular imprints on the site, as well as a cable with some thin aluminum strips and insulation. Around 4:55 a.m., one UFO shoots straight up and abruptly disappears, while the other rises straight up a minute later and follows the other one. (Ted Bloecher, “ UFO Landing and Repair by Crew, Part 1: The Report,” Flying Saucer Review 20, no. 2 (October 1974): 21–26; Ted Bloecher, “ UFO Landing and Repair by Crew, Part II: Further Details of the New Berlin Landing Report of 1964,” Flying Saucer Review 20, no. 3 (December 1974): 24–27; Berthold E. Schwarz, “ New Berlin UFO Landing and Repair by Crew,” Flying Saucer Review 21, no. 3–4 (November 1975): 22–28; Covert 26)
November 26 - 11:00 p.m. A family of five in Adams, Wisconsin, is returning home from Thanksgiving dinner when an extremely bright light appears over their car, completely shutting off its headlights and radio. The father jumps out of the car and looks straight up into the light, shading his eyes with his hands, but he is persuaded to come back. Suddenly the light disappears and the electrical systems return. No one talks about the incident for 16 years, when the father says the light was "motionless like a floodlight of gigantic proportion." (" Recently Reported," CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 10 (October 1981): 5; " Out of the Not-Too-Distant Past," IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 6 (Jan./Feb. 1982): 13-14)
December 19 — 3:50 p.m. Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland tracks two large targets on radar moving at 6,900 mph. ( Sparks, p. 303; “ UFOs Seen on Radar; AF Checking,” San Antonio (Tex.) Express, January 6, 1965, p. 1; “ 2 Flying Saucers? Radar ‘Saw’ Them,” Salt Lake (Utah) Tribune, January 6, 1965, p. 3; “ Air Force Receives New Reports of Unidentified Flying Objects,” Venice (Calif.) Evening Vanguard, January 11, 1965, p. 3; “ ‘UFOs’ False Radar Signals,” Cumberland (Md.) News, January 18, 1965, p. 3; “ Sightings May Trigger New UFO Investigation,” Ontario (Calif.) Daily Report, January 28, 1965, p. B-11; Harold H. Deneault Jr., “UFOs Return to Washington,” Fate 18, no. 7 (July 1965): 46–47; Keyhoe, Aliens from Space, Signet ed., 1974, p. 87)
December 21 - 4:50 p.m. Kenneth Norton Jr., 14, is looking out his bedroom window in Staunton, Virginia, when he sees a "fast-moving object without wings or tail structure." He describes it as cigar-shaped and about 125 feet in diameter, in view for 5 seconds. (Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch, January 15, 1965; " `Saucer' Reports Are Flying," Staunton (Va.) Daily News Leader, January 15, 1965, p. 2; Clark III 493)
December 21 — 5:00 p.m. Driving east on US Highway 250, Horace Burns is approaching Fishersville, Virginia, when an enormous cone-shaped object appears from the north and descends slowly in a gradual slant. Just before it crosses the highway 200 feet in front of him, the UFO narrowly misses power lines. It is so huge that when it passes nearly in front of him, it fills his entire windshield. The UFO comes down gently and lands in a field to Burns’s right. Meanwhile, Burns’s car engine has shut off. The object appears to be at least 125 feet in diameter and 80–90 feet high. After 60–90 seconds, it rises up several hundred feet, makes a sound like rushing air, and shoots off to the northeast, vanishing from sight. A high level of radioactivity is detected at the site December 30 by investigators German professor Ernest G. Gehman and engineer Harry M. Cook. They obtain a Geiger counter reading of 16–18 milliR/hr. Two Blue Book investigators—T/Sgt. David N. Moody and S/Sgt. Harold T. Jones— visit the site with Gehman on January 12 and take further readings (1.5 milliR/hr on Burns’s left rear car door). They dispute Gehman’s earlier results, but a possible 11x–12x drop in radiation level in 13 days possibly indicates a radionuclide with a 3–4 day half-life. (NICAP, “ Car Engine Fails after Object Lands”; Sparks, p. 303; Project Blue Book, [ case files]; “ ‘Saucer’ Reports Are Flying,” Staunton (Va.) Daily News Leader, January 15, 1965, pp. 1–2; “Gigantic UFO Lands near Staunton, Virginia,” FSIC Bulletin 2, no. 1 (Oct. 1964/Feb. 1965): 1–4; “ Huge UFO at Staunton, Va.,” APRO Bulletin, May/June 1965, p. 6; “ Opposition Flap 1965,” Flying Saucer Review 11, no. 3 (May/June 1965): 3–4; Donald B. Hanlon, “ Virginia 1965 Flap,” Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 2 (March/April 1966): 14–16; UFOEv II 36–37; Clark III 491–494, 950; Jacob Fife, “ The Story of the Alleged 1964 Fishersville UFO Landing and the Chaos That Ensued,” WHSV-TV, Harrisonville, Virginia, April 25, 2023; John Greenewald, “ Project Blue Book: The Alleged 1964 UFO Landing in Harrisonburg, Virginia,” The Black Vault, May 22, 2024; Clark IV 540–542, 1064)
1965
1965? — A close-up film of a UFO is allegedly taken by an RAAF B-29 during a photo-mapping flight over Central Australia. An Air Force sergeant who is shown the film along with others holding a high security clearance around 1967 relates the story to researcher Budd Hopkins. The film supposedly shows a “huge, hovering, windowed craft” filling the entire screen, with three smaller objects on its tail, A door on the large object opens, and the smaller UFOs fly inside. The large object then tilts and speeds away in seconds. (Budd Hopkins, Missing Time, Richard Marek, 1981, p. 253
1965? — Night. The crew of a surfaced Soviet nuclear submarine in the North Atlantic Ocean is on the outside deck. They see a cigar-shaped object that does not register on their radar. Suddenly it shoots out three rays of light and descends to the surface of the ocean about a half mile away and dives underwater. The sonar registers a hissing sound. (Vladimir G. Azhazha and Evgeny P. Litvinov, Подводные НЛО: Загадочные места мира [Underwater UFOs], 2015; Stonehill and Mantle, Russia’s USO Secrets, Flying Disk, 2020, p. 50; Dolan, USO1, 264–265)
1965- Ross Liverton reports a ring of bare earth, 8 feet wide, in the ground on Waiheke Island, New Zealand, where a UFO is seen. It remains visible for 4 years. The site contains some unidentified whitish material that resolves into fibers during a soil immersion test. Vallée says the material is “vegetal in nature.” (Ted Phillips, “ Landing Report from Delphos,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 9 (February 1972): 10; Vallée, Invisible College, pp. 36–37)
1965 — Jerry Kroth, a fifth-grade teacher in an elementary school near Ann Arbor, Michigan, is handed a sheet of shape-memory material by a girl student in his class, who tells him that her father said she should show it to him. The material resembles a sheet of aluminum foil 4 feet wide and 5 feet long but is only as thick s 20-pound stationery paper (0.081 millimeters). He squeezes it and attempts to puncture and cut it but it snaps back to its original shape. (Jerry Kroth, The Roswell Foil, Genotype, 2017; “ How One Man Became a Believer in UFOs,” Roswell (N.Mex.) Daily Record, July 7, 2024)
1965 — A couple is driving on a country road in Buenos Aires province, Argentina, when their car engine begins to fail, so they pull over in front of a tree. They notice an object behind the tree that emits a luminous ray toward them that bends at three places, vertically and horizontally, to avoid the tree. The woman’s cheek feels as if something is probing her. (Jean Bastide, La Mémoire des OVNI, Mercure de France, 1978; “ Beam of Light with Three Corners,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 4, no. 6 (Dec. 1983/Jan. 1984): 4)
1965 — A short color film of a “huge, windowed, hovering craft” with three smaller objects attached to it “as a kind of tail” is taken by a converted RAAF aircraft during a photo-mapping flight over central Australia. A door on the large object opens—two vertical panels and two horizontally aligned panels slide apart—and the three smaller objects fly inside. A US Air Force sergeant with a top-secret clearance is shown this clip at a CIA screening in Texas in 1967. He says the filmed image of the UFO is extraordinarily clear, filling the entire screen. (Budd Hopkins, Missing Time, R. Marek, 1981, p. 253)
January — A mysterious artifact allegedly falls near the village of San Miguel, said to be 2.5 miles from San Rafael, Mendoza, Argentina. The provincial government sends a Cessna aircraft over the site and locates a cigar-shaped object, 26 feet long and 3 feet in diameter, on the ground. Several photos are taken. It emits a bright white light and seems to be half buried. Reportedly the object is delivered to Argentine Air Force personnel in Mendoza and from there to the Comisión Nacional de Investigaciones Espaciales in Buenos Aires. (Charles Bowen, “ Crash-Landed UFO near Mendoza,” Flying Saucer Review 11, no. 3 (May/June 1965): 7–9; Clark III 332–333; Clark IV 369)
January 5 — 5:56 p.m. NASA engineer Dempsey Bruton, head of the Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia, observes a round, bright-yellow light rising from the horizon. The apparent size of the object is that of a nickel held at arm’s length. As the object reaches an overhead position, it disappears. The length of observation is approximately 8–9 seconds. The witness claims that his wife and brother-in-law also see the object. (NICAP, “ Bright Yellow Light Flies Ahead”; “ Strange Flying Objects Sighted,” Salisbury (Md.) Daily Times, January 13, 1965, p. 1)
January 11 — Mrs. Paul Zimmerman Gearhart and her two sons see a triangular UFO that flies slowly out of the southeast and then “suddenly plunged into the sea some miles offshore” at Tillamook Head, Oregon. It leaves behind two trails of fire. (Seaside (Oreg.) Signal, January 12, 1965; Sanderson, InvRes, p. 50)
January 11 — 4:20 p.m. At least 12 persons, including six Army Signal Corps communications system specialists, at the Munitions Building at Nineteenth Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C., observe 12–15 white oval objects maneuvering erratically at 12,000–15,000 feet altitude above the US Capitol Building. Two delta-wing jets, apparently from Andrews AFB in Maryland, are seen in pursuit, but the objects easily outmaneuver them. Among the witnesses are Paul M. Dickey Jr., Edward Shad, Sam Webb, Jack McBride, and Sam Marrone. The objects are also tracked on radar. The Defense Department denies the incident, but the witnesses publicly maintain their story. The Pentagon forces a TV crew about to interview the witnesses to shut down that evening. (NICAP, “ Over a Dozen Ovals Chased by AF Jets”; Washington Post, January 13, 1965; “ UFOs over D.C.,” APRO Bulletin, March/April 1965, pp. 1, 5; Harold H. Deneault Jr., “UFOs Return to Washington,” Fate 18, no. 7 (July 1965): 47–48; Frank Edwards, FS Serious Business, Bantam ed., 1966, pp. 67–68; UFOEv II 79)
January 12 — 1:00 a.m. Donald E. Flickinger, an agent of the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, is driving near Lynden, Washington, when he sees a low-flying object, 30 feet in diameter, that avoids collision with his car at the last moment. He gets out and sees it hovering for one minute, then it flies off at high speed with a sound of rushing air. He learns that nearby Blaine Air Force Station [now closed] is tracking the UFO. (NICAP, “ Driver Avoids Collision with 30ʹ Object”; Sparks, p. 303; “ New Sightings Put AF on Spot,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 1 (March/April 1965): 4)
January 12 — 6:30 p.m. A NASA public relations employee named Milliner and her husband are walking toward their house when they see a bright yellow object moving swiftly over the Wallops Flight Facility at Wallops Island, Virginia. They watch it for 2 minutes. (Harold H. Deneault Jr., “UFOs Return to Washington,” Fate 18, no. 7 (July 1965): 48)
January 12 - 8:20 p.m. A Mrs. Jubert in Custer, Washington, sees through her window what seems to be the landing lights of an airplane apparently coming into her yard. She herds her three teenage girls outside in the opposite direction. The four lights merge into one intense white light, which moves in a straight line toward the house, lifts several hundred feet and clears a clump of evergreens, then dips down on the far side and touches the ground. A border patrol officer also sees the object after he is alerted by radio. He is buzzed by the UFO, which is low enough that he stops his car, gets out, and watches it move out of sight. Where the object lands in 16 inches of snow, they find a large circular imprint about 10-12 feet in diameter. The ground beneath the melted snow ring shows evidence of having been scorched. Oval- shaped tracks 8 inches long and 8 inches apart, in a single file, are found leading from the landing site to the evergreens, where they disappear. One month later, the circular area still shows traces. (NICAP, " Case 188s"; " New Sightings Put AF on Spot," UFO Investigator 3, no. 1 (March/April 1965): 4; Frank Edwards, FS Serious Business, Bantam ed., 1966, pp. 54-55; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 152-153; Ted Phillips, Physical Traces Associated with UFO Sightings, CUFOS, 1975, p. 34)
January 14 — Around 12:00 midnight. Old Dominion college student James Myers sees a diamond- shaped object rise from the ground to 1,500–2,000 feet near Norfolk, Virginia. He loses sight of it behind a church and when it reappears it looks round, bright, and silvery. (“UFO Spotted by Student,” Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, January 18, 1965, p. 2; Harold H. Deneault Jr., “UFOs Return to Washington,” Fate 18, no. 7 (July 1965): 49)
January 15 — 9:45 p.m. Mathew Rybczyk is watching TV at his home in Manchester, New Hampshire, when the set goes blank. Going outside to see if the antenna is damaged, he sees a flashing light moving across the tree line to the east and making a humming noise. When the light disappears, the TV set comes on again. (Manchester (N.H.) Sunday News, January 17, 1965; Schopick, p. 148)
January 15 — 10:00 p.m. Charles Knee Jr., a former newsman, is driving on State Highway 4A between Wilmot and Enfield, New Hampshire, when the radio suddenly stops, the lights on the car go out, and the engine quits. He loses control of the car and pulls to the side of the road and then hears a loud humming sound like a high-frequency electrical whine. He opens the car door, steps out, and sees a bright light below the cloud cover at around 2,000–5,000 feet altitude. It seems to hover for a moment and then takes off to the south. As the light leaves and the whine dies away, the headlights and radio come on and the motor starts by itself. The whole thing lasts about 15–20 seconds. (Manchester (N.H.) Sunday News, January 16, 1965; Schopick, pp. 148–150)
January 19 — 6:15 p.m. William Blackburn, a draftsman at a General Electric plant, is chopping wood at an archery range east of Staunton, Virginia, in an area known locally as Brands Flats. He sees two saucer-like shapes in the sky at 2,000–4,000 feet altitude. The larger one seems to be about 80 feet across. The smaller one, 20 feet across, descends quickly and silently and lands 45–55 feet away from Blackburn. A door opens, making a slight noise and revealing an interior light. Three figures, each 3 feet tall and wearing tight-fitting metallic-looking suits, emerge. They have reddish-orange skin and piercing eyes. One has an extra-long finger on its left hand. They speak in an unintelligible language, then return to the UFO. The door closes so perfectly that an outline cannot be seen, and the object takes off. The entire episode lasts only 5 minutes. Blackburn sees no traces in the snow, but thinks the object and humanoids are hovering. (NICAP, “ Two Humanoids Approach Witness”; “ Local Man Claims He Saw Spaceman,” Wayneboro (Va.) News-Virginian, January 23, 1965, pp. 1–2; Center for UFO Studies, HUMCAT Index 1965, p. 7; Donald B. Hanlon, “ Virginia 1965 Flap,” Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 2 (March/April 1965): 14–16; Harold H. Deneault Jr., “UFOs Return to Washington,” Fate 18, no. 7 (July 1965): 53–54; Donald B. Hanlon, “ Virginia 1965 Flap,” Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 2 (March/April 1966): 14–16; UFOEv II 476–477; Clark III 196; Clark IV 232)
January 23 — 8:40 a.m. Two separate cars driving in different direction stall out near the intersection of US Hwy 60 and State Route 614 in Lightfoot, Virginia. One of the drivers, Thomas F. Mains, sees a lightbulb- or mushroom-shaped object 75–80 feet tall and 10–25 feet wide, hovering over nearby field about 4 feet off the ground. It is metallic gray, with red-orange and blue lights and is making a vacuum cleaner noise. It suddenly accelerates horizontally to the west against the wind and disappears. (NICAP, “ UFO Hovering over Field Stalls Cars”; Sparks, p. 304; “ UFO Reported Seen near Williamsburg,” Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch, January 24, 1965, p. 1; “ Langley Team Investigating UFO, But Report Unlikely,” Newport News (Va.) Daily Press, January 26, 1965, p. 3; Hynek UFO Report, pp. 177–178)
January 25 — Night. Policeman Woody Darnall, his family, and several neighbors see a glowing object hovering on a mountainside near Marion, Virginia. It seems to explode and take off in a shower of sparks. A group of Marion residents and state forest officials climb to the area and find several treetops bent over and one green tree on fire where the UFO was seen. (Harold H. Deneault Jr., “UFOs Return to Washington,” Fate 18, no. 7 (July 1965): 52)
January 25 — Night. Nine persons near Fredericksburg, Virginia, see a UFO that resembles a “Christmas sparkler.” One witness says it looks like a spinning top spitting sparks out of the bottom as it moves up the Rappahannock Valley at treetop level. (Harold H. Deneault Jr., “UFOs Return to Washington,” Fate 18, no. 7 (July 1965): 52)
January 26 — Evening. Rev. H. Preston Robinson and others in Marion, Virginia, watch an object hovering 600 feet above the city. The object makes a steady buzzing sound and has several lights on its round bottom. Spinning clockwise, it shoots out of sight at fantastic speed. It emits a ball of fire as it disappears. (Harold H. Deneault Jr., “UFOs Return to Washington,” Fate 18, no. 7 (July 1965): 47, 52)
January 26 — Evening. Steven Houffer, 16, and six friends are driving on US Highway 250 near Brands Flats, Virginia, when they see a small man walking toward the road from a field. He sits down and peers intently at passing cars. Houffer stops the car and he and his friends get out. When they approach, the being runs up a hill. Two other entities appear and run in the same direction. They are all about 3.5 feet tall, wear silvery one-piece garments, and leave no footprints. Police officers conduct a search with local photographer Charles Weaver, but find nothing. Some time later, Houffer and Weaver see a “glowing aluminum barn,” which they go down to investigate. Weaver is walking around inside when something hits him on the head. The two turn to run after Weaver snaps a photo. In the light of the flashbulb, they see a little man standing by the barn. The photo is allegedly confiscated by government agents. A local man, Donald Cash, 6 feet tall, confesses to dressing up in overalls to pose as an alien, although his story does not completely match the details of the account. (“ UFO Posses Hit,” Staunton (Va.) Daily News Leader, January 28, 1965, pp. 1–2; “ Fed Up with Play: Green Man Confesses,” Staunton (Va.) Daily News Leader, January 31, 1965, p. 1; Jerome Clark, “ Two New Contact Claims,” Flying Saucer Review 11, no. 3 (May/June 1965): 20–21)
January 27 — 6:00 p.m. NASA research engineer A. G. Crimmins Jr. observes an object at Plum Tree Island Wildlife Refuge, near Poquoson, Virginia, that is approximately 75 feet across and 10–15 feet in height. The object has 3–7 lights colored red and orange and appears to rotate. It moves approximately a quarter mile west of its original position on a zigzag course and then appears to land on the ocean shore. It remains still for about 5 minutes, then takes off to the north and turns right to depart to the east at a high rate of speed. Crimmins watches it through 20x binoculars. The same object is apparently seen by retired USAF Maj. John R. Nayadley, another NASA research engineer, who observes a V-shaped object with blinking red-orange lights over Hampton, Virginia. (NICAP, “ Zig-Zagging Object Lands / Takes Off”; “ New Sightings Put AF on Spot,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 1 (March/April 1965): 4; UFOEv II 156)
January 29 — In Monterey, California, Mayor George Clemens and his family see a bright light performing acrobatics in the northern sky. It hovers, then shoots straight up about 500 feet, fades, drops down, and hovers again. Then it drops toward the water and disappears. The Coast Guard finds nothing. (Sanderson, InvRes, p. 50)
January 30 — 2:00 a.m. TV repairman Sid Padrick is walking along Manresa Beach near his home in Watsonville, California. He hears a jet-like noise and sees a huge UFO moving slowly towards him. He hears a voice saying, “We are not hostile,” and inviting him aboard. He enters the craft and sees a human in a flying suit who calls himself “Xeno” and gives Padrick a tour of the ship and other crew members that culminates in a deeply spiritual experience. Padrick reports his experience to Hamilton AFB [now closed] on February 4 and receives a 3-hour visit from Maj. Damon B. Reeder on February 8, and perhaps other officers after that. (Wally Trabing, “ He Said: ‘I Talked to a Spaceman,’” Santa Cruz (Calif.) Sentinel, February 21, 1965, p. 3; Bill Strobel, “ The Visitors from Outer Space,” Oakland (Calif.) Tribune, April 22, 1965, p. 29; L. J. Lorenzen, “ The La Selva ‘Contact,’” APRO Bulletin, May/June 1965, p. 1; Jerome Clark, “ Two New Contact Claims,” Flying Saucer Review 11, no. 3 (May/June 1965): 20–21; “ The Padrick ‘Space Contact,’” Little Listening Post 12, no. 3 (Aug./Oct. 1965): 2–5; “ Contactee Loses Court Case,” UFO Investigator, April 1971, p. 1; Lorenzen, Encounters with UFO Occupants, Berkley Medallion, 1976; Good Above, pp. 293–298; Good Need, pp. 247–251; Aileen Garoutte, “ Sid Padrick, My Friend,” UFOexperiences, April 7, 2005; Aileen Garoutte, “ Supplement to Sid Padrick’s Case,” UFOexperiences, April 7, 2005; Patrick Gross, URECAT, August 19, 2008; Marcus Lowth, “ Sidney Padrick’s California Beach Encounter with ‘Xeno,’” UFO Insight, October 12, 2017; Clark III 869–871; Curt Collins, “ 1965: UFO Contact in California,” The Saucers That Time Forgot, December 30, 2021; Clark IV 963–965)
January 31 — 6:15 p.m. William E. Bolson and two other musicians sight two discs hovering over some high-tension power lines between Kent and Renton, Washington. The UFOs appear to be connected to each other. (“ Musicians Spot UAOs,” APRO Bulletin, May/June 1965, p. 1)
February — George Langelaan, ex-secret service officer and author of the short story “The Fly,” gives a lecture at Mourenx, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France, and declares that the Russian and US secret services have collaborated on the UFO problem and concluded that the objects are extraterrestrial. (Good Above, p. 133)
February 3 - 8:45 p.m. A man sees a light on the beach near Penguin Street, South New Brighton, New Zealand, and gets out of his car to observe it. He hears a modulated whistling sound and sees an object, 22 feet wide, rise from the beach to an altitude of 60 feet. He returns with other witnesses and a dog that gets restless at a spot where grass is flattened. Another witness sees the UFO as it is rising above the suburb. (" Sighting Reports, New Zealand," Australian Flying Saucer Review, May 1965, p. 15; Vallée, Magonia, p. 305)
February 11 - Night. A Flying Tiger Line cargo aircraft (Flight F-169) en route from Anchorage, Alaska, to Tachikawa Airfield, Tokyo, Japan, encounters three gigantic, glowing, red UFOs, at least 200 feet in diameter, about 4 hours out of Anchorage. The aircraft radar also picks them up about 5 miles off the wing. They pace the plane for 30 minutes, then speed away at 1,380 mph. (NICAP, " Radar/Visual over Pacific Ocean"; " Three Huge UFOs Pace U.S. Airliner," UFO Investigator 3, no. 2 (April/May 1965): 1; Keyhoe, Aliens from Space, Signet ed., 1974, pp. 128-129; Richard H. Hall, Uninvited Guests, Aurora, 1988, pp. 249-250; UFOEv II 56)
February 12 — A strange-looking plane dives into the Bristol Channel near Minehead on the North Devon coast in England. Four witnesses observe it from two different locations. Despite a 90- minute search by a lifeboat, two RAF helicopters, and a Shackleton marine patrol aircraft, nothing is found, and no planes are reported missing. A strange, low-flying plane is reported also over Swainswick, near Bath, Somerset, England, around the same time. The ash-gray object flies about 100 feet above the road in a west-southwest direction. It has a misty appearance, even though there is no fog or mist at the time. It emerges from behind some trees and then literally vanishes. A witnesses notes, “The strange part was that it made no sound, and did not appear to have an engine, but it was certainly not a glider.” (Bristol Evening Post, February 13, 1965; “ World Round-Up,” Flying Saucer Review 11, no. 3 (May/ June 1965): 27)
February 14 — 7:00 p.m. C. H. Watson and F. Pursey of Dover, England, are driving home from Whitstable with their wives. As they begin ascending the hill from Bridge to Dover, they see a dark object, which they assume is an unlit van, crossing the road from left to right about 65 feet ahead. The unlit and silent object seems to vanish into a churchyard. The two women, chatting in the back seat, notice nothing. (“ Mystery Object near Dover,” Flying Saucer Review 11, no. 3 (May/June 1965): 27–28)
March 2 - 1:55 p.m. John F. Reeves, 65, retired, while walking in the woods east of Weeki Wachee Springs, Florida, sees a bluish-green and reddish-purple object 20-30 feet in diameter, 6 feet thick, saucer-shaped, and with an outer rim and a stairway, two 2-foot windows on top, landed on the ground on four 4-foot legs about 2,000 feet away. He approaches to 100 feet. After watching the object for 10 minutes, he sees a robot-like being about 200-300 feet away, about 5 feet tall, wearing a gray-silver uniform, glass dome headgear, wide-spaced eyes, and pointed chin. It walks to 15 feet away from Reeves, stares at him for 1.5 minutes, points a box or 6-7-inch black object at Reeves that emits a flash 3 times, then walks back to the landed vehicle and climbs in. The object has Venetian blind-like blades on the rim that open and close; the rim starts rotating counterclockwise, the landing gear retract, then it takes off with a whooshing-rumbling sound and disappears vertically in less than 10 seconds, dropping two sheets of paper with indecipherable writing, and leaving indentations and footprints in the ground. The case is investigated by MacDill AFB in Tampa. Richard Hall supervises the investigation for NICAP and concludes it is a hoax. (NICAP, " Landed Object and Entity Case / Hoax"; Sparks, p. 304; Shirley Chastain and Robert Bowden, " `I Saw a Flying Saucer.A Robot-Like Thing.Then It Went Whoosh,'" St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times, March 4, 1965, p. 1-B; Shirley Chastain, " Little Green Man in Flying Saucer," St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times, March 5, 1965, p. 1-B; Don Pride and Lowell Brandle, " Saucer? Pentagon Scoffs," St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times, March 5, 1965, p. 1-B; " Robot Flies by Saucer to Florida," Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel, March 5, pp. 1-A-2-A; Ronald West, " Tourist Sights Twin to Robot," Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel, March 6, 1965, pp. 1-A, 12-A; " Flying Saucer Proves to Be Strong Cup of Tea," St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times, March 8, 1965, pp. 1-B, 11-B; " The Florida `Landing' Incident," APRO Bulletin, March/ April 1965, pp. 1, 3; Jerry Blizin, " Spaceship Said a Hoax," St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times, April 1, 1965, p. 2-B; Joan Whritenour, " UFO Lands?" Interplanetary Intelligence Report 1, no. 1 (May 1965): 4; " Project Blue Book," Interplanetary Intelligence Report 1, no. 2 (July 1965): 8; Charles Bowen, " Who Hoaxes Who?" Flying Saucer Review 11, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1965): 6-9; Coral E. Lorenzen, "Did a UFO Land in Florida?" Fate 18, no. 10 (October 1965): 32-39; Bob Perrow, " Saucer Claim: Hoax or Look at Future?" Tampa (Fla.) Tribune, October 26, 1965, p. 3B; Jim Twithy, " Brooksville Man Says He Took Spaceship to the Moon," Tampa (Fla.) Tribune, December 16, 1968, p. 2-B; Jerome Clark, " Passport to Moniheya," IUR 20, no. 3 (May/June 1995): 10-19; Clark III 209-218; Clark IV 250-258)
March 5 — Two Air Force radar technicians are repairing the height-finder antenna at Benton Air Force Station [now Ground Equipment Facility QRC] in Ricketts Glen State Park near Red Rock, Pennsylvania, when they see a small, saucer-shaped object land nearby. As they approach it, a beam of light comes out and strikes both of them. That is the last thing they remember, and they fail to report to the command post. Their equipment is left behind at the antenna, but air police cannot locate the men. Pennsylvania State Police assist in a search of the area. About 16 hours later, a state trooper locates the two men walking along State Route 487 south of Lopez, about 10 miles away. They seem dazed, so they are taken to a hospital in Williamsport, where they are found to be dehydrated and confused. No alcohol or drugs are found. They are then taken to an Air Force hospital at Stewart AFB [now Stewart Air National Guard Base] in Orange County, New York. Trace amounts of alpha radiation are found on their clothing and strange marks are on their necks. AFOSI special agents interview them, but the men cannot remember anything. After 2 weeks in the hospital, they are released back to their unit. (“ Pennsylvania Abduction from Air Force Base,” Filer’s Files, September 9, 1999; Good Need, pp. 251–252)
March 8 — 7:40 p.m. J. H. Martin, an instrument maker for the National Bureau of Standards, and his two sons observe in Mount Airy, Maryland, six lights he estimates to be 1,000 feet away and moving at a speed of 20 mph with no sound. They appear as three pairs of lights, all with the same intensity. They are comparable to a traffic signal. The lights pass between the barn and the house at an estimated altitude of 100–500 feet, flying in a straight line toward the hills two miles away. They are in view for approximately 3 minutes. (NICAP, “ Six Lights Just Miss House”; Sparks, p. 304)
March 15 — Around 1:00 a.m. James W. Flynn is deep in the Everglades in his swamp buggy, somewhere east of Immokalee, Florida, with his four hunting dogs. He sees a hovering object like an upside-down cone about 200 feet above some cypress trees slightly over a mile away. It moves back and forth from its original position. Through binoculars it looks 25 feet high and 50 feet in diameter, with square windows emitting a yellowish glow. Around its base an orange-red glow extends downwards and illuminates the ground some 75 feet around the rim. Some 40 minutes into the sighting, Flynn decides to approach it in his buggy. A high-pitched ringing sound bothers one of his dogs. He stops 600 feet away and walks, waving his arms, toward the UFO, which is hovering 4 feet off the ground. A blast of wind from the object nearly knocks him off his feet. He continues, and at 75 feet from the UFO he waves his arms again. The object beams a light like a “welder’s torch” that hits his forehead. He blacks out twice. When he wakes up he is temporarily blinded. In the morning he finds a symmetrical circle of burned ground. The tops of trees are burned. Flynn makes his way to the home of Henry Osceola (or Henry Billy) later in the day and arrives at his own home in East Fort Myers on March 17 and spends 5 days in the hospital with damage to his right eye, bruises, burns, deep muscle tissue damage, and loss of hearing. His eye damage is permanent. The landing marks and burned trees are verified by the Lee County sheriff’s office. (NICAP, “ Everglades / James Flynn Case”; “ Flynn, in Hospital, Describes Attack from Light in Woods,” Fort Myers (Fla.) News-Press, March 18, 1965, pp. 1, 3; “ Air Force Probe of ‘Object’ Due,” Fort Myers (Fla.) News-Press, March 19, 1965, pp. 1, 6; “ A Fantastic But Legitimate Story,” Fort Myers (Fla.) News-Press, March 19, 1965, p. 4; “ Man Reported Injured by UFO,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 1 (March/April 1965): 6; “ Man Injured in UAO Encounter,” APRO Bulletin, May/June 1965, pp. 1, 3; “ Increased Landings Hint New UFO Phase,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 3 (June/July 1965): 3; Jim and Coral Lorenzen, “Burned by UFOs,” Fate 21, no. 10 (October 1968): 36, 40–43; Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, pp. 12–16; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 192–195; Clark III 438–440; Clark IV 483–485; Patrick Gross, “ UFO in the Everglades, USA 1965”)
March 17 — 10:00 p.m. Walter Jacobs, steward on the freighter Iron Duke, sees a bright orange object with a dent on top and a knot on the bottom as the ship is approaching the Margaret Brock [Cape Jaffa] Lighthouse off Kingston, South Australia. He takes a photograph, but it is apparently a hoax. He never actually saw the object at the time, finding it only after the prints are developed, contradicting his verbal testimony. A camera lens reflection from the moon caused the object in the print, and the steward took immediate advantage of the situation and had the radio operator send telegrams to the papers. There is no sighting event. (“ ‘Moon Object’ Pictures,” Newcastle (N.S.W.) Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, March 23, 1965, via Australian Flying Saucer Review, no. 8 (June 1965): 28; “ UAO Photographed Clearly in Australia,” APRO Bulletin, March/April 1965, p. 1; “ Film Taken of S. Aust. Sky Object,” Panorama 4, no. 2 (1965): 12, 19; “ The Jacobs Photo of UFO over Adelaide,” Panorama 4 , no. 3 (1965): 7–8; Keith Basterfield, “ The Brock Lighthouse Pictures: A Hoax Revealed,” ACOS Bulletin, no. 14 (June 1978): 4–5; Keith Basterfield, “ The 1965 Margaret Brock Lighthouse Photographs,” Unidentified Anomalous phenomena—Scientific Research, October 23, 2018)
March 18 (or 21) — 7:06 p.m. Capt. Yoshiharu Inaba is flying a TOA Airlines Convair 240 from Osaka to Hiroshima, Japan, at an altitude of 6,500 feet. Just after the aircraft passes Himeji, Hyogo, an elliptical luminous object appears and follows the plane. Inaba makes a 60° turn to avoid a collision, but the object makes a similar maneuver then follows along the plane’s left wing for about 56 miles. Emitting a greenish light, the object affects the automatic direction finder and the radio. As copilot Tetsu Majima radios the Matsuyama control tower, he hears frantic calls from Joji Negishi, the pilot of a Tokyo Airlines Piper Apache, who says he is being chased by a luminous object over Matsuyama. The object shoots away and disappears. (NICAP, “ Object Paces Japanese Airliner”; “ UFO Encounters over Japan,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 1 (March/April 1965): 6; Timothy Green Beckley, “Saucers Chase Japanese Airliner,” Fate 18, no. 8 (August 1965): 32–35; Schopick, pp. 150–153; Good Need, p. 253; Patrick Gross, “ Aircraft–UFO Encounters, Japan, March 18, 1965”)
April 4 - 4:05 a.m. A/2C Corum, a weather observer at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, along with student R. Pittman. Watches a black, 40-foot-diameter, oval object with four body lights. It flies in and out of clouds for about 15 seconds. (NICAP, " 40' Black Oval Object 500 ' Away"; UFOEv II 53)
April 24 — 5:30 p.m. Ernest Arthur Bryant is walking toward Scoriton Down near Scoriton (or Scorriton), Devon, England, when he sees a saucer-like object approach him. It stops nearby and a door opens. Three beings appear and beckon to him. He approaches the saucer. Two of the three beings appear to be nonhuman, but the third seems to be a youth in his teens. The youth speaks with an accent that Bryant thinks might be Russian and calls himself Yamski. He says that he is from Venus, and then remarks that he wished “Des” was there, as he would understand what is happening. At the close of their conversation, he says that in a month he will return and bring proof of “Mantell.” Ufologists who eventually hear the story immediately associate Yamski with George Adamski, the controversial contactee who died on April 23. Adamski was of Polish background and had a noticeable accent. If this were Adamski, he has lost any signs of aging. Adamski’s friend Desmond Leslie was a coauthor of his first book. Captain Thomas F. Mantell, piloting an F-51, had been killed in 1948 when he began chasing what he thought was a UFO. According to Bryant, the saucer returns June 7 and leaves some items, including several pieces of metal, allegedly from an F-51. He reports the story to the British UFO Research Association, which launches an investigation. The various items Bryant turns over to the two investigators (a turbine fitting, metal parts, a broken bulb and fitting, a phial containing silver sand, and a piece of paper on which the words “Adelphos Adelpho” are written) prove to be mundane and irrelevant to the F-51, according to aeronautical engineer Leonard G. Cramp. In spite of problems with the story, one of the investigators, Eileen Buckle, rushes into print with a book, The Scoriton Mystery. Shortly afterward, Bryant unexpectedly takes ill and dies from a brain tumor on June 24, 1967. The other investigator, Norman Oliver, visits his widow. She says that she is familiar with the story in the book, as her husband had presented it to her first as the script for a science fiction novel. It is only after the investigation is well along that she realizes her husband was trying to sell the story as a real event. She indicates that the supposed items related to Mantell were purchased at a naval surplus store. Alice Wells, head of the Adamski Foundation, dismisses the Scoriton story from the beginning, as does Desmond Leslie. Between their rejection and Oliver’s uncovering of the hoax, few remain to support Bryant except Buckle. (John Cleary-Baker, “ The Scorriton Affair,” BUFORA Journal 1, no. 6 (Autumn 1965): 10–11; Eileen Buckle, The Scoriton Mystery, Spearman, 1967; Norman Oliver, Sequel to Scoriton, The Author, 1968; Eric Biddle, “ The Scoriton Case,” BUFORA Journal 3, no. 7 (Summer 1972): 4–6; Story, pp. 324–326; Patrick Gross, URECAT, August 19, 2006; Clark III 1040–1044; Clark III 1155–1159)
May 5 - 1:10 a.m. The crew of the USS Hassayampa, a US Navy fleet oiler, in the Philippine Sea notices an aircraft approaching. At 1:14 a.m., the SPS-6C air search radar detects four targets at ranges up to 22 miles for the next 6 minutes at extremely high speed (3,500 mph), making various maneuvers. As seen through binoculars, they appear as three lighted objects, one of 1st stellar magnitude the others 2nd magnitude. The objects hover directly over the ship for 3 minutes. There is no IFF response. One object to starboard appears larger on radar. The objects depart to the southeast at extremely high speed. (NICAP, " Radar/Visual by U.S. Flag Ship in the Philippines"; Sparks, p. 305; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 93-94; Martin Shough, RADCAT: Radar Catalogue: A Review of Twenty-One Ground and Airborne Radar UAP Contact Reports Generally Related to Aviation Safety for the Period October 15, 1948, to September 19, 1976, National Aviation Reporting Center on Anomalous Phenomena, NARCAP Report TR-6, December 8, 2002, pp. 111-115)
May 14 — 3:30 p.m. Two witnesses spot a domed UFO over a golf course in Bradford, Massachusetts. The object hovers, shoots away, then returns moments later along the same path. It hovers once more before finally moving away at high speed. (Raymond E. Fowler, UFOs: Interplanetary Visitors, Exposition, 1974, p. 332)
May 24 — 12:05 a.m. John Burgess, James Tilse, and Eric Judin are playing cards at the Epsom Retreat Hotel near Epsom, Queensland, when their attention is drawn to something on or near the ground. It appears to be a disc-shaped object with banks of lights underneath it to their southeast. Tilse estimates its diameter to be 30 feet, Judin as 20 feet, and Burgess as 6 feet. In the moonlight, its color seems to be charcoal. At times, it seems to approach them, then recede. Finally, it rapidly rises to about 300 feet, then it accelerates away to the northeast. Burgess and Judin hear a buzzing sound. Total duration is 40 minutes. Two days later, a circular depression is found nearby close to a telephone line. Tilse says that “tops of trees appear to be burned.” (“ Queensland Report,” Panorama 4, no. 3 (1965): 17–18; “ Increased Landings Hint New UFO Phase,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 3 (June/July 1965): 1–2; “ The James Tilse Report,” Flying Saucer Review 11, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1965): 13–14; “ UAO Buzzes Hotel in Australia,” APRO Bulletin, Jan./Feb. 1966, p. 3; Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, p. 63; Keith Basterfield, “ Cold Case Investigation: Eton Ridge, Queensland, 24 May 1965,” Unidentified Aerial Phenomena— Scientific Research, June 13, 2012)
May 28 — 3:25 a.m. An Ansett-ANA DC-6b airliner piloted by Capt. John Barker is flying over Bougainville Reef off the coast of Queensland, Australia, when it is paced for 10–15 minutes by an oblate UFO with exhaust gases coming from it. The copilot and a stewardess also see the object. Barker takes photos of the UFO, but when he lands in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, he is not allowed to have the film processed until he returns to Australia. When he eventually arrives in Brisbane, he is flown directly to Canberra where both the film and the flight recorder are confiscated. The Directorate of Air Force Intelligence in Canberra later denies that any such incident took place. However, an official statement by Barker to the RAAF surfaces, in which he says: “I had always scoffed at these reports, but I saw it. We all saw it. It was under intelligent control, and it was certainly no known aircraft.” (NICAP, “ Flattened Sphere Buzzes DC-6 / Photos Confiscated”; UFOEv II 128, 283; Good Above, pp. 168–170; Keith Basterfield, “ Bougainville Reef, 28 May 1965, Cold Case Investigation, Part One” and “ Part Two,” Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena—Scientific Research, August 5, 2012; Keith Basterfield, “ Follow-up Research on the 28 May 1965 Bougainville Reef Aircraft Encounter,” Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena—Scientific Research, October 7, 2013)
June - 6:30 p.m. Mrs. J. Whitehead is in the garden at her cottage in Flasby, North Yorkshire, England, when a large disc-shaped object passes over, making a slight swishing noise. On the underside are three "windows" in a triangular formation. She feels a strange calming sensation as the UFO passes by. (Jenny Randles, " Fake Photographs, Real Sightings," IUR 11, no. 6 (Nov./ Dec. 1986): 11)
June 5 - 11:30 p.m. Josephine Brundage is driving 4 miles north of Kent, Washington, when her car suddenly comes to a stop, the headlights fail, the radio stops playing, and the car's clock and her wristwatch stop running. She sees a bright orange, lens-shaped object with a dome descend and hover 8-12 inches above the hood. It revolves clockwise at least 10 times. Brundage feels "hypnotized" as she watches it. When the disc flies away, the headlights and radio come on immediately and she is able to start the car again. ( NICAP case file; "`Flying Object' Encounter Reported East of Kent," Kent (Wash.) News Journal, August 11, 1965; " UFO Stopped Josephine Brundage's Car and Hovered over the Hood of It on June 5, 1965, near Kent, WA," Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, October 1, 2024)
June 7–8 — 7:50 p.m. Meteorological officer Jorge Stanich is performing a routine observation at the Argentinian Deception Station on Deception Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, when he notices a stationary, bright, yellow light at an altitude of 25° above the horizon. He estimates its distance at 1.2 miles. The object is visible for 5 seconds. Six and a half hours later, at 2:20 a.m., he again sees a stationary light in the northwest at an altitude of 40° above the horizon for 4 seconds. (Daniel A. Perisse, “ Deception Island UFO Sightings,” MUFON 1987 International UFO Symposium Proceedings, Mutual UFO Network, 1987, pp. 142–146)
June 18 or 20 — 4:20 p.m. The Commander of the Chilean Aguirre Cerda Research Station [destroyed in 1967] on Deception Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, Mario Jahn Barrera, together with Chilean Air Force pilot Lt. Benavidez, a meteorologist, and seven other witnesses, observe a UFO that maneuvers rapidly on an oscillating course for 25 minutes. (Daniel A. Perisse, “ Deception Island UFO Sightings,” MUFON 1987 International UFO Symposium Proceedings, Mutual UFO Network, 1987, p. 146; Good Above, p. 309)
June 25 — Frank Stavano and 24 other witnesses hear a loud, inexplicable explosion at his father Joseph’s farm near Carrollton, Ohio. Two days later, Joseph Stavano is cutting hay when he discovers a strange circular formation from which the wheat is completely missing in the center for a diameter of 26 feet; at the edges the stubble is bent or broken outward at an angle of 20–30° from the horizontal. No other path leads into the circle but his own. Soil samples show no evidence of explosives or other foreign matter. (“ Photograph of Carrollton, Ohio, Ground Mark Received at CUFOS,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 1, no. 6 (October 1980): 1–2)
Summer — 8:30 a.m. An Italian radiologist is in a dinghy on the Adriatic Sea near Cattolica, Rimini, Italy, when he sees five luminous disks emerge from the water, one after the other, about 1.2 miles away. They fly away at a 45° angle. (Roberto Pinotti, UFO: Missione Uomo, Armenia, 1975, p. 137; Carl Feindt, “ Report #292,” waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 266–267)
Summer — Night. A prospector who lives in a cabin on a hill in the vicinity of Apache Junction, Arizona, is startled by a high-pitched electrical sound. A bright light then fills his cabin, hurting his eyes. After 2 minutes the light goes out and the noise seems to fade to the north. The next morning, he makes a systematic search of the area around his cabin and he finds in front of the porch a “tiny spindle- shaped bright yellow object with a bright red stripe down one side, about an inch long.” He keeps the artifact for 5 years before reporting the incident to APRO in 1970. The Lorenzens give the object to University of Arizona metallurgical engineer Walter W. Walker for analysis. Walker determines that it is a manufactured object with a wire made of an iron-manganese alloy at its core, surrounded by fibrous insulation and a sheath made of polycrystalline calcite. He concludes that the object is unusual but not extraterrestrial. (“ New Physical Evidence Case,” APRO Bulletin, January/February 1970, pp. 1, 3; Walter W. Walker, “ The Apache Junction Physical Evidence Case,” APRO Bulletin, May/June 1970, pp. 1, 4)
July — 12:30 a.m. An airman serving with the Air Force Security Service at Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas, is outside his barracks when he notices a light moving toward the west. At first he thinks it is a high-altitude aircraft, but after 4–5 seconds the light makes a 90° turn to the south. After another 10–15 seconds it abruptly turns east, then after a similar interval it turns again to the west. Soon it seems to be stationary, but he notices the light is growing dimmer until after 10 seconds it is no longer visible. Throughout the sighting he can hear no engine noise, and until the end the light maintains a consistent brightness. ( NICAP Nocturnal Light cases)
July — 11:30 p.m.–midnight. Talking on the phone in her second-floor bedroom in Lake Forest, Illinois, Pat Harvey sees a flash and hears a commotion or “rustle” outside. When she finishes the conversation, she looks out the window toward her neighbor’s lawn and sees a transparent bubble of light about 100 feet away. Inside the globe are several individuals who look like normal human beings, though slightly shorter (5 feet tall) and with skin that looks tanned. They are lying down in a somewhat haphazard arrangement. There are no visible instruments or seats. The object bobs up and down slightly, and the beings’ arms are moving in a way that reminds Harvey of “rowing motions.” (Patrick Gross, URECAT, June 21, 2008; Clark III 277; Clark IV 317)
July 1 — 5:45 a.m. Maurice Masse is farming just north of Valensole, Alps-de-Haute-Provence, France, when he is startled by a whistling sound and sees an elliptical object resting on four legs some 200 feet away from him in his lavender field. Squatting on the ground near the object are two figures about the size of 8-year-old boys, apparently looking at a lavender plant. Masse approaches them to about 20 feet and the figures stand up. They are dressed in gray-green overalls and have smooth, pumpkin-like heads. Their eyes are large and slanted, their mouths have no lips and look like little holes. He hears some grunting sounds, and Masse hints that there is a telepathic communication. One of the figures points a pencil-like object at Masse and he is paralyzed. They enter the UFO through a door and the object shoots off at enormous speed with a whistling sound. It takes Masse another 20 minutes to regain control. Tracks left by the landing gear are found later by Masse and confirmed by gendarmes. (Wikipedia, “ Rencontre de Valensole”; NICAP, “ Humanoids near Elliptical Object with Legs on Ground”; GEIPAN, “ Valensole (04) 01.07.1965”; “ Flying Saucer Left Tracks on Farm, Frenchman Says,” Lancaster (Pa.) New Era, July 3, 1965, p. 1; “ Landing in France,” APRO Bulletin (July/Aug. 1965): 1, 4; Charles Bowen, “ A Significant Report from France,” Flying Saucer Review 11, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1965): 9–11; G.E.P.A. Investigation, “ The Significant Report from France,” Flying Saucer Review 11, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1965): 5–6; Aimé Michel, “ The Valensole Affair,” Flying Saucer Review 11, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1965): 7–9; Bernard E. Finch, “ Comment on the Valensole Affair,” Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1966): 14–15; Luis Schönherr, “ The Valensole Questionnaire,” Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 2 (March/April 1966): 32–33; Luis Schönherr, “ Luis Schönherr’s Questionnaire,” Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 3 (May/June 1966): 21; G.E.P.A. Representative, “ A Tentative Reply to Luis Schönherr’s Questionnaire,” Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 3 (May/June 1966): 22–23; Aimé Michel, “ Valensole—Further Details,” Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 3 (May/June 1966): 24–25; Aimé Michel and Charles Bowen, “ A Visit to Valensole,” Flying Saucer Review 14, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1967): 6–12; Charles Bowen, “ Keeping Watch on Valensole,” Flying Saucer Review 15, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1969): 7; Jacques Lemaitre [Pierre Guérin], “ A Plan for Valensole,” Flying Saucer Review 15, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1969): 8–12; Kim Hansen, “UFO Casebook,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, pp. 66–69; UFOEv II 477–480; Good Above, pp. 133–134; Patrick Gross, “ Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind: Valensole, France, 1965”; Clark III 1205–1207; “ Valensole, l’Indicible Secret: Un Aspect Peu Connu de Cette RR3,” Les Voies de l’Esprit YouTube channel, June 30, 2022; “ ‘What’s the Weirdest Case You’ve Ever Studied?’ Jacques Vallée Talks UFO Landing in Valensole, 1965,” Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, November 6, 2023; Éric Maillot, “ Analyse clinique de la RR3 de Valensole (1): État de stress psychotraumatique,” December 2023; Estelle Moutet, “ Valensole Film: Dominique Filhol Interview,” UAP Check, January 31, 2024; “ The Valensole, France CE-III Case | Jeff Knox (Ufos # 8 – July 7, 2024),” Ufo Sunset YouTube channel, July 13, 2024; “ Valensole Part II & Little People | Ufos Chat # 3 – July 14, 2024 (Edited),” Ufo Sunset YouTube channel, July 19, 2024; Clark IV 1381–1383
July 2 — 7:15 p.m. Five garrison members of the British Antarctic Station B [abandoned in 1969] on Deception Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, have a UFO sighting while conducting routine meteorological observations. The witnesses see a light in the north quadrant, zigzagging, hovering, and accelerating at times, and maintaining altitudes between 20° and 45° above the horizon. The light is green and red, at times yellow, and is observed for perhaps 15–20 minutes. The edges of the light resemble those of a bright star. ( Schopick, pp. 153–155; Frank Edwards, FS Serious Business, Bantam ed., 1966, p. 162; Daniel A. Perisse, “ Deception Island UFO Sightings,” MUFON 1987 International UFO Symposium Proceedings, Mutual UFO Network, 1987, p. 146; Good Above, p. 309; Richard H. Hall, “ UFO Sightings at Scientific Stations in Antarctica, July 1965”)
July 3 — 5:03 p.m. Two meteorologists at the Argentine Orcadas Base on Laurie Island in the South Orkney Islands, Antarctica, observe for 15 seconds a round, bluish-white object moving east to west on a parabolic path. Two variometers (magnetic field measuring instruments) register sudden and strong disturbances. ( Schopick, pp. 153–155; Daniel A. Perisse, “ Deception Island UFO Sightings,” MUFON 1987 International UFO Symposium Proceedings, Mutual UFO Network, 1987, pp. 147, 153; Richard H. Hall, “ UFO Sightings at Scientific Stations in Antarctica, July 1965”)
July 3 — 7:20 p.m. The meteorologist and eight other witnesses at the Chilean Aguirre Cerda Station [destroyed in 1967] on Deception Island, Antarctica, watch for a total of 20 minutes a bright and apparently solid object zigzagging from the east quadrant to the south quadrant. It maintains an altitude above the horizon between 35 and 20 degrees. It is white and star-like with some orange hues. (Daniel A. Perisse, “ Deception Island UFO Sightings,” MUFON 1987 International UFO Symposium Proceedings, Mutual UFO Network, 1987, pp. 147, 153–154; Richard H. Hall, “ UFO Sightings at Scientific Stations in Antarctica, July 1965”; Good Above, p. 309)
July 3 — 7:42 p.m. 17 people (including three visiting Chilean personnel) observe a lens- shaped disc that maneuvers erratically across the sky for about an hour at the Argentine Deception Station in the South Orkney Islands, Antarctica. The object changes colors (red, yellow, green, orange, blue, white) as it zigzags from a position about 30° above the horizon in the north-northwest. The object hovers, accelerates, reverses direction, and changes its luminosity. At times it goes behind some clouds, but it is also seen in front of some cirrus clouds. Finally, it disappears to the northwest, decreasing in size and gaining altitude. Cpl. Uladislao Duran Martinez takes 10 color photos through theodolite and field glasses. (“ Chile, Argentina Confirm UFO Films,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 4 (Aug./Sept. 1965): 2; Dan Lloyd, “ Things Are Hotting Up in the Antarctic,” Flying Saucer Review 11, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1965): 4–5; Schopick, pp. 155–159; Condon, pp. 99–100; Daniel A. Perisse, “ Deception Island UFO Sightings,” MUFON 1987 International UFO Symposium Proceedings, Mutual UFO Network, 1987, pp. 147, 154; Richard H. Hall, “ UFO Sightings at Scientific Stations in Antarctica, July 1965”; Good Above pp. 309–310)
July 6 — 6:52 p.m. Chief Mate Torgrim Lien of the Norwegian ship TT Jawesta watches a star-like UFO through binoculars in the North Atlantic Ocean about 900 miles southwest of the Azores. He, the captain, and other officers see an intense blue, fiery tongue of light approaching the ship at tremendous speed. As it gets closer, he sees it is a cigar-shaped UFO with a row of square windows. It passes above the stern of the ship at a height of about 900 feet, just below the clouds, in 30–40 seconds. Possible re-entry of the Soviet Kosmos 69 reconnaissance satellite. (“ ‘Cigar’ Passes a Few Hundred Feet above Norwegian Ship,” Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1966): 32; Dolan, USO1, 267–268)
July 9 — 4:30 p.m. A white cylindrical object is seen flying over Santa Maria Island in the Azores islands, Portugal. All electric clocks at the Santa Maria Airport stop when the object passes overhead. Weather personnel and other witnesses all agree that the UFO is at an altitude of 24,000–30,000 feet. At no time does it make any sound. According to witnesses, the clocks stop at the same time the UFO reaches the zenith directly over the airport. Attempts to identify it are unsuccessful. (NICAP, “ Clocks at Airport Stopped When UFO Passes Over”; “ The Portuguese UAOs,” APRO Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1965, p. 7; “United Press International Reports on Two UFOs,” Fate 18, no. 11 (November 1965): 59–61; Schopick, pp. 160–162)
July 9 — 10:00 p.m. Connie Wolferd and other residents of Bunker Hill, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, watch a clam-shaped object, about 10 feet in diameter, with red lights around its rim hover above some nearby trees. Wolferd is sitting on the porch listening to the radio when it suddenly stops functioning. The living room lights flicker (although fluorescent lights in the kitchen and bathroom do not), and a neighbor’s loud TV suddenly stops. She hears something making a “bleep-bleep” sound, looks up, and sees the object. Neighbors find the leaves of nearby trees are singed. (“ Bunker Hill Girl Tells of Seeing Unidentified Flying Objects in July,” Lebanon (Pa.) Daily News, August 10, 1965, p. 20; Schopick, pp. 177–178)
July 12 — 4:30 a.m. Laura de Freitas Machado Fernandes gets up to go to the well for some water at her home in Porto, Portugal, near the Porto Airport. She notices a luminous red object shaped like a cardinal’s hat coming from the west at high speed. It stops in mid-air and hovers above some nearby woods, rocking back and forth. She rushes back to warn her husband, Manuel Fernandes. They notice that their radio set has started making a loud noise. They estimate the object is about a quarter-mile away. Its top part is orange, and on its brim is a flickering red light. They watch it for 3 minutes before it takes off to the north at full speed. The radio goes back to normal. (“ Mystery in Sky: Clocks Stopped,” San Francisco (Calif.) Examiner, July 12, 1965, pp. 1, 6; “ The Portuguese UAOs,” APRO Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1965, pp. 2, 7; “United Press International Reports on Two UFOs,” Fate 18, no. 11 (November 1965): 59–61; Schopick, pp. 162–167)
July 15 — 11:00 a.m. An object descends near the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex in Tidbinbilla, Australian Capital Territory, interfering with its tracking of Mariner 4. It is also observed by control tower operators at Canberra Airport. Researcher Keith Basterfield concludes that the object is the planet Venus. (“ Airport Staff See Glowing Object in Canberra Sky,” Sydney (N.S.W.) Morning Herald, July 16, 1965, p. 1; “Sky Object Could Have Been Venus,” Canberra (A.C.T.) Times, July 16, 1965, p. 3; “ Mariner Men Goggle at Glowing Creepy,” Vancouver (B.C.) Sun, July 16, 1965, p. 19; “ Mystery of UFO Spreads,” San Francisco (Calif.) Examiner, July 16, 1965, p. 2; Graham Gambie, “ I Talk with Men Who Saw ‘That Thing,’” Sydney (N.S.W.) Morning Herald, July 18, 1965, pp. 5, 30; “ Canberra Incident,” Flying Saucer Review 11, no. 5 (Sept./ Oct. 1965): 18–19; Schopick, pp. 167–169; Randall C. Hecker, “Did UFO Sabotage Mariner IV?” Fate 20, no. 5 (May 1967): 32–37; Keyhoe, Aliens from Space, Signet ed., 1974, p. 106; Keith Basterfield, “ An Extraordinary Incident: Or an Extraordinarily Poorly Investigated Event,” Journal of the Australian Centre for UFO Studios 2, no. 2 (March/April 1981): 4–6; Bill Chalker, “ The 1965 Canberra Airport ‘UFO’/Mariner IV Myth,” Journal of the Australian Centre for UFO Studios 2, no. 2 (March/April 1981): 6–7)
July 17 — Witnesses see a UFO land on a beach near Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay. It remains on the ground nearly 2 minutes, glowing bright red. Then it takes off vertically and silently, and stops and hovers above the Rio de la Plata for several minutes at an altitude of 35 feet. Finally it flies away horizontally. It leaves a mark on the beach “similar to a retractable mechanical foot.” (“ Deslumbrante disco volado aterrizó en playa uruguay,” La Nación (Santiago, Chile), July 18, 1965, p. 30; “ UFO Sighted in South America,” Butte Montana Standard-Post, July 18, 1965, p. 5; UFOEv II 316)
July 19 — 5:30 p.m. Denis Crowe, an aircraft artist, is strolling along a beach at Vaucluse, New South Wales, when he encounters a glowing disc resting on legs. It is about 20 feet in diameter and 9 feet high. The top and bottom are silver gray and the rim in between is glowing greenish-blue. A hollow area at the very top seems to be a glass dome. There are no windows or antennae. Dogs in the neighborhood all bark at it. When Crowe is 50–60 feet from the object, it takes off with a sound like air forced from a balloon. He watches it for about 10 seconds until it disappears into the clouds. After the object takes off, the dogs are strangely silent. (NICAP, “ Glowing Disc on Legs Freaks Dogs”; “ UFO Lands on New South Wales Beach,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 4 (Aug./Sept. 1965): 6; Good Above, p. 531; Bill Chalker, The Oz Files (1996), p. 111; Bill Chalker, “ Tully Saucer Nests of 1966, Part Two,” IUR 23, no. 1 (Spring 1998): 16–17)
July 20 — Early morning. Carlos Videla Zamudio (or Zamandio), a civil engineer staying in a hotel in Chañaral, Atacama, Chile, is awakened by a loud noise, looks out the window, and sees an intensely red object about 36 feet in diameter land on the sand. After 4–5 minutes it takes off with a violent noise, hovers briefly at 30 feet, and disappears. (NICAP Reporter 4, no. 1 (October 1965): 7; “ Nombreux atterrissages,” Lumières dans la Nuit, no. 78 (Nov./Dec. 1965): 2; “ OVNIs sobre Chile,” Boletin Informativo de DIOVNI, no. 3 (April/June 1966): 6–7; Oscar A. Galíndez, “ Great UFO Activity over Argentina,” Australian Flying Saucer Review 11, no. 9 (November 1966): 30, 32; Ouranos, no. 32 (1966): 71; UFOEv II 317)
July 20 — 8:00 a.m. Ramón Eduardo Pereyra is driving a van along Avenida Tte. Gral. Donato Álvarez near Monte de los Curas [now called Villa La Florida], Quilmes district, Buenos Aires, Argentina, when he sees an object like a parachute drop silently into some trees on a hillside. He stops and walks over to investigate and finds a chrome-colored, egg-shaped craft standing on metal legs in a clearing. Its top part is transparent and the lower part smooth. Beside the object stands a blond young man who is studying a piece of paper. He is wearing a “diver’s suit,” small boots, and has something like a briefcase attached to his right leg. Pereyra walks right up to the object and looks into a porthole. Inside, he sees a second man sitting at an instrument panel. At this point the man outside notices him and walks up with an angry expression. Pereyra asks him what’s going on, but the man does not answer and steps into the craft, which rises to a height of 200 feet and moves away horizontally. (La Crónica (Buenos Aires), July 25, 1965; Gordon Creighton, “ The ‘Humanoids’ in Latin America,” in Charles Bowen, ed., The Humanoids, Special Issue 1 of FSR, October/November 1966, pp. 30, 40; “ El Caso Pereyra: Un paracaidas luminoso,” Vision OVNI, March 15, 2005; Patrick Gross, URECAT, October 3, 2006; Clark IV 1061–1062)
July 26 — 9:35 p.m. Astronomers Robert Vitolniek, Ian Melderis, and Esmeralda Vitolniek at the Baldone Astrophysical Observatory in Latvia are observing noctilucent clouds when they see a star- like object drifting slowly westwards. Through binoculars the light seems to be sharply defined, and through a telescope it looks like an array of three greenish lights around a larger, central sphere. After 20 minutes, the three smaller lights move away from the central one, and they disappear into the distance at 10:00 p.m. (Felix Ziegel, “ Unidentified Flying Objects,” Soviet Life, no. 137 (February 1968): 27; James E. McDonald, “ Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, pp. 60–61; Hobana and Weverbergh 286–287)
July 26 — Night. Adilon Batista de Azevedo, 14, leaves home with two friends to go to a movie theater on the outskirts of Carazinho, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. When they pass a vacant lot on Rua David Canaberra between the Rua 15 de Novembro and the Rua Alexandra de Motta, they see a light beam coming from a cloud illuminating an area about 33 feet in diameter and hear a buzzing noise. The other boys run, but Adilon remains and sees an oval-shaped object landing in the vacant lot and hovering about 3 feet off the ground. Another smaller object descends and hovers next to the first. Two beings about 5 feet tall emerge from the larger object and walk around it. They are wearing dark clothing and light helmets. After 5 minutes, 3 others emerge from the smaller object and converse with the others. The beings reenter the objects, which take off several minute apart. Adilon gets a headache that remains with him for 5 days. Possible helicopters? (“ Research in Brazil,” SBEDV Boletim, no. 45–47 (July/Dec. 1965): 7–9; Patrick Gross, URECAT, April 6, 2008; Brazil 73–74)
July 28 - 9:40 p.m. A USAF Reserve major and his wife observe a manta ray-shaped object fly almost directly overhead at Carswell AFB [now Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base], Fort Worth, Texas, below 1,000 feet altitude. The object moves at a constant speed on the same course. The object is approximately 40 feet long and has two brilliant white lights pulsating off and on once every second. It is completely silent and flies directly through the Carswell control zone at low altitude. The sighting is verified by three other persons on duty. The report states: "This sighting was a positive observation, under ideal circumstances, of a definite object of an unconventional nature-possibly of foreign origin, which could be a threat to national security." (NICAP, " RAPCON Fails to Identify Low Flying Manta Ray")
July 31 — 1:05 a.m. Wynnewood, Oklahoma, police officer Lewis Sikes, 29, reports a UFO to the northeast. A little later, simultaneous radar fixes are obtained at Tinker AFB in Oklahoma City and Carswell AFB [now Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base], Fort Worth, Texas. Both Tinker and Carswell track the object to a point 15 miles southwest of Tinker when it disappears. A few minutes later, it is tracked to a point 29 miles south of Tinker when it is lost again. (NICAP, “ Gnd/Visual and AF Radar”)
August 1 - 1:30-4:30 a.m. Various personnel from Francis E. Warren Air Force Base west of Cheyenne, Wyoming, report more than 70 UFOs near the base's ICBM Minuteman I launch control facilities (LCFs) and launch facilities (LFs, missile silos). A Lieut. Anspaugh logs the reports and incoming telephone calls for three hours. The reports begin with a "large circular object emitting several colors but no sound" seen by civilians over Cheyenne itself at 1:30 a.m. This results in an alert at the base for all personnel to be on the watch for anything suspicious. Five objects are spotted over the Sioux Army Depot [now closed] in Sydney, Nebraska, at 1:45 a.m. Two UFOs are seen over the Echo LCF southeast of Pine Bluff at 1:48 a.m. Nine more objects are sighted at 2:50 a.m. The Echo LCF reports six UFOs stacked vertically. A Strategic Air Command team at the H-2 LF northeast of Gurley reports a white UFO directly overhead at 3:00 a.m. The Sioux Army Depot reports five objects going east at 3:35 a.m. Reports of white, round- or oval-shaped objects in various formations, continue solidly at the H-2 LF for the next 40 minutes. At 4:05 a.m., the Warren base commander calls to say that the Quebec LCF southwest of Chugwater has nine UFOs in sight: four to the NW, three to the NE, and two over Cheyenne. Sightings continue to be reported the next two nights at missile sites assigned to Warren AFB, for a total of 148 objects seen by 143 combat defense force airmen, missile maintenance men, and NCOs. The sheer scope and blatant ostentation of the UFOs' reported aerial displays over a sensitive atomic missile base is remarkable. (J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 209-211; Robert L. Hastings, " Remarkable Reports from the Missile Field," IUR 32, no. 1 (August 2008): 8-14, 23-27; Robert L. Hastings, " Yet Another Nuclear Missile Launch Officer Talks about UFOs at F. E. Warren AFB," UFOs and Nukes, February 5, 2012; Robert L. Hastings, " Three Former U.S. Air Force ICBM Launch Officers Speak Out about UFOs," UFOs and Nukes, October 6, 2013; Nukes 223-238)
August 1 — 8:08 p.m.The Oklahoma Highway Patrol starts receiving 25–30 visual sightings of UFOs, many by police and highway patrol troopers from Purcell north to Norman to Chandler and back south through Meeker and Shawnee, Oklahoma. The sightings continue through dawn and vary from one to four objects that start and stop, often having a red color and varying to a white and blue luster. (NICAP, [ case documents]; “Ardmoreites Spot Flying Objects in Sky,” Daily Ardmoreite, August 2, 1965, pp. 1, 2; “Additional Strange Objects Reported,” Manhattan (Kan.) Mercury, August 3, 1965, p. 2; “ Oklahoma’s Great UFO Mystery Is Still Unsolved,” Harrisburg (Ill.) Daily Register, August 3, 1965, p. 2; “ Southwest in Controversy over Sightings of UFOs,” Canandaigua (N.Y.) Daily Messenger, August 4, 1965, p. 8)
August 1 — 9:08 p.m. Four objects, bluish-white with a red haze, are seen from the control tower at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. T/Sgt John R. Lang, 34, is the watch supervisor. All the objects appear at approximately 22,000 feet altitude. One is moving south, and another is moving north at speeds of 150–200 mph. Two of the objects appear stationary. The 746th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron reports radar contact with one object at 10,000 feet in the vicinity of Norman, Oklahoma, 20 miles south of Tinker AFB. The duration is 90 minutes. An Air Force weather observer, who wishes to remain anonymous, looks at a UFO through his 40x-telescope at Oklahoma City. It is tilted about 45° then straightens out. “It looked like Saturn with a flat top and flat bottom.” (NICAP, “ Four Lights Observed, Radar Contact on One”; “ UFOs Leave Local Radar Tracks,” Wichita (Kan.) Beacon, August 2, 1965, pp. 1–2; “ Radar Didn’t Detect UFOs Spotted in Area,” Minneapolis Star, August 3, 1965, pp. 1, 4; “ Sightings Continue But Air Force Says Phooey,” Sacramento (Calif.) Bee, August 3, 1965, p. 2; Clark III 923; Clark IV 1033)
August 1 — Night.A TWA Boeing 707 airliner flying west of Topeka, Kansas, picks up 12–15 targets on Air Intercept Radar flying toward them at high speed on a 50-mile scope. They change to a 20-mile scope and observe the objects approaching in formation. The pilot, copilot, and engineer all witness this clearly. The aircraft passes the objects but cannot see them visually. Two films of the scopes are taken. (NICAP, “ 707 Picks Up 12–15 Targets”)
August 1 — Night.Two rookie police officers in Caldwell, Kansas, speed toward the airport to investigate local sightings when they see an egg-shaped machine about 300 feet long hovering above the ground. They try to get closer, but it disappears behind a hedgerow and shuts its lights off. They return the next day, but find no traces. (“ Caldwell Officers Are ‘Believers’ Now,” Wichita (Kan.) Beacon, August 2, 1965, p. 1; Jerome Clark, “ The Greatest Flap Yet?” Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1966): 27–28; Clark III 923; Clark IV 1033–1034)
August 2 or 3 —1:30 a.m. Mr. A. L. Smith, accompanied by his 14-year-old son Alan and three other witnesses, watch an unusual, multicolored UFO over Tulsa, Oklahoma. The UFO is slowly moving toward the witnesses. Still several hundred yards away, it pauses briefly and hovers. At that precise moment, Alan snaps a photograph with his inexpensive camera, using ASA 64 film. Alan decides not to try for a second shot. He takes his camera inside the house and runs back outside just in time to see the object rapidly flying away into the night sky. The photo is a probable fake of a color wheel for an aluminum Christmas tree. (NICAP, “ The Smith / Tulsa Photo Case”; “ First Night Color Shot of Flying Saucer Bared,” Oklahoma City Oklahoma Journal, October 5, 1965; Frank Edwards, FS Serious Business, Bantam ed., 1966, pp. 164–165; Hayden Hewes, “The Tulsa, Oklahoma Photo and Analysis,” Official UFO, April 1976, pp. 16–17, 49–51; Michael D. Swords, GrassRoots UFOs: Case Reports from the Timmerman Files, Fund for UFO Research, 2005, p. 147; Larry Robinson, “ The Tulsa Photo,” MidiMagic, October 25, 2016; Patrick Gross, “ Project Blue Book Case 9966”)
August 2 — 2:30 a.m. Unidentified blips show up on the Weather Bureau radar screen at the Wichita Municipal Airport [now Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport] in Kansas and continue intermittently until after 6:00 a.m. Most of the sightings are in the vicinity of Wellington, Kansas. The altitude ranges from 5,000–20,000 feet. Wichita meteorologist John Shockley tracks several UFOs on the Weather Bureau radar flying at altitudes of 6,000–9,000 feet. His assistant Ellis Pike notes that they look just like airliner blips. They brighten and dim on the screen, moving at 45 mph. At least four citizens see colored glows in the southern sky during the early morning hours. One says: “They were red and exploded in a shower of sparks and at other times fluttered like a leaf in the clear sky.” (NICAP, “ Weather Radar Blips and Sky Glows”; “‘UFO’ Reports from Texas to Hutchinson,” Hutchinson (Kan.) News, August 2, 1965, p. 1C; “Radar Scope Blips Still a Mystery,” Hutchinson (Kan.) News, August 2, 1965, p. 1C; “ Radar Picks Up Mysterious Flying Objects,” Miami (Fla.) Herald, August 3, 1965, p. 2A; Condon, pp. 158–160; Clark III 923; Clark IV 1033)
August 2 — 3:00 a.m. KXWI-TV news photographer Robert Campbell hears on his radio a conversation between Oklahoma and Texas highway patrolmen that a UFO has been tracked on radar and is streaking towards the Texas border. Campbell takes his 4-by-5 Speed Graphic camera and drives into Sherman, Texas, where he locates Chief of Police Peter McCollum. Together they search for the object and soon see it hanging stationary one mile east of Bells on US Highway 82. The object has a “Mercury capsule” shape at one end, possibly rounded at the other end. Several distinct bands circle the cylinder, with disc-shaped embossments on the surface. He takes four camera exposures, two minutes each at three-minute intervals. The negatives are carefully examined by USAF scientific advisers and astronomical experts. No acceptable explanation can be found for the object recorded on the negatives. (NICAP, “ The Sherman, Texas, Photo Case”; “ Sherman 1965,” Texas UFO Museum and Research Library, February 5, 2014; Patrick Gross, “ The Sherman Case, Texas, USA, 1965”)
August 2 — The crew of the Russian steamship Raduga in the Red Sea watch a fiery sphere emerge from the water 2 miles away, causing an enormous pillar of water to rise and collapse. It hovers above the surface at an altitude of 490 feet. A motorboat with six Arab fishermen is in the area and also sees the object, which is apparently 200 feet in diameter. The object shoots straight up, and the boat is hit by a strong wave that overturns it. (Stonehill and Mantle, Russia’s USO Secrets, Flying Disk, 2020, pp. 59–60; Dolan, USO1, 269–271)
August 2 — As they patrol near Eagle Mountain Lake, two Tarrant County, Texas, deputy sheriffs see an object as bright as burning magnesium land. An extensive investigation by police finds no traces. ( Sparks, p. 306)
August 3 — 12:37 p.m. Los Angeles County Highway Accident Investigator Rex Heflin takes four clear Polaroid photos of a hat-shaped UFO on a lonely stretch of road near Santa Ana, California. The object is silent, and a beam of white light is rotating beneath it. He radios his supervisor, but the radio goes dead. One of Heflin’s coworkers offers to send the photos to Life magazine; he does, but Life declines to use them. Soon, someone from NORAD shows up demanding the prints and Heflin turns them over. They are not seen again. The photos are most likely a prank hoax by Heflin using a hubcap, complicated by flawed photographic analyses and investigations. (NICAP, “ Santa Ana / Rex Heflin Photos”; “ UFO Skeptic Has Pictures of Saucer?” Los Angeles (Calif.) Evening Citizen News, September 21, 1965, p. 1; “ Films Show Saucer or Something,” Venice (Calif.) Evening Vanguard, September 21, 1965, p. 1; “ Calif. Man Snaps UAO Photo,” APRO Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1965, pp. 4, 6; “ Air Force ‘Shoots Down’ Saucer Photo,” Los Angeles (Calif.) Times, October 27, 1965, p. 2; “ Photo ‘Hoax’ Label Questioned,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 5 (Nov./Dec. 1965): 8; “ The Heflin Story,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 6 (Jan./Feb. 1966): 7–8; Schopick, pp. 170–174; Ralph Rankow, “ The Heflin Photographs,” Flying Saucer Review 14, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1968): 21–24; Bill Farr, “ ‘Trickery’ Charge Aimed at UFO Prober,” Santa Ana (Calif.) Register, May 1, 1968, p. B8; John R. Gray, “ More Light on the Heflin UFO Case,” Flying Saucer Review 15, no. 2 (March/April 1969): 24–28; Condon, pp. 84–85, 437–455; Robert J. Kirkpatrick, “ The Heflin Case: Then and Now,” IUR 11, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1986): 10–13, 23; “ Heflin’s 1965 Photos Finally Validated,” RR0; Dennis McLellan, “ Alien Notions,” Los Angeles Times, July 3, 1996, pp. E1, E3; Russ Loar, “ Looking into the Alien Ex Machina,” Los Angeles Times, February 24, 1997, p. B3; Ann Druffel, Robert M. Wood, and Eric Kelson, “ Reanalysis of the 1965 Heflin UFO Photos,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 14, no. 4 (2000): 583–622; UFOEv II 284–286; Ann Druffel, “ Goodbye, Rex Heflin,” UFO, August 2006, pp. 52–63; Mary Castner, unpublished document; Jean Claude Néglais, “ An Analysis of the Santa Ana (Rex Heflin) 1965 UFO Photographs,” UFO Fotocat Blog, June 15, 2024)
August 3 — Before 12:00 midnight. Three young men watch a triangular object with a light at each of its points move from north to south along the Jura Mountains from Biel/Bienne to Vignelz, Canton Bern, Switzerland. Suddenly it stops, changing color from yellow to dark red, makes a 180° turn, then takes off “like lightning” toward the east where it vanishes. (“ Bright Pointed Triangle Again,” Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1966): iv)
August 4 — 1:30 a.m. Don Tenopir, 44, is driving a truck on State Highway 15 about 25 miles south of Abilene (near Elmo, Kansas), when all his lights go out. They come back on intermittently. A UFO passes just above his truck with a wind-like sound and hovers about 100 feet in front of him. Tenopir stops his rig, and the object slowly rises and takes off to the southwest. It seems to be 14–15 feet in diameter, 2 feet thick with a 4-foot hump in the middle, and orange-colored. It is shooting off rays in spurts. He stops in Abilene to report his sighting to Abilene Reflector-Chronicle reporter Ed Corwin. (“ Beatrice Trucker Joins UFO Viewers,” Beatrice (Nebr.) Daily Sun, August 5, 1965, p. 1; Jerome Clark, “ The Greatest Flap Yet?” Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1966): 29–30; Schopick, pp. 175–177; UFOEv II 206)
August 4 — Night. Radar operators at Calumet Air Force Station [now operated by Keweenaw County] near Phoenix, Michigan, track 7–10 objects in V-formation traveling from southwest to north-northeast at about 9,000 mph over Lake Superior. The same night, radar targets at Duluth, Minnesota, are chased by USAF jets. (Sparks, p. 306; Center for UFO Studies, [ case documents])
August 8 — 11:30 p.m. A luminous UFO is allegedly photographed in Beaver, Pennsylvania, by James Lucci, 17. According to estimations by witnesses, the diameter of the UFO is around 42 feet. Lucci is photographing the full moon with his brother John, 23. According to them, a shining object appears from behind a hill. James manages to take two shots before the flying object leaves. His friends encourage him to send the photos to the Beaver County Times, where they are analyzed and declared authentic. However, both the Colorado project and UFO researchers determine the photo is a hoax created by holding a plate up next to the moon with a fist (probably John’s) and blurring it with motion. (“ New UFO Photos Prove Genuine,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 4 (Aug./Sept. 1965): 1–2; Philip J. Klass, UFOs— Identified, Random House, 1968, Plate 1, pp. 70–71, 143–144; Condon, pp. 83–84, 455–457; Mark Cashman, “ The End of a Photographic Case,” IUR 23, no. 4 (Winter 1998): 21–23)
August 9 — 6:00 p.m. A professional astronomer and his wife, along with three others, are driving eastward on Long Island, New York, when then see a silvery disc heading slowly south. Its base has a ring of bluish-white lights that make the object appear to rotate. It has a white light on top. After accelerating, the object becomes a white, starlike object far to the east. It moves up and down for another 5 minutes, then rapidly moves south and disappears over the Atlantic Ocean. (J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 75–76)
August 10 — 8:00 p.m. Boeing aerospace engineer Francis C. Jennings and his wife are reclining in lawn chairs in their backyard on 9th Avenue West in Seattle, Washington, when they see two silvery discs hovering to the north. They remain motionless for several minutes, then the uppermost one departs rapidly upward and out of sight to the northeast. After another few minutes, the second object also speeds away in the same direction. At about 9:20 p.m., June Webb notices a reddish disk-shaped object near the horizon above the western part of Seattle. The object begins to rise, disappearing into a low cloud bank. It then reappears, moving rapidly in an arc to the north and disappears in another cloud bank. (UFOEv II 158–159)
August 11? — 3:30 p.m. David Gibson is sitting in the front yard of his house in Waverly, Iowa, with his father and sister. They hear a high-pitched whine and see an object descending to the south. The silvery UFO is about 15–20 feet in diameter and looks like two saucers put together. It lands on a tree- lined hill out of view and the whining sound fades away. Gibson walks about a half-mile to take a look and briefly sees a “being,” about 3–3.5 feet tall, watching him from behind a tree at the top of the hill. It quickly vanishes and he hears a rush of air. He reaches the spot but sees no footprints. About 40 feet south of the tree he finds a burned area about 15–20 feet in diameter and three rectangular impressions in the shape of a triangle. (Jerome Clark, “ Iowa’s Bashful Humanoid,” Flying Saucer Review 21, no. 3/4 (November 1975): 52–53)
August 12 — 11:15 a.m. Maj. Jack D. Bond is sitting in a passenger seat of a T-29 aircraft on a heading of 300° and descending from 4,000 feet to 3,000 feet near Springfield, Ohio. He sees a UFO ascending and descending that is slightly higher than the T-29. It appears to be 5–7 miles away and moving in a general direction of 90°. The object’s speed is highly erratic during the 3 ascents and descents that the object makes. On its third descent the object appears to level off and accelerate at a speed of 690 mph or more. Project Blue Book evaluates this sighting as a solar mirage, even though the position and time of day rule that out. (NICAP, “ Object Has 3 Ascents and 2 Descents”; Clark III 388–389; Clark IV 434)
August 13 — 9:30 p.m.? Leonard Chalupiak has just put his car into his garage at Baden, Pennsylvania, when he sees a disc-shaped object about 300 feet in diameter flying in front of the moon toward the north at about 50 mph and 2,300 feet away. It is surrounded with orange lights that weaken as a blue light comes on, which is intense for about 3 seconds. Then all the lights disappear and a sort of “shock wave” that shakes the tree leaves commences. The witness goes into his house and calls the Air Force. About 20 minutes later his vision becomes hazy, his eyes grow painful, and he gradually loses vision in both eyes. He notices his entire body is sunburned. A medical examination indicates exposure to ultraviolet radiation. His vision returns gradually over several days. The Air Force labels it a hoax, perhaps confusing it with the Beaver, Pennsylvania, hoax photo of August 8. (NICAP, “ Object Crosses Moon / Medical Effects on Witness”; Vallée, Magonia, p. 313)
August 16 — 10:45 p.m.–12:20 a.m. A woman leaves her house on the northwest edge of Sedalia, Missouri, to drive to a drug store. As she is returning home, she sees an unusual figure in the ditch to her right. It turns and waves at her, then stumbles as it climbs out of the ditch. Something (a large bird?) flies up in the air a few feet from the car. She steps on the gas and goes home, where her husband asks her where she has been because it is now 12:25 a.m. In 1977, she undergoes hypnotic regression with hypnotist Ron Owen and recalls an abduction experience where she undergoes some type of examination. (Center for UFO Studies, HUMCAT Index 1965, pp. 46–47; Patrick Gross, URECAT, August 25, 2008; Clark III 278–279; Clark IV 318–319)
August 18 — 9:50 p .m. Michael S. Henry and another college student are driving 3 miles south of Noblesville, Indiana, when a large red lighted object swoops down on their car. The radio and ignition go dead. The UFO looks like a top, with a large, gray cone and a flat or slightly domed top. (Herbert S. Taylor, “ An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part Two,” IUR 34, no. 1 (Sept. 2011): 15)
August 19 — 3:00 a.m. Thelma B. Schumaker and her mother, Mrs. W. H. Blackburn, are awakened by an explosion in their backyard in Mount Airy, North Carolina. The sound seems to rise and travel west. They see a bright golden cigar hovering in the north. The object moves to the right then to the left, then up and down, left again, then disappears behind some high oak trees. The next morning, the witnesses find a 6-inch- wide circle of depressed sod that is worn down to the soil. The circle is 12 feet in diameter. (Ted Phillips, Physical Traces Associated with UFO Sightings, CUFOS, 1975, p. 37)
August 19 — 8:20–9:00 p.m. Harold Butcher, 16, is milking the cows in his father’s barn in Cherry Creek, New York, and listening to radio station WKBW. Just outside, a 3-year old bull is tied by its nose to a metal pipe. Harold hears the bull make a noise “like I have never heard come from an animal before.” Looking out the window, he sees the animal is bending the pipe. Simultaneously, he sees a metallic-looking, football-shaped UFO about 50 feet long and approximately 20 feet thick hovering just above the trees an estimated 450 feet from the barn. Slowly, the object descends behind a maple tree, emitting a red vapor from around its edges and a “beep-beep” sound. Meanwhile, the radio is emitting static, even though WKBW usually has a clear signal. Harold calls the house on an intercom, then runs outside. As he approaches the bull, the UFO rises and moves behind some clouds “as fast as a snap of my fingers” emitting red vapor toward the ground, then bounces back to the ship as it hovers about 10 feet in the air. The noise also increases to a level approximating a sonic boom as it goes up. As the UFO disappears, the clouds turn green. Inside, the boy’s mother, Mrs. William Butcher, notes that there is “definite interference” in her radio reception. Harold’s brother, Robert, also goes outside and the two boys see that the UFO has reappeared, this time hovering over a pine grove. It ascends again, emitting the red vapor and turning the clouds green. Others in the house include William Butcher Jr. and Kathleen Brougham, a friend. They do not see the object. It returns twice at 8:45 and 9:00 p.m., finally disappearing to the southwest. Trooper E. J. Haas and a fellow officer arrive on the scene shortly thereafter. As they all walk out to inspect the area of the initial sighting, they notice a pungent odor. Harold and the young daughter suffer from upset stomachs. Mrs. Butcher says the cows produce only one can of milk that evening, as opposed to their usual two and a half cans. Harold discovers a purple, oily-smelling liquid and gives a sample of it to the state police, who turn it over to Capt. James A. Dorsey and five others from Niagara Falls Air Force Base [now Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station], who come to investigate the report the following afternoon. When NICAP investigator Jeffrey Gow arrives on the scene, he notices the foot-tall grass in the area “seemed to be bent over in long curved sweeps.” Radar targets are picked up between 8:00–8:30 p.m. by an AN/FPS-6 Long Range Height Finder Radar of the 763rd Radar Squadron at Lockport Air Force Station [now closed] near Shawnee, New York. The target is sighted near the upper limit of the radar. (NICAP, “ Close Encounter Has Radar Evidence”; NICAP, “ Cherry Creek (Butcher) Trace Case”; Sparks, p. 307; Center for UFO Studies, [ case documents]; “ Landing Probed by NICAP, AF,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1965): 7; “ The Cherry Creek Incident,” APRO Bulletin, Nov./Dec. 1965, p. 7; John G. Fuller, Incident at Exeter, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1966, pp. 38–41; Schopick, pp. 178–184; Hynek UFO Report, pp. 170–172; Robert A. Galganski, “ Incident at Cherry Creek,” IUR 21, no. 3 (Fall 1996): 3–12, 27–29; UFOEv II 57–58; Randle, Levelland, 2021, pp. 118–124; “ Harold Butcher Talks about Witnessing a UFO Landing near a Dairy Farm in Cherry Creek, 1965,” Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, August 26, 2023)
Late summer — After 10:00 p.m. An electronic technician on the guided missile cruiser USS Albany picks up three radar targets in the North Atlantic Ocean near the Azores during a high alert when Russian aircraft are in the vicinity. The objects are trailing the 6th Fleet at a distance of 40–50 miles. The commander dispatches three jets to intercept them; they report radar contact but fail to achieve visual contact as they cannot get any closer to the targets than 20 miles. The targets start moving away rapidly, maintaining a triangular formation, and disappear from the radar in seven sweeps. (National UFO Reporting Center, “ NUFORC UFO Sighting 55295,” February 24, 2007; Dolan, USO1, 271–273)
September 3 — Around 1:00 a.m. Exeter, New Hampshire, Police Officer Eugene F. Bertrand Jr. comes across a woman parked on State Highway 101. “She was real upset,” he says, “and told me that a red glowing object had chased her.” Around 2:00 a.m., while walking home to Exeter on Route 150 (Amesbury Road) near Kensington, New Hampshire, teenager Norman J. Muscarello is terrorized by a large object with four or five bright red lights that approaches from nearby woods and hovers over a field. Horses are spooked. Muscarello gets a ride to the Exeter police station, pale and shaken, and reports the incident at 2:24 a.m. Officer Bertrand drives him back to the field along Route 150 to investigate. When he is called to investigate Muscarello’s report, the earlier incident causes him to pay attention. At first Bertrand and Muscarello see nothing, but when Bertrand flashes a light around the field around 3:00 a.m., a huge dark object with red flashing lights rises up over the trees, moving back and forth, tilts, and comes toward them. They both see pulsating red lights that dim from left to right then right to left in a 5-4-3-2-1 then 1-2-3-4-5 pattern. Each cycle takes about 2 seconds. The object hovers for several minutes, and everything is silent except for the dogs and horses. Then it darts, turns sharply, slows down, and begins to move away. Another patrolman, David R. Hunt, pulls up and sees the pulsating lights and the UFO. Bertrand says the lights are always in a line and at a 60° angle; when the object moves, the lower lights are always forward of the others. In the daytime, the police station calls Pease AFB [now Pease Air National Guard Base] in Portsmouth to reconfirm the incident. By 1:00 p.m., 2–4 police officers arrive to interview the three witnesses at length. Journalist John G. Fuller investigates the case during the next month. He finds a huge gap between media coverage and local perceptions. Raymond Fowler finds that the local advertising plane operated by Sky-Lite Aerial Advertising Agency of Boston was not running between August 21 and September 10. (Wikipedia, “ Exeter incident”; Sparks, p. 307; Center for UFO Studies, [ case documents]; Center for UFO Studies, [John G. Fuller tape-recorded interview transcripts, part one, part two]; “Unidentified Flying Object Witnessed by Exeter Police,” Exeter (N.H.) News-Letter, September 9, 1965, p. 1; “ UFOs Panic Police, Motorists,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 4 (Aug./Sept. 1965): 1, 3–4; “ The Exeter, N.H. Case,” APRO Bulletin, Nov./Dec. 1965, pp. 7–8; John G. Fuller, “ Outer-Space Ghost Story,” Look, February 22, 1966, pp. 36–42; John G. Fuller, Incident at Exeter, Putnam’s Sons, 1966, pp. 11–17, 67–72, 79–82; [Testimony of Raymond E. Fowler], Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearing of the US House Armed Services Committee, 89th Cong., 2d Sess., April 5, 1966, pp. 6010–6042; Schopick, pp. 197–199; Jean Fuller, “ The Exeter Incidents,” Flying Saucer Review 13, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1967): 25–27; Philip J. Klass, UFOs— Identified, Random House, 1968, pp. 14–19, 276; Hynek UFO Report, pp. 154–166; Raymond E. Fowler, Casebook of a UFO Investigator, Prentice-Hall, 1981, pp. 34–43; Robert Sheaffer, The UFO Verdict, Prometheus, 1981, pp. 111–119; “ Tale of an ‘Exeter Terrestrial,’” IUR 8, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1983): 12–14, excerpted from Exeter Area High School newspaper, Talon 5, no. 1 (1981); Kim Hansen, “UFO Casebook,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, pp. 69–72; Martin Kottmeyer, “The Exeter File,” Part 1, Part 2, Rational Examination Association of Lincoln Land; UFOEv II 182–183; John F. Schuessler, “ The Exeter, N.H. UFO Case, September 3, 1965: Briefing Document,” October 2002; Michael D. Swords, GrassRoots UFOs: Case Reports from the Timmerman Files, Fund for UFO Research, 2005, pp. 143–145; James McGaha and Joe Nickell, “ ‘Exeter Incident’ Solved!” Skeptical Inquirer 35, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 2011); Martin Shough, “ Exeunt Exeter? Should This 1965 New Hampshire Classic Finally Shuffle Off the Stage?” April 2012; Wendy Connors, “Cops and Saucers: Law Enforcement and UFO’s, 1957–1981 Guide,” November 20, 2013, audioclip 15; Clark III 440–444; “ Incident at Exeter: Norman Muscarello and His Frightening 1965 UFO Encounter,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, January 6, 2024; “ Norman Muscarello and Other Eyewitnesses Recall the 1965 UFO Incident in Exeter, New Hampshire,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, May 3, 2024; Clark IV 485–489; Patrick Gross, “ The Exeter Cases, 1965”)
September 3 — 11:00 p.m. Brazoria County Sheriff’s Deputies Billy E. McCoy and Robert Goode are patrolling Highway 36 between West Columbia and Damon, Texas. They see a dark-gray triangular object, 150–200 feet long and 40–50 feet thick at the middle, with a long, bright, pulsing, purple light on the right side and a long blue light on the left side. It approaches swiftly to within 150 feet from the highway and 100 feet in the air. Purple light illuminates the ground beneath the object and the interior of the police car, and the object casts a shadow in the moonlight. Goode feels heat on his left arm; an alligator bite on his left index finger is suddenly relieved of pain, later healing rapidly but unnaturally. They drive away in fear but return later that night to find the object still there. (NICAP, “ Dark Grey Disc Shadows Police Car”; Sparks, p. 308; “ UFO Heads Toward Lawmen,” Brazosport Facts (Freeport, Texas), September 6, 1965, pp. 1, 10; “ Ellington Probes UFO Seen by Local Deputies,” Brazosport Facts (Freeport, Texas), September 9, 1965, p. 1; “ UAO Pursues Police,” APRO Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1965, pp. 1, 3; Keyhoe and Lore, UFOs: A New Look, 1968, pp. 7–8; Rhonda Moran, “ The Night of the UFO,” Brazosport Facts (Clute, Texas), September 13, 1995, pp. 1C, 7C; UFOEv II 41–44; Michael D. Swords, “ Damon, Texas Comments, by Request from Kandinsky,” The Big Study, March 26, 2011; Marler 77–78; Wendy Connors, “Cops and Saucers: Law Enforcement and UFO’s, 1957–1981 Guide,” November 20, 2013, audioclip 14; “ Damon 1965,” Texas UFO Museum and Research Library, February 5, 2014; Clark III 355–357; Patrick Gross, “ Damon, Texas, September 1965”; “ UFO ‘a Football Field Long’ Hovered above the Car of Brazoria Deputies Billy McCoy & Bob Goode, 1965,” Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, August 22, 2023; Powell, Scientist, 66; Clark IV 399–401)
September 6 — 9:30 p.m. Capt. Marcelo Cisternas is piloting a DC-6b at 8,500 feet for LAN Chile Flight 904 in northern Chile when he sees a zigzagging object change course and approach his airliner. The FO follows the aircraft for 13–14 minutes at a distance of 1.8 miles. It is emitting a light of an intense color that shifts to radiant white. Cisternas checks with control towers in Arica and Iquque, but no other flights are expected in the area. (“ CAUS Gains DIA File Release,” Just Cause, new ser., no. 7 (March 1986): 1, 2; Good Above, p. 311)
September 10 — 8:30 a.m. Farmer Antônio Pau Ferro is working on his farm in São João, near Garanhuns, Pernambuco, Brazil, when he hears a noise and sees two metallic objects descending from the sky about 26 feet away. They touch the ground in a uniform motion, let two humanoids about 2.5 feet tall exit, then rise up again to 16 feet and hover. The beings approach Ferro, then move back to the two UFOs. They pick up a tomato and examine it. The objects descend and envelop them, then take off with a whining and then a low sound. (Patrick Gross, URECAT, May 17, 2008; Clark III 523; Brazil 76; Clark IV 571)
September 14 - 1:00 a.m. Engineer Paul Green is riding a motorcycle south of Langenhoe, Essex, UK, near Langenhoe Hall Lane when he hears a high-pitched humming to the east and notices a pinpoint of blue light moving in his direction. The humming becomes a loud buzzing, and his engine sputters and dies and the headlight goes out. The light resolves into an enormous domed disc that tilts and slowly descends. The underside of the disc has numerous round items. Green walks toward the object, but he feels paralyzed as the flashing blue light becomes intense, fluctuating in rhythm with his heartbeat. He feels a tingling like an electric shock. The object seems to land in an area with farmhouses. Green notes that another cyclist has had a similar problem, but with some difficulty he gets his cycle started. The next day he notices that his hair and clothes are imbued with static electricity. (Bernard E. Finch, " The Langenhoe Incident," Flying Saucer Review 11, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1965): 3-4)
September 16 — Just after 12:00 midnight. Constables John Lockem and Koos de Klerk are patrolling on the Pretoria-Bronkhorstspruit highway in South Africa when their police van headlights suddenly illuminate a domed, disc-shaped object sitting on the road. The UFO is copper colored and about 30 feet in diameter. Within seconds, the object lifts off the road, emitting tongues of flame from two tubes or channels on the underside. Flames from the macadam road surface shoot up in the air about 3 feet as the UFO departs, blazing long after it is out of sight. Later investigation shows that part of the road is caved in as if from a heavy weight, and the gravel is separated from the tar in a severely burned area about 6 feet in diameter. Lt. Col. J. B. Brits, district commandant of Pretoria North, tells the media that the incident is considered “as being of a highly secret nature and an inquiry is being conducted in top circles.” Samples of the road surface are taken for analysis by a leading scientific agency; the report is never made public. ( “ Police See UFO Blast Off from Highway,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 4 (Aug./Sept. 1965): 5; Philipp Human, “ Two Policemen See Saucer on Main Road,” Flying Saucer Review 11, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1965): 9–11; “ Landing in Africa,” APRO Bulletin, Jan./Feb. 1966, p. 1; Schopick, pp. 187–192; Ed Pitlo and Edgar Sievers, “ Was It a Landing at Silverton?” in Charles Bowen, ed., The Humanoids, special issue of FSR, Oct./Dec. 1966, pp. 71–72; Keyhoe and Lore, UFOs: A New Look, 1968, pp. 23–24; UFOEv II 183–184)
September 17 — A UFO is seen hovering above Medina del Campo, Valladolid, Spain, for several hours. Heliodoro Carrión takes off in his light plane and goes to 15,000 feet. An Iberia Airlines jet passes him on the way up at 24,000 feet. Carrión estimates the UFO is at least 4 times larger than the jet. (“ More Sightings over Spain,” APRO Bulletin, Jan./Feb. 1966, p. 1)
Late September — 9:15 p.m. Two French submarines, the Junon (S648) and the Daphné (S641), escorted by the logistic support vessel Rhône, are anchored off Fort-de-France, Martinique, when a large luminous object the color of a fluorescent tube arrives slowly and silently from the west. Michel Figuet on the Junon goes into the coming tower and gets six pairs of binoculars that he distributes to companions. There are 300 witnesses, including four officers on the Junon, three officers on the Daphné, a dozen French sailors, and personnel of the weather observatory. All witnesses aboard the Junon see the object as a large ball of light or a disc on edge arriving from the west. It moves slowly, horizontally, at a distance estimated at 6 miles south of the ships, from west to east. It leaves a whitish trace similar to the glow of a TV screen. When it was directly south of the ships the object drops toward the earth, makes two complete loops, then hovers in the midst of a faint halo. Figuet watches the object vanish in the center of its glow “like a bulb turned off.” The trail and the halo remain visible in the sky for a full minute. At 9:45 p.m. the halo reappears at the same place, and the object switches on again. It rises, makes two more loops, and flies away to the west, where it disappears at 9:50 p.m. (Jacques Vallée, “ Estimates of Power Optical Output in Six Cases of Unexplained Aerial Objects with Defined Luminosity Characteristics,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 12, no. 3 (1998): 348–350)
September 23 — A major blackout in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico, coincides with the appearance of a glowing, disc-shaped UFO hovering low over the city. Witnesses include the governor of Morelos state, Emilio Riva Palacio; Valentín López González, the mayor of Cuernavaca; 24th military zone chief Gen. Rafael Enrique Vega; Joaquín Díaz González, president of the Lion’s Club; founder of the Folkloric Ballet of Mexico, Amalia Hernández; and future Mexican President Luis Echeverría. The power only fails as long as the UFO is there. (Frank Edwards, FS Serious Business, Bantam ed., 1966, p. 145; Schopick, pp. 192–196; Antonio Huneeus, “ UFO Sighting by Mexican President Luis Echeverría,” OpenMinds, October 6, 2011)
September 27 — 5:15 p.m. A research chemist sees an aluminum-colored, cigar-shaped object pass across the northern sky in front of his car near Columbus, Ohio. The object silently moves from east to west, banking slightly once to the southwest. Continuing his drive home, he watches the object disappear behind the horizon after 30–40 seconds. Newspaper reports mention sightings of a cigar-shaped UFO that night in Westerville, Ohio. (UFOEv II 160)
Fall — 10:30 a.m. A Chesapeake & Ohio train is moving 8 miles south of Fostoria, Ohio, when the fireman and engineer see a large cigar-shaped object in the sky a considerable distance away. It is dark in color and positioned at a 45° angle from the horizon. It appears to be creating its own cloud screen. Suddenly a small object falls out of the tail and descends slowly in a fluttering fashion. Near the ground the small object stabilizes, emits coal-black smoke from its top, and then rises upward faster and faster. Three more objects leave the large one, each taking 10–12 minutes. They go off in different directions. After the last one leaves, a white cloud forms around the large object, which remains in the sky with other normal white clouds. (Herbert S. Taylor, “ Satellite Objects and Cloud Cigars,” IUR 29, no. 1 (Spring 2004): 3)
October 7 - Up to 12 luminous UFOs are seen flying over Edwards Air Force Base near Lancaster, California, and at least one F-106A interceptor is scrambled from George AFB [now closed] at Victorville at 5:09 p.m. after 3-4 hours of observation. All of this action is captured on classified US Air Force audiotapes that have been declassified and are available to the public along with official documentation. (NICAP, " UFO Alert at Edwards AFB"; " The Edwards AFB Incidents of Oct. 7, 1965 (Fran Ridge, NICAP)," NICAP Official YouTube channel, October 11, 2020)
Mid-October — 9:30 a.m. Bill Hertzke, a ranch hand on the Circle J Ranch near Cochrane, Alberta, is on his horse in a pasture when he sees an object like a small airplane parked on the ground. It is silver-gray with swept-back wings, about 16 feet long, a wingspan of about 12 feet, and its fuselage is about 4-5 feet deep. He rides over and examines it. The exterior is irregular, “like a waffle.” A transparent dome covers the cockpit. Through it he can see complicated instruments (knobs, dials, and switches), a TV screen, and two transparent (like Plexiglas) bucket seats. There are no visible motors, propellers, jets, insignia, or identifying marks of any kind. It has an exterior door about 2 feet wide and 3 feet high that is open about 2 inches. His horse is extremely skittish, so he ties it to a tree and returns on foot. He spends 10–15 minutes examining it and can see no landing gear (although it seems to be suspended 18–20 inches off the ground) or seams of any kind. He realizes he can go inside the door but is a bit too scared to even touch the object, and has to return to chores anyway. (Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, pp. 87–102)
October 21 — 6:10 p.m. Five witnesses are in a car near Saint George, Minnesota, returning to their homes in Gibbon from a bow-hunting trip. Arthur A. Strauch, a Sibley County deputy sheriff, is the first to spot a strange object that seems to be 2,000 feet above the ground and a quarter of a mile distant in the northwest sky. After watching for about 10 minutes from the car, the group drives down the road about a half mile and stops. Strauch observes it both with the naked eye and through 7x35 binoculars. At first they hear no sound, but as the object flies over them, Donald Martin Grewe describes the sound as a “whistling whine.” Strauch snaps a photograph just as the object begins to move. The object then flies into the wind for several hundred feet, then stops for a few seconds, at which time its lights change from bright white to dull orange, alternating several times. It then moves toward the southeast at a high rate of speed and disappears out of sight. (NICAP, “ The St. George Multiple-Witness Photo Case”; “ Deputy Snaps UAO Color Photo,” APRO Bulletin, Nov./Dec. 1965, pp. 1, 3; Story, pp. 351–352; Patrick Gross, “ The St. George Multiple-Witnesses Sighting and Photograph, USA, 1965”)
October 22 — Afternoon. Geof Gray-Cobb, a Canadian technician working with the Deep Space Instrumentation Facility [now the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory] in Gauteng, South Africa, in tracking Mariner 4, is present when the spacecraft’s signal strength begins rising at a point when it should not have. The team alerts the Jet Propulsion Lab. The signal strength is now so high that the instruments are clicking as they max out. Gray-Cobb says the “raw radio energy” is coming in indecipherable “blips and dashes.” Nothing can be seen visually. Eight minutes later, everything goes silent. JPL later asks them to point their dish in the direction it was pointing when they picked up the signal. They do, but forget to correct for the earth’s rotation. Nonetheless, they get the signal again, which means it is a local source. Nothing is visible in the sky, but a sound sweep reveals that the source is a perfect circle 2° in diameter. The team directs a packet of radio pulses at the source, but it falls silent. Two months later, Gray-Cobb discovers that the pages for the event are gone from the log; the tape recording of the event is also missing. The manager tells him that two men with “authorization” had come three days after the event to confiscate the tapes. (Michael D. Swords, “ Gazing at the Moons,” IUR 32, no. 4 (October 2009): 16)
October 22 — Evening. José Camilo Filho is walking through a field near the city cemetery in Canhotinho, Pernambuco, Brazil, when he runs across two little men only 3 feet high with whitish hair sitting next to a tube 4 feet tall and resting on the ground. When they see Camilo, they jump up in a disorganized fashion, colliding with each other. One picks up the tube and the other points a straw at Camilo, who runs ahead. He decides to return and take a closer look, but the men and tube are gone. (Gordon Creighton, “ The Humanoids in Latin America,” in Charles Bowen, ed., The Humanoids, special issue of FSR, Oct./Dec. 1966, p. 45; Patrick Gross, URECAT, July 27, 2008; Brazil 75; Eghigian, After, p. 147)
October 23 — Night. KEYL-AM radio announcer James F. Townsend, 19, is driving on State Highway 27 four miles east of Long Prairie, Minnesota, when he slams on his brakes to avoid hitting a rocket-like device resting on three legs or fins. As his car skids to a stop 20 feet from the object, the vehicle’s motor and electrical system die. The object looks like it is made of stainless steel, stands 30–40 feet high, and is 10 feet in diameter. In a circle of light under it, Townsend sees three things that resemble beer cans with “tripod legs and three matchstick arms.” They have no eyes, but Townsend feels as if they are looking at him. He gets out of the car to try to knock one over, but they come over to him and they stand there looking at him. Eventually they turn around and “scoot under the ship,” disappearing into the light beneath it. An ear-splitting humming sound emanates from the UFO, which assumes a bright illumination and shoots off. The Todd County sheriff and UFO investigators assume that Townsend, a deeply religious man, is sincere. ( Sparks, p. 308; “ ‘Space Things’ Stop His Car,” Minneapolis Star, October 25, 1965, pp. 1, 4; “ ‘Little, Little Men’ in Minn.,” APRO Bulletin0, Nov./Dec. 1965, p. 8; Clare John Jansen, “Little Tin Men in Minnesota,” Fate 19, no. 2 (February 1966): 36–40; Patrick Gross, URECAT, January 5, 2008; Clark III 280; Clark IV 320)
November 5? — Day. Mauritz Löugren and a friend see a triangular-shaped object moving back and forth for 20 minutes over Luleå, Sweden. It disappears silently to the west at great speed. (“ World Round-Up,” Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1966): iii)
November 9 — 5:16 p.m. The Northeast power blackout, a significant disruption in the supply of electricity, affects parts of Ontario, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. Over 30 million people and 80,000 square miles are left without electricity for up to 13 hours. The cause of the failure is the setting of a protective relay on one of the transmission lines from the Sir Adam Beck Hydroelectric Power Station No. 2 in Queenston, Ontario, near Niagara Falls. Prior to and coincident with the blackout, there are a number of reports of unusual lights in Syracuse and Niagara Falls, New York, and Holliston, Massachusetts, and there is speculation that the blackout is related to UFO activity in some way. But there is no evidence of a direct connection. (Wikipedia, “ Northeast blackout of 1965”; “ New Clues to UFO Electrical Interference,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 5 (Nov./Dec. 1965): 3–4; “ The Question of the Power Blackouts,” APRO Bulletin, Nov./Dec. 1965, pp. 4–6; John G. Fuller, Incident at Exeter, Putnam’s Sons, 1966, pp. 230–235; Schopick, pp. 201–203; Condon, pp. 110–115; Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979, pp. 130–137; Michael D. Swords, GrassRoots UFOs: Case Reports from the Timmerman Files, Fund for UFO Research, 2005, p. 145; Chris Rutkowski and Geoff Dittman, The Canadian UFO Report, Dundurn Press, 2006, pp. 99–102)
November 10 — Before dawn. Actor Stuart Whitman is staying in a hotel in Manhattan, New York City, during the Northeast power blackout. He hears a “sound, like a whippoorwill whistling outside my twelfth-story window.” He steps to the window and sees 2 luminous UFOs hovering nearby, one orange, the other blue. He hears voices from the UFOs in his head, telling him they are fearful of earth because humans are messing around with “unknown quantities” that might disrupt the balance of the universe. They claim the blackout is a small demonstration of their power and ask Whitman to do what he can to fight malice, prejudice, and hate on earth. The objects disappear. (“ El Paso Blackout Recalls New York Experience to Actor,” El Paso (Tex.) Herald-Post, December 24, 1965, p. 4; Jerome Clark, “ The Greatest Flap Yet? Part IV,” Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1966): 10; Patrick Gross, URECAT, July 25, 2008; Clark III 1280–1281; Clark IV 1463–1464)
November 13 - 11:30 a.m. Fishermen R. D. Hanning and W. J. Johnson are on the fishing boat Eleoneai about half a mile off the Rugged Islands at the south end of South Island, New Zealand. About 900 feet away, a craft with a "tapered structure" rises from the water to about 15 feet above the surface. A second object, box-shaped, appears about 30 feet away from the first. The men have them in sight for 10-11 seconds, then the water beneath the objects starts surging like a tide boil and they disappear. (H. J. Hinfelaar, " Submarine Craft in Australasian Waters," Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1966): 28-30; Dolan, USO1, 273-274)
November 26 — 8:00–9:00 p.m. Numerous power outages around St. Paul, Minnesota, are accompanied by observations of white or blue lights in the sky. (“ Power Outages Accompanied by Flashes,” APRO Bulletin, Jan./ Feb. 1966, pp. 3–4; Schopick, pp. 199–201)
November 30 — 3:30 a.m. Seaman Ian Kinsey is on watch at Canadian Forces Base Cornwallis [now Cornwallis Park] in Nova Scotia. As he is passing a window, he sees a lighted yellow oval object resting on the beach. Five minutes later a sliding door on the object’s side opens, emitting a white light. Then a smaller, cigarette-shaped UFO enters the larger object through the door. The bigger object rises, pushing rocks and logs away from the center of the beach. It cruises slowly over a mountain and disappears. (Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, pp. 59–61)
December 9 — 4:47 p.m. A large, brilliant fireball is seen by thousands in at least six states and Ontario, Canada. It streaks over the Detroit, Michigan–Windsor, Ontario, area, reportedly drops hot metal debris over Michigan and northern Ohio starting some grass fires, and causes sonic booms in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area. It is generally assumed and reported by the press to be a meteor after authorities discount other proposed explanations such as a plane crash, errant missile test, or reentering satellite debris. However, eyewitnesses in the small village of Kecksburg, Pennsylvania, claim something has crashed in the woods. A boy sees the object land; his mother Frances Kalp sees a wisp of blue smoke rising from the woods and alerts local radio station WHJB. Another observer reports feeling a vibration and “a thump” about the time the object reportedly lands. Others from Kecksburg, including local volunteer fire department members (Carl Metz and Paul Shipco), report seeing an object in the shape of an acorn and about as large as a Volkswagen Beetle. Writing resembling Egyptian hieroglyphs is also said to be in a band around the base of the object. A reporter and news director for WHJB, John J. Murphy, arrives on the scene of the event before authorities have arrived, in response to several calls to the station from alarmed citizens. He takes several photographs and conducts interviews with witnesses. His former wife Bonnie Millslagle later reports that all but one roll of the film is confiscated by military personnel. WHJB office manager Mabel Mazza describes one of the pictures: “It was very dark and it was with a lot of trees around and everything. And I don’t know how far away from the site he was. But I did see a picture of a sort of a cone-like thing. It’s the only time I ever saw it.” Witnesses further report that an intense military presence, most notably the US Army, secures the area, orders civilians out, seals the area within 2 hours of the event, and then removes an object on a flatbed truck. The military claims they have searched the woods and can find “absolutely nothing.” The official explanation of the widely seen fireball is that it is a mid-sized meteor, as suggested, for example, by University of Michigan astronomer William P. Bidelman. However, speculation as to the identity of the Kecksburg object (if there was one—reports vary) include an alien craft; debris from Kosmos 96 (James Oberg), a Soviet space probe intended for Venus that fails and never leaves the Earth’s atmosphere (now seen as unlikely); a General Electric Mark 2 Reentry Vehicle launched from Johnson Atoll in the Pacific Ocean on December 7 by the Air Force as a spy satellite ( John Ventre and Owen Eichler); and a secret Corona spy satellite, KH-4A 1027, launched from Vandenberg AFB [now Vandenberg Space Force Base] on December 9 ( Bob Wenzel Gross). (Wikipedia, “ Kecksburg UFO incident”; Center for UFO Studies, [ case documents]; “ Dazzling Light Flashing in Sky Sets Off Rumors,” Lebanon (Pa.) Daily News, December 10, 1965, p. 1 “ U.F.O. Starts Many Fires,” Spokane (Wash.) Spokesman-Review, December 10, 1965, p. 1; Ivan T. Sanderson, “‘Something’ Landed in Pennsylvania,” Fate 19, no. 3 (March 1966): 33–35; Stan Gordon, “ The Military UFO Retrieval at Kecksburg, Pennsylvania,” Pursuit 20, no. 4 (Winter 1987): 174–179; Stan Gordon, “ An Update on the Kecksburg, Pa., UFO Crash/Retrieval Case,” Pursuit 22, no. 1 (1989): 34–36; Stan Gordon and Vicki Cooper, “The Kecksburg Incident,” UFO 6, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1991): 16–19; Robert R. Young, “Old-Solved Mysteries: The Kecksburg Incident,” Skeptical Inquirer 15, no. 3 (Spring 1991): 281–285; Leonard H. Stringfield, UFO Crash Retrievals: The Inner Sanctum, Status Report VI, The Author, July 1991, pp. 227–237; Stan Gordon, “ The Kecksburg UFO Crash: An Interim Report,” Flying Saucer Review 37, no. 1 (Spring 1992): 2–5; Kevin D. Randle, A History of UFO Crashes, Avon, 1995, pp. 95–120; Leslie Kean, “ Forty Years of Secrecy: NASA, the Military, and the 1965 Kecksburg Crash,” IUR 30, no. 1 (October 2005): 3–9, 28–32; Robert R. Young and Leslie Kean, “ Kecksburg Controversy,” IUR 30, no. 3 (May 2006): 25–28; Good Need, pp. 255–258; Leonard David, “ Is Case Finally Closed on 1965 Pennsylvania UFO Mystery?” Space.com, November 24, 2009; Matthew Dinkel, “ Acorn from Space: The Kecksburg Incident,” Pennsylvania Center for the Book, Fall 2010; “ Five Decades Later, the Kecksburg UFO Is Identified (Probably),” Pittsburgh (Pa.) Post-Gazette, December 6, 2015; Peter Brookesmith, “Rockets, Reptiles, and a Resurrection,” Fortean Times 360 (December 2017): 28; Clark III 333, 340; “ Missile, Reentry Vehicle, Mark 2,” Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum; “ The Mystery of the UFO Crash in Kecksburg, Pennsylvania, on December 9, 1965,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, September 2023; Stan Gordon, “ The Kecksburg, Pennsylvania, UFO Recovery 58 Years Ago Today and Still No Answers,” Stan Gordon’s UFO Anomalies Zone, December 9, 2023; Robert R. Young, “ Metamorphosis: Claimed Witness Accounts of the Great Lakes Fireball of December 9, 1965,” in Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos and Richard Heiden, eds., The Reliability of UFO Witness Testimony, UPIAR, 2023, pp. 229–238; “ The 1965 Kecksburg, Pennsylvania UFO Crash,” UAP Gerb YouTube channel, September 12, 2024; Stan Gordon, “ The Kecksburg Pennsylvania UFO Incident 59 Years Later: A New Detail Revealed,” Stan Gordon’s UFO Anomalies Zone, December 9, 2024; Clark IV 369, 376; John Greenewald, “ The Vault Files: The 1965 Kecksburg, Pennsylvania Crash,” The Black Vault, August 2, 2025)
December 13 - An amateur astronomer in Fort Worth, Texas, watches a UFO through several different telescopes. It has a recessed ring with small dark objects attached around its edge and a dark cross on its bottom. It moves from directly beneath the Moon and past Arcturus, then suddenly disappears. (Michael D. Swords, " Gazing at the Moons," IUR 32, no. 4 (October 2009): 14)
December 20 - 11:45 p.m. Edward A. Bruns is driving his father's 1962 Ford pickup truck, heading west just south of Herman, Minnesota. He sees a bright, oval-shaped object hovering several feet above the road. It covers the entire road and is shaped like two saucers with a dome on top. A window-like structure surrounds the dome and emits a green light. Suddenly the truck engine stops, the headlights go out, and the vehicle lifts up, spins violently to the right, ending up in a ditch on the other side of the road. Stunned, Bruns stares at the UFO, which makes a whistling sound, emits sparks, shoots upward, and disappears. He runs home, scared and nervous. His father goes to the site of the crash but cannot get the truck out. A reporter later confirms seeing the truck in the ditch with a complete "absence of skid marks in the snow to account for how it got there." ("15-Year-Old Says Flying Saucer Sent Truck into Ditch," Wheaton (Minn.) Gazette, December 23, 1965; Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, p. 50)
1966
Vladimir Rubtsov writes the first article published in the Soviet Union that takes UFOs seriously and encourages readers to submit their observations. (Vladimir Rubtsov, [“Guests from Space or Atmospheric Phenomena?”], Znannia ta Pratsia, 1966, no. 9; Mikhail Gershtein, “A Short History of UFO Research in the Former Soviet Union,” UAP Check, July 6, 2024)
During a Soviet naval exercise in the Black Sea, a group of unknown spherical and cigar-shaped objects appear at a high altitude above the ships. A command to fire on the objects is carried out, but none of the objects are hit. One missile allegedly turns back toward the ship that launched it and strikes the vessel. (Vladimir G. Azhazha and Evgeny P. Litvinov, Подводные НЛО: Загадочные места мира [Underwater UFOs], 2015; Dolan, USO1, 286–288)
January 7 — 4:10 a.m. Police Constable Colin Perks is checking business property along Alderley Road in Wilmslow, Cheshire, England, when he hears a high-pitched whine. He sees a greenish- gray glow in the sky about 300 feet away and 35 feet in the air. It comes from a glowing elliptical object about 30 feet long and 20 feet wide that remains stationary for 5 seconds before moving away quickly to the east-southeast. (R, H. B. Winder, “ Wilmslow P.C.’s Report,” Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 2 (March/April 1966): 3; J. Cleary-Baker, “ Police Constable Observes a UFO,” BUFORA Journal and Bulletin 1, no. 9 (Summer 1966): 5; UFOFiles2, pp. 73–75; Jenny Randles, “Perks of the Job,” Fortean Times 344 (October 2016): 29)
January 7 - 3:27 p.m. High school student Gary Finch is driving on the Wilmer-Georgetown Road about 3 miles southwest of Georgetown, Alabama. He sees a large silver ball about 15-20 feet in diameter that descends then hovers about 5 feet above the road. On top of it is a cone with a large green light, and it is making a whining sound. As he approaches it, his car engine cuts out and his watch stops. After 1-2 minutes, it disappears in a gradual climb. (NICAP, " E-M Effects on Car and Watch"; " Mobile Reports Flying Objects," Selma (Ala.) Times-Journal, January 13, 1966, p. 10; Schopick, pp. 75-76; Hynek UFO Report, p. 42)
January 8 — Night. A luminous, disc-shaped object cruises low from north to southwest among the buildings of Valencia, Venezuela. At 10:00 p.m., two similar objects are seen flying at a higher altitude. (“ More S.A. Sightings,” APRO Bulletin, March/Apr. 1966, p. 8)
January 11 —7:40 p.m. A nurse and others together in a car near Myerstown, Pennsylvania, see a luminous disc, like one saucer inverted on top of another, at relatively close range as it hovers above their car. After about 5 minutes, the object suddenly accelerates and speeds away. (J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 102–103)
January 11 — 10:00 p.m. The third mate, helmsman, and bow lookout of the SS Morgantown Victory see a cigar-shaped object approach the ship when it is north of the Japanese coral atoll Marcus Island [now Minamitorishima] in the North Pacific Ocean. The object approaches the starboard beam of the ship from the horizon and then turns almost 180° to avoid going over the ship. It approaches the ship within 1 mile at an elevation of 400 feet and hovers for 30 seconds, then crosses in front of the ship and makes another directional change. The object is glowing with an orange-yellow color and a long, fiery tail. The body appears to have two lights on top. Its length is estimated at 200– 250 feet and its height at about 35–40 feet. It is visible for 3 minutes. The master of the ship thinks that a plane has crashed in the ocean and he orders the ship to turn to conduct a search. Two turns are made and nothing is found in the searches. Project Blue Book concludes that the event was a decay of the Kosmos 53 satellite, although its actual decay date has been established as August 12, 1966. (NICAP, “ Cigar-Shaped UFO Approaches Morgantown Victory”; “ Three in Crew of GAA Ship Tell of Sighting of ‘UFO,’” Sealift Magazine, June 1966, pp. 3, 21; Antonio F. Rullán, “ Blue Book UFO Reports at Sea by Ships: Analysis of the Blue Book Ship Database,” December 10, 2002, p. 45; Dolan, USO1, 276–277)
January 11 — 6:20 p.m. Many reports of lights in the sky are called into various police headquarters in northern New Jersey, especially in the Wanaque area. Sightings continue throughout the night. At 11:30 p.m., photographer August C. Roberts takes a dubious five-minute exposure of a light as it vanishes straight up above Raymond Dam in Wanaque. (Edward J. Babcock and Timothy Green Beckley, “UFO Plagues N.J. Reservoir,” Fate 19, no. 10 (October 1966): 34–44; “ What Happened at Wanaque, N.J.” in Lloyd Mallan, ed., The Official Guide to UFOs, Science and Mechanics special issue, 1967; Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos, “ The Wanaque Reservoir 1966 UFO Pictures,” Academia.edu, [2018]; Dolan, USO1 274–276)
January 12 — Carl Sagan sends a letter to Maj. Harold A. Steiner, assistant secretary of the USAF Scientific Advisory Board, to request certain UFO information be available for inspection and discussion at the February 3 meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee to review Project Blue Book. He requests documents on the Trindade Island photos, the Kelly-Hopkinsville encounter, the February 1949 Project Sign report, and the 1953 Robertson panel. His request is cleared with Brian O’Brien. (Letter, Carl Sagan to Harold A. Steiner, January 12, 1966)
January 14 — 5:55 p.m. After his 11-year-old son runs into the house in Weston, Massachusetts, and says a flying saucer is outside, an associate laboratory director at Massachusetts Institute of Technology goes outside with the rest of the family and sees an erratically moving bright light. They observe it through binoculars for 5–10 minutes. (J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 43, 52–53)
January 18 — 4:55 p.m. Two surveyors are taking readings at China Lake Naval Ordnance Test Station [now Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake] in the western Mojave Desert, California. The surveyor using a theodolite hears a hum, looks up, and sees a UFO flying nearly straight at him from an angle of 35°–40° and from almost exact north. It passes directly overhead at less than 150 feet, then dives smoothly, turns to the east, then comes to within 10 feet of the sloping ground. The surveyor observes the object through the theodolite until it is lost in front of a lava flow about 2 miles away. Both observers (the other one is in a truck) say it is moving at 150 mph and it is a dull black color and very quiet. They attempt to report the sighting, but the radio is garbled. Their truck has difficulty starting, and the theodolite exhibits an odd change in the gravity reference indicator, requiring it to be re-leveled. (“ A Professional Observation,” IUR 7, no. 2 (March 1982): 7–8)
January 18 - 6:00 p.m.-New Britain, Connecticut. A round object rotating slowly in a clockwise direction was observed by a senior metallurgist for about 7 to 10 minutes as it passed overhead at his workplace. It had a string of red lights that blinked on and off. (U.F.O. Investigator, Vol. Ill, No. 6, Jan.-Feb 1966, p. 3.)
January 19 — Around 9:00 a.m. A banana grower, George Pedley, is driving a tractor about one half mile from a farmhouse at Tully, Queensland, Australia, owned by Albert Pennisi. Pedley’s attention is drawn by a hissing sound, clearly heard over the noise from the tractor’s engine. He looks about for the source of the noise and sees an unusual object about 75 feet away. It is some 30 feet in the air, rising vertically, and is shaped like “two saucers face to face.” It is light gray in color, dull, and non-reflective. He estimates its size as 25 feet long by 8–9 feet deep. The hissing diminishes as the object rises to a height of 60 feet, then departs, climbing at about an angle of 45°, extremely fast, to the southwest. The duration of his observation is only 5–6 seconds. The object appears to be always rotating. After its departure, Pedley finds a clearly defined, nearly circular depression in swamp grass, in a water-filled lagoon, at the point where he first saw it. The marking is about 32 feet long by 25 feet wide. The grass on the surface of the water is flattened in a clockwise direction. Royal Australian Air Force intelligence officers find a variety of circles in the area, ranging from 8 to 30 feet in diameter. Within each circle the plant roots are pulled completely out of the soil, as if the ground has been subjected to an intense rotary force. (“ University Will Check ‘Flying Saucer Nests,’” Canberra Times, January 24, 1966, p. 9; “ US Navy Tests on ‘Saucer Nests,’” Canberra Times, January 25, 1966, p. 10; “ No Light Shed on ‘Nests,’” Canberra Times, January 26, 1966, p. 3; “ Flood Caused ‘Saucer’ Reeds to Die,” Canberra Times, January 27, 1966, p. 4; “ The Tully ‘Nests’: How Freakish Can Whirlwinds Be?” Australian Flying Saucer Review (Victorian Edition), no. 5 (July 1966): 3–7; “ UFOs No Strangers to Tully,” Australian Flying Saucer Review, no. 9 (November 1966): 15; “ 1966: Tully…After Tully,” Australian Flying Saucer Review, no. 9 (November 1966): 16–21; Keith Basterfield, Vladimir Godic, and Pony Godic, “ Australian Ufology: A Review,” JUFOS 2 (1990): 26–27; Bill Chalker, “ The 1966 Tully Saucer ‘Nest’: A Classic UFO Physical Trace Case,” 1997; Bill Chalker, “ Tully Saucer Nests of 1966—Part One,” IUR 22, no. 4 (Winter 1997–1998): 14–20; Bill Chalker, “ Tully Saucer Nests of 1966, Part Two,” IUR 23, no. 1 (Spring 1998): 17, 31; Clark III 1136–1138; Bill Chalker, “ George Pedley, the UFO, and the Tully ‘Saucer Nest’: A Tribute,” TheOzFiles, September 7, 2022; “ The 1966 Tully, Australia, UFO Landing and ‘Saucer Nest’ Discussed by George Pedley & Albert Pennisi,” Eyes on Cinema, October 2023; Bill Chalker, “ The Tully Thing,” TheOzFiles, April 25, 2024; Clark IV 1293–1295; Chris Calcino and Danielle O’Neal, “ The Cane Farm Crop Circles and an Enduring UFO Mystery,” Australian Broadcasting Corporation, November 23, 2024; Bill Chalker, “ The Tully UFO UAP Legacy,” TheOzFiles, December 12, 2024; Bill Chalker, “ The Prime Minister’s ‘Flying Saucer’ Briefing, Tully ’66: George Pedley, Harold Holt, and John Busst,” TheOzFiles, August 20, 2025)
January 19 — 7:55 p.m. Two luminous objects pass over Acarigua, Venezuela, one from the north, the other from the east. When the paths of the two objects cross, the lights go out in the entire city. (“ More S.A. Sightings,” APRO Bulletin, March/Apr. 1966, p. 8)
February — 10:00 p.m. The aircraft carrier USS Yorktown is in the North Pacific en route from Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to Japan with four destroyer escorts. Patrick Dingle and another forward lookout sees a light in the sky approaching from the port side. They report it to the Combat Information Center, which responds that they have no radar target. The light stops and silently hovers nearly overhead for several minutes. The light then grows brighter until it illuminates the entire task group. The light dims and moves to starboard before shooting away and disappearing within seconds. (Carl Feindt, “ Report # 1086,” waterufo.net; Patrick Dingle, “ USS Yorktown CV-10: An Event at Sea,” April 30, 2023; Dolan, USO1, 277–279)
February 3 — A six-member Ad Hoc Committee to Review Project Blue Book, headed by University of Rochester optical physicist Brian O’Brien, meets at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio. All but one (astronomer Carl Sagan) are members of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board (psychologist Launor F. Carter, industrial psychologist Jesse Orlansky, rocket scientist Richard W. Porter, computer engineer Willis Ware), and none have any sympathy with the idea that UFO reports represent anything extraordinary. Also attending is Lt. Col. Harold A. Steiner, assistant secretary to the Scientific Advisory Board. They receive a briefing from Quintanilla, review the Robertson Panel report, and examine a few UFO cases. The group recommends that Blue Book “be strengthened to provide opportunity for scientific investigation of selected sightings in more detail and depth than has been possible to date.” Furthermore, USAF should negotiate contracts “with a few selected universities to provide scientific teams to investigate promptly and in depth certain selected sightings of UFOs…. The universities should be chosen to provide good geographical distribution.” They also conclude that “perhaps 100 sightings a year might be subjected to this close study, and that possibly an average of 10 man-days might be required per sighting so studied. The information provided by such a program might bring to light new facts of scientific value.” The group recommends that Blue Book data be given “wide unsolicited circulation among prominent members of the Congress and other public persons.” The Air Force ignores their recommendations. (USAF Scientific Advisory Board, Special Report of the USAF Scientific Advisory Board Ad Hoc Committee to Review Project “Blue Book,” Brian O’Brien, chairman of the Advisory Board, March 1966; Jacobs, UFO Controversy in America, Signet ed., 1976, pp. 176–177; William Poundstone, Carl Sagan: A Life in the Cosmos, Henry Holt, 1999, pp. 92–93; Clark III 924, 1191; Powell, Keyhoe, 334; Graff 200–201; Clark IV 1034, 1365)
February 6 — 6:05 a.m. Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth R. Gulley see a tadpole-shaped object about 14 feet long and 2 feet wide with eight yellow-and-red, neon-like lights at 250–500 feet altitude in Nederland, Texas. It casts a pulsating red glow on the lawn. Her house and street lights go out as high-frequency sound assaults the witnesses’ ears. The object blinks out when aircraft pass overhead, then comes on again afterward. It departed to the west about 1.5 miles to the vicinity of the airport, where an aircraft’s landing lights light up the UFO. Then it disappears in a slow climb. (NICAP, “ House Lights Go Out When ‘Tadpole’ Flies Over”; Sparks. p. 309; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 103–104)
February 6 - Around 8:00 p.m. Several persons in the barrio of Aluche, Madrid, Spain, allegedly see an unusual flying object. Looking out a window, Maria Ruiz Torres watches an object descending. She sees a "gigantic eye" looking at her through a porthole. Another witness, Juan Jiminez Dias, thinks he sees a door open in the craft. Other observers include soldiers at a nearby ammunition dump. Motorist José Luis Jordán Peña gets a close, extended view of the object, which he characterizes as "enormous." Jordán Peña sends Spanish ufologist Antonio Ribera a sketch of the UFO, which has three legs and a curious symbol on its underside- something like two reverse parentheses with a vertical bar positioned between them. No other witness mentions anything like this. In 1992, Jordán Peña confesses to hoaxing his sighting, including the landing marks and physical traces, in order to prove his theory that paranoia is much more widespread in Spain that psychiatrists are willing to admit. (Antonio Ribera, " The Madrid Landing," Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 3 (May/ June 1966): 28-31; Antonio Ribera, " The San José de Valderas Photographs," Flying Saucer Review 15, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1969): 3-10; " Background of `Ummo' and the Sightings," CUFOS Bulletin, Spring 1977, pp. 2-3; Scott Corrales, " The UMMO Experience: Are You Experienced?" Strange Magazine, January 31, 2001; Clark III 1183; Alain Moreau, " UMMO: Une imposture?" Les Cles de l'Inexplique; Covert 26-27; Clark IV 1357)
February 25 — 10:15 p.m. Three young women—Ofelia Versoa, Maria Marlúce da Silva, and Maria Marlucy da Silva—are returning home from a friend’s house along a railroad track in Quipapá, Pernambuco, Brazil. They notice some lights in the road about 300 feet ahead, but as they approach to within 150 feet, they see a bowl- shaped object with two large headlights. Next to the object are three small humanoids wearing large headgear. A large figure, more than 6 feet tall, with a glowing head is standing motionless near them. Two of the girls panic and run for cover, but Marlúce moves closer and remains there for 4 minutes until a jeep approaches from the opposite direction. This allows all three of them to slip past the object. They return a few minutes later with the da Silva girls’ mother, and they all see the object flying low above the ground. Marlúce has heightened anxiety and a slight headache the next day. (Rubens de Couto Soares, “ 5 Small Sized, One Tall Spaceman,” SBEDV Boletim, no. 54 (Jan./Feb. 1967): 7–11; Walter Buhler, “ The Landing at Quipapá,” Flying Saucer Review 17, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1971): 9–10, 21; Eghigian, After, pp. 146–147)
February 27 — A nationally broadcast public affairs interview program, The Open Mind, presents a panel discussion titled “Are Flying Saucers Only Science Fiction?” Princeton University history professor Eric F. Goldman is moderator. Panelists include astronomer Donald H. Menzel, plant physiologist Frank B. Salisbury, journalist John G. Fuller, psychologist R. Leo Sprinkle, and astronomer J. Allen Hynek. Menzel calls the Exeter police officers “hysterical subjects,” although he cannot remember their names and is unfamiliar with the case. (“ Notable Broadcasts of the Past: The Open Mind NBC Public Affairs Presentation, February 27, 1966,” Journal of UFO History 1, no. 2 (May/June 2004): 3–6; “ Open Mind Debate: Are Flying Saucers Only Science Fiction?” UFO History YouTube channel, October 4, 2018)
March — Kathleen Reeves and a friend are walking on a rural road near their homes in Toledo, Oregon, when they think they see a neighbor’s field on fire. The fire seems oddly dome-shaped. They continue walking and see another smaller, duller light. Kathleen thinks it might be a prank, so she throws a rock at it. Suddenly, a group of much larger lights come on all around the small one. Frightened, the girls run home. Over the next few months, through October, the Reeves home experiences such poltergeist phenomena as whirring or sawing noises, rose-colored lights inside, small rings of light that crawl over the bedroom walls, and light beams. (Michael D. Swords, “ A Trick of the Light,” IUR 31, no. 2 (June 2007): 8)
March — Day. Lookouts on a US Navy ship in the Gulf of Tonkin to the west of Taiwan, China, report a shiny silver ball, about 3–4 feet in diameter, floating just below the surface about 600 feet in front of the ship. A helicopter is called in and hovers above the object; the pilot describes it as a metallic sphere with no seams, markings, or rivets. The helicopter gunner fires at it, but the bullets bounce off of it. The object suddenly takes off. The ship’s sonar stations search for it for 72 hours but find nothing. (Carl Feindt, “ Report #338,” waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 280–281)
March 1 — Alfred Quemby observes an oval domed disk circling above the Kelowna area, British Columbia. When he gets out of his car, it disappears at high speed. After dark, two teenagers parked at Black Mountain on the eastern edge of Kelowna see a saucer that emits a sound like a truck. The sound reduces to a hum, then the object releases a small diamond-shaped object that circles the saucer before re-entering it. Another witness, Clifford Cole, watches an object hovering above Okanagan Lake; a smaller craft pops up to the surface of the lake, hovers, then moves up and enters the larger object, which flies away. (“ Oh, Oh, Saucers Loose Again!” Vancouver (B.C.) Province, March 2, 1966, p. 10; “ ‘Saucers’ over the Okanagan,” Vancouver (B.C.) Sun, March 2, 1966, p. 3; Dolan, USO1, 279–280)
March 6 — 2:00 a.m. Ivan de Almeida and other medical staff at the Lourenço Jorge Municipal Hospital in Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, watch an oval object with a bright red-orange light that shines on the ocean waters below. After 2 hours it climbs up slowly, dims, and disappears. (Olavo T. Fontes, “ Report from Brazil: The First UAO Sightings in 1966,” APRO Bulletin, March/April 1966, p. 5)
March 6 — 11:00 a.m. A woman is driving in Missouri with her St. Bernard dog sleeping in the back seat. Suddenly the dog begins barking and jumps into the front seat, then whimpers and tries to hide under the seat. She sees a bright, blue-white beam of light that extends about one foot over each side of the road ahead. The road beyond seems distorted, as if by heat waves. The car enters the beam and it slows from 50 mph to about 10 mph. She looks up through the windshield and sees a metallic, domed, disc-shaped object hovering about 1,000 feet up, from which the light is coming. She pushes the accelerator to the floor, but the car does not respond. After passing through the beam, the car runs smoothly again, and she drives away, not looking back. Her eyes bother her for three days afterward. (Carl Sagan and Thornton Page, eds., UFO’s: A Scientific Debate, Cornell University, 1972, p. xxviii)
March 11 — 2:30 p.m. Indio, California. Three glowing yellowish objects with legs were seen resting on the ground in the California Desert. The brilliant luminosity concealed the exact shape of the objects. "Antennas" (projections) extended and retracted rapidly from the objects, their tips glowed green. One of the objects paced a car for 3 hours between Indio, California, and Salome, Arizona. (NICAP notes; NICAP report.)
March 11 — Ringwood, New Jersey. A Catholic Mother Superior reported seeing a very bright UFO hovering over the Ringwood iron mines. A distant smaller light flashed as if signaling, and the larger object flew away to the west leaving a red glow in its wake. (NICAP notes.)
March 12 — 10:40 a.m. A security guard at the Fábrica Nacional de Motores in Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, alerts 10 employees to a mysterious light that is approaching the factory. It descends to 1,500–1,800 feet and hovers above the plant. The object is approximately 18 feet in diameter and emits a brilliant white light that makes it difficult to look at directly. It periodically flashes even brighter. Plant director Col. Jorge Alberto Silveira Martins calls the Army and Air Force. After 30 minutes, the object dims and moves away at tremendous speed before the Army trucks arrive. (Olavo T. Fontes, “ Report from Brazil: The First UAO Sightings in 1966,” APRO Bulletin, March/April 1966, p. 5)
March 13 — Portsmouth, New Jersey. A reporter and his family saw an egg-shaped object about 150 feet over power lines. TV and house lights dimmed (EM effects), and a vibration was felt. (New Hampshire NICAP Subcommittee report.)
March 14 — 3:30 –5:30 a.m. Washtenaw County sheriff’s deputies Buford Bushroe and John Foster see highly maneuverable disc-shaped UFOs with flashing red and green lights over Dexter, Michigan. They call in a report that sets off a two-and-a-half hour chase that stretches over three counties and out over Lake Erie. Police from five jurisdictions are involved. Selfridge AFB [now Selfridge Air National Guard Base], near Mount Clemens, reports tracking UFOs on radar over Lake Erie. (Ann Arbor (Mich.) News, March 14, 1966; UFOEv II 184–185; O’Connell 177; “50th Anniversary of the Michigan UFO Chase,” UFOlogist Magazine 19, no. 6 (Mar./Apr. 2016): 2–3; Patrick Gross, “ Michigan 1966: Sheriffs Watch High-Performance Discs, Also Tracked on Radar”)
March 14 — 9:00-9:30 p.m. EST. A motorist saw an unidentified aerial object with a dome on top, and a row of red and white flashing lights, that paced his car. The object then changed color to white and sped away (color change-motion correlation). Later (11:30 p.m.), an unidentified aerial object with domed top, flat bottom, and red and white flashing lights, descended abruptly in front of the witness's car, and hovered inches off the road. The driver slammed on the brakes, and the object took off. The object was so large that it overlapped the road. (NICAP report, investigation by John Fuller).
March 15- A police officer and other witnesses saw a metallic-appearing circular object with blue lights in apparent portholes along its side. The UFO stopped overhead, trailing two exhaust flames, then shot away to the northwest. (NICAP notes.)
March 16 — 5:45 p.m. Many people see a white, oval object crash into the Atlantic Ocean close to the Ilha Cagarras off Ipanema, Brazil. Some see a few smaller white parachute-shaped objects fall from it. A thorough search turns up nothing in the sea or the island itself. (Olavo T. Fontes, " Report from Brazil: The First UAO Sightings in 1966," APRO Bulletin, March/April 1966, pp. 5-6; Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, p. 54; W. Buhler, " UFO on the Sea near Rio," Flying Saucer Review 17, no. 3 (May/June 1971): 3, 6; Dolan, USO1, 282)
March 16 — 6:30-6:45 p.m. EST. Eliot, Maine. A family saw a bright red ball of light with halo effect at close range for 10-15 minutes. The UFO emitted a high-pitched "beep" every 1 -2 seconds synchronized with a blinking red light. Dogs barked and howled (animal reactions), and ran toward the object, which gradually | disappeared behind trees to the southeast. (New Hampshire NICAP Subcommittee s report.)
March 17 - 2:45 a.m. Doctors and nurses at the Lourenco Jorge Municipal Hospital in Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, watch as a green object appears to rise out of the ocean and hover before flying around a nearby hill. The object turns blue, then red, and two smaller discs are seen entering it. (Olavo T. Fontes, " Report from Brazil: The First UAO Sightings in 1966," APRO Bulletin, March/April 1966, pp. 5-6; W. Buhler, " UFO on the Sea near Rio," Flying Saucer Review 17, no. 3 (May/June 1971): 3, 6; Dolan, USO1, 282)
March 17 — 4:25 a.m. Police Sgt. Neil Schneider and Deputy David Fitzpatrick see top-shaped objects making sharp maneuvers over Milan, Michigan. They alternatively hover, rise and fall quickly, dart around at jet-like speed, dimming and brightening periodically. Two objects are operating together, while a third UFO hovers at a lower altitude. ( Sparks, p. 310; “Spotted Again by Police: ‘Flying Saucers’ Return,” Ann Arbor (Mich.) News, March 17, 1966; “‘Saucer’ Pictures Intrigue Nation,” Ann Arbor (Mich.) News, March 25, 1966; “Deputy Recounts ‘Saucer’ Filming,” Ann Arbor (Mich.) News, March 25, 1966; “ Swamp Gas,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 7 (Mar./Apr. 1966): 5, 6; UFOEv II 185; Wendy Connors, “Cops and Saucers: Law Enforcement and UFO’s, 1957–1981 Guide,” November 20, 2013, audioclip 17; O’Connell 177)
March 18 — 4:00 p.m. Farmer Carlos Corosan is on a deserted beach 10 miles north of Puerto Deseado, Santa Cruz, Argentina, when he sees a large cigar-shaped object moving slowly over the ocean only 100 feet away. It was about 65–70 feet long, smooth, dark gray, and metallic with dark smoke coming from one end. It suddenly stops about 40 feet above the water and emits a blast of black smoke. After a few minutes it begins to hum and vibrate, followed by another blast, and it rises slowly, moving to the northeast with a chugging motion. Suddenly it explodes and crashes into the ocean, going down swiftly. (Brad Steiger and Joan Writenour, The Allende Letters, Universal, 1968; Sanderson, InvRes, p. 50; Dolan, USO1, 283–285)
March 19 — Dawn, EST. Police and others saw a round luminous yellow-white object with projections on top. The UFO paced a car, swerving from side to side, its light reflected from the hood of the car. (NICAP notes.)
March 19 — 5:20 a.m. CST. Big Rapids, Michigan. Several witnesses saw an elliptical object with a row of rectangular windows, and with a surrounding blue-white haze. Lights on the bottom (body lights) flicked on and off one at a time. A light beam shone into the house. (Keyhoe & Lore, 1969a, p. 46)
March 20 — 1:25 a.m. CST. Witnesses saw a bright flash of blue light, then a hovering oval UFO was sighted by crew members of the Coast Guard Cutter "Legare." EM effects were experienced on local electric power systems, house lights blinked off and on rapidly. The UFO was orange and had windows or ports with a hazy appearance in the interior. After a while the object slowly rose about 1,000 feet, emitted a blue glow, then disappeared. Shortly afterwards, two bright lights shot up from the ground and disappeared within seconds. An extensive power failure occurred in Freeport about 2 hours earlier (11:10 p.m.) (NICAP report)
March 20 — 7:30 p.m. After his dogs start making a racket, Frank Mannor and his 26-year-old son Ronald see strange lights over a swampy area in Dexter Township, Michigan. They walk over to the area for a look, taking about 30 minutes, and see a pyramid-shaped object with a rounded top, corrugated surface, and blue, red, and white lights. Mannor’s son-in-law Bob Wagner, back at the house, sees the object light up and rise to 500 feet, then come down again making some noise. Washtenaw County sheriff’s deputies David Fitzpatrick and Stanley McFadden arrive about 9:00 p.m. drive towards the swamp on Quigley Road. They see a brilliant light that dims and then reappears. By this time a crowd has gathered. One man reports that when two flashlights appear in the distance, the object seems to react by flying away at high speed. At another point the object passes directly over the Mannors with a whistling sound like a rifle bullet ricocheting. It remains in the swampy area for 30 minutes. ( Sparks, p. 310; Center for UFO Studies, [ case documents]; “ 40 Claim Seeing Flying Saucers,” Sacramento (Calif.) Bee, March 21, 1966, p. 1; “ Washtenaw Sheriff Trails Flying Saucers,” Detroit Free Press, March 22,1966, pp. 3A–4A; “ Expert to Probe ‘Saucers,’” Detroit (Mich.) Free Press, March 23, 1966, p. 3A; “ Air Force to Explain ‘Saucers,’” Detroit (Mich.) Free Press, March 25, 1966, p. 3A; “ Saucer Sightings Soaring in State,” Detroit (Mich.) Free Press, March 24, 1966, p. 3A; “ The Michigan Cases,” APRO Bulletin, March/April 1966, pp. 1, 3–4; “ Swamp Gas Answer Disproved,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 7 (March/April 1966): 5; Paul O’Neil, “ A Well-Witnessed ‘Invasion’—by Something,” Life 60, n. 3 (April 1, 1966): 24–31; “ ‘This Thing Like a Ball of Fire’…Just Gas?” Detroit Free Press, April 3, 1966, p. 14A; CBS Reports: UFO: Friend, Foe, or Fantasy [ extract], May 10, 1966; J. Allen Hynek, “ Statement on the Dexter and Hillsdale UFO Sightings Made to the Press…on March 25, 1966,” Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 3 (May/June 1966): 7–8; Charles Bowen, “ Michigan Furore,” Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 3 (May/June 1966): 4–6; UFOEv II 185–186; Wendy Connors, “Cops and Saucers: Law Enforcement and UFO’s, 1957–1981 Guide,” November 20, 2013, audioclip 18; O’Connell 175–177, 184–185; Patrick Gross, “ Hillsdale, Michigan, 1966: The Infamous ‘Swamp Gas’ Case”; Raymond Szymanski, Swamp Gas My Ass, The Author, 2021; “ 1966 UFO Sightings in Dexter, Michigan: A Mini-Documentary,” Michigan Online YouTube channel, February 17, 2022; “ Michigan UFO Sightings Witnesses and Gerald R. Ford’s Reaction, 1966,” Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, June 12, 2022; Doug Martin, “ Eyewitnesses to 1966 Dexter UFO Sighting to Share Their Story for the First Time,” Dexter (Mich.) Sun Times News, August 12, 2024)
March 21 — 10:00 p.m.- 2:40 a.m. EST. Exeter, New Hampshire. Police and citizens saw an egg-shaped object with flashing body lights across the center (red-white-blue-green-red) that hovered over power lines, bobbed around and rocked in a pendulum motion. Through binoculars, a dome-like area was visible on top. The object finally ascended to the east, moved out over the ocean and disappeared. (Fuller, 1966; Massachusetts NICAP Subcommittee report.)
March 21 — 10:32 p.m. Cynthia “Pinky” Poffenberger and 16 other Hillsdale (Michigan) College students at the McIntyre dorm see a football-shaped object with red, green, and white pulsating lights descend from the sky and pass close to their dorm. It settles in a hollow in the Slayton Arboretum about 1,500 feet away. Some 87 students collect to watch the UFO, then they notify Civil Defense Director William Van Horn, who arrives with police. From the dormitory, the landed lights appear yellowish-white, dimming and intensifying. Only student Barbara “Gidget” Kohn stays most of the night, watching the lights vanish, reappear, and recede. Around 5:10 a.m., Kohn sees a lighted object move away and disappear from sight. Radiation is later detected at the landing area of about 330–600 microroentgens/hr, roughly 10–20 times the background level. ( Sparks, p. 311; Center for UFO Studies, [ case documents]; Jacques Vallée, Forbidden Science, North Atlantic, 1992, pp. 173–176; Jack Butler, “ UFO: In 1966, Hillsdale Had Its Own Close Encounter,” The Collegian (Hillsdale College), March 19, 2015; O’Connell 177–180, 185–188; Clark III 950; “ Students Present ‘Aliens in the Arb’ Documentary,” The Collegian (Hillsdale College), April 7, 2022; “ Aliens in the Arb,” Elizabeth Oxaal YouTube channel, April 2022; Graff 204–206; “ Hillsdale, Michigan, College Girls and Residents Talk about Witnessing a UFO in 1966,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, January 7, 2024; Clark IV 1064)
March 22 — Morning. Contactee George Hunt Williamson sees three large UFOs with brilliant, flashing, blue-white lights hover above him for one minute in Key West, Florida. He hears a familiar buzzing in his head. (Michael D. Swords, “ A Little Walk in the Strange Life of George Hunt Williamson,” IUR 26, no. 2 (Summer 2001): 14, 32)
March 22 — 10:00 p.m. Several people standing outside the Waterfront Playhouse in Key West, Florida, during an intermission, see three UFOs ringed with flashing blue-white lights hovering nearby. They zoom off over the Gulf. (“ Keys Theatre-Goers Report ‘Flying Discs,’” Miami (Fla.) Herald, March 24, 1966, p. 3-C)
March 23 — 5:00 p.m. At least a dozen adults and children in Trinidad, Colorado, see two disc- shaped objects with domes flying in-line, traveling with a bobbing motion over the terrain. (“ Discs at Trinidad, Colorado,” APRO Bulletin, March/April 1966, p. 1; James E. McDonald, “ Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, pp. 51–52)
March 23 — 8:40 p.m. EST. An elongated object with rays of light (light beams) from its underside was observed hovering above a neighbor's house. The witness called out another neighbor to see the object, which finally shot upwards out of sight. (NICAP report.)
March 23 — 11:50 p.m. John T. King sees a yellowish, elliptical object with a dome-like projection on top just off the ground near Bangor, Maine. It has a yellow-orange light in the center, a bluish light on the right, and a white light on the left. When the object moves toward his car, the car lights dim and his radio stops playing. King says he can hear the elderberry bushes scraping as it approaches and hovers 50 feet away. Frightened, he takes his .22 magnum pistol and fires it four times at the UFO, which glows brightly and takes off at high speed, making a “zinging” sound like the recoil of a spring. (“ Close-Range Sightings Increase,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 7 (March/April 1966): 3)
March 23–25 — Hynek spends three days in Michigan, interviewing witnesses in Dexter and Hillsdale, finding the reports contradictory and vague, and encountering a media frenzy. He participates in a police UFO chase that turns out to be the star Arcturus. A photograph taken by Deputy David Fitzpatrick on March 17 is obviously a time lapse of the Moon and Venus. He interviews two Hillsdale students, Sara Robechek and Jo Wilson. William Van Horn tells him that he at first thought the lights were marsh gas until they rose into the air 150 feet and he seemed to perceive a “convex-shaped” solid mass between two lights. (O’Connell 183–190; Graff 205–207)
March 25 — Yipsilanti-Hillsdale, Michigan. A train crew watched a UFO pace their train, pull ahead, hover, and climb (maneuver). The Civil Defense director was notified, and also saw the object. Together with other witnesses he watched a "docking" operation as a second UFO linked with the first. (NICAP notes.)
March 25 — Holland, Michigan. A car was buzzed by a glowing circular object with red and white body lights at an estimated 150-200 feet altitude. (NICAP notes.)
March 25 — 1:00 a.m. EST. Upper Sandusky, Oklahoma. A top-shaped object with bright body lights visible on its outer edge was seen hovering about 25 feet over woods, point downward, by a farm couple for about an hour. (Associated Press story, few details.)
March 25 — 8:30 p.m. EST. China Grover, North Carolina. A round silver object with multi-colored body lights was seen about 200 feet above a house. Witnesses were attracted to it by a "weird" humming sound. Several other North Carolina sightings were reported on the same date. (NICAP notes.)
March 25 — Quintanilla needs quick answers, so he schedules a press conference at the Detroit Press Club for Hynek to make a statement. Hynek, disappointed with the quality of the sightings and suspecting a mundane explanation, announces: “It would seem to me that the association of the sightings with swamps, in these particular cases, is more than coincidence. No group of witnesses observed any craft coming to or going away from the swamps. The glow was localized there…. It appears to me that all the major conditions for the appearance of swamp lights were satisfied.” The swamp gas theory doesn’t go over very well with the witnesses, the media, or the public. (“ Termed Marsh Gases by Air Force Expert,” Lansing (Mich.) State Journal, March 25, 1966, p. 11; “ Gas Theory Belittled by Viewers of UFOs,” Lansing (Mich.) State Journal, March 26, 1966, p. 1; William B. Treml, “ Findings on ‘Saucers’ Draw Sharp Reactions,” Ann Arbor (Mich.) News, March 26, 1966; “ Swamp Gas Answer Disproved,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 7 (March/April 1966): 5; J. Allen Hynek, “Swamp Gas Plus Ten…And Counting,” 1976 MUFON Symposium Proceedings, Ann Arbor, Mich., June 12, 1976, pp. 76–83; Jennie Zeidman, “ I Remember Blue Book,” IUR 16, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1991): 12; Jacques Vallée, Forbidden Science, North Atlantic, 1992, pp. 175–176; Swords 307; O’Connell 190–198; Clark III 619, 924; Powell, Keyhoe, 335–336; Eghigian, After, pp. 192–193; Clark IV 679, 1034)
March 25 — House Minority Leader Gerald Ford (R-Mich.) issues a press release proposing that Congress investigate the rash of UFO reports in southern Michigan and the rest of the country: “I think the American people would feel better if there was a full-blown investigation of these incidents, which some persons allege have taken place.” (Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, [ Ford UFO news releases and other documents])
March 25 — Evening. Mrs. R. H. Chappell and her sister Janie Kidd watch two triangular objects, one larger than the other, hovering 40–50 feet above the water at Saanich Inlet, British Columbia. They have flashing ruby-red lights. After two minutes, the lights change to orange and they move off silently and gracefully. Mrs. L. Austin Wright sees a stationary flashing yellow light around the same time. (“ UFO’s Sighted: Triangular-Shaped Objects,” Saanich Peninsula and Gulf Islands Review, March 30, 1966, p. 1; Dan Lloyd, “ Are They Really Seeing Things over Canada?” Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1966): 30; Marler 79)
March 25 — Evening. Mrs. Robert Gorisek of LaSalle, Illinois, sees a triangular object hover above her car for more than an hour as she is driving home from work. The object keeps up with them as they drive through several towns. It has red, orange, and white lights. (“ UFO Sightings Widespread over Country,” Great Bend (Kan.) Daily Tribune, March 25, 1966, p. 1; Marler 79)
March 27 — 5:30 a.m. Both Federal Aviation Administration operators at Muscogee County Airport [now Columbus Metropolitan Airport] and military operators at Fort Benning report a radar-visual sighting of a maneuvering, oblong, green-white object over Columbus, Georgia. The object appears to change shape from cigar to wedge to triangle. (Center for UFO Studies, [ case documents]; “ Glowing Object in Sky Is Sighted in Georgia,” Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune, March 28, 1966, p. 14)
March 27 — 7:30 p.m. An engineer with Memphis station WKNO-TV is driving about 60 mph between Salem and Ash Flat, Arkansas, when he encounters a large, lighted object only 3 feet above the road on a hilltop. The object is oval-shaped, 23 feet long, dark gray, and has about 30 lights around its perimeter. Before it flies off, his car engine and headlights die. The car doesn’t start up again for another 10–20 minutes. The driver has to replace both a fuse and the light bulbs in his headlights after the incident. Upon reaching Memphis, he discovers that 15 reels of tape that were in the car are damaged, each with a linear magnetic void area from the outside to the center. ( Sparks, p. 312; Herbert S. Taylor, “ An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part Two,” IUR 34, no. 1 (September 2011): 19)
March 28 — Gerald Ford writes to Rep. George P. Miller (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Science and Astronautics Committee, and Rep. L. Mendel Rivers (D-S.C.), chairman of the Armed Services Committee, saying he is dissatisfied with Hynek’s explanation of the Michigan sightings. He “strongly recommends” a House committee investigation into the “UFO phenomena.” (Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, [ Ford UFO news releases and other documents]; Clark III 924; Clark IV 1034)
March 28 — University of Arizona atmospheric physicist James E. McDonald writes a 2-page letter to Thomas F. Malone, chairman of the National Academy of Sciences’ Committee on the Atmospheric Sciences, urging that a panel be set up by a scientific body to study Blue Book’s UFO files. He also writes to his legislator Rep. Morris K. Udall (D-Ariz.) about the idea, asking him to pass the letter on in confidence to Gerald Ford (R-Mich.). (Bill Murphy, “ The Swamp Gas Aftermath: Some Notes from the Gerald Ford Files,” IUR 33, no. 2 (July 2010): 11, 13; Clark III 696; Clark IV 792)
March 28 — Evening. Rob Freeman, 12, leaves a Boy Scout meeting at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Sarnia, Ontario, when he sees what at first looks like a helicopter flying overhead. It has a bright light but is completely silent, moving slowly from north to south. In the blink of an eye, it reverses course to the north. At one point, Freeman can see through the bottom of the object, through what looks like a lens, and he perceives a figure or figures moving around. Some other children also see the object. (“It’s a Balloon… It’s a Meteor… No, It’s a UFO,” Sarnia (Ont.) Observer, March 29, 1966, p. 1; “ Documentary Examines Southwestern Ontario Boy’s 1966 UFO Claim,” Sarnia (Ont.) Observer, November 15, 2022)
March 29 — NICAP board member Charles A. Maney writes to Gerald Ford, imploring him to contact NICAP for proof that the Air Force is withholding evidence about UFOs. (Bill Murphy, “ The Swamp Gas Aftermath: Some Notes from the Gerald Ford Files,” IUR 33, no. 2 (July 2010): 12)
March 29 — 4:15 p.m. A 10-year-old boy and his Dalmatian are walking familiar paths in a wood lot behind their home near Hampton Falls, New Hampshire. He notices something silver on a ridge and walks toward it. He sees an “L” shaped box, long side parallel to the ground, sitting on tripod legs. His dog runs ahead and sniffs the boxy structure, and then, appearing uninterested, the dog goes off into the woods. The boy stops about 24 feet away, not sure what he is seeing. The object makes intermittent sounds and movements in the following minutes. Then a blast of air from the object sends debris flying. A short high-pitched, then low-pitched, sound is heard as the object lifts off the ground about one foot, stops, swings in a clockwise motion, and settles back on the ground. Intermittent electric-like humming sounds are heard until the object again, with a blast of air stirring up debris and the same sounds as earlier, ascends vertically, this time to about 10 feet, where it pauses, moves horizontally, pauses and rotates clockwise again, then accelerates straight up. On the final ascent, the sound increases in pitch and loudness. The witness’s mother and sister who were at some distance from him also hear the sound. When the object moved horizontally, saplings directly under it swayed. Three elongated imprints are found in the form of a triangle. Reportedly plants do not grow in the area for the next 2 years. (NICAP, “ Hampton Area, New Hampshire: March 29, 1966”; “ Investigators Discover ‘Significant’ Sighting by New Hampshire Youth,” UFO Investigator, March 1972, p. 3; Raymond E. Fowler, UFOs: Interplanetary Visitors, Prentice-Hall, 1974, pp. 117–124; Raymond Fowler, “ The Flying Box, and Other Cases,” IUR 28, no. 2 (Summer 2003): 15–20, 26)
March 29 — 9:15 p.m. Charles Cozens, 13, is strolling in a field behind the Hamilton Mountain Police Station on Upper Wellington Street in Hamilton, Ontario. He sees two luminous oval objects about 8 feet in diameter descend and land, making a buzzing sound. The objects have a row of multicolored lights around their rims “flickering like a computer.” He approaches for a closer look and touches the nearest object, which feels hard and smooth like metal, but neither hot nor cold. He then touches an antenna-like projection at the end of one of the objects and receives a shock. Frightened, he runs home. His parents confirm a 3-inch burn mark on his hand and question him thoroughly before reporting the incident to authorities. His first-degree burn is treated at a hospital and heals normally. (“ Saw ‘Spaceship’ on Mountain, Touched It, Boy Says,” Hamilton (Ont.) Spectator, April 2, 1966, p. 7; Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, pp. 4–5; Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979, pp. 45–46)
March 30 — 8:35 p.m. A woman and her four children watch an oval object crossing the road as they are driving south about 9 miles north of Lewisburg, Indiana. It comes close to the car and she hears a pulsating sound, but it seems to come through the car radio, not directly from the object. She drives away, but the UFO pursues her for 8 miles. It changes from reddish-orange to blue-white before it accelerates away. ( Sparks, p. 313)
March 31 — 1:30 a.m. Three students at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan, see a star-like object that looks football-shaped through binoculars. It moves in geometric angles around two bright stars until it shoots straight up and disappears. (“ ‘Saucers’ Are Back Again,” Kalamazoo (Mich.) Gazette, March 31, 1966, pp. 1–2; Michael D. Swords, “ We Know Where You Live,” IUR 30, no. 2 (January 2006): 10–11)
March 31 — 2:00 a.m. Jeno Udvardy is driving home from a late work shift near Vicksburg, Michigan. He sees a cluster of lights on the highway ahead and slows down. When he is within 10 feet, he realizes the lights are on a disc hovering a few feet above the road. It has a brilliant white light, and red, green, and purple blinking lights. Udvardy backs up and his car is buffeted by gusts of wind as the object lifts up. The car motor stalls. He rolls down the window and hears a humming sound. Moments later, the UFO speeds off at a steep angle. (“ ‘Saucers’ Are Back Again,” Kalamazoo (Mich.) Gazette, March 31, 1966, pp. 1–2; “Kalamazoo’s UFOs: Too Many to Be Ignored,” Kalamazoo Magazine, Summer 1966; “Close-Range Sightings Increase,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 7 (March/April 1966): 3; UFOEv II 207)
March 31 — JANAP 146(E), a joint Canadian–US instruction, adds that photos should be sent to the US Director of Naval Intelligence and adds special CIRVIS reporting instructions for unidentifiable objects. The Canadian Air Defence Command ends its investigation of UFOs and transfers the responsibility to the Directorate of Operations. (Joint Chiefs of Staff, “ JANAP 146(E) Canadian–United States Communications Instructions for Reporting Vital Intelligence Sightings,” March 31, 1966; Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Canada, Signet, 1981, pp. 171–172; Antonio F. Rullán, “ Blue Book UFO Reports at Sea by Ships: Analysis of the Blue Book Ship Database,” December 10, 2002, pp. 8–9)
April 1 — 8:45 p.m. After her two French poodles start barking and running in circles, Carol Vander Plate hears a loud rumbling sound outside her home on Hamburg Mountain in Hardyston Township, New Jersey. She looks outside and sees an object twice the size of a jet hovering above some trees about 400 feet away. It turns from white to pink and has three portholes that are black inside. Her TV set goes off, and when she turns on a porch light, the object seems to turn off two large spotlights. After 30 seconds it turns green and takes off like a “streak of lightning.” Other witnesses call into radio station WLVP [now WSUS-FM] to report seeing the object. (Berthold E. Schwarz, “ UFOs in New Jersey,” Pursuit 7, no. 2 (April 1974): 31, 32–33)
April 1 — 10:40 p.m. A man driving 5 miles south of Tangier, Oklahoma, reaches a hilltop and sees a green object wider than the road flying north at very high speed, emitting a shrieking noise and a “heat wave.” The car engine dies. ( Sparks, p. 313)
April 2 — 2:02 p.m. James Kibel, a Melbourne businessman who is a member of the Victorian Flying Saucer Research Society, sees a shiny, hemispherical object above his garden in Balwyn, Victoria. It looks to be 20–25 feet in diameter and 120 feet in the air. “It seemed to float down towards me,” he says. “It resembled a big mushroom with a stalk pointing towards the earth.” He snaps a Polaroid photo, after which the object takes off and disappears to the north. However, when B. Roy Frieden, professor of optical sciences at the University of Arizona, examines the photo, he finds a jagged line of discontinuity running across the center of the image suggesting there are separate photos joined together and rephotographed. In 2017, Canadian researcher François Beaulieu reexamines the original and notices the reflection of the house below in the shiny object, and he finds that the discontinuity is actually caused by the Polaroid developing chemicals spreading unevenly across the photo. (“ ‘Best Photo’ Yet—in Australia,” APRO Bulletin, May/June 1966, p. 1; “ V.F.S.R.S. Member Snaps a UFO,” Australian Flying Saucer Review (Victorian Edition), no. 5 (July 1966): 2; “ The Balwyn Photo,” APRO Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1966, p. 1; “ Report on UFO Photographed at Balwyn,” Australian Flying Saucer Review (Victorian Edition), no. 6 (December 1966): 11–12; Story, p. 40; Keith Basterfield and Paul Dean, “ Stage One Report on the 2nd April 1966, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, UFO Observation and Photograph by James Johnson Kibel,” 2016; Keith Basterfield and Paul Dean, “ Stage Two Report on the 2nd April 1966, Balwyn, Melbourne, Victoria, Visual and Photographic UFO Sighting by James Johnson Kibel,” 2016; François Beaulieu, “ A Re-evaluation of the Balwyn UFO Photograph,” February 23, 2017)
April 4 - 7:50 p.m. Businessman Ronald F. Sullivan is driving about 60 mph along the Wimmera Highway near Burkes Flat, Victoria, Australia. In the distance he sees a light near the road. Suddenly, the headlights of his vehicle bend to the right and light up a nearby fence. He brakes his car. In the middle of an adjacent field, he sees a column of light some 25 feet high and shaped like an inverted ice cream cone, 3 feet wide at the bottom and 10 feet wide at the top. It then rises to a height of 20 feet, after which the whole light complex disappears. There is no associated noise. Sullivan drives on north to Wycheproof, where he checks his lights but finds nothing wrong. On the night of April 7, 19-year-old Gary Taylor is killed at the same spot when the car he is driving leaves the road and hits a tree. Police find a circular impression about 2-5 inches deep and 5 feet in diameter in the freshly plowed field. (NICAP, " Bent Headlights Case"; " Flying Saucer Scare on Road," Canberra Times, April 12, 1966, p. 4; " Strange Incident in Australia," APRO Bulletin, May/June 1966, p. 1; " Car Headlight Beams Reported `Bent,'" Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 3 (May/June 1966): 3; Stephen L. Smith, " The Bent Beams Case," Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 5 (Sept./ Oct. 1966): iii; Bill Chalker, " The Bent Headlight Beam Case Revisited," UFO Research Australia Newsletter 5, no. 3 (May/June 1984): 17-29; Bill Chalker, " The 1966 Burkes Flat `Bent Headlight Beams' Case Revisited: Followup," TheOzFiles, March 18, 2014; " VufoA-Tv Presents the Burkes Flat UFO Incident: The Tale of Two Men," VUFOA-TV Victorian UFO Action YouTube channel, March 18, 2014; Clark IV 1213-1214)
April 5 — 1:30 a.m. A woman in Durhamville, New York, is awakened by a flash. She thinks her trailer heater has exploded, but everything is in order. The next day, three witnesses tell her a pulsating, luminous object had flown directly above her trailer. (Vallée, Magonia, p. 327)
April 5 — 3:00 a.m. Lillian Louis, in Lycoming, New York, sees a spinning object from her kitchen window. It seems to be 10 feet in diameter and is shooting exhaust 20 feet above the ground near her house. It departs suddenly, leaving a trail. ( Sparks, p. 313)
April 5 — The House Armed Services Committee conducts the first public hearing by the US Congress on the topic of UFOs. Air Force Secretary Harold Brown testifies that while USAF has done an excellent job on UFOs, perhaps there is room for “even stronger emphasis on the scientific aspects.” Hynek recommends that a “civilian panel of physical and social scientists … examine the UFO problem critically for the express purpose of determining whether a major problem exits.” Quintanilla is the only other witness. After Committee Chairman L. Mendel Rivers expresses some enthusiasm for the idea, Brown suddenly realizes that maybe he has found a way to get the Air Force out of UFO investigations. Shortly after the hearing, Brown tells the USAF Office of Scientific Research to accept the February 3 O’Brien recommendation to seek a university that will accept a contract to study the 600 officially unidentified UFO sightings. (US House Committee on Armed Services, Hearing, Unidentified Flying Objects, 89th Congress, 2nd Session, April 5, 1966; Clark III 619, 924, 1192; Graff 207–208; Clark IV 679, 1034–1035, 1366)
April 5 — 7:00 p.m. Four people see a landed object through binoculars at Kittery, Maine. It takes off, hovers for a while, then departs. ( Sparks, p. 313)
April 5 — Midnight. W. Smith and another man in Alto, Tennessee, stop to watch a 100-foot long UFO hovering 15 feet above a swamp. They try to follow it, but it flies away, flying between a high-tension power line and a row of trees. Cows, dogs, and horses are restless in all the areas where the object passes over. ( Sparks, p. 313)
April 6 — Around 10:15 a.m. A class of students and a teacher from Westall High School [now Westall Secondary College] in Clayton South, Victoria, Australia, are just completing a sport activity on the main oval when they see an object, described as a gray saucer-shaped craft with a slight purple hue and about twice the size of a family car. Witness descriptions are mixed: Andrew Greenwood, a science teacher, tells The Dandenong Journal at the time that he saw a silvery-green disc. According to witnesses, the object is descending and then crosses and flies over the high school’s southwest corner, going in a southeasterly direction before disappearing from sight as it descends behind a stand of trees and into a paddock at The Grange in front of the Westall State School (primary students). After about 20 minutes, the object—with witnesses now numbering over 200—then climbs at speed and departs towards the northwest. As the object gains altitude, some accounts describe it as being pursued from the scene by five unidentified aircraft that circle it. Some describe one disc, others claim to see three. Soon after the incident, military trucks and jeeps arrive, and the students are taken to an assembly hall and told not to speak of the sighting. The Victorian Flying Saucer Research Society arrives on the site on April 8, speaks to students, and views the ground marking, originally described as a large patch of yellow, flattened grass with a swirly pattern. (Wikipedia, “ Westall UFO”; “ Object Perhaps Balloon,” Melbourne Age, April 7, 1966, p. 6; “F Flying Saucer Mystery: School Silent, What Was It?” Dandenong (Vic.) Journal, April 14, 1966, p. 1; “ Flying Saucer Mystery Deepens: Who Were 5 Pilots?” Dandenong (Vic.) Journal, April 21, 1966, p. 1; “ Scoop! Flying Saucer over Westall,” Australian Flying Saucer Review, no. 5 (July 1966): 13–14; Bill Chalker, The Oz Files, Duffy-Snellgrove, 1996, pp. 116–121; “ Academic Throws Light on 40-Year-Old UFO Mystery,” Melbourne Age, October 2, 2005; Internet Movie Database, Westall ’66: A Suburban UFO Mystery, 2010; Top Documentary Films, Westall ’66: A Suburban UFO Mystery, 2010; Brian Dunning, “ The Westall ’66 UFO,” Skeptoid podcast, no. 208, June 1, 2010; Westall Flying Saucer Incident Facebook group; “ Our ‘Roswell’ Now One for the History Books,” Melbourne Age, June 4, 2011; Bill Chalker, “ Westall ’66: UFO or HIBAL? The Answer Is Perhaps Not ‘Blowing in the Wind,’” TheOzFiles, August 10, 2014; Kate Kachor, “ Westall Flying Saucer: One of Australia’s Baffling Mysteries Unsolved 52 Years On,” 9News, North Sydney, N.S.W., April 6, 2018; “ Audio Reveals Creepy Details of Australian UFO Mystery,” news.com.au, August 7, 2018; Coulthart 2023, pp. 54–58; Alex Crowe, “ It Definitely Happened: Westall UFO Witnesses Want Answers to Decades-Long Mystery,” Melbourne Age, April 6, 2024; Terri Berends, “ Strange Lights in the Sky: The Westall UFO Event, 1966,” State Library of Victoria Blog, April 6, 2024; Clark IV 1261–1267, 1456–1459; Caleb Taylor, “ Witness to Australia’s Most Famous UFO Claim Questioned in ‘Balloon Theory’ on 59th Anniversary of Event,” 7News (Australia), April 25, 2025; Bill Chalker, “ Victor Zakruzny and the 1966 Westall UFO: A Tribute,” TheOzFiles, June 29, 2025; Frank Chung, “ ‘Australia’s Roswell’: Calls for Fresh Inquiry into 60-Year-Old Westall UFO Mystery,” news.com.au, September 3, 2025; Cam Lucadou-Wells, “ Seeking the Westall UFO ‘Truth,’” Cranbourne (Vic.) Star-News, September 7, 2025)
April 6 — NICAP Assistant Director Richard Hall writes to Gerald Ford, congratulating him on his call for a congressional investigation, saying, “History will record the important role you have played in helping to bring about a rational study of UFOs and public enlightenment on the subject.” (Bill Murphy, “ The Swamp Gas Aftermath: Some Notes from the Gerald Ford Files,” IUR 33, no. 2 (July 2010): 10, 13)
April 8 — 8:05 a.m. Mike Dorsey and Gary Hunt, both 12, are walking along Redcoat Road in Norwalk, Connecticut, when they see sunlight reflecting off a distant object to the west and behind them. It zooms toward them in a flash, passes overhead from west to east, turns, makes a second pass from east to west, turns again, and makes a third pass. It makes a low humming sound when it passes about 15 feet above them. The boys run to the Holy Ghost Seminary nearby and hide under a nearby bridge abutment as the object continues to maneuver. When it hovers, it does so edge down and makes a fluttering motion. The disc looks metallic, 8 feet in diameter, has a black spot on top near its rim, and a red light on top of an antenna-like protrusion. Red and white lights appear to rotate counterclockwise. Nearly 2 hours later, the object takes off in a burst of speed. (“ Boys Chased by UAO,” APRO Bulletin, May/June 1966, p. 5)
April 11 — Keyhoe appears on the US game show To Tell the Truth, where three of the four panelists correctly identify him as “the real Donald Keyhoe.” (“ 1966-04-11: Major Donald Keyhoe on To Tell the Truth,” Tom Owens UAP YouTube channel, December 2, 2019; Powell, Keyhoe, 339)
April 17 — 5:00 a.m. Portage County Deputy Sheriff Dale F. Spaur and Deputy Wilbur (“Barney”) Neff are 4 miles east of Randolph, Ohio, when they see a moving light through some trees at the top of a small hill along the road. The light is headed in their direction. They have heard of a UFO reported over police radio that night and figure this must be what was seen. The object hovers 50–100 feet in the air, bathing the two officers in a bright light. Spaur’s eyes water up. They rush to the cruiser and radio the station; the dispatcher says to wait there until a car with a camera arrives. The object makes some sharp maneuvers, and Spaur drives toward it cautiously. The UFO is 18–24 feet thick and about 35–45 feet in diameter. The object is so bright he hardly needs his headlights to drive. It speeds up whenever Spaur accelerates, and soon he is driving at 80 mph. As the UFO reaches Mahoning County, the pursuit is being broadcast over police radios in three counties. As they reach East Palestine, Ohio, Patrolman H. Wayne Huston sees the UFO and follows Spaur and Neff, at times reaching 100 mph. Just before 5:30 a.m., two police officers in Salem, Ohio, see the UFO as a “bright ball” much larger than a jet. They also see three jets following it, apparently Air Force Reserve planes from Youngstown, Ohio. Police officer Frank Panzarella in Conway, Pennsylvania, sees the UFO, very bright and in the “shape of a half of a football.” He hears on his radio that a jet interception is in progress. Now in Pennsylvania, Spaur and Neff are given orders to abandon the chase. For most of the event, the object has remained at 1,000 feet, but now it rises to 3,500 feet and hovers. Then it shoots even higher and disappears. In 30 minutes, many police and civilians have seen the UFO. Panzarella alerts the Rochester, Pennsylvania, police operator, John Beighey, and asks him to contact the Greater Pittsburgh International Airport. Beighey calls Panzarella and says the Air Force wants to talk to the police witnesses. Spaur, Neff, and Huston go to the Rochester, Pennsylvania, police station and Spaur phones the USAF station at Pittsburgh. Spaur speaks to some colonel who tries to convince him he has seen something conventional. NICAP’s William B. Weitzel, a philosophy professor, begins his own investigation, tracking down witnesses. Within a few weeks, he or his NICAP associates have interviewed all the police officers, as well as several others who have figured in the UFO chase, either as dispatchers or as those who overheard the radio communications. NICAP members also interview some civilians who claim to have seen a UFO at the same time of the chase and/or had monitored police scanners. (NICAP, “ Portage County UFO Chase”; Sparks, p. 314; NICAP, [ case photos and drawings]; Michael D. Swords, [case files and clippings]; Center for UFO Studies, [ Gerald Buchert photo case file]; Center for UFO Studies, [clippings, part one, part two]; “ Saucer Chase Sets Probers Humming,” Akron (Ohio) Beacon-Journal, April 18, 1966, pp. 1–2; William B. Weitzel, “ The P-13 UFO: Summary Report on April 17, 1966, UFO ‘Chase’ from Portage County, Ohio, into Conway, Pennsylvania,” June 28, 1966; William B. Weitzel, “ The Portage County Sighting,” April 8, 1967; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 113–124; UFOEv II 44; Patrick Gross, “ 1966 Portage County UFO Chase by Policemen”; Wendy Connors, “Cops and Saucers: Law Enforcement and UFO’s, 1957–1981 Guide,” November 20, 2013, audioclips 20, 21, 22, 23; Clark III 906–914; “ 85-Mile UFO Chase Discussed by Witness Deputy Sheriff Dale Spaur, 1966: Introduced by Richard Hall,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, January 4, 2024; Clark IV 1016–1024)
April 18 — The US Air Force begins a cursory investigation into the Portage County, Ohio, police chase case. Initially they telephone local news outlets, seeking information. However, local newspapers and radio have only vague outlines of the case. Air Force investigators also interviewed meteorologists and weather agency personnel, hoping to learn that a weather balloon was launched in the area during the UFO chase. They learn that there were no weather balloons launched that morning, and also that the wind had been so mild that the police would have had no difficulty catching up with any wind-borne object. Quintanilla calls Spaur to ask him about “this mirage you saw.” Spaur insists he has seen a clearly defined metallic object maneuvering at very low altitudes. When Quintanilla asks if they watched the object for more than a few minutes, Spaur asserts that he and Neff chased it for over half an hour, and that Huston saw the object for much of that period, and that Panzanella too had seen it. Quintanilla then, as Spaur says, “kind of lost interest.” (Clark III 910; Clark IV 1020)
April 18 — An egg-shaped object, 80 feet in diameter and 15 feet high, is observed from a distance of 80 feet by a 42-year-old witness driving a car near Battle Creek, Michigan. The object supports a cockpit with windows and three rows of lights, emits red flames, and makes the same noise as a heavy truck on wet pavement. The object follows the car for some time. ( Sparks, p. 314; Vallée, Magonia, p. 329)
April 18 — Researcher John Keel visits NICAP in preparation for writing an article on UFOs for Playboy. He meets with Keyhoe and Richard H. Hall, who offer him full access to the NICAP files and free use of the facilities. He comments, “The small staff of six is doing a remarkable job of keeping abreast of the situation and maintaining a thorough file on sightings throughout the United States.” (John A. Keel, “Visit to Col. Maston Jacks, Project Bluebook, Pentagon,” part 1, April 26, 1966; Powell, Keyhoe, 339; Eghigian, After, p. 251)
April 19 — John Keel arrives unannounced at the Public Information Office (Room 4C922) in the Pentagon to interview Lt. Col. Maston M. Jacks about Project Blue Book. The tense, sometimes heated, encounter lasts two hours. Keel berates Jacks for his lack of knowledge of UFO history and his dubious claim that the Air Force has no photos or films of UFOs. Jacks offers to put him in touch with Hynek, but Keel remarks that “Hynek made a public fool of himself in Michigan and that the public would no longer accept him as an ‘expert.’” Jacks offers to put him in touch with Quintanilla at Wright-Patterson, but Keel says he is not interested in listening to “another man parrot the Air Force line.” Keel concludes in a summary report that “Project Bluebook is just a shabby cover up effort and it has now reached the end of its effectiveness.” (John A. Keel, “Visit to Col. Maston Jacks, Project Bluebook, Pentagon,” part 2, part 3, April 26, 1966; Powell, Keyhoe, 339–341)
April 19 — 10:45 p.m. In Peabody, Massachusetts, witnesses report an oval object with red, green, and white body lights, oscillating up and down when in motion. The object appears to land in a field off State Highway 114. At 12:00 midnight, two men driving along that route see the lighted disc rise and fly away. (Vallée, Magonia, p. 329; Raymond E. Fowler, UFOs: Interplanetary Visitors, Exposition, 1974, p. 339;)
April 21 — William Dean Howe, MP for Ottawa, Ontario, urges a serious investigation of UFOs in the Canadian House of Commons. (“ Canadian Projects,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 10 (Feb./March 1969): 6)
April 21 — Rep. Gerald Ford (R-Mich.) issues a press release: “It was as a result of my call for a congressional investigation that the Air Force is now arranging for a study of UFO’s by topflight scientists not connected in any way with the Air Force.” (“ Statement by House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford, R-Michigan,” April 21, 1966)
April 22 — Lt. Col. Robert R. Hippler of the USAF Directorate of Science and Technology is tasked with recruiting a university for the UFO project suggested by the O’Brien committee in February. He assembles a panel of experts that suggests he bring in H. Guyford Stever, head of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board. Stever queries MIT, Harvard, the University of California, Northwestern University, and the University of North Carolina, but all refuse to deal with UFOs. (Swords 307–308)
April 22 — 9:00–9:45 p.m. Witnesses in Beverly, Massachusetts, including two police officers, see a platter-shaped object the size of a large automobile with 3 red-green-white lights hover silently over Beverly High School then depart to the southwest. At one point, witnesses see the object only 20–30 feet above the head of another witness. The Colorado project investigators thought the witnesses viewing distant objects were seeing Jupiter, but they could not explain the close encounter. ( Sparks, p. 314; Condon, pp. 266–270; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 106–108; Roy Craig, UFOs: An Insiders’ View of the Official Quest for Evidence, University of North Texas, 1995; Patrick Gross, “ The Case in Beverly, Massachusetts, USA, on April 22, 1966”)
April 23 — 10:45 p.m. On hearing a listener call in a live UFO sighting on WMEX radio, Jeanne Kalnicki of Dorchester, Massachusetts, goes to the window with her two daughters and sees an oval, domed UFO with a ring of blinking red lights bobbing up and down above a building across the street. A yellow light is on top of the dome and alternately flashes on when the red lights blink off. It moves across the street and appears to be moving directly toward them at eye level. Humming, the object moves between their apartment building and the one next door, where it hovers for a few minutes. When the yellow light goes off, Kalnicki can see a glow within the dome. The object then moves erratically away to the east. The family goes to bed, but at 5:00 a.m., 11-year-old Judy Kalnicki is too upset to sleep, She wakes up when she sees a light coming in her window and realizes that the UFO is right outside, bobbing up and down, looking about the size of their 1955 Lincoln automobile, and flashing its lights as before. Thinking it is going to come inside her bedroom, Judy screams. Seemingly in response, the object speeds up its bobbing motion, and she hears a heavy thudding sound. The windows rattle, Judy’s bed rocks, and all the lights in the house go off. Downstairs, their German shepherd is whining and scratching at the door. The entire family rushes to the back porch, where they watch the object for about 12 minutes moving to the north toward Boston. The lights come back on. NICAP’s investigation shows that the power failure affected 2,500 homes in the area and was caused by two cables burning out a block away from the Kalnicki apartment. One particle on the window sill registered a strong radiation reading of .025 milliroentgens per hour from a Geiger counter. (“ Close Approaches Frighten Observers,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 8 (May/June 1966): 7; Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, pp. 45–47)
April 24 — Night. Marvin and Viola Swartwood are driving in a rainstorm on State Highway 34B near Fleming, New York, when a “brilliant, flashing ball of fire” appears three feet above the front and slightly to the right of their car. The fire ball lights up the surrounding area, falls onto the car with a loud snap, and vanishes. As the ball lightning hits, Viola feels a shock in her neck and an impulse in her right arm. They drive to the sheriff’s office and then to a local hospital because the right side of Viola’s body is partially paralyzed. She is in satisfactory condition 5 days later. There is no damage to the car or any reports of normal lightning in the area. (“ ‘Ball of Fire’ Hits Car; Woman Passenger Hurt,” Syracuse (N.Y.) Post-Standard, April 28, 1966, p. 38; “ Ball-of-Fire Victim’s Condition Improving,” Binghamton (N.Y.) Press and Sun-Bulletin, April 29, 1966, p. 3C; Mark Rodeghier, “ UFO/Vehicle Very Close Encounters,” IUR 27, no. 1 (Spring 2002): 24)
April 25 — 8:52 p.m. Florida Gov. W. Haydon Burns’s campaign airplane is paced by a UFO. Copilot Herb Bates first notices the UFO when the Convair takes off from Orlando, Florida, headed for Tallahassee. It appears as two bright yellow globes side by side. In the vicinity of Ocala, at about 6,000 feet, everyone on board is alerted and watches the object pacing the plane on the right side. The lights fluctuate in brightness but are very distinct. Burns orders the pilot to turn toward the UFO, and the lights quickly begin a steep climb then disappear. (Bill Mansfield, “ I Was with Burns and Saw ‘Flying Saucer,’” Miami (Fla.) Herald, April 27, 1966, p. 1; “ Florida Governor Sights UFO,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 8 (May/June 1966): 3; “ Governor Haydon Burns Sees a UFO,” Educating Humanity, April 26, 2016)
Late April — When he learns that Rep. J. William Stanton (R-Ohio) has expressed an interest in the UFO chase, NICAP investigator William B. Weitzel writes him a detailed letter, outlining the inconsistencies and shortcomings of Quintanilla’s explanations. Portage County (Ohio) Judge Robert Eugene Cook (an acquaintance of Spaur and Neff) also writes to Stanton, defending the police officers’ judgment and characterizing the Air Force investigation as “grossly unfair” to Spaur and Neff. Stanton fails to get an answer from the Air Force, so he contacts USAF Chief of Community Relations Division Lt. Col. John Spalding, who promises to send an investigator. Stanton later writes to Defense Secretary Robert McNamara about Blue Book’s treatment of his constituents. (Clark III 911; Clark IV 1021)
May 4 - 4:30 a.m. An FAA air traffic controller tracks an unidentified non-transponding target for about 5 miles at Charleston, West Virginia. The crew of Braniff Airline Flight 42, headed east at 33,000 feet, sees a white-blue object giving off brilliant, flaming light of alternating white- green-red colors. The radar shows the object veering 8-10 miles away at the 10 o'clock position, then approaching the Braniff airliner to a distance of 3 miles. It then makes a 180° left turn to the northwest within a diameter of 5 miles at 1,000 mph, which the Braniff crew confirms as the object descends from 20° above the horizon. (NICAP, " Charleston R/V Case"; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 83-86; Martin Shough, RADCAT: Radar Catalogue: A Review of Twenty-One Ground and Airborne Radar UAP Contact Reports Generally Related to Aviation Safety for the Period October 15, 1948, to September 19, 1976, National Aviation Reporting Center on Anomalous Phenomena, NARCAP Report TR-6, December 8, 2002, pp. 115-118)
May 6 — Before 2:00 a.m. Near Carnestown, Florida, on the Tamiami Trail, William Karelas encounters a “large white light” that approaches his car from behind, coming within 100–150 feet and shifting color to blue-green. As he tries to flee, the UFO zooms past him with a whooshing sound, circles to the left, and vanishes. (“ ‘Disbeliever’ Tells of Chase on Tamiami Trail with UFO,” Fort Myers (Fla.) News-Press, May 7, 1966, pp. 1–2; “ 8 May: Carnestown,” Saucer Scoop 1, no. 1 (August 1966): 4))
May 8 — Day. James Pfeiffer, an American aviation executive on business in Ipameri, Goiás, Brazil, is sitting at a lagoon-side restaurant overlooking the Ipameri River, when he notices a strange object moving slowly in the sky. The object is a spheroid, about 70 feet in diameter, and extremely smooth. It hovers roughly 1,500 feet above the river before suddenly accelerating to around 200 mph and making a sharp 90° right turn without banking or skidding. It emits a high-pitched sound followed by a low-pitched whine loud enough to draw restaurant employees outside. The craft then descends into the woods across the river. Pfeiffer manages to take two photographs before it disappears. (Life, October 28, 1966, pp. 40–40A; “ Saucer Briefs,” Saucer News 14, no. 1 (Spring 1967): 34, 35; Wendelle C. Stevens, “ Domed Cone UFOs,” APRO Bulletin 26, no. 1 (July 1977): 1, 4)
May 10 — The documentary “UFO: Friend, Foe, or Fantasy?” appears on CBS Reports, hosted by Walter Cronkite and narrator Bill Stout. Guests include Carl Sagan, Donald Menzel, Harold Brown, Lawrence Tacker, Donald Keyhoe, and J. Allen Hynek. The tenor of the show is to debunk UFOs, although Cronkite says the CIA has been secretly tracking UFO sightings around the world, even as it denies doing so. Air Force Capt. Gary Reese claims that NORAD’s satellite-tracking radar covers altitudes from 100,000 feet to 2,000 miles up but never finds any UFOs. He neglects to mention that UFOs are found in the atmosphere below 100,000 feet. (Even so, NORAD has been detecting occasional Unidentified Satellites, USATs, for years.) Reese makes a broad statement that the Air Force has never substantiated a “flying saucer” despite NORAD’s covering “nearly every square foot of the US” on its radar. USAF Maj. Albert Morse of NORAD spacetrack network supports Reese. A handwritten letter by Robertson Panel member Thornton Page, discovered in the Smithsonian’s archives by Michael D. Swords, confirms the CIA’s long-suspected role in the CBS program. In the September 10, 1966, letter, Page relates to Frederick C. Durant that he “helped organize the CBS TV show around the Robertson Panel’s conclusions.” Quintanilla has spent 3 days editing and censoring the TV program’s script to make sure it conforms to USAF public relations policy. (“ Columnists Hit NBC Documentary,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 8 (May/June 1966): 8; Terry Hanson, “ Close Encounters of the Nuclear Kind,” Online Journal, March 31, 2009; Jacobsen, Area 51, pp. 206–207; “Swords 195–196, 308; UFO: Friend, Foe or Fantasy? 1966,” nutsandbolts ufo YouTube channel, February 15, 2013; Clark III 808–809; “ ‘UFO: Friend, Foe or Fantasy’: An Investigation into the UFO Phenomenon, Hosted by Walter Cronkite,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, October 3, 2023; Clark IV 900–902)
May 17 — Weitzel writes to Quintanilla with another critique of the Blue Book explanation. Even Hynek urges the USAF Foreign Technology Division to change the designation to “unknown.”
May 21 — 3:15 p.m. William C. Powell is flying a light Luscombe aircraft over Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, with one passenger, Muriel McCrave. He spots a bright-red circular disc with a dome on top as it is apparently following an outbound flight of Navy jets from NAS Willow Grove [now NAS Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove] at 4,500 feet. The object makes a sharp turn without banking and approaches his plane on a near-collision course, passing below the starboard wing about 300 feet away and disappearing to the rear. They both get a good look at the object, which has no wings or visible means of propulsion. (NICAP, “ Domed Disc Observed by Pilot and Passenger (Powell Case)”; Keyhoe and Lore, UFOs: A New Look, 1968, p. 6; James E. McDonald, “ Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, pp. 45–46; UFOEv II 44–45)
May 22 — A witness driving between Blue River, British Columbia, and Jasper, Alberta, sees a gray object the size of a car and shaped like a bowl land on the road and make a whining noise. After it silently takes off, the object leaves three impressions of landing pads about 4 feet square. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, p. 184)
May 27 — In the House of Commons, MP Claire Brooks asks Secretary of State for Defence Merlyn Rees how many unexplained UFO reports were logged by his department in 1964–1965. He replies 5 out of 74 for 1964 and 14 out of 56 for 1965. (Isaac Koi, “ UFOs in Parliament (UK),” Isaac Koi—UFOs and Parliament, 2024)
May 27 — A couple watch a 30-foot disc-shaped object approach to within 150–200 feet of their lake cottage north of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, before departing. (Allen Utke, “ Flying Saucers, Cigars, Triangles—Even Beehives Have Been Reported by Observers,” Appleton (Wis.) Sunday Post-Crescent, April 21, 1968, Sunday magazine, pp. 6–7; Alexis Downs, “ Saucers Have Been Sighted in Wisconsin,” Oshkosh (Wis.) Northwestern, July 18, 1968, p. 21)
June — 3:15 a.m. Edward Argerake is asleep at his home in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, when his bedroom explodes in light. He hears a pinging noise a light source begins pulsing with diffraction rings outside his window shades. He begins to feel numb and weak, but the sounds grows louder and he lapses into unconsciousness. He wakes up at 6:15 a.m. and the light and noise are gone. Because of this event he becomes interested in UFOs and joins NICAP’s Massachusetts subcommittee. (Michael D. Swords, “ A Trick of the Light,” IUR 31, no. 2 (June 2007): 10–11)
June — Night. A married couple in their summer home on the northeast side of Bois Blanc Island, Michigan, notice a bright white light low over the Straits of Mackinac, apparently near the shore. The man goes outside and there are two lights that seem to be higher. Suddenly multi-colored lights appear around the two original ones, and a cluster of lights rise from the water’s surface toward the others. All the lights then go out. (“ Multi-Colored UFOs at Mackinac,” Detroit (Mich.) Free Press, March 5, 1967, magazine, p. 14; Dolan, USO1, 285–286)
June 1 — 10:30 p.m. On Lake Ontario, off Clarkson, Ontario, former RCAF pilot Richard H. Plewman and Jack Grant are cruising on the lake when they see lights on the water ahead. They can see a disc with a dome on top casting an oval reflection on the lake surface. Around the dome is a row of bright yellow lights; blue-green lights are visible around the lower perimeter. After hovering briefly, the UFO takes off at high speed and disappears. (“ New Reports by Space Experts Add to UFO Proof,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 9 (Aug./Sept. 1966): 5)
June 2 - 7:30 p.m. Harold Harper is talking with neighbors in his front yard in Massillon, Ohio, when they see a large lighted object coming from the southwest. It is about 50-60 feet in diameter, smoky in color, and cigar-shaped with a ball on one end. It stops and hovers at about 1,000 feet altitude. Then three smaller objects appear to come from it; they gain altitude, separate, and disappear at terrific speed in different directions. The large object goes straight up at terrific speed. (Massillon (Ohio) Evening Independent, June 3, 1966; Herbert S. Taylor, " Satellite Objects: A Further Look," IUR 29, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 25-26)
June 6–8 — James McDonald has obtained a small amount of money from the Office of Naval Research to travel to Wright- Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio, and examine the Blue Book files. On his first visit, he is steered to an unedited copy of the Robertson Panel report. As it has not been released, McDonald is disturbed, seeing it as evidence that the CIA is directing a cover-up. (Ann Druffel, Firestorm, Wild Flower, 2003, pp. 55–65; Clark III 696, 1017; Powell, Keyhoe, 342; Graff 211; Clark IV 792, 1131)
June 6–10 — The US Army releases Bacillus globigii into the tunnels of the New York City Subway system during peak travel hours as part of a field experiment on the vulnerability of subway passengers in New York City to covert attack with biological agents. (Department of the Army, U.S. Army Activity in the U.S.: Biological Warfare Programs, volume 1, February 24, 1977; “ Army Report Details Germ War Exercise in N.Y. Subway in ’66,” Washington Post, April 21, 1980; “ How the U.S. Government Exposed Thousands of Americans to Lethal Bacteria to Test Biological Warfare,” Democracy Now!, July 13, 2005; John Ellis and Courtland Moon, “The US Biological Weapons Program,” in Mark Wheelis and Lajos Rózsa, eds., Deadly Cultures: Biological Weapons Since 1956, Harvard University, 2009, pp. 26–28)
June 8 — McDonald visits Hynek at the Lindheimer Astrophysical Research Center in Evanston, Illinois, saying heatedly that he should have spoken up about the CIA cover-up and all the absurd explanations that he made up: “Allen, how could you have sat on this data for 18 years and not let us know about it?” Hynek’s then-associate Jacques Vallée has to intervene. Hynek replies that if he did, the Air Force would just replace him and he would lose access to all the files. McDonald says Hynek should have spoken up in 1953 and cannot get Hynek to agree that he is even a little bit timid. (Jacques Vallée, Forbidden Science, North Atlantic, 1992, pp. 186–187; Ann Druffel, Firestorm, Wild Flower, 2003, pp. 67–72; O’Connell 201; Clark III 696; Eghigian, After, p. 201; Hynek IV 792–793)
June 8 — X-15 pilot Joseph A. Walker is killed when his F-104 Starfighter chase aircraft collides with a North American XB-70 Valkyrie. At an altitude of about 25,000 feet, Walker’s Starfighter is one of five aircraft in a tight group formation for a General Electric publicity photo when his F-104 drifts into contact with the XB-70’s right wingtip. The F-104 flips over, and, rolling inverted, passes over the top of the XB-70, striking both its vertical stabilizers and its left wing in the process, and explodes, killing Walker. The Valkyrie enters an uncontrollable spin and crashes into the ground north of Barstow, California, killing copilot Carl S. Cross. Its pilot, Alvin S. White, ejects and is the sole survivor. (Wikipedia, “ Joseph A. Walker”)
June 11 — Early morning. Several witnesses driving from Dabajuro to Coro, Falcón State, Venezuela, stop to watch a triangular object that stops and hovers in midair for short intervals. The object gives off a beam of light in various directions. (“ The South American Scene,” APRO Bulletin, July/Aug. 1966, p. 8)
Mid-June — 1:30 a.m. Student pilot Joseph Gambucci is flying near Hibbing, Minnesota, when he sees a bright, elliptical light making three 360° turns to the left at approximately 3,000 mph. The light is white, mixed with green and red. It climbs to 40° above the horizon then disappears at a height of 31,000 feet. Gambucci checks with Duluth Air National Guard Base, which reports having a UFO on radar at the same position as his aircraft. Other radar units in northern Minnesota and southern Canada are said to track the object. (NICAP case file)
June 16 — Dusk. Several witnesses in Uniopolis, Ohio, watch a domed black disc with lights and a powerful light beam shining from its bottom. One of the observers is alerted by his dog barking persistently and looking to the south. The object flies directly over the house, heading north, and is also seen by his wife, a neighbor, and the neighbor’s children. The light beam shines into a nearby wood, lighting up the trees. (Michael D. Swords, “ The Timmerman Files,” IUR 26, no. 4 (Winter 2001–2002): 13–14)
June 19 — 12:05 a.m. A group of Boy Scouts camping out at Mount Mitchell State Park, North Carolina, sees three red pulsating lights in a triangular pattern approach, then hover until about 5:00 a.m. The lights blink at different speeds, with the center one turning white every fifth pulsation. At sunrise, the object lifts up, appearing red and bell-shaped through binoculars. Six smaller objects are hovering nearby on either side of the larger object, changing formation. The group then disappears behind a mountain. When the Scouts start to explore in the direction of the objects, about 60 feet from their camp they discover trees with broken branches and some crushed undergrowth, plus three holes in the ground forming an equilateral triangle. ( Sparks, p. 315; Fred Merritt, “ A Preliminary Classification of Some Reports of UFOs,” IUR 28, no. 3 (Fall 2003): 10)
June 19 — 9:45 p.m. US Army soldiers are watching an outdoor movie at Nha Trang Air Base [now closed] on the southern edge of Nha Trang, Vietnam. The viewing is made possible by the installation of six new 100kw diesel-powered generators. A Shell Oil tanker is anchored in Nha Trang Bay, two Douglas A-1 Skyraider aircraft are warming up on an airstrip, and eight bulldozers are at work on nearby hills. Sgt. William Dalrymple sees the sky light up to the north and a bright object approaches, alternately moving at high speed and slowing down. It descends toward the soldiers, stops dead, and hovers about 300–500 feet above the ground. The surrounding valley and hills are lit up by it. Then the generators fail and everything on the base goes black for 4 minutes. The UFO finally goes straight up and out of sight in 2–3 seconds. (NICAP, “ Major E-M Case over Missile Site”; Bill Beeney, “ A Good Case for UFOs,” Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle, March 17, 1967, p. 8B; “ Vietnam UFO Incident Uncovered,” UFO Investigator, July 1973, pp. 1–2; Raymond E. Fowler, UFOs: Interplanetary Visitors, 1974, pp. 101–103; UFOEv II 80)
June 22 — Secretary of State for Defence Merlyn Rees tells the House of Commons that both military and civilian UFO reports are investigated, and that 351 reports were received between 1959 and 1965, adding that “No defence implications have been found.” (Isaac Koi, “ UFOs in Parliament (UK),” Isaac Koi—UFOs and Parliament, 2024)
June 23 — 3:42 a.m. NASA contract flight engineer Julian Sandoval and two independent witnesses see a glowing elongated object with a blunt end. It has a series of four body lights varying from brilliant green to a bluish tinge, and is hovering at an estimated 12,000 feet near Placitas, New Mexico. When the object moves its glow brightens, and it appears to be a powered craft. The witnesses watch the object for an hour and a half, after which it climbs vertically, accelerates to a high velocity, and disappears to the northeast in about 12 seconds. In a report to NICAP, Sandoval estimates the departure speed at “Mach 6 or better.” (“ Apollo Engineer Spots UFO,” APRO Bulletin, July/Aug. 1966, p. 2; “ New Reports by Space Experts Add to UFO Proof,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 9 (Aug./Sept. 1966): 3)
June 24 — 3:30 a.m. Officer William L. Stevens Jr. of the Richmond, Virginia, Police Department, is patrolling the northeastern section of the city in Car 625, going north on Meadowbridge Road near the city limits. About 4 blocks ahead is the Atlantic Rural Exposition Fairgrounds [now the Richmond Raceway]. Looking in that direction, Stevens notices some odd greenish-yellow lights in the distance. He radios the dispatcher and drives ahead to investigate. Above the Richmond-Henrico Turnpike, he sees a large, dirigible-like object hovering, with a row of alternating green and yellow lights around its perimeter, surrounded by a mist. The object seems to be about 100–125 feet long and 30–40 feet high with no structural details visible. Stevens accelerates toward the object, which reacts immediately by turning laterally about 90° and moving swiftly away. He continues to speed up, but the object maintains its distance. The chase continues into Hanover County, with Stevens going more than 100 mph. After 10–15 minutes, the object suddenly accelerates and disappears in a matter of seconds. (“ Police Chase in Virginia,” APRO Bulletin, July/August 1966, p. 7; “ New Reports by Space Experts Add to UFO Proof,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 9 (Aug./Sept. 1966): 3; George D. Fawcett, “ Reports of Flying Saucer Landings Still Continuing,” Allentown (Pa.) Morning Call, December 11, 1966, p. E-10; Keyhoe and Lore, UFOs: A New Look, 1968, p. 9; UFOEv II 187)
June 25 — 9:30 p.m. Several objects violate the air space over the Ellsworth AFB H-01 missile launch facility southwest of Union Center, South Dakota, setting off the vibration sensors. Helicopters attempt to chase the objects, but they fly away quickly to the north-northeast. Other sightings take place over the next week. (National UFO Reporting Center, [ case report]; Nukes 241–245)
June 30 — On James E. McDonald’s second visit to Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio, his request for a photocopy of the Robertson Panel report is denied. (Clark III 696; Clark IV 792)
June 30 — Richard Helms becomes director of central intelligence. He is the first DCI since Dulles to push hard for results in the mind-control field. Operation MKSearch goes into overdrive. Old projects are resurrected, abandoned projects reactivated. The safe houses are told to expect a steady supply of Viet Cong expendables to experiment on. One of the projects to be revived is the less than successful Operation Mindbender. Renamed Operation Spellbinder, the assignment is to create a sleeper killer, a real-life Manchurian Candidate. A hypnotist is recruited from the American Society of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. He becomes known to the CIA staff as “Dr. Fingers” and is selected because his file states that he has no qualms about conducting potentially terminal experiments. The intended victim of the experiment is Fidel Castro. After attempts to program several would-be assassins, the operation is discontinued and written off as a complete failure. (Sid Taylor, “ A History of Secret CIA Mind Control Research,” Nexus, April/May 1992; “ Project Spellbinder,” in Brad Steiger and Sherry Steiger, Conspiracies and Secret Societies: The Complete Dossier, 2nd ed., Visible Ink, 2012)
July — 11:00 a.m. An Air Force Douglas C-47 Skytrain is flying 25 miles southwest of Provo, Utah, when the pilot snaps two color-slide photos of a reddish disc-shaped object that briefly comes into view before speeding away. The Condon commission declines to examine the photos in detail, noting some discrepancies. (Condon, pp. 270–273; Patrick Gross, “ UFOs Photographed”)
July 4 — The Freedom of Information Act, requiring the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents controlled by the US government, is signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. (Wikipedia, “ Freedom of Information Act (United States)”)
July 7 — In a Blue Book briefing, Brig. Gen. William C. Garland, deputy chief of USAF Public Information at the Pentagon, again denies that NORAD radars have picked up any “spaceships,” interplanetary “interlopers,” or “extraterrestrial vehicles.” (Clark III 808; Clark IV 901)
July 9 — 2:00 p.m. Kenneth Arnold takes a 16mm film of a UFO over Idaho Falls, Idaho. The object looks like a weather balloon, but it is flying at a speed of 45–75 mph into a north-northwest wind. (Kim Hansen, “UFO Casebook,” UFOs 1947– 1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, p. 53)
July 13 — 2:00 a.m. Railway linesman Camillo Faieta is on duty at the crossing in Fornacette, Pisa, Italy, when he is dazzled by a powerful light coming from the Emissario Canal. The light goes out and he sees an object hovering above a small islet in the canal. Two little men emerge, but the bright light comes on again and the object takes off. Police turn up other witnesses, but Italian and US air force officers from the nearby Camp Darby military complex tell Faieta not to speak about the incident any further. (1Pinotti 147–148)
July 18 - 5:30 a.m. A man living on Marischal Street in Aberdeen, Scotland, is waiting for the milkman at a window facing the North Sea. He sees a gray disk about 15 feet in diameter and rotating slowly only about 30 feet above his window. It heads silently toward the sea on a straight course. (Carl Feindt, " Report #1093," waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 291)
July 18 — 9:00 a.m. W. T. (Red) Jackson and Kelly Dikeman, two mechanics at a service station in Baytown, Texas, see a white object shaped like two saucers face-to-face with a row of square windows in between. The object is hovering above a store about 300 feet away, then it begins moving, rapidly accelerates, and speeds away. (“ Baytonian, Witness Describe ‘Saucer,’” Baytown (Tex.) Sun, July 25, 1966, p. 1; “ Reflections Don’t Have Windows, Flying Saucer Witness Contends,” Houston (Tex.) Post, September 8, 1966, p. 9-SW; Gardner Soule, UFOs and IFOs: A Factual Report on Flying Saucers, Putnam, 1967, pp. 47–52; James E. McDonald, “ Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, pp. 57–58)
July 19 — MP John Langford-Holt asks UK Prime Minister Harold Wilson in the House of Commons whether, since the Defence Secretary is responsible only for air defense implications of UFOs, he would allocate the assessment of their wider implications to another department. Wilson says he will not, but that reports are taken seriously when there is adequate information. (Good Above, p. 60; Isaac Koi, “ UFOs in Parliament (UK),” Isaac Koi—UFOs and Parliament, 2024)
July 20 — James E. McDonald’s third visit to Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio. He is again denied a copy of the Robertson Panel report because it has been “reclassified.” He is convinced that USAF has done a lousy job of investigating UFOs and that UFOs are actually good evidence for the ETH. (Clark III 696; Clark IV 792)
July 22 — 9:00 p.m. W. J. Norton, curator of the Ludlow Museum, and his family see a UFO shaped like a silver isosceles triangle to the east of Llandrindod Wells, Powys, Wales. It hovers for 30–40 seconds and emits a low hum. (“ Llandrindod Triangle,” Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1966): 32)
July 22 — 11:25 p.m. While driving his son home from the railway station in Fremont, Indiana, a realtor and retired WWII Navy officer see an illuminated, 25-foot diameter disc with portholes on its lower convex surface. The object descends low over the car and hovers above it. They have it in view about 5–8 minutes. When two other cars approach, the object extinguishes its lights, then shoots straight up into the sky, leaving a trail of bluish light. (J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 108–109)
July 23 — James W. Moseley, with the help of Gray Barker and John Sheets, creates a hoax UFO film in a rural area called Lost Creek, near Clarksburg, West Virginia, using a model saucer dangling from a fishing pole on the top of their moving car. Moseley intends to use the film to accompany his lectures as a saucer expert. (“ UFO Film Received at Saucer News Headquarters,” Saucer News 13, no. 4 (Winter 1966/1967, p. 33; Gray Barker, “Invading West Virginia’s Saucer Lairs And Monster Hideouts,” Saga UFO Report, December 1976, pp. 36, 77; James W. Moseley and Karl T. Pflock, Shockingly Close to the Truth: Confessions of a Grave-Robbing Ufologist, Prometheus, 2002, pp. 205–206; “ Jim Moseley Presents The Lost Creek Saucer,” Blue Blurry Lines YouTube channel, June 24, 2014; Curt Collins, “ The Lost Creek Saucer: Confessions of a Grave-Robbing Ufologist,” In Honor of Jim Moseley blog, July 1, 2014; Mckee, Saucerian, p. 81)
Late July — Col. J. Thomas Ratchford, an AFOSR scientist, approaches the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, about contracting with the Air Force for a UFO study. Its director, Walter Orr Roberts, is interested, but William W. Kellogg, associate director of the Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics, is not. Roberts suggests the University of Colorado. Ratchford talks to prominent University of Colorado physicist Edward U. Condon, who hesitates but finds the $300,000 offered by the Air Force (plus $13,000 in operating expenses) attractive. (Robert J. Low, “ Some Thoughts on the UFO Project,” memo to E. James Archer and Thurston E. Manning, August 9, 1966; Swords 309; Clark III 1192; Powell, Keyhoe, 345–346; Eghigian, After, pp. 193–195; Clark IV 1366)
Late July — 7:00 p.m. Raquel Jodorowsky is in a traffic jam in Mexico City, Mexico, as people are getting out of their cars and looking to the sky. A large glowing object is hanging at 45° above the horizon to the east. The object ejects smaller bright objects that fly away. After 30 minutes the large object dims, becomes smaller, and disappears. (Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, p. 11)
July 29 — J. Allen Hynek writes to a citizen interested in UFOs and says that he thinks the Portage County, Ohio, case should be labeled unidentified and has told the Air Force as much. Its evaluation as a satellite or Venus has not originated with him as a mere consultant. (Bill Murphy, “ The Swamp Gas Aftermath: Some Notes from the Gerald Ford Files,” IUR 33, no. 2 (July 2010): 12)
July 30 — The fourth and final launch of a D-21 drone from an M-21 ends in disaster 150 miles off the coast of California. Unlike the three previous launches, this one is performed straight and level, not in an outside loop to assist in the separation of the drone from the aircraft. The D-21 suffers engine problems and strikes the M-21’s tail after separation, leading to the destruction of both aircraft. The two crew members eject and land at sea. The pilot, Bill Park, survives, but the launch control officer, Ray Torrick, drowns. Johnson decides to refit the D-21 to launch from a B-52 bomber in order to not endanger any more M-21s. (Wikipedia, “ Lockheed D-21”)
August 1 — Jacques Vallée meets, through his friend Aimé Michel, with physicist Yves Rocard and gives him a copy of outstanding Blue Book UFO reports, but the contact goes no further. (Jacques Vallée, Forbidden Science, North Atlantic, 1992, pp. 55, 198, 201–202)
August 1 — 7:45 p.m. Several children are playing outside in Rushville, Indiana, when they see an object hovering above a tree near them. Its altitude is about 75 feet. They describe it as round, brighter than the moon, silver, and about 4 times larger than the full moon. It has a fuzzy edge and rocks slightly as it hovers. One girl, Donna Glosser, calls it to the attention of others who are about a half-block away. When she does, the object changes to reddish-orange, seems to revolve, and moves across a road so fast it seems to jump. It stops abruptly over some trees on a hill about one block away. At least one adult watches the object for 5 minutes. The same object is apparently seen by a group of teens at the Dairy Delight Drive- In about a mile and a half away. It becomes brighter after 45 seconds and speeds away. (“ Children Watch Object in Central Indiana,” APRO Bulletin, July/Aug. 1966, p. 8)
August 7 — The Washington Star runs an article on UFOs by retired USAF Lt. Col. Charles Cooke saying that he has analyzed first-hand UFO encounters by Air Force pilots that show strong support for the ETH.
August 9 — Robert J. Low, assistant dean in the University of Colorado Graduate School, is also interested in the UFO project. He consults with several scientists and reports on what they tell him in a memo to E. James Archer, dean of the graduate school, and Thurston E. Manning, university vice president. The memo, which is not sent to Condon and is intended to show university officials that the project will not embarrass them, says: “Our study would be conducted almost exclusively by nonbelievers who, although they couldn’t possibly prove a negative result, could and probably would add an impressive body of evidence that there is no reality to the observations. The trick would be, I think, to describe the project so that, to the public, it would appear a totally objective study but to the scientific community, would present the image of a group of nonbelievers trying their best to be objective but having an almost zero expectation of finding a saucer.” He recommends stressing the psychology and sociology of the witnesses rather than physical evidence. The memo stays under wraps for a year and a half. (Robert J. Low, “ Some Thoughts on the UFO Project,” memo to E. James Archer and Thurston E. Manning, August 9, 1966; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, p. 239; Swords 309–310, 321–322; Clark III 1192; Powell, Keyhoe, 346–348, 365; Eghigian, After, pp. 204– 205; Clark IV 1366–1367)
August 15 — 2:00 a.m. Keith Palmer happens to glance out the window at his residence on Ellenborough Road in Wood Green, London, England, and sees an object half the size of the full moon approaching from the northeast. He wakes up his wife, and they both watch as the brightly glowing disc stops 450 feet away above an old tree. After hovering a short time, it emits two smaller discs that take up positions on either side and emit beams of pure white light. When Palmer opens the window, the two small discs extinguish their lights and move back inside the larger one, which tilts slightly and moves toward the house. They hear a noise like a humming top or muffled jet, and the object appears more pear-shaped. As it passes above the house, Palmer can see a series of colored lights revolving in a random fashion on the underside. It vanishes in the distance. The next morning, Palmer notices a sunburn-like rash on his face, and his wife and son complain of a headache and sore neck. The symptoms soon disappear. (Colin McCarthy, “ The Wood Green UFO,” Flying Saucer Review 12, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1966): 4–5)
August 15 — Office of Scientific Intelligence Deputy Director Karl H. Weber writes to Col. Gerald E. Jorgensen, chief of the USAF Community Relations Division, that “We are most anxious that further publicity not be given to the information that the [Robertson] panel was sponsored by the CIA.” Weber notes that there is already a sanitized version available to the public. (Gerald K. Haines, “ CIA’s Role in the Study of UFOs, 1947–90,” Studies in Intelligence 40, no. 5 (1997): 67–84)
Mid-August — Rep. J. Edward Hutchinson (R-Mich.) introduces HR 866 for an investigation into Project Blue Book’s methods.
August 16 - 2:51 a.m. The crew of a Canadian Forces Hercules C-150E are flying above Regina, Saskatchewan, when they see a cigar-shaped object cross their flight path. It has 6 rectangular patches on its side. It is visible with the naked eye for about 90 seconds, then it rapidly shrinks and disappears to the southwest very rapidly. (Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979, p. 112)
August 16 — Iraqi Air Force Col. Munir Redfa defects by flying a MiG-21 to Israel. In what is considered one of Mossad’s most successful operations, Redfa’s entire extended family is smuggled safely out of Iraq to Israel. The MiG-21 fighter is evaluated by the Israeli Air Force and later loaned to the US for testing and intelligence analysis at Area 51. Knowledge obtained from analysis of the aircraft is instrumental to the successes achieved by the Israeli Air Force in the Six-Day War. (Wikipedia, “ Munir Redfa”)
August 16 — The chief of the Australian Directorate of Public Relations writes to the Directorate of Air Force Intelligence requesting reconsideration of its decision to stop making summaries of UFO sightings reported to the Department of Air available to the public. DPR hopes the summaries will be useful in responding to public inquiries and thinks that restricting them will reinforce the theory that the government has something to hide. The summaries continue to be published erratically through the end of the 1970s. (Swords 393–394)
August 19 — 4:50 p.m. US Border Patrolman Donald E. Flickinger, in the process of taking two prisoners back to Canada, sees a silvery domed disc floating down the side of a hill near Donnybrook, North Dakota, about 10 feet off the ground. It moves across a valley and climbs to 100 feet, hovers over a reservoir, then appears to land in a field 250 feet away. It tilts on edge and rises into the clouds at high speed. Flickinger finds three odd indentations in the field in the form of a triangle with sides of 10–12 feet. Some stones also seem to have been moved recently. ( Sparks, p. 317; Condon, pp. 273–274; Hynek UFO Report, photo betw. pp. 152–153)
August 20 — Afternoon. Some boys looking for a lost kite on the Morro do Vintém in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, discover the bodies of two dead males and report them to the authorities. The Morro do Vintém is a hill with difficult terrain, and the police are unable to reach the bodies until August 21. When a small team of police and firefighters arrive, they encounter an odd scene: the bodies are resting next to each other, partly covered by grass. Each one is wearing a formal suit, a lead eye mask, and a waterproof coat. There are no signs of trauma or struggle. Next to the corpses, police find an empty water bottle and a packet containing two wet towels. A small notebook is also identified, on which were written the cryptic instructions, “16:30 be at the specified location. 18:30 ingest capsules, after the effect protect metals await signal mask.” The two men are identified as Manoel Pereira da Cruz and Miguel José Viana, two electronics technicians from Campos dos Goytacazes. Following an investigation, police reconstruct a plausible narrative of the men’s last days. On August 17, Cruz and Viana leave Campos dos Goytacazes saying that they need to purchase some materials for work (although they tell others they are on a secret mission). The two men then board a bus to Niterói and arrive at 2:30 p.m. Evidence shows that the waterproof coats are purchased at a shop there and one bottle of water from a local bar. Upon being interviewed, the waitress from the bar describes Miguel as “very nervous” and notices that he frequently checks his watch. That is the last time they are known to have been seen alive; it is presumed they go directly from the bar to the spot where they are discovered. One theory revolves around the testimony of a friend of the two men, who claims that they are members of a group of “scientific spiritualists” who are apparently attempting to contact extraterrestrials or spirits using psychedelic drugs. Believing that such an encounter will be accompanied by blinding light, the men cut metal masks to shield their eyes and perhaps die of psychoactive drug overdoses. This account is corroborated by the esoteric diary entry found at the scene and by mask-making materials and literature concerning spirits found at the men’s homes. In April 1980, Jacques Vallée locates the exact spot where the bodies were found and notes that no vegetation is growing there. Hamilton Bezani, allegedly serving 50 years in a São Paolo prison, later confesses to the crime and lays out how it was a robbery set-up, and he and his gang forced the men to take poison at gunpoint. This “official explanation” is not satisfactory for many Brazilians who feel this is part of a coverup and persecution of ufologists in Brazil following the Dino Kraspedon terrorism case. There is no real reason to believe the Morro do Vintém incident has anything to do with UFOs beyond Vallée’s involvement. (Wikipedia, “ Lead masks case”; “ Strange Deaths in Brazil,” APRO Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1966, pp. 1, 3; Charles Bowen, “ The Mystery of the Morro do Vintem,” Flying Saucer Review 13, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1967): 11–14; Charles Bowen, “ No Easy Solution to the Morro Mystery,” Flying Saucer Review 14, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1968): 36–37; Charles Bowen, “ Follow Up on the Morro Do Vintem Mystery,” Flying Saucer Review 17, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1971): 6–9; Jacques Vallée, Confrontations: A Scientist’s Search for Alien Contact, Ballantine, 1990, pp. 3–15; Roberto A. Beck, “ O caso das Máscaras de Chumbo,” Vigilia, May 1, 1999; Brian Dunning, “ Solving the Lead Masks of Vintem Hill,” Skeptoid Podcast, January 21, 2014; Clark III 774–775; Clark IV 855–856)
August 22 — Phil Klass asserts in Aviation Week that the Exeter UFO was a plasma discharge from high-voltage power lines. (Philip J. Klass, “Plasma Theory May Explain Many UFOs,” Aviation Week and Space Technology 85 (August 22, 1966): 48–61)
August 24 — 10:00 p.m. Airman 3d Class Michael D. Mueller reports by base radio seeing a multicolored light high in the sky above the Minot AFB M-6 Minuteman launch site southeast of Norma, North Dakota. A team goes to his location and confirms the object and sees a second white object passing in front of clouds. The base radar detects the object, which is tracked at about 100,000 feet (20 miles). The object rises and descends a number of times, and each time Maj. Chester A. Shaw Jr., in charge of the M-6 missile crew, finds his radio transmission interrupted by static, even though he is 60 feet underground. The UFO gradually descends to ground level 10–15 miles south of the base. The Air Force sends a strike team to check on it. When they are within 10 miles of the site, static disrupts their radio contact. Five to eight minutes later, the glow diminishes and the UFO takes off. Another UFO is sighted and tracked on radar; the first object flies underneath this second one. The two objects disappear separately. The entire episode lasts about 4 hours and is confirmed by two other missile launch sites, M-4 and N-7 (near Mohall). Another report from the same time period mentions that some missiles went off alert for 24 hours after a UFO sighting at the N-1 missile alert facility. (NICAP, “ Minuteman Site Jammed by UFO”; Sparks, p. 317; “Minot Launch Control Center ‘Saucer’ Cited As One Indication of Outer Space Visitors,” Minot (N.Dak.) Daily News, December 6, 1966, pp. 1–2; J. Allen Hynek, “ Are Flying Saucers Real?” Saturday Evening Post, December 17, 1966, p. 17; Condon, pp. 274–277; “Air Force Sternly Denies UFO Minuteman Incident,” Christian Science Monitor, December 5, 1973, p. 8; “UFO at Minuteman Site?” Flying Saucers, Winter 1974, pp. 22–23; Raymond E. Fowler, UFOs: Interplanetary Visitors, Prentice-Hall, 1979, pp. 294–296; R. Perry Collins, “ UFO Intervention: The Possibility,” Pursuit 19, no. 2 (Second Quarter 1986): 68; Aleksandr Kuzovkin and Aleksandr Semyonov, “ UFOs and Security,” Australian UFO Bulletin, June 1991, pp. 22–23; Dolan 307, 413; Robert L. Salas and James Klotz, Faded Giant, BookSurge, 2005, p. 4–11; Nukes 238–240, 248–251; “ UFO Hovered near Missile Launch Control Center at Minot AFB,” UFOs & Nukes, September 19, 2012; David D. Schindele, “It Never Happened”: U.S. Air Force UFO Cover-up Revealed, Volume 1, EdgarRock, 2017; “ Former Missile Officer: UFO Whistleblower Demonstrates ‘Tremendous Courage,’” Minot (N.Dak.) Daily News, June 17, 2023; “ The Mike-6 Incident | Jeff Knox (Ufos #10, August 18, 2024),” Ufo Sunset YouTube channel, August 27, 2024; “ Documentary Brings UFOs to a Close Encounter,” Minot (N.Dak.) Daily News, January 4, 2025; C. S. Hagen, “ 1966 Encounter Prompts Challenge: ‘Come On Out and Tell the Truth,’” Fargo (N.Dak.) Forum, February 5, 2025, pp. 1, 4)
August 27 — Hynek releases to the press a letter rejected by Science magazine in which he reports a pattern to UFO sightings that “suggests that something is going on” and disputing seven misconceptions about UFOs. (“ Expert Criticizes Scientists for Dismissing UFOs,” Miami (Fla.) Herald, August 28, 1966, p. 5-C)
August 31 — Col. Ivan C. Atkinson, deputy executive director of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, formally approaches the University of Colorado with a request to conduct a comprehensive and independent examination of the UFO problem.
August or September — Mid-afternoon. Two men are returning home from bowling in Norwood, Massachusetts. The Moon is visible in about three-quarter phase in the sky. Both glance up and see a group of 6–7 disc-shaped objects moving horizontally toward the Moon. When they reach a position just below the Moon, they loop around it in an upward, back, and onward motion, then continue on their way. (Michael D. Swords, “ We Know Where You Live,” IUR 30, no. 2 (January 2006): 9–10)
Early September - Night. Bank official Gerardo Bagnulo is on a pleasure outing with members of his family when he sees two objects moving across the sky on the coast of the Gargano promontory in southern Italy. He manages to take one color photo before the objects disappear near the northwest horizon. The photo shows both a round object and a cylindrical object. (Roberto Pinotti, " The Gargano Peninsula Cigar," IUR 9, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1984): 6; " As is often the case," CUFOS Associate Newsletter 5, no. 6 (Dec. 1984/Jan. 1985): 8; Roberto Pinotti, " Evidence for UFOs in the Italian Past," The Spectrum of UFO Research, CUFOS, 1988, pp. 115-116; 1Pinotti 154-156)
September — Early morning. A UFO is seen hovering at low altitude by all personnel at Heathrow Airport Air Traffic Control in London, England, at a time when no aircraft are in motion. The UFO is tracked on radar and its speed at departure is clocked at 3,000 mph. The Ministry of Defence is notified, and investigators arrive on the scene and tell the witnesses that they have seen nothing, threatening to charge them under the Official Secrets Act if they reveal the sighting publicly. (Good Above, pp. 71–72)
September — 1:30 a.m. Airman 1C Patrick McDonough is working on an astro-azimuth observation at one of the Malmstrom AFB missile launch facilities near Conrad, Montana, when a UFO comes in from the north and stops directly overhead at 300 feet. It is about 30–50 feet in diameter and disc-shaped, with dim lights outlining it and a white light emanating from the center. It remains about 20–30 seconds, then shoots away noiselessly to the east at tremendous speed. Montana Highway Patrol dispatchers in Pondera County receive more than 20 UFO reports that morning. (Nukes 247–248)
September — 1:30 a.m. The starboard lookout on the Navy’s minesweeper USS Embattle sees an object moving through the water in the Western Pacific Ocean. He estimates it is only 10 inches long. It holds its position for 5 minutes, then makes a sharp right turn and speeds away, making a noise like a fishing line being reeled in. (National UFO Reporting Center, “ NUFORC UFO Sighting 58711,” October 8, 2007; Dolan, USO1, 292)
September — 4:00 a.m. Deputy Sheriff Ed Korenek is driving north of El Campo, Texas, on State Highway 71 when he sees something like a car on fire ahead of him. Suddenly he notices that another object is pacing him, He hits his brakes and reaches for the radio, but it is dead. He sees another flaming object above Wharton Regional Airport to the east. He accelerates toward the object ahead of him, which slides off the highway to the right, sucking its flame up behind it as it moves away. The object above the airfield disappears, and when Korenek turns his car around, his radio begins working again. (“ The Texas Flap,” APRO Bulletin, Jan./Feb. 1967, p. 3)
September — 7:30 p.m. Dennis Billings hears amplified sounds (a conversation, children playing, rattle of dishes) coming from a closed house in Decatur, Alabama, and sees a dark object above the house light up into an orange sphere. It drops white sparks. Its lights appear to be a spectrum of colors that blink in sync with its movements. He watches it with binoculars as it moves away. Then another object appears and hovers above the yard of the house for several minutes, displaying a dome-like structure beneath. It eventually follows an airplane before returning to the vicinity of an airport, where it hovers for 10 minutes then interacts with another similar object. The sighting leaves his eyes feeling strained. (“ Object Photographed in Alabama,” APRO Bulletin, Nov./Dec. 1970, pp. 5–6)
September 1 — 10:30 p.m. Six men, including Colin Murdock, see an orange-reddish domed disc with multicolored lights around its rim moving through the sky near Fort Duchesne, Utah. Several times, the object slowly rises into the sky and then descends again. (Frank B. Salisbury, The Utah UFO Display, Devin-Adair, 1974, p. 4, Appendix B, Case 11)
September 3 — Science columnist John Lear receives a declassified (sanitized) copy of the Robertson Panel report and publishes a version of it in the Saturday Review. He calls for the release of the full document. (John Lear, “ The Disputed CIA Document on UFOs,” Saturday Review, September 3, 1966, pp. 45–50; Clark III 1017; Clark IV 1131)
September 5 — 2:00 p.m. Franz Trautsamwieser takes a photo of the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, Italy, from the other side of the canal. He does not see anything, but the developed photo shows a UFO-shaped whitish object next to the tower. (“ UFO over Venice?” Flying Saucer Review 13, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1967, cover, 17)
September 12 — The Air Force turns down a proposal Hynek has made for them to create a computer program to put Blue Book’s UFO reports into a machine-readable format, ostensibly because it is too preoccupied with the Vietnam War. (Center for UFO Studies, [ Hynek correspondence], p. 2)
September 13 — 7:30 a.m. 11-year-old Randy Rotenberger, near Stirum, North Dakota, sees a silvery domed disc hover about one mile away, approach, then land within 900 feet, making a low-pitched whine. It takes off so fast it just vanishes.” An Air Force investigator finds landing indentations 7 inches deep and [possibly] radiation level of 100 microroentgens/hour. Electrical power is off in the area for about 4 hours. (NICAP, “ Domed Object Leaves Traces”; Sparks, p. 319; “ Landing In North Dakota,” APRO Bulletin, July/August 1966, pp. 1, 3; Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, pp. 58–59; Ted Phillips, Physical Traces Associated with UFO Sightings, CUFOS, July 1975, Case 247, p. 43; UFOEv II 263; Clark III 950; Clark IV 1064)
September 17 — 4:45 a.m. Mr. and Mrs. Ronald MacGilvary see a glowing cigar-shaped object oriented vertically, tilted at times, for about an hour near the edge of the water at Crane Beach, Ipswich, Massachusetts. Two smaller glowing objects approach the larger object, moving around erratically, with an up-and-down skipping motion. The two rendezvous with the larger object, then a third smaller object is seen. The smaller objects periodically leave the larger object and flies around the area. One flies low over Ipswich Bay toward the witnesses’ home. At closer range it shows an elliptical shape illuminated by a faint glow. (“ ‘Satellite’ UFO Landing Case in Massachusetts,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 10 (Oct./Nov. 1966): 4)
September 19 — Air Force Regulation 200-2 is replaced by AFR 80-17, which orders members of the military who investigate UFO reports to release information if there is an explanation, but if there is none to withhold the information, even from the Colorado project (explicitly modified November 9). Radarscope photos are automatically classified. However, it does require that every Air Force base have an official with scientific background responsible for investigating UFOs. (US Department of the Air Force, “ Research and Development: Unidentified Flying Objects,” Air Force Regulation 80-17, September 19, 1966; Clark III 923; Clark IV 1033)
September 20 — 10:00 a.m. Private pilot James J. O’Connor is flying at 9,500 feet near Sebring, Florida, when he sees what appears to be a delta-shaped object overhead. Curious, he climbs toward it but levels off at about 10,000 feet due to lack of oxygen equipment. Suddenly the object descends toward his plane and begins pacing him, its huge size blocking out the sunlight. It makes a “singing” noise like car tires on a wet pavement. After a few minutes, he pulls up his plane, reduces power, and stalls out, diving as fast as he can. He drops to 3,500 feet, looks up, and sees the object still pacing him, seemingly as big as a football field. The UFO changes shape to a wedge, then a thin line, doing a reverse peel-off in a 360° turn. As it climbs away, it looks like a cone with the point upward. He estimates the object had followed him for 17 minutes. (Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore, eds, UFOs: A New Look, NICAP, 1969, p. 7; UFOEv II 128–129)
September 21 — 6:30 a.m. Eight RCAF airmen are refueling an aircraft in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada, when they see an object in the east moving at great speed. It comes to a complete stop, descends, and hovers for 20 minutes. It then shoots up and disappears quickly. At about the same time, fishermen Ivan Collicut and Patrick O’Halloran are out for an early morning catch at Burton, Prince Edward Island, when they see a rapidly moving light. (“ Near-Landing Observed by RCAF,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 10 (Oct./Nov. 1966): 4)
September 21 — At a meeting of the University of Colorado psychology department, Stuart W. Cook announces that the university is considering taking on the UFO project, with Condon directing. Cook says it will need the help of psychologists. William A. Scott and David R. Saunders are interested. Around this time, Condon agrees to an informal question-and-answer session about the project. George Gamow and Richard Sigismond are in attendance. Gamow is surprised that Condon has never heard of the Trindade Island UFO photos. Sigismond applies for an opening on the committee and is accepted, but he declines the offer after a 20-minute interview with Condon, whose negative bias on the subject is unyielding. (Richard Sigismond, “ A Confrontation with Dr. Condon: Prelude and Aftermath,” IUR 8, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1983): 3–5, 16; “ Condon Confrontation Continues,” IUR 9, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1984): 9; Clark III 1192; Clark IV 1367)
September 22 — 3:00 a.m. Police from several vantage points in Deadwood, South Dakota, see a large white hovering object, changing color to green to red then back to white. It hangs motionless for 15 minutes. When a spotlight is shone on it, the object blacks out. Two smaller white objects operating independently approach and hover nearby. The large object bobs around and emits blue light beams toward the ground, and finally speeds away in 3 seconds. (NICAP, “ Satellite Objects, Sept. 22, 1966, Deadwood, SD”; Carl Sagan and Thornton Page, eds., UFO’s: A Scientific Debate, Cornell University, 1972, pp. xxii–xxiii; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 49–50; UFOEv II 187–188)
September 22 — Psychologist Michael Wertheimer tells Cook he will participate in the Colorado project. (Clark III 1193; Clark IV 1367)
September 22 — Hynek appeals to Secretary of the Air Force Harold Brown to create a program to put UFO reports into a machine-readable database. He also recommends a more scientific approach to data acquisition that will make the Air Force look better to the public and the scientific community. (Center for UFO Studies, [ Hynek correspondence], pp. 3–5)
September 24 — 3:30 a.m. A man named Gaines is driving his girlfriend home in Peoria, Illinois, when they see a large, luminous, blue sphere hovering low in the sky. It shoots off, so he drops the girlfriend off. On the way home the blue ball returns; his car begins to pick up speed, the brakes won’t work, and the doors won’t open. He races on this way for a few blocks, then the UFO takes off. (“Peorian Reports Seeing Flying Object Which Took Over Control of His Auto,” Peoria (Ill.) Journal-Star, September 25, 1966; Michael D. Swords, “ Messing Around with the Force,” IUR 31, no. 4 (March 2008): 17)
Autumn — Night. A young couple parking in a rural area near Rockford, Illinois, see a bright light that appears over some nearby trees. It is so intense that it hurts their eyes, so they start the car up and drive down a gravel road. The light is gone, but near where it had been they can now see two gray figures with large slanted eyes and wearing clothing with a square insignia on the torso. As they leave the area, they smell a pungent, metallic odor. (“ Letter,” IUR 9, no. 2 (March/April 1984): 6, 9; “ Out of the Past,” IUR 9, no. 2 (March/April 1984): 8–9)
Autumn — 7:30 p.m. Estelle Conway looks outside her dining room window at Highland Lakes, New Jersey, and sees a large orange ball with a dark vermilion border hovering about 300 feet above a pond about a quarter- mile away. When she looks for it 15 minutes later, it is no longer there. Around the same time, electrical engineer Guy F. Adams sees an opalescent-like, neon-green ball” about 50 feet across moving slowly across a road for 6–8 seconds near Conway’s home. (Berthold E. Schwarz, “ UFOs in New Jersey,” Pursuit 7, no. 2 (April 1974): 31, 33–34)
October — Charles Bowen publishes a special issue of Flying Saucer Review titled The Humanoids, dealing exclusively with UFO occupant cases. Gordon Creighton provides a compilation of all occupant cases from Central and South America dating back to 1947 and finds an assortment of bodily types. There are giants, tall men, medium-sized men, and small men. Some are said to be hairy, others green. He uncovers reports of entities with one eye, three eyes, and even multiple eyes. (Gordon Creighton, “ The ‘Humanoids’ in Latin America,” in Charles Bowen, ed., The Humanoids, Special Issue 1 of FSR, October/ November 1966, pp. 30–46; Eghigian, After, p. 149)
October — Hynek’s lengthy letter about UFOs and Project Blue Book is published in Science magazine. It addresses seven misconceptions about UFOs. “I cannot dismiss the UFO phenomenon with a shrug,” he concludes. (O’Connell 201–204)
October — The Canadian Directorate of Operations issues Canadian Forces Administrative Order 71-6, “Reporting of Unidentified Flying Objects,” to make it easier to obtain UFO reports from military bases and police forces. (Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Canada, Signet, 1981, p. 173)
October 1 — James E. McDonald writes to Thomas Ratchford of the USAF Office of Scientific Research to tell him that he will soon speak out for radical changes in the handling of UFO reports. He writes to NICAP’s Richard H. Hall that he thinks the ETH is the most “acceptable hypothesis” for UFO sightings, and that “certain parts of the total UFO pattern suggest something in the nature of a reconnaissance operation.” (Clark III 697; Eghigian, After, p. 201; Clark IV 793)
October 2 - 8:20 p.m. Mrs. Everett Steward is talking on the telephone at her home in Cincinnati, Ohio, when she smells a foul odor in the room. She goes to her bedroom, but she has a feeling of being watched. Looking out the window, she sees an oval-shaped object with portholes and red, green, and white lights revolving around it. It is 75 feet in diameter and hovering at 100 feet. She wakes up her husband, who also sees it, and calls her married daughter, Mrs. Janet Emery, a mile away; the Emerys also see it, and a neighbor with binoculars can see that it has square windows glowing yellow. Janet goes outdoors and sees the UFO eject a red ball, which maneuvers while the first UFO takes off southward. The red ball flies 75-100 feet over Janet's head; its underside is shiny like aluminum foil. Mrs. Steward goes to bed, but the odor is still in the house. After some time, the room is filled for an instant with brilliant white light; then this vanishes and a globe of light about 21 inches in diameter appears at the foot of her bed. Inside are 5 "non-human, hairless heads" with oval, sunken eyes. Instead of noses, there are slits, and they have no mouths. Telepathically, they repeat several times: "We have made contact." Mrs. Steward screams and the globe disappears. She is so disquieted by the experience that she goes under psychiatric care for the next 2 years. (Stringfield, Situation Red, Doubleday, 1977, pp. 33-36)
October 3 — Phil Klass has another article in Aviation Week on plasmas as an explanation for UFOs. (Philip J. Klass, “Many UFOs Are Identified as Plasmas,” Aviation Week and Space Technology 85 (October 3, 1966): 54–73)
October 4, 18 — Excerpts of John G. Fuller’s book about the Betty and Barney Hill abduction case, Interrupted Journey, appear in a two-part article of Look magazine. (Wikipedia, “ Barney and Betty Hill”; John G. Fuller, “ Aboard a Flying Saucer, Part I,” Look 30, no. 20 (October 4, 1966): 44–48, 53–56; John G. Fuller, “ Aboard a Flying Saucer, Part II,” Look 30, no. 21 (October 18, 1966): 111–121; Clark III 585; Clark IV 643)
October 4–5 — 5:00 a.m. Jack Jones is delivering newspapers on John Street in Connersville, Indiana. He notices a group of lights in a field to the west past the dead end. He thinks it might be a new light installation and moves on. The next day, Jones is with another paper carrier, Don Doe, and he suggests they go see the new lights. Jack sees the lights, but they are in a different position somewhat to the north. Both boys sit on their bicycles and watch a dark disc-shaped object with flashing red, green, and white lights on it that is apparently on the ground some 840 feet into the field. They estimate it is 27 feet in diameter and 10 feet high. They hear a high- pitched whirring sound and smell a faint odor of sulfur and tannic acid. After watching it a few minutes, they hear a new sound as if someone is walking slowly toward them through some thick weeds. They take off on their bicycles and don’t look back. Some days later, investigators find three holes, 8 feet apart in an equilateral triangle, where the object was seen. The holes measure 7 inches at the top and 1 inch at the bottom. (“ UAO Landing in Indiana,” APRO Bulletin, Nov./Dec. 1966, pp. 1, 3)
October 5 — At a University of Arizona Department of Meteorology colloquium, James E. McDonald gives his views on the reality of UFOs and the Air Force’s concealment of information. His colleagues respond negatively, and McDonald acknowledges to Gerard Kuiper that what he is doing is professionally risky. Nevertheless, the university’s Space Sciences Committee gives him a $1,300 grant toward his research expenses. (“ UFOs Are ‘Real,’ Physicist Asserts,” Arizona Daily Star, October 6, 1966, p. B-1; Clark III 697; Clark IV 793)
October 6 — Thurston Manning signs the University of Colorado contract with the Air Force. The project is to run from November 15, 1966, to January 1968. (Clark III 925, 1193; Clark IV 1035, 1367)
October 7 — The Air Force publicly announces the creation of the University of Colorado UFO project. Low is made project coordinator. The primary team will be David R. Saunders, ESSA astronomer Franklin Roach, Wertheimer, chemist Roy Craig, University of Arizona electrical engineer Norman Levine, administrative assistant Mary Lou Armstrong, University of Arizona astronomer William K. Hartmann, physicist Frederick Ayer, and psychologists Dan Culberson and James Wadsworth. (Office of Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs), “ Air Force Selects University of Colorado to Investigate Unidentified Flying Object Reports,” October 7, 1966, release no. 847-66, p. 13, in Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, pp. 222–224; “ The Colorado Project,” APRO Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1966, p. 3; “ UFO Probe Given to Colorado U.,” San Francisco Examiner, October 7, 1966, p. 42; “ University Starts UFO Probe: NICAP to Submit Factual Reports,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 10 (Oct./Nov. 1966): 1, 3; Clark III 697, 1193; Powell, Keyhoe, 346–350; Eghigian, After, pp. 195–196; Clark IV 793, 1367)
October 7 — McDonald speaks to the media about the secret Robertson Panel report. The CIA has ordered the Air Force to debunk UFOs, he says. (“ UFO Hush Blamed on CIA Men,” Phoenix Arizona Republic, October 7, 1966, pp. 21–22)
October 8 — Condon is widely quoted in the media as saying it is “highly improbable” that UFOs exist. “The view that UFOs are hallucinatory will be a subject of our investigation, to discover what it is that makes people imagine they see things.” (Chesly Manly, “ UFOs Prober Keeps Open Mind and Door,” Chicago Tribune, October 16, 1966, pp. 1, 4)
October 8 — 7:00 p.m. Loch Ness monster researcher Frederick William “Ted” Holiday is fishing on the lifeboat slipway at Tenby harbor, Pembrokeshire, Wales, when he and other fishermen notice a small, bluish, luminous cloud moving in a circle about three times its own diameter above them. After a short time, he resumes his fishing, but 10 minutes later a dark object emerges from the cloud and beams down a brilliant ruby light on them. The cloud moves west and the object moves southwest. By the time he retrieves binoculars from his car, both objects are gone. (F. W. Holiday, “ Was God at Aberfan?” Flying Saucer Review 18, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1972): 3–4)
October 9 — An article in the Denver Post quotes University of Colorado UFO project coordinator Low as saying that the study barely meets the criteria for the university’s teaching mission, but is a form of public service. He says, “When you’re asked to do something (as opposed to applying for it) you don’t say no—not to the Air Force.” (UFOs Yes, 47)
October 10 — Hynek discusses UFOs in Newsweek. The article covers the resurgence of interest in UFOs and encourages scientists to remain open to the possibility that some sightings might not have simple explanations, like weather balloons or optical illusions, and should be studied scientifically. He also warns against gullibility and stresses a careful, systematic approach to UFO research, amid rising public interest and media attention to incidents like the Barney and Betty Hill abduction. (“UFO’s for Real?” Newsweek, October 10, 1966, p. 70)
October 10 — 5:20 p.m. A woman and five children, 4–9, watch a metallic object fly past their farm home in Newton, Illinois. It moves slowly and uniformly in a westerly direction approximately 50 feet above the ground. The object is about 20 feet long and 8 feet in diameter and seems to have longitudinal seams. There is a small dorsal fin at the rear and a rectangular black aperture near the front. A brownish-gold design is visible on the lower rear portion, and the object is surrounded by a bluish haze, about 5 feet thick, that contains bubbles or sparks. It disappears by turning abruptly nose up and disappearing from sight in 1–2 seconds. About 70 minutes later, another witness about 7 miles away sees an elliptical blue light moving in the same general direction. (Carl Sagan and Thornton Page, eds., UFO’s: A Scientific Debate, Cornell University, 1972, pp. xxix–xxx)
October 10 — 9:15 p.m. Police Sgt. Benjamin Thompson of the Wanaque (New Jersey) Reservoir Police watches a bright light performing fantastic maneuvers over the reservoir. He notices a slight mist in the wake of its movements. It descends to 150 feet above the water, then shoots up. Thompson has also seen UFOs at the reservoir in January and March. Some teenagers see a UFO in the area 2 nights later. (NICAP, “ The Wanaque Sightings”; Center for UFO Studies, [ case files]; “ Water Reconnaissance Continues,” APRO Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1966, pp. 1, 3; Edward J. Babcock and Timothy Green Beckley, “UFO Plagues N.J. Reservoir,” Fate 19, no. 10 (October 1966): 34–44; “ UFOs Return to Wanaque Reservoir,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 10 (Oct./Nov. 1966): 6; “ The Wanaque ‘Flap,’” Saucer Scoop 1, no. 9 (December 1966): 10–11; “ What Happened at Wanaque, N.J.” in Lloyd Mallan, ed., The Official Guide to UFOs, Science and Mechanics special issue, 1967; Sanderson, InvRes, pp. 58–62; Wendy Connors, “Cops and Saucers: Law Enforcement and UFO’s, 1957–1981 Guide,” November 20, 2013, audioclip 16; Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos, “ The Wanaque Reservoir 1966 UFO Pictures,” Academia.edu, [2018]; Dolan, USO1 274–276)
October 11 — Condon writes a letter to the editor of the Denver Post in response to Low’s comments two days earlier, insisting that the UFO project is “an extraordinarily powerful way of learning about natural phenomena.” He says he has heard from many people who “seem to find it difficult to refrain from passing judgment before all the facts are in.” Shortly afterward, Stuart W. Cook announces that “no other staff member will speak to representatives of the mass media” other than Condon. (UFOs Yes, 47–49)
October 11 — 9:45 p.m. Two boys in Elizabeth, New Jersey—Martin Munov and James Yanchitis—are walking home on 4th Street near East Jersey Street, adjacent to the elevated New Jersey Turnpike. Yanchitis tells his friend that there is someone following them. They turn and see a man standing behind a high wire fence separating them from the turnpike 30 feet above them. The fence is 8 feet high and the embankment running up to it is steep. John Keel interviews the two boys three days after the incident. They tell him that the man is 7 feet tall, has a dark complexion, and is wearing a green work suit. He has a bald head, large eyes, and a huge grinning mouth full of white teeth. (John Keel, Strange Creatures from Time and Space, Fawcett, 1970, p. 176)
October 15 —4:45 a.m. Forester Jerry H. Simons is driving home from a camping expedition, notices a reddish glow behind him, and stops his car near Split Rock Pond, south of Newfoundland, New Jersey, to investigate. A flat-bottom, red-orange disc with a dome on top is hovering above and behind his car. Near panic, he flees the area with the object following him. When the light from the object illuminates the ground around him, his car engine, dashlights, and headlights all fail. When the object recedes, his lights and engine function normally. This sequence is repeated three times, strongly demonstrating a direct correlation between the light from the UFO and the failure of his car’s electrical system. Shortly after the sighting, Simons begins experiencing a recurring illness (the reason for his story appearing in a medical journal); it is characterized by fatigue, anorexia, soreness, muscle weakness, chills, and significant weight loss. After about 6 months he has fully recovered. (Berthold Eric Schwarz, “ UFOs: Delusion or Dilemma,” Medical Times 96 (October 1968): 967–981; UFOEv II 37; Herbert S. Taylor, “ An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part 2,” IUR 34, no. 1 (Sept. 2011): 14)
Mid-October — Keyhoe is stressed by Condon’s statements, so he calls both Condon and Low. Both assure him they were misquoted and ask for NICAP’s support. He expresses his doubts to David R. Saunders, who with Richard Hall convinces him to lend his support to the project, for now. (UFOs Yes, 117)
October 19 — James E. McDonald speaks to the Washington, D.C., Chapter of the American Meteorological Society on the inadequacy of military UFO investigations and the need to take seriously the “possibility that these aerial objects may be some type of extraterrestrial probes.” (James E. McDonald, “ The Problem of the Unidentified Flying Objects,” October 19, 1966; “ Prominent Scientist Praises NICAP, Calls AF Study ‘Appalling,’” UFO Investigator 3, no. 10 (Oct./Nov. 1966): 1–2; Clark III 697; Clark IV 793–794)
October 20 — Hynek visits Franklin Roach in Boulder, Colorado, to meet Condon and other Colorado project members. He notes that Condon has a “basically negative attitude.” (Clark III 1193; Clark IV 1367)
October 20 — 11:50 p.m. A telecommunications technician in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, sees a strangely behaving nocturnal light. (J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, p. 45)
October 21 — Hynek’s letter on misconceptions about UFOs is belatedly published in Science. (J. Allen Hynek, “ UFO’s Merit Scientific Study,” Science 154 (1966): 329)
October 21 — Night. Three junior high school students are standing at one end of their street in Amsterdam, New York, when they notice a star-like light to the right of the Moon. The star proceeds to draw aright-angle step around the Moon and continues northward, where it joins two other objects. The three objects then form 90° angles, equilateral triangles, and other geometrical figures. Two of the students go home for binoculars, and while they are away the sky show stops. They remain in the sky, but stationary. The objects look spherical through binoculars with some sort of lighted, colored areas that rotate. (Michael D. Swords, “ We Know Where You Live,” IUR 30, no. 2 (January 2006): 10)
October 26 — 11:50 p.m. A man is driving in a rural, wooded area near Takoma Park, Maryland, when he sees a disc that seems about to land in a clearing. It puts on a red-and-green light show as it hovers. A large central beam of light shines onto the field below. The car radio bursts with static, and he hears a whirring sound coming from the object. He tries to accelerate the car, but it won’t move. Radio and drive functions resume when the UFO moves away. (“UFO Sighted Here, in Frederick,” La Plata (Md.) Enterprise, November 3, 1966; Michael D. Swords, “ Messing Around with the Force,” IUR 31, no, 4 (March 2008): 17, 29)
October 28 — The Space Defense Center’s satellite-tracking Delta I computer system at Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, becomes operational. (Wikipedia, “ Space Defense Center”)
October 31 — Night. An observer in Gloucester, Massachusetts, notices a particularly bright star in the southwestern sky that is moving in a wide arc. When it reaches Ursa Major, it paces along the Big Dipper, then turns and takes an approximately parallel course to the front of the constellation. (Michael D. Swords, “ We Know Where You Live,” IUR 30, no. 2 (January 2006): 10)
November 1 — The University of Colorado UFO project officially launches. Michael D. Swords writes: “It was one of the most peculiar scientific grants of all time. Normally a governmental grant goes to a scientist who has initiated it or is at least vitally interested and experienced in the field, and essentially knows exactly what he is going to do. This grant was to a scientist who was pushed into it, had little interest and apparently no experience, and, despite his brilliance, ‘didn’t have a clue.’ Because the reports of the UFO phenomenon are so complex and multidimensional, this short-term ‘backwards grant’ was doomed to fail before it was even signed.” (Swords 309–312)
November 1 - 8:00 p.m. Mrs. Ray Tibbetts is talking on the phone in her home at Newfields, New Hampshire, when her son, Dale, yells that there is a strange light outside. Her foster daughter, Anita Purrington, joins Dale and they both get excited. Mrs. Tibbetts runs to a window when the house lights begin blinking on and off. She goes to her son's room and sees a huge object with two tiers of four windows from which a strange, yellow-green light is shining. The size of one of the windows is as big as her living room wall. An apparent ceiling line is visible in the bottom tier. Suddenly an intense white light shoots out from the object at Mrs. Tibbetts, who is knocked backward and gets spots before her eyes. When her vision clears, the UFO is gone. She has pains in her eyes the next two days and they are extremely sensitive to light. She drives to a clinic in Exeter, New Hampshire, which finds a spasm in the eyelid and tearing, but it attributes this to the cobalt therapy she has been getting. (Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, pp. 10-11)
Early November — Low and Hynek make the Colorado project’s first field trip, to Minot and Donnybrook, North Dakota.
November 2 — 7:25 p.m. Woodrow Derenberger is driving his panel truck home to Parkersburg, West Virginia, on Interstate 77 when a low-flying dark object about 35 feet wide cuts in front of him and forces him to stop. It hovers a foot above the ground, only 20 feet ahead. The object has a profile similar to a kerosene lamp chimney flattened on the bottom side. A door opens and a smiling man of dark complexion descends, wearing a topcoat (“blue and quite shiny, having a glistening effect”) over shiny blue trousers. Without opening his mouth, which bears a fixed grin, he addresses Derenberger telepathically, asking him to open his window. For the next 10 minutes he conducts a telepathic conversation, first asking Derenberger’s name and saying that his own is “Indrid Cold” from a planet called Lanulos in the “Ganymede galaxy.” He tells Derenberger not to think of him as an alien and concludes by saying, “We will see you again.” After admitting Mr. Cold, the UFO rises vertically and disappears. A truck driver named Walter Vanscoy is going north on I-77 and sees, in apparent confirmation of the encounter, a truck parked on the berm of the southbound I-77 lanes with a man wearing a knee-length coat standing by the passenger side. Derenberger’s space adventures are only beginning. (“ The Woodrow Derenberger Interview, November 3, 1966,” The MothMan Wikia; “ Parkersburg Salesman Speaks with Spaceman,” Beckley (W.Va.) Raleigh Register, November 4, 1966, pp. 1–2; “ Man Claims Contact,” APRO Bulletin, Nov./Dec. 1966, p. 8; “ Salesman’s Contact Claim,” Flying Saucer Review 13, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1967): 33; “ Dubious Contactee Claim,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 1 (May/June 1967): 4; “ Derenberger’s Contact,” Flying Saucer Digest 1, no. 2 (Summer 1967): 4–6; Woodrow W. Derenberger, “ I Met a Man from Another World!” Probe 5, no. 1 (September 1968): 8–11; John A. Keel, Strange Creatures From Time and Space, Fawcett, 1970, pp. 176–187; Woodrow W. Derenberger and Harold W. Hubbard, Visitors from Lanulos, Vantage, 1971; John A. Keel, The Mothman Prophecies, Tor ed., 1991, pp. 50–52; Jerome Clark, “ The Adventures of Woody Derenberger,” IUR 20, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1995): 7–8; Brian Dunning, “ Who Is the Grinning Man?” Skeptoid Podcast, no. 367 (June 18, 2013); Taunia Derenberger-Bowman, Beyond Lanulos: Our Fifty Years with Indrid Cold, The Author, 2016; “ Indrid Cold: The Woodrow Derenberger Interview (with Captions),” Appalachian Oddity YouTube channel, June 15, 2016; “ Indrid Cold: Casefiles #1,” Small Town Monsters YouTube channel, November 1, 2017; Clark III 402–403; Brent Swancer, “ The Bizarre Story of Woodrow Derenberger and the Alien Indrid Cold,” Mysterious Universe, August 30, 2020; Theo Paijmans, “The Terrible Grinning Men,” Fortean Times 397 (October 2020): 32–34; Raymond A. Keller, “ Lessons Learned from an ET Contactee: The Derenberger Report,” Rense News, July 9, 2021; Clark IV 448–449)
November 4 — Derenberger has another encounter when he lapses into a trance while driving a truck with a colleague along US Highway 50 near Parkersburg, West Virginia. He starts speaking, sometimes mumbling, other times conveying messages about “ships.” Derenberger later says that Cold was sending him a telepathic message that his ship was directly above the truck. A sighting of a UFO “like two glass chimneys from a kerosene lamp welded together at their widest or bulging ends” at 6:45 p.m. by Irma Hudgins and her daughter Pamela Sue near the intersection of I-77 and State Highway 47 seems to confirm some UFO activity. Derenberger has further meetings with Indrid Cold and his companion Carl Ardo, who often pass undetected among earthlings, through the early 1970s and in 1984. (John A. Keel, The Mothman Prophecies, Tor ed., 1991, pp. 54–55; Jerome Clark, “ The Adventures of Woody Derenberger,” IUR 20, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1995): 8–11, 20–23; Clark III 404–410; Clark IV 449–456)
November 5— Condon tells the press that he knows “some people [ McDonald] who believe the air force is misleading us, but I don’t think so. Maybe they are. I don’t care much.” (Keyhoe, Aliens from Space, Signet ed., 1974, p. 113)
November 6 — 6:30 p.m. A driver on State Highway 47 near Parkersburg, West Virginia, sees a UFO and gets out to watch it. At first it looks like two lights near the American Viscose plant across the Little Kanawha River. The object crosses the river and the highway then turns off its lights at about 100–150 feet altitude. The lights come back on and it starts moving toward the witness, stopping right over his car and focusing a bright beam of light on him for 10 seconds. It shuts off and the object moves leisurely away to the south. (Clark III 405)
November 11 — Hynek and Vallée give an extended briefing to Condon and his staff. Hynek urges the project to adopt a rating system, by which if a sighting emerges as both strange and credible, it will be deemed worthy of further investigation. Vallée recommends standardized report forms that ask all the right questions. They both sense that Low, not Condon, is “clearly the decision-maker.” Hynek tells Craig that the project must recommend that scientific investigation of UFOs be continued. ( Sparks, p. 5; UFOs Yes, 50–61; Jacques Vallée, Forbidden Science, North Atlantic, 1992, pp. 227–231; Clark III 1193; Clark IV 1367)
November 11–13 — 8:26 p.m. Four hours and 40 minutes after takeoff of the Gemini 12 mission on November 11, astronauts Jim Lovell and Buzz Aldrin take a photo of a white, lozenge-shaped object outside the spacecraft. The NASA Photo Evaluation Lab explains it as a solar axis reflection. On November 12, they take a photo that shows another white object that is unidentifiable. NASA thinks this object is just trash from a space craft. A photo of three triangular, reddish-orange lights is taken on November 13, but they are said to be the Agena Ranging Lights prior to docking. (Robert Emenegger, UFO’s: Past, Present, and Future, Ballantine, 1975, photo section; NASA photos S66-62871_G12-S, S66-62966_G12-S, and S66-63402_G12-S)
November 13 — Barber and amateur astronomer Ralph Ditter Jr. of Roseville, Ohio, takes several “spectacular” photos of a daylight disc. Later, Raytheon deals with the photographic analysis of the photos. The report states that the object in the photos is 3–4 inches in diameter, not 30 feet as claimed by Ditter; the object is not at a considerable distance, but a mere 3–4 feet from the camera lens; and the photos are not taken in rapid succession, but approximately 70 minutes has elapsed between photos. Also, the numbers on the backs of the photographs are out of sequence with Ditter’s story. (NICAP, “ The Ditter Photo Hoax”; Center for UFO Studies, [ Ditter photos]; Center for UFO Studies, [case documents, part one, part two]; E. L. Merritt, “ Photogrammetric Analysis of a Non-Synchronous Pair of U.F.O. Exposures,” June 1967)
November 14 — Quintanilla, Lt. William Marley, and Col. Robert Hippler of AFOSR brief the Colorado project staff. Quintanilla contradicts Hynek’s account of the swamp gas explanation. (UFOs Yes, 61)
November 15 — 11:30 p.m. Two young couples from Point Pleasant, West Virginia—Roger and Linda Scarberry and Steve and Mary Mallette—are joyriding in an area outside of town known as the “TNT area” [the site of a former World War II munitions plant and now part of the McClintic Wildlife Management Area] when they encounter a large gray creature whose eyes glow red when the car’s headlights pick it up. Scarberry describes it as shaped like a man but nearly 7 feet tall. They describe it as a “large flying man with 10-foot wings” that are folded against its back. Terrified, they drive away but pass a similar creature on a hill by the road. As they pass it, it spreads its wings, rises into the air, and pursues their car, keeping pace at even 100 mph. The entity does not pursue them into town, but they drive directly to the Mason County Courthouse, where they tell their story to Deputy Millard Halstead, who accompanies the witnesses back to the site. He hears strange static disturbances coming from his radio, but they find no evidence of the encounter. On November 16, Sheriff George E. Johnson holds a press conference to discuss the sighting, the press begins calling the creature “Mothman” based on a comic book character. The Scarberrys and Mallettes go back to the site in the daylight and find odd-looking tracks like “two horseshoes put together.” After this sighting, more people begin reporting encounters, and hundreds of cars swarm out to the TNT area at night in search of a Mothman sighting. In May 1976, representatives of the Ohio UFO Investigators League reinterview several witnesses, all of whom stick to their stories and sometimes add interesting details. (“Couples See Man-Sized Bird...Creature...Something,” Point Pleasant (W.Va.) Register, November 16, 1966, pp. 1, 3; “Four Pt. Pleasant Car Occupants See ‘Bird-Like Creature,’” Morgantown (W,Va.) Dominion News, November 17, 1966; “Monster No Joke For Those Who Saw It,” Athens (Ohio) Messenger, November 18, 1966, p. 1; John Keel, Strange Creatures from Time and Space, 1970, pp. 214–215, 219–222; John A. Keel, The Mothman Prophecies, Tor ed., 1991, pp. 59–61; Clark III 779–781; “ Scarberry and Mallette’s Mothman Sighting,” The MothMan Wikia; Daniel A. Reed, “The Mothman and the Crane: A Contemporary Perspective,” Skeptical Inquirer 46, no. 4 (July/August 2022): 52–56; Clark IV 860–862; Håkan Blomqvist, “ Linda Scarberry and Mothman,” Håkan Blomqvist’s Blog, February 17, 2025)
November 17 — 4:00 a.m. Police officers A. G. Huskey and Charles Hutchins see a round, glowing object with a wide, flat rim around the center resting on the ground near Gaffney, South Carolina. They estimate the diameter to be about 20 feet. As they watch from less than 50 feet away, a door opens and a small humanoid being descends. The observation lasts several minutes. Footprints are found at the site. (“ Little Green Man May Come Back,” Florence (S.C.) Morning News, November 19, 1966, p. 2; Curtis Fuller, “I See by the Papers,” Fate 20, no. 4 (April 1967): 25; John A. Keel, “ The Little Man of Gaffney,” Flying Saucer Review 14, no. 2 (March/April 1968): 17–19)
November 19 — 8:10 a.m. A dozen witnesses in Bayonne, New Jersey, see a gray object, about 4 feet in diameter, flying slowly about 125 above Newark Bay. It has 15 “antennae” protruding from its top; it dives into the water and disappears. (“It Wasn’t the Moon,” Union City (N.J.) Hudson Dispatch, November 21, 1966, p. 8; Carl Feindt, “ Report #353,” waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1 293)
November 22 — 9:00–10:00 a.m. A biochemist and consultant to a logging company and his wife are traveling on State Highway 58 through the Willamette Pass, Oregon, when he decides to stop and take photos of some scenery. He stops at the Diamond Peak overlook, takes 2 photos, then pauses to take a third. Suddenly, he claims, a disc- shaped object with a domed top ascends into his field of view. After stopping for 3 seconds, it shoots off toward the right and disappears into a cloud bank. When he develops the roll of film, the photos show a blurred disc- shaped object with two black bands beneath and sitting atop a seeming column of vapor. NICAP is given the photo but is not impressed. In 1989, physicist Irwin Wieder performs a detailed analysis of the photo and determines that it is a blurred photo of the “Diamond Peak” sign taken from a passing car. (“ Oregon Photo Fails Validation Test,” UFO Investigator, November 1971, p. 3; “ Oregon Photo Still in Doubt,” UFO Investigator, August 1972, pp. 2, 4; Adrian Vance, “UFOs and ‘The Oregon Photo,’” Petersen’s PhotoGraphic Magazine 1 (January 1973): 35–37; “Postscript on the Oregon Photograph,” UFO Quarterly Review 1, no. 1 (January/March 1973): 18–24; Adrian Vance, “ The Oregon Photo: Using Photography to Tackle a Mystery,” Flying Saucer Review 19, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1973): 3–6; Irwin Wieder, “ The Willamette Pass Oregon UFO Photo Revisited: An Explanation,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 7, no. 2 (1993): 173–198; Irwin Wieder, “ The Willamette Pass Photo Explained,” IUR 18, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1993): 18–19; Paul Cerny, “ The Oregon UFO Photo Identified,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 309 (January 1994): 14–15; Clark III 1281–1283; Clark IV 1464–1466)
November 22 - 10:00 a.m. A deer hunter searching for game near Roaring River State Park, Missouri, returns to his group's camp and becomes alarmed when he sees smoke rising from it. He finds their tent and other camping equipment destroyed. The tent is still smoldering, one of the aluminum tent poles is singed, and the aluminum cots are melted. The tent is set up under two trees, but their leaves show no traces of damage at all. About 15 feet away is a dead tree with its top still burning. The witness then hears a low humming sound and sees an object rising from the valley about 300 feet away. He is able to take a photograph of it as it ascends and manages a second photo a few seconds later. It is an aluminum- colored disc, about 25 feet in diameter and 8 feet thick, with a band around its center and some kind of projection at its rear. The humming sound intensifies as the object picks up speed and disappears in 20 seconds. (CUFOS case file; Ted Phillips, Physical Traces Associated with UFO Sightings, Center for UFO Studies, 1978, p. 44; B. J. Booth, " UFO Encountered, Photographed, Roaring River, Missouri, 1966," UFO Casebook)
November 22 — 4:20 p.m. At least eight employees of the American Newspaper Publishers Association in New York City watch a UFO from their offices on the 17th floor at 750 Third Avenue. The UFO is a rectangular, “cushion-shaped” object whose bright, reflective surface first catches the eye of Assistant General Manager Donald R. McVay. They go outside onto the terrace and watch the object move southward over the East River, then hover above the United Nations building. It flutters and bobs “like a ship on agitated water.” It rises slowly and moves south then west. One of the other witnesses is the manager of the Publications Department, William H. Leick. (“ Major Sighting Wave,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 11 (Jan,/Feb. 1967): 4; James E. McDonald, “ Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, p. 54)
November 28 — At David R. Saunders’s invitation, Hall and Keyhoe brief the Colorado project members. They meet with Low and show him some strong NICAP reports like the 1959 Redmond, Oregon, case. Low dismisses it as too old because the witnesses “wouldn’t remember the details.” Keyhoe focuses on the cover-up, while Hall argues that the best way to assess UFO evidence is to look at the aggregated evidence. (UFO Yes, 62–63; Keyhoe, Aliens from Space, Signet ed., 1974, pp. 108–110; Clark III 1193; Clark IV 1367)
November 28 — 12:10 a.m. Spanish contactee Enrique Villagrasa receives by telephone his first message from inhabitants of the planet Ummo. The caller speaks in a slow monotone and with a foreign accent, answering questions about history and science. Villagrasa has the impression he is talking to an “electronic brain.” Other messages follow, and Villagrasa passes them on to Fernando Sesma, an employee of the Spanish telegraph service and head of Amigos de los Visitantes del Espacio. (Clark III 1184; Clark IV 1358)
November 28 — Night. Janis Bodungen, 17, is on her way home on Farm Road 1300 northwest of El Campo, Texas, when she sees teo bright lights coming toward her. As they approach, the two lights turn into one large golden light as tall as the trees. She turns the car around and speeds away. (“ The Texas Flap,” APRO Bulletin, Jan./Feb. 1967, pp. 3, 5)
November 30 — 4:35 p.m. J. G. Hockenberry is flying a Cessna 150 near New Kingstown, Pennsylvania, when he sees a saucer-shaped object, about 30 feet in diameter, approach and hover beside the aircraft. It has a dull, gray-white finish and one blinking red light. When the pilot flies into a cloud layer, the object rises straight up and out of sight. (NICAP case file)
December — Low visits NICAP headquarters in Washington, D.C. He admits that Condon thinks the early reports are worthless. Keyhoe tells Low that before he wastes any time supplying them with reports, he wants to know what Condon thinks of the 1965 cases they already provided. Otherwise, NICAP might pull out. (Keyhoe, Aliens from Space, Signet ed., 1974, p. 112)
December 2 — Wertheimer goes to Washington, D.C., to interview witnesses of the National Airport radar-visual sightings of 1952. Virtually every witness disputes Gen. John A. Samford’s explanation of temperature inversions. (UFOs Yes, 72–74)
December 7 — A TAP Air Portugal airliner piloted by Capt. Henrique Maia is paced by two luminous objects near Luanda, Angola. (“ On the International Scene,” APRO Bulletin, Jan./Feb. 1967, p. 7; “ Major Sighting Wave,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 11 (Jan./Feb. 1967): 1, 3; Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, p. 24)
December 15 — 5:30 p.m. Four witnesses driving northwest near Elmer, New Jersey, see a triangular object with rounded corners and three blinking lights. It is moving slowly in the opposite direction. After visiting Woodstown and returning to the southeast at 6:15 p.m., the object reappears and passes over the car. (Marler 134)
December 17 — Hynek’s article, in which he states that hundreds of puzzling UFO cases exit and urges a serious inquiry, appears in the Saturday Evening Post. (J. Allen Hynek, “ Are Flying Saucers Real?” Saturday Evening Post, December 17, 1966, pp. 17–21, transcribed by NICAP; Graff 214–215)
December 25 - 3:00 a.m. Mr. and Mrs. Clyde C. Brooks are stopped along a rural road 2.5 miles south of Monroe, Oregon, when they hear a loud engine noise. Brooks, who is outside of the car, feels a blast of wind that throws him against the vehicle. An object emitting large, reddish-orange flames takes off into the sky and joins two similar objects. The couple returns home and brings back two of their children to the scene and find some flattened grass. ( Sparks, p. 319; " Weird Aerial Phenomena in Oregon," APRO Bulletin, Nov./ Dec. 1966, p. 6)
December 28 - 7:45 p.m. The Waldman family is watching TV at their home in Santa Ana, California, when the picture becomes distorted. The 9-year-old son, Billy, glances out of the window and yells for his mother. She joins him and sees a circular object, 20 feet across, with flashing red, yellow, and orange lights hovering directly outside their window. After a few seconds, the object shoots skyward, trailing smoke and fragments. A neighbor, Patricia Reynolds, also sees it. (" TV Show Ends, Realism Begins," Santa Ana (Calif.) Register, December 30, 1966, p. 3; John A. Keel, " North America 1966: Development of a Great Wave," Flying Saucer Review 13, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1967): 3, 8)
December 30 — 2:38 a.m. A Canadian Pacific Airlines DC-8 is at 35,000 feet on a northwest course off the coast of Peru. Capt. Robert Millbank and five flight crew members observe a pair of objects that pace the plane for 7 minutes. The phenomenon, appearing initially as a pair of high luminosity lights separated by about 3–4°, is first spotted 70° to the left of their flight path at an estimated elevation angle of about 10°. Some of the crew members report vaguely perceiving a connecting structure between the two lights. The lights hover for about one minute, pulsating, then move down toward the plane and assume a position off the left wing for another minute or two. As it paces the airliner, the object emits a V-shaped pair of thin light beams upwards, then later downwards. Finally it accelerates, pulls away, and climbs rapidly out over the Pacific to the west and disappears in the distance. (NICAP, “ Pair of Luminous Objects Hover near DC-8”; “ Major Sighting Wave,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 11 (Jan./Feb. 1967): 1; Condon, pp. 280–282; UFOEv II 129–130)
December 30 — 8:15 p.m. Physics professor Louie A. Galloway III is driving with his family through a wooded area on US Highway 79 in southern Columbia County, Arkansas, 3.6 miles north of Haynesville, Louisiana, when they see a bright, pulsating orange glow in the woods. At one point it suddenly brightens to a blinding white light, forcing Galloway to shield his eyes and waking up his children who are sleeping in the back seat. After 4 seconds it returns to its red-orange appearance. Galloway sends a report to USAF’s Project Blue Book, which forwards it on to the University of Colorado UFO project. Galloway returns to the location in January 1967 and computes the distance of the light from the road at about 0.7 to 1.2 miles. The Colorado project estimates the light source’s burst of power in the range of 500–1400 MW. Later, Galloway locates the actual landing area, a 30-foot in diameter clearing on the ground and finds that all the trees on the periphery of the clearing have blackened, burned bark facing the center of the clearing. The bark fragments are submitted to a large US atomic facility for analysis in 1978, but are “returned without any disclosure of findings.” In 2024, Jacques Vallée submits the bark samples to gamma-ray spectroscopy, which reveals cesium-137 as one of the elements; he also estimates the light source’s power intensity to be comparable to a small nuclear power plant at 500–900 MW, although there are multiple unknown variables that could affect the analysis. ( Sparks, p. 320; Condon, pp. 61, 277–280; Jacques Vallée, “ Estimates of Power Optical Output in Six Cases of Unexplained Aerial Objects with Defined Luminosity Characteristics,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 12, no. 3 (1998): 350–352; Jacques Vallée, Luc Dini, and Geoffrey Mestchersky, “ Estimates of Radiative Energy Values in Ground-Level Observations of an Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon: New Physical Data,” Progress in Aerospace Sciences preprint, April 25, 2025; “ For the First Time in History, a Peer-Reviewed Scientific Article on a UFO Case Is Accepted in ‘Progress in Aerospace Sciences,’” Ovnilogia, August 24, 2025)
1967
The US nuclear stockpile reaches its peak at 31,255 bombs. (Ryan Crierie, " U.S. Nuclear Stockpile, 1945-2009")
Night. Miss E. R. East, of Gibsons, British Columbia, is awakened by a banging noise and sees a brilliant orange-red light soaring above hills behind the town. As she watches, its color changes to glowing white and the object moves toward the Strait of Georgia. Suddenly, a 10-foot-wide beam of light shoots down to the water. As it strikes the surface, it bends and lies flat on the surface, lighting up the wharf on Keats Island. As she stares at it, her eyes begin to sting. (John Magor, Our UFO Visitors, Hancock House, 1977, pp. 37–38)
A man named Campbell sees a purplish object moving slowly along a reef off North West Cape, Western Australia, after which it takes off swiftly toward the horizon. Later, when he is at home, he comes into telepathic contact with an invisible presence in his room, the first of a series of appearances by entities. (Bill Chalker, “The Interstate Twilight Zone,” Psychic Australian 2 (August 1977): 6–9, 28; Clark IV 910–912)
A French government UFO project, to be led by former inspector general at the Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique Jean-Luc Bruneau, is approved. Bruneau recommends that the study first become a project of the Centre Nationale d’Études Spatiales, and later a European initiative. But the project is postponed because of the political crisis in France in May 1968. (Gildas Bourdais, “ From GEPAN to SEPRA: Official UFO Studies in France,” IUR 25, no. 4 (Winter 2000–2001): 11)
Robert M. Wood, physicist and aerospace manager for McDonnell Douglas Corporation, is assigned the task of exploring breakthroughs in gravity propulsion. The project includes laboratory evaluation of hypotheses, field observations, and examination of UFO literature. At one point there are 4 full-time and 3 part-time employees involved in the effort, code-named BITBR (“Boys in the Back Room”). Employees included mechanical engineer Joseph M. Brown, physicist Darell Boyd Harmon Jr., and Stanton T. Friedman. Wood networks with James E. McDonald, J. Allen Hynek, Carl Sagan, and the Colorado project. The initiative is terminated in 1970 at Wood’s recommendation due to its inability to project a technological payoff. However, there is some evidence that McDonnell Douglas had another UFO research project in the late 1970s. (Robert M. Wood, “ A Little Physics…A Little Friction: A Close Encounter with the Condon Committee,” IUR 18, no. 4 (July/ Aug. 1993): 6–10; Robert M. Wood, “ McDonnell Douglas Studied UFOs in 1960s,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 486 (October 2008): 3–8; [ Robert M. Wood McDonnell Douglas documents]; Keith Basterfield, “ The McDonnell Douglas UAP Study,” Unidentified Aerial Phenomena: Scientific Research, September 22, 2020; Keith Basterfield, “ Which Aerospace Company Is Hiding a UAP Black Project?” Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena—Scientific Research, August 28, 2021; Curt Collins, “ SKYLITE: The Project to Mimic UFOs,” The Saucers That Time Forgot, September 9, 2021; Keith Basterfield, “ A Second McDonnell-Douglas UAP Study in the 1970’s? A Preliminary Article,” Unidentified Aerial Phenomena: Scientific Research, July 4, 2023)
Ivan T. Sanderson publishes Uninvited Visitors, in which he argues that some UFOs might be living space animals. (Ivan T. Sanderson, Uninvited Visitors, Cowles, 1967; Clark III 1028, 1100; Clark IV 1143, 1226)
January 1 - In Galesburg, Illinois, one Knoxville farmer and several motorists reported that the UFO "was round, big as a house, had no flying lights, but let off a greenish-blue light." Vibrations from the craft could be felt in the farmer's truck as it followed him along the Victoria blacktop about 7:00 PM. ( Skylook 41, p. 13)
January — Night. French rocket scientist Jean-Pierre Morin is driving three members of a launch team to the tower at Interarmy Special Vehicles Test Center at Hammaguir, Algeria. When they arrive at a row of buildings, they notice a light in the sky silently coming toward them. Their car engine sputters and fails. It stops and hovers at an elevation of 45° about 1,600 feet away. Morin thinks it is attached to a black, cylindrical object 980–1,300 feet in length and 100 feet in diameter with “flames” of different colors along its side. The light begins moving slowly again, and a car with astrophysicists stops and watches it for another 20–30 minutes before it ascends and disappears. (Good Need, pp. 296–297)
Early January — 7:30 p.m. Robert Blaine is driving with five other witnesses on State Highway 55 two miles southeast of Farwell, Minnesota, when his headlights and engine suddenly go out. He sees an orange flash to his left at the level of his hood and tiny beads of light cross in front of the windshield. A passenger sees an orange-and-red flash go by on the driver’s side at window level. The car coasts to a stop, then the engine and headlights go back on again by themselves. (“ Car Buzzing Incidents on Increase,” APRO Bulletin, May/June 1967, p. 5)
January 3 — 2:00 a.m. A dome-shaped object hovers for several miles and 10–15 minutes above a car in New Richmond, Indiana. It illuminates the road, and the car draws to a stop with loss of steering control and the radio failing. Examination of the car by Fred Hooven and David Moyer, engineers at the Ford Motor Company, two months later shows no faults unexplainable by ordinary causes. (Condon, pp. 102–106, 282–285; UFOEv II 208; Randle, Levelland, 2021, pp. 65–66)
January 5 - Winsted, Minnesota - 75 ft object landed on road, man dressed in blue overalls exited craft.
January 5 — Hynek writes to Condon, telling him that he, Jacques Vallée, and William T. Powers are devoting more personal time to the UFO problem and are setting up a file area in the Lindheimer Observatory at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He mentions that there is enough underground interest in UFOs among his scientific colleagues that he is thinking of creating an informal “invisible college” to discuss the subject quietly. He mentions that he sat in on a hypnosis session a few weeks previously with Benjamin Simon and was allowed to question Betty and Barney Hill. He also suggests that the Colorado project recommend that police squad cars carry cameras that can document ongoing UFO reports. (Center for UFO Studies, [ Hynek correspondence], pp. 6–7)
January 5 — An A-12 flown by pilot Walter Ray is lost during a training flight near Leith Canyon, Nevada. Due to a faulty fuel gauge, the aircraft runs out of fuel 70 miles from Groom Dry Lake. Ray glides to a lower altitude to perform a controlled bailout but cannot separate his parachute from his ejection seat. He is the first pilot to be killed in an A-12 accident. (Wikipedia, “ Lockheed A-12”)
January 6 — Hynek speaks to an overflow crowd at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. He says he has had to revise his thinking on UFOs, urges scientists to take an active role in investigations, and confirms reports that NORAD and SAC radar has tracked UFOs, citing a case in which SAC radar tracked a UFO at 4,000 mph on an erratic flight path. (Story, p. 413)
January 6 - 11:45 p.m. EST. In Harwich, Massachusetts a man and his daughter saw a thick, double-convex (lens-) shaped disc with a dark upper surface, trapezoidal sections of fluorescent light on the lower portion, and pulsating colored lights (body lights). The obiect responded to house spotlights by blinking in the same sequence (light reaction). (Air Force report form in Colorado Project files.)
January 9 — Two teenage brothers of Mount Clemens, Michigan, Daniel A. and Grant P. Jaroslaw, take some Polaroid photos from the backyard of their home of a domed object moving slowly above Lake St. Clair. After they release the images to a wire service, the Air Force requests the originals for analysis. They refuse to relinquish them but give an officer at Selfridge AFB [now Selfridge Air National Guard Base] some copies. Maj. Raymond Nyls attempts to recreate the photos at the original site using a block of wood hanging from a string on a children’s swing set. USAF turns the copies and Nyls’s recreations over to the National Photographic Interpretation Center, which takes a serious look and suspects a hoax but cannot prove it conclusively. (“ Two Brothers Photograph Circular Object in Michigan,” Northern Ontario UFO Research and Study; Joey Del Ponte, “ Formerly Secret Memo Shows How the Air Force Investigated UFO Sightings,” Muckrock, February 14, 2018; Clark III 601; Curt Collins, “ Dr. Hynek and the UFO Photo Investigation of 1967,” The Saucers That Time Forgot, October 21, 2021; Clark IV 661)
January 10 - 8:30 p.m. EST. In Bruceville, Indiana a woman and her son, 16, were driving home when they saw an elliptical dull gray object glowing a bluish color around the rim. It was estimated to be 25 feet over the car, 30 feet in diameter and 8 feet thick. The object hovered, moved slowly, then accelerated away. It displayed a disc shape when it banked slightly, and it had several dim lights (body lights) on its rim. (Ridge, 1994, p. 19. from APRO Bulletin No. 15.)
January 10 - 10:50 p.m. EST. In Bangor, Maine an electronics technician heard an intermittent sound that changed in pitch, then saw over the treetops two brilliant lights. Each light was dome-shaped and had a ring at the outer circumference. (Narrative from witness in Donald E. Keyhoe Archives files.)
January 11 — Evening. A farmer in the department of Aveyron in southern France sees two objects, one in the shape of an elongated artillery shell and the other a ball of light, both of which he has encountered in the past few days around his farm. He jumps in his car and chases the ball of light until he gets close to the brilliant-white, shell-shaped object, which has a rounded top that shines with a maroon light. It is about 45 feet tall and stands straight up. He gets out to look at it, but it moves to a 45º angle, rocks a bit, emits some greenish steam from its base, and suddenly takes off. The ball of light, about 4 feet in diameter, has stayed stationary about 450 feet ahead of him, so he gets back into his car. It begins moving again, and he chases it at speeds of up to 62 mph. It maintains the same distance ahead of him, until his engine dies and his headlights go out. Then he notices a saucer-shaped object with a red light on its side descend from the northwest. It is slightly bigger than a Peugeot 404 car and comes down to 9–12 feet above the ground about 60 feet away. The top of the object has two transparent cupolas. In each of them is a helmeted, humanlike figure dressed in green coveralls trimmed with white. The object remains hovering for a few seconds. The UFO then rises to 150 feet with a whistling sound, swoops back to near the ground, and pauses. Turning a brilliant yellow-white, it finally takes off at tremendous speed. The farmer feels a wave of burning heat on his face and a temporary sensation of paralysis. It causes a nearby roadsign to vibrate. His headlights come back on and he is able to start the car normally. The man has trouble sleeping for the next few days, then he goes through several weeks (until roughly March 15) of excessive sleepiness. (François Lagarde, “ The Aveyron Inquiry—3,” Flying Saucer Review 17, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1971): 3–9)
January 12 — The USAF advisory committee holds a special briefing in Boulder, Colorado. Condon discusses project plans and asks the Air Force where the project should place its emphasis. Lt. Col. Hippler, along with Col. Raymond Sleeper, Blue Book’s boss as Foreign Technology Division Commander, says the project is not required to prove or disprove anything, but that “we don’t want any recommendation from you unless you feel strongly about it.” He rejects Wertheimer’s suggestion that the project should concentrate on witnesses, not sightings. Hippler and Ratchford do not adequately respond to Low’s question about what USAF wants from the project. (“ Air Force Advisory Panel Briefing,” January 12, 1967; Roy Craig, UFOs: An Insiders’ View of the Official Quest for Evidence, University of North Texas, 1995, p. 235; Michael D. Swords, “ The USAF-Sponsored Colorado Project for the Scientific Study of UFOs,” 1995 MUFON Symposium Proceedings, MUFON, 1995, pp. 149–163; Swords 314–315; Clark III 805, 1194; Clark IV 896, 1368)
January 12 — 7:30 p.m. A luminous object crosses the sky off Agadir, Morocco. It leaves a white trail that turns into a rainbow and falls into the sea with a deafening sound. The US Defense attaché in Rabat, Naval Capt. C. G. Strum, says the sighting “could be valuable in pursuit of Project Moon Dust.” (US Department of Defense, “ UFO Sighting over Agadir, Morocco,” January 18, 1967)
January 13 — Condon and Low visit Cheyenne Mountain, NORAD’s underground Space Defense Center complex in Colorado, for a “classified briefing” by orbital analysts 1Lt. Henry B. Eckert Jr. and Capt. Dick A. Cable of the 9th Aerospace Defense Division’s 1st Aerospace Control Squadron about NORAD’s radar network, hours after another classified briefing for Condon and staff at Boulder concludes. The Cheyenne Mountain briefing is the first in a series of tactical moves designed to discourage Condon’s project staff, Hynek, and McDonald from using NORAD as a source of UFO data or resource for future investigations or instrumentation. (UFOs Yes, 66; Clark III 804–805; Clark IV 895–898)
January 13 — Early morning. Sgt. Norman Finley of the Joplin, Missouri, police alerts fellow officers about an unexplained object overhead. Pittsburg, Kansas, police dispatcher James Cunningham notifies the Joplin police that a UFO has been seen over Pittsburg. He describes it as an object with bright colors of “vivid blue-green with flashing lights.” Cunningham alerts the Joplin station because the object seems to be leaving Kansas and heading for Missouri. After receiving that call, Joplin’s Lt. Charles Hickman drives to Stone’s Corner near the Joplin airport. He waits for nearly an hour before spotting a UFO in the sky, which he watches for more than an hour. It is about 1,000 feet high and seems about as big as two houses. It makes turns and maneuvers “as if it were being controlled.” For the next three days, there are more sightings in the early morning hours at Coffeyville, Kansas; Joplin, Springfield, and Newton County, Missouri; and northeast Oklahoma. (UFOs Yes, 109–110; Condon, pp. 286–290)
January 13 — 10:00 p.m. The crew of a Lear Jet flying at 41,000 feet over southwestern New Mexico sees a flashing red luminous object in their 10 o’clock position. The object splits into four smaller red objects vertically several times, each separated by about 2,000 feet and each emitting a “red ray.” It then retracts the lowest objects into the top object. Albuquerque radar tracks a target 39 miles ahead of the Lear Jet moving on the same heading, with no transponder signal. At that moment the object blinks off visually for 30 seconds then blinks back on. The UFO floods the jet with an intense red light so bright that the pilot has difficulty seeing his instrument panel. It maintains its position in front for a few minutes then blinks out, comes on again, and falls back behind the left wing. It then pulls forward again. Albuquerque radar reports that it looks like the target had merged with the jet. Both the UFO and the jet make left turns over Winslow, Arizona, after which Los Angeles Center radar picks up both targets. Past Flagstaff, the object climbs at a 30° angle and disappears to the west in less than 10 seconds. (NICAP, “ R/V”; Sparks, p. 321; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 82–83; Martin Shough, RADCAT: Radar Catalogue: A Review of Twenty-One Ground and Airborne Radar UAP Contact Reports Generally Related to Aviation Safety for the Period October 15, 1948, to September 19, 1976, National Aviation Reporting Center on Anomalous Phenomena, NARCAP Report TR-6, December 8, 2002, pp. 118–121)
January 15 - 5:45 p.m. Helen Godard and her two nieces, Candy and Missy, are driving through Granville, Massachusetts, when they see a domed disc with white light emanating from portholes in its base. They hear a humming sound, and the sky and ground are illuminated by white light. Red flame-like jets appear at one end when the object moves. Its speed is variable. At one point, all the lights go out, and when they come back on the portholes are showing red light. The object is seen three times within 20 minutes before it disappears over a hill to the east. (" 4 See UFO near North Granby," Hartford Courant, January 17, 1967, p. 15; " Major Sighting Wave," UFO Investigator 3, no. 11 (Jan./Feb. 1967): 4; " Jan. 23-67-Granby," Saucer Scoop 2, no. 2 (May 1967): 5; Condon, pp. 285-286)
January 16 — Hippler writes to Condon, saying that “No one knows of a visitation. It should therefore follow there has been no [extraterrestrial] visitation to date.” Moreover, Condon should “consider the cost of the Air Force program on UFOs, and determine if the taxpayer should support this for the next decade.” (Lt. Col. Robert H. Hippler, Letter to Edward U. Condon, January 16, 1967; Kevin D. Randle, “ The Hippler Letter,” A Different Perspective, March 21, 2007)
January 17 — Night. Francis Bedel Jr. is driving on State Highway 135 five miles north of Freetown, Indiana, when a glowing white light darts into his field of vision. It hovers above the road for a few seconds, then slowly reverses its course. Bedel is so busy staring at the spectacle that he loses control of his car, which goes off the road and is badly damaged. Phil Patton and his wife apparently see the same object, about 30 feet in diameter, that comes within 100 feet of their car on the same road. It has a brilliant red light and flashing yellow and white lights on its perimeter. (NICAP, “ The 1967 UFO Chronology”; “ Wreck Caused by UFO,” Muncie (Ind.) Star, January 18, 1967, p. 8; “ UFO Sightings Reported,” Seymour (Ind.) Daily Tribune, January 18, 1967, p. 1; “ UFO Caused Car Wreck?” APRO Bulletin, Jan./Feb. 1967, p. 1; “ Object Sighted: Motorist Wrecks Car,” NICAP Reporter 5, no. 7 (April 1967): 7; Frank Edwards, FS—Here and Now!, Lyle Stuart, 1967, pp. 217–218)
January 18 — 4:40 p.m. Two boys, age and Jesper, age 9 and 7 respectively, see a dark gray object overhead in Zealand, Denmark. Tage runs home while Jesper hides in a ditch. The object descends and extends three legs as if to land but then retracts them and moves out over the Kattegat. As it passes over the shore, it throws out some “black goo.” Hovering low over the water, the object lowers a box on an arm-thick cable, and eight small humanoid figures emerge from the large object, descending on the cable. They are the same size as the boy, and all but one wear striped suits with scuba-like packs on their backs. The eighth occupant wears a blue uniform and has no pack. They all have striped caps, lights on their shoulders, and carry objects that resemble binoculars or cameras. Before the object disappears, the beings wave to the boy. Later, a lump of strange material is found on the shore. When analyzed, it turns out to be an unknown mixture of substances. (“ Nærobservation fra Sjællands Odde,” UFO Nyt, 1967 no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1967): 49–52; “ Denmark: Boy Reports Saucer and Occupants,” Flying Saucer Review 13, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1967): 32)
January 18 — 6:00 p.m. A family in Shamokin, Pennsylvania, watches through binoculars a disc with a red light on a projection at the rear approach them at about 400–500 feet altitude. As it nears, the object emits two pinkish-white light beams downward at about a 45° angle from its forward edge. It then turns, rises suddenly, joins a second object, and both speed away. (Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., UFOs: A New Look, NICAP, 1969, Appendix D)
January 19 — 9:05 a.m. Tad Jones is driving a truck in Dunbar, West Virginia, when he sees a dull, aluminum sphere about 20–25 feet in diameter hovering about 4 feet above the road some 500 feet ahead of him. It has two antennae protruding from the top and two legs beneath it, with a propellor between them that rotates slowly when hovering (but faster when flying). There is a window at the top and a flange in the middle. When he gets to about 10 feet of it, the object ascends swiftly. (“ ‘UFO’ Takes a Look at Interstate 64,” Beckley (W.Va.) Post-Herald, January 20, 1967, p. 1; “ West Virginian Says He Got Close to UFO,” Danville (Va.) Register, January 20, 1967, p. 2; “Store Owner Has ‘Run-In’ with UFO,” Morgantown (W.Va) Dominion News, January 20, 1967, p. 2; “Dunbar Merchant Gets Close Up Look at UFO in Road: Strange Object on Interstate 64,” Bluefield (W.Va.) Daily Telegraph, January 20, 1967, p. 3; “ Major Sighting Wave,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 11 (Jan./Feb. 1967): 4; John A. Keel, “ From My Ohio Valley Note Book,” Flying Saucer Review 13, no. 3 (May/June 1967): 3, 4; Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., UFOs: A New Look, NICAP, 1969, Appendix D)
January 20 — 6:30 p.m. Three girls (Kimberly Lodge, Ellen Kenney, and Janice Shafer), 16–17 years old, are driving near Methuen, Massachusetts, when they see a string of 9–10 bright red lights on a dark object that is moving over a field. The object hovers and swings around, revealing lights of a different color and configuration. When the girls stop to watch, their car stalls and the radio and lights go off. It has four glowing lights in the shape of a trapezoid, with red lights on top and white lights forming the base. The lights appear to be reflecting off a metal surface. The object starts moving slowly and then shoots away at high speed. A second car about 3 miles away also sees 7–8 bright lights flying low. (NICAP, “ Car Stalls after Girls See UFO over Field”; “ Major Sighting Wave,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 11 (Jan./Feb. 1967): 3–4; Carl Sagan and Thornton Page, eds., UFO’s: A Scientific Debate, Cornell University, 1972, pp. xxvi–xxvii; Raymond Fowler, UFOs: Interplanetary Visitors, Prentice-Hall, 1974, pp. 138–143)
Late January — McDonald is lobbying Frederick Seitz, president of the National Academy of Sciences, with some mild criticisms of the Colorado project and the establishment of a UFO research panel. Seitz is not convinced. (Clark III 698; Clark IV 794)
Late January — A well-known engineer sees a disc-shaped object land near him in Riachuelo, Osomo, Chile. Seconds after touching down, a strange being, about 4.5 feet tall and wearing a transparent outfit, emerges. It has a white face and hands, a pronounced jawbone, and no neck. When it sees the man looking, it gets back into the object and takes off. (“ Casos Chilenos de 1967,” UFO Chile, no. 1 (August 1967): 2–3; Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, p. 59; “ UFO Occupant at Riachuelo, Chile,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 12 (December 1972): 12)
January 21 — The Centro Ufologico Nazionale is legally established in Milan, Italy, with Mario Maioli as its first president, as a test of cooperation among several regional UFO groups. Such a national organization had been called for by the Centro Studi Clypeologici of Gianni Settimo in Turin on September 26, 1965. It begins publishing Notiziario UFO, edited by Roberto Pinotti, in January 1967. (Wikipedia, “ Centro ufologico nazionale”; Centro Ufologico Nazionale, “ 1° assemblea propositiva per un Centro Unico Nazionale per lo studio dei fenomeni ritenuti di natura extraterrestre (CUN)”; Story, p. 67; 1Pinotti 143–146; Notiziario UFO 1 (1967))
January 24 — 5:25 p.m. A 14-year-old boy in Yorba Linda, California, sees an object shaped like a top hat apparently hovering above houses across the street. It seems large and cylindrical, dull metallic, and has four legs. He grabs a camera and snaps a photo of the object, which has started moving away. Los Angeles photographer Joseph Carson rules out simple hoaxes using a model and considers it a genuine image. An unnamed commercial photographer conducts a densitometer analysis and finds no evidence of a hoax, concluding that the object was 100 feet or less from the camera. (Ann Druffel, “ The Yorba Linda Photograph,” in Charles Bowen, ed., UFO Encounters, special issue no. 5 of FSR, November 1973, pp. 26–35; UFOEv II 286–287; Patrick Gross, “ Yorba Linda, California, January 24, 1967”)
January 25 — Condon gives a talk in Corning, New York, and says: “It is my inclination right now to recommend that the government get out of this business. My attitude right now is that there’s nothing to it … but I’m not supposed to reach a conclusion for another year.” Keyhoe is astonished by Condon’s remarks. (“ Most UFOs Explainable, Says Scientist,” Elmira (N.Y.) Star-Gazette, January 26, 1967, p. 19; UFOs Yes, 117–119; Eghigian, After, p. 203)
January 25 — 6:35 p.m. Betty Andreasson (later Betty Luca) has her first remembered abduction experience in South Ashburnham, Massachusetts. Placed under hypnosis on several occasions in 1977, Andreasson relates that following the appearance of the creatures every member of the family except her enters a state of paralysis “as if time had stopped for them.” A Christian evangelical, Andreasson thinks they must be angels. The culminating event is when Andreasson witnesses a giant phoenix-like bird burn up and reappear from the ashes as a giant worm. Further hypnotic probing brings forth apparent memories of lifelong interactions with extraterrestrials. Raymond E. Fowler’s 1979 book about the case contains the first reference to an implant in abduction literature, a motif that later becomes much more common. (Raymond E. Fowler, The Andreasson Affair, Prentice-Hall, 1979; Raymond E. Fowler, The Andreasson Affair: Phase Two, Prentice-Hall, 1982; Raymond E. Fowler, The Watchers, Bantam, 1990; Raymond E. Fowler, The Watchers II, Wild Flower, 1995; Raymond E. Fowler, The Andreasson Legacy, Marlowe, 1997; Mark Cashman, “ Behavioral Classification System for UFO Occupants,” IUR 24, no. 1 (Spring 1999): 19; UFOEv II 529–530; Betty Andreasson Luca and Bob Luca, A Lifting of the Veil, The Authors, 2017; Marcus Lowth, “ The Extraordinary Claims of Betty Andreasson,” UFO Insight, March 24, 2018; Clark III 114–122; “ The Betty Andreasson Alien Abduction Incident in South Ashburnham, Massachusetts, January 25, 1967,” Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, November 8, 2024; Eghigian, After, pp. 278–279; Clark IV 141–150)
January 26 - 8:30 p.m. The teenage daughter of a lieutenant colonel residing on a US Army base in Heidelberg, Germany, hears a strange pulsating sound. She tells her father, and they look out the window to see a dirigible-shaped object about 50-60 feet long hovering about 150 feet off the ground above a motor vehicle shed. Before long, a crowd of 50-60 people gather around their apartment building to watch the object, which is only 100 feet away. Some observers with binoculars say it is metallic and has lights that alternate in red, blue, and green colors. After about 20 minutes, US Air Force jets approach in response to a call from the base, and the UFO's lights increase in intensity and it speeds away. (" Around the Globe," APRO Bulletin, May/June 1967, p. 4)
January 28 — 1:45 p.m. Alex Butler, 10, and five young friends are playing on Studham Common as they are making their way to Studham Lower School, Bedfordshire, England. Suddenly a flash of lightning strikes nearby, and Alex sees a little blue man about 3 feet tall with a high bowler hat and beard standing motionless on the opposite bank. It is clothed in a one-piece garment with a broad black belt and black box in front. A dim glow envelops him, giving him a blue color. The other boys see it too. They begin to run toward the creature, but it disappears in a puff of smoke. The little man appears in a different spot, and the boys start running there, but again he disappears. As the vanishing act repeats again, the boys hear a deep-toned sound emanating from two spots nearby. At that point the school bell sounds, and the boys rush off to class. Miss Newcomb, the school headmistress, interviews the boys and collects their written reports in a scrapbook (now lost). (R. H. B. Winder, “ The Little Blue Man on Studham Common,” Flying Saucer Review 13, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1967): 3–4; Patrick Gross, URECAT, October 16, 2006; Theo Pajimans, “ The Little Blue Man of Studham Common,” Dunstable & District Local History Society Newsletter, no. 38 (August 2012): 279; Theo Paijmans, “In Search of the Little Blue Man,” Fortean Times 339 (May 2016): 56–57; Brent Swancer, “ Strange Encounters with Little Blue Men,” Mysterious Universe, September 1, 2018)
January 30 — 8:04 a.m. Commercial pilot Delton Schwanz is with his wife Della and three children 5 miles southwest of Crosby, North Dakota, when they see a bright-white, sharply outlined, lozenge-shaped object to the west. It momentarily hovers, then moves in level flight to the left, with a smooth climb in the southwest. It drops white “strips” of light that descend vertically and disappears to the south by ascending to about 30°–45° elevation. At around the same time, George Larsen (Larson?) and Larry Pateof (Pace?) are driving by car 20 miles west of Crosby near the intersection of Highways 5 and 85 and see a large white light moving rapidly from west to south dropping something and disappearing suddenly. ( Sparks, p. 321; Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 73–74)
January 30 — 6:45 p.m. Reinhardt N. Ausmus and his wife Ruth are driving north on State Highway 99 in Sandusky, Ohio, when they spot a bright light in the sky. Stopping their car, they watch it hover for several minutes before it is suddenly extinguished. (“ UFO over NASA Station,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 12 (March/April 1967): 6)
January 31 — David R. Saunders stops in at NICAP in Washington, D.C., to pick up some case material. Keyhoe and Hall show him a clipping about Condon’s statements in Corning, New York. Saunders suggests that Condon is misquoted. But several NICAP members had been in the audience and one has already resigned to protest NICAP’s support of a sham investigation. (Clark III 1194; Clark IV 1368)
February — Although a UFO wave is in progress, practically no one at the Colorado project has the knowledge or resources to perform a serious investigation. Other than Low and the junior staff, nearly everyone lacks basic equipment, questionnaires, cameras, or tape measures. The team decides to focus only on cases drawn from Blue Book, NICAP, and APRO that are most ideal for demonstrating extraterrestrial intelligence. Armed with a questionnaire, investigators (usually by telephone) interview witnesses about their sightings, as well as their background, beliefs, and exposure to UFO media coverage. Three teams of two researchers then carry out field work on site. Quick-response teams are also set up to conduct immediate field research, and specialized equipment (diffraction gratings, Geiger counters, tape recorders) is procured for the purpose. (UFOs Yes, 110; Clark III 1196; Eghigian, After, pp. 197–198; Clark IV 1370)
February — John A. Keel speaks with USAF Col. George P. Freeman, who tells him that “Mysterious men dressed in Air Force uniforms or bearing impressive credentials from government agencies have been silencing UFO witnesses.” The Air Force is unable to find out anything about them because this is a federal offense. (John A. Keel, The Mothman Prophecies, Tor ed., 1991, p. 25; Nick Redfern, “ MIB Are Not from ‘the Government,’” Mysterious Universe, June 23, 2015; Clark III 733–734; Clark IV 814)
February — Soviet cosmologist Felix Ziegel writes an article revealing that “UFOs have been seen all over the USSR; the craft of every possible shape, small, large, flattened, spherical. They are able to remain stationary in the atmosphere or shoot along at 100,000 kilometers per hour. They move without producing the slightest sound, by creating around themselves a pneumatic vacuum that protects them from burning up in our stratosphere. Their craft have the mysterious capacity to vanish and reappear at will. Besides, they are able to affect our power resources, putting to a halt our electricity-generating plants, our radio stations, and our engines, without, however, leaving any permanent damage. So refined a technology can only be the fruit of an intelligence that is indeed far superior to ours.” The article is regarded in the West as the first-ever evidence that the Soviets are aware of UFO phenomena too. (CIA translation of Felix Ziegel, “ UFOs: What Are They?” Smena, no. 7 (February 1967): 27–29)
February 1 — In Boulder, Colorado, David R. Saunders confronts Condon, who confirms the Corning quote and wonders why Saunders is making a fuss. After 30 minutes, Saunders persuades him that he is having a negative effect. Finally, Condon writes Keyhoe saying that his words were taken out of context and that he will look at the NICAP case files. (Clark III 1194; Eghigian, After, p. 203; Clark IV 1368)
February 2 — 6:30 p.m. Capt. Oswaldo Sanvitti is flying a Faucett Perú DC-4 airliner from Chiclayo to Lima, Peru, when the crew and passengers notice a bright light coming toward them from the west. Sanvitti estimates it is about 9 miles away, but it soon reaches the aircraft and hovers above it. The cabin lights dim, the plane’s compass fluctuates, and the radio gives off static. The UFO speeds away to the east, increasing its luminosity by 50%, but reappears 5 minutes later with another object. Both UFOs trail the aircraft until 5 minutes before it lands at Jorge Chávez International Airport in Callao. The passengers are all held for interrogation by authorities after the plane lands. Several have taken photos of the strange craft alongside the airliner, but all cameras are taken and all film is confiscated. One passenger, however, who insists on remaining anonymous, succeeds in saving his film. (NICAP, “ DC-4 Encounters UFO / Compass Deviates”; “Piloto Peruan o es una fiera luqueando platillos voladores,” Última Hora (Brazil), November 16, 1967, p. 3; Jose Mendez, “59 People Are Terrified When Flying Saucer Cuts Radio, Dims Lights on Airliner,” National Enquirer, January 14, 1968, pp. 4–5; Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, pp. 24–25; Good Above, p. 533; UFOEv II 46; Patrick Gross, “ Aircraft Encounters with UFOs”)
February 5 — Evening. A young man in Hilliard, Ohio, hears a strange noise and a barking dog. He looks up and sees an object approaching at a low altitude over a road shoulder. It lands on three legs in a field. The object is egg-shaped and about 75 feet long and 45 feet high. An “elevator-like” shaft opens and beings emerge carrying small, circular balls that they place on the ground around the UFO. The human-like creatures appear to be waiting for something. Then a man approaches from across the field and talks to them, apparently by telepathy. The witness accidentally steps on a twig, and the beings hear it. One runs toward him and catches him by the back of the neck, leaving a burned wound. Another being comes and both drag him toward the object. As they get close, the beings look at each other, seemingly panic-stricken. They drop the witness, collect the balls, and run inside the UFO, which takes off. (“ Startling Cases Investigated,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 1 (May/June 1967): 6; Irena Scott and William E. Jones, “ Hilliard, Ohio, Revisited,” Ohio UFO Notebook, no. 7 (Summer 1994): 1–10)
February 6 — The mission of the Space Defense Center’s satellite-tracking radar (useless for UFOs) moves from Ent AFB [now the US Olympic Training Center] in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to “adjacent to the NORAD command center” (air defense UFO trackers) in Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado. However, they are separated from each other by partitions and use separate computers. (Wikipedia, “ Space Defense Center”; Clark III 808; Clark IV 900)
February 8 — 6:43 p.m. Mary McCarthy and five of her young nieces and nephews see a glowing object as they are eating dinner at their farm 3 miles south of Deep River, Ontario, less than 20 miles away from the Nuclear Power Demonstration station, Canada’s first nuclear reactor. The television immediately stops working properly. About a quarter of a mile away on a hill is a circular “craft” with a large core of dazzling, pulsating yellow lights in its center. From this core, red lights pulsate outward toward the rim, somewhat like neon lights. They have it in view for 40 minutes. After the object leaves, the TV starts working again. A Canadian Forces spokesperson says the lights were airplanes shooting flares in the area. (Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979, pp. 124–126)
February 9 — Condon recommends NICAP’s UFO Evidence to geophysicist Merle Tuve (Swords 319)
February 9 — 6:30 p.m. George Kawalski, a section foreman for the Great Northern railroad, sees an object hovering above the depot in Chester, Montana, from his home two blocks away. The object disappears straight up after bathing the depot in light. (“ Third Report of UFOs Heard from Chester Area,” Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune, February 11, 1967, p. 5)
February 10 — 3:42 a.m. Erie County Constable Gary Butler is patrolling in the area of NASA’s Plum Brook Station [now the Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility] in Sandusky, Ohio, when he sees a bright, bluish disc moving toward the southwest some 2 miles away. As it was disappearing behind some trees, he tries to radio in a report, but experiences some interference. (“ Area Lawman Sees UFO,” Sandusky (Ohio) Register, February 10, 1967, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 482 (September 2009): 12; “ UFO over NASA Station,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 12 (March/April 1967): 6; “ Sight UFO over NASA Station,” NICAP Reporter 5, no. 7 (April 1967): 8; Wendy Connors, “Cops and Saucers: Law Enforcement and UFO’s, 1957–1981 Guide,” November 20, 2013, audioclip 29)
February 10 - 5:30 p.m. Two separate groups of four and three people in Woodstock, Connecticut, see a triangular object with a white light at each apex. It is moving with its blunt end forward from northeast to southwest at 1,000 feet altitude. The object is silent when hovering but makes a rumbling or roaring sound when it moves. The family TV set reception is disrupted when it passes by. ("N. Woodstock Woman Avows UFO Froze 2 Refrigerators," Worcester (Mass.) Evening Gazette, February 16, 1967; "UFO Reported in Woodstock," Norwich (Conn.) Bulletin, February 18 or 20, 1967; "UFO `Visits' Cause Wonder, Lead to Speculation in Putnam," Worcester (Mass.) Evening Gazette, February 22, 1967, p. 26; Raymond E. Fowler, UFOs: Interplanetary Visitors, Exposition, 1974, p. 344; Marler 135-136)
February 10 — 7:30 p.m. A couple in Alton, Illinois, sees a round, rotating, 25-foot diameter luminous object that changes color from red to white with occasional flashes of green. The object also has white lights in a triangle on the bottom. It flies, hovers, and passes over the witnesses. While hovering, a humming or droning sound is heard. (St. Louis (Mo.) Globe-Democrat, February 11, 1967)
February 11 — Early morning. Michael McKee, an employee of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and Sharon Hildebrand are driving toward Milford, Ohio, when they notice a white glowing light shining through the woods. Taking a railroad light from the car, they go to investigate and encounter an oval object with a tube-like appendage extending from its underside, hovering a few feet above a deep creek. They approach within 100 feet of the object, which appears to be about 30 feet in diameter. The object reflects the lamp’s light, unnerving them, and they flee the scene. Officer Charles O’Brien returns to the site with the pair at 3:30 a.m. The object is gone, but branches and twigs at the site are splintered. According to Leonard H. Stringfield, similar reports emerge almost simultaneously from the nearby communities of Wyoming and Blue Ash, Ohio. (“ Touch Landing In Ohio,” APRO Bulletin, Jan./Feb. 1967, p. 6; Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., UFOs: A New Look, NICAP, 1969, p. 21)
February 11? — Day. A Guatemalan Aviateca airliner piloted by Col. Alfredo Castaneda and Col. Carlos Samyoa encounters an object like a silvery top as they are flying over Oaxaca State, Mexico, at 10,000 feet. It has a red ball on its top. They put the aircraft into a sharp turn in order to avoid a collision, just before the object zooms out of sight after 10 seconds. Aircraft personnel think the object is a weather balloon. (“ On the International Scene,” APRO Bulletin, Jan./Feb. 1967, p. 7; “ In Mexico,” BUFORA Journal 2, no. 1 (Summer 1967): 19; Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, p. 25)
February 12 —Evening. Kenneth R. Miller, airport manager Carl Nichols, and many others in Wharton, Texas, see a round object with a dome on top. It has revolving red, green, blue, and amber lights on its bottom edge and a bright light in its dome. The object flies above the car in which Miller and Nichols are driving, just clearing te telephone lines. It seems to be large enough to cover the roadway. Later it coasts at treetop height, stops dead, then banks and takes off. (Houston (Tex.) Chronicle, February 15, 1967; UFOEv II 160–161)
February 12 — Night. For two days, strange lights appear in the area around Barrow, Alaska. A group of people, including village councilor Sam Talaak and reporter Bill Neacock, observes a brilliant light in the sky south of the village. The light descends very low, lands on the ice at one point, and emits orange and yellow lights. During this activity, the local electricity generator fails for one hour. (“ But How Can There Be Swamp Gas Here?” Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner, February 14, 1967, p. 1; Frank Edwards, Flying Saucers—Here and Now!, Lyle Stuart, 1967, pp. 225–226)
February 13 — 5:58 p.m. Sachio Sakuma is taking photographs of the Moon with a Petri V6 camera in Tokyo, Japan. On developing one image, he finds a luminous, oval-shaped object with a slight trail a short distance above the lunar crescent. (“ Report from Japan,” APRO Bulletin, May/June 1967, p. 1)
February 13 — 10:00 p.m. Mrs. James Thompson is driving through Bigfork, Montana, with her two children when her pickup’s engine fails and the lights go out. Getting out, she sees overhead an intense greenish-blue light. She feels heat coming from the object. It changes direction abruptly, veering to the right as it changes to reddish-orange. As it moves away, the truck starts up on its own. (“ Strange Sky Object Stops Truck,” NICAP Reporter 5, no. 7 (April 1967): 9; Brad Steiger and Joan Whritenour, The New UFO Breakthrough, Universal, 1968, p. 40)
February 14 — 7:00 a.m. A farmer in Miller County, Missouri, notices that his cows are all staring in one direction. He goes to investigate and sees a landed object about 360 feet away. He sees several entities moving around it, so he picks up some stones and approaches it. From about 30 feet away, the object looks like a hovering parachute or a grayish-green shell. The creatures, apparently wearing overalls, scurry behind the craft and go inside. The farmer throws one stone, but it stops in midair about 15 feet away and drops to the ground. He throws the other stone to try to strike the top of the object, but it bounces off something. When he gets to 15 feet away, he walks into an invisible wall and can’t see the object at all. (“ Outstanding 1967 Report,” APRO Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1969, pp. 6–7; Ted Phillips, “ UFO Events in Missouri, 1857–1971,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 8 (December 1971): 10–11; Ted Phillips, “ Farmer Sees Object, Humanoid on Ground,” Skylook, no. 93 (August 1975): 15; Lorenzen, Encounters, p. 190; Center for UFO Studies, HUMCAT Index 1967, p. 22; Rob Murphy, “ Space Penguins of Tuscumbia: Missouri, USA,” Cryptopia, October 10, 2011; Joe Pryor, “ Space Penguins of Tuscumbia,” Miller County Museum and Historical Society Progress Notes, December 12, 2011; Charles Fort Institute Forums, “ Space Penguins of Tuscumbia, Missouri (1967)”)
February 16 — 11:43 p.m. S/Sgt Max Recod and his wife are driving along Route 66 south of Kingman, Arizona, when they see a formation of four lights, three red and one green, approaching their car at low altitude. The lights are attached to an object that emits a light beam from its bottom center that moves around and illuminates the desert. The lights disappear, but a few minutes later the UFO reappears from behind a hill a mile away, followed by two white lights flying in step formation, one of which lands or nearly lands. The remaining light merges with the large object. (“ Sighting Evidence Grows,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 3 (Nov./Dec. 1967): 3)
February 17 — 6:55 p.m. An airline sales representative driving near Methuen, Massachusetts, slows his car as he sees an object hovering silently just over the road. The object has a bright green frame extending from a rectangular display of very bright body lights. When he gets closer, he can see a flashing red light. He carefully drives underneath it and sees other people in cars looking at it. (“ V-Shaped Craft Hovers over Car,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 12 (Mar./Apr. 1967): 6)
February 17 or 18 — Around 10:00 p.m. Contactee Stella V. Lansing takes motion picture footage on a borrowed Keystone 8mm Capri camera of some yellow-orange lights on Ware Road near the junctions of Old Warren Road and Flynt Street in Palmer, Massachusetts. Suddenly a white light shoots upward in a zigzag motion and she is able to film some of its maneuvers. Subsequent frames seem to show low-contrast images of four human-like beings apparently conversing. Lansing is later studied by New Jersey psychiatrist Berthold E. Schwarz, who finds her repeat UFO sightings, further UFO films, and photographs showing superimposed clock-like patterns a subject of some interest. (Story, pp. 202–204; Berthold Eric Schwarz, “ Stella Lansing’s UFO Motion Pictures,” Flying Saucer Review 18, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1972): 3–12, 20; Berthold Eric Schwarz, “ Stella Lansing’s Movies: Four Entities and a Possible UFO,” in Charles Bowen, ed., UFO Encounters, special issue no. 5 of FSR, November 1973, pp. 3–9; Berthold Eric Schwarz, “ Stella Lansing’s Clocklike UFO Patterns,” Flying Saucer Review 20, no. 4 (January 1975): 3–9; Berthold Eric Schwarz, “ Stella Lansing’s Clocklike UFO Patterns—Part 2,” Flying Saucer Review 20, no. 5 (March 1975): 20–27; Berthold Eric Schwarz, “ Stella Lansing’s Clocklike UFO Patterns—Part 3,” Flying Saucer Review 20, no. 6 (April 1975): 18–22; Berthold Eric Schwarz, “ Stella Lansing’s Clocklike UFO Patterns—Part 4,” Flying Saucer Review 21, no. 1 (June 1975): 14–17; Berthold Eric Schwarz, “ UFO Contactee Stella Lansing: Possible Medical Implications of Her Motion Picture Experiments,” Journal of the American Society of Psychosomatic Dentistry and Medicine 23, no. 2 (1976): 60–68)
February 20 — Condon, David R. Saunders, Low, William Price of AFRSTA(?), and Thomas Ratchford, USAF senior scientist, visit the CIA’s National Photographic Interpretation Center in Fort Belvoir, Fairfax County, Virginia, to meet with its founder Arthur C. Lundahl and acquaint themselves with the CIA’s analysis capabilities. NPIC personnel will be available to perform work of a “photogrammatic nature, such as attempting to measure objects imaged on photographs,” but it will be strictly technical and no written comments or documentation is to be made public. After lunch, the group meets in the Pentagon with Brig. Gen. Edward B. Giller, director of the AF Special Weapons Center at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico. (Wikipedia, “ Arthur C. Lundahl”; [memo], “ Visit of Dr. Condon to NPIC, 20 February 1967,” February 23, 1967; ClearIntent, pp. 141–142)
February 21 — 8:30 p.m. Sherry Kohler is driving east on Western Avenue in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin, when she sees a greenish spherical object with a wispy white trail flying at airplane speed on her right side for about 10 seconds. A second witness, Richard R. Dern Sr., sees a similar object about 10 minutes later. (Center for UFO Studies, [ case documents])
February 22 — 6:30 a.m. As Mrs. James A. Clevenger stands by her kitchen sink in Milton, Indiana, her collie dog jumps against the window and races around, barking and jumping. She notices an oval object with a row of bright lights. She lets the frightened dog inside and it promptly hides. She goes out to the end of her front walk and sees the UFO moving slowly at 100–200 feet altitude, following the course of a creek. She runs inside and calls her neighbor Mrs. Judd Alford, who can see a ring of white lights at 200 feet. Her fox terrier runs inside at full speed and hides under a chair. The object disappears behind trees a few minutes later. (“ 5 in County Report Seeing UFO,” Richmond (Ind.) Palladium-Item, March 3, 1967, p. 20; Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, p. 34)
February 23 — Lt. Col. Robert Hippler says that Secretary of the Air Force Harold Brown has established the policy that all USAF information on UFOs classified up to and including Secret is to be provided to the University of Colorado project. (NICAP, “ Declassification of UFO Reports”)
February 24 — Paul Santorinis, civil engineer of the National Technical University of Athens, Greece, gives a lecture to the Greek Astronautical Society, stating that a “world blanket of secrecy” surrounds UFO reports and describes his experience with ghost rockets over Greece in 1946. (Good Above, p. 23; Keyhoe, Aliens from Space, Signet ed., 1974, p. 117)
February 25 — 7:50 p.m. Two teenage boys in Fargo, North Dakota, see a round or disc-shaped brightly illuminated object only a few feet in diameter. It moves higher, accelerates, and flies away to the northeast. (Fargo (N.Dak.) Forum, February 25, 1967; “Everything Hush-Hush about an Object Fargo Youths Photographed,” Minot (N.Dak.) Daily News, February 28, 1967, p. 1; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, p. 56; Center for UFO Studies, [ Hynek correspondence], pp. 27–29)
February 26 — 7:45 p.m. Two Coshocton, Ohio, police officers, Robert Edie and Gene Border, observe two UFOs as they prepare for patrol. The objects, seen over the north end of town, are saucer-shaped, light in color, and emit red flames. The larger object remains stationary while the smaller one hovers around it before both move out of sight. Several other witnesses in the area also report seeing the objects. (“ 2 UFO’s Seen at Coshocton,” Dover (Ohio) Daily Reporter, February 28, 1967, p. 17)
February 28 — NICAP’s Richard H. Hall writes a memo to Donald Keyhoe, saying he is encouraged by the fact that Colorado UFO project coordinator Low still insists that the ETH needs to be tackled head on in order for the project to be meaningful. However, Condon seems to be giving “too much weight to the frivolous side of the UFO subject,” looking into the most sensational cases because he feels that “everyone should have his say.” (Eghigian, After, p. 199)
Early March — Low writes a position paper that expects the Colorado project will fail to support the ETH. Before sharing his paper with project members, he shares his views in talks with the Rand Corporation, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Boeing. Despite his attempts to “build the record,” the project’s failure to move quickly has forced it to prepare a proposal to extend its contract. (UFOs Yes, 130–133; Clark III 1195; Clark IV 1369)
March — Low calls Keyhoe and reveals that none of the Blue Book cases have been spot-checked for inaccuracies because “ Condon hasn’t found any AF explanations he considers untrue.” Low later visits NICAP in Washington and Keyhoe asks him how many NICAP cases he has examined. Low says, “Probably four or five.” Low says he ultimately hopes to review 85–90 cases. (Keyhoe, Aliens from Space, Signet ed., 1974, p. 120)
March — Members of the Colorado project, including Robert Low, visit APRO headquarters; the Lorenzens promise to “help the project in any way possible” and give them some case leads that are never followed up because they are old. (“ U. of Colorado Group at Tucson,” APRO Bulletin, Mar./Apr. 1967, p. 2; Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, p. 196; Powell, Keyhoe, 355)
March — Michel M. Jaffe, a ham radio operator in Mountain View, California, begins publishing Data-Net Report, a UFO newsletter for radio enthusiasts that continues to 1973. (Data-Net Report, no. 1 (March 1967))
March — Day. Augusto Arranda is taking photographs of the scenery in the Huascarán mountains near Yungay, Peru. He takes three photos of a disc-shaped object and one photo showing two objects. A Kodak employee sends one to ufologist Richard Greenwell, and APRO obtains the other three in 1969 from Eastman Kodak’s International Division. The circumstances of the sighting remain unknown. (Patrick Gross, “ The Yungay Photographs, Peru, 1967”)
March — Cuban air defense radar controllers report a UFO approaching Cuba from the northwest, moving at 660 mph at an altitude of 33,000 feet. Two MiG-21s are scrambled and are guided to within 3 miles of the object. The flight leader radios in that the UFO is a bright metallic sphere with no visible markings. He is unable to establish radio contact with it and Cuban air defense orders him to shoot it down. The flight leader reports that his radar is locked and missiles ready. Seconds later, a wingman screams into the radio that the flight leader’s MiG has disintegrated. The UFO then accelerates and climbs above 90,000 feet, heading towards South America. The US 6947th Security Squadron headquartered at Homestead AFB [now Homestead Air Reserve Base] in Miami–Dade County, Florida, is monitoring the incident and sends a report to the NSA at Fort George G. Meade in Maryland. NSA orders the squadron to ship all tapes and data to them and list the airplane loss as “equipment malfunction.” The details sound like it might be the CIA’s Oxcart A-12, the Air Force version of which is the SR-71, which are known to overfly Cuba. The incident could be related to the March 31 radar-visual case in South Florida (see below). (NICAP, “ The 1967 Cuban Jet Incident”; ClearIntent, pp. 195–201; “ 1967: Two Cuban Jets Pursue a UFO, the UFO Destroys One Jet,” IUR 3, no. 9 (September 1978): 11–13; Good Above, pp. 421–422; Jack Roth, as told by Bill Schroeder, Unknown Down, 2016; Billy Cox, “ Being There,” Life in Jonestown, April 30, 2023; Covert 72)
March — 11:00 a.m. A group of students at the Ramón Martín Middle School in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, watch a triangle-shaped object above a nearby mountain. It has a cupola on top and flies around silently before vanishing. (Jorge Martín, “ Triangular UFOs over Puerto Rico,” Flying Saucer Review 44, no. 3 (Autumn 1999): 22)
March — 11:00 p.m. A luminous hemispherical object is seen over Dry Creek Basin, San Miguel County, Colorado, moving slowly, then accelerating. The witness’s car engine, radio, and lights experience interference. (Condon, pp. 295–297)
March 1 — Lt. Gen. Hewitt T. Wheless, USAF assistant vice chief of staff, circulates a memo on “Impersonations of Air Force Officers,” which outlines Rex Heflin’s accounts of the NORAD impostor and another case in which it reports that “a person in an Air Force uniform approached local police and other citizens who had sighted a UFO, assembled them in a school room and told them that they did not see what they thought they saw and that they should not talk to anyone about the sighting.” All USAF personnel hearing about such incidents should report them to AFOSI. (ClearIntent, p. 237)
March 1 — Many residents of Valparaiso, Chile, watch four bright domed objects, flashing blue and red lights, move south to north above the city. (Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, p. 59)
March 2 — 10:25 a.m.–1:30 p.m. Robert English, sitting in a gas station at Apache Summit in Otero County, New Mexico, calls Holloman AFB to report seeing several groups of 30–40 “silvery specks” passing overhead to the southwest. (He continues watching them until 1:30 p.m.) The base sends up two aircraft, but neither can see any objects. At 10:55 a.m., two range surveillance radars, one at Holloman AFB, the other at Elephant Mountain near Orogrande, plot four objects 11.5 miles east-northeast of Tularosa (and 5 miles south of the visual sighting) that appear to be flickering on and off. Both radars later plot three intermittent targets over Mescalero. At 11:08, both radars plot an object east-southeast of Ruidoso that drifts eastward 3–4 miles in 10 minutes at 25,000 feet; it then moves south at a speed of Mach 1.2. White Sands Mission Control radar continues to follow this object on a circular path until it abruptly climbs to 80,000 feet; it appears to go out of range around 11:31 a.m. at 100,000 feet. At 11:20 a.m., electronics technician Duane Bakke observes a saucer-shaped object moving away from him that disappears behind Alamo Peak near Cloudcroft; his line of sight is approximately on the circular track traced by Mission Control radar. At 11:21 a.m., both radars briefly show two stationary objects that are flickering. Although there are some discrepancies in the radar reports, the activity cannot be attributed to a release of radar chaff or equipment malfunction. (NICAP, “ Two Radars Plot 20 Objects”; Sparks, p. 322; “ 29 Sight UFOs over White Sands Range,” El Paso (Tex.) Times, March 5, 1967, p. 1; Condon, pp. 150–151, 291–295; UFOEv II 58)
March 5 — 1:25 a.m. Lenny and Tommy Söderström are returning home to their farm in Lövåsen, Vilhelmina, Sweden, when they notice a “spaceship” behind a barn. They rush inside and wake their parents and a sibling. Looking through the kitchen window, they see a dark, cigar-shaped object, 82–130 feet wide, silhouetted against the sky. Wobbling slightly on its axis, it hovers 24 feet in the air. After someone turns on the kitchen light, the UFO shoots off toward the north, emitting a whistling sound, as a smaller object appears from behind it. This UFO is a silvery globe about 20–40 feet in diameter; it turns and approaches the farmhouse. When it passes above a power line, it stops and hovers for 4 minutes. It takes off toward the northeast. (“ Two from Sweden,” APRO Bulletin, March/April 1967, p. 9; Åke Jonsson, “ Reports from Sweden,” Flying Saucer Review 14, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1968): 12–13; Clas Svahn, “ Skräcknatten i Vilhelmina,” Riksorganisationen UFO-Sverige; Clark III 246–247; Clark IV 286)
March 5 — 5:30 p.m. John and Miriam Coyle take a series of six photos of a silvery UFO at Hallam, Victoria, Australia. The object circles them slowly and silently, then moves off to the west toward the setting sun. (“ U.F.O. Photographed over Hallam,” Australian Flying Saucer Review, no. 7 (September 1967): 15; Keith Basterfield, Vladimir Godic, and Pony Godic, “ Australian Ufology: A Review,” JUFOS 2 (1990): 25–26)
March 5 — Air Defense Command radar at Minot AFB, North Dakota, tracks an unidentified target descending over the Minuteman ICBM missile silos of the 91st Strategic Missile Wing. Base security teams see a metallic, disc-shaped object ringed with bright flashing lights moving slowly, maneuvering, then stopping and hovering about 500 feet above the ground. The object circles directly over the launch control facility. F-106 fighters are scrambled, but at that moment the object climbs straight up and disappears at high speed. (NICAP, “ Disc Hovers 500ʹ over Missile Silos / ADC Radar Confirms”; Sparks, p. 322; Donald E. Keyhoe, Aliens from Space, Signet, 1974, pp. 8–9; Raymond E. Fowler, Casebook of a UFO Investigator, 1981, p. 187; UFOEv II 80)
March 5 — Night. The Russell Carter Jr. family is traveling about 10 miles east of Hayes, South Dakota, on US Highway 14 when a bright light follows their car. The V-shaped object approaches from far away and is lower than the telephone wires, bathing the road and an area around the car in a brilliant light. They hear a humming sound and experience a feeling of numbness at its closest approach. (“ Pierre Family Sees UFO in Hayes Area,” Rapid City (S.Dak.) Journal, March 7, 1967, p. 1; “ Sightings Still on Upswing,” APRO Bulletin, March/April 1967, p. 11; “ Car Followed by Flying Object,” APRG Reporter, no. 56 (May 1967): 5)
March 5 — Night. A Red Cross bloodmobile driven by Beau Shertzer and a young nurse is traveling along State Highway 2 near Huntington, West Virginia, when they see a flash of light in the woods nearby and a white glow appears. It rises slowly into the air and moves toward their vehicle. Shertzer accelerates, but the object moves above the van and paces it. He sees an extension being lowered to the roof. Another arm reaches down on the passenger side, as if in a pincer movement. However, the object moves away when headlights from approaching vehicles suddenly appear. (John A. Keel, “ More from My Ohio Valley Notebook,” Flying Saucer Review 13, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1967): 21; John A. Keel, The Mothman Prophecies, Saturday Review, 1975)
March 6 — 12:01 a.m. In Benton Harbor, Michigan, Jerome Wolanin, assistant news director of a radio station, and his wife see an oval-shaped object with red, green, and yellow lights around the bottom rim, which pulsates red. It flies level from east to west and is joined by a second object from the west that hovers for 30 seconds then disappears. The objects make a hissing sound. ( Sparks, p. 322)
March 6 — 4:25 a.m. Knox County, Illinois, Deputy Sheriff Frank Courson sees an object shaped like a rubber cup placed under a furniture leg, with a dome set in the cup, bottom spinning rapidly, rim pulsating red, which approaches and passes overhead at low altitude, making a hissing sound. Moline Policeman Bill Fisher takes a film of the object near Sacred Heart Catholic School in Moline. ( Sparks, p. 323; Dorothy Buresh, “ Is Something Up There? Moline Policeman Takes Movies of ‘Boxcar’ in Sky,” Moline (Ill.) Dispatch, March 10, 1967, pp. 1, 3; “ UFO Riddle Solved? Find Balloon,” Davenport (Iowa) Times-Democrat, March 10, 1967, pp. 1, 5; “ ‘Big UFO, Followed by Smaller Blue One,’” Moline (Ill.) Dispatch, March 11, 1967, pp. 1, 5; “ Air Force Officers See Q-C UFO Film,” Davenport (Iowa) Times-Democrat, March 11, 1967, p. 1; “ Galesburg, Moline, Illinois, 03/06/1967-03/09/1967,” US National Archives YouTube channel, October 24, 2013)
March 7 — 12:30 a.m. Lucille Drzonek and her daughters, ages 24 and 17, are driving northwest on US Highway 20 just past Keeneyville, Illinois. Their beagle is with them. They see a solid object, estimated at 15 feet in diameter, outlined in bright white lights and with two big beams in front. As it nears the ground it takes on a disc shape and begins flashing red and green lights. The beagle is so frightened that its hair stands up straight on its back. As they turn off the highway toward Bartlett, Illinois, the object descends into a woods, lighting the trees with a red glare. It projects two white light beams into the rear window of their car. As they pull into their home, the UFO is hovering about 10 feet above a tree in their yard. A strange, localized gray mist appears and when it dissipates the UFO is gone. The beagle is visibly upset for the next two days. A veterinarian suggests he might have heard a noise inaudible to humans. (Jerry Thomas, “ ‘Who Believes You?’ Don’t Laugh—Saucer Chased ‘Em Home,” Elgin (Ill.) Daily Courier-News, March 9, 1967; “ Sightings Still on Upswing,” APRO Bulletin, March/April 1967, p. 11; Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, pp. 34–35)
March 8 — 1:05 a.m. Mr. and Mrs. William L. Wallace are returning home to Leominster, Massachusetts, when they pass through a dense fog near St. Leo’s Cemetery and notice a bright light on the left. Wallace turns the car around and heads back for a closer look. The glow is from a light that is hovering 400–500 feet above the cemetery. Intrigued, Wallace places the car in neutral, pulls the emergency brake, and steps outside. As he points toward the light, something pulls his arm back and drops it on the roof of the car, which then stalls and the electrical system goes out. He remains immobile for more than 30 seconds even as his wife is trying to pull him back. As the lights and radio come back on, the UFO rocks back and forth, rises with a humming sound, and disappears. Wallace goes back into the car, which now starts normally. Wallace still feels “slow and sluggish” on the drive back, and he collides with the garage door as he pulls into his driveway. They return to the cemetery 10 minutes later, but the fog is gone. (“ Driver Shocked, Paralyzed,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 12 (March/April 1967): 7; Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, pp. 7–8; Raymond E. Fowler, UFOs: Interplanetary Visitors, Exposition, 1974, pp. 144–148; Michael D. Swords, “ Can UFOs Cause Physiological Effects? Part 1,” IUR 33, no. 4 (May 2011): 10; Clark III 251; Randle, Levelland, 2021, pp. 139–142; Clark IV 290–291)
March 8 — Many people in Comas, Peru, watch 15 discs circle noiselessly low above town for 15 minutes. (Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, p. 59)
March 9 — 9:05 p.m. Jack Lindley sees a bright white saucer-shaped light, as big as an airliner, fly straight and fast to the east over Onawa, Iowa. ( Sparks, p. 323)
March 11–13 — Night. Red, green, and white lights are observed in the air by several witnesses at Tillamook, Oregon, including police and sheriff’s deputies. Radar contact is made in the same area as the visual sightings by the radar station at Mount Hebo Air Force Station [now closed]. On March 11, objects are observed for one hour. On March 12, they are again observed for one hour. On March 13, the objects are seen for four hours and 35 minutes. The radar returns show hovering and rapid movement of the targets. The visual sightings also show rapid movement of the objects at times. One radar sighting shows a rapid distance change from 39–48 miles within one minute. (NICAP, “ Colored Lights and Radar Returns”; Condon, pp. 122–123; Wendy Connors, “Cops and Saucers: Law Enforcement and UFO’s, 1957–1981 Guide,” November 20, 2013, audioclip 30)
March 12 — 7:15 p.m. Larry Burke sees an object with red, green, and white flashing lights southwest of McIntosh, South Dakota. He picks up three friends—Dick Makens, Junior Edinger, and Charles Warren—to go investigate. On a country road one mile west of town they see four blinding, fluorescent-green lights low above the road ahead. As they are driving up a hill, the car engine stops. Frightened, they let the car coast back down the hill, and the engine starts again. The witnesses disagree on the size, shape, and altitude of the lights. (“ Car Buzzing Incidents on Increase,” APRO Bulletin, May/June 1967, p. 5)
Mid-March — Night. Future UFO researcher Robert Hastings has a part-time job as a janitor in Malmstrom AFB near Great Falls, Montana. One night as he is cleaning out the Radar Approach Control center, one of the FAA controllers calls him over to look at 5 unidentified targets that two jet fighters have gone up to intercept. Soon he is asked to leave and clean the room later. Later on, he hears that the targets ascended vertically, leaving the jets far behind, and that the incident takes place in the Judith Basin area many miles to the south. (Nukes 6–7, 279, 282–286)
March 16 — 8:30 a.m. At the Malmstrom AFB Echo-Flight missile launch facility between Winfred and Hilger, Montana, 1Lt Walter Figel, deputy crew commander of the Missile Combat Crew, sees one of his Minuteman missiles go into “no-go” status. He calls the missile site to see if there is scheduled maintenance and is told no. The guard tells him of a large, round object over the site. Within seconds, the nine other missiles shut down. Strike teams are dispatched to the two Launch Control Centers, where maintenance and security personnel tell them about the UFOs. The missiles are offline for the greater part of the day. ([ USAF teletype message], March 17, 1967; John Greenewald, [ FOIA documents]; Robert Salas and James Klotz, Faded Giant, BookSurge, 2005, pp. 16–23, 99, 108; Robert L. Hastings, “ The Echo and Oscar Flight Incidents,” UFOs & Nukes, November 12, 2012; Nukes 254–258, 265–268; Brian Dunning, “ The Day the UFO Deactivated the Nukes,” Skeptoid podcast, July 26, 2022; Kevin D. Randle, “ The Belt, Montana UFO Sighting and the ‘Attack’ on Echo Flight,” A Different Perspective, March 3, 2023; James T. Carlson, “ Missile Flights and Fantasies,” in Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos and Richard Heiden, eds., The Reliability of UFO Witness Testimony, UPIAR, 2023, pp. 45–59; “ Nuclear Missiles Disabled after UFO Encounter at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, March 16, 1967,” Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, September 15, 2024)
March 16 — 3:30 p.m. Ron Forest, 15, spots a metallic disc in the sky in the backyard of a friend’s home in Salem, Oregon. He quickly alerts his friends Kenneth and Ronald Baker. Ronald grabs a camera, capturing two Polaroid photos—one while the object hovers and another just four seconds later as it speeds away toward the west. The boys describe the disc as metallic, flying very high, without lights or sound. (“ 3 Oregon Boys Photograph ‘Authentic’ Flying Saucer,” Ogden (Utah) Standard-Examiner, March 20, 1967, p. 4; “ Boys Photograph What They Claim Is Flying Saucer,” Port Angeles (Wash.) Peninsula Daily News, March 20, 1967, p. 5; “ Boy’s UFO Photo Called Authentic,” Ontario (Calif.) Daily Report, March 26, 1967, pp. 1, 4; “ Photo by Oregon Boy,” APRO Bulletin, March/April 1967, p. 6)
March 16 — 7:00 p.m. Beryl Dux sees two white cloud-like objects over Belvidere, New Jersey. She calls her sister Olive to watch, and suddenly a dull orange object comes out of the cloud on the right. It is spinning rapidly and descending quickly, but it goes into the white cloud on the right. The two clouds merge and vanish gradually. (Herbert S. Taylor, “ Mystery Clouds and the UFO Connection,” IUR 29, no. 4 (July 2005): 19)
March 16 — Around 9:15 p.m. Mrs. Robert W. Smith and her daughters, Cindy and Lee, are driving home near Lebanon, Ohio, when they see a bright, round, white object hovering above the treetops, stationary but spinning like a top. The object, nearly as large as a house, emits an intense white light that sometimes turns red and has a halo around it. As it moves closer, the lights of their car go out. Fascinated, Smith steps out into the driveway, waving her arms as the object appears to dip. The family watches the UFO for about 45 minutes. She hears a high-pitched sound that hurts their ears and causes their dog to hide under a bed. (“ 4 Ohioans Report Sighting Unidentified Flying Object,” Medina (Ohio) County Gazette, March 18, 1967, p. 1; “ Another UFO Sighted near Air Force Base,” Greenville (Ohio) Daily Advocate, March 18, 1967, p. 1; “ Ohio Top Air Base Checks UFO Report,” Lima (Ohio) News, March 19, 1967, p. 2; “ 4 Sight ‘Bright’ Object near Base That Investigates UFO’s,” Ogden (Utah) Standard-Examiner, March 19, 1967, p. 10; “ UAO near WPAFB,” APRO Bulletin, March/April 1967, p. 7)
March 20 — 11:00 p.m. A man and his daughter living in Butler, Pennsylvania, take the car out to go looking for lights his wife had seen in the sky earlier. After stopping with the car lights off for a while, he sees two yellowish-white globes of light at 200 feet altitude, which start moving toward the car in a parallel course. The objects descend a quarter mile away, then shoot toward the witnesses at 70–80 mph. The daughter hears a “chorus of voices” in her head saying “don’t move” repeatedly. The man switches on the headlights, the lights disappear, and the voices stop. Moments later, 10 feet from the car, they see five figures standing in an irregular semicircle. The man gets into the car but the daughter continues staring at the figures, which have slits for eyes and mouths. All have long blond hair and are wearing something like baseball caps. They wear loose-fitting clothing. The witnesses drive away quickly and go to their minister’s home. (Robert A. Schmidt, “ Humanoids Seen at Butler,” Flying Saucer Review 14, no. 5 (Sept./ Oct. 1968): 5–6; Clark III 277–278; Clark IV 317–318)
March 21 — A Brazilian military aircraft with 14 passengers encounters a glowing-red, oblong object over the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, while on its way to Salgado Filho Airport near Gravataí. The control tower operator there alerts pilots of a Cruzeiro do Sul aircraft coming in from the southwest. Minutes later these pilots see apparently the same object, which follows them for 25 minutes before zipping up into the sky. (Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, pp. 58–59)
March 21 — Night. Mary Beth Neufeld and three other teenagers are driving on US Highway 56 one mile west of Hillsboro, Kansas, when they see a bright object “like an upside-down cup on a saucer.” They start driving toward it, but it approaches them and hovers above the car for a few seconds. The car starts rocking and the engine quits. When the UFO leaves, they are able to start it up again. (“ Car Buzzing Incidents on Increase,” APRO Bulletin, May/June 1967, p. 5)
March 22 — 11:00 p.m. Ann-Lis Danielsson is driving home to Tjuvkil, Västra Götaland, Sweden, when she notices a greenish illumination outside her car. Slowing down, she sees a disc about 15 feet in diameter hovering 500 feet away at an altitude of 1,500 feet. It begins to circle the area slowly, rising and sinking and giving off a whining noise. After pacing her for 15 minutes, it climbs vertically with an oscillating motion. (“ UFO förföljde bilist,” Sökaren 4, no. 8 (1967): 8–9; “ Girl Reconnoitred by Disc,” APRO Bulletin, March/April 1967, p. 9)
March 24 — 5:30 a.m. USAF S/Sgt Johnny Ferguson is traveling with his wife and three children near Loco, Texas, where they are terrified by a mysterious bright blue-neon light that chases them at high speed along the road. It finally splits into two, changes to a reddish color, and disappears behind a hill. Ferguson reports the incident to Deputy Sheriff George Hooten, then drives into nearby Wellington. (Curt Collins, “ Contact in Texas: The Lost UFO Photos,” Blue Blurry Lines, November 18, 2021)
March 24 — 8:45 a.m. An airline pilot watches a small silvery-white disc hovering for 10 minutes above Los Alamos, New Mexico. Then it moves across the sky and disappears into clouds. (J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, p. 64)
March 24 — 10:45 a.m. An astronomer at the Catalina Station observatory on Mount Bigelow 18 miles northeast of Tucson, Arizona, sees a white oval disc the apparent size of the moon moving silently in a straight line from northwest to northeast. It slowly changes from an elongated shape to a more circular one. He estimates its speed as 600 mph, size as 230 feet, and distance as 6–12 miles. It disappears after 50 seconds. (“ Astronomers and UFO’s: A Survey, Part 2, Sightings,” IUR 2, no. 4 (April 1977): 4)
March 24 — Late evening. An airman with the Malmstrom AFB Oscar-Flight Launch Control Center for the SAC USAF 341st Strategic Missile Wing south of Roy, Montana, sees a star-like object zigzagging high above him. Soon, a larger and closer light appears and behaves similarly. He calls his NCO and the two men watch as the lights streak through the sky, maneuvering in impossible ways. The NCO phones his commander, 1Lt. Robert Salas, who is below ground in the LCC. Salas is dubious and tells them to let him know if they get any closer. A few minutes later the NCO calls him again and shouts that a red, glowing UFO is hovering outside the front gate. Salas tells him to make sure the site is secure while he phones the command post. Meanwhile, one of the guards is injured when he approaches the UFO and has to be evacuated by helicopter. As Salas briefs Lt. Fred Meiwald, an alarm rings through the small LCC and both men see a “no-go” light turn on for one of the missiles. Within seconds, 4–7 more Minutemen nuclear ICBMs go offline in succession. The USAF investigation includes full-scale tests on-site, as well as lab tests at Boeing’s Seattle plant. No cause for the shutdown can be found. In 2025, the claim arises that the missiles were shut down by a ray weapon developed by the US Air Force itself, which was secretly set up outside the base, shone brightly during operation, and emitted EM pulses that then deactivated the systems. The true purpose of these tests was kept secret from Malmstrom personnel so as not to give the Soviets any clues that such pulses could disable US nuclear missiles. However, the Transportable Electromagnetic Pulse Simulator supposedly used in this operation was not developed until the mid-1970s. (NICAP, “ ‘Echo Flight’ Missile Incident”; Sparks, pp. 4, 323; Jim Klotz and Robert Salas, “ The Malmstrom AFB UFO/Missile Incident,” November 27, 1996; Robert L. Hastings, “ Remarkable Reports from the Missile Field,” IUR 32, no. 1 (August 2008): 9–10; Robert Salas and James Klotz, Faded Giant, BookSurge, 2005; Nukes 259–263, 268–277; Kevin D. Randle, “ Robert Salas and Me,” A Different Perspective, May 19, 2013; Joel Schectman and Aruna Viswanatha, “ The Pentagon Disinformation That Fueled America’s UFO Mythology,” Wall Street Journal, June 6, 2025; Robert L. Salas, “ ‘America’s UFO Mythology’: A Rebuttal,” June 7, 2025; John Greenewald, “ TEMPS (Transportable Electromagnetic Pulse Simulator) Final Reports, 1973,” The Black Vault, June 8, 2025; Kevin D. Randle, “ AARO, UAP, Wall Street Journal: A Somewhat Personal Response,” A Different Perspective, June 9, 2025)
March 24 — 9:00 p.m. Truck driver Ken Williams driving northwest on US Highway 87/89 about 5 miles southeast of Belt, Montana, sees a dome-shaped object emitting a bright light moving at 50–60 mph about 1 mile to his left. After it hovers briefly about 600 feet in the air, it drops slowly to “within a very few feet from the ground” and shines a bright light three times in his direction that momentarily blinds him. He drives to the top of a hill, stops a car, and asks them to stop at a gas station and call the highway patrol. Williams returns to his previous viewing spot and watches the light for several more minutes before it rises and disappears “like a bolt of lightning.” Numerous other reports come in from this area. At dawn, police and a helicopter from Malmstrom AFB conduct a search without success. (NICAP, “ Dome-Shaped Object Lands in Ravine”; Sparks, p. 323; Robert L. Hastings, “ Remarkable Reports from the Missile Field,” IUR 32, no. 1 (August 2008): 9–10; Kevin D. Randle, “ The Belt, Montana UFO Sighting and the ‘Attack’ on Echo Flight,” A Different Perspective, March 3, 2023)
March 26 — 4:00 p.m. Five witnesses in New Winchester, Ohio, see an oval object, like copper or brass with the sun shining on it, fly from southeast to northwest with a tumbling motion. ( Sparks, p. 323; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, p. 74)
March 27 — Day. The crew of a Brazilian Air Force C-47 and the crew of a Serviços Aéreos Cruzeiro do Sul photo-mapping aircraft see a UFO in the vicinity of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The BAF crew describes it as a “reddish-colored full moon” that is flying in circles. They report the sighting to the tower at Salgado Filho International Airport, which asks the mapping aircraft to identify the object. The Cruzeiro plane follows the UFO for 15 minutes before it disappears. (Good Above, p. 311)
March 28 — 2:25 a.m. Electrical worker David Morris, 20, is driving home to Munroe Falls, Ohio, from nearby Kent when he sees a glowing red-orange object shaped like an inverted cone hovering just above the ground. The object is about 12 feet wide at the base and 25 feet high, with a ball-shaped object at its top. Looking at the road ahead, Morris sees four or five large-headed humanoids moving rapidly back and forth about 50 feet ahead. He slams on his brakes, but it is too late. He feels a thump against the right front corner of his car and sees an arm with a thumbless mitten fly up, then down. The car stops 10 feet later; Morris thinks about providing assistance, but the otherworldliness of the situation causes him to get away quickly. In his rearview mirror he sees a group of the entities position themselves around something lying on the ground. In the morning, Morris finds three dents in the front bumper and right headlight ring of his car. (Carol Clapp, “Worker Says He Saw UFO, Car Struck Being,” Ravenna (Ohio) Record- Courier, March 31, 1967; “ Youth’s Car Strikes UAO Occupant,” APRO Bulletin, March/April 1967, pp. 1–4; Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, pp. 36–38; Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, pp. 28–29; Clark III 782–783; Clark IV 863–864)/p>
March 28 — A second briefing for Robert Low by NORAD analysts effectively diverts researcher attention away from NORAD’s 500 defense radars and onto its useless handful of space defense satellite-tracking radars and cameras (referred to as “spacetrack” and are the least likely to detect UFOs). Low tries to find out if NORAD can help with identifying satellites that might be misreported as UFOs and whether NORAD can’t track a UFO entering the atmosphere from outer space (or just aren’t), but the analysts are evasive. NORAD says its satellite-tracking radars (with non-ballistic maneuvering and erratic flight paths) actually can “see” UFOs, but no one will ever know because the data that does not fit satellite or ballistic trajectories are thrown out automatically by system computers. No mention is made of NORAD’s high priority for not ignoring unpredictable, UFO-like maneuverable cruise missiles or hypersonic space planes. This discussion is distributed as a briefing paper to all Colorado project members on June 6, including Condon. (Clark III 804, 808, 810; Clark IV 895, 901–903)
March 31 — 10:30 p.m. Farmer Carroll Wayne Watts reportedly sees a cylindrical object about 100 feet long that is hovering just off the ground near Loco, Texas, and emitting a motor-like sound. A voice addresses him from within the object requesting that he undergo a physical examination so that he can go on a flight. When Watts refuses to do so, the craft takes off. Watts has another encounter, an apparent abduction, on April 11. In a series of other experiences and sightings, on June 7, 11, and 13, he manages to take Polaroid photographs. In all, he has 10 photographs of the cylindrical UFO in flight, and another shot of a little man from the ship. Most of Watts’s pictures are black and white, but at least three of them are shot in color. He later admits the observation is a hoax. (“ Another UFO Visit Reported from Loco,” Wellington (Tex.) Leader, April 6, 1967, p. 1; “ Loco Hoax,” Denton (Tex.) Record-Chronicle, February 26, 1968, pp. 1–2; “Spaceman Contact Hoax: Young Texan Confesses,” Dallas (Tex.) Morning News, February 26, 1968, pp. 1A–2A; “ The Contactee Problem,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 5 (March 1968): 2; “ Tulsa Group Hears Watts Tape,” Skylook, no. 9 (May 1968): 5; “ Texas Farmer Says Space Creature Report True: FBI Checks Photos,” Saucer Scoop 3, no. 3 (June 1968): 5; Tony L. Kimery, “Carroll Wayne Watts: Contactee, Hoaxer, or Innocent Bystander,” Official UFO, no. 11 (October 1976): 3, 36–37, 64–66; Curt Collins, “ UFO Contact: April 1, 1967, from Loco, TX,” Blue Blurry Lines, March 31, 2017; Kevin D. Randle, “ Carroll Wayne Watts Contact/Abduction,” A Different Perspective, April 25, 2020; Curt Collins, “ Contact in Texas: The Lost UFO Photos,” The Saucers That Time Forgot, November 18, 2021)
March 31 — 10:30 p.m. Dennis Force of the USAF 644th Radar Squadron in Homestead, Florida, is on the phone with his cousin Bill Schroeder, on duty with an Army Hawk surface-to-air unit in Key West when Schroder gets a call from NORAD on the approach of a formation of eight radar targets it had ben tracking from Canada, now closing in on Miami airspace at 1,500 mph. Force watches the blips at Homestead and Schroeder finds the targets on pulse-acquisition radar. Both sets of bogeys travel from west to east, turn sharply north to south, and go back again. Force’s targets, however, are running patterns over the Atlantic Ocean from Fort Lauderdale to Biscayne Bay, while Schroeder’s are farther west from Florida Bay into the Gulf of Mexico. The Air Force dispatches three F-4 Phantoms from Boca Chica north out of the Keys, and both Force and Schroeder watch the blips blink off their screens. The jets head back after 15 minutes, but the targets reappear and resume their repetitive grid-pattern activities until one of them over the Gulf breaks formation and heads toward Key West. Schroeder activates an illuminator radar system to track the target, but the system immediately shuts down due to a power outage. The launcher sergeant watches a bright object pass overhead, flying horizontally. At Homestead, Force watches the targets accelerate east and vanish over the Atlantic. The following day, Force’s radar team is debriefed and told that the incident involved a NORAD exercise. All radar data is confiscated. The incident could be the same as the undated (although in March 1967) Cuban MiG incident (see above), which may have involved the CIA’s Oxcart A-12 and was definitely monitored at Homestead. (Jack Roth, as told by Bill Schroeder, Unknown Down, 2016; Billy Cox, “ Being There,” Life in Jonestown, April 30, 2023)
Spring — Psychologist David R. Saunders, a principal investigator for the Colorado project, launches UFOCAT, a computerized database of UFO cases, after researcher Jacques Vallée gives the project 3,000 cases from his own collection. Saunders codes the cases with such parameters as source, date, time, location, state and county, country, witness names, age, gender, special features, duration, and other elements. (Center for UFO Studies, “ UFOCAT”; Clark III 1157; Clark IV 1318)
Spring — The United Aerial Phenomena Agency begins publishing Flying Saucer Digest, edited by Allan J. Manak in Cleveland, Ohio. Rick Hilberg takes over as chief editor in 2003. It continues until at least fall 2017. ( Flying Saucer Digest 1, no. 1 (Spring 1967))
Spring — Night. Centenary College Instructor John O. Williams has taken his astronomy class to an open field on the Shreveport, Louisiana, campus to observe the sky. The see a bright orange light precisely due west of them at an elevation of about 30° approaching at a modest angular rate of 1° per second. It remains silent even as it passes above them. A second light, much fainter and blue in color, is following it. The second light turns away and moves south into the distance. The orange light continues eastward, then performs a tight 180° turn and returns to their zenith. It accelerates west and disappears from view. After about 20 minutes it disappears, followed by a thread of rippling blue light. The thread breaks into 7–8 individual blue lights, which exit in several directions. (John O. Williams, “ Louisiana Lights in 1967,” IUR 22, no. 4 (Winter 1997–1998): 10–11)
April 4 — The Federal Aviation Agency issues N 7230.29, requiring air traffic controllers to forward UFO reports to the Colorado project. (US Federal Aviation Agency, “ Reporting of Unidentified Flying Objects,” FAA Notice N 7230.29, April 4, 1967)
April 4 — Carlo Cammarata watches a metallic object about 100 feet in diameter hovering some 20 feet above the terrace of his house in San Cataldo, Caltanissetta, Sicily, Italy. He also sees three humanoids wearing silvery suits and green belts with lights on them. They seem interested in the birds Cammarata is keeping caged on the terrace, touching them occasionally. They ascend into the object on a luminous beam and speed away. (1Pinotti 157)
April 5 — 7:45 p.m. Justice of the Peace John H. Demler is driving north on State Highway 72 just south of Lickdale, Pennsylvania, when his car’s engine sputters and stops and the lights go out. He sees an object approaching about 20 feet above the road. It is about 30 feet across and looks like “it had lights in back of a painted black glass.” It flies over the car as Demler lowers his window and he notices a smell of sulfur and oil. It emit a sound like an electric motor, which grows louder as it leaves the area. The UFO shoots off sparks similar to that of “grinding on an emory wheel.” The UFO comes to a stop alongside the car, tilts, starts off slowly, then puts on such a terrific burst of speed that Demler and his automobile seem to be pulled to it. The car settles down so fast that he is moved all the way across the front seat. When he looks up again, the object has “turned to a bluish tinge” and is far in the distance. The next day, the skin on his hands and feet begin to peel and Demler is a nervous wreck. His coworkers confirm he is in a state of physical or psychological shock for many hours. (“ County Man’s Auto Stalls South of Lickdale as UFO Nears and Hums Overhead,” Lebanon (Pa.) Daily News, April 8, 1967, p. 1; “ Startling Cases Investigated,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 1 (May/June 1967): 6; Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, p. 1; UFOEv II 208)
April 6 — The Arizona Daily Wildcat publishes an interview with James E. McDonald, who says he has found “almost no correlation between so-called ‘evaluations or explanations’ that are made by Blue Book and the facts of the case.” He adds that the good cases have been “swept under the rug in a most disturbing way by Project Blue Book investigators and their consultants” and that “nobody there with any strong scientific competence is looking into the problem.” (“The UFO Phenomenon: A New Frontier Awaiting Serious Scientific Exploration,” Arizona Daily Wildcat 58, no. 110 (April 6, 1967): 4–8, reprinted in Valerie Vaughan, ed., UFOs and Science: The Collected Writings of Dr. James E. McDonald, Fund for UFO Research, 1995, pp. 38–43)
April 6 — 12:45 p.m. Robert Apfal, a teacher at Crestview Elementary School in Opa-locka, Florida, is in the schoolyard with six students, facing northeast. They spot a metallic, slightly reflective, disc- shaped object hovering about 60 feet above the ground over a telephone pole about one mile away. The object disappears as they watch. (Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, p. 112)
April 6 — 9:45 p.m. A Pacific Western Airlines pilot and crew see a dull orange-red object that flies erratically as it paces the aircraft, then speeds away. Confirmed by radar at Edmonton, Alberta, International Airport. (Condon, pp. 130–131)
April 7 — 10:00 a.m. Some 200 children at morning recess at Crestview Elementary School in Opa-locka, Florida, see an oval-shaped object hovering above some trees to the north of the school. It seems to move toward the school and then drop below a pine tree. Some of the kids notice an antenna-like structure, while others think there are two objects. The UFO is also seen by teachers Virginia Martin, Marian Waters, and Robert Apfal, who has his students sketch what they had seen. The drawings depict a turreted structure in the treetops. The Air Force claims a helicopter is in the area practicing takeoffs and landings. (NICAP, “ Teachers, 200 Children See UFO in Broad Daylight”; “ 10 Chaotic Minutes, and the Kids Screamed,” Miami Herald, April 8, 1967, p. 1-B; “ AF Says ‘It’ Was Copter; People Who Saw It Say No,” Miami Herald, April 11, 1967, p. 1-B; Bill Barry, “ Funny Things Happening: In The Air,” Miami News, April 11, 1967, p. 3-A; “ The North Dade Affair,” APRO Bulletin, March/April 1967, p. 10; “ More on the North Dade Incident,” APRO Bulletin, May/June 1967, pp. 8–9; Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, p. 112)
April 8 — Four college students on a double date in Banner Elk, North Carolina, notice a greenish fluorescent glow on the ground 180 feet away. Their car engine fails and the radio is flooded with static. An object passes near the car and disappears into the distance. The witnesses panic then push the car to a main road where they are able to restart it. They find three round imprints, about 6 inches in diameter and 2 inches deep, in the shape of an equilateral triangle. (Fred Merritt, “ A Preliminary Classification of Some Reports of UFOs,” IUR 28, no. 3 (Fall 2003): 10)
April 10–11 — A bright white object circles one Minuteman launch site near Malmstrom AFB, Great Falls, Montana, for prolonged periods. It eventually ascends to an altitude higher than the capabilities of Air Force interceptors. The local radio station is told to keep quiet about it. (Raymond Fowler, Casebook of a UFO Investigator, Prentice-Hall, 1981, p. 187)
April 11 - 9:30 p.m. While driving near Woodville, Idaho, a woman sees an amber-colored object shaped like a disc with a tall dome. It is at a height of two telephone poles and as large as a car. The object looks like plastic and has vertical risers evenly spaced around a "conning tower." A bright curved surface is hanging from a brim that extends from rim to rim of what looks like a top hat. The object hovers, moved slowly against the wind, passes directly overhead, and hovers over some lava beds where it emits two sparkly fireballs, then two more a few minutes later. Finally it goes dark and disappears. (" Objects Aim Light Beams, Drop `Fireballs,'" UFO Investigator 4, no. 1 (May/June 1967): 1)
April 11 — 10:20 p.m. Elis W. Grahn is walking along the shore of Pohjalahti near Kokkola, Finland, when above the trees to the right, he sees a perfectly round object. It is roughly 2–3 times the size of the moon, hanging motionless in the air. The object has sharply defined edges and a rim that is warm green in color. Inside the rim, the color is a red with a light color of violet. He points the object out to two 17-year old boys who are passing by. The object rotates around its axis and changes color to a faint greenish-white with no red, and loses its sharply defined contours. Grahn watches the object for another 35–40 minutes through field glasses and notices he can see stars through the edges of the object. He also sees straight lines over an opaque area in the center. At 11:05 p.m., the object starts to disappear very slowly. (Elis W. Grahn, “ Strange Object over Finland,” Flying Saucer Review 13, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1967): 7–8)
April 12 — 8:59 p.m. In Phoenix, Arizona, a bell-shaped object approaches a car from the left side, glowing red-orange with yellow-orange pulsations. It hovers over a streetlight, then makes a pass at the car. At that point, the car engine stops. The UFO banks eastward, then westward, and flies away. The three witnesses continue their trip and see the same object eight more times, plus another whitish object. The car engine continues to operate normally throughout the remaining sightings. (Mark Rodeghier, UFO Reports Involving Vehicle Interference, CUFOS, 1981, p. 34; Randle, Levelland, 2021, p. 142)
April 12 — 10:35 p.m. Mr. and Mrs. Granbacka are driving between Lappajärvi and Evijärvi, Finland, when a round, red object with a green rim appears in the northeast. It appears about the size of the Moon. They stop the car and get out to watch, and the object turns into a whitish, glowing cloud. It stays in this position for a long time, even after they reach home. (Keskipohjanmaa, April 12, 1967; Elis W. Grahn, “Strange Object over Finland,” Flying Saucer Review 13, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1967): 8)
Mid-April - Dusk. Gary Statenberg is working with a tractor on Jamie Ediger's farm near Dayton, Oregon, when he sees an object moving toward him down the river basin at about 500 feet altitude. It stops, descends to 100 feet, and hovers about 600-700 feet away. He shuts off the tractor but can hear no sound coming from the object, which has red flashing lights around its base. There is a small dome with portholes on the top. Suddenly it takes off to the north, the lights changing to green as it does so. Statenberg returns home badly shaken. ( Letter from William K. Hartmann to Robert Low, June 14, 1967, in the Robert Low papers, American Philosophical Society)
April 16 — Businessman Guillermo Roldan and his daughter Chichita see a glowing, egg-shaped object fly across the sky above Boraure, Venezuela, at great speed. It stops abruptly then descends and lands. Roldan rushes toward the spot, but the object takes off at high speed. (Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, p. 60)
April 17 — 2:20 a.m. SP4 Robert M. Harkinson of the US Army’s 524th Military Intelligence Detachment is stationed in Saigon [now Ho Chi Minh City], Vietnam, when he sees five bright-white, oval-shaped objects traveling in close formation at high speed across the sky. They flash by in about 5 seconds and disappear behind a cloud. He estimates their speed to be about five times that of any jet aircraft. About 5 minutes later, he sees several jets flying on the same course as the objects. (John J. Stahl Jr., “ Unidentified Flying Objects,” case report, April 17, 1967)
April 17 — 9:00 p.m. School principal John L. Metz and three teachers in separate cars are driving home in Jefferson City, Missouri, and see a 350–400 foot, bluish-white, WWI-helmet–shaped object come over the Missouri River bluff and move directly above their cars, bathing them in intense light. Metz observes it through 8x binoculars. The object hovers above power lines for about 10 minutes then heads toward the airport. Two smaller objects emerge from its base; they are disc- or helmet-shaped and the size of a DC-3. Metz drives to the airport on Highway 94 and finds two more witnesses. Jefferson City Memorial Airport employees watch a flat, circular, star-like orange light flashing an intermittent red-blue through a 30x 40mm telescope around 9:40–10:08 p.m. The Ozark Airliner Flight 319 crew sees two large round objects moving in various directions below their airplane during its final landing approach. ( Sparks, p. 324; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 110–111)
April 21 — 1:30 a.m. Two couples see an unexplained light near Ephrata, Washington, and chase it in their car. They came upon a UFO sitting on the road and have to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting it. The object takes off, moves behind the car, and follows it for 5 minutes, then disappears as traffic becomes heavier. The witnesses are badly shaken by the experience. (NICAP, “ The 1967 UFO Chronology”)
April 21 — Robert J. Low issues a position paper that outlines, after months of discussions and briefings, a framework for the Colorado project’s goals and procedures. It includes acquiring data on new cases, contracted reviews on such special topics as radar and mirages, a special section on photo cases, and a statistical treatment of bulk data. He divides the research question into three tiers: “Are there really sightings that are unexplained?” “Are any of these external stimuli solid objects?” and “Are any of these objects extraterrestrial spaceships?” He asks the group to discuss criteria for answering those questions. (Swords 317–318)
April 21 — Coup d’état in Greece. Although there are persistent rumors about an active support of the coup by the US government, there is no evidence to support such claims. The timing of the coup apparently catches the CIA by surprise. (Wikipedia, “ Greek military junta of 1967”)
April 21 — 8:55 p.m. Clifton N. Crowder, manager of the Mobil Chemical Company warehouse in South Hill, Virginia, leaves the warehouse and starts home. About 50–75 yards down a narrow asphalt highway his headlights fall on an object 400 feet away on the road ahead. It is pewter-colored, shaped like a storage tank, about 12 feet in diameter, and 15–16 feet high. It is standing on legs about 3–3.5 feet long. He switches to his bright lights and the object belches a white burst of flame from the bottom and ascends rapidly. Meanwhile, the road is on fire. After it dies out, Crowder drives to South Hill and contacts police. They return and find a kidney-shaped black spot on the road, about 3 feet wide at the widest point. William T. Powers, assistant to J. Allen Hynek of Northwestern University, arrives on the scene to examine the spot. Using kerosene, gasoline, and a blowtorch, he attempts to simulate the black spot, but has no luck. Where each leg of the machine rested he finds two spike holes, similar to those made by football cleats. They are about 6 inches apart, 7/8 inch in diameter, and about one inch deep. The four feet are about 11.5–12 feet apart and the diagonals are 16 feet 1 inch and 16 feet 6 inches, respectively. Powers concludes that the center of gravity is above the firepoint and notes that the intersections of the diagonals deviate 2 degrees from 90°. ( Sparks, p. 324; Project Blue Book, [ case file]; “ UFO Blocks Road, Sets It on Fire,” Fort Worth (Tex.) Star-Telegram, April 22, 1967, p. 1; “ O Marks Spot: But by What?,” Roanoke (Va.) Times, April 23, 1967, p. 15; “ Flares Stir Flurry of UFO Reports,” Roanoke (Va.) Times, April 24, 1967, p. 9; “ UFO Scorches Highway,” UFO Investigator 3, no. 12 (Mar./Apr. 1967): 1, 5; “ South Hill, Va. Landing,” APRO Bulletin, May/June 1967, p. 11; Frank Edwards, Flying Saucers—Here and Now!, Lyle Stuart, 1967, pp. 237–239; “South Hill Saucer Scare” Flying Saucers and UFOs, no. 2 (1968): 18–25; Fred Merritt, “ A Preliminary Classification of Some Reports of UFOs,” IUR 28, no. 3 (Fall 2003): 10; Gordon Lore, Flying Saucers from beyond the Earth: A UFO Researcher’s Odyssey, BearManor, 2018, pp. 60–64; “ The U.S. Government Acknowledges UFOs May Be Real: 55 Years Ago, the Locals Found Out for Themselves,” Mecklenburg (Va.) Sun, August 18, 2021; “ The South Hill Crowder Case | Jeff Knox (Ufos #5, May 12, 2024),” Ufo Sunset YouTube channel, May 18, 2024)
April 22 — At the annual meeting of the American Society of Newspaper Editors in Washington, D.C., James E. McDonald says of Donald Menzel, “when he comes to analyzing UFO reports, he seems to calmly cast aside well-known scientific principles almost with abandon, in an all-out effort to be sure that no UFO report survives his attack.” He also says, “I have learned from a number of unquotable sources that the Air Force has long wished to get rid of the burden of the troublesome UFO problem and has twice tried to ‘peddle’ it to NASA—without success.” (James E. McDonald, “ UFOs: Greatest Scientific Problem of Our Times?” April 22, 1967; “ Our Speaker(s) Tonight: James E. McDonald, Donald H. Menzel, Hector Quintanilla,” Saturday Night Uforia; Wendy Connors, “Project Blue Book Guide,” audioclips 74 and 75, November 21, 2013; Clark III 699, 744–745; Clark IV 795–796. 825–826)
April 24 — After reading a March 7 column by Drew Pearson that alleges the US attempted to assassinate Fidel Castro, President Johnson directs CIA Director Richard Helms to conduct an investigation. The result is a 133-page report by CIA Inspector General John S. Earman, transmitted on April 24 to Helms, that clearly shows the CIA was in contact with and cooperated with Maj. Rolando Cubela Secades of the Cuban military in plans to assassinate Castro. The operation is known as Project AMLASH. After receiving the report, Helms orally briefs the President about its contents. According to his testimony before the Select Committee, when asked if he has told the President “that efforts to assassinate Fidel Castro had continued into Johnsonʼs presidency, Helms replied, ‘I just can’t answer that, I just don’t know. I can’t recall having done so.’” (US Department of State, Office of the Historian, “ Document 315,” in Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964- 1968, Volume XXXII, Dominican Republic; Cuba; Haiti; Guyana)
April 28 — Condon recommends J. Allen Hynek and Richard H. Hall to Encyclopedia Britannica as excellent persons to write UFO entries. (Swords 319)
April 28 — 11:30 a.m. Brian F. Jenkins and seven other coast guards at Brixham, Devon, England, watch a huge, cone-shaped object through 25x binoculars mounted on a tripod. The object is hovering at 15,000 feet and seems to be revolving. Jenkins says the cone is pointing down, and the object seems made of glass or highly polished metal: “Near the bottom there was a triangular-shaped opening or door with a white rim on the top that reflected a lot of sunlight. The bottom was crinkled, very white, and seemed to consist of strips of metal hanging down.” It drifts to the northwest, rising to 22,000 feet and 8 miles away. At 12:40 p.m., a jet aircraft approaches it, flies above it, passes it, turns, and approaches it from below before it disappears from sight. Possible balloon. (Eric Wright, “ 8 at Coast Guard Station See Flying Saucer,” National Enquirer, September 10, 1967, pp. 8–9; “ British Radar/Visual Case,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 1 (May/June 1967): 8; Good Above, pp. 60–62)
April 29 — 7:40 p.m. Ian McGregor and two other oil drillers drive out to an airstrip near Mount Newman, Western Australia, to look for a UFO that has been appearing in the area for several nights. Toward the southeast a bright haze appears that turns into an inverted cone of light that is followed by an orange disc that rises vertically, turns on its edge, and approaches them. They flash their headlights and the object stops moving. It then returns in the direction it came from and lands in the same spot. Their compasses are not working accurately. They wait until 11:30 p.m., but do not see it again. (L. J. Locke, “ UFOs in Western Australia: From Mayanup to Mt. Newman,” Australian Flying Saucer Review, no. 8 (1968): 16)
May — The CIA launches the Phoenix Program in Vietnam to gather information on the Viet Cong, whose members would then be neutralized (captured, converted, or killed). Emphasis for the enforcement of the operation is placed on local government militia and police forces, rather than the military. Heavy-handed operations—such as random cordons and searches, large-scale and lengthy detentions of innocent civilians, excessive use of firepower, torture, and targeted killings—have a negative effect on the civilian population. Between 1968 and 1972, Phoenix “neutralizes” 81,740 people (26,369 are killed) suspected of belonging to the National Liberation Front. The reported torture is carried out by South Vietnamese forces with the CIA and special forces playing a supervisory role. (Wikipedia, “ Richard Helms”)
May — A man identifying himself as Maj. Richard French visits a woman in Owatonna, Minnesota, who has had a UFO encounter the previous November. He is 5 feet 9 inches with an olive complexion and hair too long for an Air Force officer. He is wearing a fashionable gray suit, white shirt, and black tie. At one point, French complains of stomach problems, and the woman recommends Jell-O. He says he will return if the symptoms persist, so he shows up the following morning. The woman sits him down with a bowl of Jell-O, which he tries to drink. “I had to show him how to eat it with a spoon,” the woman tells John A. Keel. ( John A. Keel, UFOs: Operation Trojan Horse, Manor Books ed., 1976, pp. 171–173; Clark III 734; Clark IV 814)
May — 12:30–3:15 p.m. During a reconnaissance exercise in Madagascar, a detachment of 23 officers and men serving with the French Foreign Legion watch a bright object landing in a “falling leaf” motion. When it touches down on tripod legs, the glow dissipates. The egg-shaped craft is 23–26 feet high and has no visible markings except for openings at the base through which flames are visible. The witnesses seem paralyzed or at least extremely distracted while the UFO is on the ground. When they recover their senses, they find that 2.75 hours have elapsed. For 2 days afterward, they all have violent headaches, a buzzing in their ears, and a throbbing in their temples. (H. Julien, “ A 1967 Landing in Madagascar,” Flying Saucer Review 23, no. 1 (June 1977): pp. 29–30; Good Need, pp. 297–298)
May — Evening. A woman in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, sees a light shining through her basement window. Across the street she notices a large object beaming with three colored lights and rotating. She goes outside with another woman and watch the slight slowly spin for 20 minutes above a neighbor’s house. When she tries to call the neighbors, all she gets is a busy signal, and when she looks outside again, the object is gone. The next day, the neighbor tells her that there was nothing wrong with the phone and that all evening she had been playing cards with friends and talking about UFOs. (Michael D. Swords, “ Timmermania: A Step Too Far into the Timmerman Files?” IUR 27, no. 4 (Winter 2002–2003): 8)
May — Evening. A farmer near Holbæk, Denmark, is working outside when he sees a strange lilac- colored light. Approaching, he sees a domed object with windows. Something is moving behind it. He goes home but returns to the spot the next day and finds an odd substance. It looks like “cotton wool,” but is finer than cotton. He leaves it in the same spot, but it dissipates over the next three days. There is also a depressed area where the object had been, and some wire is pulled away from some pylons. (“ Denmark: Flying Saucer Landed in a Field outside ‘Holbak’?????” Saucer Scoop 2, no. 4 (July 1967): 4; Michael D. Swords, “ Angel Hair: Spindrift between Worlds,” IUR 32, no. 1 (August 2008): 7)
May or June — A couple captures on an 8mm film camera 10 frames (2.5 seconds) of footage of an unusual object at Alberton, South Australia. The UFO is enveloped in a striking blue light that gives the appearance of a searchlight moving around its circumference. The developed film appears to show a craft with portholes and a sweeping searchlight. (David Reneke, “ The Australian UFO Photo File,” UFO Research Australia Newsletter 2, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1981): 10–15; Keith Basterfield, Vladimir Godic, and Pony Godic, “ Australian Ufology: A Review,” JUFOS 2 (1990): 26; Patrick Gross, “ The Alberton UFO Footage, Australia, 1967”)
May 1 — The Colorado project issues a press release calling for photos of UFOs taken by private citizens and provides recommendations to the photographers and the information it should include. The release is basically a rewrite of a document prepared by NPIC staff and approved by Lundahl on March 24. (Peter A. Sturrock, The UFO Enigma, Warner, 1999, p. 48)
May 1 — Night. A man’s car engine fails while he is driving near Peeltree, West Virginia. He sees a 40-foot-long elliptical object emerge from behind a shed and hover 15 feet from his car. It tilts toward the car at a 30° angle. He hears static on the radio, and the dashboard temperature gauge goes off the dial. He feels an intense wave of heat when he puts his head out the window, and his hands burn when he touches the horn rim and dashboard. He also reports headaches and a partial loss of vision. (Herbert S. Taylor, “ An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part Two,” IUR 34, no. 1 (Sept. 2011): 19)
May 5 — Condon, Low, Hartmann, Ratchford, and Charles Reed of the National Research Council are briefed by an unnamed specialist [probably Everitt L. Merritt of the Autometrics Division of the Raytheon Company of Alexandria, Virginia] at the NPIC on a photogrammetric analysis he had carried out on the November 1966 UFO photo case from Roseville, Ohio. The analysis debunks the photo. The committee is again impressed with the technical work performed, and Condon remarks that for the first time a scientific analysis of a UFO will stand up to investigation. (Wikipedia, “ Arthur Lundahl”; E. L. Merritt, “ Photogrammatric Analysis of a Non-Synchronous Pair of U.F.O. Exposures,” June 1967; Peter A. Sturrock, The UFO Enigma, Warner, 1999, pp. 48–49; Powell, Keyhoe, 356–357)
May 5 — Indonesian Air Marshal Roesmin Noerjadin admits that sometimes UFOs pose a problem for the country’s air defense, and sometimes the military is forced to fire on them. (Good Need, p. 254)
May 6 — 1:43 a.m. Michael Campeadore, 25, a hospital employee in St. George, Utah, is driving to Salt Lake City when he hears a noise similar to that of a truck, though nothing is visible. Suddenly, a yellow light appears to his left. Thinking it’s a jet about to crash, he stops the truck and gets out. He watches as the object stops about 100 feet away at an altitude of 100 feet. It is shaped like an inverted bowl with a dome on top and appears metallic. Frightened, he empties his .25 caliber Beretta at the craft. He hears the bullets strike metal, and the object takes off at great speed. When he shares his story at a nearby service station, the attendant tells him that around 20 UFO reports have recently come in from the Saint George area. (“ Bouncing Bullets Put Fear of UFO in Utah Tourist,” Boise Idaho Statesman, May 8, 1967, p. 14; Linus Duffer, “ Dixie Divots,” Washington County (Utah) News, May 11, 1967, p. 3; “ Car Buzzing Incidents on Increase,” APRO Bulletin, May/June 1967, p. 6; “ Startling Cases Investigated,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 1 (May/June 1967): 6–7; Lloyd Watson, “ Frightened Man in Utah Shoots at Flying Saucer,” National Enquirer, August 27, 1967, p. 8)
May 6 — 11:00 a.m. A mechanical engineer and his daughter are driving on the Durango–Mazatlán Highway in Mexico. They spot a disc-shaped object landed on the ground off the highway. They stop the car and he takes three photos as the object takes off. The first photo shows the object at treetop level, partially hidden by a tree, with a portion of its landing gear visible. The second object shows the object in flight against a clear sky. The third photo shows nothing. (Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, p. 65)
May 7 — 2:00 a.m. Ricky Banyard, 17, and four others watch and follow a spherical object with a spinning top and bottom and with red and green lights for 4 hours in Edmonton, Alberta, in the Mount Pleasant Cemetery. As it hovers at about 200 feet, a light beam comes from the bottom of the object, illuminating the ground. They hear a muffled whistling noise as the object hovers, then a screaming noise like a jet engine starting up. All its lights go out, and the object takes off in a flurry of explosive sounds. Black streaks are later found on the charred road surface. (“ A UFO in Detail,” Edmonton (Alberta) Journal, May 8, 1967, p. 33; “ Eerie Object in Graveyard,” APRO Bulletin, May/June 1967, p. 7; “ Beam Spotlights Witnesses,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 1 (May/June 1967): 3; Chet Dembeck, “ Canadian UFO Sighting Lasting Hours with Multiple Witnesses Still Unsolved,” Unknown Boundaries, November 17, 2023)
May 7? - A couple are driving through the state of Tabasco, Mexico, when they see a bright point of light in the sky. It descends to a spot about 500 feet away and gives off an intense white-orange light from its cone-shaped body. The couple stops and shuts off their headlights. When the object approaches closer, the man turns the headlights on again. The UFO stops in midair and blinks its light off and on twice. The couple become frightened and drive to the nearest town. Several people return with them to the spot and the object is still there. When they turn their headlights off and on, it approaches them. Some of the men run to the object with weapons raised, and it takes off into the sky within seconds. (Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, p. 60)
May 10 — Richard Helms goes to the White House to give President Lyndon Johnson the answers to the questions he’d been asked seven weeks earlier. The only account of that meeting is Helms’s own. He says he described the [inspector general’s] conclusions and that Johnson said: “Then you were not responsible for Trujillo, ‘No.’ Correct answer. ‘ Diem?’ ‘No.’ Correct answer. ‘ Castro, he’s still alive, okay.’” At the same meeting Helms also tells Johnson about the mail interception program “and some other things that were going on.” Johnson’s response to that was equally laconic; he just nodded and said something along the line of, ‘But be careful, don’t get caught.’” (Thomas Powers, The Man Who Kept the Secrets: Richard Helms and the CIA, Random House, 1979, pp. 156–157)
May 11 — 2:05 a.m. Four police officers in Wareham, Massachusetts, sight two inverted dish-shaped objects with revolving red and white lights around the rim. One descends behind some trees into a cranberry bog. It moves up and down like a yo-yo and speeds away when the police try to shine a spotlight on it. (Raymond E. Fowler, UFOs: Interplanetary Visitors, Exposition, 1974, p. 348; UFOEv II 339)
May 12 — 8:00 p.m. A silver, ellipse-shaped UFO rapidly approaches Richard Faucett and Charles Winn, who are driving five miles south of Neola, Utah. It slows down and descends to road level, then tilts and flies over the crest of a nearby hill before vanishing from sight. (UFOEv II 339; Frank Salisbury, The Utah UFO Display, Bonneville Books, 2010, p. 56 and appendix case 48)
May 13 — 4:40 p.m. An object is picked up on radar at the Colorado Springs, Colorado, airport. A Braniff flight is coming in for a landing on runway 35. The track of the object behaves like a ghost echo, perhaps a ground return being reflected from the Braniff aircraft. The blip appears at about twice the range of the Braniff blip. When the Braniff airliner touches down, however, the situation changes radically. The UFO blip pulls to the right (east) and passes over the airport at an estimated height of about 200 feet. The object track passes within 1.5 miles of the control tower. The object is not visible even through binoculars by personnel in the control tower. The Colorado project finds this to be one of the most puzzling radar cases on record. (NICAP, “ Invisible UFO Tracked on Radar”; Condon, pp. 170–171, 310–316; Carl Sagan and Thornton Page, eds., UFO’s: A Scientific Debate, Cornell University, 1972, p. xxii)
Mid-May — 11:00 p.m. Patricio Hanessian and Alfredo Padilla are driving in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico, and see a flat-bottomed, domed object in the sky. The central part is bright white and the edge is bright pink or red. It holds its position for 2–3 minutes then moves away, reappearing about 500 feet in front of their car, where it hovers for 2 minutes before speeding off. (Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, pp. 60–61)
May 16 — 10:10 p.m. Ship Master Donald W. Dee and 3rd Mate Homer Hawthorne, seamen Earle Bradley and Eric Koster, all crew of the Pacific Coast Transport ship SS Point Sur, see six red point-source lights that seem to be pacing the ship over the Gulf of Mexico. One object is confirmed by sporadic radar returns at 12,000 feet, 11 miles away. Through 7x50 binoculars, the objects appear brilliant yellow with red lights across upper two-thirds, but to the naked eye, the colors blend to reddish-orange point sources. They pulsate with a 4.5-second period and an approximate 1:3 brightness ratio. The lower objects rise and fall near the horizon. (NICAP, “ SS Point Sur Case”; Sparks, p. 325; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, p. 267)
May 17 — The first official Soviet UFO Study Group is launched in a preliminary meeting at the Moscow Aviation and Cosmonautics Center with Maj. Gen. Porfiri Stolyarov at the helm and cosmologist Felix Ziegel as his deputy. Also in attendance are Heinrich Ludwig, Nikolai Zhirov, Igor Bestuzhev-Lada, Valentin Akkuratov, Leonid Reino, Georgi Uger, Georgi Zevalkin, Grigory Sivkov, Yekaterina Ryabova, and Natalia Kravtsova. (Wikipedia, “ Felix Ziegel”; Felix Ziegel, “ Unidentified Flying Objects,” Soviet Life, no. 137 (February 1968): 29; Gordon Creighton, “ Dr. Felix Zigel’ and the Development of Ufology in Russia, Part I,” Flying Saucer Review 27, no. 3 (November 1981): 8–13; Good Above, p. 570; Mikhail Gershtein, “ A Short History of UFO Research in the Former Soviet Union,” UAP Check, July 6, 2024)
May 19 — Between 4:00 and 4:30 a.m. Four boys (Tom Lambert, John Schidhammer, Ron Monroe, and Mike Caughron) observe a cigar-shaped object as it maneuvers through the sky in Grove City, Ohio. Schidhammer reports that it descends to within 150 feet of the ground, then abruptly makes a 90° turn and flies off to the west. The object emits an odd noise “that makes your ears ring.” (“ ‘UFO’s Reported over Area by Local Youths,” Grove City (Ohio) Record, May 25, 1967, pp. 1–2)
May 20 — 12:15 p.m. Stefan Michalak is quartz prospecting near Falcon Lake, Manitoba, when he sees two red, glowing, cigar-shaped objects in the sky. One object begins to hover then move away, while the other lands on a large, flat rock 160 feet away. The landed object is more than 35 feet wide and 10 feet thick with a 3-foot high cupola. It goes through several color changes then appears like hot stainless steel with blinding purple-colored lights coming through slits in the cupola. It is making a whirring sound and warm air seems to be coming from it. Michalak sits and sketches the object for 30 minutes, then a small door opens on the side, revealing a lighted interior. Michalak walks to 60 feet away and hears voices inside. Thinking it is a US aircraft, he steps forward and shouts. “Okay, Yankee boys, having trouble? Come on out and we’ll see what we can do about it.” He says the same thing in five other languages. There is no response, so he puts green lenses over his glasses and looks inside, where he sees a series of flashing lights. He pulls his head back, noting that the wall is 18 inches thick. Almost immediately the opening closes. When his glove accidentally touches the surface, it burns and melts. The UFO angles upwards and he sees a 9-by-6 inch gridlike vent with a uniform pattern of small holes. A blast of hot gas erupts from the grid, searing his chest, sending him reeling backwards, and burning his shirt and undershirt. He rips the flaming clothing off just as the UFO ascends in a rush of air. It heads off to the west, the same direction the other UFO has gone. Michalak now has a headache and severe nausea, so he starts driving back to his motel. He eventually gets to Misericordia Hospital in Winnipeg and receives a sedative. His chest burn heals, but the gridlike burn lesions on his abdomen persist. The symptoms continue well into 1968, when Michalak visits the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, staying there 2 weeks and undergoing outpatient treatment. He relocates the landing site on June 30, 1967, and the RCAF visits it in July, noting a 15-foot circle of cleared vegetation on the flat rock. Michalak obtains metal samples of unknown provenance from the site in 1968. (Wikipedia, “ Falcon Lake Incident”; NICAP, “ Falcon Lake / Michalak Encounter”; Heather Chisvin, “‘I Was Burned by UFO’—City Man,” Winnipeg (Man.) Tribune, May 22, 1967, p. 13; [ RCMP case file], May 26, 1967; [ RCMP case file], June 26, 1967; Stephen Michalak, My Encounter with the UFO, Osnova, 1967; “ Man Burned in Canada Landing,” APRO Bulletin, May/June 1967, pp. 1, 3; Derik Hodgson, “Burns Back, Says Michalak,” Winnipeg (Man.) Free Press, January 16, 1968; “I Was Burned by a UFO,” Flying Saucers, no. 56 (February 1968): 36; Paul Pihichyn, “UFO Sighting in Manitoba,” Winnipeg (Man.) Free Press Weekly, April 3, 1968; Jim and Coral Lorenzen, “Burned by UFOs,” Fate 21 (October 1968): 36–45; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 195–198; Condon, pp. 316–324; Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979, pp. 37–45; Chris Rutkowski, “ The Falcon Lake Incident, Part 1: Prologue 1967,” Flying Saucer Review 27, no. 1 (June 1981): 14–16; Chris Rutkowski, “ The Falcon Lake Incident, Part 2,” Flying Saucer Review 27, no. 2 (August 1981): 15–18; Chris Rutkowski, “ The Falcon Lake Incident, Part 3,” Flying Saucer Review 27, no. 3 (November 1981): 21–25; Chris Rutkowski, “ Burned by a UFO? The Story of a Bungled Investigation,” IUR 12, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1987): 21–24; Edward M. Barker, “ Letter,” IUR 13, no. 2 (March/April 1988): 21–22; Good Above, pp. 195–200; Chris Rutkowski, “ The Falcon Lake Case: Too Close an Encounter,” JUFOS 5 (1994): 1–34; Don Berliner, with Marie Galbreath and Antonio Huneeus, UFO Briefing Document: The Best Available Evidence, Dell, 2000, pp. 81–86; UFOEv II 209–212; Patrick Gross, “ Close Encounters: Falcon Lake, Canada, 1967,” February 3, 2005; Chris Rutkowski and Geoff Dittman, The Canadian UFO Report, Dundurn Press, 2006, pp. 72–93; Chris Rutkowski, “ The Cold, Hard Facts about UFOs in Canada,” IUR 34, no. 1 (September 2011): 10, 22; Clark III 475–481; Chris Rutkowski and Stan Michalak, When They Appeared: Falcon Lake 1967, August Night, 2019; “ The Falcon Lake UFO Files,” UM Alumni Today, October 31, 2019; Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 107–118, 154–157; Nigel Watson, “Blast from the Past,” Fortean Times 427 (January 2022): 26; Charlie Wiser, “ Falcon Lake, Manitoba, Canada: Blasted by UFO Exhaust!” Three-Dollar Kit, 2022; Chris Rutkowski, “Falcon Lake Case,” Fortean Times 433 (July 2023): 68; Clark IV 524–530)
May 26 — 10:15 p.m. Three teenagers (Bobby Grant, Joseph Romero, and Johnny Sanchez) are driving along Atrisco Drive NW, north of Central Avenue in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A white light seems to follow them, weaving back and forth over the road. Finally it catches up with the car and hovers silently above it. The engine quits and the headlights fail. The teens leap from the car and the object suddenly flies off to the southwest. They can start the car again. (“ Car Buzzing Incidents on Increase,” APRO Bulletin, May/June 1967, p. 6)
May 30 — Around 7:45 p.m. Two men driving southwest of Palmerston North, New Zealand, spot an orange, fluorescent, mushroom-shaped object. At first, it hovers, then moves from left to right across the highway ahead of them. The driver slows down, and they watch the object for 10–12 minutes, estimating it to be half a mile away and at one point only about 20 feet above the ground. Around the same time, Palmerston North residents hear a high-pitched humming followed by a loud swishing noise but see nothing outside. Meanwhile, two aircrew members at RNZAF Base Ohakea hear a similar humming and rush outside to witness a brilliant orange “flashy streak” that lasts only a few seconds. (“ Around the Globe,” APRO Bulletin, May/June 1967, p. 4)
May 31 — 11:30 p.m. A woman at a farmhouse near Beausejour, Manitoba, sees an intensely bright red light with a smaller blue light on the bottom that approaches from the south and hovers about 375 feet away. A white light on the bottom becomes brighter as the object hovers, its glow illuminating the ground. The object lands and leaves a burning area 90 feet by 150 feet in size with radioactive soil. The area is still smoldering on June 15, despite several rains. (“ Second Landing in Canada,” APRO Bulletin, May/June 1967, p. 2)
June - Night. Giuseppe Aldini, 17, is with his family in Montalcino, Siena, Italy, when he sees a round, luminous object from his window. Later he notices a glowing red light on a nearby hill. The next day he goes to the spot and finds a circular burned area 100 feet in diameter with four imprints in its center. Inside are many black minerals that are analyzed by the University of Florence's Mineralogical Institute and found to be quartz crystals. (1Pinotti 157)
Early June — 9:30 p.m. Four children and an adult are in a car driving north on Michigan Highway 52 about 15 miles east of Lansing, Michigan. The driver notices an odd light moving west to east, so she pulls to the side of the road and they all get out to watch it as it passes overhead. It is a circular red light that appears to pulsate. They can hear no sound, even though there is no road traffic at the time. As the light approaches the eastern horizon it stops and a smaller light like a bright star moves toward it from the south and seems to enter the larger red light, which then disappears. ( CUFOS Nocturnal Light cases)
June 1 — The UFO seen by José Luis Jordán Peña in Aluche, Madrid, Spain, allegedly reappears in the neighborhood of San José de Valderas. This time, Jordán Peña plays UFO investigator, taking statements from witnesses who describe a low-flying disc-shaped object with the same strange symbol on the underside. An anonymous man takes several photographs that he drops off at a photo lab on June 2. He then calls newspaper photographer Antonio San Antonio, telling him where to pick them up. All but one show an edge-on view of what appears to be a large, squat disc with a rim through its midsection. One photo shows the bottom of the UFO with the Aluche symbol, this time with a horizontal bar crossing the verticals and linking the two arms. In August, another photographer calling himself Antonio Pardo produces two more photos of the edge-on disc taken the same day, as well as some hard green-colored plastic strips bearing the distinctive Aluche symbol supposedly found in a capsule that leaflets by a “Henri Dagousset” predicted in June would be found. Jordán Peña later confesses to hoaxing the plastic strips, which are made of Tedlar (polyvinyl fluoride) produced by DuPont for the US space program. Independent analyses by French space scientist Claude Poher and the US group Ground Saucer Watch determine that the San José de Valderas photo with the Ummo symbol is a small model—an 8-inch plate suspended by a string or fishing line— held close to the camera. The symbol apparently is drawn in ink. (Wikipedia, “ Ummo”; Antonio Ribera, “ The San José de Valderas Photographs,” Flying Saucer Review 15, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1969): 3–10; Oscar Rey Brea, “ Algo sobre las fotografias del sepuesto OVNI de San José de Valderas,” Stendek 3, no. 9 (August 1972): 5–11; Antonio Ribera and Rafael Farriols, Un caso perfecto, Plaza y Janés, 1976; Fred Adrian, “ Ground Saucer Watch Computer Photographic Analysis (Critique), San José de Valderas, Spain, 1967,” CUFOS Bulletin, Spring 1977, pp. 11–13; Claude Poher, “ Remarks on Aluche, San José de Valderas, and the ‘Ummo’ Affair: A Monstrous Hoax!” CUFOS Bulletin, Spring 1977, pp. 3–10; Scott Corrales, “ The UMMO Experience: Are You Experienced?” Strange Magazine, January 31, 2001; Clark III 1183; Clark IV 1357–1358)
June 3 — The town of St. Paul, Alberta, officially dedicates a UFO landing pad as a public park and as a safe place for aliens to land. Minister of National Defence Paul Hellyer flies in by helicopter to launch the pad. It consists of a raised platform with a map of Canada embossed on the back stop, consisting of stones provided by each province of Canada. (Wikipedia, “ St. Paul, Alberta”; Town of St. Paul, “ The Landing Pad”; George M. Eberhart, “ Postcards with a UFO Theme,” IUR 29, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 20; Chris Rutkowski and Geoff Dittman, The Canadian UFO Report, Dundurn Press, 2006, pp. 240–243; “ World’s First UFO Landing Pad,” Atlas Obscura, April 19, 2010; “ This Small Town Built a UFO Landing Pad… But Why?” CBC Arts YouTube channel, October 26, 2020)
June 7 - James E. McDonald speaks before the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs meeting in New York City on the "International scientific aspects of the problem of the unidentified flying objects." UN Secretary-General U Thant has arranged for the lecture, based on conversations he has had with John G. Fuller and J. Allen Hynek in early 1966. McDonald urges the UN to undertake a systematic global study of the UFO problem, but it does not act on the recommendation. (James E. McDonald, Letter to UN Secretary-General UThant, June 5, 1967, p. 1; James E. McDonald, " Statement on International Scientific Aspects of the Problem of the Unidentified Flying Objects," presented to the UN Outer Space Affairs group, June 7, 1967, pp. 2-3; Clark III 698, 1189; Patrick Gross, " Scientists Taking Position"; Clark IV 794, 1363-1364)
June 8 — Low writes a memo to the Colorado UFO project team, stating that their consultants in psychology are telling him that there will always be some uncertainty about the accuracy of eyewitness testimony. “The question we have to deal with,” he writes, “is how do we make judgments on the UFO problem if we don’t know whether the facts that are reported to us are correctly reported or not?” (Eghigian, After, p. 199)
June 9 — Day. Two Spanish Air Force pilots flying Lockheed T-33s at 4,000 feet encounter a UFO over the Extremadura region, Spain. Attempts at radio contact fail, and when they fly above or below the object, their radios cease to function and emit interference noises. The UFO soon moves off, easily outstripping the jets, stopping and waiting for them to approach, then moving on again, The two pilots notify the Talavera la Real Air Base in Badajoz and Torrejón Air Base in Madrid, from which two faster fighters are scrambled. The new fighters experience the same radio interference and maneuvers until the object shoots straight up at high speed. (Antonio Ribera, “ Spanish Jets Chase UFO,” Flying Saucer Review 14, no. 3 (May/June 1968): 26–27)
June 10–12 — Jacques Vallée begins a weekend visit in New Hampshire with abductees Betty and Barney Hill at the request of J. Allen Hynek to act “as an observer in a contact experiment Betty Hill wants to conduct.” Betty has come to believe that she can “make a flying saucer appear in the sky and land.” Writer John G. Fuller, psychiatrist Benjamin Simon, and IBM engineer Robert E. Hohmann are also present for the attempt. Convinced that Betty is able to communicate with humanoid extraterrestrial beings, Hohmann sets up a folding table and chalk circle to observe or meet the UFOs and their occupants. Nothing out of the ordinary happens, but Betty “jumped up excitedly” at every artificial satellite, meteor, and lightning bug. Vallée seems convinced that something indeed has happened to the pair, but also that “Hohmann has clearly planted many strange ideas into the couple’s mind.” (Jacques Vallée, Forbidden Science, North Atlantic, 1992, pp. 269, 274–278; Stanton Friedman and Kathleen Marden, Captured! The Betty and Barney Hill UFO Experience, New Page Books, 2007, pp. 219–221; Tanner F. Boyle, “ Forbidden Science Dispatches #1,” Getting Spooked Substack, October 4, 2023)
June 11 — 10:30 p.m. Donald Purdue Sr., a truck driver, is preparing to leave on a run in the driveway of his home in Summerdale, Pennsylvania. His wife Gertrude, on the porch, notices people looking up in a nearby empty lot. Curious, she walks over and sees a bright light in the sky above a neighbor’s antenna. Around the same time, a fire whistle blows and an ambulance arrives, though the incident turns out to be unrelated. As the ambulance passes, the bright light moves and hovers above the trees behind the Purdues’ house. It reveals a “huge, silver craft with bright lights coming down.” Although they don’t hear any sound, Gertrude speculates that their truck engine may have drowned out the noise. The object then drifts away a few minutes later. Around the same time as the Purdue sighting, Mr. and Mrs. Jack Foflygen are driving along Silver Spring Road in Mechanicsburg when they see a blazing light low in the sky suddenly fly toward them. The craft, described as being “about the size of an automobile,” makes no sound and appears to race their car, then it suddenly veers off to the right. After returning home, the Foflygens contact their pastor, Rev. Richard Morris, who returns to the scene with his wife and two police officers. Around the same time, NICAP investigator George B. Cook—en route to nearby Newville, where 10 people have just reported a sighting—receives a radio update and heads toward the Foflygens’ location. About 10 minutes after Cook arrives, an object rises out of the hills near Newville and races east. Within two minutes, the group on Silver Spring Road sees the same craft—blue, green, and pulsating—flying east over Mechanicsburg, accompanied by smaller, bright objects. (“ UFOs Reported ‘Shockingly Close,’” Wilkes-Barre (Pa.) Times Leader, June 13, 1967, p. 20; “2000 UFO Sightings Reported: Terrify Pennsylvania,” APRG Reporter 6, no. 6 (March 1968): 1–6)
June 12–13 — The Colorado project plays host to 34 Air Force officers having UFO responsibility at various bases. Low and David R. Saunders try to get them excited about reporting UFOs to the project, but aren’t very successful. (NICAP, “ UFO Investigators Meeting 12 and 13 June 1967”; UFOs Yes, 125–126)
June 13 — 2:30 a.m. Carmen Cuneo, a mine worker in Caledonia, Ontario, steps out of the mine headquarters building and sees two strange objects near a pond in the vicinity of the mine dump. One is cigar- shaped and about 36 feet long with four windows along the side; a boom-like aerial protrudes from one side. The other is disc-shaped and about 15 feet across. Both are hovering 12 feet above the ground. Three small men wearing what look like miners’ hats with four amber lights are underneath the boom. After watching for 10 minutes, Cuneo goes back to find another witness, but when he returns the men are gone. The two objects, however, remain until 3:05 a.m. when they take off to the southwest, flashing multicolored lights. (“ Two Mine Workers See Alien Crafts,” Saucers, Space, and Science, no. 49 (Fall 1967): 9; “ June Sighting of Occupants in Canada,” APRO Bulletin, Nov./Dec. 1967, p. 4; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, pp. 285–286; Lorenzen, Encounters, p. 202; Lawrence J. Fenwick, “ Mysteries Follow Landing,” Canadian UFO Report 4, no. 3 (Spring 1977): 8–12; Lawrence J. Fenwick, “ Crisis or Solution?” The UFO Pulse Analyzer, no. 2 (May 1977): 2–13; “ Gypsum Miner Has Close UFO Encounter,” Pasadena (Tex.) Citizen, July 6, 1978, via Aerial Phenomenon Clipping Information Center Clipping Service 3, no. 8 (August 1978): 11; Harry Tokarz, “ UFO Witnesses: Are They Public Property?” CUFORN Bulletin 5, no. 3 (May–June 1984): 9–10)
June 13 — Around 7:30 p.m. Charles W. Fletcher is sitting in his yard in eastern Henrico County, Virginia, reading a newspaper. A bright light suddenly appears above him and reflects off the newspaper. A substance drops from the light onto his left arm near the elbow, feeling like a liquid. He wipes it off with the newspaper, but the object burns him on the right side of his face as well. The newspaper stains purple and appears speckled with metallic particles. Fletcher goes inside, wipes his arm again with a wet rag, and notes that the rag turns a purplish blue from the strange substance. (“Virginia Man Injured by Alien Object,” Saucer Scoop 2, no. 6 (September 1967): 18)
June 13 — Night. Gertrude Purdue and her son Butch witness a silent, egg-shaped craft hover above a nearby bakery in Summerdale, Pennsylvania. A brilliant beam of light shines down, paralyzing both of them. The light is so intense they can see the stones in their driveway. The craft sways, revolves, and emits a high-pitched whining sound. As it moves away, Butch regains control and stumbles over to his mother. The object then quickly ascends over the trees and vanishes across the Susquehanna River. (“2000 UFO Sightings Reported: Terrify Pennsylvania,” APRG Reporter 6, no. 6 (March 1968): 1–6)
June 18 — Several people in Mulluri, [perhaps near Viña del Mar], Chile, see three discs flying in a V formation above the town. They flash orange and blue lights alternately and make no sound. They maneuver for 10 minutes before disappearing at high speed. (Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, p. 61)
June 18 — Late evening. A family is returning home by boat near Clearwater Bay on Shoal Lake, Ontario, when they notice a bright oval object hovering 50 feet above the treetops about a half-mile away. As they approach, the object turns an orange tinge and suddenly sweeps toward their boat at great speed. They beat a hasty retreat to the other shore, while the UFO returns to its original position. The same thing happens when they approach the object again. After about 15 minutes, the object takes off at an incredible speed to the northwest. One resident, who is not aware of the UFO, reports later that the static on his radio was so bad that he had to turn it off. Wilted leaves on the top of birch, hazel, and chokecherry trees are discovered in the sighting area. Leaf samples are analyzed by the Canadian Department of Forestry, which cannot find an explanation for their condition other than heat. The University of Manitoba finds evidence of fungus on one sample but not on others. (J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 150–152; Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979, pp. 31–34; Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 55–56)
June 22–25 — Condon attends, at the invitation of James W. Moseley and against the better judgment of the rest of the Colorado project staff, the Congress of Scientific Ufologists at the Hotel Commodore in New York City for the 20th anniversary of the Kenneth Arnold sighting. Speakers include Gray Barker, John A. Keel, Moseley, Art Ford, Gordon Evans, actor Roy Thinnes, and Ivan T Sanderson. Kenneth Arnold and Raymond A. Palmer are originally scheduled but cancel. (“ ‘Flying Saucer’ Convention,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 1 (May/June 1967): 8; Swords 316, 320; James W. Moseley and Karl T. Pflock, Shockingly Close to the Truth! Confessions of a Grave-Robbing Ufologist, Prometheus, 2002, pp. 209–218; Karl Machtanz, “ Saucer News NYC Convention Memories,” In Honor of Jim Moseley, February 3, 2014; Rick Hilberg, “ Jim Moseley’s Giant UFO Show,” In Honor of Jim Moseley; Curt Collins, “ The National UFO Conference,” In Honor of Jim Moseley, March 11, 2014; Curt Collins, “ The UFO Anniversary and the Giant New York Convention of 1967,” The Saucers That Time Forgot, June 22, 2018; Clark III 1194; Powell, Keyhoe, 356; Clark IV 1369)
June 23 — Broadcaster Frank Edwards dies of a heart attack. (“ Death of Frank Edwards,” UFO Investigator 4, no 2 (October 1967): 8)
June 24 — 10:00 p.m. At Paso de los Libres, Corrientes, Argentina, policemen see 8–10 bright lights that fly in formation over a military post at an estimated 15,000 feet altitude. Other groups of UFOs are seen the same night at Yapeyú and Santo Tomé in Corrientes; Oberá in Misiones; and Resistencia and Barranqueras in Chaco, Argentina. All are observed for at least 1–2 minutes. (“ Latin Skies Cluttered with U.F.O.’s,” Baltimore (Md.) Sun, June 27, 1967, p. 3; “ Space Teams Examining Brazil Area,” Sault (Ont.) Daily Star, June 27, 1967, p. 26; “ ‘Saucers’ over South America?” Brantford (Ont.) Expositor, June 28, 1967, p. 5; Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, pp. 61–62)
June 24 — In Asunción, Paraguay, many residents see six objects in formation maneuvering over the city. Communications interference is reported by the airport control tower director. (NICAP, “ The 1967 UFO Chronology”; “ Latin Skies Cluttered with U.F.O.’s,” Baltimore (Md.) Sun, June 27, 1967, p. 3; “ Space Teams Examining Brazil Area,” Sault (Ont.) Daily Star, June 27, 1967, p. 26; “ ‘Saucers’ over South America?” Brantford (Ont.) Expositor, June 28, 1967, p. 5)
June 24–25 — The Centro Ufologico Nazionale holds the first UFO conference in Italy at Riccione, Rimini. (1Pinotti 143–146)
June 27 — McDonald is in Australia, financed by a small grant from the Office of Naval Research, to do cloud-physics research. Today, he presents a paper on UFOs to the Radiophysics division staff at CSIRO in Sydney, New South Wales. Earlier in June, in a memo to Low, he said he planned to do some UFO investigating and lecturing. Low forwards the letter to Philip Klass in December. (“‘Saucer’ Expert from U.S.,” Sydney (N.S.W.) Sun-Herald, June 25, 1967; Clark III 700; “ James E. McDonald on ABC Television, This Day Tonight, Broadcast on the 4 July 1967,” Anthony Clarke YouTube channel, December 22, 2019; Clark IV 796)
June 28 — A NASA management instruction issued by Kurt H. Debus, director of Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida, on “Processing Reports of Sightings of Space Vehicle Fragments” notes that “Under no circumstances will the origin of the object be discussed with the observer or person making the call,” including “reports of sightings of objects not related to space vehicles.” (John F. Kennedy Space Center, “ Processing Reports of Sightings of Space Vehicle Fragments,” NASA Management Instruction KMI 8610.4, June 28, 1967)
June 28 — 8:25 p.m. Tsai Chang-hung is looking at stars at the Taipei City Observatory in Taipei, Taiwan, when he sees a bright dot make an abrupt 90° turn near the Big Dipper. He grabs his 16mm camera and calls his brother, observatory director Tsai Chang-hsien, to come look but the object has disappeared. He waits for nearly an hour, and the object reappears and hovers above Guanyin Mountain in New Taipei City for about 30 seconds, during which time he snaps three photos. Other witnesses see the object and contact the observatory to report it. The Central Weather Bureau claims it is one of their weather balloons, but Tsai Chang-hsien suspects the object is not likely a balloon. The photos are of poor quality, but they are enhanced in 1996 and clearly show an object of some kind. (Han Cheung, “ Taiwan in Time: UFOs over the Skies of Taiwan,” Taipei Times, June 23, 2024, p. 13)
June 30 — Condon, David R. Saunders, Norm Levine, Franklin Roach, Mary Lou Armstrong, and visiting journalism grad student Herbert Strentz hold a meeting about a “case book” of significant cases. Condon tries to dissuade Saunders and Levine from pursuing this, but they prevail. (Swords 320)
July — Even though the Colorado project is requesting UFO reports from NICAP, Keyhoe is withholding them. Roy Craig discovers the Low memorandum while searching for unrelated information in the files. He shares it with Norm Levine and David R. Saunders, who realize that it clearly implies that the project is a “whitewash noninvestigation.” The memo makes the rounds of project personnel, then gets refiled. (Keyhoe, Aliens from Space, Signet ed., 1974, p. 121; UFOs Yes, 135; Clark III 1196–1197; Clark IV 1371)
July — 10:00 p.m. A witness sees an intense orange light through the window of her home in the Mount Lofty Ranges, South Australia. She calls her mother and they go outside to watch a cigar-shaped light hovering, moving up and down slightly, and turning over on its side. It has portholes around its lower edge. After 20 minutes, it moves off to the western horizon at a high rate of speed. (“ Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 6 (June 1978): 2)
July 1 — The Denver Post reveals that the Colorado project has requested an additional $280,000 to extend it into September. Condon is upset. USAF ultimately approves an additional $183,155, plus $29,750 for expenses, bringing the total to $525,905. (UFOs Yes, 182)
July 3 - An informant of Leonard H. Stringfield, a Marine PFC K-9 trainer stationed at Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California, is ordered to depart by airplane to a site "somewhere in the desert." He and his dogs are flown for 2.5 hours to the site, where a makeshift landing strip, tents, a Quonset hut, and a pre-fab hangar have been erected. He is assigned a post for guard duty. On his fourth day of duty, he manages to look inside the hangar and sees a metallic domed disc about 30 feet in diameter. Men are working around the craft, and he sees a large walk-in refrigerator on skids and several empty body bags. He is caught by a guard and taken to the officer in command, who confines him to quarters and sends him back to Camp Pendleton. (Leonard H. Stringfield, UFO Crash Retrievals: Status Report III, Amassing the Evidence, The Author, June 1982, pp. 86-88)
July 3 — 5:30 p.m. Warren Smith and two friends hiking in the mountains near Highwood Ranger Station, 50 miles southwest of Calgary, Alberta, take two color photos of a daylight disc that appears to be about 25 feet in diameter. The disc appears from less than 2 miles away and at an altitude of approximately 2,000 feet. It travels toward the hikers, gradually losing altitude, then at a distance of about one-half mile it hovers for a moment and an object appears to fall from it. It disappears from sight at treetop level at great speed. The photos are examined by both Canadian and American authorities; Hynek describes them as some of the best photos on record at the time. An analysis by Canadian National Defence finds the object is an oblate ellipsoid with a diameter of 40–50 feet and a thickness of 11–14 feet. The witnesses sign statutory declarations to the effect that the photos are not a hoax; if proven false, they would be subject to prosecution under the Canada Evidence Act. Nevertheless, the Colorado Committee thinks the object could be a hoaxed hand-thrown model. Ground Saucer Watch declares it genuine. (Canada, National Research Council, [ case documents], 1967, pp. 13–33; Condon, pp. 469–475; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 67–68; Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979, pp. 9–13; Wendelle C. Stevens, “ Hikers near Calgary Photograph a UFO in 1967,” OpenMinds, November 24, 2010; Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 119–125, 158–159)
July 3 - 7:15 p.m. Joe Ferriere sees a large, cigar-shaped object about 75-100 feet long hanging low in the sky above Woonsocket, Rhode Island. A peculiar piston-like apparatus appears to be pumping in and out of its left end. It is moving right to left in the manner of a pendulum. Before it moves off to the east, it releases a glowing disc-shaped object, about 12-15 feet in diameter. He takes a total of 6 photos of the objects. (" Long Rectangular UFOs: Five Different Cases of Similarly Shaped Objects," CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 9 (September 1981): 1; " Cigar-Shaped UFOs Caught on Camera by Joseph Ferriere and Harold Trudel, 1967/68," Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, January 17, 2023)
July 3 — 9:15 p.m. Thomas H. Nicholl, his family, and another couple, Mr. and Mrs. John Dowd, are sitting on the Nicholls’s porch in Leawood, Kansas, when they see an unusual orange-red light approach from the north-northeast. It is bright metallic in color, about 50 feet in diameter, and traveling 100 mph at an altitude of 2,000–3,000 feet. The red-orange color emanates from three lights on the rear side. After 5 minutes, the object blows up, leaving in its wake a “nearly pure white” cloud that dissipates. The witnesses see fragments falling to earth. (“ Exploding Disc,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 11 (May 1969): 7–8; Clark III 340–341; Clark IV 377)
July 4 — 5:15 a.m. At least five witnesses from two independent locations about 5 miles west of Corning, California, see an oblong, metallic-appearing object with a brilliant light on top and a smaller light on the bottom near the front. Jay Munger, proprietor of an all-night bowling alley, and two police officers, Frank Rakes and James Overton, describe it as a dark-gray flattened sphere with a brilliant light beam on top directed upward, and a smaller and dimmer light on the bottom directed downward. A dark band circles the midsection. Two men north of Corning independently see the object. The witnesses estimate a diameter of 50–100 feet. At first the object appears to be hovering, then it moves slowly a few hundred feet above the ground, finally picking up speed and disappearing from view to the south after being visible for about 10 minutes. (James E. McDonald, “ Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, p. 74)
July 5 — 4:20 a.m. A motorist on State Highway 31, near the Depot Road area of Coventry, Connecticut, sees an orange ball of light that appears to be hanging from a tree. He drives into Coventry and reports the matter to the police but the object is gone when they arrive on the scene. Investigators from the University of Colorado and APRO find an area of grass some yards from the location that appears to have been swirled flat as if subject to a rotating force. A photograph taken of the scene turns out black. (Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, p. 63; Condon, pp. 329–331)
July 5 — Night. A witness is driving five miles north-northeast of Murray Bridge, South Australia, on the Karoonda Highway when he notices interference on the car radio, which becomes a high-pitched whine. He turns the radio off. Within 300–450 feet, his car engine stops by itself. The ignition is on but the warning lights on the dash come on. Looking up, he sees a distinct break in the fog with stars visible and a “large dark shadow” at a height of 20 feet. The shadow seems 120 feet thick. Above it is a grayish-blue glow. The top of the shadow appears convex. He stops the vehicle and gets out to look, but the shadow and light are gone. There is no sound, and the object has vanished. The witness returns to the vehicle, tries the ignition, and the motor works. There is no longer radio interference. (Herbert S. Taylor, “ An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part Two,” IUR 34, no. 1 (September 2011): 19)
July 6 — The Colorado project staff meet again to nominate the first set of UFO reports for its “case book.” Condon refuses to nominate a case, but Low proposes the Red Bluff police report of August 1960, which is far outside Condon’s concept of limiting cases to no more than a year old. (Swords 120)
July 6 — 6:00 p.m. An Air Canada DC-9 Vanguard has just taken off from its stop in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and is heading east. Air traffic controllers notice an unexpected radar return, also heading east, near the aircraft. In the space of 70 seconds, they watch the target accelerate from 800 to more than 4,000 mph before it zips off the scope near the town of Vivian. At 9:24 p.m., a radar operator in the airport at Kenora, Ontario, notes an unidentified target heading northeast. It approaches to about 40 miles, then turns and retreats to 50 miles away. At 9:35 p.m. another target appears, following an Air Canada flight; it turns northeast and disappears from the scope. At 9:53 p.m., an additional blip follows another Air Canada airliner before veering away to the northeast. None of the pilots see anything unusual. (Gregory M. Kanon, “ UFOs and the Canadian Government,” Canadian UFO Report 3, no. 6 (1975): 21; Good Above, p. 200; Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 57, 126–128)
July 7 — 11:30 p.m. Antonio Brambilla and another man watch a UFO land on some grass in a deserted part of the Rondò-Torretta quarter in Milan, Italy. A glow comes from the object, which is about 21 feet in diameter and 8 feet high. It has a dome on top and four telescopic legs with spheres on their tips. They feel a strange vibration that makes them weak, but the feeling dissipates as the legs of the UFO retract and it takes off. (1Pinotti 157)
July 10 — 8:45 a.m. Two students at Whippingham Primary School, Isle of Wight, England, see a milky- white stationary object in the northern sky. At 10:30 a.m. they see it again at playground recess, moving in a westerly direction with a fluttering motion, before being lost beyond a line of trees. On the way home, one of the students notices some marks in a barley field adjoining the playground. Further investigation reveals a circle of damaged stalks up to 18 feet wide. Other marks are found to the north and west through aerial photography. Much of the damage coincides with the spot over which the students had seen the UFO. (Leonard G. Cramp, “ The Whippingham Ground Effects,” Flying Saucer Review 14, no. 3 (May/June 1968): 3–8)
July 10 — Evening. Philip Lansing is driving south of Meridian, Mississippi, when his car coasts to a stop and the radio fades. As he gets out to check the engine, a large object like a cymbal on a drum set passes 200–300 feet above him. It is silent except for the sound of rushing air. Before reaching some trees, it tilts upward, moves to the right, then accelerates at an angle and disappears in the distance. ( Sparks, p. 325; Kevin D. Randle, The UFO Casebook, Ballantine, 1989, pp. 134–135)
July 13 — 11:26 p.m. Robert Richardson and Jerry Quay are driving near Whitehouse, Ohio. When rounding a bend, they encounter a brilliant blue-white light blocking the road. It appears to be a triangle 8 feet tall and 21 feet wide. Richardson brakes and close their eyes. They feel a bump but can see nothing. The local police do not take the incident seriously. However, the accident is investigated by the state police and highway patrol, who find only skid marks at the scene. The next day Richardson returns to the site and finds a piece of metal in the road. Marks on his car hood and bumper suggest a collision with an object taking off. On July 18 and 23, Richardson is visited by mysterious men, those on the second occasion being foreign-looking, who make a threat against his wife. Roy Craig of the Colorado project conducts a test on the metal and finds it consists of iron and chromium, with traces of nickel and manganese. Fibrous material from the front bumper is 92% magnesium, 5% aluminum, 2% zinc, and 1% manganese. (“ UAO Struck by Automobile in Ohio,” APRO Bulletin, July/Aug. 1967, pp. 1, 3; Condon, p. 93; Jacques Vallée, “ Physical Analyses in Ten Cases of Unexplained Aerial Objects with Material Samples,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 12, no. 3 (1998): 367–372; Irena Scott, UFOs and the Millennium, Greyden, 1999, pp. 84–85; Mark Rodeghier, “ UFO/Vehicle Very Close Encounters,” IUR 27, no. 1 (Spring 2002): 25–26)
July 17 — 11:25 p.m. Emma Funk is driving on State Highway 22 north of Millerton, New York, when a black, shiny object the size of a baseball flies into her headlight beams. It heads toward the windshield, brushes against it, then veers off to the left. As it brushes, her car lights up “like a great electric light bulb,” her engine quits, and the headlights go out. Funk is stunned, and when she regains her senses, the car is facing the opposite direction, toward the south. The engine starts up normally, but there is a cracked area in the windshield the size of a fist. She can’t account for about 15 minutes. (“ Object Hit Car in Millerton; Engine Stalled, Lights Went Out,” Poughkeepsie (N.Y.) Journal, July 19, 1967, p. 6; Mark Rodeghier, “ UFO/Vehicle Very Close Encounters,” IUR 27, no. 1 (Spring 2002): 24–25)
July 20–21 — 11:30 p.m. Barbara Fawcett is driving alone on North Key Largo, Florida, near Jewfish Creek. She sees a large light in her rear-view mirror apparently following the car. The burning yellow light seems to be floating 6–8 feet off the ground, and it stays over the road. She accelerates to 100 mph as the light overtakes her car and seems to be about to land on top of it. As a car approaches in the opposite direction, the object emits a bright yellow glow that lights up the road and then disappears. She decides to return home to Pompano Beach with her sister the same morning, and at 2:30 a.m. they are on US Highway 1 near the same spot when she sees the light again, rising from a swamp and moving toward them 15 feet above the ground. Her sister’s toy poodle is terrified. The light veers away from the road and appears to land on a sand dune. (“ Landing in Florida,” APRO Bulletin, July/Aug. 1967, p. 7)
July 21 — Ronnie Hill, 14, of Pamlico County, North Carolina, sends a color photo of what looks like a little man in a spacesuit standing in front of a spherical UFO to a New York magazine editor. It winds up in the hands of John A. Keel. Hill tells him the UFO landed in his backyard. Keel gathers affidavits from Ronnie’s teachers, parents, and the local 4-H club, and submits the photo to “several professional photographers” in New York, who cannot find evidence of a hoax. Soon, however, Keel has doubts and the photo is revealed to be that of a small model positioned in front of an egg. (John A. Keel, “ The ‘Little Man’ of North Carolina,” Flying Saucer Review 15, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1969): 15–16; “ Doubts about ‘Little Man’ Photograph,” Flying Saucer Review 15, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1969): 11; Margaret Sachs, The UFO Encyclopedia, Putnam, 1980, p. 230; Bob Rickard, “Shooting Aliens,” Fortean Times 80 (May 1995): 22–26; Aaron Sakulich, “ The Strange Tale of Ronnie Hill,” The Iron Skeptic, January 13, 2007; Clark III 603; Clark IV 662–663)
July 24 — In reply to a question by MP Edward M. Taylor, Secretary of State for Defence Merlyn Rees reiterates that UFO reports are investigated, but nothing of “defence interest” has been found. (Isaac Koi, “ UFOs in Parliament (UK),” Isaac Koi—UFOs and Parliament, 2024)
July 25 — 10:30 p.m. LaVern Affeldt is outside doing chores on his farm near Garrison, North Dakota, when he notices his cattle are nervous, and his dog is whining and looking off toward the east. Glancing in that direction, he sees a circular, glowing blue-white object hovering near a Minuteman missile site about one mile away. He calls his family and they see it too. Shortly afterward the object moves straight north, darting with rapid bursts of speed, then slowing to a stop again. Each time it accelerates, its color changes to bright red, then gradually back to blue-white as it slows down and stops. It is moving up and down as well as horizontally, almost touching the ground at times, and revolving. Finally it moves away to the north and blinks out. (UFOEv II 212–213; Covert 69)
July 26 — 8:38 p.m. Capt. Shindler is piloting Pacific Western Airlines Flight 748 westbound near the Westfall River in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia. He notices a small pink light moving erratically at about 16,000 feet. It zips away after 18 minutes. Radar operators in Kamloops also observe the object. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, p. 128)
July 30 — 6:15 p.m. The Naviero, a ship of the Argentine Shipping Lines Company, is 120 miles off the coast of Garopaba, Santa Catarina, Brazil, when Office Jorge Montoya notices a strange object in the ocean about 50 feet away on the starboard side. Capt. Julián Lucas Ardanza comes to the deck and sees a cigar-shaped UFO about 110 feet long, glowing blue and white. It paces the ship for 15 minutes, then suddenly dives and passes underneath the ship, vanishing in the depths. Chief Officer Carlos Lasca describes the object as a “submergible UFO with its own illumination.” (“ Stop Press Item,” APRO Bulletin, July/Aug. 1967, p. 1; Oscar A. Galíndez, “ Crew of Argentine Ship See Submarine UFO,” Flying Saucer Review 14, no. 2 (March/April 1968): 22; Carl Feindt, “ Report #362,” waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 298–299)
July 30 — 10:17 p.m. George and Brownie Petyak see a bright yellow star-like light at about 65° elevation to the east of Kernville, California. It is later joined by a second similar object appearing to try to “steer” the first onto a “definite course.” Through binoculars the first object appears bright blue. A second independent observation from Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in the Mojave Desert locates an object visually and/or on radar to the west over Walker Pass (about 20 miles) and is reported to Edwards AFB. Thus the visual sighting lines intersect from opposite directions. A controller at Edwards uses RAPCON (Radar Approach Control) radar (or Boron AFS FPS-35 search radar) and confirms the visual report at China Lake but tries to dismiss the 115 mph target as merely civil aircraft that “frequently” fly over the area. The Kernville witnesses report by phone during their sighting to the Boron AFS ADC radar site. Blue Book claims the date of the sighting is in question because the questionnaire sent to the Petyaks uses the military time (Greenwich Meridian Time or Zulu time) instead of local time. (NICAP, “ Radar/Visual and Sighting Lines Intersect”; Sparks, p. 326; Condon, p. 122; Clark III 392; Clark IV 438)
July 31 — 10:15 p.m. Sidney Zipkin is driving a truck on Main Street in Churchville, New York, when he sees a cigar-shaped object about 50 feet long in a parking lot. It has greenish blinking lights underneath it, on or near the ground. He shines the truck headlights on the object and sees two small men in shiny black uniforms board the object, which takes off straight up. (“ UFOs in Churchville?” Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle, August 3, 1967, pp. 1B–2B; Diana Walsh Pasulka, Encounters: Experiences with Nonhuman Intelligences, St. Martins, 2023, pp. 206–211)
August — At the request of President Johnson, the CIA sets up Operation CHAOS to gather intelligence about foreign influence on American dissent. Its mission is to gather and evaluate all information about foreign links to racial, antiwar, and other protest activity. The operation is launched under DCI Richard Helms and counter-intelligence chief James Jesus Angleton, and headed by Richard Ober. The program runs through 1973, amassing 10,000 files on more than 300,000 individuals and 100 domestic groups. The operation also infiltrates foreign intelligence targets and domestic radical organizations. The NSA assists in the surveillance with its own Project MINARET. Operating between 1967 and 1973, over 5,925 foreigners and 1,690 organizations and US citizens are included on the Project MINARET watch lists. NSA Director Lew Allen testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee in 1975 that the NSA has issued over 3,900 reports on the watch-listed Americans. At some point, the NSA is tasked with monitoring the overseas telephone calls and cable traffic of two prominent members of Congress, Sen. Frank Church (D-Idaho) and Sen. Howard Baker (R-Tenn.). The FBI begins COINTELPRO–BLACK HATE, which focuses on Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference as well as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, the Revolutionary Action Movement, the Deacons for Defense and Justice, Congress of Racial Equality, and the Nation of Islam. BLACK HATE establishes the Ghetto Informant Program and instructs 23 FBI offices to “disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize the activities of black nationalist hate type organizations.” (Wikipedia, “ Operation CHAOS”; Wikipedia, “ Project MINARET”; Wikipedia, “ COINTELPRO”; Matthew M. Ald and William Burr, “ Secret Cold War Documents Reveal NSA Spied on Senators,” Foreign Policy, September 25, 2013)
August — 2:00 a.m. A man is returning to his mother’s home in Wapakoneta, Ohio, when he sees a strangely bright star to the left of Polaris. As he watches, it grows a bit brighter and begins to move directly beneath Polaris and then continues to the right. It repeats this in reverse and then goes under Polaris and stops. The star then migrates north and south, tracing out the elements of a large cross. It does this several times rapidly. Then it comes back below Polaris and just sits there. After nearly 3 hours, the witness decides to stop watching. At that, the star goes up to Polaris and shoots away to the left. (Michael D. Swords, “ We Know Where You Live,” IUR 30, no. 2 (January 2006): 11)
August 1 — 2:08 a.m. Len Filppu is camping out with some other teenagers in the backyard of his friend Timothy Hurley in Brockport, New York. While gazing at the sky, he sees a huge orange sphere with red, orange, and yellow flames glide horizontally and silently across the horizon, followed by a white, star-sized light behind it. It seems to be only 90 feet away at an altitude of 200 feet, moving from west-northwest to east- southeast. He wakes the other boys up and they see it as well. After 30 seconds, it moves out of sight. Others in the area witness a similar light. (“ Geneseo Men Report UFO,” Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle, August 4, 1967, p. 4B; Diana Walsh Pasulka, Encounters: Experiences with Nonhuman Intelligences, St. Martins, 2023, pp. 200–214)
August 3 — 8:00 p.m. Amauri Barbosa da Silva and Jonil Faydit Vieira are driving on the road to Japeri from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, when they see several yellowish lights that eventually extinguish themselves, one at a time. Later, they see similar lights positioned directly in front of them. Da Silva blinks his headlights, and the lights respond similarly. The lights maintain their position in front of them, moving from one side of the road to the other. When they are approaching Miguel Pereira on a mud road between Arcádia and La Chaumiere, they see two bright beams of light, one yellow and one blue, about 1,000 feet away from them on the right, apparently attached to the dome of a disc. The object follows them for at least 40 minutes and is seen by Nelson Gonçalves Ferreira at their destination in Miguel Pereira. (Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, pp. 16–21)
August 3 - 11:30 p.m. A married couple and their teenage son are sleeping in their car outside their home in Caracas, Venezuela. They wake up and see a white, disc-shaped object hovering 100 feet above a nearby palm tree. Within a few minutes, an opening appears in the UFO, and a smaller lightbulb-shaped object emerges and drifts downward, stopping just inches from the ground near their front porch. A door slides open and a small, glowing figure steps out, who bends over, picks up some stones, examines them, and looks up at the larger object, apparently communicating with someone. He looks toward their car frequently. After a few minutes, the figure reenters the small object, which returns to the large disc and enters it. The disc speeds away and disappears in seconds. (" Occupants Seen at Caracas," APRO Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1967, p. 12)
August 4 — Early morning. An engineer, Hugo Sierra Yepez [or Yepes], is fishing from his boat in the sea about 15 miles north of Arrecife [or La Guaira], Vargas, Venezuela, when he feels a vibration and the water begins to boil “in big bubbles, in a circle about six meters in diameter.” A gray-blue, flat globe emerges. As it hovers close to the surface, dripping water, he notices a revolving rim with triangular windows of blue and red. It ascends in a curve then shoots upward. (“ The Question of Submerging UFO’s,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 5 (March 1968): 5; Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, p. 54; UFOEv II 46–47; Carl Feindt, “ Report #364,” waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 299–300)
August 4 — Night. A bright object appears in the sky in the area of Morro do Policia in Porto Alegre, Brazil, for 30 minutes and is photographed by Brazilian Air Force technician Otacilio Freitas Dias. It flies in an erratic zigzag path, sometimes slowly, at other times at high speed, and sometimes hovering. (Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, pp. 67–68)
August 5 — Morning. After a night of heavy rain, Edgar Schielke finds a circular mark more than 30 feet in diameter in his cow pasture near Duhamel, Alberta. A UFO group from Edmonton visits the field and finds three additional rings. An RCAF team from CFB Namao [now CFB Edmonton], along with Gareth H. S. Jones of the Defense Research Establishment Suffield [now DRDC Suffield], visits the farm on August 11 after much of the evidence has been trampled. Jones finds two more rings. The marks vary from 5 to 7 inches wide and from 31 feet 9 inches to 36 feet 3 inches, and each is incomplete on its western side. He is puzzled as to what made the marks, can find no evidence of a hoax, and seriously considers whether an aerial object (which he estimates must weigh as much as 270,000 pounds) could have made them. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 162–165, 197–205; Chet Dembeck, “ Declassified Report: 1967 Canadian Crop Circles Likely Made by ‘135-Ton Spacecraft’,” Unknown Boundaries, November 14, 2023)
August 6 — Office worker Antonio Neri Perez and several others watch three glowing red discs take off in V formation from a field near their house in Tetepango, Hidalgo, Mexico. (Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, p. 65)
August 6 - 7:55-8:20 p.m. Formations of lights in groups of 3-5 are seen in many states of Mexico, including Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Hidalgo, Veracruz, and Lake Pátzcuaro in Michoacán. Most are generally moving west to east. Many people at the Mexico City International Airport watch a group between 8:10 and 8:20 p.m. Technicians in the control tower can make out 9-10 objects through binoculars. Capt. Angel Fojo Ceballos and Capt. José Luis Espejo are flying an Aeronaves de México [now Aeroméxico] DC-9 at 23,000 feet over Salamanca, Guanajuato, Mexico. They see three bright points flying in formation from northwest to southeast an estimated 30-40 miles away. They cross the horizon at 55,000-60,000 feet in 40-45 seconds. One of the objects appears to break formation and approach the aircraft, showing a round shape and metallic composition, but then it veers away and out of sight. The events are thought to be the reentry of the Pioneer 7 rocket body that had launched from Cape Canaveral on August 15, 1966. (Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, pp. 65-67)
August 6 - 8:00 p.m. A Peruvian airliner piloted by Capt. Samuel Sanguaza, copilot César Jordan, and subofficers Oscar Guevara and Jorge Sarguaza encounters a globe of light while flying between Lima, and Pisco, Peru. The light changes color from red to orange and blue as it paces the aircraft for 15 minutes, bobbing up and down, moving closer and receding, before it zooms away as the airplane nears Pisco. (" Plane Buzzed by UAO," APRO Bulletin, September/October 1967, p. 13; Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, pp. 21-22)
August 8 — Evangelical pastor Estanislao Lugo Contreras is on the shore at Las Salinas (6 miles north of Los Arrecifes), Falcón, Venezuela, when he sees the water stirring up in a vast round area. The water begins to turn light blue, then whitish, yellowish, then brilliant orange. An orange disc rises out of the sea about 1,650 feet from shore, hovers, then rises obliquely and disappears. It makes an intense buzzing sound. (Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, pp. 54–55; Carl Feindt, “ Report #366,” waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 299–300)
August 8 — 8:40 p.m. An object shaped like a sharply outlined asymmetrical crescent flies over the Kislovodsk Mountain Astronomical Station near Kislovodsk, North Caucasus, Russia. The object is slightly smaller than the moon with a color described as reddish by some observers, yellow by others. It flies from west to east about 20° above the horizon, moving from the Big Dipper to Cassiopeia in about 30 seconds at a uniform speed. The witnesses are Anatoli Sazanov, a specialist in the ionosphere; V. A. Tsion of the Leningrad Polytechnical Institute; and seven members of a biological expedition. (Felix Ziegel, “ Unidentified Flying Objects,” Soviet Life, no. 137 (February 1968): 28; James E. McDonald, “ Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, p. 61; Hobana and Weverbergh 288– 289; Jacques Vallée, UFO Chronicles of the Soviet Union: A Cosmic Samizdat, Ballantine, 1992, p. 192)
August 10 — 9:30 p.m. Harry E. King and Michael Swartz see a bright round ball, about 50–60 feet in diameter, in the air about 1,300 feet away near Winter Haven, Florida. It hovers for 3–4 minutes, then moves slowly for a quarter mile, rises, shoots away, and disappears in one second. At 10:00 p.m., they watch a bright light descend for 5 minutes, move back and forth for one minute, then suddenly disappear. (NICAP case file)
August 12 — 2:30 a.m. Robert P. Miedtke and his wife are sleeping in a camper on property belonging to some relatives on County Highway I some 11 miles west of Ogema, Wisconsin. They are awakened by their dog barking outside. They look out the window and see a large, fluorescent, half-moon-shaped object in a neighboring pasture about 450 feet away. It is shining a beam of light at a milk house only 25 feet from their camper. The dog has stopped barking and they can hear none of the usual night sounds. After about one hour, they hear the sound of someone walking in the gravel and sand outside. Three times the footsteps are heard going from north to south. The Miedtkes remain in bed, hoping no one would know they are in the camper. After another hour, just before dawn, they hear the dog whimpering and barking, followed by the muffled noise like a huge generator that fades away after 6–8 seconds. (“ Possible Landing in Wisconsin,” APRO Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1967, p. 11; Allen Utke, “ Flying Saucers, Cigars, Triangles—Even Beehives Have Been Reported by Observers,” Appleton (Wis.) Post- Crescent, April 21, 1968, pp. V6–V7)
August 13 — 8:00 p.m. Between Pilar de Goiás and Crixás, Goiás, Brazil, a plantation worker at the Estancia de Santa Maria, Ignácio da Souza, is returning home from work when he and his wife see an object in the form of an upside-down basin 115 feet in diameter sitting on the landing strip of the ranch. They initially think it is some flying machine tested by the ranch owner, Ibiracy de Moraes, a wealthy man and former president of the Bank of Brazil. Between the object and the couple, there are three humanoid, child-size beings that they initially think are naked children before realizing that they are hairless creatures wearing a tight suit of yellow. The beings seem to be playing around silently, but then move quickly towards them. Da Souza tells his wife to lock herself up in their house. He is armed with a rifle and frightened, so da Souza shoots the closest of the beings. At the same time, the UFO emits a ray of green light that hits him, throwing him to the ground unconscious. Seeing her husband fall from the kitchen window, his wife runs onto the scene shouting, interposes herself between the beings and the body of her husband, and picks up his rifle. But during this time the beings have retrieved the one that had fallen to ground and quickly flee to enter the craft. After a short time, it slowly rises vertically while emitting a buzz similar to that of a swarm of bees. Taken to the hospital of Goiânia, the state capital, de Souza suffers from nausea and a general numbness. Burns are noted, initially attributed to a toxic plant, but when de Souza and de Moraes hear the erroneous diagnosis and are told what had happened, doctors perform a blood analysis that returns with a diagnosis of advanced leukemia with life expectancy of two months. Da Souza quickly deteriorates, suffers, develops yellowish spots, and dies on October 11. In accordance with his instructions, his wife burns the bed, the mattress, and the clothing that he has used. (“ Brazil in Throes of Big Flap,” APRO Bulletin, Mar./Apr. 1969, pp. 1, 5; Clark III 353–354; Brazil 85–88; Clark IV 292–293, 396–397; Patrick Gross, URECAT, August 15, 2006)
Mid-August — About 12:00 noon. Electrical engineer Albert Fulton and superintendent Sherman Anderson are making rounds at the Nova Scotia Light and Power substation in Caledonia, Nova Scotia. They notice steam rising from one of three large transformers, then Fulton spots two silvery disc-shaped objects maneuvering around the sky some distance away. The pair watches them a they zip back and forth in different directions from horizon to horizon in 3–4 seconds. Each time they leave a silvery line about 10 times their length behind them, which disappears when the objects stop. They watch this spectacle for about one minute, then both discs come to a common point in front of a suddenly visible gray, cigar-shaped object. After stopping briefly the two smaller objects merge into the cigar, taking 12–15 seconds. The large object disappears. (Herbert S. Taylor, “ Satellite Objects: A Further Look,” IUR 29, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 4–5)
August 18 — A CIA report summarizes interviews with unnamed Russian astronomers that may possibly have been conducted by members of the Condon commission. (Central Intelligence Agency, “ Report on Conversations with Soviet Scientists on Subject of Unidentified Flying Objects in the USSR,” August 18, 1967; Good Above, pp. 230–231)
August 22–31 — Low, Roach, and Hynek attend the XIIIth General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union in Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic]. Low wastes an opportunity to meet with Charles Bowen in London, England, and instead goes to Loch Ness, Scotland, “because neither the Loch Ness monster nor UFOs exist.” (Michael D. Swords, “ The USAF-Sponsored Colorado Project for the Scientific Study of UFOs,” 1995 MUFON Symposium Proceedings, MUFON, 1995, pp. 149–163; Good Above, p. 230; Swords 321; Clark III 1195; Clark IV 1369)
August 23 - 4:00 a.m. Stanley Moxon is driving on Ontario Highway 15 between Joyceville, Ontario, and Pine Grove Road when he sees a green light in a field to the south. He turns off his lights and drives down a side road to get closer. Minutes later, he turns on his lights again and they shine on a huge metallic disc hovering just above the ground. Two entities, 4 feet tall and dressed in white suits and helmets, appear to be startled and hurry back into the craft, which takes off at tremendous speed. (" Police File Remains Open in Flying Saucer Incident," Kingston (Ont.) Whig-Standard, August 24, 1967, p. 11; " Occupant in Ontario," APRO Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1967, p. 14; " Canada's Year of Invasion, Part 3," Canadian UFO Report 1, no. 8 (Fall 1970): 17-19; Bob Gribble, " Looking Back," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 232 (August 1987): 19; UFOEv II 480)
August 23 — 8:00 p.m. Two 15-year-olds are strolling around the Kolmården ridge area in Östergötland, Sweden, when they see a reddish glow moving back and forth in the nearby woods. Continuing home, they run across a locked, deserted shack that seems to have some yellowish lights moving around in one room and noises like muted thuds. The red glow reappears moving close to the ground from the west. Suddenly it turns brilliant white and appears to land on the other side of a brook. They run home and see a huge light like a flashlight hovering 13 feet above the ground near the house. They hear a whistling sound coming from the brook and what seem to be footsteps coming toward them. They run to a ravine where they see, about 35 feet away, a small being with a disproportionately large head and wearing dark clothing. It lifts its arms and seems to be holding a box-like apparatus with a tube. Two thin, wire-like bands appear around the creature’s ankles and give off an intense white light. They run home again. The next day they return to where the being was and find some odd three-toed footprints about 6 inches long. (“ ‘Monster’ Report from Sweden,” APRO Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1967, pp. 1, 5; Sven Schalin, “ Was This Creature a Visitor from Space?” Saucers, Space, and Science, no. 53 (Fall 1968): 13–14; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story. Signet, 1969, pp. 278–280)
August 24 — 5:00 p.m. Ron Hydes is riding his motorcycle near Wodonga, Victoria, Australia, when he is surrounded by a blinding blue-white light that illuminates the road. As he stops, a bright lens-shaped domed disc, estimated to be 25–30 feet in diameter, descends within a few feet of the ground about 100 feet away. Two humanoids about 5–5.5 feet tall with round helmets and silver coveralls emerge. One steps nearer to the witness, who flees. The object, surrounded by a pinkish glow, follows the motorcycle at about 100 feet off the ground. Hydes can hear a humming sound above the motorcycle’s engine. He stops again and the object hovers, the hum subsiding. After 30 seconds, the color around the object changes from pink to brilliant red, and it tilts up at a 45° angle, then shoots away. (“ Occupants Attempt to Lure Motorcyclist,” APRO Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1967, pp. 13–14; “ Alleged Landing near Wodonga,” Australian Flying Saucer Review, no. 8 (1968): 4–5; Bob Gribble, “ Looking Back,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 232 (August 1987): 19–20; UFOEv II 480)
August 25 or 27 — 5:00 p.m. Ruben Norato sees a “precipitous movement of the water” from the beach at Catia La Mar, Vargas, Venezuela, from which arise “three huge plate-shaped discs” that streak out of sight. (“ The Question of Submerging UFO’s,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 5 (March 1968): 4, 5; Carl Feindt, “ Report #367,” waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 300–301)
August 27 — David R. Saunders proposes to the Colorado project team that they issue technical reports on whatever phase or case they have concentrated on. These will be circulated among the staff for review but not for veto. They would stand as the author’s own work without censure. Appropriate disclaimers would be attached before they are issued to the public. A final report might be cobbled together from these technical reports. Condon and Low apparently disapprove of this immediately. (David R. Saunders, “ Outline of a Possible Alternative ‘Final Report’—Which Would Be Authored by EUC and His Ghosts,” memorandum, August 27, 1967; Swords 323)
August 27 — 11:20 p.m. Kenneth Flack is passing a car near Texas Creek, Colorado, when his engine and car lights fail. He pulls to the side of the road, along with the car he is passing and a camper-trailer. He sees a large object in a field some 900–1,200 feet away. It is football-shaped and silvery. He approaches it on foot and is hit by a bright light coming from the object that knocks him out. Bystanders from other cars carry him back to the roadside and tell him that he had been frozen in a standing position for 5 minutes. Flack is intensely cold and sleepy, so another unidentified driver gives him a ride back to Pueblo in a camper (“ 1967 Landing in Colorado,” APRO Bulletin, March/April 1969, pp. 3–4; Lorenzen, The Shadow of the Unknown, New American Library, 1970, pp. 138–139; Herbert S. Taylor, “ An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part Two,” IUR 34, no. 1 (September 2011): 21; Randle, Levelland, 2021, pp. 143–144; CUFOS case file)
August 28–29 — 11:30 p.m.–1:10 a.m. Leslie and Jacqueline Dowdell see a 3–4 dancing lights zigzagging to the northeast over Rivers, Manitoba. The lights resolve into one object the color of a mandarin orange that hovers for 2–3 minutes, changing colors, before zooming away to the north. At 12:30 a.m., Cpl. A. Fedun of CFB Rivers [now closed] sees a round ball of orange light moving northwest. At 12:45 a.m., Commissionaire G. Stefanson hears a loud noise, and LAC J. Hebert and Judy Ross, driving one mile east of Rivers, watch a white flashing light that remains stationary for 30–50 seconds. They later find some odd dust on their car and some bubbling of the paint on the top. At 1:00 a.m., Cpl. K. McArthur hears another loud blast that rattles windows on the base. At 1:10 a.m., LAC K. Taylor, 8 miles east of Rivers, sees a red ball of flame trailed by a blue light at 3,000–4,000 feet. An investigating team from RCAF Training Command Headquarters in Winnipeg immediately comes out to investigate. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 251–260)
August 29 — 10:30 a.m. François Delpeuch, 13, and his sister Anne-Marie, 9, are herding cows at Cussac, Cantal, France. They see four small black beings about 47 inches tall with large heads and pointed chins around a landed sphere 15 feet in diameter. As the UFO begins to take off, the beings are sucked into it head-first, and it leaves very quickly in a blinding light. The police note “sulfur odor and the dried grass” at the landing spot. The case is reopened and studied in depth by Claude Poher. (Wikipedia, “ Rencontre de Cussac”; “ Occupants In France,” APRO Bulletin, July/Aug. 1968, pp. 1, 4; Jöel Mesnard and Claude Pavy, “ Encounter with Devils,” Flying Saucer Review 14, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1968): 7–9; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story. Signet, 1969, pp. 280–282; [Claude Poher], “ Enquête sur l’Observation du 29.08.67 de Cussac (Cantal),” Groupe d’Étude des Phénomènes Aérospatiaux Non- identifiés, Centre Nationale d’Étude Spatiales, 1978; Gildas Bourdais, “ The Death and Rebirth of Official French UFO Studies,” IUR 31, no. 2 (June 2007): 16)
September? — David R. Saunders and Levine visit Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio to look at the Project Blue Book files. They find cases stored adjacent to the official files, and some in a classified safe. Saunders also finds problems when he examines the statistics in Blue Book Special Report no. 14. Plus all of Battelle’s original IBM cards have been thrown away. (UFOs Yes, 115–116)
September — 1:30 a.m. Capt. Grigory Demyanovich Oleynikov of the Russian fishing boat Kama is in Vyborg Bay in western Russia when he notices a luminescent, milky-white disc descending through the cloud layer. It stops and hovers at an altitude of 1,300 feet and seems to have a diameter of about 50 feet. The bottom portion contains nozzles that emit flames. Athen in complete silence it takes off straight up. (Stonehill and Mantle, Russia’s USO Secrets, Flying Disk, 2020, p. 153)
September — The Midwest UFO Network publishes its first issue of Skylook. ( Skylook 1, no. 1 (September 1967)
September — The CIA staff’s frank opinions on Vietnam are sometimes modified before reaching President Johnson. At one point the CIA analysts estimate enemy strength at 500,000, while the military insists it is only 270,000. No amount of discussion resolves the difference. In September 1967, the CIA under DCI Richard Helms goes along with the military’s lower number for the combat strength of the Vietnamese Communist forces. This leads a CIA analyst directly involved in this work to file a formal complaint against Helms, which is accorded due process within the agency. (Wikipedia, “ Richard Helms”)
September — Afternoon. Paul Stehlin, military aviator and vice-president of Bugatti, is flying his own plane near Vélizy-Villacoublay, Yvelines, France, when he sees a silver, cigar-shaped object beside him. The object accompanies the aircraft for a few minutes, then it accelerates and leaves the plane behind at terrific speed. (NICAP case file)
Early September — Evan Evanson, 18, is returning home in a pickup truck on Highway 36 south of Taber, Alberta, when his engine heats up and he pulls to the side of the road to let it cool off. Through the driver’s window he sees a soundless, green, glowing object like two plates put together. It seems near enough to touch. The music on the truck radio is replaced with a beeping sound. Suddenly the object disappears, and Evanson notices that the truck engine has stopped. (“ First Sighting of UFO Reported at Taber,” Calgary (Alberta) Herald, September 5, 1967, p. 49)
September 1? — The Colorado project obtains a third-hand report of a UFO sighting at Edwards AFB, California, on or around this date. A civilian employee at the base has seen the report, mentions it to a relative, who then discusses it with a scientist cooperating with the project. According to the story, 6 UFOs follow an X-15 as it lands. When project members call Edwards, they get a runaround. After 2 weeks of phone calls, they find that no X-15 flew on September 1. (There are flights on August 21, 25, and October 3 and 4, however.) But no one denies that a UFO sighting took place. (UFOs Yes, 124–125; Condon, pp. 341–342)
September 4 - 5:10 a.m. Police officer P. A. Andrade is on duty at city hall in Valencia, Venezuela, when he hears a humming noise and footsteps in a nearby garage. He meets a dwarf, 3 feet tall, with a big head and bulging, reddish, glowing eyes, wearing a silver-colored, metallic-looking coverall. Andrade points his automatic weapon at the creature, but a voice from a hovering disc says in Spanish that he should not harm the creature. The dwarf then tries to convince Andrade to "come to their world," adding it is "very distant and much larger than the Earth, and with many advantages for Earthlings." When Andrade declines, the creature flies back into the object, which takes off. (Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, p. 82; Vallée, Magonia, pp. 351-352; Mark Cashman, " Behavioral Classification System for UFO Occupants," IUR 24, no. 1 (Spring 1999): 18)
September 4 - Dawn. A paperboy in Clevedon, England, discovers a 5-foot-wide, saucer- shaped, metallic object in a field. He calls the police, who send it to the guided weapons division of British Aerospace, whose chief design engineer declares it an expensive hoax. Soon five identical objects are found in fields and golf courses in the southern part of England. The sites lie on a straight path 220 miles long that spans 1° of latitude, running west to east from Clevedon to the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. A USAF intelligence officer takes photos of one in Welford, Berkshire, and chemists with Britain's Home Office analyze samples of a foul liquid that is seeping from one of the objects. But the objects are a prank involving 15 engineering apprentices, primarily Christopher Southall and Roger Palmer, at the Royal Aircraft Establishment in Farnborough. The objects are made of fiberglass, and the smelly liquid is a fermented mixture of flour and water. (Wikipedia, " 1967 British flying saucer hoax"; Jenny Randles, UFO Retrievals, Blandford, 1995, pp. 108-111; John Keeling, "Invasion 1967," Fortean Times 228 (November 2007): 32-41; " The Great Saucer Invasion: The Day Six `Spaceships' Landed in England," BBC News, September 3, 2017; Clark III 604-605; Curt Collins, " The UK Saucer Invasion of 1967," The Saucers That Time Forgot, August 30, 2019; Clark IV 664)
September 4 — The Industrial Psychologists’ section of the American Psychological Association sponsors a program on “Problems and Methods of Gathering Data on UFOs.” Participants include Harold Greenwald, Richard H. Hall, Gustave J. Rath, R. Leo Sprinkle, and David R. Saunders. (Story, p. 413)
September 5 — David R. Saunders suggests to Low that his academic commitments might require a reorganization of project duties, namely that Low, Roach, and himself report directly to Condon, with others reporting to them. Low blows up. Low ultimately agrees but replaces Roach with Norm Levine. (UFOs Yes, 139–140)
September 6 — 9:50 p.m. Several witnesses at Meir, Stoke-on-Trent, England, see a vertically oriented “sausage-shaped cloud” in the eastern sky, behind which a light flashes for about 20 seconds at irregular intervals. A bright, glowing orange oval then emerges from the cloud and heads southeast at “fantastic speed.” A light again flashes in the cloud for about 10 seconds, then stops. The mode of disappearance of the cloud is not reported. (Roger Stanway and Anthony R. Pace, Flying Saucer Report, UFOs: Unidentified, Undeniable, Newchapel Observatory, 1968, pp. 14–15; Herbert S. Taylor, “ Cloud Cigars: A Further Look,” IUR 30, no. 3 (May 2006): 12)
September 9 — A 3-year-old male gelding named Snippy—whose dam (mother) was named Lady and sometimes misidentified in the literature as the mutilated animal, and who belonged to Nellie Lewis of the Harry King Ranch in the San Luis Valley, Colorado, just south of Great Sand Dunes National Monument—is found dead a couple days after it has gone missing. The animal appears to have been skinned from the neck to the shoulders, which are nothing but bleached bones. The cut in the neck looks smooth and surgical. The soil beneath the horse is damp, and there is a medicine-like smell. A nearby bush is flattened oddly. Alamosa County Sheriff Ben Phillips blames Snippy’s death on lightning. A few days later, rangers at Great Sand Dunes arrest John Henry Altshuler, a pathologist at Ross Medical Center in Denver, for trespassing after dark; he has actually gone to the area to look for UFOs. When they find out he is a specialist in blood coagulation, they say they will drop the arrest record if he takes a look at the dead horse. He finds that Snippy’s lungs, heart, and thyroid are completely missing and finds the complete absence of blood distressing. Altshuler begins to think the dead horse has something to do with the UFOs he had seen when he was in the Great Sand Dunes. Nellie Lewis also admits she has been watching something in the sky every night. Duane Martin, a US Forest Service ranger, records a pulse of unusually high radioactivity near Snippy’s carcass, although others think it is only background radiation. The Pueblo Chieftain reports on the case in its October 5 edition and it gets picked up by the AP. Pathologist Robert O. Adams, chief of surgery at Colorado State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, investigates Snippy for the Colorado project and concludes that bacteria, birds, and coyotes are responsible for the lack of blood and organs. He finds an infection in the horse’s right flank that could have killed it; the cut at the neck might have been someone’s mercy killing. “Exhaust marks” found are probably fungal infestations, and indentations are probably weathered hoofprints. Alamosa veterinarian Wallace Leary later finds evidence of two bullet holes in Snippy’s rump. (“ UFO Suspected of Horsing Around in Colorado Area,” Kalispell (Mont.) Daily Inter Lake, October 5, 1967, p. 8; “ Great Dead-Horse Mystery,” Amarillo (Tex.) Globe-Times, October 5, 1967, p. 1; “ The Snippy Case,” APRO Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1967, pp. 1, 6; “ Colorado Horse Death Ruled No UFO Case,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 2 (October 1967): 4; “ ‘Snippy’ Still Not Dead Issue,” APRO Bulletin, Nov./Dec. 1967, p. 1; Coral Lorenzen, “The Appaloosa from Alamosa,” Fate 21, no. 3 (March 1968): 34, 36–44; Donald Merker, “The Appaloosa from Alamosa,” Fate 21, no. 3 (March 1968): 35, 45–52; Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, pp. 148–158; UFOs Yes, 155–169; Condon, pp. 344–347; “ Town Gets Snippy about Skeleton of Mutilated Horse,” Denver Post, December 8, 2006; Greg Newkirk, “ Death on the Great Sand Dunes: The Strange Case of Snippy the Horse, the First Cattle Mutilation,” Week in Weird, January 8, 2013; Sylvia Lobato, “ After 50 Years, Snippy Still a Mystery,” Alamosa (Colo.) Valley Courier, September 29, 2017; Clark III 130–132; Clark IV 158–159; Tony Angiola and Katie Page, Snippy the Horse: A King Family Legacy, The Authors, 2025)
September 10 — Several residents of Bruzual, Apure, Venezuela, watch a white, luminous disc following the course of the Apure River from west to east at low altitude. (Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, p. 69)
September 10 — 5:35 p.m. Capt. Fred Underhill and his crew are flying an Air Ferry Limited DC-6 bound for England at 16,000 feet about 63 miles north of Reus, Tarragona, Spain. They see an unusual object about 30° to their left and above, headed west. The object crosses to their right, turns toward them, decelerates, and descends. As it nears, they see that it is a metallic-appearing cone, point upward, with haze or mist around its lower portion. The object comes head on at an estimated 690–800 mph, passes under the starboard wing, turning and maneuvering, and disappears to the south. Barcelona flight controllers can see no known aircraft in the area. (NICAP, “ Aircraft Encounter near Barcelona”; Alastair Prevost, “ Cone-Shaped UFO Passes below Airliner,” Flying Saucer Review 13, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1967): 2; “ Pilots Sight UAO over Pyrenees,” APRO Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1967, p. 6; “ Sighting Evidence Grows,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 3 (Nov./Dec. 1967): 1; Bob Gribble, “ Looking Back,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 233 (September 1987): 19; UFOEv II 130)
September 11 — Richard H. Hall resigns as assistant director of NICAP for personal reasons and is replaced by Gordon I. R. Lore. (“ Assistant Director Hall Resigns, Is Replaced by Gordon Lore,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 2 (October 1967): 2; Powell, Keyhoe, 359–360)
September 11 — 3:30 p.m. About a dozen employees of the Douglas Point Nuclear Generating Station near Kincardine, Ontario, watch a UFO pass over the plant in an easterly direction. At one point it hovers above Lake Huron about a mile and a half offshore and drops something into the water. Other plant workers see similar objects over the lake or above the plant on five succeeding nights. The plant isn’t operational for another year. (“ Saucer near Nuclear Generating Station,” Saucers, Space, and Science, no. 49 (Fall 1967): 10; “ More in Canada,” APRO Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1967, p. 14; Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, pp. 31–32; Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979, pp. 122–123)
September 11 — 9:30 p.m. During a raging storm near Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina, a family watches a huge, glowing orange object hovering in a field about 1,000 feet away from the farmhouse. The object emits brilliant beams of light. After 4 hours it ascends and is lost to sight in seconds. The next day, the witnesses find a sootlike material on the ground and tracks about 2 inches wide in the flattened grass. (Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, p. 69)
September 11 — 10:42 p.m. According to radar operators at Kincheloe AFB [now Chippewa County International Airport] south of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, more than 20 radar targets appear and disappear over the middle of Lake Superior over an 80-minute period, tracked at speeds of up to 2,000 mph, sometimes turning at sharp right angles and involving separation and merging of distinct targets. Radar at Duluth, Minnesota, has also picked up the targets. The Colorado project sends John Ahrens and Norm Levine to investigate. They check out rumors of visual sightings at Sault Ste. Marie, but these do not conform to the radar trackings. At Duluth, they draw a complete blank with denials all around. The returns are explained as anomalous propagation radar echoes in the final report. (NICAP, “ 17 Unknowns in 80 Minute Period”; Sparks, p. 326; UFOs Yes, 123–124; Condon, pp. 164–165)
September 13 — Condon gives a dinner speech at a spectroscopy symposium at the National Bureau of Standards in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and talks primarily about contactees and crackpots. (UFOs Yes, 247–248)
September 14 or 17 — 10:50 a.m. “Fábio Jose Diniz,” 16, is walking along an asphalt path near the deserted grounds of an isolation unit at Hospital da Baleia on the outskirts of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. He notices an object in an adjacent football field. It is shaped like a mushroom with a domed top and surrounded by a row of portholes and a thick central “stalk” in contact with the soil. A hazy screen like a force field drops around the object, and a door appears out of nowhere and slides upward along the column. Two humanlike figures, 6 feet tall, emerge, dressed in one-piece diving suits of greenish material and helmets. One of them carries a tube-like implement, and the other has a probe sticking up from his helmet and talks to Diniz in Portuguese, telling him not to run away. He starts running anyway, but the figure tells him to come back the next day or they will take his family. The figure reenters the UFO, which takes off vertically. He sees psychologist and UFO researcher Hulvio Aleixo, who says he is in severe shock. At the landing site, police find some foul-smelling black material that crumbles easily. This is examined by geophysicist Roberto Murto, who finds it is made of iron, magnesium, and silica. An impression like a large footprint is also found. Aleixo subjects the boy to psychological testing and he finds no disorder. The UFO fails to return the next day. (“ Flying Saucer Is Reported,” Baltimore (Md.) Sun, September 25, 1967, p. 3; “ More Invaders,” APRO Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1967, p. 13; Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, p. 85; Hulvio B. Aleixo, “ Humanoids Encountered at La Baleia, Part 1,” Flying Saucer Review 14, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1968): 8–11, 20; Hulvio B. Aleixo, “ Humanoids Encountered at La Baleia, Part 2,” Flying Saucer Review 15, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1969): 12–14; Jenny Randles, UFO Conspiracy, Cassell, 1987, pp. 97–99; Mark Cashman, “ Behavioral Classification System for UFO Occupants,” IUR 24, no. 1 (Spring 1999): 18–19; Brazil 88–91; Clark III 177–178; Clark IV 211–212)
September 15 — Astronomer William Markowitz publishes an article in Science magazine that declares extraterrestrial UFOs to be a priori impossible because they do not follow the laws of physics. (William Markowitz, “ The Physics and Metaphysics of Unidentified Flying Objects,” Science 157 (1967): 1274–1279)
September 15 — 8:50 p.m. Separate witnesses in Winsted, Connecticut, see a large glowing, pulsating object hovering nearby and several small beings with large heads moving around it. The object’s light dims when cars approach. (“ Experts Check Area Sightings,” Hartford (Conn.) Courant, September 20, 1967, p. 47; “ Flap Continues in the States,” APRO Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1967, p. 9; Condon, pp. 347–351)
September 17 — Roach resigns from the Colorado project in order to pursue academic interests. (UFOs Yes, 140)
September 18 — David R. Saunders, Low, and Condon meet for 3 hours to discuss Saunders’s suggestions for improving the public image. Saunders argues that the public can tell the project is headed toward a negative conclusion. Condon says that if they find extraterrestrial evidence, he would not disclose it to the public. (UFOs Yes, 140–141; Swords 324; Clark III 1195; Clark IV 1369)
September 18 — 1:00 a.m. Russell Hill is stationed as a forestry lookout at the Raspberry Ridge station near Mount Burke, Alberta. He hears a strange pulsating sound as a green light sweeps the walls of the lookout cabin. He sees an object hovering to the southwest and giving off a greenish glow. He attempts to radio the nearby Highwood Ranger Station, but the radio and lights do not work. The object turns white and shoots up straight into the sky. (“ Object Photographed in Canada,” APRO Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1967, p. 11; “ Saucer Sketch,” Saucers, Space, and Science, no. 49 (Fall 1967): 2; “ Saucers Seen near Forestry Lookout,” Saucers, Space, and Science, no. 50 (Winter 1967/1968): 1; “ Invasion over Prairies,” Canadian UFO Report 1, no. 7 (Summer 1970): 25, 27)
September 20 — NICAP provisionally withdraws its support from the Colorado project. David R. Saunders tells Low about it. Low travels to NICAP to meet with Keyhoe and Lore, insisting he still wants NICAP reports because his job is to submit the “best evidence and try to change Dr. Condon’s present disbelief.” NICAP stops sending any reports to the project. (UFOs Yes, 141–142; Keyhoe, Aliens from Space, Signet ed., 1974, pp. 122–123; Clark III 1195; Powell, Keyhoe, 360–361; Clark IV 1369)
September 20 — 8:30–9:30 p.m. Seven people in Stoke-on-Trent, England, see a large, bright, silver- colored, oval-shaped object almost overhead and moving slowly to the northeast. It stops and hovers, then 2–3 smaller silvery objects emerge from the larger one and move rapidly away in different directions. The large UFO moves off to the northeast and slowly disappears. (Roger H. Stanway and Anthony R. Pace, Flying Saucer Report, UFOs: Unidentified, Undeniable, Newchapel Observatory, 1968, p. 16; Herbert S. Taylor, “ Satellite Objects: A Further Look,” IUR 29, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 26)
September 20 — 10:30 p.m. Mrs. Charles Pasko notices a peach-pink glow in the woods outside her home near Winsted, Connecticut. Thinking it is a fire, she wakes up her son Jack and they watch it for a while. Three days later her husband and a forest ranger try to find the burned spot. They locate a burned and depressed teardrop-shaped area about 35 feet in diameter. They also find three triangular imprints forming an equilateral triangle with sides 10 feet long, and a fourth depression in the center. Other witnesses had seen a UFO coming in at a slant, breaking and burning tree leaves. Several tall trees in the area are broken off at the top. (“ September Landing in Conn.,” APRO Bulletin, Nov./Dec. 1967, p. 4)
September 22 — 8:00 p.m. Simon Williams and his son Eugene, 14, are starting a pickup truck with jumper cables in Allen [or Fittstown], Oklahoma, when they see a disc with a brilliant silvery light and smaller flashing lights around the rim heading west. It seems to come closer and hover above a highway. Eugene thinks he can see the headlights of passing cars reflected on its bottom surface. It then proceeds slowly west. (“ UFO Confirmed? Young Allen Boy Says He Saw It,” Ada (Okla.) Weekly News, October 5, 1967, pp. 1–2; “ Flap Continues in the States,” APRO Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1967, p. 9; “ Oklahoman’s Report Many Flying Objects,” APRG Reporter 6, no. 3 (December 1967): 7–8; Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, p. 168)
September 23 — 1:37 p.m. Geology professor Bryce M. Hand is driving north on State Highway 47 between Amherst and Sunderland, Massachusetts, when he notices a silvery, elongated object in the sky ahead. It appears to be larger than an airplane and is silent. Suddenly he sees a second object below and to the left of the first, both moving north-northwest on straight, parallel courses. The objects pass out of view in about 10 seconds. (UFOEv II 161)
September 25 — David R. Saunders, Low, and Condon have another meeting at Condon’s home. Saunders tells Condon that the problems with NICAP would not have arisen if Condon had been more circumspect with his negative remarks. Condon says he understands but offers no change. (UFOs Yes, 142; Clark III 1195; Clark IV 1369)
September 25 — 7:00 a.m. Mr. A. Lambert wakes up early in his home to the east of Buret, Belgium, near the Luxembourg border, and steps outside to enjoy the mild weather. He notices a crown of gray-purple fog at a height of 50–65 feet surrounding the building. Suddenly, he sees a large silver object hovering above some fir trees, nearly 65 feet in diameter with chrome-like surfaces and a 5-foot-thick lip around the base. He calls his wife to see what he thinks is a satellite. The object tilts, reveals its flat underside, and silently approaches, appearing to prepare for a landing. In a hurry to get a better look, Lambert goes inside for his glasses, but when he returns, the object has vanished. His wife can still see it moving less than 1,000 feet away toward the village of Buret and notices a small red ball emerging from it. She also spots a second craft circling them in the fog, which releases another red ball before joining the first. The sighting lasts about three minutes, and shortly after the objects disappear, the fog dissipates. (Jean-Luc Vertongen, “ Buret: Au rendez-vous de l’étrange,” Inforespace, no. 3 (1972): 19–23; Richard F. Haines, Project Delta, 1994, p. 84)
September 27 — BUFORA researchers Anthony R. Pace and Roger H. Stanway visit the S4 UFO desk at the Ministry of Defence in Whitehall, London, England. They talk to a Mr. Cassells, who assures them that all UFO reports are treated seriously but the Ministry’s interest is solely in national defense. He adds that no person from the Ministry ever makes on-the-spot inquiries or field investigations. (Roger H. Stanway and Antony R. Pace, Flying Saucer Report: UFOs Unidentified, Unidentifiable, 1972; Good Above, pp. 67–68)
September 27–29 — The Rocky Mountain News publishes a commentary by Condon wherein he debunks UFOs and disparages NICAP’s contributions. It quotes Low in a similar vein. Condon talks to the project staff and retracts nothing, only saying that he was misquoted about being disenchanted about the project. Project members hold a meeting without Low and Condon to decide what to do. Levine pushes for mass resignation. Craig is the sole dissenter. David R. Saunders sides with Levine but wants to explore other strategies. Ultimately, they decide to prepare their own report, one “so compelling that Condon would be forced to accept it on its merits.” (UFOs Yes, 142–146; Swords 325; Clark III 1195, 1196; Clark IV 1369, 1371)
September 28 — 1:30 a.m. Omar Amaya T., chief dispatcher at the Maiquetia International Airport [now the Simón Bolívar International Airport], Venezuela, watches three luminous disc pass across the sky from north to south. Suddenly one lags behind and dives toward the sea but veers up just before contact. Resuming its position in the formation, it joins the other objects as they disappear to the east. (Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, p. 70)
September 28 — 4:00 p.m. Many people in Caracas, Venezuela, watch a luminous metallic disc cross the sky with an oscillating motion and appear to land on Cerro El Ávila. A Similar object is seen taking off from the same spot about 2 hours later. (Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, p. 70)
September 29 — 8:30 p.m. Four workers in a restaurant at Wernersville, Pennsylvania, are alerted by a neighbor to go outside and watch nine red, pulsating, cigar-shaped objects flying northeastward. A large triangle-shaped object, also pulsating red, flies into view. The triangle stops and changes colors to white, green, then back to red. It takes off in a zigzag motion to the northeast. (R. G. Shunk, “ Letter,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 6, no. 1 (Feb./March 1985): 4)
September or October — 4:45 p.m. Some 40 soldiers and officers at an antiaircraft artillery unit stationed at Floreşti, Romania, watch an aluminum-colored object hovering about 2,400 feet in the sky. The unit commander reports it to the General Command in Bucharest, who order him to shoot it down if it makes any hostile maneuvers. The object stays in position for more than two hours, but disappears after a white cloud passes in front of it. (Romania 16–17)
September or October — 9:30 p.m. The Chilean destroyer Almirante Williams is in the Gulf of Penas, Chile, when the onboard sonar system detects two submarine-like objects that are moving too fast to be normal submarines. Suddenly, the gyrocompass starts spinning and the radar screen goes blank. No one sees anything unusual in the water. A cargo plane also reports instrument failure on the same night. (J. Antonio Huneeus, “USOs in Chile and Peru,” Fate 56, no. 1 (January 2003): 6–7; Carl Feindt, “ Report #1387,” waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 301–302)
Fall — Dusk. A family camped in Capistrano Beach Park, San Juan Capistrano, California, watch a silver, teardrop-shaped object with a window hovering about 600 feet away. It is about 45–65 feet long and is emitting a low hum. After 45 seconds it begins moving erratically at a speed faster than an aircraft, disappearing at least once and reappearing in another spot. The display lasts for 5–6 minutes, with other people standing on tables and the roofs of their recreational vehicles to get a better look. Suddenly it speeds upward to a high altitude, then plunges into the ocean. (Carl Feindt, “ Report #936,” waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 307–309)
October — The DOSAAF Cosmonautics Committee invites the Soviet UFO Study Group to function under its auspices. (Wikipedia, “ Felix Ziegel”; Mikhail Gershtein, “ A Short History of UFO Research in the Former Soviet Union,” UAP Check, July 6, 2024)
October — 8:30 p.m. David R. Smith watches a diffuse object with a series of 5–6 lighted square and oval windows about 450–600 feet away at treetop level near Homer, Louisiana. It rises and heads south. After 50 seconds, the lights blink out. (NICAP case file)
October — Night. Eugene Browne is walking in the outskirts of Belfast, Northen Ireland, when he sees an object coming toward him that shines a beam of light at him. He blacks out and wakes up lying on a table in a windowless room wit metal bands around his head. Four men and a girl are standing around him. Browne is persuaded to have sex with the girl. Before sending him back, he is told, “It will not be the last you see of us.” (Norman Oliver, “ Themes of Contact: Sex and Saucers,” Gemini 1, no. 2 (Apr./June 1972): 20–22; Clark III 1061–1062; Clark IV 1177)
October 2 — 7:30 p.m. Philip E. Burkhardt, a Grumman Aircraft Company engineer, sees a white disc with windows and lights blinking in sequence in Melville, New York. A beam of light is projecting from it and illuminating the ground. The object hovers for about 20 seconds, then moves away. Burkhardt gets into his car to follow it and blinks his lights at the object. The lights on the UFO blink out in sequence, then come back on. (UFOEv II 161)
October 3 — Pilot William “Pete” Knight reaches a speed of 4,519 mph (Mach 6.72) in a North American X-15 rocket plane, a record that stands today. (Wikipedia, “ William J. Knight”)
October 4 — From early evening until 11:30 p.m., numerous independent witnesses observe unexplained aerial activity in Nova Scotia. Near Sambro at 9:00 pm, Capt. Leo Howard Mersey and 20 crewmembers of the MV Nickerson see four brilliant red lights in a rectangular formation that appear to be on or just above the water. Occasionally one flares up so brightly that it causes an afterimage in their eves. The objects are also tracked on ship’s radar. They file a report with the Lunenburg CMP office. Between 11:00 and 11:30 pm, northwest of Brier Island, the captain and crew of a fishing vessel see a brilliant white light the size of the moon. As they watch, three brilliant yellow lights emerge and form a triangle around the larger light. The satellite objects then move across the sky and back at high speed. Observations are also made by other vessels. Five miles southwest of Weymouth, a policeman and three game wardens see an orange-colored light just above the tree line moving silently and slowly with spark-like objects emanating. At about 11:20 p.m., just west of Shag Harbour, Laurie Wickens and four other teenagers driving in a car along Highway 3 see an object flying low, flashing four lights one after the other, in a straight line. It appears to be slowly descending at a 45° angle. Multiple witnesses hear a whistling sound “like a bomb,” then a “whoosh,” and finally a loud bang. When next seen by the teens, the object has hit the water’s surface 820–980 feet offshore. It drifts on the surface, showing a pale-yellow light. Wickens contacts the RCMP detachment in Barrington Passage and reports he has seen a large airplane or small airliner crash into the waters off Shag Harbour. Within about 15 minutes, 10 RCMP officers arrive at the scene. Concerned for survivors, the RCMP detachment contacts the Rescue Coordination Centre in Halifax to advise them of the situation and ask if any aircraft were missing. Before any attempt at rescue can be made, the object starts to sink and disappears from view. A rescue mission is quickly assembled. Within half an hour of the crash, local fishing boats go out to the crash site in the waters of the Gulf of Maine off Shag Harbour to look for survivors. No survivors, bodies, or debris are found, either by the fishermen or by a Canadian Coast Guard search and rescue cutter, which arrives about an hour later from nearby Clark’s Harbour. By the next morning, RCC Halifax has determined that no aircraft are missing. The same morning, RCC Halifax also sends a priority telex to the Air Desk at Royal Canadian Air Force headquarters in Ottawa, which handles all civilian and military UFO sightings, informing them of the crash and that all conventional explanations such as aircraft or flares have been dismissed. The head of the Air Desk, Squadron Leader William Bain sends another priority telex to the Royal Canadian Navy headquarters concerning the “UFO report” and recommends an underwater search be mounted. The RCN in turn sends another priority telex tasking Fleet Diving Unit Atlantic with carrying out the search. A detachment of RCN divers from Fleet Diving Unit Atlantic is assembled on the HMCS Granby on October 6 and for the next three days they comb the seafloor looking for an object. The final report says no trace of an object is found. In the 1990s, researcher Chris Styles finds evidence that there is a second crash the same night. Witnesses see American naval exercises in Shelburne Harbour 30 miles to the northeast. Speculation is that the original object may have traveled underwater from Shag Harbour to Shelburne. (Wikipedia, “ Shag Harbour UFO incident”; “ UAO Dives into Sea at Nova Scotia,” APRO Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1967, p. 7; William F. Dawson, “UFO Down off Shag Harbor,” Fate 21, no. 2 (February 1968): 48–53; Condon, pp. 351–353; Sanderson, InvRes, pp. 38–39; Don Ledger, “ UFO Crash at Shag Harbour,” IUR 22, no. 4 (Winter 1997–1998): 8–9, 20; Don Ledger, Maritime UFO Files, Nimbus, 1998, pp. 72–89; Clark II 284–285; Don Ledger and Chris Styles, Dark Object, Dell, 2001; Chris Rutkowski and Geoff Dittman, The Canadian UFO Report, Dundurn Press, 2006, pp. 94–98; Good Need, pp. 279–282; Chris Rutkowski, “ The Cold, Hard Facts about UFOs in Canada,” IUR 34, no. 1 (September 2011): 9–10; “ The Shag Harbour UFO Incident,” ParanormalX YouTube channel, October 11, 2013; “ The 1967 Shag Harbour UFO Crash: Documents Related to Crash,” Roswell Proof; “ Shag Harbour News Articles,” Roswell Proof; “ Shag Harbour’s UFO Mystery ,” CBC News Nova Scotia YouTube channel, September 30, 2017; “ Fishermen Are Surprised by a Glittery-Yellow Smelly Foam Left by a UFO,” Quest TV YouTube channel, March 17, 2020; Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 129–137)
October 5 — 9:30 p.m. Colorado Superior Court Judge Charles E. Bennett and his wife Christina spot three circular, red-orange objects traveling from the east to the southeast in a triangular formation over Denver, Colorado. They can hear a distinct humming or whirring sound. They move out of sight in 6 seconds. (“ Flap Continues in the States,” APRO Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1967, p. 10)
October 6 — 7:00 p.m. Radar at Vandenberg AFB, near Lompoc, California, detects a very large stationary object some miles over the Pacific Ocean off the Northern California coast. Later, radar detects numerous small but strong targets traveling eastward in irregular flight. (NICAP, “ Condon Case 35”; Condon, pp. 171–172, 353–365)
October 7 — 8:00 p.m. Russell Hill is sitting down to dinner at the Raspberry Ridge Lookout Station in Alberta when the cabin lights begin to flicker. He goes out to check the generator and sees an odd green light moving slowly up the valley from south to north. It approaches to within 500 feet of the cabin. The object is about 75 feet in diameter and looks like two bowls clamped together. Around the rim is a pulsating green light that seems to come from a neon tube. Another green light is rotating slowly inside the top portion, and there are porthole-shaped indentations in the side. Suddenly the light on the rim is extinguished, the upper green light turns white, and the object ascends at a terrific speed, trailing jets of flame. (“ Object Photographed in Canada,” APRO Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1967, p. 11; “ Saucers Seen near Forestry Lookout,” Saucers, Space, and Science, no. 50 (Winter 1967/1968): 1; “ Invasion over Prairies,” Canadian UFO Report 1, no. 7 (Summer 1970): 25, 27)
October 7–9 — Capture and death of Che Guevara in Bolivia. Félix Rodríguez, a Cuban exile turned CIA Special Activities Division operative, advises Bolivian troops during the hunt for Guevara in Bolivia. In addition, the 2007 documentary My Enemy’s Enemy alleges that Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie advised and possibly helped the CIA orchestrate Guevara’s capture. (Wikipedia, “ Che Guevara”)
October 9 — 5:40 p.m. The 13-year-old son of a prominent businessman is riding a bicycle along a wash in the back of his home in the area of the Tucson Speedway in Arizona. He comes across a cylindrical metallic object standing on end and sitting on two legs about 44 feet away from him. The legs end in circular pads and are joined by a curved bar. The object, which is making a low-pitched hum, is about 8 feet tall and more than 2 feet wide. The boy approaches it for a better view, but it takes off vertically and disappears in 12 seconds. He finds two impressions in the hard surface of the wash, 13.4 inches across and about 42 inches apart (measuring from the outer edges). (“ Landing at Tucson,” APRO Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1967, pp. 1, 4)
October 10 — The Lorenzens visit the Colorado project and find its investigatory procedures “sadly lacking,” with no standard report form or methodology. They also meet with Boulder Daily Camera journalist R. Roger Harkins, who has been covering the Colorado project. They give him a 7-point rationale on why the CIA might be interested in UFOs, just to see if it gets published. Harkins dictates the story to the Associated Press, but it is never published. The Lorenzens suspect the project has a CIA mole. (Low did work for the CIA in 1949 when it was aiding Albanian resistance fighters.) (UFOs Yes, 129, 175–176; Lorenzen, Encounters, p. 5; Robin W. Winks, Cloak and Gown: Scholars in the Secret War, 1939–1961, Morrow, pp. 396–397; Powell, Keyhoe, 362)
October 10 — The United Nations Outer Space Treaty comes into force. Signatories to the treaty agree not to use nuclear weapons in outer space, limit use of the Moon and other celestial bodies to peaceful purposes, establish that space shall be freely explored and used by all nations, and prevent any country from claiming sovereignty over outer space or any celestial body. Although it forbids establishing military bases, testing weapons, and conducting military maneuvers on celestial bodies, the treaty does not expressly ban all military activities in space, nor the establishment of military space forces or the placement of conventional weapons in space. The treaty forms the basis of international space law. (Wikipedia, “ Outer Space Treaty”)
October 11 — Rex Heflin is visited by a strange group of men in air force uniforms. He obtains their names. They ask him about his 1965 photos and topics like the Bermuda Triangle. He notices a figure in the back seat of their car and a violet glow. Heflin thinks he is being photographed or recorded. The FM radio acts strangely.
October 11 — Colorado UFO Project consultant William Hartmann tells his colleague James E. McDonald during a phone call that everyone on the team understands that Condon has a negative attitude toward the extraterrestrial hypothesis and that “everybody on the project is more or less forced to go along with that.” (Eghigian, After, p. 204)
October 11 - 8:00 p.m. Nora Tibbs is driving on Highway 2 near Aldersyde, Alberta, when the headlights, radio, and car engine stop. She notices an oval-shaped object with a turret on top that begins to circle her car. It has two white lights and a lighted-up underside. It circles the car four or five times at a height of 1,000 feet, then flies away. The witness feels cold during the sighting. The car engine starts by itself as the object leaves. "Calgary UFOs `Authentic,'" Victoria (B.C.) Daily Colonist, October 14, 1967, p. 33; " Object Photographed in Canada," APRO Bulletin, Sept./ Oct. 1967, p. 11; "UFO Questions Asked in House of Commons," Lethbridge (Alberta) Herald, October 20, 1967, p. 21; Mark Rodeghier, UFO Reports Involving Vehicle Interference, Center for UFO Studies, 1981, p. 37)
October 12 — Night. Comedian Dick Gregory is at a party with friends at Big Sur, California, when three lights appear in the sky. One is fiery red, while the other two are bright green. The objects dart about sideways, backwards, in circles, in jagged lines, and in formation. When Gregory’s writer, Jim Saunders, signals with a flashlight, the objects seem to respond by moving in the same direction as the beam. The partygoers watch the lights for about 40 minutes. Gregory takes two Polaroid photographs that show a red object at the top and two green ones at the bottom. (Margaret Sachs, The UFO Encyclopedia, Putnam, 1980, p. 131)
October 13 — 2:00 a.m. Ben Beswick, engineer on a northbound freight from Red Deer to Mirror, Alberta, along with another trainman, sees a glowing, disk-shaped object hovering above a clump of trees. The underside is glowing white and is ringed with flashing red, blue, and green lights. As the train approaches, the object ascends and flies parallel to the train for about one hour. A relief crew and station personnel at Mirror also see the object. (“ UFO Pursued Us, Train Crew Says,” Edmonton (Alta.) Journal, October 17, 1967, p. 2; “ Object Trails Train,” APRO Bulletin, Jan./Feb. 1968, p. 3)
October 13 — Evening. A spinning UFO with red and green lights is seen streaking 500 feet above Laitkor village, south of Shillong, Meghalaya, India, and seems to dip into a stream near Dympep village, about 17 miles to the southwest, sucking and churning the water with three explosions. The object then flies to Mawkdok village, 3 miles away, and into the dense vegetation of the Lum Swer forest. Military and government officials later explain the incident as a “whirlwind of high intensity.” (“ Shillong Saucer,” Flying Saucer Review 14, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1968): 33; Dolan, USO1, 305–307)
October 13 — McDonnell Douglas aerospace engineer Robert M. Wood briefs the Colorado project on UFOs. On January 9, 1968, Wood writes Condon a critical but polite letter listing his concerns about the project’s shortcomings. He later learns that Condon has contacted CEO James Smith McDonnell on August 1, 1968, and tried to get him fired. (Robert M. Wood, “ A Little Physics… A Little Friction: A Close Encounter with the Condon Committee,” IUR 18, no. 4 (July/ Aug. 1993): 6–10; Clark III 1198; Clark IV 1373)
October 14 — 2:30 a.m. Physicist Lewis E. Hollander Jr. and his wife and son are driving near Mendota, California, when they see a reddish- orange light source hovering close to the road. They then notice a triangular shape beneath the light. Thirty seconds later it moves upward to the west, increasing its speed. The triangular shape fades, and Hollander notices a white glow (“definitely an ionization color”) behind it. It disappears at an extreme altitude after 3 minutes. (NICAP case file)
October 14 — 7:45 p.m. A father and son are returning from a fishing trip when they notice an odd orange object like a “haystack on fire” landed in the desert near Ouray, Utah. They stop, get out of the car, and watch. The object lifts off immediately, looking like a half-moon in shape and size. It then goes over to the Moon and flies a loop around it, keeping its flat side down. Then it flies across the Moon’s face and leaves to the northwest. (Frank B. Salisbury, The Utah UFO Display, Devin-Adair, 1974, pp. 53–55; Michael D. Swords, “ We Know Where You Live,” IUR 30, no. 2 (January 2006): 10)
October 17 — Rep. Louis C. Wyman (R-N.H.) submits House Resolution 946 for a full UFO investigation by the House Committee on Science and Astronautics. (“ Investigation of Unidentified Flying Objects,” Congressional Record, House, 90th Cong., 1st Sess., October 17, 1967, vol. 113, part 21, p. 28949)
October 18 — 400 individuals attend the first meeting of the UFO Study Group of the All-Union Committee on Cosmonautics of the Russian DOSAAF. Retired Soviet Air Force Maj. Gen. Porfiri Stolyarov is elected chairman and Felix Ziegel agrees to be deputy chairman. Members include author Alexander Kazantsev, engineer Arkady Tikhonov, a cosmonaut, 18 scientists, and 200 qualified observers stationed throughout the country. (“ Late News: Official Russian Move on UFOs,” Flying Saucer Review 13, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1967): 2; Hobana and Weverbergh 35; Good Above, p. 232; Mikhail Gershtein, “ A Short History of UFO Research in the Former Soviet Union,” UAP Check, July 6, 2024)
October 21 — 6:16 a.m. Two control tower operators and an observer at the south end of the runway at Blytheville Air Force Base [now Arkansas International Airport] in Blytheville, Arkansas, see two dark oblong objects flying east to west at about 1,200–1,500 feet. They are tracked by RAPCON radar for 2 miles. They make a turn to the southwest and disappear. (NICAP, “ RAPCON Tracks Object, Two Objects Observed from the Ground”; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 60, 75)
October 21 — 10:00 p.m. Ivan Ritter, Jerry Bennet, and two other teens are driving east out of Duncan, Oklahoma, on the new State Highway 7. They see something in the road ahead, far out of the range of their headlights. When the driver turns on his high-beam lights, they see three men who seem to fly off the road and disappear. They are about 4 feet tall and wearing tight-fitting blue-green clothing. Their faces appear human, but with large ears. The next morning, Ritter and Bennet look around for evidence at the landing site, but all they find is a small, four-toes footprint in the muddy bottom of a creek bed about 300 feet from the road. (Lorenzen, UFOs over the Americas, Signet, 1968, pp. 84–85)
October 22 — Night. Edward Fortney and another real-estate agent are locking up for the night in Charleswood, a suburb of Winnipeg, Manitoba, when they notice a formation of brilliant red, pulsating lights above an adjacent field. They are joined by six other people who have stopped their car to look at the lights. Two similar lights appear and take up a position near the formation. The objects then rise and move away noiselessly in formation. Floating above Canada Highway 100, they appear to change positions, forming a perfect triangle. Fortney looks at them through binoculars and sees dark rectangular objects that the lights are attached to. The formation dips and bobs toward a line of high-voltage towers half a mile away. The three lights in triangular formation break up and form a single file, the wires and towers lighting up with a red glow as they speed over them. They are last seen traveling northwest. On his way home, Fortney experiences a “skullbuster” headache that lasts until midnight. The next day, he visits the site in the field and finds child-like footprints in the moist soil, 7 inches long and under 3 inches wide, leading to and from a peculiar circular pile of fist-sized stones. The heel marks seem deeply impressed in the soil. Fortney also experiences leg and back pain, sunburn on his face and hands, and a yellow-green coating on his tongue. (Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979, pp. 47–50)
October 24 — 4:00 a.m. Two police constables, Roger Willey and Clifford Waycott, chase a bright cross-shaped light in their patrol car at 90 mph between Holsworthy and Hatherleigh on the A307 road, Devon, England. The object appears to land behind some trees, but takes off before they can reach the site, though they approach to within 120 feet of the object. The UFO is later observed to rendezvous in the sky with a similar object. Other policemen report a UFO on this day and the following day. (“PCs Play Tag with Light in the Sky,” Daily Mirror (UK), October 25, 1967; “The Flying Thing Leaves Two Constables Baffled,” London Times, October 25, 1967, p. 1; Bernard Wignall, “ The Okehampton Incident,” Flying Saucer Review 13, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1967): 5; UFOFiles2, pp. 75–76; Geoff Falla, “ The Flying Cross Episode,” BUFORA, 2012; Ian Ridpath, “ Devon ‘Flying Cross’ of 1967 Revisited,” Ian Ridpath’s UFO Skeptic, March 2021)
October 24 — 9:30 p.m. Donald Chiszar, 13, and Pat Crosier, 10, are sitting on the Crosier front porch in Newfield, New York, when they see a bright disc-like object approach them with its leading edge tilted toward them. On top is a knob-like protuberance with an antenna and hanging beneath the object is a “square box” full of red, green, and white lights. Two humanoid figures and control panels are visible through windows. The object then tilts back and shoots out of sight. Their hand-held radios produce loud static during the sighting. (“ Flap Continues in the States,” APRO Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1967, p. 10; Barbara Bell, “ Several in Newfield Area Report UFOs: Investigation Continues,” Ithaca (N.Y.) Journal, November 10, 1967, p. 11; Condon, pp. 375–379; Richard H. Hall, “ Dyad ‘Scout Craft,’” IUR 25, no. 4 (Winter 2000–2001): 23–24; UFOEv II 458)
October 25 — Secretary of State for Defence Merlyn Rees tells the House of Commons that 153 UFO reports have been received by the ministry in the past 6 months and that “commonplace explanations have been found” for most. (Isaac Koi, “ UFOs in Parliament (UK),” Isaac Koi—UFOs and Parliament, 2024)
October 25 — 3:15 p.m. R. G. Putnam, a brakeman on a train running from Truro, Nova Scotia, to Moncton, New Brunswick, when he sees a disc with green vapor billowing from it pacing the train at treetop level near Wentworth Station, Nova Scotia. Putnam feels an intense blast of radiation, forcing him to cover his face with his hands to look at it. The object soon drifts away from the train, tips to a 45° angle, then turns to a vertical position. A jet arrives, seemingly in pursuit, and the object levels out, taking on the appearance of a cigar- shaped cloud. Both fly out of sight to the west after 35 minutes of observation. One week later, the hair on the back of Putnam’s hands disappears, his hands shrivel up, and his eyes are sore and swollen. Two weeks later, his chest and throat get sore. He reports the sighting to the RCMP and the Canadian Forces, but apparently gets no response. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 104–105)
October 26 — 4:30 a.m. An engineer is driving a Ford Transit Bus north on the A32 road near Hook, Hampshire, England, when its electrical system fails abruptly. He pulls over and looks at the engine, but the battery is undamaged. While climbing back into the cab, he notices dark object motionless over the road ahead. The ignition still won’t respond. A few minutes later, he tries again and both the engine and the radio start up, so he drives on, but a short way down the road the engine fails again. As he gets out, he notices a change of pressure on his eardrums and an electrical smell in the road. The battery is still intact. Once again, he sees the object, a disk with a pointed underside, about 300 feet away and 50–100 feet above the trees. It appears to be 60 feet wide by 30 feet high. He watches it for several minutes until it tilts and moves away at a moderate speed. The engine starts immediately, but he has some difficulty concentrating and has some numbness in his fingers. (R. H. B. Winder, “ Vehicle Stoppage at Hook,” Flying Saucer Review 13, no. 6 (Nov./Dec, 1967): 6–7; Bernard E. Finch, “ Physiological Effects on Witness at Hook,” Flying Saucer Review 13, no. 6 (Nov./Dec, 1967): 7, 27)
October 26 — 11:25 a.m. J. B. W. “Angus” Brooks, a former BOAC pilot and photo interpreter, is walking his Dalmatian and German shepherd at Moigne Downs near Ringstead Bay, Dorset, England. An odd-looking craft descends and hovers at an altitude of 200–300 feet at a distance of about a quarter mile from them for 22 minutes. The German shepherd has been foraging for game; when she returns she seems “distraught” as she stands beside Brooks. Her ears are pricked, indicating she is worried about the sounds she is hearing, although Brooks can detect no sound from the object. The odd-shaped craft has a central round chamber estimated to be 25 feet in diameter and 12 feet thick. Four long slender fuselages (estimated 75 feet long and 8 feet wide) extend from the central chamber. In flight, one of the 4 fuselages leads, while the other three are together in the rear. As the object slows to hover, the fuselages move to form a cross. The object rotates 90°, then remains motionless for 22 minutes despite strong winds. Upon departure, the leading fuselage is not the one that led on approach. The remaining 3 fuselages come together in the rear as on the approach, and the object climbs away with increasing speed. The craft appears translucent, taking on the color of the sky above it. There are dark shadows along the bases of the fuselages and the center chamber. On future visits to this area, the German shepherd appears nervous. (“ ‘Flying Cross’ UFOs over Britain,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 3 (Nov./Dec. 1967): 3; Angus Brooks, “ Remarkable Sighting near Dorset,” Flying Saucer Review 14, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1968): 3–4; R. H. B. Winder, “ Comment on the Angus Brooks Sighting,” Flying Saucer Review 14, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1968): 4–5; “ Important New Details on Flying Cross,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 4 (Jan./Feb. 1968): 4–5; Good Above, pp. 63–64, 455; UFOFiles2, pp. 77–79)
October 27 — 3:00 a.m. Charlie Little, the pilot of a Piper-Twin Comanche, with two other pilots and a passenger on board, is flying over the Atlantic northeast of Jacksonville, Florida. They see a bright light, which becomes visible as six huge, round, bright-white lights in a horizontal row on a darker object. It approaches on a collision course and is seen to be a gray equilateral triangle with a triangular opening at its center. The object makes an unbanked 180° turn, then takes off and disappears in a flash. (Willy Smith, “ A Huge ‘Open’ Triangular UFO,” IUR 9, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1984): 4–6; Philip J. Klass, “ Letter,” IUR 10, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1985): 13; “ Charles Little Responds,” IUR 10, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1095): 13)
October 27 - 3:00 a.m. A waitress driving home in Parshall, North Dakota, sees a large, round, revolving object with alternating triangular areas of coloration. The object is low and moving horizontally an estimated two blocks away. As it paces her car, she sees 2-3 white light beams coming down vertically from the object. Her car drives like it has flat tires or rocks that are hitting the bottom of the chassis. A second witness, police Lt. Glen G. Brunsell, sees a low-altitude, bright round light like a welding-torch that illuminates the ground. The object moves slowly with vertical oscillations and changes color from blue to green-white. It departs vertically, disappearing in 5 seconds. (" AF Log Reveals Wave," UFO Investigator 4, no. 7 (July/ Aug. 1968): 6-7; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 101-102; UFOEv II 188)
October 27 — 3:30 a.m. Truck driver Chris R. Helgesen observes a spinning, reddish, round object, about 100 feet in diameter, pace his truck for about half a mile on US Highway 83 north of Max, North Dakota. The object then hovers above a field, paces the truck again, hovers, paces the truck again (stopping when it stops), turns blue, picks up speed, turns green, then shoots away to the southeast, turns yellow, and vanishes. Helgesen has it in view for about one hour. (“ New Close-Ups, Pacings,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 5 (March 1968): 3)
October 27 — 2:20 p.m. Timothy Robinson, 13, and his family are startled by the roar of a jet aircraft overhead at Winchester, Hampshire, England. He dashes out into the garden and sees two English Electric Lightning fighters fly low overhead. Ahead of the aircraft is a black, mushroom-shaped object streaking away to the west. It changes direction abruptly to the northwest and disappears into a cloud, climbing steeply and outmaneuvering the Lightnings. (Good Above, p. 62)
October 30 — 9:30 p.m. Alexander Spargo is traveling alone in his car on the Mayanup–Kojonup Road about 10 miles east of Mayanup in Western Australia at a speed of about 60–65 miles per hour. He is approached by a lighted, football-shaped object that is about 90 feet off the ground. Almost immediately, the car stops dead. However, there is no feeling of deceleration. The vehicle’s motor, lights, and radio go off. Spargo hears no noise. He stares at the object, which is about 30 feet in diameter and glowing a light iridescent blue similar to lightning. A hollow tube of light comes from on the object and immerses the car, stopping at his windshield. The tube seems 2–3 feet in diameter. It is not uncomfortable to the eyes, and he is able to look up the length of the tube. After about 5 minutes, the tube closes off and the object disappears at terrific speed. The moment the object leaves, he finds his vehicle is suddenly going at 60–65 miles per hour again, with no feeling of acceleration. Spargo notices the car’s chronometer is running five minutes slow when he stops in Boyup Brook. (“ Energy Beam Stalls Car in the West,” Australian Flying Saucer Review (VUFORS), no. 8 (1968): 18; Keith Basterfield, “ Boyup Brook Revisited,” UFO Research Australia Newsletter 4, no. 1 (July/Aug. 1983): 3–6; Keith Basterfield, Vladimir Godic, and Pony Godic, “ Australian Ufology: A Review,” JUFOS 2 (1990): 27–28; Keith Basterfield, “ Cold Case Investigation: Boyup Brook WA, 30 Oct 1967,” Unidentified Aerial Phenomena—Scientific Research, September 23, 2012; Keith Basterfield, “ Police Report on the Boyup Brook Encounter, Uncovered,” Unidentified Aerial Phenomena—Scientific Research, August 29, 2017; Powell, Scientist, 102; Clark IV 1217–1218)
November — Ufologist Ted Bloecher privately publishes a massive Report on the UFO Wave of 1947, detailing 853 reports gleaned from his years of research into newspaper archives in June–July 1947. The preface is written by James E. McDonald. (Ted Bloecher, Report on the UFO Wave of 1947, The Author, 1967)
November 2 — 9:30 p.m. Navajo ranch hands Willie Begay and Guy Tossie, both 23, are driving south of Ririe, Idaho, on US Highway 26 when they are blinded by a flash of light. Their car comes to a stop, and immediately in front of them they see an object 6–8 feet in diameter and 3 feet thick, hovering 5 feet off the ground and shaped like two saucers joined together. Around the rim is a row of alternately flashing orange and green lights. On top is a transparent dome, where two small entities are visible. The dome flips open, and one occupant floats out and approaches the car. It is 3 feet tall, bald, with ears set high on its head, round eyes, and a mouth like a slit. It is wearing tight-fitting coveralls and carries a pack on its back. It opens the car door and sits behind the wheel as Begay and Tossie move in horror to the right. The car begins to move as if fastened to the craft into a field of wheat stubble where Tossie gets out and runs toward the farmhouse of Willard Hammon for help, followed by another entity apparently holding a light. Begay stays in the front seat of the car with the first entity, who tries to communicate with him, twice saying something in a high, chirruping voice. The second entity returns, and the two float back to the craft, which rises and departs, a yellow flame-like light coming from the bottom. Hammon lets Tossie inside his farmhouse, where he eventually calms down and tells his story. They go back to the site, where they find Begay in a state of shock in the car. At 11:30 p.m., an anonymous witness driving between Ririe and Rigby, Idaho, sees a landed UFO with a small occupant who stops the car and taps on the side window. (“ NICAP Panel Studies Occupant Reports,” UFO Investigator 5, no. 1 (Sept./Oct. 1969): 5–6; “ The Year We Were Invaded without Knowing It,” Canadian UFO Report 1, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1969): 3, 14–16; Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, pp. 23–27; UFOEv II 458–459, 480–482; Clark III 1009–1010; Randle, Levelland, 2021, pp. 145–147; Clark IV 1123–1124)
November 5 — 3:40 a.m. A dairy farm employee at Centeno, Santa Fe, Argentina, sees a bluish light come from the west and land silently on the ground about 1,900 feet away. It remains there 2–3 minutes before departing. A companion further away also sees the object. After the sun comes up, they find an oval mark, 20 feet by 13 feet, on the spot where the pasture is dry and flattened. Another mark is found in an adjacent field a couple weeks later. (Roberto A. Ferrari, “ Possible Landings at Centeno, Argentina,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 16 (August 1971): 13–14)
November 6 — 1:30 a.m. On a section of the A338 road [now B3347] south of Sopley, Hampshire, England, truck driver Karl Farlow (or Barlow) finds that the lights on his diesel truck have failed. As he pulls over, he sees a glowing, 15-foot-wide, egg-shaped UFO that moves slowly across the road from the right, passes slowly to the left, then speeds up and disappears. The object makes a sound like a refrigerator and gives off a smell like a drill boring through wood. Before it goes away, a Jaguar sports car comes from the opposite direction, and its engine stalls and lights fail. The UFO glows a vivid green color. The diesel engine is not affected. The driver of the Jaguar is a veterinary surgeon, and he and Farlow call the police from a nearby call box. The witnesses note that there are marks on the ground and the road surface seems to have melted. The veterinarian’s girl passenger is taken to a hospital suffering from shock. A week later, Farlow notices that a 200-foot stretch of the road at the encounter site has been completely resurfaced and the call box has been repainted. (NICAP, “ Disabled Engine Continues to Run”; Roy Winstanley, “ Now the UFOs Are Stopping the Traffic,” Spacelink 5, no. 1 (December 1967): wrap; “ Landings on Increase,” APRO Bulletin, Nov./Dec. 1967, pp. 1, 3; Good Above, pp. 64–65)
November 7 — Secretary of State for Defence Merlyn Rees tells the House of Commons that the Ministry of Defence examines UFO reports “in the light of their possible air defence implications.” It has examined 625 reports from January 1, 1959 to September 30, 1967, and 555 were found to have mundane explanations. (Isaac Koi, “ UFOs in Parliament (UK),” Isaac Koi—UFOs and Parliament, 2024)
November 8 — 3:30–4:00 a.m. A business executive is driving a 1964 Chrysler convertible near Lake Elsinore, California, when his lights go out, the car stops, and the radio goes out. He feels a strong pressure on his head and shoulders. He then notices a red-orange object 30 feet in diameter hovering in the road ahead at about 160 feet in altitude. It has rotating lights around its rim. The object hovers about 90 seconds before it takes off into the fog. The lights return, the radio works again, and he is able to start the car. NICAP investigators find that the clock had stopped at 3:46 a.m., some spots where the paint is easy to rub off, and small pits in the paint and glass. The back window has a distortion in it that the driver has not noticed before. When Roy Craig interviews him for the Condon Committee at the scene of the sighting, the witness adjusts his story, saying the UFO was more like 55 feet in diameter and flew above the car at 50–75 feet. Craig tests the car’s hood and trunk for magnetic anomalies and compares his results with another car of the same make and model. He finds that the “Chrysler had experienced no reorientation of its magnetic signature, as one might expect if the car had been subjected to a strong magnetic field.” (Condon, pp. 380–385; Randle, Levelland, 2021, pp. 66–67)
November 8 — MP Peter Mills asks about UFO sightings in Devon, England, in the UK House of Commons and receives assurances from Under-Secretary of State for Defence Merlyn Rees, who says that the October 24 police chase involved either aircraft or the planet Venus. Mills asks if the ministry consulted scientists about the sightings, and Rees replies that both scientists and psychologists have been consulted. (Good Above, pp. 65–66; Isaac Koi, “ UFOs in Parliament (UK),” Isaac Koi—UFOs and Parliament, 2024)
November 8 — Through unrelenting pressure by British ufologist Julian J. A. Hennessey, the Ministry of Defence and RAF UFO files are no longer discarded every five years as of transitory interest. The MoD confirms that it will retain its remaining UFO documents. Further pressure to retain files comes in 1970 from MP John Langford-Holt. (David Clarke, “ Briefing Document: Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs),” August 2011; UFOFiles2, pp. 114–115)
November 9 — Under-Secretary of State for Defence Merlyn Rees tells the House of Commons that the Ministry of Defence received 274 UFO reports from January 1, 1966, to September 30, 1967, and 37 of these reports remain unexplained due to insufficient information. (Isaac Koi, “ UFOs in Parliament (UK),” Isaac Koi—UFOs and Parliament, 2024)
November 10 — Stolyarov and Ziegel, speaking on Russian Central TV, encourage viewers to send their first-hand accounts in to the newly formed Soviet UFO Study Group. The response is overwhelming and embarrassing to the DOSAAF All-Union Committee of Cosmonautics. Army Gen. A. L. Getman dissolves the UFO Study Group by the end of November. (Wikipedia, “ Felix Ziegel”; Joe Brill, “ UFO’s behind the Iron Curtain,” Skylook, no. 86 (January 1975): 14; Good Above, p. 233; Mikhail Gershtein, “ A Short History of UFO Research in the Former Soviet Union,” UAP Check, July 6, 2024)
November 13 — Condon, Low, and editor Harriet Hunter meet to discuss the final University of Colorado report. Condon deliberately excludes the other senior staff because he is now insisting on no old cases and no “case book.” He insists on including everything in which the Colorado project participated in, even phone calls. He wants to write a section on the harm done by irresponsible UFO authors. The meeting ends with a roughed-out list of subject sections and authors. Condon reserves writing the summary and methodology sections himself. He assigns to Hunter the job of selecting which cases are included and how they are written up (perhaps he no longer trusts Low to do this). (Swords 326–328)
November 14 — Keyhoe writes separate letters to Condon and Low, asking if they will agree to examine NICAP’s cases, but he makes it clear that he has little confidence in the project’s impartiality. (Clark III 1196; Eghigian, After, p. 204; Clark IV 1370)
November 15 — Canadian Forces Wing Commander Douglas F. Robertson prepares a 28-page briefing document, CDS Briefing on Unidentified Flying Objects, on the status of UFO sightings in Canada to Gen. Jean Victor Allard, Chief of the Defence Staff. It reviews facts and procedures and describes cases that have been handled within the ministry, including the Falcon Lake and Shag Harbour cases, as well as the Warren Smith photo. Robertson advises that UFO sightings are taking up too much of the military’s time, but that the scientific community, specifically the University of Toronto Institute of Aerospace Studies, might find them interesting. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 24–59)
November 15 — The crew of Quebecair Flight 650 sees a bright object at the end of the runway at Sept-Îles Airport, Quebec. It is as large as a star and stationary. (Good Above, p. 200)
November 17 — 6:00 p.m. David Seewaldt, 13, is crossing a vacant lot in Calgary, Alberta. He hears a high-pitched sound and sees a slivery gray UFO the size of a house about to land. A beam of light shoots from it, putting him in a “trance” and pulling him into the craft, where he meets two hideous-looking entities with brown crocodile skin, slits for mouths, and holes for noses and ears. They wear no clothes and have hands with only four fingers. They take Seewaldt’s clothes off and lead him into another room where one studies his hair, eyes, and nose. An orange ceiling light is directed on him and he is given a shot with a small needle. The entities dress him again and beam him back to the field. He runs home in a state of terror and hides under the bed. All conscious memory of the event vanishes until 5 months later, when it returns in a dream. In 1968 he is hypnotically regressed by a Dr. Masson of the University of Alberta. (“ Similar Incident at Calgary,” Canadian UFO Report 2, no. 8 (1973/1974): 6–7; W. K. Allan, “ Crocodile-Skinned Entities at Calgary,” Flying Saucer Review 20, no. 6 (April 1975): 25–26; John Magor, Our UFO Visitors, Hancock House, 1977, pp. 165–169; John Brent Musgrave, “ The Behavior and Origins of Canadian UFO Occupants and Critters,” Canadian UFO Report 4, no. 7 (Summer 1978): 20, 22; Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979, pp. 83–88; “ David Seewaldt,” etcetrasetcetras, June 13, 2008; Clark III 280; Randle, 1973, pp. 48–49; Clark IV 320)
Late November - Night. A large, illuminated hemispherical object appears low over the shore of the Baltic Sea near Liepaja, Latvia. Its light is difficult to look at with the naked eye. Later it begins to move and quickly vanishes over the horizon. (Stonehill and Mantle, Russia's USO Secrets, Flying Disk, 2020, p. 171)
November 21 — 4:30 p.m. David V. Marin sees an object that looks like an upside-down candle from his backyard at the edge of Poienarii Burchii, Romania. He watches it for 10 minutes as it hovers at about 90 feet. It starts moving slowly northwest and its tail elongates. (Romania 15–16)
November 22 — David R. Saunders pays Keyhoe a surprise visit in Washington, D.C., and allows him to photocopy the Low memorandum, saying it should be shared with the NICAP board. Roger Harkins hears about the memo about the same time. (UFOs Yes, 179, 193–194; Powell, Keyhoe, 365)
November 22 — MP Patrick Wall asks the UK Secretary of State for Defence Merlyn Rees what exchange of UFO information between the UK, US, and Russian governments is taking place. Rees replies that the ministry is in touch with the Americans but not the Russians. (Good Above, p. 66; Isaac Koi, “ UFOs in Parliament (UK),” Isaac Koi—UFOs and Parliament, 2024)
November 22 — 12:30 p.m. Ladislau Schmidt is sitting in his kitchen in Petrila, Romania, with the outside door open. Suddenly his chickens run inside the house, terrified. Looking up, he sees a silvery disc- shaped object with a dome and antennas hovering at 15,000 feet. It rotates and moves away at high speed to the northwest until it is out of sight. (Hobana and Weverbergh 166–167)
November 22 — 4:25 p.m. US Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. John Rich Butler and copilot Lt. John H. Gould are flying 10 miles off the New Hampshire coastline when they see an object like a white rocket flying with a lateral motion. It first moves upward for 2 seconds at the rear of the aircraft. It reappears and disappears twice, then another object that looks like a light aircraft with an unusual white, flashing light passes above them at a distance of 100–200 feet. Gould has the impression it has swept wings. (NICAP case file; Jan L. Aldrich, “ Updated Draft Catalogue of UFOs/USOs Reported by Seagoing Services, NavCat 2,0, 1964–2007,” 2015)
November 24 — Canadian Wing Commander D. F. Robertson, after advocating that the RCAF transfer its UFO files to the National Research Council, writes a memo urging the NRC to work with the University of Toronto and the Department of National Defence in investigating Canadian UFO reports. (Good Above, p. 192)
November 27 — David R. Saunders talks with James E. McDonald by telephone, telling him that Condon and Low are biased against the extraterrestrial hypothesis. McDonald suggests the group write an alternative final report in favor of the ETH and suggest the creation of a new organization for the scientific study of UFOs. (Eghigian, After, p. 204)
November 30 — Allen R. Utke, Wisconsin State University–Oshkosh assistant professor of chemistry, writes Gerald Ford in support of House Resolution 946 sponsored by Rep. Louis C. Wyman, remarking that the UFO “phenomenon could be of great importance and concern to this country.” (Bill Murphy, “ The Swamp Gas Aftermath: Some Notes from the Gerald Ford Files,” IUR 33, no. 2 (July 2010): 14)
Late 1967 — The Institute for Aerospace Studies at the University of Toronto, Ontario, begins a UFO study. By October 1968, it is on the verge of collapse for “lack of something to investigate.” The study terminates in 1970, but no report on its findings is ever released. (Arthur Bray, “ Government Cover-Up Exposed,” Canadian UFO Report 3, no. 2 (1975): 20)
December — The Soviet Academy of Sciences’ Physics Department, led by Lev Artsimovich, passes a resolution denouncing studying of UFOs as such. The Soviet UFO Study Group is effectively neutered. (Wikipedia, “ Felix Ziegel”; Hobana and Weverbergh 36–37)
December — Hynek’s article, “The UFO Gap,” appears in Playboy magazine, in which he ponders what the Soviet Union might be doing about its own UFO sightings. Along the way, he suggests that the Colorado UFO project analyze UFO cases based on two factors: the strangeness of the event and the credibility of the witnesses. He also encourages the creation of a 24-hour hotline for UFO cases, where police would be dispatched immediately to the scene of a sighting. (J. Allen Hynek, “ The UFO Gap,” Playboy, December 1967, pp. 144–146, 267–271; O’Connell 223–225; Graff 216–217; Eghigian, After, p. 200)
December 1 — Condon and Low write Keyhoe back separately and do not commit to looking at the NICAP UFO reports, although they praise NICAP’s assistance. (“ The Colorado Project Report,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 4 (Jan./Feb. 1968): 5; Powell, Keyhoe, 363–364)
December 2 - 9:30 p.m. A lieutenant-major in the Romanian army is on duty in the radar station at Baneasa Airfield [now Aurel Vlaicu International Airport] near Bucharest, Romania, when he goes outside to observe an airplane. But the supposed aircraft is a strong, stationary light 30-40° in the north that descends rapidly, ascends again, moves left to right, then descends again. Through binoculars it looks conical or bullet shaped. Dozens of other personnel watch it until it disappears around 11:30 p.m. (Hobana and Weverbergh 176-177)
December 3 — Early a.m. Police Sgt. Herbert Schirmer checks on restless cattle twice at a barn near Ashland, Nebraska. At 2:30 a.m. he is driving on US Highway 6 when he notices some red lights along State Route 63 that might be a stalled truck. He drives a short distance up that road and stops with his headlights shining on the object. The red lights are blinking through the windows of a disc hovering at a tilt 150 feet away and 6–8 feet above the road. It looks made of shiny, polished aluminum. It ascends slowly with a sort of siren sound and emits a flamelike substance from the bottom. His head sticking out the window, Schirmer watches it pass overhead then shoot up out of sight. He drives back to the police station and writes in the log book, “Saw a flying saucer at the junction of highways 6 and 63. Believe it or not!” He is puzzled to see it is 3:00 a.m. He gets a headache and a buzzing noise in his head. He also has a red welt below one of his ears. In the morning, Chief Bill Wlaskin goes to the site and finds a piece of metal that he shows to Colorado project investigators. It turns out to be composed of iron and silicon. On February 13, 1968, Schirmer is hypnotized in Boulder, Colorado, by R. Leo Sprinkle. During the session he remembers that his car engine and radio failed, and a blurry white object came out of the UFO and communicated with him telepathically. He is taken on board by aliens (who first ask him, “Are you the watchman over this place?”). They are humanoids, 4–5 feet tall with long heads, gray- white skin, and cat-like eyes. They wear silver-gray helmets with small antennas on the left side of the ear area. Their uniforms and gloves are the same color. An unusual feature of this case is the emblem of a winged serpent on the left breast of each entity’s uniform. The Colorado project comes to a predictable conclusion: “Evaluation of psychological assessment tests, the lack of any evidence, and interviews with the patrolmen left project staff with no confidence that the trooper’s reported UFO experience was physically real.” Schirmer undergoes hypnosis again on June 8, 1968, and more details emerge. (“ Hypnotized Policeman Reports Encounter,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 5 (March 1968): 1; Condon, pp. 389–391; Story, pp. 318–319; UFOEv II 530–532; Michael D. Swords, “ Too Close for Condon: Close Encounters of the 4th Kind,” IUR 28, no. 3 (Fall 2003): 3–4; “ Police Officer Herbert Schirmer Abduction,” UFO Evidence, 2006; Kevin D. Randle, “ The Schirmer Abduction,” A Different Perspective, October 13, 2008; Wendy Connors, “Cops and Saucers: Law Enforcement and UFO’s, 1957–1981 Guide,” November 20, 2013, audioclips 27, 28; Clark III 1034–1038; Randle, Levelland, 2021, pp. 147–149; Randle, 1973, pp. 46–48; “ Police Officer Herbert Schirmer Talks about Being Taken Onboard a UFO, Nebraska, December 3, 1967,” Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, August 19, 2022; Clark IV 1149–1153)
December 5 - 10:30 p.m. Six teenagers returning from a basketball game in Concordia, Kansas, detour to drive by a cemetery. They see a light blinking in the sky ahead, moving in an up-and- down motion to the north. It appears to be flashing different colors or rotating. They follow it for about two miles, hoping for a better look. (Condon, pp. 391-394)
December 8 - 7:40 p.m. Marilyn Wilding, 15, goes out on her front step in Idaho Falls, Idaho, to look for a friend. A light reflecting on the snow on the ground causes her to look up, and she sees a brightly lit circular object "about as big as a car" hovering above the house. The object then tips and rotates so she can see it has a transparent dome on top. Inside the dome are two indistinct figures. The object rotates clockwise, maintaining its inclination. It begins moving away; as it recedes into the distance, its light dims and turns orange. (UFOEv II 459, 482; Northern Ontario UFO Research and Study, " Circular Object with Dome and Two `Figures' Inside"; Patrick Gross, " Falls, Idaho, December 8, 1967")
December 10 — 1:00 a.m. Thomas F. Monteleone is driving alone on an interstate highway in Maryland when a UFO lands and blocks his way. Two human-like aliens approach him, smiling, and one introduces him as Vadig from the planet Lanulos, the same one described by Woodrow Derenberger. Vadig contacts him two months later in a restaurant, dressed as an ordinary human, then gives him a ride to Lanulos in a UFO. Monteleone later confirms it was a prank, and he comes to regret the publicity and harassment that the hoax generates. (John A. Keel, The Mothman Prophecies, Tor ed., 1991, pp. 193–197; Woodrow W. Derenberger and Harold W. Hubbard, Visitors from Lanulos, Vantage, 1971; Thomas F. Monteleone, “Last Word: The Gullibility Factor,” Omni, May 1979), p. 146; Karl T. Pflock, “Anatomy of a UFO Hoax,” Fate 33, no. 11 (November 1980): 40–48; Mark Opsasnick, “The Monteleone Contactee Cas and the Route 40 Abduction Corridor,” Strange Magazine 15 (Spring 1995): 18–21; Clark III 408; Clark IV 454)
December 10 — 7:30 a.m. Psychologist Adina Păun is walking past the Republic Factories in Bucharest, Romania, when she sees a bluish-green object above the plant at about 45°. It has projecting, tapered spines that are as long as half its diameter. It is higher than rain clouds that sometimes obscure it, but lower than high-altitude, fast-moving white clouds. She continues watching it for 15 minutes as she walks along, but it drifts out of sight when she gets home on Magnet Strada. (Hobana and Weverbergh 180)
December 12 — Levine, David R. Saunders, and Mary Lou Armstrong bring Hynek together with James McDonald to Denver to discuss forming a new group after the project ends, no matter what its conclusion is. The meeting goes fairly well. After Hynek leaves, McDonald brings up the Low memorandum. He has apparently heard about it from Keyhoe. Saunders gives him an official copy. Levine approaches Craig about a separate report, but Craig considers it mutiny. (UFOs Yes, 179–180; Powell, Keyhoe, 365; Eghigian, After, p. 205)
December 12 — The British Embassy in Moscow, Russia, is directed by London to look into British- Russian cooperation in the investigation of UFO reports with Stolyarov’s Soviet UFO Study Group. The embassy does not hear back and does not pursue the subject. (Good Above, pp. 234–235)
December 12 — 7:00 p.m. Rita Malley is driving home from work on Route 34 in Newfield, New York, with her young son. She notices a red light behind her. As it draws closer, she sees it is a disc-shaped object as large as a boxcar moving at about 90 feet above the road. Then it passes overhead and causes the car to go off the road into a ditch, and Malley became terrified. Her son in the back seat looks immobilized with his eyes “bugged out.” A white beam emanates from the humming object above her and she hears voices in her head saying that her son would not remember this and that a friend of hers has been killed in a car accident. (This turns out to be true.) The car then moves out of the ditch and back onto the road facing the wrong way. She finds that she can control the car again and speeds home. (Lloyd Mallan, “ Ithaca’s Terrifying Flying Saucer Epidemic,” Science and Mechanics 39 (July 1968): 30–33, 96–97; T. M. Wright, “UFO’s over Ithaca,” Fate 22, no. 2 (February 1969): 44–52)
December 13 — 2:00 a.m. As a man is driving near Edmonton, Alberta, his car lights dim and engine sputters. He pulls to the side of the road and opens the hood, when he notices a dome-shaped object hovering 450 feet away. It is metallic, has lights around the edge, and is about 50 feet high. The object rocks back and forth within a range of 10–15 feet but remains above the road. Over the next hour, the car body heats up and the witness’s hair gets hot. His flashlight fails to work. Finally, the object shoots straight up and vanishes in 2–3 seconds. His headlights come back on, but he starts the motor only with difficulty. (Mark Rodeghier, UFO Reports Involving Vehicle Interference, CUFOS, 1981, p. 39)
December 15 — The Silver Bridge over the Ohio River between Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and Gallipolis, Ohio, collapses under the weight of rush-hour traffic, resulting in the deaths of 46 people. (Wikipedia, “ Silver Bridge”)
December 16 — Philip Klass, who has heard of McDonald’s UFO activity in Australia from Low, starts a letter-writing campaign directed at the Office of Naval Research, wanting to know who approved his funding and whether they are funding his forthcoming trip to Europe and Russia. His campaign continues for the next 18 months, bluntly attacking McDonald’s integrity and calling him a habitual liar. (Clark III 700; Clark IV 796)
December 19 — In response to a question from MP John Langford-Holt, UK Prime Minister Harold Wilson tells the House of Commons that he has authorized no inquiries into UFOs outside the military implications. (Isaac Koi, “ UFOs in Parliament (UK),” Isaac Koi—UFOs and Parliament, 2024)
December 19 — 10:30 p.m. A witness is driving westbound on the east edge of Belleville, Illinois, when he sees a triangular object with a row of square lights on one side. He tries following it and manages to stay roughly beneath it until he loses track of it near Southwestern Illinois College. Because it appears to be heading toward nearby Scott AFB and the witness is familiar with the base, he goes to the control tower there to see if they have tracked anything unusual but they have not. (Marler 204–208, 270)
December 24 — Evening. A couple driving near Tucson, Arizona, see a star-like object fall to earth. Two minutes later, they spot a blob of red light. Their engine and headlights fail. The object approaches the car, passes overhead, then moves away to the south. The engine and lights come back on as it departs. (Mark Rodeghier, UFO Reports Involving Vehicle Interference, CUFOS, 1981, p. 39)
December 24 — 8:30 p.m. A faculty member of the Harvard Medical School and several members of his family in Belmont, Massachusetts, see a silently moving, bright orange light. It is joined by a second light one minute later, and a third about 30 seconds after that. He retrieves some binoculars and watches all three. The first two stop about 15°–25° above the horizon and remain still; the third is still moving. Three or four more lights arrive, some hovering, others moving. Two or three of the hovering lights appear to drop smaller lights that flash as they fall. All are orange in color. After about 20 minutes, they have all disappeared. (J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 45–48; Richard F. Haines, Project Delta: A Study of Multiple UFO, 1994, p. 44)
December 25 — Gary Lambert, a college student from Omaha, is driving home when he notices a dimly outlined object with a row of lights hovering above an underpass on the highway between Ashland and Lincoln, Nebraska. That night, he has vivid dreams in which he believes he is contacted by beings aboard the UFO. He suspects he may have experienced an actual abduction, though he has no memory or evidence to confirm it. (Center for UFO Studies, HUMCAT Index 1967, p. 156; Condon, pp. 394–395)
December 27 — 9:00 p.m. Two people are traveling along a back road in Wells Township, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, when they see three lights on the horizon. They stop the car as the lights approach. They are attached to a domed disc that is following the road at a height of 300–400 feet. As it approaches to within about 3,000 feet, it makes a banking movement that reveals square, fluorescent panels on the bottom. The dome light in their car turns on spontaneously as the whole bottom of the UFO flashes. The two witnesses get back in their truck and drive on, but the object follows them for a while, then moves off toward Elmira, New York. About 20 minutes later, the parents of one witness experience a power failure in their home on Elmira’s south side. (Michael D. Swords, “ Unusual Experiences from the Timmerman Files,” IUR 27, no. 2 (Summer 2002): 23)
December 29 — 10:35 p.m. C. J. McCready, his wife, and daughter see a round, glowing, sparkling, red object above their home on Briarcliff Road, Atlanta, Georgia. It hovers and drops several trails of a white substance that appear to fall like a liquid as the object moves slowly northwest. It is visible for 5 minutes. (NICAP case file)
1968
NORAD has control of continental-scale Over the Horizon radars that cover virtually the entire Eurasian continent looking for Russian and Chinese missile launches. (Clark III 807, 811; Clark IV 897–898, 904)
Frank F. Rand Jr. completes a nine-month investigation into UFOs for the Lyndon B. Johnson administration. The other members of his team include Arthur Lundahl, Gen. James T. Stewart, Brockway McMillan, “Lee Brockings” (pseudonym), a Dr. Bleakley and a Dr. Losh, and Clarence “Kelly” Johnson. By 2001, Rand had prepared a book-length manuscript, both about his career and the UFO study. Titled “UFOs...Fact or Fiction,” it concludes that “There is no doubt that ‘UFOs’ exist and are under control. Nor, do I doubt that there may well have been some harmless probes sent to our Earth from other civilizations beyond our solar system.” (Michael D. Swords, “ Imaging UFOs: Is It Even Possible?” The Big Study, June 16, 2015; Keith Basterfield, “ Which Aerospace Company Is Hiding a UAP Black Project?” Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena—Scientific Research, August 28, 2021)
An Australian nuclear physicist attached to the Directorate of Scientific and Technical Intelligence (part of the Joint Intelligence Bureau) cooperates with other defense intelligence scientists to form a “rapid intervention team” to investigate UFO incidents involving physical evidence. The effort lasts until a wave of UFO reports takes place in Western Australia and he is denied further access to RAAF files. (Bill Chalker, “ The UFO Connection: Addendum,” Flying Saucer Review 31, no. 5 (July 1986): 20; Good Above, p. 166)
The Canadian National Research Council, from its base at the Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics in Ottawa, Ontario, takes over the collection of UFO reports from the Department of National Defence. It partners with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to do the actual investigations. The NRC’s primary interest is in tracking meteors and meteorite falls. Non-meteoric sightings are kept in a separate file but transferred to the Public Archives of Canada [now Library and Archives of Canada] at the end of every year. (Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Canada, Signet, 1981, p. 175; Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 9–10)
Early morning. The captain and another seaman of the Swiss-flag cargo ship Grichuna, traveling south through the Atlantic Ocean off Palm Beach, Florida, notice an underwater object with 10-15 lights at a depth of 33-50 feet some 100-130 feet from the ship on its landward side. It is moving twice as fast as the ship and crosses its bow at a 30° angle. (" Sea Captain Recalls 1968 USO Sighting," UFO Casebook, January 26, 2007; Dolan, USO1, 324-325)
(or 1969) - 9:00 p.m. A Polish Air Force pilot takes off from Warsaw Modlin Airport, Poland, in a MiG-21 for a short, routine mission. Soon he sees two identical white discs, about 6-10 feet in diameter, moving at the same altitude and speed as his MiG. His wingman also sees them. He approaches to within 50 feet of them. During the 5-minute encounter, radio contact with the controller is lost and contact between the two pilots deteriorates. Four UFOs follow the two MiGs for another 3-6 miles, then they accelerate and overtake them, disappearing ahead. (Poland 65)
Early 1968 - Four artillerymen stationed at the naval garrison at Lüda [now Dalian], Liaoning, China, see a luminous, gold, oval-shaped object that leaves a thin trail in the air. It climbs steeply at high speed and disappears. When it begins to climb, all communications and radar systems fail, nearly causing an accident in the fleet. The naval patrol goes on alert, and the fleet commander orders his men to prepare for combat. After 30 minutes, comms and radar return to normal. A two-man coast guard patrol allegedly sees the UFO land on the south coast and fires at it with automatic weapons. (Wendelle Stevens and Paul Dong, UFOs over Modern China, UFO Photo Archive, 1983, pp. 48-49)
Early 1968 — Early evening. Valentina Flores discovers a strange net of plastic covering the corral where she keeps her sheep in the small village of Otoco, near Uyuni, Bolivia. Inside is a 4-foot-tall humanoid figure, dressed in a bulky spacesuit, killing her sheep with a hooked instrument and dumping their entrails into a bag. She tries to stop it by throwing stones. The figure then walks over to a box-like instrument, turns a wheel, and the netting is sucked into the box. Flores approaches the entity, which throws the instrument at her, cutting her arms, although it returns to its hands. The humanoid gathers up the box and the bag and disappears from sight. Police count 34 dead sheep, each missing a portion of its digestive organs. (Oscar A. Galíndez, “ Violent Humanoid Encountered in Bolivia,” Flying Saucer Review 16, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1970): 15–17; Clark III 138–139; Clark IV 166)
January 2 — 4:30 p.m. Errol Smythe [Earl Smith?], 17, and Tommy Banks, 15, of Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada, are touring the lower slopes of Grey Mountain on the outskirts of town in their Skidoo snowmobiles. It starts to get dark and they both have their lights on. At the top of the hill they see a bright moving light. Smythe looks back, thinking the light must be coming from the snowmobile of his friend, Tommy. But there above the trees is a bright egg-shaped object with luminous bands of red and orange-yellow. In the center these bands seem to merge and pulsate. The boys feel heat from the object and Tommy has the impression his snowmobile has slowed down. Flying silently and evidently interested in what the boys are doing, the object remains in sight for several seconds before disappearing behind the trees. Unknown to the pair, a similar object was seen over Atlin Lake some 100 miles away the previous evening. (Library and Archives Canada, “ Record Group: Royal Canadian Mounted Police,” reports for Whitehorse, January 2, 1968; John Magor, “ Strange Sights in Yukon Sky,” Canadian UFO Report 1, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1969): 1–3)
January 8 — Around 11:55 p.m. Mrs. Robert LeChance and Gertrude Gifford are watching TV in Jackson Township, New Jersey, when their TV sets fade out and the lights dim. They see an orange, bowl- shaped object moving up and down behind the tree line. (“ French General, Scientists, Report UFOs,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 6 (May/June 1968): 3)
January 15 — 7:25 a.m. Two farmers driving a truck near Three Hills, Alberta, see an object that looks “like a stunted dill pickle,” greenish-blue in color and silent. Another truck stops and they point out the object to the others, who say it looks like a flying saucer. They contact the Calgary Airport, but officials there have had no reports. (J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 60–62, 63–64)
January 15 — 9:00 p.m. Janice, Denise, and Lori Achzehner are playing records in Villa Park, Illinois, when their father’s “Saucer Seeker” UFO detector goes off. They run outside and see a large orange light hovering near the house. For 45 minutes they watch as a series of 6 objects fly in and out of the area. Through binoculars they can see that the objects are triangular or cone-shaped, no more than a mile away, and 500–1,500 feet high. As they watch, one of the objects approaches a commercial airliner, makes a 180° turn without slowing, then follows the aircraft until they are out of sight. (“ Use of Detectors in Spotting UFO,” APRO Bulletin, March/April 1968, p. 7)
January 20 - 6:00 p.m. Police deputies Bias Fortes and Pinheiro Chagas are driving 9 miles outside of Brasília, Brazil, when they see a triangular UFO. They stop and get out to observe it better and watch it hover for 5 minutes. It accelerates suddenly and speeds to the southwest. (" First Sightings of 1968 in Brazil," APRO Bulletin, Jan./Feb. 1968, p. 3)
January 20 - 11:00 p.m. Robert Ballard and his wife Lynn are visiting his parents near Vermillion, South Dakota. Robert goes outside to warm up his car for the trip home. He sees a large object and calls to his father to come outside. They watch a big ball of red and orange fire to the east. At first they think it is the moon and go inside, but as Robert and Lynn are leaving, the object gives off a flash, and one of the dogs begins barking vigorously. They drive toward the object, which seems to be flickering in a field. It seems to be spinning and is 20 feet above the ground, sometimes less. When Ballard turns onto State Highway 50, the UFO, about 30 feet in diameter, starts following them. He accelerates to 60 mph and the object jumps to just behind their car. At one point it is hovering only 3 feet above an intersection. It keeps following them at telephone height, even though Ballard speeds up to 110 mph. After another car goes by them, the object speeds up and heads straight toward them from behind. Soon it rises and disappears to the east. (" New Close-Ups, Pacings," UFO Investigator 4, no. 5 (March 1968): 3; Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, pp. 37-38)
January 22 — In response to a question by MP Teddy Taylor, UK Secretary of State for Defence Merlyn Rees writes that the total number of reports for 1967 “reflects a wave of public interest in UFOs, reaching a peak toward the end of the year,” and that unexplained sightings (only 46 out of 362) are due to lack of sufficient information. (Good Above, p. 66; Isaac Koi, “ UFOs in Parliament (UK),” Isaac Koi—UFOs and Parliament, 2024)
January 26 — A-12 pilot Jack Weeks is dispatched from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, on a sortie to locate the USS Pueblo, which has been captured by North Korean forces on January 23. His photographs pinpoint the Pueblo’s exact location in the harbor of Changjahwan Bay near Wonsan, North Korea. Instead of war plans, the US proceeds with negotiations for the return of the crew. (Jacobsen, Area 51, pp. 271–274)
January 31 — McDonald sends Low a 7-page, single-spaced letter, citing Condon’s negative statements, his preoccupation with crackpot elements, Condon’s failure to conduct any investigations himself, the lack of communication between Low and Condon and the active investigators, and the failure of the project to take seriously any assertions of cover-up. He mentions Low’s memorandum, saying “I am rather puzzled by the viewpoints expressed there.” He concludes: “I am not opposed to negative findings— on UFOs or other scientific questions; what bothers me is that it appears that these negative findings were being adumbrated as early as January 1966, and perhaps even earlier.” He sends a copy to the project’s open files. (UFOs Yes, 185–187; Clark III 1197; Eghigian, After, p. 206; Clark IV 1371)
January 31 — Morning. At Lajes Air Base on Terceira in the Azores, a Portuguese military watchman, Serafim Vieira Sebastião, notices a strange interference on his transistor radio. Looking around, he sees an oval metallic object surmounted by a transparent tower on top of which is a small balustrade on which two beings are leaning. The silhouettes of two more beings are visible in the tower. The object is hovering above a munitions dump. Serafim phones one of the other sentries then shines his flashlight on the machine. As he does so, the men on the tower see him. The object emits a cloud of gaseous dust that overpowers him. When his colleague finds him a few minutes later, the object has vanished. (“ OVNI com quatro seres ataca guarda açoriano” Insólito, no. 13 (June 1976); Nuno Alves, “ O Caso Ilha Terceira (31 de Janeiro de 1968) Serafim Vieira Sebastião,” UFO Portugal, October 28, 2017)
February — Canada’s National Research Council agrees to become the official government archive for existing and future UFO reports. The files are kept in an office of the Council’s Upper Atmosphere Section (Astrophysics Branch) in Ottawa, Ontario. But the NRC does not investigate reports. (Gregory M. Kanon, “ UFOs and the Canadian Government,” Canadian UFO Report 3, no. 7 (Spring 1976): 18; Good Above, p. 192)
February — Felix Ziegel, Soviet cosmologist and assistant professor at the Moscow Aviation Institute, Russia, writes an article on UFOs for Soviet Life with reports supplied by Novosti. He mentions four UFO reports and concludes that they could be extraterrestrial in origin. He thinks the 1908 Tunguska event is a remarkable UFO case and reveals that the USSR established a “UFO Section of the All-Union Cosmonautics Committee” in October 1967. Ziegel soon afterwards receives a letter from Edward Condon, the director of the University of Colorado UFO Project, suggesting that the Soviet and the American groups should cooperate, starting with an information exchange. Ziegel and 12 other members of his group sign a letter requesting the Soviet government to create a state-sponsored organization that would coordinate all the UFO research in the country. Next month he receives an official negative response. (Wikipedia, “ Felix Ziegel”; Felix Ziegel, “ Unidentified Flying Objects,” Soviet Life, no. 137 (February 1968): 27–29; Central Intelligence Agency, “ Nothing But the Facts on UFOs, or Which Novosti Writer Do You Read?” April 9, 1968)
February — Swiss author Erich von Däniken writes Erinnerungen an die Zukunft, translated into English as Chariots of the Gods?, the first of several books setting out the “ancient astronaut” hypothesis in which ancient gods are space visitors, Homo sapiens was created by cross-breeding or genetic engineering, nuclear wars were fought in the ancient world, and monuments were built by levitation. He will continue writing and expanding on his views through 2021. (Erich von Däniken, Chariots of the Gods? Bantam, 1973; Wikipedia, “ Chariots of the Gods?”; Barry Thiering and Edgar W. Castle, Some Trust in Chariots: Sixteen Views on Erich von Däniken’s Chariots of the Gods? Bailey Brothers & Swinfen, 1973; Richard R. Lingeman, “ Erich von Däniken’s Genesis,” New York Times, March 31, 1974, p. 6; Ronald Story, The Space-Gods Revealed: A Close Look at the Theories of Erich von Däniken, Harper & Row, 1976; Jerome Clark, “ Vimanas Have Landed: Ancient Astronautics in Ufology,” IUR 22, no. 3 (Fall 1997): 29–30; Wiktor Stoczkowski, Des hommes, des dieux et des extraterrestres: Ethnologie d’une croyance modern, Flammarion, 1999, pp. 45–49; Clark III 110; Eghigian, After, pp. 179–180; Clark IV 137–138)
February 4 — 7:20 p.m. About 200 residents of Redlands, California, see or hear a huge, low-flying, disc-shaped object as it passes overhead. The UFO is about 50 feet in diameter, with seven lights on its base emitting bright orange flame. Some 8–10 other lights on its rim alternate red and green, giving the impression that the object is rotating. A minister recording his sermon captures a high-pitched, modulated, whining sound from the UFO on tape. The UFO apparently descends just west of Columbia Street and north of Colton Avenue, then proceeds to the northwest for about a mile at an altitude of 300 feet. Coming to a stop, it hovers briefly, jerks forward, hovers again, then shoots straight up in a burst of speed. The object is not detected on radar at Norton AFB [now closed] near San Bernardino or March AFB [now March Air Reserve Base] in Riverside County. An investigation is conducted for APRO by four University of Redlands faculty: Philip Seff (geology), Judson Sanderson (math), Reinhold Krantz (math), and John Brownfield (art). They conclude that the object is not attributable to any known phenomenon or aircraft, but that the recorded sound comes from an emergency vehicle. ( Sparks, p. 327; “ UFO Reported Seen Sunday by Northside Residents,” Redlands (Calif.) Daily Facts, February 6, 1968, p. 3; “ Now...What about That UFO?” Redlands (Calif.) Daily Facts, February 7, 1968, p. 3; “ Disc over Redlands, Calif.,” APRO Bulletin, Jan./Feb. 1968, p. 6; “ The Redlands Case,” APRO Bulletin, May/June 1968, pp. 1, 4; James E. McDonald, “ Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, pp. 52–53; Karl R. Edgerton, “ Redlands UFO Sighting May Spark Investigation,” San Bernardino (Calif.) Sun-Telegram, December 8, 1968, pp. B-1, B-5; Coral Lorenzen, “UFO in California,” Fate 22, no. 3 (March 1969): 74–79; Story, pp. 299–300; UFOEv II 213; “ Redlands: Woman Recalls Late Husband’s UFO Investigation,” The Press-Enterprise YouTube channel, June 9, 2013; “ There Was a UFO Spotted in the Skies over Redlands in 1968,” Redlands (Calif.) Daily Facts, October 2, 2015; William F. Krupke, “ Sonic Analysis of the Redlands UFO Tape Recording,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 30, no. 2 (2016): 175–198)
February 5 — McDonald’s letter arrives in Boulder, Colorado. Low is out of town and the staff read it first. Low does not see it until 4:00 p.m. the following day when Mary Lou Armstrong shows it to him. He explodes, saying whoever gave the memo to McDonald should be fired. Condon is also furious. (UFOs Yes, 188; Clark III 1197; Powell, Keyhoe, 365–366; Eghigian, After, p. 206; Clark IV 1371)
February 7 — Low summons David R. Saunders to Condon’s office, asking him if he knew McDonald had a copy of the memo. Saunders said yes, and he didn’t think he needed to alert anyone, since McDonald is a friend of the project. Condon says, “For an act like that, you deserve to be ruined professionally!” Saunders avoids admitting he was responsible (indirectly) for McDonald’s having the memo. When Norm Levine arrives, Saunders is ordered to leave. Levine tells him the memo’s release is a group effort. Condon tells Levine not to discuss this meeting or communicate further with McDonald. Levine says he can’t do that, Condon tells him he is no longer useful, and Levine walks out. Condon and Low meet with other staff members the rest of the day. (UFOs Yes, 188–192; Clark III 1197; Powell, Keyhoe, 366–369; Eghigian, After, p. 206; Clark IV 1371)
February 8 — Condon and Low meet with Thurston Manning and Stuart W. Cook from the University of Colorado’s Psychology Department. Condon tells Mary Lou Armstrong that David R. Saunders and Norm Levine will be fired. Low types the letters himself and Condon signs them. Condon also writes a letter to Hynek asking him to provide 10–15 of the best cases from his files. (UFOs Yes, 192–193; Center for UFO Studies, [ Hynek correspondence], p. 10)
February 9 — Condon and Low meet with Craig, who admits knowing about the memo and says he was concerned about it. He leaves the meeting “deeply concerned” about the project’s viability. Roger Harkins writes up the events at the project for the Boulder Daily Camera; when he interviews Condon, he realizes that Condon “honestly didn’t know anything about that memo until a couple of days ago.” Condon admits, in contrast to his statements earlier, that David R. Saunders and Levine were fired for insubordination, not incompetence. (UFOs Yes, 194–195)
February 11 — 7:00 p.m. An oval, domed object passes low over a car near the edge of Hawkins Pond in Johnston, Rhode Island. It has pulsating white and pinkish-red lights around the rim, resembling a flashing theater marquee. (Raymond E. Fowler, UFOs: Interplanetary Visitors, Exposition, 1974, p. 351)
February 12 —Witnesses see an object fall near a village said to be six hours from Orocué, Colombia, and find a large, lightweight piece of metal. The debris is put on board an airplane and flown to the US Embassy in Bogotá, where it is identified as being part of the Apollo 5 mission. (“ Remains of Crashed UFO in Colombia,” APRO Bulletin, Mar./Apr. 1968, p. 1; “ Crashed UFO Investigation Closed,” APRO Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1969, p. 8)
February 13 — 4:00 a.m. Robert Union, a former FAA air traffic controller, and his wife watch a glowing white elliptical object that follows their car at an altitude of 2,000–5,000 feet near Missoula, Montana. The object moves back and forth across the road, makes sharp turns and unusual maneuvers, and finally disappears abruptly. (UFOEv II 161)
February 13 — R. Leo Sprinkle and Herbert Schirmer meet in Boulder with Colorado project investigators. Sprinkle puts Schirmer under hypnosis to elicit further details about his missing time episode of December 3, 1967. (Clark III 1034–1035; Clark IV 1149–1150)
February 14 — Hynek replies to Condon, saying that he will send him some of his best cases over the next few weeks, but requests that in return they be given a “thorough investigation.” He even offers to go to Wright-Patterson AFB and send him copies of good Blue Book cases, since Quintanilla has scrupulously been sending him copies of only those he asks for. (Center for UFO Studies, [ Hynek correspondence], pp. 11–12)
February 14 — MITRE Corporation’s F. Robert Naka, newly appointed director of a classified US Air Force study to improve the surveillance of objects in space, tells Robert Low that, contrary to what NORAD had briefed him on in 1967, NORAD radars can track UFOS “coming in from outer space” and does not deny that the agency has occasionally tracked them. (Clark III 804; Clark IV 895)
February 16 — Novosti Science Commentator Villen Lyustiberg writes “Flying Saucers? They’re a Myth” in the newspaper Moskovskij Komsomolets. Novosti releases an English translation on March 12. It explains US reports as either misobservations or misreporting by the media. (Central Intelligence Agency, “ Nothing But the Facts on UFOs, or Which Novosti Writer Do You Read?” April 9, 1968)
February 18 — 12:00 midnight. Teenagers Richard Frombach, Boone Powers, and Chris Beachner are parked next to a pond in a gravel pit near Vashon, Washington, when they notice a glowing oval object resting on a hill to the east. They drive into town to pick up an additional witness, Joseph Frabush, and return to the area, park on the main road, and walk into the pond area. The object has moved to the east. Frabush thinks it is metallic and about 30 feet long. They drive back into town for more witnesses, but when they return the light is gone and the 100-foot pond is completely frozen over. Temperatures in the area have been above freezing for several days. Small puddles and mud patches surrounding the pond are not frozen at all. The pond ice is dry, even though it has been raining all night. Investigators find that the ice is 3 inches thick in some spots, composed of 2–5 layers, and riddled with bubbles filled with air and dirt. (“ Freezing UFO ‘Seen’ on Pond,” Vancouver (Wash.) Columbian, February 19, 1968, p. 1; “ Who Put the Chill on a Vashon Island Gravel Pit?” Olympia (Wash.) Olympian, February 19, 1968, p. 1; “ Alien’s Icy Visit?” Pasco (Wash.) Tri-City Herald, February 19, 1968, p. 3; “ Vashon Mystery: Ice When It Isn’t Freezing,” Tacoma (Wash.) News Tribune, February 20, 1968, p. 15; “ Vashon Frozen Pond Ranked with UFOs,” Tacoma (Wash.) News Tribune, February 28, 1968, p. 4; “ The Strange Case of the Frozen Pond,” APRO Bulletin, March/April 1968, pp. 1–3; Rick Hilberg, “ Around and About the Saucer World,” UFO Magazine 4, no. 10 (Summer 1968): 7)
February 19 — 11:55 a.m. Martha Heggs is in her farmhouse kitchen about 10 miles west of Bengough, Saskatchewan. She hears a high-pitched whine that has such a penetrating intensity it is similar to a mild electric shock, causing a tingling sensation throughout her body. Looking out, she sees an object 300 feet away circling around a pole with an electric transformer on it. The object is shaped like two saucers edge- to-edge, surmounted by a dome with 6–7 ports, rounded at the top and extending straight down to the base of the dome. These ports are indented and white in color, resembling frosted glass. The saucers are about 8 feet wide and the dome about 4 feet wide. The body of the object looks like dull aluminum. There is a smaller, vented structure on top of the dome and an antenna on top of that. When the object first appears, a dog is seen cowering and lying in the snow, trying to cover its ears with its paws. Sixteen head of cattle, loose in the farmyard, bolt when the object moves into the area. They enter the cattle sheds and do not emerge until at least 30 minutes after the object disappears. The object moves about the farmyard, sometimes hovering, its altitude ranging from 3 feet to 20 feet. After 20 minutes, still 9–12 feet above the ground, the object leaves the farm through a windbreak and moves north until lost to view.(“ French General, Scientists, Report UFOs,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 6 (May/June 1968): 3; Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., UFOs: A New Look, NICAP, 1969, Section IV, pp. 11–12; UFOEv II 37–38)
February 20 — The US Embassy in Moscow sends an unclassified airgram to the US Department of State drawing attention to Felix Ziegel’s article in the February 1968 issue of Soviet Life, which refers to the Soviet UFO Study Group and concludes that international cooperation in studying UFOs is vital. (Felix Ziegel, “ Unidentified Flying Objects,” Soviet Life, no. 137 (February 1968): 27–29; Good Above, pp. 235, 473–474)
February 22 — Mary Lou Armstrong tells Condon that the staff has no confidence in Low as project coordinator, that Low has no interest in UFO sightings or reports, and that the staff has come to a radically different conclusion. (UFOs Yes, 199; Eghigian, After, p. 206 )
February 23 — Hynek writes another letter to Condon, saying that he has reconsidered his decision to send him his best cases, as he thinks the Colorado project will be unable to investigate them adequately before its contractual period is up. He does send him a catalog of recent Blue Book cases and offers to help him obtain from Wright-Patterson any of the unidentified or insufficient evidence cases that he wants to see. (Center for UFO Studies, [ Hynek correspondence], pp. 14–17)
February 24 — Armstrong resigns from the Colorado project, citing an “almost unanimous lack of confidence” among senior staffers in Low’s competence. She also complains that Low has been less than honest about the radical difference between staff views of UFOs and the views Low and Condon are expressing. (J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 239–241, 274–282; Clark III 698, 1197; Clark IV 795, 1371)
February 27 — 4:30 a.m. A brilliant flood of light from her window abruptly awakens Grace L. Bernor in Templeton, Massachusetts. She becomes paralyzed, her face is immobile, and her hands and feet ache. The light goes on and off about 7–8 times, ending around 5:00 a.m. She slowly recovers over the next few days. (Michael D. Swords, “ A Trick of the Light,” IUR 31, no. 2 (June 2007): 11)
February 27 — 6:55 p.m. Truck driver Andrew Perry is driving from Bideford to Cullompton, Devon, England, when he sees a bright light appear at the crest of a hill. As he gets closer, he sees the light is coming from a mushroom-shaped object. As he reaches about 900 feet away from the object, he stops the truck and climbs to the top of the cab to get a better view. He sees about 4–5 figures about 4 feet tall spread out around the object. Suddenly they scramble toward the UFO and disappear inside. The object emits a high- pitched whirring sound that causes his truck to vibrate. Perry gets upset and climbs back into the truck, driving it fast down the road. Meanwhile, the UFO has risen about 200 feet into the air and is passing above his truck, making a noise so loud he can’t hear the engine running. Suddenly the truck engine cuts out. A few seconds later, the noise stops and Perry sees the UFO moving away in the distance. He drives to the nearest police station to report the incident. (UFOFiles2, pp. 126–127)
February 28 — Condon has a slight heart attack. (Center for UFO Studies, [ Hynek correspondence], p. 19)
February 29 — Chairman of the Soviet Astronomical Services Evald Rudolfovich Mustel, president of the All-Union Astronomical and Geodetic Society D. Martynov, and Secretary of the National Committee of Soviet Physicists V. A. Leshkovtsev write an article in Pravda claiming that there have been no unexplainable sightings of UFOs on Russian soil. UFOs are “anti-Soviet products of decadent capitalistic warmongering.” From this point on, pro-UFO articles are forbidden by state censorship, although some members of the disbanded UFO Study Group write letters to Pravda insisting that UFO identification is essential for defense. Academician A. Shchukin responds, saying that the Academy of Sciences is already doing that. (Evald Rudolfovich Mustel, D. Martynov, and V. A. Leshkovtsev, [“Flying Saucers Again?”], Pravda, February 29, 1968; Good Above, pp. 235–236; Mikhail Gershtein, “ A Short History of UFO Research in the Former Soviet Union,” UAP Check, July 6, 2024)
March — EG&G technician Thornton D. Barnes arrives in Area 51 in Nevada to reverse-engineer the Soviet MiG-21 acquired through defecting Iraqi fighter pilot Munir Redfa. Soviet-built radar systems acquired in the Middle East are installed around Groom Lake (to aid stealth testing of the SR-71), and Barnes is also assigned to evaluate them as well as the ECM capabilities of the MiG. (Jacobsen, Area 51, pp. 290–293)
March 1 — Boulder, Colorado, police arrest Colorado project officer Jim Wadsworth for possession of marijuana. He pleads no contest and resigns. (UFOs Yes, 200)
March 1 — An Over the Horizon Forward Scatter Radar System 440L/Program 673A is turned over to NORAD’s Cheyenne Mountain facility in Colorado by Air Force Intelligence. It has been previously used to collect intelligence on Soviet missile launches since it was built in 1960–1962. It soon picks up unidentified radar returns. (Clark III 811; Clark IV 904)
March 2 — A magnetic monitoring device with a film camera set up by the Queensland Flying Saucer Research Bureau at Horseshoe Lagoon, Tully, Queensland, is triggered around the time that an airliner flying at 6,000 feet from Cairns to Iron Range is paced by a UFO. About 50 feet of film is exposed. On March 4, another 16 feet is exposed during a local UFO sighting. The film is apparently intercepted by the RAAF after Victor Mele, the owner of the film, sends it to a Kodak processing facility in Melbourne, Victoria. (Good Above, pp. 170–172)
March 3 — 8:30 p.m. Several witnesses are traveling east on Knud Drive in Columbia, Tennessee, when they notice a large rectangular object approaching them silently from behind. When they stop the car, the object is directly overhead and moving east. It has hundreds of small, dimly lit points of light in 5–6 rows on its base. Witness Norman E. Bryant thinks it is 1,000 feet long, 250 feet wide, and flying at an altitude of 2,000 feet. It passes them in a matter of seconds. (“ Out of the Past,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 4, no. 5 (Oct./Nov. 1983): 4–6)
March 4 — 6:15 p.m. A cigar-shaped object approaches a car driven by Nicholas Sgouris in West Seneca, New York, and passes in front of it. The object is 50–60 feet long with blinking yellow lights. The witness tries to speed up, but the accelerator does not respond. The object disappears instantly. (“ French General, Scientists, Report UFOs,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 6 (May/June 1968): 3; Mark Rodeghier, UFO Reports Involving Vehicle Interference, CUFOS, 1981, p. 40)
March 4 — 9:00 p.m. A man is driving his new Triumph Spitfire up a country lane near Glossop, Derbyshire, England, when two golden objects shoot over the top of his car, killing his headlights, radio, and engine. Moments after the objects pass to the north, the headlights come back on, but the radio still fails. He is able to restart his car engine after the lights come on. A BUFORA investigator takes the radio to his workplace at British Aerospace and finds that two key transistors have burned out, seemingly due to a power surge. Once the transistors are replaced, the radio works again. (Jenny Randles, “Flappy Valley, Part 4,” Fortean Times 328 (July 2015): 30)
March 10 — 6:00 p.m. Valentina Flores is bringing in her llamas on her farm between Opoco and Uyuni, Bolivia, when she discovers that her sheep pen is covered with a net made of some plastic-like material, and that inside the pen is a helmeted being, 3.5 ft tall, who is engaged in killing her sheep using a tubular instrument with a hook on the end. Flores throws stones at the being, whereupon he walks over to an instrument resembling a radio and, moving a wheel on it, quickly absorbs all the netting. The woman approaches the pen with a cudgel, upon which the being throws its instrument at her several times; it returns to him like a boomerang, after it inflicts superficial cuts on her arms. The entity picks up the machine, which has absorbed the net as well as a bag containing sheep entrails, and puts them into a rucksack on his back. Two legs emerge from the rucksack and extend down to the ground, at which time the entity rises straight up into the air with an extraordinary sound and vanishes. 34 sheep are found dead; from every one, “certain small portions of the digestive organs were missing.” (Oscar A. Galíndez, “ Violent Humanoid Encountered in Bolivia,” Flying Saucer Review 16, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1970): 15–16; Patrick Gross, URECAT, November 9, 2007; Clark III 138–139)
March 10 — 9:00 p.m. A dark, oval-shaped object with a searchlight in the front wobbles and moves like a “boat riding over the waves” above Pawtucket, Rhode Island. It passes over the local electric power substation and flies off, following the power lines. (Raymond E. Fowler, UFOs: Interplanetary Visitors, Exposition, 1974, p. 351)
March 11 — 9:30 p.m. Steven Trimper and his wife are driving near the old Municipal Home in Marshalltown, Nova Scotia, on their way to Digby when they spot an oval-shaped object, roughly the size of a helicopter, displaying red, blue, and white lights. Along with Mrs. Claude O’Neill, they watch it hover above the water near the Bay End Motel for a few minutes before it descends and vanishes. (“ UFOs Invade Maritimes,” Saucers, Space, and Science, no. 52 (Summer 1968): 13)
March 12 — James E. McDonald presents a paper, “UFOs: An International Scientific Problem,” at an astronautics symposium of the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute, analyzing in depth Philip Klass’s plasma theory of UFOs and rejecting it as “superficial.” (James E. McDonald, “ UFOs: An International Scientific Problem,” March 12, 1968; Story, p. 414)
March 16? - Early morning. The crew of a US Navy ship in the East China Sea several hours out of Okinawa, Japan, encounter a huge underwater light approaching and passing in front of the ship toward the southwest. It appears to be revolving. After it disappears on the horizon, a light appears high above the surface of the water at the point where the submerged object vanished and approaches the ship, moving from horizon to horizon in about 10 seconds. (" NICAP Studies Underwater UFO Case," UFO Investigator, January 1971, p. 3; " NICAP Studies Underwater UFO Case," UFO Investigator, February 1971, p. 3; " Underwater UFO Case Still Unverified," UFO Investigator, May 1971, p. 1; Dolan, USO1, 315-316)
March 19 — 8:30 p.m. 12-year-old Gregory L. Wells is walking toward the trailer home of his parents in Beallsville, Ohio, when he sees an oval-shaped, bright red object hovering above some nearby trees and illuminating the road. It has a band of dimmer red lights around its midsection. Suddenly a big tube emerges from the object and moves around until it is pointed at him. A light beam shoots out and hits the upper part of his arm, knocking him down. His jacket catches fire and he rolls around, screaming with fright. His mother and grandmother come out to help, and they both see the red UFO, which just fades away after 10 minutes. The boy is taken to a hospital and treated for second-degree burns. His scars are still visible three months later. (“ Boy Burned by UAO in Ohio,” APRO Bulletin, March/April 1968, pp. 1, 3; James E. McDonald, “ Statement on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968, p. 79; Stringfield, Situation Red, Fawcett Crest, 1977, pp. 197–198)
March 20 — 10:30 p.m. A young couple strolling on the beach at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, see a dark red object above the ocean. It has a blue band with evenly spaced, pulsating green lights. They estimate it is almost one mile offshore and about 200 feet in diameter. It slowly descends at a 45° angle into the water, which lights up in a brilliant red glow. (Dolan, USO1, 316–317)
March 25 — 8:15 p.m. Villagers in Batulechaur, Lamachaur, Nepal, hear a deafening sound like thunder as a bright object hurtles downward and lands in a field belonging to Kul Timilsina, who finds a sheet of black metal about 6 feet by 4 feet and brings it home. The US Embassy in Kathmandu hears about the supposed spacecraft part and arranges for it to be recovered, packed in a crate, and flown to the United States under the auspices of Project Moon Dust in March 1972. There are similar sightings of objects falling from the sky in Ladakh, Sikkim, and Bhutan between February 19 and March 25, 1968. (Central Intelligence Agency, “ Sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects in Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan”; Kevin D. Randle, Project Moon Dust, Harper, 1998, pp. 154–155; “ UFO over Pokhara,” Nepali Times, December 7, 2024)
March 29 — 4:00 p.m. Meteorologist Ştefan Bălaşa and a group of skiers watch a shiny object 75°–80° in the sky near the weather station on Semenic Mountain, Romania. Through binoculars it appears cone-shaped. Bălaşa continues to watch it until 6:40 p.m. when it begins to dim and move slowly to the east-northeast. The same or similar object appears in the same area on the evening of March 30. (Romania 17–18)
March 29 — 6:50 p.m. Spectators at a football match in Tismana, Romania, see a stationary, bright-blue-green conical object that changes its color to red and disappears by 7:30 p.m. (Hobana and Weverbergh 237–238; Romania 18)
March 29 — 7:30 p.m. Two students and two teachers in Târgu-Jiu, Romania, see a whitish- blue isosceles triangle in the southeast sky. It changes color to orange then red and departs to the southwest. (Hobana and Weverbergh 134–135; Romania 18)
March 30 — 2:30 a.m. Teofil Iorga and 120 other construction workers at the Banat Mine in Oraviţa, Romania, see a luminous globe in the sky. At 6:10 a.m., a stationary yellowish-white object appears in the northeast. Iorga takes a photo of it at 8:00 a.m. and looks at it through a theodolite at 8:15 a.m. It is shaped like a truncated cone with one side exposed to the sun. At 9:00 a.m., the object ascends and moves to the south. (Hobana and Weverbergh 129–130; Romania 18)
March 30 — 8:00 a.m. Meteorologist Vasile Coţoi and Ingeborg Vityi observe a white conical object maneuvering slowly against the wind at the weather station on Ţarcu Peak, Romania. They watch it for 2.5 hours before it disappears. At 1:00 p.m. it is logged by the weather station near Berzasca about 1 mile inland from the Danube River. At 4:00 p.m. it reappears at the Semenic Mountain weather station and is also seen at Caransebeş, Romania, and other places. (Hobana and Weverbergh 131–138; Romania 19–20)
Spring — Two prospectors, Ed Sampson and Bill Johnson, are sleeping in the Anza Borrego Desert, California, when they wake up at the sound of an explosion. The sky above is filled with a fading red light, and they see flashes on the western horizon. The two climb to the crest of a hill and look down. Sampson sees a “red, circular flying saucer” hovering over the valley, while entities with glowing red eyes march in single file close to the ridge of an adjacent canyon. Something like a church bell rings out at intervals, and mechanical clanking is also audible. After noticing two glowing-eyed creatures standing behind them, they take off running. (Clark III 557; Clark IV 615)
Mid-April - Evening. Engineer Gu Ying is sent to a military construction regiment in the north Gobi Desert, China, when the entire battalion notices a huge, luminous, red-orange disc with a flashing light landing in the sand. It is about 9 feet in diameter. The commander dispatches a team of motorcycle troops to approach it. As they get closer, the object shoots up into the sky and disappears. The UFO leaves ground traces like a "seared cross." The soldiers assume it is a Russian device. (Wendelle Stevens and Paul Dong, UFOs over Modern China, UFO Photo Archive, 1983, pp. 49-50)
April 4 — 8:15 p.m. Two young men in Cochrane, Wisconsin, see a UFO hover above a car ahead of them; its headlights suddenly go out. The object appears metallic and glows orange when standing still, but gets redder and brighter when moving. The object then comes toward their car and the engine conks out. It hovers overhead for a moment, during which time the witnesses feel increased heat and weightlessness. The object departs over a nearby field, emitting a cloudy haze all around its periphery. (Mark Rodeghier, UFO Reports Involving Vehicle Interference, CUFOS, 1981, p. 40)
April 10 - 11:00 or 11:30 a.m. College student Rickey Bahr is riding his motorcycle north on US Highway 285 near Estrella, Colorado. He sees bright red lights-one flashing, one stationary-coming from an object hovering 50-60 feet off the ground, east of the highway. He stops and watches for a few seconds, feeling scared. He follows the object toward Alamosa, but it vanishes over a farm. (" More From Colorado," APRO Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1968, p. 7; Mel Foor, " Epidemic of U.F.O.'s Excites Residents of a Colorado Valley," Kansas City (Mo.) Star, November 17, 1968, pp. 1-2D)
April 10 — 9:00 p.m. Three groups of people witness lights fly over Ipswich, Massachusetts. The first two groups sight three bright white lights in a triangular formation, swinging like a pendulum. The lead object suddenly shoots away, and the others change colors from red to blue to green to white. Nearby, one witness reports a glowing ring shining a light on houses. (Raymond E. Fowler, UFOs: Interplanetary Visitors, Exposition Press, p. 351)
April 27 — 9:20 p.m. Rev. Anthony G. Millican is walking with his wife in Arnos Court Park in Brislington, Bristol, England, when they see a glowing object, revolving and hovering some 6 feet off the ground about 300 feet away. It has a dome and seems to be 12–15 feet high with a central pillar about 4–5 feet high. After 20 seconds, the object just fades away. (Alastair Prevost, “ Sighting in a Bristol Park,” Flying Saucer Review 14, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1968): 3–4)
April 30 — Rep. J. Edward Roush (D-Ind.) denounces the Colorado project in Congress based on the Look article and raises doubts about its scientific integrity. He writes to Air Force Secretary Robert Seamans to ask for his comments on “this deplorable situation” and he writes to the Comptroller General Elmer B. Staats to investigate the use of public funds for the project. (Evert Clark, “Colorado U. Ends Saucer Study But Does Not Disclose Results,” New York Times, May 1, 1968, p. 8; “Congressional UFOing,” Wall Street Journal, May 3, 1968; UFOs Yes, 201–202;)
April 30 — At a press conference in Washington, D.C., NICAP announces its break with the Colorado project, citing evidence of negative bias and the apparent disregard of most of the cases it has submitted. Keyhoe and the NICAP Board of Directors write to President Lyndon Johnson, enclosing the Low memo and other evidence and urging that he create an entirely new commission. Col. Bernhard M. Ettenson, from the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, writes back to say that “we expect that Dr. Condon will fulfill the terms of the agreement.” (“ NICAP Breaks with Colorado Project,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 6 (May/June 1968): 1; “ The Inside Story of the Colorado Project,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 6 (May/June 1968): 4–5; Clark III 1197; Clark IV 1372)
Early May — Five UFOs are seen diving into the ocean off Arrecife, Vargas, Venezuela. (“ Current South American Flap,” APRO Bulletin, May/June 1968, p. 8)
Early May — Night. Gerardo Vidal and his wife are driving home from Chascomús to Maipú, Buenos Aires, Argentina. They are just outside Chascomús when their car is enveloped in a thick green fog. The next thing they know they are driving on a road near Mexico City in broad daylight, 4,400 miles to the northwest. Their watches have stopped, and they discover that two days have passed. They visit the Argentine embassy in Mexico City, where Vidal calls a relative in Maipú to report that they are well. However, a June 4, 1968, Reuters dispatch from Mexico City contains a denial of the incident by the Argentine embassy, and subsequent inquiries can find no one in Maipú that could be the Vidals. Finally, in October 1998 Argentine film director Aníbal Uset admits to researcher Roberto Enrique Banchs that he had invented the Chascomús teleportation as a publicity stunt to spread a fantastic story based on the plot of his upcoming film Ché OVNI. The movie’s poster even shows a UFO carrying off an automobile. (La Razon (Buenos Aires), June 3, 1968; Oscar A. Galíndez, “ Teleportation from Chascomús to Mexico,” Flying Saucer Review 14, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1968): 3–4; “ Further News on South America,” APRO Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1968, pp. 7–8; Internet Movie Database, “ Ché OVNI”; Jacques Vallée, Confrontations: A Scientist’s Search for Alien Intelligence, Ballantine, 1990, p. 96; Roberto E. Banchs, “The Chascomús Teleportation Hoax,” Fortean Times 351 (April 2017): 56–57)
May — 11:00 p.m. The naval destroyer USS Zellars is on a NATO task force operation in the Mediterranean Sea with the Sixth Fleet. The crew sees five lights rise up out of the water off the ship’s port beam and disappear into the sky. They reappear minutes later, performing synchronized upward and lateral movements for 2–3 minutes before shooting away again. The incident is dismissed as an unsubstantiated ship distress signal. (National UFO Reporting Center, “ NUFORC UFO Sighting 68506,” March 19, 2009; Dolan, USO1, 320–322)
May 2 - Evening. A teenage girl named Shane Kurz allegedly sees a cigar-shaped object in Westmoreland, New York; she had seen it or a similar object two weeks earlier. Half an hour later she falls into a deep sleep. Her mother checks on her at 4:00 a.m., but she is not in her bed. Later, she is found lying on her bed wearing muddy slippers. She has two reddish, ring-shaped marks on her abdomen, a mark below her navel, and burning eyes. In 1975, she undergoes hypnosis and recalls walking to a muddy field where she is beamed aboard a UFO. She undergoes some intrusive medical procedures, then has sex with a small humanoid "doctor," whom she accuses of rape. She is floated back to the ground. (Hans Holzer, The Ufonauts, Fawcett, 1976; Clark III 1061; Clark IV 1176-1177)
May 4 - 8:00 p.m. Captain Woodrow Atwood, skipper of the fishing boat Which Way In, is in the North Atlantic Ocean south of Seal Island, Nova Scotia, when he notices a small light to the north. Suddenly it bursts into a blood-red color and appears to be only 150-225 away and approaching. Heat from the object becomes so intense that he has to move away from the window. The object floats overhead for 5 minutes, then descends and moves away. (" Object Heats Up Boat in N.S.," APRO Bulletin, July/Aug. 1968, p. 4; Dolan, USO1, 317-319)
May 10 — 5:00 p.m. K. S. McKern watches a rocket-like object rise from the water in Coogee Bay off Coogee Beach, New South Wales, Australia. It rotates 360°, tilts, and shoots off to the north. He manages to snap a grainy photo. (“ Australia,” Spacelink 6, no. 1 (July 1969): 31; Dolan, USO1, 319–320)
May 10 — 10:00 p.m. Grant Callison of Galesburg, Illinois, looks out his kitchen window and sees a giant bird illuminated by a streetlight. He and his wife Wilma rush outside for a better look and see three of them flying in a V-formation at an altitude of 500 feet. They look like they have metallic feathers or scales. They are flying with a graceful, fluttering motion. They then see two objects to the south with pulsating red lights moving in the same direction at the same speed (about 25–35 mph). On May 20, around 9:00 p.m., the Callisons have another odd sighting of a single bird-like creature. (Grant Callison, “ Zoodities: Winged Creatures over Illinois,” Crux, no. 2 (1986): 12–13; Grant Callison, “ Winged Creatures over Illinois,” UFOexperiences, February 6, 2006; Clark III 655; Clark IV 859–860)
May 11 — A farmer in Brinkley, South Australia, notices strands of material about 65 feet long falling on his property. He says it is like asbestos rope and as wide as a pencil. On the same day, web-like “fine woven cotton” is seen on a lawn and draped over wires and a fence in Cheltenham, Adelaide, South Australia. (Keith Basterfield, “ Angel Hair: An Australian Perspective,” IUR 27, no. 1 (Spring 2002): 7)
May 13 — George H. Estabrooks, a Canadian-American psychologist and former consultant for the FBI and CIA, tells the Providence Evening Bulletin that the key to developing an effective spy or assassin is by creating a multiple personality with the aid of hypnosis, a procedure he describes as “child’s play.” Estabrooks suggests that Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby could have been controlled in this manner. “This has and is being done. I have done it. It is child’s play now to develop a multiple personality through hypnotism.” (Providence (R.I.) Evening Bulletin, May 13, 1968; Colin A. Ross, The C.I.A. Doctors: Human Rights Violations by American Psychiatrists, Manitou, 2006, pp. 150–164; Phil Kirby, “ Event / TV Times: The Prisoner: Free for All,” The Culture Vulture, May 10, 2018)
May 17 — 5:00 a.m. Caetano Sergio dos Santos is returning home from his job as a night watchman at Caconde, São Paulo, Brazil. In the courtyard of his house he sees a cylinder-shaped object, about the size of a powdered-milk can, stuck in the ground. At each end are dials, one with a black band, the other with a red one. They are encased under a glass or plastic lens with embossed figures arranged in a semicircle. Above each figure is something like an Arabic numeral. Dos Santos takes the object into the house and studies it for 90 minutes, then puts it on a windowsill in the bathroom before going to bed. He goes back to work, then at about 1:00 a.m., he returns home and notices that the object is lighting up the house, with his wife and son, very agitated, standing outside with neighbors. She tells him that a loud buzzing and intense heat had wakened her, both emanating from the object. Dos Santos goes inside and finds a hole in the roof, tile scattered over the floor, and the object gone. (“ Brazilian Object Real Puzzler,” APRO Bulletin, July/Aug. 1968, pp. 1, 3; Walter Buehler, “ The Mysterious Caconde Case,” Flying Saucer Review 15, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1969): 18–19; Clark III 339; Clark IV 375)
May 23 — 9:00 p.m. The crew of the attack transport USS Monrovia of the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet observes a large submerged object, on the starboard side just aft of the stern, in the Atlantic Ocean near the Azores. It is an elongated, translucent ovoid, glowing with a pulsing orange color. As it continues to pace the ship, the compass, radio, and radar systems fail. After 90 minutes, the object’s light fades and it vanishes and the ship’s equipment begins working again. (National UFO Reporting Center, “ NUFORC UFO Sighting 54893,” February 1, 2007; Dolan, USO1, 323–324)
May 27 — 6:00 a.m. Pan Chen Hsiang is inside his house in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, when he hears his son shouting for him to come out onto the patio. He runs outside and sees a strange, dark, disc-shaped object flying horizontally. It passes directly over them in complete silence. The object is large, estimated to be about 33 feet in diameter, with a flat gray color and a dull metallic finish. Regular flashes emit from its dome. Hsiang takes five photographs of the object, which capture it with a darkened dome against a clear sky. (“ World Round-Up,” Flying Saucer Review 14, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1968): 34, 36; Wendelle Stevens and Paul Dong, UFOs over Modern China, UFO Photo Archive, 1983, pp. 309–311)
May 27 — 9:45 p.m. Bill Stafford is driving on US Highway 41 about 5 miles north of Punta Gorda, Florida, when his headlights and engine fail. As he gets out to check, he sees a light slowly descending at treetop level. The object is shaped like a Pilgrim’s hat with a green glow and bluish color surrounding it. A few minutes after landing, it takes off at high speed, disappearing in the northwest. The car starts once it is gone. The witness notices that his watch has stopped. (Sally Remaley, “ Green Light Means Go...UFO!” Bradenton (Fla.) Herald, Sunday Magazine, July 21, 1968, p. 6; Mark Rodeghier, UFO Reports Involving Vehicle Interference, CUFOS, 1981, p. 41)
Summer — Three teenagers notice an irregular triangular object flying to the west over housing in Stazic street in Rzeszów, Poland. It is dark with some brighter bulges on the bottom and emits a buzzing sound. (Poland 32)
June 3 — McDonald addresses the Burro Club (Democratic Congressional Administrative Assistants and Aides) in the Rayburn Building in Washington, D.C., on the question “Does Congress Have a Responsibility to Investigate the UFO Problem?” (Story, p. 414)
June 6 — Capt. U. Tiviroli, commander of an Argentine Airlines Avro, sees a UFO, along with his copilot and 18 passengers, for 5 minutes during a night landing at Punta Arenas airport, Chile. An unusually bright object, long and spindle-shaped, appears above the plane. It moves in a course parallel to the plane and stops suddenly in midair. Then it swerves in a right angle back to the plane. It is also seen by airport observers. (“ Argentinian Pilot Reports UAO,” APRO Bulletin, May/June 1968, p. 3)
June 14 - Shortly after 12:00 midnight. Isidro Puentes Ventura is on guard duty in Cabañas, Artemisa, Cuba, when he sees on the ground a brilliant domed UFO with several antennas on top. He approaches to within 165 feet and fires about 40 machine gun rounds into it, convinced it is American. The object turns orange and emits a whistling sound as Puentes loses consciousness. At dawn, an Army patrol finds him still unconscious and takes him to a hospital in Pinar del Rio, where he remains in shock for 6 days, unable to speak. He is then taken to a Naval hospital in Havana, where he remains in shock another week. At the site, Cuban and Soviet intelligence specialists find 48 spent cartridges and 14 bullets flattened by impact with something solid, as well as equally spaced indentations on the ground. Tests reveal that the soil has been exposed to a high temperature. (Jacques Vallée, UFO Chronicles of the Soviet Union: A Cosmic Samizdat, Ballantine, 1992, pp. 82-85; Scott Corrales, "Cuba UFOs, Ufonauts, and a Compelling Documentary," UFOlogist 19, no. 6 (March-April 2016): 40)
June 15-17 - Night. Allied forward spotters along the eastern part of the Demilitarized Zone in Vietnam see about 30 strange slow-moving lights. At the time they are interpreted as North Vietnamese Russian-built M-14 Hound helicopters ferrying men and materiel over the border. The lights appear the following evening, and several US 7th Air Force Phantom fighter-bombers soon arrive on the scene and fire on the intruders, supported by anti-aircraft ground fire. During the Allied attack the presumed helicopters move down the east coast and out to sea. The destroyers HMAS Hobart, USS Edson, and USS Theodore E. Chandler are ordered to undertake surveillance missions around C?n C? (Tiger Island) along the north central coast. Around 3:14 a.m. on June 17, the ships are involved in a friendly fire incident in which the Hobart is hit by 3 missiles from one of the Phantoms, causing major damage and killing two of the crew. The Hobart is apparently right behind the alleged helicopters. (Wikipedia, " Controversy over Loss of PCF-19"; " Hobart in Port for Repair," Canberra (A.C.T.) Times, June 20, 1965, p. 7; " HMAS Hobart Hit," Royal Australian Navy Hit 11, no. 13 (June 21, 1968): 1; Jon Wyatt, " HMAS Hobart Hit during Vietnam UFO Encounter?" AUFORN Special Report, no. 34 (April 2003), reprinted in UFO Evidence; Paul Dean, "Finally, US Air Force Records Discovered Confirming UFO Activity During the Striking of the HMAS Hobart," UFOs: Documenting the Evidence, Part 1, August 11, 2016, and Part 2, August 18, 2016; Paul Dean, "Significant Discovery of US Military Records Highlighting UFO Problem' during the Vietnam War," UFOs: Documenting the Evidence, Part 1, August 29, 2016, and Part 2, September 21, 2016; Clark III 1050, 1054; Clark IV 1165-1166, 1169)
June 16 and 19 — Night. Chief of Provincial Police German Rocha and Police Maj. Niceforo Léon observe a round object with a vivid blue light near El Choro, Poopó, Bolivia. It lands, leaves a strange, powerful odor, and burns grass and shrubs. (Gordon Creighton, “ A New South American ‘Wave,’” Flying Saucer Review 14, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1968): 23–24; Oscar A. Galíndez, “ South America Revisited,” Australian UFO Review, no. 10 (December 1969): 41)
June 18 — Jorge Raul Scassa Sutter and Ruben Andrawos are flying a Cessna 182 from Villa Dolores, Córdoba, Argentina, to La Guardia, Catamarca, Argentina. They see an object looking like an overturned soup plate with a cupola on top. The object is grayish-blue with no windows, and its diameter is about 90 feet. The object is at the same altitude as the aircraft, 7,500 feet, and at a distance of 330 feet. It disappears by flying to the north at a fantastic speed. There is a possible VHF interference (“frequency fading”) when the object approaches the aircraft in front. (La Gaceta de Tucumán, June 19, 1968; NICAP, “ Cessna 182 Encounters UFO / VHF I/FF”; Carlos Daniel Ferguson, Aviation Safety Reports Related by Argentine Pilots Concerning Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, NARCAP International Air Safety Report IR-6, August 29, 2013, p. 4)
June 19 — 4:00 a.m. Two farm boys are stacking hay near Rocky, Oklahoma, when a bright white, circular, wingless craft appears and descends at a 45° angle to the height of nearby telephone wires. The apparent size of the full moon, it moves horizontally across the farmyard. It has numerous lights around the outside and appears to be rotating in a counterclockwise direction. Their dogs start barking at it. They believe it is going to crash, so they run back into the barn after 3 minutes. It is last seen over a small silo. (J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 104–106)
Late June — 11:45 p.m. The US naval destroyer USS Waldron is participating in an exercise called Operation Racer Run off the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico, when the ship’s radar detects two objects that fail to respond to IFF signals. The crew can see the objects in the distance. Moving at 400 mph and making right-angle turns. One of the objects goes underwater as the other one hovers. When it emerges, both objects depart in about 10 seconds at a 45° angle. (Jan L. Aldrich, “ Updated Draft Catalogue of UFOs/USOs Reported by Seagoing Services, NavCat 2.0,” 2015; Dolan, USO1, 326)
June 20 — The US Seventh Air Force holds a “joint service conference on the UFO problem” in Hawaii after a series of tragic incidents on June 15–17, including a missile attack on “unidentified helicopters” that hit the Australian Navy destroyer HMAS Hobart, killing two sailors. An investigation reveals that the Air Force is in the midst of a wave of sightings of things that are not enemy helicopters in central Vietnam, just south of and within the DMZ. ( Sparks, pp. 327–328; Clark III 1051; Clark IV 1166)
June 20 — Following the publication of their book Flying Saucer Report: UFOs Unidentified, Unidentifiable, British researchers Anthony R. Pace and Roger H. Stanway visit the UK S4 (Air) UFO desk in Whitehall, London, again and meet with Leslie Akhurst, John Dickison, and Alec Cassie. Their request to record the interview is denied, but they are impressed with Cassie’s ability to recall UFO cases mentioned in their book. (Good Above, p. 68)
June 20 — A husband and wife encounter an array of lights that hover above their car near Roswell, New Mexico. Both have a feeling of great peace. When the UFO vanishes, the wife finds that the arthritis in her neck has been healed. (“ Reaction Reports,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 7 (July/August 1968): 7; Michael D. Swords, “ Can UFOs Cause Physiological Effects? Part 1,” IUR 33, no. 4 (May 2011): 23)
June 26 — An Argentine Trotskyist using the pseudonym J. Posadas, who formed a movement in 1962 based on the inevitability of nuclear war, has proclaimed an interest in UFOs as entities with the ability to master sophisticated technologies that are compatible with socialism. If UFOs exist, they might be helpful in addressing some of the major problems in the earth. In his pamphlet, Les Soucoupes Volantes: Le processus de la matière et de l’energie, la science et le socialisme, Posadas pleads that “We must call upon beings from other planets when they come to intervene, to collaborate with the inhabitants of the Earth to overcome misery. We must launch a call on them to use their resources to help us.” (J. Posadas, Flying Saucers: The Process of Matter and Energy, Science, the Revolutionary and Working-Class Struggle, and Socialism, June 26, 1968; A. M. Gittlitz, I Want to Believe: Posadism, UFOs, and Apocalyptic Communism, Pluto, 2020; Ian Parker, “ Believe It or Not!” Socialist Resistance, May 1, 2020)
June 29 - Night. Eduardo Sánchez Aguilar, Pablo Pastor Ortega, and Damián Vega are driving along National Highway 5 in San Luis del Palmar, Corrientes, Argentina, when they see a circular flattened object that emits an intensely bright orange light. At one point it seems to approach dangerously close, so they turn out their lights. As the object passes near them, their car is shaken by a powerful vibration and the gears go into reverse. (La Crónica (Buenos Aires), July 4, 1968; Gordon Creighton, " A New South American `Wave,'" Flying Saucer Review 14, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1968): 26)
July — British physicist Reginald Victor Jones publishes a skeptical view of UFOs in Physics Bulletin, but supports genuine scientific inquiry. (R. V. Jones, “ The Natural Philosophy of Flying Saucers,” Physics Bulletin, July 1968, pp. 225–230)
July — A CIA team flies into Saigon [now Ho Chi Minh City], Vietnam, to experiment on three Viet Cong prisoners at Biên Hòa Hospital. Working in an enclosed compound, the team’s neurosurgeon and neurologist insert tiny electrodes into their brains. Behaviorists then experiment on the men, arming them with knives and trying to induce violent behavior in them using direct electrical stimulation. After a week of experimentation that fails to incite the men to attack each other, they are shot dead and their bodies burned. (Sid Taylor, “ A History of Secret CIA Mind Control Research,” Nexus, April/May 1992)
July - A man is driving on Blacketts Lake Road southwest of Sydney, Nova Scotia, when he sees a saucer-shaped object descending below the tree line near the lake. He parks his car and runs along a trail to get closer. He is about 75 feet from the object, which is only 6 feet above the ground in a clearing. The UFO suddenly rises and flies away. The RCMP blocks access to the site during its investigation. (" Former RCMP Officer Photographs UFO near Sydney, N.S.," Journal UFO 2, no. 4 (March 1981): 15)
July — 1:00 a.m. Walter Rizzi is taking a nap in his car by the road just south of the Gardena Pass, South Tyrol, Italy, when he wakes to the smell of something burning. He sees a light about 1,600 feet further downhill shining through the mist. The mist parts, and he sees an enormous object that suddenly reminds him of an encounter he had with a strange hermit on the island of Rhodes in Greece when he was in the Italian army in World War II. The hermit had predicted he would someday meet with advanced beings from the cosmos who would provide him with the assurance of life throughout the universe. Rizzi makes his way downhill toward the object, which is silvery, some 260 feet in diameter, standing on three legs, bathed in fleecy white light, and emitting a burning odor. He gets within 10 feet and cannot go further. He sees two beings inside a transparent cupola on the top who are looking down at him. To the right of the object is a robot about 8 feet tall with three legs and four arms. A beam of light comes from the center of the object, and Rizzi sees another being dressed in a tight- fitting suit and glass helmet descending. They communicate telepathically about other planets and the universe. Eventually the entities reenter the object and take off. Rizzi claims there are landing marks, effects on the grass, and his watch starts losing time. (Gordon Creighton, “ Introductory Comments on the Rizzi Case,” Flying Saucer Review 26, no. 3 (September 1980): 21–22; Walter Rizzi, “ Close Encounter in the Dolomites,” Flying Saucer Review 26, no. 3 (September 1980): 22–27; 1Pinotti 158– 169)
July 1 — NASA publishes a Chronological Catalog of Reported Lunar Events, by Barbara M. Middlehurst, Jaylee M. Burley, Patrick Moore, and Barbara L. Welther. Moore invents the term “transient lunar phenomena” to describe short-lived changes in brightness, color, or appearance on the surface of the moon. (Wikipedia, “ Transient lunar phenomenon”; Barbara M. Middlehurst, Jaylee M. Burley, Patrick Moore, and Barbara L. Welther, Chronological Catalog of Reported Lunar Events, NASA Technical Report R-277, July 1, 1968)
July 1 — 12:30 a.m. Three boys are sitting on the main gate of the UNESP Hospital das Clinicas of the Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil. Suddenly they see a large object “as big as a house” sitting about 1,150 feet to the west of them. It has a large tripod undercarriage and a ladder reaching down to the ground. The boys can hear a weird “tinging sound on a high note.” They start to yell as the UFO retracts its tripod and ladder and rise into the air and speed off to the east, reaching a great altitude. Alerted by their shouts, other witnesses see the object moving away. A student named Antônio Alegre examines the landing site shortly afterward and finds marks forming an isosceles triangle, two sides measuring 20 feet and one side 23 feet. (Nigel Rimes, “ Landing at Botucatu,” Flying Saucer Review 14, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1968): 21–24)
July 2 — 11:25 a.m. Oscar Heriberto Iriart, 15, sees two men of normal height motioning to him at Sierra Chica, Buenos Aires, Argentina. They have short, white hair and red clothes. They also have semi- transparent legs because he can see through them to the grass behind. Near the men is an elliptical, silvery machine, 6.5 feet long, 2 feet high, with three legs 19 inches high. The men give him an envelope they telepathically say contains an important message, telling him to dip it in water before reading, then they fly off. Iriart dips the envelope in a puddle and finds that both the envelope and his hands are dry. The message is written in Spanish in a crude handwriting: “You are going to know the world. F. Saucer.” The witness’s horse and dog are paralyzed for several minutes. The boy arrives home terrified. The family goes to the landing site and finds three holes, each about 5 inches deep and forming an isosceles triangle, the base side measuring 6.5 feet and the other 2 sides 5.2 feet wide. At 11:15 p.m., five skeptical men (including Police Sgt. Raúl Coronel) from the Sierra Chica Social Club visit the landing site and declare the holes to be fake. However, they see a zigzagging light a few feet from the ground and heading their way. They drop to the ground, it passes over them, and then it shoots away straight up. (Gordon Creighton, “ A New South American ‘Wave,’” Flying Saucer Review 14, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1968): 26–27; Roberto Banchs, “ Sierra Chica, Buenos Aires; Una original invitación (02 Jul 1968),” Vision OVNI, November 10, 2008; Alejandro Agostinelli, “ El caso del gauchito espacial,” Página 12 (Buenos Aires), January 22, 2024; Alejandro Agostinelli, “ Sierra Chica: El caso del gauchito espacial,” SudOeste B.A. (Coronel Suárez, Argentina), January 29, 2024)
July 2 — 10:00–10:30 p.m. Fred Coulthard Jr. and his brother Wayne are at a family get-together in the backyard of their father’s home in Wooler, Ontario, when they see an object with rotating red lights that agitates the family’s horses and cats. Around 11:30 p.m., poltergeist-like disturbances (a shattered window, objects thrown around, a strong odor of roses) begin in the house and continue for several days. “Fairy rings” are discovered on the ground in a wooded valley north of town. (Mrs. W. Greystone, “ Canada’s UFO Poltergeist,” in Charles Bowen, ed., Beyond Condon, special issue no. 2 of FSR, June 1969, pp. 66–68, 70)
July 5 — Around 12:00 midnight. Two sailors from Naval Station San Miguel [now Naval Station Leovigildo Gantioqui], near Barangay San Miguel, Zambales, Philippines, are camping out on an uninhabited island [perhaps Capones Island] near the station. Suddenly they see a bright light on a cone-shaped object appear silently above the South China Sea and disappear into the water. (National UFO Reporting Center, “ NUFORC UFO Sighting 154723,” May 1, 2020; Dolan, USO1, 327)
July 9 — 9:35 p.m. Witnesses at Long Beach, California, see a huge, glowing, cloud-like mass over the Santa Catalina Channel for 90 minutes. Five smaller objects are seen maneuvering around it. (Ann Druffel, “ Santa Catalina Island Recurring ‘Cloud Cigars,’” in Proceedings of the 1976 CUFOS Conference, Chicago, 1976, pp. 62–74; Herbert S. Taylor, “ Satellite Objects and Cloud Cigars,” IUR 29, no. 1 (Spring 2004): 9–10; Ann Druffel, “ Santa Catalina Channel Cloud Cigars,” IUR 31, no. 1 (January 2007): 13–14; Wim van Utrecht, “ ‘Mother Ship’ over Southern California,” Caelestia, August 5, 2009)
July 13 — 10:00 p.m. Irena Scott and her sister Sue Postle are traveling west of Boston, Massachusetts, on State Highway 9 when they see an unusual object to the south. They watch it intermittently after turning south on State Highway 128 and I-95. It is moving in an erratic pattern and blinking. Then they see a basketball-sized object 20–50 feet away, near the ground, and constantly changing colors. Scott pulls over to the side of the road, loads her camera, and takes five photos, only one of which shows the light. (Irena Scott, “ Fear and Ambiguity in Massachusetts,” IUR 13, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1988): 14–17; Irena Scott, “ UFO Studies in the Scientific Literature,” IUR 15, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1990): 18; Irena Scott, “ A Photograph and Its Aftermath,” IUR 15, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1990): 12–14, 23; Irena Scott, UFOs and the Millennium, Greyden, 1999. pp. 46–53)
July 17 — Late evening. A civil servant is allegedly snatched off the São Paulo Highway in Brazil and taken into a UFO by four green entities wearing devices that look like headphones. While he is in a state of paralysis, they question him via telepathy about human customs, physiology, and reproduction. The creatures depart abruptly as if in response to instructions. (Gordon Creighton, “ Physical Examination by ‘Miniature Martians,’” Flying Saucer Review 15, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1969): 32, 34; Clark III 279; Clark IV 319)
July 18 — 1:05 a.m. RCMP Constable W. J. Whyte and his wife spot a yellow circular object at high altitude moving west to east near Truro, Nova Scotia. It looks like a satellite, but turns reddish before disappearing in the distance. At 1:10 p.m., a couple near Onslow Mountain a few miles to the north see a rosy- red light in the southwest hovering just above the trees. They watch it for 15 minutes before it moves and accelerates out of sight. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 70–71)
July 20 — After 12:00 midnight Three 14-year-old girls at a summer camp at Kaarnajärv, near Otepää, Valga County, Estonia, see a swiftly moving star and a cigar-shaped object in the distance that quickly disappears. Somewhat disturbed, they decide to retire to bed. Through a window they see a bright object about 165 feet away. It is surrounded by reddish-orange and yellow beams of light. Soon it goes out, leaving only a dark greenish nebula with a blue-green ring around it that illuminates the surrounding woods. They watch it for about 5 minutes until it blinks out. One of the girls goes outside and sees a female figure, less than 5 feet tall and wearing a silver ribbon, standing where the object had been. It vanishes. The next morning, they find a circular burnt area about 6 feet in diameter and four wedge-shaped prints in the soil. (Juri Lina, “ UFO Landings in Estonia,” Flying Saucer Review 24, no. 1 (June 1978): 3–4)
July 22 — Around 12:00 midnight. Off-duty police constable Martyn Johnson is walking with his girlfriend in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, when they see two lights approaching them from above a nearby park. They are giving off many colored lights. As they hover above a nearby house, the couple’s poodle becomes agitated and runs off. The two lights then become four and arrange themselves in an oblong formation. All at once they vanish at terrific speed, following a railway to the northeast. A few hours later, Johnson is awakened and told to report to police headquarters, where there are two “government men” waiting to quiz him about the sighting. They desperately try to convince him that he has seen an aircraft or helicopter. They tell him he is sworn to secrecy for the next 25 years. When he asks what he has seen, they tell him, “What you have seen is an unidentified flying object or UFO. Some people call them spaceships, and if the people of the world knew how many genuine sightings there were like yours, there would be total panic.” (UFOFiles2, pp. 82–83)
July 22 — 1:20 a.m. Adela Casalvieri de Panassiti, 45, night nurse at the Dr. Carlos Pereyra Neuropsychiatric Hospital at Ituzaingó 2837, Mendoza, Argentina, hears a loud, penetrating, humming noise outside in the hospital courtyard. Going out to see what it is, she observes a mushroom-shaped landed object only 65 feet away. It is luminous and sitting in the middle of the courtyard. A bright red beam comes from the object and strikes her, and she finds that her legs are paralyzed. Putting her hands up to her face for protection, she discovers she is completely unable to move. She remains immobilized for a number of minutes until the red beam is extinguished. At this time, the object ascends vertically then flies off rapidly to the south, barely clearing the wall that surrounds the courtyard. Before it disappears, she is able to observe several human-looking figures through square portholes that encircle the craft. These beings move back and forth, passing each other, and are visible from the waist up only. A lead-gray stain, 31 x 12 inches, that smells of sulfur is found at the landing site. It persists for two days. Several small potted trees are burned. Casalvieri de Panassiti has first-degree burns on her face and hands (an allergic reaction?), and parts of her nurse’s cap and clothing are singed. In addition, her watch, which has stopped at 1:30 a.m., is found to be radioactive, as is her ring. The daughters of a garrison commander witness a luminous, egg-shaped object at the same time from the garrison casino. (“ Argentina: Hospital Landing at El Sauce,” Flying Saucer Review 14, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1968): 32; Roberto Banchs, “ Mendoza: Agitacion por Apariciones de OVNIs (22 Julio y 09 Ago 1968),” Visión OVNI, November 11, 2008; Scott Corrales, “ 1968: A Nurse Burned by an Alleged UFO (CE-2),” Inexplicata, July 25, 2011)
July 23 — 1:00 a.m. Daíldo de Oliveira, a night watchman for the CESP electrical substation near Bauru, São Paulo, Brazil, confronts three intruders who overpower him outside a control center building. A large UFO 50 feet tall is resting nearby on the ground; it takes off in a zigzag pattern towards the city of Lins. (Clark III 183–185; Brazil 93–98; Clark IV 218–221)
July 25 — 2:00 a.m. Juan Sivori, his wife, and a daughter see a silver object shaped like a spinning top a they are driving along Highway 226 near La Pastora, Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is only 115 feet from them and the size of a truck. The engine of their car stops running as the UFO hovers for about 5 minutes at a height of 33 feet. When it rises into the air and vanishes, the car engine starts up again. (Oscar A. Uriondo, “ Preliminary Catalogue of Type I Cases in Argentina, Part 4,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 16 (August 1973): 11)
July 28 — 12:00 midnight. A farmer, his wife, and two children near Upton, Quebec, are awakened by the barking of their dog. When he gets up to investigate, he sees a sparkling, rotating “cloud” in the yard. It flies just over him and goes into a nearby field. About 12 feet in diameter, it is dark on the bottom but luminous on top. The cows in the field are being chased by 4 or 5 small entities, perhaps 3 feet tall with heads shaped like bottles. As the UFO flies above them, they disappear. The cattle seem ill for weeks afterwards. (John Brent Musgrave, UFO Occupants and Critters, Global Communications, 1979; Clark III 280; Clark IV 320–321)
July 29 — The hearings that Rep. J. Edward Roush (D-Ind.) and NICAP have been calling for are held as a “Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects” before the House Committee on Science and Astronautics. Rep. George P. Miller (D-Calif.) is chairman of the committee, but Roush directs most of the proceedings. Hynek, McDonald, Sagan, Robert L. Hall (University of Illinois at Chicago), James A. Harder (UC-Berkeley), and Robert M. L. Baker Jr. (UCLA) give testimony. Hynek is introduced by Rep. Donald Rumsfeld (R-Ill.). Menzel, R. Leo Sprinkle, Garry C. Henderson, Stanton T. Friedman, Roger N. Shepard, and Frank B. Salisbury offer prepared papers. NICAP representatives are not permitted to testify. Many witnesses parrot the NORAD party line that its radars only look in certain directions (when indeed it looks for many types of potential attacks in all directions). Harder states: “On the basis of the data and ordinary rules of evidence, as would be applied in civil or criminal courts, the physical reality of UFOs has been proved beyond a reasonable doubt.” McDonald makes the biggest impression, presenting 30 pages of UFO reports. He states: “my own present opinion, based on two years of careful study, is that UFOs are probably extraterrestrial devices engaged in something that might very tentatively be termed ‘surveillance.’” Menzel concludes that UFOs merit no more scientific study than “the concept of ghosts, spirits, witches, fairies, elves, hobgoblins, or the devil.” The symposium has no lasting impact, as Congress does nothing about the problem. ( Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, Hearings, US House Committee on Science and Astronautics, 90th Cong., 2nd Sess., July 29, 1968; “ Congressional Hearings on UFO Problems: Scientists Urge Unbiased National Investigations,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 7 (July/Aug. 1968): 1–5; Clark III 811; Powell, Keyhoe, 373–375; Graff 220–224; Lochlainn Seabrook, Mysterious Invaders: Twelve Famous 20th-Century Scientists Confront the UFO Phenomenon, Sea Raven Press, 2024; Eghigian, After, pp. 207–208; Clark IV 904)
July 30 — 2:00 a.m. A land surveyor and his wife in Claremont, New Hampshire, are preparing to retire when they see a dome-shaped object in a field about 230 feet behind their house. It is about 20 feet wide and moving slowly 10 feet above the ground, creating shadows on the freshly cut hay. The UFO shines a 20-foot wide gray-colored beam of light onto the ground. Their children moan and cry out in while they are sleeping and their dogs are whining loudly. They hear a high-pitched humming sound like a utility pole transformer. A few minutes later the object moves 25 feet to the east, the humming growing louder. At one point, a projection from the object descends to the ground. Around 4:30 a.m., the object goes brighter and slowly moves off toward the west. (Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, pp. 38–40; UFOEv II 45)
July 31 — 9:00 a.m. Farmer Luce Fontaine is collecting grass for his rabbits at La Plaine des Cafres on the island of Réunion (in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar), when he sees an oval-shaped object about 75 feet away. It is sitting about 15 feet from the ground on a flange of metal; a similar structure protrudes from its top. The cylinder has two blue ends and a transparent center through which he can see two humanoids less than 3 feet tall in metallic helmets and dressed in puffy suits like the Michelin Man (the tire company mascot). Seemingly sensing Fontaine looking at them, they turn their backs and the object disappears in a sudden flash of light and a burst of hot air. The incident is investigated by Capt. Maljean of the local Gendarmerie and Capt. Léopold Legros of the Civil Protection Service, who detect an abnormal amount of radioactivity at the site and on Fontaine’s clothing 10 days afterward, as well as six apparent landing marks in the ground. A country club called “La Soucoupe Volante” (Flying Saucer) is later built on the site. (“ Contact Casualty on Réunion,” Flying Saucer Review 15, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1969): 8, 11; Jean-Claude Bourret, Le Nouveau Défi des O.V.N.I., France-Empire, 1976; Antonio Huneeus, “ The ‘Michelin Man’ Encounters on Réunion Island,” Open Minds, July 30, 2010; Patrick Gross, “ Plaine des Caffres, La Réunion, July 31, 1968”; La Soucoupe Volante Country Club, Facebook page)
August — The US Air Force Weapons Laboratory begins to set up a field instrumentation lab at Con Thien combat base near the Demilitarized Zone, Quang Tri Province, Vietnam, specifically for the purpose of investigating and tracking unidentified aircraft. The first project name is HAVE FEAR. At least 500 UFO sensor trackings via radar-visual, laser range-finder, video camera, infrared, nightscope, and telescope are investigated through April 1969. The UFOs, often seen as red lights, usually travel at speeds of 30–80 mph at altitudes of 1,200–1,600 feet. After several days of tracking, the red blinking lights extinguish when under radar surveillance. They are only seen at night and only in certain places. In mid-August, Project LETHAL CHASER is added, using portable manpack radars. The findings involve 99% UFOs and only 1% IFOs, primarily because the system does not include human anecdotal accounts. Pacific Air Forces’ unit history clearly states the investigation is about UFOs, not enemy helicopters. ( Sparks, p. 328; Clark III 1050–1054; Clark IV 1165–1170)
August 4 — 4:15 a.m. William Prochner, his son Kenneth, and his father Julius Prochner in Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan, watch a luminous object, about 25 feet in diameter, as it hovers for several minutes. Later it circles above the house 300 feet away. A 4-foot circle of barren grass is found, although an 18-inch circle in the center is undamaged. (Ted Phillips, Physical Traces Associated with UFO Sightings, Center for UFO Studies, 1978, p. 57)
August 7 — McDonald addresses the Boeing Management Association in Renton, Washington, on “UFO Investigations: Past, Present, and Future.” (Story, p. 414)
August 7 — 8:10 p.m. As a young man and woman watch from the end of a dock at Buff Ledge Camp [now closed] along the shore of Lake Champlain north of Burlington, Vermont, a bright light appears in the southwest sky and swoops down in a long arc until it stops and assumes a horizontal position. It now resembles a white, glowing, cigar-shaped object, possibly as far away as the Adirondack Mountains more than 10 miles from the witnesses. According to the young man, three tiny white lights emerge one at a time from the right-end bottom of the UFO. As soon as the third is expelled, the object retreats along its original path and vanishes seconds later. The three smaller objects perform a series of spectacular maneuvers, all the while moving closer. After 5 minutes the objects assume a horizontal triangle formation, and two head off in opposite directions, one to the north, the other to the south, making a sound like “thousands of different tuning forks.” The remaining object (40–50 feet across) moves toward the witnesses. It ascends and vanishes in three seconds, only to reappear moments later as it descends along the same trajectory and plunges broadside into the water. A sudden wind blows waves across the heretofore placid surface. Animals up and down the shore howl and shriek. A few minutes later the UFO surfaces and moves toward the witnesses. It stops 60 feet from them, hovering about 15 feet above the water. The young man can see two figures with large heads, oversized oval eyes, and small mouths. Visible to the waist, they are short and clothed in skintight gray or silver uniforms. Thus begins an abduction experience that was only uncovered through separate hypnotic sessions with each of the witnesses by Walter N. Webb years later. Webb’s background checks, buttressed by psychological analyses, convinces him that there is no question of a hoax. (Walter N. Webb, Encounter at Buff Ledge: A UFO Case History, CUFOS, 1994; Richard F. Haines, [ Review], JUFOS 6 (1995/96): 248–251; UFOEv II 532, 571–575; Clark III 220–222; B. J. Booth, “ The Buff Ledge Abduction,” UFO Casebook; Clark IV 260–262; Timothy Page, “ The Buff Ledge UFO,” Vermont Daily Chronicle, July 25, 2025)
August 15 - 12:00 midnight. Dick Skewes is driving west with his wife Anne and babysitter Gail Yemm about 20 minutes east of Springhill, Nova Scotia, on the Trans-Canada Highway. After driving up a hill, he sees a group of 5-6 lights hovering 50 feet above some trees on his left. Another light is approaching at high speed to join the others. One of the objects breaks away and descends silently over the highway in front of them, its yellow lights flashing brilliantly, on an apparent collision course. When it is 40-50 feet away it veers upward and disappears to the east. Skewes continues down the highway and loses sight of the objects when he rounds a bend. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada's UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 79-81)
August 16 - 6:00 a.m. A farmer doing barnyard chores at La Serra d'Almos, Catalonia, Spain, glimpses a light more than half a mile away. He thinks someone's car has stalled, so he walks over with his dog intending to help. But he finds a globe-shaped, glowing object hovering 3 feet above the ground. On the other side of it, he sees two creatures of an octopus-like appearance. Light- colored, 3 feet tall, they are running on "four or five legs" toward the UFO, which abruptly takes off. Reporters and UFO investigators find a considerable area of burned grass at the site. Those who visit the site shortly afterwards find their watches stop mysteriously. (Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos and Jacques Vallée, " Survey of Iberian Landings," in Charles Bowen, ed., UFOs in Two Worlds, Special Issue 4 of FSR, August 1971, pp. 46, 50; Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos, A Catalogue of 200 Type I UFO Events in Spain and Portugal, CUFOS, 1976, pp. 14-15; Clark III 280-281; Clark IV 321)
August 16? — Around 9:00 p.m. A US Air Force pilot is flying a C-124 Globemaster II cargo plane at 9,000 feet between the Marshall Islands and Hickam AFB in Hawaii when he notices a soft green glow beneath the surface of the ocean some 3–4 miles ahead. As they draw closer, a green object ascends from the surface at about 115 mph until it reaches an altitude of 30,000–40,000 feet. Then it executes a right-angle turn and accelerates to the east at a high rate of speed. (National UFO Reporting Center, “ NUFORC UFO Sighting 163458,” July 31, 2021; Dolan, USO1, 327–329)
August 17 — 8:21 p.m. Capt. Benjamin Gabrian is flying an Ilyushin Il-18 airliner at 22,800 feet in the vicinity of Oradea, Romania, when he sees an oval object on his right about a half-mile away and 900 feet higher. It is moving at high speed and emitting a bright green light. They watch it for 10–15 seconds before it accelerates and disappears to the west. Probable meteor. (Hobana and Weverbergh 180–182; Romania 21)
August 18 —Projects HAVE FEAR and LETHAL CHASER at Con Thien military base in Vietnam confirm 67 valid “tracks” on its joint UFO multi-sensor network from now through September 18. For a track to be considered valid, it must be within 11 miles of Con Thien, persist for more than two minutes, and travel at less than 180 mph. The network employs laser range finders, night observation devices, infrared sensors, video cameras, visual reconnaissance, search radar, manpack portable radar, and possibly Side-Looking Airborne Radar. None of tracks have conclusive identifications. The tracks are assumed to be “enemy helicopters,” although the operation, at least at first, refers to them as “UFOs.” (Project CHECO [Contemporary Historical Examination of Current Operations] Southeast Asia Report, Air War in the DMZ, September 1967–June 1968, US Air Force Pacific Air Forces HQ, CHECO Division, August 1, 1969, pp. 41–48; Clark III 1051, 1054; Clark IV 1166–1167, 1169)
August 18 — 1:20 p.m. Technician Emil Barnea, his girlfriend Zamfira Matea, and two other friends are picnicking in the Hoia Baciu forest near Baciu, not far from Cluj-Napoca, Romania, when they see a round, metallic, luminous object moving slowly through the sky. Its brilliance increases and decreases as it maneuvers around for 2 minutes. Barnea succeeds in taking four photos of the object before it suddenly accelerates and shoots upwards. (Hobana and Weverbergh 99–107; UFOEv II 287; Adrian Pătruţ, “ Phenomena in the Hoia Baciu Wood near Cluj-Napoca,” Flying Saucer Review 53, no. 1 (Spring 2008): 10; Romania 21–27; Chris Hill, “Hoia Baciu: Romania’s Haunted Forest,” Fortean Times 382, August 2019, pp. 32–36; Patrick Gross, “ Emil Barnea’s Photographs, Cluj, Romania, 1968”)
August 21 — 6:58 a.m. The Canadian destroyer HMCS Mackenzie is on a mission in the Pacific Ocean about 930 miles off the coast of California. Four of the ship’s crew, including Maj. W. J. Draper, see a group of starlike lights approaching from the northeast, initially only 10° above the horizon. They are flying in a row, and one in the middle of the line seems larger and has a white glow around it. Within 5 minutes, the procession of 20 objects passes nearly overhead, heading west. They maintain a steady course until they are lost to view 13 minutes later. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 73–74)
August 22 — 5:40 p.m. Capt. Walter Gardin and Capt. Gordon W. Smith are flying over Zanthus, Western Australia, at 8,000 feet in a Piper Navajo single-engine airplane when they see a large cigar-shaped object surrounded by five smaller ones. The formation maintains a constant angle from their own flight path for more than 10 minutes, while they are flying at 224 mph. The large object then opens up its center and the smaller objects fly to and from the larger object. Ground air control reports no known air traffic in the area. At this point the radio fails at all frequencies until the objects fly away. (“ Pilots See Formation over Australia,” APRO Bulletin, Jan./Feb. 1969, pp. 1, 4; “ Pilots View ‘Satellite’ Objects,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 10 (Feb./Mar. 1969): 1; “ Pilots Watch as UFOs Manoeuvre (Zanthus Report),” Australian Flying Saucer Review (March 1970): 7, 14, 16; Paul B. Norman, “ ‘Motherships’ over Australia,” Flying Saucer Review 24, no. 5 (March 1979): 9–10; Paul B. Norman, “ Some Highlights in Australian Ufology,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 190 (December 1983): 14, 15; Paul B. Norman, “ Countdown to Reality,” Flying Saucer Review 31, no. 2 (January 1986): 19–20; Good Above, pp. 172–173; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1954 June–August, Supplemental Notes, The Author, 2002, pp. 16–18; Keith Basterfield, “Cold Case: Zanthus 22 August 1968,” Part One, Two, Three, Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena—Scientific Research, September 13, 2011; Keith Basterfield, “ One of the Witnesses to the 22 Aug 1968 Zanthus Case Located and Interviewed,” Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena—Scientific Research, September 17, 2011; Keith Basterfield, “ Zanthus: A Paranormal Connection,” Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena—Scientific Research, September 22, 2011; Keith Basterfield, “ Zanthus Sighting Newspaper Article Located,” Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena—Scientific Research, September 29, 2011; Keith Basterfield, “ Comments on the Zanthus Case from Martin Shough,” Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena—Scientific Research, September 30, 2011; Keith Basterfield, “ Zanthus, WA 1968 Aircraft Encounter: Another Newspaper Article Located,” June 16, 2012; Martin Shough and Wim van Utrecht, “ The BOAC Labrador Sighting of June 29, 1954: Similar Reports,” Caelestia, October 31, 2018)
August 25 — 5:00 a.m. Hospital assistant Maria José Cintra of the Serafim Ferreira sanitarium in Lins, São Paulo, Brazil, hears a noise like the braking of a car. Cintra readies herself to meet people needing medical assistance. She opens a glass door and asks the visitor if she is a patient. The visitor, just over 6 feet tall, answers in an unknown language. The visitor is wearing a blue satiny cape, matching shoes, and a dress with a high collar and long sleeves. She shows Cintra a vessel with engraved ornaments, and Cintra fills it with water from a fountain and offers her a doughnut. The visitor walks to the door of the sanitorium and through some flowerbeds. At this point Cintra notices a semicircular “pebble-like” light on the ground and a UFO floating 1–2 feet above the grass. She feels the force of an invisible rotating movement and notices that the visitor is no longer there. The UFO rises into the air, making soft sounds like those she heard when the visitor arrived. Later, she and the sanitorium manager and his wife find high-heeled footprints on the freshly waxed floor near the door. On the lawn they discover a spot of scorched grass that persists for 4 months. Subsequent investigation reveals a depression in the ground 5–7 inches deep, apparently made by a vehicle with a diameter of about 6.5 feet. From his bed, another patient has seen the UFO land some 260 feet from the fence of the sanitarium and remain there for 15 minutes. (“ Mulher Extraterrestre Pede Água, em Lins, Est. de São Saulo,” SBEDV Boletim, no. 66/68 (Jan./June 1969): 72–74; Nigel Rimes, “ Another Hospital Visited,” Flying Saucer Review 15, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1969): 4–6; Gordon Creighton, “ Confrontation at Lins,” Flying Saucer Review 15, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1969): 22–23; Clark III 684–685; Brazil 99–104; Jackson Camargo, “ O Fantástico Caso Lins,” Portal Fenomenum, March 7, 2022; “ O Fantástico Caso Lins,” O Arquivo; Clark IV 759–761)
August 26 — 7:50 p.m. Pearl Christiansen is unchaining the driveway to her ranch near Gleeson, Colorado, when she notices a round, silver disc. She watches it for 5 minutes, then a second object appears, “very shiny and gold.” Both are hovering above 7,200-foot high Brown’s Peak. They remain for several hours, then just after midnight they back away behind the mountain. Mr. and Mrs. Willard Mayfield also see the objects. Daily Citizen reporter Cecil James and photographer Dan Tortorell visit the apparent site and find erratic burned patches of Dasylirion plants (charred at the base but not at the top) and grass. Rocks show evidence of high heat and are still hot to the touch two days later. (Cecil James, “ Gleeson UFO Leaves Traces,” Tucson (Ariz.) Daily Citizen, October 19, 1968, Olé magazine, pp. 10, 22)
September 1 — 3:42 a.m. Juan Carlos Peccinetti and Fernando José Villegas are driving home after getting off work at a casino in Mendoza, Argentina. On the Calle Neuquén, their car stops and the lights go out. They find themselves unable to move and several humanoid beings standing near an enormous landed UFO. They receive telepathic messages from the aliens who make marks on the windshield and one side of their car and see a screen full of dystopian images. The beings prick their fingers and take blood samples before going back to the UFO. However, the two later admit to making up the story. (Charles Bowen, “ One Day in Mendoza,” Flying Saucer Review 14, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1968): 2–5; UFOEv II 533; Clark III 601; Eghigian, After, p. 266; Clark IV 660)
September 1 — Day. The Soviet research vessel Akademik Kurchatov is drifting in the South Pacific Ocean off the coast of Chile while the crew lowers some scientific instruments into the water by cable. When one of the instruments reaches a depth of about 1,640 feet, the thick steel cable suddenly shifts and slackens and the instrument vanishes. Shortly afterward, the cables carrying a soil sampling tube and a bottom dredge also break off. When the crew retrieves the cables, they seem to have been filed through. (Stonehill and Mantle, Russia’s USO Secrets, Flying Disk, 2020, pp. 72–73; Dolan, USO1, 329–330)
September 4 — Hynek receives a letter from Col. Raymond S. Sleeper, commander of the Air Force Foreign Technology Division. Sleeper notes that Hynek has publicly accused Project Blue Book of shoddy science, and further asks Hynek to offer advice on how Blue Book could improve its scientific methods. Hynek later declares that Sleeper’s letter is “the first time in my 20 year association with the air force as scientific consultant that I had been officially asked for criticism and advice [regarding] ... the UFO problem.” (J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., pp. 189–190; Clark III 925; Clark IV 1035)
September 4 — Two US Air Force pilots flying in the vicinity of Goose Bay AFB [now CFB Goose Bay], Labrador, spot a spherical metallic object flying in a southerly direction at 33,000–41,000 feet. It crosses behind them, stops, performs two 360° turns and disappears after 5 minutes at 30° above the horizon. (Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979, p. 115)
September 4 — 10:30 p.m. A scoutmaster and 12 River Scouts are having a camp-out by bonfire in the mountains near Caracas, Venezuela, when they see two intensely glowing red discs, each about the size of the full moon, as they rise one at a time from some low hills, hover momentarily, and descend again. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 299)
September 4 - Two US Air Force pilots flying in the vicinity of Goose Bay AFB [now CFB Goose Bay], Labrador, spot a spherical metallic object flying in a southerly direction at 33,000-41,000 feet. It crosses behind them, stops, performs two 360° turns and disappears after 5 minutes at 30° above the horizon. (Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979, p. 115)
September 5 — Night. Thousands of people in Madrid, Spain, see a bright object in the sky, causing a monumental traffic jam. The Spanish Air Force scrambles an F-104 jet to intercept it. The pilot climbs to 50,000 feet but the object is still above him, and he has to return for fuel. Air Force radar tracks the UFO moving slowly at 90,000 feet. A photo taken through a telescope at the Royal Observatory of Madrid shows a triangular object, apparently solid on one side and translucent in some sections. The object disappears at great speed. The Madrid Weather Bureau says it has no meteorological balloons aloft. (“ Triangle-Shaped Object over Madrid,” APRO Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1968, p. 4; Good Above, pp. 149–151)
September 6 - 9:30 p.m. John Dow and Paul Franklin are driving on Springfield Road in Taradale, New Zealand, when they notice 20-30 red and green lights flying aimlessly above the city dump. They pull off the road to watch, and a "thunderous explosion" rips through the air, shaking the car. Immediately, the lights begin to group, take off vertically, and disappear. (" Youth Claims Car Crash Caused by `Flying Saucer,'" Daily Telegraph (Napier, N.Z.), November 12, 1968; " New Rash of `Buzzing' Incidents," APRO Bulletin, Nov./Dec. 1968, p. 5; Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, p. 48)
September 9 — Day. Several witnesses on the beach at Itaipu, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, see an object descending slowly and emitting beams of light. It makes several low-level passes over the beach before landing briefly. Some witnesses claim to see occupants. (“ Landing on a Beach near Rio de Janeiro,” Flying Saucer Review 17, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1971): 30)
September 10 — Evening. John Dow and Paul Franklin are on the Omarunui Road southwest of Taradale, New Zealand. They see a circular object with a red and green light that is only a few feet in diameter and glowing white. Heading toward the source, they watch as the UFO disappears behind a cloud. After crossing a bridge, they see the object again, hovering on the opposite side of the river. The object glows intensely and speeds toward the automobile from the rear. Panicking, they try to jump out of the car, which is traveling at 35 mph, but get tangled up and the car veers out of control. Both of them fall out the left door as the bright UFO hovers 2 feet above the car roof. The car crashes into the store of a fruit dealer on Gloucester Street. A crowd gathers around the two young men, still dazed and shocked. Nearly 24 hours later the witnesses are treated for “bruises and abrasions” at the Napier Hospital outpatient clinic because “their clothes were sticking to them.” Dow is charged with reckless driving, but the circumstances convince the court to drop the charge and the insurance company pays for the damages. (“Youth Claims Car Crash Caused by ‘Flying Saucer,’” Napier (N.Z.) Daily Telegraph, November 12, 1968; “ New Rash of ‘Buzzing’ Incidents,” APRO Bulletin, Nov./Dec. 1968, p. 5; Henk Hinfelaaar and Claude Elmes, “ The Taradale Car Crash,” Flying Saucer Review 15, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1969): 3–5; Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, pp. 48–50)
September 15 — 10:00 p.m. Farmers in the area around Carora, Lara, Venezuela, have a difficult time controlling their cattle and horses when a saucer-shaped object with flickering yellow lights flies over the area at high speed and low altitude. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 299)
September 15 — 10:00 p.m. Mathematician Miron Oprea is driving with his wife and two nephews northwest of Ploieşti, Romania, when they see a cylindrical object emitting a bluish light and descending slowly to the west near the Vega oil refinery. (Hobana and Weverbergh 183–184)
September 16 — A car-racing contest at Barquisimeto, Lara, Venezuela, is disrupted when a low-flying disc flies above the grandstands. A photographer gets a snapshot that shows a sausage-shaped object about 12–15 feet above the heads of the crowd on the uppermost tier of bleachers. (Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 299)
September 17 — 1:00 a.m. Two air control tower operators at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, watch a bright light moving in a way they cannot explain. ( Sparks, p. 329; J. Allen Hynek. The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, p. 44)
September 18 — Farmer Marius Magnan sees three dull metallic, gray, football-shaped UFOs at an altitude of 2,500 feet and 2 miles away at Ste. Anne, Manitoba. They are traveling northwest to southeast in a vertical orientation at tremendous speed. The UFOs are discharging white substance from the upper surface just like popcorn. The white substance streams upward from two of the objects and downward from the third. After they disappear, a white, fibrous substance falls and settles on foliage, buildings, and power lines. The University of Manitoba analyzes a sample and finds it to be “cellulose-like and unstable,” with a uniform fiber diameter of 5 microns, and probably rayon coated with a gummy substance. (“ Hairy Material Defies Analysis,” Canadian UFO Report 1, no. 2 (March/April 1969): 12–14; “ Angel’s Hair in Canada,” UFOIC Newsletter, no. 23 (May 1969): 2; “ Look! Angel Hair,” Spacelink 6, no. 2 (January 1970): 2; Brian Boldman, “ Angel Hair Physical Analyses: A Review,” JUFOS 9 (2006): 104–105)
September 18 — 4:15 a.m. Patrolman Arthur H. Byrd sees an object flashing red, blue, and yellow lights on Hunter Road in San Marcos, Texas, approaching at great speed. He follows it along Interstate 35 toward Luling and San Antonio, and at Redwood Road it comes to a stop. It slowly fades away by 7:15 a.m. (“ UFO Said Followed for Hours,” Austin (Tex.) American, September 19, 1968, p. 68)
September 19 — 3:15 p.m.–7:15 p.m. A lighted white object is seen by many witnesses over Cluj-Napoca and other towns in northwestern Romania. Some of the sightings are attributable to a balloon, but others seem to be moving against the wind and internally lit. (Hobana and Weverbergh 139–149; Romania 27–29)
Late September (or late September 1969) — Night. A teenager is putting hay in a rabbit pen at his home in the East Linden neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. He hears a clapping noise and sees an entity dressed in a black uniform with a silver belt walking in the woods nearby. Its head has an eerie yellow glow. Scared, he runs into the house to get his parents, but the entity is gone when they go out to look for it. The next morning a neighbor stops by to ask if they had seen any lights in a field the night before. The families go to the field and find a large oval place where the grass, weeds, and bushes have been pressed down. (Irena Scott, “ Observation of an Alien Figure,” IUR 12, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1987): 20, 25)
September 24 — James E. McDonald gives a talk on “UFOs: A Case Study in Public Misinformation” at Kent State University, Ohio. (“ ‘UFOs: A Case Study in Public Misinformation’—Dr. James E. McDonald’s 1968 Lecture,” Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, May 30, 2025)
September 26–27 — 6:00 a.m. Industrial chemist Henrique Schneider Jr. gets up and checks the fire in the kiln next to his house in Vila Baumer in the northern part of Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil. He comes across a strange object in the pottery yard about 16 feet away. It is a cone-shaped device about 13 feet high sitting on a tripod under which a bluish light illuminates the ground, and it has a rectangular opening through which comes a treadmill. On the treadmill are two squared cylinders standing on end, both motionless. Schneider feels paralyzed and begins to converse telepathically with the nearest cylinder, which answers his questions clearly and briefly about where they come from, which is another star system, and they are investigating global warming on earth. Soon the treadmill goes back up into the object, the entrance closes, and it takes off with a hissing sound. The next day, Schneider finds a burned circle of grass just over 2 feet in diameter at the landing site. Inside this is a smaller circle of compressed grass and three holes where the tripod stood. (Carlos Varassin, “ O Estranho Caso da Vila Baumer,” SBEDV Boletim, no. 94/98 (September 1973/June 1974): 41–44; Brazil 141–145; “ Contato Imediato em Joinville,” Portal Fenomenum, March 9, 2022)
September 29 — Night. Amateur astronomer Hermanus Voorsluys and ex-police officer Reginald Neal take several photographs of a UFO that they have seen for several nights above Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. One photo shows a large object surrounded by four smaller luminous objects that have emerged from it, as well as a fifth object that has just appeared. After a zig-zagging descent, the smaller objects return to the level of the parent object and disappear. (“ Mystery over Naval Base,” Canadian UFO Report 1, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1969): 4–7)
October — Brazil’s Sistema de Investigação de Objetos Aéreos Não Identificados (System of Investigation of Unidentified Aircraft), created by the Fourth Air Zone Command of the Brazilian Air Force and sponsored by Brig. Gen. José Vaz da Silva and coordinated by Maj. Gilberto Zani de Mello, goes into operation to investigate UFO sightings, especially physical trace cases. The operation lasts until the end of 1972. (Wikipedia, “ SIOANI”; Clark III 1072–1073; Mauricio Meireles and Géssica Brandino, “ Inside the 70-Year Military Investigation of Aliens in Brazil,” Folha de São Paulo, October 31, 2024; Eghigian, After, p. 225; Clark IV 1187–1188)
October - George Hiner sees a white, dome-shaped object that rises about 10 feet above the water as he is looking for swordfish off Santa Catalina Island, California. It sinks back into the water, then resurfaces. He sees a billowing, parachute-like extension under the dome. (Coral E. Lorenzen, The Shadow of the Unknown, Signet, 1970, p. 87; Dolan, USO1, 330-331)
October 2 - 6:20 a.m. While oiling his tractor's engine at the end of Avenida da Saudade in Lins, Sao Paulo, Brazil, Turíbio Pereira sees only a few feet away a golden cigar-shaped object hovering one foot above the ground. It is about 16 feet long and 10 feet wide. There is a platform around it and on the top a transparent dome is open. Inside there are four stools and an instrument panel. Pereira sees four beings around it wearing blue tunics and red skirts. One is on the platform with a weapon in its hand, another is picking up earth samples, the third is looking at his tractor's engine, and the fourth is inside the object at the instrument panel. The being with the weapon fires it and a luminous ball hits Pereira in the stomach, paralyzing him. The entities go inside, and a transparent dome encloses them. The object ascends and shoots off at high speed. With difficulty, Pereira climbs off the tractor and stumbles to the road where a friend takes him home. Later he is given a medical examination by Antônio Geris and summoned to a Brazilian Air Force facility where he is questioned and held for three days. (Gordon Creighton, " Confrontation at Lins," Flying Saucer Review 15, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1969): 22-23; Patrick Gross, URECAT, December 22, 2006; Brazil 105-107)
October 5 - 7:52 p.m. John D. Hickey and his family are driving near West Morehead Street in Charlotte, North Carolina. While stopped at a traffic light, he sees a black object like a short cigar moving on his left, but it stops and hovers above a low building about 500 feet away. Suddenly three large gray-white lights shaped like television picture tubes turn on, each about 22 inches in diameter. A small black arm-like device moves slowly out of one end, extends a few feet, then stops. A blue light is at one end. The three large lights begin to blink slowly, then rapidly for 25 seconds. The blue light goes out, the arm retracts, the large lights blink more slowly until they stop. The lights go out and the object moves to the east. (" Nocturnal Light Becomes CE-I in Charlotte, NC," CUFOS Associate Newsletter 5, no. 4 (Aug./Sept. 1984): 1, 8
October 7 — Hynek responds to Col. Sleeper’s request with an extended commentary prefaced by a succinct, eight-point critique of everything Project Blue Book has done wrong: the project suffers from (1) inadequate execution, (2) inadequate staff, (3) lack of open consultation with scientists outside the Air Force, (4) laughable statistical methods, (5) too much time spent on routine cases and not exceptional cases, (6) inadequate data provided by local Air Force base investigators, (7) biased evaluations, and (8) inadequate use of the project’s own scientific consultant. (J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 202–206, 283–305; Clark III 925–926; Clark IV 1035–1036)
October 18 — 5:00 p.m. Hundreds of witnesses view a conical object that appears above Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, traveling from northwest to southeast. The UFO at first appears bright blue then changes first to a whitish-blue then to red. When it reaches a point just south of Sarajevo and northeast of the city of Mostar, the object turns to the east. It remains in view from 90 minutes to two hours. Members of the Akademski Astronomsko-Astronautiki Klub take photos of the object and, six months later, issue a report on their investigation of the incident. It estimates that the UFO was flying at an altitude of 16 miles and a speed of 20 mph, probably guided by air currents and not self-propelled, and most likely was a military reconnaissance balloon. (Hobana and Weverbergh 84–90)
October 24 — 2:15–5:18 a.m. Sixteen military personnel stationed throughout the Minuteman ICBM missile complex at Minot AFB, North Dakota, report a very large, brightly illuminated aerial object, alternating colors from brilliant white to orange-red and green, with the ability to hover, accelerate rapidly, and abruptly change direction. At 2:15 a.m., a two-person security team reports a glowing object descending behind some trees near a missile silo. Other reports from security teams begin to reach headquarters. Ground radar tracks an unidentified target correlated with a visual orange glow and radios it (saying, “Someone is seeing flying saucers again”) to the attention of the USAF crew of a B-52H Stratofortress bomber at 2,000 feet as a UFO target 24 miles to the northwest. It shifts to 15 miles at 3:35 a.m. RAPCON alerts the pilots (instructor pilot Maj. Bradford Runyon and copilot Maj. James Partin) to the location of the UFO near Bowbells, North Dakota, which the B-52 navigator Capt. Patrick D. McCaslin observes on the radarscope maintaining a three-mile distance throughout a standard 180° turnaround. Radar navigator Maj. Charles Richey captures the tracking on film. As the B-52 starts its descent back to Minot AFB, the UFO appears to close distance to one mile at a high rate of speed, pacing the aircraft for nearly 20 miles before disappearing off the radarscope. Both B-52 UHF radios cannot transmit during the close radar encounter with the UFO and when the radarscope film is recorded. Shortly afterwards, RAPCON provides vectors for the B-52 to overfly a stationary UFO on or near the ground. After turning onto the downwind leg of the traffic pattern, the pilots observe a large, illuminated UFO ahead of the aircraft for several minutes, before turning onto the base leg over the UFO while observing it at close range. After the B-52 lands, both outer and inner-zone intrusion alarms are activated at the remote missile Launch Facility Oscar-7. The duration of the reported observations is over three hours. The velocity of the object varies from stationary to 12,716 mph. On four occasions the object exhibits rapid changes in movement from radar track to radar track, resulting in acceleration values of 18, 48, 60, and 449 g-forces. The radar image suggests the object’s size is 656 feet by 164 feet. Other witnesses include Capt. Thomas Goduto, S/Sgt James F. Bond, S/Sgt William E. Smith, A1C Robert O’Connor, A1C Joseph P. Jablonski, and A1C Gregory Adams. The chief of the 862nd Combat Support Group, Lt. Col. Arthur J. Werlich, is designated as Blue Book liaison and he calls the report in at 4:30 p.m. after SAC investigations, an analysis of the radarscope film, and the B-52 crew debriefing. Werlich provides Blue Book with selected data through October 31. On November 13, Blue Book chief Lt. Col. Hector Quintanilla completes his evaluation and forwards the final report to SAC headquarters. It is a single-page letter providing several possible explanations for the various reports, along with 11 pages of attachments cobbled together in support. He attributes the B-52 radar contact and loss of UHF transmission to “a plasma similar to ball lightning.” (NICAP, “ Minot Tracks Object, B-52 Sees and Tracks UFO”; Sparks, p. 330; Hynek UFO Report, pp. 137–139; Kevin D. Randle, Project Blue Book Exposed, Marlowe, 1997, pp. 151–163; Claude Poher, “ Analysis of Radar and Air-Visual UFO Observations on 24 October 1968 at Minot AFB, North Dakota, USA,” August 1, 2005; Martin Shough, “ Minot Air Force Base, Oct 24 1968,” 2006; Nukes 319–323; “ The Minot AFB B-52 UFO Incident,” Above Top Secret forum, February 24, 2010; Thomas Tulien, “ A Narrative of Events at Minot Air Force Base,” Sign Oral History Project, 2011; Thomas E. Bullard, “ Defending UFOs,” IUR 34, no. 2 (Mar. 2012): 32–33; “ New Witness to UFO Incursion at Nuke Missile Complex,” The UFO Chronicles, October 17, 2017; Clark III 748–763; “ B-52 and Missile Crews Witnessed a UFO at the Vicinity of Minot Air Force Base, October 24, 1968,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, July 2023; Thomas Tulien, “ The Investigation of UFO Events at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota,” Sign Oral History Project, August 2023; Thomas Tulien, “ A Narrative of UFO Events at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota,” Sign Oral History Project, August 2023; Powell, Scientist, 72–75; Clark IV 830–845, 1006, 1313)
October 24 — 6:47 p.m. The Romanian oil tanker Argeş is steaming through the Mozambique Channel when Third Officer Ştefan Anton and Commander Nicolae Ştefanescu see a bright orange-yellow disc half the diameter of the Moon moving swiftly and emitting blue-green rays from its center. At one point it stops abruptly for a moment and changes course to the east. By sextant they estimate it is 15.5 miles away and 56 feet in diameter. (Hobana and Weverbergh 250–251)
October 31 — The Colorado project delivers its report, Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects, to the Air Force, which, however, takes pains to avoid looking at it until it is released to the public. The first two sections, conclusions and recommendations, are written by Condon himself. He concludes that “further extensive study of UFOs probably cannot be justified in the expectation that science will be advanced thereby.” It is a clear signal to shut down Project Blue Book. Yet 30% of its cases are unexplained. Condon says a UFO cover-up is unthinkable because no one could keep such a secret for so long. He refutes the claim that the CIA has installed an agent within the project. He disapproves of UFO “amateurists,” especially NICAP. The project ignored old cases because they only offered witness testimony, are probably misidentifications, and it makes little sense to reinterview witnesses. But this means ignoring the most compelling cases of the past 20+ years. Condon rejects the ETH because it is so unlikely that aliens can get here from there. This attitude suggests that Condon’s approach is fundamentally antiempirical. The report also includes summaries of field studies, photographic evidence, direct and indirect physical evidence, optical and radar cases, and astronaut sightings. In the field studies section, Roy Craig concedes that some of the older cases suggest something extraordinary (Great Falls, RB-47). William K. Hartmann divides photo cases into fabrications, misidentifications, poor image quality, and clear images that lack sufficient data. Great Falls and McMinnville are the only two that he considers unusual. Gordon Thayer discusses the predominance of anomalous propagation in radar cases. In finding natural explanations, Thayer often disregards witness testimony. The rest of the report is mostly padding. (Wikipedia, “ Condon Committee”; Frank Carey, “ No Evidence Found UFOs Are ‘Visitors,’” Flint (Mich.) Journal, January 7, 1969, p. 1; Walter Sullivan, “ U.F.O. Finding: No Visits from Afar,” New York Times, January 8, 1969, pp. 1–2; Frank Carey, “ Secret Report Suddenly Not So Secret,” Helena (Mont.) Independent-Record, January 8, 1969, p. 22; Michael D. Swords, “ The University of Colorado UFO Project: The ‘Scientific Study of UFOs,’” JUFOS 6 (1995/96): 149–184; Swords 329–332; David J. Shea, “ NCAS Presentation,” September 8, 2018; Graff 224–225; Eghigian, After, pp. 208, 212–214)
November — Two children are playing in the garden of their father’s hotel in Southampton, England, when they notice a “speck” come out of the clouds. It grows in size and comes closer, moving above the hotel roof. The shape is a large flattened disc with black square windows on the side. It moves to a point about 10 feet directly above them and hovers for 30 seconds, then it speeds up and disappears behind some trees. (“ Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 6 (June 1978): 2)
November 2 - 3:55 a.m. A partially paralyzed Algerian veteran, Dr. X, has suffered an injury to his leg while chopping at a stump on his property in a village in the south of France on October 29. He is lying in bed when he is awakened by his crying 14-month-old son. He sees two luminous objects outside his house. They are coming close together and merging about 590 feet away. A vertical beam of light is aimed at him for a second as the object tilts, and then the display vanishes with a sort of explosion, leaving behind a slowly dissolving cloud. Shortly afterwards, the man's leg heals and his war wound is better. He also experiences nightmares, stomach pains, and a red pigmentation appears around his navel, forming a triangle. He goes to a dermatologist but does not mention the UFO; the doctor is stumped. The man's son also develops a red triangle. In November 1984, a French radio reporter records the gradual reappearance of the triangle on X's abdomen. Jacques Vallée later casts doubt on the case in his Forbidden Science series of books, saying that the story turned into a "vaguely occult tale" in which he "lied about some key aspects." (Aimé Michel, " The Strange Case of Dr. X," in Charles Bowen, ed., UFO Percipients, special issue no. 3 of FSR, September 1969, pp. 3-16; Aimé Michel, " The Strange Case of Dr. `X,' Part 2," Flying Saucer Review 17, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1971): 3-9; Jacques Vallée, Confrontations, Ballantine, 1990, pp. 113-122; Clark III 410-413; Bill Chalker, " The Labyrinths of Forbidden Science: The Journals of Jacques Vallée," TheOzFiles, February 26, 2023; Clark IV 456-459)
November 3 — 4:15 p.m. Two teenage boys, Robert Hubbard and David Kelley, see a domed, disc-shaped UFO about 200 feet in diameter discharging angel hair over the Spring Branch West area of Houston, Texas. They watch it for two minutes until it takes off when a commercial jet approaches. C. E. “Gene” Senter investigates and recovers a twig with angel hair that he puts in a plastic bag and freezes. A chemist analyzes the substance in a petroleum-industry lab but finds out little other than it is sticky and fibrous. (“ Substance Linked to UF O Is Classified As a Mystery,” Lubbock (Tex.) Avalanche-Journal, December 19, 1968, pp. B-1, B-9; Bob Gribble, “ Looking Back,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 247 (November 1988): 21, 22; Brian Boldman, “ Angel Hair Physical Analyses: A Review,” JUFOS 9 (2006): 105)
November 20 — 5:45 p.m. Milan and Doris Milakovic and their son are driving southwest out of Hanbury, Staffordshire, England, when several rabbits run across the road from their left. Suddenly they see a brilliant object. They stop the car and watch as it rises from a field on their left, silently pass over the car, and move toward a solitary house about 300 feet away on the right where it stops and hovers, “quivering like jelly.” The air temperature seems to drop. For approximately 5 minutes, they see what appear to be several humanoid figures walking across the bright top of the UFO, which is as wide as the house. Intermittently, some of the figures bend down as though looking at something in the part of the object below the rim. Then the UFO begins moving up in a pulsating or jerky movement. The intensity of its light increases and Milakovic feels like his eyes are burning. Thoroughly frightened, Milakovic pushes his wife and son back into the car and speeds away from the scene. (N. M. H. Turner and W. Daniels, “ Report of the Encounter between the Milakovic Family and a Flying Saucer in the Hanbury Area of Staffordshire,” BUFORA Journal 2, no. 7 (Winter 1968/1969): 4–7; W. Daniels and N. M. H. Turner, “ The Milakovic Report,” Flying Saucer Review 15, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1969): 2–3, 24; UFOEv II 483; Patrick Gross, “ UFO with Humanoid Occupants, Hanbury, England, November 20, 1968”; Patrick Gross, URECAT, December 18, 2006)
November 23 - 8:05 p.m. An accountant named Jones is driving his 1967 Ford Custom along the road between Newton and Albany, Georgia. When he rounds a bend he sees a brilliant yellowish-white light about 200 feet ahead of him and 50-75 feet above the road. As he approaches, the car radio fades into static. Then the object emits a beam of well-defined light about 5-6 feet wide that illuminates the trees and causes his engine and radio to cut out as it passes over his car. The object changes color to orange-red and ascends at a high rate of speed, disappearing in less than 15 seconds. The car engine starts spontaneously afterward. ( Sparks, p. 330; Hynek UFO Report, pp. 189-191; Powell, Scientist, 98-99; Clark IV 1218)
November 25 — 6:00 p.m. Elaine Pelchy is driving with her 2-year-old son and dog on Highway 174 south of Marcellus, New York, when they see an object with five red, blinking lights about 100 feet in front of her car and heading southeast. The radio gets a lot of static and the English setter begins to get nervous, clawing at the window and putting its head over its eyes and ears. The boy starts crying, then the car engine begins to sputter. The object executes a U-turn and moves to the northwest as the lights change to blinking blue and white. Suddenly, the UFO stops and changes to a white, dome-shaped object with a “fluorescent star” next to it. The larger object merges into the star and disappears. Pelchy drops her son off at her mother-in-law’s, then returns on the same route. The dog starts to whine again as a light the size of a basketball fluctuates in intensity and zigzags across the sky. She goes home but returns to the scene with a neighbor and the light is still visible and maneuvering. (Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, pp. 40–41)
November 26 — Dusk. Two flight instructors and two student pilots in Cessna 150 aircraft are flying between Winter Haven and Melbourne, Florida, when they see four objects flying in echelon formation about 6,000 feet to their right at 1,500 feet altitude. They are white ovals and seem to be the size of C-130 military transports. After 10 minutes one of the objects descends close to the ground as the remaining objects continue to pace the planes. Some 10 miles away from Melbourne, one of the pilots banks his plane and moves toward the objects, which then take off upward at 2,000 mph and disappear. (“ Four UFOs Pace Aircraft,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 10 (Feb./Mar. 1969): 1)
November 26 — 5:40 p.m. Three control tower operators (Jack Wilhelm, Jack Reeves, and John Fischer) at Bismarck (North Dakota) Airport observe two swiftly moving round objects traveling in opposite directions. They reverse course and approach each other, hover together, then instantly zoom off to the northeast. Air Force radar at Great Falls, Montana, picks up “foreign objects” at the same time 85 miles northeast of Bismarck. The objects are also seen by Robert Watts, who is flying a Cessna 150. (NICAP, “ Air Force Radar Tracks Objects”; “ It Was Something But No One Knows What,” Bismarck (N.Dak.) Tribune, November 27, 1968, pp. 1–2; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 43–44, 51–52; UFOEv II 130–131)
November 27 — A 41-page paper by George Kocher of the RAND Corporation, “UFOs: What to Do?” is produced as an internal document. It notes the likelihood of intelligent life in the universe, speculates UFOs may well have been around for a long time, looks at some compelling reports, and assesses the difficulty of estimating the number of sightings worldwide “because of the lack of suitable data collection means.” (George Kocher, “ UFOs: What to Do?” RAND Corporation, November 27, 1968)
November 27 — 7:00 p.m. While on patrol, officer Joseph Trotier of the Belcourt, North Dakota, police department, sees a round, glowing object with purple lights arrayed around its underside, alternately hovering and moving around the sky. As it hovers at 500 feet, the UFO emits a red beam of light toward the ground. Trotier shines a spotlight at the object, which immediately blacks out and disappears. After about 5 minutes it reappears. Moving south with its lights back on. (“ Object Reacts to Light,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 9 (January 1969): 8; UFOEv II 188)
December -The 1st Amphibian Tractor Battalion of the 3rd Marine Division track 18 incidents of unidentified "helicopters" or UFOs (as well as two in November) near the Demilitarized Zone in Vietnam through the joint Army-Air Force-Marine Western Pistol project. (Clark IV 1169)
December 26 — The Spanish Air Ministry’s press office issues a release inviting citizens to report UFO cases to the air force. A few days later, Second Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mariano Cuadra Medina issues the first regulations in Spain on how to handle UFO reports. The information is rated confidential. (Swords 423)
Late December — 11:30 a.m. Traumatologist Sebastian José Tarda is on vacation in Patagonia and leading a group of secondary school students on a motorboat field trip on Nahuel Huapi Lake, Argentina. Tarda is taking photos of the lake shore near Puerto Blest, but does not notice anything unusual. When one slide is developed, it shows a blurry white object against a mountainous background. An analysis by the Argentine UFO group Circulo de Investigación Cientifico Espacial states that the image is not caused by a lens flare, damaged emulsion, or a known object. Another analysis suggests that the object moved while the shutter was depressed. Ground Saucer Watch considers it a lens flare. (“ UFO Appears in Photo over Nahuel Huapi Lake, Argentina,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 3, no. 1 (February 1982): 1–2; “ Dr. Tarda 1968 Photograph Judged Lens Flare by GSW,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 3, no. 2 (April 1982): 3)
1969
A family of four working on an archaeological project in Great Sand Dunes National Monument, Colorado, allegedly watches a jet intercept a seemingly disabled cylindrical object that passes 500 feet above them before crashing into the sand. The UFO is retrieved by the military. (David B. Clemens, “ High Strangeness in a Colorado Valley,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 313 (May 1994): 13–14; Clark III 341; Clark IV 377)
Night. During its extended deployment to Vietnam with the 7th Fleet, the destroyer USS Leary is navigating fishing waters in the Gulf of Tonkin. Ensign Will Miller is alerted by the lookout about a possible light from a fishing boat in the water ahead. But the light suddenly moves from above the water to below the surface and heads rapidly toward the ship at 45° to the bow, passing below the vessel. The sailors run to the starboard side to see whether it will emerge, but it does not. Nothing is tracked on radar or sonar or by the ECM system. (Good Need, pp. 284–285)
January 6 — 7:15 p.m. Future president Jimmy Carter is preparing to give a speech at a Lions Club meeting at Leary, Georgia. One of the guests calls his attention to a strange object visible about 30° above the horizon to the west of where he is standing. Carter describes the object as being bright white and about as bright as the moon. It appears to have closed in on where he is standing but stops beyond a stand of pine trees some distance from him. The object changes color, first to blue, then to red, then back to white, before appearing to recede into the distance. Carter feels that the object is self- illuminated and not solid in nature. Carter’s report indicates that it is witnessed by about 10–12 other people and is in view for 10–12 minutes before it passes out of sight. Skeptic Robert Sheaffer concludes that the object is a misidentification of Venus. Ufologist Allan Hendry does calculations and agrees with the assessment of the object as Venus. Jere Justus thinks it might have been a barium cloud produced by rockets launched from Eglin AFB near Valparaiso, Florida. (Wikipedia, “ Jimmy Carter UFO incident”; [ case report to Hayden C. Hewes]; “ Jimmy Carter’s 1973 UFO Report,” UFO Investigator, February 1977, pp. 1–3; “ UFO over Georgia? Jimmy Logged One,” Washington Post, April 29, 1977; Good Above, pp. 368, 516–517; Robert Sheaffer, “ President Jimmy Carter’s Sighting of a UFO”; Robert Sheaffer, UFO Sightings: The Evidence, Prometheus, 1998, pp. 18–28; Clark III 225; C. G. “Jere” Justus, “ What Was That ‘UFO’ Jimmy Carter Saw?” February 2020; Graff 274–275; Clark IV 265–266; Elisha Sauers, “ Carter’s UFO Hounded Him for Years: Few Knew His Expertise in Astronomy,” Mashable, January 4, 2025)
January 17 — 3:24 a.m. A NASA employee is awakened in his home at Crittenden, Virginia, by a loud hum like an electrical transformer going bad. Looking out the window, he sees an elliptical object, about 30 feet wide, flying 100 feet above the ground. Around its base is a ring of rectangular amber-lighted windows, one of which is blinking in time to changes in the pitch of the hum. The object rocks gently as it moves and makes a slow turn to the west, fading from sight. Blue Book investigators try to convince him he has seen a helicopter, but there is no evidence of traffic that night. They label the sighting “unidentified,” the last report so designated in the blue Book files. (Kevin D. Randle, The UFO Casebook, Ballantine, 1989, pp. 135–138)
January 25 after midnight. Plattville, Illinois. A
young married couple was driving
home, the wife at the wheel, and the husband asleep in the passenger seat. She saw a very bright
light low in the sky ahead. It resolved itself into an ice cream cone-shaped thing, on its side,
traveling big end first. Their paths converged in the vicinity of the farmhouse owned by the
landlord of the couple, which was nearly to their own residence. At a distance of a quarter mile,
the cone stopped and righted itself (point up and only about 30 feet off the ground). Although not
noticed at the time, the farmhouse's outdoor security lights had apparently gone out during this
period.
Approaching closer, the object seemed two or three stories tall and composed of strips like
house panel siding. Below was a strip of brilliant diamond- and ruby-like lights—and the whole
affair shone brightly. The object spun and flashed, and the car engine and lights went out.
The car, an all-electric Chrysler Imperial, was now helpless, and the wife was becoming alarmed.
Now, the unthinkable happened. The front end of the Imperial was pulled three feet off the ground.
As she later said, "I thought: It's going to pull us up inside it!"
No one can fault her for screaming at her snoozing husband, and frantically trying to restart
the car. But it wouldn't start. Fortunately for ufology, her husband "restarted," woke up, and
gave us a second witness. He was no more effective (and probably no less frantic), but at least
they had each other. The object, though, was finished with its game, and the car smoothly sunk
and then dropped the final foot and bumped into the ground. Once the ice cream cone UFO had
departed, the car could be restarted. And the security lights came on, too.
January 29? -10:00 a.m. A woman is gathering herbs near Matadepera, Catalonia, Spain, when she hears a loud whooshing noise and sees a metallic object moving toward her from some trees. It changes course quickly and abruptly to avoid hitting a power line. The object is about 10 feet long, 5 feet wide, and 8 feet high, tapering toward the rear. It is colored bright green and yellow in splotches and spots. On the bottom she sees a yellow-orange circle surrounded by a black ring. Once past the power line, the object rises rapidly and disappears over low houses and pine trees. A local researcher finds four curious raised lines of earth at the site, as if they were raised by something tunnelling underneath, although they do not resemble mole burrowings. (José Maria Casas-Huguet, " A Possible Landing at Matadepera," Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 12 (December 1972): 1-3)
January 31 — After a series of visual sightings and radar trackings of UFOS “of helicopter speed and altitude” beginning in October 1968, the US Air Force and Army set up another UFO observation network in the West Central Highlands near Pleiku, Vietnam, using pulse acquisition radar, continual wave acquisition radar, and illumination radar. The system picks up 365 unidentified tracks through April 1969. The UFOs tend to disappear when approached by aircraft (Clark III 1052–1053; Clark IV 1167–1168)
February 7 — 7:30 a.m. Tiago Machado, 19, wakes up at his home in Pirassununga, São Paulo, Brazil, and hears a neighbor shouting about a silvery-blue object landed on a hill on the grounds of the Zootecníca. He watches it for a time, then goes in to get binoculars. He goes off to the hill and approaches the object until he is about 33 feet away. It is a disc made of silvery metal with a dome on top. It is about 13 feet in diameter and stands on three legs. A door opens and two men come floating down to the ground. Machado can see two other beings inside. The men walk toward him, making signs. They are wearing silver diver’s suits, have black teeth and thin-lipped mouths, and one eye is lower than the other. Each has a kind of burn or cicatrice on each cheek. Machado is nervous, so he lights a cigarette. The beings apparently think this is funny, so he tosses the cigarette pack toward them. One of them leans sideways and stretches out his hand. The pack floats 8 inches up to his hand and disappears. Suddenly one of Machado’s friends calls out to him, and the beings walk back to the UFO, still facing him, and jump up to the door. The last one in pauses and pulls out a kind of weapon, points it at Machado, and a flame like a welding arc comes out of the barrel and floats toward him, hitting him in the thigh. He feels faint and paralyzed as the UFO takes off. His friends carry him to a neighbor’s house and find a red swelling on his leg. Later, investigators find three imprints in an equilateral triangle at the site, each about 5 inches in diameter. Soil samples taken show no radioactivity. (“ Brazil in Throes of Big Flap,” APRO Bulletin, March/April 1969, pp. 1, 5; Nigel Rimes, “ The Pirassununga Landing,” in Charles Bowen, ed., UFO Percipients, special issue no. 3 of FSR, September 1969, pp. 39–45; “ Caso Tiago Machado,” Portal Fenomenum, June 15, 2016; Brazil 109–114)
February 16 — Night. A M. Meingault, the caretaker of the Château des Martins in Bignoux, Vienne, France, hears two of the mares and three colts galloping about in a panic in their field. He investigates and sees a pair of brilliant, pale-green, shining eyes at a spot between a clump of bushes and the paddock fence. He estimates they must be fairly large to be seen at a distance and appear to be just under 4 feet above the ground. He goes inside to get a gun, then walks around the field. The horses are still galloping, this time through a thicket that they normally would not enter. Although it is a very dark night, he gets the fleeting impression that there is a shadow following the horses. Meingault fires several shots in the air to scare away any attacker. Even though the animals still haven’t settled down, he goes back inside and to bed. The next morning, the horses still seem disturbed and have damaged the fence considerably in more than 10 places. (Jean-Claude Baillon, “ Eerie Night at the Château des Martins,” Flying Saucer Review 16, no. 4 (July/August 1970): 24–26, 34)
February 18 — Morning. Barbara Smyth, a teacher in a small town in Alberta, is driving to school when she sees on her right a “gigantic, bright pinky-red coloured” object “about seven times the size of a steel granary of 14ft. diameter.” It looks like two rounded layers divided by a thin blue line. There are two flashing white lights on the top and a tent-like structure that pulsates and changes color from silver to fiery yellow. The UFO starts spinning counterclockwise and jumps over to the next hill. Suddenly, her car is no longer under her control as it floats down a very bumpy road. After three minutes the UFO disappears, and the car returns to normal. (W. K. Allan, “ A UFO and the Car Which ‘Floated Along,’” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 6 (August 1971): 8, iii; Clark III 250; Clark IV 290)
February 19 — 12:30 p.m. Two telephone linemen are working atop a pole near Lebel-sur-Quévillon, Quebec, when the see a gray, metallic cylinder with four fins at its end moving slowly west to east over the trees and about 150 feet above the ground. The object is 100 feet long and only 15 feet in diameter. The men watch it for a few minutes as it glides slowly out of sight. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, p. 72
February 26 — 2:30 a.m. In Lins, São Paulo, Brazil, several people traveling by car along the Avenida da Saudade, see an oval, yellowish-golden object with a halo near a cemetery wall, about 3,200 feet away. The object, the size of a station wagon, tilts with one side lower than the other. Later that day, a watchman, José Alves da Silva, also observes the same object in another part of Lins. Two days earlier, on February 24, multiple witnesses had reported seeing a vivid red ball above the town center. (Walter Buhler, “ Brazilian Cases in 1968 and 1969—4,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 5 (1971): 9, 13)
February 26 - 10:20 a.m. Two truck drivers, R. J. Johnson and P. C. Wheelock, along with a motorist named Dan Littleton, observe an unidentified object moving across Interstate 20 near the Hallsville access road east of Longview, Texas. The object is above treetop height and travels north at around 40 mph. It appears as a small, dense, nearly black cloud with a gray portion drooping forward and downward, roughly the size of a small Ford or Chevrolet. The object moves horizontally, with its trailing gray haze at the front. No planes, helicopters, or explosions are present. (" Three People Saw It," Longview (Tex.) Morning Journal, February 27, 1969, p. 3)
March 4 — 6:40 a.m. William Overstreet, 50, is driving his truck on Missouri J between Elmer and Atlanta, Missouri, when he sees a bright reddish-orange light about 100 feet in diameter and floating along at 40 mph. It begins to follow the road and beams a strong, cone-shaped white light on to the road from a height of 50 feet. Overstreet can feel the heat. The object changes from red to a blue sphere surrounded by a red ring. He attempts to drive through the beam, but his motor and radio die when he gets to within 6 feet. The beam moves away a bit, he tries again, and the same thing happens. The UFO moves about a mile away, turns back to red, switches off the beam, and cruises away. (NICAP, “ 100ʹ Object Affects Radio and Truck Engine”; “ UFO Reports in Missouri Area,” Kansas City (Mo.) Star, March 6, 1969, p. 4A; “ Light Beams with EM Effects Reported,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 7 (May 1969): 3; “ E-M Effect on Truck in Missouri,” APRO Bulletin, May/June 1969, p. 4; Michael D. Swords, “ Messing Around with the Force,” IUR 31, no. 4 (March 2008): 15)
March 4 about sunrise. Atlanta, Missouri. William Overstreet, 50 years old, was
driving in a rural area on his way to work when he saw a bright reddish-orange light. As he
drew nearer to the light, he realized it was a huge (estimated 100 feet in diameter) ball,
which was floating along at about 40 mph and following the contours of the land. As it began
to cross the highway, it stopped and then began to follow the road. Overstreet approached in
his truck, and the ball beamed a "strong white light" onto the road from its height of about
50 feet. The light beam was cone-shaped, ending at the road surface in an 8-foot diameter spot.
Heat radiating from the beam had a similar effect on Overstreet of sitting in a closed car on
a hot sunny summer day. When the beam came on, the object changed from red to a blue sphere
surrounded by a red ring, which surrounded a whirling yellow.
Michael D. Swords is professor emeritus of the Environmental Institute, Western Michigan
University, Kalamazoo.
Overstreet, a postman, was obviously not going to let wind nor rain nor sleet nor weird
balls of light deter him from his appointed rounds, and he attempted to drive through the light
beam. When he got to within six feet, both his motor and radio died. The ball and its beam moved
a little further down the road, and the engine and radio were active again. He tried again to
approach the beam, and the failures occurred just as before.
This time he let the beam mosey a bit further down the road and followed discreetly. The
ball got about a mile away, turned back to red, switched off its beam, and then left the road.
As it crossed the nearby power lines, it flashed and then cruised away until lost to sight.
Then it was just another clear sunny morning in northern Missouri. The effect on Overstreet?
"I had never believed in them too much until I saw this. Now I know that there is something to
these UFOs. I don't know why it was there or where it was going. Neither do I know what it was
after I saw it, but I don't care about being that close to another one."
Missouri is the Show Me state. I guess this UFO took that slogan seriously.
March 4 — 10:00 p.m. RCMP Constable R. J. Shannahan is on foot patrol near 24 Sussex Drive, the Prime Minister’s residence in Ottawa, Ontario. He looks up and sees two bright flashing red lights above and slightly inside the gates to Rideau Hall. One light moves east and is lost to view in one minute, while the other moves west and is visible for 5–6 minutes. No jets are scrambled, and there is no indication that radar installations are asked about unidentified targets. (National Research Council of Canada, FOIA documents, Part 3, pp. 187–193; National Research Council of Canada, FOIA documents, Part 27, pp. 159–165; Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 75–77)
March 6 or 10 — 10:30 a.m. A woman is driving with her St. Bernard dog between Glenwood and Lancaster, Missouri. The dog becomes agitated and she sees a bright blue-white beam of light illuminating the road and a domed disc 1,000 feet in the air. The dog jumps into the front seat and become quite panicked. She tries to drive through the beam, but the car slows from 50 mph to 8 mph but manages to get to the other side when the car picks up speed. (Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, p. 32; Ted Phillips, “ UFO Events in Missouri, 1857–1971,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 8 (December 1971): 11; UFOEv II 38–39; Michael D. Swords, “ Messing Around with the Force,” IUR 31, no. 4 (March 2008): 15–16)
March 10. About 11:00 a.m.. Near Glenwood, Missouri. A young housewife was driving
(with her faithful canine companion in the back seat) between Glenwood and Lancaster. Her dog
became agitated, and then she saw a bright blue-white beam of light illuminating the highway
ahead. Looking for the source, she saw a dark gray, sort of pyramidal, domed disk, which she
guessed could be 1,000 feet in the air and appeared larger than a dime in apparent size at
arm's length. Her dog leapt into the front seat, acted very agitated, and tried to hide under
the seat. As this dog was a St. Bernard, it must have been quite a scene.
"The dog started acting real strange. He started to bark and jumped up on the front seat and
was real upset. The hair stood up on the back of his neck. He all of a sudden acted as though
someone had whipped him. He tried to get down under the seat. He was whimpering and was just
real scared."
Well, our courageous lady was just the opposite. She (like our postal worker) attempted to
drive right through the beam. It was bright (like "looking directly into the Sun") that she had
to shield her eyes. It seemed to begin on the bottom of the disk and then (the opposite of
Overstreet's beam) coned outwards until it nearly covered the road. As her car entered the
beam, it slowed, dropping from 50 mph to about 8 mph. "It [the car] did not start to miss. It
merely slowed to that speed although I had the footfeed on the floor." She crawled through the
beam to the other side, and her auto picked up speed and functioned normally, as she drove
away without looking back. The effect of all this on the lady? She was calm and curious throughout
the sighting, but her eyes hurt her for three days afterwards. She got called by several UFO
crackpots who asked her for money. But the dog got better, I am happy to report.
March 10 - 10:10 p.m. Police Chief Lavern Janzen is driving west of Westhope, North Dakota, when the interiorof his car suddenly lights up. Looking up, he sees a disc shaped like a World War I helmet pass overhead and stop about 700 feet ahead, some 100 feet in the air. The object has a glowing blue-green dome and a bright white body with a revolving red band. The object wobbles back and forth while hovering. At one point it emits a 10-foot-diameter beam of light onto the road. Janzen gets out of the car but is afraid to approach any closer. He smells an odor like burned rubber. After 15 minutes the object ascends at a 60° angle and flies out of sight to the south. (" Light Beams with EM Effects Reported," UFO Investigator 4, no. 11 (May 1969): 3-4; UFOEv II 189
March 14 — Day. Col. Robert M. Tirman, an Air Force flight surgeon stationed in Thailand, is flying as a passenger in a Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker. The plane is at 15,000 feet when the pilot and crew notice a black cylinder hovering in a vertical position about 2 miles away. The pilot circles closer and determines that it is not a balloon. After he radios back to his base, fighter aircraft are scrambled but cannot locate the object. (Jacksonville (Ark.) Daily News, March 27, 1969; “ AF Colonel, Air Crew Encounter Giant UFO,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 11 (May 1969): 1; “ Colonel Describes ‘Giant Black Metallic Cylinder’ As AF Crew Tracks UFO,” Skylook (July 1969): 14; UFOEv II 81)
March 17 — Two pilots, Herman Slater and Ben Ripley, are flying a Cessna 150 between Phoenix and Lake Havasu, Arizona, when the pilot in the right seat rises up and sees maybe 2 dozen oval, white discs on the left side of the plane, flying very low and in a rough formation. Each has the hint of a blister near the front. The speed is 200–300 mph, and the only maneuver they make is pitch and roll, all done simultaneously, in unison. For 20 seconds, both pilots watch the objects pass below their aircraft and beyond. (“ Two Phoenix Pilots Claim Sighting UFOs in Skies,” Phoenix (Ariz.) Gazette, March 21, 1969, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 1 (May 1969): 8; “ Large UFO Formation over Arizona,” APRO Bulletin, March/April 1969, pp. 1, 4; “ Flying Formation Seen by Pilots,” UFO Investigator 4, no. 11 (May 1969): 4; Michael D. Swords, “ We Know Where You Live,” IUR 30, no. 2 (January 2006): 11–12)
April 5 — 7:25 p.m. Three male teenagers are parked in a remote area near West Nyack, New York, when a light approaches and they get out to see a craft emitting a light beam. They lose consciousness, except that one later recalls seeing the object land and shine the light beam on them. They recall an oval object about 50 feet in diameter, as well as humanoid beings about 5 feet tall with large round heads, large black eyes, and pale gray skin. Most wear form-fitting, gray-green coveralls; one who acts as an examiner wears a turtle-neck garment. Within the craft, the examiner peers intently into one of the teens’ faces. He feels that he has been “ripped to pieces” and put back together again but does not feel any pain. The same teen has spontaneous recall, including trying for several minutes to start the car without success at about 10:15 p.m. (Budd Hopkins, Missing Time, 1981, pp. 111–123; UFOEv II 533–534)
April 12 — 11:00 a.m. During a Fouga Magister aircraft training mission at Pori Airport, Finland, a Finnish Defence Forces flight controller tells pilot-in-training Tarmo Tukeva to investigate seven air balloons that are floating at approximately 5,000–9,800 feet above the airport. Tukeva reports that the objects are ball or disc-shaped but cannot determine how far away they are. Tukeva sees the objects accelerate away from him “at great speed.” Indeterminate radar images are also later reported 125 miles away in Vaasa. A second pilot-in-training, Jouko Kuronen, overhears the radio communications between the flight controller and Tukeva and sees the UFOs as well. According to the Finnish Armed Forces magazine Ruotuväki, the reports are similar to other cases occurring over bodies of water during ongoing military exercises and may have been due to “transnational spy planes or aircraft.” (Wikipedia, “ Finnish Air Force UFO sighting”; “ Ruotuväki: Ilmavoimien lentäjät tekivät merkittävän ufo-havainnon 60-luvulla,” Ilta-Sanomat, May 8, 2012; “ 1969: Pilots Report 7 Yellow Spheres at Pori Airport, Finland,” UFO Casebook, August 13, 2013; “ Unsolved UFO Mystery, the Pori Spheres of 1969: What Really Happened?” Echoes of Times YouTube channel, August 28, 2024; “ Pori, 1969, April 12, 11:00 a.m.,” The UFO Timeline)
April 14 — 11:30 p.m. Edwin H. Bohl Jr. and a companion 5 miles east of Hill City, Kansas, watch a multi-colored object approach to within 100 feet of their car. The car engine fails. The object hovers at 75 feet above the ground for 3 minutes, then slowly moves away. The car then restarts without trouble. (“ Them Thar Critters Are on the Loose,” Salina (Kan.) Journal, April 17, 1969, p. 12; “ Logan Man Spots Unidentified Flying Object East of Town,” Hill City (Kan.) Times, April 17, 1969, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 2 (June 1969): 5; “ UFO Sighting Is Reported,” Hays (Kan.) Daily News, April 27, 1969, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 2 (June 1969): 5; “ Kansas Man Goes UFO Hunting—Finds One!” Skylook, no. 20 (July 1969): 6; “ UFO Hunt Was Too Easy,” Skylook, no. 21 (August 1969): 19; “ Lull in UFO Activity Doesn’t Shake Believers,” Kansas City (Mo.) Star, October 13, 1971, p. 1B; Mark Rodeghier, UFO Reports Involving Vehicle Interference, CUFOS, 1982, p. 46)
April 17 — Morning. T. J. Hefferman of Bungawalban, New South Wales, wakes up and notices that his dogs are “strangely subdued.” Outside, he finds a flattened area in a sacaline (Reynoutria sachalinensis) forage crop on his property. A roughly circular area is flattened in four distinct patches, the largest 60 by 15 feet. All the stalks lie in one direction, north to south. The previous night, two men working night shift on a flood mitigation dredge a quarter mile north of the farm had seen a glow in the sky, and a neighboring farmer had seen two “toplike objects” moving about for a number of nights. G. Testa, an independent investigator from Lismore, visits the site on April 20 and takes 25 feet of 8mm color film to document the damage. (Clark III 1138–1139; Bill Chalker, “ 1969: The Great UFO Daze of Oz,” The Oz Files, September 19, 2020; Clark IV 1295–1296)
April 20 — 7:30 p.m. A woman out walking at Harwood Island, New South Wales, sees and hears a large patch of 2-year-old cane rustling and waving on a still night. A powerful beam of light switches on across the top of the cane path, and it slowly turns in a half circle before going out and being replaced by a “low beam” and “cabin lights.” A UFO is above the cane and she feels a powerful force lifting her up and pulling her toward the object when the “high beam” is on. The helmet-shaped object is 20–28 feet long and 22 feet wide. At its closest the UFOis 40–50 feet away. It disappears suddenly. (Clark III 1139; Bill Chalker, “ 1969: The Great UFO Daze of Oz,” The Oz Files, September 19, 2020; Clark IV 1296)
April 20 - 11:00 p.m. Robert and Wilma Phillips are driving west on State Highway 11 about one mile west of Browntown, Wisconsin, when they see a bright yellow-orange light to their right. When they stop the car to watch, the light approaches and hovers near the right side of the car. Wilma describes it as shaped like a kettle drum with diffused light emanating from the base. Robert turns off the car so he can hear a high-pitched "tweeting sound" the object is making. Phillips restarts he car and moves slowly forward to observe the object, which tips sideways and paces them as it changes color to orange-red and bright red. The diffused light dims and they can see the UFO is about 20 feet across and 10-15 feet thick. It remains about 20 feet in the air and never more than 100 feet from the side of the road. The object follows them to the outskirts of South Wayne where it turns and quickly disappears to the north. (" Car Buzzing Incidents Continue," APRO Bulletin, May/June 1969, pp. 6, 8; Geneva Saalsaa, " UFO-observation i Lafayette distriktet, USA," UFO-nyt, 1969, no. 8 (December 1969): 323-324
April 22 — 8:00 p.m. Three witnesses are driving in heavy rain near Hammond, Ontario, when they see an object like a huge “drinking cup turned upside down.” It has two bright lights directed horizontally and appears to have a row of portholes with pink light coming from within. They estimate it is 5 feet off the ground, 20 feet long, and 200 feet away. They can hear a whining noise like a generator. After 15 minutes, the object turns and zooms over some nearby power lines, over the trees, and out of sight. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, p. 77)
April 23 — 2:00 a.m. Virginia A. Guinn and a boarder are awakened by loud howlings and yowlings from the dogs and cats at her farm in Silver Spring, Maryland. Going outside, the witnesses see a round UFO “as large as two rooms” that is a bluish-white color like the glow around a welder’s arc. The object is moving beyond the barn to the north-northeast. They heard a humming noise and the object blinks out and the animals quiet down. Guinn discovers later that morning that the horses in the barn had broken free of their stalls and knocked harnesses off the walls. (Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, p. 32)
April 25 — 7:30 p.m. A woman and her 11-year-old daughter are travelling by taxi past Roberts Park in Greenacre, New South Wales, when they spot a “Japanese lantern” above some trees. One minute later, as the taxi turns a corner, they see it again, 100–130 feet away, apparently in the same spot. The driver stops the taxi, and they can see what looks like a metallic craft, approximately 33 feet in diameter, with the appearance of “two soup bowls joined rim-to-rim.” There is a steady red light on top. The object seems to be noiselessly rocking backwards and forwards, at a frequency of 1–2 rocks per second. A “depressing blue glow” can be seen through a window that takes up most of the upper part. A humanoid figure is apparently operating controls near the window. Another figure is pointing at the witnesses. A third seems to be walking toward a back door. All three are apparently human-sized and are either wearing tight black clothing, are black skinned, or seen in silhouette. After 15 seconds or less, the driver speeds off down the road, drops the couple off, and drives off quickly without taking their fare. At 8:00 p.m., the woman and her daughter return to the park. The UFO is not to be seen. (Bill Chalker, “ 1969: The Great UFO Daze of Oz,” The Oz Files, September 19, 2020)
May 1 — 5:30 p.m. An illuminated triangular object moves soundlessly from south to north over Negru Vodă, Romania. After 20 minutes of hanging motionless it disappears swiftly to the east. (Hobana and Weverbergh 161–162)
May 2 — Engineer Belavan of the fishing vessel Roncal obtains five sonar tracks of two underwater objects in the Pacific Ocean off Lambayeque, Peru. (J. J. Benítez, OVNIs: S.O.S. a la Humanidad, Plaza y Janes, 1979, chapter 12; J. Antonio Huneeus, “USOs in Chile and Peru,” Fate 56, no. 1 (January 2003): 6–7; Carl Feindt, “ Report #1389,” waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 332–333)
May 4–9 — 3:00 p.m. A 24-year-old Brazilian soldier named José Antônio da Silva is fishing by himself at Bebedouro (apparently a small lagoon in the Área de Proteção Ambiental do Carste de Lagoa Santa) near Matozinhos, Minas Gerais, Brazil, when he begins dozing off. He perceives figures moving around him, and he feels himself shot with something that paralyzes his legs. Two small humanoid beings, joined by a third, drag him off into a strange machine shaped like two saucers joined together by a thick, vertical cylinder. The machine lifts off, and after a long interval it lands. Da Silva is carried by his armpits into a large quadrangular room, where he finds himself with his original three captors and a fourth being—also humanoid, with red hair and a beard that comes down to his waist—who seems to be their leader. He remembers afterward that all four have mouths that look like fishes’ mouths. The room is made of stone. Inside, on a low shelf seemingly fashioned out of stone, da Silva sees the bodies of four human men lying stretched out side by side. Naked, rigid, and positioned on their backs, the bodies bear no visible wounds, but it is obvious that they are dead. One is a well-built black man and another has light brown skin. Two others, more slightly built, are Caucasian, one of them very blond “like a foreigner.” The beings do not speak any Portuguese but, using pictures, the leader manages to convey to da Silva that they want him to be their guide and weapons provider for what he supposes is a subsequent invasion of Earth. He refuses, fingering his crucifix, which the angry leader rips from his hand. Out of nowhere, da Silva sees appear in front of him a human figure who stands motionless, gazing at him in a friendly fashion. The figure, about five and a half feet tall, is Caucasian, slender, bearded with long fair hair, and dressed in a friar’s cassock. Amazingly, the little men seem oblivious to his presence. Speaking in Portuguese, the figure gives da Silva certain “revelations” that he afterward insists on keeping secret. He apparently knows who the figure is but he does not reveal that either, saying only that he wasn’t Jesus. The figure vanishes, and the beings who have abducted him start quarreling among themselves. They carry da Silva back to their machine; there follows another flight, another landing. Da Silva awakens in the dawn of what turns out to be May 9, four and a half days after his abduction, some 300 miles to the east of the place where he had been abducted. He supposedly bears the physical marks of his ordeal—wounds on his neck, lameness in one leg—for days afterward. (Húlvio Brant Aleixo, “ O Caso ‘Bebedouro,’” SBEDV Boletim, no. 94/98 (Sept. 1973/June 1974): 7–22; Gordon Creighton, “ Forty-Eight Hours in a Flying Saucer,” Fling Saucer Review 17, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1971): 15–17; Húlvio Brant Aleixo, “ Abduction at Bebedouro,” Flying Saucer Review 19, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1973): 6–14; Húlvio Brant Aleixo, “ Bebedouro II: The Little Men Return for the Soldier,” Flying Saucer Review 21, no. 3/4 (November 1975): 32–35; Walter Buhler, “ Thoughts on the Bebedouro Case,” Flying Saucer Review 21, no. 3/4 (November 1975): 36–38; “ O Caso de Bebedouro (MG),” Portal Fenomenum, June 15, 2016; David Halperin, “ Jerome Clark and Loren Coleman: ‘Descent into Hell’ and the Bebedouro Abduction,” davidhalperin.net, July 27, 2018; Clark III 185–189; Brazil 116–121; Eghigian, After, p. 264; Clark IV 221–224)
May 11 — 2:00 a.m. Near the village of Chapeau, Quebec, on L’Isle-aux-Allumettes in the Ottawa River, farmer Leo Paul Chaput is awakened by his dog barking. He looks out the window and sees a brilliant light close to the ground. The light source seems to be a domed craft with a flat bottom (like a World War I helmet) about 500 feet away. He looks away briefly, and the object is gone, although he can hear the diminishing sound of a motor. When Chaput gets up in the morning, he finds a large circular indentation in the ground, 600 feet from his house. The impression is 32 feet in diameter and is surrounded by a ring of scorched grass 2.5 feet wide. Inside, the vegetation is not damaged, but there are three holes that form a perfect equilateral triangle, 15 feet on a side. The holes are 8 inches in diameter and 3 inches deep. He finds a second, slightly smaller circle to the southwest, again with scorched grass and 3 indentations. A third ground marking, a semicircle, is near the second. (“ UFO: Interplanetary Swap?” Montreal (Que.) Gazette, May 23, 1969, p. 1; Donald E. Keyhoe and Gordon I. R. Lore Jr., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, 1969, p. 45; “ Farm Invaded by Flying Saucers,” Saucers, Space, and Science, no. 56 (1969): 10–11; Brian C. Cannon, “ UFO Alert in Ontario,” Canadian UFO Report 1, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1969): 19–21; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 153–154; Chris Rutkowski and Geoff Dittman, The Canadian UFO Report, Dundurn Press, 2006, pp. 103–104)
May 12 - Between 9:30 and 11:00 p.m. A saucer-shaped UFO is seen by multiple witnesses in the Palatine-Lake Zurich area, Illinois. The craft shines a bright ray of light to the ground and produces an unusual humming sound. Two teenage boys, Greg Lucht and Alan Prouty, first spot the object hovering over Illinois Highway 53 and Dundee Road. The UFO features three large "headlights," red and white blinking lights circling the rim, and a red glow underneath. The intense light reportedly wakes a stable owner and scares barking dogs into silence. (" UFO Sighting Here Studied," Chicago (Ill.) Tribune, May 25, 1969, p. 14; Mary B. Good, "Was That a UFO?" Arlington Heights (Ill.) Daily Herald, May 28, 1969, pp. 1-2; " Saucer-Shaped UFO Seen in Northeast Illinois," Skylook, no. 20 (July 1969): 6-7)
May 18–20 — Evening. A localized power blackout cuts off electricity at the Lester Kaiser farm near Rising Sun, Indiana, for 2 hours. The next night, George Kaiser watches a hairy, muscular, bipedal creature that flees upon being seen. It leaves tracks showing three toes and a big toe. On May 20, a neighbor sees a glowing, greenish-white UFO as it hovers for several minutes. (John Keel, Strange Creatures from Time and Space, 1970, pp. 94–95; Patrick Gross, URECAT, May 29, 2007; Clark III 556; Clark IV 614)
May 22 — 8:30 p.m. A teacher and her parents are driving along Highway A92 near Cammachmore, Scotland, when they spot a glowing red object descending rapidly from the southeast. Fearing a crash, they stop their car,turn off the engine, and prepare to get help. The object reaches the height of nearby utility poles—around 30 feet. At its closest, they see the object is egg-shaped, made of polished metal, and resembles two stacked saucers. It has no windows and remains visible from three different angles for about 4 minutes. A plume of gases comes from its rear, colored turquoise and green, and blending into a rosy hue. The shimmering outline appears hazy, and a high-pitched humming sound is audible. The sighting is reported to police, who say others have also seen it, but suggest that it is a meteor. (“ More from Muchalls,” Northern UFO News, no. 162 (September 1993): 15)
May 22 — 11:00 p.m. Graham Longey sees a large, brilliant, circular white object hovering a few feet off the ground at Glenorchy, Tasmania. Windows encircle its midsection. It begins to move rapidly upward, and by the time he dashes out of his house it is gone. On the site, Longey finds an elliptical area of burned grass 18 feet by 12 feet. A small tree nearby is scorched and has limbs broken. He notices an oily smell. (“ Disc Leaves Tell-Tale Ring,” UFOIC Newsletter, no. 25 (October 1969): 3; Keith Roberts, “ Tasmanian Landings of 1969,” UFO Research Australia Newsletter 4, no. 1 (July/Aug. 1983): 7–8; Clark III 1139; Clark IV 1296)
May 23 — 6:35 p.m. A 13-year-old boy in Cloverdale, Western Australia, notices a moving light to the south and about 10° above the horizon. He calls his mother, who sees a steady red light on top of a more diffuse blue-white light darting haphazardly in a zigzag pattern but in general moving to the north until it disappears behind their house. The witnesses shift their position and can still see the light hovering in the northwest. The light is now seen as circular with hazy edges and about half the diameter of the full moon. At about 7:00 p.m. it moves at high speed to the north. The mother calls the radar station at Kalamunda, which simultaneously gets a request from Perth Airport to check out an unidentified echo on their meteorological radar. The Kalamunda operator sees a large echo some 9 miles away, which reappears for short durations on 5 further occasions and is last seen at 7:42 p.m. (Swords 397–398; Bill Chalker, “ 1969: The Great UFO Daze of Oz,” The Oz Files, September 19, 2020)
June 3 — Around 6:00 p.m. Three objects are seen flying over the town of Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. For several hours, they hold the attention of the entire city—movie theaters sit empty and meals go uneaten as people watch the phenomenon. The objects fly in a triangular formation at altitudes estimated between 1.9 and 3.7 miles. After about three hours, two of them head out toward the sea, while the third hovers in place before beginning a new series of movements. (“ Três discos-voadores fazem manobras em Angra dos Reis,” A Luta Democrática (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), June 5, 1969, p. 2; Walter Buhler, “ Brazilian Cases in 1968 and 1969—Pt. 6,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 7 (October 1971): 15; “ Três Discos Voadores Fazem Manobras em Angra dos Reis, 1969,” Patrimônio em Foco: Compartilhando a História da Costa Verde, May 30, 2019)
June 5 — 4:00 p.m. FAA controller James V. Beardsley is acting as an observer on American Airlines Flight 112 traveling at 39,000 feet from Phoenix, Arizona, to Washington, D.C. At a point within the St. Louis, Missouri, air traffic control area, he and the co-pilot notice a formation of four objects flying in a square formation and approaching the aircraft from directly ahead. The formation, with one large object and three smaller ones separated by about 20 feet, passes within 300 feet on the left side of the plane about 1,000 feet above them. Beardsley describes the larger object as shaped like a hydroplane, about 18–20 feet long, and the color of “burnished aluminum.” The crew of a United Airlines aircraft 8 miles behind them and the pilot of a National Guard plane 12 miles behind also see the objects. (“ FAA Controller Recounts ’69 Sighting,” UFO Investigator, February 1972, p. 2)
June 17 — 2:00 a.m. Kaneto and Kioko Nobutoshi witness a “brilliantly illuminated window” hovering in the air in Ibiúna, São Paulo, Brazil. It appears to be 30 feet in diameter, 10 feet high, and illuminates a small part of the ground. The sighting lasts 45 minutes, with the object stationary all the time. It then vanishes. Later examination of the ground underneath reveals a circle of flattened grass, 25 feet in diameter, swirled counterclockwise, with some small secondary swirls. (Hans Bemelmans, “ Reports from Ibiuna,” Flying Saucer Review 16, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1970): 15–19; Terry Wilson, “ 1969: Ibiuna,” Old Crop Circles)
June 17 - George Air Force Base in California. On the night of June 17 and 18 in 1969, two base security policemen observed what they described as a bright orange colored object hovering overhead. They said it was quite large. Their estimate that this object was at least 375 feet in diameter and after just a few moments this UFO flittered away. This account was actually leaked to the press by an inside source and otherwise would probably have remained a secret.
June 17 — Turkish Air Force pilot Süleyman Tekyildirim is ordered to intercept a UFO above his base in Turkey in a US-built F-5A Freedom Fighter. He flies above it, thinking it is a meteorological balloon because it looks gray and like an upside-down light bulb. However, it moves to his left and takes off at fantastic speed. He tries to reach it, but it eludes him and speeds away. (Good Need, p. 299)
June 19 — 12:25 a.m. Radio/TV engineer Robin Peck is driving a van just north of Bircham Newton, Norfolk, England, when his headlights and motor fail. He looks under the hood, feels some “static electricity,” and his hair stands on end. He looks up and sees a bluish, upside-down-mushroom-shaped object hovering 100–150 feet over the trees on a nearby farm. It has an orange glow around it. Peck feels that the air is electrified. His luminous wristwatch glows intensely and unnaturally. After about one minute the object takes off and disappears rapidly. The van’s electrical system returns to normal. (Peter Johnson, “ Auto-Stop near Docking,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 5 (June 1971): 1–2; UFOFiles2, p. 81)
June 19 — 11:50 p.m. Arthur Hendry, 17, is getting ready to cycle home near Docking, Norfolk, England, when he hears a strange whistling noise above him that intensifies and becomes a powerful throbbing. His muscles feel frozen or paralyzed as if he is receiving a severe electric shock. After a few seconds the noise stops, and he feels normal again. (UFOFiles2, p. 81)
June 20 — 9:35 p.m. Vernon L. Kleman and other Coast Guardsman on the southern shore of Lake Michigan observe several multicolored, maneuvering lights moving at various speeds around Michigan City and Gary, Indiana, and Calumet City and Chicago, Illinois. At 10:15 p.m., Klemen and three other Coast guardsmen at Michigan City see a brilliant white object over the lake. It seems to have a rotating rim with red, green, and yellow lights around its center; after a minute it diminishes in size and brilliance and vanishes. At one point a similar object enters the water for 4–5 seconds then travels straight up at a huge speed. Members of the Michigan City police (Lance M. Hilberg and Tony C. Ragle) and Port Authority police (Robert G. Howington) also view 9–10 objects over about 2 hours. The Chicago Coast Guard Station confirms that there are no known aircraft in the area. (“ Submerging UFOs Reported,” UFO Investigator 5, no. 1 (Sept./Oct. 1969): 1, 3; Dolan, USO1, 333–336)
June 26 - 2:30 p.m. Sr. Benedito, a justice of the peace, is walking along a trail about 4 miles northwest of Ibiúna, Sao Paulo, Brazil, when he hears a humming noise like a swarm of bees. He sees an odd object rocking from side to side that suddenly drops into the brush out of sight. Thinking it is an accident, he approaches to within 20 feet and sees the landed object, which then ascends, hovers a moment, and takes off in a gentle climb. He hears the humming sound again and feels a blast of air as it moves away. The Brazilian Air Force investigates the landing, and UFO investigator Hans Bemelmans finds some scorched grass in the thickly tangled brush. (Hans Bemelmans, " Reports from Ibiuna," Flying Saucer Review 16, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1970): 15-19
Summer — Evening. A woman in Wheatley, Ontario, sees lights in the sky moving close to the surface of Lake Erie. They enter the lake, the water glows briefly, then an object exits the lake silently. (“ Woman Sees Object Fly into Water,” UFOs Northwest, December 1, 2006; Dolan, USO1, 339)
July or August — 1:00 a.m. A US Marine private named Earl Morrison is on guard duty with other soldiers in a bunker near Da Nang, Vietnam, when they see a black, naked woman with bat-like, glowing wings moving through the air toward them. It flies about 6–7 above their heads. She soon starts flapping her wings and flies away. (“Don Worley, “ The Winged Lady in Black,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 10 (June 1972): 14–16; Clark III 779; Clark IV 860)
July 4 — 7:30 a.m. Ed Moore is fishing at Duck Pond (only about 12 feet deep) near Ossipee Lake, New Hampshire, when he hears a loud splash in the water behind him. He looks around and sees a patch of disturbed water about 55 feet away and a silver, oval-shaped object rising vertically with a humming sound several hundred feet above him. It remains hovering at several thousand feet for another hour. Other observers see an object hovering above North Moat Mountain about 12 miles to the north. (Raymond E. Fowler, UFOs: Interplanetary Visitors, Exposition, 1974, pp. 217–218; Dolan, USO1, 336–338)
July 4 — 8:00 p.m. Two children, Mauricio Gnecco and Enrique Osorio, in Anolaima, Colombia, see a glowing object about 900 feet away. It approaches to within 180 feet and the children run over the hill to tell other children and adults. Thirteen people, including their father, return to see the object. Arcesio Bermúdez takes a flashlight with him and returns in terror after seeing a small person and a craft that lights up and flies away. Within 2 days, Bermúdez loses all appetite, his skin temperature drops, blue spots appear on his skin, and his stools become bloody. Within a week, two Bogotá physicians, unaware of his UFO experience, concludes he has gastroenteritis. Within hours of his exam, Bermúdez dies. His doctor claims he has previously been in good health. His injuries suggest a fatal whole-body ionizing radiation dose of 300–500 rems. Likely only X-rays, gamma rays, or neutrons could travel a distance of 45 feet through the air. (“ UFO Observed at Farmhouse in Colombia,” APRO Bulletin, July/Aug. 1969, pp. 1, 4–5; Story, pp. 23–25; “ Colombia: Arcesio Bermúdez, the Man Killed by a UFO,” Inexplicata, December 14, 2015; Clark III 253, 950; Cristian Ávila Jimenez, “ La misteriosa muerte de columbiano 3 días después de ver supuesto OVNI,” El Tiempo (Bogotá), August 20, 2021; Clark IV 293, 1064)
July 5 - 10:53 a.m. A family in a chartered fishing boat on Valdez Arm, Alaska, notices an orange tint in the water. Suddenly the water 40 feet from the boat explodes into the air, and the water for 300 feet around the splash turns orange. A disk-shaped object with windows and lights shoots into the air to a height of about 1,000 feet. However, only one of them remembers seeing the object, which is about 25 feet in diameter. (National UFO Reporting Center, " NUFORC UFO Sighting 32366," October 31, 2003; Dolan, USO1, 338-339)
July 11 or 18 — 8:30 p.m. Economics student Tim Oliver is near a golf course on the outskirts of Beaufort, Victoria, Australia, when he sees a red “star” over a hill about a mile away. On closer inspection, it proves to be a hovering UFO. He quickly goes home, and by the time he returns with his mother in the family car, the UFO has been joined by another identical object. They are moving about 20 mph to the southeast, 50 feet in the air, 200 feet apart, and nearly parallel to some high-powered electrical lines. As they drive to right outside the golf course, both UFOs apparently respond to their presence by turning toward them but soon resumed their parallel course when Oliver turns the car engine off. Oliver walks to within 50 feet of the leading object. Each is about 30 feet in diameter, saucer-shaped, with an upper flat-topped cupola and about 24 square windows through which comes the bright red light. They are completely silent. Both he and his mother (who has watched from the golf course fence) see the UFOs disappear to the southeast, still flying parallel to the power lines. (Bill Chalker, “ 1969: The Great UFO Daze of Oz,” The Oz Files, September 19, 2020)
July 13 — Early morning. Edgar Paquette and Mrs. Leo Edwards are driving near Petawawa, Ontario, when they see a bright star that lights up the Ottawa River next to them. Convinced the light is following them, Paquette turns off the headlights, which makes the object appear to hesitate. But he gets out of the car, causing the interior light to go on, and the object descends to within 60 feet of the ground. When he starts signaling it with a flashlight, it comes even closer, and Paquette sees that it is 8 feet in diameter with two legs beneath it. Both of them panic and drive home, dragging their teenage children out of bed to look at the light. Ontario police officers Jack McKay and Grant Chaplin follow the light for 38 minutes as it travels at a high altitude. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 83– 84)
July 13 — 11:00 p.m. Patti Barr and Kathy Mahr, two teenage cousins, hear a loud roaring noise at Van Horne, Iowa, while upstairs in their house. They look out the window to see a dull, gray-black object with a reddish-orange band of light around its center and spinning counterclockwise above the adjacent soybean field. The next morning, they tell Patti’s father, farmer Warren Barr, who then discovers a 40-foot-diameter, nearly bare oval in the soybean field. The plants’ leaves are severely dehydrated, dry, and brittle, leaving stalks about 3-4 inches high. This case is investigated by several groups at the time; localized intense heat or radiation is listed as the most likely cause. (“ Sight UFO over Benton County Farm,” Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Gazette, August 6, 1969, p. 4C; NICAP, “ The 1969 UFO Chronology” and [ photos]; “ UFO over Iowa Bean Field” APRO Bulletin, July/Aug. 1969, pp. 1, 4; “ Saucer Near Landing in Iowa,” Skylook, no. 23 (October 1969): 2–3; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 149–150; Ted Phillips, Physical Traces Associated with UFO Sightings (Center For UFO Studies, July 1975), p. 66; Kevin D. Randle, “ The Iowa UFO Landings,” Official UFO, July 1976; Chet Dembeck, “ Real Trace Evidence: UFO Leaves 40-Foot Diameter Circle in Iowa Field,” Unknown Boundaries, January 6, 2022)
Mid-July — Bernard O’Brien is cutting grass in a field with his tractor near Manotick, Ontario, when a small cloud of smoke rises from the ground as he passes over a particular spot. He notifies the field’s owner, John Fox, who comes out for a look. Fox finds three near-perfect circles in the field, two together and the third nearly 150 feet away. Each of them are rings of affected grass 15–20 feet in diameter and about a foot wide. Grass is flattened inside the circle, but the rings themselves are dark and contain a crystalline substance. Peter Millman of the National Research Council claims that the circles are caused by the fairy ring mushroom (Marasmius oreades) because an analysis of the crystalline substance shows no evidence of mineral content or radioactivity. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 187–190)
July 16 — 3:30 p.m. Sylvia Annola, 10, sees a large gray object with blinding lights descending above a well on her family’s farm near Abee, Alberta. She looks directly at the object, which is only about 10 feet away, and experiences a temporary loss of vision. (Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979, pp. 50–53 )
July 21 — Around 5:22 p.m. EDT. Shortly after the Lunar Module completes its pass behind the moon and before redocking with the Command Module, the Apollo 11 astronauts allegedly have a conversation about seeing several alien spacecraft on the lunar surface. However, the story is made up by a pseudonymous writer for the National Bulletin tabloid newspaper. (Stuart Nixon, “ UFO Base on the Moon: Fact or Fiction?” UFO Quarterly Review 1, no. 3 (July/Sept. 1973): 13–20; “ UFOs on the Moon: Apollo 11 Crew Sees, Photographs Alien Spaceships,” UFO Investigator 10, no. 4 (July 1979): 1; Clark III 599; Jacob Stern, “ One Small Controversy about Neil Armstrong’s Giant Leap,” The Atlantic, July 21, 2019; Clark IV 658–659)
August — 1:45 p.m. James D. Appleman is driving on the Pennsylvania Turnpike when he notices a dome-shaped, metallic object hovering in the clouds ahead. He stops the car and gets his camera out of the trunk, but by that time the object is gone. (“ Did a Twin Photograph a Twin UFO?” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 1 (January 1981): 1)
August 6 — 9:30 p.m. Seven members of the Arno and Don Wilke families are in their field about 2 miles east of Elkader, Iowa, when a round object appears above some trees to the west. It moves slowly and silently above some wooded hills. The center portion appears illuminated with a reddish tint. As it descends, they see a string of six red and green lights trailing behind it and bright white flashing lights in the woods below. (“ Strange Objects Seen in Iowa,” Skylook, no. 23 (October 1969): 4–5)
August 29 - 6:20 a.m. Norman Vedaa and a passenger are driving along Interstate 80S [now Interstate 76] about 70 miles east of Denver [putting them roughly near Fort Morgan, Colorado]. They notice a brilliant, yellow-gold object hovering high in the air. They manage to take two photographs before it speeds away. Ground Saucer Watch concludes from its density profile in the photos that it is a solid object. (William H. Spaulding, " Observational Data of an Anomalistic Aerial Phenomenon," Flying Saucer Review 22, no. 1 (May 1976): 12-17)
August 30 — 7:30 p.m. Ion Hobana is at the North Railway Station in Bucharest, Romania, when he sees a triangular object rise from behind the station building. It is a dull orange color and moves with one of its sides facing forward. Three smaller globes trail it in a straight line. The object travels to the right and disappears after a few seconds. (Hobana and Weverbergh 179–180)
August 31 — Day. An RAAF Canberra bomber chases but fails to catch a UFO over northern New South Wales. The plane is dispatched from RAAF Base Amberley near Ipswich, Queensland, after hundreds of people in Kygole and along the Darling Downs report the object, which is shaped like an aluminum Zeppelin. Some witnesses observe the object for 3 hours as it hovers above towns and farms. The UFO speeds away when the Canberra tries to close in on it. (“ RAAF Plane Chases UFO,” Sydney (N.S.W.) Mirror, August 30, 1969, via Australian Flying Saucer Review, no. 2 (July 1970): 10–11; Perth (W.A.) Independent, August 31, 1969; “ RAAF Chase UFO over Darling Downs,” UFOIC Newsletter, no. 26 (December 1969): 4)
September 4 — A farmer, Bert O’Neil, discovers a circular patch of dead and silvery-white manuka plants (Leptospermum scoparium, tea tree) in the midst of otherwise green and lush growth on a remote section of his farm near Ngatea, New Zealand. Near the center of the circle, he finds three ground indentations, positioned so as to form the inside points of a triangle. Off to one side is the taller stand of tea tree, also bleached and dead. He remembers seeing this from afar three weeks earlier, arousing his curiosity. The dead scrubweed within the circle is still standing and undisturbed. It looks as if some large object has come down from the sky and landed on three long stilts. At first, O’Neil only discusses his find within the family, but the news quickly leaks to the local radio and press. (Harold H. Fulton, “ The Ngatea Mystery Circle, 1,” Flying Saucer Review 16, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1970): 27–28; Harold H. Fulton, “ The Ngatea Mystery Circle, 2,” Flying Saucer Review 16, no. 3 (May/June 1970): 32–33; Harold H. Fulton, “ The Ngatea Mystery Circle: Terrestrial or Extraterrestrial?” UFOcus NZ, 2010; Jim Birchall, “ Big Read: ‘Blown Up from the Inside Out’—the 1969 Ngatea Crop Circle,” Waikato (N.Z.) Herald, September 14, 2023)
September 6 - 7:00 p.m. Gloria Bomford is with her two daughters at a playground in the John Rabson Park in Reading, England. She notices a faraway object that seems to grow larger and moves in a steadily descending flight path toward the park, seemingly to land there. It now looks like two saucers joined together at the rims and is about 300 feet high and 30-40 feet in diameter. It hovers, and several black, knob-like protuberances emerged on its right-hand side. It then rises vertically, speeds up, and disappears. (Peter J. Wroath, " Huge Low-Level UFO over Reading," Flying Saucer Review 16, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1970): 6-8)
October 3 — After 8:00 p.m. RCMP Constable S. B. Barrie and his wife Vivian are driving 5 miles west of Rennie, Manitoba, on a poor highway in bad weather. He stops to clean mud off the headlights and notices a light to the east hanging just off Highway 44 and over the trees. He continues driving and he sees the light as a light-pink inverted saucer moving with a jerky motion. Now only 500 feet away, it seems to be 20 feet in diameter with an odd white tail that snakes toward the ground. Suddenly the car’s windshield wipers stop working, the headlights go out, and the engine stalls. Barrie gets out of the car and the object zooms silently to the southwest and is lost to sight. He senses the air has a strange, heavy odor, but he is able to get the car started again. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 81–82)
October 8 — A large area of St. Louis, Missouri, is blanketed by a pure-white, sticky substance ranging from dime- size to 10-foot-long streamers. The majority of it sublimates on ground contact. The Smithsonian concludes it is caused by ballooning spiders, even though only one spider specimen is found. When a sample is tested by Wayne E. Black of the St. Louis County Health Department, he finds the samples test negative for protein, the basic composition of spider web. (Washington Post, March 28, 1970; “ A Classic Case of ‘Angel-Hair,’” Pursuit 3, no. 4 (October 1970): 72–73)
October 10 — 7:00 p.m. Ivan McConnell is driving on Aylwin Road one mile west of Kazabazua, Quebec, when he spots a white, cone-shaped object above his car. It is about 8 feet in diameter, about 200 feet above the ground, and seems to have a flag with a “skull and crossbones” insignia on its end. It moves away at “terrific speed” soundlessly. (“ UFO Flying the Jolly Roger,” Saucers, Space, and Science, no. 58 (1970): 11)
October 12 — 12:20 a.m. Donat Francis and Ronald Mullin are checking the discharge pipelines along a waste disposal dam two miles from Murdochville, Quebec, when they notice a “shooting star.” The men are about a half mile away from each other. Francis notices a noise like a motor first, then sees a star-like object about 200 feet in the air and approaching swiftly. The object makes a couple of turns around the dam then heads off to the east. As it leaves, it ejects a blue flame before picking up speed. Francis says the object is shaped like a half-moon with a blue windshield in front and twin propellors behind. (“ Strange Phenomenon Fits Descriptions of Flying Saucers,” Saucers, Space, and Science, no. 58 (1970): 11)
October 17 - A man from Toolo, Finland, was shocked when a strange orb appeared in his home and began to speak to him. It said that they ETs in a ship above Earth. They requested that he tell the world about their presence, and that they were friendly. The man requested to see them, but they said that this was impossible, but they would return later.
October 24 — 12:43 a.m. A Chilean Navy destroyer is moving north at 20 knots in the South Pacific Ocean about 350 miles south of Valparaiso, Chile. The radar officer reports a target rapidly approaching the ship, apparently moving 213 miles in one minute, which would indicate a speed of 12,780 mph. At 12:47 a.m., the target is only 12 miles away, and it suddenly breaks into six targets. The officer in charge and five other personnel can now see one massive and five smaller lighted objects approaching the ship. The large UFO looks like a big box with semicircles on the side, and it is bigger than the ship, which is 360 feet long. The five smaller objects are egg- shaped, bluish, and no more than 8 feet long and 5–6 feet wide. At about 6,000 feet from the ship, the smaller objects move away from the larger one, three to portside and two to starboard, and begin flying in ellipses between the ship and the large object. At 900 feet away, the officers can hear the object make a humming noise. The ship’s power and instruments go dead as the large object passes overhead. Bright red lights under the UFO seem to be moving back and forth inside the craft, visible through a half-circle on the bottom. “Corn cobs” with green or turquoise pulsating lights are on the side. When the UFO is 600 feet away, the power comes back on. The smaller objects, never coming closer than 1,500–3,000 feet, fly around the ship and join up with the large object on the other side. All 6 objects vanish about 2 miles away. At least 8 minutes have passed, with three radar technicians tracking the UFOs. The ship’s commander orders everyone to keep silent about what they have seen. The sighting is deleted from the ship’s log. The six witnesses are debriefed for two days in Valparaiso by two Chilean Navy officers and four Americans who are allegedly naval attachés with the US Embassy. (NICAP, “ Six Objects Observed and Tracked by Destroyer”; Bill Chalker, “ An Extraordinary Incident off Chile,” IUR 10, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1985): 4–6; Bill Chalker, “ EM UFO Incident off Chile in 1969 ,” APRO Bulletin 33, no. 3 (January 1986): 7–8; Bill Chalker, “ EM UFO Incident off Chile in 1969 (Conclusion),” APRO Bulletin 33, no. 5 (April 1987): 5–6)
October 24–27 — The Turkish Air Force is inundated with reports of UFOs over Ankara, Turkey. Jet fighters are scrambled from Mürted Air Base [now closed] northwest of the city and close to within 7.5 miles, but the objects always pull away and climb higher. Even the base commander, Ercüment Gökaydin, flies with the interceptors to 35,000 feet, but the UFO is at a height of 50,000 feet. It is a silvery, oval disc. The jets take gun-camera film, which has never been released. One pilot says the object has three round portholes. (Good Need, p. 299)
Late October — Before 12:00 midnight. The naval destroyer USS Josephus Daniels is sailing north along the Cuban coast from Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. Crew members see a brilliant silver disk rising above the horizon, many times larger than the moon. It hovers for 15 minutes. (Carl Feindt, “ Report #880,” waterufo.net; Dolan, USO1, 340–341)
October 30 - 3:10 a.m. J. F. Cudby, a security guard at Waipukurau Aerodrome, New Zealand, is checking buildings when he sees some lights reflected in a glass door. He turns and sees a 60-foot in diameter circular object with lights hovering low above the airport. His guard dog becomes unusually excited. Cudby runs to his van about 20 feet away and shines a spotlight on the object, which speeds away, making a high-pitched whining sound. He examines the ground beneath where the object had hovered and finds that it is hot and dry. An independent witness, W. T. Grant, confirms the sighting. He sees a circular object hovering about 100 feet off the ground. It then rises and accelerates away to the south. (" New Zealand," Flying Saucer Review 16, no. 1 (Jan./ Feb. 1970): 31-32; UFOEv II 213-214)
October 30 — 10:00 a.m. Mr. and Mrs. Chapin are driving at their mine site near Redding, California, when they see a rattlesnake in the road. As they get out to go to the mine and kill the snake, they find the area oddly hot. They notice a disturbance in the brush some 60 feet away in a flattened area of mine tailings. An egg-shaped object rises noiselessly a few feet off the ground and takes off down the canyon, swaying but not striking small trees. Soon it zooms upward at a sharp angle and is out of sight in seconds. They find a shallow, oval, depressed spot less than 2 inches deep and 10 feet across in the mine tailings. A conical pile of unusual-looking sand is also discovered, and two days later they find a metallic glob about the size of a fist nearby. They have the material analyzed in 1977. Scattered about in the unusual sand pile are irregular bits of pale-green glass-like material made of nearly pure silicon. The metal glob is completely black on the outside and 77% copper in the interior, combined with tin and traces of silver, chromium, and other metals. Both are considered foreign to the geology of the mine site. (“ The Redding, California CE II Case,” IUR 3, no. 3 (March 1978): insert)
November 8 - Australian physicist O. H. "Harry" Turner has been working with other scientists to set up a "rapid intervention team" for the RAAF to investigate UFO physical evidence. In a memo to the director of the Joint Intelligence Bureau, he indicates he is working with John Morton of Australian National University, John Symonds from the Australian Atomic Energy Commission, and Michael Duggin of the National Standards Laboratory. The plan is soon dropped by the JIB. (Bill Chalker, " The Australian Government and UFOs," IUR 22, no. 3 (Fall 1997): 21; Swords 396-397; Coulthart 2023, p. 64)
December 28 - A man named Patric is driving from Midland to Windsor, Ontario, on heavily snowed roads after an accident has blocked the main highway. Suddenly, his car engine, headlights, and radio fails, and he crawls to a halt in front of a star-like glow with a prismatic, multi-colored aura 100 feet ahead. Inside the glow is a domed object. A loud humming noise commences and the object shoots into the sky. The car comes back to life, but Patric inexplicably reaches Windsor one hour late. (Jenny Randles, "The Twelve UFOs of Christmas," Fortean Times 374 (Christmas 2018): 29
1970
1970? - An 11-year-old girl in Adelaide, South Australia, is abducted by little beings while she is sleeping with her two sisters. She is taken to a room for a medical examination, followed by an educational film and a discussion session. Details begin to emerge the next morning and continue to do so in a long series of nightmares that continue for another nine years. She has episodes of sex with small humanoid aliens at their initiation and she undergoes regular gynecological examinations aboard the UFO. She thinks they are collecting "fluid" and "messing around with my ovaries." She has two pregnancies that she considers out of the ordinary, and in both cases they end in spontaneous abortions. (Keith Basterfield, " An Australian Abduction," IUR 16, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1991): 4-6, 22; Keith Basterfield, "Abused by Aliens," Fortean Times 58 (July 1991): 48-51; Clark III 1064; Clark IV 1180)
1970- A retired physicist who claims to have worked on the Manhattan Project tells Leonard H. Stringfield in 1990 that he was working on Project Blue Heaven at Edwards Air Force Base in California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The project is set up to examine a UFO and its crew that had landed at or near the base and are kept in a secure building for evaluation. The 12 or so occupants have eyes of one color like a dog’s and blood that “looked like oil,” and they are about 5 feet tall. They are dressed in a “silvery-looking material” that contain “elements that we don’t have on Earth.” The UFO has no seams, rivets, or welding and has a dome on top. Allegedly no one can cut a hole into it. He claims the project is still active in 1990 and it is run by the Department of Defense. (Leonard H. Stringfield, UFO Crash Retrievals: The Inner Sanctum, Status Report VI, The Author, July 1991, pp. 203–210)
The crew of a US Air Force C-5A Galaxy transport, flying at 500 mph at 37,000 feet, encounters a UFO over Moula Idris, Saudi Arabia [=Moulay Idriss Zerhoun, Morocco?]. An RAF officer on detachment is flying the aircraft, and he describes the object as like two saucers joined together, surrounded by red, green, and yellow and flying at 75,000 feet. (Good Need, pp. 298–299)
Early 1970 — 10:00 p.m. A peasant in the Taijiang(?) District of Fujian province, China, sees a metallic, pan-shaped object land behind a hill. It radiates a brilliant green light, and a strange musical tone emanates from it. After he reports it, the local army commander mobilizes hundreds of soldiers who attempt to surround the object. After about one hour, the object emits a bright white light and takes off vertically. (Wendelle Stevens and Paul Dong, UFOs over Modern China, UFO Photo Archive, 1983, p. 56)
Early 1970s — 2:30–3:00 a.m. Two young men in Furnace Creek, California, are followed by a red ball of light the size of a beach ball. They get scared and run ahead to their house, slamming and locking the door behind them. The ball stops at the edge of their yard, hovering and oscillating in size. After 4–5 minutes, the ball moves away and creates a vortex, causing stones to rise and circle in the air. They can hear the sound of the stones hitting together. Then the light blinks out, and the rocks crash down onto the road. (Michael D. Swords, “ Timmermania: A Step Too Far into the Timmerman Files?” IUR 27, no. 4 (Winter 2002–2003): 9)
January 1 - 5:00 a.m. Registered nurse Doreen Kendall is looking out a window at the Cowichan District Hospital in Duncan, British Columbia, and sees a bright, Saturn-shaped object about 50 feet in diameter hovering one story above her, about 60 feet off the ground and 40 feet away. It has a row of lights around its middle. She can see two humanoid figures in dark, tight- fitting clothing and wearing headgear in the upper portion. One stands at an instrument panel, with the other behind it. The second being looks directly at Kendall, then touches the first being, who moves a lever, apparently causing the craft to tilt down and provide a view of its interior. Kendall calls for other witnesses, who arrive in time to see the UFO leave. In 2023, Dan Hughes claims that the UFO was an inflated plastic bag lit by candles that he and two friends launched, but that explanation has been contested. (" Landing and Occupants in Canada," APRO Bulletin, Nov./Dec. 1969, pp. 1, 5; " Human-Like Pair in Saucer," Victoria (B.C.) Daily Times, January 5, 1970, pp. 1-2; " The Cowichan Occupant Case," APRO Bulletin, Jan./Feb. 1970, pp. 1, 3; " Canada: Humanoids Visit Hospital," Flying Saucer Review 16, no. 3 (May/June 1970): 22-23; " UFO Occupants Seen near Hospital," Canadian UFO Report 1, no. 7 (Summer 1970): 3-12; Brian C. Cannon, " UFO Occupant Reports," Canadian UFO Report 2, no. 2 (1971): 7, 9; " Four Faces of Our Visitors," Canadian UFO Report 2, no. 7 (1973): 2, 7-9; John Brent Musgrave, " The Behavior and Origins of Canadian UFO Occupants and Critters," Canadian UFO Report 4, no. 6 (Winter/Spring 1978): 9, 10; UFOEv II 459-460; Chris Rutkowski, Canada's UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 139-146; " Nurse Doreen Kendall Witnessed a Hovering UFO with Occupants near Cowichan District Hospital, 1970," Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, September 20, 2023; " UFO Sighting on Vancouver Island Featured on New Collectible Coin," CBC News, October 31, 2023; Tim Binnall, " Canadian Coin Was an Accidental Hoax," Coast to Coast, November 9, 2023)
January 7 — 4:45 p.m. Two skiers, lumberjack Aarno Heinonen and farmer Esko Viljo, at Imjärvi, Finland, watch a disc-shaped, buzzing UFO approach them and hover. It is so close to Heinonen that he could touch it with his ski pole. From an opening in the center of the object’s bottom, a bright light beam is emitted, creating an illuminated area of 3 feet in diameter on the snow beneath it, edged with black. A red gray mist descends again; when it clears, both men can see, only 10 feet away, a 3-foot tall humanoid creature standing in the illuminated area, carrying in its hands a black box with a pulsating yellow light. Its arms and legs are very thin, its face pale like wax, and its nose hooked; it wears a light green coverall with darker green knee boots, white gauntlets, and a conical metallic helmet. Then the mist again descends, and long red, green, and purple sparks float out from the lighted area. A sort of flame rises from this spot and enters the UFO; then the mist and the UFO vanish. After this experience, Heinonen finds his right leg numb, and he vomits and passes black urine; Viljo also suffers severe physiological effects. Heinonen claims, two years later, a series of contacts with a female spacewoman. (“ Finland: Strange Events in the Snow,” Flying Saucer Review 16, no. 3 (May/June 1970): 23–24; Sven-Olof Fredrickson, “ Finnish Encounter in the Snow,” Flying Saucer Review 16, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1970): 31–32; “ Finns Observe UFO Occupant,” APRO Bulletin, July/Aug. 1970, pp. 6–7; Sven-Olof Fredrickson, “ A Humanoid Was Seen at Imjärvi,” Flying Saucer Review 16, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1970): 14–18; “ Her mødte vi rum-væsenet!” UFO-nyt, 1970, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1970): 191–196; Sven-Olof Fredrickson, “ More on the Imjärvi Case,” Flying Saucer Review 16, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1970): 22; Anders Liljegren, “ The Continuing Story of the Imjärvi Skiers, Part 1,” Flying Saucer Review 26, no. 3 (September 1980): 15–17; Anders Liljegren, “ The Continuing Story of the Imjärvi Skiers, Part 2,” Flying Saucer Review 26, no. 5 (January 1981): 18–20; Kim Hansen, “UFO Casebook,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, pp. 75–79; UFOEv II 483–486; Randle, 1973, p. 105)
January 21 — The UFO Subcommittee of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics sponsors a panel that meets in New York City to discuss differing viewpoints on UFOs. Among the panel members are Hynek, McDonald, Thornton Page, Gordon D. Thayer, and Philip Klass. The subcommittee, led by Joachim P. Kuettner, consists of scientists with no previous position on UFOs and reaches several middle-of-the-road conclusions. It criticizes the NAS position that the ETH is the least likely explanation and rejects McDonald’s position that it is the “least unsatisfactory.” It criticizes the Condon report, in which the conclusions do not match the data, and recommends a moderate-level, ongoing study of UFOs. (“ UFOs, an Appraisal of the Problem: A Statement by the UFO Subcommittee of the AIAA,” Aeronautics and Astronautics 8, no. 11 (November 1970): 49–51; Clark III 101–102; Clark IV 129–130)
January 29 - A Uruguayan professor of socioeconomics takes a photo of a cigar-shaped object in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Analysis shows that it was probably a streetlamp. (" A Street Lamp, or Sign, Or," CUFOS Associate Newsletter 4, no. 3 (June/July 1983): 1; " Rio de Janeiro 1970 Photograph Termed Streetlamp," CUFOS Associate Newsletter 4, no. 6 (Dec. 1983/Jan. 1984): 3, 7)
March 29 - UFO-Sverige is formed as the first nationwide UFO organization in Sweden; it is essentially an association of 20 UFO groups in different parts of the country. The secretary's office is located in Skånninge. It publishes the magazine UFO-Information from 1969 to 1980, then UFO-Aktuellt beginning in 1980. (Wikipedia, " UFO-Sverige"; UFO-Information, no. 1 (October 26, 1969); C. Göran Norlén and Johan Gustavsson, " Tidskriften UFO-Aktuellt," Riksorganisationen UFO-Sverige; Håkan Blomqvist, " Fifty Years in the UFO Movement," Håkan Blomqvist's Blog, January 3, 2020; Håkan Blomqvist, " Ufoföreningen som blev en meditationsgrupp," Håkan Blomqvist's Blog, May 6, 2024; Eghigian, After, pp. 232-233)
April 9 - 4:00 p.m. Max Krauss is walking along a country road near Schemmerhofen, Baden- Württemberg, Germany, when he hears two dull but loud bangs. He turns and sees a transparent ball with 8 radial spokes floating down the road close to the ground. About 16 inches in diameter, the ball is rotating anticlockwise on a vertical axis. Suddenly it stops and makes a right-angle turn toward a small stream and stops rotating. Something like a hose-pipe extend from the center and bends itself back and upward, writhing like a worm, then reaches down into the water. The hose then is drawn back in, the center part of the ball turns milky, and the outer shell turns blue. Then the ball starts rotating again, passes across the road into a field and vanishes. (Hubert Malthaner, " Mystery Flying Object Rolls along a German Road," Flying Saucer Review 18, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1972): 15-17)
April 15 — 1:38 p.m. Raúl Galan, a news photographer for La Capital in Mar del Plata, Argentina, takes a clear photograph of a domed disc. (“ The above photo,” Skylook, no. 93 (August 1975): 1; UFOEv II 287–288)
April 29–30 — Around midnight. Several independent groups of witnesses to the west of Lake Anten, Västra Götaland, Sweden, watch a red, glowing sphere fly around the lake and neighboring areas. It occasionally sends out a beam of light to the ground. Some of the observers get the impression that the beams originate on the ground rather than from the object. The next morning a few of the observers get into boats and sail to the spot where the sphere was seen hovering. In one corner of the garden of an isolated farmhouse named Enebacken, they find three round marks, one foot in diameter and 1.5 inches deep, burned into the ground in the shape of an equilateral triangle. A UFO group in Gothenburg, Sweden, takes soil samples to a laboratory for gamma-ray testing and finds significant non-background radiation at a peak that seems to derive from cesium-137, a radioactive isotope. (Sven-Olof Fredrickson, “ A Landing near Lake Anten?” Flying Saucer Review 17, no 1 (Jan./ Feb. 1971): 13–17)
May 14 — 9:45 p.m. A graduate engineering student in Bangor, Maine, notices two nocturnal lights in the Ursa Major constellation moving in a counterclockwise circle around a common center at a constant velocity. They abruptly stop moving, leaving them in a north-south position. After a short time, they move away from each other, then the light moving south suddenly halts. The other light is moving slower than a meteor but faster than a jet aircraft. (J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine ed., 1974, pp. 48–49)
May 15 - 10:30 p.m. Dorothy Simpson, a clerk in a motel in a suburb of Saint Louis, Missouri, allegedly checks in four small, strange-looking people, two adults and two children. They seem confused about eating, elevators, and television. In the morning they have disappeared from their room. (John E. Schroeder, "The Strangers among Us," The UFO Enigma 7, no. 7 (June 1987): 3-6; Clark III 91-92; Clark IV 119-120)
June — 12:45 a.m. A truck driver is approaching Emerald Beach, New South Wales, when he sees a bright light on he ocean side of the highway. A circular object rises from behind some woods 1,600 feet from the road. It hovers for 30 seconds at an altitude of 66 feet. Relative to the trees, the object appears to be about 33 feet in diameter, and flames seem to shoot from its base. It slowly returns to the ground, where it is partially obscured by trees, but it continues to emit beams of light from its top and sides. Fearful, the driver leaves the area. Ufologist Bill Chalker accompanies the witness to the landing site, where they discover six circles of dead grass of varying sizes and burned trees. (Bill Chalker, “Physical Traces,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, p. 190)
June 7 — 1:30 a.m. Four individuals—Michael A. Marando, Dennis Pilichis, Earl Neff, and Iris Pilichis—are driving about 20 miles north of Sebring, Ohio, on State Highway 14. They first observe a bright light to the left of the road and think it is a tower, but binoculars show no structure. Eventually, the object comes toward the road and they can see it is an equilateral triangle, moving flat side forward, with red and green lights on the front and a small white light in the rear. It is moving very slowly, never more than 20–25 mph, with no sound. The UFO eventually ascends high into the sky and hovers there for some time. ( Cleveland Ufology Project case file )
June 7 - While driving around a sharp curve on the road next to the Towave Reservoir south of Ouray, Utah, E. Manning sees a triangular UFO with rounded corners approaching across the lake. The object nearly collides with the car but suddenly veers away. It displays many colors, mostly green, and moves with the apex of the triangle in front and two exhaust jets at the back. (Frank Salisbury, The Utah UFO Display, Devin-Adair, 1974, p. 255)
June 11 — Early morning. The crew of Thor Heyerdahl’s papyrus boat, the Ra II, watch a bright object move across the sky for several minutes and disappear in a “bright orange flash.” Navigator Norman Baker relays the report via shortwave radio as the vessel is making its way westward across the Atlantic from Safi, Morocco, to Barbados. (“ UFO Spotted from Ra,” Ottawa (Ont.) Journal, June 15, 1970, p. 25; “ UFO Reported by Heyerdahl Crew,” APRO Bulletin, July/August 1970, p. 9)
June 27 — 11:40 a.m. Aristeu Machado, his wife and children, and João Aguiar of the Brazilian Federal police, see a metallic, domed disc resting on the surface of the Atlantic Ocean about a half-mile off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Two humanoid figures are standing on the rim. After a while the object skims the surface of the water and takes off, lights flashing from the underside. Once airborne, the wife can clearly see the two occupants sitting inside. (UFOEv II 460; Brazil 128–130)
July - Afternoon. John and Mary Pilichis see a huge cigar-shaped object over their home at Rome, Ohio. At the same time, their daughter Bonnie and a friend are at a swimming pool about one-half mile away when they see 3 silvery discs flying end-to-end in the direction of their home. The parents then see the discs as well. The cigar and the discs form a line and move into a large, peculiar cloud. After 3-4 minutes, the cloud begins to break apart, with no UFOs showing. (Ohio UFO Reporter, Sept./Nov. 1971; Herbert S. Taylor, " Cloud Cigars: A Further Look," IUR 30, no. 3 (May 2006): 12)
July 4 — 3:00 a.m. A 33-year-old Port Monmouth, New Jersey, housewife wakes up and sees a “big round ball” with an “eerie white glow” hovering over the meadows across the street. She watches it bouncing back and forth for 15 minutes as a series of red lights flash in sequence across it. The size is about 25–30 feet wide. The streetlight has gone out and comes back on when the object leaves. Her son and brother-in-law later find three imprints 30–40 feet apart in the shape of a triangle in the meadow. They also find circles impressed in the grass, the largest 15–20 feet in diameter. Then they find tracks “going to the creek like they had dragged some small round thing into the ditch” as well as “two sets of a dozen imprints which were about two feet apart. They were curved like raindrops. It was very visible, the grass was all crushed down, there was mud on the banks of the creek, and there were signs of the tracks in the mud.” One week later, the light returns and crosses the field across the street. The family television, the car ignition, and the telephone behave strangely for days afterward. (Berthold E. Schwarz, “ The Port Monmouth Landing,” Flying Saucer Review 17, no. 3 (May/June 1971): 21–27; Clark III 251–252; Clark IV 291)
July 25 — 5:30 p.m. A witness comes across a landed domed disc, about 20 feet in diameter and 10 feet high with windows in the dome and portholes in its side, sitting on 4 legs near Jabreilles-les-Bordes, Haute-Vienne, France. He is blinded by a yellow-orange light beam and paralyzed by fright. As the object ascends with a whistling sound, he feels a wave of heat. At 330 feet altitude, the object jumps vertically and disappears behind a mountain. Four imprints are found forming an irregular figure on the hillside. (MM. Gaille, J. Gorce, and J. F. Gorce, “ Atterrissage près de Jabreilles-les-Bordes (Haute Vienne), part 1,” Lumières dans la Nuit, no. 113 (August 1971): 11–14; MM. Gaille, J. Gorce, and J. F. Gorce, “ Atterrissage près de Jabreilles-les-Bordes (Haute Vienne), part 2,” Lumières dans la Nuit, no. 114 (October 1971): 9–15, 28; Ted Phillips, Physical Traces Associated with UFO Sightings, CUFOS, 1976, p. 71; Michael D. Swords, “ Can UFOs Cause Physiological Effects? Part 1,” IUR 33, no. 4 (May 2011): cover)
August — Day. A group of Russian hydrologists are conducting research on a motorboat on Kronotsky Lake, Kamchatka Krai, Russia. Suddenly, about a half-mile away a dome of water rises up and a gray-colored oval object rises up. It is roughly 165 feet in diameter, rises to about 500 feet, and hovers nearly overhead. The engine of the motorboat stalls. The team watches for another 90 seconds before they row away, but the object moves away at reat speed and disappears. The boat’s motor starts working again. (Stonehill and Mantle, Russia’s USO Secrets, Flying Disk, 2020, pp. 82–83)
August 7–12 — Evening. Contactee Paul Solem, who has managed to convince a number of Hopi Indian elders, among them Chief Dan Katchongva, that he is a true prophet heralding the coming of a True White Brother, publicly summons his space brother friends telepathically for 15 minutes in Prescott, Arizona, where UFOs have been reported over the previous few days. After Solem announces that “they’re here,” a “star” appears that had not been there before and Solem receives a message from space brother Paul 2, who tells him that the saucers are appearing because of a Hopi prophecy. Others see zigzagging lights in the sky over the next few nights, and Prescott Courier photographer Chuck Roberts takes a time-lapse photo of one. (Jerome Clark, “ Indian Prophecy and the Prescott UFOs,” Fate 24, no. 4 (April 1971): 54–61; John A. Keel, “ America’s First UFO Experts: The Hopi,” UFO Report, Summer 1974; Armin W. Geertz, The Invention of Prophecy, University of California, 1994; Clark III 1094–1095; Clark IV 1211–1212)
August 13 — 10:50 p.m. Police officer Evald Hansen Maarup is driving 5 miles south of Haderslev, Denmark, when he is surrounded by a bluish-white light. His engine stops and the car lights and radio go out. Heat inside the car increases. He sees a conical light coming from the bottom of a large, silent, domed gray object about 30 feet long and 60 feet away. After a few seconds, the light beam slowly rises and is drawn back into the UFO, leaving darkness in its wake, a process that takes about 5 minutes. It speeds away vertically within a few seconds. (“ UFO’et ved Haderslev,” UFO-Nyt, 1970 no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1970): 211–213; Bernard E. Finch, “ Danish Police Officer Snaps UFO,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 1 (October 1970): 7–8; “ Et mærkeligt ‘Tysk Militærfly,’” UFO-Nyt, 1974 no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1974): 205–206; “ Denmark E-M Case Investigated,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 106 (September 1976): 10–12; “ The Haderslev UFO,” BUFORA Journal 8, no. 4 (September 1979): 26–27; Kim Hansen, “UFO Casebook,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, pp. 72–75; UFOEv II 189–190; “ Dansk Politibetjent stoppet af UFO,” UFO-Sandheden, February 1, 2007; Herbert S. Taylor, “ An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part Two,” IUR 34, no. 1 (September 2011): 15–16; Lon Strickler, “ The Maarup Encounters,” Phantoms and Monsters, September 5, 2012; Patrick Gross, “ Close Encounter in Denmark, August 13, 1970”; Powell, Scientist, 99)
August 14 — 8:45 p.m. Residents of Little Heart’s Ease and St. Jones Within on the Southwest Arm in Newfoundland watch a blood-red fireball 8–10 feet long with a trail of lighter color for about 5 minutes as it passes overhead to the northeast. It makes a rushing noise before it crashes into the water near the mouth of the harbor at Little Heart’s Ease. When the RCMP arrive to investigate, they go out in a boat but can find no submerged object. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August North, 2022, p. 102)
August 16 — 12:30 a.m. A man, his wife, and two children are returning home from the beach at Matalascañas, Seville, Spain, when they encounter a moving, dense vapor cloud about 6 feet above the ground on the road between Aznalcázar and Pilas. Every time the cloud moves away from them, the car’s headlights go out. (“ Observaciones Ibéricas de Junio a Septiembre de 1970,” Stendek 1, no. 2 (September 1970): 4–5)
August 16 — 4:00 p.m. Julián Arribas Abella, his wife, and his 4-year-old son are on the beach at Burriana, Castellón, Spain, when he sees an object flying silently at great speed and high altitude on their left. It disappears in less than 40 seconds. About 10 minutes later, another object appears moving in the same direction for the same duration, and all three of them see it. His wife describes it as a “cotton ball spinning in the air,” and his son calls it a “whirlwind.” After another 10 minutes, a third object appears that is more elongated, light gray, and apparently spinning. Later, they see a fourth object that passes closer to them, and they see that it is completely round. Its speed and color are identical to the others. (“ Observaciones Ibéricas de Junio a Septiembre de 1970,” Stendek 1, no. 2 (September 1970): 4)
August 18 — Around 5:05 a.m. Patrick Carré is driving through Le Puits d’Edme, Yonne, France, when he notices a bright object on the ground to his left. He pulls up toward it and sees that it has a basin-shaped top, is a gray metal color, and is about 30–40 feet in diameter. The lower part is a rust- colored, cylindrical column about 3 feet high. The basin has a series of round white disks, each 15 inches in diameter, irregularly scattered around it. He can’t stop because the heat from the object is too intense, and he begins to feel afraid of getting near it, so he drives on. The next day he visits the spot and finds traces of burning and a circle of flattened and withered grass 30–40 inches in diameter. (Henry-Jean Besset, “ A Landing at Puits-d’Edme,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 5 (June 1971): 5–7, 12)
August 29 - 11:15 p.m. Several witnesses in Enebacken, Sweden, see a bright, round, red light maneuvering around the ground, emitting beams of yellow-white light. Three round landing marks in a triangular formation are found in the garden of Richard Johansson's small farm near Lake Anten. Soil samples are taken and analyzed, with the results showing an increased level of gamma radiation in the test samples from one of the landing marks. (Sven-Olof Fredrickson, " A Landing near Lake Anten?" Flying Saucer Review 17, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1971): 13-17)
August 30 — 11:30 a.m. A 7-year-old girl in Vincennes, Indiana, sees a metallic disc in the east- northeast hovering over Wheatland Road. She tells her parents, and her father goes outside and sees it too. He re-enters the house to get his 7x50 binoculars. The object is about a quarter of a mile away and looks like a squared-off conning tower about 30 feet in diameter. They watch it for 90 seconds, after which it leaves in a swooping dive to the north-northeast. (NICAP, “ Domed Disc Observed in Broad Daylight / MADAR Connection”)
August 30 — 9:45 p.m. Almiro Martins de Freitas is working as a guard at the Barragem do Funil electrical power plant in Itatiaia, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, when he notices a row of 15 blue and yellow lights outside. After he leaves the powerhouse, he hears an explosion and the lights go out for a few seconds, after which he sees above the dam the object they are coming from about 165–200 feet away. He crawls across the dam to get closer and reaches a point 50 feet away. The object looks like a rectangle or flying wing. De Freitas draws his .38 pistol and fires a shot at it, whereupon the lights grow brighter and he hears the sound of a turbine engine. He takes another shot, and the object emits a bluish-silver ray that causes him to feel heat and a prickling sensation. He closes his eyes, and when he opens them, he is temporarily blinded. The lights on the object dim and brighten in a specific sequence. De Freitas fires another shot and, like the others, he can hear a ricochet. Other guards reach him and have difficulty taking him to the hospital. He regains his sight two weeks later. (“ Crece misterio por rayo cegador del OVNI: Brasil,” Ojo (Lima, Peru), September 6, 1970, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 24 (April 1971): 11–12; “ Cuatro policías también vieron OVNI en el interior de Brasil,” La Crónica (Lima, Peru), September 8, 1970, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 24 (April 1971): 11–12; “ Un avión sin alas parece ser OVNI visto durante dos días en presa brasileña,” El Comercio (Lima, Peru), September 9, 1970, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 24 (April 1971): 12–13; “Vítima do clarão: Atirei e acertei na ‘Coisa,’” O Dia (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), September 30, 1970; “ Man Blinded in UFO Encounter,” APRO Bulletin, Sept./Oct 1970, pp. 1, 5; “ Man Shoots at UFO…UFO Blinds Man,” Flying Saucer Review 16, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1970): 23, iv; “ Almiro Martins Case: Funil Dam RJ,” Freak TV YouTube channel, November 1, 2019; “ Almiro Martins de Freitas Case: Funil Dam RJ,” Verdade UFO, September 1, 2022)
September - 9:00 p.m. While walking home from a high school football game in Jessup, Pennsylvania, Frank Scassellati, 16, observes a glowing white, apparently metallic, silvery disc in the southeast sky moving from left to right. Around the dome on top is a row of rectangular windows; three spheres and a flat circle are visible on the underside. The object moves out of sight behind local terrain. Though he does not report the sighting to any authorities, Scassellati says that a few nights later he notices a limousine parked outside of his house with four men in black suits and hats sitting in it. They reappear for several nights but he has no interaction with them. (Center for UFO Studies, [ case documents])
September 8 — Dusk. A farmer near Zillah, Washington, is dismounting from his tractor when he sees a triangular object hovering in the air. Steel gray in color, it has a red light at each of its bottom corners and white lights in its center. It eventually moves upward and out of sight. (“ Sighting Advisory,” UFO Investigator, January 1971, p. 1)
October 5 — 4:15 a.m. A farmer turns on his yard lights in Walsh, Illinois, and prepares to feed the cows when he notices a circular, red light beam, fuzzy and surrounded by fog. Initially thinking it is the moon, he recalls that there is no moon that night, as the crescent moon has set. He sees an object with a beam of light extending upward and another beam reaching down to the ground, eventually shining on him. He estimates the object’s position to be over the treetops near a pond, about 600 feet east of the barn, at an elevation of approximately 40°. He compares its size to a volleyball held at arm’s length. The UFO gradually fades from view. Later, five cows are found on the other side of a three-strand electric fence, with one of the strands broken. However, no one can determine how the cows had crossed to that side of the fence. (NICAP, “ Walsh IL, October 5, 1970”; “ Illinois Farmer Watches Red UFO with Beams of Bright Light,” Skylook, no. 36 (November 1970): 6–7; “ Object over Illinois Farm,” APRO Bulletin, Nov./Dec. 1970, pp. 1, 3)
October 5 — 4:15 a.m. Mrs. Hubert Paul in Warrensburg, Missouri, looks east and sees a yellow-orange object resembling the full moon. The object is silent and estimated to be 15°–20° above the eastern horizon. She observes it expanding, with a haze forming on the southern third of the disc, and at one point, an antenna-like structure extends from it. The investigator, Ted Phillips, expresses skepticism, suspecting the object might be a NASA plasma experiment linked to the Argo-D4 Javelin rocket, which launched at 5:05 a.m. Eastern Time for a plasma mission, reaching an apogee of 559 miles. (“ Yellow-Orange Object Seen at Warrensburg and Knob Noster, Mo.,” Skylook, no. 36 (November 1970): 6)
October 6 — 8:15 p.m. Mrs. Dennis Billings spots a lighted UFO while gathering toys in her front yard in Decatur, Alabama. She screams for her husband and he joins her outside. She points to the object moving from north to south before it veers east. He retrieves his camera and captures one photograph of a second similar object that appears shortly after the first, although his second attempt yields no visible image. The couple notes a dark mass behind the lights of the UFO. (“ Object Photographed in Alabama,” APRO Bulletin, Nov./Dec. 1970, pp. 5–6)
October 11 — 2:15 a.m. Roger G. Jayo is driving north to Bay City, Michigan, on Michigan Highway 15 when he observes two brightly lit, disc-shaped objects traveling overhead, producing no sound and moving between 100 and 150 mph. The radio in his car buzzes with static during the sighting. Jayo reports the incident to the Bay County Sheriff’s Department, which takes the report seriously and contacts military officials. However, no unusual activity is detected by radar equipment. (“ Two Low Flying Saucers Seen in Michigan,” Skylook, no. 37 (December 1970): 1–2)
October 24 — 1:00 a.m. Gerald Adams and Donna Martin are parked on a dirt road 3–4 miles north and a half-mile west of MacGregor, Manitoba. They notice a bright light approaching from about a half-mile away. When it lands 150 feet from them, they notice it is an oblong object 8 feet in diameter with 9 “rods” and a red light on top. Adams takes Martin home but returns to the site. The object has moved farther away and is hovering above the ground. As he drives closer, he sees a humanoid entity about 4 feet tall dressed in a helmet and a silver metallic uniform crossing the road about 50 feet in front of him. He brakes, but the entity has gone. The UFO slowly lifts vertically from the ground and speeds away to the northwest. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 146–150, 160)
October 29 - 5:40 p.m. Reidar Salvesen is driving about 2 miles east of Helleland, Rogaland, Norway, when a dazzling light forces him to stop the car. He looks up and sees a globe about 60 feet in diameter approaching noiselessly. It stops about 18 feet in front of the car and hovers for 50 seconds about 30 feet up. Suddenly the object shoots straight up into the air, causing Salvesen to fall on the pavement. He hears a sharp crack caused by his front windshield shattering. About 3,200 feet in the air the globe changes to a fireball, which quickly disappears. After sweeping up the shards of windowpane glass, he drives on, but feels a numbness in his tongue a few minutes later. He also has an abrasion on his hand from falling down, but the skin sloughs off as if burned, and he has a redness around his eyes when he returns home. His travel clock starts keeping time badly. (" I Met a `Flying Saucer,'" Scandinavian Newsletter, no. 1/2 (April 1971): 4-7; Anders Liljegren, " Strange Norwegian Encounter near Helleland," Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 4 (April 1971): cover, 4-7; UFOEv II 214-215)
November 1 — 10:30 p.m. Stewart Wilkinson and his wife are driving on the Trans-Canada Highway just west of Pense, Saskatchewan, when they see an disc-shaped object with a beam of light extending down to the road. It follows his car about 20 feet to the right at an altitude of 10–15 feet. At one point it moves ahead and hovers above a truck parked a half-mile away. When he comes alongside the truck, the object moves to the left side of his car about 30 feet away and almost on the ground. Wilkinson slows down and comes to a stop, and the object follows suit, hovering for another 10–15 seconds before disappearing into the lights of Moose Jaw to the west. It has followed his car for 12 minutes and 10 miles. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 85–86)
November 5 — 9:00 p.m. Albert Formiller is fishing for bass in Cholla Bay, Sonora, Mexico, when he sees a light in the sky coming from a saucer-shaped object, which stops and hovers about 200– 300 feet above the surface. A light from a tube on the bottom illuminates a broad stretch of water about one half-mile wide. It changes from a broad floodlight to a sharp spot on the surface, apparently as it is raised or lowered. After a few minutes, a cloud forms around the object. After 5 minutes, the searchlight is turned off and a similar light appears on top of the UFO, illuminating the upper part of the cloud. The object then moves west and is visible for 20 minutes in all. (Carl W. Feindt, “ Beam of Light into a Body of Water,” IUR 33, no. 3 (December 2010): 23)
November 16 — Evening. One adult and four teenagers are leaving a basketball game at Beckemeyer (Illinois) Elementary School when they notice a triangular object with orange and white lights moving in an erratic manner to the south. They watch it for 10 minutes, and a smaller object emerges from the triangle. (“ UFO Sighted,” Breese (Ill.) Journal, November 19, 1970, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 20 (December 1970): 2)
November 20 — A busman named Melvyn Batty is walking along Frodingham Road in Scunthorpe, England, when he sees a wingless, silver, dome-shaped object moving swiftly from west to east. On the same dat, his 7-year-old daughter sees a sphere moving around in the sky. (“ Dome-Shaped Scunthorpe UFO,” South Lincs UFO Study Group Newsletter, no. 32 (Summer 1971): 1; Nigel Watson, “Hearing the Good News,” Fortean Times 438 (December 2023): 28)
November 22 — Night. Graham E. and his family are staying in a house on a headland that overlooks a beach in the Kiama, New South Wales, area. Graham awakes when a light enters his room. He looks out the window, toward the beach he sees a UFO that projects a “perfect cylinder of solid light” about 30 feet long and 2.5 feet in diameter. The bluish-white beam moves down and touches a trailer, pouring over it like water. The trailer lights up for 3 seconds, then the light fades away. The UFO then projects another light beam downward that illuminates a public rest room at a campsite. A third light beam detaches from the object at a 45-degree angle and illuminates a 40-foot section of beach. A few other people also see the lights and react to them. Graham apparently dozes off, then wakes up to see the object just above the street near the house, overlooking the beach. He blacks out again and the object is still there. He walks up to it and looks through a window on the side. He can see two men wearing silver coveralls; suddenly they look directly at him, smiling. Graham panics, yelling to people in the house to get down. He hears a loud noise that causes the refrigerator and washing machine to vibrate before the UFO leaves. (Bill Chalker, Hair of the Alien, Paraview, 2005, pp. 207–211; Clark IV 1215–1216)
November 29 - 6:30 p.m. A 17-year-old student at Oizumi High School is riding his bicycle home at Tatebayasi, Gunma Prefecture, Japan, when he sees 5-6 objects flying in formation on a straight path from northeast to southwest. Seconds later, a solitary object appears to the north and approaches swiftly. The student parks his bicycle and runs up some steps to a raised enclosure for a better view. The single UFO changes course and circles several times, descending slowly. It then hovers, climbs, and disappears. The student gets back on his bike and sees a bright flash of white light to the southeast, which startles him and he pedals home quickly. The student returns the next day to the enclosure, which is actually a raised tombstone. He finds four circular patches of flattened grass. (Takao Ikeda, " A Close Encounter in Tatebayasi," Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 10 (June 1972): 10-11, 13)
December 14 — 1:30 a.m. Belgian writer Julian Weverbergh and his wife are awakened in Bucharest, Romania, by a bright red glow, which changes to white. A spherical light is hovering above a bus before disappearing. (Hobana and Weverbergh 271)
December 25 - 4:00 a.m. A V-shaped formation of 10 silver-gray circular objects is seen in the sky over Braintree, Massachusetts. They are silent and appear twice over the area within a 5-minute period. (Raymond E. Fowler, UFOs: Interplanetary Visitors, Exposition, 1974, p. 357)
1971
January 3 — 6:15 a.m. Maun and Matta Talana are drinking coffee when they see a brilliant light approaching from the lake outside their home at Saapunki, Kuusano, Finland. It is about 33 feet in diameter and moving against the wind. Their electricity goes off briefly. Looking out the window, the Talalas see their whole yard bathed in light caused by a huge fireball about 60 feet away, which rises up and disappears after a few seconds. Around 8:30 a.m., their son Timo asks them what the marks are in the snow outside. He has noticed a spot of hard green ice that is not covered with snow. Mauno takes some green ice and melts it into dark green water. The melted area is about 20 feet long by 10 feet wide, in the middle of which are ice needles as big as fingers with a ball of ice on top and some soot. The following day, he tells the newspaper, which sends a photographer to the site. UFO researchers from Oulu arrive on January 6 and take samples from the melted area and measure radiation, with ambiguous results. (Elis W. Grahn, “ Saapunki UFO and Green Ice,” Flying Saucer Review 17, no. 2 (March/April 1971): 2–3, 27; “ Green Water from Saapunki: Result of Water Sample Analysis,” Flying Saucer Review 17, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1971): 26–27; Ahti Karavieri, “ The Saapunki UFO: Results of Investigations,” Flying Saucer Review 17, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1971): 23–26)
January 7 - Two boys independently observe a metallic object with an orange glow flying over Dennis, Massachusetts. It descends and disappears over some trees and looks as if it is about to fall into Scargo Lake. One boy sees a hole in the ice on the lake; steam is rising from it, and the water in the hole looks agitated. NICAP investigator Walter N. Webb visits the lake on January 10 and reports that the hole "was formed by a rather sudden melting process." (" NICAP Probes Crashed Object Report," UFO Investigator, February 1971, p. 1; "NICAP Probes Crashed Object Report: Search Still Hampered by Bad Weather," UFO Investigator, March 1971, p. 3; Clark III 339; Clark IV 375)
January 23 - The Porto Alegre, Brazil, newspaper Correiro do Povo notes UFO sightings are recurring in a rural location close to the federal capital of Brasília. An unnamed local peasant is quoted as saying that the "state governor" shows up regularly and looks for "little stones" in the nearby woods. Always dressed in black, he arrives via an airplane "made of two dishes, like, one atop the other, and when it goes up in the air it changes color and then disappears quicker than a flash." (Gordon Creighton, " South American Roundup, 1971, Part 1," Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 10 (June 1972): 8; Clark III 730-731; Clark IV 811-812)
January 25 — 9:30 a.m. Gunar Gruenzner is taking photos of the scenery near Praia da Armação beach in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil, when he claims to see an intense light beginning to descend. He snaps a photo but can no longer see the light. The photo shows a circular light with a dark aura. Probably a film defect. (“ Observations diverses à l’étranger: Photographie au Brésil,” Lumières dans la Nuit, no. 120 (October 1972): 13–14; Wim van Utrecht, “ Shiny Cigar Photographed over Brazilian Beach,” Caelestia)
February 5 - 3:00 p.m. Petter Aliranta and Esko Juhani Sneck are working in the woods around Kangaskylä, near Kinnula, Finland, when they see a 15-foot object descend to a clearing 50 feet away. As it lands, a small entity just under 3 feet tall glides to the ground from an opening on the underside. Through 3 windows on the UFO, three more entities can be seen. The entity approaches Aliranta, who turns on his chain saw. Suddenly, the being turns around and heads back to the UFO. As the humanoid is rising back up into the air, Aliranta grabs it by the heel of its boot with his bare hand. It burns him like a hot iron, and he has to let go. The burns are clearly visible 2 months later. The humanoid gets back inside, and the UFO takes off with a hum. Before the two men go back, they look at markings in the snow. At the end of each landing foot there had ben a round plate. These plates have penetrated the full depth of the snow (1.3 feet), leaving four round prints forming an even square 6.5 feet on each side. Circular footprints left by the entity are clearly visible, about 6 inches wide. The journalist who published the story, Mauno Ihantia, is interviewed by Radio Jyväskylä on November 23, 1990, and confesses that the case was an April Fool's Day hoax invented by him and others. (Wikipedia, " Kinnulan ufohuijaus"; Keskisuomalainen, April 1, 1971; Tapani Kuningas, " The Humanoid at Kinnula," Flying Saucer Review 17, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1971): 18-19; Patrick Gross, URECAT, April 5, 2007)
February 12 - 7:00 p.m. A family from Grenoble, France, that owns a second home in Bastia, Corsica, has just set up a camera on a tripod to take photos of the property when they see a strange object in the sky and take three photos of it. The UFO seems to be in front of some small white clouds and there are tree lines as reference points. The object appears to be a disc with a dome and some superstructure. (Joe Brill, " 1971 Corsica Photos," Skylook, no. 81 (August 1974): 1, 4-6; " 1971 års Corsica-foton," UFO-Rapport, 1976 no. 4 (November 15, 1976): 13-15; UFOEv II 289)
February 23 - 7:00 p.m. Thousands of people in Turin and other places in Piedmont, Italy, observe a conspicuous red cloud in the western sky, just above the crest of the Alps, moving majestically and changing shape slowly. Someone takes a photograph of it from Caluso. The following day, the French Office National d'Études et de Recherches Aérospatiales announces that the cloud was caused by a Tibere, an experimental three-stage rocket for atmospheric reentry tests. ("Mezza città con gli occhi al cielo per il timore della nube rossa," La Stampa (Turin), February 24, 1971, p. 3; "Ecco la foto della nube rossa," La Stampa (Turin), February 25, 1971, p. 5; " Caso I.E.F. 23-24/2/71," Notiziario UFO, no. 38 (March/April 1971): 17-25; Sofia Lincos and Giuseppe Stilo, " La lunga notte della nube rossa," CICAP, November 5, 2020)
February 28 - Michel M. Jaffe embarks on a motorcycle ride from his home in Mountain View, California, toward Bodega Bay. While riding near Hayward, Jaffe observes an unusual object consisting of two brilliant spheres, each about 12 inches wide, connected by a hazy white linkage, with a trailing link. The leading sphere appears red, while the following one is blue or possibly green. The object maintains a consistent distance in front of a small twin-engine aircraft, diving and maneuvering in sync with it. Jaffe watches the object for about four seconds before it moves behind him, making further observation difficult. When he eventually stops to watch, the object and the aircraft are already too far away. Later, he conducts experiments to recreate the brilliance of the object using mirrors, lasers, and lights but cannot replicate it. He rules out common explanations such as kites or reflections. (Michel F. Jaffe, " Personal Observation," Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 5 (1971): 11-12)
March 14 — 4:00 p.m. Five silver objects, four of them in a box formation with a fifth leading, are seen over Christies Beach, Adelaide, South Australia. Filaments fall. (Keith Basterfield, “ Angel Hair: An Australian Perspective,” IUR 27, no. 1 (Spring 2002): 7)
March 15 — 3:10 p.m. Several silvery-white balls are seen in the air over Maslin Beach, Adelaide, South Australia. White “fairy floss” is found on the ground that tends to melt and disappear when picked up. It is extremely light and tenuous. (Keith Basterfield, “ Angel Hair: An Australian Perspective,” IUR 27, no. 1 (Spring 2002): 7)
March 29 — Night. Pierre Calafat and André Bouchard are driving up to a house (Les Nourradons) they have rented near Draguignan, Var, France, when they notice a reddish disc flying around a vineyard and about 500 feet away. They park in the driveway and observe the object making zig-zag movements. Then it stops about 30 feet above the ground and only 160 feet away from them. Two minutes later it performs a roll and heads off to the west. On September 11, investigators find some fresh marks at the site that must have been made recently. One mark is a perfect circle with a diameter of 18.4 feet; the grass is discolored inside and flattened along the periphery. A smaller circle is found nearby. (J. C. Dufour, “ A French Repeater Case: Events at Les Nourradons,” Flying Saucer Review 19, no. 3 (May/June 1973): 3–5)
April 2 - After 10:00 p.m. Following several sightings of a bright light in the sky at West Kempsey, New South Wales, Australia, an aboriginal man at Greenhill sees a hairless face pressed up against his kitchen window. Immediately he is "sucked out" through the window and falls 7 feet to the steps below. Frightened but largely unhurt, he runs away and his wife pursues him. She takes him to the hospital where a cut on his hand is treated. (Eileen Buckle, " Defenestration at Kempsey," Flying Saucer Review 17, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1971): 20-21)
April 14 — 8:00 p.m. Dennis Donaldson and Marion Lang are driving through Callery, Pennsylvania, when they notice a bright yellow-white light paralleling the car, then crossing the road ahead. Donaldson slows the car to watch and sees that the object is following the contours of nearby hills. He pulls off onto a side road. Suddenly they encounter a white, luminous object about 25–30 feet in diameter, like two bowls placed rim to rim, hovering a few feet off the ground about 250 feet away. The air smells unnaturally sweet and clean. The lower portion of the craft has three round portholes, and the upper portion has five rectangular windows. A mist is visible around it, illuminated by light from the object. At about 8:20 p.m., the object emits a shaft of white light from its top part. Reddish flickering light is visible from the windows. When they see the silhouettes of two humanoid figures, apparently 10 feet tall, in the rectangular windows, they drive away in fear. (“ Near Landing Reported in Pennsylvania,” UFO Investigator, May 1971, p. 3; Robert A. Schmidt, “ Callery UFO and Occupants,” Flying Saucer Review 17, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1971): 3–5; Center for UFO Studies, HUMCAT Index 1971, p. 16; UFOEv II 215–216)
April 23 — 8:30 a.m. Jill French, a schoolteacher in the mountains of Kempsey, New South Wales, Australia, spots a fiery orangish-red ball of light that glows white and trails behind it a very long cigar- shaped object, flying from the east to the southwest. At the same time, to the northwest in Collombatti, three 13-year-old boys see a silvery ovoid UFO with four legs or landing gear flying overhead. The legs have what appear to be landing pads at the ends, and the object emits flames and exhaust. (“ UFO Activity Increasing in Australia,” APRO Bulletin, May/June 1971, pp. 3, 4; Eileen Buckle, “ Dogs Disturbed at Temagog, UFOs at Willi Willi,” FSR Case Histories, no. 8 (December 1971): 1–3;
April 30 — 7:45 p.m. Hugo Abrahamson is watching TV with his son and daughter in Åsenhöga, Gnosjö, Sweden, when the daughter notices something moving past the window. It seems to be a metallic domed disk with a flat bottom, about 33 feet in diameter. A rotating green light is on the dome. It is moving low to the ground at about 37 mph and passes behind some treetops. (Sven-Olof Fredrickson, “ Recent Observations over Southern Sweden,” Flying Saucer Review 17, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1971): 9–10)
May - 7:30 p.m. Alojz Krz comes across a UFO sitting on three legs in a shallow hollow in a field near Stara Cerkev, Slovenia. He approaches within 65 feet of it, and it frightens him considerably. Around 8:00 p.m., 17-year-old Angela Rajhs is bicycling in the same area and watches the landed object for 4-5 minutes. As she is cycling away, the object takes off, turning in a wide spiral. Rajhs returns to the scene with her parents the next day and finds several pointed holes in the ground about 6-8 inches in diameter. The nearby grass seems burned. (Milos Kremelj, " Close View of Landed Craft," Canadian UFO Report 4, no. 4 (Summer 1977): 9-10; Milos Krmelj, " Landing in Yugoslavia," Flying Saucer Review 24, no. 3 (Nov. 1978): 6-7)
May 6 — 9:30 p.m. Valerie Newman and her mother are sitting in their home on Leigh Lane, Wimborne, Dorset, when they hear a sound like a washing machine speeding up. Ten minutes later, they hear the same sound. Around 10:15 p.m., her husband opens the front door to take the dog out for a walk, but the terrier refuses to set foot outside. The next morning, in an adjacent field they notice an area of flattened grass in an elongated heart shape, with two smaller egg-shaped flattened areas close by. (Leslie Harris, “ What Was It That Landed at Wimborne?” Flying Saucer Review 17, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1971): 30–31)
May 23 — 12:30 p.m. Rudi Nagora and his wife are driving near Sankt Lorenzen ob Eibiswald, Styria, Austria, for a Sunday outing. Nagora gets out of the car and hears a whizzing sound and sees a silver, metallic object overhead moving in a zigzag pattern. He takes 11 consecutive color photographs of it over a 10-minute period. (Colman VonKevicksky, “The Rudolph Nagora Photos and Analysis,” Official UFO, Fall 1976, pp. 26–28; Richard F. Haines, “ An Analysis of Multiple UAP Photographic Images (May 23, 1971, Austrian Alps),” JUFOS 9 (2006): 31–70)
May 24 — 12:10 p.m. Retired artist Julio Suárez Marzal is in the first-floor dental office of Walter Griehl on the Avenida Pedro Molina in Mendoza, Argentina, when they see a flattened, Saturn-shaped object about a half-mile away to the south. Griehl goes to retrieve some binoculars and misses most of the sighting. It is an incandescent dark orange in color and moving from east to west. It begins floating down with a rocking movement and approaches to within 230 feet. Suárez Marzal sees that it is revolving because of a small circular mark on its rim. A dense cloud issues from the object and surrounds it, turning it pearly gray with a faintly bluish sheen. As it gets closer, the circular mark seems to extend like a bronze-colored cylinder and has a handle-like protuberance on top. At one point it moves away to the northeast and disappears for 4 seconds but reappears even closer, only 130 feet away. It remains stationary for 10 seconds, and the cylinder seems deliberately pointed toward the short-wave antenna on the nearby central post office. He estimates it is 18–20 feet in diameter. It continues rocking and changes shape from a globe to a hat to an oval. Then after being visible for 90 seconds it takes off suddenly to the south, leaving a trail of vapor. (Antonio Baragiola, “ A Remarkable Case from Mendoza, Argentina,” Flying Saucer Review 18, no. 2 (March/April 1972): 7–11; François Lagarde, “ Note on the Mendoza Report,” Flying Saucer Review 18, no. 2 (March/April 1972): 11–12; Fabio Zerpa, El Hombre en el Universo, Cuarta Dimension–Cielsur, 1976, pp. 93–100; UFOEv II 216–217)
May 25 — 2:00 a.m. Mr. C. Archer is woken up in his home at Lynchford, Tasmania, by his dogs barking and a strange humming noise like a generator. He can’t see anything outside and after 30 minutes the humming stops. The next day, a flattened area of grass and blackberries is found about 600 feet from the house. It is about 30 by 15 feet with a spiral pattern in the middle and 6 regularly placed indentations. Later, another set of similar indentations is found, roughly in the shape of a triangle. (W. K. Roberts, “ Burst of UFO Activity in Tasmania,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 7 (October 1971): 13)
May 25 — 10:45 p.m. Eunice Rose, a 36-year-old housewife from Hinckley, is driving alone from Odstone, Leicestershire, England, back to her home. As she travels along a country road near Belchar’s Bar, she sees a glowing light in the sky. At first, she assumes it’s headlights from a vehicle in a ditch—but the glow persists. After she turns right onto the A447 toward Hinckley, about half a mile down, her car begins to lose power. The engine sputters, the headlights dim, and her transistor radio cuts out completely. At the same time, a large bright object—about the size of a double-decker bus (roughly 30–35 feet long)—crosses over the road directly above her car, lighting up the interior but not the surrounding landscape. Rose describes the object as moving smoothly and silently. As it passes overhead, she feels the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Once the object moves about 330 feet away, her car’s systems return to normal: the headlights brighten, the radio comes back on, and the engine starts running properly again. (“ World Round-Up,” Flying Saucer Review 17, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1971): 31; “ UFOLOG,” BUFORA Journal 3, no. 7 (Summer 1972): 26–27; Geoffrey Coxon, “ UFO and ‘Auto-Stop’ at Belchar’s Bar,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 11 (August 1972): 9–11)
June or July - 8:30 p.m. The aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy is completing an Operational Readiness Exercise in the Caribbean Sea when an incident occurs following an 18-hour period simulating General Quarters. Yeoman Third Class James M. Kopf is in the Communications Center monitoring messages on various teletypes. Suddenly all the messages begin coming in garbled and he hears that all ship communications are out, including the radar, compasses, and electrical systems. A signalman from the deck tells them over the intercom that something is hovering above the ship. Kopf and others rush topside and see a huge, pulsating, orangish sphere stationed silently above the ship at a 60°-70° angle. The object remains about 20 minutes, but Kopf sees it only one minute before General Quarters sounds and he needs to return to his battle stations. The two F-4 Phantom jets on high readiness alert cannot take off. Soon the messaging returns to normal and the crew stands down after 2 hours. Kopf thinks only about 18 men witnessed the object out of the 5,000 on the carrier, because everyone is exhausted from the exercise. He hears that commanding officer Capt. Ferdinand B. Koch is frustrated by the event, but two days later Koch reminds the crew that certain events are to be considered classified. (Good Need, pp. 285-288)
June 7 — Evening. Esther Clappison sees a light through her windows in Rosedale, Alberta, and goes out onto her porch and sees a rectangular object on the ground. One end of it is open, revealing a diffused, white light. Two human-like forms are moving about inside. A third figure is outside in a crouched position, picking up rocks. They all appear to be wearing drab-green coveralls. She goes inside briefly, but the object is gone when she returns. (“ Roadside Visitors,” Canadian UFO Report 2, no. 4 (1971): 5–7; “ Two From Canada,” APRO Bulletin, Mar./Apr. 1972, pp. 1–4; W. K. Allan, “ Humanoids and Craft Seen at Rosedale,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 10 (June 1972): 4–5; Brian James, [ artist’s depictions], Canadian UFO Report 2, no. 5 (1972–1973): 22–23; Brian James, “ The Rosedale Humanoids: Further Details,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 16 (August 1973): 6–7; John Magor, Our UFO Visitors, Hancock House, 1977, pp. 183–187; Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979, pp. 67–69; “ The Esther Clappison / Rosedale, Alberta Case | Jeff Knox (Ufos # 7 - June 23, 2024),” Ufo Sunset YouTube channel, June 26, 2024)
June 29 — 3:00 a.m. A man is hiking in Delamere Forest east of Chester, England, when an “electric blue light” appears ahead and moves toward him, dancing erratically in and out of the trees. He walks toward it but before taking 20 steps he finds himself walking calmly back. The object then moves along a mud track and disappears into a small “garage” in the bushes. After wandering around in a disoriented state for some time, he searches for the “garage” but cannot find it. (Jenny Randles, “ Born to See UFOs,” Northern UFO News, no. 111 (Jan./Feb. 1985): 12–13; Jenny Randles, Alien Abductions: The Mystery Solved, Inner Light, 1988, pp. 110–115; Jenny Randles, “Much More Than Marsh Gas,” Fortean Times 311 (March 2014): 27)
July 7 — 6:00 p.m. Spanish physician Guillermo Arguello de la Motta is a guest of his friend Antonio Arocha at San Juan de los Morros, Guárico, Venezuela. They suddenly see two men dressed in black, both wearing red ties and black berets. They emerge from a brand-new red Ford Mustang, at a distance of 1,600 feet from the house. They stand there waiting for 5 minutes, then begin to put on orange belts, talking together animatedly. Suddenly a shining object appears in the sky, descends, and stops at a height of 2 feet from the ground. It is circular, bell-shaped underneath, and has a “turret” on the top. The object changes rapidly in color from orange to blue and to white. Suddenly a small staircase is dropped from the object, enabling the two men from the Mustang to enter the UFO. The staircase is drawn in, then the object takes off at an impressive speed. (Gordon Creighton, “ South American Round-Up, Part 1,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 10 (June 1972): 9)
July 8 — 1:15 p.m. Miner Claude Girard is parked on the road near the bridge over the Hurricana River in Joutel, Quebec, when he sees a circle 15–20 feet in diameter on the surface of the water with a jet of water in the center reaching a height of 20 feet. When the water jet settles down, Girard can see a cylindrical object, 6–8 feet in length and rusty black in color, beneath the surface. It slowly begins to lean to one side and sinks in less than a minute. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, p. 103)
July 17 — 10:45 p.m. Tea planter Parl Abeywickrema, his two assistants Oswin de Alwis and Nimal Dunuwille, and the driver Sirisena Wijesinghe are driving between the Hope Estate in Rikillagaskada, Sri Lanka, and the Rockwood Estate in Hewaheta when they see a bright object larger than the full moon above the hilly horizon. Soon it approaches the car, and Abeywickrema orders the driver to stop. They watch the object, now hovering about one-quarter mile away at an altitude of 1,000 feet. After 10 minutes it silently swoops toward them at high speed and stops 300 feet away at a height of 100 feet. The object is about 25 feet in diameter with two “tapering wings” on either side and casts a fluorescent yellow glow. After a few more minutes, the UFO moves toward the southwest at a 45° angle after drawing its two wings inside the main body. Some 50 witnesses report the same or similar objects in the same area that night, and both Abeywickrema and Wijesinghe report seeing UFOs around 2:00–3:00 a.m. after returning home. (Eileen Buckle, “ ‘Peace-Symbol’ UFO over Ceylon,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 7 (October 1971): 11–12; Story, pp. 169–170)
July 29 - Night. A woman living on a farm outside Saint Hyacinthe, Quebec, watches as two dark circular objects with red rotating lights hovering above her potato field. It quickly disappears. The next morning, her husband finds two 11-foot-wide circular patches of crushed and burned potatoes where the UFO had hovered. Investigators estimated the object had burned or irradiated the field from a height of 15 feet. (Claude MacDuff, "July 1971: Quebec in the Darkness," Official UFO 1, no. 6 (February 1976): 16-19, 44; Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979, p. 143)
August 9 — 9:00 a.m. Capt. Vicente Lopes Buono, flying an airliner between Pratinha and Sacramento, Minas Gerais, Brazil, reports that his plane is paced for 20 minutes at 7,920 feet altitude by a glowing orange disc (“like two round basins, one on top of the other”) over mountainous terrain. Sgt. Falcão, flight controller at Uberaba airport, suggests that he investigate the object. When the pilot tries to move closer, the object maintains a constant distance, then suddenly increases its speed and disappears. (“ Brazilian Pilot Reports Pacing,” UFO Investigator, August 1971, p. 1; “ Disc Accompanies Aeroplane,” Flying Saucer Review 18, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1972): 32; “ Press Reports,” APRO Bulletin 21, no. 3 (Nov./Dec. 1972): 2, 5; UFOEv II 131)
August 16 - Jan-Ove Sundberg sees a landed UFO in a cleared area above Foyers, Inverness, Scotland, on Loch Ness. Three human-shaped figures in gray coveralls emerge from some bushes and enter the craft, which then takes off. Sundberg snaps a photo, then contacts writer and monster researcher Frederick William "Ted" Holiday, who is looking for a UFO connection with the loch. However, Sundberg eventually confesses that he made up the story. (F. W. Holiday, " Exorcism and UFO Landing at Loch Ness," Flying Saucer Review 19, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1973): 3-7, 13; Roland Watson, " Ted Holiday's Final Days," Loch Ness Monster, May 31, 2008; Clark III 600-601; Clark IV 659-660)
September 4 —8:25 a.m. Pilot Omar Arias is flying a twin-engine Canadian Aero-Commander F680 at a height of 10,000 feet above Lago de Cote, Costa Rica, taking aerial photos as part of a preliminary study for future hydroelectric projects. On board are photographer Sergio Loaiza, a specialist in aerial photography, plus geographer Juan Bravo and topographer Francisco Reyes. Loaiza was using a R-M-K 15/23 camera, specially made for cartography and using high-resolution black-and-white film, strapped on the bottom of the aircraft and taking automatic photos with an intervalometer. No one sees a thing while they are up in the air, but when Loaiza reviews his images, he discovers in frame 300 what seems to be a huge metallic disc against the dark background of the lake. The object does not appear in the previous or following frames. Jacques Vallée obtains a copy of the negative and examines it with Richard Haines and concludes that the photo shows “an unidentified, opaque, aerial object was captured on film at a maximum distance of 10,000 feet. There are no visible means of lift or propulsion and no surface markings other than darker regions that appear to be nonrandom.” (Richard H. Hall, “ Costa Rican Photograph,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 166 (December 1981): 18; Richard F. Haines and Jacques Vallée, “ Photo Analysis of an Aerial Disc over Costa Rica,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 3, no. 2 (1989): 113–131; Richard F. Haines and Jacques Vallée, “Photo Analysis of an Aerial Disc over Costa Rica: New Evidence,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 4, no. 1 (1990): 71–74; UFOEv II 289–291; Mick West, “ 1971 Lake Cote / Lago de Cote UFO Aerial Photo,” Metabunk,org, May 10, 2021; Bryce Zabel, “ The Best UFO Photo Ever Taken?” Medium: The Trail of the Saucers, May 10, 2021)
September 12? —7:00 p.m. Juan Rodríguez Domínguez, 82, who goes by the nickname of Juan el de la Palmareña, is in his hut on the Los Lunarejos farm just over a mile from Aznalcóllar, Seville, Spain, when he sees a bus-sized object landing near an abandoned well 1,000 feet away. More than 50 “soldiers” in blue “uniforms” emerge. They march in formation into a hollow in the field and are lost to view. Juan can now see only five or six “chiefs” standing on a slope and staring in his direction. When they shine a light at him, he ducks behind the hut. A bit later he looks out again and they shine the light once more. Frightened, he flees to Aznalcóllar to inform his employers, who do not take him seriously. He later insists that the object and the “soldiers” have left marks in the ground, but police do not bother to follow up. (Ignacio Darnaude, “ An ‘Army of Humanoids’ Stated to Have Landed in Spain,” Flying Saucer Review 20, no. 3 (December 1974): 19–21; Ignacio Darnaude, [ case clippings]; Clark III 282; Clark IV 322)
September 19 - 3:30 a.m. Arthur Honke, Alec Honke, and Gordon Campbell are driving north just outside Winnipeg, Manitoba, to do some hunting. They see a bright flash as something passes overhead and in front of the car. It now appears ahead of them on the right side of the road. Honke pulls alongside it and steps out of the car. They can hear a low-pitched humming from the object only about 150-225 feet away. It is shaped like two saucers, one on top of the other, and has flashing green and red lights and one white stationary light. The object hovers for 30 seconds, then starts moving slowly to the southeast. But as the men drive north again, the object begins following them at a distance for about 45 minutes. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada's UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 86-87, 152
September 20 — 10:45 p.m. Engineer Sten Sture is driving on the E4 near Öjebyn, Sweden, when he sees a strong light with vertical beams shining to the ground both in front and in back of his car. He tries to brake the car, but it keeps moving forward, and suddenly everything becomes completely blue-black around him. No lights come from the headlights. He sees the vertical lights again and the blackness seems to lift and rise from the ground, outlining itself against the horizon. He speeds ahead, keeping the black mass in sight until it disappears below the horizon. (“ Egendomligt ljussken flyttade bi loch fyrkantigt föremål,” GICOFF-Information, October 1971, no. 5, pp. 30–36; “ The Strange Force That Moved a Car,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 10 (June 1972): 1–3)
Late September — 7:30 p.m. Chen Chu, a member of a People’s Liberation Army unit stationed in Dingzhou, Hebei, China, is on assignment in a small valley north of the city when he and other soldiers notice a ball-like object rising slowly to the north of their quarters. It is emitting mist, and after a few seconds it spurts out a large jet of smoke and rises in the air. It hovers a few more seconds then rises to a higher level. Soon it drops down toward the ground and disappears. The unit dispatches a motor vehicle to find the object, but due to the ruggedness of the mountain roads, it turns back after more than 3 miles. (Wendelle Stevens and Paul Dong, UFOs over Modern China, UFO Photo Archives, 1983, p. 72)
October 2 — 6:30 a.m. An ex-Air Force man is driving from Caro to Watrousville, Michigan, and spots a triangular UFO with a large white light at the bottom and many smaller red lights around it. It makes sharp turns at fantastic speed and moves quickly out of sight. (“ Sighting Advisory,” UFO Investigator, December 1971, p. 3)
October 2 - 7:50 p.m. Two students, Vània, 9, and Vera, 21, are sitting down outside their residence on a busy street in the populous neighborhood of Sao Cristóvao in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, when they see a luminous, yellow, silent object above a building across the street some 260-300 feet away. They run out into the street to alert others, and the object follows them above the roofs of houses. Another student, Nelson Calmon Schubsky, 23, and his fiancée rush into the street along with many others to see the object. Chbosky has a Leica camera and takes two photos without having time to adjust the settings. The UFO has three luminous appendages (white, yellow, and red) and is rose-colored in the center with a red outline. It pulsates rapidly, changes color, and disappears behind a nearby tower. Chbosky's photos are blurry. (" UFO é Fotografado no Rio de Janeiro (RJ)," Portal Fenomenum, June 15, 2016; Clark III 1007-1009; Brazil 146-149; Clark IV 1121-1123)
October 5 — Early morning. While on the downwind leg of the pattern to runway 20L at the Santos Dumont Airport in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, four pilots on board a single-engine Cessna airplane watch as a “huge star” approaches them on their starboard side. The object descends to their altitude and slows rapidly to their air speed, smoothly changing its direction to fly parallel with them at an estimated distance of 98 feet. It looks like an “inverted dish” with a small rounded protrusion centered on its upper surface that seems to contain oval windows. What appears to be the head of a person is seen in one window looking at them. The UFO is seen for about 85 seconds. The object descends at high velocity toward the water’s surface, turns sharply left without any hesitation and disappears from sight in several seconds. The reporting witness is Chief Flight Instructor José Américo C. Medeiros, 23, pilot of the Cessna. (Richard F. Haines, “ Airplane Pacing in Rio,” IUR 34, no. 2 (Mar. 2012): 3–6, 26–29)
November 2 — 7:00 p.m. Ronald Johnson, 16, is tending sheep on the Durel Johnson farm at Delphos, Kansas, when he hears a rumbling sound and sees (75 feet away in a small grove of trees) an object become suddenly illuminated with a mass of blue, red, and orange colors. Nine feet in diameter and 10 feet high, the UFO is slightly domed at the top and is hovering 2 feet above the ground. He and his dog stare at the object while the sheep are bellowing. After several minutes, the glow at the base becomes more intense and the object takes off at an angle, clearing by no more than 4 feet a shed attached to the sheep pen. The rumbling is replaced by a high-pitched wail. Johnson is temporarily blinded but recovers his sight a few minutes later and sees the object still there. He runs into the house to tell his parents, and they also see the light in the southern sky moving off into the distance. At the site where the UFO has been is a glowing, gray-white circle where the soil seems to be crystallized. After the parents touch the soil, it turns their fingers numb, persisting for several weeks. Johnson takes a photo of the circle. Seven separate soil analyses are conducted. Soil samples taken from the ring so not absorb water, have a higher acid content, and contain more soluble salts and calcium. They also produce less seed growth than control samples and are coated with a hydrocarbon of low molecular weight that is difficult to remove. A second substance is also found that is composed of white, crystalline fibers. (NICAP, “ Delphos, Kansas, November 2, 1971”; Center for UFO Studies, [ case files]; “ Landing Case in Kansas,” APRO Bulletin, Nov./Dec. 1971, pp. 1, 3; Ted Phillips, “ Landing Report from Delphos,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 9 (February 1972): 4–10; “ More on Kansas Case,” APRO Bulletin, Mar./Apr. 1972, pp. 8–9; B. Ann Slate, “Kansas UFO Leaves Hard Evidence,” Fate 26, no. 4 (April 1973): 88–96; Vallée, The Invisible College, Dutton, 1975, p. 35; Kim Hansen, “UFO Casebook,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, pp. 79–82; Erol A. Faruk, “ The Delphos Landing: New Evidence from the Laboratory,” IUR 12, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1987): 21–25; Erol A. Faruk, “ The Delphos Landing: New Evidence from the Laboratory, Part Two,” IUR 12, no. 3 (May/June 1987): 19–21; Erol A. Faruk, “ The Delphos Case: Soil Analysis and Appraisal of a CE-2 Report,” JUFOS 1 (1989): 41–65; Michael D. Swords, “ Research Note: Delphos, Kansas, Soil Analysis,” JUFOS 3 (1991): 115; Michael D. Swords, comp., “ Soil Analysis Results,” JUFOS 3 (1991): 116–133; UFOEv II 58–61; Erol A. Faruk, “ Further Comment on the Delphos Data,” JUFOS 3 (1991): 134–137; 8 (2003): 1–25; Ted Phillips and Jennie Zeidman, Delphos: A Close Encounter of the Second Kind, UFO Research Coalition, 2002; Phyllis A. Budinger, “ New Analysis of Soil Samples from the Delphos UFO Case,” JUFOS 8 (2003): 1–25; Clark III 400–402; Erol Faruk, “ The Delphos CE2 Case: A New Appraisal of the Data,” Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies, November 2021; Powell, Scientist, 16–17; “ The 1971 Delphos, Kansas, UFO Landing with Physical Evidence, Witnessed by 15-Year-Old Ronald Johnson,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, January 11, 2024; Clark IV 446–448)
November 14 - 1:50 a.m. Farmer Angelo Cellot is just finishing plowing his field near Lachapelle, Lot-et-Garonne, France, when he sees a bright light approaching from the northwest. Soon it is only 130 feet above him, traveling the same speed as his tractor, and lighting up the area with a row of five bright lights. A small red light is on the far right of the row. Cellot stops the tractor and the light descends slowly to about 50 feet. He begins running away down a nearby road but sees that the object is ascending and moving away in absolute silence. It vanishes behind a ridge. (Gordon Creighton, " UFO with Multiple Beams of Light," Flying Saucer Review 18, no. 3 (May/June 1972): 4-8)
December 25 — At Tooligie Hill, in Tooligie, South Australia, neighbors observe a red ball of light in the night sky. The following day, Robert Habner discovers a 7.2-foot-diameter ring in his wheat field. The ring is nearly 18 inches wide and 4 inches deep, with the wheat swirled counterclockwise around the ground mark. Soil samples taken from the site reveal nothing unusual. (“ What Made This Mark? Flying Saucer at Tooligie Hill?” Port Lincoln (S.A.) Times, January 13, 1972, p. 3; “Markings Probe by Saucer Men,” Adelaide (S.A.) Sunday Mail, April 22, 1972; “ Saucer Hunt in Outback,” The Australian, May 4, 1972, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 38 (June 1976): 9; “ Flying Saucer Proves Bother,” Adelaide News, May 5, 1972, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no .38 (June 1976): 9; “ Clipping The News,” Data-Net, no. 60 (June 1972): 14, 16; Old Crop Circles, “ 1971: Tooligie Hills”; Allen Tiller, “ Tooligie Hill UFO Crop Circle,” Eidolon Paranormal, 2010)
Last week of December - After sunset. Norman W. Kasting is flying on a commercial airliner between Dallas, Texas, and Denver, Colorado. He notices something approaching the plane from behind on the west side. It passes within a few hundred yards of the aircraft and 10-20 feet below its level, flying faster than the plane. The object is metallic and shaped like an upside- down bowl about 30-40 feet in diameter and 15 feet tall. It has orange or amber lights around the edge. ("Out of the Past," CUFOS Associate Newsletter 5, no. 5 (Oct./Nov. 1984): 5)
1972
(or early 1973) - A USAF lieutenant colonel [possibly David Fruehauf] is flying a SR-71 spy plane at 78,000 feet out of Kadena Air Base on Okinawa, Japan, when he sees a metallic object flying in the same direction about 5 miles off his starboard side and 5,000-6,000 feet above him. He flies closer and sees that it has shiny metallic edges. When he is about 2 miles away, the object accelerates at a "30-degree angle of attack" and disappears. The pilot estimates its speed as 8,000 mph. (Coulthart 2023, pp. 97, 99)
January - Night. High school senior Donna Wilkins is driving in a rural area near Bartelso, Illinois, with a boyfriend when they see lights traveling back and forth in an odd pattern in the distance. Suddenly a luminous triangular object appears right next to them and they speed up. It maintains the same position above their car even though they accelerate to 85 mph. The underside seems to be composed of metal beams. It disappears beyond a tree line as they enter town, (" They Still Keep Seeing UFOs in Carlyle," East St. Louis (Ill.) Metro-East Journal, May 31, 1972, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 38 (June 1972): 5)
Early February - 7:00 p.m. Sarajevo International Airport in Bosnia picks up an unidentified radar target traveling at about 37 mph. It appears visually as a triangular object. When a Jat Airways Convair approaches the target, it accelerates and vanishes. (Milos Krmelj, " Report from Ljubljana, Slovenia," Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 13 (February 1973): 13)
February 22? - 6:00 a.m. Dave Snyder and another boy are walking across a field in the southeast part of South Sioux City, Nebraska, when they come upon an object on the ground flashing blue, green, and red lights. Frightened, they run home but return the next day to find a circle of melted snow measuring 25 to 30 feet in diameter. (Lawrence Lacey, " Red Object Hovers Behind Highway Overpass in Nebraska," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 109 (December 1976): 3-4)March 16 - Dawn. Truck driver Luis Bracamonte sees a sparkling mist form over the fields in Parque Granaderos, near General Rodriguez, Buenos Aires, Argentina. As he stops his truck, the mist vanishes, replaced by a blindingly vivid light. When he opens his eyes again, he notices a large oblong machine about 300 feet away, featuring a rim on the upper part and wide projections below. Three men with broad shoulders emerge, walking with apparent difficulty. They have sharp features and resemble Chinese individuals. Approaching Bracamonte, one of them grips his elbow. They speak in an unfamiliar language, but he intuitively understands that he should not be afraid. One of the beings then presents a plaque with two shining symbols and shows it to him. (Jane Thomas, " Recent Reports from Argentina and Peru," Flying Saucer Review 18, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1972): 21-22; Roberto E. Banchs, La fenomenología humanoide en la Argentina, Edition Especial of UFO Press, no. 4a, (August 1977): 26; Center for UFO Studies, HUMCAT Index 1972, pp. 5-6; Peter Rogerson, INTCAT 1972 Jan-Jun)
March 19 — 10:00 p.m. A boy named Mario goes out onto his patio at Santa Maria Acuexcomac, Puebla, Mexico, to look for a broom when he sees a bluish light, which gets larger as if it is approaching the ground. He sees that the thing is descending into a vacant lot and, thinking it is a hot air balloon, runs towards it. When he reaches the lot, he sees the thing is a kind of luminous sphere giving off a blue light like that of a welding torch. Mario now becomes frightened and runs to call his mother. As he goes in the house, two neighbors, Zacarian Mendoza and Manuela Carlotta de Mendoza, also see the object. When Mario comes out again accompanied by his mother Josefina, the object, which has been on the ground for 7 minutes, begins to rise up, producing a hum and casting off more blue sparks. Gradually the light and sound are lost in the sky. The next day, Mario goes to the site and finds four deep tracks, about 8 inches deep, separated exactly from each other in the form of a square of 8.2 feet. At an equidistant point in the center of the tracks there is a black burnt mark on the ground. (“ Boy Sees Saucer Land in Mexico: Mother See UFO Take Off, Trace Left,” Skylook, no. 56 (July 1972): 9–10; Ted Phillips, “Landing Traces: Physical Evidence for the UFO,” in MUFON UFO Symposium Proceedings 1973, Midwest UFO Network, MUFON, 1973, p. 26)
April 1 — 11:00 p.m. Two students are driving between Cacuso and Lucala, Angola, when suddenly their vehicle’s engine and lights fail. They check the batteries and fuses, which are all normal. Then they see two bright lights. Shortly afterward, they hear a whistling noise coming from an object about 130 feet away. It is about 130 feet across, partly lit up, and has three legs hanging from it. It rise to a height of 40 feet, where it hovers briefly, retracts its legs, whistles again, and turns on edge as it moves away. As soon as it leaves, the vehicle’s lights come back on and the engine returns to normal. (Herbert S. Taylor, “ An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part Two,” IUR 34, no. 1 (Sept. 2011): 19)
April 14 — Evening. At least four adults in various parts of Waterbury, Connecticut, spot a triangular-shaped UFO moving silently. The witnesses estimated its width at about 130–195 feet. (“ Sighting Advisory,” UFO Investigator, December 1972, p. 4)
April 24 - 7:00-7:30 p.m. A man in Willow Point, British Columbia, on the Inside Passage takes a photo of a disc-shaped object spinning "like a top" and hovering in the sky for 15 minutes above Quadra Island. The object has a dull sheen like dirty chrome and lights flashing around its rim. The UFO wobbles, tilts, and shudders, then shoots straight upward about 1,000 feet. It then takes off to the north on a zigzag course. The photo is blurry, but shows a disc. (" UFO Photo Examined in Ottawa," Campbell River (B.C.) Upper Island, May 3, 1972, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 39 (July 1972): 12; " Here and There in B.C.," Salmon Arm (B.C.) Observer, June 14, 1972, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 39 (July 1972): 11; " Object Paces Truck," UFO Research Newsletter 2, no. 5 (Aug./Sept. 1972): 3; Chris Rutkowski, Canada's UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 72-73, 152)
May 14 - Dusk. Janice, Judy, and Joyce Schwaegel, who live on a farm about two miles southwest of Germantown, Illinois, watch a brilliantly lit UFO near their home. The object first appears hovering over a neighbor's farm buildings to the southeast. The girls describe it as half- moon shaped with a dark-gray, metallic body. Initially, the craft displays two brilliant white lights, resembling car headlights. After hovering silently for about 11 minutes, it begins to move slowly west. As it moves, the white lights vanish and are replaced by blue, green, red, and white lights circling the rim of the craft. These resemble aircraft running lights but do not flash and remain visible until the object disappears from sight. As the craft moves westward, it emits a sound similar to that of a small airplane, though it travels at about half the speed. The girls observe the UFO for approximately 15 minutes, all using 7x35 binoculars, and confidently rule out the possibility that it is a conventional aircraft. They estimate it to be about 50 feet in diameter and 200 feet above the ground, with the initial viewing distance being roughly half a mile. (" Three Sisters Watch Half-Moon Object," Skylook, no. 56 (July 1972): 8)
Summer — Early morning. The Musson, a Russian scientific ship, is in the North Atlantic roughly 300 miles from Bermuda. The electrician, radio operator, and one of the navigators see an elliptical object moving slowly through the cloudless sky at high altitude from north to south. It changes shape to a wheel and then to an elongated, silvery-white ellipse, then it disappears from view. (Stonehill and Mantle, Russia’s USO Secrets, Flying Disk, 2020, p. 60)
June 6 — New York City artist and psychic Ingo Swann visits the Stanford Research Institute [now SRI International] in Menlo Park, California, to begin remote viewing experiments. He is brought by Harold E. Puthoff and other scientists to a building where, several floors below, is a heavily shielded magnetometer whose sole function is to measure quarks. One scientist asks him to “perturb” the device. As Swann sits there trying to visualize the magnetometer, a scientist monitoring it tells the group that the needle is moving wildly and malfunctioning. The scene is repeated several more times, each time when Swann is imagining the device. Puthoff is intrigued. He writes up his findings and a few weeks later he is visited by two CIA intelligence analysts who want Puthoff and SRI to investigate remote viewing for espionage purposes. (Wikipedia, “ Ingo Swann”; Jim Schnabel, Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America’s Psychic Spies, Dell, 1997; Annie Jacobsen, Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government’s Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis, Little, Brown, 2017, pp. 130–136; Edwin C. May and Sonali Bhatt Marwaha, eds., The Star Gate Archives, Volumes 1–4, Reports of the United States Government Sponsored Psi Program, 1972–1995, McFarland, 4 vols., 2018–2019)
June 22 — 2:00 a.m. Javier Bosque, a seminarist of the order of St. Joseph Calasanz, is reading in bed at his room at the Colegio Escolapios in Logroño, La Rioja, Spain, when he notices a bright light outside through the half-closed shutters of his window. To his surprise, the window begins opening by itself and a 2- foot-long, football-shaped, metallic, luminous object enters his room and approaches the foot of his bed. His radio begins to emit a loud, continuous sound. He reaches over and turns on a cassette tape recorder. The object descends from about 6 feet above the floor to 15 inches above it. A beam of solid light extends from the object, touching the radio twice, retracts, then touches the cassette recorder. Bosque grabs the recorder and holds the microphone in his lap. The object ascends to about 6 feet above the floor and moves out the window and up. The radio sound weakens. The 8-minute sound recording is analyzed by laboratories in Spain, Brazil, France, and the US. It contains some pure tones at first, followed by modulations in amplitude. Robert H. Coddington finds, after an analysis of the tape, that it most likely is a recording of the chance reception of an ordinary test transmission from a terrestrial broadcast station and does not match Bosque’s narrative. (Albert Adell and Pere Redón, “ UFO Enters and Inspects a Room,” Flying Saucer Review 19, no. 2 (March/April 1973): 10–13, iii; Albert Adell and Pere Redón, “ Estudio de la cinta grabada por Javier Bosque,” Stendek 4, no. 13 (June 1973): 3–18; “ Bosque Spanish UFO Tapes Deemed Non-Startling,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 1, no. 8 (December 1980): 4; Willy Smith, “ A Bizarre Event at Logroño: A Taped UFO Sound,” IUR 7, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1982): 8–10; “ Logroño (Spain) Tape Recording Explained,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 4, no. 2 (April/May 1983): 5–7; Robert H. Coddington, “ Further Analysis of the Logroño Tape,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 4, no. 2 (April/May 1983): 7–10; Michael D. Swords, “ A Trick of the Light,” IUR 31, no. 2 (June 2007): 10; “ Javier Bosque: Un encuentro misterioso,” Ariel Maderna YouTube channel, March 21, 2015)
June 26 — 8:00 a.m. Bennie Smit, the new owner of Braeside Farm 9 miles from Fort Beaufort, Eastern Cape, South Africa, is alerted to a “fiery red ball hovering at tree-top level” by his hired hand Boer de Klerk. Its color changes to bright green and then to whitish yellow, with flames shooting out. Smit dashes home, grabs a rifle, and calls the police. He shoots at the object, but the bullets have little effect. At 10:30 a.m., police sergeant Piet C. Kitching and warrant officer P. R. van Rensburg arrive at the spot where the UFO is still hovering. As the object moves away, Smit fires at it an eighth time; this time he hears a thud, and the object moves up and down and stops changing colors. Smit and Kitching fire at it some more, after which it disappears and reappears about 60 feet away looking gunmetal gray in color and somewhat oval-shaped. After they fire two final shots, the object moves away through the trees around noon. The next day, van Rensburg leads a team of police officers to the site, looking for evidence. They find nine circular imprints of its supposed landing gear found in damp clay soil. On June 28, Brig. A. Vosloo, divisional commander of police for the Eastern Cape, takes soil samples and plaster casts of the imprints. (Wikipedia, “ UFO Sightings in South Africa”; Charles Bowen, “ A Hot Reception at Fort Beaufort,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 11 (August 1972): 1–7; Philipp Human, “ Fort Beaufort Tailpiece,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 11 (August 1972): 7; Ivan Clark, “ The Fort Beaufort Police Officers: An Interview,” Flying Saucer Review 18, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1972): 9–10; “ The South African Flap,” APRO Bulletin 21, no. 2 (September/October 1972): 1, 3–4; Clark III 510–511; Clark IV 54–555)
June 29 - 10:00 p.m. A dark, wedge-shaped UFO passes directly over several witnesses at 200-500 feet altitude in Buffalo, South Dakota, at a slow speed. About 100 feet long, it has two brilliant white lights at the front and two orange-white lights in the rear. It moves with the blunt edge forward and hovers intermittently for 40 minutes. It emits a sound like rushing air. (Glenn McWane and David Graham, The New UFO Sightings, Warner, 1974; Marler 85)
July 3 - 9:15 p.m. Maureen Puddy, 27, sees a disc-shaped object on the Mooraduc Road near Frankston, Victoria, Australia. The object is a huge blue disc that hovers above her car. (Keith Basterfield, " Present at the Abduction," IUR 17, no. 3 (May/June 1992): 13-14, 23; Keith Basterfield, " Cold Case Investigation: Frankston, Vic, July 1972, Part One," Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena-Scientific Research, October 2, 2012)
July 4 — 10:10 p.m. Girl guide leader Claudine Dieupart alerts 43 other girl guides and Belgian missionary Rev. Fr. Quertemont, who are sitting around a campfire at Lamonriville, Malmédy, Belgium, to a triangle of white lights moving overhead. They watch the lights for 5 minutes. At 10:30 p.m., several witnesses at a bus stop in Liège view a triangle of bright globes of light moving slowly from west to east. They pass through a cloud bank, illuminating it. About the same time, other witnesses in the western suburbs see a similar display. At 10:31 p.m., a factory worker in Flawinne watches a triangle of three bright lights ascending vertically. At 10:40 p.m., a couple in Spy observe a triangular display of lights surrounded by bluish sparks. At 10:45 p.m. a farmer in Ellezelles notices three bluish beams of light shining down from a luminous cloud. (Marler 85–86)
July 4 (or July 4, 1973) — 11:15 p.m. Capt. Erling Bakke and his wife see a peculiar vessel on the water east of Sundsøya, Trøndelag, Norway. It is black, about 25 feet long, 6 feet high, and traveling about 60 mph. It rises up at a 45° angle, then disappears. (J. O. Sundberg, “ Stor Expedition till Nansenfjorden,” UFO Information, 1975, no. 3, pp. 8, 9–10; Ole Jonny Brænne, “ Observations of Unidentified Submarine Objects in Norway,” IUR 20, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1995): 13)
July 5 — 12:10 p.m. A M. Legrand in Belgium is parking his car when he notices a dozen whitish objects flying about randomly at a low altitude. A neighbor describes them as vaguely shaped, fleecy, and rotating slowly. They seem to be moving around a dark triangular object. (SOBEPS Investigators, “ Belgian UFO Sightings during July 1972,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 16 (August 1973): 1. 3; Marler 87)
July 7 — 7:50 p.m. J. Erasmus watches a small object hovering above the post office in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. It changes color from yellow to white. He calls the newspaper, and photographer Geoffrey Allen is able to take several photos through a telephoto lens from the roof of the newspaper building. The object appears to break into two at times. It disappears by 8:45 p.m. One of the photos shows an umbrella-shaped light. (Charles Bowen, “ South African Mini-Wave, 1972: Part 1,” Flying Saucer Review 18, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1972): 5–7)
July 10 — 10:15 p.m. Rafael Aranda is driving his Renault 8 at 55–60 mph on a back road approaching Alcaracejos, Córdoba, Spain, when suddenly the car slows down. He pushes the accelerator to the floor, but cannot make the car go any faster than about 40–50 mph. He becomes aware of a bright light in the sky like a great white light bulb that is directing a beam of light at his car. The object, about 3–5 feet in diameter, is rotating in a clockwise direction and moving on or near the ground to the right of the highway, partly concealed by oak trees. As he continues to drive, Aranda finally loses sight of the object and his car begins functioning normally again. The next day he takes the car to a Renault dealer for an examination, but the mechanics can find no explanation for the loss of power. (Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos, A Catalogue of 200 Type I UFO Events in Spain and Portugal, CUFOS, 1976, p. 38; UFOEv II 277)
July 11 —2:00 p.m. Edward Blumberg is driving with his family along Queen Street in Cyrildene, Johannesburg, South Africa, when the notice a white object shaped like a teardrop high in the sky. It is hovering and has some “legs” trailing from its base. They reach home and are able to view it through binoculars. The object slowly tiltsto the east until it reaches a horizontal position. A flash of light is emitted from its front, and the object seems to flatten as it quickly moves off to the east. (Charles Bowen, “ South African Mini-Wave, 1972, Part 2,” Flying Saucer Review 18, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1972): 14–15)
July 19 — 10:35 p.m. Herbert and Mady Mathar and their two children are walking in Faymonville, Belgium, when they see a red-orange point of light slowly moving toward them. Closer, they see that it is hat-shaped. Mathar runs inside to get a camera and takes two photos before the object disappears. Ballester Olmos and van Utrecht conclude that the photos show the Moon setting in the southwest. (Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos and Wim van Utrecht, Belgium in UFO Photographs, Volume 1 (1950–1988), FOTOCAT Report no. 7, 2017, pp. 99–113)
July 25 — 9:15 p.m. Maureen Puddy sees the same object she had seen on July 3 at almost the same spot. This time it seems to drain power from the car, causing it to stop, the car steering itself off the road. A voice in her head tells her, “All your tests will be negative. Tell media, do not panic. We mean no harm.” Several months later, she is “mentally” abducted into a room where she sees an entity. This event occurs while two other people are present with her, but they only report that Puddy lapses into unconsciousness. On a later occasion, the entity appears as she is driving the car. (Judith Magee, “ UFO Over the Mooraduc Road,” Flying Saucer Review 18, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1972): 3–5; Judith M. Magee, “ The Close Encounter of Maureen Puddy,” Australian Annual Flying Saucer Review, 1983, pp. 4–9; Keith Basterfield, “ Present at the Abduction,” IUR 17, no. 3 (May/June 1992): 13–14, 23; Judith M. Magee, “ The Close Encounter of Maureen Puddy,” Victorian UFO Research Society, 1996; Mark Cashman, “ Behavioral Classification System for UFO Occupants,” IUR 24, no. 1 (Spring 1999): 20; Keith Basterfield, “ Cold Case Investigation, Frankston, Vic, July 1972, Part One,” Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena—Scientific Research, October 2, 2012; Keith Basterfield, “ Cold Case Investigation: Frankston, Vic, July 1972, Part Two,” Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena—Scientific Research, October 4, 2012; Keith Basterfield, “ Cold Case Investigation: Frankston, Vic, July 1972, Part Three,” Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena—Scientific Research, October 4, 2012; Clark III 275–276; Kaustubh Chowdhary, “ The UFO Encounter of Maureen Puddy: UFO Sightings, Psychic Aliens, and Strange Interior of a UFO,” Infinity Explorers, April 28, 2022; “ UFO Researcher Judith Magee on Maureen Puddy’s 1972 Close Encounter with a Psychic Alien Entity,” Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, November 1, 2022; “ Maureen Puddy on Experiencing Psychic Phenomena during Her UFO Sightings, Frankston, Australia, 1972,” Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, November 1, 2022; Clark IV 316)
August — Ingo Swann returns to the Stanford Research Institute in Menlo Park, California, as do the two CIA intelligence analysts. With Swann in a Faraday cage, the SRI team conducts a series of what’s-in-the-box tests in which office supplies hidden inside a box are presented to Swann, who is asked to identify the objects inside. During a lunch break one of the CIA agents walks outside and collects a small brown moth, capturing it alive, and sealing it inside a box. When Swann looks at the box, he sees “something small, brown, and irregular, sort of like a leaf…. Except that it seems very much alive, like it’s even moving.” (Annie Jacobsen, Phenomena, Little, Brown, 2017, p. 136)
August - The Archives for UFO Research (Arbetsgruppen för Ufologi) is founded in Södertälje, Sweden, by Håkan Blomqvist, Kjell Jonsson, and Anders Liljegren. Its specialized research library for UFO literature is established in 1974, and in 1979 AFU moves to Norrköping. It publishes Ufologen from 1972 to 1974 and the AFU Newsletter from March 1975 to October 2008. In April 2013 it changes its name to the Archives for the Unexplained. Its holdings in 2020 include a reference library of more than 20,000 titles, more than 50,000 magazine issues, some 500,000 clippings, and more than 50,000 European UFO cases. (Wikipedia, " Archives for the Unexplained"; Archives for the Unexplained, " About AFU"; Ufologen, no 1 (July 1972); AFU Newsletter, no. 1 (March/April 1975); AFU Annual Report, 2014; Håkan Blomqvist. " The Founding of AFU," Håkan Blomqvist's Blog, November 2, 2019; " AFU Turns 50 and Continue to Grow," Archives for the Unexplained, March 17, 2023; Eghigian, After, p. 233)
August 9 — 2:30 a.m. A married couple, both college professors, are camping out in a garden in the backyard of some friends’ home just off the road to Nîmes at Saint-Jean-du-Gard, Gard, France. The woman is walking outside and sees a shiny white ball the size of a small car sitting in a nearby parking lot. She hears footsteps behind her and sees a dark shape about 4 feet tall in the shape of a parallelepiped topped by an oval where a head would be. It has 2 white circles for eyes, but no visible arms or legs. It turns toward her and she feels an extraordinary fear. After a few seconds, she runs back inside the tent. (Patrick Gross, “ Saint-Jean-du-Gard, France, August 9, 1972”)
August 12 — 2:00 a.m.–5:00 a.m. About 30 young members of the Taizé Community in Taizé, Saône-et- Loire, France, are having a discussion in a rustic theatre circle to the northwest of the community buildings. Renata Faa is the first to see a star-like object come out of the sky in the west. It lands on the ground on a ridge facing them. Eventually, after more yellow lights appear on the object, they see it as cigar-shaped and about 100 feet long. Five other white lights emit luminous beams that extend progressively across the ground. Two cupolas are visible on its left side. Three small white discs appear on the right side, apparently emerging from the main object, and perform complex maneuvers. Some of the witnesses feel a tingling in their fingertips and knees. Faa and three of the other witnesses decide to walk through the fields and approach the object. Around 3:00 a.m., a multitude of red particles appear in the air around the approaching witnesses and in the ground around them. The lights on the object constantly change their patterns of display and movement. The four witnesses see a dark mass like a haystack on their left about 30 feet away. A small red light is moving haphazardly around it. When one of them shines a flashlight on the haystack, the beam travels horizontally for a bit then is directed perpendicularly upward. Finally, toward 5:00 a.m., the large object rises up and moves off to the south, following the terrain. (J. Tyrode, “ Taizé: A Case Right out of the Ordinary,” Flying Saucer Review 19, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1973): 16–21; F. Lagarde, “ A Few Words about Taizé,” Flying Saucer Review 19, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1973): 22; UFOEv II 217–218; Clark IV 1216)
August 19 - 2:00 a.m. A series of sightings involving 50-60 witnesses takes place in Colby, Kansas. The first call to police is made by John L. Calkins who, awakened by barking dogs, goes to his front door and sees three objects hovering nearby, making shrill, high-pitched whistling sounds. The larger object has six flashing, red and green body lights. He also hears beeping sounds. The sightings continue until 6:20 a.m. Police Sgt. Paul Carter, while patrolling at 2:07 a.m., sees an object with red and green flashing lights approach from the northeast. He radios Officer Dennis Brown and begins to follow the object southward. It stops and hovers 10-15 feet above a pasture about a quarter-mile away. He estimates it is 30-35 feet long and 18-20 feet tall. Suddenly the object emits an intense, blinding white light that illuminates the landscape, including jackrabbits sitting in the field. Despite the bright light, Carter gets a glimpse of a shape "like a cereal bowl turned upside down." It makes a whooshing noise and shoots up and out of sight in 3 seconds. Brown, who is approaching, also sees it speed away. After that, the UFO is seen heading southeast. Police in Oakley watch it through binoculars. Officers Earl Wood Jr. and Duane Nelson can see six body lights on a large object. Three on the front are white and those on the back flash red and green. W. L. Johnson of Colby sees an object from his front yard at 6:08 a.m. It has orange-red flashing lights, moves from the southwest to the south, hovers, moves north, turn toward his house, and gains altitude. At this point it changes to blue-green, moves southwest, hovers for a few minutes, then climbs and disappears at 6:20 a.m. (" Colby Cops and UFOs," Flying Saucer Review 18, no. 6 (November/December 1972): 30-31; Bob Gribble, " Looking Back," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 232 (August 1987): 20; UFOEv II 191
August 28 — 3:00 a.m. Eduardo Fernando de Deugd is driving from Médanos to Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires, Argentina, when someone waves him down to ask for a ride. He asks if the hitchhiker is going to Bahía Balance, but the man’s reply is unintelligible. He is wearing a coat with a turned-up collar and a large round cap. He has a jaw so elongated that it comes down almost to his chest. Further efforts to communicate prove futile. As de Deugd nears the city, his car lights go off suddenly. Ahead of him is a huge object with a blue light in the middle and two smaller white lights on the sides. As he steps out of the car, a flash of light strikes him and he feels heat, so he ducks behind his open door. The object is moving to the left and the stranger is gone. The passenger door is open and the handle is broken and lying on the floor. The object vanishes. (“ Yo viaje con un ser de otro planeta,” Gente y la Actualidad, no. 372 (September 7, 1972): 100–103; Jane Thomas, “ The Hitch-hiker from Space,” Flying Saucer Review 18, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1972): 23–24; “ Further Details about the ‘Hitch-hiker’ from Space,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 14 (April 1973): iii–iv; Clark III 281–282; Clark IV 321–322)
August–October — Numerous UFO sightings are reported throughout rural areas of Puerto Rico, as well as in San Juan and Ponce. People travel to the small town of Adjuntas, where the objects are seen frequently. One Friday night, the mayor of Adjuntas is traveling with a group of people in three cars along a lonely stretch of road in Barrio Garzas when he sees three bright discs moving through the sky. Their light changes in color and intensity. Sightings also center on the town of Utuado, where the Air National Guard has scrambled F-104s to chase the objects. A teacher at Utuado High School is driving back from town with his brother when they see a bright light off in the bush 300 feet from the road. They get out of the car and approach the light, which is sitting in a clearing. It is a flattened disc about the size of a small house and has a set of small, dark rectangles evenly spaced around its edge. It is brilliantly lit and its colors are constantly changing. They watch the object for a few minutes until it vanishes like “someone turning off a light.” (Salvador Freixedo, “ UFOs over the Caribbean,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 14 (April 1973): 9–10; Henry Cordova, “ Encounter in Puerto Rico,” IUR 25, no. 1 (Spring 2000): 20–21)
Early September — Just after midnight. Vasile Cărăbuş, a night watchman at an agricultural cooperative in Valea Plopului, Romania, sees a yellow star with a trail crossing the sky. It then hovers and appears to land in an orchard on the Odaia hill about 1 mile away. A couple days later, Cărăbuş and other locals visit the orchard and find a circular area 15 feet in diameter where all the stems are broken off about 3 feet from the ground. In the center of the circle is a mound of earth about 2 feet in diameter and 15 inches high. In the middle of this is a round hole at least 6 feet deep, around which are three identical impresions 4.5 feet apart. Hundreds of curious onlookers visit the site, among them engineer Justin Capră, who detects a substantial increase in gamma radiation in the center of the circle. Ufologist Călin Turcu notes that the vegetation on the mound of earth is completely absent for the next 4 years and frail after that. (Hobana and Weverbergh 276–279; Romania 34–35)
September — 8:00 p.m. While commuting home by train from nearby Debrecen, Hungary, workers see about 7 luminous, orange-colored ellipses floating high above Nyírábrány. The phenomena are still there as they are walking home from the train station. The lights are as bright as the full moon and remain in position in a formation of three rows. The spectacle lasts for 30 minutes. The display is seen for the next four evenings in a row in the same part of the sky west of the village. On the last night, one of the lights disappears but returns to the same position in the formation. (Karoli Hargitai, “ The UFO Phenomenon in Hungary,” IUR 14, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1989): 13)
September 10 — 12:45 p.m. Greengrocer Allan James is checking a load on his truck prior to descending from the top of a hill west of Georges Creek, New South Wales. He notices a huge, cigar- shaped object with smaller objects emerging from each end. They group into an arrowhead formation before moving southeast. The large object then climbs at a high rate of speed and disappears. The duration is about 10 minutes. (Eileen Buckle, “ Is Kempsey a UFO ‘Window’?” Flying Saucer Review 21, no. 6 (April 1975): 3–4; Herbert S. Taylor, “ Satellite Objects: A Further Look,” IUR 29, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 26)
September 14 — 4:20 a.m. An unidentified target is detected on radar at the Palm Beach (Florida) International Airport by FAA air traffic controller C. J. Fox. Fox describes the contact as a “good clear target.” The object is tracked for over an hour when at approximately 6:00 a.m., NORAD is alerted. Two F-106 jet fighters are dispatched from Homestead AFB [now Homestead Air Reserve Base] in Miami–Dade County to locate and identify the object. The UFO disappears from radar scopes shortly before the jets arrive. At the airport, FAA watch supervisor George Morales views the object through binoculars and describes it as silver-white in color and cigar-shaped. Officials at Miami International Airport, which also tracks the strange object, report no aircraft are known to be in the area where the UFO was spotted. (NICAP, “ Ground/Visual; Two 106’s Scrambled”)
September 14 — 4:00 p.m. David Owen is sitting on his patio in Bateau Bay, New South Wales, when he notices a distinct “red arrowhead” moving from southwest to northwest in a slow climb. After watching it for several minutes, he takes a color photo with his Instamatic, which shows a disc reflecting light. (“ Australian Arrowhead Photograph Reveals Unseen Possible UFO,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 2 (February 1981): 1–2)
September 14 - 8:00 p.m. A married couple in Houston, Missouri, watches an unusual bright object after their portable TV is disturbed by interference. It is larger than a star and persists for several minutes before it disappears in a burst of speed. At 3:00 a.m. they are awakened by their dogs barking at something in a nearby woods. They see a bright flash of light at ground level. The next morning, they find an evergreen tree about 300 feet from the house that is yellow on one side and normal-looking on the other. Next to it is a 20 feet x 14 feet oval area of depressed grass. In the center are three small imprints, each showing an extension or "toe." The imprints are about 2.5 inches long; one is 1.5 inches deep. A blackened area in the shape of a triangle is in the center of the imprints. (Ted Phillips, Physical Traces Associated with UFO Sightings, CUFOS, 1976, pp. xi, 86)
September 15 — 5:50 p.m. University of New England student Bill Chalker is crossing the campus of the Earle Page College in Armidale, New South Wales, when he joins two other students who are watching a silent, metallic, egg-shaped object moving north to south at the speed of an airplane. It is in view for 15 seconds before it is obscured by campus buildings. It has an apparent angular size at arm’s length of one inch. (Bill Chalker, “ Confronting UFOs and UAP: Remembering October 1973,” The OzFiles, October 22, 2023; Bill Chalker, “ ‘The Bill Chalker UFO Encounter: An Australian Researcher’s Sighting’: A Reality Check,” The OzFiles, May 24, 2024; Clark IV 914)
September 20 — 12:45 a.m. A man is driving near Rougemont, Quebec, when he sees a Saturn-shaped object about 100 feet in diameter moving with a pendulum motion toward Mont Rougemont. It climbs to the top of the hill and settles in for 4 minutes. He watches it increasingly brighten from a row of windows at the upper dome and glow pink on the bottom side. He flashes his lights at it, and it rises and dives at his car, passing just 30 feet above it. The engine stalls, the radio goes off, and the headlights dim. A wave of heat passes over him, then the UFO races away. (Philippe Blaquière, “ Le cas de Rougemont,” UFO-Quebec 1, no. 1 (1975): 4–6; Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979, pp. 144–146; Michael D. Swords, “ Messing Around with the Force,” IUR 31, no. 4 (Mar. 2008): 29)
September 21 — 5:40 a.m. Teodoro Merlo, maintenance man for the Ika-Renault factory in Santa Isabel, Córdoba, Argentina, is making early rounds at the plant. He enters a previously locked washroom and sees a man sitting on one of the basins who is nearly 8 feet tall and wearing a close-fitting, dark-blue, one-piece garment tight at the wrists. It has a bald head with high, pointed ears, and very white skin. As Merlo approaches, the light by the janitor goes out and a light near the entity goes on spontaneously. Merlo hears a noise like “a metal object striking glass,” and the entity disappears. (Oscar A. Galíndez, “ Argentina: Los fenómenos antropomorfos de Santa Isabel,” Stendek, no. 15 (December 1973): 15–30; Oscar A. Galíndez, “ The Anthropomorphic Phenomena at Santa Isabel, Part 1,” Flying Saucer Review 21, no. 2 (August 1975): 11–15; Oscar A. Galíndez, “ Argentina: The Anthropomorphic Phenomena of Santa Isabel,” Inexplicata, September 22, 2011)
September 25 — 1:00–1:30 a.m. Near Anderstorp, Sweden, a witness is driving his Opel at 25 mph when the car radio stops working. A couple minutes later, a very bright blue-white light appears behind the car, enveloping the entire vehicle in light at the same time as all electrical equipment in the car ceases to work. The headlights go out and the engine and wipers stop. The light persists for 5 minutes, and the temperature inside the car rises. Suddenly the light is gone, and the electrical system works again. The car starts at the same time as the witness smells a strong odor of ammonia or ether. The witness drives home quickly, terrified. (Herbert S. Taylor, “ An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part Two,” IUR 34, no. 1 (Sept. 2011): 19)
September 27 — 11:13 p.m. Enrique Moreno is delivering documents to the Ika-Renault factory in Santa Isabel, Cordoba, Argentina, when the fluorescent lights in the engineering room go on and off three times. There is an accompanying noise like that of a turbine lasting for several seconds. Driving his motor runabout outside the plant he briefly glimpses “a sort of rainbow very near the ground,” but thinks no further of it until he suddenly encounters a tall figure, glowing a bluish green, moving among a pile of chassis beside his route. As he approaches within 100 feet, the figure swings around, in a stiff mechanical way, to face him, and at the same time his engine falters then quits when he comes opposite the being. This humanoid figure, strongly built and about 7.5 feet tall, has eyes like yellow light bulbs, large pointed ears, a square chin, and a slit-like mouth. The face appears pale green, but this may be due to a reflection from the clothing, a one-piece, luminescent, bluish-green tight- fitting coverall with a broad silvery belt. Moreno feels an intolerable humming in his ears, a sensation of heat, and itching over his entire body. There is also the smell of burning oil. His arms and legs are paralyzed. After 30 seconds of this confrontation, his motorcycle shoots off to the left, seemingly under its own volition at high speed, and the witness is returned to the Security Office without his conscious control. He arrives there at 11:30 p.m., but his wristwatch has stopped at 11:13 p.m., leaving 15 minutes unaccounted for. Moreno is in a highly agitated state, and subsequently suffers nausea and pains in the neck, as well as a burning sensation in his eyes. At the encounter site, two rectangular “footprints’ 8 x 16 inches are found and the soil there is warm to the touch. Also at 11:30 p.m., A lady named Quiroga, who lives on the outskirts of the Ika-Renault factory, sees a luminous object that, by means of a “crystal tube” recovers a humanoid figure. At roughly the same time, Norberto Grosso, a houseowner in Barrio Colón (a suburb of Córdoba), is driving with his wife when he sees a luminous body rising up from the plant. He initially thinks that it is a radiosonde balloon, but he is struck by the speed at which it climbs into the sky, vanishing vertically “in fractions of seconds.” Around 12:00 midnight, many residents of Villa El Libertador (a suburb adjacent to the Santa Isabel plant) report seeing a luminous globe rising rapidly from the southeastern area of Córdoba, where the Ika-Renault plant is located. (Oscar A. Galíndez, “ Argentina: Los fenómenos antropomorfos de Santa Isabel,” Stendek, no. 15 (December 1973): 15–30; Oscar A. Galíndez, “ Los fenómenos antropomorfos de Santa Isabel, Nota I,” OVNIs, un desafío a la ciencia, no. 2 (July/Aug. 1974): 16– 21; Oscar A. Galíndez, “ Los fenómenos antropomorfos de Santa Isabel, Nota II,” OVNIs, un desafío a la ciencia, no. 3 (Sept./Oct. 1974): 21–27; Oscar A. Galíndez, “ Los fenómenos antropomorfos de Santa Isabel, Nota III,” OVNIs, un desafío a la ciencia, no. 4 (Nov./Dec. 1974): 24–27; Oscar A. Galíndez, “ The Anthropomorphic Phenomena at Santa Isabel, Part 2,” Flying Saucer Review 21, nos. 3–4 (November 1975): 16–21; Patrick Gross, “ URECAT: UFO Related Entities Catalog,” February 23, 2007; Oscar A. Galíndez, “ Argentina: The Anthropomorphic Phenomena of Santa Isabel,” Inexplicata, September 22, 2011)
October 8 — 12:00 midnight. Security guard John Byrne is patrolling Cairo Mill, an old factory at Waterhead, Lancashire, England, that has been converted to an electronics system testing facility for jet aircraft. Near the bicycle shed he hears a deep humming noise like a generator inside a closed room. The sound bores into his head. He looks up and sees a huge object parked at a height of 300 feet adjacent to the tower end of the mill. It resembles a glowing bell shape turned on end with the flat base vertical to the sheer wall of the tower. The object is giving off a blue, fluorescent glow that falls like a curtain of solid light. Byrne watches for several minutes until the object turns sharply on edge and moves straight up into the sky until it is only a blob of light. (Jenny Randles, “Beam Me Up,” Fortean Times 381 (July 2019): 30)
October 9 — 7:30 p.m. Ralph and Grace Clapp are driving along Middle Country Road near Selden, New York, when they see a bright white light. It is joined by a red and a green light. They continue driving, and around 7:55 p.m. at the top of a hill west of Coram, the white light hovers into view above the treetops to heir left. Grace sees rectangular windows and no wings on a triangular object that is at least 100 feet across and moving slowly and continuously through the sky. (“ Sighting Advisory,” UFO Investigator, December 1972, p. 3; “ Flyover Reported from Long Island,” UFO Investigator, February 1973, pp. 2, 4; Ted Bloecher and Sylvia Meagher, “ The Seldon UFO,” IUR 32, no. 2 (December 2008): 11–14; Michael Schratt, Dark Files, The Author, 2022, pp. 34–35)
October 23 — 6:30 p.m. Capt. Daryle Brown and two copilots are flying a Wardair airliner at 22,000 feet some 180 miles northwest of Churchill, Manitoba, when they see a bright streak of light approaching from the west. As it comes closer, it appears to be a bullet-shaped object larger than a Boeing 727 and adorned with a cluster of multicolored pulsating lights. Brown notifies the 15 passengers aboard and turns out the interior lights so they can see the object better. Almost a dozen portholes are visible, while red and yellow lights are flashing on the top. At the rear of the object is a fog-like cloud and orange sparks. It takes up a position about 2,500 feet in front of the jet and on the same flight path. The object shines a beam of light at the airplane, bathing it in light that is bright enough to read to, and stops in mid-air directly in front of the jet. Before Brown can take evasive action, it moves off to the right. A dense fog engulfs the object as it disappears in the distance. (Jeff Holt, “ Rencontre avec un UFO dans le Grand Nord Canadien,” UFO-Quebec, no. 9 (1977): 13–14; Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979, pp. 167–169)
October 28 - 10:15 p.m. Cpl. Juan Fuente Figueroa and four other Uruguayan Navy seamen are stationed at the lighthouse on Isla de Lobos, off Punta del Este, Uruguay. Fuentes goes to inspect the electrical generators and discovers some odd lights, which prompts him to retrieve a handgun from his room. When he returns, he notices an object in the shape of an inverted bowl with several white, yellow, and violet lights on top of a 20-foot terrace. An entity is next to the object and two others (one much taller) are descending from the UFO. They all notice Fuentes and face him from about 89 feet away. He raises his gun to shoot but feels strangely paralyzed and confused. The beings reenter the UFO, which moves straight up emitting a humming noise. When it reaches a height of 150 feet, it tilts, belches a bright fireball, and silently disappears at tremendous speed to the southeast. (Willy Smith, " Alien Encounter at Isla de Lobos, Uruguay, 10-28-1972," UFO Casebook; Willy Smith, "UFOs in Latin America," UFOs 1947-1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, pp. 106-109; Clark IV 686)
November 10 - 11:00 p.m. A 19-year-old is riding his Yamaha 250cc Twin motorcycle near Heathfield, East Sussex, England, when suddenly the headlights dim and go out and the engine fails, emitting an "electrical arcing" odor. He looks up and sees a white blob about 100 feet away hovering above some trees. It is about 60 feet high, 30-40 feet in diameter, and glowing white but fuzzy in appearance. After a few seconds it zooms away at about 100 mph in a straight line and is lost to sight. The motorcycle starts by itself. (Mark Rodeghier, UFO Reports Involving Vehicle Interference, CUFOS, 1981, p. 55)
November 11 — Shortly after 12:00 noon. A group of children in Mesa, Arizona, notice a strange object hovering in the sky while playing in a garden. A neighbor, Lee Elders, observes the object for an extended period and takes several photographs. The object remains visible for so long that some witnesses eventually leave to watch a football game on TV. The object is later identified as a tethered helium balloon sold by Edmund Scientific Company. (Wendelle C. Stevens, “ Domed Cone UFOs,” APRO Bulletin 26, no. 1 (July 1977): 1, 3–4; Wendelle Stevens, “ 1972 Mesa UFO Sighting,” OpenMinds, May 3, 2011; Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos, “ UFO Photographs: Portraits of a Myth?” p. 41; Curt Collins, “ The Two Arizona UFOs and Lester Bannick,” The Saucers That Time Forgot, December 8, 2022)
November 12 — 8:00 p.m. Three soldiers (Petrus Nel, Fanie Rosseau, and Gerrie Buitendag) are guarding a petrol dump at Rosmead, East Cape, South Africa, when they see a red light moving in circles above the tennis court adjacent to the primary school. At nearby Middelburg police station, Sgt. John Goosen and Constable Koos Brazelle are looking towards Rosmead with binoculars and see an odd light above the town. School Principal Harold Truter sees the light moving vertically up from his home near the tennis court. The tennis court is found churned up with huge chunks of surface tar dug up, so he calls the Middelburg police about it. Goosen and Brazelle respond. There are 5 holes in the court, the largest 10 feet in diameter. Two spike holes are also found. The only entrances to the court are still locked up and there are no vehicle tracks inside or outside. A eucalyptus tree at the end of the court has suddenly begun to die and appears scorched. District Police Commandant Col. B. J. van Heerden unsuccessfully tries to duplicate the damage with shovels. (Charles Bowen, “ Landings and Humanoids Reported in Cape Province,” Flying Saucer Review 19, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1973): 12–14; “ The Case of the Damaged Tennis Court,” APRO Bulletin 21, no. 4 (Jan./Feb. 1973): 6–8; Jenny Randles, UFO Conspiracy, Cassell, 1987, pp. 100–101)
November 13 — Two witnesses watch an unknown aircraft maneuver along Sognefjord, Vestland, Norway. Thirty Norwegian Navy vessels, plus NATO forces, are already investigating a mystery submarine reported in the fjord. The same night, four other witnesses observe a “bright object” on the water. (Ole Jonny Brænne, “ Observations of Unidentified Submarine Objects in Norway,” IUR 20, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1995): 13)
November 17 — 8:50 p.m. Two RCMP officers see an object 12 feet in length heading northwest near McIvers on the Bay of Islands, Newfoundland. It disappears in the water with a loud splash. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, p. 102)
November 20 — 1:00 p.m. An unidentified submerged object is seen near Kyrkjebø, on Sognefjord, Norway, as it heads away from Mårenlandet toward the fjord’s southern end. Around 1:15 p.m., it is seen by five police officers on Kvamsøy. Norwegian Navy frigates drop mines on the object. (Ole Jonny Brænne, “ Observations of Unidentified Submarine Objects in Norway,” IUR 20, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1995): 13)
November 21 — Night. Four witnesses see four rockets shooting up from the water at Hermansverk, Vestland, Norway. They are silent and resemble small red balls of light. They are also seen the following day, and the Norwegian Navy fires an antisubmarine missile at the intruders. (Ole Jonny Brænne, “ Observations of Unidentified Submarine Objects in Norway,” IUR 20, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1995): 13)
November 28 — 2:00 p.m. A witness at Glenelg, Adelaide, South Australia, sees lengths of glistening material wrapped around a signpost and on looking up sees that more is falling from the sky. He collects a small sample of the thickest section, but the strands dissolve in his fingers. (Keith Basterfield, “ Angel Hair: An Australian Perspective,” IUR 27, no. 1 (Spring 2002): 7)
November 30 — 11:15 p.m. A motor mechanic named Maxwell is out testing his vehicle in Murray Bridge, South Australia, when the engine dies and lights go out as he is coming over a rise in the road. The lights come back on but vary in intensity several times. He decides to stop the car. To his left he sees a “diamond shape with the top cut off” noiselessly sitting on the ground 148 feet away in a paddock. His car radio starts making a noise like a “computer on TV,” a constant rhythm. He tries the ignition key but nothing happens, not even the oil light comes on. He tries the wipers and the electric air horn but they do not work either. He locks all the doors and winds up the windows and just sits there for the next 45 minutes. After this time the object leaves, and he finds he can restart the car. An inspection of the vehicle the next day reveals no cause for the electrical problems. (Herbert S. Taylor, “ An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part Two,” IUR 34, no. 1 (Sept. 2011): 19–20)
December — Night. Romanian Air Force pilot and writer Lt. Col. Doru Davidovici is at an unnamed military base in Romania when he sees an oval UFO flying parallel to the ridge of a roof. It traverses 50°–60° of horizon in 45–50 seconds and disappears among some trees. It is egg-shaped, a white-violet color as if wrapped in a cloud of bright light, and leaves a long trail behind, but it changes to red-orange before disappearing. Radar at the base tracks the object flying north to south at 3,700 mph at a height of 43 miles. (Romania 103)
December 3 — 11:30 p.m. Four witnesses in Hinojos, Huelva, Spain, see a fiery, square-shaped object flying close to the ground, lighting up the terrain. The headlights in two cars die. The car with a gasoline- powered engine also stalls, but the car with the diesel engine keeps running. (Herbert S. Taylor, “ An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part Two,” IUR 34, no. 1 (Sept. 2011): 20)
December 13 — 7:04 p.m. Fritz Abbehusen is watching TV in Dias d’Ávila, Bahia, Brazil, when his set experiences some interference. He goes out on the porch and sees a huge, round luminous object descending to a hill approximately 3 miles from his home. After a while, he goes to get binoculars, and with these he can see that the luminous shape is hovering a several feet above the ground. Its lower part is glowing like a neon light, while the upper part has a row of orange-red portholes. His wife Margarida and servant join him to look at the display. Suddenly, three blinking lights emerge from the object. One of these lights slowly moves in the direction of his house. After 15 minutes, the moving light has arrived within 165 feet in back of the house. Three small beings emerge from it, wearing what appears to be a one-piece suit of whitish or light-gray color. The beings keep their elbows close to the body when walking, as if on tiptoe, raising their knees exaggeratedly at each step. They go away, but the big object remains on the hill until around midnight. At one time it emits a beam that sets the brush on fire. (Center for UFO Studies, HUMCAT Index 1972, p. 58; Patrick Gross, “ Dias d’Ávila, Brazil, December 13, 1972”)
December 24 — 3:00 a.m. The Romanian ship Moldoveanu is in the Labrador Sea off Labrador, Canada, when the crew notices a shiny object headed at high speed straight toward their vessel and flying low over the waves. It stops above the ship, changing its shape and color. After an hour, it shoots into the sky and disappears. (Hobana and Weverbergh 279)
December 24 — 9:40 a.m. L. J. Reeves is stationed at the PIN-1 Distant Early Warning site at Clinton Point, Northwest Territories, on the Amundsen Gulf. He sees an object like a bright star that moves west to east, stops, then continues on and fades into the distance after 5 minutes. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, p.73)
December 30 - A man driving on the A4155 from Henley to High Wycombe, England, rounds a bend and sees an object resembling a vertical cone. What seem to be fluorescent strip lights run down the side, and it emits an intense, high-pitched whistle. The next thing he knows, he is driving through Marlowe in total silence with no memory of how he got there. Some 90 minutes have vanished from his memory. (Jenny Randles, "The Twelve UFOs of Christmas," Fortean Times 374 (Christmas 2018): 29)
December 30 — 10:20 p.m. Ventura Maceiras, 73, is sitting by a fire next to the wooden shack where he lives in Tres Arroyos, Buenos Aires province, Argentina. He hears a loud noise like angry bees coming from directly overhead and he sees a red-orange object, 65–82 feet in diameter, flooding the area with a powerful light. In the top is a spherical cabin with two windows and inside is a being, visible from the waist upward, wearing gray clothing made of cylinders joined together. The object tilts down toward him and he notices a second occupant looking over the shoulder of the first one. In another window is an emblem or banner with a crowned seahorse and several symbols. A flash of light temporarily blinds Maceiras, engulfing one of his cats (which disappears for 48 days), and the object starts turning blue-green, moves forward, and descends so it is only about 15 feet above the ground. Then it speeds away to the northeast, leaving a strong smell of sulfur. The observation is only 20 seconds. Most of the tops of nearby trees are scorched or burnt. Three or four hours later, Maceiras has a severe headache that persists for 2 weeks. He also develops diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, which lasts for 4 days, as well as other odd medical symptoms. By February 10, Maceiras claims that four new teeth are appearing in his gums. He also develops some psychic abilities and claims another visitation by the occupants. (Pedro Romaniuk, “ Rejuvenation Follows Close Encounter with UFO,” Flying Saucer Review 19, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1973): 10–14; Pedro Romaniuk, “ The Extraordinary Case of Rejuvenation,” Flying Saucer Review 19, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1973): 14–15)
1973
NORAD now has infrared sensor satellites covering 100% of the earth's surface from geostationary orbits on a 24-hour basis. (Clark III 807; Clark IV 899)
January 28 - 6:35 p.m. Seven schoolchildren watch a domed, semicircular object as it hovers above a pond near Knights Grange farm in Winsford, Cheshire, England. (" Schoolgirls Spot Mystery in Sky," Manchester (UK) Evening News, February 8, 1973, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 48 (April 1973): 13)
Early January — 3:30 a.m. A family on holiday is driving along the Princes Highway near Sussex Inlet, New South Wales. The mother draws the attention of the others to a light ahead of them, which seems to move to the left then approach their car. It then reverses direction and takes up a parallel position in the direction they are driving for the next 15 miles. It seems very large and flying close to the ground. It now seems to be disc shaped with two red searchlights beneath it and a row of portholes. One of the witnesses, an army officer, sees some figures through the portholes. At a point near the turnoff to HMAS Albatross naval base at Nowra, the object suddenly vanishes, instantly relocating to a high altitude. It then moves in a large arc around Nowra and then heads out to sea, where it is lost to sight. Later that morning, one of the group investigates a disturbance at their campsite at Shoalhaven Heads. She joins a large number of holidaying campers at the ocean edge. The disturbance is apparently due to a number of helicopters passing low over the campsite, heading out to sea. She observes the helicopters above a fiery mass in the water. She thinks that this object is UFO-related and that the helicopters are involved in an attempted retrieval. They report the sighting to HMAS Albatross and are told that the base radar had been affected by the UFIO during the incident. (Bill Chalker, “ The Great USO Show of Oz,” TheOzFiles, August 26, 2022; Bill Chalker, “ The Rising USO Tide,” TheOzFiles, October 25, 2024)
January 1? — After 12:00 midnight. A married couple is driving in Osorno, Chile, when their car stalls just as a disc-shaped object with flashing red and green lights flies overhead. The engine comes to life again after the object disappears. (“ Shape-Changing UFO Stops Car,” Flying Saucer Review 19, no. 3 (May/June 1973): 29)
January 11 — 9:00 a.m. Building surveyor Peter Day is driving near Cuddington, Bucks, England, when he sees an orange light in the north, moving eastwards. He finds a convenient place to stop, wind down the window, and point his movie camera at the object. He captures 20 seconds of the orange blob on color film as it pulsates and passes behind distant trees before disappearing suddenly (in a single frame). A schoolyard full of children in nearby Chilton also see the silent, orange object, and one of the teachers, driving to school near Ickford, also sees the object “like a giant beachball in the sky.” Kodak laboratories in Hemel Hempstead examine the film and they declare is has not been tampered with. Kodak then brings together some atmospheric scientists to determine whether the object is ball lightning; they conclude it is not, but they do not know what it is. (Jenny Randles, UFO Conspiracy, Cassell, 1987, pp. 160–161; Jenny Randles, Fire in the Sky: Case History Number 2, The Buckinghamshire UFO Movie Film, BUFORA, 1989)
January 19 — 11:25 p.m. A young man is traveling south on State Highway 18 about 13 miles south of Gaffney, South Carolina, when he sees some flashing colored lights in the road ahead. Moving closer, he sees the lights are on a domed disc sitting in the middle of the road and surrounded by a dozen men, each wearing white coveralls with buttons, buckles, and belts. Each has jet black hair and white gloves. The figures seem to waver, as if through a haze of heat. The object is about 15 feet wide, supported by three legs or struts, and glowing a dark yellow. A ladder extends from a door at the bottom, which is curved like a plate. The flashing multicolored lights are arranged in a band at the base of the dome. The youth turns left on a secondary road and drives away. (“ Youth Claims ‘Saucer’ Landed on Highway 18,” Gaffney (S.C.) Ledger, January 26, 1973, pp. 1–2)
January 28 — 6:35 p.m. Seven schoolchildren watch a domed, semicircular object as it hovers above a pond near Knights Grange farm in Winsford, Cheshire, England. (“ Schoolgirls Spot Mystery in Sky,” Manchester (UK) Evening News, February 8, 1973, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 48 (April 1973): 13)
January 30 — After 9:00 p.m. APRO Field Investigator Bill Rogers is driving in Lexington, Alabama, with two companions to look into UFO sightings in the area. Along State Highway 101, he sees a yellow-orange-to-white light moving slowly at treetop level a mile to his right. They get out of the car and study the light with binoculars. After one minute, the light moves up about 40 feet and they see it has an ellipsoidal shape. It then descends as if to land, and the three return to the car and head toward the UFO, which moves behind a hill. One second later it becomes visible again, and Rogers’s Geiger counter gives a reading of 400 volts and 250 milliroentgens. When it goes back behind the hill, the Geiger counter reading goes back to normal. This sequence repeats several times with the same readings. The fifth time the object descends, the glow goes out. (“ Flap in Alabama,” APRO Bulletin, January/February 1973, pp. 11–12)
February 2 — 3:02 p.m. Captain Peter Telling is flying a Grand Commander aircraft at 10,000 feet near the radio beacon near Ōhura, North Island, New Zealand, when he thinks he has a fire in the starboard engine. He is assessing the situation when a sphere of intense bluish-white light more than 20 feet in diameter appears about 90 feet away, its brilliant light illuminating the cockpit. The brightness of the light is “much like a welding arc.” The object paces his plane for 20–25 seconds, then accelerates and speeds away. While the UFO is near the aircraft, its automatic direction finder and both the gyroscopic and magnetic compasses spin wildly at a speed of about 12 rpm. All directional equipment remains nonfunctional until the plane passes near Whanganui. (NICAP, “ Sphere Illuminates Cabin, Instruments Malfunction”; UFOEv II 131–132; Richard F. Haines and Dominique F. Weinstein, A Preliminary Study of Fifty Seven Pilot Sighting Reports Involving Alleged Electro-Magnetic Effects on Aircraft Systems, NARCAP Technical Report no. 3, April 5, 2001, p. 25)
February 8 — 4:45 p.m. Richard Coimbra and Kurt Huettner, both 15, are taking Polaroid photographs for a class project in Conejo, California, when they notice a rotating disc-shaped object that remains visible for 30 seconds until it disappears behind trees and clouds. They estimate it is about 88 feet up and one-half to three-quarters of a mile away. They obtain one exposure, which shows a tree line in the foreground. The images measures almost exactly two millimeters in width. It shows an apparent domed disc with a bright spot of light on the underside, with a ratio of 4:1 of length to width. Analysis suggests that the object is no less than 1,000 feet from the camera, at which distance its diameter would be 18 feet; however, a distance of 2,000 feet is considered more likely, and the diameter would then be 36 feet. (“ They Did Indeed See Something,” Thousand Oaks (Calif.) News-Chronicle, March 20, 1973, p. 5; “ Conejo Photo Similar to Others,” Skylook, no. 78 (May 1974): 1, 6–7; UFOEv II 291–292)
February 9 — 3:00 a.m. Jim Sutcliffe is driving along the A414 road between Hemel Hempstead and St. Albans, England, when he sees a large, glowing ball hovering 20–30 feet above a field about 300 feet to one side of the road. Other cars have stopped to watch the object. Suddenly it shoots straight up and vanishes. Another witness’s car engine cuts out as he approaches the area but starts again after the object departs. (“ Thing in the Night Mystifies Drivers,” Watford (UK) Evening Echo, February 12, 1973, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 48 (April 1973): 15; “ Landing in Hertfordshire?” Flying Saucer Review 19, no. 2 (March/April 1973): 32)
February 14 — 2:30 a.m. Captain Jim Wheeler and copilot Jerry Maria are flying an unscheduled DC-8 charter cargo flight about 40 miles east of McAlester, Oklahoma, when Maria notices what he first thinks is another aircraft just below the leading edge of the right wing about 5,000 feet away. The object is on the same course and speed, keeping a constant position. Only its steady amber light seems unconventional. Suddenly the object rises straight up like an elevator, makes a sharp turn, and approaches the plane, taking up a position about 900 feet away and slightly above them. It is disc-shaped with a transparent dome on top, its silvery, highly polished surface reflecting the moonlight. Besides some stubby protrusions, no other features are visible. Wheeler switches on the weather radar, and it confirms that something real and solid is there. When the radar beam hits its surface, the object reacts immediately, ascending straight up, then moving sideways over the DC-8 and briefly out of sight. The object reappears quickly, descending straight down and taking up a new position just below the leading edge of the left wing. It then drops below and behind the plane, abruptly reappearing only about 300 feet below them. Looking down into the dimly lit dome, the pilots see two or three shadowy entities moving around. The object then darts out in front and performs various oscillatory motions and another sharp turn before speeding out of sight. It disappears off the radar scope at a distance of 50 miles. (Raymond E. Fowler, Casebook of a UFO Investigator, 1981, pp. 183–185; UFOEv II 132)
February 19 - President Richard Nixon meets on the 18th green of the Inverness (Florida) Golf and Country Club with entertainer Jackie Gleason. Gleason has long been a fan of UFOs. He later becomes a subscriber to the newsletter Just Cause (Citizens Against UFO Secrecy). Gleason has a collection of 1,700 books on parapsychology, UFOs, and the unknown. Gleason's second wife, Beverly McKittrick, says that Nixon took Gleason to a heavily secured area at Homestead AFB [now Homestead Air Reserve Base] in Miami-Dade County where he views the remains of small aliens in a top secret repository. McKittrick relates this story in an unpublished manuscript of Gleason called "The Great One." Larry Bryant, editor of Just Cause, the newsletter Gleason had a subscription to, files a Freedom of Information Act request with Homestead AFB. Bryant requests documentation on the repository and Gleason's visit there to see the alien bodies. Homestead replies that "no such records existed." Bryant also sends an advertisement to the Homestead AFB newspaper soliciting information. The public affairs officer at Homestead denounces the Bryant advertisement and "forbade its publication." At the same time Bryant writes Gleason providing him with a draft affidavit. He asks Gleason to execute the affidavit so it can be used as part of a growing accumulation of evidence Bryant is collecting in preparation for taking the government to court to release all information on alien crash retrievals. Gleason does not reply. Shortly before his death in 1987, one story says Gleason confirms the story about seeing the bodies at Homestead. The person who Jackie Gleason tells the story to is Larry Warren, who is a member of the Air Force Security Police at RAF Bentwaters [now closed] near Woodbridge, Suffolk, one of two bases in England where in late December 1980, three days of bizarre UFO incidents take place. Warren says that Gleason and Nixon enter a room with 6-8 glass-topped freezers. Inside "were the mangled remains of what I took to be children." On closer inspection, he sees that some of the figures look old and injured. Gleason cannot sleep or eat for three weeks after the visit. The director of the Secret Service under President Clinton, Lewis C. Merletti, claims that the idea of a president escaping his secret service agents only happens in the movies. In response to a question by reporter Joan London about the possibility of the president escaping his protection to go out and secretly do something, Merletti claims, "all Hollywood. There's no sneaking out. It has never happened." Marty Venker, a Secret Service agent who worked with Merletti under Presidents Ford and Carter, however, tells a different story. In his book Confessions of an Ex-Secret Service Agent he explains that not only can the president disappear, but it has happened. Venker states that in the exact year of the Homestead incident with Gleason, 1973, Nixon tries to cut his secret service protection. Venker also states that it was not uncommon for Nixon to try to elude his Secret Service detail. The agents working on the Nixon presidential detail were warned about it. Nixon is familiar with Homestead AFB, which is only minutes from his Biscayne Bay compound. There is no proof that Nixon escorted Jackie Gleason to view alien bodies at Homestead, but everything checked out indicates it could very well have happened. It would have been very easy in terms of distance for the Gleason/Nixon alien event to have occurred. However, it is perhaps more likely that Gleason had been sneaking out on McKittrick for a liaison. (presidentialufo.com, " President Nixon, 37th President, January 20, 1969-August 9, 1974"; Beverly Gleason, "Jackie Gleason Saw Bodies of Space Aliens at Air Force Base," National Enquirer, August 16, 1983; Brian J. Robb, " The Entertainer, the President, and the Aliens," Fortean Times 366 (May 2018): 30-36; Curt Collins, " The Legend of the President and the Alien Bodies," The Saucers That Time Forgot, April 27, 2023; " Dead Alien Bodies and UFO Debris Allegedly Were Shown to Jackie Gleason at Homestead AFB in 1973," Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, March 2, 2025)
February 21 - Night. Clearwater High School basketball coach Reggie Bone and five players on his team are driving back to Clearwater after a game. On US Highway 60 near Ellsinore, Missouri, Bone notices a "bright shaft of light beaming down out of the sky." A few miles later, near Brushy Creek, student Randal Holmes notices another light, and Bone pulls over for a closer look. They see lights about 600 feet away from the road hovering over an open field at about 400 feet altitude. The lights seem to be portholes, each a different color: red, green, amber, and white. According to student Cary Barks, they watch it for 10 minutes before the lights rise up noiselessly and disappear over a hill. Around 10:00 p.m., Edith Boatwright of nearby Mill Spring sees a similar object flying low near her farmhouse. (" Mysterious Lights Keep Piedmont in the Dark," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 23, 1973, p. 1; Ed Wilks, " Whole Flock of 'em Flew Over Again," St. Louis (Mo.) Post-Dispatch, April 1, 1973, pp. 1F, 10-11F; " The Piedmont, Missouri Mess," APRO Bulletin 21, no. 5 (March/April 1973): 1, 3-4; Walt Andrus, " My Personal Evaluation of the Piedmont UFO Sightings," Skylook, no. 66 (May 1973): 3-4, 6; MUFON, " Piedmont Missouri Case, 1973"; Hayden C. Hewes, Earthprobe, The Author, July 1973, pp. 6-7; " The Missouri UFO Flap," Caveat Emptor 3, no. 1 (Sept./Oct. 1973): 30-32; Jerome Clark, "The Brushy Creek UFO Scare," Fate 27, no. 5 (May 1974): 96-106; Harley D. Rutledge, Project Identification: The First Scientific Field Study of UFO Phenomena, Prentice-Hall, 1981, pp. 6-7; Marler 15-16)
March 20 — 7:15 p.m. Lucie Vandervoort is looking out a window of her house in Tarcienne, Belgium, when she sees a bright light approaching. It passes over the roof of a nearby house, then banks, makes a 90° turn, and begins to blink as it disappears to the east. Similar objects appear every 10 minutes, continuing until 9:15 p.m. The objects’ slow speed allows her to take photos. At one point she looks through her late husband’s World War I trench periscope and sees a humanoid figure dressed in shiny, tight-fitting clothes and standing in the front of one of the objects. Only one photo turns out and shows a squarish light against a dark sky. Analysis suggests that the objects were probably aircraft taking off from the military base at Florennes a few miles away, the humanoid figure was imaginary, and the photo was a blurry streetlight. (Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos and Wim van Utrecht, Belgium in UFO Photographs, Volume 1 (1950–1988), FOTOCAT Report no. 7, 2017, pp.172–183)
March 21 — 9:00 p.m. Jean Coleman and Cathy Leach are driving across the dam at Clearwater Lake, Missouri, when an object with a reddish glow surfaces from the lake. It is disc-shaped and rises silently, soaring over a mountaintop. (“ Mysterious Lights Keep Piedmont in the Dark,” St. Louis (Mo.) Post-Dispatch, March 23, 1973, pp. 1, 12; Ed Wilks, “ Whole Flock of ’em Flew Over Again,” St. Louis (Mo.) Post-Dispatch, April 1, 1973, pp. 1F, 10–11F; Hayden C. Hewes, “ International Dateline,” Canadian UFO Report 2, no. 7 (1973): 19–20; Jerome Clark, “ The Brushy Creek UFO Scare,” Fate 27, no. 5 (May 1974): 96, 101–102)
March 27 - 12:15 a.m. A man is driving south on Interstate 95 after finishing work at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, when he notices a round, orange-red glowing object flying parallel to his car, about 200-300 feet in the air. Maintaining a speed of 55 mph, he sees the object keeping pace with him. Suspecting it might be a reflection in his windshield, he stops his car and steps out. The object halts ahead of him, pulsing silently. Hearing no sound, he gets back into his car and resumes driving. The object continues alongside him for another 15 miles before suddenly veering off and flying west near the State Highway 138 Kingston interchange. (" Flap over Rhode Island," APRO Bulletin 21, no. 6 (May/June 1973): 9; Richard F. Haines, CE-5: Close Encounters of the Fifth Kind, Sourcebooks, 1998, p. 301)
March 27 — 10:20 p.m. Over Highway 21 in Waltham, Massachusetts, a mushroom or jellyfish- shaped object glows white as it hovers and dims, leaving behind blinking white lights. It then streaks away and disappears within seconds. (Raymond Fowler, UFOs: Interplanetary Visitors, Bantam, 1979, p. 357)
March 28 — 7:00 p.m. Two witnesses see an object with a rough triangular shape hovering at about 200 feet above trees on Stony Lane in Exeter, Rhode Island. It glows with brilliant white lights and has smaller green and red lights at the points of the triangle. The object makes a slight buzzing sound as it moves away. (“ Flap over Rhode Island,” APRO Bulletin 21, no. 6 (May/June 1973): 9)
April — Southeast Missouri State University physics professor Harley Rutledge hears of numerous reports of unidentified lights in the sky around Piedmont, Missouri, and decides to subject these reports to scientific analysis. He puts together a large team of observers (the main participants are electronics engineer James Sage, astronomer Milton Ueleke, and several students) with college training in the physical sciences, including a large array of equipment at 158 different viewing stations: binoculars, RF spectrum analyzers, Questar telescopes, low-high frequency audio detectors, an electromagnetic frequency analyzer, cameras, sound recorders, Geiger counters, and a galvanometer to measure variations in the Earth’s gravitational field. The resulting Project Identification commences in April, logging several hundred hours of observation time and 157 documented sightings over the next seven years. This is the first UFO scientific field study, able to monitor the phenomena in real-time, enabling Rutledge to calculate the objects’ actual velocity, course, position, distance, and size. Observation of the unclouded night sky often reveals “pseudostars”—stationary lights camouflaged by familiar constellations. Some objects appear to mimic the appearance of known aircraft; others violate the laws of physics. The most startling discovery is that on at least 32 recorded occasions, the movement of the lights synchronize with actions of the observers. They appear to respond to a light being switched on and off, and to verbal or radio messages. Rutledge publishes a final report, Project Identification, on his field research in 1981. (Margaret Sachs, The UFO Encyclopedia, Putnam, 1980, p. 249; Harley D. Rutledge, Project Identification: The First Scientific Field Study of UFO Phenomena, Prentice-Hall, 1981; Mark Rodeghier, “ Book Review: Project Identification,” IUR 7, no. 1 (January 1982): 14–16; Greg Little, “ Why Do Ufologists Largely Ignore the Most Scientific Field Study of UFOs Ever Conducted?” Alternate Perceptions, no. 146 (March 2010); Powell, Scientist, 59–61)
April 9 — Physicist Peter A. Sturrock mails questionnaires to all 1,175 members of the San Francisco, California, Chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics asking their opinions on the UFO phenomenon. He receives 423 responses from scientists who have seen things they thought could be UFOs. (Peter A. Sturrock, “ UFO Reports from AIAA Members,” Astronautics and Aeronautics 12 (May 1974): 60–64)
April 10 - 9:00 p.m. Anne Marie DeBlasi is driving west on US Highway 1 near South Kingstown, Rhode Island, when she notices an orange-red object moving slowly from the north. About one mile further down the road, it passes directly above her car, and the lights and ignition begin to falter. It then flies off to the west low over the trees. It now seems to be a full 42 feet wide, yellowish-orange with a green vapor or haze around it. (" Flap over Rhode Island," APRO Bulletin 21, no. 6 (May/ June 1973): 9)
April 22 — 10:00 p.m. Antonio Pérez Cumbre, 19, is driving on the A-432 road north of Cazalla de la Sierra, Seville, Spain, when he sees a row of four round yellow lights on the other side of a ravine about 980 feet ahead. The two lights on the left are about 3 feet in diameter, about twice the size of the two on the right. He stops and flashes his headlights, and suddenly one of the larger lights generates a bright-violet stripe of light. Pérez turns his car around to flee, but the lights silently pass him on the left. At this point the motor of his SEAT 600 fails. The motor starts again when the lights are completely gone. Later, he sees the lights again hovering 33 feet above the road, and he drives right under them. Still later, he encounters the lights only 3 feet above the road. As he approaches, his headlights seem to be absorbed and do not stretch any further than the object. Pérez accelerates and tries to ram the lights, but when he gets about 80 feet away from them, the object moves rapidly away across the valley to the east-northeast. A couple of days later, two yellow burn marks 30 feet apart are found on the ground where the lights were first seen. (Phénomènes Spatiaux 37 (September 1973): 22–27; Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos, A Catalogue of 200 Type-I UFO Events in Spain and Portugal, CUFOS, 1976, pp. 40–41)
April 27 — Ingo Swann, in a remote-viewing experiment at Stanford Research Institute, concentrates on the Pioneer 10 space probe on its way to Jupiter. Monitored by Harold Puthoff and Russell Targ, Swann yields 13 specific factors about Jupiter, none of which are scientifically anticipated—including the existence of a planetary ring. (Wikipedia, “ Ingo Swann”; Ingo Swann, Penetration: The Question of Extraterrestrial and Human Telepathy, Ingo Swann Books, 1998, pp. 18–23)
April 30 — Night. Four teenagers—Alan Wilcox, Ian Hudson, Patricia Flanagan, and Sue Yabsley—are driving south along the South West Rocks Road between Kinchela and Gladstone, New South Wales, Australia, when they notice an egg-shaped yellow and green object descending swiftly from the sky and disappearing behind some trees. After driving another 600 feet, Yabsley sees a distant glow in a paddock about one mile to the east. Wilcox turns the car around and returns to get a better look, but the headlights black out momentarily. They can see the object, about 3 feet above the ground; it now looks helmet-shaped and is changing colors. They watch it for 5 minutes, then go back to the road and drive home. (Eileen Buckle, “ Is Kempsey a UFO ‘Window’?” Flying Saucer Review 21, no. 6 (April 1976): 4)
May — A series of meetings takes place between USAF representatives (Col. William T. Coleman and Col. George Weinbrenner) and two well-connected Hollywood figures: documentarist Robert Emenegger and producer Allan Sandler. The colonels encourage the pair to make a documentary on the UFO phenomenon and the question of extraterrestrial life. Not only will they have the military’s full cooperation, they will also have access to their files, including those of the Department of Defense. Upon arriving at Norton Air Force Base [now San Bernardino, California, International Airport] the two men are immediately taken to a “clean room used by the CIA,” designed so that “there was no way anyone could eavesdrop” on events taking place inside. Here the proposal takes place, including the promise of using 3,200 feet of a May 1971 UFO landing footage at Holloman AFB, New Mexico, that shows several of the “alien visitors” and their meeting with the representatives from the US government. Paul Shartle, chief of requirements for the Norton AFB audiovisual program, promises to get the Holloman footage. Emenegger is told that the military is monitoring signals from an alien group that their extraterrestrial visitors know nothing about. At the last minute, permission to use the film is withdrawn, though Emenegger and Sandler are encouraged to describe the Holloman landing as something that might happen in the future or could have happened. Emenegger goes to Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio to talk to Weinbrenner, who while haranguing about the need to find out about Soviet Mig-25s, hands Emenegger a signed copy of Hynek’s The UFO Experience. (presidentialufo.com, “ Disclosure Pattern 1972–75”; Linda Moulton Howe, An Alien Harvest: Further Evidence Linking Animal Mutilations and Human Abductions to Alien Life Forms, Howe Productions, 2d ed., 2014, pp. 137–139; Clark III 357; Clark IV 401)
May - Night. Judy Doraty and her family encounters a UFO along a road near Houston, Texas. She undergoes a period of missing time, and later she is plagued with anxieties, fears, and headaches. In 1978, she undergoes hypnosis and comes to believe she has hidden memories of the encounter. In sessions with R. Leo Sprinkle, she remembers seeing, while in an out-of-body state, two gray-skinned aliens cutting up a squirming calf inside the UFO. (Linda Moulton Howe, An Alien Harvest: Further Evidence Linking Animal Mutilations and Human Abductions to Alien Life Forms, Howe Productions, 2d ed., 2014, pp. 50-61; Clark III 136; Clark IV 163)
May 18 — Two men at Miliscola Beach, Bacoli, Naples, Italy, see a bright disc with a dome 165 feet away over the sea. It hovers at a height of 10 feet and then moves closer. Their car engine and lights fail. The dome is bright like a white neon light, and a red light is rotating around it. After 3–4 minutes, the object lifts off and the car can be restarted. (Herbert S. Taylor, “ An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part Two,” IUR 34, no. 1 (Sept. 2011): 20)
May 18–19 — A blue, cylindrical-shaped UFO makes two low passes over Springfield, Missouri, around 9:00 p.m. 19-year-old Susan Lederer sees the object traveling east to west with lights on all sides; it disappears after a minute. Later, at 12:10 a.m., Steve Potter spots the fast-moving object overhead while driving near Battlefield and Fremont, heading northwest. (“ Low-Flying UFO Sighted by Two,” Springfield (Mo.) Sunday News and Leader, May 20, 1973, p. A30)
May 22 — 3:00 a.m. Onilson Pátero, an organizer of public libraries for the State of São Paulo, Brazil, is just outside Catanduva, after giving a ride to a stranger. First his car radio gets static and the engine begins to fail. Suddenly he notices a blue circle of light about 8 inches in diameter moving around inside his car. It passes in front of the dashboard and he sees it is transparent. Then a beam of blue light shines on him from the top of the hill he is driving up. He pulls over to avoid a collision, but the light keeps coming toward him. Overcome by a sensation of heat and stuffiness, he steps out of the car and hears a buzzing noise. The UFO is a gray structure about 25 feet thick and 36 feet wide, resembling two soup plates attached rim to rim. A tube stretches out from its base toward the ground. Pátero panics and runs about 100 feet when something holds him back. Turning, he sees that a rod of blue light from the UFO is moving above his car. The light seems to make the car transparent, allowing him to see the contents of the trunk, the wheel gears, the engine, and the interior of the body. Pátero faints. An hour later, two young men drive by and see him lying on the ground in gushing rainwater. They speed on into Catanduva and return with a policeman, Clóvis Queiros. Turning Pátero over, he regains consciousness and they take him to the hospital, where he is soon released. However, the next day he feels an itchiness on his back and stomach. Irritated patches of his skin turn purplish blue. Later, these spots turn yellow and eventually disappear. Subsequent medical examinations show no cause for the discoloration, and Pátero seems in good mental health. He experiences another encounter on April 26, which some investigators think might be a fantasy. (“ Close Encounter in Brazil,” APRO Bulletin 21, no. 6 (May/June 1973): 1, 3; “ Caso do Automovel que Ficou Transparente,” SBEDV Boletim, no. 94/98 (September 1973/June 1974): 30–40; “ Caso de Onilson Pátero,” SBEDV Boletim, no. 99/103 (July 1974/April 1975): 2–18; Gordon Creighton, “ The Car That Turned Transparent,” Flying Saucer Review 21, no. 3/4 (November 1975): 14–15; Brazil 154–163; “ Caso Onilson Pátero,” Portal Fenomenum, March 10, 2022; Randle, 1973, pp. 109–110)
May 22 — Truck driver Miguel Angel Gonzalez is driving from Tinajas to Tierra Blanca, Veracruz, Mexico, with a load of asbestos, steel, and concrete when he is forced to pull over because of an engine problem. When he gets out of the cab, he sees some very short men barring the road. He walks toward them, and they run off into the brush on one side of the road. When he returns to the truck, he finds it on fire. The blaze destroys the truck except for a few bits of metal sheeting, glass, and molten metal. (El Comercio (Lima, Peru), June 3, 1973; “ Truck Burnt Out by Creatures,” Flying Saucer Review 19, no. 6 (April 1974): 30; Ramón A. Pantoja Lopez and Robert Freeman Bound, “Chaneques: Mexican Gnomes or Interplanetary Visitors?” Fate 27, no. 11 (November 1974): 51–57; “ El Camión Quemado por los OVNIs,” Perspectivas Ufológicas, no. 2 (April 1994): 23–24)
May 23 — 7:00 p.m. Wayne, Wendy, and Robyn Sherlock are sitting in Wayne’s car near their home in Mount Gambier, South Australia, when they spot a large, round object with red, green, and blue or purple lights. The spinning UFO appears to follow an undulating path. It hovers briefly, then charges toward the car. The object seems to fly straight up and over the vehicle, descend on the other side, glow brightly, and vanish. Startled, Wayne slams the accelerator, and their father, M.C. Sherlock, watches from the front door as the car veers off the road into a bank, then reverses back to the house. “Wayne’s hair is literally standing on end when he returns,” Mr. Sherlock notes, adding that the experience completely unnerves the family. (“ Terror for 3 in Car,” Border Watch (Mount Gambier, S.A.), May 24, 1973, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 51 (July 1973): 14; “ Mysterious Craft Frightens Witnesses,” UFO Research Newsletter 3, no. 6 (Oct./Nov. 1973): 6)
May 24 — 7:10 p.m. About 50 people witness a large illuminated oval object moving at a slight angle above Long Reef Headland near Sydney, New South Wales. One woman claims it looks like it ascended from the ocean, where there have been reports of a stationary submarine object at the entrance to the Dee Why lagoon. (Bill Chalker, “ The Great USO Show of Oz,” TheOzFiles, August 26, 2022; Bill Chalker, “ The Rising USO Tide,” TheOzFiles, October 25, 2024)
May 24 — 9:20 p.m. Harley Rutledge and three other members of his Project Identification team at the municipal airport in Farmington, Missouri, see a configuration of four lights (white, red, red, white) flying silently overhead at an altitude of about 2,500 feet. Through binoculars, Rutledge can see the white lights reflecting off a metallic structure that could be anywhere from 368 to 2,600 feet across. The array moves quickly out of sight. (Harley D. Rutledge, Project Identification: The First Scientific Field Study of UFO Phenomena, Prentice-Hall, 1981, pp. 77–99)
May 27 — 2:00 a.m. A Mrs. Geni, 57, is preparing some wedding cake at her home in São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil. Through her balcony window she sees a reflection of some kind in her walled-in backyard. When she goes to her porch door, she sees a flying object hovering above the roof of one of the rented buildings on the ground floor in the back some 50 feet away. The object is white-metallic and luminous on the bottom, about 6.5–13 feet wide and 3–6 feet high, with a kind of credenza behind which three entities can be seen. They are small with large round heads, big eyes, protruding lips, dark brown skin, small ears, long flat noses, small arms, and wearing a cap with a ball in the center. Each holds a device like a flashlight that emits a beam of different colors: green on the left, red in the middle, and orange on the right. The object emits a noise like a motor as it sways above the building, then after a few minutes it moves away beyond the horizon. Mrs. Geni goes back to work, but she now has pains in her knees, legs, and head. She screams in pain, and the young woman who rents the building in the back arrives to help. She also has heard the motor noise and confirms that Mrs. Geni’s face is swollen with bloodshot eyes that last for 3 days. At about 5:00 a.m., Mrs. Geni suffers a prolapsed uterus, for which she has to undergo surgery on June 8. She gradually loses hearing in her right ear, her vision deteriorates, and spots appear on her skin. A clock in the kitchen begins to behave erratically. In the backyard, a dwarf coconut palm and a jabuticabeira tree (Plinia cauliflora) both lose their leaves prematurely. (“ Caso dos Anões de São José do Rio Preto,” SBEDV Boletim, no. 121/125 (March/Dec. 1978): 15–19; Brazil 163–166)
May or June — 11:00 p.m. Lance Corporal Mike Perrin and another soldier named Carvell from Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire, England, are participating in a radio exercise on Bellerby Moor about 15 miles to the southwest. Perrin parks his Land Rover on the side of a small road to await instructions. The two-way radio begins to crackle, the voices break up, and the set goes completely dead. The headlights also fade and go out. They try switching channels to no avail. Perrin is about the start up the Land Rover when he sees a strange aircraft above and to the left. It flies silently toward them and stops about 328 feet away, hovering 10 feet above the ground. The object is shaped like a rugby ball and has a row of small circular windows through which white lights are flashing. Vapor seems to be issuing from the bottom, and a buzzing sound emanates from it. They notice that a nearby herd of cows seems frozen on the spot. After 5–10 minutes, the object ascends silently and disappears over the woods. The headlights and radio start working again. The next afternoon, they return to the spot and find a burned circle of grass about 30 feet across. (Barry M. King, “ Soldiers’ Close Encounter on a Yorkshire Moor,” Flying Saucer Review 24, no. 1 (June 1978): 23–24)
June - Eduardo Calle is driving along a country road near Orense, Buenos Aires, Argentina, when his engine fails. He gets out to inspect and sees a bright round object rise up from a nearby field and vanish at immense speed. Police find a round hole and scorched grass in the field. Fungi of an unfamiliar species are beginning to grow on the spot. (La Crónica (Buenos Aires), June 1973; " Tres Arroyos Round-up," Flying Saucer Review 19, no. 6 (April 1974): 29)
June — According to an informant of Leonard H. Stringfield, a UFO is shot down by a surface-to-air missile from a US Navy destroyer in the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and the mainland after it is tracked on radar and makes three passes close to the ship. The object falls into water that is about 350 feet deep and is retrieved by a Glomar Explorer, shipped to Hawaii, then sent stateside and finally to Chicago. The informant, an instructor in Gunnery School at the Naval Station Great Lakes in Lake County, Illinois, is assigned to guard the object in a Quonset hut in September 1973, with orders not to let anyone nearer than 300 feet. He glimpses it one time, and it appears to be a metallic, teardrop-shaped craft, 30 feet long and 10 feet high, “with a flange running along its topside from one end to the other.” (Leonard H. Stringfield, UFO Crash Retrievals: Status Report III, Amassing the Evidence, The Author, June 1982, p. 89)
June 4 — 2:00 a.m. Jill Cotmore wakes up in her home near Tyringham, New South Wales, with an uneasy feeling. She lights a cigarette and the room is immediately engulfed in a bright light, even though the windows have heavy curtains. It is so bright that she can’t even see a cupboard 3 feet away from her. Outside, her horse is going berserk. Suddenly, the light is gone. The next day, she finds the horse frothing, and it had apparently been running around the house during the night. This takes place in the middle of a concentration of UFO reports in the area. (Bill Chalker, “ An Australian Chronicle, Part Two,” APRO Bulletin, June 1976, p. 4)
June 7 — 10:00 p.m. Three people in a car see a fireball approach and stop about 164 feet away in the Sousas district of Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil. The object is about 15 feet in diameter and emits a yellow light. As it hovers nearby, the car’s engine fails, and the witnesses feel a prickling sensation. Later, they experience intense headaches. Eventually, the object departs, and the car restarts. (Nigel Rimes, “ A Persistent Prowler at Sousas,” Flying Saucer Review Case Histories, no. 17 (December 1973): 7–9;
June 19 — 7:12 p.m. Physicist Harley Rutledge sees a dull gray object flying slowly near his house in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. It has no wings or tail and is shaped like a stubby bullet. It changes to an olive drab color. After he grabs his binoculars, it disappears. (Harley D. Rutledge, Project Identification, Prentice-Hall, pp. 139–140; Covert 56, 70)
June 25? — 6:30 p.m. Members of the Dorrington family watch a large disc-shaped UFO hovering above Bony Mountain, Queensland, for 15 minutes. The object is surrounded by a greenish glow and there is a rotating red light around its middle. A solid beam of V-shaped green light oscillates up and down more than a dozen times before it retracts into the object. It disappears by moving straight down behind the mountain. (Clark IV 1217)
June 28 - 12:30 a.m. University of Missouri animal care technician James G. Richards, 41, and his daughter Vanea, 16, hear a loud, persistent, thrashing sound outside their house trailer in Columbia, Missouri. Richards moves to the window and sees two bright, silver-white light beams about 5 feet apart from each other and 50 feet away from his window. The beams disappear, and a glowing bright oval form appears, about 12-15 feet in diameter, lighting up the area. The thrashing sound is apparently made by trees moving as if blown by wind, and after the oval form appears, this sound suddenly ceases. As Richards moves from window to window, he notices his dogs lying very still near the corner of the trailer that is nearest to the oval object. The dogs are large security animals that are not easily frightened. Richards thinks it strange they are not barking at all the noise and the bright lights. The object moves away to 200 feet from the window and hovers, and now, less bright to the eye, the witnesses can see a blue band of light and an orange glow extending around the outer edge of the oval. The oval moves back near its original position and disappears by growing smaller before police arrive at 1:45 a.m. Later searches uncover broken tree limbs, damaged foliage, scorched leaves up to a height of 35 feet, and impressions on the ground as deep as 2 feet. (NICAP, " Columbia, Missouri: June 28, 1973"; Ted Phillips, " Landing at Columbia, Missouri," Flying Saucer Review 19, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1973): 18-25; Richard H. Hall, Uninvited Guests, Aurora, 1988, pp. 268-270; UFOEv II 61-62; Clark III 252-253; Clark IV 291-292)
July - Night. A college student working as a security guard on the island of Hokkaido, Japan, notices a brightly shining object to the north. It vanishes and reappears in a different spot, flashing a green light. Then it spirals downward and flies in an arc, coming down over the waters of a bay. It sucks up water through a prolonged, pipe-like protrusion. Next it flies to within 160 feet of the witness, who sees the shadow of three occupants in two windows. Four or five similar objects arrive and all enter a larger black craft, which then flies away to the north. (Jun-Ichi Takanashi, " Spherical Object off Japanese Coast Sucks up Sea-Water," Flying Saucer Review 21, no. 3/4 (November 1975): 54)
July 7 — 10:00 p.m. A Mrs. Good is closing the curtains of her house at Porthcothan Bay, Cornwall, England, when she sees two dark semi-cigar-shaped objects hovering over the bay. They are positioned on either side of a glowing, symmetrical ring. After a few seconds, the ring enters the left object and the two shoot off at terrific speed upward. The remaining object follows the same path a short time afterward. She reports the sighting to the nearby RAF St. Mawgan, which explains the sighting as “sun dogs.” (UFOFiles2, pp. 86–87)
July 21 — 9:00 p.m. Yves Rinaldi is driving on the winding D139 road in Gavignano, Corsica, France. About 20 seconds after he passes another car on the steep incline, he feels paralyzed, the engine stops, the lights go out, and his radio dies. He feels overwhelmingly cold and his eyes are watering. Shooting up from the scrubland ahead of him is a bright object, spinning rapidly, that passes over his car and moves behind him. After it is gone, the engine starts up automatically without Rinaldi consciously reactivating it, the lights come on again, and the radio starts playing. (J. C. Dufour and P. de Lormont, “ From Our Corsican Notebook, 1,” Flying Saucer Review 23, no. 6 (April 1978): 31–32
July 25 - 1:35 p.m. A Canadian Pacific Air Lines DC-8 is flying west at 31,000 feet above the eastern coast of Baffin Island, Nunavut, when the pilot sees a "large balloon in close proximity" and radios air traffic control to report it. He says it is 200 feet in diameter and 3 miles away and has been paralleling their course for 5-6 minutes at a speed of 575 mph. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada's UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, p. 89)
July 27 - A 16-year-old UFO buff finds and photographs some strange marks on the ground near Lago d'Idro, Brescia, Italy. In 1977 he undergoes hypnotic regression and realizes he has been touched by a human shape that makes him lose consciousness. When he wakes up he is being sucked into an aerial object through an opening at its base. He finds himself in a round room with four beings. Then a woman comes in and the entities begin moving around and touching him. He is paralyzed and can only move his eyes. He is then taken to another room and directed to sit on a chair as the UFO lands in the spot where he had been before. He then leaves the object and watches it take off. He picks up his camera and photographs the ground traces. (Paolo Fiorino, Gian Paolo Grassino, and Antonio Chiumiento, " Abductions in Italy," IUR 14, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1989): 15)
August - A Minuteman ICBM missile launched from Vandenberg AFB [now Vandenberg Space Force Base] in Santa Barbara County, California, is descending in the Pacific Ocean near Kwajalein Atoll. Radar scanners at Kwajalein are tracking the nose cone, which has separated from the third stage. At about 400,000 feet, the operators find they are also tracking an object in the shape of an inverted saucer to the right and above the nose cone. It crosses the warhead's trajectory, then disappears below and to the left of it. The object is estimated to be 10 feet high and 40 feet long. (" No Explanation Found for `Ghost Ships,'" St. Catharines (Ont.) Standard, July 17, 1974, p. 13; ClearIntent, pp. 69-70)
August - 10:30 p.m. Three people are sitting in their front yard in West Seneca, New York, when they hear a low hum coming from an object above their garage. It is a silvery half- egg with glowing orange-and-blue overtones. It begins a slow descent toward the roof, and when it is only 5 feet away, one of the witnesses yells for it to stop. The object stops, hovers briefly, and shoots away straight upward. One of the witnesses hears the same hum at about the same time two days later, and the same object appears, moving down the street. The object is only 3-4 feet above the pavement and covers the width of the road. The witness approaches it, and it stops at the end of his driveway. He walks toward it and gets only 4-5 feet from it without feeling any heat. When his dog barks, he backs away. The object waits a moment, then slowly moves 20 feet down the street, quickly rises, and vanishes rapidly at a 45° angle. (Michael D. Swords, " Unusual Experiences from the Timmerman Files," IUR 27, no. 2 (Summer 2002): 23-24)
Between August 3-6 - Night. A woman and her children are watching the stars in their backyard in San Antonio, Texas. Two "very perfect" cumulus clouds move into view low above them. A perfectly round sphere with a green glow slowly emerges from the top of the cloud on the left. Soon they see lightning going back and forth from the two clouds but never toward the ground. One lightning bolt hits the sphere and red sparks fly out, whereupon the sphere slowly reenters the cloud. The clouds remain stationary for 35-40 minutes until the sphere disappears, then they float on. (Herbert S. Taylor, " Mystery Clouds and the UFO Connection," IUR 29, no. 4 (July 2005): 18)
August 12 - 12:30 a.m. Mr. M. Carr and several others experience slight mechanical trouble with their car near Broxburn, West Lothian, Scotland, as a fast-moving starlike object passes across the sky for 15 seconds. (D. N. Mansell, " Some Recent British UFO Reports," Awareness 2, no. 4 (Winter 1973): 16.
Late August - A wave of UFO sightings begins to take place in the southeastern United States in August and reaches a nationwide peak in September and October, then moving on to Europe in the following two months. J. B. Delair notes an increase in landings, low-level flights, and UFO occupants. (Jacques Vallée, " The UFO Wave of 1973: Some Early Statistics," Flying Saucer Review 19, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1973): 15; J. B. Delair, "Synopsis of the Great World-Wide UFO Wave of 1973," The UFO Register 5, parts 1 and 2 (1974): 8-94; Eghigian, After, pp. 218-219)
August 28 — 10:00 p.m. Journalists Titus Zăgrean and Ion Moise are driving near Budacu de Jos, Romania, when they see a big milky-white light in the sky approaching the road they are on. As it crosses the road, they see it is rotating and about 3 feet in diameter. Moving to the west, it veers sharply to the north, accelerates, changes color to yellow-orange then red, and departs at fantastic speed. (Romania 40)
August 31 - After 12:00 midnight. In Dawson, Georgia, four US government workers stop a police patrol car on State Highway 118 and report seeing two weird objects in the sky. Dawson Police Capt. Rocky Wiggins and Patrolmen Larry Fincher and Gary Ellington see one bright UFO northeast of town and another southwest of town. The lights change colors from white to reddish orange to greenish- yellow. At 12:40, Wiggins calls the Georgia Highway Patrol in Albany, which contacts Naval Air Station Albany, which cannot see any lights or track anything on radar. Sometime between 1:30 a.m. and 2:45 a.m., two more objects are spotted to the northeast near the Lee County line. (" UFOs Invade Southwest Georgia Skies, But Depart Quietly Albany (Ga.) Herald, August 31, 1973, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 53-54 (Sept./Oct. 1973): 19-20; " Mysterious UFOs Seen in South Georgia Sky," Tallahassee (Fla.) Democrat, August 31, 1973, p. 13; " UFO's Seen for Second Night in Georgia," Lowell (Mass.) Sun, September 1, 1973, p. 9; " Colorful UFOs Sighted over Central Georgia," Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel, September 2, 1973, p. 14-C)
August 31 - 1:00 a.m. Georgia State Trooper A. I. Cahill is with Sgt. Jerry Crawley and Officer John Harris and others on the Americus, Georgia, police department when they see a bright white light moving sporadically above South Lee Street toward the southeast. Another officer in Leesburg, Georgia, describes it as stationary with "round, with orange, red, green, and blue lights." Robert Welch, a police dispatcher in Camilla, Georgia, watches with seven others a light that hovers for 3.5 hours. (" Unidentified Flying Objects Viewed in Area," Americus (Ga.) Times-Recorder, August 31, 1973, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 53-54 (Sept./Oct. 1973): 1)
August 31 - 1:00 a.m. Georgia State Patrolman William Revel and another patrolman are at Dawson Road near Ledo Road in Albany, Georgia, as they watch three UFOs maneuvering in the sky. They appear round and rapidly change colors from bright red to blue to yellow to green to a vivid orange. The largest object is the most active and seems to turn sideways and seems to acquire a "spur" on its left side. The two smaller objects remain on either side of the larger one. After 30 minutes, the smaller object to the right of the larger one moves straight up, stops, and resumes changing colors. A few minutes later, two more objects appear and shoot across the sky beneath the other three. By this time, the witnesses include Lee County law enforcement officials, an Albany city commissioner, and news reporter Suzanne Shingler, who writes that the objects are flashing like neon signs gone mad." Revel continues watching until 3:00 a.m. Reports begin to come in over the police car radio of objects, also changing colors rapidly, being seen all over southwest Georgia. Macon police on Hendley Street see two objects hovering above a sports field, while a fire department unit pursues a UFO as far as Interstate 75 near Hartley Bridge Road before losing it. (" They Looked Like `Neons Gone Mad,'" Albany (Ga.) Herald, August 31, 1973, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 53-54 (Sept./Oct. 1973): 19; " Lights Reported in Macon Again," Macon (Ga.) News, September 1, 1973, p. 1; " Pentagon Dodges Inquiry on UFOs," Albany (Ga.) Sunday Herald, September 2, 1973, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 53-54 (Sept./Oct. 1973): 10; " Wave of Reports Hits Georgia," UFO Investigator, October 1973, pp. 1-2)
September 3 - Early morning. Two policemen in Manchester, Georgia, spot a white, glowing object with blue lights speeding around the sky. Through binoculars, the object appears to have something hanging underneath it. (" UFOs Sighted over Georgia," San Francisco (Calif.) Examiner, September 3, 1973, p. 7; " Cylinder Identified," UFO Investigator, October 1973, p. 3)
September 3 - Night. An unidentified man rushes into police headquarters in Athens, Georgia, and claims that a bright object with four flashing lights had swooped toward his car along a highway. The UFO nearly landed, descending to about 15 feet before it climbed up again. The police think he looks like he has "really seen something," but Lt. Col. Richard Davies, an information officer at Robins AFB east of Warner Robins, Georgia, tells the press that the recent reports are the first he's heard about in a while, but the Air Force is no longer investigating them. (" UFO Scares Heck out of Georgian," Lincoln (Nebr.) Journal Star, September 3, 1973, p. 21)
September 8 — Night. Two military policemen, Spec/4 Bart J. Burns and Spec/4 Randy Shade, are on routine patrol at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia, when they see a shadowy object with flashing lights moving around in the distance. It is traveling rapidly east to west at an altitude of about 2,000 feet. After about 10 minutes, they see the object coming swiftly toward them at treetop level. It dives toward their car, passes closely above them, and forces them to drive into a ditch. It then hovers about 600 feet away, flashing blue, white, and amber lights as they struggle to get the car out of the ditch. The object disappears when they drive back to headquarters. (“ MPs Claim UFO Forced Car off Road,” Seattle (Wash.) Post-Intelligencer, September 9, 1973, p. A2; “ GIs Say UFO Forced Patrol Car off Road,” Atlanta (Ga.) Constitution, September 9, 1973, p. 23-B; “ UFO Reports Continue,” Atlanta (Ga.) Constitution, September 10, 1973, p. 8-A; “ Wave of Reports Hits Georgia,” UFO Investigator, October 1973, p. 1; Randle, 1973, p. 14; “ Eyewitnesses Talk about the 1973 Fort Stewart / Hunter Army Airfield (Savannah, GA) UFO Sightings,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, July 3, 2024)
September 9 — 4:30 a.m. A news team from WAGA-TV in Atlanta is interviewing UFO witnesses outside the Georgia State Patrol office in Manchester, Georgia, when someone notices two small “orbs of light” in the distance. One light dims and seems to move away, while the other becomes brighter and displays varying colors. Cameraman Daniel Keever takes about 90 seconds of 16mm color film of the second object. He waits 30 minutes as it hovers and makes another brief exposure. Although the footage merely shows a blob, one of the newsmen says the object looks cigar-shaped with shadow patterns on the surface. (“ TV Crew Captures Strange Image,” UFO Investigator, October 1973, pp. 1, 3)
September 9 — Night. A deputy sheriff answers a call from Mrs. Hugh D. Beall in Griffin, Georgia, about an object hovering above her house at tree-top level. She says the object is making a funny noise and has gold, red, and green lights on the bottom. The deputy investigates and sees “two red lights descending slowly to earth.” Then the lights disappear. (“ UFO Chases Military Police,” Mount Airy (N.C.) News, September 11, 1973, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 53–54 (Sept./Oct. 1973): 8)
September 14 — 2:00 a.m. Roy Lawhorn wakes up in his home in Brooks, Georgia, to a sound like buzzing locusts and a bright light outside his window. He grabs his rifle because the lights looks like it is approaching. He shoots at it 3-4 times, but the light “disappeared into the ground.” It leaves a charred spot in the dirt road about 30 feet from the house. Oscar E. Anderson, a soil specialist at the University of Georgia’s Agricultural Experiment Station in Griffin, examines the site and notes markings that cover an area 1 foot long by 6–8 inches wide. Underneath the top layer of soil is a wide area of charred earth and organic matter. (“ ‘The Devil’: Frightened Farmer Shoots at UFO,” Atlanta (Ga.) Constitution, September 18, 1973, p. 1)
September 17 — 9:00 p.m. Anne Taylor is walking to her farm in Romford, Essex, England, after walking her three dogs when she sees a green light near the cowshed. She continues watching the light, which starts moving toward her slowly. Her two terriers are whining and cringing. The light approaches to within a few feet of her, about 12 feet above the ground. It is completely silent. Her watch has stopped, and her spine begins to tingle. She hears a jet plane in the distance, and the light goes out. She hears an “electric whirring” and the green ball shoots straight up. Her dogs return to normal behavior, and her watch starts up again when she returns to the house. (UFOFiles2, p. 86)
September 23 - 5:00 a.m. A truck driver is driving to work near Tyler, Texas, when a small "cub airplane" seems to fly directly in front of another car on the highway, nearly causing a wreck. The plane flies up over the side of the road and hovers above some trees. Then it changes into a cigar shape with lights. The driver gets out of his truck to watch. The cigar moves off then returns with a new, round shape. It lights up with many multicolored lights and moves above a nearby house. It makes a low, "loop-loop-loop" thumping sound. Then a large, bright, square light descends and swings from the other object. It approaches the truck, then swings back and forth. He tries to jump back in the truck but apparently passes out. He later notices he has some marks on his hip and shoulder. He does remember seeing the UFO change from a round shape into a triangle, and then move out of sight. (Michael D. Swords, " Unusual Experiences from the Timmerman Files," IUR 27, no. 2 (Summer 2002): 24; Michael D. Swords, " Timmerman's Triangles," IUR 29, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 17)
September 23 — 8:41 p.m. After a local resident reports seeing a UFO hovering above the Tennessee Highway Patrol office at 6348 Summer Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, deputies Philip L. Pilalas and J. O. Davis investigate and see the object as well. They describe it as a large fixed-wing aircraft flying at 500–1,000 feet with steady white and red lights on each wing. Thinking it is a police helicopter, they flash their spotlight at it. The object flashes back with its white lights. But when the deputies turn on their car’s blue lights to see what reaction they get, the object douses all its lights and vanishes with a humming noise. This is followed by a 2- minute unexplained blackout on one of their radio frequencies. Other UFOs are seen in East Memphis and Frayser the remainder of the night. (“ Many Report UFO in Shelby County,” Memphis (Tenn.) Press-Scimitar, September 24, 1973, p. 16)
September 24 (approximately) — Rose Williamson, her father, and her sister are allegedly harassed for several days by two 7–8 feet tall “space monsters” with pointed ears at their home in Sidney, North Carolina, northeast of Tabor City. The beings float above the ground leaving no footprints and can leap 60–100 feet. Another witness claims to have seen one drinking from a car radiator, and yet another saw one wearing ragged clothes and brogan shoes studded with rhinestones. Williamson is later arrested for firing a shotgun several times at the creature in a public area. A radio disc jockey at WTAB-AM in Tabor City, Ken Williamson (no relation) visits the area early on September 25 and supposedly sees one of the beings. (“ ‘Space Monster’ Reports Create Uproar in Tabor City Vicinity,” Lumberton (N.C.) Robesonian, September 30, 1973, pp. 1–2; David Webb, 1973: Year of the Humanoids, CUFOS, May 1976, p. 9)
September 29 — A woman hears her dog barking and looks out the window of her home in Hollywood, Florida. For 3–4 minutes she observes a solid, oval-shaped object with slightly obtuse-angled ends. It is glowing red-orange, brighter at the edges than in the center. The object moves back and forth in a pendulum-like motion and its brightness pulsates roughly every 2 seconds, matching the swinging. There are no other known witnesses, but a local newspaper reports a similar colored light seen shortly after this sighting. (“ Sighting Advisory,” UFO Investigator, December 1973, p. 3)
September 29 — Night. Obion County Sheriff Nathan Cunningham watches three silent UFOs race over his house in Union City, Tennessee. There is a bright glow in the center of each, and red, blue, and green lights are flashing around them. They hover in one area for as long as 15 minutes, then move to another area. He estimates they are about 10–12 square feet in size. An additional 20 witnesses nearby also see the objects. George and Vicki Rogers see a bright red light swoop down low enough to light up an acre and a half of land, nearly causing a seven-car pileup on State Highway 78 near Reelfoot Lake. (“ UFOs Spotted in Area,” Paducah (Ky.) Sun-Democrat, October 3, 1973, pp. 1–2; “ Hundreds of People Are Reporting UFOs: Sightings Increase Daily,” Skylook, no. 72 (November 1973): 9)
September 30 — Night. Patrolman Flanning Glover Jr. and other law enforcement officers see a moving light above Collierville, Tennessee. It appears orange at times, then changes back to black. The police shine a spotlight on it, but the light goes out, then reappears in a different place. (“ UFOs Play Return Engagements,” Memphis (Tenn.) Press-Scimitar, October 1, 1973, p. 19)
September 30 — 9:30 p.m. Jesse Dunnigan and a friend are returning from a movie when they spot a bright light in the sky near his home at 4814 Timberwood Drive North in Columbus, Ohio. They stop to watch the pulsating light, which soon swoops down in a zig-zag pattern and disappears below the trees. The next morning he finds an apparent “landing site” in a field of waist-high weeds about a quarter mile south of Hall Road just west of Interstate 270. (“ Man Claims Semi-Oval UFO Landed in West Side Field,” Columbus (Ohio) Evening Dispatch, October 1, 1973, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 55 (November 1973): 4)
Late September or early October - M. Chubert is riding his motorcycle to work in Puy Verday, Cher, France, when his cycle misfires and stops ad a bright light appears on the road ahead. He sees it is an oval object, with smoke underneath, hovering. A man suddenly appears and walks up to Chubert, putting his left hand on his shoulder and offering "reassuring words." The man is about 6 feet tall and wearing a silvery uniform. A large helmet rests on his shoulders with a snorkel-like tube on the left side. His face seems to be covered with a nylon stocking with slitted eyes, and he is carrying something that looks like a pistol in his left hand. After asking where Chubert is going, the man says he must return to the object and warns him not to get too close. After he enters it from below, the object rises vertically with a sound like a swarm of bees. The motorcycle then restarts manually. (Jean Debois and Dominique Bettini, " Nohant-en-Gout (Cher), Lieu dit Puy-Verday (Octobre 1973)," Lumières dans la Nuit, no. 140 (December 1974): 17-18
October — Night. Sgt. Michael D. Jenkins of the 96th Security Police Squadron is stationed at Dyess AFB southwest of Abilene, Texas, when a major alert goes off at the base after a large ball of light is reported hovering 100–150 feet above igloo bunkers housing nuclear weapons. Twelve police with M-16s are sent to the Weapons Storage Area, and an incoming C-130 is asked to do a fly-by of the area to get a look at the object. Three K-9 teams that normally patrol the perimeter report that their dogs are afraid and acting up. An order to fire on the object comes from Strategic Air Command Headquarters Offutt AFB near Bellevue, Nebraska. Jenkins hears gunfire and sees a bluish-white streak as the object speeds off. As it leaves, it drops a trail of “angel hair” all the way from the weapons area to the southwest perimeter of the base. The angel hair hangs around on the area ropes and buildings for three days. On the third day it rains and the material dissolves, completely disappearing. (Robert L. Hastings, “ UFO Fired Upon As It Hovered over Nuclear Bomb Storage Facility, Says Former USAF Security Policeman,” UFOs & Nukes, December 1, 2017)
Early October — Driving home after his cleaning job in Armidale, New South Wales, University of New England student Graham E. travels along the Bundurra Road, then turns left onto the road that leads to the Mount Butler property where he lives. Just as he passes the university ionosphere research receiver, he sees a cigar-shaped object float up directly ahead of him at a tilted angle. He stops the car and watches it for 10–15 seconds, after which it rotates four times and shoots off at an oblique angle. (Bill Chalker, “ Confronting UFOs and UAP: Remembering October 1973,” The OzFiles, October 22, 2023; Clark IV 916)
October 3 — 6:15 a.m. Eddie Webb is driving a tractor-trailer rig on Interstate 55 near the Old Orchard Road exit southeast of Jackson, Missouri. He sees a bright, turnip-shaped object approaching rapidly behind him and covering both lanes of the highway. It appears to be in three sections: the top and bottom are spinning and aluminum colored, while the center section is steady and made up of glittering red and yellow lights. He wakes up his wife, who is sleeping in the cab, but she can’t see anything. Webb sticks his head out the window for a better look and seconds later is blinded by a bright flash that feels like a ball of fire hitting him on the head and face. His glasses fall off, hindering his vision, but he manages to stop the truck. Webb screams that he is burned and can’t see. The plastic frames of Webb’s glasses are warped by heat, and one of the lenses has fallen out. Mrs. Webb drives him to the Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau, and the highway patrol sends the glasses to physicist Harley Rutledge at Southwest Missouri State University [now Missouri State University] in Springfield for analysis. He finds that the frames have been heated internally from a source that came from the left side. Webb’s vision slowly returns, and an ophthalmologist says that his eyes are not permanently damaged. (John G. Adney and Reginald E. Mitchell, “ Encounter with UFO Frightening,” Cape Girardeau Southeast Missourian, October 4, 1973; “ ‘UFO-Distorted’ Glasses Examined,” Cape Girardeau Southeast Missourian, October 5, 1973; “ Missouri Truck Driver Temporarily Blinded by ‘Fire Ball’ from UFO,” Skylook, no. 72 (November 1973): 5–6; John F. Schuessler and Edward F. O’Herin, “Truck Driver Injured by UFO: The Eddie Doyle Webb Case,” in MUFON 1993 International UFO Symposium Proceedings, 1993, pp. 60–84)
October 4 - Early evening. Gary J. Chopic, a petroleum consultant, is driving home on the Simi Valley Freeway near Chatsworth, California, when he sees a blimp-like object just above the crest of mountain peaks in Santa Susana Pass. As he drives closer, he sees an elliptical object with a clear bubble dome on top hovering 80-100 feet away in a canyon about 10 feet off the ground, swaying back and forth "like a boat at anchor." A V-like insignia or aperture covers an entire side. A hose-like protrusion about 8 feet long and 1 foot in diameter extends from the bottom. Chopic sees some motion inside the bubble, and a humanoid being appears around the side of the craft, sees him, scrambles back to the other side, and reenters the craft. He hears a clicking sound, and the bubble rotates and retracts. A foglike vapor envelopes the object, and he notices a sweet odor as the craft takes off with a whining or low humming sound and disappears. (Santa Ana (Calif.) Register, October 31, 1973; " California Man Has Good View of UFO-And Occupant," Skylook, no. 73 (December 1973): 4-5; " Workers See Strange Disc," UFO Research Newsletter 3, no. 8 (Dec. 1973/Jan. 1974): 3; UFOEv II 488)
October 16 - 10:30 p.m. A 33-year-old woman is driving along a country lane near Langford Budville, Somerset, UK, when she sees a bright light ahead and he car loses power. The headlights flicker, dim, and cut out, then the engine sputters and stops. As she looks under the hood, she hears a humming sound that grows louder. As she reenters the car, a robot-like being appears and puts a hand on her shoulder, pressing her down. She sees flashing colored lights and blacks out. When she comes to, she is standing in a field with the robot next to her and the craft in front of them. She blacks out again. The being is tall and dark and appears metallic as light from the object in the field reflects off it. The object is silver- gray and dome-shaped, about 40 feet in diameter, resting on thick legs. Yellow light comes from oblong windows around the middle. On board are three humanoid beings, about 5 feet 7 inches tall. They wear skullcaps and have masks across their faces so that only their round eyes show. They wear light-blue tunics, long gloves to the elbows, and aprons down to their feet. The woman wakes up strapped to a table with a cold surface, legs spreadeagled, and her clothes gone. A light blue blanket has been placed over her. The robot stands inactive against a far wall. Three beings approach the table and examine her using gray-colored instruments. He takes a fingernail paring from her right index finger, a blood sample, and passes a small handheld device over her body that glows brighter and dimmer in various locations. He removes the blanket and performs some gynecological procedures, then covers her with a black blanket. All three humanoids leave the room at once. After a while, one returns, inserts a pin into her thigh that paralyzes and numbs her. When the examiner notices her glance at the robot, he speaks to her in perfect English, explaining that it is a retriever device that performs manual tasks outside the craft. The three men come back into the room, and one removes the pin from her thigh. They remove the restraining bonds from her wrists and ankles and lift her off the table. She sees her clothes on the floor by the robot and then passes out again. When she regains consciousness, she is standing fully clothed next to her car on the deserted country road, dazed and shocked. She climbs into the car and starts up the engine. She does not remember the drive home and arrives there at 2:30 a.m. She and her husband keep silent about the incident for four years. (Carl Nagaitis and Philip Mantle, Without Consent, Ringpull Press, 1994, pp. 174-181; UFOEv II 535-536; Clark III 1062; Clark IV 1177)
October 16 — Midnight. Single mother Pat Roach (Patty Price) is dozing on the couch with her 5-year-old son Kent in an isolated house on the outskirts of Lehi, Utah. Suddenly, Kent wakes up screaming that he has seen a “skeleton.” Roach has a vague memory an intruder and a bright light. Suspecting a prowler, she phones a neighbor, who calls the police at 12:10 a.m. A few minutes later, officers arrive, talk to Roach, find nothing amiss, and leave. Roach then checks on her other children. Two of them, Bonnie and Debbie, tell her they had seen a spaceman who had come into the house and taken them on a spaceship. Debbie remembers being told not to tell anyone, as well as seeing a line of people waiting to go on board. Disturbed, Roach takes her children and spends the rest of the night at a friend’s house. In 1975, Roach sees an article by Kevin Randle on UFO abductions and contacts him. Randle arranges for an interview and hypnosis sessions with APRO’s research director James A. Harder. An abduction tale slowly emerges that involves some elements that are little known in 1975, among them the aliens’ clinical coldness, their curiosity about human emotion, their interest in gynecology, and human participants in the physical examination. However, Randle now believes that Roach underwent sleep paralysis, was influenced by some abduction accounts over the years, and was led into the narrative by Harder’s leading questions during hypnosis. (Lorenzen, Abducted! Confrontations with Beings from Outer Space, Berkley, 1977, pp. 9–24; Story, pp. 309–310; Kevin D. Randle, The October Scenario, Middle Coast, 1988, pp. 17–30; UFOEv II 537–538; Kevin D. Randle, “ Alien Abduction and Leading the Witness,” A Different Perspective, March 28, 2005; Clark III 1011–1012; Randle, 1973, pp. 79–100; “ The Alien Abduction Experience of Pat Roach (Patty Price) and Her Children, Utah, October 16, 1973,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, October 2023; Eghigian, After, pp. 270–272; Clark IV 1125–1126)
October 17 — Morning. Edward Deutsch is driving to work along Little Mountain Road near Ringtown, Pennsylvania, when he sees a round object with flashing lights about “as big as a large tractor-trailer tire” hovering and rotating 100 feet above his car. It emits a humming sound. When he gets to the top of the mountain, it lights up the entire car, rotating it 90° so that he is moving toward home. It takes Deutsch about 10 minutes to realize that he has been turned around. (“ Area Man Says UFO Turned Car Around,” Berwick (Pa.) Enterprise, October 18, 1973, p. 11)
October 17 — Linda Greene notices a “copper-colored, circular” object hovering across the road from her home in Watauga, Tennessee. Her son, Junior, and a neighbor, Teddy Malone, are playing on the front lawn when they see the UFO. Linda watches a being about 6 feet tall with blinking eyes open a door in the craft and attempt to snatch the children, but the boys run away, and the object ascends swiftly and disappears. (“ Still No Letup in UFO Reports,” Johnson City (Tenn.) Press, October 18, 1973, p. 1)
October 17 — Evening. Paul Brown is driving on US Highway 29 near Danielsville, Georgia, when his car radio suddenly goes wild with strange sounds. He sees a silver, oval-shaped object about 300 feet ahead on the road. He stops and sees two beings with red faces and white hair. Brown grabs a pistol and steps halfway out of his car, but the beings return to the object, which takes off with a whooshing sound. (Athens (Ga.) Banner-Herald, October 18, 1973; “ First Flap in Six Years Resurrects UFOs As National Controversy,” UFO Investigator, November 1973, p. 4)
October 17 — 8:30 p.m. Reporter Donnie Johnston gets a call from Mrs. Kenneth Hensley saying there is a UFO hovering in the sky above Madison, Virginia. He jumps in his car and drives there in time to see a mysterious light about 20° above the southeastern horizon about 3–5 miles away. It slowly moves from southwest to northwest, then suddenly disappears. This is the third sighting for the Hensleys, who had seen UFOs earlier in the week. (Donnie Johnston, “ UFO Seen over Madison,” Culpeper (Va.) Star-Exponent, October 18, 1973, pp. 1, 10; Randle, 1973, p. 25)
October 17 — 9:15 p.m. 17-year-old David Bodner sees something very bright in the sky to the northwest in Elkhorn, West Virginia. It passes overhead with a fluttering motion in about 45–60 seconds, pulsing or flashing brightly for about 5 seconds with about 3 seconds between flashes. Bodner takes a photo with his 35mm Pentax camera. The image suggests that the object is subtending an angle of 3.5°, which would make it 120 feet in diameter at a distance of 2,000 feet. A similar object is photographed the same night in Columbus, Ohio, about 170 miles to the northwest. (Ted Spickler, “ Nocturnal UFO in West Virginia,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 115 (June 1977): 3, 7; “ UFO Investigator Expects Skepticism,” Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette, July 21, 1988, via APCIC Clipping Service 13, no. 10 (October 1988): 3–4; UFOEv II 292)
October 17 — Night. Clarence Ray Patterson is driving home to Pensacola, Florida, on Interstate 10. When he is near the exit to Loxley, Alabama, a UFO swoops down, picks up his truck, and pulls it inside the craft. He claims that six short creatures with claw-like arms take him out of the truck to examine him. They seem to be reading his mind. After 30 minutes, they release him on Florida Highway 297 just outside Pensacola. He immediately drives to the police station to tell his story. (“ Pickup by UFO Reported,” Pensacola (Fla.) News, October 18, 1973, pp. 1–2; Randle, 1973, pp. 24–25, 113)
October 17 — Night. Herschel Fueston, a policeman in Noblesville, Indiana, is patrolling the area of South Harbor when he notices an object hovering silently 100 feet above the water of Morse Reservoir. It has amber lights and moves directly above his car. Its lights get brighter as it speeds away, and he can see a row of red lights on its underside. (“ Noblesville Policeman Sights Strange Object,” Jasper (Ind.) Daily Herald, October 18, 1973, p. 5)
October 17 — After 10:00 p.m. Falkville, Alabama, Police Chief Jeffrey Greenhaw responds to a phone call about a UFO on the outskirts of town. On a gravel road, he sees a 5-and-a-half-foot- tall, silver-suited figure in his headlights. He stops, gets out, and talks to the figure, all the while taking Polaroid photos of it. It steps towards him and Greenhaw turns on the red rotating police car light. The figure runs away and although Greenhaw pursues it in his car, it eludes him. The photos quickly become a national news story. NICAP investigator Marion Webb and others strongly suspect this is a hoax. (NICAP, “ Falkville, Alabama, Entity / Jeff Greenhaw Case, Oct. 17, 1973”; “ Alabamians Sight Ship, Creature,” Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser, October 19, 1973, p. 27; “ Officer Who Saw ‘Metallic Being’ Resigns,” Birmingham (Ala.) Post-Herald, November 17, 1973, p. 3; “A Good Chance Falkville’s ‘Space Creature’ Only a Hoax,” Birmingham (Ala.) News, September 5, 1974, p. 6; “ Police Chief’s Nightmare: Real or Contrived?” UFO Investigator, October 1974, pp. 1–2; William Spaulding, “ Falkville Creature Photographs Analyzed,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 108 (November 1976): cover, 3–5; “ Police Chief Hoaxes UFO,” UFO Investigator, January 1977, p. 4; Good Above, pp. 301–302; Wyatt Cox, UFO and Bigfoot Sightings in Alabama, The Author, 2004, pp. 90–94; Clark III 482; Clark IV 530–531)
October 18 - 3:30 p.m. A witness in Hamilton, Illinois, sees a huge gray oval or oblong UFO. A second object appears that resembles the first but seems to be covered in "cobwebs" on its upper surface. About 15 minutes later, "cotton-like" material is found that when handled becomes a "small ball which melted as it was touched." The next morning, a collected sample has totally sublimated. (Brian Boldman, " An Analysis of Angel Hair, 1947-2000," IUR 26, no. 3 (Fall 2001): 19)
October 18 — Early evening. Two youths are on White Oak Mountain southeast of Chatham, Virginia, when they see a bright-white entity, 3–4 feet tall, with a shimmering body and a large head with no eyes. It begins chasing them in an unusual sideways movement. They run back to a pickup truck where an adult is waiting for them. After they get there, they see a green, hazy cloud moving into the sky, headed north. About the same time, some state troopers in Salem, Virginia, see a red ball of fire in the sky. (“ UFO ‘Thing’ Chases Boys on White Oak,” Danville (Va.) Bee, October 19, 1973, p. B-1)
October 18 — 11:00 p.m. Army Reserve Capt. Lawrence J. Coyne (with his crew 1st Lt. Arrigo Jezzi, Sgt. John Healey, and Spec5 Robert Yanacsek) is flying an Army Reserve UH-1 Huey helicopter at 1,200 feet from Columbus to Cleveland, Ohio. Healey notices a steady, southbound red light. It looks like the port-wing light of an aircraft but seems brighter and carries none of the other FAA-required lights. He watches it disappear behind the helicopter and doesn’t tell the others. A couple minutes later, Yanacsek sees a bright red light on the eastern horizon and watches it for 90 seconds, realizing it is pacing the helicopter. He mentions it to Coyne, who tells Healey to watch it. Soon the light turns and comes towards the helicopter. Coyne takes the controls from Jezzi and puts the helicopter into a descent. He calls Mansfield (Ohio) Approach Control but fails to get a response. The red light is now closing on them at a dangerous rate of speed, possibly 684 mph. Coyne pushes the stick down, forcing the helicopter to descend quickly. When he gets to an altitude of 650 feet above the treetops, Coyne looks up and sees the object covering the entire front windshield. The red light is on its nose and a white light is on the tail of this cigar- shaped, metallic structure. Under the tail, a green beam sweeps a 90° arc and shines through the windshield. It hovers above them for 10–12 seconds before accelerating and heading northwest. The bright white light just snaps out. Coyne looks at the altimeter and realizes they have been ascending and are now at 3,500 feet, but the stick is still down. He pulls the stick up and the helicopter levels out at 3,800 feet. Reviewing his instruments, Coyne notices that the magnetic compass is rotating slowly, while the Radio Magnetic Indicator is functioning normally. They make radio contact with Akron and fly on to Cleveland without further incident. Other witnesses on the ground have seen the incident. (NICAP, “ Coyne Helicopter, E-M / Magnetic Compass Encounter”; [ CUFOS case file]; John P. Coyne, “ Copter Narrowly Misses Collision with Strange Craft,” Cleveland (Ohio) Plain Dealer, October 21, 1973, p. 31A; “ UFO Encounter Affirmed,” Cincinnati Enquirer, October 22, 1973, p. 1; Jennie Zeidman, “ UFO–Helicopter Close Encounter over Ohio,” Flying Saucer Review 22, no. 4 (November 1976): 15–19; Jennie Zeidman, “ More on the Coyne Helicopter Case,” Flying Saucer Review 23, no. 4 (January 1978): 16–18; Jennie Zeidman, “Major Coyne and the UFO: The True Story,” Fate 31, no. 8 (August 1978): 66–74; Philip J. Klass, “The Other Side of the Coyne Encounter,” Fate 31, no. 12 (December 1978): 72, 74, 76–82; Jennie Zeidman, “Zeidman on Klass on Coyne,” Fate 31, no. 12 (December 1978): 73, 75, 82–85; Jennie Zeidman, A Helicopter-UFO Encounter over Ohio, CUFOS, 1979; Kim Hansen, “UFO Casebook,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, pp. 82–85; Good Above, pp. 302–303; Jennie Zeidman, “ Green Light over Mansfield,” IUR 13, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1988): 13–14; Jennie Zeidman, “ The Coyne Case: Correction and Update,” IUR 14, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1989): 17–18; UFOEv II 81–86; Michael D. Swords, GrassRoots UFOs: Case Reports from the Timmerman Files, Fund for UFO Research, 2005, p. 145; Patrick Gross, “ The Coyne Incident, Mansfield, Ohio, USA, 1973”; Kevin D. Randle, “ The Coyne Helicopter UFO Case,” A Different Perspective, August 5, 2014; Clark III 309–312; “ The 1973 Coyne/Mansfield Helicopter UFO Incident Finally Explained,” Parabunk, April 2, 2018; Kevin D. Randle, “ The Coyne Helicopter Encounter–Explained?” A Different Perspective, May 1, 2018; Randle, Levelland, 2021, pp. 159–161; Randle, 1973, pp. 130–156; Covert 28; Powell, Scientist, 17; Clark IV 353–356; Kevin D. Randle, “ Following Is a Long Posting about the Coyne Helicopter UFO Sighting,” A Different Perspective, April 24, 2025; “ Green Beam from a UFO Lifts Up Army Helicopter, Observed by Lawrence Coyne and John Healy in 1973,” Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, June 4, 2025)
October 18 — 11:30 p.m. A group of people in Wooster, Ohio, notices a bright, pulsing, triangular object with three colored lights at each apex, pulsating at different rates. When the object moves, the red light becomes brighter. It moves right, left, up, and down for 25 minutes. The UFO then dips down and shoots straight up into the sky. (Michael D. Swords, “ Timmerman’s Triangles,” IUR 29, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 15)
October 19 — 3:30 p.m. A woman is driving south on Interstate 75 near Ashburn, Georgia, when her engine suddenly stops and the power brakes and power steering go out. She guides the car onto the shoulder of the road. Stunned and sitting behind the steering wheel, she senses something amiss and looks toward the highway. Right outside her rolled-up window she sees a humanoid dressed in a metallic suit and a bubble helmet with two rectangular slits for eyes. She has difficulty looking at it directly, and after 5–6 minutes the creature moves to the front of the car, then around to the back, its helmet making odd, mechanical movements, before it disappears from view. Shortly afterward, she gets out of the car and raises the hood to attract a passing motorist, but smoke comes billowing out. The engine is so intensely hot that by the time a police tow truck takes her to a garage, the hood is nearly at the melting stage. APRO considers it unlikely that the woman could have raised the hood if it had been so hot. (“ Strange Creature Stalls Auto in Georgia: Car Intensely Hot,” Skylook, no. 73 (December 1973): 7–8; “ Possible Hoax in Georgia,” APRO Bulletin 22, no. 6 (May/June 1974): 5–6)
October 19 — NBC News journalist John Chancellor sums up the prevailing views on UFOs among broadcasters on the NBC Evening News: “Many people would like the UFOs to go away. But the UFOs won’t go away, and many scientists are taking them very seriously. It’s likely that we will hear more and more about the UFOs.” (“ More and More UFO’s #467328,” Vanderbilt News Archive, October 19, 1973; Jacobs, UFO Controversy in America, Signet ed., 1976, p. 261)
October 19 — 7:45 p.m. David A. Doby and his wife are leaving to go to a football game when they see a large bluish, oval-shaped UFO hovering above their mobile home in Copeland, North Carolina. Suddenly she sees a 3-foot-tall creature standing in the front yard. It is dressed head to foot in a golden metallic suit. They rush into their car with their young son and speed away. Instead of returning, they spend the night with a friend. The family dog also flees, returning the next day. (George D. Fawcett, “ Many North Carolina UFO Sightings Remain Unsolved,” Skylook, no. 74 (January 1974): 14)
October 19 — 8:30 p.m. Gabriel Demogue and his girlfriend are riding a motorcycle along a road leading to Malmont, a peak just north of Draguignan, Var, France, when suddenly the girl sees a vivid yellow-orange ball surrounded by a light halo traveling parallel to their bike. They stop to watch the object, which is moving west to east about 1,600 feet from them. It vanishes behind the mountain, leaving a red glow visible through the trees. Demogue contacts a few friends, including Georges Macret, Alain Leca, and Christian Bensa, who decide to drive two cars to the overlook to investigate. Soon Macret notices that the orientation table at the overlook is growing hot and feels a wave of heat passing through him. They all notice a red light below the peak, which descends along a stony track, and they hear the sound of pebbles being displaced and a modulated whistling noise. The light is apparently carried by a humanoid figure more than 6 feet tall, which stops about 80 feet away and picks something up from the ground. The red light goes out and the whistling stops. The observers panic and rush to their cars, but a blinding white light shines on them from the hilltop. Leca drives a few yards then looks back and sees three figures coming down the path with jerky steps. He reverses the car and stops about 15 feet from them, shouting, “Are you good or are you bad?” The three figures seem to be discussing what to do, then continue toward the car, which panics Leca and he speeds away another 160 feet before looking back and returning to the overlook. The other car, driven by Macret, encounters two phosphorescent “red legs” crossing the road in front of their vehicle. The headlights and dashboard light go out. They take a sharp turn in the darkness, narrowly avoiding a crash. Moments later, the lights come back on. After stopping for a while, Macret drives on and encounters the “red legs” again coming from the right, but he speeds ahead at about 40 mph. Suddenly his car is thrown off sideways at right angles to the road, but the car mysteriously positions itself on the road again. (J. Chasseigne, “ Remarkable Encounter at Draguignan,” Flying Saucer Review 20, no. 4 (January 1975): 12–17.
October 20 — 1:00 a.m. Two women driving in a Volkswagen near Fort Smith, Arkansas, see a glowing object approach them from the south. It descends within 6 feet of their car, at which point the headlights, radio, and engine all fail. The object is about 8 feet in diameter, shaped like a disc, and emits a “computer-like” sound. After about 5 minutes, it moves away quickly. (Fort Smith (Ark.) Southwest Times Record, October 21, 1973; Mark Rodeghier, UFO Reports Involving Vehicle Interference, CUFOS, 1981, p. 59)
October 20 — 2:00 a.m. Sam Richerson and his wife awaken in their home in Campbellsville, Kentucky, when a barking dog disturbs his young son from a deep sleep. When his wife attends to him, she notices a glowing object across the street. They stand and watch the object for 15 minutes. It is a triangular-shaped object the size of two cars hovering at treetop height 300 feet away. ( Campbellsville (Ky.) News-Journal, October 25, 1973; Marler 89–90)
October 20 — 6:50 a.m. A conductor on a Louisville & Nashville Railroad train moving northeast out of Mount Vernon, Indiana, sees a bright white light coming out of the north and heading east. When they reach Caborn, Indiana, he notifies the rear conductors, who can now see a bright light (possibly another train) behind them. The train’s automatic blocking system is showing a red light, indicating there is a train to the rear. When the train reaches Belknap, the engine stops because a rear diesel unit has apparently overheated. The yardmaster in Evansville informs them that there never was any train behind them. The conductor hits a reset button and the train starts with no trouble. The light in the rear seems to be moving away, and the blocking system turns to an amber signal. (NICAP, “ UFO Disables Train”; Randle, Levelland, 2021, pp. 161–162; Randle, 1973, pp. 171–172; “ L&N Train Conductor Talks to Researcher Francis Ridge in a Rare Recording about a 1973 Incident,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, April 10, 2024)
October 20 — A man and two in-laws watch a UFO pass over Round Valley Reservoir, Clinton Township, New Jersey. Their car engine and headlights give out while the object is visible. (“ Saucer Flew over Reservoir, According to a Fisherman Who Couldn’t Get Car Going,” High Bridge (N.J.) Gazette, October 24, 1973, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 55 (November 1973): 5)
October 20 — 8:00 p.m. A witness sees a triangular-shaped object with bright white lights hovering above Milton Road in Alton, Illinois. A second triangle is above the first. (“Latest UFO over Milton (Road),” Alton (Ill.) Telegraph, October 22, 1973; Marler 90, 209)
October 21 — 2:30 a.m. Reafa Heitfeld wakes up in her trailer in Covedale on the west side of Cincinnati, Ohio, and notices a bright light shining outside. The source is a row of six lights forming an arc outside her window, as well as another bright light over the parking lot. Outside the second light she can see a gray “apelike creature” that seems to be fixing something. In the process of calling the police, she hears a loud, deep, booming sound, and the object and creature are gone. Investigator Leonard Stringfield finds that a fire alarm has gone off at the same time in a nearby warehouse only 150 feet away, although firemen can locate nothing that set it off. (Len Stringfield, “ Creature Inside Shield of Light,” Skylook, no. 87 (February 1975): 3–6; “ Bell-Jars and Gargoyles,” Canadian UFO Report 3, no. 4 (1975): cover, 1, 5–6; David Webb, 1973: Year of the Humanoids, CUFOS, 2nd ed., May 1976, pp. 16, 29, 64; Clark III 554; Clark IV 612)
October 21 — Science writer Walter Sullivan writes in the New York Times that not since 1947 “have there been such widespread reports of unidentified flying objects or UFO’s, in recent days.” (Walter Sullivan, “ Despite Lack of Data from Pilots and Officials, Reports of UFO Sightings Are Many and Widespread,” New York Times, October 21, 1973, p. 65)
October 22 — 2:00 p.m. June Margolin sees a shiny globe dropping web-like substance in large amounts over Sudbury, Massachusetts. It drapes over trees and telephone lines. She collects a sample and puts it in the refrigerator, but the substance still dissipates into strong white threads. The University of Massachusetts field station examines a sample. It is not spider web, but there is not enough of it for a chemical analysis. X-ray fluorescence and diffraction analysis indicates sodium, aluminum, silicon, sulfur, chorine, potassium, calcium, iron, nickel. The substance is 95% organic. Two other analyses indicate slightly different composition. (“ UFO ‘Angel’s Hair’ Still Remains a Mystery,” UFO Investigator, March 1974, pp. 1, 3; Brian Boldman, “ An Analysis of Angel Hair, 1947–2000,” IUR 26, no. 3 (Fall 2001): cover; Brian Boldman, “ Angel Hair Physical Analyses: A Review,” JUFOS 9 (2006): 105–106)
October 22 — 6:50 p.m. A man is farming in Upton, Indiana, when he notices an object that looks like it is going to land. He and his daughter walk toward the other side of the field to investigate. They can see an object with red, white, and green lights near the railroad tracks. As a train passes through, the object dims and hovers near it for one minute, then takes off to the southeast. An object is seen flying above a train at Maunie, Illinois, the same evening. (NICAP, “ UFO Hovers over Passing Train”)
October 22 — 9:45 p.m.–after midnight. Dewayne and Debbie Donathan are driving toward their home 9 miles east of Hartford City, Indiana, when they see two strange-looking figures 30 feet ahead of them on the road. Four feet tall, they are dressed in tight-fitting silver suits and wear boxlike shoes. They move in a clumsy fashion, their arms flopping oddly along their sides. Debbie accelerates and drives past the figures. The witnesses alert the sheriff’s office, and two officers and a civilian friend, Gary Flatter, investigate. They see no figures but hear an odd, high-frequency sound. Around midnight, Flatter hears the sound again south of the original encounter and notes wild animals leaving the area. His headlights pick up two 4-foot figures 20 feet off the side of the road. He can see a hose going from their egg-shaped helmets down to their chests. Three times they rise 3 feet into the air then float down. The fourth time, they fly away, still standing erectly. (“ Occupants in Indiana,” APRO Bulletin 22, no. 2 (Sept./Oct. 1973): 1, 3; “‘Silver-Suited’ Beings Seen on Roadway,” Hartford City (Ind.) News-Times, October 22, 1973; Don Worley, “UFOs, Occupants, and Artifacts in Eastern Indiana 1972–1973,” Official UFO 1, no. 5 (January 1976): 16–18, 44–46; David Webb, 1973: Year of the Humanoids, 2nd ed., CUFOS, May 1976, pp. 16, 63, 66; Raymond Fowler, UFOs: Interplanetary Visitors, Bantam, 1979, pp. 311–312; Clark III 278; Clark IV 318)
October 22 — 11:00 p.m. A senior sales representative for an airline company is sitting on the balcony of his suite at the Holiday Inn, Key West, Florida, along with his sister. They watch a silent UFO fly past them from the west, five separate times, at 10-minute intervals, at different altitudes and in different directions. They think it is the same object each time, on a level flight and a straight course. Three times the object passes directly overhead and disappears behind the hotel. From the front, it looks wing-shaped, but when it passes overhead, they see it is boomerang-shaped. The leading edge appears to be illuminated from within with a soft-blue light. (“ Interesting 1973 Case,” APRO Bulletin 24, no. 1 (July 1975): 1, 5)
October 23 — Bonnie Collier observes two metallic cigar-shaped objects over Midway, Texas. She photographs one of them. About 20 minutes later, she notices monarch butterflies are getting entangled in “sheets of a web-like substance” falling to earth. She retrieves a grapefruit-sized sample from a mesquite tree and stores it in a box. Some 20 years later, the sample is analyzed by two engineering students at the University of Texas at Austin. A neutron activation survey indicates high concentrations of sodium, potassium, zinc, and lanthanum. Other tests indicate the sample is spider silk produced by a cribellate orb weaver spider. (Brian Boldman, “ An Analysis of Angel Hair, 1947–2000,” IUR 26, no. 3 (Fall 2001): 14; Brian Boldman, “ Angel Hair Physical Analyses: A Review,” JUFOS 9 (2006): 106)
October 24 — 9:00 p.m. David Simpson’s car engine stops and the headlights go out when an oval object, 12 feet wide by 8 feet high, lands close by near Dobson, North Carolina. He sees a humanoid with balls of fire for eyes looking into the car. After the creature leaves, the car engine and lights come back on without his having to start the ignition. (George D. Fawcett, “ Many North Carolina UFO Sightings Remain Unsolved,” Skylook, no. 74 (January 1974): 14; David Webb, 1973: Year of the Humanoids, CUFOS, 1976, p. 17)
October 25 — FBI Director Clarence M. Kelley explains in a letter to a resident of La Habra, California, that the investigation of UFOs “is not and never has been a matter that is within the investigative jurisdiction of the FBI.” (Good Above, pp. 253, 475)
October 25 — 7:15 p.m. Lt. Commander M—— is traveling south from Naval Communication Station Harold E. Holt, a restricted US National Security Agency station along Murat Road on North West Cape, north of Exmouth, Western Australia, when he sees a large, black object in the sky 5 miles to his west at an altitude of 2,000 feet. After about 20–25 seconds, the object accelerates at speed to the north. It is first seen at about 20° elevation, to the west. M—— estimates its angular size as half a degree. It is initially stationary and there is no associated noise at any point, no trail or exhaust. It is last seen at 45°–50° elevation. At about 7:20 p.m., William Gordon Lynn, an Australian civilian and US Navy employee fire captain, notices a large, stationary, black object in the clear sky. It has a halo around the center, which appears to be either revolving or pulsating. He watches it for an estimated four minutes, after which it takes off speedily in a northerly direction and disappears after a few seconds. He thinks it is about 30 feet in diameter and hovering at 1,000 feet over the hills west of the base. On this same date, the base is communicating a DEFCON III alert to conventional and nuclear forces in the region during the Yom Kippur War (an NSA misreading of a Syrian message to the USSR had indicated a Soviet build-up). (NICAP, “ Black Sphere Observed / DEFCON-3 Reached”; Bill Chalker, “ The North West Cape Incident: UFOs and Nuclear Alert in Australia,” IUR 11, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1986): 10–11; Bill Chalker, “ The UFO Connection: Startling Implications for Australia’s North West Cape, and for Australia’s Security,” Flying Saucer Review 31, no. 5 (July 1986): 16–18; Good Above, pp. 174–175; Bill Chalker, “ UFOs Sub Rosa Down Under, Part 4,” 1996; Swords 403–405; Coulthart 2023, pp. 66–68; Bill Chalker, “ Confronting UFOs and UAP: Remembering October 1973,” The OzFiles, October 22, 2023; Powell, Scientist, 66; Clark IV 912–914)
October 25 — 8:00 p.m. George Kowalczyk, 22, and two 10-year-old boys allegedly see a bright-white, dome-shaped UFO about 100 feet in diameter land in a field near Uniontown, Pennsylvania. “Screaming sounds” emanate from somewhere nearby. The UFO makes a lawnmower-like sound. Suddenly they see two large apelike creatures with glowing green eyes walking along a fence, one in front of the other. Kowalczyk fires a tracer slug with his rifle over the creatures’ heads, but they continue moving forward, seemingly communicating by making whining sounds. The tall and closer of the two, about 8 feet tall, is running its left hand along the fence, while the smaller one is struggling to keep up. Kowalczyk fires three bullets into the larger creature’s chest. It whines and reaches toward the smaller creature. The UFO vanishes and the lawnmower sound ceases. The area where the UFO had been is now glowing brilliant white. The hairy creatures head toward the woods. A policeman arrives at 9:45 p.m. and finds the landing spot still glowing slightly. They hear something moving in the woods nearby and smell a sulfur-like odor. The officer and the witnesses panic and jump into the police car and drive about 150 feet. Stan Gordon shows up at 1:30 a.m. with four members of his Westmoreland County UFO Study Group. In the company of Kowalczyk and his father, they walk around the field until Kowalczyk undergoes a violent emotional attack, during which he growls like an animal and throws his father and an investigator to the ground. During his attack, he has an apocalyptic vision in which he receives a dire warning from a man in a black hat and cloak. Kowalczyk undergoes hypnosis with psychologist Berthold Eric Schwarz, who says he has visions about the impending end of the world and after the event he “felt like an animal.” (“ ‘Bigfoot’ Sighting Studied by W’moreland UFO Unit” Uniontown (Pa.) Morning Herald, October 27, 1973, pp. 1, 3; “ Witnesses Watch UFO Landing in Pennsylvania: Hairy Creatures Seen,” Skylook, no. 73 (December 1973): 8; Berthold Eric Schwarz, “ Berserk: A UFO-Creature Encounter,” Flying Saucer Review 20, no. 1 (July 1974): 3–11; Stan Gordon, “UFOs in Relation to Creature Sightings in Pennsylvania,” in MUFON 1974 UFO Symposium Proceedings, Mutual UFO Network, 1974, pp. 132–154; Clark III 556; “ George Kowalczyk Talks Firing Shots at 2 Tall Creatures after UFO Landed in a Field, Oct. 25, 1973,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, November 9, 2023; “ Sulfur Smell, ‘Demonic Possession’ Discussed by Stan Gordon in 1973 Recording of the Kowalczyk Case,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, November 10, 2023; Clark IV 614)
October 28 — 1:15 a.m. Truck driver Dionisio Llanca is changing a tire along Highway 3 some 11 miles from Bahía Blanca, Argentina, when a UFO lands and three humanlike beings, two men and a woman, approach him. Nearly paralyzed by the light from the UFO, Llanca lets one of the beings take a blood sample and later remembers going on board the craft, whose occupants warn him that humans are headed towards disaster. He loses consciousness and wakes up in a railyard 5.5 miles away, then finds himself in a hospital. However, Argentine UFO investigators find major discrepancies and consider Llanca’s story an invention devised to make some money. (“ Occupant Encounter in Argentina,” APRO Bulletin 22, no. 3 (Nov./Dec. 1973): 7–8; “ Possible Hoax,” APRO Bulletin 22, no. 4 (Jan./Feb. 1974): 11; Gordon Creighton and Charles Bowen, “ The Extraordinary Case of Dionisio Llanca and the Ufonauts,” Flying Saucer Review 26, no. 4 (November 1980): 2–10; Guillermo Roncoroni, “ Dionisio Llanca: El Informe Solari,” UFO Press, no. 19 (Jan./March 1984): 32–35; “ The Case of Dionisio Llanca in Argentina,” Flying Saucer Review 30, no. 2 (December 1984): 25–26; UFOEv II 538–539; “ The Abduction of Dionisio Llanca,” Above Top Secret forum, February 4, 2016; Clark III 601– 602; Randle, 1973, pp. 76–79; Clark IV 660–661; “ O Caso Dionisio Llanca,” Fenomenum, April 28, 2025)
October 28 — 8:40 p.m. A couple are watching TV with their 4-year-old daughter in their mobile home north of Belpre, Ohio, when suddenly the TV picture turns negative and the sound becomes barely audible. The area in back of their trailer lights up as bright as daylight. The man looks outside and sees an egg-shaped object hovering above a small barn and shining a bright searchlight into it. The barn, about 30 feet long and 20 feet high, is about the same size as the object. The man goes outside, but the UFO switches off the light and moves back behind the barn, but he can see red and green lights around the object, which is hovering again. The woman calls her parents, who live a few houses away, and they arrive in 5 minutes with a large flashlight. Each time they shine the flashlight at the object, it moves up or down as if to avoid it. After the two men watch the object for 30 minutes, the object rises and speeds away to the southwest. (“ Possible E-M Case in Ohio,” APRO Bulletin 22, no. 4 (Jan./Feb. 1974): 1, 4–5)
October 28 — 11:30 p.m. Karl Fichtinger watches an odd orange-yellow light to the south of Bad Traunstein, Austria, that projects two beams of light that creep slowly upward like a pair of snail feelers. After moving up a short distance, they begin curving outward. After 7–10 seconds when they reach a certain height they stop moving, the two tips turn green for 2–3 seconds, a green mist falls down sideways, and the beams disappear. After 2–5 seconds the process repeats again and again. Around 12:30 a.m. he wakes his friend Johann Pritz in another house and they continue to watch the display for several hours. At 2:00 a.m. the light emits a red “missile” that moves east, stops, turns yellow-orange, and produces a similar pattern of signals. Then they notice a third object in the west that looks more like a dark domed disc, and it is also sending thin feelers up light upward. Three more smaller lights join the one in the east. At 3:30 a.m., the missile in the east stops and takes off to the south but the others remain. The witnesses go home at 4:30, and all the objects are gone by 6:00 a.m. They estimate that the first object has given off 1,200 signals, the domed disc some 550, and the missile a minimum of 360. Researcher Alexander Keul later admits that the observations are made by a “naïve and inexperienced amateur.” (Ernst Berger [Alexander G. Keul], “ uminous ‘Snails’ near Traunstein, Austria,” Flying Saucer Review 20, no. 2 (October 1974): 12–18; Clark IV 1215)
November — 1:00 a.m. A witness in Sauk Village, Illinois, is sitting in her dark living room when a light outside causes it to get brighter. She sees a lighted domed disc hovering in the front yard. A central section is filled with alternating blue and gold rectangular lights. It appears to be revolving, except for the dome, which is stationary. Her husband joins her and they continue watching it for 10 minutes. It quickly takes off straight up in 10 seconds. (“ Illinois,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 6, no. 2 (April/May 1985): 5, 7)
November 1 — Florence Dow hears a thump on her front porch near Goffstown, New Hampshire, and sees a motionless figure wearing an old black coat and a wide-brimmed hat pulled down over the face, which seems to be covered with masking tape. It motions to her with a gloved hand, indicating that she should come outside. She goes to the front door but by then the mystery figure has vanished. (Raymond Fowler, “The Goffstown Creatures,” Official UFO 1, no. 2 (August 1975): 22–23; David Webb, 1973: Year of the Humanoids, CUFOS, 1976, p. 18)
November 2 — 2:45 a.m. Lyndia Morel, a masseuse in Manchester, New Hampshire, leaves work and begins driving on State Highway 114 to her home in nearby Goffstown. On the outskirts of Manchester, she sees an odd light in the sky that is flashing different colors. The light vanishes when she reaches Goffstown, but it reappears twice more, seemingly brighter and closer. Suddenly it appears about 1,600 feet in front her on North Mast Road. She sees that it is an orange-and-gold globe covered with hexagons like a honeycomb, with an oval window on the upper left. The red, green, and blue flashes come from somewhere near the center of the object, and she hears a high-pitched sound. Suddenly she is unable to remove her hands from the steering wheel. She feels that the object is taking control of her and the car and pulling them in. Her car speeds up against her will as she passes Westlawn Cemetery. The object is now only a few hundred feet away, and through a window she sees a smallish humanoid figure standing behind a console. The figure has a round, grayish head, a wrinkled face, a downturned slit of a mouth, and two large eyes with dark pupils. She feels that he is sending her a telepathic message to be unafraid. Somehow, she slows the car and turns into the driveway of a house just past the cemetery. A German shepherd dog runs up to the car door, growling and barking at her. She hits the dog, runs up to the house, pounds on the door, rings the bell, and yells for help as the UFO moves to a position across the street, hovering and watching her, still emitting a high-pitched sound. The residents, Mr. and Mrs. Beaudoin, come to the door and find a terrified woman who is covering her ears and claiming that a UFO is after her. The Beaudoins cannot see or hear anything, but Mrs. Beaudoin calls the police and Goffstown patrolman Daniel Jubinville arrives 10 minutes later to interview Morel. Investigator Walter N. Webb finds that the position of the UFO corresponds too closely to the planet Mars, at least in the later stage of the sighting, to rule that explanation out entirely. (“UFO Terrifies Woman,” Manchester (N.H.) Union Leader, November 3, 1973; “ Occupant Encounter in New Hampshire,” APRO Bulletin 22, no. 4 (Jan./Feb. 1974): 5–7; Raymond E. Fowler, UFOs: Interplanetary Visitors, Exposition, 1974, pp. 322–323; Raymond Fowler, “The Goffstown Creatures,” Official UFO 1, no. 2 (August 1975): 22–23; UFOEv II 539–540; “ The 1973 UFO Encounter of Lyndia Morel,” UFO Casebook; Eghigian, After, pp. 1–3)
November 2 — Night. Police officers looking into reports of a “strange animal” seen in the area of Midland, Pennsylvania, spot a large, disc-shaped object in the sky overhead. At least 100 other people also see the object. (Stan Gordon, “UFOs in Relation to Creature Sightings in Pennsylvania,” in MUFON 1974 UFO Symposium Proceedings, Mutual UFO Network, 1974, pp. 132–154; Clark III 556; Clark IV 614)
November 2 — Dick Cavett features J. Allen Hynek, Carl Sagan, astronaut James McDivitt, Capt. Lawrence J. Coyne, Charles Hickson, and Calvin Parker on the Dick Cavett Show. Sagan mocks the testimony of the Pascagoula abductees as well as Coyne: “I don’t mean to attack Captain Coyne, but people who read altimeters hallucinate.” (Graff 259–260)
November 3 — Day. At the bottom of a gully in an isolated section of the woods near idland, Pennsylvania, two hunters find a 42-foot ring impressed in the grass. Investigator Stan Gordon finds a trail of three-toed footprints—11 inches long and 5 inches wide—some 250 yards from the ring. (Stan Gordon, “UFOs in Relation to Creature Sightings in Pennsylvania,” in MUFON 1974 UFO Symposium Proceedings, Mutual UFO Network, 1974, pp. 132–154; Clark III 556; Clark IV 614)
November 4 — 12:00 midnight. Rex Snow and his wife Theresa are awakened in their house in Goffstown, New Hampshire, by a brushing sound. He sees two self-luminous, silver-suited beings, 4½–5 feet tall, in the backyard about 60 feet away. They have oversized, pointed ears; dark, egg-shaped eyeholes; large noses encased in the silver coverall; and silver boots with upturned toes. One holds a flashlight-like object, while the other picks up things from the ground and puts them in a silver bag. The family dog is ordered to attack the creatures, but halts about 30 feet away, makes some lunges, then walks back and lies down whining on the kitchen floor. Snow closes the door and watches them walk away into the woods. (Raymond E. Fowler, UFOs: Interplanetary Visitors, Exposition, 1974, pp. 324–326; Raymond Fowler, “The Goffstown Creatures,” Official UFO 1, no. 2 (August 1975): 22–23, 103–104; David Webb, 1973: Year of the Humanoids, CUFOS, 1976, p. 19)
November 4 — 12:00 noon. Two teenage boys in Inkster, North Dakota, see a bright light hovering 45 feet above a field. It appears to be a cube-shaped object about 10 feet wide with five red, white, and green lights. The teens can feel static electricity in the air. After 10 minutes, the object flies away. Traces of dead vegetation are found later in the field. (Mark Rodeghier, UFO Reports Involving Vehicle Interference, CUFOS, 1981, p. 60)
November 5 — Afternoon. Members of a farm family in Canby, Minnesota, find one of their cows lying dead in a pasture. Its udder, tongue, ears, and tail have been severed, and hair clippings from the end of the tail lie in a pile near the carcass. No nearby car tracks or footprints are found by police. (Jerome Clark, “Strange Case of the Cattle Killings,” Fate 27, no. 8 (August 1974): 79–90; Clark III 133; Clark IV 160)
November 6 - 9:00 p.m. Off-duty patrolmen Gary Steinberg and Thomas Brown are sitting in an unmarked patrol car in Freeport, New York, facing east. They see a bright light in the sky that is not the helicopter they think it is at first. They watch it for 5-10 minutes before it moves away to the southeast. Steinberg tries to get closer in the patrol car, while Brown stays behind and directs him by radio. He gets to within 300-400 feet of it, as it is 700-800 feet in altitude. It now appears football-shaped and 100 feet long. He watches it for 10-15 minutes as it glows silvery blue with an occasional yellow-red pulsating tint. The object then moves off to the southwest, stopping occasionally. A smaller object comes up on his right and drifts up to the larger object and merges with it. The larger object dims in sections (about 16), one after the other, and it takes off to the southwest and disappears in a couple seconds. (Dick Ruhl, " Merging UFOs over Long Island," APRO Bulletin 22, no. 4 (Jan./Feb. 1974): 1, 3-4; Herbert S. Taylor, " Satellite Objects: A Further Look," IUR 29, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 5-6)
November 6 - 9:45 p.m. A USAF security policeman at the eastern portion of Kirtland AFB near Albuquerque, New Mexico, sees a large, glowing object hovering 100 feet above the Manzano Nuclear Weapons Storage Facility. It is an oblate spheroid, 150 feet in diameter, gold in color, and absolutely silent. Nine other air policemen are alerted, and four F-101 Voodoo Air National Guard interceptors are scrambled from Kirtland. The UFO begins moving east and passes out of sight at treetop level in the Manzano Mountains. (R. C. Hecker, " New Mexico Reports," APRO Bulletin 23, no. 2 (Sept./Oct. 1974): 5; Good Need, p. 321)
November 7 Several airline pilots from United Airlines reported seeing a UFO hovering over O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois. Multiple witnesses, including commercial pilots, reported seeing a large, metallic disk-shaped object hovering above the airport. One of the pilots, Captain Lee Solomon, described the UFO as a “solid, metallic disk” that hovered above the terminal for several minutes before shooting straight up into the sky at high speed. The incident was also recorded on radar, adding to the credibility of the witnesses’ accounts.
November 8 — The crew of a Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano airplane encounters a strange, luminous object near La Paz, Bolivia, and alerts the Bolivian air force. Maj. Norberto Saloman, already airborne on a practice flight in a North American F-100 Super Sabre fighter, investigates and observes a stationary object shaped like a top with window-like openings on its sides. He closes in to 6,600 feet, but the object moves away at incredible speed. As he pursues it. The object suddenly repositions itself behind his aircraft, then goes straight up and vanishes. (“ Bolivian Pilot Chases Object Which Looks Like a Top,” Skylook, no. 82 (September 1974): 17; UFOEv II 86–87)
November 8 — Around 10:45 p.m. Donna and Rick Bouchard and their three children are driving west in a pickup truck along Ontario Highway 417 north of Embrun, Ontario. Rick sees an object with spinning lights at about 40 feet altitude in his rearview mirror. Suddenly the object dives toward the back of the truck. Rick speeds up to 100 mph, but the object stays right behind, wobbling, with the lights at the bottom rotating around it. At one point the object ascends a bit and disappears behind some bushes, but it returns after a few seconds and approaches the truck at high speed, following them all the way to the Ottawa suburbs, even going beneath the Anderson Road overpass, which is 15 feet high. (“ Car Chase in Canada,” APRO Bulletin 22, no. 4 (Jan./Feb. 1974): 1, 4; Arthur Bray, “ Car Chased under Bridges,” Canadian UFO Report 3, no. 4 (1975): 11, 13; Paul R. Hill, Unconventional Flying Objects: A Scientific Analysis, Hampton Roads, 1995, pp. 102–104)
Mid-November - Evening. Two sentries at a lookout post on the perimeter of Istrana Air Base, Veneto province, Italy, see two beings, about 4 feet 11 inches tall, dressed in white. Further away they see an unconventional craft. The beings run to the UFO and speed away. Marks are found at the landing site. (" Italy: Top Secret," Flying Saucer Review 20, no. 5 (March 1975): iii; Good Above, pp. 143-144)
November 16 — 7:00 p.m. Two 11-year old boys are outside in Lemon Grove, California, intending to play in a vacant lot or field in the neighborhood. When they arrive, there is a dark object hovering about 18 inches above the field. It seems inactive. One of the boys cautiously approaches and raps it with his flashlight, making a sound like metal on metal. Instantly, the object’s dome lights up in a brilliant red light that illuminates the entire area. It rises three or four more feet off the ground, and a row of green lights light up around its perimeter, flashing in sequence. The thing begins rotating and making a “woooo woooo woooo” sound. The object is easily visible now and appears as a domed disc. The dome is large and tall (about equal to half or more of the disc height) and glowing bright red, then flashing intermittent red. The boys are now frightened and start to run away as the object takes off toward the southwest. At the site are found three marks forming an equilateral triangle within an area of grass swirled in a counterclockwise pattern. A magnetometer at La Posta Astro-Geophysical Observatory in Campo, California, allegedly registers a perturbation at 7:20 p.m. (NICAP, “ Object Hovers 18ʺ off Ground / Magnetometer Perturbation”; David Branch and Robert Klinn, “TV Interference, Fused Phone Lines, Cited in UFO Landing Case,” Santa Ana (Calif.) Register, December 5, 1973; “ Boys Encounter Landed Object,” APRO Bulletin 22, no. 4 (Jan./Feb. 1974): 7–8; Donald R. Carr, “Boys Say UFO Hit with Flashlight,” Skylook, no. 75 (February 1974): 4–5; Dave Green, “ UFO Group Convinced Reported Spacecraft Landing Was Real,” La Mesa (Calif.) Life News, March 20, 1974, pp. 1–2; Stringfield, Situation Red, Fawcett Crest, 1977, pp. 116–119; Corky Lang, “ 20-Foot Flying Saucer in Lemon Grove? That’s the Story from 1973,” Lemon Grove (Calif.) Patch, July 10, 2012)
November 17 — 6:00 p.m. Johann Pritz notices an oblong object emitting lights upward (similar to those he had seen on October 29) as he is driving near Ulltichschlag, Austria. He drives home to Bad Traunstein and continues watching the display to the south. He gathers several other witnesses in town, and they continue watching until the object fades out after 7:00 p.m. (Ernst Berger [Alexander G. Keul], “ Luminous ‘Snails’ near Traunstein, Austria,” Flying Saucer Review 20, no. 2 (October 1974): 16–18)
November 18 — About 6:00 p.m. Four women are driving south from Tracy, Quebec, to Contrecoeur when they see a “watermelon-sized” ball of yellowish light suddenly appear above a pylon a quarter of a mile ahead of them. As they pass, it starts moving westward over the St. Lawrence River. The object seems to change shape as it flies, becoming alternately larger and smaller, dimming and growing in intensity. The light follows them as they weave in and out through wooded areas. Eventually the object is lost to sight as the women drive into Montreal. At one point they encounter a large volume of traffic that seems to be slowed by an odd pink cloud lying across the highway. They also see a small human figure standing in the middle of the road. (Chris Rutkowski and Geoff Dittman, The Canadian UFO Report, Dundurn Press, 2006, pp. 107–108)
November 22 — 2:00 a.m. A woman living in an isolated area near Joliette, Quebec, notices a white object outside her kitchen window. She moves closer to the window and sees a 4-foot-tall being with huge glowing eyes. Around its head or helmet there is a halo; its shoulders slope at a 45° angle from the head. After 15 seconds, the figure withdraws. She alerts her husband, who goes outside to investigate but only finds the dog “scared to death.” The following night the cat is spooked. (Claude Macduff, “ The November 1973 UFO-Invasion of Quebec,” The UFO Register 7, no. 1/2 (1976): 12–15; Clark III 496; Chris Rutkowski and Geoff Dittman, The Canadian UFO Report, Dundurn Press, 2006, pp. 108–109)
November 28 — A Gallup poll shows that 51% of Americans believe UFOs are “real,” as opposed to 27% who think they are “imaginary.” And 11% of men and 12% of women claim to have seen a UFO, extrapolating into 15 million Americans. (“ 51% in Gallup Poll Believe in U.F.O.’s: 11% Note Sightings,” New York Times, November 29, 1973, p. 45; Robert J. Durant, “ Evolution of Public Opinion on UFOs,” IUR 18, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1993): 12; Eghigian, After, p. 240)
November 30 — 7:00 p.m. Pilot Riccardo Marano is about to land at Caselle Airport, Turin, Italy, in a Piper Navajo, when the controller notifies him that there is a UFO about 1,320 feet above the runway. He sees a luminous, multicolored ball of light changing from violet to blue to dark red. “When I got closer and had a better view, the object at once made off, flying in a most irregular fashion, maneuvering in a way I have seen no plane do, making fantastic lateral deviations, and sudden vast jumps to and fro, as if it enjoyed playing hide-and-seek. Its speed was as high as” 540 mph, Marano says. Col. Rustichelli, commandant of the Caselle military airfield, sees the UFO on his own radar screen. “It was something solid, lit up, like a plane on my radar.” Commander Tranquillo, pilot of an Alitalia Air Line DC-9 en route from Turin to Rome, calls to the control tower: “I see a shining thing giving out intermittent flashes of light, four miles from me. I dare not approach. I give way.” Commander Mezzalami in another Alitalia DC-9 reports: “I was able to observe the object … notified by the control tower just as I was about to touch down. I had a good view of it.... I can offer no theories as to its significance and can only say that it was something very strange indeed.” (NICAP, “ UFO Darts To and Fro, Observed from 3 Aircraft and Gnd Radar”; F. Lagarde, “ Italie: Turin 30 Novembre et Suza 24 Novembre 1973,” Lumières dans la Nuit, no. 133 (March 1974): 5–6; Gordon Creighton, “ The Italian Scene Once More,” Flying Saucer Review 20, no. 2 (October 1974): 27; Story, p. 373; UFOEv II 132–133; 1Pinotti 185–186)
December — Kansas is quietly undergoing an epidemic of strange cattle deaths. The incidents first receive wide publicity in the December 22 Kansas City Times, which takes note of the fact that most of the deaths are Black Angus. They have died within a few miles of US 81 in a dozen counties in north-central Kansas. Many show knife marks on the carcasses, including the apparent butchering of sex organs. The lack of blood and footprints is also puzzling. Sheriffs from the affected counties meet and decide that cultists are responsible. But according to the Kansas State University Veterinarian Laboratory in Manhattan, the animals have died of bloat and coyotes have eaten the soft parts. Many ranchers reject the explanation. Mystery helicopters are also linked to the mutilations. (Richard D. Ralls, “ Cattle Mutilations Baffle Kansas Farmers, Officials,” Kansas City (Mo.) Times, December 22, 1973, pp. 1–2, 16; Jerome Clark, “Strange Case of the Cattle Killings,” Fate 27, no. 8 (August 1974): 79–90; Roberta Donovan and Keith Wolverton, Mystery Stalks the Prairie, THAR Institute, 1976; Clark III 133; Clark IV 160)
December — Donald E. Keyhoe publishes Aliens from Space, in which he continues to ignore occupant cases but finally admits that the CIA, not the Air Force, is the primary perpetrator of the UFO cover-up. (Donald E. Keyhoe, Aliens from Space: The Real Story of Unidentified Flying Objects, Doubleday, 1973; Clark III 649–650; Powell, Keyhoe, 395–396; Clark IV 725)
December — The Société Varoise d’Étude des Phénomènes Spatiaux in Toulon, France, begins publishing the journal Approche in conjunction with the Société Vauclusienne d’Étude des Phénomènes Spatiaux in Vedene, France. ( Approche, no. 1 (December 1973))
December 3 — James Yorke and his family watch a triangular UFO with colored lights on the bottom for 15 minutes two miles north of Parrsboro, Nova Scotia. It is over Minas Basin and crossing the water very slowly. (Don Ledger, “ The Flying Triangle Phenomenon,” IUR 27, no. 3 (Fall 2002): 7)
December 6 - 6:45 p.m. Witnesses at Fabrègues, Hérault, France, see a landed domed disc on legs with a brightly lit "blister" on top, flashing red and white lights around the rim and making a humming sound. A door opens and a ladder unfolds, causing the witnesses to flee. The craft changes to an orange glow and chases them. Later, four imprints in a 51-inch square are found, along with ladder marks. The area appears "swept" as if by a blast. (Yves Herbo, " Décembre 1973: Atterrissages avec traces à Fabrègues," Sciences Faits et Histoires, November 21, 2014)
December 8 — While harvesting, farmer Kevin O’Connell finds seven sections of his oat crop flattened into circles 3 miles west of Bordertown, South Australia. They are spread over 20 acres and the largest is 14 feet in diameter. The oats are flattened counterclockwise. (Terry Wilson, “ 1973: Bordertown,” Old Crop Circles)
December 10 — 8:30 p.m. Friedrich Lennartz, an alpine rescue service man and proprietor of the Hochrieshütte in the Bavarian Alps, Germany, and Peter Zettel, a porter, are at dinner at the hut’s restaurant when through the large panoramic window they see a flaring light near the cross on Mount Weitlahnerkopf to the southeast. It is lighting up the surrounding terrain. Looking through binoculars, they see that the object is egg-shaped, pointing end up. By comparison to the cross, they estimate its size as 30 feet in diameter and 40–46 feet tall. A yellow dome seems to be at the top. Four rows of colored lights (red, green, blue, white) are rotating counterclockwise around the lower portion. Lennartz signals with his flashlight but gets no response. At 8:50 p.m., he fires a red signal rocket toward the object. In moments, the object emits a red glow that conceals the rotating lights and begins rising slowly, taking 4–5 minutes to clear the mountains. The object is now dazzling red with a yellow dome. It accelerates rapidly toward the observers, traveling 3–4 miles in 10 seconds and stopping over the Klausenberg slope. Loud static drowns out the radio. As the object hovers, the lights begin pulsating like strobe lights. After 30 seconds, it moves south toward the Klausenalmhütte in Austria and hovers above a pasture. At 9:00 p.m., Lennartz hears his dogs whimpering and wanting to be let inside, apparently confused. At 11:40 p.m., Lennartz fires another red signal rocket toward the object, which immediately turns red, speeds upward and disappears in the sky. After it leaves, radio reception is clear again. (Adolf Schneider and Ernst Berger [Alexander G. Keul], “ UFOs Invade the Bavarian Alps, Part 1,” Flying Saucer Review 21, no. 1 (June 1975): 22–24; UFOEv II 47–48)
December 13 - French journalist Claude Vorilhon experiences an alien visitation when he is telepathically induced to go to the volcano Puy de Lassolas in the Chaîne des Puys in central France. He sees a UFO descending gently from the sky. An alien emerges from it and tells him that he has come for the sole purpose of meeting with him. He states that it is his mission to pass this message on to the people of Earth and reveals that Vorilhon is in fact Raël, the final prophet sent by a race of highly advanced scientists (Elohim) from another planet. For another six days, the alien instructs him in the true meaning of the Bible and explains that humans are the product of alien genetic engineering. Raël establishes the Raëlian Movement, publishes several books, and promotes his message to the world, emigrating to Canada in 1991. Raël develops initiation rituals, meditation practices, congregational gatherings, a code of ethical behavior, tithing, missionary work, and a museum. Eventually he advocates for world peace and human cloning and calls for an end to nuclear testing. (Wikipedia, " History of Raëlism"; Raël, The Book Which Tells the Truth, British Raëlian Foundation, 1974; Raël, Extraterrestrials Took Me to Their Planet, British Raëlian Foundation, 1975; Susan J. Palmer, Aliens Adored: Raël's UFO Religion, Rutgers University, 2004; Clémence Michallon, " He Claimed He Was Visited by Aliens and Could Clone Babies: Why Do Thousands Believe Him?" The Independent (UK), February 7, 2024; Internet Movie Database, " Raël: The Alien Prophet," 2024; Eghigian, After, pp. 244-245)
December 15 — A single crop circle is found in a wheat field at Wokurna, South Australia. The wheat has been flattened counterclockwise and there are two bare patches. (Terry Wilson, “ 1973: Wokurna,” Old Crop Circles)
December 19 — 8:30 p.m. Farmer João Rodrigues Terra and a farmhand, Djalma da Silva Faques, are driving to the Cavorä Farm, about 31 miles away from Sidrolândia, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, when they see a low, white cloud, followed by a bright orange, oval object about 100 feet away with a “cap” on its top and bottom. The surface is shiny and metallic, constantly changing colors, and is directing a fan-shaped luminous beam from its top. They have some difficulty starting their pick-up truck, but then can only creep along as the UFO paces them for 10 minutes. Faques sees a small, human figure inside. The truck functions normally as the UFO speeds away, but its new battery fails on December 22 and cannot be recharged. (“ Episódio No. 49: O Caso de Sidrolândia, Mato Grosso,” SBEDV Special Bulletin, no. 5 (1975): 61–62)
December 20 — 2:15 a.m. Michael Wagner and Robert B. Klinn of Pacific Palisades, California, see a yellow, glowing blob hovering in the south-southeast. Through a telescope, the blob is seen to be a precise arrangement of round, yellow-gold lights. It fades away after 75 minutes. (Ann Druffel, “Santa Catalina Island Recurring ‘Cloud-Cigars,’” Proceedings of the 1976 CUFOS Conference, Center for UFO Studies, 1976, pp. 67–68; Ann Druffel, “ Santa Catalina Channel Cloud Cigars,” IUR 31, no. 1 (January 2007): 15)
December 25 — 9:00 p.m. Madame Jendreaux, a farmer at Les Rivaux, Saint-Bonnet-Tronçais, Allier, France, while checking on her dogs, notices a luminous dome-like object hovering above a meadow around 300 feet away. The dome, resembling a milky-yellow bell or pear, appears semi-transparent, revealing a dark “stove pipe” structure inside, flanked by two vague dark areas. The object, about 6–9 feet in diameter, is positioned just above the ground with nearby treetops silhouetted behind it. Above the dome and slightly to the right, two horizontal yellow neon-like tubes are visible, one above the other. These tubes seem larger than the dome but appear smaller due to their greater distance. The tubes hover above the treetops but remain low enough for Jendreaux to see all three objects without tilting her head. The phenomenon remains stationary throughout her observation. (“ Près de St Bonnet de Tronçais (Allier),” Lumières dans la Nuit, no. 177 (August 1978): 25–26)
December 31 — G. Stuart Nixon resigns (or is fired) from the NICAP staff, leaving only John Acuff in charge. (Powell, Keyhoe, 397–398)
1974
12:30 a.m. Two women are driving along Hamilton Road, Quakers Hill, New South Wales, when the car suddenly shakes violently and stops. The radio will not turn on. The driver gets out of the car to get her children out of the back seat when she looks up and sees a massive disc-shaped object at an altitude no greater than the nearby power pole. It is surrounded completely by lights and has a dome in the middle on the top. The object is gun-metal gray and the size of half a football field. It silently moves over the dairy farm next to the road. Then it stops and shoots up into the air. The car starts up with no problems afterward. (Herbert S. Taylor, “ An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part Two,” IUR 34, no. 1 (Sept. 2011): 20)
January - Since 1968, Marjorie E. Fish, a schoolteacher in Oak Harbor, Ohio, has been fascinated with the star map drawn by Betty Hill after her abduction. If she could figure out what stars are on the map, she might be able to determine where the UFO came from. With much difficulty and many failed attempts, Fish creates a 3D map that indicates the relevant stars are the two in the Zeta Reticuli binary system, 39.3 light years from earth. She first publishes her detailed results in Pursuit. Later observations reveal some interpretations in Fish's map to be inaccurate, and she rejects her hypothesis in 2011. (Wikipedia, " Betty and Barney Hill"; " Star Map Adds to Hill Controversy," UFO Investigator, May 1973, p. 3; Betty Hill, "` Star Map' Commentary," UFO Investigator, July 1973, p. 4; Marjorie E. Fish, " Validation of the Betty Hill Map," Pursuit 7, no. 1 (January 1974): 4-8; Terence Dickinson, " The Zeta Reticuli Incident," Astronomy 2, no. 12 (December 1974): 5-18; Walter N. Webb, " An Analysis of the Fish Model," Pursuit 8, no. 3 (July 1975): 55-62; " Update on the Betty Hill Star Map," IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 2 (Jan./Feb. 1981): 16, 29; Allan Hendry, "UFO Road Map: or, Lost in the Stars," Fate 35, no. 2 (February 1982): 56-63; David J. Eicher, " The Zeta Reticuli (or Ridiculi) Incident," January 31, 2001; Brett Holman, "Goodbye, Zeta Reticuli," Fortean Times 242 (December 2008): 50-52; Colin Johnston, " The Truth about Betty Hill's UFO Star Map," Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, August 19, 2011; Clark III 586-487; " Betty Hill's `Zeta Reticuli' Star Map," Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, October 2, 2024; Clark IV 644-645)
Winter — 10:30 a.m. Harry Charlton and his wife have just driven east through Melrose, New Mexico, when they see two objects moving on their left at about 1,500 feet altitude. They have no wings, tail sections, or engine nodules. Both are dull gray, like galvanized sheet iron. The larger one is in front, with a slightly smaller one about 600 feet behind. Charlton thinks they are about a half-mile away, but he can hear no noise or see any smoke. When the objects are about abreast of the car, a sliding door opens on the larger one near the front end. A large, shiny sphere (like polished aluminum) about 15–20 feet in diameter emerges, moves toward the smaller object, and enters it after a door opens near the rear end. After they move out of sight in a few minutes, Charlton sees two F-111s take off in their direction from Cannon Air Force Base near Clovis. (Harry Charlton, [ Letter], CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 5 (May 1981): 3
January 3 — 8:00 p.m. Lizzy Rodríguez de Maisonet is outside her home in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, when she notices a round object resembling an inverted soup dish. She calls her husband and a neighbor, Iris Esther Rivera, and they gather together on Guillermina Street, along with three of Rivera’s children. The object moves east to west at a slow speed, at a distance of about 650–980 feet, until it disappears behind a tree-covered hill. The adults go home, but the children see the UFO again at 8:10 p.m. It remains suspended above the hill at an altitude of about 33–50 feet. It has a row of brilliant lights on its lower side that seems to gyrate rapidly. A brilliant white light emerges from the object’s bottom. The children see five apparently solid light-green balls descend. A square gap on the side of the object reveals a bright blue light. Suddenly, the square gap becomes solid, and the object moves away to the south. It stops, and white smoke issues for 20 seconds from the object’s lower section, which seems to send up dust from the school grounds. The UFO moves south again, stopping above a small house belonging to the Aqueducts and Sewers Authority, then moves away and disappears. (Noel E. Rigau, “ International Branch Reports (Contact) No. 3: Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic,” Awareness 3, no. 2 (Summer 1974): 3, 12–14; “ 50 Years Ago: Puerto Rico’s Flamingo Terrace Sightings,” Inexplicata: The Journal of Hispanic Ufology, January 18, 2024)
January 7 — 8:40 p.m. A man’s car suddenly dies as he is driving near Warneton, Belgium. He sees a landed domed disc with a flat bottom like a WWI helmet, 23–33 feet in diameter and 7–10 feet wide. It has a flange around its base and three legs. White and orange alternating bands are on the glowing object. Two humanoid beings approach him. They have broad shoulders, heads shaped like inverted pears, long arms, large eyes, and no noses. One is about 4 feet tall, the other somewhat taller; a third being remains near the craft. They wear internally lit cube-shaped helmets with the face visible, gray jumpsuits, and gloves. The taller being comes within 12–15 feet of the vehicle, then opens and closes its mouth. The witness feels a shock to the back of his head and hears a low-pitched sound. The two humanoids quickly return to the craft, which now pulses with an electric blue color, and departs. (MM. Bazin, Bigorne, and Bodin, “ Atterrissage à Warneton (Belgique): Contact avec les Ufonautes,” Lumières dans la Nuit, no. 139 (November 1974): 3–6; “ The Robots at Warneton,” Flying Saucer Review 20, no. 5 (March 1975): 6–9; UFOEv II 493)
January 8 — 3:00 a.m. John E. Justice leaves the Ohio Masonic Home in Springfield, Ohio, when his headlights dim and the engine dies. He sees a display of aerial lights descending a short distance in front of him. The blinking lights are multicolored “like a rainbow.” Suddenly they blink out and are replaced by a blinding steady white light about 6 feet ahead of and 3 feet above the car. The light is coming from the inside of the object, where he can see a lighted room with a golden aisle and five occupants seated on the left-hand side in a straight row. Each seat is a different color, and the garments of the occupants match the color of the seat. Each has long brown hair that reaches the floor. The object departs suddenly, the interior blinking out and the colored lights reappearing. The car engine starts without difficulty. (Stringfield, Situation Red, Fawcett Crest, 1977, pp. 95–96; Herbert S. Taylor, “ An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part Two,” IUR 34, no. 1 (Sept. 2011): 16)
January 18 — 4:30 p.m. Giuseppe Cardelli is driving between Milan and Bologna, Italy, when he sees a “strange shining ball” in the sky. He stops his car, gets out, and photographs it. He submits the photo to NASA, which replies on June 18 that it has no explanation. A consultant wonders whether the photo shows a reflection in the car window and finds the “wiggly clouds to the right” interesting. (“ Italian Photo Unexplained,” APRO Bulletin 24, no. 3 (September 1975): 1, 4)
January 23 — 8:30 p.m. Witnesses at Llandrillo, northern Wales, see a bright object followed by a luminous tail and (according to one witness) a blinking blue light. The object is motionless for several minutes, during which time it dims then becomes very bright. It appears to crash around Cadair Bronwen mountain, east of the village. Many people hear a terrific explosion and a violent shaking of the ground recorded up to 60 miles away. Astronomers at Leicester University, England, record at least three fireball meteors this evening. The British Geological Survey identifies the source of the explosion as an earthquake. Police and a mountain rescue team from RAF Valley in Anglesey, Wales, are in the area almost immediately and cordon off access to the supposed crash site on a barren hilltop. They find no trace of a crash the next day, but a nurse on the way to the crash site after being telephoned by police headquarters is on her way up the mountain with her daughters when she sees something sitting on the ground ahead of her. It seems to be intact and is large, circular, and glowing orange. The nurse and her daughters are within a few hundred feet when police and military forces show up and clearly tell her to leave the area. Researcher Tony Dodd is reportedly approached by a retired military man using the name of “Robert Prescott” who tells him that he and some others were assigned to transport two oblong crates from the crash site to a place called Porton Down where the UK Ministry of Defence’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory is located. They are instructed not to stop for anyone. Military personnel open the crates and Prescott sees two humanoid figures, apparently dead, about 5–6 ft tall, very thin, almost skeletal in nature with a covering skin. These are placed in decontamination suits. Other units supposedly transport live aliens from the crash site. At 10:00 p.m., a man watches a luminous sphere descend into the sea near the Dee Estuary about 25 miles north. Nick Redfern speculates that a UK version of Project Moon Dust might be in activation, which could explain reports of mystery helicopters in the area in prior weeks. Jenny Randles hears later from a former UK government official that a crashed UFO is being kept in a military base in South Wales. In May, Welsh MP Dafydd Elis-Thomas asks Defence Minister Brynmor John if any official investigation was made; John says the only official investigation was made by the RAF Valley team. National Archives files released in 2005 show that the MoD consulted the Meteorological Office and DI55, which says the meteor explanation is the likeliest. (Wikipedia, “ Berwyn Mountain UFO incident”; Margaret Fry, “ Berwyn Mountain 23rd January 1974 Incidents,” Awareness 22, no. 3 (March 1988): 8–12; David Clarke, “ Another One Bites the Dust: The Welsh Crash of ’74,” UFO Brigantia, no. 38 (May 1989): 18–20; Jenny Randles, “ The Night the Mountain Exploded,” IUR 21, no. 4 (Winter 1996): 9–11, 32; Nick Redfern, A Covert Agenda: UFO Secrecy Exposed, Simon & Schuster, 1997, pp. 118–124; Andy Roberts, “ Fire on the Mountain: The Berwyn Mountain Incident,” IUR 24, no. 3 (Fall 1999): 16–23, 30; Andy Roberts, UFO Down? The Berwyn Mountain UFO Crash, CFZ Press, 2010; “ Files Released on 1974 ‘Welsh Roswell,’” BBC News, August 5, 2010; Andy Roberts, UFO Down? The Berwyn Mountain UFO Crash, CFZ Press, 2010; UFOFiles2, pp. 90–91; Andy Roberts, “ The Berwyn Mountain UFO Crash: A British Roswell?”; Clark III 287–288; Jessica Hatcher-Moore, “ The Berwyn Incident,” Truly*Adventurous, December 10, 2019; Mark Olly, Europe’s Roswell: 40 Years Since Impact, Flying Disk, 2023; “ ‘The Welsh Roswell’: The Berwyn Mountain UFO Crash, Llandrillo, Wales, January 23, 1974,” Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, November 8, 2023; “ The Berwyn Mountains ‘Welsh Roswell’ UFO Incident, January 23, 1974,” Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, August 14, 2024)
January 24 - 4:05 p.m. A woman is driving her Volkswagen somewhere in central Belgium southeast of Brussels when she notices a red object on the ground about 500 feet to the left. Her motor begins to slow down, the radio goes dead, and the car coasts to a stop. She is now only about 35 feet from the object, which is 3 feet in diameter and 1.5 feet high with a flat red dome on top and two rows of spots around its circumference. After 4-5 seconds the object ascends about 2 feet and drops back down, then repeats the action. A third time, it rises slowly to about 12 feet above the ground and moves above the car, revealing a flat, gray undersurface. It hovers a few seconds then moves silently away to the left. The car motor starts again without her touching the ignition and it starts moving, still in fourth gear, as the object disappears to the east-northeast. (Franck Boitte and Jean-Luc Vertongen, " Atterrissage à Aische-en-Refail," Inforespace, no. 16 (1974): 12-14; " Landing at Aische-en-Refail," Australian UFO Bulletin, November 1975, p. 9; Richard H. Hall, " Woman Says UFO Restarted Her Auto," Skylook, no. 99 (February 1976): 10-11)
January 26 — 2:59 a.m. Capt. Lars Berglund and the crew of a Boeing 727 airliner flying near Lisbon, Portugal, see a V-formation of 10–15 luminous orange discs. Berglund rules out a satellite reentry because of its precision. After the formation passes, another Portuguese aircraft reports the same objects to ground control. A Norwegian and a British aircraft also report the same phenomenon. (“ Formation Seen by Air Crews,” APRO Bulletin 22, no. 5 (March/April 1974): 7–8; “ Airliner Met 15 UFOs over Lisbon,” UFO-Sweden Special Report, 1974 no. 4, pp. 3–4)
February 6 — Late evening. A woman watching TV in rural Fayette County near Uniontown, Pennsylvania, hears a “rattling of tin cans” on her porch. She grabs and loads a shotgun, turns on the porch light, and steps into the doorway of the porch, where she encounters a 7-foot-tall apelike creature with its hands raised in the air. She fires into his midsection and it “just disappeared in a flash of light.” Her son-in-law, who lives in a trailer 100 feet away, hears the shot, grabs a revolver, and heads for her house. Along the way, he sees “shadows of four or five hairy people” who approach him. They have “fire red eyes that glowed in total darkness.” About 1,500 feet away, a red, flashing light hovers above the trees. Investigating police arrive and find no tracks but notice that the animals seem terrified. The son-in-law tells investigator Stan Gordon that he had encountered a similar apelike creature in November 1973. (Stan Gordon, “UFO’s, in Relation to Creature Sightings in Pennsylvania,” MUFON 1974 UFO Symposium Proceedings, MUFON, 1974, pp. 132, 144–146; Stringfield, Situation Red, Fawcett Crest, 977, pp. 63–64; Clark III 556–557; Clark IV 614–615)
February 8 — 7:25 a.m. Ten girls from the orphanage school in Vălenii de Munte, Romania, watch two yellow-orange spheres hovering above a hill to the southwest of town. After 10 seconds, they merge into one object and take the form of an elongated oval with an orange dome. It begins moving slowly toward the west-southwest, then accelerates and disappears behind the tree-line after 40 seconds. Two concave ditches with the soil gouged out are found in a plowed field at the site where the object was seen. (“ UFO Excavations,” APRO Bulletin, Mar./Apr. 1974, pp. 5–7; Romania 36–37)
February 8 - Sunset. Mullah Umar Siddiq, merchant Ibrahim Khaleb, and physician Muhammad Watif are standing on the roof of the Al-Hud Mosque in Al Mukalla, Yemen, when they see three large white discs gliding slowly downward. They gather some provisions, hire three camels, and head for the Wadi Jawlan 32 miles to the east, where they estimate the objects have landed. At dawn, they dismount to say prayers, and a vivid glow lights up the eastern sky above the Wadi Jawlan for a few seconds. The light is yellowish-white and comes from three beams that are stabbing upwards and fanning out into the sky. Although the light dies down, the beams are still visible, eventually growing paler. They find deep, clear-cut tracks of caterpillar-track vehicles all over the rugged area. At three places, about 325 feet apart, they find numerous scoop marks, about 33 inches wide, in an area in the form of a triangle with sides 17 feet wide. The rock has been fused and melted and the grass and thorn- scrub is burnt. (Gordon Creighton, " An Arabian Landing?" Flying Saucer Review 20, no. 3 (December 1974): 12-13)
February 14 — 4:25 a.m. Two brothers are transporting their parents’ furniture in a U-Haul truck near Ely, Nevada, when they notice a round, orange object that paces them, then approaches. They feel as though they are “hit by a blast of wind or force field.” The engine and lights give out, the steering goes, and the truck seems to momentarily float, come back down, and coast to a stop. Ahead of them, just over a hill, they see a large, round object with a domed top and wings. The other object approaches again. One brother points a flashlight at it, whereupon they both get an intense feeling of isolation that lasts about 20 minutes. Since the truck appears to be damaged, they flag down a passing car and call for a tow truck. When the tow truck hauls it away, the rear wheels fall off. It needs new tires, a rear axle, outside housing, and gears. (“ Car Disabled by UFO?” APRO Bulletin 22, no. 6 (May/June 1974): 4–5; “ U-Haul or UFO-Haul? Brothers Report Chase by Flying Lights,” Skylook, no. 78 (May 1974): 19; UFOEv II 218–219)
February 21 — French radio journalist Jean-Claude Bourret interviews French Defense Minister Robert Galley for his France Inter radio program, OVNIs: Pas de panique! Galley says his department has been interested in UFO reports since the French wave of 1954. Ministry records contain many baffling radar/ visual cases. He speaks of the strong quality of the evidence and that people must regard UFOs with a “completely open mind.” The mass of UFO reports “from the airborne gendarmerie, from the mobile gendarmerie, and from the gendarmerie charged with conducting investigations,” all of which are forwarded to CNES, would make people see that it is “pretty disturbing.” (“ French Minister Speaks on UFOs,” Flying Saucer Review 20, no. 2 (October 1974): 3–4; Good Above, p. 129; Gildas Bourdais, “ From GEPAN to SEPRA: Official UFO Studies in France,” IUR 25, no. 4 (Winter 2000–2001): 11; Yves Herbo, “ OVNIs et divulgation: Le Ministre des Armées françaises l’a fait en 1974,” Sciences Faits et Histoire, February 2, 2015)
March - About 9:00 p.m. A missile launch officer with the 564th Strategic Missile Squadron is on watch at the Malmstrom AFB Romeo Flight missile alert facility near Brady, Montana, when both the outer and inner alarms go off. A security alert team arrives and sees a large, brilliantly self- illuminated object hovering above the Romeo-29 launch facility. Suddenly, the missile starts a countdown. The officer quickly flips the inhibit switch, which puts the system offline. Then the system spontaneously restarts and the missile goes into launch mode again, followed by an inhibit order that does not work. But the launch code is false and the missile remains in its pad. Meanwhile, the UFO moves away straight up at high speed. An F-106 interceptor attempts unsuccessfully to reach it, and Malmstrom AFB radar tracks the UFO. Later he learns that the ground electronics in Romeo-29 are fried as if from a surge. (Nukes 353-355; Robert L. Hastings, " Former U.S. Air Force Missile Launch Officer Says a UFO Activated One of His ICBMs-Twice!" December 7, 2014)
March 9 —9:58 p.m. Fiat Corporation pilot Alfonso Isaia chases a luminous, saucer-shaped object with colored rings near Milan, Italy. The UFO is confirmed by Milan radar. (Bob Gribble, “ Looking Back,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 251 (March 1989): 19; Massimiliano Aiello, “ L’avvistamento del Pilota del Agnelli,” Massimiliano Aiello, January 17, 2013; 1Pinotti 188–189)
March 10 - 10:00 p.m. Peter Courtney, a reporter for the Minden Progress, visits Boshkung Lake, Ontario, in search of UFOs that have been sighted recently. Just as he considers leaving, he spots a dull red light above the treetops across the lake. The light moves slowly northward before reversing its course and disappearing. Despite having his camera ready, the object's glow is too faint to capture, and its erratic movements make it unlike any conventional aircraft. Courtney remains uncertain about what he saw, believing it defies rational explanation. (Peter Courtney, " Unidentified Flying Objects: Visits Puzzle Boshkung Area," Minden (Ont.) Progress, February 21, 1974, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 61 (May 1974): 15; "UFO Sightings Cease Suddenly after Area Plagued For Months," Lindsay (Ont.) Post, February 27, 1974, pp. 1, 3; " More UFOs," Minden (Ont.) Progress, March 14, 1974, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 61 (May 1974): 15; " Progress Reporter Sees UFO," Minden (Ont.) Progress, March 14, 1974, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 61 (May 1974): 16; Curt Sutherly, "UFO Invasion of Boshkung Lake," Fate 30, no. 11 (November 1977): 55-58)
March 13 - An Argentine Airlines plane en route from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Córdoba, Argentina, is flanked by two glowing objects that pace it for several minutes, then speed away. (" Civilian Argentine Airliner Flanked by `Flying Saucers,'" Skylook, no. 83 (October 1974): 9; UFOEv II 121)
March 17 - The crew of a TWA airliner over Taiwan sees a shiny oval or cigar-shaped object and four smaller, spherical, satellite objects. (Richard F. Haines, "A Review of Selected Sightings from Aircraft from 1973 to 1978," in 1979 MUFON UFO Symposium Proceedings, Mutual UFO Network, 1979, pp. 114, 127; UFOEv II 415)
March 20 — 11:00 p.m. Adrian Sánchez Sánchez, a salesman, is driving near El Castillo de las Guardas, Seville, Spain, when he sees a large metallic UFO, 450–600 feet long, with three smaller ships shaped like yo-yos. It flies silently and has no windows but towers above and below. One of the objects silently pursues Sánchez and disappears as he enters a village. (Casas-Huguet, “ La observación de Don Adrian Sanchez,” Stendek 5, no. 16 (June 1974): 9–17; “ Erratum,” Stendek 5, no. 18 (December 1974): 32; Eileen Buckle, “ Spanish UFO Fiesta,” Flying Saucer Review 20, no. 3 (December 1974): 3; R. B. Guérard y Holmes, “ Further Investigations of Spanish UFO Cases,” Flying Saucer Review 20, no. 4 (January 1975): 10–11; UFOEv II 345)
March 23 — 3:00 a.m. The chauffeur of the president of the Cádiz Provincial Commission is driving on the highway in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain, when he sees a “luminous, metal-like” object moving upward with great brilliancy. As he approaches it, he feels a strange sensation. His car comes to a near stop, wavering back and forth like a feather. (UFOEv II 346)
March 23 — 10:00 p.m. A crowd of 50, including Mr. and Mrs. Ashley Lunham, gather along the shore of Boshkung Lake, Ontario, to look for UFOs. A six-unit armed snowmobile squad pursues the approaching UFOs on the ice. Concerned about the nature of the objects, the snowmobilers fire high-powered rifles at the craft. Mrs. Lunham describes hearing a distant clunk as the bullets strike what sounds like metal surfaces. (“ UFOs: Shots Fired,” Minden (Ont.) Progress, March 28, 1974, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 61 (May 1974): 16; “ UFOs Still About,” Minden (Ont.) Progress, May 2, 1974, p. 16, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 61 (May 1974): 15; Curt Sutherly, “UFO Invasion of Boshkung Lake,” Fate 30, no. 11 (November 1977): 55–58)
March 23 — Night. A young man named Gösta Häger (pseudonym Harald Andersson) comes out of the parish house in Markim, Stockholm County, Sweden, when he hears a voice in his head telling him to follow a dark forest road. Just after passing a small cottage, he sees two runestones by the side of the path. Suddenly a blinding light knocks him to the ground where he lies unconscious for a while, then wakes up on the doorstep of his villa in Lindholmen, Vallentuna. His wife, disturbed by his condition (bleeding from his forehead and a burn on his cheek), takes him to Danderyds Hospital where hypnotherapist Ture Arvidsson regresses him to the time of the incident (twice, on April 1 and May 20). He discovers that a beam of light has floated him up into the air while tall, hooded figures touch his head with an unknown device, saying they will meet again in the future. Extraordinary abilities follow, including his ability to disrupt a compass needle, see vibrant auras, and premonitions. The incident is apparently witnessed by another man a short distance away. The Swedish Home Guard assigns 50 of its personnel to work with 15 ufologists to examine the region. The group reports a few odd lights in the sky. (Håkan Blomqvist, “ På UFO-fronten: Kidnappad av UFO-varelser?,” Sökaren 23, no. 10 (1986): 28–30; Håkan Blomqvist, “ An Abduction in Sweden?” Flying Saucer Review 32, no. 5 (August 1987): 14–16; Björn Högman, “ Vallentunafallet: En gåta some väntar på lösning,” UFO-Aktuellt, 2011, no. 1; Clas Svahn, “ Händelserna i Vallentuna 1974,” Riksorganisationen UFO-Sverige, March 1, 2017; Fred Andersson, “ March 24, 1974, Night of the UFOs: The Close Encounters That Shook Sweden,” Medium: Fred Andersson, March 24, 2021)
March 23 — 11:30 p.m. A French doctor allegedly photographs an odd object near Albiosc, Alpes-de- Haute-Provence, France. The color image shows a red object like a domed disc and four bright, beamlike extensions. UFO investigator Jean Bedet receives the slide anonymously on April 14, with a note pinned to his car windshield when he is visiting the town of Tavernes, Var. Bedet says his wife and others had seen a similar object at 11:00 p.m. the same night. The consensus among researchers in France is that the photo is a hoax perpetrated by Bedet to confirm the visual sighting. (Michel Monnerie, “ La Veillée Nationale d’Observation à Barjols (Var),” Lumières dans la Nuit, no. 138 (October 1974): 22–26; Jean Bedet and Linda Galloway, “ Cover Photo,” Skylook, no. 87 (February 1975): 1, 18; UFOEv II 292–293; Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos, “ An Approach to UFO Pictures in France,” FOTOCAT Report no. 6, [2009], p. 33)
March 26 - 2:00 a.m. Truck driver Maximiliano Iglesias sees a strange object like a plate placed above another large, round object hovering above the highway in Valdehijaderos, Salamanca, Spain, 650 feet away. Another object is 60 feet away. Two beings come out of the first UFO, point to the truck, then go in again. Both objects fly away. At 11:30 p.m., the same witness watches three silver ships parked on the highway with a floodlight. He stops his engine as some figures approach. He runs and they follow. They are about 6.5 feet tall, with arms and legs, but he cannot see their faces. On March 27, the Guardia Civil investigate and find a hole in the ground. (Pere Rédon, " Valdehijaderos, de Nuevo," Stendek 5, no. 18 (December 1974): 12-16; Eileen Buckle, " Spanish UFO Fiesta," Flying Saucer Review 20, no. 3 (December 1974): 4-6; UFOEv II 346)
March 27 — Antoine, Jerri, and Terry Betz investigate a small brush fire near their residence on Fort George Island, Florida, and come across a metal sphere the size of a bowling ball and weighing 22 pounds. They think the sphere could be a 16th-century cannonball and decide to take it home. Several days later, while Terry is playing the guitar, the sphere seems to react to the music and makes a throbbing noise. Later, the sphere rolls and stops on its own and changes direction. The sphere makes a noise when hit with a hammer, and Terry finds that it moves after being shaken and placed on the ground. In 2012, an analysis by Skeptoid indicates that the sphere is a ball check valve produced by the Bell & Howell company. Its size, weight, and metallurgical composition match those of the company’s check valves. The ball is almost perfectly balanced, and it takes only a small stimulus to make it move or change direction. New Mexico artist James Durling-Jones, who collects scrap metal for his sculptures, remembers loading ball check valves into the rooftop luggage rack of his Volkswagen van and driving through the Jacksonville, Florida, area around Easter of 1971. A few of the balls rolled off the luggage rack and were not retrieved. Skeptoid concludes that this is the sphere’s origin. (Wikipedia, “ Betz mystery sphere”; “ Mystery Sphere: A Bugging Device from Outer Space?” St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times, April 12, 1974, p. 2-B; “ Just a Ball: Navy; Not So: Its Finders,” St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times, April 15, 1974, pp. 1-B, 7-B; “Ball Flown to Palm Beach in Effort to Solve Mystery,” Sarasota (Fla.) Herald Tribune, April 17, 1974; John Peterson, “ Mysterious Sphere Awaits UFO Panel,” Palm Beach (Fla.) Post, April 18, 1974, p. C3; “ Second, Not-So-Mysterious Sphere Found,” Palm Beach (Fla.) Post, April 18, 1974, p. C3; “Five Scientists Meet over Steel Ball Today,” Lodi (Calif.) News-Sentinel, April 20, 1974, p. 5; Dan Ross, “ Taos Artist Reports Clue,” Santa Fe New Mexican, April 23, 1974, p. A1; “Mysterious Steel Ball Probably Taos Sculptor’s,” Sarasota (Fla.) Journal, April 24, 1974, p. 15A; Brian Dunning, “ The Betz Mystery Sphere,” Skeptoid podcast, no. 334, October 30, 2012; Sean Martin, “ Did Aliens Drop This Mysterious Satellite on Earth?” Daily Express (UK), November 7, 2017)
March 27 — Night. A large, brightly shining, spindle-shaped object that remains stationary in the air is seen by numerous witnesses in Málaga, Spain, and photographed by Sr. Salas, picture editor of the Sur newspaper. (Eileen Buckle, “ Spanish UFO Fiesta,” Flying Saucer Review 20, no. 3 (December 1974): 4–5)
March 29 — 1:45 a.m. A French vacationer and a local female friend are lying on a sloping beach near Lomé, Togo, when they hear a high-pitched whine and see an unlighted cylindrical object above the ocean. It heads toward them on a level flight path until it gets to 500 feet away. It stops, and within moments a tidal wave washes over the two witnesses. Wave after wave crash over them as they hold onto a nearby tree. The UFO emits powerful beams of light, and the Frenchman can see the waters parting in a deep trough. They remain paralyzed for 20 minutes until the UFO turns off its lights and flies out to sea. The water surface returns to normal. Over the next few days, the man feels strangely exhausted and has a ringing in his ears. (Joël Mesnard, “ UFO over Sea Causes Surge of Tidal Waves,” Flying Saucer Review 22, no. 6 (April 1977): 4–5, iv; Clark III 250–251; Clark IV 290)
March 30 — 9:30 p.m. Motorists are blinded by a bright yellow-green object on or near the ground along a road near Ombreiro, Lugo, Spain. Car engines fail, headlights go out. After 3–4 minutes, the UFO rises silently and moves away horizontally. It makes a soft buzzing or whistling sound. (Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos, A Catalogue of 200 Type-I UFO Events in Spain and Portugal, CUFOS, 1976, pp. 46–47; UFOEv II 454)
April — A woman military staffer at the GEC-Marconi contracting company in Frimley, Surrey, England, learns that a break-in has occurred the previous night. A guard suffers a nervous breakdown, is taken to an unnamed hospital, and is not seen again. Later, she hears a discussion in her supervisor’s office and describes it to Nick Redfern: “We have no way of keeping these beings out. We just don’t know what to do next. If they can get in here, they can get in anywhere.” She learns that the guard had seen an alien sifting through files and papers. A blue light emanated from its helmet, and the being dematerialized before the guard’s eyes. (Nick Redfern, A Covert Agenda: UFO Secrecy Exposed, Simon & Schuster, 1997, pp. 125–126; Nick Redfern, “ An Extraterrestrial 007?” Mysterious Universe, December 9, 2013)
April — 3:00 a.m. A staff sergeant assigned to the 355th Security Police Squadron stationed at Incirlik Air Base, Adana, Turkey, witnesses a white, glowing UFO hovering silently over the nuclear storage area about 500 feet above the ground for one hour. It appears to be the size of a Volkswagen. At 4:00 a.m., the UFO suddenly and silently accelerates toward the city. The witness sees the object from the Security Police dormitory about 2 miles away. The next day, other security personnel tell him that the only measures taken are “to set up their M-60 machine guns, and that they were not to fire on the object unless it initiated a hostile act.” (Brian Vike, “ Sgt. Reports Bizarre Events at WY Missile Base,” Rense.com, July 7, 2004)
Early April — A couple driving on a country road in east Hancock County, Ohio, spot a low light in the northeastern sky. They drive toward it, but it shoots up into the air so they can see its underside. As the man alerts people to the object on his CB radio, he sees the object lower a box, seemingly to take samples. Then the object approaches the couple and they drive away quickly, but it follows them for 47 miles. At 2:15 a.m., they pull into a Wigwam restaurant, where a man rushes up to them and asks them, “What did you see in the sky?” He denies having a CB radio, and talks in a strangely slow and choppy manner. The man continues to bother them, so they drive away from the Wigwam. Soon they are followed by some strange lights and an orange ball. They stop the car where the road ends and see a “little man on a little black object.” The lights follow them all the way home to Findlay, Ohio. (Clark III 731–733; Clark IV 812–813)
April 4 — Two 12-year-old girls in A Estrada, Galicia, Spain, see a noiseless metallic object that stops for a few seconds 30–40 feet from the ground, then moves off. (Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos, A Catalogue of 200 Type I UFO Events in Spain and Portugal, CUFOS, 1976, pp. 47–48)
April 13 — 2:00 a.m. Julio Acosta Bertol (a teacher), his wife, and a student at Herrera de Alcántara, Cáceres, Spain, observe a luminous rhomboid object with a pink-yellowish semicircle on its upper left. The student hears a prolonged, alarm-like noise. They watch the UFO for 5–6 minutes from a distance of 900 feet before it moves off. (Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos, A Catalogue of 200 Type I UFO Events in Spain and Portugal, CUFOS, 1976, p. 49; Nick Redfern, “ Spain’s UFO Wave: 1973–1974,” Mysterious Universe, August 28, 2018)
April 15 — Passengers on a ferry on the Strait of Gibraltar between Ceuta and Algeciras, Spain, see a round, intense torch-like light rise out of the water near a huge rock, travel at low altitude, then fall into the water again. This happens once again. (UFOEv II 346)
April 15 — A photojournalist takes four photos of a round object over A Coruña, Galicia, Spain. (Dolan II 24)
April 15 — 4:30 p.m. Mr. and Mrs. George Torres observe a flat, round object moving to the north over the low hills in back of their home in Tijeras Canyon, New Mexico. It is in the apparent area of the Manzano Nuclear Weapons Storage facility attached to Kirtland AFB. The object changes course to the east at an altitude of 2,000 feet and appears to be 50–75 feet in diameter. It is rotating silently on a central axis. The object turns abruptly to the south, passes behind a small mountain peak, turns east again, and vanishes over the Manzano Mountains. (R. C. Hecker, “ New Mexico Reports,” APRO Bulletin 23, no. 2 (Sept./Oct. 1974): 5–6)
April 16 — 12:50 a.m. Mauro Bellingeri, 26, and his wife Carla Farè, 23, are returning to their villa in Santa Maria del Tempio and near the town of Casale Monferrato, Alessandria, Italy, when they notice a bright object that dives abruptly toward them, stopping at a height of 40 feet above the villa. The Bellingeris get out of the car to look at the motionless object. It has a transparent dome and a central ring of revolving red, green, and yellow lights. Inside the dome are three human-like beings with large, round, opaque, grayish helmets. At the base of the headgear is a hose-like apparatus. One being turns in their direction, then moves back. All three beings then rotate in unison. At this point, 3–4 jets of flame appear beneath the craft, the central portion begins to revolve rapidly, and they hear a whistling sound and feel a blast of air. The UFO speeds away, continuing to whistle. (UFOEv II 460–461; 1Pinotti 189–191; Carlo Pirola, UFOs: Reinvestigation in Italy, Lulu.com, 2019, pp. 68–76; “ UFO con umanoidi a Casale Monferrato,” UFO it YouTube channel, April 16, 2024)
April 19 - About 9:30 p.m. Ruth Currie and her daughter Laurie see a bright light that seems to be only several hundred feet from their house in Altamont, New York. Curious, they walk toward it until they are within about 200 feet. An oval object is resting on the roadway. It appears to have large windows in the top half, from which comes a brilliant golden glow. Changes of contrast in this light give them the impression that something is moving around within. Currie sends her daughter to get a neighbor, Rose Curtis, and they return shortly. Currie then retreats to her home and phones her husband, who drops what he is doing and hurries over. He can see an object rising up. It shifts speeds and accelerates out of sight. During the bulk of this encounter, the neighborhood dogs are putting up a continuous volley of barking. The next morning, the witnesses get together and go to the site, where they find an area of burned grass 50-75 feet in diameter. (NICAP, " The 1974 UFO Chronology"; " Investigation Reveals Unreported Sightings," UFO Investigator, November 1974, p. 1; Center for UFO Studies, HUMCAT Index 1974, p. 40)
April 29 — Roy Hiltner discovers an odd imprint in his soybean field near North Creek in northwestern Putnam County, Ohio. It is a depression 8 feet in diameter and 12 inches deep, with seven 4-foot-long grooves radiating from it. In the center are two holes, each 12 inches in diameter and 12 inches apart. Local and state officials examine the site and cannot determine a cause. (“ In Ohio: Possible Landing Site Checked,” Skylook, no. 79 (June 1974): 6; “ Two Physical Trace Cases in Northwest Ohio Unexplained,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 6, no. 3 (June/July 1985): 4)
May — 2:00 a.m. Iuliu Marian and his wife wake up abruptly in their home in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Outside they see a bell-shaped object or silhouette with a light tube in the center that seems to be waiting for them. Marian grabs a sports sword he keeps under the bed and goes outside, but the object is already moving away. He follows it around a corner of the house and the object is nowhere to be seen. Marian senses the object is still there somehow because he feels some kind of force field. Against his will he returns to his bedroom, the forcefield disappears, and he goes right back to sleep. (Romania 128–129)
May — 3:30 a.m. US Army Pfc R. Jack Phillips is assigned to the 193rd Military Police Battalion guarding Area 3 of an Army Ordnance Depot [now returned to Germany] where surface-to-surface Pershing missiles are stored near Fischbach bei Dahn, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Suddenly waking up, he watches an extremely bright star above him for about 15 seconds. Suddenly it approaches very quickly and hovers just beyond the depot fence line about 300 feet away. The light now looks like a domed disc about 60 feet in diameter with a concave indentation on its underside. It is covered in a greenish glow and completely silent. After 5 seconds the object gets much brighter for a second then dims again. The security lights in the complex go out. Phillips tries to report this, but his field phone is out. The backup generators fail to turn on. Some 30 seconds later, the object takes off so swiftly that he can’t tell in which direction it leaves. The lights come back on and all the bunker alarms go off. A roving unit needs to come by to reset all the alarms manually. Phillips admits that most of the guards sleep on duty, and that is probably why no one else has seen the object. (Nukes 343–346)
May 5 — 5:30 p.m. David Dorn and Troy Warton, both 11, leave home in Lincolnshire, Illinois, to play basketball. As they walk down the street, they notice a dark object in the western sky. It comes closer, drops to a height just above the treetops, hovers slightly, then rises up and disappears. David has a new camera and he snaps six photos with his Kodak X-15 camera. The color pictures reveal a distinct dark object in the clouds and over the trees. Unfortunately, he discards the negatives. (“ Boy’s New Camera Records UFO,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 1, no. 5 (September 1980): 1; “ ‘Time & Again: UFOs’ (1997) (NBC News TV Reports) (3/5),” TV UFO Footage YouTube channel, September 24, 2015)
May 7 (possibly 1973) - 9:00 p.m. Margaret K. Roffe, nurse's aide at the Coatesville (Pennsylvania) Veterans Administration Hospital, hears tree branches swishing and swaying nearby and sees a UFO descend and land on the roof of Building no. 1 about 150 feet away. Four silver- colored legs emerge from the object, followed by a ramp with steps. Three small figures climb down backwards. They are speaking to each other in high, squeaky voices that sound like "so many birds." She says "The being nearest the edge of the roof had a very elongated head, grayish=looking skin, arms that extended well below his knees, and what looked like long claws instead of fingers. His legs appeared rather short." He is bald and looks old. The scene is well lit by an illuminated dome on the roof of the building. When one of the entities notices the witness, they reenter the object, which takes off slowly over the trees, which are again violently agitated. The legs withdraw as it takes off. (Clark III 277; Clark IV 317)
May 7 (or 9) — 7:00 a.m. Businessman Amadeo Villar is driving with his wife and daughter near Altos de Cabrejas, Cuenca, Spain, when they see a bright orange object for 40–50 seconds. It darts behind the clouds, where it is still dimly visible. (José Vicente Avila, “ Spain: A UFO over Cabrejas, Witnessed by Three (1974),” Inexplicata, October 28, 2015)
May 9 — The documentary film UFOs: Past, Present, and Future is released along with a paperback book of the same title by Robert Emenegger. The film shows stock footage of Holloman AFB, Alamogordo, New Mexico, and a recreation of a landing at a hypothetical military base. (Wikipedia, “ UFOs: Past, Present, and Future”; Robert Emenegger, UFOs: Past, Present, and Future, Ballantine, 1974; Internet Movie Database, “ UFOs: It Has Begun”; “ UFOs (It Has Begun) Past, Present, and Future documentary,” Jaded Truth YouTube channel, September 29, 2017; Clark III 357)
May 15 — A businessman and a teacher in Pedroche, Córdoba, Spain, see a round object the “size of a table” that chases their car and obstructs their path on the road. They turn the car around rapidly and flee. (UFOEv II 346)
May 20 — 7:00 p.m. A baker named Le Meur, with his wife and two children, is traveling on a small road toward Landévennec, Finistère, France, when they notice a powerful light ahead at ground level. It consists of a string of 7–8 spheres, each about one foot in diameter and arranged horizontally, about 3 feet above the road. Le Meur turns around and heads to the local Gendarmerie station in Telgruc-sur-Mer to report it. The police examine the site the next day and find a patch of ferns that appear abnormally wilted. They collect some plant and soil samples and send them to a lab in Paris for analysis. The wilted, brown ferns are found to be without chlorophyll and an unknown element (indicating pheophytins associated with the degradation of chlorophyll) shows up in the chromatography in ultraviolet light. (Joël Mesnard, “ Landévennec, May 20, 1974,” IUR 32, no. 4 (October 2009): 20–21; Jérôme Frasson, “ An Attempt to Learn about the Trauma Undergone by the Ferns,” IUR 32, no. 4 (October 2009): 21)
May 22 — The wife of a journalist on Ibiza, Balearic Islands, Spain, photographs an object described in a US Defense Department report as “somewhat like a top.” It remains stationary for a while, then rises and disappears. (Dolan II 24)
May 28 — Day. A resident of Albuquerque, New Mexico, sees a large glowing object moving across the western face of the Sandia Mountains. It is so bright that no structure is visible. The witness opens his window to listen for noise coming from the object, but there is none. As he watches, the object appears to land on a nearby hill where it remains for an hour before it shoots into the air and vanishes. Three young men are camping in the Sandia Mountains that day around noon. They notice a silver-white UFO on the ground on the east side of Tramway Boulevard NE, between Menaul Boulevard and Copper Avenue. Next to it is a silver, triangular-shaped object with odd rune-like symbols on one of the pointed ends. After reporting the sighting, they wind up being taken to Kirtland AFB for interrogation by civilian intelligence agents. They are told they have witnessed a “Soviet incident” and are to keep their mouths shut, which they do for 34 years before talking to Linda Moulton Howe in 2007. Around 9:00 p.m., a family sees a large, glowing, football-shaped disc moving across Albuquerque toward the Sandia foothills. They jump in their car and try to follow the object, using dirt roads on the east side of Tramway. They are stopped by a state police officer, beyond whom they can see the UFO hovering low next to a rocky hill. It is surrounded by armed military personnel. (“ Recent Sightings Reported in New Mexico,” UFO Investigator, July 1974, p. 3; Linda Moulton Howe, “ Glowing Disc Encounter with Military in Albuquerque, NM,” Earthfiles, November 29, 2007)
May 31 — 2:30 a.m. A prolonged Peugeot-pacing case from Mvuma to Beitbridge, Zimbabwe, takes place along the A4 highway, during which motorists experience electromagnetic effects, loss of steering control for their vehicle, abnormal cold and silence, translocation from one place to another, altered appearance of the terrain, humanoid encounter, and amnesia. (Carl Van Vlieden, “ Escorted by UFOs from Umvuma to Beit Bridge,” Flying Saucer Review 21, no. 2 (August 1975): 3–8)
Summer — Late evening. A witness living southwest of Lodi, Wisconsin, sees an intensely bright light that is illuminating a hill on an adjacent golf course. It covers an area the size of a football field, but he cannot see a beam or light source. A few hours later, a couple driving on State Highway 113 south of Lodi observe a triangular object with red and blue circular lights suspended beneath it. The object passes silently less than 20 feet above their car, hovers momentarily, and resumes its slow pass overhead. It is twice the size of their car. They watch as the lights shut off and the object is gone. At 1:00 a.m., a man in Lodi sees what he thinks are headlights pulling into his driveway. He sees three bright points of light fixed horizontally in the black sky. He goes in to get his brother who has a telescope, and they attempt to spot the lights (only two now) with the scope. It takes a while, and when they look straight up they see a large, triangular object right above them. No lights are visible, but its undersurface is clearly defined and metallic. It moves over the house, tips upward at a 45° angle, and shoots away. (Don Schmitt, “ The Belleville Sightings, Part Two,” IUR 13, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1988): 17)
Summer — Between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m. California Gov. Ronald Reagan and his pilot Bill Paynter in his Cessna Citation see a bright white light zigzagging through the sky near Bakersfield, California. They follow the light for several minutes. Paynter says it “was a fairly steady light until it began to accelerate, then it appeared to elongate.” Then, “to our utter amazement, it went straight up into the heavens. When I got off the plane I told Nancy all about it…. And we read up on the long history of UFOs.” (presidentialufo.com, “ Ronald Reagan, 40th President, January 20, 1981–January 20, 1989”)
June 9 - Night. Maj. Shiro Kubota and Lt. Col. Toshio Nakamura are flying an F-4EJ Phantom II interceptor over the northern perimeter of Japan, apparently to intercept a Soviet aircraft. Ground control explains that they are to investigate a bright orange-red light reported by ground witnesses and tracked on radar. Leveling off at 30,000 feet, they see the light a few miles ahead. It appears to be about 33 feet in diameter, with square-shaped marks around its side. The object dips in a shallow turn as they approach. Suddenly the object reverses direction and shoots straight toward them. Nakamura forces the aircraft into a sudden dive to avoid it, missing the UFO by "inches." The object then makes high-speed passes at the plane, drawing closer. Then, allegedly, the UFO strikes the F-4, forcing the two pilots to eject. Nakamura's parachute catches fire and he falls to his death. (Good Above, pp. 430-431)
June 14 — 5:00 a.m. I. D. McCallum sees a cigar-shaped object as big as a Boeing 737 emitting eight intensely bright white lights flashing intermittently toward the ground outside his home in Hattingspruit, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He watches it for an hour as it moves slowly and silently through the sky. His wife also observes the object, as do three employees at Dabmar Engineering who watch with binoculars. At 6:00 a.m. it turns off the flashing white lights, ascends, and resembles Venus. Mrs. McCallum develops bloodshot eyes from watching the lights directly. (Joe Brill, “ African UFO Observed for Several Hours,” Skylook, no. 82 (September 1974): 16)
June 14 — 5:30 a.m. Santiago Pulido Romero is driving in Medellín, Badajoz, Spain, near the Castillo when he sees a pot-shaped object rapidly approaching him 300 feet above the ground. He turns off his car lights, but the object follows his car parallel to the road about 210 feet away to the right. When he switches his headlights back on, the object begins approaching again, so he switches them off and the object retreats. When he arrives at his father’s property, the object hovers over the barn, moving up and down, so he runs into the house. Later Pulido goes outside to check, and the object is still hovering, lighting up the entire area like daytime. Three humanoid beings are visible inside the object. Early the next morning at sunrise, the object abruptly speeds away. Other witnesses in separate locations also see a UFO. (Eileen Buckle, “ Spanish UFO Fiesta,” Flying Saucer Review 20, no. 3 (December 1974): 6–7; “ Un OVNI repond à des signaux lumineux en Espagne,” Inforespace, no. 22, August 1975, pp. 14–15; “ 1974: UFO with Occupants Hover over Farm,” ThinkAboutIt, April 6, 2021)
June 15 — Mountain guide Keo Wha Unan is inspecting the outer perimeter of a rock formation near Mount Dhajar (apparently in the Bayan Har Mountains, Tibet) to make certain it is safe for the next day’s climb. He emerges from a cave and sees a silvery disc hovering about 4 feet above the ground behind a crest of high rocks. It is windowless and shiny with no protrusions. He sees three humanoid figures gathering snow and rocks and putting them inside the UFO. After 5 minutes, they climb a ladder into the craft. The object rises a few feet and shoots straight up like a flash. (Harry Hill, “ The Bizarre Ancient Astronauts of Tibet,” UFO Update!, no. 5 (Winter 1980): 46–49, 64)
June 16 — 5:00 a.m. A farmhand is driving near Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain, when a bright object illuminates the highway. He sees three tall, helmeted figures standing inside the craft. When the witness turns off his headlights, the UFO moves away; when he turns them back on, the UFO approaches and follows him home about 230 feet above his car. He turns off his lights again, and the UFO slowly flies away. (UFOEv II 346)
June 25 — 1:15 a.m. A witness is up late in his trailer home at St.-Cyrille-de-Wendover, Quebec, when he hears a “bumm, bumm, bumm” sound, as if something very heavy has fallen onto the ground. He looks out the living room window and sees a UFO hovering low above a near field. It is a disc with a red domed area and an orangish lower area punctuated by oval windows from which comes white light. He sees a 6-foot- tall robot that has apparently emerged from the object and is now only 15 feet from his window. He and his wife see three more robots near the trailer next door. The observation lasts 3 hours as the couple peek out of the window periodically. At one point, they see 15 robots standing in line together close to a creek for 5 minutes. As if on command, they suddenly move together; when they look out again at 4:20 a.m., the craft and the robots are gone. (NICAP, “ June 24, 1974: St. Cyrille, Quebec CE III”; “ Robots in Quebec, Canada,” APRO Bulletin 23, no. 3 (Nov./Dec. 1974): 1, 3; “ ‘Robot’ Occupants Reported,” Skylook, no. 84 (November 1974): 10–11; Marc Leduc, “ Un atterrissage et des humanoïdes á Drummondville,” UFO-Quebec 1, no. 1 (1975): 10–12; Wido Hoville, “ Report from Quebec,” Canadian UFO Report 3, no. 3 (1975): 8–9; Marc Leduc, “ Un temoin sous hypnose,” UFO-Quebec 1, no. 8 (1976): 17–19; Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979, pp. 69–73)
July 2 — 3:30 p.m. Some fishermen at Praia dos Navegantes beach, Santa Catarina, Brazil, see a disc with small thrusters on its sides descend and fall into the ocean about 328 feet away. Thinking it is an aircraft, the men head to the splashdown site to help survivors. As Ubelino Severino gets closer, the object sinks, leaving only foam at the surface. (Brazil 517–520)
July 9 — Early morning. An elliptical object with rows of alternating red and green lights hovers about 200 feet above a park in Kingston, New York. A hazy white glow emanates from the underside. The object moves to within 500 feet of a police car. When officers James Wallace and Richard Ramsdell turn their spotlight on, a brilliant beam lights up the cruiser. The beam switches off and the object races away at high speed. (“ Hovering Object Shines Spotlight on Police Car,” UFO Investigator, October 1974, p. 3; UFOEv II 45)
July 9 - Psychic Pat Price accurately remote views the Soviet URDF-3 facility adjacent to the Semipalatinsk Test Site in Kazakhstan for the Stanford Research Institute [now SRI International] in Menlo Park, California. In another experiment, Puthoff and a skeptical scientist named Earl Jones drive to 9 separate metropolitan areas, all chosen by Jones. Back in the SRI lab, Targ monitors Price, who describes 7 of the places accurately -in some cases before Jones and Puthoff even reach the target or before Jones has decided on a target. Price also claims to sense four underground alien bases, volunteering the data outside the SRI experimental parameters. The bases are located under Monte Perdido, Huesca, Spain; Mount Nyangani, Zimbabwe; Mount Hayes, Alaska; and Mount Ziel in Australia's Northern Territory. (Jim Schnabel, Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies, Dell, 1997, pp. 113, 118, 148-151; Annie Jacobsen, Phenomena, Little, Brown, 2017, pp. 166-171)
July 10 — 10:35 p.m. Three girls are walking along a road south of Pavia, Italy, when they see a strange undulating light moving swiftly through the sky. It changes from yellow to reddish-orange as it approaches. They see a light flashing as it passes overhead. It slows, makes a right turn and disappears behind a house, and they see a “spot of fire” shining from a distant field. They return home and at 11:25 p.m., from a balcony, they can see a pulsating light hovering above the same field. At 11:45 p.m., two family members and a security policeman drive to the field and about 1,000 feet away they see a luminous hemisphere about 33 feet in diameter, with a “pillow” of red dust between the ground and its flat base. The next morning, the police arrive and find a large, circular burned area. (Joe Brill, “ Italian UFO Leaves Traces,” Skylook, no. 86 (January 1975): 3–4) 1974, July 13 — Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles, leaders of the self-proclaimed Hu
July 13 — Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles, leaders of the self-proclaimed Human Individual Metamorphosis movement, are interviewed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, by ufologist Hayden Hewes. They claim that UFOs, as well as human adepts, can change their “vibration rates” so as to appear and disappear. A few days later they move on to the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization in Tucson. (“ ‘The Two,’” APRO Bulletin 24, no. 4 (October 1975): 4; Curt Collins, “ UFOs: Going to the Next Level,” The Saucers That Time Forgot, September 1, 2022)
July 14 — 3:36 p.m. A Scandinavian Airlines flight en route to Burlington, Vermont, is flying at 35,000 feet 35–40 miles southeast of Quebec City, Quebec. Capt. Korsvold and the crew notice a triangular object moving southwest and has it in sight for 7 minutes. Radio interference is reported. At the same time, C. W. Bacon is flying a private jet about 35 miles southeast of Quebec City and sees the same triangular object, but it seems to be stationary. Air traffic control at CFB Bagotville in Saguenay, Quebec, reports strong interference on a frequency of 121.5 MHz, a frequency reserved for aircraft in distress. The signal is also disrupting transmissions for 10 minutes at RCAF Station Mont Apica [now the Lac Castor Canadian weather radar station]. All is quiet after both the UFO and interference are gone. (Good Above, p. 200; Arthur R. Bray, The UFO Connection, Jupiter, 1979, pp. 45–46; Patrick Gross, “ Files Obtained from the National Archives of Canada”; Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 89–90)
July 15 — 5:00 p.m. Two unregistered helicopters, a white helicopter, and a black twin-engine aircraft open fire on Robert Smith Jr. while he is driving his tractor on his farm in Honey Creek, Iowa. This attack follows a rash of cattle mutilations in the area and across the nearby border in Nebraska. (Wikipedia, “ Cattle mutilation”; “ Buzzed by Planes,” Council Bluffs (Iowa) Daily Nonpareil, July 16, 1974, p. 5; “ Man Says Plane, Aircraft Fire Shots,” Council Bluffs (Iowa) Daily Nonpareil, July 17, 1974, p. 15)
August — Cattle mutilations have been increasingly reported in northern New Mexico over the past 16 months, the largest number near Eagle Nest. (Richard Benke, “ Cattle Mutilations on Rise in Northern New Mexico,” Albuquerque (N.Mex.) Journal, August 14, 1994, p. G4)
August 11 — 3:23 a.m. Police officers Mark E. Paine and Michael Alden watch three luminous UFOs in a triangle formation between Tilton and Concord, New Hampshire. A fourth object, a domed ellipse, rises from the trees and approaches their car. As the officers signal the object, it signals back, then veers away. (“ 8 Policemen Spot Low-Flying UFOs,” Concord (N.H.) Monitor, August 12, 1974, p. 2; “ More Police Officers Spot UFOs over Capitol Area,” Concord (N.H.) Monitor, August 13, 1974, p. 10; “ UFOs Reported in N.H.,” Boston (Mass.) Herald American, August 13, 1974, p. 5, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 65 (September 1974): 12; “ More UFOs Spotted,” Concord (N.H.) Monitor, August 14, 1974, p. 13; UFOEv II 175; Wendy Connors, “Cops and Saucers: Law Enforcement and UFO’s, 1957–1981 Guide,” November 20, 2013, audioclip 33)
August 12 — 11:30 a.m. A 15-year-old boy sees a disc maneuvering near a hedgerow at La Brousse, Charente-Maritime, France. It is about the size of a medium car, dull-lead in color, with a green reflective dome. One of three windows open “exactly like the shutter of a vanishing headlight on a sports car.” The lower part of the object rotates, but the dome does not. Later, three sharply defined circles of burnt straw forming an isosceles triangle are found in the landing area within an oval area of crushed straw. Within each imprint are two small pieces of lead. (M. Chasseigne, “ Atterrissage à La Brousse, près de Matha,” Lumières dans la Nuit, no. 140 (December 1974): 5–6)
August 16 — 8:00 p.m. David Bates, 8, Steven Stillie, 10, and Henry Stillie, 7, are taking a shortcut past an abandoned sandpit close to their homes in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia. Suddenly they hear a high- pitched whine and the cat Bates is carrying panics and escapes his hold; it runs several yards and then stops abruptly. They then see an object with a red light on top and flashing green and white lights on either end. Moving slowly, the UFO reverses course and with an undulating motion heads for the clearing where the sandpit lies and lands there, about 150 feet away. The whine becomes intense. As the object settles down, it releases a blast of hot air that blows dust on he boys. It extends three short legs and blue sparks leap up from the ground. The boys run home. Investigator Graham Conway finds residual material present in three indentations at the site. Analysis shows that it contains an abnormally high amount of zinc. (Graham Conway, “ Close Encounter,” Canadian UFO Report 3, no. 4 (1975): 8–11; Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979, pp. 25–27; Graham Conway, “ Canadian Landing Case,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 216 (April 1986): 7–9; Graham Conway, “ Close Encounter,” UFO*BC; Graham Conway, “ CE2 Secrets,” IUR 17, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1992): 24)
August 20 — Evening. Police stations in the area of Albany, New York, receive numerous calls about UFO sightings. State Trooper Michael Morgan is dispatched to the scene of one of the sightings, where a police detective is observing a blimp-sized object hovering at 500 feet over Lake Saratoga. As the reddish, glowing UFO flashes on and off, two smaller objects approach and merge with it. Air traffic controllers at Albany Airport locate the object on a radar scanner. After a few minutes, the two smaller objects break away and leave in the direction from which they had come. The first object moves toward the two policemen who see a brilliant white light shining from the center of its base as it passes over them. Silently, the craft turns and moves away slowly. Suddenly, the UFO disappears. After tracking the target for 45 minutes, the radar operators lose contact with it. However, within a short time, they receive a call from the pilot of a military airplane who warns them that he has just seen a red fireball 1,000 feet above him headed toward the airport. The controllers locate the object just as it enters the 50-mile range of one of their radarscopes. The anti-clutter device is thrown to ascertain whether or not the blip is a radar angel, but the image still comes through clearly. The controllers estimate its speed to be 3,000 mph. About five miles outside Albany, the target vanishes. The controllers speculate that it has either accelerated to a speed of 5,000 mph or has executed a seemingly impossible vertical maneuver at high speed. During the same time as the Albany sightings, large discs and bright lights are seen at low altitude less than 50 miles north over the South Glens Falls area and as far north as Lake George. The case is investigated by Ernest Jahn, who contacts the Smithsonian Institution in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They are unable to give any explanation for the sightings. (“ UFO’s Fill Skies over Saratoga County,” White Plains (N.Y.) Journal News, August 21, 1974, p. 6; “ ‘Hey Sarge, They’re Turning Around!’” Kingston (N.Y.) Daily Freeman, August 21, 1974, p. 5; “ Investigation Reveals Unreported Sightings,” UFO Investigator, November 1974, p. 1; “ NICAP Cases among Best of Year,” UFO Investigator, April 1975, p. 2; Margaret Sachs, UFO Encyclopedia, Putnam, 1980, pp. 10–11)
August 23 — 9:00 p.m. John Lennon and May Pang watch a rotating, oval-shaped disc with a red light on top from the roof of his penthouse apartment on East 52nd Street in New York City. It is flying less than 100 feet away and moves off soundlessly as they watch it. Lennon mentions it in a liner note to his 1974 Walls and Bridges album. (Harold Salkin, “ John Lennon’s Close Encounter,” UFO Universe 1, no. 1 (July 1988): 65–66; “ John Lennon’s UFO Radio Interview,” Zak Harley YouTube channel, August 18, 2007; Alejandro Rojas, “ John Lennon’s UFO Doodle Auctioned Off,” OpenMinds, March 25, 2014; Jared Sauceda, “ John Lennon Album Sleeve Art Recalls Alleged 1974 UFO Sighting,” InQuisitr, April 21, 2014; David Halperin, “ John Lennon, May Pang, and the UFO (1) Their Story,” davidhalperin.net, February 11, 2016)
August 25 — After 10:00 p.m. A document is leaked to UFO researchers in the US and UK in 1992 and is apparently composed by someone within the US intelligence community who either personally knows about the case or who has run across top-secret documents. Now known as the “Deneb Report,” the document alleges that the following incident took place. Military radar at Corpus Christi, Texas, detects an unknown target moving toward the Texas Gulf coast. Traveling at a speed of 2,500 mph at an altitude of 75,000 feet, the UFO is first spotted over the Gulf of Mexico about 200 miles east of Corpus Christi. After going through maneuvers suggesting intelligent control, the object quickly turns south along the Texas coast, avoiding entry over land, and seems headed toward Brownsville. As the disc continues to hug the Texas coastline, it exhibits controlled descent, calculated turns, speed reductions, and other clear indications of control. The object descends from 75,000 feet to about 45,000 feet by the time it crosses over land into northern Mexico, about 40 miles south of Brownsville. Its speed is down to 2,000 mph and it is slowing very gradually. Zigzagging around mountain peaks that tower above 5,000 feet, the UFO continues to descend, although its speed is still near 2,000 mph at the time that it encounters another aircraft headed toward it on a collision course. Somewhere over a vast desert plain known as El Llano near Coyame, Chihuahua, Mexico, a mid-air collision occurs with a small aircraft flying from El Paso to Mexico City. Debris from the crash rains down on the desert plain below, and efforts are soon underway by both Mexico and the US to recover the remains. Mexican spotter planes first locate the wreckage of the aircraft, even as US electronic surveillance personnel listen in on the rescue activities from across the Texas border. The Americans hear the Mexican spotter planes say that the small craft is almost totally destroyed and that they have found a second crash site nearby with the remains of a nearly intact, shiny, silvery disc. The object is 16 feet, 5 inches in diameter, and equally convex on both upper and lower surfaces. There is an outer rim around the central circumference. The height is slightly less than 5 feet. They see no visible portholes, doors, or markings. In addition, no lights of any kind are apparent. There is also no obvious mechanism for propulsion. The external surface of the disc is like silvery polished steel. Mexican troops recover the crashed disc, winching it up onto the bed of a large military truck. They also retrieve fragments of the crashed civilian aircraft, although there is not much left of it. (“ Presidio 1974,” Texas UFO Museum and Research Library; Noe Torres and Ruben Uriarte, The Coyame Incident, Roswell Books, 2013)
August 28 — Cattle mutilations, UFOs, and black helicopters continue to be reported in rural Nebraska, Texas, and Iowa. Armed vigilante ranchers begin to stop out-of-state vehicles passing through nearby roads to check for traces of cattle blood; some begin to shoot at passing helicopters. The Nebraska National Guard orders all its helicopters to fly at 2,000 feet rather than the standard 1,000 feet when they perform routine exercises. (“ Mutilated Livestock, Helicopters, and UFOs Source of Wonder, Worry,” Hastings (Nebr.) Daily Tribune, August 29, 1974, p. 8; “The Midnight Marauder,” Newsweek, September 30, 1974, p. 32; Michael J. Goleman, “ Wave of Mutilation: The Cattle Mutilation Phenomenon of the 1970s,” Agricultural History 85, no. 3 (2011): 398–417; Graff 281)
September 1 - 11:00 a.m. While he is driving a swather to harvest his rapeseed crop near Langenburg, Saskatchewan, farmer Edwin Fuhr, 36, notices a metallic-appearing dome-shaped object about 50 feet away and stops to investigate. Walking to within 15 feet of it, Fuhr sees that it is spinning and swirling the grass beneath it. This frightens him and he backs away. Climbing back on the swather, he looks around and sees four more identical domes "like brushed stainless steel" arranged in a rough semicircle, all hovering and spinning about a foot above the ground. Whether from fear or an EM effect, Fuhr cannot get the throttle and steering wheel of the swather to respond. One object suddenly takes off, quickly followed by the other four, ascending in a step formation. At about 200 feet they stop, each emitting a puff of gray vapor from exhaust-like extensions at the base. The vapor extends about 6 feet, followed by a downward gust of wind which flattens the rapeseed in the immediate area. The objects then form a straight line, hover for a minute or two, then suddenly ascend into the low cloud cover and disappear. Fuhr goes to the landing area and finds five rings of depressed grass swirled in a clockwise fashion. There is no evidence of heat or burning. Some additional circles are found in the area later that month. Fuhr later learns that cattle in a nearby field bellowed and broke through a fence about the time of the sighting. Royal Canadian Mounted Police Constable Ron Morier, quoted by Canadian Press, says: "Something was there and I doubt it was a hoax. There's no indication anything had been wheeled in or out and Mr. Fuhr seemed genuinely scared." Later Morier tells an investigator, "There is no way that this is a hoax. Whatever was in there, it came out of the air and departed the same way, as far as I could tell." (NICAP, " Langenburg, Saskatchewan, Canada"; " Farmers Scared by UFOs," Edmonton (Alta.) Journal, September 10, 1974, p. 11; " `Saucers' Sighted, No Hoax-RCMP," Saskatoon (Sask.) Star-Phoenix, September 10, 1974, p. 1; " UFO May Be `Fairy Ring,'" Saskatoon (Sask.) Star-Phoenix, September 27, 1974, p. 12; " Five Objects Hover over Canadian Field," APRO Bulletin 23, no. 2 (Sept./Oct. 1974): 8; " Farmer Sees UFO 15 Feet Away," Skylook, no. 83 (October 1974): 4; " On His Rapeseed Farm," Canadian UFO Report 3, no. 2 (1974): 2; " The Farmer and Five UFOs," Flying Saucer Review 20, no. 3 (December 1974): 32-33; Ted Phillips, Physical Traces Associated with UFO Sightings, CUFOS, 1975, p. 104; J. Allen Hynek and Jacques Vallée, The Edge of Reality, Regnery, 1975, pp. 265-279; Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979, pp. 22-24; Chris Rutkowski and John P. Timmerman, " Langenburg, 1974: A Classic Historical CE2 and a Crop Circle Progenitor?" IUR 17, no. 2 (March/April 1992): 4-11; " Farmer Edwin Fuhr's Strange Sighting in His Fields," Saskatoon (Sask.) Star-Phoenix, June 13, 1992, p. C3; Chris Rutkowski, "The Langenburg CE2 Case: When UFOs Left Their Mark," in Hilary Evans and Dennis Stacy, eds., UFO: 1947-1997, John Brown, 1997, pp. 120-130; UFOEv II 48-49; Michael D. Swords, GrassRoots UFOs: Case Reports from the Timmerman Files, Fund for UFO Research, 2005, pp. 148-159; Chris Rutkowski and Geoff Dittman, The Canadian UFO Report, Dundurn Press, 2006, pp. 110-113; " 1974, Langenburg," Old Crop Circles; " Edwin Fuhr, UFO Close Encounter, Langenburg, Saskatchewan, Canada, September 1, 1974," Explorer1x YouTube channel, April 26, 2010; " Brushed Steel: The Langenburg Sightings, Part 1," Russ Klitch YouTube channel, October 12, 2011; " Brushed Steel: The Langenburg Sightings, Part 2," Russ Klitch YouTube channel, October 12, 2011; " Interview with Edwin Fuhr 37 Years Later: The Langenburg UFO Case," AboveTopSecret forum, January 20, 2017; Mark Melnychuk, " The Farmer Who Saw and the Mountie Who Believed: Sask.'s Most Famous UFO Sighting," Regina (Sask.) Leader-Post, September 29, 2017; Clark III 673-675; Chris Rutkowski, Canada's UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 192-196; " 1974 CA #UFOB [Case] Ed Fuhr Sees Saucers in Langenburg, CA," UFOB | Your UAP Library YouTube channel, August 6, 2022; " Farmer Edwin Fuhr on Encountering Multiple UFOs in His Field in Langenburg, Canada, Sept. 1, 1974," Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, August 10, 2024; " Langenburg UFO Sighting Commemorated with Silver Coin," CTV Regina, September 11, 2024; Clark IV 747-749)
Autumn - 10:00 a.m. A metallic disc some 300 feet across approaches a South Korean antiaircraft shore battery. The commander launches an MIM-23 Hawk guided missile which is immediately shot down by a "white ray" from the UFO. The second ray is directed at the battery, melting the remaining two Hawk missiles into an unrecognizable mass. (Soviet Military Review, June 1989; Stringfield, Situation Red, Fawcett Crest, 1977, pp. 135-136)
October 11 - 4:15 a.m. The captain and crew of a Capital Airlines DC-8 descending into Gander, Newfoundland, watches as a UFO flashing red and white lights draws alongside the plane as it flies at 290 mph at 7,500 feet. It maintains a parallel course until it finally disappears in cloud cover about 5 miles from Gander. Air traffic control at Gander confirms there is no other aircraft in the vicinity. (Good Above, p. 201; Chris Rutkowski, Canada's UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, p. 91)
October 11 — 4:10 p.m. An astronomer in Cloudcroft, New Mexico, is driving a pickup truck when he sees a silver-gray domed disc behind him to the west. It moves from southeast to northwest on a level, straight course, but in the last 2–3 seconds it turns upward, accelerating rapidly. The witness’s truck stalls out when he tries to accelerate, but the tape deck keeps operating. (“ Astronomers and UFO’s: A Survey, Part 2, Sightings,” IUR 2, no. 4 (April 1977): 4)
October 11 — Robert Spencer Carr is the guest on a local radio show to promote the upcoming Flying Saucer Symposium by PSI Conferences in Tampa, Florida. During the interview, Carr makes the shocking disclosure of the US government’s cover-up of the UFO crash in Aztec, New Mexico, in 1948 with 12 dead aliens aboard. The Air Force allegedly is storing the bodies at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio, in Hangar 18. The announcement creates a media sensation that lasts for months in print and broadcast news. (Dave Casey, “ UFOs and 12 Little Men,” Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) News, October 12, 1974, p. 1; Curt Collins, “ Robert Spencer Carr and Hangar 18,” The Saucers That Time Forgot, May 29, 2018; Curt Collins, “ Inside Hangar 18 with Dr. Robert Carr,” The Saucers That Time Forgot, June 1, 2018)
October 14 — 9:09 p.m. Air Force security personnel assigned to the Bomber Alert Area of Grand Forks AFB near Emerado, North Dakota, see two large, solid black, oval shapes hovering at 1,500 feet altitude in the northwestern sky. Although each of the unlit objects has five small lights arrayed across its surface, the UFOs approach to within one-quarter mile of the alert area before they are noticed. Within a 3-minute period, 14 security police sentries, two military pilots, and a B-52 maintenance supervisor independently report the objects to their respective control locations. Static on radio and other communications networks are noted. After hovering for 2 minutes, the UFOs slowly move in tandem toward the south, making a faint humming sound as they fade from view. (Nukes 347–348)
October 15 — Night. Five witnesses in Ramona, California, watch a mysterious round object as it maneuvers over the Santa Maria Valley. It lands on a hillside and turns ruby red before becoming a brilliant white light. As it passes over, horses act up and a dog tries to grab one witness by her sleeve back into the house. Another dog, chained, runs in and out of the doghouse repeatedly, and the chickens and goats are agitated as well. Radio and TV reception is disrupted, and a compass points to the object as it is moving. The object hovers briefly, then shoots away, emitting a noise like something between a hum and a foghorn. (NICAP, “ Object Lands / Animal Reactions / Compass Deviates”; Bob Gribble, “ Looking Back,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 258 (October 1989): 24)
October 25 — 4:15 p.m. Oil-well digger E. Carl Higdon Jr. is hunting elk on the northern edge of Medicine Bow National Forest southeast of Rawlins, Wyoming, when he sees five elk standing motionless. He attempts to shoot one, but the bullet falls about 50 feet from him as if hitting an invisible obstruction. He goes to pick it up, then hears a twig snap and sees a humanoid being (more than 6 feet tall) under a tree about 50 feet away. Its hair is sticking up “like wheat straw,” it is bow-legged, and it is wearing a black coverall suit and black shoes. Two belts cross its chest, and another is wrapped around its waist. The being, who calls itself Ausso, asks Higdon how he is doing and whether he is hungry, after which it tosses him a package of pills. It tells him to take one, saying it will last for four days. Higdon looks up the hill and sees a transparent, lighted cubicle. Suddenly he finds himself inside it, strapped to a seat with a helmet on his head. Two humanoids are also inside, as well as four seats, a control panel, a mirror, a map, and several elk, frozen in a cage. The craft takes him to what seems to be another planet with a mushroom-shaped tower, 100 feet tall. He and one of the humanoids float to the tower, go down an elevator, pass down a corridor, and go into a room with a platform. After being screened by a “glassy shield,” Higdon is told he is “not any good for what we need” and is taken back to the original location, where he rolls down a hill, hurting his head, neck, and shoulder. Around 6:30 p.m., Higdon radios his boss, Roy Fleming of the AM Well Service in Rawlins, with his location and asks for assistance. At 11:40 p.m., Higdon is found by a rescue party, which includes Fleming, the Carbon County sheriff, a deputy, and three other men in several four-wheel-drive pickup trucks. He seems confused, so he is taken to Carbon County Memorial Hospital, unable to remember his own name. He does not recover his memory until the evening of October 27. Many further details emerge after Higdon is hypnotized by R. Leo Sprinkle on November 2 and 17. (R. Leo Sprinkle, “ A Preliminary Report on the Investigation of an Alleged UFO Occupant Encounter,” Flying Saucer Review 21, no. 3–4 (November 1975): 3–7; Lorenzen, Abducted! Confrontations with Beings from Outer Space, Berkley, 1977, pp. 25–37; UFOEv II 540–541; Margery A. Higdon, Alien Abduction of the Wyoming Hunter, The author, 2017; Clark III 573–576; “ Wyoming Hunter Carl Higdon and His Alien Abduction Experience in Medicine Bow National Forest, 1974,” Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, November 12, 2024; Clark IV 631–633)
October 31 — Night. A man is outside patrolling his property in Elma, New York, when he sees an immense birdman-like creature with a wingspan of 9–10 feet and a large, grotesque head descend from the treetops and fly away. (Virginia Margaret Miller, [Letter] “The ‘Mothman’ Visits,” Fate 29, no. 3 (March 1978): 127–129; Clark III 781; Clark IV 862)
November — 8:00 p.m. Claire Haser, on an isolated ranch northeast of Goldendale, Washington, sees a yellowish-white glow in the sky on the ground to the north. At 11:00 p.m., as visitors are leaving, she steps outside and sees it again, closer and more intense. Suspended in the air only 10 feet away from the porch and 15 feet above the ground is a “cylinder” about 3 feet long and 14 inches in diameter, standing with its end pointed toward the ground. Projecting from the object is a long, narrow, beam of light about 2 inches in diameter and 3 feet long. The end of the beam is diffuse, and it is slowly rotating clockwise. She watches it for 10 minutes. Not wanting to approach the object, everyone goes back inside. The object is gone 30 minutes later. (Greg Long, “ Strangeness at Yakima,” IUR 19, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1994): 17)
November — Night. A witness is traveling in his 1971 Mitshubishi Colt near the Sideling hill in northeastern Tasmania when he notices a huge flame-colored glow lighting up the bush to the north. It looka larger than a house. The headlights, radio, and motor of his car all cut out and he is left watching the glow for several minutes. He notices his luminous watch dial has become brighter and that the car’s clock is running 2 minutes slower after the sighting. The mass of light moves back and forth, rises up and away from the witness, and disappears. The witness then able to start his car and continue on his journey. Afterward, the front left mudguard changes color from red to more of an orange. (“ UFOs and Auto-Stops,” TUFOIC Newsletter, no. 91 (February 2002): 6)
November 4 — 11:00 p.m. A witness is driving near Scottsdale, Tasmania, when he sees a large, silent UFO. His car engine and radio cut out and his watch dial lights up brightly. The object moves away and abruptly ascends vertically. The left-hand mudguard changes color permanently from red to orange. (Ted Phillips, “ Vehicle Effects,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 446 (June 2005): 15)
November 5 - 7:30 p.m. Jesse and Johanna Chilton are driving south on Provincial Highway 2 near Olds, Alberta, when they see a disc about 9 feet in diameter and 50 feet away on their right at a height of 25 feet. It turns and passes them in the opposite direction and they note several exhaust ports emitting yellow flame. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada's UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 226-227)
November 5 — 8:30 p.m. Harold Verge is driving between Mahone Bay and Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, in the pouring rain when he sees three bright amber lights appear in his rear-view mirror. Suddenly they move to the rigt side of his car and pace it for 30 seconds before disappearing abruptly. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, p. 83)
November 7 — 3:00 p.m. Two schoolgirls are biking home from school in Waterford, Connecticut, when they see a ball of fire in the sky. They ride to one of their homes and go out in a car, hoping to take a photo. When they get to the shore of Niantic Bay, they see it again with several other people who have stopped. The object is now shaped like a triangular space capsule with rounded corners. Flames shoot from the back as it performs elaborate rolls and maneuvers. Then it takes off. (Michael D. Swords, “ Timmerman’s Triangles,” IUR 29, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 15)
November 9 — 7:00 p.m. Robert Gillette, 14, and two friends (Bill and John Lloyd) are out walking in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, when they hear a whirring sound in the sky above them. They look up and see a red ball emitting sparks and crossing over Salem Mountain from the east. It hovers above a 4-acre silt pond near Russell Park and then plunges about 500 feet into the water. Gillette says the object turned the “color of a bright star” before falling. The youngsters call Carbondale police, who go to the scene around 9:00 p.m. Patrolmen John Barbaro and Joseph Jacobina can see a glowing object about 20 feet out in the water. Within a few hours, 12 other officers converge on the pond. Jacobina fires his pistol at the light but fails to hit it. Gillette thinks the object moves a bit when the shots are fired. After 12:00 midnight, the light is still visible and covers a circle about 15 feet in diameter, drawing crowds of curious spectators. Firemen bring a boat and drop a net around the light around 2:45 a.m. As the net is raised, the light grows brighter, but then the net suddenly grows limp as the object is accidentally released and the light goes out. On November 11, police decide to drain the pond by pumping the water out. As the water level drops, a scuba diver goes in and finds a battery-powered railroad lantern. (Bill Halpin, “ Search Under Way for UFO in Carbondale Pond,” Scranton (Pa.) Times, November 11, 1974, p. 3; “ Diver Finds ‘Light’ in Pond: Police Plan Probe of Hoax,” Scranton (Pa.) Times, November 12, 1974, p. 3; Jerry Palko and Mike Tusko, “ UFO Experts Have Doubts about Carbondale Hoax,” Scranton (Pa.) Times, November 12, 1974, p. 29; Douglas K. Dains, “ Object in Water Checked in Pennsylvania,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 85 (December 1974): 12; “ Carbondale UFO Tale Rises Again,” Wilkes-Barre (Pa.) Times-Leader, November 13, 2016; Asha Prihar, “ Meet a Mayor: The Small, Eccentric Pa. City Where Even UFOs Like to Drop By,” Spotlight PA, August 15, 2025)
Mid-November — 5:30 p.m. Giovanna Sensoli is attending to her animals by her farmhouse near Castelleale, Romagna, Italy, when she notices her chickens and rabbits seem terrified. She notices a man seated on a box that is suspended in the air above her house, rocking to and fro, and only about 12 feet from her. He seems to be about 6 feet 6 inches tall and dressed in a shiny, one-piece garment with green, red, and white markings, and a pair of ski boots with square toes and heels. A helmet covers his face, but he seems to be looking for something. The box has a control rod with colored stripes. The man moves a bit further away to the east on his box. Sensoli sees a bright light to the north and she is overcome by heat. The house is lit up for a few seconds. Sensoli follows the man, trying to understand his gesticulations, but he departs to the east, followed by the light. The incident has lasted 15 minutes. (Gianfranco Lollino, “ Le nostre analisi: Il Caso di Castelleale,” Notiziario UFO, no. 106 (1987): 10–12; Gianfranco Lollino, “ The ‘Flying Man’ at Castelleale (Italy),” Flying Saucer Review 32, no. 4 (June 1987): 25–27; 1Pinotti 193–197)
November 16 — The Arecibo message is broadcast into space via frequency modulated radio waves at a ceremony to mark the remodeling of the Arecibo Telescope in Puerto Rico. It consists of an interstellar message carrying basic information about humanity and Earth sent to the globular cluster Messier 13, about 25,000 light years from Earth. It is meant as a demonstration of human technological achievement, rather than a real attempt to enter into a conversation with extraterrestrials. The message’s content is designed by Frank Drake, with help from Carl Sagan and others. It includes, in binary code, the numbers one to ten; the atomic numbers of hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and phosphorus; formulas for the nucleotides of DNA; the double helix structure of DNA; the graphic of a human being; a graphic of the Solar System; and a graphic of the Arecibo radio telescope. (Wikipedia, “ Arecibo message”; Frank Drake and Dava Sobel, Is Anyone Out There?, Delacorte, 1992, pp. 164–184; Graff 242–244)
November 17 — 9:00 a.m. A businessman is taking a walk along the shore of Nørresø in Viborg, Denmark, when he notices an object above the eastern bank of the lake. He snaps a photo of it as it hovers in the air about 1,600–3,300 feet away. He looks around to see if there are other witnesses, but when he looks back the object is gone. The photo shows a circular object with an estimated diameter of about 65 feet with some cloudy filaments hanging from its base. Investigators suspect it may be a rare instance of a small cumulus cloud that has developed from a black smoke ring. (Wim van Utrecht, “ Jellyfish UFO Photographed over Denmark,” Caelestia, May 17, 2008)
November 22 — 7:30 p.m. At two-minute intervals, three bright red lights are seen climbing very quickly from the horizon at Madeira, Canary Islands, after which they create brilliant concentric circles. A reporter in Funchal takes a few photos. The lights are probably Poseidon missiles launched by the submarine USS Mariano G. Vallejo several hundred kilometers to the west. (Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos and Ricardo Campo Pérez, “ Navy Missile Tests and the Canary Islands UFOs,” IUR 29, no. 4 (July 2005): 3)
November 24 — 2:30 a.m. Ronald Messore and his wife are driving east on Interstate 80 near Baxter, California, heading into the Sierra Nevada range. Messore sees a green and white revolving light like a beacon about a quarter-mile ahead on the left. The beacon is drifting about 30 feet above the ground, and a brilliant blue light becomes visible. Suddenly an orange-white floodlight switches on and the object moves closer to the road. Both of them become quite frightened. The floodlight switches off as the object passes over the highway, and the green, white, and blue beacons are visible again. It descends into a densely wooded area 150 feet away, and Messore speeds ahead to get out of the area. (“ Possible California Landing,” APRO Bulletin 24, no. 3 (Sept. 1975): 5–6)
November 28 — 11:43 a.m. Hugo W. Feugen is flying his own Aeronca Champion aircraft on a bright day over Shabbona, Illinois, and he is checking his position on the aeronautical map to determine if he was still on course. When he looks up, he notices that the magnetic compass is rotating counterclockwise at a rate of four revolutions per minute. He looks to his right side and sees nothing but the town below him. When he turns to his left, he sees a disc or ellipse flying parallel to his aircraft at the same speed (75–80 mph) and altitude, pacing him at 120° at an estimated one-quarter of a mile distance. He estimates its size as 120 feet long and 30 feet thick. After pacing him for 8–10 seconds, the object tips slightly and he sees that it is not an ellipse but round in shape. As it tips up at an angle, it accelerates to a fantastic speed toward the east and is out of sight in less than one second. (NICAP, “ Pilot Says Compass Affected”; “ Pilot Says Compass Affected,” Skylook, no. 89 (April 1975): 5)
December — 7:30 a.m. A witness sees a vertical object floating above Wemeth Low, a hill near Higher Chisworth, Derbyshire, England. It has a flattened upper end and a tapered base. It changes shape from round to oval and cigar and back to oval before it disappears and discharges several small spheres from its blunt end “like soap bubbles.” (Herbert S. Taylor, “ Satellite Objects and Cloud Cigars,” IUR 29, no. 1 (Spring 2004): 10)
December 2 - 10:30 p.m. Dairy farmer William L. Bosak is driving back to his house southeast of Frederic, Wisconsin, on County Road W when he sees an object reflected in his headlights on the westbound side of the road in front of him. It is a disc-shaped UFO, the bottom half obscured by the fog. But what holds his attention is something inside the object's "curved front of glass." Inside stands a figure with its arms raised above its head. He thinks the figure is as scared as he is because its eyes are protruding. It is generally human in shape, but its body is covered in dark tan fur except on the face and chin. Its head hair seems to be swept back, and the calf-like ears stretch out about 3 inches. The mouth and nose seem flat. Bosak speeds past the object and his car lights suddenly go dim. He hears a whooshing sound and the UFO is lost to view. (" Occupant Case in Wisconsin," APRO Bulletin 23, no. 4 (Jan./ Feb. 1975): 1, 4; Jerome Clark, " The Frightened Creature on County Road W," Flying Saucer Review 21, no. 1 (June 1975): 20-21; Patrick Gross, URECAT, October 20, 2006; Clark III 557-558; Clark IV 615-616)
December 9 — 10:30 p.m. A married couple in Bad Traunstein, Austria, watch for more than 30 minutes a triangular object that hovers above a nearby pylon and sends out beams of green, blue, and red light. (Ernst Berger [Alexander G. Keul], “ The ‘Snails’ Are Still Around,” Flying Saucer Review 21, no. 5 (February 1976): 29)
December 11 — 1:22 a.m. Teacher Călin Turcu hears his dog barking insistently in the backyard of his home in Vălenii de Munte, Romania. Beyond a river about a half-mile away he sees a pulsating, dazzling white light like that coming from a welding machine that illuminates the trees for miles around. In the next 3–4 minutes he takes 7–10 photos. The light persists for 12 minutes until it ascends and fades slowly out. (Augustin Moraru, “ Luminous UFO Photographed over Romania,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 114 (May 1977): 3–5; Augustin Moraru, “ Phénomène Lumineux Photographie au-dessus de Valenii de Munte,” UFO-Quebec, no. 13 (March 1978): 18–19; Romania 38)
December 17 — 2:30 a.m. John Wagner is in his farmhouse near MacNutt, Saskatchewan, when he notices a large, bright glow to the west that lasts for 25 minutes. The next morning, he finds a circular ring in the snow about 20 feet in diameter. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 190–191)
December 18 — 7:00 p.m. Executive Engineer Mohammad Riaz and others see a circular light appear above the V-shaped mountain overlooking the approach to Pattan, Pakistan, for about 25 minutes. It is also seen in Chitral, Pakistan. An earthquake (Hunza Earthquake) centers on the area on December 28, so this could be a type of earthquake light. (Col. William S. Gilliland, “ Balls of Fire Memo,” US Department of Defense Intelligence Information Report, December 18, 1974; “ CAUS Gains DIA File Release,” Just Cause, new series, no. 7 (March 1986): 3)
December 31 — Night. Dave Percy and two other security guards at the Pickering, Ontario, Nuclear Generating Station are preparing to greet the new year when they see a cluster of bright red spheres over Lake Ontario to the south. One of them moves closer and hovers over the Number 3 and 4 reactor buildings. It is about 30 feet across. The object hovers for 6–7 minutes, then after a bright flash it takes off. (Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979, p. 120)
1975
John A. Keel publishes The Mothman Prophecies, an investigation into sightings of a winged creature called Mothman in the area around Point Pleasant, West Virginia, in 1966-1967. It combines these accounts with his theories about UFOs and various paranormal phenomena, ultimately connecting them to the collapse of the Silver Bridge across the Ohio River on December 15, 1967. (Official investigations in 1971 determine it was caused by stress corrosion cracking in an eye bar in a suspension chain.) Other entities that Keel chronicles are not-quite- human individuals (men in black) who intimidate witnesses and seem linked with UFOs. Sometimes, he writes, they threaten witnesses who have not told anyone else about their sightings. Usually they wear dark suits, sometimes with turtle-neck sweaters, and have dark complexions and Oriental features. Others are pale and bug-eyed. Their behavior is frequently odd, as if they are operating in an environment alien to them. In many cases they drive black Cadillacs or other limousine-like vehicles. In another book, The Eighth Tower, Keel emphasizes the bizarreness of the ultraterrestrials' behavior, saying "It distorts our reality whimsically, perhaps out of boredom, or perhaps because it is a little crazy." Later he expands on this: "When a hairy monster stalks across the landscape and peers into a bathroom window, the event has no meaning, so we invent a meaning for it. We have complicated our reality by developing whole cults of unreason to define unreasonable intrusions and make them important in our own lives. If the source is crazy for teasing us pointlessly, what are we who allow ourselves to be so easily teased?" (John A. Keel, The Mothman Prophecies, Saturday Review, 1975; Wikipedia, " The Mothman Prophecies"; John A. Keel, The Eighth Tower, Saturday Review, 1975; David Clarke, "A New Demonology: John Keel and The Mothman Prophecies," in Jack Hunter, ed., Damned Facts: Fortean Essays on Religion, Folklore, and the Paranormal, Aporetic, 2016, pp. 54-68; Clark III 640, 729-730, 879-881; Eghigian, After, pp. 251-252; Clark IV 716, 810-811, 973-975)
Night. Sgt. Eric Slater is flight security controller at the Francis E. Warren AFB Tango-1 missile launch facility southeast of Wheatland, Wyoming. He sees a bright white light coming over the mountains from the Romeo-1 launch facility northwest of Meriden, hugging the contour of the landscape. It stops about 3 miles away and hovers for 1–2 hours. At one point a light beam shoots down from the UFO into the valley below. Then it comes straight for Tango-1. Slater sees it has a dome on top and small, alternating red-and-blue lights on each side. It only leaves when two F-4 Phantoms from Denver enter base airspace to pursue it. (Nukes 336–337)
January 1 — 6:25 a.m. Four Spanish Army soldiers (Manolo Aguera, Felipe Sánchez, Ricardo Iglesias, and José Laso) are driving near Quintanaortuño, Burgos, Spain, when Aguera sees a light fall from the sky at great speed. He stops the car and all four get out and watch a bright yellow object just above the ground some 1,300 feet away where the light has fallen. It has the form of a truncated cone and emits white jets of light toward the ground. The light goes out suddenly and four others appear in a straight line, lighting up in succession. Driving on toward Burgos, the soldiers stop two more times to watch the lights. Investigator Malo Martínez later finds two parallel scorched areas where there are numerous randomly spaced holes where the grass has been burned all the way to the ground. (“ Aqui Vimos el OVNI,” Stendek, no. 18 (December 1974): cover; Pere Redon, “ Burgos: Primer Caso de 1975,” Stendek, no. 19 (March 1975): 3–9; “ Soldiers Report UFO in Spain,” Skylook, no. 89 (April 1975): 1, 3–5; Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos, A Catalogue of 200 Type I UFO Events in Spain and Portugal, CUFOS, 1976, p. 53; Pere Redon, “ The Landing near Burgos,” Flying Saucer Review 23, no. 2 (August 1977): 22–24, 27; Swords 433)
January 1 — Just before sunrise. Actor Warren Oates is with four friends ( Lee Clayton, Trina Mitchum, Judy A. Jones, and Ted Markland) in the desert about 20 miles northeast of Palm Springs, California, when they see an object moving in a semicircle through the night sky. They describe it as an oval, metallic object flashing yellow, green, and white lights, with one large orange light in the center. Clayton, watching it through binoculars, sees a bell shape on the top, and estimates it is about 3–5 miles away at an altitude of 2,000 feet. It stops and hovers momentarily before moving off behind the mountains. (Margaret Sachs, The UFO Encyclopedia, Putnam, 1980, p. 226)
January 2 — 2:45 p.m. Michael Lindstrom and his wife are relaxing on the beach near the Kauai Sands Hotel on the east side of the island of Maui, Hawaii. His wife notices a strange object moving southward over the beach toward her, and she runs to tell her husband, who is walking nearby. It is soundless, has a square shape, its center is white or silver, and it has a black stripe along its perimeter. A row of lights is visible along the lower edge. He estimates that it is flying at 5,000 feet altitude traveling diagonally to the direction of the wind, and is about one mile away. Before it disappears to the southwest after two minutes, Lindstrom takes three photographs (slides), which show a spherical object bisected by a black square and topped by five bright dots. (Mike Lindstrom, “The Lindstrom Photos,” Official UFO, July 1976, pp. 28–30, 59–60; Bruce Maccabee, “ A Rare Photo Coincidence,” IUR 15, no. 3 (May/June 1990): 4–9, 22; Bruce Maccabee, “ Recent UFO Videotapes,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 265 (May 1990): 3–7; UFOEv II 293)
January 2 — 11:00 p.m. An officer and several soldiers on a military patrol at the Las Bardenas Reales firing range near Arguedas, Navarre, Spain, see a group of intense lights moving slowly then remaining stationary on the ground for 25 minutes. Through binoculars, they see an object shaped like “half an orange” that rises and slowly disappears on the horizon. Some 30 observers view the lights for 3–4 minutes. (“ UFO Reportedly Lands on Firing Range,” Skylook, no. 87 (February 1975): 19; Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos, A Catalogue of 200 Type I UFO Events in Spain and Portugal, CUFOS, 1976, p. 53; Gordon Creighton, “ UFO Lands on Spanish Air Force Target Range,” Flying Saucer Review 24, no. 5 (March 1979): 17–18; Good Above, pp. 151–152, 459; UFOEv II 87; Swords 433–434, 526)
January 4 — 3:30 a.m. Carlos Alberto Diaz is walking home from a bus stop along Daniel de Solier street, Ingeniero White, near Bahía Blanca, Argentina, when he is blinded and paralyzed by a beam of light. He revives inside a UFO where three greenish, 6-foot-tall creatures, are plucking hair from his head and body. Diaz faints and wakes up in the afternoon in Buenos Aires some 400 miles away, where someone takes him to the Hospital Ferroviario. However, an extensive investigation by ufologist Roberto Enrique Banchs uncovers numerous discrepancies that strongly indicate a hoax. (“ Another Bahia Blanca Case,” APRO Bulletin 23, no. 5 (March 1975): 3–5; Pedro Romaniuk, “ The Case of the ‘Green Men,’” Flying Saucer Review 21, no. 3/4 (November 1975): 39–42; Roberto Enrique Banchs and Richard W. Heiden, “ Carlos Alberto Diaz Is a Hoaxer,” APRO Bulletin 26, no. 2 (August 1977): 8; Lon Strickler, “ The Carlos Alberto Diaz Abduction,” Phantoms and Monsters, March 2, 2012; Clark III 600, 602; Clark IV 660–662)
January 12 — 2:45 a.m. George O’Barski is driving home through North Hudson Park, New Jersey, when he hears static on his CB radio. Through the window he sees a dark, round object with brightly lit windows hovering over the ground about 100 feet away. Ten small (3.5-feet tall), helmeted figures dressed in coveralls emerge from the UFO, dig up soil, and collect it in bags for about 3 minutes before returning to the craft, which takes off with a humming sound. O’Barski returns to the site the next day and finds holes that had been left. Hudson County Police Officers Thomas Feldhan and John Mackanics investigate and file reports. Months later, O’Barski relays the story to an acquaintance, Budd Hopkins, who is interested in UFOs. Hopkins and two others associated with the Center for UFO Studies find independent witnesses, including a doorman at the high-rise Stonehenge apartment building, Bill Pawlowski, who sees a UFO with multiple lights in the park the same time. Hopkins, Ted Bloecher (then the director of New York MUFON), and Jerry Stoehrer, also of MUFON, investigate the incident and take soil samples. (Wikipedia, “ Stonehenge (building)”; “ Landing in New Jersey,” APRO Bulletin 24, no. 8 (February 1976): 1, 3; Budd Hopkins, “ Sane Citizen Sees UFO in New Jersey,” The Village Voice, March 1, 1976, pp. 12–13; Ted Bloecher, “The Stonehenge Incidents, January 1975,” Proceedings of the 1976 CUFOS Conference, Center for UFO Studies, 1976, pp. 25–38; Ted Bloecher, “ The ‘Stonehenge’ Incidents of January 1975,” Flying Saucer Review 22, no. 3 (October 1976): 3–7; Ted Bloecher, “ The ‘Stonehenge’ Incidents of January 1975, Part 2,” Flying Saucer Review 22, no. 4 (November 1976): 5–11; Mark Rodeghier, UFO Reports Involving Vehicle Interference, CUFOS, 1981, p. 64; Budd Hopkins, Missing Time, R. Marek, 1981, pp. 34–50; Clark III 1109–1112; Eghigian, After, p. 279; Clark IV 1235–1238)
January 20–22 — At the 13th Aerospace Sciences Meeting of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in Pasadena, California, physicist Peter A. Sturrock organizes a UFO symposium that features talks by astronomer J. Allen Hynek, ufologist Jacques Vallée, psychologist David R. Saunders, Hynek associate Fred Beckman, and ufologist Ted Phillips. Claude Poher and Vallée present an important paper on “Basic Patterns in UFO Observations,” which finds that UFOs do not differ from conventional objects in weather and distance characteristics of visibility, indicating that UFO witnesses are seeing real objects, but durations of sightings for UFOs and conventional objects differ in distinctive ways—most UFO sightings last 1–19 minutes, while IFO sightings are either shorter or longer. They also find that UFO sightings rise steeply from sunset to 10:00– 11:00 p.m., falling rapidly after that, except for a secondary spike between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m. (Claude Poher and Jacques Vallée, “ Basic Patterns in UFO Observations,” paper presented at the AIAA 13th Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Pasadena, Calif., January 20–22, 1975; Joachim P. Kuettner, “ Quo Vadis? Science and the UFO Problem,” paper presented at the AIAA 13th Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Pasadena, Calif., January 20–22, 1975; Clark III 102; Clark IV 130, 999)
January 27 — A US Senate committee to investigate abuses by the CIA, NSA, FBI, and IRS is created by a vote of 82–4. Chaired by Sen. Frank Church (D-Idaho), the committee is part of a series of investigations into intelligence abuses in 1975, dubbed the “Year of Intelligence,” including its House counterpart, the Pike Committee, and the presidential Rockefeller Commission. It conducts 800 interviews and 250 executive and 21 public hearings. The committee’s efforts lead to the establishment of the permanent US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in 1976. (Wikipedia, “ Church Committee”)
January 28 - Afternoon. Eccentric and contactee Billy Meier sees a disc-shaped spacecraft in Switzerland and takes several photographs of it. The ship lands in a nearby meadow, and a beautiful, pale-skinned, amber-haired spacewoman steps out and approaches him and talks to him for an hour and a half. Her name is Semjase from the planet Erra in the constellation Lyra (although they have since emigrated to the Pleiades), and she is the granddaughter of a being named Sfath, who had contacted Meier in 1944. Many other contacts continue, and Meier produces more photos so that he becomes a regional occult celebrity. (Wendelle C. Stevens, UFO Contact from the Pleiades, The Author, 1982; Gary Kinder, Light Years: An Investigation into the Extraterrestrial Experiences of Billy Meier, Atlantic Monthly, 1987; George M. Eberhart, " Photographs and Red Faces," IUR 12, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1987): 19; Wendelle Steves, et al., Message from the Pleiades, 1988; Bruce Maccabee, " Pendulum from the Pleiades," IUR 14, no. 1 (Jan./ Feb. 1989): 11-12, 22; Derek Bartholomaus, Billy Meier UFO Case website; Clark III 723-725; Clark IV 804-806)
January 31 — Night. Mike McKenna, security guard at the Pickering, Ontario, Nuclear Generating Station, sees 6 balls of light from his position at the east gate. They vary in color from bright red to almost white and remain in the area for nearly 2 hours. Two move in from Lake Ontario and hover above the plant’s service center. After remaining motionless for 30 minutes, they take off straight up at a rocket-like speed. (Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979, pp. 120–121)
January 31 —10:20 p.m. Alan Lott is walking his dog in Caversham, Berkshire, England, when he sees a group of bright lights to the east. He calls his wife, Clarice, and they both view the lights through binoculars. They are moving slowly and silently in a straight line from east to west and are now directly above the Lotts’ house. The three brightest lights are orange-yellow and arranged in an equilateral triangle formation. There are two smaller lights, one red and another white. After 5 minutes, the formation vanishes behind houses and trees. (UFOFiles2, pp. 88–90)
February —Domestic birds, ducks, goats, rabbits, geese, cattle, pigs, and sheep are found dead throughout Puerto Rico with what one veterinarian characterizes as “strange wounds.” The deaths typically occur in the early morning hours and are caused by a sharp instrument that can punch through flesh and bone, usually in the neck region. Around this time and through July, some Puerto Ricans see large, unidentified birds, as well as UFOs. (Sebastian Robiou Lamarche, “ UFOs and Mysterious Deaths of Animals, Part 1,” Flying Saucer Review 22, no. 5 (February 1977): 15–18; Sebastian Robiou Lamarche, “ UFOs and Mysterious Deaths of Animals, Part 2,” Flying Saucer Review 22, no. 6 (April 1977): 6–10; Clark III 139; Clark IV 166)
February - New York City psychic Ingo Swann receives a phone call from a friend in a government agency who tells him that he will be contacted by a "Mr. Axelrod." One morning in March at 3:00 a.m., Axelrod calls Swann and asks him to be in Washington, D.C., at 12:00 noon. This leads to an unlikely adventure involving Swann's remote viewing of a secret extraterrestrial base on the hidden side of the Moon and his "shocking" experience with a sexy, scantily dressed female alien in a Los Angeles, California, supermarket. He concludes that extraterrestrials are living on Earth in humanoid bodies. Swann deduces that there are many extraterrestrials, that many are "bio-androids," and that they are aware their only foes on Earth are psychics. Later, Swann and Mr. Axelrod take a flight to an unknown northerly destination, deduced by Swann as possibly Alaska. Along with two twin bodyguards, Swann and Axelrod attempt to secretly watch a recurrent UFO appear and suck up the water of a lake. Axelrod discloses that the silent, growing, oscillating triangle is simultaneously scanning the area and eliminating any animals, and that the silent beams emanating from the object are "blasting deer or porcupines from the woods or something." The bodyguards realize they are discovered and the group is attacked by the UFO. Swann is thrown to safety by his colleagues and sustains a minor injury. (Wikipedia, " Ingo Swann"; Ingo Swann, Penetration: The Question of Extraterrestrial and Human Telepathy, Ingo Swann Books, 1998, pp. 23-61, 85-100)
Early February — Night. A farmer is walking to his barn north of Lundar, Manitoba, when a red ball of light, 14–16 inches in diameter, swoops low over his head. As he gazes up at it, he feels as if hot plastic is being poured on his head. He suffocates and cannot think clearly while it is above him. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, p. 172)
February 4 — Night. Three Pickering, Ontario, ambulance drivers, a Durham regional police constable, and Andy Parks, music director of radio station CHOO in Agincourt, watch pulsing, multicolored objects maneuvering above the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station. Parks says they are “floating around, zipping this way and that.” (Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979, pp. 121–122)
February 10 — 7:00 p.m. Two 15-year-old boys in Annadale, Staten Island, New York, see a glowing ball, 20 feet in diameter, hovering about 400 feet away above some trees near a frozen pond. The brilliant orange mass compresses itself from football-shaped to basketball-shaped over a period of 10 minutes then suddenly disappears. Another witness who is walking a German shepherd dog around the same time reports that the dog reacted very nervously to something in the woods. The boys return early the next morning and find that some trees, ranging 5–20 feet in height, have been sheared off and some are coated with a carbon-like substance. NICAP investigators have dirt and wood samples analyzed at a scientific laboratory and find that the trees are only superficially burned on their bark but that the fire is oil-based. They suspect the glowing object is a low- temperature fuel fire. (“ Was Giant Orange Object in Annadale Woods a UFO?” Staten Island (N.Y.) Advance, February 14, 1975, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 71 (March 1975): 5; “ Converging Ball of Light Mystifies Witnesses,” UFO Investigator, April 1975, p. 1)
February 14 — 12:05 p.m. Antoine Séverin, 21, is walking down a narrow road on the slope of Piton du Calvaire, a hill outside Petite Île on the southern coast of Réunion in the Indian Ocean, when he hears a deafening beeping sound, feels a blast of heat, feels a strange force pulling him from the back and a tingling in the head. He sees a bright metallic object about the size of a car hovering about 5 feet above the ground. A ladder with three steps appears on the underside, and a small being like the “Michelin man” emerges. He is holding a shining object. Two other beings emerge, all with antennae on their heads. A fourth is visible through a porthole. Then Séverin is hurled onto his back by a powerful flash of light. The beings run up the ladder and withdraw it, then the UFO takes off, emitting a loud whistle. For several days he has blurred vision, impaired speech, and a medical diagnosis of shock. The Gendarmerie investigate the case and judge him to be mentally sound. (Lt.-Col. Lobet, “ Atterrissage à Petit Île (Réunion) le 14 Février 1975,” Lumières dans la Nuit, no. 147 (Aug./Sept. 1975): 4–10; M. J. Bertil, “ Atterrissage à l’île de la Réunion, ” Ouranos, new ser., no. 14 (1975): 4; “ Occupant Witness Experienced Physiological Effects,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 106 (September 1976): 12; Lt.-Col. Lobet, “ Another Close Contact on Réunion, Part 1,” Flying Saucer Review 25, no. 2 (July 1979): 6–10; Lt.-Col. Lobet, “ Another Close Contact on Réunion, Part 2,” Flying Saucer Review 25, no. 3 (September 1979): 7–10; Patrick Gross, “ Petit-Île, La Réunion, February 14, 1975”)
February 17 — 9:00 p.m. Wheatland County Sheriff Richard Egebakken sees a bright, round object hovering about 500 feet near the Malmstrom AFB K-01 Minuteman missile alert facility 1.7 miles east-northeast of Harlowton, Montana. When Deputy Larry Clifford drives to a point about one mile from the site, the object suddenly shoots up to 2,000 feet, stops, and hovers again. State Game Warden Gene Tierney says it is not an aircraft. Commissioner Edgar Langston, also a pilot, sees the object through binoculars from his ranch 15 miles south of Harlowton and sees an antenna-like protrusion on the top. Deputy Herb Lynn stops his pickup truck a few miles out of town to watch and sees it flitting around the sky in all sorts of crazy directions. Deputy Russ Mill, within a mile of K-01, describes a blue object bobbing up and down. Radar at Malmstrom AFB does not track anything. (Bob Gribble, “ Looking Back,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 262 (February 1990): 20; UFOEv II 45–46)
February 19 — 7:19 p.m. A woman is driving a red Volkswagen east between Ryslinge and Ørbæk, Denmark, when her engine and electrical system suddenly fail. As the car rolls to a stop, she sees a large, circular object emitting a bright bluish light approach from behind. The heat inside the car increases and she feels a prickly sensation on her face. Shortly afterward, the object vanishes and the car starts up right away. The next day, she feels restless and nauseous. Her car has several blue stripes on the roof that were not there before. (Richard H. Hall, “ Danish Physical Evidence Case,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 105 (August 1976): 15)
February 23 — 6:41 p.m. A young man and his fiancée observe a large, bright, slightly pink circular object in the sky while driving near Petts Wood in Orpington, Greater London, England. It hovers for 30 seconds before descending into the woods at 30–35 mph. They report the sighting to BUFORA Logistics Advisor Lawrence Dale, who later returns with the man to the site. At 8:41 p.m., they see aircraft approaching Heathrow Airport when a small, bright light appears below one. It moves toward them for 30 seconds, growing in size and brightness—four times that of the brightest aircraft headlight. Both witnesses sense recognition from the object before it dims and disappears. Military aircraft then circle the area for 15 minutes at a lower altitude than the civil aircraft. (“ Sighting Summaries,” BUFORA Journal 4, no. 12 (March/April 1976): 14)
February 23 - Night. Glenn E. Bradley sees two large cylindrical objects like grain silos floating above Matachewan, Ontario. Both are shining white floodlights downward to the ground and have bright lights at the top. They are traveling to the west at about 30 mph. Bradley begins following them in his pickup truck. Outside the lights of the town he notices that the two silos are accompanied by smaller UFOs about 50 feet in diameter, all darting about at high speed. They appear to be entering and exit the larger silos. (" Silos over Ontario," CUFOS Associate Newsletter 6, no. 1 (Feb./ March 1985): 5-6)
February 23 — 7:00 p.m. Students Masato Kawano, 7, and Katsuhiro Yamahata, 7, are roller- skating near the Hinode Housing Estate in Kōfu, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, when they see two orange lights overhead. The larger one flies away north toward Mount Atago, but the second one lands next to a nearby vineyard. The children approach the object, but it takes off and lands again in a gravevine trellis. It is a domed object 16 feet in diameter and 6.5 feet high with three landing pads. when they walk within 3 feet of the object, the surface looks silvery. On one side of the craft, Kono finds five characters resembling Japanese, though unrecognizable. There are four similar characters on the other side. A side hatch opens up and a 4-foot-3-inch-tall humanoid occupant emerges. No eyes or mouth are visible, but it has three fangs and its body is glowing silver. It is carrying a long object like a shotgun over its left shoulder. When Yamahata moves around the craft, both boys are able to look inside and see a second occupant, smaller but similar, seated. The other humanoid approaches Yamahata, putting its hand on his shoulder. Kawano panics, grabs Yamahata, and carries him back to his house. The boys return with their mothers to the site, and the orange light is still visible in the distance. ( Yamanashi Shimbun, February 25, 1975, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 83 (March 1976): 16; “ Two Reports from Japan,” APRO Bulletin 25, no. 5 (November 1976): 5-6; Beatrice Zimmer, “ Letters,” APRO Bulletin 25, no. 10 (April 1977): 2; Beatrice M. Zimmer, “ The Pattern,” Canadian UFO Report 4, no. 5 (Fall/Winter 1977): 19; Center for UFO Studies, “ HUMCAT Index 1975,” p. 13; “Kofu Incident: A Creepy Alien Got off a UFO to a Vineyard and Tapped a Japanese Boy on the Shoulder in 1975,” Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Otakupapa.net, May 31, 2023; “ During the 1975 Kofu UFO Incident, Japanese Schoolboys Had a Close Encounter with Fanged Humanoids,” Eye On Cinema YouTube channel, June 18, 2025)
February 26 — 8:45 p.m. A former RAAF crewman and a companion are on a fishing trip to Lake Sorell, Tasmania, when they see three glowing objects in the northeast sky, one smaller than the other two. Two of the UFOs move closer and hover, then recede, intermittently obscured by clouds. Each has a pulsing red light on its base. The main larger object is an elongated disc with a row of twinkling red lights around the rim. After a bank of clouds go through with a passing storm, the object reappears, glows brightly, and suddenly zooms toward the witnesses at “phenomenal speed.” It stops abruptly about 2,900 feet away at a height of 490 feet, its lights dimming. It projects a brilliant, cone-shaped light beam toward the lake and sweeps it toward the terrain, illuminating the side of a mountain. Then it sweeps back across the lake beneath the object and fades out. The lake’s surface glows a fluorescent blue-white. The object then shoots away to the northeast. A second object, which has been hovering to the north toward Mount Penny, speeds off in the same direction. ( CUFOS case files; Joe Brill, “ UFO Light Beam in Tasmania,” Skylook, no. 91 (June 1975): 3–6; “ UFO Illuminates Lake,” APRO Bulletin 24, no. 1 (July 1975): 1, 3; “ UFO and Light in Tasmania,” Flying Saucer Review 22, no. 6 (April 1977): 30–31; Story, pp. 344–345; UFOEv II 219–221
March 2 — A police officer in Phillips, Wisconsin, hears odd noises on his patrol car radio, then he sees a disc-shaped object with a rounded hump on its top and bottom, along with red and orange lights on the bottom edge. He estimates the object is 30 feet in diameter. When he directs his spotlight on it, the object rapidly ascends. (Richard F. Haines, CE-5: Close Encounters of the Fifth Kind, Sourcebooks, 1998, p. 109)
March 2 — 10:30 p.m. A couple and their daughter see a large, yellowish, egg-shaped light moving erratically in short spurts outside their home in the Great Swamp Management Area near West Kingston, Rhode Island. It then stops and hovers for 5 minutes. They then see two orange-white, ball- shaped objects drop from the large UFO and move northward at the approximate speed of an aircraft, disappearing over the horizon. The large object again moves erratically toward the southeast, gradually picking up speed. (“ Object Ejects Small Spheres,” APRO Bulletin 24, no. 2 (August 1975): 4)
March 7 — The US Embassy in Algiers, Algeria, sends a report to US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, stating that strange “machines” have been maneuvering over Algerian airspace since January, some near military installations and usually around 7:00–7:30 p.m., often by multiple witnesses. An object with a bright light has been seen near Oran, Bechar, and off the coast on March 6 (when it is also confirmed on radar). ( “ Unidentified Flying Objects over Algeria,” WikiLeaks, March 7, 1975; ClearIntent, pp. 79–80)
March 13 — 8:00 p.m. Jane Baker, 15, is outside her garage in Mellen, Wisconsin, when she hears a strange noise and sees a silvery disk with a domed top apparently sitting in the road. It gives off a yellowish-white glow and around the middle are red and green lights flashing off and on. She goes inside and alerts her father, who comes out to see the object has receded, although there is a square lighted opening visible on it. They walk closer toward it and can hear a metal-on- metal banging noise. Mrs. Baker and two other children are now viewing the UFO from a window. It soon disappears. The next morning, Jane goes out to look for traces and sees the object hovering above a nearby swamp. (NICAP, “ Mellen, Wisconsin, March 14 [sic], 1975”; “ UFOs Sighted in Wisconsin,” Appleton (Wis.) Post- Crescent, March 20, 1975, p. 2; “ Landing in Wisconsin,” APRO Bulletin 23, no. 6 (April 1975): 1, 3; “ Family Reports UFO Landing on Road near Mellen, WI,” Skylook, no. 93 (August 1975): 11; Lorenzen, Encounters, pp. 337–339)
March 18 - 1:30 p.m. Pat McCarthy, 19, is in a quarry off Ontario Highway 5 near Waterdown, Ontario, trying to take photos of hawks. He is about to leave when he sees a dark object resembling a Frisbee. It is moving swiftly, and he takes four photos of it, capturing the object 3 times. He estimates the object is twice as long as a DC-8. He takes the camera to the Hamilton Spectator, which processes the film in its darkroom. (" Saucer over Waterdown?" Hamilton (Ont.) Spectator, March 19, 1975, p. 10; "Look, Legs!" London (Ont.) Free Press, March 21, 1975; "`Incredible' UFO Photo Stirs Canada, U.S. Experts," Burlington (Ont.) Spectator, March 22, 1975; " Scientific MP Hopes UFO Pictures Irrefutable," Hamilton (Ont.) Spectator, March 27, 1975, p. 10; "Pat's UFOs 99.9% True: World Expert," Burlington (Ont.) Spectator, April 3, 1975; " Canadian Photographs UFO," UFO Investigator, May 1975, p. 2; " UFO Leaves Behind Physical Evidence," UFO Research Newsletter 4, no. 7 (Aug./Sept. 1975): 5, 6-7; " Canadian Photo Case," APRO Bulletin 24, no. 4 (October 1975): 1, 3, 6; Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979, pp. 15-18)
March 22 — 10:30 p.m. Two young men and three girls are driving along the Mount Flora to Dingo Beach Road about 50 miles from Nebo, Queensland, when they see a strange light in a gravel storage area to the left of the road. The object is a box-like mass, 8 feet high and 9 feet wide, with a row of flashing white-to-yellow lights about 3 feet above the ground and a circular mass above it. As they stop the car, the object emits a tremendous bang like a shotgun. They are startled and drive on, feeling that the circular mass is watching them, then they return to the original location, but the girls in the back seat are terrified. They drive 9 miles further and find a road construction crew and tell them about the UFO. The two men convince one of the workers to return to the spot, but the object is gone and they find unusual ground marks. On March 25, two investigating officers from RAAF Base Townsville examine three oval-shaped areas, one roughly circular area, and one rectangular area, all apparently recent and produced by a heavy weight or pressure. (Swords 405– 406; Bill Chalker, “Physical Traces,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, pp. 190–192)
March 28 — Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.) writes, in response to an inquiry from UFO researcher Shlomo Arnon: “The subject of UFOs is one that has interested me for some long time. About ten or twelve years ago I made an effort to find out what was in the building at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base where the information is stored that has been collected by the Air Force, and I was understandably denied this request. It is still classified above Top Secret. I have, however, heard that there is a plan underway to release some, if not all, of this material in the near future.” (Good Above, p. 2; Nick Redfern, “ UFOs and Senator Barry Goldwater,” Mysterious Universe, May 1, 2014)
Spring — Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles, the leaders of the Human Individual Metamorphosis and now calling themselves Bo and Peep, make their first public appearance in Los Angeles, California, at the home of psychic Joan Culpepper. Their religious message, involving resurrection after death and passage into space via UFOs, mesmerizes 24 of their listeners who decide to leave their families and join The Two in their wanderings through the West. They hold other meetings in California and Colorado, bringing others into the fold. (Clark III 565; Clark IV 623)
April — Blue Book files are withdrawn from public access by Air Force Archives at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, Alabama, as the security classification and privacy review panel begins reviewing them, sanitizing witness names, and destroying or removing certain documents thought embarrassing. The redactions are made on the original paper files. ( Sparks, pp. 6–7)
April 1 — The Federal Aviation Administration approves cooperation with the Center for UFO Studies, authorizing air traffic controllers and other personnel to report UFO sightings as their workload permits. (Story, p. 417)
April 3–9 — Some 57 separate UFO sightings involving triangular or delta-shaped UFOs occur in the area around Lumberton, North Carolina. Many cases involve an object hovering silently at low altitude, accelerating instantly, and turning without banking. They are often seen at treetop level and with a bright and maneuverable spotlight. Among the witnesses are 48 police officers. (“ Witnesses Discount Theory That UFO Was Airplane,” Raleigh (N.C.) News and Observer, April 5, 1975, p. 19; “ UFO ‘Mystery’ Returns with New N.C. Sightings,” Raleigh (N.C.) News and Observer, April 6, 1975, p. 1; Jennie Zeidman, The Lumberton UFO Report: UFO Activity in S. North Carolina, April 3–9, 1975, CUFOS, 1976; “ Landing Reported in N. Carolina,” Skylook, no. 90 (May 1975): 3–5; UFOEv II 347–348; Wendy Connors, “Cops and Saucers: Law Enforcement and UFO’s, 1957–1981 Guide,” November 20, 2013, audioclip 35; Marler 91–94)
April 14 — Tage Eriksson, head of UFO investigations at the Swedish National Defence Research Institute, finds the work a waste of time and tries to get it transferred back to the Defense Staff. His request is denied. (Swords 368)
April 15 — 9:23 p.m. Science teacher Ed Handley is washing his car in his driveway in San Jose, California, when he sees a light moving slowly against the darkening southwestern sky. Suddenly it makes a right-angle turn and heads toward him, emitting a light beam. It moves slowly, taking about 10 minutes to reach him, then stops and hovers about 100 feet overhead. Handley’s mother and five members of a neighboring family also see the object, which is disc-shaped and about 90 feet in diameter with a cabin-like structure on top. A white beam of light is pointing outward, moving up and down in a small arc. Around its edges is an orange glow, and red sparks are dropping off the underside and disappearing after falling about 6 feet. It hovers for about 5 minutes, then oscillates and shoots straight up, diminishing to a point of light and disappearing in a matter of seconds. (Slava Mach and Ross Redeker, “ A Close Encounter of the First Kind,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 124 (March 1978): 14–15, 19; UFOEv II 162–163)
April 20 - Night. Stationary beams of light are seen at San José de Jáchal, San Juan, Argentina. In a remote area, three imprints are found forming a 12-foot equilateral triangle surrounding a large smoke blot. Nearby plants are burned and stones are blackened. Some footprints are noted. Seven mushrooms nearly 8 inches tall are found growing there the following day. (Fred Merritt, " A Preliminary Classification of Some Reports of UFOs," IUR 28, no. 3 (Fall 2003): 9)
April 26 —2:00 a.m. Two young witnesses see a light descend briefly behind a school in Chomedey, Laval, Quebec, for a few seconds. They find a piece of metal and a hole in the ground. (Ted Phillips, Physical Traces Associated with UFO Sightings, CUFOS, 1975, p. 106)
May 3 - 8:00 a.m. A professional photographer is taking pictures of the Irma kod company south of Copenhagen, Denmark, when he sees a bright flash off to his right. When he develops one photo, the image shows an odd object tilted at an angle and slightly out of focus. (Kim Moller Hansen, " Danish UFO-Photo?" CUFOS Associate Newsletter 5, no. 6 (Dec. 1984/Jan. 1985): 1-2)
0May 3 — 1:34 p.m. Carlos Antonio de los Santos Montiel is flying a Piper PA-24 Comanche from Zihuatenejo, Guerrero, Mexico, to Mexico City at about 15,000 feet. While passing over Laguna de Tequesquitengo in Jojutla, Morelos, he feels a strange vibration in his airplane. Then he sees to the right, pacing alongside, a 10-to 12-foot-diameter disc with a dome on top. Another appears to the left of the plane, and a third disc approaches head-on, dropping beneath the plane. Carlos feels a jolt as if the object has impacted. He pulls the landing gear lever, but it fails to operate. The plane feels as if it is pulled or lifted, and the controls refuse to respond. Although badly shaken, Carlos notifies Mexico City by radio, describing what is happening. At the same time, air control radar is showing unexplained objects near his plane that are capable of sharp turns, unlike normal aircraft. Finally, their blips merge on the radar screen and speed away toward Popocatépetl volcano. After the objects leave, Montiel is able to lower his landing gear manually and land safely. Aviation personnel who know him testify to his sobriety and trustworthiness. A week later, de los Santos is invited to discuss the sighting on a TV talk show. As he drives to the interview, a large black Cadillac limousine pulls in front of him on the freeway. An identical car appears behind, forcing him to the side of the road. Four tall, broad-shouldered, pale-skinned men in dark suits jump out and approach him, still in his car. Speaking Spanish in a mechanical tone, one warns him to keep quiet about the sighting “if you value your life and your family’s too.” He breaks his appointment and does so again one month later after another visit by the men in black before an interview with J. Allen Hynek. (NICAP, “ UFOs ‘Escort’ Mexican Aircraft / Radar Confirmed”; Richard Haines, [ case documents]; Joe Brill, “ UFOs Escort Mexican Pilot,” Skylook, no. 90 (May 1975): 14; “ UFOs ‘Escort’ Mexican Aircraft,” APRO Bulletin 24, no. 2 (August 1975): 1, 3–4; “ UFOs Pace, Disrupt Airplane,” Skylook, no. 93 (August 1975): 3–4; Jerome Clark, “ Carlos de los Santos and the Men in Black,” Flying Saucer Review 24, no. 4 (January 1979): 8–9; UFOEv II 133–134; Carlos Alberto Guzman Rojas and Francisco Dominguez de la Rosa, “ Pilot Says Plane Was Controlled by UFOs,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 417 (January 2003): 3–5; Carlos Alberto Guzman Rojas and Francisco Dominguez de la Rosa, “ Part II: Mexican Pilot Relates Possible MIB Contacts Following Encounter,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 418 (February 2003): 5–7; Clark III 730; Clark IV 811; Patrick Gross, “ Piper P24 Paced by Three Flying Discs, 1975”)
May 3 — 9:15 p.m. Alois Olenick, 48, is driving west on Mogford Road south of San Antonio, Texas, when an amber-colored object rises up from a grove of trees. The object approaches him quickly, the light on its front changing from amber to red. When it hovers over his pickup for 10–20 seconds, the lights go out and the engine goes dead. He can see two occupants through a clear dome on the top of the UFO. They are bald with long prominent ears and long noses. The bottom of the object is “highly polished metal” that casts a reddish glow. Olenick hears no engine noise, only a shriek of wind. The object takes off straight up and vanishes instantly. (Gary Graber, “ Two Occupants in Craft,” Skylook, no. 99 (February 1976): 3–4; UFOEv II 461–462; Herbert S. Taylor, “ An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part Two,” IUR 34, no. 1 (September 2011): 17)
May 4 — Before midnight. Paul Dedieu, his brother, and a friend are driving near Haywood, Manitoba, when they see an odd star. Red lightning seems to light it up and it zooms away, dripping molten metal and crashes in the vicinity of Lake Manitoba to the north. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, p. 103)
May 6 — Day. A pilot testing some new equipment in his airplane southeast of Wright-Patterson AFB near Dayton, Ohio, sees three silvery UFOs with portholes flying in formation ahead and closing in on his aircraft. The pilot descends to 1,000 feet, but they keep pace, one on each wingtip, the third above the plane. The pilot levels off and climbs quickly to 3,000 feet, but the objects match his maneuvers for another 60 minutes. All the control panel instruments go haywire, and the pilot loses all sense of time. The UFOs are confirmed by base radar. (Stringfield, Situation Red, Fawcett Crest, 1977, pp. 145–146)
May 12 — 11:30 p.m. Lyle Carson is in his farmhouse 2.5 miles east of Peesane, Saskatchewan, when he and his wife observe a green light for 10–15 minutes. On May 14, Carson is checking some fences and he comes across a perfectly round circle of burned grass, 5 feet in diameter and 6 inches thick on the outside edge. The RCMP take photos and samples. (Ted Phillips, Physical Traces Associated with UFO Sightings, CUFOS, 1975, p. 107; Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, p. 190)
May 13–14 — 11:30 p.m. Multiple witnesses see a bright light a few miles north of Carman, Manitoba, where it has been appearing so frequently since April 10 that it has been nicknamed “Charlie Redstar.” CKY-TV station employees Bill Kendricks and Allen Kerr see a light on the western horizon that rises up, moves slowly south, flashes brilliantly, then shoots straight up. Newspaper editor Howard Bennett and others see a smoky red light above some tall trees. Bennett leads investigators to a potential landing site. Using a radiation survey meter, they find a few radioactive hot spots about 255 feet apart, each with a radius of 25 feet. (Chris Rutkowski and Geoff Dittman, The Canadian UFO Report, Dundurn Press, 2006, pp. 124–126; Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 161, 171–181)
May 16 — Three men wander away from a party on the shore of Stephenfield Lake, Manitoba, when they see a “moon-shaped” object hovering over a dam on the far shore. As they watch, a beam of light shoots from the object to the surface of the lake. A glowing object appears underneath the surface and begins moving toward the witnesses. When it is about 20 feet away, one of them throws a rock at it. It appears to break into pieces and return to its original location, and the beam goes out. (Chris Rutkowski, Visitations? Manitoba UFO Experiences, Winter Press, 1989, p. 18; Carl W. Feindt, “ Beam of Light into a Body of Water,” IUR 33, no. 3 (December 2010): 22, 23)
May 26 — 7:45 p.m. Didier Burr, 17, photographs a dark, disc-shaped object outside his second- story window in Nancy, France. The sighting only lasts 10–15 seconds. The photo shows a slightly blurry disc above a nearby building. (Patrick Gross, “ Nancy, France, May 26, 1975”)
May 30 — Russell Worobetz is cultivating some stubble near Hazel Dell, Saskatchewan, when he finds two burned areas in the center of his field. They are 5 feet in diameter and 4 feet apart. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, p. 190)
Summer — Around 12:00 midnight. An orange object appears several times above two fishing trawlers one mile off the coast of Topsail Beach, North Carolina. (Cordy Hieronymus, “ Out of the Past,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 5, no. 1 (Feb./March 1984): 6)
June — Historian David M. Jacobs publishes The UFO Controversy in America, based on his Ph.D. dissertation in history. It becomes a classic history of UFOs and the investigations of the Air Force and other government agencies. (David M. Jacobs, The UFO Controversy in America, Indiana University, 1975; Clark III 629; Clark IV 691)
June 20 — 11:10 p.m. A Royal Canadian Mounted Police constable patrolling on Grand Valley Road northwest of Brandon, Manitoba, notices a bright white light to the northwest, apparently in the area of Kirkham’s Bridge. Another RCMP in the bridge area sees the light 10 minutes later, apparently 220–300 feet above the ground. One officer attempts to close with the light unsuccessfully until he is 3 miles southeast of Hamiota. It flashes red and disappears at 12:15 a.m. (Patrick Gross, “ Files Obtained from the National Archives of Canada”)
June 23 - 12:37 p.m. A British naval vessel is stationed off the west coast of Ireland in a thick fog when the radar operator picks up an echo, presumably a surface vessel closing in on the ship. However, the blip accelerates to an "impossible" speed in one minute. The operator notifies the captain, who files a report. The case is investigated by the Ministry of Defence. (Peter Bottomley and Gordon Clegg, " MoD Tracks UFO on Radar," BUFORA Journal 4, no. 12 (March/April 1976): 8-10; Nick Redfern, A Covert Agenda: UFO Secrecy Exposed, Simon & Schuster, 1997, pp. 127-128)
June 30 — The USAF Aerospace Defense Command becomes the US executive agent in NORAD. Its Continental Air Defense Command, which it had taken over in 1957, is disestablished and transferred to the Aerospace Defense Command. (Wikipedia, “ Aerospace Defense Command”)
Early July — 3:00 a.m. Four young people camping out on the shore of the Charvak Reservoir in Uzbekistan wake up in terror for no apparent reason. They see a glowing sphere rise silently from under the water about one-half mile from shore. Concentric circles of varying thickness and brightness form around it. They watch it for 7 minutes, completely terrified. (Stonehill and Mantle, Russia’s USO Secrets, Flying Disk, 2020, pp. 121–122)
July — 2:00 a.m. Margareta Ivanciov is walking from the train station in Teremia Mare, Romania, when she sees a bright yellow-orange globe nearly 2 feet in diameter floating about 90 feet in front of her and 7 feet above the pavement. It speeds up when she approaches it, keeping the same distance. She notices that it is composed of thousands of bright dots emanating the same color light. It disappears around a corner, anticipating her route, and follows her home, where it hovers briefly before moving into a neighbor’s yard. (Romania 41–42)
July — Just after 1:00 p.m. Two brothers are fishing from a small boat 18 miles south-southwest of Panama City, Florida, approximately 200 feet from a US Navy undersea research platform elevated about 75–100 feet above the water on pilings. In the distance they spot two metallic craft heading directly toward the platform from the south-southwest. The two objects stop and hover about 200 feet above and adjacent to the platform. They appear to be about 150 feet in length and circular when seen from below and cigar-shaped when viewed from the side. Their surfaces are completely smooth and metallic—matte silver on top of the horizontal center line and matte purplish on the bottom. The objects depart a few minutes later, shooting upward at a 45° angle at an “astounding” speed and disappearing to dot size in 1–2 seconds. Robert Powell estimates the objects exhibit an average velocity of 24,240 mph and a final velocity of 48,480 mph. (Robert Powell, “ July 1975: F-4 Phantom Jets v. Otherworldly Craft,” The SCU Review 2, no. 3 (July 18, 2021): 10–11; Powell, Scientist, 75–77)
July — 9:30 p.m. A family of four is driving home along the Tasman Highway near Hobart Airport, Cambridge, Tasmania. The interior of the car becomes hot, the engine stalls, and they roll to a stop. Although there is no smell in the air, the family feels that they can taste something like gasoline. Then they see an object hovering above the road ahead of them. It seems 650–980 feet distant and 65 feet in the air. It looks round, is colored a metallic grayish-white, and has its own iridescence or glow. The diameter is close to the width of the road, perhaps 16 feet. They stare at the object for 2 minutes. Suddenly, in a spiraling take-off, the object speeds away to the south. The husband is a car mechanic, and he finds nothing wrong with the car. He gets back in, starts the car, and they go home without further incident, although the object still is visible several more minutes as a diminishing light. (“ UFO Reports from Around Australia,” ACOS Bulletin, no. 12 (December 1977): 11)
July 1 — Day. A Dutch couple on vacation snap a photo of the panoramic landscape of the Pyrenees mountains just after leaving El Pas de la Casa, Andorra. They have the roll developed in Calafell, Catalonia, Spain, and are surprised to see a strange, yellow-and-orange object in motion in the foreground and casting a distinct shadow. Investigators from the Netherlands UFO group NOBOVO determine that the object is really a road sign photographed directly from their slow-moving vehicle (the speed of the car was estimated to be no more than 22 mph). (Wim van Utrecht, “ Spinning UFO Photographed during Take-Off,” Caelestia)
July 6 - 5:00 p.m. Joe Borda is doing farm chores at Mount Pleasant, Ontario, when he sees a domed metallic cylinder landed in a tobacco field. Thinking it is probably a tank truck, he continues and goes home. On July 8, he comes across a circular crushed patch of tobacco plants about 30-40 feet in diameter. Inside the circle are two spots of some substance, reddish purple in color, that feels slippery and oily. The provincial police remove some soil samples; they are not radioactive and do not contain oil. (Graham Conway, " Strange Voice Heard after UFO Landing," Canadian UFO Report 3, no. 8 (Summer 1976): 1-2)
July 14 — Ground Saucer Watch of Phoenix, Arizona, headed by William Spaulding, files a FOIA request with the CIA for copies of all of its UFO documents or investigations. (ClearIntent, p. 113)
July 15-16 - 8:15 p.m. David Burgess, an official at Khami Prison in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, and a friend see from their car an orange object, almost circular with a flat bottom and a rounded top, hovering above the prison about 1-2 miles away. At 8:45 p.m., another official sees an object in the same place. The following night at 7:30 p.m., a bright silvery object is seen hovering motionless 2-3 miles northeast of the prison by a Mr. and Mrs. Rossiter and their three children. It then moves rapidly to the east. (Richard Hall, " Southern Africa Reports Several UFO Sightings," Skylook, no. 95 (October 1975): 14-15)
July 17 — 6:30 p.m. Emiliano Velasco is plowing a field at Villaester de Abajo, Pedrosa del Rey, Valladolid, Spain, when he hears an odd mechanical sound. When he turns the tractor around, he notices a cylindrical object emitting a silvery light floating above the ground. It moves in a series of circles around him, then moves closer, emitting a flash of light as it passes him. As he turns the tractor again, there is another flash of light and one of the panes of glass in his tractor cab cracks. At one point the tractor engine suddenly and inexplicably speeds up to 2,500 rpm, then quickly goes back to normal. (Antonio Felices, et al., “ The Case of the Valladolid Tractor Driver,” Flying Saucer Review 22, no. 3 (October 1976): 8–11)
July 22 — 5:00 p.m. A young boy on holiday with his family in Wales wanders by himself to the top of Wylfa Hill, south of Machynlleth, Powys, Wales. At the top he sees an apparently landed object. About 40 feet wide, it is comprised of a 7-foot round base and surmounted by a clear plastic–like, hemispherical dome. Large round lights about 5 feet in diameter are spaced evenly around the base, about 7 of which are visible, shining in strange colors. Each seems to be recessed into the silvery, metallic base. Clearly seen within the dome is a 7-foot-tall, 15-foot-wide, metallic unit, Two “jelly-like” entities are seen next to it, one on each side. They are approximately 7 feet tall, a whitish-translucent color, amorphous, and constantly changing shape. Inside each entity are hundreds of 6-inch, white, disc-like forms, similar to doughnuts. When another of these entities floats toward the object, the boy flees the scene and unsuccessfully tries to persuade his father to take a look. Returning alone, the boy sees the object carrying the entities disappear by pulsing in and out and changing color rapidly to match those of the surrounding sky and grass. It then “merges” into them. Immediately afterward, the boy suffers acute shock and what a doctor diagnoses as hysterical blindness in one eye that persists for months. (Andrew Collins, “ Jelly-like Entities at Machynlleth,” Flying Saucer Review 24, no. 4 (January 1979): 14–16; “ Machynlleth ‘Jellentities,’” BUFORA Journal 8, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1979): 13–15; Jenny Randles, “Dangerous Projections,” Fortean Times 431 (May 2023): 31)
July 26 — 3:00 p.m. Three Dutch hikers are about to take on the last kilometers of a two-day mountain trip in the Swiss Alps when they allegedly encounter a circular object hovering in the air in front of them. It seems to be made of “some sort of metal, not unlike aluminum,” is dull gray in color, and resembles an inverted soup plate. The strange contraption is approximately 50 feet in diameter and appears to be suspended over the small village of Zwischbergen, Valais, Switzerland, some 328–1,640 feet away. One of them succeeds in taking a color slide of the phenomenon. Immediately after the photo is taken, the object starts to move and glides behind the trees, where it disappears from view. Possible hoax. (“ The Saas Fee Photo,” IUR 20, no. 3 (May/June 1995): 19; Wim van Utrecht, “ The Zwischbergen ‘Saas Fee’ Photo,” Caelestia, July 15, 2000)
July 31 — 7:30 a.m. Farmer Danie van Graan goes to inspect his sheep enclosure at Loxton, Northern Cape, South Africa, and sees a silvery disc with prong-like legs. He approaches to within 15 feet of it. Through a large window he can see 4 people, one standing near a panel of flashing colored lights, the other three apparently looking at some device. The entities are about 5 feet tall, thin and pale, and are wearing whitish coveralls with hoods hanging down around their necks. They have fair-colored hair, slanted eyes, and sharp, pointed chins. They all suddenly look up at him, and van Graan hears a “tick” noise as a light beam hits him in the face. Ill and confused, he tries to avoid the beam. His nose bleeds and he starts vomiting. The humming increases to a sharp whine, and the object takes off at a sharp angle. Later investigation reveals 4 marks on the outside perimeter of a circle 30 feet in diameter impressed in the ground, with crisscrossed central markings. A deposit of small, green granules is found near the center; analysis shows this to be carbon dust, grit, shale with feldspar inclusions, and thaumasite. Nothing grows in the affected area later. ( Johannesburg Rapport (South Africa), August 24, 1975, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 79 (November 1975): 18; Cynthia Hind, UFOs: African Encounters, Gemini, 1982, pp. 1–20; UFOEv II 493–494)
Late July or early August — 9:00 p.m. A married couple and their small son are driving in the country near Pittsburg, Kansas, when the wife notices an object moving quickly toward them. It comes across the highway at about telephone pole height. The object is round and glowing intensely, with even more intense, small panels inset all around it. It is as wide as the highway and remains hovering. The man pulls the car over and the UFO begins to pull away. They continue following it, but the object changes its motion frequently. Finally it picks up speed and blinks out. (Michael D. Swords, “ Unusual Experiences from the Timmerman Files,” IUR 27, no. 2 (Summer 2002): 21–22)
August — The Aviation and Air Defense division of the Swiss Army draws up a seven-page report on UFOs. (“ Forscher findet verschollene UFO-Akten der Schweiz,” Erstkontakt, July 8, 2013; “The Swiss X-Files,” Fortean Times 312 (April 2014): 24)
August 13 — 1:15 a.m. Sgt. Charles L. Moody, stationed at Holloman AFB, is out in the desert near Alamogordo, New Mexico, awaiting a meteor shower. He sees a metallic disc drop from the sky some 300 feet in front of him. It is about 50 feet long, 20 feet wide, and faintly luminous. It stops descending at 20 feet altitude and begins approaching Moody. Uneasy, he gets in his car and turns the ignition on, but the engine is dead. Moody can see an oblong window in the UFO and shadow figures moving within. He hears a high-pitched sound like a dental drill for a short time, then he feels numb. The next thing he knows, the UFO is ascending and disappears from sight within seconds. The car starts and he drives home, where he notices the time is 3:00 a.m., representing about 90 minutes he can’t account for. Moody gets a pain in his lower back in the afternoon. Soon he is put in touch with APRO’s Jim Lorenzen, who calls him on August 21. Moody now has a heat rash on his lower body. His memories about the incident eventually return, and the Lorenzens visit him in 1976 at an overseas post where he narrates an abduction scenario with shortish, human-like aliens with big heads and wearing coveralls. (L. J. Lorenzen, “ The Moody Case,” APRO Bulletin 24, no. 12 (June 1976): 6; L. J. Lorenzen, “ The Moody Case,” APRO Bulletin 25, no. 1 (July 1976): 2, 5–6; Lorenzen, Abducted! Confrontations with Beings from Outer Space, Berkley, 1977, pp. 38–51; Story, pp. 233–234; UFOEv II 545–545; Good Need, pp. 323–325; Clark III 770–771; Clark IV 851–852)
August 13 — Jacques Vallée attends a talk by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles, leaders of the Human Individual Metamorphosis meeting on the Stanford University campus. A panel of eight members talk about how they have abandoned everything to follow The Two, and encourage the audience to join them, saying it is free. When a woman challenges them on this, the speaker replies, “It only costs your life, you know.” To reach the Next Level involves some sacrifice, and their students are required to forsake most worldly pleasures like drugs and sex. Further, they are to sever contact with their families and devote themselves completely to the mission. (Jacques Vallée, Messengers of Deception, And/Or, 1975, pp. 75–87; Curt Collins, “ UFOs: Going to the Next Level,” The Saucers That Time Forgot, September 1, 2022)
August 14 — 9:35 p.m. Maj. Claude Riddle is flying a helicopter at 900 feet while approaching Stockton (California) Metropolitan Airport. Suddenly, air traffic controller Joe Savage sees flashing lights closing in on him in a collision course. When he advises Riddle to take evasive action, the object turns orange and shoots up to 5,000 feet, where it hovers. Riddle looks behind him and sees another light trailing him a mile or so away. When he swings around, he sees it shimmering like a diamond and as big as a jetliner. Two blue beams come out from the sides. Dan Long, another controller sees the object through field glasses at an altitude of about 2,000 feet, then it moves upward while emitting a glow of green-tinted smoke and flashing red lights. Gary Duran and two friends also see the object while walking near the airport. After 5 minutes of hovering near the airport, the object turns bright red and shoots off. (“UFO Tails Army Copter,” National Enquirer, February 3, 1976; “ California Pilot Encounters UFO,” Skylook, no. 99 (February 1976): 16)
August 17 — 10:33 p.m. A Joint Use Area patrol officer in Keams Canyon on the Hopi Reservation in Arizona sees a brilliant white light behind his patrol car. He slows and turns to see a red and green rotating light on an obscured dark shape. When he gets out of the car, all three lights go out. He continues driving for 3–4 minutes, then the patrol van’s lights, engine, and radio go out for 30–40 seconds and come back on suddenly. Thirty miles to the north, another patrol officer spots six UFOs 25 minutes later. Other objects are reported later that evening in Tuba City, Arizona. (William H. Spaulding, “ Arizona Patrol Officer Reports EM Effects,” Skylook, no. 97 (December 1975): 6–7)
August 26 — 3:15 a.m. Terry O’Leary, his girlfriend Jackie Larson, and Jackie’s mother Sandy Larson leave Fargo, North Dakota, for Bismarck, which they plan to reach around 7:00 a.m. Forty-five miles into their trip on Interstate 94, they see a brilliant flash of light and sounds like thunder. About 50 yards away on their left, they watch 8–10 orange, glowing objects heading south to east. One is distinctly larger than the others. The lights descend in a straight line at a 30° angle until they stop over a grove of trees. Suddenly one of the objects splits in half and others shoot away. At this point, the witnesses feel peculiar sensations of being unable to move. Jackie finds herself sitting in the back seat (she had been in the front seat with the others) and the lights are gone. The witnesses drive on to Tower City, North Dakota, where Sandy notes the time is 5:23 a.m., an hour later than it should have been. Through a mutual friend, Sandy eventually contacts ufologist Jerome Clark, who puts her in touch with psychologist R. Leo Sprinkle, who has used hypnotic regression in abduction cases. Sprinkle conducts three hypnotic sessions with Sandy and Jackie Larson on December 4–6. Sandy remembers a 6-foot-tall entity that looks like a mummy, various medical procedures, and a journey to a place with sand. She has further regressions with Sprinkle in January and February 1976, and she describes an otherworldly journey with three beings on a UFO. Clark writes: “What makes the Larson story interesting, in retrospect, however, is its anticipation of many abduction motifs which, though barely noted or entirely unknown in 1975, had become repeatedly demonstrated aspects of the experience by the late 1980s. (“ Woman Claims under Hypnosis UFO Creature Abducted Her,” Freeport (Ill.) Journal- Standard, February 12, 1976, p. 1; “Fargoan’s UFO Incident a Case of Feast or Famine,” Fargo (N.Dak.) Forum, February 14, 1976; “ Woman Reports Abduction, Examination,” Skylook, no. 100 (March 1976): 10–11; Jerome Clark, “The Bizarre Sandy Larson Contact: UFO Abduction in North Dakota,” Saga UFO Report 3, no. 3 (August 1976): 21–23, 46–53; Lorenzen, Abducted! Confrontations with Beings from Outer Space, Berkley, 1977, pp. 52–69; Jerome Clark, “Kidnapped! The North Dakota Contact,” Saga UFO Report 6, no. 4 (October 1978): 20–23, 50–51; Jerome Clark, “UFO Abduction in North Dakota,” in D. Scott Rogo, ed., Alien Abductions: True Cases of Alien Kidnappings, Signet, 1980, pp. 138–159; UFOEv II 545–546; Clark III 675–678; Clark IV 750–753)
August 29 —10:45 p.m. R. Cyrus, a businessman and former gendarme, is driving his Peugeot 404 on Route D10 near Muret, Haute-Garonne, France. About 33 feet ahead on the right side of the road, in a slightly elevated field, he sees an aluminum-gray machine apparently reflecting moonlight. It is about 23 feet long and 9 feet tall. As he draws up next to it, the underside of the object lights up with a phosphorescent glow. It tilts back and glides toward the car at the level of the hood and emits a dazzling light as bright as day that blinds Cyrus. He pulls up, throws his arms up over his head protectively, and the car ends up in a shallow ditch. Then the object darts straight up above the car, soundlessly, and hovers, directing a beam of pulsating light onto the car. Its luminosity then dims and brightens several times and it takes on a reddish cast. Cyrus has a short memory lapse, getting out of his car only when another motorist who has also seen the object approaches from the opposite direction, stops, and opens the door of Cyrus’s Peugeot to check on him. Cyrus is in a state of shock. His watch begins to gain time after the event. He also experiences sleepiness and eyesight problems (black patches before his eyes) two days later. There are no apparent effects on the car. Several other corroborating witnesses are found. (G. Cattiau, et al., “ Le cas ‘Cyrus’ près de Muret (Haute-Garonne),” Lumières dans la Nuit, no. 153 (March 1976): cover, 5–8; G. Cattiau, et al., “ The Cyrus Case,” Flying Saucer Review 22, no. 2 (July 1976): 7–10; UFOEv II 221–222)
August 30? - Night. Three members of the Hood family are driving back along a country road to their home in Little Britain, Ontario. Paul Hood notices a flashing light in the treetops. When their car approaches, it darts off. Days later, Paul and Don Hood find a 30-foot-diameter circle of burned ground and grass swirled in a counterclockwise direction near a split-rail fence in a swamp less than a quarter-mile from their home. Six holes the size of grapefruit are also present. (" Strange Findings, Weird Lights.," Port Perry (Ont.) Star, September 16, 1975, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 79 (November 1975): 17; " Foreign Forum," IUR 2, no. 1 (January 1977): 2)
September? — 10:30 p.m. Lt. Rafael Muñoz Pastor is returning to Jerez air base [now Jerez Airport], Jerez de la Frontera, Cádiz, Spain, piloting a Grumman AN-1 antisubmarine aircraft with four other crew members. He is flying at 3,500 feet and is already on the landing approach to Jerez, when he receives a call from the Seville air traffic center asking him if he can see any aircraft over Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Cádiz, where they have a radar target. The crew is seeing a “round light, brilliant red in color and with yellowish edges” in the area, so they are ordered to get closer. When they are 4–5 miles from Sanlúcar, the red ball ascends vertically from 1,000 feet to some 10,000–20,000 feet. Numerous residents of Sanlúcar also see the object from cafes. An F-5A fighter is scrambled from Morón Air Base in Seville province, which also spotted the object, and the Grumman returns to Jerez after viewing the light for an estimated 45 minutes. (Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos, “ Spanish Military UFO Encounter,” IUR 28, no. 1 (Spring 2003): 7–9)
September 3 — 8:00 p.m. Three witnesses in Tujunga, California, see two helicopters following a UFO. The top of the object is a vibrant blue green, the middle portion white, and the bottom part red. It appears to change to a saucer shape and zigzags around the sky. Shortly before 11:00 p.m., the witnesses see the lights go on at a nearby Nike missile base in the mountains. Afterward, the witnesses’ eyes turn red and painful. (Ann Druffel, “ California Report: The Mystery Helicopters,” Skylook, no. 99 (February 1976): 8–9)
September 11 — Sen. Floyd K. Haskell (D-Colo.) contacts the FBI and relates his concern about dead and mutilated cattle found in Colorado and other western states. The mutilations involve loss of ears, eyes, and genitalia, with most of the blood drained from the carcasses. Haskell estimates there have been 130 mutilations in 9 states during the past two years. He has also heard that US Army helicopters have been seen near the sites of some of the mutilations. (Federal Bureau of Investigation, “ Animal Mutilation Part 1 of 5,” FBI Records: The Vault, pp. 12–18; Jacques Vallée, Messengers of Deception, And/Or, 1979, pp. 172–173)
September 14 - Calling themselves The Two (or Bo and Peep), Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles hold a meeting in a hotel in Waldport, Oregon. When 20 of the 300 audience members disappear after the meeting, the Oregon State Police launch an investigation. Other audience members think the topic is vague but involves something about leaving in a UFO from a camp somewhere in Colorado. (Clark III 565; Eghigian, After, p. 245; Clark IV 623)
September 27 — The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics hosts a symposium, “Hypotheses Concerning the Origin of UFOs,” sponsored by the Los Angeles, California, section. The proceedings are published under the title Thesis and Antithesis. (Story, p. 417)
Fall — A married couple and the husband’s business partner purchase an abandoned ranch property in a remote rural area of western Colorado, hoping to turn it into a working cattle ranch. Not long after moving in, numerous weird events start taking place that last for a two-year period: whirring noises, UFOs, strange footprints in the snow, hairy bigfoot-like creatures, and UFO occupants. The witnesses eventually move back to Denver, where they are interviewed by geologist John S. Derr and psychologist R. Leo Sprinkle, as well as R. Martin Wolf, Steven Mayne, and Jerome Clark. (John S. Derr and R. Leo Sprinkle, “ Multiple Phenomena on Colorado Ranch,” APRO Bulletin 27, no. 1 (July 1978): 5–8; John S. Derr and R. Leo Sprinkle, “ Multiple Phenomena on Colorado Ranch, Part 2,” APRO Bulletin 27, no. 2 (August 1978): 7–8; John S. Derr and R. Leo Sprinkle, “ Multiple Phenomena on Colorado Ranch, Part 3,” APRO Bulletin 27, no. 3 (September 1978): 6–8; John S. Derr and R. Leo Sprinkle, “ Multiple Phenomena on Colorado Ranch, Part 4,” APRO Bulletin 27, no. 4 (October 1978): 5–8; John S. Derr and R. Leo Sprinkle, “ Multiple Phenomena on a Rocky Mountain Ranch, Part 5,” APRO Bulletin 27, no. 5 (November 1978): 5–8; John S. Derr and R. Leo Sprinkle, “ Multiple Phenomena on a Rocky Mountain Ranch, Part 6,” APRO Bulletin 27, no. 6 (December 1978): 7–8; John S. Derr and R. Leo Sprinkle, “ Multiple Phenomena on a Rocky Mountain Ranch, Conclusion,” APRO Bulletin 27, no. 7 (January 1979): 5–8; Clark III 558–559; Clark IV 616–617)
Fall — Two farm families living within the Carlos Avery State Wildlife Management Area near Columbus, Minnesota, begin experiencing frightening phenomena after they find the carcass of a buck deer, left to hang from a tree limb prior to being butchered, is found on the ground a few hours later, the branch severed and the animal’s head missing. In June 1976, one family finds one of its pigs killed inside a pen, its head gone and all its bones crushed. In July 1976, another pig is similarly killed. The families begin patrolling at night. Several times they see a strange reddish light that approaches them and speeds away. One night they encounter a half-human, half-animal figure that is shrieking. In April 1977, a mare is killed shortly after giving birth to a colt, its neck broken and insides ripped out. (Bradley Earl Ayres, “The Thing That Stalks the Game Preserve,” Fate 30, no. 12 (December 1977): 38–6; Clark III 139; Clark IV 166)
Fall — Evening. Two soldiers of a Chinese People’s Liberation Army unit stationed in Jianshui County, Yunnan, China, encounter a huge saucer-shaped object circling above their heads and emitting beams of soft orange-colored light. One of the men runs into the camp to sound an alarm, while the other stays to watch it. A few minutes later, the camp commandant and about a dozen armed men run up to the barracks entrance and find no trace of the soldier who had stayed behind. The commandant orders all officers and enlisted men to search, but they do not find him. A few hours later, four soldiers taking over sentry duty suddenly hear the sound of someone moaning behind them. They see the missing man, who has reappeared. His eyebrows, beard, and hair have grown extremely long. When he fully regains consciousness, his memory is completely gone. His wristwatch shows that it had stopped long ago. His weapons and watch are found to be slightly magnetized. (Paul Dong, “ Extracts from Paul Dong’s Feidie Bai Wen Bai Da (Questions and Answers on UFOs),” Flying Saucer Review 29, no. 6 (August 1984): 17; Clark III 653)
Fall - 4:00 a.m. A couple driving east toward Toppenish, Washington, see a bright white light that appears overhead and slightly ahead of them. At first they think it might be a helicopter with a searchlight, but then an area about one mile in diameter lights up around their car, their radio becomes noisy, and their headlights dim. The flood-lit area suddenly goes out and the light speeds up in the sky and disappears. When they reach Ahtanum, Washington, about 25 miles from the first incident, the bright light again appears overhead briefly, then streaks away and disappears. (W. J. Vogel, " The Yakimas and `Earthlights,'" IUR 9, no. 3 (May/ June 1984): 3)
October — University of Montana sociologists Robert Balch and David Taylor locate the followers of Applewhite and Nettles in Arizona and join the group clandestinely. The Two make themselves scarce, fearing an infiltration and possible assassination. Balch and Taylor describe the cult in a Psychology Today article in October 1976 and articles in sociological journals. (Robert W. Balch and David Taylor, “Salvation in a UFO,” Psychology Today 10, no. 5 (October 1976): 58–62, 66, 106; Robert W. Balch and David Taylor, “ Seekers and Saucers: The Role of the Cultic Milieu in Joining a UFO Cult,” American Behavioral Scientist 20, no. 6 (July/Aug. 1977): 839–860; Robert W. Balch, “ Looking Behind the Scenes in a Religious Cult: Implications for the Study of Conversion,” Sociological Analysis 41 (Summer 1980): 137–143; Robert W. Balch, “ Waiting for the Ships: Disillusionment and the Revitalization of Faith in Bo and Beep’s UFO Cult,” in James R. Lewis, ed., The Gods Have Landed: New Religions from Other Worlds, State University of New York, 1995, pp. 137–166; Clark III 565–566; Clark IV 623–624)
October 7 — 8:00 p.m. After his sister calls and alerts him to a “fiery glow” near his barn on Three Mile Lake Road north of Bracebridge, Ontario, Robert Suffern, 27, drives to the spot and finds no fire. However, when he starts going back to his sister’s house he finds a large disc-shaped object resting in his path. The UFO quickly ascends and is lost to sight. When he turns around and starts heading to his own home, a small figure wearing a helmet and silver-gray suit walks in an “ape-like fashion” in front of his car, causing him to hit the brakes. It runs into a field. Suffern gets out and puts his hands on a post and he seemingly becomes weightless, making it easy to jump over the fence. Later that night he sees an “orange fluorescent light” in the pasture of his property. Moments later, he receives two phone calls telling him not to interfere. On October 12 at 3:00 a.m. Suffern receives a phone call from a “Lt. Colin Hunter” from the White House and leaves a number to call him back. He calls the number later and talks to a military officer claiming to be Lt. Col. Waters. A month later, he and his wife are given a thorough examination by Canadian military doctors. (Patrick Gross, URECAT, September 13, 2006; “ The Robert Suffern UFO Encounter,” Above Top Secret forum, September 26, 2009; John Greenewald, “ Suffern Three Mile Lake Incident: UFO Lands on Road, White House Reportedly Calls,” The Black Vault, July 6, 2017; Clark III 358; Clark IV 402)
October 18 - 12:30 a.m. John Struble is driving his truck 25 miles northwest of Helena, Montana, when he notices a large object, 50 feet in diameter and 25-30 feet in the air. The object passes over his truck from the rear and then stops and hovers about 300 feet ahead of him. It directs a very bright light at him, causing the truck's lights and engine to go out. The UFO remains for about 5 minutes before it moves away. The object makes a noise like a big jet and then rockets straight up into the sky and moves away to the east at an incredible speed. When the UFO disappears the truck's lights and engine come back on. Struble notices that his nonelectric watch has stopped for 5 minutes, the duration of the sighting. (ClearIntent, p. 33)
October 20 — An NBC-TV movie, The UFO Incident, on the Betty and Barney Hill abduction case airs, starring James Earl Jones and Estelle Parsons. It is based on the book The Interrupted Journey by John G. Fuller. (Wikipedia, “ The UFO Incident”; Clark IV 18)
Late October — 2:45 a.m. James D. Appleman of Bensalem, Pennsylvania, sees two large condensation trails making a giant X just above the moon. For several nights he has been noticing two unusual stars forming different shapes, and he thinks this might be related. He grabs his camera and takes three black-and-white photos. Two of the photos show two irregular light blobs, which he does not remember seeing when he exposed the film. In 1980, he sends a copy of the photos to the Center for UFO Studies because they resemble the lights in two undated photos taken from an airplane by J. Allen Hynek that appeared in his book The UFO Experience. (“ Did a Twin Photograph a Twin UFO?” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 1 (January 1981): 1; J. Allen Hynek, The UFO Experience, Ballantine, 1974, opp. p. 151)
Late October — Near 12:00 midnight. An incident occurs near Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, the home of the National Combat Operations Center, that triggers a Security Option 5 Alert. According to an informant at the center interviewed by Francis Ridge, nobody is allowed to enter the base, except cleared, high-ranking officers or cleared security patrols. No one is to leave. Those personnel on base who have just completed duty are rolled out of bed. Jet interceptors are scrambled. Unidentified targets are tracked on radar for at least 20 minutes. In fact, everything they put in the air for an attack on the US is airborne. The base stays on alert through 6:00 a.m. (NICAP, “ Security Option 5 Alert at NORAD”)
October 27 — 3:00 a.m. Factory workers David Stephens and Glen Gray are sitting in a trailer they share in Norway, Maine, when they hear something explode outside. Briefly puzzled, they decide to go for a drive to nearby Thompson Lake. A short distance down the road, their vehicle abruptly turns onto a back road leading into Oxford, Maine. Gray no longer has control of the steering. Two minutes later, they pass through Oxford, a trip that normally takes 10 minutes, and down the eastern side of Thompson Lake. A mile south of Oxford, they see a herd of cows resting on the ground and shaking their heads from side to side. A few seconds later, they see two white lights on their left in a cornfield. The lights suddenly rise into the air. Gray stops the car, rolls down the windows and listen for the sounds of an engine, but the lights are soundless. Now they have a good view of a huge, cylinder-shaped object 20–30 feet away. Around its body are green, blue, and yellow lights that suddenly go out when the object ascends above a row of trees. Gray starts the car and roars down the road, followed by the UFO. The next thing they know, they are a mile farther down the road, the car stopped. Their eyes feel like they are on fire and appear orange. The UFO is visible in the eastern sky. They drive into West Poland, Maine, turn around, and go back the way they came. After a few minutes the UFO disappears, and they decide to go south again. For no reason, Gray turns onto a gravel road leading to Tripp Pond, where the engine stalls and the radio goes out. They can see the cylinder-shaped UFO in the sky about 500 feet away, which moves farther away as soon as they notice it. Some 45 minutes later, two disc-shaped objects with colored lights appear, and a thick fog rises out of Tripp Pond, engulfing the car. The radio abruptly turns on, and as they drive further, they receive a mental impression indicating that “We’re not done with you yet. We are coming back for you.” It is now 6:30 a.m. At 7:00 a.m., they arrive at Stephens’s parents’ house in Oxford, suffering from burning eyes, sore throats, and aching teeth. They are not speaking coherently. Gray has some hallucinations later in the day while watching TV. Maine ufologists Shirley Fickett and Brent Raynes soon hear about the case and meet with the two on the evening of October 28. Many unusual events take place that night and the next day, so Fickett contacts hypnotist Herbert Hopkins, 58, in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. He conducts eight hypnosis sessions between December 1975 and March 1976. Gray becomes upset early in the investigation, so only Stephens’s testimony is complete. It indicates an abduction scenario similar to other cases. (Brent M. Raynes, “ The Twilight Side of a UFO Encounter,” Flying Saucer Review 22, no. 2 (July 1976): 11–14; Shirley M. Fickett, “ The Maine UFO Encounter: Investigation under Hypnosis,” Flying Saucer Review 22, no. 2 (July 1976): 14–17; Berthold Eric Schwarz, “ Comments on the Psychiatric-Paranormal Aspects of the Maine Case,” Flying Saucer Review 22, no. 2 (July 1976): 18–22; Lorenzen, Abducted! Confrontations with Beings from Outer Space, Berkley, 1977, pp. 70–79; UFOEv II 546–547; Clark III 861–865; Marcus Lowth, “ The Disturbing Alien Encounter of David Stephens,” UFO Insight, August 29, 2018; Clark IV 956–960)
October 27 — The New York Times reports that stockmen and lawmen are baffled by mysterious mutilations of cattle taking place in Colorado. Udders, eyes, ears, sex organs, and tongues are removed, seemingly by the use of a sharp instrument, also in Pennsylvania, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Texas, Oklahoma, Montana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and California. (Grace Lichtenstein, “ 11 States Baffled by Mutilation of Cattle,” New York Times, October 30, 1975, p. 77)
October 27 - 7:45 p.m. S/Sgt. Danny K. Lewis is patrolling the weapons dump at Loring AFB [now Loring International Airport] near Limestone, Maine, when he sees an unidentified aircraft approaching the north perimeter at an altitude of about 300 feet. It has a red navigation light and a white strobe light. The craft enters the perimeter of the base. In the control tower, S/Sgt. James P. Sampley of the 2192nd Communications Squadron is on radar duty and gets a return from an unknown target 10-13 miles east-northeast of Loring. Sampley makes numerous attempts by radio on all available communications bands, civilian and military, to contact the craft, but he gets no response. The unidentified craft circles and comes within 300 yards of the restricted nuclear storage area at a low altitude of 150 feet. Back at the weapons dump, Lewis notifies his Command Post at the 42 Bomb Wing that an unknown aircraft has penetrated the base perimeter. The base is immediately put on major alert status, a Security Option 3, and Security contacts the tower. (ClearIntent, pp. 16-26; UFOEv II 88-89; Nukes 361-363, 369-371)
October 27 - 8:45 p.m. Sgt. Grover K. Eggleston of the 2192nd Communications Squadron is on duty at the Loring AFB [now Loring International Airport] tower near Limestone, Maine, when the call from the Command Post comes in. He observes the unknown target. Six minutes later, Eggleston notes that the target appears to be circling approximately 10 miles east-northeast of the base. This action lasts for 40 minutes when, suddenly, it disappears from the screen. Either the object has landed or it has dropped below the radar coverage. The Wing Commander arrives at the weapons storage area 7 minutes after the initial sighting. Immediately other units of the 42nd Police begin pouring into the area. Security vehicles with blue flashing lights are converging from all over the base. Through the Loring Command Post, the Wing Commander requests fighter coverage from the 21st NORAD Region at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base, Syracuse, New York, and the 22nd NORAD Region at North Bay, Ontario. However, fighter support is denied by both regions. The Wing Commander then increases local security posture and requests assistance from the Maine State Police in trying to identify the unknown craft, which they presume is a helicopter. They make a call to local flight services for possible identification, without results. The 42nd Security Police conduct a sweep of the weapons storage perimeter inside and out. An additional sweep is made of the areas that the craft has flown over. All actions produce no results. The craft breaks the circling pattern and begins flying toward Grand Falls, New Brunswick. Radar contact is lost in the vicinity of Grand Falls, 12 miles from Loring. Canadian authorities are not notified. (NICAP, " UFO Circles Weapons Storage Area"; ClearIntent, pp. 16-26; Nukes 361-363, 369-371; " KC-135 Pilot Michael Wallace on His Loring AFB UFO Encounter; Other 1975 Intrusion Cases Discussed," Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, August 18, 2024)
October 28 — 7:45 p.m. While patrolling the weapons storage area, S/Sgt. Danny K. Lewis, along with Sgt. Clifton W. Blakeslee and Sgt. William J. Long, again spots the lights of an unidentified aircraft approaching Loring AFB near Limestone, Maine, from the north at an altitude of about 3,000 feet. It approaches to within about 3 miles of the base perimeter and is seen to have a flashing white light and an amber or orange light. Lewis reports the sighting to his Command Post, and the Wing Commander comes out to the weapons storage area to see for himself. He reports seeing an object whose speed and motion are similar to that of a helicopter. The craft is also observed on radar and observed over the flight line by Sgt. Steven Eichner, Sgt. R. Jones, and others. They see an orange and red object shaped like a stretched-out football hovering in mid-air. It turns out its lights and then reappears making jerky motions, then hovers about 150 feet over the end of the runway. It is about four car-lengths long, solid, reddish-orange, with no doors or windows, and with no visible propellers or engines. It is completely silent. The base goes on full alert and a sweep is made by security, but the object turns off its lights and is not seen again. Radar picks up a target moving in the direction of Grand Falls, New Brunswick. SAC Headquarters is again notified.
October 29 — 1:00 a.m. Another unidentified helicopter is seen near the weapons storage area at Loring AFB, Maine.
October 29 or 30 — 4:00 p.m. A radar-visual UFO sighting takes place at Wurtsmith AFB [now Oscoda- Wurtsmith Airport] near Oscoda, Michigan. (NICAP, “ Shiny Disc Hovers over Restricted Area”)
October 30 — 10:10–11:00 p.m. A series of unidentified helicopter sightings take place in a secure area in Wurtsmith AFB [now Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport], Michigan, by security police on the ground and by the crew of a KC-135 tanker returning from a refueling mission piloted by Maj. Frederick Pappas and 5 crew members. The tanker at 2,700 feet has visual and skin paint over Lake Huron for about 20 miles heading southeast. The light hovers and moves up and down in an erratic manner. The tanker follows the object for 1–2 hours, but never get close enough to see anything other than a single, steady orange light. (NICAP, “ UFO Chased by KC-135 Tanker”; ClearIntent, pp. 41–46; UFOEv II 89–90; Nukes 371–372; Skinwalkers 124; Covert 161–162)
October 31 — 11:17 p.m. A visual sighting of an unidentified object is reported 4 miles northwest of Loring AFB, Maine. The alert helicopter is launched to identify the object but is unable to make contact and is launched again at 1:46 a.m., in response to a slow-moving target picked up by RAPCON radar. (NICAP, “ RAPCON Tracks Slow-Moving Target during Loring Intrusions”; UFOEv II 90)
Early November — 8:00–9:00 p.m. Bill Jackson, a reporter for the Sterling (Colo.) Advocate, his wife Cheryl, and their young child are driving on State Highway 61 halfway between Otis and Sterling, Colorado, when they see a red light in the sky ahead of them. As it approaches, they see it is a huge object (as big as a 747) with a dozen rows of multicolored lights, perhaps hundreds of them. It passes slowly over their car, so close that Jackson thinks he can hit it with a stone. They drive at high speed the rest of the way to Sterling. (Richard Sigismond, “ A CE-I, a Lonely Road, a Black Night,” IUR 9, no. 3 (May/June 1984): 5, 9)
November 1 — Despite Hynek’s request for a “mutual non-aggression pact,” Hynek and Sagan engage in a spirited and somewhat derisory debate on the usefulness of funded UFO research at a futurism conference at the Chicago Hilton Hotel. Sagan remarks, “The fact that people talk about it doesn’t mean that it really happened.” When Hynek mentions the listing of physical trace cases by Ted Phillips, Sagan interrupts and says, “I said good cases,” insinuating that he alone can interpret what a good case is. (“Science in Collision: The Hynek-Sagan UFO Forum,” UFO Magazine, February 1980; O’Connell 298–305; Graff 260–261)
November 2 — Night. Witnesses in Medford, Minnesota, including Helen Kay, see a brilliant orange-red light go behind a building, where they suspect it has landed. At the location, they find a bare spot, 12 feet square, of burned grass and ashy residue. At some distance away they see a red ball of light above the trees and try to catch up with it by car but it eludes them. Soil samples from the alleged landing site are submitted to geologist Edward J. Zeller at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, who subjects them to an examination using thermoluminescence and finds the readouts normal for the center of the trace but severely elevated at the edges. He suspects that the edges have been subjected to hard ionizing radiation, but this is not conclusive. (“ UFO Sighting Noted,” Fergus Falls (Minn.) Daily Journal, November 5, 1975, p. 22; Edward J. Zeller, “ The Use of Thermoluminescence for the Evaluation of UFO Landing Site Effects,” Proceedings of the 1976 CUFOS Conference, Center for UFO Studies, 1976, pp. 301–308, reprinted in IUR 28, no. 4 (Winter 2003–2004): 19–22, 28)
November 3 — 5:45 a.m. Ontario Police constables in Haileybury, Ontario, see a round object with fingers of white light emanating from it hovering northeast of town. Another object to the north of it has red, green, and white lights. After about 1 hour both objects begin moving slowly south and gaining altitude. They are still visible at 7:00 a.m. (Patrick Gross, “ Files Obtained from the National Archives of Canada”)
November 3 — Late night. Unknown individuals penetrate the flight line at Grand Forks AFB north of Emerado, North Dakota. At least two KC-135 aircraft are hit by small arms fire. Security forces pursue the intruders but apparently do not apprehend them. (ClearIntent, pp. 48–49)
November 5 — 12:30 a.m. Jim Divall is driving north of Redwater, Alberta, when he comes upon a large, black, revolving object in the road ahead. He has to drive his vehicle into a ditch to avoid hitting it. The object is 40 feet in diameter. He gets out to watch it for a few minutes as it makes a rushing sound, then it disappears. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, p. 185)
November 5 — Just after 6:00 p.m. Travis Walton and six fellow log cutters finish a long day of thinning undergrowth in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest near Snowflake, Arizona. Heading up Mogollon Rim Road, Walton soon notices something shining among the branches off to the right. The others see it too. They turn up Old Verde Road toward Turkey Springs. The spaces between the trees flash by too quickly to make out what the object is, but a clearing reveals a yellowish glow that washes across the road in front of them. The driver speeds up to get a closer look. They reach the clearing, and about 110 feet away a glowing disc hangs in the air, making a high-pitched buzz and floating motionless between the trees, only 15 feet off the ground. The truck slams to a halt and Walton opens his door to get a better look. There is no sound. One of the cutters shouts: “My God! It’s a flying saucer!” Walton then steps out of the cab and walks toward the object. The others beg him to get back in the truck, but he feels compelled to get a close-up look. He approaches the craft cautiously, glancing back to the truck now and then as his friends continue to plead with him. Coming within 6 feet, Walton stops and stares up at its glowing underside. Suddenly, the silence gives way to what Walton later describes as the thunderous swell of a turbine engine. A narrow beam of light fires from the bottom of the disc and strikes Walton in the chest. It lifts him up, then knocks him unconscious to the ground like a thunderbolt. In a panic, the rest of the crew speeds away toward the main road, terrified. When the men regain their senses, they return to the clearing to rescue Walton, but the craft is gone and so is Walton. Despite a thorough search of the area, they find no trace of him and drive home. When they report what happened, the authorities discount the men’s tale as a ridiculous attempt to cover up a murder and launch an extensive search for Walton’s body. They search for several days and find nothing. Walton reappears outside Heber, Arizona, on November 10 and corroborates their story, with the addition of what happened aboard the spacecraft. Walton awakes in a hospital-like room, observed by three short, bald creatures. He fights with them until a human wearing a helmet leads him to another room, where he blacks out as three other humans put a clear plastic mask over his face. He remembers nothing else until he finds himself walking along a highway, with the UFO departing above him. In the days following, The National Enquirer awards Walton and his coworkers a $5,000 prize for “best UFO case of the year” after they pass polygraph tests administered by Cy Gilson of the Arizona state police (repeated in 1993), the Enquirer, and APRO. A private investigator named John McCarthy tests Walton using an outdated procedure with a polygraph in 1975 and finds him deceptive. (Wikipedia, “ Travis Walton incident”; Lorenzen, Abducted! Confrontations with Beings from Outer Space, Berkley, 1977, pp. 80–113, 161–190; Travis Walton, The Walton Experience, Berkley Medallion, 1978; Bill Barry, “ Kidnapped!” in D. Scott Rogo, ed., UFO Abductions: True Cases of UFO Kidnappings, Signet, 1980, pp. 28–43; Philip J. Klass, UFOs: The Public Deceived, Prometheus, 1983, pp. 161–189; Travis Walton, Fire in the Sky, Marlowe, 1996; Geoff Price, “ Lie Detection in UFO Controversies,” IUR 22, no. 3 (Fall 1997): 15–16, 31; Kevin D. Randle, “ The Truth about Polygraphs,” IUR 22, no. 4 (Winter 1997–1998): 28; UFOEv II 547–549; Michael D. Swords, GrassRoots UFOs: Case Reports from the Timmerman Files, Fund for UFO Research, 2005, p. 145; Clark III 1234–1249; “ Travis Walton and Mike Rogers Talk about Their 1975 UFO Encounter near Snowflake, Arizona,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, September 2023; Graff 328–329; “ 1980 Interview with 27yr Old Travis Walton on His UFO Encounter and Alien Abduction Experience,” Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, June 22, 2024; Eghigian, After, pp. 266–267; Clark IV 1414–1429)
November 6 — US Attorney General Edward H. Levi issues a set of guidelines to limit the activities of the FBI. These guidelines require the FBI to show evidence of a crime before using secret police techniques like wiretaps or entering someone’s home without warning.
November 7–8 — 3:00 p.m.–9:53 p.m. Remote electronic sensors trigger an alarm at Malmstrom AFB, Great Falls, Montana, indicating that something is violating security at several missile launch sites. Underground, in the launch control facility, two officers note the signal, but there is no TV surveillance topside. A missile security helicopter checks the area and Sabotage Alert Teams consisting of 4–6 men are ordered to proceed to the areas. One SAT team drives down the highway and onto a dirt road that leads to the K-7 area near Judith Gap, Montana. About a mile away, the team sees an orange, glowing object. As they close to within half a mile, they can see that the object is tremendous in size. They radio to the launch control facility that, from their location, they are viewing a brightly glowing, orange, football field-sized disc that illuminates the missile site. The SAT team is ordered to proceed into the K-7 site. However, they refuse to go any farther, clearly fearful of the intimidating appearance of the object. It begins to rise, and at about 1,000 feet, NORAD picks up the UFO on radar. Two F-106 jet interceptors are launched from Great Falls and head toward the K-7 site. The UFO continues to rise. At about 200,000 feet, it disappears from NORAD’s radar. The F-106s are never able to get a clear sighting of the several UFOs, which play cat-and-mouse with the aircraft, extinguishing their illumination when they approach, and re-illuminating after the fighters return to base. All members of the SAT team are directed to the base hospital, where they are psychologically tested. No one can identify the object, but the members of the SAT team obviously have been through a traumatic experience. Targeting teams, along with computer specialists, are brought to the launch site to examine the missile and the computer in the warhead. When the computer is checked, they find that the tape has mysteriously changed target numbers. The reentry vehicle is then taken from the silo and brought back to the base. Eventually the entire missile is changed out. Radar and visual sightings continue for the next 31 hours. (NICAP, “ Malmstrom AFB Incident (1975)”; “Extracts, NORAD Command Director’s Log (1975),” pp. 450, 451, 452, 453; Col. Terrence C. James, US Air Force, “Request for Information Under the Freedom of Information Act,” October 4, 1977, pp. one, two, three, four; ClearIntent, pp. 27–29; Richard Sigismond, “ Four Huge Orange Discs and the Case for the UFO,” IUR 8, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1983): 7–8; UFOEv II 90–92; Martin Shough, RADCAT: Radar Catalogue: A Review of Twenty-One Ground and Airborne Radar UAP Contact Reports Generally Related to Aviation Safety for the Period October 15, 1948, to September 19, 1976, National Aviation Reporting Center on Anomalous Phenomena, NARCAP Report TR-6, December 8, 2002, pp. 121–125; Thomas E. Bullard, “ Defending UFOs,” IUR 34, no. 2 (Mar. 2012): 11–12; Linda Moulton Howe, An Alien Harvest, The Author, 2d ed., 2014, pp. 25–26; Nukes 358–361)
November 10 — 10:15–11:20 p.m. A bright light passes over Minot AFB, North Dakota, moving west to east at 1,000–2,000 feet. (ClearIntent, p. 48)
November 11 — A UFO allegedly crashes in a dense jungle north of Lima, Peru. When the regional director of education, Rodolfo Chujutalli, and the police reach the site, they find two spherical objects, one intact. They are said to be oval and about 12.5 feet wide. (“ International Advisory,” UFO Investigator, December 1975, p. 1; “ Lima, Peru: A Real Mystery,” UFO Investigator, February 1976, p. 2; Clark III 332; Clark IV 369)
November 11 — 3:34 a.m. Police officers Zachary Space and Lester Nagle watch an object hovering level with high-tension wires east of Madison, Ohio. It comes down above the wires for 15–20 seconds, rises up slowly out of sight, then appears again. Along with a deputy sheriff, they watch the object for 20 minutes. It leaves like a flash. (“ Space Chase: Police, Posse Follow UFO 20 Minutes in Lake County,” Cleveland (Ohio) Plain Dealer, November 12, 1975, p. 11-D; “ Ohio UFO ‘Chased’ by Police Officers (11/11/75),” UFO Magazine News Bulletin, no. 8 (Fall 1975): 3–4; Marler 90–91)
November 11 — 6:15 a.m. A spherical object is observed from Canadian Forces Station Falconbridge [now closed] in Valley East, Ontario. The object appears to be rotating and has a surface similar to the moon. The object ascends and descends. The object is observed on height-finder radar at altitudes from 42,000–72,000 feet intermittently for 6 hours. Two F-106 jets are sent from Selfridge AFB [now Selfridge Air National Guard Base] near Mount Clemens, Michigan, but report no visual or radar contact. Other lights are seen periodically over the next few days, including at least seven members of the Ontario Police in Sudbury. (NICAP, “ Spherical Object Tracked on Height Finder Radar”; ClearIntent, pp. 46–47; Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979, pp. 152–156; Bob Gribble, “ Looking Back,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 271 (November 1990): 19–22; UFOEv II 92–94; Good Above, pp. 202–203; Chris Rutkowski and Geoff Dittman, The Canadian UFO Report, Dundurn Press, 2006, pp. 114–121; Patrick Gross, “ Files Obtained from the National Archives of Canada”; Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 207–219)
November 11 — A Montana Fish and Game Department employee at Freezeout Lake, Montana, sees a light flying directly behind a B-52 bomber. Using his rifle scope to get a better look, he notes that the strange object seems to be pacing the aircraft. The object then briefly attaches itself to the B-52, detaches, and climbs out of sight. The sighting is reported to Sheriff Pete Howard of Choteau County. Howard conducts follow- up interviews with military personnel and learns that as the object attaches itself to the B-52, the plane’s radar equipment goes out. (ClearIntent, p. 35)
November 11 — A confidential NORAD communication reveals that Air Guard helicopters, Strategic Air Command helicopters, and NORAD F-106s are scrambled during the recent UFO sightings over Northern Tier military bases. They fail to produce positive identifications. In a priority message sent from SAC headquarters in Offutt AFB near Bellevue, Nebraska, to numerous Air Force bases during the same month, the Air Force reveals its continuation of a policy to deny USAF interest in the subject: “News media queries concerning such unidentified overflights are properly the concern of the Air Defense Command, and queries should be referred to CINC-NORAD/OI… Remarks should be confined to personal experiences and care should be taken to avoid speculation or to imply Air Force interest beyond security of the installation.” (Margaret Sachs, The UFO Encyclopedia, Putnam, 1980, p. 347; Don Berliner, with Marie Galbreath and Antonio Huneeus, UFO Briefing Document: The Best Available Evidence, Dell, 2000, pp. 87–90)
November 11 — Evening. Capt. Keith Wolverton of the Cascade County Sheriff’s Department and a deputy are returning to Great Falls from Missoula, Montana. Suddenly a large orange light descends out of the northern sky, lighting up both sides of the road. It passes directly over the cruiser at about 200 feet. It goes from horizon to horizon in 4 seconds. (ClearIntent, pp. 34–35)
November 17 — 7:00 p.m. Suzanne Erenberger and Dave Vardeman are driving on US Highway 30 about one- quarter mile west of Mount Vernon, Iowa, when they see white lights in the southwestern sky. They stop the car and get out to watch for a while. Frightened, they drive into town to notify the police. The police chief describes Erenberger as “terrified, nearly hysterical.” An officer accompanies the two students back to the location but sees nothing unusual. Erenberger tells a reporter from the Cedar Rapids Gazette that they were only 30 feet away from one of the lights, which was only 25 feet off the ground. She makes a drawing of a domed object for a high-school newspaper. UFO investigator Kevin D. Randle interviews Erenberger on November 27, and she tells him there is a bright light coming from a 30-foot-wide disc-shaped object with a huge glass dome. She thinks she can see two humanoid shapes behind it. But Vardeman separately tells Randle that he only saw lights in the distance and nothing else. Randle also talks to an additional witness, Richard Manson, who has seen a red light about the same time. Randle concludes that the lights come from aircraft landing at the Cedar Rapids Municipal Airport and that Erenberger’s details are confabulations. (“ Coed: ‘No Doubt about What I Saw,’” Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Gazette, November 19, 1975, p. 3C; Kevin D. Randle, “ UFOs on Memory Lane,” IUR 26, no. 1 (Spring 2001): 9–11, 30)
November 20 — Michel, Robert, and Claude Souris found the Centre d’Études et de Recherches des Phénomènes Inexpliqués in Saintes, France. It publishes a CERPI Circulaire newsletter from February 1976 to 1981. ( CERPI, no. 1 (February 1976))
November 30 - Unit One of the Leningrad [now St. Petersburg], Russia, nuclear power plant is being brought back online after scheduled maintenance when it begins to run out of control. A partial meltdown occurs, destroying or damaging 32 fuel assemblies and releasing radiation into the atmosphere over the Gulf of Finland. The official line is that a manufacturing defect caused the destruction of only one fuel channel, but the accident is really caused by an uncontrollable increase in the steam void coefficient. (Adam Higginbotham, Midnight at Chernobyl, Simon & Schuster, 2019, pp. 66-67)
December 4 - Two strange-looking persons, a man and a woman, enter a leather shop in Arizona. The owner remembers that the man, who has yellow eyes without pupils, had come into the store one day in the summer of 1972 and telepathically hinted that they would meet again. They take him into a back room, and the woman produces a device like a hand massager and goes over his entire body with it. She removes her clothes, the owner does the same, and sex follows. The woman's skin is white and transparent. A smell that emanates from her arouses him intensely. Later they tell him he is part of an experiment in cross-breeding. The experience lasts 1 hour and 40 minutes. (B. Ann Slate, "The Closest Encounter of the Third Kind," UFO Report 8, no. 4 (August 1980): 36-39, 77-78; Clark III 1063; Clark IV 1178)
December 8 — 5:30 p.m. Michel Chambon and Jean-François Bessaguet are driving toward Le Palais-sur- Vienne, Haute-Vienne, France, when they see a bright sphere, about twice the apparent size of the sun, approaching from the left and moving toward horizon level. It is slightly flattened and red on the top and bottom, with a central white band. After a few seconds it disappears near a high-voltage power line. (“ Nouvelles récentes,” Lumières dans la Nuit, no. 152 (February 1976): 26)
December 12 — Robert Suffern and his wife meet with two military officers, one Canadian, the other American, at his home near Bracebridge, Ontario. They tell him the October 7 incident was a “mistake” caused by the malfunctioning of an extraterrestrial spacecraft. The officers show him close-up photos of UFOs and say that their governments have been cooperating with aliens since 1943. (Clark III 358; Clark IV 402)
December 14 — Late evening. A man is driving his truck on Pumphouse Road along Toppenish Ridge in the Yakama Indian Reservation in Washington State when he sees a cow and two calves running toward him as if fleeing from something. Moments later he sees three figures in the ditch. One jumps up on the road, covering 15 feet in a single slow-motion leap, its arms above its head. The witness describes it as a skinny, 7-foot-tall man with a narrow, pale face and long, pointed nose. It is dressed in close-fitting black clothing and boots. On its chest there is a white trapezoid insignia. The entity is carrying something purple it its left hand that has a wire on it that runs down its arm. The other two creatures remain on the side of the road. The witness speeds up, swerving around the figure. A few moments later, a bright, elongated UFO appears behind him. The interior of the truck is flooded with light. Suddenly he becomes aware of a “shadow” in the passenger seat. From the shape of the head and coat, the man “knows” it is a friend of his. The friend looks at him, leans forward and looks up at the light, falls back, wipes his eyes, and vanishes. At that moment, the light disappears. The next morning, he learns that his friend has been killed in a shooting. (Greg Long, Examining the Earthlight Theory: The Yakima UFO Microcosm, CUFOS, 1990, pp. 56–60; Clark III 281, 1107; Clark IV 321, 1233
December 14 — 9:10 p.m. Larry and Mary Ellen Masters and their friends Leighton and Tedra Middleton, along with three children ages 10, 11, and 13, are having an oyster roast at the Masters’ farm off State Highway 13 in St. Johns County, Florida, when they notice what looks like a large house on fire below the tree line, approximately I mile away. As they look at it, a large dome-shaped object, with bright amber colored lights radiating out of many rows of windows, comes up above the tree line and hovers in the air for several minutes. It then goes down behind the trees again with the bright glow continuing to shine above the trees. Tedra Middleton runs inside to call the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Department in St. Augustine while the two men run to their truck and drive toward the object. After about 2 minutes behind the trees, the object comes up again with 3 rows of lights above the tree line. After another minute it again goes down behind the trees and the lights switch off. The two men return home at once and get an agriculture spray service helicopter that is based nearby. Within 15 minutes of the lights going out, the chopper is traversing the entire area but nothing can be seen from the air. An intensive ground-air search of the area is made that night and the next day by units of the Florida Highway Patrol, St. Johns County Sheriff’s Department, Flagler County and Putnam County Sheriff’s Departments, with nothing out of the ordinary being found. Other witnesses at 9:15 p.m., Donna Scanton and four members of her family, see a large circle of bright fire-colored lights in the air above the house at a 45° angle. She thinks that they are about 1,000 feet up. The lights go out abruptly. (“ Shook Up: Man Who Says He Saw UFO Wants Anonymity,” Tampa (Fla.) Tribune, December 17, 1975, p. 2B; Jim Jones, “ Possible E-M Case in Florida,” APRO Bulletin 24, no. 7 (January 1976): 2, 5; Jim Jones, “ Repeating Reports in Florida,” APRO Bulletin 24, no. 7 (January 1976): 1, 3; “ Huge Object Seen over Florida,” UFO Investigator, January 1976, p. 2; “ Florida Object Not Explained,” UFO Investigator, February 1976, p. 1)
December 15 — Jacques Vallée and J. Allen Hynek publish The Edge of Reality, which discusses how the extraterrestrial hypothesis does not seem to explain UFOs fully. Although they acknowledge the UFO phenomenon is real, its reality skirts the edges of accepted science, and they both lean toward an interdimensional hypothesis. (J. Allen Hynek and Jacques Vallée, The Edge of Reality: A Progress Report on Unidentified Flying Objects, Regnery, 1975; Clark III 883; Clark IV 977)
December 19 — 7:50 a.m. While two men are driving to work near Redditch, Worcestershire, England, they see in the southeast a golden yellow disk or domed object that appears to be roughly twice the size of an airliner. The object appears to be hovering below the cloud level. They pull their vehicle over and roll down their windows, but can hear no sound. After about 2 minutes, the object speeds away to the southwest, banking as it disappears out of view. At 2:00 p.m., Paul S. Felton, a staff photographer for the Redditch Indicator newspaper, is driving to Alcester from Redditch when he sees a similar object performing in the same manner. He stops his car and takes at least four photos with his Nikon F 35mm Camera. His photos are printed in the December 29 edition of the newspaper. (“ UFOSIS Case Studies,” Northern UFO News, no. 21 (February 1976): 7; “ Notes on Previous Cases,” Northern UFO News, no. 22 (March 1976): 6; “ The Redditch Sighting,” BUFORA Journal 5, no. 2 (July/Aug. 1976): cover, 4)
December 28 — 9:05 p.m. A deputy head teacher and her brother-in-law view a silent, Saturn- shaped object in Gateshead, Durham, England. The object is glowing blue with a rim of flashing blue lights that rotate clockwise around the center of the object. The lights began to flash faster and change to a warmer, reddish color. The object is seen for a few seconds. During this time it appears stationary except for an apparent vibration or an erratic side-to-side jerking motion. She turns to get her husband’s attention, but the object disappears. (“ Current Sighting Reports,” Northern UFO News, no. 29 (October 1976): 3)
1976
12:30 a.m. Cattleman Liberato Anibal Quintero feels compelled to go outside his home at El Banco, Magdalena, Colombia, where he sees a large luminous egg-shaped object land. A ladder appears, and some small men emerge, followed by three women with long hair. After a struggle, they subdue Quintero, and he wakes up to find the women rubbing him. He has sex with one. The women seem to converse by barking. The other two women give him something yellowish to drink, and he has sex with them as well. Later he wakes up in the grass, the UFO gone. Three hours have passed. (Gordon Creighton, “ UFO, Occupants, and Sex in Colombia,” Flying Saucer Review 23, no. 1 (June 1977): 14–18; Clark III 1062; Clark IV 1177–1178)
9:30 p.m. A man who lives on a hill overlooking the Boeing factory in Renton, Washington, notices lights hovering above the building at the south end of the plant. Suddenly the lights shoot straight up in the air and move to the north end of the plant, dropping down and hovering again. It then makes a quick arc and hovers about 900 feet above the witness's house. The object is circular with a curved low top, sides that slope inward, silent, and a continuous row of windows separated every 10-15 feet by thin vertical supports. A yellow or amber light is at the top. It is about 50 feet in diameter and 12-15 feet high. He can see 3-4 images moving back and forth inside the craft. After about 3 minutes, the object moves toward Lake Washington and disappears in 4 seconds. (" UFO Seen Inspecting Seattle Boeing Plant," CUFOS Associate Newsletter 5, no. 6 (Dec. 1984/Jan. 1985): 3)
January 2 — 1:50 a.m. A witness in Omaha, Nebraska, is outside using a 40x telescope when he notices some flashing red, green, and white lights that appear to be attached to a triangular object moving silently and slowly from east to west at an altitude of about 900 feet. He sees “some sort of beings” moving around inside. He watches it for 40 minutes until it moves out of sight. (“ Sighting Reports,” CUFOS Bulletin, June 1976, p. 4)
January 4 — A technician driving home is stuck in rush hour traffic at Sale, heading toward Altrincham, Cheshire, England. Suddenly his radio begins to hiss and crackle, and flashes of light spark out, dancing across the windshield. As he looks out through the steady rain, two angular, ice-blue lights pass slowly across his field of view. Moments later they are gone, the sparking stops, and the radio works again. (Jenny Randles, “The Twelve UFOs of Christmas,” Fortean Times 374 (Christmas 2018): 29)
January 6 — 11:15 p.m. Mona Stafford and two friends, Louise Smith and Elaine Thomas, are driving southwest on Highway 78 between Stanford and Hustonville, Kentucky, when they see an intense red glow in the east. It grows larger, then descends rapidly to the right of the car at tree-top level. As it hovers, they can see a disc shape with round windows with rotating, blinking red lights around each of them; yellow lights stretch below these, and a luminous blue dome is on top of the object. The UFO moves closer, flips on its side, and shines three beams of bluish-white light on the road, and another into their vehicle. Smith, apparently dazed, gets out of the car, but Stafford pulls her back in. There is a “dead silence,” their skin tingles, and they start getting severe headaches. They find the car has started back up on its own and is moving at 85 mph with no help from Smith. Stafford feels as if it is being pulled. Moments later, they find themselves 8 miles away, just outside Hustonville. When they get home to Smith’s trailer in Liberty, Kentucky, around 1:25 a.m., they find they are missing about an hour and a half of time. All three of them experience odd physical and psychological symptoms. The women are hypnotized by ufologist R. Leo Sprinkle, who finds that they have generally compatible memories of an abduction event. Over time, their memories of the missing time period grow more elaborate, but their story contains elements and images echoed in other accounts before and since. (Don White, “ Kentucky Women Report Close Encounter,” Skylook, no. 101 (April 1976): 3–4; “ The Kentucky Abduction,” APRO Bulletin 25, no. 4 (October 1976): 1, 3–6; Leonard H. Stringfield, “ The Stanford, Kentucky Abduction,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 110 (January 1977): 1, 4–15; Lorenzen, Abducted! Confrontations with Beings from Outer Space, Berkley, 1977, pp. 114–131; “ The Kentucky Abduction,” IUR 2, no. 3 (March 1977): 6–7; “ Hypnosis Reveals Details of Abductions,” Earthlink 2, no. 4 (Autumn 1978): 18–20; Story, pp. 192–195; UFOEv II 549–550; “ The 1976 Stanford Kentucky Abductions Revisited,” Dj NDAA YouTube channel, August 15, 2013; “ Liberty, KY Abduction of January 6, 1976,” CEIV: An Audio History of Alien Abduction and Animal Mutilation, 1957–1976, Wendy Connors, November 19, 2013; John Greenewald, “ The 1976 Stanford, Kentucky, Abductions,” The Black Vault, April 26, 2016; Clark III 643–648; “ The Stanford, Kentucky, UFO and Alien Abduction Mystery, Jan. 6, 1976 (Updated with Interview and Hypnosis),” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, January 15, 2024; Eghigian, After, pp. 267–269; Clark IV 719–723)
January 7 — Night. Jenny Nordin and Lage Nordström in Undersåker, Jamtland, Sweden, watch a triangular object with its apex pointing downward shining and gleaming above a woods. A string of lights appears around its base and the object changes to a rectangle with a pointed top. The display continues for 2 hours until a spotlight shines down from the right side, illuminating the trees. An enormous object with three large windows rises up in the light; both objects hover and gradually extinguish. (“ Märkligt UFO-fenomen iakttogs vid Åreskutan,” UFO-Information, 1976, no. 5, p. 6, reprinted in UFO-Nytt (Kalmar-Öland), 1977, no. 2, p. 14; Carsten Pedersen, “ Bemærkelsesværdigt UFO-fænomen observeret ved Areskutan,” UFO Nyt (SUFOI) 19, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1977): 14–15; “ Foreign Forum,” IUR 2, no. 11 (November 1977): 8; “ Märklig syn vid Åreskutan: UFO iakttogs Uppifrån!,” UFO Information, 10th Anniversary Issue, 1979, p. 6)
January 12 — 11:30 p.m. Herminio Reis Oliveira and Bianca de Oliveira are resting in their car near Matias Barbosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil, when Bianca notices an orange light moving about. Suddenly it approaches very close and before they know it they are inside a spaceship accompanied by aliens, who are using some kind of translating device. One of whom introduces himself as Karran from the planet Klermer. He converses with them about religion and philosophical issues. Afterward, Karran records Bianca’s brainwaves so he can contact her later, then offers both of them a green liquid so they will forget what happened. Two days later, they find themselves inside their car not far from they were first abducted. (Rodolfo R. Casellato, M. A. O. Bianca, and Wendelle Stevens, UFO Contact from Planet Klermer, UFO Photo Archives, 2003; Clark IV 236)
January 14 — Mrs. J. Stewart is driving along a highway in East Bethel, Minnesota. When she arrives home, she cannot account for at least one hour of her time. Under hypnosis, she recounts being abducted from her car by a tall figure dressed in white. There are two more beings in the door of a translucent UFO. She recalls that at one point the face of one being is very close to her own, and it has big, slanted eyes. (“ Woman Reports Possible UFO Effects,” Skylook, no. 101 (April 1976): 4–7; “Popular UFO Theories Shifting to ‘Other Levels of Consciousness,’” St. Paul (Minn.) Dispatch, December 20, 1976; Center for UFO Studies, HUMCAT Index 1976, p. 17)
January 20 — 5:15 a.m. Patrolman Frank Ingargiola and journalist Samuel “Sonny” Schwartz are driving in a patrol car toward Atlantic City, New Jersey, from Ventnor City, New Jersey, when they notice a silent, crystal-white object surrounded by a greenish haze paralleling their course along the beaches of Absecon Island. When they reach the Boardwalk, they park the car and continue to watch. The policeman trains the spotlight on the object and blinks it. The object moves closer, scaring them. They call for assistance, and when other police cars arrive, all they can see is a light fading into the distance. The original witnesses drive back toward Ventnor, and the light reappears, following them closely until it vanishes at 6:00 a.m. The US Coast Guard calls it a reflection from the spotlight of a fishing trawler on the clouds. (“ ‘UFO’ Said Reflection from Boat,” Atlantic City (N.J.) Press, January 21, 1976, pp. 1, 16; Wendy Connors, “Cops and Saucers: Law Enforcement and UFO’s, 1957–1981 Guide,” November 20, 2013, audioclip 36)
January 21 — Before 3:55 a.m. Security police see two UFOs near the flight line at Cannon AFB, southwest of Clovis, New Mexico. The objects are 75 feet in diameter, gold or silver in color, with a blue light on top, a hole in the middle, and a red light on the bottom. An Air Force officer calls the UFO Education Center in Wisconsin to report he “had a very close sighting and was able to witness a type of vehicle that did maneuver and that was unlike any type aircraft he has ever seen.” One observer claims to see a dozen UFOs through a Starlight Scope from the flight tower. A Clovis policeman sees a cigar-shaped object with pulsating red, white, and blue lights. (Rear Adm. J. G. Morin, “ Report of UFO, Cannon AFB, NM,” January 21, 1976; “ UFOs Continue Clovis Visits,” Las Cruces (N.Mex.) Sun-News, January 25, 1976, p. 1; Good Above, p. 524; Good Need, p. 349; “ Cannon AFB: UFOs, Burned Circles, and Cows Found Mutilated,” UFO Info, 2012)
January 23 — 6:00–10:30 p.m. “Scores” of UFO sightings take place around Clovis, New Mexico. Town Marshal Willie Ronquillo of Texico follows a silent object with green, yellow, and blue lights 900 feet above his car before it speeds away to the north. A police dispatcher in Artesia sees 6–7 flashing lights in the sky at 750–1,000 feet altitude. They hover for a while, then move away at high speed toward Carlsbad. Members of the UFO Study Group, composed of employees of the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratories, arrive in Clovis at 11:30 p.m. to investigate. (“ UFOs Continue Clovis Visits,” Las Cruces (N.Mex.) Sun-News, January 25, 1976, p. 1; “ Flying Hotdog? It Was Saturn,” Vancouver (B.C.) Province, January 31, 1976, p. 2; Tommy Roy Blann, “ UFOs over New Mexico,” Official UFO, September 1977, pp. 23–25, 50–52)
January 25 - 8:45 p.m. Two witnesses in Sultan, Washington, are watching TV when they notice a red, blue, and white oscillating light moving east to west parallel to the Skyhomish River. The at 10-minute intervals, they see three more identical lights, about one mile away and 1,000 feet high. As they are watching a fourth light, a fifth light comes into view, closer than the others. With the aid of binoculars, they see it is a cigar-shaped object, gray on one end and dimly illuminated on the other. It disappears in the west, and no more are seen. (" Sighting Reports," CUFOS Bulletin, June 1976, p. 4)
January 31 — 3:30–5:00 a.m. UFOs are spotted by security police over the radar site at the Armament Development and Test Center at Eglin AFB, southwest of Valparaiso, Florida. Photos are taken. (Brig. Gen. Fred A. Treyz, “ Unidentified Flying Object Sighting,” January 31, 1976; “ Eglin Reports UFO Sighting,” Pensacola (Fla.) Journal, February 2, 1976, p. 1B; “ Blue-Green UFO Sighted,” Pensacola (Fla.) Journal, February 2, p. 1B; “ Sighting Advisory,” UFO Investigator, February 1976, p. 3)
February — 7:20 p.m. Ruby Breslin is driving along Central Expressway in Dallas, Texas, when her daughter sees an object just as she takes the exit ramp to the Northwest Highway. It has windows and a flashing red light on top, and hovers for 4–5 minutes before shooting straight up. (“ Out of the Past,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 5, no. 5 (Oct./Nov. 1984): 6)
February - Night. A married couple living near the Tasman Highway in Tasmania have retired for the evening. The woman is already asleep and the man has just turned off the light when he sees three 7-8 feet tall entities passing through the closed door of the bedroom. One touches the man's leg and he goes numb to the waist. He lets them attach some kind of glowing sack to his body, but when they start to approach his wife, he lashes out with one arm that hasn't gone numb. His wife wakes up and starts struggling too. The entities exit through some kind of orange portal outside the closed window and disappear. (Michael D. Swords, "A Trick of the Light," IUR 31, no. 2 (June 2007): 11)
March 14 - 9:45 p.m. A couple driving home on the Llíria-Olocau road near Llíria, Valencia, Spain, sees a humanoid silhouette moving on the left side of the road. The being has two small lights side by side on top of its head and wears a shiny dark blue one-piece suit with tight legs, resembling the Michelin Man. The suit covers its face, and its arms remain close to its body. Instead of walking, it moves its feet together in a waddling motion while floating above the ground. As the couple passes the entity, their car's electrical system fails and later needs to be replaced. (Antonio Moya Cerpa, "Un humanoïde similaire au `bonhomme michelin' près de Llíria Valence (Espagne)," Lumières dans la nuit, no. 179 (November 1978): 31)
February 3 — 4:45 a.m. During a blizzard, a witness in Piscataway, New Jersey, is awakened by a red glow shining in through her bedroom window. Pulling aside the window curtains, she sees a red object moving slowly over her backyard at an altitude of 30 feet, spewing orange flames and dropping sparks. It is making a low “whirling” sound as it moves away. (“ Sighting Reports,” CUFOS Bulletin, June 1976, p. 4)
February 10 — 11:00 p.m. A woman living south of Lake City, Florida, reports a UFO to the Columbia County sheriff’s office. Deputies and highway patrol officers arrive and watch an object hovering at 500 feet and flashing multi-colored lights from a clear dome on its bottom. They can see at least two dark figures through the dome. The object then rises rapidly and disappears. (“ Florida Lawmen Say They Chased UFO,” Charlotte (N.C) Observer, February 12, 1976, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 83 (March 1976): 7; “ Sighting Reports,” CUFOS Bulletin, June 1976, p. 4)
February 18 — 6:45 p.m. A witness in Rancho Cordova, California, glances upward and sees 8–10 disc- shaped objects flying soundlessly in a V-formation at about 37 mph at an altitude of approximately 490 feet. They seem to be 10–20 feet in diameter and gray. He watches hem for 2 minutes until they disappear. Later he sees about 10 aircraft circling in the sky at the point where they have disappeared. (“ Sighting Reports,” CUFOS Bulletin, June 1976, p. 5)
February 25 — 7:30 p.m. A woman driving in Nashville, Illinois, sees two tall humanoid forms off he left side of the road. As she draws even with the second figure, a blue light flashes across her face, which she continues to see in her rear-view mirror as she speeds away in fright. Later that night there is a report of a plane crash about 12 miles away, but a subsequent police investigation finds nothing. (“ Sighting Reports,” CUFOS Bulletin, June 1976, p. 5)
Late February — 1:00 a.m. A man in Kettering, Tasmania, is awake tending to a child when he looks outside to his east and sees what he thinks is an aircraft descending at 45°. After watching for a couple of minutes, he goes outside. The object comes down behind a small bank on the far side of a sports field opposite his house. He crosses the field, climbs the bank, and sees from about 82 feet away, a dome-shaped object emitting a bright-white to yellow light from three or four windows. When he looks through the object’s windows he can see a tall cylinder (that he likens to a ship’s compass mounting), motionless gray shapes (like car seats with headrests seen from the rear), and perhaps entities. He hears a humming noise. The object takes off to the east with the noise increasing in volume. It climbs away at 60° and recedes to a point source and disappears. The total duration is 6–7 minutes. The next day he returns to the spot and notes the rough grass beyond the sports field has been scorched in a circular patch. This grass later dies. On October 24, 1977, the Tasmanian UFO Information Centre takes soil samples of this area that are examined by Geoff Stevens using a thermoluminescence test. His investigation reveals no significant, systematic differences in the thermoluminescence content of soil and mineral particles taken from within the affected area, and control samples taken from outside this area. (Geoff Stevens, “ Thermoluminescence Measurements of Soil Samples Affected by a UFO,” CUFOS Bulletin, Spring 1978, pp. 1, 3–6; Keith Roberts and Geoff Stevens, “ The Kettering, Tasmania, Landing: A Study,” Flying Saucer Review 24, no. 3 (November 1978): 18–21; “ Tasmanian Landing in 1976,” IUR 31, no. 2 (June 2007): 21)
March 3 — Night. Claude Bosc, a student pilot flying a French Air Force T-33 on a training mission at 19,500 feet, sees a rapidly approaching bright light in the distance near Tours, Indre-et-Loire, France. In 1–2 seconds, the object speeds toward him and his plane is surrounded by a green phosphorescent light that illuminates the aircraft for several seconds. The green sphere, only 3–6 feet in diameter, avoids a collision at the last minute and passes over his right wing. The radar shows nothing, but two other pilots see the encounter from a distance. (Comité d’Études Approfondies, Les OVNI et la Defense: A Quoi doit-on se Préparer? ( UFOs and Defense: What Should We Prepare for?), July 16, 1999, pp. 10–11; Gildas Bourdais, “ Summary of Some Cases Noted in the COMETA Report,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 377 (September 1999): 13)
March 5 — 9:25 p.m. While driving in Redmond, Oregon, a witness sees “aircraft landing lights” descending some distance ahead. After rounding a bend, she encounters an oval object with bright white and revolving red lights hovering silently above the road about 75 feet in the air. As she approaches, her car radio goes out. The object shoots up quickly and moves to the side of the road, where it hovers and directs a searchlight beam toward the ground. The witness drives away quickly. (“ Sighting Reports,” CUFOS Bulletin, June 1976, p. 5)
March 11 — An Iberian Airlines pilot flying above Palma de Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain, watches an elongated object, shaped like a dirigible gondola and lighted from within through several window-like openings, pace his aircraft with occasional bursts of speed. (UFOEv II 122, 146)
March 14 — 9:45 p.m. A couple driving home on the Llíria-Olocau road near Llíria, Valencia, Spain, sees a humanoid silhouette moving on the left side of the road. The being has two small lights side by side on top of its head and wears a shiny dark blue one-piece suit with tight legs, resembling the Michelin Man. The suit covers its face, and its arms remain close to its body. Instead of walking, it moves its feet together in a waddling motion while floating above the ground. As the couple passes the entity, their car’s electrical system fails and later needs to be replaced. (Antonio Moya Cerpa, “ Un humanoïde similaire au ‘bonhomme michelin’ près de Llíria Valence (Espagne),” Lumières dans la nuit, no. 179 (November 1978): 31)
March 15 —10:14 p.m. Two objects are tracked on radar flying over the landing strips at Simón
Bolívar Airport near Caracas, Venezuela, at 3,000 mph. Tower operators ask the unidentified craft to
identify themselves. Instead they take off and disappear over the Caribbean Sea. (“
Gente seria asegura en Caracas que los OVNIS andan merodeando,” Mayoría (Buenos Aires, Argentina),
March 17, 1976, via UFO Newsclipping Service, nos. 84–85 (April 5, 1976): 18; Richard H. Hall, “
UFOs Tracked on Radar at Venezuelan Airport
March 22 — 5:42 a.m. A couple are stopped in their car outside a hotel in Nemingha, New South
Wales, deciding on directions. Suddenly a bright, greenish-yellow light descends and completely envelops
a nearby white car, which drifts to the wrong side of the road, wrapped in a thick ball of white haze. Its
headlights go out. After 2 minutes the haze dissipates, and a woman gets out of the car and wipes a white
substance off the windshield with a yellow cloth. She is about to get back in when its lights come back on
by themselves. She throws the cloth on the roadside, drives a short way, and the yellow cloth bursts into
flame. When the white car passes the couple, they notice it is covered in a thick white substance, except
for the windshield. (Bill Chalker, “
Road Hazard Down Under?” Flying Saucer Review 22, no. 5 (February
1977): 28–32; Bill Chalker, “
Postscript to the Nemingha Case,” Flying Saucer Review 23, no. 3
(October 1977): 22, 27) March 28 — 8:00 p.m. A couple and their young son driving in Level Green, Pennsylvania, see a round,
yellow object with square glowing panels around its middle. It rotates as it moves and makes a two-tone
chirping sound as it approaches within four car lengths of their vehicle. They stop the car to watch and see
an arrangement of illuminated legs and a wheel lowered from the base. The object descends behind trees and
appears to land with a jerk and a bounce. They continue watching for 20 minutes until it disappears behind
the tree line. After the sighting, the woman suffers from nausea and dizziness, and the child has some eye
irritation. (“
Sighting Reports,” CUFOS Bulletin, June 1976, p. 5; Stan Gordon, “
Low Level UFO Sightings in Pennsylvania,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 103 (June 1976): 18) March 28 — 8:30 p.m. While watching TV, a witness in Villa Park, Illinois, notices a bright light
hanging above a tree. She goes outside to investigate and sees a brilliant mass of gold and blue lights
hovering about 225 feet away. About halfway through the observation, two other witnesses join her. She
watches for 20 minutes until it disappears behind trees. (“
Sighting Reports,” CUFOS Bulletin, June 1976, p. 5) April 2 — 1:50 a.m. Detective Sgt. Norman Collinson is driving home along the M62 and M66
motorways near Bury, Greater Manchester, England. As he turns north onto the M66 he observes a white
disc of light moving very fast, crossing the path he is traveling. The object is heading toward Knoll
Hill, east of Bury. The UFO makes a right-angle turn onto a south-southeast heading. Puzzled, the officer
stops his vehicle and gets out to look at the light. As he does so, the light stops and hovers nearby.
It then begins to perform a series of spectacular right-angle box turns, after which it moves off in the
direction of Heywood, with Collinson following it in his car. The object stops a second time and again
repeats the angular movements before streaking away at a tremendous speed. The incident is reported to
the Ministry of Defence and Manchester Airport. (Jenny Randles and Peter Warrington, “
Police Encounter at Bury,” Flying Saucer Review 23, no. 2
(August 1977): 13, 15) April 3 - 4:30 a.m. Several residents of Quixadá, Ceará, Brazil, during an outdoor physical
education session, see a large disc-shaped object that glides silently a few feet from the ground
emitting an intense light. At about the same time in another part of the city, Luis Barroso Fernandes
is preparing to travel to a site a few kilometers away on his donkey cart. He soon hears a buzzing
sound, and a flying object 10 feet in diameter positions itself above him. It slowly descends in front
of his cart about 100 feet away. The device emits a beam of light that strikes the donkey and Barroso,
who immediately become paralyzed. A door opens on the UFO and two small beings emerge. One holds something
like a flashlight and aims a beam that strikes Barroso in the face, causing him to lose consciousness. He
wakes up in a different spot, dizzy and suffering from a burning sensation on his face, and a headache.
The left side of his body is reddish, and he has difficulty getting into his cart and getting it moving.
He asks his wife to take him to Dr. Antônio Moreira Magalhaes, who prescribes a tranquilizer. He continues
to feel sick, his eyes burn continuously, and the left side of his body is red. A few days later, his hair
turns gray and he suffers memory lapses. After his symptoms worsen and other doctors fail to help, his family
checks him into a psychiatric hospital in Fortaleza. His condition deteriorates, and he dies in April 1993.
(Elias Bruno, "
Homem que inspirou filme `Area Q' ensinou filho a se proteger de óvnis,"
G1 (Grupo Globo), April 25, 2012; Elias Bruno, "
Brazil: The Barroso Case," Inexplicata, April 29, 2012; Clark III 180-182;
Brazil 179-184; Thiago Luiz Trichetti, "
The Tragic Case of Luis Barroso Fernandes," Shadows of Your Mind, no. 8 (2020): 10-15; "
Abduçao em Quixadá, CE: Caso Luiz Barroso," Marco Leal YouTube channel, October 21, 2020;
Clark IV 216-217) April 17 — June and Vicky Melling, on vacation in Mawnan, Cornwall, England, see a large winged
creature hovering above the tower of St. Mawnan and St. Stephen’s Church. They are so frightened by the
sight of a large “feathered bird-man” that their father Dan Melling cuts short the vacation. Magician and
showman
Tony “Doc” Shiels investigates the case, and one of the girls provides him with a drawing of the creature,
which he dubs “Owlman.” Other sightings emerge over the next few years. Author and Fortean TV presenter
Lionel Fanthorpe identifies the sighting of a Eurasian eagle-owl (Bubo bubo) as a possible source of the
legend. Occult historian Gareth J. Medway suggests that the whole thing is a hoax by Shiels, who has a
reputation for hoaxing. Medway notes that witnesses claiming encounters with the legendary monster “were
either Doc Shiels, or friends of Doc Shiels, or relatives of Doc Shiels, or reported their sightings to
Doc Shiels (and to no one else), or else wrote letters describing what they had seen to newspapers and
were never interviewed by anyone.” (Wikipedia, “
Owlman”; “The ‘Mothman’ at Mawnan,” Fortean Times 18 (June 1976): 19; Robert J. M. Rickard, “Birdmen
of the Apocalypse!” Fortean Times 17 (August 1976): 14–20; Doc Shiels, “To Wit! To Woo? Some Thoughts
about Owlman,” Fortean Times 27 (Autumn 1978): 44–46; Jonathan Downes, The Owlman and Others, Domra,
1997; Clark III 602) April 22 — 1:45 a.m. RCMP Constable Bill Toffan sees an apparent vehicle with its lights flashing
ahead of him as he is driving on Canada Highway 16 west of Terrace, British Columbia. As he rounds a curve,
he sees it is actually in the air 300 feet above the trees. Suddenly there is a blinding flash and he nearly
loses control of his car. After a brief report appears in the press, the RCMP orders Toffan not to discuss
the incident. (“
Mountie ‘Ordered’ into Silence,” Vancouver (B.C.) Sun, April 26, 1976, p. 8; Good Above,
pp. 194–195; Patrick Gross, “
Files Obtained from the National Archives of Canada”) April 22 — 11:00 p.m. Police officer
George Wheeler, on duty at Elmwood, Wisconsin, notices a glow at the top of Tuttle Hill. He drives
closer and sees an object as high as a two-story house and 250 feet across with an orange-white light at
the top and six bluish-white lights on the side. It is 500 feet away and about 100 feet off the ground.
He thinks he can see, though an open side panel, something moving inside it. The object has several partially
extended legs and a long, black, hose-like appendage. Suddenly the object rises straight up. He sees some kind
of flash and his car lights go out, the motor stops, the radio goes dead, and he becomes dazed. Another car
arrives, noticing that the car door is open, and takes Wheeler to a hospital, from which he is released
four days later. Some people in the area have difficulty with TV reception at the same time as the encounter. (“
Officer Has Repeat Sighting,” APRO Bulletin 24, no. 10 (April
1976): 1–4; “
Officer Geo. Wheeler Details Elmwood UFO Sighting,” Ellsworth
(Wis.) Pierce County Herald, May 6, 1976, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 86 (June 1976): 3; “
Second UFO Sighting Told at Elmwood,” Eau Claire (Wis.) Leader-
Telegram, May 14, 1976, pp. 1, 6C; “
Sighting Reports,” CUFOS News Bulletin, June 1976, pp. 5–6; “
Terrifying Attack: Knocks Policeman Unconscious, Immobilizes His Car and Blanks Out Television Sets in the Area,”
National Enquirer, June 29, 1976; Patrick Gross, “
George Wheeler’s Close Encounter, 1976”; Wendy Connors, “Cops and Saucers: Law Enforcement and UFO’s,
1957–1981 Guide,” November 20, 2013,
audioclip 34; “
George Wheeler’s Alien Ordeal,” UFO Days, June 26, 2019; “
Elmwood Police Officer George Wheeler Got Hit by a Beam from a UFO in 1976, Had Multiple Sightings,” Eyes
On Cinema YouTube channel, July 7, 2024) April 23 — 2:40 a.m. A 1st Lt. is on communications duty aboard a US Navy destroyer in the
Atlantic southwest of Bermuda. The lookout calls his attention to a green light dead ahead through
light fog three miles away at 10° above the horizon. Radar reports no target and the sonar room hears
no engines. The crew watches the green light dip to 30–40 feet above the surface and approach the ship.
The lieutenant orders a course change to starboard, and the green light becomes much larger, making a
comparable turn to port in order to pace the ship. The ship and the object both make subsequent turns,
with the light now only 50-60 feet away. Suddenly a large blip appears on the radar scope. The destroyer
returns to its original heading and the light stations itself on the port beam. When the captain comes on
deck, the light circles the ship twice. Then once again off to port, it becomes a brighter green, tilts at
an angle, and submerges. The next day the captain tells the crew not to discuss the incident. (Donald R.
Todd, “
Ship’s Crew Sees UFO,” APRO Bulletin 26, no. 11 (May 1978): 1–2) May 11 - 6:15 a.m. In Leigh, Greater Manchester, England, a Mrs. Kent sees a silver-suited
figure with a pointed hat standing next to a silver sphere on the ground on top of a hill as
she walks by. When she returns 35 minutes later, both the figure and the object are gone.
("
Humanoid Seen at Higher Fold," Northern UFO News, no. 25 (June 1976): 8; Jenny Randles,
"News Round-Up from Northern England," Flying Saucer
Review 22, no. 3 (October 1976): 27) June 7 - 10:40 p.m. In Cincinnati, Ohio, two men spot an object hovering at treetop level a
few thousand feet away. The object is circular with revolving white lights. Neighborhood dogs
howl and whine throughout the sighting. As the object slowly moves east, one of the men grabs a
camera and takes 17 pictures. The object disappears once, circles west, returns east, and after
about 10 minutes, leaves the area. ("
Sighting Reports," CUFOS News Bulletin, September 1976, p. 5) June 11 — 1:15 a.m. Hélène Guiliana is driving through Chatuzange-le-Goubet, Drôme, France, when
her car engine misfires and stalls and the headlights go out. Some 80 feet away near the Pont du Martinet
bridge she sees an orange light in the form of a “dome.” She experiences fear and covers her face with her
hands. After what seems a few seconds, the light disappears. Driving home upset and afraid, she misses a
familiar sign and drives a mile out of her way. When she arrives home, it is 4:00 a.m. Under hypnosis on
July 22 (repeated on August 18), she tells of meeting two waist-high small men with large eyes, dressed in
black overalls. They carry her toward the light, which she enters through an iron door. Inside a high, round
room, they place her on a table, putting handcuffs on her hands and feet. After an examination, she is returned
outside and the craft departs straight up noiselessly. (Jean Bastide, “
New ‘Interrupted Journey’?” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 104 (July 1976): 6; Lex Mebane, “
New French Abduction Case,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 107 (October 1976): 14–15; “
Foreign Forum,” IUR 1, no. 2 (December 1976): 10; “
L’Etrange Rencontre d’Hélène Guiliana,” Ouranos, new ser. 18 (Jan./Mar. 1977): 5–7; UFOEv II 551) June 20 — After 1:00 a.m. A young married couple and their 4-month-old child are detained and examined
by entities as they are traveling near Goodland, Kansas, en route to Colorado. UFO investigator
Richard Sigismond meets repeatedly with them in July–October 1976 using hypnotic regression techniques to
enhance their memories. The experience is traumatic for them, and they require counseling. (“
Abduction in Western Kansas,” IUR 1, no. 2 (December 1976): 12; “
Abduction in Western Kansas,” IUR 2, no. 10 (Oct. 1977): 4–7) June 21 — 12:40 a.m. Police officer Th. Brandt-Jensen sees a bright, blue-white light cross the
road behind him in Ringsted, Zealand, Denmark. He thinks it might be an airplane in trouble. He speeds up to
90 mph toward a crossroad where he can pull off the highway. The object catches up to within 165–250 feet and
its light strikes his car, the engine and lights going out immediately. He guides the coasting vehicle to the
road shoulder, gets out, and catches a glimpse of the object as it disappears behind the horizon. It resembles
a glider with a ray of light coming from it that swings back and forth as it passes his car. It makes a slight
whistling sound and appears to be about 50 feet long. (“
UFO Rapporter Danmark,” UFO-Nyt, 1976 no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1976): 186–187; Herbert S. Taylor, “
An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part Two,” IUR 34, no. 1 (Sept. 2011): 20) June 22 — 9:27 p.m. Dr. Don Francisco-Julio Padrón León and Santiago del Pino are traveling in a taxi
when they see a gigantic ball of light 200 feet ahead of them between Gáldar and Agaete, Gran Canaria, Canary
Islands. The taxi radio cuts out. Inside the light, which is actually like a transparent soap bubble, they see
some panels and two enormous beings on a platform. The humanoids are some 9–10 feet tall, wear black diving helmets
and red tight-fitting coveralls, and are moving levers about. Their hands are enclosed in black cones. The backs of
their heads are disproportionately large, and their legs are short. The taxi driver switches the headlights on, and
the UFO rises as a bluish gas is emitted from a tube and expands the size of the sphere to a 20-story building. The
driver turns the car around and goes to a nearby house. The inhabitants say their TV set just blacked out. They
continue watching through a window. When the sphere stops expanding, they hear a high-pitched whistle and the object
speeds off to the northwest. (J. M. Sanchez, “
Canary Islands Landing: Occupants Reported,” Flying Saucer Review 23, no. 3 (October 1977): 4–7; Good Above,
pp. 153–154) June 22 — 10:30 p.m. A bright red light like a rocket emerging from the sea at a distance climbs
diagonally and turns into a brilliant semicircular dome over the Canary Islands. It is transparent with a
bluish-white hue. The crew of the corvette Atrevida watches the object for 40 minutes, during which time a
foreign tourist takes a photo. 400 miles to the south, the crew of the ship Osaka Bay also sees the luminous
phenomena in the shape of a sphere. Maj. Antonio Munáiz Ferro-Sastre investigates the sightings for the
Spanish Air Force and rejects the hypothesis that the light is from a naval missile launch. However, two
Poseidon missiles are launched in the area around the same time by the submarine
USS Von Steuben. (J. M. Sanchez, “
Canary Islands Landing: Occupants Reported,” Flying Saucer Review 23, no. 3 (October 1977): 4–7;
Avistamiento de fenómenos extraños (Expedientes OVNI), Canarias, 22 de Junio de 1976, Madrid, Biblioteca
Central del Ejército del Aire, July 22, 1994; Don Berliner, with Marie Galbreath and Antonio Huneeus, UFO
Briefing Document: The Best Available Evidence, Dell, 2000, pp. 91–97; Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos and Ricardo
Campo Pérez, “
Navy Missile Tests and the Canary Islands UFOs,” IUR 29, no. 4 (July 2005): 3–4) June 23 — 11:30 p.m. Paulo Coutinho, 18, is returning home from a night class in Aricanduva, São
Paulo, Brazil, when he sees a light in the sky moving westward. Suddenly he feels paralyzed as the light
approaches and descends about 25 feet away. A short being emerges with a big head, large eyes, pointed ears,
small mouth, and an upturned nose like a pig. It is bald, has no eyebrows, and wears a tight one-piece bluish-
gray suit with an emblem on its chest. Coutinho rises into the air toward a huge cigar-shaped object, in which
he undergoes an abduction experience. Coutinho is still missing the next morning. A friend finds his books and
notebooks scattered on the street and brings them to his parents. A police search fails to find him. In the
evening of June 24, Coutinho is discovered lying on the steps of the garden door in a semiconscious state. He
is cold as if he has been there some time. He is later revived at a nearby hospital. The police officer who
carries him to the ambulance later feels a strong irritation in his arms. Ballpoint pens in Coutinho’s pockets
are radioactive. (“
O Caso dos Añoes Extraterrenos de Vila Aricanduva São Paulo, Capital,” SBEDV Boletim, no. 116/120 (July 1977/
Feb. 1978): 6–18; Brazil 185–194; “
Caso Paulo Coutinho,” Portal Fenomenum, March 14, 2022) July 11 — Two Indian Air Force MiG 21 jets are scrambled near the Pakistani border to intercept what
appears initially on radar to be a Pakistani jet. But the object is moving at 2,600 mph, and the two pilots see
the target is an amber-colored disc that pulls away before they can catch up to it. (Good Need,
p. 303) July 14 - Before dawn. For a period of two hours, two brightly shining UFOs perform
fantastic maneuvers at the Gobernador Edgardo Castello Airport in Viedma, Rio Negro, Argentina.
At dawn, the sunlight neutralizes the bright lights of the UFOs, but the observers see them
leave the area at high speed. ("
¿Ante una nueva oleada de OVNI?" Clarín (Buenos Aires, Argentina), July 15, 1976, via UFO
Newsclipping Service, no. 88 (August 1976): 11; "
Otro `show' de OVNI en Latinoamérica," Clarín (Buenos Aires, Argentina), September 16,
1976, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 91-92 (Nov./Dec. 1976): 29-31; "
Foreign Forum," IUR 1, no. 1 (November 1976): 2) July 28 — 3:45 p.m. Adult counselor Ira Leifer and 13 teenage boys are resting from a hike in
the woods at Camp Delaware [now Greenwood Trails] west of Winsted, Connecticut, when they hear a high-pitched
whine. They see a silvery, flat-bottomed UFO 15–25 feet in diameter through a clearing in the trees. A purple
haze surrounds it and on top they see a red glow. The object is hovering at a steep angle. After 15–25 seconds
the whine returns, and the object takes off and is lost to sight in a second or two. (“
UFO Sighting Stirs National Interest,” Winsted (Conn.) Evening Citizen, July 30, 1976, via UFO Newsclipping
Service, no. 89 (September 1976): 6; “
UFO Sighting Ruled Bonafide,” Winsted (Conn.) Citizen, August 23, 1976, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 90
(October 1976): 2; “
Daylight CE I Seen by 14 Witnesses in Connecticut,” IUR 1, no. 1 (November 1976): 6–7; George W. Earley, “UFO
Panics Connecticut Campers,” Official UFO, July 1977, pp. 20–21, 51–52; Clark III 247; Clark IV 286–287) July 30 — 1:30–3:45 a.m. Patrols at different locations in the US Army’s Fort Ritchie [now closed], in
Cascade, Maryland, see objects over the base. One crew sees three oblong objects with a reddish tint. Another
watches a UFO over the ammunition storage area at an altitude of 300–600 feet. In another spot, an Army police
sergeant sees an aerial object the size of a two-and-a-half-ton truck. (Brig. Gen. L. J. LeBlanc Jr., “
Reports of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs),” National Military Command Center, July 30, 1976) July 30 — 9:00 p.m. A British Airways Trident 2E piloted by Capt. Dennis Wood is flying at 29,000 feet
over the North Atlantic about 40 miles south of Lisbon, Portugal, when air traffic control radios a Lockheed L-1011
TriStar that is flying near them and asks for a confirmation of a radar target. Wood and his crew look up and see a
stationary bright light. They announce the sighting to their passengers. After several minutes watching the light,
two cigar-shaped objects appear below and to the right of the light. A Portuguese airliner in the vicinity also
observes the objects. Wood confirms the sighting, saying, “There is no way this is a star or planet.” Fighters
are immediately scrambled from Lisbon. (NICAP, “
Battleship-Sized Object Tracked by 3 Airlines”; Jenny Randles, “Casebook: The Portugal Sighting,” Fortean Times
199 (September 2005): 27) July 31 — 11:45 p.m. Debbie Focken and other witnesses see an oblong object with illuminated windows
hovering about 100 feet above Eldon’s Standard Service Station in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Apparently the UFO
causes extensive electrical damage to a CB radio, a burglar alarm, an adding machine, a cash register, and a
vending machine. The owner and employees claim that lightning has caused the damage, and that is what they
report to the insurance agency, but there is no thunderstorm that evening. ([
CUFOS case file]; “
Gas Station Damaged by UFO?” IUR 1, no. 2 (December 1976): 13; “
Council Bluffs CE II,” IUR 2, no. 3 (March 1977): 7) August — 10:17 a.m. A Swedish J-5 jet pursues six delta-shaped silver objects in formation until they
accelerate out of sight over Lake Bolmen, Sweden. (“
Swedish Air Force Colonel Reports Six Delta-UFOs,” AFU Newsletter, no. 18 (Jan./Mar. 1980): 9–10) August — Day. A man is working on his mobile home in the forested hills near Medford, Oregon, when
he sees two intensely bright lights “like burning magnesium” silently move across the sky, side by side. They
appear to be discs, curved on the top and flat on the bottom, and in between them is a third object, which
seems to be a World War II–era bomber. The tips of each wing appear to be resting on the discs, and its propellors
are not turning. The three objects pass overhead and move beyond the hill behind him. (Michael D. Swords, “
Timmermania: A Step Too Far into the Timmerman Files?” IUR 27, no. 4 (Winter 2002–2003): 8) August — A. Troitsky and six others observe a silvery disc over the Pirogovskoye Reservoir north of
Moscow, Russia. It is about 8 times the apparent size of the full moon and is moving slowly at an altitude of
perhaps 120 feet. The object has two revolving stripes along its side and a black hatch on its underside from
which a small cylinder protrudes, its lower portion rotating. (Stonehill and Mantle, Russia’s USO Secrets,
Flying Disk, 2020, pp. 10–11) August 1 — Ranch worker Jorge Arturo Aguerre sees an object like an upturned funnel with windows land
for 3–4 minutes near Tacuarembó, Uruguay. It emits two brilliant beams of light from the top and is about 45 feet
in diameter. Police find landing marks and a burned area. A similar object is witnessed in the same area on
September 13. (“
OVNIs en la Otra Orilla,” Crónica (Buenos Aires, Argentina), October 1, 1976, via UFO Newsclipping Service,
no. 91/92 (Nov./Dec. 1976): 29, 32; “
Foreign Forum,” IUR 2, no. 1 (January 1977): 2) August 2 — 3:30 a.m. A domed UFO is seen at an altitude of 15–18 feet at St.-Pierre-sur-Mer, Hérault,
France. It has orange lights that go on and off slowly. (M. Grazioli, “
Enquête dans l’Hérault,” Lumières dans la Nuit, no. 166 (June/July 1977): 26–27) August 3–4 — 11:25 p.m. The pilot of Tunisair Flight Tu8953, en route from Monastir to Tunis, Tunisia,
sees a flying object at 3,200–3,900 feet moving north to south. At 11:27 p.m., five objects showing red and green
lights are seen over Monastir and confirmed on radar. From 12:24 a.m. to 4:00 a.m., five separate radar returns
are tracked and visually confirmed. (ClearIntent,
p. 80) August 4–5 — 10:43–10:52 p.m. An Air France pilot en route to Monastir, Tunisia, is followed by an
unidentified object. (ClearIntent,
pp. 80–81) August 6 — 12:20 a.m. Police at La Soukra, Tunisia, see four lighted objects that disappear one by
one until 1:45 a.m. (ClearIntent,
p. 81) August 6 - 10:00 a.m. A family is driving in Gaspésie National Park, Quebec, when a beam
of red light penetrates the fog and creates a six-inch circle on the road ahead. The beam
paces ahead of them for several miles, then collapses and withdraws upwards. A dazzling white
light then approaches and stops ahead. Strong heat builds up in the car, so the father stops
the vehicle. The headlights and radio fail, and the engine dies. All four get out and walk
toward the object, which now appears as a scallop-shaped craft on landing legs, stretching
across the road. The wife notices a massive "face" looking at them. Two 7-foot tall beings
are apparently floating near the UFO, dressed in close-fitting, khaki-brown suits. The
witnesses flee back into the car. The object moves away in a flash of light and burst of heat.
The car starts again. All four suffer from itching for the next 10 hours. (NICAP, "
Gaspésian Park, Quebec: Humanoids/E-M Case"; Jean Ferguson, "
Enquêtes en Abitibi et en Gaspésie," UFO-Quebec,
no. 8 (1976): 4-6, 11; Jean Ferguson, Les Humanoides: Les Cerveaux qui Dirigent les Soucoupes
Volantes, Leméac, 1977; Michael D. Swords, "
Messing Around with the Force," IUR 31, no. 4 (March 2008): 29-
30) August 7 — 10:00 p.m. Mark Ziegelbauer, 15, of Malone, Wisconsin, and his father Orville see
multicolored lights fly past their new silo and land in a distant hayfield. Mark drives over to the spot
and shines his headlights into the field. He sees an object the size of a “camper-trailer” and two green
men, one about 5 feet 7 inches, the other shorter. They put their hands up and “disappeared somehow.” (“
Youth Claims Seeing 2 Green Men from UFO,” Fond du Lac (Wis.) Reporter, August 10, 1976, p. 26; Clark
III 279; Clark IV 319) August 7 — 11:48 p.m. The control tower at the Djerba-Zarzis International Airport, Tunisia,
tracks a UFO on radar to the northwest. The sighting is confirmed by a Tunisair pilot, who says it is a
lighted object that seems to touch down near the airport then turn south after climbing up. (ClearIntent,
p. 81) August 8 — 7:50 p.m. Radar at Sidi Ahmed Air Base at Bizerte Airport, Tunisia, tracks a target going
east to west. It turns south and disappears. Tunisian authorities contact the US State Department asking whether
the US Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean can shed any light on the incidents. (ClearIntent,
p. 81) August 10 — 5:00 a.m. Teresa de Tejero wakes up suddenly in her room at the Hotel Da Balaia in
Albufeira, Portugal, and sees a vivid luminous rectangle on the window curtains. She wakes up her husband
Francisco, who goes to the window and sees an object with six reddish lights that appears to be on another
wing of the hotel. One of its lights seems to be directed straight into their bedroom. They go back to sleep.
In the morning, Francisco looks out the window and finds there is no hotel wing where he thought the UFO was.
He realizes that the object must have been huge to masquerade as two floors of the hotel. (Ignacio Darnaude, “
Spies in the Supernumerary Attic?” Flying Saucer Review 23, no. 3 (October 1977): 20–21) August 11 — 11:00 p.m. Two boys aged 13 and 14 are standing on the beach in La Linea de Concepción,
Spain, facing the Strait of Gibraltar when they see a yellowish-white UFO approaching from over the Mediterranean.
It seems to have an axis that bisects it. The object climbs rapidly, changing color to whitish and then a vivid
yellow. It approaches another, larger object and enters it. While they watch it, the light of a nearby lighthouse
goes out temporarily. The larger object remains in place. (“
UFO Blacks Out Lighthouse,” Flying Saucer Review 23, no. 1 (June 1977): iii) August 13 — 8:30 a.m. The pilot of a Piper Arrow PA-28 is flying at 3,500 feet between Diepholz
and Petershagen, Germany, when he notices a strange light approaching from the northeast. After 3–5 minutes,
the object comes closer and takes a fixed position off the left wing. The object is oval-shaped and very
bright yellow in its center with an indistinct flame-orange boundary. Suddenly the Piper goes into two
rapid 360° clockwise rolls from which the pilot must recover manually. He discovers that he has dropped
about 500 feet during the roll-and-recovery maneuver. When he next checks his instrument panel, he discovers
that his magnetic compass is spinning in a clockwise direction so fast that he can’t read the number in its
square window. Looking outside again, he sees that the UFO is still behind him, suggesting that he has lost
the same amount of altitude. The pilot climbs back to his cruise altitude and calls on the radio to flight
control at Hannover airport. The air traffic controller tells him that the radar shows both his airplane and
another object nearby. The controller says that an aircraft will be sent to investigate. Little more than 4
minutes later, two USAF F-4 Phantom jets arrive on either side of him travelling 400–500 mph. The jet on the
right side is slightly lower, closer, and ahead of the jet on the left. The pilot is certain they are American
planes. Just as the jets arrive, the UFO accelerates forward and then upward at about a 30° angle above the
horizontal and turns right, passing in front of his aircraft. It quickly outdistances its pursuers and is out
of sight in a matter of seconds. The compass eventually returns to normal operation after the UFO departs. The
pilot is interrogated after his landing by “military men.” (Richard F. Haines, “
An Aircraft/UFO Encounter over Germany in 1976,” IUR 24, no. 4 (Winter 1999): 3–6) August 14 — 6:30 p.m. A couple out walking along a road on Cartmel Fell in Lake District National
Park, Cumbria, England, see a bright light in the sky. Through binoculars, it looks like a silver disc
reflecting light from its top surface. After 30 seconds, it becomes smaller as if it is moving away. Two
other witnesses see a similar object at the same time. (“
Report 7670,” Northern UFO News, no. 28 (September 1976): 7) August 15 — 3:00 a.m. A distant bright light appears above El Real de la Jara, Seville, Spain,
as 20 automobiles stop on the highway to watch it. Taxi driver Pablo Garcia García blinks his lights at it,
and the object appears to approach much closer. García stops signaling, but the other drivers panic and drive
away rapidly. (Gordon Creighton, “
Some Recent Spanish Reports,” Flying Saucer Review 22, no. 6 (April 1977): 28–29) August 20 — Brothers Jim and Jack Weiner, with friends Charles Foltz and Charles Rak, claim
they are abducted by aliens during a camping trip near Allagash, Maine. According to the four men, hypnotic
regression allows them to recall being taken aboard a circular UFO and being “probed and tested by four-
fingered beings with almond-shaped eyes and languid limbs.” In a later interview by the St. John Valley Times,
Charles Rak changes his story, saying he did see strange lights during the camping trip, but the abduction
part of the story is a total fabrication, and he went along with the narrative for financial gain. The other
three members of the group stand by the abduction story. According to Jim Weiner, “Jack, Charlie, and I, after
all these years, are still in agreement with the Eagle Lake event as we (three) remember it. We also accept the
results of the hypnotic regression sessions and subsequent polygraph tests as supportive of an abduction scenario.”
(Raymond E. Fowler,
The Allagash Abductions, Wild Flower, 1993; Jessica Potila, “
Subject of 1976 UFO Incident Casts Doubt on ‘Allagash Abductions,’” Fort Kent (Maine) Fiddlehead
Focus, September 10, 2016; “
Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack - Season 7, Episode 21 - Full Episode,” FilmRise True Crime
Youtube channel, May 23, 2019, at 25:51; “
Jim Weiner and Charlie Foltz on Their Terrifying 1976 Allagash UFO Encounter and Abduction Experience,”
Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, February 15, 2024) August 21 — 10:30 p.m. A 90-foot-long cigar-shaped object descends from 4,000 feet over the Forêt
de Molière to the east of Poitiers, France. Witnesses hear a humming sound and smell an odor. It ascends and
disappears. (Michel Figuet and Jean-Louis Ruchon, OVNI: Le premier dossier complet des rencontres rapprochées
en France, Alain Lefeuvre, 1979, p. 627) August 22 — Midnight. A young couple are driving from Monswiller to Dossenheim-sur-Zinsel, Bas-
Rhin, France, when they notice a bright light about 9–12 feet in diameter following them at an altitude of
about 325 feet. When they arrive at a campsite near Dossenheim, the light moves ahead of their car and about
8 feet above them. The object diminishes to about 12–15 inches in diameter and becomes a dazzling yellow-white
color surrounded by sparkling rings of blue and red. The car radio is so loaded with static when the object is
close that the man turns it off. They make a U-turn at the campsite and drive back to the woman’s home in
Monswiller with the glowing ball following them. The object hovers 130–160 feet above a neighbor’s roof. The
woman goes inside and gets her parents to come out and look at it with binoculars. A swarm of semicircular
luminous points is visible above it. The young man drives to Ingwiller and alerts two constables to the incident,
while the woman calls the local gendarmes in Monswiller, who go to a hill near Rothbach to observe the light,
which now appears in the shape of a triangle. The observation continues until 4:00 a.m. (Ph. Wiedenhoff, “
Dans le Bas-Rhin,” Lumières dans la Nuit, no. 166 (June/July 1977): 17–20) August 25 — 12:30 p.m. Three children see beings in polished-silver suits and a UFO rising
upward from a schoolyard in North Reddish, Stockport, Manchester, England. (David Rees, “
‘Floating’ Entity at Reddish,” Flying Saucer Review 25, no. 2 (July 1979): 29–31) Early September — Three men watch a dense white cloud hover low above Rua Cajati in São Paulo,
Brazil. It dissipates, revealing a disc-shaped object that emits light beams of various colors. When
policemen arrive and draw their weapons, they become paralyzed like statues. The smoke cloud reappears
and envelops the disc, which takes off. (O Dia (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), September 8, 1976; “
Foreign Forum,” IUR 1, no. 2 (December 1976): 10) September 1 — 10:35 a.m. A witness is walking with her dog in a field off Larimer County Road
76H northwest of Larimer, Colorado. She looks up and sees a large (100 feet long), silver-colored, silent
cylinder flying at about 50 mph to the south. It is only 200–250 feet in altitude and has two rings around
it towards each end. She watches it for several minutes. (“
More Letters,” IUR 8, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1983): 16; “
More Similarities Begin to Appear,” CUFOS Associate Bulletin 4, no. 6 (Dec. 1983/Jan. 1984): 1) September 1 — Day. A retired science teacher watches a circular glowing object while walking
on a beach near Aguada, Puerto Rico. The object moves slowly, hovers, then falls abruptly, tumbling
over and over, until it nearly enters the ocean. It then rights itself and moves slowly westward. It
has a dull gray finish and appears to be quite distant. (“
Foreign Forum,” IUR 1, no. 1 (November 1976): 2) September 3 - Early morning. A witness in Bethel, Alaska, hears a high-pitched whine
and looks out at the tundra where a small (2.5-3-inch diameter) white beach ball seems to be
moving just above the ground. After a while it tilts so that she can see it is a disc with a
rotating "platinum-shiny" area in the middle. The object arcs upward, then back down, and seems
to disappear into the ground, whereupon the whine stops. She can find no ground markings. (Michael
D. Swords, "
Unusual Experiences from the Timmerman Files,"
IUR 27, no. 2 (Summer 2002): 24) September 3 — 7:00 p.m. Farm laborer João Romeu Klein, 19, returns home to Brusque, Santa
Catarina, Brazil, after visiting a friend. As he approaches the house, he spots a flying object in the
shape of a deep dish that rotates slowly counterclockwise. The upper part of the object is flattened, and
a luminous light on top varies according to the speed of the craft’s movement and vacillates from red (high
speed) to orange, from yellow to light green, and finally to white. When the craft is still, the intensity
of the light diminishes. The object itself is gray in color and nearly 10 feet in diameter. The UFO moves
toward Klein, passes 33 feet above his head, and then hovers in front of him about 16 feet from the ground.
A bright, red light shines from the center of its base, through which three small beings about 3 feet tall
slowly descend. The humanoids form a line across the entire width of the road and prevent him from passing
as the UFO moves behind him some 33 feet away and 26 feet above the ground, close to some trees. The beings
open their arms in an apparent blocking gesture, communicating with each other in an unfamiliar language.
Klein draws his knife and tosses it toward the beings; it whizzes through the air, but at one point appears
to float before falling to another spot. Each being wears a staff at its waist. The crew member in the center
reacts by waving his staff toward Klein. The staff fires a beam of bluish-white light that hits Klein in the
left thigh. He faints on being struck and is later found by his neighbors. His leg is paralyzed, so he goes
to Azambuja hospital in Brusque, where doctors find no sign of injury. He recovers after a few days. (“
Os Tripulantes da Serra do Moura, Novo Trento, Brusque, Estado de Santa Catarina,” SBEDV Boletim, no.
136/145 (Sept. 1981/April 1982): 10–12; Luis Lopez, “
Quase 40 Anos Depois, Homem Relata Experiência com Extraterrestres em Brusque, SC,” Novos Insólitos,
May 12, 2016; Clark III 218–220; Brazil 194–198; Clark IV 259–260) September 3 — 9:00 p.m. Two women, one 63 and the other an 18-year-old relative, are returning
from a family visit in Fence Houses, Durham, England, when they see a peculiar object resting on a mound
of earth in a section of mining wasteland. They walk toward it, feeling a sort of attraction, and see that
it is an oval object about 3 feet high and 5 feet long and standing on chrome or steel runners. The main
compartment is glasslike with an orange section on top. When they reach the object, they sense the wind
and traffic noise have stopped. The older woman touches the glassy side, which feels warm. At this point
two strange entities are seen within the craft with long white hair parted down the middle, large eyes,
and claw-like hands. They are both the size of a large doll, perhaps 1–1.5 feet tall. Frightened, the two
women hurry away, noting that the street noise has returned. The object then takes off at great speed,
making a humming noise. (William D. Muir, “
UFO Landing at Fencehouses, County Durham,” Flying Saucer Review 22, no. 6 (April 1977): 2; Jenny Randles, “
Notes on the Fencehouses Report,” Flying Saucer Review 22, no. 6 (April 1977): 3) September 8 — Leoncio Torres and Elena Bedjara are driving a truck on the road between Ollachea
and Ayaviri, Peru, when a UFO lands 90 feet in front of them. Two strange creatures about 6 feet tall
approach the blocked truck with flashlights. The creatures touch the couple’s backs and they feel a burning
sensation. (“
Foreign Forum,” IUR 2, no. 1 (January 1977): 2) September 9 — About 2:00 a.m. Farmer Hermelindo da Silva is making his way home from the bar he
owns in Vargem Grande, Minas Gerais, Brazil, when his dog grows agitated. A flash of light illuminates the
area, followed by a strange buzzing sound. He sees a bright object about 12 feet in diameter above him. The
dog begins barking nonstop until it receives some type of shock, apparently from the craft, and flees in
terror. The light goes out, and da Silva runs back to the bar and flattens himself against the outside wall.
The object lights up again, scaring him, so he picks up a piece of wood and throws it at the object. The light
goes out again and the buzzing ceases, only to be replaced by a hiss. He feels a blow to his shoulder and
falls to the ground, then he runs toward his house with the object 10 feet above him. Cables and hooks descend
from the UFO, accompanied by a small creature about 3 feet tall. Da Silva hits its shoulder, causing it to
jump and fall, then gets into a fight with it for 15 minutes. Finally, the creature loops a cable around da
Silva’s ankle and hoists him screaming into an opening on the craft. His brother-in-law hears him and sees him
ascending. Da Silva manages to get loose from the cable and falls 20 feet onto a spiky yucca plant. He runs to
the house, bruised. (Clark III 1220–1221; Brazil 198–200; Clark IV 1397) September 9–10 — Around 3:00 p.m. A worker at the Liangshan Cotton Mill south of Longwangmiao,
Shandong, China, sees a spherical object at 45° elevation about 9,800–13,000 feet away. The upper part is
bright silver, and the lower part is dark gray. It moves in the direction of the sun. It reappears on
September 10, although it seems larger. It shrinks in size toward 12:00 noon and finally appears like a
twinkling star in the daytime. It reverts to its former size in the afternoon, and then in front of more
than 1,000 witnesses it flies away and disappears around 5:00 p.m. (Wendelle Stevens and Paul Dong, UFOs
over Modern China, UFO Photo Archives, 1983, p. 88) September 10 — 12:54 a.m. Bill Pecha Jr. is watching TV in his home 3 miles southwest of Colusa,
California, when suddenly the picture crackles, fades, and blacks out, and the air conditioner dies. He goes
outside to check on the circuit breaker and feels an electrical sensation. He looks up and sees an object
85 feet in diameter hovering above a TV antenna near the barn about 50 feet away. The main body of the craft
is a disc shape, which appears to be rotating in a clockwise direction, with a large dome that remains stationary
on top. The object makes little or no sound, and is silver or gray in color, except for the very bottom, which
has a “porcelain” look about it. Two hook-like cables are hanging down. Pecha approaches until he is just under
one edge. The UFO moves slowly away and retracts its cables. Two hatches open on either end, revealing a “spotlight.”
He goes inside and wakes up his wife Lenda, who also sees the object. Pecha can now see two other objects over
high-tension power lines a mile to the west, emitting light beams at the tops of the transmission towers. The first
UFO is moving closer and passes over a neighbor’s house, shining a light on it. Frightened, Pecha grabs his two
children and he and his wife speed away in their pickup. They stop at a friends’ house and draw their attention to
the distant light. The encounter ends at 1:03 a.m. (“
UFO over Colusa? Bill Pecha’s ‘Hair Raising’ Story,” Colusa (Calif.) Sun-Herald, September 13, 1976, p. 1; “
Researchers Here Sunday on Pecha UFO Incident,” Colusa (Calif.) Sun-Herald, October 4, 1976, p. 1; Paul Cerny, “
UFO Hovers over California Farm,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 107 (October 1976): 3–8; Center for UFO Studies, [
case files]; “
The UFO Finalist,” IUR 2, no. 1 (January 1977): 6–8; Brad Sparks, “
Colusa (California) Close Encounter, 10 September 1976,” APRO Bulletin, February 1977, pp. 3–6; Brad Sparks, “
The Colusa Case,” APRO Bulletin, March 197, pp. 3–6; Brad Sparks, “
The Colusa Case,” APRO Bulletin, April 1977, pp. 3–4; “
Colusa Report Corrections,” APRO Bulletin, July 1977, mailer 1; UFOEv II 39–40; Clark III 294–296; Micah Hanks, “
Tentacles and Telephone Lines: The Colusa, California, UFO Incident of 1976,” Mysterious Universe, February 22,
2019; Clark IV 334–336) September 10 — 6:00–7:00 p.m. British European Airways Flight 831 from Moscow to London is
cruising at 33,000 feet over Lithuania when a blinding, stationary light is seen on the starboard side
of the airliner, apparently 10–15 miles away and 5,000–6,000 feet below. The light resembles a yellowish
sodium vapor lamp and is too intense to view directly. It lights up the top of the cloud layer below. The
pilot asks the Soviet authorities to identify the source, but they come back with a negative response,
saying he should not ask questions. The light is visible for 10–15 minutes. (“
Aerial Observation of Intense Source of Light,” CIA Foreign Intelligence Information Report, November
18, 1976) September 11 — 8:00 p.m.
Herbert Hopkins, the hypnotist investigating the 1975 Oxford abduction case, is alone in his home in Old
Orchard Beach, Maine. The telephone rings, and the caller identifies himself as vice president of the nonexistent
New Jersey UFO Research Association. He wants to come and discuss the Oxford case. Hopkins consents, telling him
to come right over. As soon as he switches on the back light, he sees a man in dark clothing walking up the porch
stairs. Hopkins unthinkingly opens the door right away. The stranger is wearing a black derby, black jacket, black
tie, white shirt, gray gloves, black trousers, and black shoes. The crease in his pants is razor sharp. The man
never introduces himself but sits down and removes his hat. He is completely hairless, devoid of eyebrows and
eyelashes, but his lips are a vivid red. The stranger speaks in a monotone. After Hopkins discusses what he
knows about the David Stephens case, the man remarks, “That’s just what I thought,” and abruptly changes the
subject. “You have two coins in your left pocket,” he says. Hopkins acknowledges he has a dime and a penny.
The stranger tells him to take one out and hold it in his palm. He does and is shocked to find that its color
has changed to bright silver, then light blue. It grows blurry and fuzzy and finally fades away in a vapor. The
stranger says that no one else “on this plane will ever see that coin again.” The stranger then asks if he
knew why
Barney Hill died, saying “He died because he knew too much. He died because he had no heart, just as
you have no coin.” He orders Hopkins to destroy all the audiotapes of Stephens’s hypnosis sessions, as well
as any other UFO literature he has sitting around, or he will suffer the same fate as Barney Hill. The
stranger gets up, speaking slowly, and says his energy is running low. He gets up slowly and walks down
the porch steps one foot at a time. Hopkins sees a bright light outside, rushes to the kitchen window,
and sees the light and the man are gone. About 90 minutes later, Mrs. Hopkins and two of their sons arrive
home from a movie. He tells them what happened, and one of the sons finds a series of marks in the narrow
driveway that look like a small tractor tread. They are gone the next day. Hopkins burns all his tapes,
correspondence, and literature at the urging of his family. (Berthold Eric Schwarz, “
The Man-in-Black Syndrome, Part 1,” Flying Saucer Review 23, no. 4 (January 1978): 9–15; Berthold Eric
Schwarz, “
The Man-in-Black Syndrome, Part 2,” Flying Saucer Review 23, no. 5 (February 1978): 22–25; Berthold Eric
Schwarz, “
The Man-in-Black Syndrome, Part 3,” Flying Saucer Review 23, no. 6 (April 1978): 26–29; Clark III
863–864; Clark IV 958–959) Mid-September — 4:00 p.m. A copilot of a Boeing 727 for the Brazilian Varig airline sees a
disc-shaped object about 120 feet in diameter over the Amazon forest between Manaus and Belém, Brazil.
The aircraft’s radar confirms the sighting. The pilot is carrying a camera and snaps a photo of the UFO,
which starts jumping from one side to the other in front of the plane, causing the crew to panic. The
sighting lasts about 5 minutes. (Clark III 198; Brazil 535–536; Clark IV 238) September 16 — 9:15 p.m. Six witnesses in Modesto, California, see a rolling orange ball of light
heading slowly south. Possible balloon. (“
Case 1-1-6,” IUR 1, no. 1 (November 1976): 5) September 16 — 9:45 p.m. A witness in Eureka, California, sees a large orange light at treetop level
that rushes overhead, then stops and hovers for 5 minutes. (“
Case 1-1-7,” IUR 1, no. 1 (November 1976): 5) September 18–19 — 10:30 p.m. Residents of the northeast portion of the city of Tehran, Iran,
watch a multicolored aircraft hovering a few thousand feet in the air. Some of them call the nearby
Mehrabad Airport, reaching night supervisor Houssain Pirouzi, who goes outside at 11:15 p.m. to look.
With his binoculars, he sees a bright object flashing colored lights and changing positions at an altitude
of 6,000 feet. Around 12:30 a.m., Pirouzi alerts the Iranian Air Force command post. Deputy Gen.
Nader Yousefi also sees the object and scrambles an Air Force F-4 Phantom II interceptor piloted by
Capt. Aziz Khani and 1stLt. Hossein Shokri from Shahrokhi Airbase [now Hamadan Airbase] to the west at
1:30 a.m. They close in on the object, but the jet’s radio and instruments give out. Only when Khani
pulls away does functionality return. Squadron Cmdr.
Parviz Jafari takes off in a second jet with 1stLt Jalal Damirian in pursuit at 1:40 a.m. Some 27 miles
from the UFO, Jafari picks the object up on radar, the return indicating something the size of a Boeing 707.
Visually, it is flashing like a strobe with intense red, green, orange, and blue lights (in a diamond shape)
so bright that Jafari cannot see its body. He approaches within 70 miles, then the object jumps 10° to the
right, then twice again the same amount. Suddenly a smaller round object comes out of the large object and
heads straight toward the interceptor at a high rate of speed. Jafari tries to fire an AIM-9 heat-seeking
missile at it, but his weapons control panel malfunctions, as well as his radio and instruments. Jafari turns
to the left to avoid an impact with the small object, which approaches to 4 miles distance, then stops. It
returns to the large object, which emits another smaller object. Jafari is ordered back to the base, but
the light follows him. During final approach, another object (a thin rectangle with three lights) appears
at low altitude in front of his plane. Gen. Yousefi then orders Jafari to approach the light and get a
look. When he is within 4 miles, the radio and instrument panel go out again. The light disappears from
view after Jafari lands. Base Commander Gen. Abdulah Azerbarzin claims the complete investigation records
are turned over to the US Air Force, which insists it only has one memo from USAF Lt. Col.
Olin R. Mooy, who sat in on one of the pilot interviews. A US Defense Intelligence Agency evaluation
rates the case High (of major significance). The sighting is apparently tracked by a US Defense Support
Program satellite. (Wikipedia, “
1976 Tehran UFO incident”; NICAP, “
Iranian F-4 Phantom Jet Chase, Radar/Visual/E-M/IAD Signal”; US Department of Defense, “
Iran, Reported UFO Sighting,” message, September 1976; Center for UFO Studies, [
case documents]; “
UFO, Jets in Chase over Tehran,” APRO Bulletin 25, no. 3 (September 1976): 1, 3; “
Iranian Air Force Jets Scrambled,” UFO Investigator, November 1976, pp. 1–2; “
Foreign Forum,” IUR 1, no. 1 (November 1976): 2; “
The U.S. Government and the Iran Case,” IUR 3, no. 1 (January 1978): 6–7; Henry S. Shields, “
Now You See It, Now You Don’t,” [October 1978]; “
Review of Iranian UFO Reports,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 2 (Jan./Feb. 1981): 14–15; “
Now You See It, Now You Don’t!” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 3, no. 1 (February 1982): 3; Kim Hansen,
“UFO Casebook,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, pp. 85–88; Good Above,
pp. 318–321,
497–500; Don Berliner, with Marie Galbreath and Antonio Huneeus, UFO Briefing Document: The Best
Available Evidence, Dell, 2000,
pp. 98–104; UFOEv II 94–95; Martin Shough,
RADCAT: Radar Catalogue: A Review of Twenty-One Ground and Airborne Radar UAP Contact Reports Generally
Related to Aviation Safety for the Period October 15, 1948, to September 19, 1976, National Aviation
Reporting Center on Anomalous Phenomena, NARCAP Report TR-6, December 8, 2002, pp. 125–149; A. Meessen, “
Deux jets F-4 rencontrent un ovni à Téhéran,” April 30, 2007; Good Need,
pp. 302–303,
315–317; Swords 340–341; Kean,
pp. 86–92
149–150; Clark III 624–626; Ryan Sprague, “
The Tehran UFO and the Iranian Fighter Pilot Who Chased It,” Medium: Trail of the Saucers, September 4,
2022; Jason Charbonneau, “
Tehran UFO Incident, 1976: Iranian Fighter Jets Chase a UFO,” Think Anomalous; Graff 264–266; Powell,
Scientist, 17; Sigma 2 Technical Committee on UAP, “
2024 UAP News Summary, April–June,” Sentinel News, August 31, 2024; Clark IV 684–685; John Greenewald, “
The Vault Files: 1976 Iran Incident,” The Black Vault, July 29, 2025) September 19 — 1:00–2:00 a.m. A silvery, luminous circular object is seen flying southwest
to northwest (parallel to the coast) at an altitude of 3,200 feet in multiple locations in Morocco,
including Agadir, El Kelaa des Sraghna, Essaouira, Marrakesh, Casablanca, Rabat, Kenitra, Meknes,
and Fez. It gives off an intermittent trail and is completely silent. The US Embassy in Rabat forwards
a summary to the US State Department, asking for more information. A reply comes in October from
Secretary of State
Henry Kissinger, who cites the Condon study and natural causes, although he rules out meteors and
reflections from a polar-orbiting satellite. (ClearIntent,
pp. 86–88; Clark III 773–774; Clark IV 854–855) September 19 — A TAP Air Portugal Boeing 707 nearly collides with a UFO shortly after takeoff
at Lisbon, Portugal. The oval object is glowing blue with a horizontal row of red and white lights. It
is also seen by an air traffic controller who says that the object does not show up on radar. (“
[Aerial Emergency in Lisbon Due to a ‘Flying Disc’]” La Crónica (Buenos Aires, Argentina), September
23, 1976, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 91/92 (Nov./Dec. 1976): 31–32; Good Above,
p. 154) September 22 — 10:30 p.m. A 10-year-old-boy in Regal, Minnesota, sees a 3.5-foot-tall creature
with a large bald head, large red eyes, and green skin floating outside his bedroom window. A couple minutes
later, the creature floats down to a cube-shaped craft, which he enters. (“
Case 1-1-27,” IUR 1, no. 1 (November 1976): 5) September 24 — 2:30 a.m. A conservation officer and his wife watch a dark object fly over Lake
Red Rock near Otley, Iowa. It moves noiselessly at 40 mph and about 600 feet altitude. Binoculars reveal
a blinking red light flanked by pairs of amber lights. (“
Case 1-1-35,” IUR 1, no. 1 (November 1976): 5) September 25 — Night. Vera White and three others traveling by car between farms in the Karawinna
area to the west of Mildura, Victoria, Australia, notice a strange object on the ground in a paddock. It
takes off vertically and hovers silently for about 5 minutes. They return to the site in the daytime and
find a circle of flattened, discolored grass about 30 feet in diameter. (Melbourne Sun, September 29, 1976; “
Flashing Lights, Ground Traces in the North West,” Australian UFO Bulletin, November 1976, pp. 1–2; “
Australian UFO Reports,” ACOS Bulletin, no. 8, December 1976, p. 15; “
Foreign Forum,” IUR 1, no. 2 (December 1976): 10; “
Tests on Karawinna Samples Negative,” Australian UFO Bulletin, November 1977, pp. 2–3) Autumn —2:00 a.m. Missile Combat Crew Commander Bruce Fenstermacher is on alert duty at one
of the underground launch capsules at Francis E. Warren AFB near Cheyenne, Wyoming, with another crewman,
when the officer-in-charge at the launch facility asks two security guards to report anything that seems
unusual. A few seconds later, one of them reports seeing a pulsating white object in the sky. He can see
flashing red and blue lights between the pulsations. It is about 10 miles north of their position and close
to the launch control facility itself. The UFO is hovering about 100 feet above the building and looks like
a “fat cigar” about 50–60 feet long. It begins to move away but stops close to one of the missile silos.
Over the next 2 hours or so, the UFO hovers near several more missile silos. The security guards are terrified
and refuse to approach any missile site that has the UFO over it. Sometime around 4:30 a.m., the object zooms
away and disappears in seconds. (Nukes 340–343) October — George J. Myers and his wife are traveling 3 miles southeast of Winnebago, Nebraska,
on US Highway 73 [now US 75] when they notice a large patch of cornfield with no corn growing. It is on
sloping ground and in the shape of a perfect circle 100 feet in diameter. They learn from local farmers
that it had appeared earlier in the year while the corn was still quite short, killing off growth later
in the summer. A light “like lightning” was seen shortly before the damaged area was noticed. Myers takes
photographs of the circle and soil samples, which are later taken to the University of Nebraska and show
evidence of a chemical spill. (“
Large Circular Physical Trace: Is It Common?” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 3, no. 5 (Oct./Nov. 1982): 1; “
Large Physical Trace Identified,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 4, no. 1 (Feb./March 1983): 3–4) October 12 — 7:30 p.m. Multiple independent witnesses in Sonora, California, are drawn
outside by a loud noise like “six jets.” They see a large red oblong UFO hovering with a wobbling
motion. After 5 minutes, the UFO shoots upward and disappears. The next day, angel hair strands are
found and sent to David Miletich at the University of Chicago. They are found to be “whitish, fibrous
material of uniform composition being quite fine with frequent branching.” The primary constituents are
carbon and nitrogen, but it is not spider web. A sample tested at the Michael Reese Hospital Microbiology
Lab shows it to be contaminated with a low level of radioactive tritium. (“
Angel Hair: Under Analysis,” IUR 2, no. 8 (August 1977): 4, 8; “
Angel-Hair Analysis Complete,” IUR 3, no. 3 (March 1978): insert; Brian Boldman, “
Angel Hair Physical Analyses: A Review,” JUFOS 9 (2006): 106–107) October 17 - 10:40 a.m. Masaki Machida, a TV reporter for the Akita Broadcasting Company,
is at Akita Airport in Akita Prefecture, Japan, when he sees a golden disc with white lights descending
in the east. Kenichi Waga, telecommunications officer in the control tower, warns all pilots to watch
out for the UFO, saying it is "larger than a car, but smaller than an airplane." Capt. Masara Saito,
34, Toa Airlines [now Japan Air System] pilot, is preparing to take off when he notices "a strange
looking disc-shaped object 5,000 feet from the ground." Tazawa Takumi, air traffic controller on duty,
who observes the object through binoculars, says it looks like "two plates placed together, with the
top one inverted." After 5 minutes, the object flies away to the west. (NICAP, "
Disc Hovers near Japanese Airport"; Margaret Sachs, UFO Encyclopedia, Putnam, 1980,
p. 10; Bob Gribble, "
Looking Back," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 282 (October 1991): 22, 26; UFOEv II 134) October 19 — An object like a silver, luminous mercury lamp is seen over Paso de Los Toros,
Durazno, Uruguay. The UFO allegedly causes the deformation of a metal refrigerator, the discharge of
three car batteries, and the bursting of a refreshment bottle. (“
Foreign Forum,” IUR 2, no. 3 (March 1977): 2) October 19 — 9:35 p.m. A group of people at the southwest end of Lake Harriet in Minneapolis,
Minnesota, watch a yellow cone of light with a row of windows at the bottom hover below the cloud cover
for 2 minutes, disappear, and reappear in a new location. This repeats 4–5 times before the object shoots
up into the clouds. (“
Case 1-2-20,” IUR 1, no. 2 (December 1976): 11) October 22 — 1:20 a.m. Paul Thompson is driving home from his job on Interstate 494 where the
highway turns to the northeast in Woodbury, Minnesota. He sees yellow and red lights about 2 miles ahead
on the north side of the road. As he moves closer, he finds that the lights are actually two objects
suspended in the air above a marshy area behind some woods about 300–400 feet north of the interstate.
They are soft rounded triangles with red glows at the tip of the triangle and yellow pulsating lights
protruding from the blunter ends. The objects are apparently metallic, about 20–25 feet in their longer
dimension, and hover without making a sound. Thompson gets out of his car to watch. A truck approaches
and one object rises vertically and zooms away. As the truck is abreast of his position, the second object
ascends and flies directly over them. A CUFOS investigator examines the marshy area two days later and finds
an oblong area, 40 feet by 20 feet, devoid of cattails and heavy grass. Inside the oblong is a smaller,
irregular area where he finds exposed soil is and a few round holes the size of a quarter. He takes soil
samples, which are sent to University of Kansas geologist
Edward J. Zeller for thermoluminescence testing. The soil from the site center shows essentially no
thermoluminescence, indicating it had been subjected to strong heat. (
CUFOS case file) Late October — 7:30 p.m. Four physicians and a diplomat in an undeveloped region of Algeria
south of Algiers watch a bright oval light on the horizon heading toward them. The object casts a faint
beam downward, sweeping the ground, as it darts around the sky silently. It is bright when in motion,
but faint when it stops. After an hour it fades, leaving a glowing space in the dark sky. (“
Foreign Forum,” IUR 2, no. 4 (April 1977): 2) October 23 — 4:00 p.m. Three men—Nicholas Flaskas, Frank Zonaras, and Bill Zonaras—waiting
to film a solar eclipse at Taola Point in Ben Boyd National Park, New South Wales, notice two unusual
objects on the horizon close to the ocean. The UFOs alternately move toward and away from them. The men
take both motion picture and still photos, showing one bell-shaped object and another discoid in shape.
They turn their attention to the eclipse and when it is over, the objects are gone. (David Reneke, “
The Benboyd UFO Movie: History and Evaluation,” UFO Research Australia 1, no. 2 (March/April 1980):
19–23; Keith Basterfield, Vladimir Godic, and Pony Godic, “
Australian Ufology: A Review,” JUFOS 2 (1990): 31) October 24 — 10:30 p.m. Romeo Lucarelli is driving home from Hestroff to Hobling, Moselle,
rance, with his granddaughter when he spots two lights in the fields on a hill. Initially mistaking
them for a stationary vehicle, he realizes they are coming from a craft hovering about 328 feet
above the ground. The object, shaped like two connected spheres with a rectangular structure, has
numerous colored lights. It begins to follow his car. Lucarelli sees two figures through a large
window on the object, one with a long beard and dark brown hair. As he speeds up to escape, the
object follows closely, eventually blocking his path before veering off when he makes a sudden
turn toward his home. The craft hovers above his garage for a moment before moving away, leaving
behind distinct traces on the ground in the shape of two double circles. On October 25, traces of
the landing site remain visible. Local press coverage and a police investigation follow, but no
electrical anomalies or outages are reported. The gendarmerie considers that the traces are from a
tractor, though this is disputed by investigators who note the unusual geometric nature of the marks
and their persistence over time. (“
Quand les extra-terrestres frappent aux volets,” Insolite, October 10, 1976, via Ufologia, no. 7
(Jan./Mar. 1977): 22; Gilles Bretelle and Bernard Wagner, “
En Moselle: Entre Herstroff et Hobling,” Lumières dans la Nuit, no. 169 (November 1977): 25–26;
Bernard Wagner and Gilles Bretelle, “
En Moselle,” Lumières dans la Nuit, no. 171 (January 1978): 23–24; “
Hestroff-Hobling (57), 24 Octobre 1976, 22h30,” Ufologia, no. 16 (Jan./Mar. 1979): 25–26; “
Dossier OVNI: I. Rencontre du 3 e type avec les ‘ufologues’ forbachois,” Le Républican Lorrain
(Metz), October 31, 1979, via Ufologia, no. 21 (Jan./Mar. 1980): 25; “
Hestroff–Hobling (57) 24 Octobre 76,” Hypothèses Extraterrestres,
no. 13 (January 1980): 8–9) November — Dominique Delille founds Groupe d’Études du Phénomène OVNI in Saint-Symphorien-de-Lay,
Loire, France. It publishes a quarterly newsletter, Siècle Inconnu, which continues under the names GEPO
Informations and OVNI et Cie through 1983. (
INFO OVNI, no. 1 (November 1976)) November 4 — 8:30 p.m. A married couple in Martinsburg, Ohio, see two irregularly shaped objects,
rounded on the bottom, hovering low near their car. One descends, flying over some woods, while the other is
seen above the telephone wires by the road. Both have a red light on top, a whiter flashing light on the
bottom, and a revolving red light. Around 9:30 p.m., three similar objects are seen by a woman 4 miles away,
slowly changing formation for 5 minutes in the east. (“
Case 1-2-62,” IUR 1, no. 2 (December 1976): 11) November 5 — 8:08 p.m. A young woman is watching television at her home in Rives, Isère,
France. She sees a bright light outside and calls her father. From their balcony they watch an intense
white light speed across the sky from northwest to southeast and disappear in the mountains. The father
thinks the light is spinning. At the same time a French physicist is driving 7 miles away near Voreppe.
He sees a luminous disc brighter than the full moon and stops his car to watch it. The object is white
in the center, bluish-white at the periphery, and is surrounded by an intense green halo. It is moving
silently southeast but stops for a few seconds before moving off 30° from its previous course at a much
greater speed. It passes in front of the Massif du Taillefer before it disappears behind Mont Néron. The
sighting lasts 20–25 seconds. (Jacques Vallée, “
Estimates of Power Optical Output in Six Cases of Unexplained Aerial Objects with Defined Luminosity
Characteristics,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 12, no. 3 (1998): 352–354) November 8 — 8:45 p.m. Two 14-year-old girls in the northern part of Belmont, North Carolina,
see a round gray object about 20–30 feet in diameter “on edge.” It hovers several hundred feet in the
air for 5 minutes, then moves east over the trees. It emits a beeping noise and is covered in flashing
white lights and red steady lights. More than 100 people report seeing UFOs in nearby Gastonia on November
10. (“
106 People ‘Saw UFOs,’” Gastonia (N.C.) Gazette, November 11, 1976, p. 11; “
Case 1-2-75,” IUR 1, no. 2 (December 1976): 11) November 10 — 8:20 p.m. A teenage girl driving alone near Putnam, Connecticut, passes underneath
two dark metallic objects about 50 feet in diameter, one flying at an angle behind the other. Both objects
have a red light in front, two on the sides, and a blue light in the back, all blinking. One banks slightly
before it goes out of view, revealing a row of illuminated windows around the circular edge and a smaller
circle like a “hatch” underneath. (“
Case 1-2-79,” IUR 1, no. 2 (December 1976): 11) November 14 — 9:00 p.m. Joyce Bowles and Ted Pratt are driving down the A272 near Winchester,
England, when their car starts to jolt and shake and then veers off the road into a grass verge by the
roadside. The car is subject to electrical interference as the engine roars, and the lights seem to
shine brighter than usual. They spot what appears to be an orange, cigar-shaped craft, 15 feet in length,
with three entities behind a window. As they watch, a bearded humanoid wearing a silver suit comes out of
the object, walks to the car, and looks in on the witnesses. He then disappears and the couple are able to
drive off. (Leslie Harris, “
UFO and Silver-Suited Entity Seen near Winchester,” Flying Saucer Review 22, no. 5 (February 1977):
3–6; Richard Nash, “
UFO and Occupants Reported near Winchester,” Flying Saucer Review 22, no. 5 (February 1977): 7–8;
Jenny Randles, “
Questions and Comments on the Nash Interview,” Flying Saucer Review 22, no. 5 (February 1977): 8;
Frank J. Wood, “
Alleged CE-III at Winchester: Vehicle Examination,” Flying Saucer Review 22, no. 5 (February 1977):
9–14; Lionel Beer, “
The Winchester Encounters,” BUFORA Journal 5, no. 6 (March/April 1977): 10–15; Good Above,
pp. 70–71) November 15 — 1:15 a.m. Six distant objects with brilliant white lights are seen performing
unusual patterns in the sky at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. They seem to have a metallic texture and make an
intermittent sound like a “belt sander on metal.” (“
Case 2-1-1,” IUR 2, no. 1 (January 1977): 5) November 19 - 7:15 p.m. Witnesses from aircraft and ships around the Canary Islands watch a point
of light climbing into the sky in a spiral motion, expanding to a diameter 3-4 times that of the moon.
It has a semicircular shape and gives the impression that it is resting on the horizon. Among the
witnesses are Gen. Carlos Dolz de Espejo, chief of staff of the Canary Islands Air Zone, and the
crew of the Spanish Navy school ship
Juan Sebastian Elcano. Maj. Antonio Munáiz Ferro-Sastre again investigates, concluding that it
was a "craft of unknown origin endowed with an unknown propulsion energy." The time correlates with
four Poseidon missile launches by the submarine
USS Alexander Hamilton. (Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos
and Ricardo Campo Pérez, "
Navy Missile Tests and the Canary Islands UFOs," IUR 29,
no. 4 (July 2005): 4-5) November 19 — 8:00 p.m. Three women watch a large yellow-orange light slowly and silently
meander 150 feet above a church in St. Peter, Minnesota. They drive to a police station, where officers
also see the now distant light head from west to east. (“
Case 2-1-16,” IUR 2, no. 1 (January 1977): 5) November 23 — 3:30 a.m. A lounge owner and an employee are frightened when an object 3 times
the size of a helicopter flies over their car from the south in Kenner, Louisiana. It has flashing red,
green, and white lights. The object hovers above some trees in the distance for 2 minutes, then heads
slowly east toward Moisant Airport [now Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport]. (“
Case 2-1-25,” IUR 2, no. 1 (January 1977): 5) November 24 — 10:30 p.m. An Indiana Gas serviceman sees a 12-foot white cone of light with
sparklers at its base diminish to a blinding point source alongside his pickup truck outside New Albany,
Indiana. It follows him from the Kentucky border and moves silently ahead into the eastern sky when he
reaches town. Other witnesses see it as a distant point of light; when they leave, the object rushes
back over the serviceman’s house and disappears into the northwest. (“
Case 2-1-27,” IUR 2, no. 1 (January 1977): 5) November 25 — 9:00 p.m. A couple in Beecher, Illinois, watch an oblong, glowing, orange
object 45° in the western sky for 5–6 minutes. Holding stationary, the object diminishes to a point
source and returns to its original shape, larger than the moon. (“
Case 2-1-29,” IUR 2, no. 1 (January 1977): 5) Early December — Afternoon. Eero Lammi is on his way home from school in Oulu, Finland,
when he sees a 15-foot ball of light move across toward him from across the Gulf of Bothnia and
land in a nearby field. When he approaches it, the object shoots out a beam of light that hits him
in the chest. He feels a searing pain and blacks out. His parents think it is a prank until a doctor
finds slight burns on his chest and back. The case is investigated by the Swedish Military High Command. (“
Foreign Forum,” IUR 2, no. 2 (February 1977): 2) December 5 — 2:30 p.m. Several witnesses at Sollefteå, Västernorrland, Sweden, observe an
elongated object (an estimated 148 feet long) with round openings along the fuselage. A blue-green
light is shining from the openings, a red light at the front, and a diffuse orange glow from the
underside. The object hovers above a military base built into the mountainside at an elevation of
about 165 feet. After a while, the object moves on and hovers above a nearby power station. Then it
moves jerkily sideways, jumping rapidly between different positions. After hovering for 15 minutes,
it tilts up and rapidly speeds upwards and out of sight, disappearing at 3:30 p.m. (“
Foreign Forum,” IUR 2, no. 4 (April 1977): 2) December 14 — 2:00 a.m. Panoramic radar at an air force base at Contrexéville, Vosges, France,
picks up unknown targets at 2:00 a.m., 3:00 a.m., and 3:30 a.m. Seven air traffic controllers are the
witnesses. The radar paints the targets as 10–15 miles apart every 10 seconds, meaning their speed is
estimated at 4,200–6,200 mph, a supersonic speed of Mach 5 to 8, at an altitude of 6.5 miles. (Claude Poher, “
A Case of Radar Detection of UFOs in France,” IUR 29, no. 3 (Fall 2004): 13–14, 27) December 15 - 7:00 a.m. Arnold Barker is driving south on Alberta Highway 46 [now Highway
63] nearly 3 miles south of Boyle, Alberta, when he sees two bright flashing lights flying west to
east. As the object passes overhead, he realizes it is not an airplane. He jumps out of his truck to
get a better look and sees that the lights are now red, zigzagging, and attached to each other by a
faint connection. The object appears to be landing silently in a field to the east of the road, but
it stops about 6-10 feet from the ground and 100-150 feet away. Barker takes a few steps toward it,
but it takes off and moves north. He gets in his truck again to turn around and the object follows
him, again as a white light. He speeds up to 75 mph and outdistances it. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada's
UFOs: Declassified, August North, pp. 185-187) December 15 - 9:20 p.m. A driver in Holland, Massachusetts, sees a cigar-shaped object
twice the width of the moon hovering low in the east about 500 feet away. Human-like forms are
visible through a row of windows on the side. It disappears in a bright red flash. ("
Case 2-2-1," IUR 2, no. 2 (February 1977): 5) December 16 — 12:15 p.m. Michael Winterborne, meteorological officer for the Kalgoorlie Airport
in Western Australia, sees a white, football-shaped object, glowing and pulsating with fuzzy edges, rush
from the northeast horizon to the northwest horizon at great speed. At 2:45 p.m., he sees it again, arching
overhead toward the west. Both incidents are timed by stopwatch at 12 seconds. Dave Bower, at the Scotia
nickel mine about 50 miles to the north, sees a UFO drifting slowly westward at about 1,000 feet altitude. (“
UFOs Riddle in Kalgoorlie Sky,” Perth (W.A.) Sunday Times, December 19, 1976, via UFO Newsclipping
Service, no. 94/95 (Feb./Mar. 1977): 31; “
Foreign Forum,” IUR 2, no. 3 (March 1977): 2) December 18 — 12:55 a.m. On Wood Canyon Road east of Soda Springs, Idaho, police officer
Dennis Abrams has a close encounter with a 30-foot diameter, oval-shaped UFO. It lacks any seams or
windows and has the bulk of three or four cars. It emits a light-green light and hovers only 60 feet
away at treetop level for 3 minutes. It makes no sound when hovering but makes a whistling “wind” sound
when it drifts off to the northwest in 15 seconds. After Abrams reports the incident on his police radio,
another officer located 10 miles west of Soda Springs watches a fluorescent orange-pink light near the
ground; after hovering for 10 minutes, it heads to the north, climbs, and clears the top of the foothills
in seconds. (“
CE-I Seen by Independent Policemen in Idaho,” IUR 2, no. 2 (February 1977): 6–7; UFO History Group, “
Soda Springs, Idaho, December 18, 1976: CE1”) December 18 — A Flugfélag Íslands [now Air Iceland Connect] airliner in flight from Akureyi
to Reykjavik, Iceland, picks up a clear radar target at 18,000 feet over the Mælifell volcano. It
tracks the object for one minute as it rushes 2 miles below the aircraft at 3,600 mph. The object is
not seen visually. (“
Foreign Forum,” IUR 2, no. 3 (March 1977): 2) December 18 — 5:20 p.m. Several children in Newfolden, Minnesota, see an object speeding
across the sky then stopping. It has 6–9 orange and white lights flashing on and off around the
perimeter. (“
Case 2-2-9,” IUR 2, no. 2 (February 1977): 5) December 18 — 8:30 p.m. A group of witnesses see a red-orange oval light pass overhead in Miami,
Florida, about 250 feet up. It turns west in a smooth, even motion. (“
Case 2-2-12,” IUR 2, no. 2 (February 1977): 5) December 19 — 6:20 p.m. A witness in Concord, California, sees a silent, star-like light moving
northward in an erratic fashion: zigzagging, up and down, in circles, backing up, speeding up for 1 minute.
Then it speeds up and moves downward in a curve, zooming out of sight in 1 second. (“
Case 2-2-13,” IUR 2, no. 2 (February 1977): 5) December 19 — Night. Neil Brennan and Dean Gibbs step outside when they hear a whirring noise
near Aquinas College, Salter Point, Western Australia. Brennan sees a bright disc, two feet in diameter,
hovering 30 feet in the air behind his house. It then disappears toward the west. (Perth (W.A.) News,
December 20, 1976; “
Man Sees ‘Disc’ in Night Sky,” Australian UFO Bulletin, February 1977, p. 5; “
Foreign Forum,” IUR 2, no. 2 (February 1977): 2) December 29 — Mr. and Mrs. Chapin, who had the previous experience in October 1969,
again notice that their mine site near Redding, California, is unseasonably warm. Chapin walks
carefully down toward the creek as his wife remains in the car. When he shouts and tells her to
bring the gun, she observes a similar object to the one they had seen seven years earlier, except
more pock-marked on the surface, some 175–200 feet away from Mr. Chapin. It moves rapidly in the air
and zaps both of them, knocking them to the ground. Chapin hits his head against the canyon wall and
his wife falls to the road. They remain unconscious for about 15 minutes. (Glenn Hassenpflug, “
Redding Pair’s UFO Warning,” Redding (Calif.) Record Searchlight, August 2, 1977, p. 10; “
The Redding, California CE II Case,” IUR 3, no. 3 (March 1978): insert; Paul Cerny, “
The Redding, California, Mining Case,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 125 (April 1978): 6–10; Jacques
Vallée, Confrontations, Ballantine, 1990,
pp. 183–188)
J. Allen Hynek publishes The Hynek UFO Report as a review of and commentary on Project Blue
Book records. It is largely ghostwritten by Elaine M. Hendry,
Allan Hendry’s wife and a graduate student in astronomy at Northwestern University. (J.
Allen Hynek,
The Hynek UFO Report, Dell, 1977; Clark III 620; Clark IV 680) The Colares Incident (1977) – The “Chupa-Chupa” Attacks in Colares Island, Pará state.
Between 1977 and 1978, residents of Colares reported being attacked by strange flying objects
that emitted beams of light. These lights reportedly caused burns, puncture wounds, and even
unconsciousness in some victims. A local doctor, Dr. Wellaide Carvalho, treated dozens of patients
and reported unusual injuries. The Brazilian Air Force launched "Operação Prato" (Operation Saucer)
to investigate. Military personnel photographed and videotaped UFOs over the area. The operation was
shut down quickly, and files were classified for years. Some documents were released in 2004,
confirming much of what UFO researchers had long claimed. An Australian soldier is traveling on the Nullarbor Plain in South Australia when he and
a companion, an American soldier, watch the descent of a purple-green fireball. They drive to
the impact site and see a crashed UFO. The Australian goes inside and sees two aliens, one dead
and the other making a squealing sound. They are about 5 feet tall and pot-bellied, with long,
thin arms and large, black eyes. When he comes out again, he finds that military personnel have
arrived. They arrest him and his friend and keep him in custody for two weeks. (Bill Chalker, “
UFO Crash/Retrieval Stories: The Australian Experience,” 1998; Clark III 345; Clark 381) Maj. Gen. Hideki Komura, an adviser to Japan’s Cabinet Research Office, admits that UFO
investigations are carried out at a top level. He says that in the 1950s, the Japan Air Self-
Defense Force encouraged reports from the public, but they had too many reports to analyze. Now
he admits they cooperate closely with the US government’s Foreign Technology Division. (Good Above,
p. 431) January —
Alfred Webre joins the Center for the Study of Social Policy at the Stanford Research Institute [now SRI
International] in Menlo Park, California, as a senior policy analyst. He intends to develop an “extraterrestrial
communication” project with White House backing. He plans to establish a comprehensive UFO database, hire
scientific advisers to evaluate the data, and issue policy recommendations, including one to end military and
intelligence secrecy. He is referred to an unnamed female staff member of the White House Domestic Policy
Staff, who is supportive of his proposal. He is promised approval of his proposal, but never hears back from the
White House again. The request is terminated in September. (Steven M. Greer,
Disclosure: Military and Government Witnesses Reveal the Greatest Secrets in Modern History, Crossing Point,
2001, pp. 441–446; Dolan II 142) January 1 - 8:00 p.m. François Perez and his wife are chased in their car by a 33-foot long oval object
in Valence, Drôme, France. They retrace their route one hour later after telling police. They see the oval object
again, about 1,200 feet from them in a field. It appears to be 90-120 feet in diameter and surrounded by a halo
of white light. After 10 minutes, the object begins flashing and rises up into the air at a 45° angle. They
complain of eye pain and conjunctivitis for 48 hours afterward, and Perez's watch stops working. ("
French Couple Report Being Chased by `Big Glowing Star,'" Los Angeles Times, January 9, 1977, p. 28; "
Foreign Forum," IUR 2, no. 2 (February 1977): 2) January 6 — 1:15 a.m. Florida Malboeuf is sitting at her window at 6420 Casgrain Avenue in Montreal,
Quebec, when she sees an oyster-shaped, flat-bottomed metallic object with a row of white lights around its base.
It flies in from the north and lands on the rooftop of a three-story apartment building across the street from
her only 60 feet away. Immediately two figures appear on the roof; they are over six feet tall and thin, with
long arms. They are wearing white one-piece uniforms with their heads covered with tight “bath helmets.” They
stand looking at the street, then at the sky, then they apparently return to the object. A moment later they
disappear, and the UFO rises from the roof about 20 feet and flies off to the east. Her son André goes over to
the rooftop in question and finds a large, elliptical-shaped crust of ice, about 18 feet in diameter, on top of
the snow. He also finds four small footprints only 6.5 inches long. (Marc Leduc and Wido Hoville, “
Un UFO sur une maison,” UFO-Quebec, no. 9 (1977): 6–10; “
News Flashes,” The UFO Pulse Analyzer, no. 2 (May 1977): cover,
15, 16–17; Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979,
pp. 62–66) January 10 — 12:00 noon. Horse farmer
William McCarthy is looking out his window at the falling snow when he is surprised to see a hole in his
pond in the town of Wakefield, New Hampshire. The pond, 105 by 75 feet, was frozen solid just the day before.
He goes outside for a closer look. The hole is perfectly round and cuts smoothly through 14 inches of ice.
Eight inches of slush surrounds the hole. Peering into the hole, McCarthy sees something that looks like a
one-foot-square box. He races back to the house and brings family members over for a look. Then he goes to
the barn to pick up a rake, hoe, and pole. Back at the pond, McCarthy sees that the box has sunk three feet
into the muck at the bottom. Frustrated in his attempt to retrieve the object, he calls a friend, Bob
Palmer, who arrives around 2:30 p.m. Concerned that they might be dealing with radioactive satellite or
aircraft debris, Palmer notifies the police, who soon arrive in the company of a local Civil Defense
representative. The Geiger counter indicates a reading alarmingly above normal (3 roentgens per hour versus
normal background radiation of .001 roentgen). The McCarthys are warned to stay away from the water, and the
CD man and the police leave to inform their superiors. By 4:00 p.m. the circle of slush has expanded to 10
feet. When McCarthy observes the pond in the morning, he discovers a second hole, this one about 50 feet from
the original. Not long afterwards, someone from the attorney general’s office warns McCarthy not to let his
animals drink from the pond; he reappears later in the day to express concern about possible water seepage. He
also directs McCarthy and his family not to discuss the affair with anyone else until the official investigation
is completed. The next day the pond is frozen over again. Disregarding warnings, McCarthy walks out on it and
looks down through the clear ice where the hole has been and to the pool bottom. A fresh 6-inch-wide trench
stretches from beneath the first hole all the way to the second. To all appearances, the object that entered via
the former has left via the latter. State police escort all but the officially connected off the farm. Investigators
try unsuccessfully to drain the pond, then see a 6-by-3-foot opening where the original hole had been. Distant
observers think they see the searchers retrieve a black object and place it inside a van, which quickly leaves
the area. By the end of the day, a statement from the governor’s office declares that more sophisticated equipment
has found no abnormal radioactivity in the pond and the surrounding area. The black object, the authorities contend,
is a container filled with soil and stone samples collected for analysis. (“
What’s Going On? N.H. Pond Mystery Called False Report,” Boston (Mass.) Globe, January 14, 1977, p. 3; “
NH Natives ‘Saw’ Mystery Object, State Officials ay They Didn’t,” Boston (Mass.) Herald American, January 14. 1977;
Allan Hendry, “
The Wakefield Incident: Telling a UFO from a Hole in the Ground,” IUR 2, no. 2 (February 1977): 8; “
Wakefield Wrap-Up,” IUR 2, no. 2 (February 1977): insert; Curt Sutherly, “The Inside Story of the New
Hampshire UFO Crash,” UFO Report 4, no. 3 (July 1977): 22–23, 60–64; Clark III 1233–1234; Clark IV 1413–1414) January 10 — 4:00 p.m. A driver stopped at an intersection in Biloxi, Mississippi, watches a disc on
edge descend at an 80° angle, growing larger. When it reaches treetop level, it banks in a curve into the trees.
As it leaves, it presents a round face as large as the full moon. (“
Case 2-2-48,” IUR 2, no. 2 (February 1977): 5) January 11 —The crew of an Indian Air Force jet transport is flying 42 miles west of Varanasi, India,
when it encounters three luminescent discs that fly past, circle once, then continue east. Apparently, thousands
see the objects from the ground over a period of 45 minutes. (Good Need,
p. 303) January 13 — 12:30 a.m. A driver is paced by a UFO shaped like a flattened football with a dark equator
in Plantation, Florida. The noiseless object is glowing with a steady white light underneath. It moves erratically
in front of the car, and turns a corner as she pulls into her home. As she jumps out, she sees a second object join
it in the northeast, and both speed toward the east in 5–6 seconds. (“
Case 2-2-52,” IUR 2, no. 2 (February 1977): insert. January 15 — 8:15 p.m. An unusually bright light is seen bobbing up and down low in the southern
sky of Charleston, Oregon, for 30 minutes. It gradually drops below the horizon. (“
Case 2-3-2,” IUR 2, no. 3 (March 1977): 5) Mid-January — 3:00 a.m. Eino Maki is out grooming the ski slopes at the Briar Mountain Lodge
near Norway, Michigan. He notices that a nocturnal light UFO (seen frequently in the area since November
1976) is keeping pace with him as he moves up and down the slopes, edging closer. At first it is about 2
miles away at treetop level; now he can see red lights on the object. A bit unnerved, Maki goes back to the
lodge and positions himself behind it. The light moves out of sight, and Maki goes back to work about 15 minutes
later. Soon the light returns and it is below him on the same ski run, shining brightly. He decides to go home in
his pickup truck. One week later, around 11:00 p.m., the same thing starts happening again, but Maki decides to
run home right away. (Kenneth Schellhase, “
UFOs on the Ski Slopes of Northern Michigan,” IUR 7, no. 2 (March 1982): 10) January 17 — 1:35 a.m. San José, Costa Rica, police officer Elias Sibaja and another officer are on
patrol in the Desamparados district when a large luminous object emitting multicolored beams of light approaches
the police car and hovers above it. The engine and headlights of the police cruiser go out. After a few seconds,
the object moves away to the west and slowly disappears. The lights come back on and Sibaja is able to restart
the vehicle. (“
Costa Rica: Squad Car Paralyzed by a ‘Flying Saucer,’” Inexplicata: The Journal of Hispanic Ufology, December
5, 2023) January 21 — 3:15 p.m. An observer in Aspen, Colorado, watches a stationary object for more than an hour.
Through binoculars it looks like a 3:1 rectangle with rounded corners of blue-green light. It fades from view in the
same position. (“
Case 2-3-12,” IUR 2, no. 3 (March 1977): 5) January 21 — 4:45 p.m. Three female factory workers in Bridlington, Yorkshire, England, are walking
to work on Bessingby Way when they see a hazy oval object hovering above the Britax PMG factory roof just
before it begins moving to the right and stopping again. Almost immediately they spot another hazy object
hovering above the adjacent K. B. Dixon woodyard. It begins moving forward at a slow pace then stops above a
ventilation pipe in the Dixon factory wall. As it hovers the haze disappears, and the object’s features become
more distinct. It is larger than a double-decker bus and shaped like a rugby ball. All three are able to see
through a row of windows on the side that reveal a corridor inside. On one end is a tube-like structure or pole.
Soon it moves over some community gardens and hovers briefly at about 6 feet altitude, lowers its “pole,” and
appears to suck up a polythene bag. Both objects now move off to the west. The sighting duration is 5–10 minutes.
The witnesses are terrified during the event, experiencing a cold sensation sweeping over them and a prickly irritation
in their eyes. They develop sore throats and colds. (Robert Morrell, “
UFOs over Bridlington Factories,” Flying Saucer Review 23, no.
3 (October 1977): 8–10, 21) January 21 — 8:45 p.m. Robert Melerine and Irwin Menesses are doing some hunting along a dike canal
about one mile northeast of Yscloskey, St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, one in a boat and the other walking along
the shore. Melerine sees a bright red light in the sky. Suddenly the light seems right around him as the boat
is engulfed in the glow, which extends to the surrounding landscape. There is no noise, and the light flies
away into the woods. Menesses is already back at camp and has not seen the light. They both get into the boat
and move down the dike canal, using the outboard motor. The light reappears and moves closer to them. Although
the motor is running the boat is not moving, seemingly held in place. Then the light quickly leaves and the
boat lurches forward with great force, causing both men to fall. The light again flies at low level into the
trees and continues on until they lose it. They estimate that the light is about 15–25 feet in diameter, roughly
circular, faceted, and strikingly fast when it moves toward them. Both men report nausea, stomach aches, and
fever for 2 days after the incident (it is flu season). (“Mysterious Hovering Light Observed by Yscloskey Men,”
St. Bernard (La.) News, January 26, 1977; “Mysterious Hovering Light Still a Mystery,” St. Bernard (La.) News,
February 9, 1977; Ted Peters, “
Warm Light Stops Everything!” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 111 (February 1977): 3–6; Richard H. Hall, Uninvited
Guests, Aurora, 1988,
pp. 54–55,
289–290; UFOEv II 222) January 21 — Night. Capt. Gustavo Ferreira and the crew of Avianca flight HK-1273 see an extremely
bright white light in front of his plane. They are 7 minutes out of the El Dorado Airport in Bogotá, Colombia,
westbound at 20,000 feet. At the same time, airport radar operator Jorge Jimenez watches a target moving at
27,340 mph in a zigzag motion. Ferreira watches the light change color in response to his turning on his landing
lights and head south after 3 minutes. Jimenez sees the target cut 90° to the south at the same time. (“
Jet de Avianca hace contacto con Ovni,” El Tiempo (Bogotá, Colombia), February 18, 1977, pp. 1, 16-C; “
Foreign Forum,” IUR 2, no. 7 (July 1977): 2; Gordon Creighton, “
UFO Answers Signals over Colombia,” Flying Saucer Review 23, no. 2 (August 1977): 25–26; UFOEv II 135) Late January - 6:00 p.m. Richard Luxford is walking home from a friend's house on Willow
Street in Shoreditch, Hackney, London, when he spots a sphere in the sky-something he has
apparently seen two weeks earlier. After 10-15 seconds, the sphere blinks out. Now 50-60
feet from the end of the street, he notices a small figure crossing his path. The figure moves
from the pub on the corner of Willow and Paul Streets toward an old building on the left. It
is a yellow humanoid about 3 feet tall, appearing to leap across the opening. Its limbs remain
motionless, giving the impression of gliding, with its feet hovering approximately 8-9 inches
above the ground. The figure has very thin limbs, a peanut-shaped head, and is positioned with
its right leg forward, left leg back, left arm extended forward, and right arm to the rear. The
yellow hue comes from a glowing aura around the figure, about 12 inches across, while its main
body is dark. Its face, hands, and feet are indistinct. Feeling unnerved, Richard hurries home.
(Barry M. King, "
Humanoid in London EC2?" Flying Saucer Review 24,
no. 2 (August 1978): 27-30) January 26 — 10:30 p.m. Two boys, Neil and William Belmont, are in bed at their home in Anchorage,
Kentucky, while their mother Louise watches TV in a nearby bedroom, and their older brother Kelly watches TV
downstairs. Suddenly, the boys’ room becomes brilliantly illuminated from outside. Looking out their window,
they see a large, yellow object in the air beyond the nearby trees. It is so bright that it’s hard to look at,
and it appears twice as large as a house, with reddish and greenish edges and possibly a red light on top. The
object has a flattened underside, a domed top, and is either hovering or moving very slowly. Neil stands transfixed
at the window, while William screams for their mother. Louise sees the object hovering just above the treetops, at
an altitude of about 75–100 feet and approximately 300 feet from their house. The object moves slowly away, hovering
near the treetops about 1,000 feet to the south before suddenly disappearing. Throughout the event, the family’s dogs
bark continuously. Kelly doesn’t notice any effects on the TV at the time, but some disruptions are observed later.
(Burton Monroe, “
Another Kentucky Abduction,” APRO Bulletin 25, no. 7 (January
1977): 4–5; January 27 — 1:05 a.m. Lee Parrish, 19, is driving on State Highway 329 southeast of Prospect,
Kentucky, when he spots a rectangular, orange-red object coming down near his jeep. His radio fails 15
seconds into the sighting. He feels compelled to watch the object, which stays in the vicinity only a
short time. When he arrives home, he discovers that it has taken 45 minutes to complete a 7-minute trip.
Later under hypnosis, he relates being taken inside the object and examined by three strange creatures who
are shaped like machines (looking like a giant one-armed tombstone, a 7-foot teletype machine, and a man-
sized Coke machine). The electrical system on his jeep goes haywire the day after the abduction. (Carla
Ruckert, “
Another Kentucky Abduction,” APRO Bulletin 25, no. 7 (January
1977): 1, 3–4; “
Single Witness Abduction in Kentucky,” IUR 2, no. 4 (April 1977): 6–7; Carla L. Rueckert, “
Kentucky Close Encounter,” Flying Saucer Review 23, no. 3 (October
1977): 15–16, 19; UFOEv II 551–552) January 28 — 10:05 p.m. Students in Platteville, Wisconsin, watch an orange “fuzzy oval” object
larger than a full moon descend from a low angle above the southern horizon into distant trees. (“
Case 2-3-22,” IUR 2, no. 3 (March 1977): 5) January 29 — 9:30 p.m. A patrolman and an unnamed couple in East Haven, Connecticut, see a horizontal
row of 5–6 white lights, rotating left to right. The object hovers for 6 minutes, rises from 45° in the east to
80°, drops lower, executes left and right 90° turns, and fades low in the southern sky. (“
Case 2-3-23,” IUR 2, no. 3 (March 1977): 5) February — 10:30 p.m. A Danish serviceman is walking to his quarters at Naval Station Grønnedal [now
Kangilinnguit] in Greenland pauses to look at the Northern Lights. He retrieves a camera to take photos and
notices an elliptical dark object below the aurora. The object appears on only one of his time-exposure photos.
Possible altocumulus cloud. (Kim Møller Hansen, “
Elliptical Object over Greenland Naval Station,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 5, no. 3 (June/July 1984): 1) February — An Italian Air Force F-104 is followed for 23 minutes by a UFO that is brighter than the
moon. It remains about 2,400–2,700 feet behind the plane. The base authorizes him to intercept it, but when he
climbs to 12,000 feet, the UFO paces him then disappears. February 1 — 8:30 p.m. A police sergeant in Carthage, Missouri, sees a bright red light 45° in the
west. He drives “within a block” of the light and sees it as bigger than the full moon, perhaps 100–150 feet
in diameter, and hovering silently for 3–4 minutes. It moves at incredible speed away to the west. (“
Case 2-3-33,” IUR 2, no. 3 (March 1977): 8) February 1 — 9:05 p.m. Two helicopter pilots flying south at 60 mph near Glendale, California, watch
a northbound light pass beneath them and climb to their altitude at 2,000 feet and 300–500 feet away. It appears
to be a dark, vertical cylinder 10–15 feet high, 5–8 feet wide, and with struts and a light on the bottom. As
the helicopter circles, the object rises higher and heads southeast, disappearing in a second or two. (“
Case 2-3-35,” IUR 2, no. 3 (March 1977): 8) February 2 — Farmer Zbigniew Tuszewski finds a strange disc 1.6 feet in diameter and weighing 66
pounds in his field in Dalabuszki village, north of Gostyń, Poland. Concave on one side, flat on the other,
the find does not appear to be from a satellite. A spectroscopic analysis shows the presence of nickel,
cobalt, niobium, molybdenum, vanadium, and tellurium; however, another analysis shows no evidence of nickel. (“
Foreign Forum,” IUR 2, no. 9 (September 1977): 2) February 3 - 9:30 p.m. Several children at a youth camp at Seven Mile Beach, Tasmania, Australia,
observe a stationary, dome-shaped object hovering near the beach. The object then moves behind some trees,
partially obscuring it. On the dome is a row of windows through which at least two of the children can see a
thin humanoid figure with a round head. It seems to be moving back and forth behind the window. One child
describes the object as similar to two plates placed edge to edge, with flashing yellow white lights along
the edge and a red light on top of the dome. The object disappears from view behind the trees. ("
A Quiet Start to the Year," TUFOIC Newsletter, no. 23 (January
1978): 4-5; "
Sighting at Seven Mile Beach, Tasmania," Australian UFO Bulletin, May 1978, pp. 2-3) February 4 — 6:30 a.m. A woman and her daughter step outside their house in Senožeti, Slovenia,
and see a glowing orange ellipse about four times the size of the moon hovering about 10° above the forest.
It is silent and has 4–7 brighter spots on it. Walking along, they watch the object disappear and see a glow
arising from the woods as if there is a fire in a nearby village. They run to the spot but find nothing there. (“
UFO Spotted in Yugoslavia,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 116 (July 1977): 3–4, 18; “
Foreign Forum,” IUR 2, no. 9 (September 1977): 2) February 4 — Around 12:00 noon. Fifteen children, mostly 10-year-old boys, at Broad Haven Primary
School in Pembroke, Wales, are playing football when they see a silvery cigar-shaped UFO in a field behind
the building, partially hidden by trees and shrubs. Two in the group say it has a silver dome with a flashing
light at the top. Six of them claim to see a silver man with pointed ears next to the craft. The school’s
headteacher Ralph Llewellyn asks them to draw the UFO and is amazed at how similar the drawings are. Local UFO
enthusiast Randall Jones Pugh brings the story to the attention of the national media and soon sightings of UFOs
and alien occupants spring up within a 20-mile radius of Broad Haven, especially near RAF Brawdy [now Cawdor
Barracks], east of St. Davids. (Randall James Pugh, “
Broad Haven School Report,” Flying Saucer Review 23, no. 1 (June 1977): cover, 3–5; Peter Paget, The Welsh
Triangle, Granada, 1979; UFOFiles2,
pp. 94–95; “
Broad Haven UFO Sightings Marked 40 Years On,” BBC News, February 4, 2017; David Clarke, “Close Encounters
of the Playground Kind,” Fortean Times 357 (September 2017): 16–18; Peter Paget, The Welsh Triangle Revisited,
The author, 2018; Jackson Camargo, “
O caso de Broad Haven,” Fenomenum, August 1, 2024) February 6 — UFO researcher
Larry W. Bryant writes a letter to President
Jimmy Carter, suggesting that he look into the roles played by military and civilian intelligence agencies
in the UFO cover-up. He receives the standard USAF brush-off letter, saying that UFOs are no longer being
investigated. (Larry W. Bryant, UFO Politics at the White House, Invisible College, 2001) February 9 — 5:20 a.m. A high-altitude light is seen hovering for several minutes above Bondi, New South
Wales, Australia, before shooting off to the east. (“
Foreign Forum,” IUR 2, no. 5 (May 1977): 2) February 9 — 8:45 p.m. Deputy Sheriff Kenneth Creel and Constable James Luke are on patrol four miles west
of Flora, Mississippi, when they encounter a UFO about 30–40 feet in diameter that hovers 20–30 feet above them
for more than a minute. They see light coming out of little windows on the object, and it changes color from soft
blue to red to green and other colors. Highway Patrolman Louis Younger arrives and sees the same object. Suddenly it
takes off to the northwest. (“
Mississippians Observe UFO,” Gulfport (Miss.) Daily Herald, February 10, 1977, via UFO Newsclipping
Service, no. 94/95 (Feb./Mar. 1977): 24; “
UFO Spotting Focuses on Deputy Creel,” Madison County (Miss.) Herald, February 17, 1977, via UFO
Newsclipping Service, no. 96 (April 1977): 12; “
Case 2-3-48,” IUR 2, no. 3 (March 1977): 8; “
Close Encounter in Mississippi,” IUR 2, no 4 (April 1977): 7) February 10 — 12:45 a.m. Tom Thibault is alone on the road to Southville, Nova Scotia, when his car is
pushed back 250 feet by a 30-by-60 foot object hovering silently 10–12 feet above the road. A blue light emerges
from the object that creates an electric shock and an unbearable noise. Thibault suffers a memory loss and gets
headaches when he drives by the scene afterward. (“
What Was It?” Digby (N.S.) Courier, February 24, 1977; “
Foreign Forum,” IUR 2, no. 5 (May 1977): 2) February 11 — 8:40 p.m. Health service cook Slavka Gorsek and her two children see an intense beam
of light come through a bedroom window in their home in Gaberke, Slovenia. It illuminates the room briefly
then goes out. The light is coming from an egg-shaped object about 8–11 feet wide that has landed only about
50 feet away behind a chicken coop. It is bright white with a green or blue center. For 2–3 minutes they can
see and hear nothing, until the object flashes again and takes off. Three days later Gorsek notices a
“glimmering dust” at the landing site and the marks of five landing gear. An analysis is performed but with
ambiguous results. (Milos Krmelj, “
UFO Landing in Yugoslavia,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 118 (September 1977): 6–8) Mid-February — 10:30 p.m. Another nocturnal light mimics Eino Maki’s movements as he grooms the ski
slopes at Brian Mountain Lodge near Norway, Michigan. After going away once, it reappears right over him,
illuminating him and a large area around him. He races his tractor at top speed (15 mph), maneuvering under
struts and wires so it can’t get at him. Assistant Manager Jake Malone hears the tractor gearing up outside
and sees a huge brilliantly lit object the “size of a boxcar” following Maki up the slope. When he reaches the
top, the UFO hovers, silently bouncing up and down, about 500 feet from the lodge. Maki estimates the object is
about 60–80 feet long. Some 10–15 people exiting the lodge begin to see the display as well. (Kenneth Schellhase, “
UFOs on the Ski Slopes of Northern Michigan,” IUR 7, no. 2 (March 1982): 10–11) February 16 — Morning. Four boys and one adult at Penlee Secondary School in Plymouth, Devon, England,
independently see a cigar-shaped object flying horizontally above the school playground before it climbs into a
cloud and disappears. (David Clarke, “Close Encounters of the Playground Kind,” Fortean Times 357 (September
2017): 16) February 16 — Afternoon. Nine children, age 8–11, are playing netball with their teacher, Mair Williams,
at Rhosybol School in Anglesey, North Wales, when they see an object flying north. It has a black dome on top and
a silver, cigar-shaped base. It remains in sight for 3 minutes, goes behind the only cloud in the sky, reappears
for one minute, then disappears. The teacher takes them back inside, separates them, and tells them to draw what
they have seen. The sighting is reported to RAF Valley in Anglesey, which can offer no positive identification.
(David Clarke, “Close Encounters of the Playground Kind,” Fortean Times 357 (September 2017): 16) February 16 — 9:00 p.m. A commercial pilot standing outside his truck in Canton, Mississippi, watches a
cylindrical object about 40 feet long pass alongside him a few hundred feet away at 30 mph. It has one steady
white light in front and makes a noise like a wheezing turbine. It recedes into the west after 5 minutes. (“
Case 2-4-6,” IUR 2, no. 4 (April 1977): 5) February 16 — 9:15 p.m. A woman in Utica, Michigan, watches for 2 minutes a vertical cylinder of white
light that is pointed at the top. It is stationary, silent, shrouded in white haze, and about 10 times as long as
the full moon. (“
Case 2-4-7,” IUR 2, no. 4 (April 1977): 5) February 18 — 4:00 a.m. Rancher Angel Maria Tonna is herding cows to his milking shed near Salto,
Uruguay, when the generator-powered building lights suddenly go off. Tonna and his watchdog run to investigate
a bright light that appears at the east end of the barn. As the cows mill around wildly, dogs barking, Tonna
hears some unspecified noise and sees a hovering disc-shaped object like two plates facing each other. The
disc begins moving with a rocking motion, alternately moving and hovering, and at one point breaks off some
tree branches. Glowing bright orange, it moves toward Tonna, then stops about 20 feet above the ground next to
a water tank, its light illuminating the whole barnyard. The dog runs toward the object as if to attack it, but
it suddenly stops and sits down about 15 feet from the disc and begins howling. Tonna sees six beams of lightning-
like light, three on each side of the object and feels electric shock, intense heat, and paralysis. Finally the
object turns red and gradually accelerates out of sight. The generators resumes functioning, but without producing
electricity because the wires are burned out. Investigators find broken trees, circular markings on the ground—one
a 35-foot circle containing burned grass and three circular impressions arranged like a triangle within the circle.
Tonna experiences severe skin irritation on his right arm, the one he put up to shield his eyes. The dog stops
eating, becomes lethargic, and dies three days later on the spot where he had howled at the UFO. An autopsy by
a veterinarian finds strong evidence of extreme internal heating. (“
Dog Dies after UFO Incident,” APRO Bulletin 26, no. 2 (August 197): 1, 3; Mario Rodriguez, “
Severe Physiological Effects in Uruguay,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 125 (April 1978): 3–5; “
Uruguayan Dog-Zap,” Stigmata, no. 5 (Fall/Winter 1978): 20; UFOEv II 222–223; Pablo Villarubia Mausó, “
What Happened at La Aurora,” Inexplicata, no. 12 (Summer 2003): 13–17; Clark IV 1142–1143) February 20 — 10:15 p.m. A domed disc is seen for 1–2 minutes by a man and his son in Victorville,
California. It is silver in color with three windows, three legs or wheels, and two hooks at both ends. It
hovers above houses 3–4 blocks away, then recedes toward the northwest after attaching itself to the top of
a second object to form a sphere. (“
Case 2-4-15,” IUR 2, no. 4 (April 1977): 5) February 21 — 7:20 p.m. Dorothy Sanders and Trudy Clayton are driving northwest of Tucson (Ariz.)
High School when they notice a strange silver airplane moving in a jerky manner against the dark sky. The
object is completely smooth, without markings or lights, and has a cross shape with cylindrical wings matching
the fuselage. It continuously changes direction, descending from aircraft height to about twice the height
of telephone poles, flying back and forth across them. It appears the size of a small plane. When the women
turn off the car engine and roll down the window, they hear a very low whining sound. They drive for 15 minutes
but return to find the object still in the sky. After observing it for another 2–3 minutes, they leave again.
Upon reaching the Sanders’s house, they see the same or a similar object at a higher altitude. Dorothy’s niece,
Carolyn Howard, and another relative, David Howard, also witness it. Carolyn stays outside while the others go
in. Suddenly, the object dives toward the ground, its wings no longer visible, and appears larger than the nose
of a 747. Convinced it will crash, Carolyn tries to scream but cannot make a sound. At the last moment, the object
curves upward, and she panics, fleeing inside. (“
Occupant Case in Tucson,” APRO Bulletin 25, no. 8 (February 1977): 1, 7) February 22 — 9:30 p.m. Antonio Serena, his wife Francesca Castellanos, and their three children
are followed by a bright light for one hour and a distance of about 25 miles. The light is first spotted as
they are driving northwest of Llíria in Valencia province, Spain, and follows them through the town of Vilamarxant.
The car experiences some engine and light problems and does not seem to be able to accelerate. When they approach
the village of Cheste, the light seems to move ahead of them, get much closer, and extend some legs in preparation
for landing. One of the daughters gets sick from anxiety. The object moves away when a second auto approaches from
the opposite direction. Despite the seeming drama of the incident, the light seems to have been Venus and the
engine problems are due to a drained battery, as
Ian Ridpath points out. (W. Smith, M. Guasp, and V. J. Ballester Olmos, “
Automovil perseguido entre Villamarchante y Chiva (Valencia),” Stendek 9, no. 32 (June 1978): 18–22, 26; W.
Smith, M. Guasp, and V. J. Ballester Olmos, “
Dramatic Chase in Spain,” UFO Phenomena International Annual Review 3, no. 1 (1978/1979): 71–86; Story,
pp. 327–330; Ian Ridpath, “
A Spanish Close Encounter Re-examined,” Ian Ridpath’s UFO Skeptic Pages, January 2021) February 23 — 10:30 p.m. Four people, including three members of the Observer Corps, observe a
metallic gray disc about 50 feet in diameter hovering over a stone circle on Ilkley Moor in West Yorkshire,
England. They time the observation at three minutes and 41 seconds. The object is rumored to be detected on
radar. (“
Investigation Data,” Northern UFO News, no. 43 (December 1977): 4, 5) February 24 — 2:10 a.m. Restaurant manager Rudi Grutsch and railroad employee Lothar Schafler
hear a shrill noise at Langenargen on Lake Constance, Germany, and see brilliant blue-white searchlight
beams as two objects hover overhead. The parking lot in front of Grutsch’s bar lights up as bright as day.
Five others confirm seeing and hearing the two objects, which are elliptical with two portholes. Schafler
takes Grutsch home at 2:30 a.m., but Grutsch sees the same two objects illuminating the area near his home.
The two objects seem to merge into one, appearing as a large ball of light. Grutsch feels paralyzed as he
approaches a window to look out. Schafler is still there, running for cover and trying to hide behind bushes.
After a while, Grutsch can move again, but he is shaking with fear. Mrs. Rutsch is awakened by the noise
Schafler is making outside, suspecting a burglar. Her neighbor, Mrs. Burkhart, yells that a burglar is
breaking in, so Mrs. Grutsch calls the police. About this time, Grutsch relates the experience he has just
had. Outside, the objects have disappeared, and Schafler is about to reenter his car. Suddenly a brilliant
light of enormous size flares up close to him. He runs around Grutsch’s house trying to find an open door,
but they are all locked. As he tries to hide in the bushes, two beings suddenly appear, about 3.5 and 4 feet
tall respectively. They look human. Except that their arms are long and reach almost to their knees. They have
cramped fingers. Their skin color is light and they have round, hairless heads and clearly defined mouths, but
no visible ears, noses, or necks. The beings rock their bodies back and forth. Their small, slanted eyes stare
unflinchingly at Schafler, and he feels paralyzed with fear. The larger being is only 3 feet away. Their only
clothing appears to be frilly neckpieces reminiscent of harlequins. Even though the beings make no menacing
moves, Schafler goes into a state of panic, throwing himself against the locked door of the house and crying
for help. He smashes a pane of glass on the door of the Burkhart house and unlocks it from inside, then falls
on the hallway floor. By the time the Burkharts arrive home, the objects are gone and the find Schafler lying
in the hallway with his hand bleeding and shouting about flying beings. They suspect he is mentally unbalanced.
The police arrive momentarily and take Schafler to the hospital around 4:00 a.m. He returns home about 6:00 a.m.
Several additional witnesses are found over the next few days. For several weeks, Schafler suffers from insomnia
and nightmares. Once he breaks out in a heavy sweat. Two weeks later he develops a stomach ulcer and is
confused and nervous by a time discrepancy. Grutsch is also confused and nervous. (UFOEv II 494–495; Illobrand
von Ludwiger,
Best UFO Cases: Europe, National Institute for Discovery Science, 1998, pp. 48–60) February 25 — 7:45 p.m. A 16-year-old bicycling near Cyprus College in California is followed by
a star-like object that appears in the west, 45° up. The light enlarges to a thin cigar-shape, 4–5 times the
width of the moon, after rushing toward him in 5 seconds. He cycles away, frightened, and has to be driven home
in tears by friends. His friends and family see the object as a “star” that sets in the west in 25 minutes.
Possibly Jupiter. (“
Case 2-4-19,” IUR 2, no. 4 (April 1977): 5) February 26 — 9:00 p.m. An accident investigator in Ontario, California, sees a white triangle with
rounded sides as big as the full moon. It moves silently and slowly from overhead toward the east, 45° up. It
changes course twice in the next 4–5 minutes before it disappears in the distance. (“
Case 2-4-21,” IUR 2, no. 4 (April 1977): 6) March 2 — Rancher Brian T. Bray discovers a 14-foot diameter, circular ring in a paddock at Brayfield
Station, southwest of Port Neill, South Australia. No UFO is seen. The topsoil, soft everywhere else, is
surprisingly hard in the ring, with the grass in the center undisturbed. (“
Another ‘Flying Saucer Nest’ Found in District,” Port Lincoln (S.A.) Times, March 3, 1977, p. 3; Adelaide
(S.A.) Advertiser, March 12, 1977; “
Foreign Forum,” IUR 2, no. 8 (August 1977): 2) March 4 - 6:00 a.m. Ludwig Siegal is driving on Provincial Road 201 about 4 miles west of
Sundown, Manitoba. He sees a shimmering oval object ahead of him and silently hovering about
15 feet above the highway. It is yellowish cream around the outer edge, darkening to more
yellowish in the middle. He passes directly underneath the object, which does not appear to
be solid. Two miles further, Siegal sees three entities, 5 feet tall and shaped like bowling
pins, in the glare of his headlights. They are arranged in a row along the left side of the
road and have bulbous heads, narrow necks, and flared bodies. Unable to stop in time, he crashes
into the group but feels no impact. They simply disappear as they touch the car's bumper. Looking
in his rear-view mirror, he sees all three of them reappear behind his car, shrink to a small
size, and vanish. Siegal calls the RCMP from a nearby friend's house. They find skid marks, but
no traces of blood or any impact marks on Siegal's car. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada's UFOs:
Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 166, 221-223) March 7 — 8:34 p.m. French Air Force pilot Maj. René Giraud and navigator Capt. Jean-Paul
Abraham, flying a Dassault Mirage IV supersonic bomber over Chaumont, Haute-Marne, France, see a huge
UFO. The light appears bigger and bigger as it approaches their aircraft from the rear right. The pilot
is flying at Mach 0.98 and makes a turn to the right and then to the left to make sure the light is not a
reflection of some sort in the cockpit. As he does these maneuvers, both crew members can distinguish that
the light is on the front of a dark, solid object. Despite the evasive maneuver, the unidentified object
manages to stay exactly behind them for a few seconds, a very dangerous situation if the unknown object is
hostile. Then the object makes a turn to the northwest at an estimated speed of Mach 2, and flies away to the
left of the Mirage IV. (UFOEv II 95–96; Good Need,
pp. 304–305; Kean,
pp. 123–124; Patrick Gross, “
Mirage IV Jet Bomber Encounters UFO, France, March 7, 1977”; “
L’Observation d’OVNI du Colonel René Giraud (1977),” OVNI et Extraterrestre, November 10, 2014) March 8 — 7:30 p.m. Eleven witnesses in six groups (including Thelma Lowe, Harold Wilson, Sara
Green, Mrs. Everett Miller, Mrs. W. E. Runge II, and Robert Smyth) watch a red ball of fire the size of
the full moon drift over their houses and alight on the ground south of Gatchellville, Pennsylvania. It
leaves a large patch of burning grass (100 feet long by 30 feet wide), with a mysteriously unscathed area
delineated by three holes at the vertices. (“
Case Number 2-4-44,” IUR 2, no. 5 (May 1977): 6–7; “
Close-Out on the Gatchellville, PA CE II,” IUR 3, no. 3 (March 1978): insert; John Harney, “
In Search of the Real UFOs,” Magonia, no. 49 (June 1994): 11) March 9 — 12:34 a.m. Captain Assapa, Flight Officer Berehan, and Flight Engineer Negassa of
Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET-701 are flying near Qarun Lake, Egypt, when they see a formation of eight
lights, with two larger ones in the lead, flying southeast. They are the color of “arc welding.” (“
Foreign Forum,” IUR 2, no. 5 (May 1977): 2) March 9 — 3:10 a.m. Brian Grimshaw and his friend Jeff are driving to a textile factory in
Nelson, Lancashire, England, when they see a cigar-shaped, metallic object in the sky. They stop the
car for a better look. The UFO has lights at either end that are changing color, and the entire object
is surrounded by a gray mist. The witnesses hear a sound they describe as like the tide coming in and
going out. As the object comes closer, the car engine stops and the headlights dim. After five minutes,
the object flies off and the car restarts. Both witnesses come down with headaches shortly afterward.
(Tony Grimshaw and Jenny Randles, “
Frightening Car-Stop near Nelson,” Flying Saucer Review 23,
no. 2 (August 1977): 3–5, 12; Jenny Randles, The UFO Conspiracy, Barnes & Noble, 1993,
pp. 137–139; UFOEv II 223–224; Jenny Randles, “Flappy Valley, Part 4,” Fortean Times 328 (July 2015):
28–29) March 9 — 7:20 p.m. Susanna and Maria Stratford watch a shiny saucer with a red light on top
and a rounded bottom descend to 30 feet above the ground and hover for 20 minutes, veering left and right
above the trees in Saanich, British Columbia. It disappears toward the east. (“
Night UFO: It Came Back to See Us,” Victoria (B.C.) Times, March 11, 1977, p. 17) March 9 — 10:40 p.m. Four adult witnesses in Long Grove, Illinois, are attracted outside by a
loud crackling noise. Searching around with a powerful spotlight, they see an object 60° up in the northern
sky about 1,000 feet up. It is a white, tapered rectangle with a black silhouette behind it about the size
of the full moon. They watch it maneuver within the spotlight beam and watch it sporadically for 30 minutes
until it vanishes within the beam; the noise stops immediately. (“
Case 2-4-46,” IUR 2, no. 5 (May 1975): wrap) March 10 — 7:40 p.m. Ten crew members of two oil tankers anchored one mile apart at the Arjuna Oil
Field in the Java Sea, Indonesia, see an object the apparent size of the full moon. It is primarily dark with
a red light in the middle and emits beams of yellowish-white light in two directions. It is only about 1,000
feet above the surface of the water. Coming from the west, it circles the offshore oil field twice and then
speeds off to the east after 5 minutes. (“
Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 2 (February 1978): 2) March 12 — 9:05 p.m. United Airlines Flight 94 is flying south of Syracuse, New York, on a course
toward Boston’s Logan Airport in Massachusetts. Suddenly the airplane starts a gradual, smooth (15° bank angle)
turn to the left by itself. Within 5–10 seconds both captain Neil Daniels, 57, and the flight officer turn and
look to their left side and see an “extremely bright white light at about their own altitude.” It is perfectly
round and almost 3° arc in apparent diameter. Daniels estimates its distance to be about 3,000 feet and probably
as big or bigger than a DC-10 in size. Its intensity is like that of a flashbulb. Boston Center calls them and asks,
“United 94, where are you going?” Daniels replies, “Well, let me figure this out. I’ll let you know.” Then they
notice that “the three compasses were all displaying different readings. The FO’s compass was within 20° arc of
the compass in front of the captain and was not rotating. It was then that the FO uncoupled the autopilot and flew
the airplane manually.” Meanwhile, the UAP “followed right along with us” for about 4–5 more minutes then “it took
off and picked up speed very rapidly and just disappeared, over about 15 seconds, back towards our 8:00 o’clock
position and slightly upward.” Daniels asked ATC if they have any radar traffic in the area and they reply, “no.”
Later, ATC tells Daniels, “So whatever it was, we don’t know. But it did cause a disruption in the magnetic field
around the aircraft to the point where it did pull the aircraft off course.” (Peter A. Sturrock, The UFO Enigma,
Warner, 1999, pp. 86–88; Richard F. Haines, “
Aviation Safety in America: A Previously Neglected Factor,” NARCAP, October 15, 2000, p. 80; Kean,
pp. 45–46; “
Air Force Pilot Neil Daniels Sighting,” Riddlept YouTube channel, October 8, 2013) Mid-March — Observers at Mehrabad Airport in Tehran, Iran, see 20–25 UFOs flying from the desert
toward the city. The pilots and passengers of an Iranian airliner flying at more than 6 miles altitude about
87 miles from the city describe them as yellow in color. A Japanese pilot the same distance south of Tehran
switches on all his lights when he sees a huge object in front of his plane. He claims 15–20 smaller objects
fly out of the large one directly toward the pilot, who changes course and heads for Mehrabad. (“
Review of Iranian UFO Reports,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 2 (Jan./Feb. 1981): 15) Mid-March — Around 11:00 p.m. James Ferguson and Tom Patton are in the desert about 2 miles west
of Tucson, Arizona, preparing to take night photographs of saguaro cacti using flash-lighting effects. As
they are getting ready to take a photo, the floor of the desert around them suddenly brightens. They see a
large mass of light rise from behind a distant range of hills and hover for many minutes just above the
horizon. Quickly, they turn the camera on its tripod toward the light and take a time exposure. Several
minutes pass and suddenly the light moves rapidly to the north and disappears in the distance. The trail
of light on the photo shows the light’s departure. (“
1977 Nocturnal Light Photograph Reported,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 1, no. 1 (May 1980): 1; “
Tucson 1977 Nocturnal Light Remains Unidentified,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 1, no. 4 (August 1980): 2) March 19 — 8:00 p.m. Sylvia Laidler and her daughter Darlene are driving eastbound on Highway 401
near Belleville, Ontario, when a red streak appears in the north. The object stops abruptly over the highway
in front of her car, maintaining a red, pulsating glow, then approaches them, flying on the south side of the
road at tree-top level. It is triangular with turquoise lights, red flashing lights, and a golden light flashing
at the bottom. It hovers silently above them briefly then moves off to the south. (“UFO Hovered over Car,”
Belleville (Ont.) Intelligencer, May 6, 1977; Marler
96–97) March 22 — 10:20 a.m. Tom Evison and his wife watch for 15 minutes a bright stationary light an
estimated 10 miles north of their location in Seatoun, a suburb of Wellington, New Zealand. Seen through a
telescope, it appears as elongated with black vertical lines. It slowly fades away in place. (“
Foreign Forum,” IUR 2, no. 5 (May 1977): 2) March 24 — 8:50 p.m. Witnesses on La Palma and Tenerife, Canary Islands, see a reddish light
emerge from the sea, climb very fast, move in a zigzag fashion, and leave behind a huge, bright halo that
lasts 10 minutes. Several minutes later, a Scandinavian DC-8 passing over Ad Dakhla on the coast of Western
Sahara observes a luminous cloud to the west. A South African Airways jumbo jet describes the same phenomenon.
310 miles to the south, Capt. M. Brackenridge and the crew of the merchant ship Kinpurnie Castle witness a
luminous semicircle on the horizon, with a small bright arc inside. In only 3 minutes it has reached colossal
dimensions. Seven minutes later, it has completely dispersed, after a second luminous spot appears above it.
The sighting correlates with the launch of two Poseidon missiles from the
USS Woodrow Wilson. (Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos and Ricardo Campo Pérez, “
Navy Missile Tests and the Canary Islands UFOs,” IUR 29, no. 4 (July 2005): 4) March 28 — 12:30 a.m. Burton Woods is awakened by a loud humming noise outside his mobile home
along State Route 970 east of Clearfield, Pennsylvania. He sees a teardrop-shaped, dull metallic object,
about 150–200 feet long, gliding along at treetop level. It has a green, glowing panel on its underside.
He grabs a camera and runs to the field where the object is hovering about 70 feet in the air. Nearly
underneath it, he takes two instamatic photos before the object speeds away to the southwest, but the
photos fail to develop properly. (“
Negatives of UFO Blank: Investigation Continues,” Clearfield (Pa.) Progress, April 4, 1977, via UFO
Newsclipping Service, no. 97 (May 1977): 1–2; T. Scott Crain, “
Witness Runs Underneath Object,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 117 (August 1977): 16–18) March 29 — 12:30 a.m. A witness in a rural area near West Decatur, Pennsylvania, sees an “upside-
down teardrop” object 100–200 feet long and 60 feet wide drift in from the east at treetop level. With the
point of the teardrop pointing upward, the gray-brown object features a large panel of fluorescent green
light on the bottom. Drifting west into a field, the object makes a sound like a “rope spinning in the air.”
Climbing at a 45° angle to a half-mile up in 15 seconds, it levels off and accelerates to the southwest in 8
seconds. (“
Case 2-5-43,” IUR 2, no. 5 (May 1977): 5) April 1 - 10:40 p.m. A woman is driving her three young children south on the west side
of DeRuyter, New York, when she finds herself overtaking and driving underneath a 35-40-foot object
hovering 30 feet above the maple trees. The UFO has three outer red and blue lights and a sequential
series of red lights in two rows on the center bottom. One mile away, two other witnesses go in search
of a red glow without being able to overtake it. ("
Case 2-5-46," IUR 2, no. 5 (May 1977): 5) April 5 — 2:17 p.m. A pilot driving on I-94 northbound near Deerfield, Illinois, sees an object
coming toward him (southbound) first in the distance then directly above him later on. It is a silver mushroom
three times the apparent size of the moon, and it moves silently toward Chicago against the wind. (“
Case 2-5-51,” IUR 2, no. 5 (May 1977): 5) April 5 — 9:00 p.m. A young couple and others in Lincolnton, North Carolina, see 5–6 red-orange
lights hovering 200 feet away. (“
Case 2-5-52,” IUR 2, no. 6 (June 1977): wrap) April 8 — 2:00 a.m. A domed disc-shaped object flies around two witnesses in Cedar Springs,
Michigan, hovering and flashing over some nearby trees. Ring ground marks are later found. (“
Case 2-5-57,” IUR 2, no. 5 (May 1977): wrap) April 8 — 8:08 p.m. A teenager and his mother in St. Louis, Missouri, watch a flat disc four times
the width of the moon silhouetted against the clouds. It has three steady white lights around its edges and
moves silently from a high angle in the east to a low angle in the west. (“
Case 2-5-58,” IUR 2, no. 6 (June 1977): wrap) April 8 — 10:35 p.m. A cigar-shaped object glowing red at each end darts north to south across
Interstate 64 in Lexington, Kentucky, several times. (“
Case 2-5-80,” IUR 2, no. 6 (June 1977): wrap) April 10 — 2:30 a.m. Martha and Olof Eriksson watch a yellow light with a red “textile-like”
appendage hanging below it at Flykälen, Jämtland, Sweden. It is 100 feet in diameter and moving from
south to north. (“
Night Sun Shone over Laxsjö,” Lanstidningen Östersund, April 12, 1977, via UFO Newsclipping Service,
no. 97 (May 1977): 15; “
Foreign Forum,” IUR 2, no. 8 (August 1977): 2) April 14 — 2:00 a.m. Captain Scherrer, Senior First Officer Schmid, and hostess Rothenhofer
are on board Swissair Flight SR-798 near Maastricht, Netherlands. Schmid notices the first of four
“lightning-like lights” in an otherwise clear sky. Ground radar calls the plane’s attention to a target
15 miles away at their 1 o’clock position. The crew sees two targets briefly at that position but only on
radar. Then all three of them see another flash. Maastricht radar watches the target fall back east of the
plane and rush at high speed back to a 1 or 2 o’clock position only 3 miles away. There is still no visual
contact. A few minutes later, a third silent lightning-like flash is seen just in front of the airliner.
Maastricht radar watches the target playing with the plane behind its tail and right wing, where the fourth
flash is seen. A military radar places the speed of the target when moving fast at Mach 4 or 5. (“
Foreign Forum,” IUR 2, no. 6 (June 1977): 2) April 17 — 4:00 p.m. A woman in La Louvière, Hainaut, Belgium, watches a flat cylinder with faceted
sides move from the southwest to northeast. The object is dark, seems solid, and emits no smoke or trail. It
moves in a straight line with an oscillation in the same direction as the wind. (“
Foreign Forum,” IUR 2, no. 8 (August 1977): 2) April 18 — About 12:05 a.m. George Thrupp and Margaret Mancour of the weather office at Vancouver
International Airport in British Columbia have just gotten off their shift when they see a “blue flash” over
the airport. It appears in the south sky above Richmond. The light is coming from a cigar-shaped object larger
than a Boeing 747 jumbo jet that is orange on the top half and blue on the bottom half with dark portholes along
the side. (“
Pair Sight UFO at City Airport,” Vancouver (B.C.) Sun, April 19, 1977, p. 35) April 18 — White House Press Secretary
Jody Powell states in the “Washington Whispers” column of US News and World Report that “before the year is
out” there will be “unsettling disclosures” about UFOs, “based on information from the CIA.” Later, the White
House claims the story is a “misunderstanding” by Powell. (“
Washington Whispers,” US News and World Report, April 18, 1977, via Aerial Phenomenon Clipping and Information
Center 2, no. 4 (April 1977): 29; “
UFO’s and CIA Involvement,” IUR 2, no. 5 (May 1977): front; George W. Earley, “
Special Report on Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” Beyond Reality, no. 31 (March/April 1978): 38, 41;
Robert Scheaffer, “
‘UFO Disclosure’ Happening Again This Year,” Skeptical Inquirer 40, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 2016): 16–17) April 19 — Santiago Laco Ozano, 32, is milking cows in Rocha, Uruguay, when he hears a strange noise
as the area around him is illuminated. Looking up, he sees a small object giving off a powerful beam of light.
He faints, and on recovering about 5 minutes later, notices his hair is slightly burned. He is admitted to a
nearby hospital, whose personnel verify the singeing and that his scalp has no lesions. ([
Flying Saucer Attacked a Rural Worker in Uruguay], Crónica (Buenos Aires, Argentina), August 6, 1977, via
UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 99 (July/Oct. 1977): 14; “
Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 1 (January 1978): 2) April 19 — Early morning. Rosa Granville, proprietor of the Haven Fort Hotel in Little Haven, Pembroke,
Wales, is disturbed by a strange humming noise. She looks out a window and sees an oval-shaped object “like the
moon falling down” land behind her home. Two tall humanoids appear in front of the UFO, which is about the size
of a minibus. They have blank faces and pointed heads and are wearing white outfits like boiler suits. They appear
to “take measurements or gather things” and climb a grassy bank in a field. When she returns to the window after
calling other family members, the object and the figures have vanished. (UFOFiles2,
p. 96) April 21 — 7:15 p.m. A couple in Towson, Maryland, sees a gray capsule with short, stubby wings, two
yellow headlights, and no windows. Several times the full moon, the object flies silently from low in the east
to above their car in 4 minutes. (“
Case 2-6-5,” IUR 2, no. 6 (June 1977): 3) April 22 — 3:10 a.m. Three witnesses in Washburn, Wisconsin, see a flat, round object with five white
lights on its rim and two red lights on its bottom. It pursues their car for three-quarters of a mile, even
around curves and driving at 90 mph. The object overshoots them, slows down, and moves only 30 feet in front
of them. After 4 minutes it accelerates in a steep climb toward the southwest. (“
Case 4-22-77,” IUR 2, no. 6 (June 1977): 3) April 22 — Pauline Coombes reports seeing a luminous silver figure 7–8 feet tall looking into her
window at Ripperston Farm near Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, Wales, for an hour. She doesn’t say anything
until her son notices it too. Humanoid in form, the figure’s face is black and featureless; it vanishes when
a neighbor drives up. Two weeks earlier, a yellow sphere had chased her car; she accelerated to 80 mph to
escape it. (“
Chased by a Flying Football,” Wales Western Telegraph (Haverfordwest), April 14, 1977, via UFO Newsclipping
Service, no. 98 (June 1977): 15; “Welsh UFO Flap Continues,” Fountain Journal, no. 11 (1977): 2; “
Foreign Forum,” IUR 2, no. 8 (August 1977): 2; Randall Jones Pugh and F. W. Holiday, The Dyfed Enigma:
Unidentified Objects in West Wales, Faber & Faber, 1979, pp. 94–98; Clive Harold,
The Uninvited: The True Story of Ripperston Farm, Star, 1979; Hilary Evans, “
Tread Thou in Them Boldly,” Common Ground, no. 1 (May 1981): 2–7; “
A Face at the Window,” Grimsby (UK) Evening Telegraph, October 29, 1990, p. 13; “
The Night Monitor: The Silver Giant (Official Video),” AVD78 YouTube channel, October 7, 2020; “
Pauline Coombs Talks about the Ripperston Farm UFO Encounters, Pembrokeshire, Wales, 1977,” Eyes on
Cinema YouTube channel, October 21, 2022) April 23 — 9:30 p.m. Pilot William Sorum and copilot Richard Drzal are flying a DC-10, Northwest
Orient Flight 27, from Seattle, Washington, to Anchorage, Alaska. About 50 miles east of Middleton Island,
Alaska, they see a bright white star moving smoothly from the southern horizon across their field of view
to the northern horizon for about 40 seconds. It passes in front of them at a 45° above them at their altitude
of 39,000 feet. Radar Approach Controller Terry Siegrist and others at Anchorage International Airport see a
linear flight of four separate unidentifiable blips suddenly appear on radar screens at 30 miles distance from
the city, covering 10 miles in 6–12 seconds (3,600 mph). Correlation between the two observations is not
established. (“
Radar/Visual in Alaska,” IUR 2, no. 7 (July 1977): 4) April 25 — 3:45 a.m. Eight soldiers camped on a military patrol 3 miles from Putre, Arica y
Parinacota, Chile, suddenly see two bright violet lights nearby. The soldiers’ dog and horses remain
still while the lights hover nearby. The leader of the group, Corporal Armando Valdés Garrido, orders the
other soldiers to put out their campfire. The two large lights are about a half-mile away and hovering close
to the ground. Valdés approaches the lights, ordering them to identify themselves. At this point a bright light
envelops Valdés and he apparently vanishes in a mist in plain view of the others. The soldiers frantically begin
searching for him but are unable to find him. At around 4:15 a.m., Valdés suddenly reappears. He has a strange
look on his face and he gives out a sinister laugh, asking several times where his mother is. Then he says,
again in a very sinister sounding voice, “You will never know who we are and where we come from.” The others
notice that he appears to have a week’s growth of beard, whereas he had been clean-shaven just an hour ago, and
his digital watch indicates the impossible date of April 30. He is almost in hysterics and one of the soldiers
has to slap him, at which point Valdés faints. One of the other soldiers, Raúl Salinas, who has been standing a
few feet in back of the others, notices a strange humanoid creature behind some nearby rocks. He describes it as
half animal and half human; no facial features are visible, but it seems to be wearing a helmet and is carrying a
red light. Salinas is stunned to see the creature appear at several places simultaneously. He thinks that there
might be several humanoids. He does not mention this to the others at the time, since they are already scared, but
the others do not see the humanoid or humanoids. When Valdés wakes up he cannot remember where he has been. In 2013,
Valdés, now an evangelical pastor, admits that no one on the patrol saw aliens—only that they saw something that
frightened them. He claims he only left the group to go urinate. Many ufologists now feel that the Chilean government
encouraged the abduction scenario to mask the presence of troops and horses in northern Chile in the event of a war
with Argentina or a regional conflict. (Wikipedia, “
Caso Cabo Valdés”; “
Foreign Forum,” IUR 2, no. 7 (July 1977): 2; “
The Chilean Abduction,” APRO Bulletin 26, no. 1 (July 1977): 1, 3; Gordon Creighton, “
The Arica Encounter,” Flying Saucer Review 23, no. 5 (February 1978): 8–9; “
Cabo Valdés se confiesa: ‘Nunca me abdujeron,’” La Cuarta, February 18, 2018) April 29 — Manuel Lopez, the pilot of a single-engine plane, is allegedly blinded in flight by
a UFO near Bogotá, Colombia. Circling in the air for 2 hours, Lopez’s calls for help are recorded and played
on a local radio station: “I’ve lost my sight; I don’t know what to do!” Four aircraft surround him and talk
him down to a safe landing at El Dorado International Airport by radio. He is rushed to a military hospital
suffering from shock. (“
Colombian Pilot Says UFO Blinded Him,” Philadelphia Inquirer, May 7, 1977, p. 2) April 29 — 11:45 p.m. A woman and her daughter are driving north of Oxford, Ohio, when a white light
begins pacing their car on the left about 180 feet away. They speed up and pass it after 3 minutes. The mother
only sees a light, but the daughter perceives a “saucer with a vertical cone.” (“
Case 2-6-34,” IUR 2, no. 6 (June 1977): 3) Late spring — Constitutional attorney
Daniel P. Sheehan, at the request of Congressional Research Service researcher
Marcia S. Smith, visits the brand-new Madison Building at the Library of Congress to look at the “classified
sections of Project Blue Book.” He claims to have seen photos of a flying saucer embedded in snow and surrounded
by USAF personnel wearing parkas. There are symbols on the side of the crashed craft. (presidentialufo.com, “
President Carter, Daniel Sheehan, and Donald Menzel: The Congressional Research Service UFO Studies for President
Carter”; Coulthart 2023, pp. 71–74) May —
Leonard H. Stringfield’s Situation Red: The UFO Siege! is published, supporting the thesis that the US
military has acquired extraterrestrial hardware and possibly bodies. The book immediately prompts dozens of
alleged first-hand witnesses of crashed UFOs or alien bodies to contact Stringfield with their stories. One
of his informants is a medical doctor (“Doctor X”) who says he has conducted medical tests on alien cadavers
at a major medical facility in the eastern US. Stringfield is later able to visit Doctor X and a colleague of
his, Doctor Y, who has examined an alien tissue sample under a microscope. The aliens are said to be 3.5–4.5
feet tall, weighing 40 pounds, with large heads. They have slender torsos and long, thin arms. Their skin is
tan or gray, elastic, and reminiscent of reptilian skin. A colorless liquid is present in the bodies; there
are no red cells. The eyes are slanted without pupils, and they have heavy brow ridges, apertures in place
of ears, small noses, and slit-like mouths. They have no teeth. Doctor X avoids Stringfield’s later questions.
(Leonard H. Stringfield,
Situation Red: The UFO Siege! Doubleday, 1977; UFOEv II 593; Graff 246) May — A young radio technician is lying in bed during a power blackout in Gloggnitz, Austria. Suddenly
a hollow globe about 1.6 feet in diameter and made up of separate red bars of light appears over the bedroom
floor. It begins moving slowly and silently toward a glass door. The witness jumps out of bed, bumping into the
ball of light with his leg. He feels nothing and there are no aftereffects. The bars of light begin to shrink in
diameter, causing the ball to dim and disappear. No traces are left behind. (Michael D. Swords, “
A Trick of the Light,” IUR 31, no. 2 (June 2007): 9) May 1 — 2:00 a.m. Amateur astronomer Lev Boethin sees a red-brown oval object 10 times the size of
the moon near Mudeng, Philippines. It moves silently from the southeast to the northwest parallel to the
ground 20° above the horizon. He estimates it is only 300 feet away and moving faster than an aircraft. (“
Foreign Forum,” IUR 2, no. 6 (June 1977): 2) May 1 — The Groupe d’Etude des Phénomènes Aérospatiaux Non Identifiés (GEPAN) is founded as a
section of France’s Centre National d’Études Spatiales on the initiative of CNES Director
Yves Sillard. Its purpose is to quiet public fears about a flurry of UFO sightings, as well as to coordinate
reports of the Gendarmerie, civil aviation, the Air Force, and the meteorological service. Its first director
is aeronautical engineer
Claude Poher. GEPAN sets up a Scientific Council of astronomers and other scientists and professionals
to put in place data-collection systems for UFO reports from official agencies and investigate cases already
reported. (Good Above,
pp. 135–136; Jean-Pierre Petit, “
The Truth about G.E.P.A.N.,” Flying Saucer Review 35, no. 4 (December 1990): 22–24; Mark Rodeghier, ed., “
The 1999 French Report on UFOs and Defense,” IUR 25, no. 2 (Summer 2000): 20–21; Gildas Bourdais, “
From GEPAN to SEPRA: Official UFO Studies in France,” IUR 25, no. 4 (Winter 2000–2001): 11–13; Gildas Bourdais, “
The Death and Rebirth of Official French UFO Studies,” IUR 31, no. 2 (June 2007): 12–13: Swords 440–442;
Clark III 546; Eghigian, After, pp. 226–227; Clark IV 604) May 3 - 3:55 a.m. A caller tells police in Hainault, northeast London, that a strange
object is above the small lake in Hainault Forest Country Park. Two policemen are dispatched, and
they see a "large bright red light" on the eastern shore. They exit their vehicle and notice an
object like a "bell tent" about 900 feet away that continuously pulsates from dull to very bright
red for the next 2-3 minutes. The UFO seems to be hovering silently. Then the object appears to
"dissolve on the spot." The officers decide somewhat reluctantly to go across the lake and investigate.
Then one of them looks up and briefly sees a thin, large, white crescent hanging in the sky. This also
dissolves on the spot. Reaching the location of ground zero, they find nothing except a strong burning
smell. They make a report to the local UFO group, the Essex Hotline, and investigator Barry M. King
interviews one of the officers that night. The next day, one large bush is found damaged: flattened
in the center and slightly burned. A gorse bush appears to have borne a heavy weight, because almost
all the limbs are snapped off the central branch and displaced in an outward-radiating splay. No
radiation or magnetic anomalies are found. (Barry M. King, "
Landing at Hainault Seen by Police," Flying Saucer Review 23, no. 2 (August 1977): 8-11; Andrew Collins, "
Follow-Up at Hainault," Flying Saucer Review 23, no. 2 (August 1977): 11-12; Jenny Randles,
"May Day! May Day!" Fortean Times 419 (June 2022): 27) May 3 — 6:35 p.m. Several people in the eastern part of Jakarta, Indonesia, are watching the
sky with binoculars when they see a round UFO that traverses the sky in one minute. It carries flashing
red, green, white, and blue lights located in circles around the rim. (“
Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 2 (February 1978): 2) May 3 — 9:20 p.m. A woman in Wilcox, Pennsylvania, sees a large silver sphere with many blue lights
around its equator. The object hovers close to the west side of her house, casting a spotlight on the ground.
It begins moving and disappears straight up in one second. Her two dogs refuse to go near the spot afterward
and are fussy about eating. (“
Case 2-6-53,” IUR 2, no. 6 (June 1977): 3) May 8 — 2:00 p.m. A couple driving west on Interstate 80 in Joliet, Illinois, watch an object
like a silver straw hat move silently eastbound over their car. At 2:30 p.m., they see a silver sphere
with a Saturn ring or halo around it. (“
Case 2-6-64” and “
Case 2-6-65,” IUR 2, no. 6 (June 1977): 8) May 10 — 5:10 a.m. Phylis Barlow watches a triangular UFO circling slowly in the sky above Rome,
Georgia. It is flying at a tilt, and on the bottom is a circle of foggy light surrounding a triangle of
intense bright light. She watches it with a friend for 10 minutes as it makes a second pass over the area.
It descends silently to 1,000 feet and they can see it has a grayish-silver color and three creamy yellow,
honeycombed lights. It moves off to the southeast at great speed. (“UFO Circles East Rome Restaurant,” Rome
(Ga.) News-Tribune, May 10, 1977, pp. 3, 5; Marler
97–98) May 11 — 3:00 a.m. A woman and her son are awakened in their home in Clearfield, Pennsylvania,
by a loud humming sound. They see a green, glowing sphere with a dark equator hovering for 30 minutes near
the house. It shoots straight up and away and the hum stops. The 11-year-old boy stays home from school for
several days because he is scared. (“
Case 2-6-77,” IUR 2, no. 6 (June 1977): 8) May 11 — 4:45 a.m. Three witnesses in Fresno, California, see a bright yellow light rise erratically
from the northern horizon to a fixed position overhead in one minute. A second light, flashing white 3 times
a second, rises from the west to a 50° position above the western horizon. Both are stationary for 3 minutes.
The yellow object sways back and forth. The white light disappears and the yellow light fades into the overcast. (“
Case 2-6-79,” IUR 2, no. 6 (June 1977): 8) May 11 — 9:45 p.m. An adult couple near Bonner Springs, Kansas, see a silent disc-shaped object with
white windows hovering for 70–80 seconds, then fly away slowly. (“
Case 2-6-84,” IUR 2, no. 6 (June 1977): wrap) May 15 — 4:30 a.m. A driver in Clarksville, Tennessee, sees a round object with 7–8 blue-green lights
flashing in its center. It appears to drop 7–8 red flares as it is flying southbound in a straight path. (“
Case 2-7-1,” IUR 2, no. 7 (July 1977): 3) May 16–17 — 11:00 p.m. Officers Michael L. Davidson and Forrest E. Bartlett of the Memphis Police
Tactical Squad spot a triangular UFO near Old Allen Road and Frayser-Raleigh Road in Memphis, Tennessee. At
3:45 a.m., officers Troy L. Todd and Jerry W. Jeter watch a similar object, 300 feet long, near the Norris
Road exit of Interstate 240. It is hovering about 200 feet above the ground near some power line towers and
is in the shape of a perfect triangle standing on edge. Later, Jeter watches it through his rifle scope flying
horizontally then taking off at great speed. A Tennessee State Highway patrolman has also seen a triangular
object in Collierville. (“
Triangular Red, Green, Flying Object Sighted,” Brownsville (Tex.) Herald, May 17, 1977, p. 1; National
Enquirer, June 13, 1978; Marler
94–96; Powell, Scientist, 66) May 17 — The Joint Chiefs of Staff re-release JANAP 146 (E), specifying “unidentified flying objects”
as something that must be reported by military personnel. It distinguishes UFOs from other types of known aircraft.
(Joint Chiefs of Staff, “
Change No. 2 to JANAP 146 (E),” May 17, 1977) May 19 — 10:45 p.m. A travel agent driving in Clayton, New Jersey, watches a blindingly bright round
object composed of many small white lights packed together and three main lights in front. It hovers for nearly
a minute over telephone wires, then the lights begin flashing and the object ascends in a steep climb. (“
Case 2-7-15,” IUR 2, no. 7 (July 1977): 3) May 20 — 11:00 p.m. Three 14-year-old boys are in a field near Bayview Avenue and Willow Pass Road,
West Pittsburg [now Bay Point], California, about a half mile from Suisun Bay. They see a saucer-shaped object
surrounded by a row of white, rectangular windows that flash on and off. A blue light zigzags near the object. It
is hovering near the ground between railroad tracks and the bay, then it shoots across the water in a matter of
seconds and returns equally fast, moving silently toward them and stopping about 150–300 feet away. One minute
later, they see three figures advancing toward them from near the lights. They are dark human forms, about 5-
foot-6 to 6 feet tall, surrounded by mist and moving with a stiff, limping walk. The boys run across the street and
look back in time to see the figures fade from view. (“
UFO with ‘Dark Figures’ in California,” IUR 2, no. 7 (July 1977): 4–5; Fred Garretson, “
‘Close Encounter’ in Contra Costa,” Oakland (Calif.) Tribune, April 2, 1978, pp. 1, 4) May 20–21 — 11:30 p.m. An unknown target appears on air traffic control center (CINDACTA) radar in
Brasília, Brazil. The object moves at around 1,038 mph and overtakes a Boeing 727 Transbrasil airliner (TYP)
flying from Rio de Janeiro to Campinas in São Paulo state, dropping about 11 miles in front of it to the
northeast. The pilots can see a light in the position indicated by the radar, and it apparently causes an
intermittent “beep-beep” in the aircraft communication system. At 12:54 a.m., another airliner (TCB) reports a
large flashing light that changes color from white to green to red and to blue near Vitória, Espírito Santo.
Later, the pilots can distinguish to objects, one a steady white light and a fainter reddish object below it,
apparently over the Abrolhos archipelago near Caravelas, Bahia. A third Transbrasil airliner (TYU) reports two
lights in their 4 o’clock position near Belo Horizonte. Flight controllers in Brasília confirm the report by
detecting two targets in the area. The pilots notice that one light has positioned itself above the other. A
third radar target is detected in a position behind and to the left of the aircraft. A few minutes later, one
of the objects on the right approaches the airliner, emitting a bright light. The sighting is confirmed by a
Varig aircraft that has taken off from Manaus bound for Brasília. Later, the TYU airliner spots another light,
possibly near the city of Anápolis, Goias. Fortunately, audio recordings of all the interactions between
CINDACTA and the pilots are preserved by the Brazilian Air Force. (Jackson Camargo, “
Gravações do CINDACTA registram OVNIs na região Sudeste,” Fenomenum, November 10, 2023) May 21 — 9:30 p.m. A family in St. Louis, Missouri, sees a “comet” with a long tail moving in the
northeast. (“
May 21 — 9:30 p.m. A family in St. Louis, Missouri, sees a “comet” with a long tail moving in the northeast. (“
Case 2-7-25,” IUR 2, no. 7 (July 1977): 3)Case 2-7-25,” IUR 2, no. 7 (July 1977): 3) May 21 — 10:20 p.m. Three airmen stationed at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, England, observe a
triangular-shaped light moving erratically in the sky. Within minutes the light is tracked on radar at RAF
Patrington [now closed], moving in a zigzag pattern. The target registers on radarscopes for 4 minutes until
the screens are “partially obliterated by high-powered interference” that returns to normal once the target
disappears. (Good Need,
p. 305) May 21 — 10:45 p.m. Several independent witnesses observe an unusual light phenomenon within a period
of 30 minutes in the Canford Heath area of Poole, Dorset, England. Five witnesses report seeing a 2-foot-wide
beam of light emitted by a stationary disc-shaped object, and three of these five report an extending beam that
cuts through the terrain while illuminating nothing. (Leslie Harris, “
UFOs and Solid Light Phenomena in Dorset,” Flying Saucer Review 23, no. 4 (January 1978): 3–7; Powell, Scientist,
99) May 26 — 1:15 a.m. The crew of an RAF Avro Vulcan B.2 bomber piloted by Flight Lt. David Edwards
is flying at 28,000 feet over the Bay of Biscay off the coast of France at a speed of Mach 0.86 when they
observe bright lights coming from the west. The lights resemble aircraft landing lights, but they soon blink
out leaving a large orange glow with a bright-green fluorescent spot. An object emerges from the glow, moving
to the west, climbing at an angle of 45°, and leaving a thin contrail. The radar operator reports jamming-type
interference. Camera film from the aircraft’s radar records a “strong response” from the direction of the
sighting, consisting of three separate radar returns at varying distances, the third made up of three targets
all 600 feet wide. On the film the UFO appears as an “elongated shadow.” (Good Need,
pp. 305–307; UFOFiles2,
pp. 92–94) May 26 — 8:45 a.m. Two witnesses in Detroit, Michigan, see three blue teardrop-shaped objects moving
in a V-formation. They move from a high angle in the north to a low angle in the northwest, hovering “like
helicopters” for one minute. They pull out of formation, swoop low, regroup, and climb again in formation at a
40° angle, fading from view. (“
Case 2-7-35,” IUR 2, no. 7 (July 1977): 3) May 26 — 4:10 p.m. A 39-year-old radio announcer and his wife are watching an eastbound jet overhead
at Dowagiac, Michigan. Suddenly a brown, cigar-shaped object, distinctly outlined, rushes from the rear left side
of the plane to a position “one plane length” behind it. The object is 1.5 times as long as the jet. It follows
for about 30 seconds and then rushes ahead of it and is gone in 3 seconds. (“
Case 2-7-36,” IUR 2, no. 7 (July 1977): 3–4) Summer — Around 2:00 a.m. Senior Airman James M. Dunn is on K-9 security patrol at the Weapons Storage
Area at Loring AFB [now Loring International Airport] near Limestone, Maine, when he gets a call from a sergeant
at Entry Control about a bright light above his truck. He sees an intense light, which is directed onto the truck
at a 45° angle. The interior of the truck cab seems to glow with a greenish hue. About 5 seconds later the light
goes out. Dunn talks to the sergeant, who seems a bit stunned. A few minutes later, two F-106 interceptors shoot
above the WSA, apparently looking for a radar target. (Nukes 373–375) Summer — Physicist
Bruce Maccabee uses FOIA requests to obtain some 400 pages of UFO-related documents, mostly from 1947–1955,
from the FBI by the end of the year. (Bruce S. Maccabee, “
UFO Related Information from the FBI File, Part 1,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 119 (October 1977): 13–15,
reprinted in UFO Investigator, November 1977, pp. 1–4) June 6 — 11:30 p.m. Mark Henshall is riding his motorbike home northwest of Barnard Castle, Teesdale,
England, in the pouring rain when he sees two purple lights to his side. He notices he is losing power as he
rides up a small hill. A car is just starting to pass him, and it too is slowing down. Suddenly, both bike and
car are enveloped in a nearly blinding, fuzzy, ultraviolet light. Henshall feels his bike being pulled up the
incline and notices steam pouring off his back and legs, which are getting unbearably hot. The motorcycle and
car stop just as the misty violet glow overhead vanishes. The car driver tells Henshall that he lost all engine
power for 30 seconds and yet was pulled forward. The metal side of the motorbike is far hotter than normal and
impossible to touch without risking serious burns. The brakes are found to be so badly worn that they need a
complete resetting. When Henshall returns home, his mother notices that his face is sunburned and hot to the
touch. He also experiences nausea for a few days. (Brian Straight, “
Vehicle Stop near Barnard Castle,” Flying Saucer Review 23, no. 5 (February 1978): 6–7) June 6 — 11:35 p.m. Mrs. Millicent Parr, 68, is watching a televised fireworks display at her home
in Waltham Abbey, Essex, England, when the screen “closes up” and turns blank, as if it is turned off. She
turns the set off and goes to prepare some tea in the kitchen. When she returns to the living room, the
entire room becomes enveloped in a blood-red and vivid green light. She looks out her window and sees a
brilliantly lit sphere hovering 10–15 feet above her garden. She estimates it is about 12 inches in diameter,
red in the center, with the outer 4 inches green. It appears to be spinning. She goes out to the garden,
approaching almost directly beneath it, when it rises slowly and silently moves to the north, barely missing
the rooftops of neighboring houses. She sees a tapering tail of white light. The object is in sight for only
1.5 minutes. (Andrew Collins, “
Spherical Phenomenon at Waltham Abbey,” Flying Saucer Review 23, no. 3 (October 1977): 25–27) June 10 — A woman in Deerfield, Illinois, watches a gray-white light projecting “dots of color” that
are drawn back to the source. It remains stationary in the low southwestern sky for 15 minutes, then shoots off
in a slight climb in a matter of seconds. (“
Case 2-7-87,” IUR 2, no. 7 (July 1977): wrap) June 12 — 11:00 p.m. A man named David is drinking in the bar at a hotel in Crystal Lake, Illinois.
When he leaves, he notices three small beings coming out of an alley on his right about 30–35 feet away. They
are slightly over 4 feet tall, wearing greenish one-piece metallic suits, and have bubble-shaped helmets on
their heads. David gets the feeling he is in a “vacuum” with no sound or wind. He notices another being lying
on the ground in front of him only a few feet away, apparently injured. The three entities pick up the fourth
and walk back to the alley and disappear. David feels no fear and gets the impression they will not hurt him.
The beings seem to have only 3 or 4 fingers that are larger than a human’s. (
Letter to J. Allen Hynek) June 14 — President
Jimmy Carter is allegedly given a UFO briefing at the White House and bound to secrecy. According to former
USAF Capt.
Robert M. Collins, an MJ-12 officer meets with Carter. A reconstruction of the conversation is known as
“Executive Briefing: Project Aquarius” and later leaked to UFO researcher
William Moore. However, there is no hard evidence that such a briefing has taken place. (Robert M. Collins,
ed., “
Executive Briefing: Project Aquarius”) June 14 — Prime Minister
Eric Gairy of Grenada opens the Organization of American States General Assembly with a call for an
international investigation of UFOs. He says he was asked by participants at the UFO conference in Acapulco,
Mexico, to continue his efforts. He asks OAS members to support the issue when it comes up at the United Nations. (“
Caribbean Government Calls for UFO Probe,” IUR 2, no. 7 (July 1977): wrap) June 17 — 12:00 noon. José Francisco Rodrigues is flying a Portuguese Air Force Dornier Do 27 light
plane over the Castelo de Bode dam in central Portugal. When he emerges from the clouds, he sees a dark object
against a backdrop of white stratocumulus clouds, slightly to the right of his plane. Thinking that the object
is a cargo plane, he banks to the left and immediately radios to ask if there is any traffic in the vicinity.
Air controller Sgt. Jose Vicente Saldanha replies in the negative. As Rodrigues completes a turn to port, the
object suddenly appears at his 11 o’clock position no more than 20 feet away. It is definitely not a cargo
plane. The upper section, partially concealed by cloud, is black, and on the lower section there are four or
five panels. The object is about 42–50 feet in diameter. Suddenly it accelerates and vanishes from what the
pilot believes is an initial stationary position. The Dornier begins to vibrate violently and goes into an
uncontrolled dive. Struggling to regain control, Rodrigues pushes the control column forward. Air speed
increases to 160 mph then 207 mph as the ground comes nearer. He regains control when almost “touching the
tree tops” and the plane lands in one piece with a badly shaken pilot. During the encounter the directional
electric gyroscope (connected to a magnetic compass) rotates wildly, and by the time the plane lands it has
deviated by 180° relative to the magnetic compass. (Willy Smith, “
Unknown Intruder over Portugal,” IUR 10, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1985): 6–8; Good Above,
pp. 154–156) June 17 - Dusk. Five individuals-Dale Schexnaider and his wife, with another couple and their two
daughters, Jena, 15, and Krissy, 10-are breaking camp and preparing to go home from the Cotile Lake Recreation
Area, Louisiana. Just before they reach the clearing that leads to the road, the male friend begins feeling a
"low frequency vibration" in his bones. Looking upward, he sees the outline of a huge, disc-shaped UFO hovering
completely still, surrounded with points of light. The friend estimates it is about 75 feet across and 50 feet
tall. The two daughters have been talking, but they too notice the humming noise and see the UFO. The object
then floats almost directly above them, and the middle of the craft starts to glow. Several rays or beams of
blue light shoot from the UFO, striking them in the solar plexus. It is an intense, electric, silver-blue,
thin beam. They hear crackling sounds in the air and they can't move. Slowly they force their heads down to
see their arms glowing with electric blue light. Movement is difficult-as in a dream, slow and heavy. After
about 10 seconds, all the lights vanished instantly, along with the force field. The craft begins to glide
away over the treetops. The children are frantic, and the male friend is inwardly terrified. The parents are
back at the camp and see none of this. The case is reported to
J. Allen Hynek by a friend, and he later visits the witnesses and speaks to all three. (Doris and Joe
Graziano, "
Press Reports," APRO Bulletin 29, no. 1 (July 1980): 6-7; "
A CE-II As a Picnic Guest," CUFOS Bulletin, Summer 1980, pp. 1, 3; "
An Electric-Blue Close Encounter," CUFOS Bulletin, Spring 1981, pp. 4-5, 10, 12; Michael D.
Swords, "
Can UFOs Cause Physiological Effects? Part 1," IUR 33, no. 4 (May 2011): cover) June 20 — A committee of advanced workshop participants from the Institut des Hautes Études de
Défense Nationale has been tackling the UFO situation for the French government since at least 1976. It
produces a report titled Rapport sur les “Phénomènes Aeriens Non Identifiés, which is translated into English
by Bonita Samuelson and published by the Center for UFO Studies in 1980 under the title Report on Unidentified
Aerial Objects. The committee members are divided about the existence of true UFOs, but they agree that the
UFO theme can be used in psychological warfare. (Claude Maugé, “
GEPAN and COMETA,” IUR 27, no. 1 (Spring 2002): 26) June 20 —10:30 p.m. Southeast Missouri State University physics professor
Harley Rutledge is in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, watching a dim light traveling toward Alkaid, the leftmost
star in the handle of the Big Dipper (Ursa Major). When the light comes within 3° of Alkaid, it disappears.
Suddenly, Merak, the lower right star in the constellation’s pan, flares brilliantly, taking one second to
reach maximum brilliance, then another second to subside. He sees another flare-up a few seconds later, this
time about 3° away from Merak. Rutledge knows the stars are not variable and that the lights cannot be aircraft
or satellites. (Harley D. Rutledge, Project Identification, Prentice-Hall, 1981,
pp. 202–203; Powell, Scientist, 60) June 24–26 —Fate magazine holds an International UFO Congress at the Pick-Congress Hotel [now
the Congress Plaza Hotel] across from Grant Park in downtown Chicago, Illinois, in commemoration of the
30th anniversary of the
Kenneth Arnold sighting. Some 1,500 people attend to hear speakers
Ted Bloecher,
Jerome Clark,
Jacques Vallée,
Stanton T. Friedman, Kenneth Arnold,
Jim and Coral Lorenzen,
David M. Jacobs,
Frank Salisbury,
J. Allen Hynek,
Ted Phillips,
Dennis Hauck,
Betty Hill, and
R. Leo Sprinkle. Fate editor
Curtis G. Fuller publishes the presentations in paperback format in May 1980. (“
Chicago UFO Conference,” IUR 2, no. 7 (July 1977): wrap; Michael Harnett, “
Ufology: Thirty Years in Three Days,” Pursuit 10, no. 4 (Fall 1977): 105–111; Curtis G. Fuller, ed.,
Proceedings of the First International UFO Congress, Warner, 1980) June 25 — A man is driving on the A303 with his partially sighted fiancée near Warminster, Wiltshire,
England, when they see a triangle of white lights ahead of them. When the lights get near to the car, they break
away, one to the side of the road, and the two others on either side of the witnesses. They dance in the air for
a while, then an orange globe emerges from the center of each. All the lights move to the rear of the car and
disappear behind it. (UFOFiles2,
p. 90) June 25–26 — The Centro Ufologico Nazionale holds its Second National Conference in Toscolano-Moderno,
Brescia, Italy, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of
Kenneth Arnold’s sighting. Speakers include
Roberto Pinotti,
Antonio Ribera,
Ion Hobana,
Florin Gheorghiţă,
W. Raymond Drake, Ernest Ameglio, Roberto Farabone, Roberto Villamil, Gianni Settimo, Sergio Conti, Francesco
Izzo, Renzo Cabassi, Stelio Asso, and Mario Pagni. (“
2o Congresso Nazionale di Ufologia,” Notiziario UFO, no. 75/76 (July/Dec. 1977): 1–32) June 26 — 2:45 a.m. Two witnesses see a flashing light source pass swiftly across the sky twice in about
10 minutes in Greece, New York. (“
Case 2-8-26,” IUR 2, no. 8 (August 1977): 3) June 27 — 11:00 p.m. A woman and three children in Genesee, Wisconsin, drive toward a structure
composed of three parallel cylinders until they are underneath it. The hovering object looks as big as the
full moon, with two steady white lights in front and a red light on top. When she stops her car, the object
moves off to the southeast. (“
Case 2-8-36,” IUR 2, no. 8 (August 1977): 3) June 28 — Night. A man with a flat tire is stopped on the highway between Abadan and Ahvaz, Khuzestan,
Iran, when he suddenly feels heat from a nearby “huge, bright object” that changes from red to green to purple to
blue. Its lights go off, and as the witness sits in the car to sleep, the light returns, even closer. When he turns
off his car headlights, the UFO extinguishes its lights. (“
Review of Iranian UFO Reports,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 2
(Jan./Feb. 1981): 15) July–December — Numerous UFOs are reported in Colares, Pará, Brazil. Residents claim that scars on
their bodies are caused by lights in the sky that they call “Chupa Chupa” (literally “sucker-sucker”).
Believing it will keep the lights away, residents of Colares organize night vigils, light fires, and ignite
fireworks. Mayor
José Ildone
Favacho Soeiro officially requests help from the Brazilian Air Force. The operation, a historic military
operation in the Amazon basin, is commanded by Capt.
Uyrangê Bolivar Soares Nogueira de Hollanda Lima. In late 1977, several photos of
the lights are recorded, but the military remains skeptical. After approximately four months, the operation is
closed after the Air Force can identify no unusual phenomena. The official documents can be seen in the Brazilian
National Archives. According to ufologist
Jacques Vallée, a number of individuals are reportedly killed as a result of the “lightning” fired at them
by the UFOs, and injuries are consistent with radiation effects from microwaves. Other ufologists claim that the
lights from UFOs have sucked blood from 400 people. In 1997, two decades after the operation, Capt. Hollanda
gives an interview to ufologists
Ademar José Gevaerd and
Marco Antônio Petit where he recounts his experiences living alongside his men. Three months after the
interview, he is found dead in his home “after he seemingly hung himself using the belt of his bathrobe,”
attracting the interest of conspiracy theorists. (Wikipedia, “
Operação Prato”; Good Need,
pp. 367–368; Jacques Vallée, Confrontations, Ballantine, 1990,
pp. 136–139,
220–226; Bob Pratt,
UFO Danger Zone: Terror and Death in Brazil, Horus House, 1996; Timothy Good,
Unearthly Disclosure, Century, 2000, pp. 187–200; Clark III 838–857; Brazil 442–493; Skinwalkers 117–118; “
Caso Chupa-Chupa e Operação Prato,” Portal Fenomenum, March 14, 2022; Patrick Gross, “
Colares 1977”; Covert 195–206; “
Victims Talk Being Attacked by UFOs, Encounters Investigated by Brazilian Air Force: Operação Prato,”
Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, June 15, 2024; Clark IV 927–945) July — Howard Gontovnick begins monthly publication of UFO Canada in Laval, Quebec. It continues until
April 1979. (
UFO Canada 1, no. 1 (July 1977)) July — Flight Lieutenant A. M. Wood sees two luminous, round objects, 4–5 times the size of the full
moon, hovering 5,000 feet in the air over the sea off RAF Boulmer near Alnwick, Northumberland, England. Two
other base personnel, a Cpl. Torrington and a Sgt. Graham, watch the objects with Wood for almost 2 hours. They
are tracked on base radar and at RRH Staxton Wold. The objects separate, one moving west of the other and “as
it maneuvered it changed shape to become body-shaped with projections like arms and legs.” (“
RAF Boulmer: Reports of UFO Sightings Were Hushed Up,” Northumberland Today, January 28, 2005) July 1 — 3:00 a.m. Electronic alarms suddenly sound at NATO’s Aviano Air Base north of Pordenone,
Italy. Something has set off the magnetic and motion detectors in the high hurricane-type fence protecting
the compound. Simultaneously a power outage occurs at the Victor Alert facility that houses fighter aircraft,
and though a back-up system immediately kicks in, minor power fluxes go on for the next 15 to 20 minutes. An
American soldier named James Blake sees a large bright light hovering at a low altitude above a soybean field
about 600 feet beyond the fence line of the compound. Many soldiers see the object, which appears to be domed,
spinning, and changing colors. It is 150 feet in diameter and making a noise like a “swarm of bees.” USAF
security and a unit from the Italian National Police are dispatched, but the object moves away before the units
arrive. (Antonio Chiumiento, “
UFO Alert at a NATO Base in Italy,” Flying Saucer Review 30, no. 2 (December 1984): 2–5; Good Above,
pp. 144–145; Jerry Rowles, “
The Mystery of Aviano,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 334 (February 1996): 3–6; John S. Derr, “
Quake Light?” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 336 (April 1996): 19–20; Gerald E. Rowles, “
Update on Aviano,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 367 (November 1998): 19; UFOEv II 96–97; 1Pinotti 199–204;
Patrick Gross, “
Aviano AFB, Italy, July 1st, 1977”) July 2 - 12:45 p.m. A woman driving her car in Benton Harbor, Michigan, sees a silent
silver disc, edge on, with the apparent diameter of the full moon. It is hovering motionless with
its left side tilted down. Trees obscure her vision for about one minute; when they clear, the
object is gone. ("
Case 2-8-51," IUR 2, no. 8 (August 1977): 3) July 3 — 7:30 p.m. Jennifer F. Canfield and her husband are sitting on their front porch in
Pennsylvania across the Delaware River from Callicoon, New York, when they notice a brilliant light coming
slowly and silently up the river from the southeast at 1,000–1,500 feet. Through binoculars, it appears to
be a domed elliptical object with two headlights and apparent windows. The object suddenly blinks out. (“
1977 Sketch/Sighting and 1981 Sketch Similarity: Another One,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 4, no. 5 (Oct./Nov.
1983): 1, 7) July 3 — 9:30 p.m. A man in Clarksburg, West Virginia, briefly watches a silver rectangular object fly
under a low cloud cover toward the north. It climbs at a 30° angle and is lost in the clouds. (“
Case 2-8-54,” IUR 2, no. 8 (August 1977): 3) July 4 — 9:30 p.m. Ten witnesses in different parts of Rapid City, South Dakota, observe three dark
objects moving silently toward the west. Each has a row of closely spaced red lights randomly flashing. Two of
them seem to merge in the distance, and the remaining pair disappears into a cloud bank. (“
Case 2-8-55,” IUR 2, no. 9 (September 1977): wrap) July 6 — 6:30 p.m. At Bondowoso, East Java, Indonesia, a ham radio operator reports a UFO that moves
from west to east in about seven minutes. The object is flat, but positioned directly overhead it appears round
in shape and yellowish-green in color. It hovers for about 5 seconds, then resumes its movement and disappears
in the distance. (“
Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 2 (February 1978): 2) July 7 — 8:30 p.m. As some 3,000 people are attending an outdoor screening of a Romanian film in
Zhangpu County, Fujian, China, two objects appear in the sky, flying low. They emit an intense orange glow
and are only a few feet apart, traveling in complete silence for a few seconds before speeding out of sight.
A panic ensues, and allegedly 300 people are injured and two children killed. (Anthony Lee, “
UFO Reports from China (2),” Flying Saucer Review 28, no. 4 (March 1983): 24–25) July 7 — 11:00 p.m. The Russian motor ship Nikolay Ostrovsky is going north through the Strait of
Tartary, off the east coast of Russia, when the crew sees a cloud-like formation in the shape of a rectangle,
moving at the same speed as the ship, about 980–1,300 feet to the east. Radio operator O. Dereza has an eerie
feeling of being watched. It disappears at 11:32 p.m. (Stonehill and Mantle, Russia’s USO Secrets, Flying Disk,
2020, p. 115) July 9 — 2:30 a.m. A 38-year-old singer sees a dull-silver, saucer-shaped UFO hovering on the left
side of Telegraph Road in Flat Rock, Michigan. It is only about 200 feet above the ground and 150 feet from
the road. It has many red and green lights around its rim, and a beam of light illuminates the ground for 2
minutes. The object floats away over the treetops, moving toward the southwest. (“
Case 2-8-72,” IUR 2, no. 8 (August 1977): 3) July 12 — Night. A man and his daughter in Quebradillas, Puerto Rico, see a small humanoid in a green
inflated suit with a pointed helmet that has a light on top. When the daughter switches on an outside light,
it seems to be scared and activates a backpack that lets it climb upward over a neighboring farm and trees.
The cows react by making a racket. Another person in the area reports an illuminated UFO. (Jenny Randles,
“Superman vs. Airbus,” Fortean Times 323 (February 2015): 31) July 13 — 12:30 a.m. A couple in Dinwiddie, Virginia, see a large silvery star stationary in the
sky as rolling storm clouds pass overhead. It “skips” in position slightly once and increases in brightness
when lightning flashes. It disappears when another lightning strike occurs. (“
Case 2-8-84,” IUR 2, no. 8 (August 1977): wrap) July 15 — 11:45 p.m. Adult witnesses on a boat on the Colorado River near Blythe, California, watch
an oval light, 3–4 times the size of the moon, darting silently above them in all directions and on both sides
of the river. It stops abruptly, comes close to the boat, then curves around the river. (“
Case 2-9-2,” IUR 2, no. 9 (September 1977): 3) July 16 — 11:15 p.m. As Air India Flight 9, piloted by Capt. Dingra, makes its final approach to
Dum Dum Airport [now Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport] in Kolkata, India, air traffic controllers
notice a second object closing in on the Boeing 747. Witnesses on the ground report a saucer-shaped object
rushing toward the airliner. When it gets dangerously close, the passengers and crew can see it. It departs 2
miles from the aircraft’s final touch-down. (Good Need,
p. 304) July 16 — Before 12:00 midnight. A bright light in the west above Baton Rouge, Louisiana, moves 10°–15°
from its original position and back again. The object remains in the same position, even though the stars have
shifted by the time it is last seen at 1:15 a.m. (“
Case 2-9-4,” IUR 2, no. 9 (September 1977): 3) July 17 — Romanian ufologists Călin Turcu, Valeriu Niculescu, Adrian Pătruţ, and Augustin Moraru
establish an informal group called “Romanian UFO Researchers” (RUFOR). It publishes 27 issues of a RUFOR
newsletter between 1979 and 1986 and 21 issues of a RUFOR magazine in 1994–1996. (Romania 38–39) July 18 — 12:05 a.m. An intense blue-white glow hovers 200–300 feet above a creek near Fairview,
Pennsylvania. After 4 seconds, it jumps to the north with a hum “like a hair dryer” and is lost to sight. (“
Case 2-9-8,” IUR 2, no. 9 (September 1977): 3) July 21 — 4:15 a.m. Deputy Sheriff John W. Bruner and his partner, Officer John Coogler, are parked
at the intersection of Ford Road and Loop 494 in Porter, Texas, when they see a bright, pulsating white light
less than a mile away to the east. They shine a searchlight on the object and it reacts by moving toward them.
It goes back to its original position after they turn the light off. They watch the object for 45 minutes as
it alternately hovers, pulsates, moves at incredible speeds, and flies erratically. (“
UFO Sighting Starts Town’s Visual Debate,” Dallas (Tex.) Morning News, July 22, 1977, via APCIC clipping
service 2, no. 8 (August 1977): 20; “
Porter UFO Is Still a Mystery,” Humble (Tex.) Echo, July 28, 1977, via APCIC clipping service 2, no. 9
(September 1977): 13; “
Texas Police Spot UFO,” UFO Investigator, October 1977, p. 4; Powell, Scientist, 66–67) July 21 —
Frank Press, director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, writes to
Robert A. Frosch, NASA administrator, and explains that the White House is receiving numerous inquiries
about UFOs and wonders if NASA could form a small panel to follow up on the Condon report to see if there are
any new findings. Press also suggests that NASA become the focal point for further UFO inquiries. (Story,
p. 242; Richard C. Henry, “
UFOs and NASA,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 2, no. 2 (1988): 93, 109; Good Above,
pp. 368–369; Clark III 787; Clark IV 867) July 21 — 10:05 p.m. Witnesses in Glenview, Illinois, watch a light move from the north to the
southeast in about 3 seconds. It stops for 1 second, hooks backward, and stops again. When the witnesses
look back, it has disappeared. (“
Case 2-9-19,” IUR 2, no. 9 (September 1977): 3) Late July — 9:30 p.m. Ernest Longstaff is walking his dog along the beach at Lyne Sands about
one mile north of Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Northumberland, England. Suddenly he sees a metallic object like
two plates stuck together with a dome on top and a ring of square portholes revolving around the rim. They
are emitting red, smokeless flames. The object is about 25 feet wide, 15 feet high, and hovering 70 feet
above the shore. The dog has also seen it and seems to be listening. It begins moving slowly toward them
and descends to about 90 feet away, pauses, then moves back to the shore. Longstaff and the dog make a hasty
departure. (Alan Price cand Trisha Price, “
On a Northumbrian Shore,” Flying Saucer Review 24, no. 2 (August 1978): 7–8) July 23 — 12:45 a.m. A 26-year old woman and her 13-year-old niece look out their bedroom window
in Lindley, New York, before retiring and see 11 or 12 white lights in a dipper-shaped formation that are
moving about in the sky. One bright light appears on a hill 900 feet away. They hear a whooshing sound, then
two lights rise into the air. They next hear footsteps from Morgan Creek about 300 feet away and see two small
figures floating up and down in front of a tree. Then they see several more figures at various spots carrying
what seem to be flashlights. They wear tight-fitting, “skin diver” suits with glowing green belts. One of the
witnesses sees a luminous red rectangular object that approaches the creek and then backs away. At this point
both witnesses develop severe headaches. Then a figure on a distant hill on a neighbor’s farm shines a light on
a tombstone there, and the stone seems to rise up into the air and move back and forth. A figure taller than the
others, who are less than four feet tall, stands near the light on the hill and calls out an “ooh, ooh” signal.
The others all approach him and, 5 minutes later, deploy back into adjacent fields. One of them approaches the
house. He comes under the second-story window and drops to the ground, as if to conceal himself, then approaches
the door and rattles the handle. By this time, 3:45 a.m., the older witness has called her mother, who notifies
the state police. All of the lights and figures disappear just prior to the arrival of the police, the lights in
the sky indistinguishable from stars. Both witnesses believe only an hour has passed but in fact more than three
hours has elapsed. They complain of burning eyes and headaches that last for two days. The witnesses find three
footprints in the powdery dust of their driveway. Further incidents occur on July 25 and August 1. (Allan Hendry, “
The Lindley Episodes: CE III’s in New York State,” IUR 2, no. 9 (September 1977): 5–7) July 26 — 10:10 p.m. Astronomer Zhang Zhousheng and others watch a strange spiral object in the
air above a northern suburb of Chengdu, Sichuan, China. At its center is a yellowish light, with the arms of
the spiral blue and greenish. The object is 60° in the air and moving in a straight line at a constant speed.
It is visible for about 5 minutes before it is covered up by clouds. The object is visible to other witnesses
in localities along a 110-mile, north-to-south line, for as long as 10 minutes. (Wendelle Stevens and Paul
Dong, UFOs over Modern China, UFO Photo Archives, 1983, pp. 99–102) July 30 — Early morning. Airmen on the night shift at RAF Boulmer in Alnwick, Northumberland, England,
are alerted by a call from a civilian who is watching two bright objects hovering above the North Sea. Duty
controller Flight Lt. A. M. Wood and others on the base can also see them, hovering close to the shore at about
4,000–5,000 feet. They move apart slowly as they climb into the sky. The object on the west side is conical
with its apex at the top. It seems to be rotating and changes its shape to an arrowhead. It is apparently 4–5
times the size of a Whirlwind helicopter. After the objects move away out to sea, radar at RAF Boulmer picks
up two targets 20–30 miles out, corroborated by radar at RAF Patrington in Yorkshire. (UFOFiles2,
p. 92) July 31 — 6:30 p.m. A university art professor in Normal, Illinois, calls his wife and secretary
to see a silver “stretched cigar” three times its apparent diameter in length. The object flies in a slow,
straight path from southwest to northeast and is lost in the trees. (“
Case 2-9-68,” IUR 2, no. 9 (September 1977): 3) August — 9:30 p.m. Graham Niven sees two green objects in the southern sky at Raeford, North Carolina.
They are moving swiftly to the north. (“
One Reporting Witness: Two Reported Sightings,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 10 (October 1981): 1–2) August 1 — 9:30 a.m. An 11-year-old boy playing baseball in Springfield, Ohio, sees a white cigar-
shaped object flying southbound from low in the western sky for 15 seconds. (“
Case 2-9-70,” IUR 2, no. 9 (September 1977): 8) August 2 — Marauding UFOs destroy the town of Chester, Illinois, according to a hoax concocted by
Official UFO magazine publisher
Myron Fass. (Luke Grisholm, “The Night an American Town Died of Fright,” Official UFO 3, no. 1 (January
1978): 25–27, 53–56; Allan Hendry, “
Sleep Well, Chester, Illinois: It’s Ufology That’s Hurting,” IUR 3, no. 1 (January 1978): wrap; “Proof
Positive Chester Burned and Looted: Actual Photos,” Official UFO 3, no. 3 (April 1978): 11–19; Barbara Jordison, “
The Town That Wasn’t Zapped by UFOs,” Pursuit 12, no. 1 (Winter 1979): 20–21; Clark III 599; Clark IV 659) August 3 — Afternoon. NASA astrophysicist
Richard C. Henry is one of several persons asked to attend a meeting to discuss what to do about
Frank Press’s recommendation. The group decides to turn the issue over to Space Science Director
Noel W. Hinners. At the end of the meeting, Henry lets Hinners know that he has some relevant expertise on
UFOs (as a consultant to APRO). (Richard C. Henry, “
UFOs and NASA,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 2, no. 2 (1988): 93–142; Clark III 787–788; Clark 868) August 3 — Musician Mike Stevens is driving home on road A130 near Thaxted, Essex, UK, after a
recording session. He is driving a rented, three-month-old Vauxhall Chevette E. When he notices a red-orange
glow off the road, he stops to investigate, leaving his motor idling. Then he sees two orange-red objects
hovering about 900–1,200 feet away and about 50 feet off the ground. The more distant object on the left is
oval-shaped. The closer object has a circular center and some visible structural features. As he watches,
the closer object moves up, then back down to its original position, its color deepening, then it begins
moving slowly toward him. Concerned, he puts his car in gear and begins driving away. As he tops a hill and
starts down the other side, he shifts into fourth gear, but the car will not accelerate beyond 35 mph.
Otherwise it seems to be running normally. After continuing like this for about 1,200 feet, the car suddenly
surges forward in full power, accelerating to more than 50 mph, forcing Stevens to jam on the brakes. At
Chelmsford, Stevens goes directly to the police station to report the incident. (Andy Collins and Barry King, “
Thaxted—an EM Case?” BUFORA Journal 6, no. 5 (Jan./Feb. 1978): 16–17; UFOEv II 277–278) August 3–18 — Italian researchers Giovanni and Piero Mantero of the Centro Internazionale Richerche e
Studi sugli UFO in Genoa hold a 15-day skywatch on Monte Verrugoli west of La Spezia, Italy. The mountain is
known for reports of strange phenomena. During the skywatch a total of 108 nocturnal lights are observed, 82
appearing as points of light, 7 oblong in shape, 7 spherical, one like a tilted plate, 3 discoid, one like a
half-moon, and 7 other miscellaneous forms. Most are yellow, but some are reddish or blue. Occasionally the
unidentified lights seem to increase in luminosity in response to signals made with a flashlight. During their
presence, dogs in the neighborhood bark almost constantly. The objects disappear when conventional aircraft
appear in the sky. Sounds of breaking tree branches are heard, unidentified voices are registered on a tape
recorder, wristwatches malfunction, and areas of flattened grass are found. On one of the last nights of the
project, Giovanni Mantero claims to have seen a strange aerial entity with a transparent face. (Margaret Sachs,
The UFO Encyclopedia, Putnam, 1980,
pp. 232–233) August 4 — The offices of the Energy Research and Development Administration and the Federal
Energy Administration are dissolved and become the cabinet-level US Department of Energy, with the oversight
of policies on energy and safety in handling nuclear material. Its responsibilities include the nation’s
nuclear weapons program, nuclear reactor production for the US Navy, energy conservation, energy-related
research, radioactive waste disposal, and domestic energy production. It also directs research in genomics;
the Human Genome Project originated in a DOE initiative. (Wikipedia, “
United States Department of Energy”) August 4 - 9:10 p.m. A man in Teddington, southwest London, England, is outside watching the
sky when he sees a small light traveling fast to the right of a well known Heathrow Airport flight
path. Watching it through binoculars, it looks like a metallic submarine shape with five portholes.
It hovers for 20 seconds almost on the flight path. It moves away quickly when an aircraft approaches.
("
Foreign Forum," IUR 3, no. 6 (June 1978): 2) August 6 — 8:55 p.m. A young woman close to Port Columbus Airport [now John Glenn Columbus International
Airport] in Columbus, Ohio, stops her car to watch two cylindrical objects with bulbous ends approach her from
the southwest. They are dark gray or green and have bright white lights on opposite ends. They appear to bank
and twist for 10–15 seconds. One ascends, stops, and vanishes; the other does the same maneuver one second
later, all “too fast for airplanes.” (“
Case 2-9-81,” IUR 2, no. 9 (September 1977): 8) August 7 — A nearly perfect circular ring, 12 feet in diameter and 8 inches wide is discovered in
someone’s backyard on an island in the Mississippi River near Galena, Illinois. The ring is caused by a
substance composed of tiny beads that discolors the grass and leaves on the ground. A similar ring is found
near Chesterton, Indiana, on August 12. Analysis by the University of Chicago shows that the rings are caused
by slime mold. (Allan Hendry, “
A Physical Trace Doth Not a CE II Make,” IUR 2, no. 9 (September 1977): 4) August 9 — 2:00 p.m. A witness in Wheaton, Illinois, sees 8–16 pinpoints of light “like magnesium
burning” silently maneuvering in and out of the overcast clouds. They appear to be approaching very fast from
60° in the north. Looping and swooping, they move apart after about 15 seconds. (“
Case 2-9-85,” IUR 2, no. 9 (September 1977): 8) August 10 — 8:50 p.m. Two adult couples in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey, watch a bright, blue-green
star silently loping from low in the west toward the northeast for 30–45 seconds. (“
Case 2-9-87,” IUR 2, no. 9 (September 1977): wrap) August 11 — 8:05 p.m. A 37-year-old police detective in South Brunswick, New Jersey, watches a silent
disc-shaped object come over the horizon. Four other witnesses also see it. There is something that looks like a
rotating “radar mast” on the object. It rises into the clouds and shoots off toward the north-northeast after 3.5
minutes. (“
Case 2-9-88,” IUR 2, no. 9 (September 1977): wrap) August 11 — 8:45 p.m. A couple are driving near Hayden, Alabama, when they see an object hovering
silently about 150 feet in the air. A blue-gray light in its center turns on and they can see its disc-like
shape and size, which is about 65 feet in diameter. The object shoots north like a bullet, then stops a short
distance away. Keeping it in view, they drive home and call the police. The woman sees the UFO circle around
them three times and land. A second object comes out of the hills to the northeast and stops directly above
the first object at about 400 feet. The lower object rises up to join the other briefly, and they can see a
blinking red light on top. The objects accelerate to the south and vanish from sight. Total duration is 5
minutes. (“
Case 2-9-89,” IUR 2, no. 10 (October 1977): wrap) August 13 (approximately) — Night. At Nocero Umbra, Perugia, Italy, several witnesses, including
Bruno Vitali, see a cone-shaped object “more than a meter high.” Vitali tries unsuccessfully to hit the object
with his car because as he speeds forward, the object maintains the same distance. Students who investigate the
site later find a stone that is intensely hot 2 days after the encounter. (“
Foreign Forum,” IUR 2, no. 12 (November 1977): 2; Mark Rodeghier, “
UFO/Vehicle Very Close Encounters,” IUR 27, no. 1 (Spring 2002): 26, 32) Mid-August — Between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. Canute Jensen, 13, and Kevin Rurka, 12, are in a treehouse
on the Chris Jensen farm 27 miles north of Edmonton, Alberta. They are taking photos when they see a large,
dark, block-shaped object moving through the sky. Canute snaps three photos before the object disappears
upward in the clouds. (“
UFO Photographed from a Tree-House in Canada,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 8 (August 1981): 1, 6) August 15 — The Big Ear Radio Telescope in Delaware, Ohio, in searching for signals from
extraterrestrial civilizations, detects a strong, intermittent signal lasting for 72 seconds that stands
out distinctly from the background noise. The team quickly rules out a terrestrial origin or a broadcast
from a satellite. Nevertheless, the signal is so powerful and unusual that Jerry Ehman, the astronomer who
analyzes the data print out, annotates the signal with the word “Wow!” The Big Ear team continues to observe
the same part of the sky, as have others, but the Wow! signal never returns. In 2020, using the Gaia 3D star
database developed by the European Space Agency, amateur astronomer Alberto Caballero identifies a Sun-like
star, 2MASS 19281982-2640123, in the region of the sky where the Wow! signal originated. In 2024, a team of
scientists from the Planetary Habitability Laboratory at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo announces
that the signal might have been caused by the momentary brightening of cold hydrogen clouds by a stimulated
emission from a transient strong radiation source, such as a magnetar flare or soft gamma repeater. (Wikipedia, “
Wow! signal”; John Kraus, “
The Tantalizing ‘Wow!’ Signal,” Ohio State University Radio Observatory, January 30, 1994; Daniela Breitman, “
Wow! Signal Explained after 40 Years?” EarthSky, June 7, 2017; “
Sun-Like Star Identified As the Potential Source of the Wow! Signal,” Physics ArXiv Blog, November 19, 2020; “
The Wow Signal: Full Exclusive Sci-Fi Documentary, English HD 2022,” Watch Now Sci-Fi & Fantasy YouTube
channel, May 21, 2022; Graff 270–271; Abel Méndez, et al., “
Arecibo Wow! II: Revised Properties of the Wow! Signal from Archival Ohio SETI Data,” ArXiv, August 14,
2025; Christopher Plain, “
47-Year-Old ‘Wow! Signal’ Mystery Solved? Arecibo Observatory Scientists Think They Have an Answer,” The
Debrief, August 15, 2024; Leonard David, “
That Mysterious ‘Wow! Signal’ from Space?” Space, August 27, 2025) August 17 — 2:00 p.m. James R. Leming is driving on Interstate 70 westbound about 15 miles west of
the Nebraska–Colorado state border. He sees a strange object moving swiftly in the sky and pulls over to
watch. It moves to the north, then veers back to the highway and runs a parallel course along the interstate.
Directly over the road it remains stationary for 3 minutes, and Leming is able to take three photographs, only
one of which is not blurry because the object begins speeding away. He estimates it is 600 feet away, its
altitude at about 500 feet above the road, positioned at a 40° angle above the horizon, and 40–45 feet from
tip to tip with a downward curve at each end. Ground Saucer Watch explains the photo as a chip in the glass of
Leming’s windshield, but Leming contests that. (“
1977 Photograph/Sighting and 1982 Sketch Similarity,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 4, no. 4 (Aug./Sept. 1983):
1; Fred Adrian, “
Letter,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 4, no. 5 (Oct./Nov. 1983): 2–3; James R. Leming, “
Letter,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 4, no. 6 (Dec. 1983/Jan. 1984): 2)) August 28 — 12:10 a.m. For more than 20 minutes, police (including PC Ian MacKenzie, PS James Trohear,
PC Alexander Inglis, and PC David Wild) and citizens in Windermere, Cumbria, England, watch a large lighted
object in the shape of a “stingray fish” (triangular). It flies slowly at 1,500 feet altitude, hovering occasionally.
All witnesses describe it as silent, except for one, who hears a “quiet hum.” (“
Report 77/154,” Northern UFO News, no. 41 (October 1977): 8; Nick Redfern, A Covert Agenda: UFO Secrecy Exposed,
Simon & Schuster, 1997,
pp. 131–133) August 28 — 12:38 a.m. Two witnesses on a deserted rural boulevard near Hayward, California, see an
odd triangular object with red, blue, and white lights. They drive toward it, overtake it, and pass underneath,
and they see that it is much larger than the full moon. Then it turns abruptly and follows them, but they accelerate
to 65 mph and evade it. (“
Case 2-10-35,” IUR 2, no. 10 (October 1977): 3) August 28 — 8:40 p.m. The same couple in Hayden, Alabama, who saw a UFO on August 11 see a similar
bright object 2 miles away from the previous site. It has several beige lights, and it darts toward their car
in seconds when they stop to look. All the lights go out and come back on at the same time. (“
Case 2-10-37,” IUR 2, no. 10 (October 1977): 3) August 31 — 12:30–3:15 a.m. A total of seven witnesses see a lighted cylindrical object at the top of
a disused quarry on the road between Sturno and Frigento, Avellino, Italy. Near the object is an entity about 7
feet 10 inches tall. It has two red-orange lights in a spot where its eyes might be and is wearing metallic-
looking coveralls, a possible helmet, a metallic belt, and a black box on its arm. At one point the entity shines
a bright beam of light at them. The duration of the sighting is due to the original two witnesses going back and
forth to a nearby village to collect additional observers. A triangle of depressions is found that indicates
something as heavy as 40 tons has landed there. Some of the witnesses are regressed hypnotically and recall the
same narrative. (Maurizio Verga, “
Seven Scared Witnesses and a Humanoid,” Flying Saucer Review 25, no. 1 (May 1979): 17–19, 22; 1Pinotti
205–210) Fall — 5:20 p.m. A female police constable in Isfield, Sussex, England, sees a silent object flying
at 300 feet altitude while waiting for a bus. On an impulse, she waves at the object, which then approaches
her. It seems to be made of light greenish-gray metal with a moderately reflective surface. On top of its dome
is a blue-green light, and underneath the object is a dense, black, circular section. At its closest approach,
it is no further than 50 feet away. Her memory is unclear after this, but when the bus arrives, she feels numb
and uncoordinated and seems to have lost 20 minutes of time. (Good Above,
pp. 115,
457) September — Lt. Gen. Akira Hirano, chief of Japan’s Air Self-Defense Forces, admits that UFOs are
seen frequently in Japan and that they are quietly investigated. However, the following day his staff denies
that he intended to comment on official investigations. (Good Above,
p. 430) September — 11:00 p.m. Ethel May Field is in her backyard on Sea View Road, Parkstone, Poole,
England, when she hears a humming sound and sees a domed object approaching from the south-southwest and
emitting light from its perimeter and base. She estimates it is about 22 feet wide and fairly low, because
she can see two silver-suited figures within two windows on the dome. The entity on the right seems to be
operating controls. The other figure points down, as if gesturing to land. As it hovers above her garden a
moment, she shields her eyes with her hands and she feels a sensation of heat on her hands and a trembling
of the ground. After 20–30 seconds, she runs back to the house and the object speeds away to the northwest.
In the next few days, she develops a skin infection (dermatitis) on her hands. (Leslie Harris, “
Parkstone UFO and Occupants,” Flying Saucer Review 24, no. 2 (August 1978): 6–8) September 4 - 3:30 p.m. Farmer Luis Sandoval, 74, is resting in a hammock near Corozal,
Puerto Rico, when he decides to get up and move to another spot. He hears some popping noises
and sees an object like an elongated, bright blue candle. It moves toward him, making an
increasingly loud roaring-engine noise, then drops down beside him. The object abruptly turns
into a 3-foot-high dwarf, dressed in jacket and tie, with an ugly face. He speaks encouragingly,
says he is an extraterrestrial, and gives Sandoval a complete physical examination. The dwarf
steps away to admire the scenery and says, "How nice Puerto Rico is." He then turns into a
flaming blue candle and vanishes upward in a flash. Other dwarf sightings take place in the
area. (Gordon Creighton, "
A New Medicare?" Flying Saucer Review 24, no. 2 (August 1978): 9) September 5 — NASA launches the Voyager 1 space probe to study the outer Solar System and interstellar
space beyond the Sun's heliosphere. It is launched 16 days after its twin Voyager 2. It communicates through
the NASA Deep Space Network to receive routine commands and to transmit data to Earth. The probe makes flybys
of Jupiter, Saturn, and Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. Voyager 1 studies the weather, magnetic fields, and rings
of the two gas giants and is the first probe to provide detailed images of their moons. Both Voyagers carry a
gold-plated audio-visual disc, should the spacecraft ever be found by intelligent life forms from other planetary
systems. The disc carries photos of the Earth and its lifeforms, a range of scientific information, spoken
greetings from people such as the Secretary-General of the United Nations
Kurt Waldheim and President
Jimmy Carter and a medley, “Sounds of Earth,” that includes the sounds of whales, a baby crying, waves breaking
on a shore, and a collection of music including works by
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Blind Willie Johnson,
Chuck Berry, and
Valya Balkanska. Other Eastern and Western classics are included, as well as various performances of
indigenous music from around the world. The record also contains greetings in 55 different languages. Voyager
1 crosses the heliopause and enters interstellar space on August 25, 2012, making it the first spacecraft to
do so. Two years later, Voyager 1 begins experiencing a third “tsunami wave” of coronal mass ejections from
the Sun that continue to at least December 15, 2014, further confirming that the probe is indeed in interstellar
space. On December 12, 2023, NASA announces that Voyager 1’s flight data system is currently unable to use its
telemetry modulation unit, rendering the probe unable to transmit scientific data. It is currently unknown
whether the probe will be able to continue its mission. (Wikipedia, “
Voyager 1”; Graff 271–273) September 6 — NASA administrator
Robert Frosch responds to
Frank Press, saying that he is “inclined to agree” with his recommendation on a new UFO panel; however, NASA
wants to be assured that an inquiry is “justified,” and that if funding is provided, it could hire a project
officer to review reports from the past 10 years. (Richard C. Henry, “
UFOs and NASA,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 2, no. 2 (1988): 93, 110–111; Clark III 787; Clark IV 867) September 7 — 10:24 p.m. A white glow is seen rushing silently three times over a 15-minute period
in Tooele, Utah. It first travels to the south but executes a 90° turn toward the west. Five minutes later
it returns, moving east. Ten minutes later it reappears, slower and lower, moving to the northeast. (“
Case 2-10-58,” IUR 2, no. 10 (October 1977): 3) September 8 — 12:30 a.m. An ex-pilot sees a dark, bullet-shaped object while walking his dog in New
Orleans, Louisiana. It rushes silently to the east and changes course slightly to the southeast. (“
Case 2-10-60,” IUR 2, no. 10 (October 1977): 3) September 9 — Grenada Prime Minister
Eric Gairy meets with President
Jimmy Carter in the White House for 45 minutes. Carter gives Gairy a copy of the Condon report. (Dolan II 143) September 14 —
Press again asks
Frosch for help with
Carter’s UFO mail problem and repeats his suggestion for a scientific UFO panel to investigate reports.
(Richard C. Henry, “
UFOs and NASA,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 2, no. 2 (1988): 93, 114; presidentialufo.com, “
President Jimmy Carter”) September 15 — 2:15 a.m. A 33-year-old bus driver named Antonio Bogado La Rúbia leaves his home in
Paciência, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to catch a bus. As he is walking by a deserted field, he sees a UFO “like
an enormous hat.” He takes two steps back and is grabbed by two men. Suddenly he is floating inside the UFO,
surrounded by two rows of a dozen men each, about 5 feet 5 inches tall. They are wearing football-shaped helmets
with a wide band running across the broad portion and are cut into mirror-like sections from which blue flashes
are emitted. They seem like robots, but La Rúbia can hear them breathing. A typical abduction scenario follows.
(“
Brazilian CE4 Case,” APRO Bulletin 26, no. 4 (October 1977): 1–4; “
Foreign Forum,” IUR 2, no. 11 (November 1977): 2, 8; “
Ufonautas Unipedais (Robôs) Seqüestram Motorista de Ônibus no Rio de Janeiro,” SBEDV Boletim, no. 121/125
(March/Dec. 1978): 20–44; Brazil 211–224; “
Antonio La Rubia’s Abduction by Robot-Like Beings and UFO Encounter in Paciencia, Brazil, 1977,” Eyes on
Cinema YouTube channel, September 2023; Eghigian, After, p. 265) Late September — 1:00 a.m. A witness working as a receptionist at the Paralela 45 Motel on Highway
1 north of Ploieşti, Romania, sees a large object 3–4 times as large as the Moon, which is visible in another
part of the sky. It has an orange-red core with a yellowish-red halo at the edges. It stands motionless for 3–4
minutes, then descends slowly toward the southwest before shooting away at an incredible speed. (Romania 42–43) September 17 — 2:00 a.m. A couple driving near Kargowa, Poland, notice two unusual lights in the sky.
They drive a half mile further, then the lights approach them at incredible speed and hover above the car. The
driver stops to look at them and notices that one light is bigger and whiter than the smaller yellowish light.
When he drives away, the lights continue to pace them for 6 miles, keeping 10–30 feet away from the car until
they reach Wolsztyn, where they rise up and speed away. (Poland 32–33) September 20 — 3:00 a.m. The watch officer of an Alfa-class nuclear submarine in the White Sea off
Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, notices an object moving swiftly to the southwest. It seems to
stretch out, turning into a long, glowing ribbon. As it flies over him, it looks like a cylinder with one of
the ends becoming asymmetrical. The cylinder ejects small objects that fly off in different directions.
(Stonehill and Mantle, Russia’s USO Secrets, Flying Disk, 2020, pp. 13–14) September 20 — 4:00 a.m. A large “star” sending out beams of light appears moving slowly over
Petrozavodsk, Karelia, Russia. It is last seen as a semicircular glow, bright red in the middle and white on
the sides. The total duration is 10–12 minutes. Scientist Mikhail Dimitryev describes it as a “giant jellyfish.”
The phenomenon is seen over a vast territory, from Copenhagen, Denmark, and Helsinki, Finland, in the west to
Vladivostok, Primorsky Krai, Russia, in the east. Government officials from northern European countries send
letters to
Anatoly Alexandrov, president of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, expressing concern about whether the
observed phenomenon is caused by Soviet weapons testing and whether it constitutes a threat to the region’s
environment. Col.
Boris Sokolov reveals that the phenomenon is observed from 12:00 midnight by military men along the Finnish
border; when they try to report it, all their communications fail. All communications are restored after the
phenomenon ceases. Since 1977, the phenomenon has often (though not universally) been attributed to the launch
of the Soviet satellite Kosmos-955. In the same year, a preliminary report for the Academy of Sciences of the
USSR contains an immense body of visual observations, radiolocation reports, physical measurements, and
accompanying meteorological data. It concludes that “based on the available data, it is unfeasible to satisfactorily
understand the observed phenomenon.” (Wikipedia, “
Petrozavodsk phenomenon”; “
Foreign Forum,” IUR 2, no. 10 (October 1977): 2; Gordon Creighton, “
A Russian ‘Jellyfish,’” Flying Saucer Review 23, no. 4 (January 1978): 19–20; Dale P. Cruikshank and David W. Swift, “
The Petrozavodsk Phenomenon,” Journal of UFO Studies, orig. ser. 2 (1980): 91–94; James E. Oberg, “Russia’s
Jellyfish UFO,” Aviation/Space 9, no. 1 (January/February 1982): 29, 31; James E. Oberg, “
The Great Soviet UFO Coverup, Part II,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 177 (November 1982): 6–10; James E. Oberg,
UFOs and Outer Space Mysteries, Donning, 1982,
pp. 161–181; Enrique Vicente, “UFOs in the Soviet Union,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, pp. 118–119;
Yulii V. Platov and Boris A. Sokolov, “
The Study of Unidentified Flying Objects in the Soviet Union,” Herald of the Russian Academy of Sciences 70, no. 3
(2000): 244–251; Good Need,
pp. 351; Eghigian, After, p. 226) September 21 — Ground Saucer Watch files a complaint, spearheaded by lawyers
Peter Gersten and
Henry Rothblatt, with the CIA for failure to produce materials on the 1952 Ralph Mayher incident and the
Durant report on the 1953 Robertson Panel. (“
CIA Sued over UFO ‘Cover-Up,’” IUR 3, no. 1 (January 1978): wrap; “
CAUS Picking Up Where GSW and NICAP Left Off,” Just Cause 1, no. 1 (April 1978): 1–4) September 21 — 8:47 p.m. A student notices a flashing light in the northern sky in Phoenix, Arizona.
Suddenly, a formation of 8 triangles with rounded edges appears, 7 of them in a straight line, equally spaced.
The eighth is slightly forward. They shoot noiselessly overhead and are lost in the glare of the southern sky.
One crosses the face of the Moon. (“
Case 2-11-9,” IUR 2, no. 11 (November 1977): 3) September 22 — 5:25 a.m. Capt. George Didlake, piloting Continental Airlines Flight 954, is climbing to
33,000 feet out of El Paso, Texas, when he sees an elongated object rapidly overtaking his DC-10. It has a row of
brightly illuminated windows running front to rear and is blow the aircraft at roughly 12,000 feet. First Officer
Jack Forsythe and Second Officer
Russ Goodenough see the object as well. It passes the aircraft at a speed “beyond comprehension,” makes a 90°
turn, and shoots up out of sight. (Dave Kenney, “
Airline Crew Spots UFO,” APRO Bulletin 26, no. 3 (September 1977): 1, 3) September 22 — Four FAA radar controllers in Omaha, Nebraska, track a large formation of unidentified
objects. They are gone from the scope in less than a minute at an estimated speed of 17,000 mph. (Bob Gribble, “
Pilot Sightings and Radar Trackings,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 181 (March 1983): 6) September 22 — 10:25 p.m. A police detective in Ardmore, Oklahoma, watches a pulsating star rush about
erratically. (“
Case 2-11-12,” IUR 2, no. 11 (November 1977): 3) Late September — 11:00 p.m. Ethel May Field is in her backyard in Parkstone, Poole, Dorset, England,
when she hears a humming nose and looks up. A circular object with a dome on top is approaching from the south-
southwest. Its surfaces are gray, and a brilliant blue-yellow light is streaming from the underside. It is about
20 feet in diameter, and Field can see two humanoid figures visible almost to the waist inside the dome. The
object hovers above her garden, its light so brilliant that she puts her hands up to shield her eyes. She can
feel the heat on her hands and a vibration in the ground for a second or two. The occupants have silver suits and
headgear. The figure on the right appears to be operating controls, while the one on the left is looking directly
at her, making a gesture as if pointing downward. Alarmed, she runs back to the house and the object speeds away
to the northwest. In the following week, she develops a skin irritation on the palms of her hands. (Leslie Harris, “
Parkstone UFO and Occupants,” Flying Saucer Review 24, no. 2 (August 1978): 6–8; UFOEv II 462–463) September 27 — 4:36 a.m. A witness is driving toward Kirksville, Missouri, about 6 miles west of
town when he notices a light behind him to the left. It is a yellow-orange object with flashing red lights,
as big as the Moon, and is following him about 500 feet away at treetop level. He increases his speed to 120 mph,
but the UFO keeps the same pace. As he reaches town the object climbs slightly and shoots off out of sight in 2
seconds. (“
Case 2-11-22,” IUR 2, no. 11 (November 1977): 3) September 27 — 12:15 p.m. A dredge master and four crew members see a UFO that remains visible for
one minute off the northwest coast of Wowoni Island, Sulawesi, Indonesia. Consisting of a cone of translucent
material with dark spots, the object emits violet, white, and red light from its top. It has a forward, undulating
motion against the wind and is spinning on its axis at about 9,000 feet altitude. (“
Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 2 (February 1978): 2) September 28 — 2:45 p.m. A grocery store clerk watches a distant bright light moving west over
Burlington, Iowa. A second point of light appears, catches up to the first one, and both weave a figure 8
at least 6 times as they pass nearly overhead to the west. (“
Case 2-11-24,” IUR 2, no. 11 (November 1977): 3) Early autumn — 5:20 p.m. A woman police constable is waiting at a bus stop near Lewes, East Sussex,
England, when she notices a large, silent object at about 300 feet altitude. On impulse, she waves at the
object, which then comes closer. It seems to be made of a light greenish-gray metal with a moderately
reflective surface. A blue-green light is coming out of its dome, and underneath the object is a dense, black,
circular section. At closest approach, the UFO is no more than 50 feet away. She experiences a sense of
timelessness, and she later cannot account for about 20 minutes of time. When the bus arrives, she feels a
numbness as she fumbles for change. When she gets to the top deck, the object is gone. She develops an acute
headache that lasts into the following day. Her eyes burn and water for a week afterward, and she suffers
recurring gastric discomfort. (Patricia B. Grant, “
A Very Personal Encounter ‘Somewhere in Sussex,’” Flying Saucer Review 25, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1979):
18–21; Good Above,
pp. 115–116,
457) October — The Petrozavodsk phenomenon in Russia contributes to the creation of the Setka program—
Soviet research into anomalous atmospheric phenomena, proposed by scientist
Anatoly Alexandrov. Two secret research commissions are set up: the Setka-MO, under the orders of the
Ministry of Defense and composed mainly of military personnel, and the Setka-AN, under the orders of the
Soviet Academy of Sciences and composed of scientists. The first group, led by NII-22 (an institute for
aviation defense), has the task of studying the military aspects of the problem, such as the possible
influences of the UFOs on the malfunctioning of military devices and installations; the ministry names
special officers in all military units who are tasked with the responsibility of watching out for unusual
phenomena. The second group, led by IZMIRAN (the Pushkov Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere,
and Radiowave Propagation of the Russian Academy of Sciences), studies physical effects related to UFOs
and tries to understand the causes. The coordination of the first commission is entrusted to Col.
Boris Sokolov, that of the second commission to Prof.
Vladimir Migulin, supported by Dr.
Yulii Platov as deputy coordinator. The Military-Industrial Commission of the USSR serves as a liaison
between the two groups. According to one of his aides, Igor Sinitsin, it is KGB Chairman
Yuri Andropov who initiates these programs. (Wikipedia, “
Programma Setka”; Good Above,
p. 237; Yulii V. Platov and Boris A. Sokolov, “
The Study of Unidentified Flying Objects in the Soviet Union,” Herald of the Russian
Academy of Sciences 70, no. 3 (2000): 244–251; Nick Paton Walsh, “
KGB Chief Ordered 4m Soldiers to Keep Watching the Skies for UFOs,” The Guardian, March 23, 2003; Good Need,
pp. 351–352; Mikhail Gershtein, “
A Short History of UFO Research in the Former Soviet Union,” UAP Check, July 6, 2024; Eghigian, After, p. 226) October 1 - 7:00 p.m. Leo and John Girardeau are hunting 3 miles west of Libau, Manitoba,
when they see an object approaching from the west at an altitude of 500 feet. As it approaches,
the witnesses go into their truck and turn on the lights. The object, about 75-100 feet wide
and 25-30 feet high, reverses direction and moves westward. One of the men fires a shotgun to
lure it back; when this fails, they pursue it in their truck. Running out of road a few miles
later, they stop and watch it move out of sight. ("
Foreign Forum," IUR 2, no. 12 (December 1977): 2;
David Miller, "
Are We Being Watched by UFOs?" Toronto (Ont.) Sunday Star, July 8,
1984, p. A8) October 4 — 2:45 p.m. A group of 10 children see a strange object hovering between two trees
while they are playing at Upton Primary Junior School in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. Their teacher,
Mrs. Hindmarsh, immediately separates them and asks them to draw what they have seen. Their drawings are
consistent, so she passes them on to the Cheshire police, who take the report seriously and check with the
Manchester Airport, which reports that nothing unusual was detected on radar. (UFOFiles2,
p. 97) October 5 — 10:40 a.m. TV cameramen Manuel Juarez and Oscar Tobar are videotaping a car commercial
in Guatemala City, Guatemala, when a UFO comes into view. Instead, they videotape the UFO, which is in view
for 51 seconds moving at about 100 mph. (“
Foreign Forum,” IUR 2, no. 11 (November 1977): 8; “
First Photos of Guatemala Videotape,” IUR 3, no. 1 (January 1978): 7–8; “
OVNI Guatemala City 1977,” giottopersempre YouTube channel, October 16, 2011) October 7 — Prime Minister of Grenada
Eric Gairy addresses the UN General Assembly urging the recognition of UFOs as a serious international
scientific problem. He says that he has seen a UFO and was “totally overwhelmed” by the experience. (UFOEv II 20) October 7 — The Soviet submarine repair ship Volga is in the Barents Sea when its radar picks up an
unknown target approaching at a distance of 60 miles. Captain Tarankin goes to the bridge and sees 9 bright
discs moving in from the northeast. They arrive and circle around the ship’s masts for 18 minutes. During this
time, all of the ship’s communications links no longer work. Captain Tarankin tells his men to remember the
incident, so that no one will be able to say their captain is drunk or crazy. After the discs depart,
communications is restored. The incident raises some concern in the Soviet Navy, and Fleet Admiral
Nikolai Ivanovich Smirnov issues a directive on mandatory reporting of UFO sightings by Soviet hydrographic,
scientific research, and reconnaissance ships. The directive is written by naval officer and ufologist
Vladimir G. Azhazha and signed by Naval Deputy Chief of Staff Petr Nikolayevich Navoytsev. (Jacques Vallée,
UFO Chronicles of the Soviet Union: A Cosmic Samizdat, Ballantine, 1992,
pp. 29–30; Stonehill and Mantle, Russia’s USO Secrets, Flying Disk, 2020, pp. 11–13) October 9 — 8:30 p.m. Holly Prunchak is working as a security guard at the French-Hecht plant east of
Walcott, Iowa, when she sees flashing lights rising straight up from distant trees in the northwest. They level
off and move toward her. They are blinding in intensity and flash on and off like a beacon, apparently surrounded
by a dark oval shape. Her FM radio goes silent, and her walkie-talkie fails. All animal sounds go quiet when the
object is in view. The object looms about 300 feet away, passing near a streetlight that extinguishes for at
least one minute. The object drops down onto trees of an adjacent farm. At this point she hysterically calls
for help on a telephone intercom system, but no one takes her seriously. (“
CE II in Iowa,” IUR 2, no. 12 (December 1977): 4, 8) October 11 — The area around San Francisco Bay, California, is inundated with white, thick, sticky
clumps of “angel’s hair” material. The phenomenon is observed as far away as 100 miles from San Francisco and
reported dimensions reach 20 feet in length. An on-the-scene explanation from the University of California,
Berkeley, identifies the substance as aggregations of baby spiders’ webs in the course of “ballooning” travel,
and a laboratory analysis supports that explanation. (“
San Francisco Covered in White,” Austin (Tex.) American-Statesman, October 12, 1977, p. A7; Joseph S. Accetta, “
Angels Hair Revisited,” Journal of UFO Studies, orig. ser. 1 (1979): 32–34) October 11 — 7:55 p.m. A farmer in Fairfield, Vermont, hears an odd noise and looks out his window. He
and his family watch a bright light source (a bright red light flashing next to a dimmer white light) hovering
above a swamp. The object shines a light beam down into the swamp as if searching for something. A second red
light approaches from over a nearby house and comes within several hundred feet of the first object; both continue
to hover and circle. One vanishes at 11;30 p.m., while the other persists until 1:30 a.m. when the sky becomes
cloudy. (“
Case 2-11-53,” IUR 2, no. 11 (November 1977): wrap) October 13 — 3:55 p.m. A retired police officer and ex-pilot in Champaign, Illinois, watches, along
with other young men, a “star” in clear daylight rush from south-southeast to north-northeast, passing east of
overhead in a straight path without sound or trail. The estimated speed is Mach 1, but it slows down and stops
for the last 10–15 seconds before vanishing. (“
Case 2-11-60,” IUR 2, no. 11 (November 1977): wrap) October 13 — 10:15 p.m. S/Sgt Steven N. Haidinger is in his backyard at Chanute AFB [now closed] near
Rantoul, Illinois, where he is looking at the moon through his telescope. He hears what sounds like wind passing
around a building and looks straight up. About 500 feet in the air is an object slowly moving from the west-
northwest. He trains his telescope on it and tries to follow it. The object looks rectangular, about 150 feet
long, and 10 feet across. It has small, square indentations in patterns along its sides and it rotates as it
moves, about once every 2 seconds. It moves out of sight in about 12 minutes. (“
Correspondence,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 1 (January 1981): 2) October 14 — 7:00 p.m. A physician in Toledo, Ohio, watches a red-orange object moving silently east,
passing overhead, and disappearing in the distance. Possible balloon. (“
Case 2-11-63,” IUR 2, no. 11 (November 1977): wrap) October 15 — 6:45 p.m. British diplomat Alan K. Rothnie is driving near Rolvenden, Kent, England, when he
sees a glowing bluish object in the sky traveling fast from south to north and shaped “somewhat like a flattened
avocado pear.” The blunt leading end seems to be rimmed with a shining metal, and the back end is trailing sparks.
The object moves away in 90 seconds. (UFOFiles2,
pp. 87–88) October 17 — A woman and her children watch a blindingly bright red light from their first-floor porch
in Uccle, Belgium. It is stationary and silent for one hour in the southwest at an estimated 1,000 feet altitude.
Finally, the object moves toward the west, then north, and disappears in the distance. An independent group of
witnesses several streets away also watch the light. A half-hour later, the daughter of the original family sees
another pair of similar objects in the south about 400–500 feet off the ground. These circle for 30 minutes and
then disappear to the south. One hour later, the family watches another bright light maneuvering in the southwest
before disappearing. (“
Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 3 (March 1978): 2) October 20 — Several witnesses in San José, Costa Rica, see lighted objects around Pico Blanco, a
mountain to the south of town. One physician sees a “squat, orange object” for 20 minutes until it ascends at
great speed and disappears. (“
Foreign Forum,” IUR 2, no 12 (December 1977): 2) October 20 — 8:15 p.m. Keith Kilford and Philip Staff watch a small orange triangle over a house in
Bromley, Kent, England, that grows to twice its size, shrinks again, and moves rapidly away until it disappears.
It reappears about 10 minutes later and disappears again. (“
Foreign Forum,” IUR 2, no 12 (December 1977): 2) October 22 — 2:40 a.m. A half-moon-shaped orange cloud, 3 times the size of the Moon, is seen hovering
and descending at Irondequoit, New York. Chunks “like teardrops” are seen falling off. (“
Case 2-12-16,” IUR 2, no. 12 (December 1977): 3) October 23 — 3:30 a.m. A glowing triangular white cloud is seen in Rochester, New York, receding
to the southwest. (“
Case 2-12-17,” IUR 2, no. 12 (December 1977): 3) October 24 — 2:00 a.m. A musician watches a saucer-shaped object at Cerrillos, New Mexico, approaching
at a low angle from the south. It moves across his view for 15–30 seconds, stops for 15–20 seconds in the southwest,
and zooms away. (“
Case 2-12-25,” IUR 2, no. 12 (December 1977): 3) October 25 — 5:30 p.m. Three witnesses, including two deaf 14-year-olds, Johnny Myhr and Frank Sverre
Mandt, view a disc-shaped object some 33 feet in diameter that hovers and then descends behind some bushes at
Åsbygda, Ringerinke, Norway. After about 10 seconds it rises into the air again. The boys run to the nearby
Alm school. They notice the object ascending at a 40° angle and see several windows in the craft. What appears
to be a human-looking person is behind one of the windows. Tracks are later found in the newly plowed field.
Each track is rectangular with rounded corners, and measures 5.5 inches by 1.2 feet with a depth of 4 inches.
The tracks are arranged in a triangular shape. (“
Strange Aircraft Spotted in Åsbygda,” Nordic UFO Newsletter 1, no. 1 (1981): 16–18) October 26 — 12:45 p.m. En route from Dyess AFB near Abilene, Texas, to Dallas, cruising at 15,000
feet in a T-38 jet trainer, 1st Lt Seth Bryant (instructor pilot) and 1st Lt Choate (student pilot) overhear
transmissions from Fort Worth Air Route Traffic Control Center to another pilot who has seen a red object he
cannot identify. Choate then sees the red object and informs the pilot of its position. The object is flying
at 10,000–12,000 feet and seems stationary. The distance is estimated to be about 23 miles away. Initially,
the light is brilliant and appears to be closing rapidly. An evasive maneuver is considered but deemed
unnecessary. The pilot contacts Fort Worth Center, giving the position of the object and asks if he is tracking
anything on radar, but he isn’t. The size of the red light decreases, similar to a very slowly rotating beacon,
and is lost to sight. The total duration is less than a minute. Choate recalls static over his headset at the
time. (NICAP, “
Near Collision with T-33 / Radio Static”) October 27 — 5:35 p.m. At Cagliari Elmas Airport on Sardinia, Italy, three helicopters of the
Italian Army’s Aviazione Leggera dell’Esercito are followed for more than 5 minutes by an orange disc. It
is seen and tracked by both military and civilian witnesses and from the airport control tower. Air Force Col.
Giomaria orders a jet interceptor to take off but it fails to catch up to the intruder. Maj. Francesco Zoppi
and copilot Lt. Riccardelli manage to approach to within 1,000 feet. The sighting causes a feverish exchange
of messages between airport personnel, the NATO base at Decimomannu, Sardinia, the
USS Saratoga, and several military planes in flight. Col. Mario d’Angelo, commander of the airport’s Air
Force base, sends a detailed report to
Attilio Ruffini, the Italian Minister of Defense, who orders an investigation. (“
Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 4 (April 1978): 2; “
Italian Government Report,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 146 (April 1980): 15; Good Above,
pp. 145–146; 1Pinotti 211–213) October 29 — 7:30 a.m. A patrolman in North East, Pennsylvania, spots a brown, cigar-shaped object
moving towards him. He can see a tail fin. It changes direction to the southwest and disappears, (“
Case 2-12-37,” IUR 2, no. 12 (December 1977): 3) October 29 — 4:00 p.m. Four men at a gas station in downtown Hagerstown, Maryland, watch a round
white object half the size of the Moon. It silently orbits counterclockwise around a cloud, emerging from
behind, crossing in front, then disappearing behind. (“
Case 2-12-38,” IUR 2, no. 12 (December 1977): 3–wrap) October 29 - 7:45 p.m. Two young teenagers in North East, Pennsylvania, notice a light
flashing different colors in the west. They think they see a dark "pancake" body twice the
Moon's diameter attached to the light. They go into their house where they are babysitting,
and the object shines a spotlight down to the spot where they were originally standing. It
hovers about 10 feet above some grapevines, then swoops toward the house and moves into trees
to the north. They call police, but every time one visits the house, all they can see is a
distant light. ("
Case 2-12-39," IUR 2, no. 12 (December 1977):
wrap) October 29–November 3 — Police and citizens in the area of Erie, Pennsylvania, report multiple sightings
of star-like lights, some flashing. Some are likely aircraft. (“
Mini-’Flap’ in Northwestern Pennsylvania: But of IFOs?” IUR 2, no 12 (December 1977): wrap) October 31 — The National Enquirer sends a series of questions to Secretary of the Air Force John C.
Stetson about the 1975 Northern Tier UFO incidents. The Air Force admits they do not know what the objects
were. (ClearIntent,
pp. 23–24) October 31 —
David Williamson Jr., a NASA assistant administrator for special projects, drafts a memorandum of a proposed
letter to be signed by
Noel W. Hinners and sent to
Robert A. Frosch. The letter mentions a revival of interest in UFOs and paranormal phenomena, as well as new
sightings. It mentions a lack of tangible evidence to analyze and a lack of protocols for investigating UFOs as
hindrances to NASA setting up an investigatory panel: “All in all, undertaking a formal study at this time appears
to be fraught with peril.” Williamson sees two choices: refuse the project, or have NASA review the best cases
from civilian UFO organizations and new cases. He foresees problems with workload, peer pressure, and prejudgment—
an enormous expenditure of resources. However, he recommends examining the best cases from the civilian groups.
The inquiry will be handled by Hinners, Williamson, and NASA administrator
Kenneth D. Chapman. (Richard C. Henry, “
UFOs and NASA,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 2, no. 2 (1988): 93, 123–126; Clark III 788; Clark IV 868) October 31 — 9:35 p.m. Several students in Placentia, California, watch a disc with four lighted portholes
hovering and eclipsing the moon for a few seconds. It shoots away toward the north. (“
Case 2-12-46,” IUR 2, no. 12 (December 1977): wrap) November 1 — Afternoon. Students Johnny Myrh and Frank Sverre see a flying object approaching from the
north as they are walking home from a school bus station in Nybygda, Ringerike, Norway. The light-green object
lands about 300 feet away in a newly ploughed field. They see a human-like figure inside the object behind one of
its windows. After 10 seconds, the object lifts off, leaving three equally spaced marks in the ground, 1.2 feet
long and 3–7 inches wide. Each imprint is made by something with a curved bottom. The sighting is partially
corroborated by one of the attendants at the school who sees a shining object at the same time and place but at a
much greater distance. (“
Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 1 (January 1978): 2) November 2 — Italian Air Force pilots and pilots of two German Air Force F-101G Starfighters, as well
as the tower personnel at Cagliari Elmas Airport on Sardinia, Italy, see a circular or elliptical ball of fire
flying at tremendous speed. (Good Above,
p. 146) November 10 — 4:31 p.m. UFO researcher
Ray Stanford sees a stationary metallic gray object in the southwestern sky as he is walking his dog in Austin,
Texas. Its smaller end is at the top and there is a slight variance around the larger, lower end of the object,
which seems to be vibrating. After several seconds, it seems to elongate and rotate. After another 10 seconds, it
appears in the shape of a Coke bottle, then disappears quickly. (Ray Stanford, “
Letter,” IUR 7, no. 3 (May/June 1982): 3–4) November 12 — Evening.
William J. Hermann sees a disc-shaped object chasing a Cessna aircraft over Charleston, South Carolina. (“
Object Photographed over Charleston, S.C.,” APRO Bulletin 27, no. 1 (July 1978): 1–3; Clark III 570; Clark IV 628) November 15–16 — Close Encounters of the Third Kind, directed by
Steven Spielberg, premieres in New York City at the Ziegfeld Theater. The plot involves benevolent aliens who
make their presence known to selected individuals and world governments through escalating UFO waves. The film
culminates in a spectacular landing and contact hidden from the public by an ingenious cover-up. (Internet Movie
Database, “
Close Encounters of the Third Kind”; Vincent Canby, “
An Encounter That’s Out of This World,” New York Times, November 17, 1977, p. C19; Jennifer Henderson and George
M. Eberhart, “
30 Years of Close Encounters,” IUR 31, no. 3 (October 2007): 16–18, 28; Clark III 259; Clark IV 299) November 16 — 10:59 p.m. An alarm sounds at the Ellsworth AFB L-09 missile site 7 miles southwest
of Nisland, South Dakota. Two security men, Airmen 1st Class Kenneth Jenkins and Wayne E. Raeke, are dispatched
to the scene from Ellsworth. As Raeke is inspecting the rear fence line, he (allegedly) sees a helmeted figure
in a glowing green metallic suit. It points a weapon at Raeke’s rifle and causes it to disintegrate, burning his
hands and arms. Jenkins helps him back to their security vehicle. When Jenkins goes back to the rear fence line,
he sees two of these beings. They ignore his command to halt, so he opens fire on them. His bullets strike one
on the shoulder and the other in the helmet. The figures run over a hill and Jenkins pursues them. He sees them
entering a 20-foot-diameter saucer-shaped object that shoots away over the horizon. As Raeke is air-evacuated
from the scene, investigators discover that the missile’s nuclear components have been stolen. A follow-up
investigation by
Bob Pratt of the National Enquirer determines that Jenkins and Raeke are real and on active duty, but
everything else about the incident is bogus. Raeke has suffered no injuries and does not even know Jenkins. (“
Incident/Complaint Report,” November 16, 1977; Bob Pratt, “
The Truth about the ‘Ellsworth Case,’” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 191 (January 1984): 6–9; Clark III 358–359;
Clark 402–403) November 18 — 5:30 a.m. A hunter sees an object 4–5 times the size of the full moon ascending about
900 feet away in a wooded area near Richmond, Virginia. It is smoky-gray and egg-shaped with one white light
at the top and two flashing lights on the bottom. Possible balloon. (“
Case 3-1-12,” IUR 3, no. 1 (January 1978): 3) November 18 - 9:17 p.m. A bright white light moving at a high rate of speed comes alongside
a small Seneca 2 aircraft piloted by Gregory Barnett and flying at 13,000 feet between Vichy and
Troy, Missouri, and paces the airplane for 3 minutes. The light then moves away at high speed.
Barnett reports that while the light is abreast of his aircraft, one of his transponders stops
working. After the UFO pulls away, the transponder resumes its normal operation. The object paces
the aircraft for 3-4 miles at a distance of 17 miles and is fairly high above the aircraft. Barnett
turns on his other transponder and nothing happens, then the object takes off on a 120°-130° heading
and shoots out of sight. The second transponder recovers, but Barnett can never get the first one to
work again. He has no trouble with the other instruments. (NICAP, "
UFO KO's Transponder"; Bob Gribble, "
UFOs: Pilot Sightings and Radar Trackings, Part One,"
APRO Bulletin 31, no. 4 (March 1983): 1-3; Richard F. Haines, "
Aviation Safety in America: A Previously Neglected Factor," National Aviation Reporting
Center on Anomalous Phenomena, October 15, 2000, pp. 80-81) November 24 — 10:00 p.m. A polygraph examiner with experience as a pilot and sailor is sitting on her porch
in Smyrna, Georgia, when she notices an object the size of a distant aircraft fly out in front of the moon. The object
is white, intensely luminous, and shaped like a hemisphere. It hovers for a few seconds, shoots straight up, hovers
again, and then tilts back (showing its bottom portion with two Saturn-like rings of light) and flies back in front of
the moon and disappears. (“
Case 3-1-20,” IUR 3, no. 1 (January 1978): 3) November 27 —
William J. Hermann chases another disc-shaped UFO in Charleston, South Carolina, in his car and takes four photographs.
He has other sightings on December 2 and 4 and on January 22, 1978, when he snaps eight photos. (“
Object Photographed over Charleston, S.C.,” APRO Bulletin 27, no. 1 (July 1978): 1–3; Clark III 570; Clark IV 628) November 28 — Wellington Friday, UN ambassador at large for Grenada, addresses the United Nations on
the seriousness of the UFO phenomenon and the need for global cooperation in investigating them. He is aided in
his statement by ufologist
Leonard Stringfield. Friday appeals to UN Secretary General
Kurt Waldheim to convene UFO hearings. The next two days are focused on preparation of a draft resolution to
be presented to the General Assembly on November 30. The United States says that it can “sympathize” with Grenada’s
efforts but cannot support the draft resolution. On November 30, the US delegates, Coast Guard Cmdr. John Feigle
and John Krindler, meet with Grenada Prime Minister
Eric Gairy in a closed-door session to make the resolution more moderate. (Leonard H. Stringfield, “
Inside Look at Grenada’s UFO Mission at the United Nations,” IUR 3, no. 2 (February 1978): 6–7; “
United Nations Committee Supports UFO Study,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 131 (October 1978): 3–5; Antonio Huneeus, “
Rare Footage of Famous 1978 UN UFO Hearing Found,” Open Minds, May 13, 2011) November 29 — About 10:15 a.m. Hamish McLean, a New Zealand UFO investigator, receives an anonymous
phone call about a sighting in progress and drives to the Waimata River Valley near Gisborne to investigate.
He sees a dome-shaped object hovering at about 300 feet above a hill some 500 feet away. When McLean stops
his car and gets out, the UFO suddenly speeds directly toward him and stops about 200 feet away. After about
3 minutes, a bright blue beam of light shoots out from a small square aperture on its lower left side and focuses
on a dead Monterey cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa) tree trunk about 150 feet from McLean. The trunk instantly
lights up like a Christmas tree, fluorescing a different color on each branch for seven seconds until the blue
beam disappears. Sheep in the meadow are bleating, run down the hill away from the object, and mill around in
small groups. The object then moves about 50 feet to the right, where it hovers for two more minutes before
swooping back over the hill. Later investigation of the tree turns up nothing unusual. (UFOEv II 224–225) November 30 — In response to the question by
Brinsley Le Poer Trench in the House of Lords whether British policemen are investigating UFO reports
like the gendarmerie in France is doing,
John Harris of Greenwich responds that the police do not collect or investigate UFO incidents. (Isaac Koi, “
UFOs in Parliament (UK),” Isaac Koi—UFOs and Parliament, 2024) December — GEPAN’s Scientific Council holds its first meeting. The group is given a two-volume report
of 290 pages, including three general presentations, three detailed investigations, an analysis of two UFO
photos, and five statistical analyses of samples and cases. The council reaches conclusions and recommendations
for further study. (Gildas Bourdais, “
From GEPAN to SEPRA: Official UFO Studies in France,” IUR 25, no. 4 (Winter 2000–2001): 12; Graff 266–267) December —
Jim and Coral Lorenzen publish Abducted!, a collection of 20 years of UFO abduction cases. Most of the
aliens they describe are small with large heads and eyes, no hair, and communicate by telepathy. They suggest
that abductions are the latest logical step in an alien information-gathering process. Each abductee, they
believe, has specific information of value to the aliens. (Coral and Jim Lorenzen,
Abducted! Confrontations with Beings from Outer Space, Berkley, 1977) Early December — 5:15 p.m. A witness is driving from Falck to Brettnach, Moselle, France, when
he notices three lights on a triangular object hovering silently. It disappears abruptly. (Marler
98) December 1 — The Have Blue HB1001 stealth aircraft is tested for the first time at Area 52 in
the Tonopah Test Range by pilot
Bill Park. (Wikipedia, “
Lockheed Have Blue”) December 1 — 8:28 p.m. An electrician is driving east out of Elm City, North Carolina, when a large object
drifts into view from the north. It has one intense headlight in front, 4–6 blue lights around the edges, and many
red and white lights forming portholes along the sides. It is shaped like a torpedo with four swept-back fins at
the back with a round band connecting them, and it is making a humming sound. (“
Case 3-1-30,” IUR 3, no. 1 (January 1978): 3, wrap) December 1, 6, and 12 — In the House of Lords, Lord Clancarty,
Brinsley Le Poer Trench, keeps bringing up
the official investigation of UFOs in France. (Isaac Koi, “
UFOs in Parliament (UK),” Isaac Koi—UFOs and Parliament, 2024)) December 2 — Night. A farmer in the Waimata Valley of New Zealand wakes up when his dogs bark loudly
in their kennels. He goes to the back door and sees a landed saucer-shaped craft in a paddock about 100 feet away.
It is about 50 feet in diameter and bright red with two open doors in the side. By the kennels he sees two humanoid
beings about 4 feet 8 inches in height with slim builds. They are carrying one of the dogs, which appears comatose.
The farmer shoots and hits one of the creatures, apparently startling them into dropping the animal. The being that
is hit runs off into the bushes, and the other runs into the UFO, which then ascends vertically. The dog remains
dazed for a few minutes and then becomes agitated. (“
Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 6 (June 1978): 2; Keith Basterfield, “
UFO Entities in Australasia, 1977: A Summary,” ACOS Bulletin, no. 20 (August 1979): 10; Keith Basterfield, “
New Zealand Entity Reports,” UFO Research Australia Newsletter 4, no. 2 (Sept./Oct. 1983): 6, 8) December 6 — 7:30 p.m. Three people in a car near Tatapouri Point, New Zealand, see a red disc coming
from the direction of the ocean. It seems to follow their car for about one mile until the driver stops. At that
instant, the object veers off into the hills northwest toward the Waimata Valley. They note their car lights are
much dimmer than usual, and on arriving at their destination discover that the car battery has no water in it. (“
Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 6 (June 1978): 2) December 6 — 9:05 p.m. A man in Big Sandy, Tennessee, sees an unusual configuration of lights outside
his bedroom window in the east-northeast. They are oriented like a telephone pole with a red light on top and
many white and blue lights down both sides. He and his wife watch the object for 10 minutes as it hovers, drops
down, and glides to another hovering position. Eventually it moves out of sight behind trees. (“
Case 3-1-40,” IUR 3, no. 1 (January 1978): wrap) December 7 — The United Nations draft resolution on UFO investigations is shelved until next year’s
General Assembly. (“
United Nations Shelves UFO Involvement,” IUR 3, no. 1 (January 1978): wrap; Leonard H. Stringfield, “
Inside Look at Grenada’s UFO Mission at the United Nations,” IUR 3, no. 2 (February 1978): 7) December 8 — 8:00 p.m. Air traffic controllers at Oxnard, California, track four UFOs about 3–5
miles north of Laguna Peak in the Santa Monica Mountains. They watch the targets for nearly 3 hours. At
8:45 p.m., a Golden West commuter aircraft reports two large bright lights maneuvering around it for 15
minutes. The pilot says the object approaches so close that it “scared the hell out of me.” One paces the
aircraft for 10 miles, moves away, then comes back across the path of the airliner at a tremendous speed.
(Bob Gribble, “
Pilot Sightings and Radar Trackings,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 181 (March 1983): 6; UFOEv II 135) December 9 — 5:30 p.m. Lindsay McKenzie-Smith and his wife are flying over the Northern Territory
some 62 miles east of Kununurra, Western Australia, in a Cessna 206 at 5,250 feet altitude, when they see an
object approaching. It passes below them and disappears behind them. The object is oval in shape, appears
metallic, and seems to be 30 feet long by 6–10 feet wide and probably 3 feet thick. It has well-defined
edges and a dull surface. The object flies sideways just like an aircraft wing. (NICAP, “
Radio Static Prevents Radio Reporting”; Keith Basterfield, “
Reported Observations from Aircraft over Australasia, 1977–1979,” ACOS Bulletin, no. 21 (October 1979):
4; Keith Basterfield, “Reported Observations from Aircraft over Australasia, 1977–1979,” UFO Research
Australia Newsletter 1, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1980): 29 December 13 — The UN General Assembly adopts Decision 32/424, which acknowledges
Eric Gairy’s resolution, forwards it to member states, and shelves the matter until the next general
assembly one year later. (Leonard H. Stringfield, “
My Advisory Role for Grenada’s UFO Mission at the United Nations,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 120
(November 1977): 10–11) December 13 — The National Enquirer publishes
Bob Pratt’s well-researched article, “UFOs Spotted at Nuclear Bases and Missile Sites” about the Northern
Tier cases. He lists names and dates that can be used for a FOIA request, which UFO researcher
Barry Greenwood
promptly files. (Bob Pratt, “
UFOs Spotted at Nuclear Bases and Missile Sites,” National Enquirer, December 13, 1977; ClearIntent,
pp. 5–6) December 17 — 3:34 a.m. Radar facilities in Colorado and South Dakota track two UFOs that give
strong returns, moving at more than 1,000 mph. They are tracked for the next 30 minutes, during which time
one of the objects makes a close head-on pass at an aircraft. A third radar station is unable to function
while the unknowns are in the area. One of the other facilities is put out of operation when the main shaft
holding the radar antenna is severely bent by an unknown force. (Bob Gribble, “
Pilot Sightings and Radar Trackings,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 181 (March 1983): 6) December 17 — 4:00 p.m. Marguerite Camp is in her pickup truck on State Highway 2 near Kenyon,
Rhode Island, when she spots an “ovoid, plate-like” object that is tilted slightly to the west. She stops
and gets out to watch the UFO, which is 3–4 times the size of a B-29 in diameter and glowing blue-white. She
sees 4–5 dark windows and its bottom half is blurry. Another woman, driving an AMC Gremlin, pulls up behind her.
While they are watching the object, the engines of both vehicles stall. The object turns up on its edge and
climbs vertically, and hovers for 10 more minutes. The second woman gets back in her car, starts it up, and
drives away. The object speeds off to the west, takes on a pinkish glow, and fades in the distance. (Dan Todd, “
Large Objects Stalls Autos,” APRO Bulletin 27, no. 1 (July 1978): 4–5) December 17 — 7:45 p.m. A red, luminous object is seen by Kenny and Carol Drake of Council Bluffs,
Iowa, falling to earth near the northern city limits. At the scene, they find an area covered by molten metal
that is glowing orange-red, igniting the grass. Police and firemen who arrive 15 minutes later all see the
fallen mass, estimated at 35–55 pounds. An investigation concludes that it is not space debris, a meteorite,
or a hoax. Two of the 11 witnesses to the fall describe a round object hovering in the sky, edged by blinking
red lights. The retrieved material is analyzed by the Griffin Pipe Products Company and found to be composed
of high-carbon steel and slag with white ash inclusions. (“
Mystery Metal Falls from Sky,” Council Bluffs (Iowa) Daily Nonpareil, December 18, 1977, p. 18; “
‘Space Junk’ Falls near Council Bluffs,” Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Gazette, December 20, 1977, p. 8; Jacques Vallée, “
Physical Analyses in Ten Cases of Unexplained Aerial Objects with Material Samples,” Journal of Scientific
Exploration 12, no. 3 (1998): 367–372; Richard Warner, “
Close Encounter at Big Lake,” Historical Society of Pottawattamie County, April 19, 2020; Keith Basterfield, “
Vallée–Nolan, et al., Peer Reviewed Analysis of Unusual Materials Paper Published,” Unidentified Aerial
Phenomena—Scientific Research, December 11, 2021; Garry P. Nolan, Jacques F. Vallée, Sizun Jiang, and Larry G, Lemke, “
Improved Instrumental Techniques, Including Isotopic Analysis, Applicable to the Characterization of Unusual
Materials with Potential Relevance to Aerospace Forensics,” Progress in Aerospace Sciences 128 (January 2022);
Rachel George, “
Big Lake UFO Sighting Marks 46th Anniversary in Council Bluffs,” Council Bluffs (Iowa) Daily Nonpareil, December
16, 2023; Kevin D. Randle, “
Imminent and the Council Bluffs UFO Incident,” A Different Perspective, August 28, 2024) December 21 — NASA administrator
Robert A. Frosch sends a response to
Frank Press at OSTP, saying that NASA would be willing to continue to answer public inquiries and examine
any bona fide new physical evidence that comes in, but declines to set up a panel to investigate cases. (“
NASA Letter Declines UFO ‘Research Activity,’” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 120 (November 1977): 6; Story,
pp. 242–243; ClearIntent,
p. 193; Richard C. Henry, “
UFOs and NASA,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 2, no. 2 (1988): 93, 115–116; presidentialufo.com, “
President Jimmy Carter”; Clark III 788–789; Clark IV 868–869) December 27 — A White House press release states that it accepts NASA’s evaluation of the UFO
situation and will not pursue its initiative any further. December 27 — 10:54 p.m. Police officers Ron Arey and Howard Dellinger are flying in a Bell
Jetranger police helicopter at 1,100 feet in Charlotte, North Carolina, when they see two lights approaching
from the northwest. They pass the chopper to the right at an estimated 200 feet. Charlotte FAA air traffic
controller Ray Bader confirms two unknown targets on radar. Later on, the object circles the helicopter at
an estimated distance of 200 feet. The UFO looks like a globular white light reflecting upward into a silver,
parachute-like object with ribs connecting the light to it. Most likely a prank balloon. (“
Radar-Visual Case Involving Police Helicopter,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 121 (December 1977): 3–6; “
Object over N.C. on Dec. 27, 1977,” APRO Bulletin 26, no. 8 (February 1978): 1, 5); “
A Radar-Visual in Charlotte: UFO or Prank Balloon?” IUR 3, no. 3 (March 1978): 7–8) December 29 — Dutch researcher Jan Heering offers a comparative analysis of 62 cases involving
solid light beams. He finds at least four cases that are unreliably reported and suspects that there are
others, so much so thatin 1985 he discards his research and destroys his case reports. (Jan Heering, “
A Comparative Analysis of 62 ‘Solid Light’ Beam Cases,” UFO Phenomena (UPIAR) 2: (1977): 11–50; Clark IV 1214–1215) December 30 — Stanford astrophysicist
Peter A. Sturrock writes to
Frosch, offering to make available physical evidence “such as films, material samples, etc.” obtained
by his Study Group on Anomalous Phenomena. (Richard C. Henry, “
UFOs and NASA,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 2, no. 2
(1988): 93, 127; Clark III 789; Clark IV 869) December 30 — A white, oval light about 27 feet in diameter paces a car 90 feet away near
Keith, South Australia. The two witnesses, a brother and sister, report that as they slowed their car
to 5–10 kph, the engine begins misfiring. They stop, and the light continues on its course. After it is
gone, the car can be started again and driven with no difficulties. (Mark Rodeghier,
UFO Reports Involving Vehicle Interference, CUFOS, 1981, p. 72) A Gallup survey this year shows that 57% of Americans think UFOs are real, 9% have reported
a sighting, and 51% think there is intelligent life on other planets. Some 66% with a college
education think UFOs are real, while only 57% with a high school education and 36% with an
elementary school education agree. A Roper Organization survey finds that 7% have seen a UFO. ("
A New Gallup Poll on UFOs," IUR 3, no. 6 (June 1978): insert; Robert J.
Durant, "
Evolution of Public Opinion on UFOs," IUR 18, no. 6
(Nov./Dec. 1993): 13; Eghigian, After, p. 240)
Gene Duplantier publishes one issue of Ufolk in Willowdale, Ontario, a compendium of photos of many ufologists
active in the mid-1970s. (
Ufolk, no. 1 (1978)) After many years of informal contacts with the Italian military, Centro Ufologico Nazionale succeeds in
obtaining from the staff of the Italian Department of Defense the first official dossier of UFO sightings
reported by Italian military personnel during 1977. (Story,
p. 67) Brazilian ufologist
Irene Granchi begins publishing a quarterly magazine titled OVNI Documento in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
(Margaret Sachs, The UFO Encyclopedia, Putnam, 1980,
p. 235)
Timothy Green Beckley begins publishing a somewhat sensational UFO Review in New York City. It runs at least
until 1994. (
UFO Review, no. 1 (1978)) January — Playboy publishes a “panel discussion” on UFOs that features essays by
J. Allen Hynek,
R. Leo Sprinkle,
James A. Harder,
Frank Salisbury,
Jacques Vallée,
Philip J. Klass, and
Ernest H. Taves. (“
Playboy Panel: UFOs,” Playboy, January 1978, pp. 67–98, 128, 249–250) January — The Russian Academy of Sciences releases a report, translated by
Richard F. Haines and published by the Center for UFO Studies as Observations of Anomalous Atmospheric Phenomena
in the USSR: A Statistical Analysis, written by
Lev M. Gindilis of the Sternberg State Astronomical Institute in Moscow. Data processing and bookkeeping
is performed by I. G. Petrovskaya and most of the text is written by engineer-physicist D. A. Men’kov. Significantly,
the report is approved for official publication by Academician
Nikolai Kardashev, one of the USSR’s top experts in SETI. Its reports and data come from a sample of 256 Russian
cases compiled by
Felix Ziegel. According to space historian
James Oberg, many of the sightings in the report correspond to Soviet tests and reentries of the Fractional
Orbital Bombardment System, a nuclear weapons delivery system developed in 1966. (Wikipedia, “
Petrozavodsk phenomenon”; L. M. Gindilis, D. A. Men’kov, and I. G. Petrovskaya,
Observations of Anomalous Atmospheric Phenomena in the USSR: A Statistical Analysis, CUFOS, June 1980; J. Allen
Hynek and Richard F. Haines, “
Implications of and Comments on ‘Observations of Anomalous Atmospheric Phenomena in the U.S.S.R.: A Statistical
Analysis,” Journal of UFO Studies, orig. ser. 2 (1980): 95–101; “
Russian Report on UFOs,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 2, no. 5 (July/Aug. 1980): 16–17; James E. Oberg, “
The Great Soviet UFO Cover-Up: Part 1,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 176 (October 1982): 6–10; Swords 458–460;
Clark III 811; Clark IV 904) January —
Tom Adams launches Project Stigma in Paris, Texas, to investigate cattle mutilations and releases the first
issue of his bimonthly newsletter, Stigmata, which chronicles “mute” cases. It continues through 1987. (
Stigmata, no. 1 (January 1978)) January — During the flight of a Yakolev Yak-40 airliner between the Medvezhye gas field
and Nadym, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia, the crew notices a bright round object that approaches
rapidly and sometime later appears in front of the aircraft, apparently much larger. A crash appears
imminent, but the object soars up in front of the nose of the airliner. (Paul Stonehill, “
Pilot and Cosmonaut Pavel Popovich and UFOs,” Open Minds, June 12, 2014) January — Playboy publishes a “panel discussion” on UFOs that features essays by
J. Allen Hynek,
R. Leo Sprinkle,
James A. Harder,
Frank Salisbury,
Jacques Vallée,
Philip J. Klass, and
Ernest H. Taves. (“
Playboy Panel: UFOs,” Playboy, January 1978, pp. 67–98, 128, 249–250) January — The Russian Academy of Sciences releases a report, translated by
Richard F. Haines and published by the Center for UFO Studies as Observations of Anomalous Atmospheric
Phenomena in the USSR: A Statistical Analysis, written by
Lev M. Gindilis of the Sternberg State Astronomical Institute in Moscow. Data processing and bookkeeping
is performed by I. G. Petrovskaya and most of the text is written by engineer-physicist D. A. Men’kov.
Significantly, the report is approved for official publication by Academician
Nikolai Kardashev, one of the USSR’s top experts in SETI. Its reports and data come from a sample of 256
Russian cases compiled by
Felix Ziegel. According to space historian
James Oberg, many of the sightings in the report correspond to Soviet tests and reentries of the Fractional
Orbital Bombardment System, a nuclear weapons delivery system developed in 1966. (Wikipedia, “
Petrozavodsk phenomenon”; L. M. Gindilis, D. A. Men’kov, and I. G. Petrovskaya,
Observations of Anomalous Atmospheric Phenomena in the USSR: A Statistical Analysis, CUFOS, June 1980; J.
Allen Hynek and Richard F. Haines, “
Implications of and Comments on ‘Observations of Anomalous Atmospheric Phenomena in the U.S.S.R.: A Statistical
Analysis,” Journal of UFO Studies, orig. ser. 2 (1980): 95–101; “
Russian Report on UFOs,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 2, no. 5 (July/Aug. 1980): 16–17; James E. Oberg, “
The Great Soviet UFO Cover-Up: Part 1,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 176 (October 1982): 6–10; Swords 458–460;
Clark III 811; Clark IV 904) January — Tom Adams launches Project Stigma in Paris, Texas, to investigate cattle mutilations and
releases the first issue of his bimonthly newsletter, Stigmata, which chronicles “mute” cases. It continues
through 1987. (
Stigmata, no. 1 (January 1978)) January — During the flight of a Yakolev Yak-40 airliner between the Medvezhye gas field and Nadym,
Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia, the crew notices a bright round object that approaches rapidly and
sometime later appears in front of the aircraft, apparently much larger. A crash appears imminent, but the
object soars up in front of the nose of the airliner. (Paul Stonehill, “
Pilot and Cosmonaut Pavel Popovich and UFOs,” Open Minds, June 12, 2014) January 1 — 12:45–1:00 p.m. Pilots
Floyd P. Hallstrom (in a Cessna 170A) and Jim Victor (in a Mustang II 4954) are flying over Santa Monica,
California, at 7,500 feet when they see an object approaching at high speed. As the UFO passes about 6,000 feet
to his left, Hallstrom is looking down on it an angle of about 30°–45° and its true form suddenly becomes clear
to him. He is able to make out the complete form of a saucer and can see the dome, also very vividly clear,
including all the windows, about 16–20 evenly spaced around the circumference of the dome, located just above
the base. The dome appears to be a perfect hemisphere about 20 feet in diameter resting on the base, which is
about 30 feet in diameter. The UFO continues on a course opposite to the pilot’s with no sign of rotation,
oscillation, pitch, roll, or yaw. Neither is there any sign of a propulsion system. The sun reflects off the dome
as a bright spot when the UFO passes. After about a minute, the object disappears from view behind the Cessna.
(NICAP, “
Cessna Encounters Disc with Dome and Windows”: Richard H. Hall, “
Veteran Pilot Sights Daylight Disc,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 122
(January 1978): 3–5; “
An Air-Visual Sighting of a Daylight Disc in California,” IUR 3,
no. 4 (April 1978): insert; UFOEv II 136–138) January 2 — 11:00 p.m. Four young men are driving through an isolated area known as Simonswood
Moss, between Rainsford and Kirkby, West Lancashire, England, when they realize they have taken a wrong
turn onto a narrow dirt road bordering a ditch. They suddenly see a 7-foot tall figure with red eyes appear
in the glare of the headlights 26 feet ahead. The being is wearing a white fluorescent one-piece suit with
boots, it has no discernible facial features, and it has short arms ending in claws. On its chest is a box
with two flashing red lights. The figure takes two steps towards the witnesses and suddenly stops. The
witnesses panic and leave the area, driving to a nearby farm where they notify the police. A later investigation
suggests that they have seen a cow wandering down the lane, the car’s headlights reflecting in its eyes.
(Peter Hough, “UFO Occupants,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, pp. 129–130; Patrick Gross,
URECAT, September 11, 2008) January 10 — 12:25 a.m. A 31-year-old paramedic is driving to pick up her husband (a policeman)
from work in Chicago, Illinois, when her 3-year-old son draws her attention to a “moving star” nearly overhead.
At her destination a few seconds later, she notes a silver disc-shaped object (“with teacups on top and bottom
of saucer”) as large as a full moon moving forward with yellow-orange trail behind as it moved. The object
stops, reverses direction, moves forward again, and moves off behind a building. The trail is only visible
while the object is in motion. Duration is 1–2 minutes. (“
Case 3-2-39,” IUR 3, no. 2 (February 1978): 3) January 14 — 8:30 p.m. Four witnesses inside a house in Delavan, Wisconsin, see an orange ball
half the size of the full moon descend into view through a window. They watch the sphere hover for one
minute, move 10° to the north, hover, and then move off quickly to the northern horizon. (“
Case 3-2-50,” IUR 3, no. 2 (February 1978): 3) January 17 — As a response to
Sturrock’s letter, NASA astrophysicist
Richard C. Henry writes to
Noel Hinners suggesting that examination of any UFO evidence could be assigned to the Astrophysics Division
at Goddard Space Flight Center managed by Program Scientist
Frank Martin. He suggests as project scientist
Stephen P. Maran at Goddard. Henry gets no response. (Richard C. Henry, “
UFOs and NASA,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 2, no. 2 (1988): 93, 130–133; Clark III 789; Clark IV 869) January 18 — 3:00–5:00 a.m. A security policeman at McGuire AFB [now Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst]
in Burlington County, New Jersey, is called to help investigate a low-flying UFO over the neighboring Fort Dix
army base. An Army MP pursues the object, but his radio transmission is cut off just as a grayish, 4-foot-tall
being with fat head, long arms, and a slender body appears in front of his car. The MP fires five rounds into
the being and one round into the object above. The UFO shoots upward and joins 11 others high in the sky, and
the being runs into the woods toward the Fort Dix fence line. A security patrol finds its dead body near the
McGuire AFB runaway, giving out a foul, ammonia-like stench; then AFOSI arrives and ropes everything off.
Retired USAF Maj.
George Filer III, who later serves as MUFON New Jersey director, asserts that he was stationed on the base
at the time and that the story is true, although he did not see the alien. (NICAP, “
Alien Being Allegedly Shot Dead by MPs”; Leonard H. Stringfield, “
The Fatal Encounter at Ft. Dix–McGuire: A Case Study: Status Report IV,” in MUFON UFO Symposium Proceedings,
MUFON, 1985, pp. 41–65; Leonard Stringfield, “The Chase for Proof in a Squirrel’s Cage,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean
Tomes, 1987, pp. 153–155; Leonard Stringfield and Richard Hall, “
Dix–McGuire Updated,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 230 (June 1987): 7–8; UFOEv II 97–98; Clark III 511–513;
John L. Guerra, Strange Craft: The True Story of an Air Force Intelligence Officer’s Life with UFOs, The
Author, 2018; Erik Larsen, “
In New Book, Retired Air Force Major Claims Alien Was Killed at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst,” app,
September 3, 2019; Keith Basterfield, “
NIDS Investigated the Reported Shooting of a Non-Human Entity:
Fort Dix/McGuire AFB, 18 January 1978; the NIDS Investigation,” Unidentified Aerial Phenomena—Scientific
Research, December 17, 2019; “
The McGuire Air Force Base Alien Encounter, 1978,”
Weird N.J., January 18, 2024; Clark IV 560–562) January 19 — Citizens Against UFO Secrecy files a request with the US State Department for classified
UFO documents and includes the date and time information, transmittal numbers, and message serial numbers, but
the department replies that it cannot locate the specified information. (ClearIntent,
pp. 193–194) January 23 — 7:40 p.m. A carpenter is standing on his front porch in Toledo, Ohio, when he notices
a stationary saucer-shaped object about 30° above the horizon in the eastern sky. It is lit by the reflection
of the city lights and the Moon and is slightly larger than a distant aircraft. It has dark, outlined windows
and a small structure on top. The object then moves off rapidly to the south and blinks out. (“
Case 3-3-14,” IUR 3, no. 3 (March 1978): 3) January 24 — The Soviet reconnaissance satellite Kosmos 954 reenters the Earth’s atmosphere while
traveling on a northeastward track over western Canada. At first the USSR claims that the satellite has been
completely destroyed during re-entry, but later searches show debris from the satellite has been deposited
on Canadian territory along a 370-mile path from Great Slave Lake to Baker Lake. The effort to recover
radioactive material from the satellite is dubbed Operation Morning Light. Covering a total area of 48,000
square miles, the joint Canadian–US team (consisting of the emergency Nuclear Emergency Support Team) sweeps
the area on foot and by air through October 15. They are ultimately able to recover 12 large pieces of the
satellite, 10 of which are radioactive. (Wikipedia, “
Kosmos 954”; Jacobsen, Area 51,
pp. 314–316; Steve Weintz, “
Operation Morning Light: The Nuclear Satellite That Almost Decimated America,” The National Interest,
November 23, 2015) January 26 — 12:31 a.m. A policeman in Williamston, North Carolina, watches a round light the size of the
full Moon at 60° in the northwest. The light moves quickly toward the south then hovers 10–15 seconds before
changing course. A windstorm is in progress and the object is beneath the clouds. Another officer 3 miles away
also watches the object for 10–20 seconds before it disappears. (“
Case 3-3-19,” IUR 3, no. 3 (March 1978): 3) January 27 — 12:00 midnight. A flight instructor is flying his Cessna 172 to Opalocka, Florida,
when he sees a formation of six objects with no lights over Key West. Each object is disc-shaped and
reflects the moonlight. They are flying in a ragged straight line, approximately equidistant, at 7,000
feet, then disappear in the distance. (“
Case 3-3-24,” IUR 3, no. 3 (March 1978): 3) January 27 — 5:45 p.m. Four men on the banks of the River Weaver see a silver balloon-shaped object
land in a meadow near Frodsham, Cheshire, England. It emits a strong purplish glow that makes it hard to look
at. Two entities of normal height emerge. They wear silvery suits and have miners’ lamps on their heads, and
these glow purple. Cows on a nearby field seem to become paralyzed, unable to move. Using a metal cage, the
entities pen in one cow and seem to measure it. The witnesses become frightened and run from the area, and as
they run they feel a strange tingling sensation in their groins. One of the men develops sunburn-like marks
on his leg. (Jenny Randles and Paul Whetnall, “
Four Young Men and a UFO,” Flying Saucer Review 26, no. 3 (September 1980): 5–7; Jenny Randles, Alien Abductions:
The Mystery Solved, Inner Light, 1988,
pp. 66–67; Clark III 138; Clark IV 165) January 27 — Cheryl DeSanctis sees a blinking red and white light hovering above some trees near
Barry Drive in Vineland, New Jersey. She watches it for 5 minutes, then a red ball moves from behind it,
descending to just a few feet above the rooftops where its light reflects off the houses. After 10 minutes,
the red ball moves to the north and the first light departs to the south. (“
Vineland Is Beset by UFO Sitings,” Atlantic City (N.J.) Press, February 3, 1978, via UFO Newsclipping Service,
no. 105 (April 1978): 2) January 31–February 1 — 6:15 p.m. Four boys are playing on the ice of the Montvale (N.J.) Memorial
Elementary School playing field. They notice an “airplane” that passes slowly over the field; moments later,
another object arrives, shaped like a square with large yellow lights in each corner, with a slight dome on
top and a red light underneath. It emits a red beam of light toward the ground but stops short before touching
it. They next notice several humanoid figures moving around the school park, walking stiffly. They are about
average height and bald-headed, dressed in bright yellow outfits with boots and gloves. One of them looks
different, because he has a larger head that seems “creased” down the middle and has on a brown cape over the
yellow suit. As the boys watch, they note an uncanny silence and an unpleasant sulfur-like odor. The figures
walk away toward the nearby Public Works Garage. The boys then notice another figure, this one a woman standing
in the parking lot. She has medium long brown hair and wears a dark suit with blue fur around her shoulders.
She walks in slow motion and sits down on a low fence and raises her arm very slowly, pointing to the sky at
another hovering square object. The woman then walks toward the Public Works building and at one point seems
to appear and disappear as a police vehicle drives by near her. A similar scenario occurs the next evening.
(Ted Bloecher, “
CE-III Report from Montvale, N.J.: Preliminary Report,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 123 (February 1978): 4–7; “
A Possible Close Encounter of the Third Kind in New Jersey,” IUR 3, no. 4 (April 1978): 3, 7; Patrick Gross,
URECAT, December 6, 2008) January 31 — 11:00 p.m. Pat Martinelli is outside her home on North Maple Drive in Vineland, New Jersey,
when she sees an object silently hovering above the nearby trees. It is a triangle with the point at the back and
many red and white lights. (“
Vineland Is Beset by UFO Sitings,” Atlantic City (N.J.) Press, February 3, 1978, via UFO Newsclipping Service,
no. 105 (April 1978): 2) February — 2:00 a.m. A State Police officer is on foot patrol between Ornontowice and Chudów, Poland,
when he notices that his dog is acting strangely. He looks up and sees a black cigar-shaped object with small
windows moving above him. He hears a slight humming noise like a vacuum cleaner. It moves off to the northeast.
(Poland 109–110) February 1 — Night. Six teenagers are driving north on Hance Bridge Road in Vineland, New Jersey. They
see a series of four large lights low in the sky approaching them. It swerves about 500–600 feet in altitude and
a mile distant, and they can see that the object is triangular with a light in each corner. It returns the way it
came, so they decide to follow it for 6–7 miles before pulling over and stopping the car. When they turn their
headlights off, the object’s lights go out. When they turn the headlights back on, the UFO lights up again. (“
Vineland Is Beset by UFO Sitings,” Atlantic City (N.J.) Press, February 3, 1978, via UFO Newsclipping Service,
no. 105 (April 1978): 2) February 2 — Citizens Against UFO Secrecy supplies the US State Department with more information regarding
UFO documents that it knows exist, but are stonewalled for months until they are sent a photocopy of an article in
UFO Investigator that includes some of the documents. As
Barry Greenwood writes, “the only way to get
documents released was to have them in the first place so that one could mail them back to the agency as proof
that they existed.” (ClearIntent,
p. 194) February 2 — 9:30 p.m. Brian Mosychuk is walking in a neighborhood of Edmonton, Alberta, when
he sees a car-sized object with blue lights on front and back approaching from the northwest. It hovers
above him making a rumbling sound, then a beam of light shoots toward him. Mosychuk leans back to avoid
the beam, but it shines on his feet in the snow. He runs away, and when the looks back the object is
flying away to the northeast, leaving behind a red trail. He tells his father, who goes out and finds a
round circle in the snow. They call the police, who find a melted hole about 28 inches in diameter. Samples
of snow, including some with carbon spots, are taken to CFB Edmonton for a contamination check. (Chris
Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, p. 191) February 4 —3:30–4:00 a.m. A weird humming sound awakens Claire Semaza and her two children in
Orange, California. The sound increases in volume until it hurts her ears, and the family dog barks
frantically, punctuated by an odd pause for several seconds. Outside, they see an oval or cigar-shaped
object not far above the trees about one half-mile away. Below and around it is a layer of gray haze. It
begins slowly rising, leaving the haze behind. The object has a bright red light at each end that sends
shafts of light toward the ground. Several bluish-white lights are visible between the two red ones. It
rises higher, flashes a brilliant white light on and off for 3 seconds, then quickly disappears. Meanwhile,
the dog has been taking her 7 puppies one by one and hiding them behind the drapes on the second floor.
(Idabel Epperson, “
Canine Mother Hides Puppies from UFO,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 122 (January 1978): 7; “
Unusual Animal Reaction in California NL Case,” IUR 3, no. 4 (April 1978): insert) February 5 — 6:00 p.m. Two Bradley University security guards in Peoria, Illinois, are making
their rounds when their car lights up. An intensely bright object is ahead of them and about 45° up in the
east. They drive another two blocks to an open areas and get out of the car to watch two objects, the larger
of which is as big as the full Moon. They are both changing colors from green to red to white. The smaller
one abruptly disappears as the larger object is flying loops, dropping down behind the houses, moving back
up, and maneuvering abruptly. They discuss the UFOs with some passing students. The object remains visible
for at least 45 minutes. (“
Case 3-3-62,” IUR 3, no. 3 (March 1978): insert) February 9 — A carbon copy of an apparent USAF incident report is received at the office of the National
Enquirer in Lantana, Florida. Accompanying the document is an unsigned letter dated January 29 and “revealing”
the Ellsworth AFB incident of November 16, 1977. (Bob Pratt, “
The Truth about the ‘Ellsworth Case,’” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 191 (January 1984): 6–9; Clark III 358; Clark
IV 402) February 10 — WJR-AM radio personality Marc Avery is on his way to the Detroit Metropolitan Airport
on I-275 when he and his wife see two lights hovering above their car for 30–50 seconds. He calls the radio
station and speaks on air, asking if anyone else has seen the lights. Two men in the area of Merriman Road
and Michigan Avenue in Wayne, Michigan, call in to say that 5 minutes earlier they had seen a large UFO
traveling east to west at treetop level. (“
Forty Years Ago This Weekend, a WJR Radio Personality May Have Encountered a UFO,” Michigan Radio, February
9, 2018) February 12 — 11:00 p.m. David Mace and his wife are driving on Tennant Way approaching Lake
Sacajawea in Longview, Washington, when they see an orange triangle with a hole in it silently hovering
above the lake near Washington Way. They watch it for 15 seconds before it takes off to the west. (“
Couple Reports UFO above Lake Sacajawea,” Longview (Wash.) News, February 13, 1978, via UFO Newsclipping
Service, no. 104 (March 1978): 6) February 19 — 1:20 p.m. Radar operators on two separate systems in Minnesota track a large, solid
object, which starts ascending rapidly as soon as one operator switches his system to manual. It seems to
take evasive action by stopping, starting, and descending. The operator tracks it traveling about one mile in
one second (3,600 mph) and moves vertically “instantaneously.” (Bob Gribble, “
Pilot Sightings and Radar Trackings,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 181 (March 1983): 6–7) February 19 — The television series Project U.F.O. debuts in the US on NBC-TV. Running for two seasons
of 13 episodes each, the show is based loosely on the real-life Project Blue Book. The show is created by
Jack Webb, who pores through Air Force files looking for episode ideas. The first season stars
William Jordan as Maj. Jake Gatlin alongside
William Caskey Swaim as Staff Sgt. Harry Fitz. Former USAF Col.
William T. Coleman is a producer. (Wikipedia, “
Project U.F.O.”; Internet Movie Database, “
Project U.F.O.”; “
NBC Network, Project U.F.O., ‘The Washington, D.C. Incident’ (Complete Broadcast, 2/19/1978),” The Museum
of Classic Chicago Television YouTube channel, April 30, 2018) February 22 — 9:40 p.m. Brian Metcalfe, an FAA air traffic controller, is driving northeast on
Interstate 80, approaching Newcastle, California. Seeing two intense lights moving slowly in the sky, he
pulls over and gets out to look. The only sound he can hear is a low hum. The object moves southwest along
the freeway at about 30–40 mph at an altitude of 2,000–3,000 feet. He notices it is delta-shaped. Other
witnesses in the area also see the object over Auburn, California, just before 10:00 p.m. (“
More Reports Confirm Sighting Strange Craft in Placer Area,” Auburn (Calif.) Journal, March 1, 1978, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 105 (April 1978): 9) February 23 — 1:00 a.m.
Jackie Gleason announces on The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder that he has “absolute proof of the existence
of alien beings,” naming
Richard Nixon as his source. (Curt Collins, “
The Legend of the President and the Alien Bodies,” The Saucers That Time Forgot, April 27, 2023) February 23 — 11:45 p.m. A couple hears interference on their car radio in Sesto Fiorentino,
Florence, Italy. When the man gets out to investigate, a warm, violet light envelops him. He sees four
shapes and lights all around. After walking around the car, he goes back inside and finds his girlfriend
crying. Twenty minutes of missing time has passed. (Paolo Fiorino, Gian Paolo Grassino, and Antonio
Chiumiento, “
Abductions in Italy,” IUR 14, no. 4 (July/Aug.1989): 14–15) February 28 -
Stanton Friedman has discovered retired Maj.
Jesse A. Marcel in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and interviews him about the 1947 Roswell, New Mexico,
incident. Marcel says the debris was like nothing on earth. Friedman has also interviewed
Lydia Sleppy, who worked at Albuquerque radio station KOAT and remembers
the military intervention on the story.
William L. Moore and Friedman compare notes from two separate interviews Friedman has conducted
about the crash. By 1980, Friedman and Bill Moore have interviewed at least 62 witnesses to the
Roswell incident1977
1978
March — A Gallup poll indicates that 81% of Canadians have heard or read about UFOs, and 10% have seen one themselves. (“ Gallup Poll: Unidentified Flying Objects Are Real, 46% Believe,” Toronto (Ont.) Star, March 22, 1978, p. A9)
March 9 — Pilot Luciano Ascione is flying northbound at 2,600 feet 75 miles away from Vicenza, Italy, when a green, rocket-shaped object appears on his right about 1 mile away. Other planes in the area report a green flash. (ClearIntent, pp. 92–93; 1Pinotti 214–215)
March 11 — Sundown. Two men from L’Île-Perrot, Quebec, are camping near the shore of Reservoir Baskatong when they see a comet-like, bright blue object leaving a fiery trail plummeting toward the surface of the lake. It disappears behind trees, and the men jump up, grab their cameras, and run to the lake. The object is hovering silently above the surface, where it remains stationary for 30 seconds before moving to the other side of the lake. One of them starts snapping photos, but after 5 seconds the object rises swiftly and disappears like a flash into the sky. (“ UFO Said Photographed,” Tampa (Fla.) Times, March 13, 1978, p. 1; “They Caught ‘UFO’ on Film,” Toronto (Ont.) Sun, March 14, 1978; “ Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 4 (April 1978): 2; Wido Hoville and Don Donderi, “ RR2 au Lac Baskatong,” UFO-Quebec, no. 16 (December 1978): 8–10, 15–22; Yurko Bondarchuk, UFO Sightings, Landings, and Abductions, Methuen, 1979, pp. 4–9)
March 11 — 10:40 p.m. Four witnesses in the Waimata Valley, New Zealand, watch a red and green object shaped like a top hat. Two of them approach in their car to about 100 feet, but the object shuts off all its lights and disappears. The same object reappears twice more the same evening. (Gisborne (N.Z.) Herald, March 16, 1978; “ Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 5 (May 1978): 2; “ Intense Activity Continues in New Zealand,” Australian UFO Bulletin, August 1978, p. 6)
March 12 — Early morning. A mill worker at Kawerau, New Zealand, is driving back to Gisborne when a brilliant orange light illuminates the interior of his car. He sees a large oval object floating alongside about 50 feet away. He thinks it is as large as a five-story building and has thousands of small lights on the sides. Slowly it rises to 300–400 feet and floats away. (Gisborne (N.Z.) Herald, March 16, 1978; “ Intense Activity Continues in New Zealand,” Australian UFO Bulletin, August 1978, p. 6; “ Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 5 (May 1978): 2)
March 16 — 9:00 p.m. Mayor Mark M. Millis of Arroyo Grande, California, and Mayor Al Dutra of Grover City are leaving a meeting at Arroyo Grande City Hall when they see a triangular-shaped lighted object the size of a Boeing 747 moving slowly to the southwest about one mile in the air. Capt. Antony Wood of the San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s Department also sees the object at Oceano, and other witnesses as far north as Morro Bay report the UFO, which has two bright lights in front and smaller ones in the back. (“ Mayors, Police, Others See UFO in South County,” Santa Maria (Calif.) Times, March 17, 1978, p. 12)
March 17 — 11:30 p.m. Service engineer Ken Edwards is driving back from a union meeting in Sale, Greater Manchester, England, on Daten Avenue, Risley, past the UK Atomic Energy Authority site. As he is approaching the roundabout near the Universities Research Reactor building and the UKAEA fire station, he notices a 7-foot-tall silver figure coming down a steep embankment to his left. Stopping his van, Edwards watches the figure descend with an unnatural stiff-legged gait. The figure walks across the road only 15 feet from him. As he passes Edwards, the figure looks at him and two beams of light shoot from its eyes and dazzle him. It continues walking toward the security fence surrounding the UKAEA site. The figure raises an arm (one of two that seem to come out of its chest) and walks through the 10-foot-tall, barbed wire-topped, chain link fence, disappearing into the darkness. He later drives to the Pudgate police station to report the sighting. Police accompany him to the site where they find a group of UKAEA constabulary officers gathered at the spot, but since there is no hole in the fence, they discount his story. However, years later investigator Glen Vaudrey discovers that the tall figure was a 6 foot, 5 inch fireman dressed in a high-temperature fire suit who was trying to scare some students in an isolation building across the road. (Jenny Randles, “Man on the Moss,” Fortean Times 305 (October 2013): 29; Glen Vaudrey, “Atom Age Alien? Solving the Mystery of the Risley Silver Man,” Fortean Times 397 (October 2020): 36–41; Jenny Randles, “Silvery Ships from the Stars,” Fortean Times 403 (March 2021): 30–31)
March 18 — Around 4:00 p.m. Leo Giampietro and his wife are driving 15 miles west of Palm Springs, California. He pulls over when he sees a brown-colored domed disc the size of a distant aircraft moving in a straight path over the mountains in the southwest. It hovers for a few seconds and he can hear a humming sound. He manages to snap tree photos. The noise stops and the object shoots straight up and disappears. (“ Case 3-5-18,” IUR 3, no. 5 (May 1978): 3; “ Case Update,” IUR 3, no. 8 (August 1978): 8)
March 18 - 9:15 p.m. William J. Hermann is out looking for UFOs near Charleston, South Carolina, when he sees apparently the same UFO he has photographed frequently before. He starts running toward it when it suddenly swoops toward him and directs a paralyzing blue-white beam at him. Hermann loses consciousness. When he wakes up again, it is 12:05 a.m. and he is in a field in Summerville, 15 miles from his home. He sees the UFO departing in its characteristic zigzag pattern. He calls the police, who drive him home. The next few nights he suffers from nervousness, headaches, and insomnia. Not long afterward, he is hypnotized by James A. Harder, an engineering professor affiliated with APRO. He recalls an abduction/contact experience on board a spacecraft with beings from Zeta Reticuli. The leader tells him that if mankind persists in its warlike ways, civilization will be destroyed. Hermann continues to experience contacts and he begins to channel alien writings. (Wendelle C. Stevens and William J. Hermann, UFO Contact from Reticulum, Wendelle C. Stevens, 1981; UFOEv II 553-554; Patrick Gross, URECAT, April 18, 2012; Clark III 570-571; Clark IV 628-629)
March 22 - 7:00 and 8:45 p.m. Two waves of UFO sightings are reported over a wide area between Cumberland, Wisconsin, and Newport, Minnesota. UFO investigator Robert E. Engberg traces the first wave beginning around Chisago City, Minnesota, and moving east between Dresser and St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin. The second wave originates near Cumberland and follows an 85-mile course to St. Paul, Minnesota. Witnesses see formations of red lights, single round objects with red body lights, and orange globes in straight-line and oblique formations. Some disc-shaped objects are also reported with rows of body lights. (" A Mini-Flap in Minnesota: UFO or Helicopters?" IUR 3, no. 5 (May 1978): insert; " Valley UFO Sightings of March 22, 1978, Described," Taylors Falls (Minn.) The Dalles Visitor, May 1979, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 119, pp. 7-9)
March 22 — 11:00 p.m. Gary Oickle, David Oickle, and two friends are sitting around a campfire in Patapsco Valley State Park, Maryland, near the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad tunnel. They see a strange object in the southeastern sky that moves around for 10 minutes before it disappears behind a ridge. Another object soon appears over their campsite from behind a ridge to the north; this time it is a triangular shape about 150–200 feet on each side with large windows, three white lights at each corner, and a red light on top. Three of the witnesses think they see the silhouette of a figure in the windows. It moves very slowly, hovering at times, to the southeast. Another star-like object appears in the south after the triangle moves away. It changes colors repeatedly from blue to green to yellow to red. (Joe and Doris Graziano, “ Object over State Park,” APRO Bulletin 26, no. 10 (April 1978): 1)
March 24 — In one case documented by New Mexico police and the FBI, an 11-month-old cross Hereford- Charolais bull, belonging to Manuel Gomez of Dulce, New Mexico, is found mutilated. It displays “classic” mutilation signs, including the removal of the rectum and sex organs with what appears to be “a sharp and precise instrument,” and its internal organs are found to be inconsistent with a normal case of death followed by predation. The animal’s heart, as well as bone and muscle samples, are sent to the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory for microscopic and bacteriological studies, while samples from the animal’s liver are sent to two separate private laboratories. Los Alamos detects the presence of naturally occurring Clostridium bacteria in the heart but is unable to reach any conclusions because of the possibility that the bacteria represent postmortem contamination. They do not directly investigate the heart’s unusual color or texture. Samples from the animal’s liver are found to be completely devoid of copper and to contain 4 times the normal level of zinc, potassium, and phosphorus. The scientists performing the analysis are unable to explain these anomalies. Blood samples taken at the scene are reported to be “light pink in color” and “did not clot after several days” while the animal’s hide is found to be unusually brittle for a fresh death (the animal was estimated to have been dead for 5 hours) and the flesh underneath is found to be discolored. (Wikipedia, “ Cattle mutilation”; Amanda Push, “ Underground Aliens and Cattle Mutilations: Dulce, New Mexico, Has Long Been the Site of Strange Activity and Conspiracy Theories,” DGO, February 26, 2019)
March 24 — Just after 12:00 noon. Luis Carlos Serra, 16, is picking guava in the forest just west of Penalva, Maranhão, Brazil, when he hears a sharp noise like a car horn. He looks up and sees a bright white light about 20 inches wide high above the palm trees. Suddenly he falls flat on his back, paralyzed. After a short time, he starts rising in the air toward a round UFO with four balls on the bottom, a dome on top, and three windows. He floats through one of the windows head-first. Inside he drops to the floor, still paralyzed, and sees three entities about 3 feet high and wearing “diving suits.” He is taken somewhere with no trees and tall grass and subjected to an examination. Soon he loses consciousness and wakes up three days later in a scrub forest. A nearby fisherman, José Ribamar dos Santos, hears his cry, finds and recognizes him, and takes him back to town. Serra is examined in the hospital by Dr. Linda Macieira, who finds that he has four teeth missing and is completely bald with his hair burned off. He has a general loss of motor control and a lack of sensitivity to pain. He does not eat, so he is fed intravenously for the 7 days he is hospitalized. On March 30 he is transferred to the Serme Hospital in São Luis, where 6 doctors examine him, including neurologist Antônio Saldanha, who finds that Serra still cannot speak and is generally unresponsive and in shock. Two psychiatrists, Renato Barcelar and Barcelar Viana, examine him after he recovers his ability to speak a few days later. He repeats his story without variation every time. He is discharged on April 7. (Bob Pratt, UFO Danger Zone: Terror and Death in Brazil—Where Next?, Horus House Press, 2006, pp. 109–121; “ Caso Luis Carlos Serra,” Galáxia Mundo GAEMU, April 2014; Clark III 899–901; Brazil 251–255; Clark IV 1008–1010)
March 27 — Astronaut Gordon Cooper appears on the Merv Griffin Show and discusses UFO stories from government insiders. Merv Griffin asks him about occupant reports, and Cooper thinks they are credible. From what he has heard (although he has never been briefed on the matter), the aliens look no different from ordinary humans. (Thomas O’Toole, “ Cooper: UFO Stories from ‘Credible’ Sources,” Washington Post, April 7, 1978; “ 1978-03-27: Merv Hosts Astronaut Gordon Cooper on Aliens,” Tom Owens UAP YouTube channel, March 28, 2021)
March 27 — During a 9-hour period near San Diego, California, an F-14 Tomcat aircraft loses control and makes touch-and-go landings; an A-4 Skyhawk crashes into the Pacific 50 miles to the west; and an S-3A Viking anti-submarine aircraft from Naval Air Station North Island explodes and crashes into the ocean 6 miles from the base. On March 28, a college art instructor and a shipping company owner are talking on the phone when they are interrupted by another conversation on the line. Someone is apparently giving a briefing to a general about aircraft losses, instruments going haywire, and something that crashed near Palm Springs that the news media was told was a meteor. A “ General Kelley” [Lt. Gen. Robert E. Kelley at Eglin AFB? Lt. Gen. John R. Kelly Jr. at the Pentagon?] is said to be on his way to the site. No agency admits to having such a conversation. (ClearIntent, pp. 194–195)
March 28 — 12:00 midnight–1:30 a.m. Irene Bigelow is outside her home in Denver, Colorado, when she sees three bright-orange UFOs motionless in the air for more than an hour. She estimates they are as large as her garage’s double door. At 1:30, they break formation, with the light on the right moving to the right. The other two remain stationary at first, then all three ascend into the sky in different directions. (Richard Sigismond, “ Four Huge Orange Discs and the Case for the UFO,” IUR 8, no. 2 (March/April 1983): 8)
March 29 — 7:30 a.m. Christopher Kloppenborg and Geoffrey Kloppenborg are out mustering sheep near Albury, New South Wales, Australia. They see a very bright, stationary, chrome-colored light that is casting a shadow on a hillside. They use binoculars to watch it for 5–8 minutes. It appears to have black shapes along its side and is shaped like a short cigar. Geoffrey returns to the house to get a camera, and on his return he sees a second, smaller object, traveling over the hills toward the first object. It turns in front of the bigger object, and then both depart over the hills to the east. (“Sheep Farmers See UFO Rendezvous,” Melbourne Herald, April 8, 1978, reprinted in MUFON UFO Journal, no. 124 (March 1978): 6; “ Interstate Reports,” Australian UFO Bulletin, May 1978, p. 4; “ Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 7 (July 1978): 2; “ Brothers Spot UFOs in Australia,” APRO Bulletin, August 1978, pp. 1, 4)
March 29 — 9:15 p.m. A police helicopter is dispatched to Kramer Street in Syracuse, New York, to investigate a report by Officer Edgar Prue of a diamond-shaped object above Webster Pond. It has a criss-cross series of red, blue, green, and yellow blinking lights on its surface. The UFO quickly shoots up into the air and disappears. The helicopter pilot reportedly gets a glimpse of the object, but police are being told not to talk to the press or investigators. (“ UFO Information Being Withheld?” Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald-Journal, April 9, 1978, p. 58; “ Profile: April, 1978,” IUR 3, no. 6 (June 1978): 8; Mark Bundy, “ The Central New York Wave,” Pursuit 12, no. 1 (Winter 1979): 36–37)
March 31 — 8:30 p.m. A young man is walking his dog in a field in Dublin, Ireland, when he spots a silver cigar-shaped object hovering about 45° above the horizon. For the next 20 minutes, a doorway repeatedly (about 20 times) opens, releasing a red light, the door closes again, the red light returns to the object, and the door opens and readmits it. The object remains motionless another 10 minutes, then shoots upward at fantastic speed. (“ Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 7 (July 1989): 2)
Spring — Walter Bucher presents a broad catalog of solid light cases at the MUFON Central European Section conference in Tübingen, Germany. He describes the phenomenon as looking “like a compact cylinder or cone radiating much more light to the sides than an ordinary light beam. Frequently a solid light has an abrupt end and the length of the beam can be varied.” (W. Bucher, “ Solid Lights,” in Illobrand von Ludwiger, ed., Ungewöhnliche Eigenschaften nichtidentifizierbarer Lichterscheinungen, MUFON-CES, 1979, pp. 163–225; Clark IV 1214)
April — Citizens Against UFO Secrecy is formed by W. Todd Zechel, Brad Sparks, and Peter Gersten. Its purpose is to uncover UFO data through the Freedom of Information Act, lawsuits against government agencies, and investigation of high-quality UFO reports. It launches a newsletter, Just Cause. The group brings a lawsuit against the CIA using the Freedom of Information Act for release of UFO documents. It receives more than 900 documents from the CIA in 1979 but are refused 57 because of “national security considerations.” Just Cause lingers on until January 1982 under the title UFOrmant. (Wikipedia, “ Citizens Against UFO Secrecy”; “ CAUS Picking Up Where GSW and NICAP Left Off,” Just Cause 1, no. 1 (April 1978): 1–4; ClearIntent, p. 192; Clark III 240; Clark IV 281)
April - An Iranian airline pilot is flying between Ahvaz and Tehran, Iran, when he sees a glittering flying object. He manages to photograph it, but civil aviation authorities prohibit its release. Radar controllers at Mehrabad Airport track a target 20 times the size of a jumbo jet on their screens. (ClearIntent, p. 89)
April 2 — Morning. A loud explosion on Bell Island, Newfoundland, causes damage to some houses and electrical wiring in the surrounding area. A number of TV sets in Lance Cove and other communities explode at the time of the blast. It is initially thought to be caused by ball lightning. Meteorologists state that atmospheric conditions at the time are not conducive to lightning, although some witnesses report balls of fire and streaks of light in the sky. The boom is heard 34 miles away in Cape Broyle. The incident is investigated by John Warren and Robert Freyman from Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, New Mexico, as a possible a “superbolt”— an unusually large bolt of lightning. A 2004 documentary on the History Channel about electromagnetic pulse weapons, The Invisible Machine, investigates the possibility that it may have been the result of top-secret experiments. However, on April 23, 2019, hundreds of people on the island hear another explosion, which is almost immediately determined to have been a massive section of rock breaking away from the northern part of the island and impacting the ground and sea with extreme force. Large cracks almost two feet across were observed developing in the area in the years prior to the collapse, and signs were placed to warn visitors to stay away from the unstable features. (Wikipedia, “ Bell Island (Newfoundland and Labrador)”; ClearIntent, pp. 96–97; Brian Dunning, “ The Bell Island Boom,” Skeptoid podcast no. 190 (January 26, 2010); B. Jessee, “ The Bell Island Boom,” FYI, December 23, 2022)
April 2 — 1:40 p.m. Warren Smith is 8–9 miles northwest of Calgary, Alberta, when his border collie starts running in circles and looking up. Smith looks out his window and sees a silent, grayish-silver disc slightly larger than the full moon. It moves straight up and down, in and out of the cloud layer three times for about 30 seconds. Each time the object comes out of the clouds it remains visible for about 10 seconds. Smith notices a large number of “lightning rods” that move in and out on its surface. (“ Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 5 (May 1978): 2)
April 2 — 8:30 p.m. Lee Robinson is riding her motorcycle on Sunset Road toward Henderson, New Zealand, when she stops to watch floating lights approaching her from the distance. She makes out a wedge-shaped form, broad at the front and narrow at the back, with two red lights, a green light, and a glass front. It stops 600 feet away, hovering. Two figures in dark robes can be seen from the waist up looking down at her. She stares at it petrified for several minutes until a car approaches and the object flies off. (Auckland (N.Z.) Star, April 3, 1978; “ Intense Activity Continues in New Zealand,” Australian UFO Bulletin, August 1978, pp. 6–7; “ Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 9 (September 1978): 2; Keith Basterfield, “ A Short Summary of Australasian Entity Reports for 1978,” APRO Bulletin 28, no. 3 (September 1979): 7)
April 6 — 7:30 p.m. Vicki Burns is standing outside the stable on her farm near Prince George, British Columbia, when a narrow beam of light, 2 inches in diameter, comes from above some trees and shines into her barn for 5 seconds. She hears her horses scream, and inside they seem dazed and frightened. She and her mother notice a bright white light moving in the sky, darting back and forth. Some neighbors come over for 3 hours to watch the light for and attend to the horses. An odd circle is found on either side of the filly’s neck. A veterinarian, Dr. McKee, examines the horses the next day, and they still appear to be in shock. He explains the circle as ringworm, but cannot account for the animals’ fatigue or behavior. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 223–226)
April 6 — 10:05 p.m. Police officer Dennis Kiteveles and his family notice an oval object over some woods adjacent to their residence near Baldwinsville, New York. It is moving back and forth, ascending slightly at certain points, and has a narrow band of red, blue, green, and yellow lights around its middle. At 10:15 p.m., the object shoots two bright flashes to arc to the ground and the house lights go out, along with those of some 3,000 more residences in the Jordan-Elbridge area. A police helicopter observes the two flashes and the ensuing blackout, but the UFO accelerates and moves away. Radar at Syracuse Hancock International Airport picks up a target at the time and location of the sighting. Multiple witnesses in the area report seeing the same or a similar object. (“ They’re Everywhere!” Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald-Journal, April 7, 1978, pp. 1, 9; Mark Bundy, “ The Central New York Wave,” Pursuit 12, no. 1 (Winter 1979): 35–36)
April 7 — 7:00 p.m. Robert Waltz and William Colton are driving on New York State Route 48 north of Van Buren, New York, when they see a large ball of white light moving swiftly. It stops abruptly and hovers. After a few minutes the light is extinguished, only to be replaced by a series of red, blue, and green flickering lights. These lights blink out shortly afterward. (Mark Bundy, “ The Central New York Wave,” Pursuit 12, no. 1 (Winter 1979): 36)
April 7 — Around 8:00 p.m. Eight teenagers are bicycling near a water tower in Southwood, Onondaga County, New York, when they see three seemingly connected lights maneuvering in the sky. The lights remain over the hill for a while, illuminating the area “like daytime.” (Mark Bundy, “ The Central New York Wave,” Pursuit 12, no. 1 (Winter 1979): 36)
April 7 — Shortly after 8:30 p.m. Two residents of Onondaga Hill, New York, see a huge object, apparently several football fields in length, slowly moving toward them from the east at about 1,500 feet altitude. Through binoculars they can see curving around in front of it a row of windows from which multicolored glows emanate. At the rear are four cylindrical projections, hundreds of feet long, with brilliant red lights at the ends. They can hear an electrical hum. The object executes a wide turn and slowly heads back to the east. (Mark Bundy, “ The Central New York Wave,” Pursuit 12, no. 1 (Winter 1979): 37–38)
April 9 — 10:10 a.m. A single witness looking out his bedroom window in Toronto, Ontario, watches a silver shiny cigar traveling eastbound for 10 seconds. The object is brighter than the moon. (“ Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 8 (August 1978): 2)
April 9 — Morning. Doug Gould and his cousin are riding his mini bike out by a ruined pig house in Middleton, Massachusetts, when they glimpse two large, white “heads” through some brush some 30–35 feet away. Their height is such that they think the figures must be crouching behind the brush. Their heads are normal human size, but have no hair. They have light gray faces with large, wrap-around dark blue eyes. The two boys are frightened and immediately leave the area. At 2:00 p.m., they returned with Doug’s brother Allan, and another cousin. While sitting around talking, they have the feeling they are being watched. About 10–15 feet away, one cousin sees a figure roughly their height, about 5 feet, 3 inches, tall. The head is projected backwards and encased in a clear, round helmet. It has large, oval eyes, a nose slit, but no ears or mouth. It is wearing an outfit with long flared sleeves, covering any hands or feet. The belt has a dark central band and vertical stripes, with a black buckle. Startled, he yells and jumps up to run after the being. It quickly retreats out of sight into the brush. The other three do not get a good look at the entity, but Allan Gould notices a sulfur smell in the area. (David Webb, “ The Middleton Humanoids Affair,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 143 (January 1980): 7–10)
April 11 — The crew of the HMAS Adroit, operating out of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, in the Timor Sea, watches a UFO hover and sink to the horizon several times before disappearing. It is large and bathed in bright red lights. At one point it seems to be close to the ship and at another point it flickers on and off. (Swords 406)
Mid-April — Many residents of Mumbai, India, sight a bright white, streak-like light moving at several hundred miles per hour from north to south at an altitude of about 2,000 feet. A similar object is seen the following day, moving south to north. (“ Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 6 (June 1978): 2)
April 19 — Day. Police officer Mark Coltrane is on patrol in Colfax, Wisconsin, and stops by the side of the road to eat lunch. His radio has some static. He then notices a metallic-looking disc rising into the sky a short distance from the parking space. While the object seems to move toward him, Coltrane picks up his Polaroid camera, comes out of the car, and snaps some photographs. The object is so close in one of the images that some details of its lower surface are visible. The total observation lasts a few minutes, the object soon accelerating and fading into the distance. (Patrick Gross, “ Colfax, Wisconsin, USA, April 9, 1978”)
April 26 — 11:00 p.m. Debra Gairns, her husband, and a friend are driving in Welland, Ontario, when a triangular object with red, blue, and white blinking lights hovers briefly and silently above their car. It moves away and stops above a grove of trees. (Welland (Ont.) Tribune, April 28, 1978; Philip Mantle, “ Investigations Diary,” UFO Times, no. 40 (Mar./Apr. 1996): 40; Marler 102)
April 26–June 24 — Six cattle are found mutilated on farms near Elsberry, Missouri. Orange lights and “flashing stars” are seen in the vicinity. (“ Background on the Elsberry Events: Are UFOs Linked with Cattle Mutilations?” IUR 3, no. 8 (August 1978): 5–6; R. Martin Wolf and S. N. Mayne, “ Mutilations: The Elsberry Enigma,” Pursuit 12, no. 1 (Winter 1979): 26–35; Marler 19–20)
April 27 —Two witnesses near the Ciampino–G. B. Pastine International Airport in Rome, Italy, watch a small green object shoot out of a larger green object. The display moves smoothly from directly overhead to about 45° in 15 minutes. (“ Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 7 (July 1978): 2)
Late April — 10:00 p.m. A dog staying with a couple living on Michigan Avenue in Dearborn, Michigan, near the Ford Motor plant lets out an awful howl. The woman goes outside to see what the matter is and notices a large round object, perfectly silent, about 500 feet above the garden. It hovers a minute or two then moves toward the Ford plant. It is about 125 feet in diameter and has a row of windows circling the bottom that emit colored light. It stops every 2–3 minutes and never travels more than 25 mph. They watch it for a total of 15 minutes, and their landlady sees it as well. (“ Correspondence,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 1, no. 1 (May 1980): 4)
April 29 — Early morning. John and Pat Rudy are driving on Interstate 690 near the Thompson Road exit in Syracuse, New York, when they see an object, 150 feet away and 80–100 feet in the air, that appears to be following their car. The UFO resembles an “erector set” construction made of connected piping. It has two red lights and one bright white light at the front. When they reach the New York State Fairgrounds exit, the Rudys pull their car over and get out to watch the object, which is moving to the southwest. A few minutes later it is lost to view. (Mark Bundy, “ The Central New York Wave,” Pursuit 12, no. 1 (Winter 1979): 38–39)
April 29 — Night. Ten persons call the Aurora, Illinois, police department to report a UFO. One couple believes they have had a close encounter with the object, which they describe as a domed disc the size of a football field. The police alert the Center for UFO Studies and Allan Hendry interviews some of the witnesses. He learns that some connect TV interference and power failures with the UFO’s appearance. An 11-year-old boy is so frightened that he hides behind the back seat of the family car. However, Hendry identifies the source of the sighting as an advertising plane owned and operated by a Chicago firm. (Allan Hendry, “ The Case for IFO Study: A Recent Example,” IUR 3, no. 6 (June 1978): 6–7; Clark III 568; Clark IV 626)
May — Red Army officer Anatoly Malishev is allegedly confronted near Pirogovskoye Reservoir, Mytishchinsky District, north of Moscow, Russia, by two entities wearing dark suits who communicate with him by telepathy and take him on board their craft. He is given a salty-tasting drink, but requests an alcoholic drink, only to find that the entities do not imbibe. He asks why, and they reply, “Perhaps if we did, we would not be such an advanced civilization.” They take him on a trip to the dark side of the Moon (where they have a base) and to their home planet 3 light years away then back to Earth, all taking about 40 minutes. Malishev reports his experience to his superior officers, who threaten a court martial. However, he is subjected to hypnosis and passes a lie detector test and apparently does not go through a trial. (Nikita A. Schnee, “ Contact Reported near Pyrogovskoye Lake,” Flying Saucer Review 26, no. 6 (March 1981): 6–8; Heikki Vertanen, “ Soviet Contact Case near Pyrogovskoe Lake: The Missing Pages,” Flying Saucer Review 28, no. 3 (January 1983): 20)
May 6 — 4:15 p.m. An object crashes into the southern slope of El Taire mountain on the Rio Bermejo along the border of Bolivia and Argentina. It produces a sonic boom that is heard 120 miles away and shatters windows in villages 30 miles away. Argentinian border police search for wreckage, while reporters visit the town of Aguas Blancas, Bolivia, to interview witnesses. Velez Orozco is one of the witnesses to the fall, and he thinks the object was 15 feet in diameter and conical. Border Patrol Cpl. Natalio Farfan Ruiz says the object “made the earth tremble” as it passed over. The Bolivian Air Force dispatches three airplanes and discovers the crash site on its side of the border. One of the flights includes a Bolivian astronomer, who sees a rockslide that may have been caused by the crash. On May 14, police from Tarija, Bolivia, find the object, a dull metallic cylinder 12 feet long with a few dents. A telex is sent by US Ambassador Paul H. Boeker to the State Department requesting an explanation. In a secret telex on May 18, Secretary of State Cyrus Vance replies that “appropriate government agencies” have been consulted, but there is no correlation with known re-entries. He refers Boeker to the 1973 Project Moondust order. The US military attaché in La Paz sends a message to Wright-Patterson AFB and USAF headquarters at the Pentagon, claiming that the Bolivian Army has found nothing, but would send two USAF officers to Tarija to investigate. Col. Robert Simmons and Maj. John Heise arrive with a Bolivian Air Force officer. On May 23, three Bolivian Air Force officers and a guide set out on horseback to the mountain, locating the rockslide on May 25. Parallel to the slide is a 325-foot trench, 10–12 feet wide at the top. Some of the large rocks appear burned, and the grass around it is brown and withered. (“ Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 8 (August 1978): 2; ClearIntent, pp. 201–205; Kevin Randle, The Government UFO Files, Visible Ink, 2014, pp. 279–280; Michael Hesemann, “ UFO Crash in Bolivia Witnessed by Thousands of People”; Clark IV 1249–1252)
May 7 — A squadron of 40–50 UFOs circle dozens of times in formation over San Luis province, Argentina, in the midst of a luminous bluish-green light. (“ 50 UFO’s Parade over San Luis,” Buenos Aires (Argentina) Herald, May 8, 1978, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 108 (July 1978): 15; “ Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 8 (August 1978): 2)
May 10 — Early morning. Farmer Jan Wolski is out driving a horse-drawn cart in Emilcin, Poland, when he is jumped by two “short, green-faced humanoid entities” about 5 feet tall. They jump onto Wolski’s cart, sit next to him, and start to speak in a strange language. At first, he mistakes them for foreigners because of their “slanted eyes and prominent cheekbones.” Wolski drives his cart, with the two beings aboard, to a clearing where a large white object is hovering about 16 feet in the air. It is about 15–16 feet high and as long as a bus. Four black objects on the surface generate a humming sound. A platform descends to the ground, and he is taken on board by the two entities, along with two additional ones. There are about 8–10 benches situated around the craft, each for one person to sit in. There are some rooks in front of the door, one of which is moving its legs and wings but seems to be immobilized. Wolski is then examined with a tool that resembles two dishes or “saucers.” After this, he is ordered to get dressed again, and then he notices there are no lights or windows on the craft, only the daylight coming through the door. The entities eat and offer him something like icicles, but he refuses them. The UFO’s interior is black with a grayish tint, similar to that of the creatures’ outfits. Wolski returns home to his family and notifies them of what has happened, urging them to come see the floating craft. He tells his sons, who call to other neighbors, and together they go to investigate the site. The grass where the craft had been shows signs of usage, trodden down and “covered with dew and paths coming in all directions.” Wolski goes home, leaving the rest of the neighbors and family at the site. His sons claim there are footprints left behind by the beings, though they do not describe them well. (Wikipedia, “ UFO w Emilcinie”; “ Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 7 (July 1978): 2; “Farmer Wolsky and the Green Men,” Fortean Times 33 (Autumn 1980): 30; “ Story of a Polish CE-III,” IUR 8, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1983): 13–14; Wroclaw’s Club of Popularization and Exploration UFO (WCPE-UFO), Emilcin 1978–1988: A Retrospective Look on CE-III, May 1988; Wroclaw UFO Study Club, “ A Close Encounter with ‘Greenish-Faced’ Creatures In Poland in 1976,” Flying Saucer Review 36, no. 1 (March 1991): 1–7; Antonio Huneeus, “UFO Chronicle: The Wolski Case: A Polish Abduction," Fate 47, no. 9 (September 1994): 17–18, 20; Timothy Good, Alien Base, Century, 1998, pp. 362–366; Piotr Cielebiaś, “ Unique Interview with Abductee Jan Wolski on the 30th Anniversary of the Emilcin Case,” UFO Digest, May 2, 2008; “ Abductee Jan Wolski Interviewed 30th Anniversary of Emilcin Abduction,” UFO Casebook, 2008; Antonio Huneeus, “ Poland’s First Abduction Case Is Monumental,” OpenMinds, January 11, 2010; “ Relacja Jana Wolskiego (Emilcin, 1978),” Projekt NPN YouTube channel, January 28, 2012; Piotr Ogórek, “ Zahipnotyzowany rolnik i UFO w Polsce: Prawda o wydarzeniu Emilcinie wyszła na jaw po 35 latach,” Onet Wiadomości, May 8, 2015; Poland 35–40; “ Milicja na tropie kosmitów: UFO w PRL,” Fakt24.pl, September 29, 2015; “ UFO i Kamień: Reportaż o historii spotkania z UFO w Emilcinie z 1981 roku (Archiwum FN),” Fundacja Nautilus YouTube channel, May 10, 2016; Bolesław Breczko, “ UFO z Emilicina: Dokładnie 39 lat temu w Polsce wylądowało UFO. Czy naprawdę?” WP Tech, May 10, 2017; Marek Kępa, “ A Tale Out of This World: Alien Abduction and the Communist Regime,” Culture.PL, July 17, 2017; “ UFO Emilcin 1978: Pełna wersja filmu ‘Powrót do Emilcina’ z udziałem Witolda Wawrzonka FN 1995,” Fundacja Nautilus YouTube Channel, May 19, 2018; Marcus Lowth, “ Jan Wolski and the Emilcin Alien Encounter,” UFO Insight, June 15, 2018; “ The Jan Wolski Case: An Amazing Close Encounter (Poland, 1978),” History Disclosure, May 25, 2019; Tomasz Molga, “ UFO w Emilcinie: Były milicjant z wydziału kryminalnego od 41 lat prowadzi śledztwo,” WP Wiadomości, June 10, 2019; Misterio Desconocido, “ Incidente Emilcin: El caso más famoso de abducción extraterrestre de Polonia,” InfoUno, October 25, 2020; Robert Bernatowicz, “ UFO wróciło do Emilcina! Historia Jana Wolskiego i jego spotkania z kosmitami ma ciąg dalszy,” geekweek, May 10, 2022; “ The Emilcin, Poland, UFO Encounter and Alien Abduction of Farmer Jan Wolski, May 10, 1978,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, September 2023; Milena Kuchnia, “ Nikt nie mówi, że wierzy w UFO: Wracamy do Emilcina,” OKO.press, December 26, 2023; “ Close Encounter with Aliens: Emilcin (Poland) Re-Visited,” Mysteura YouTube channel, May 10, 2024; “ The Dusky Seaside Sparrow, the Wolski Abduction Case, and Consciousness | Ufos #6 Live,” Ufo Sunset YouTube channel, June 9, 2024)
May 10 — Evening. Numerous people watch a moon-sized oval object with clearly delineated edges, no trail, and an intense white light in Clavarazza, Genoa, Italy. It remains stationary high in the sky for three minutes, pulsates for 7 minutes, then blinks out. (“ Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 9 (September 1989): 2)
May 13 — 3:32 a.m. Police officer Manuel J. Amparano is on the outskirts of Kerman, California, when he sees a reddish glow ahead. Getting closer, he observes an oval-shaped object, smaller in apparent size than the full moon, hanging silently in the sky. It is a very bright crimson-red color, which despite its brightness does not hurt his eyes. It shoots out a beam of blue light similar to a camera flash, then recedes and is gone. Amparano feels “a tingling sensation” in his body as he drives to the station, but he is not concerned. When he gets out, the 6 witnesses at the station note that he is sunburned “as red as a lobster.” His skin shows this condition for about 4 hours before returning to normal, even in areas underneath his uniform. However, no burn is present where the car door is between him and the flash. Also, he has no burn on his back, which is away from the car window as he peers out. Although the redness fades, there are areas where the skin is actually burned (arms, face, neck). These are noted on a visit to Fresno Community Hospital. These burns are visible for 2 days. The day following the encounter, “fever blisters” break out on his face and in places on his arms, and these last a week. Allegedly, doctors at the hospital tell the officer that the burns look like they are caused by microwave radiation. (“ Policeman: ‘Illumination’ Burns Him Then Turns Blue, Vanishes into Sky,” Fresno (Calif.) Bee, May 19, 1978, pp. C2, C11; “ Officer ‘Burned’ by UFO,” APRO Bulletin 27, no. 2 (August 1978): 4–5; “ California Policeman Burned by UFO,” IUR 3, no. 9 (September 1978): 10–11; “ Kerman Fireball Sighting—A UFO?” Fresno (Calif.) Bee, February 23, 1979, pp. A1, A12; Tim Printy, “ Old UFO Reports Still Make Good Headlines,” SUNlite 2, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 2010): 5; Tim Printy, “ May 13th, 1978: Rocket Launch or UFO?” SUNlite 2, no. 4 (July/Aug. 2010): 9; “ A Classic CE2P: Kerman, California, 1978>,” IUR 33, no. 4 (May 2011): 11–12; Jason Marzak, “ 1978 Kerman UFO Burning: 061401,” Fringe Republic, June 11, 2014; Kevin D. Randle, “ May 13, 1978: Kerman, California,” A Different Perspective, June 15, 2015; Kevin D. Randle, “ Kerman, California UFO Case: An Update,” A Different Perspective, June 20, 2015; Kevin D. Randle, “ Kerman Police Officer Adds His Perspective,” A Different Perspective, August 26, 2015)
May 13 — 4:00 a.m. A 16-year-old student, Jamshid Saiadipour, is staying up late studying for exams in Shiraz, Iran. He looks through his window and sees a glowing, hat-shaped UFO, hovering motionless. He takes a photo of it, which appears in the May 18 issue of Tehran Magazine. The article winds up in US Defense Intelligence Agency files and is released through FOIA in 1980. (“ Close Encounter over Iran,” London Evening Standard, June 27, 1978, p. 11; “ Matching Photo from Iran Found in CUFOS Files,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 8 (August 1981): 4; “ Sheraz, Iran, October 8, 1978,” Popular Mechanics, July 1998, p. 64)
May 13 — 10:45 p.m. A teen couple are sitting on a porch in Northport, Alabama, when they see an intensely bright pale-yellow light. It is oblong in shape and the size of the full moon. It hovers in the east for about 15 minutes, rocking slightly black and forth. They see three tripod legs on the underside. The girl’s mother comes out and notices her daughter is pale and shaking with fear. The object falls a short distance and remains stationary again for a few seconds before moving slowly away beyond trees on the horizon. (“ Case 3-6-29,” IUR 3, no. 6 (June 1978): 3)
May 14 — 10:00 p.m. SK-1 Robert J. Clark, the duty officer at the US Navy Pinecastle Electronic Warfare Range in Ocala National Forest, Florida, receives a call from Rocky Morgan reporting an oblong-shaped UFO with an intensely bright, flashing light near Silver Glen Springs. Jacksonville Air Route Traffic Control Center reports no aircraft in the area. Clark and the base air controller, Gary Collison, climb an observation tower and contact external security to alert radar technician Timothy Collins. They watch a cluster of stationary lights at an estimated altitude of 1,600 feet to the west-northwest perhaps 3 miles away. Collins activates the MSQ-102 Radar. After a 20-minute warmup, the radar detects an unidentified blip fluttering over the tower. The tracking computer is put on the target, which is showing very little movement. At 11:20 p.m., his radar locks on to it at treetop level. It seems to be as large as a jetliner. 10–15 minutes later it vanishes from both sight and radar, but at 11:40 p.m. he sees a similar object 15° to the north. Collins tries to train the radar on the object, but it disappears suddenly. Around midnight, another object is seen 3 miles to the northwest. For 5 seconds it moves at 575 mph, then accelerates for 2 seconds, and executes a hairpin turn in one second—a radical reversal of direction. Now the UFO is shooting northward toward the base, slowing to a mere 3 mph. Collins finally locks on this object. Shortly afterward, the target vanishes. A dozen naval personnel visually observe red, green, and white lights from the control tower for more than an hour. The captain of the Lisa C on the Apalachicola River also witnesses the lights at 10:30 p.m. (or 1:00 a.m.). (NICAP, “ Radar Confirms Unidentified Lights”; Alyse Lounsberry, “Close Encounters in Ocala Forest,” Ocala (Fla.) Star-Banner, May 16, 1978; “ Flying Object Baffles Computer with Maneuvers in Florida Sky,” International Herald Tribune, May 18, 1978; “ Navy Says Unusual Sighting Was Just an Object Flying Unidentified,” Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel, May 18, 1978, p. 4-C; “UFO Tracked by Navy Men at Electronic Range in Fla.,” Pacific Stars and Stripes, May 19, 1978, p. 6; “ Navy Radar-Visual in Florida, Part I,” IUR 3, no. 6 (June 1978): 4–5; “ Case 3-7-1,” IUR 3, no. 7 (July 1978): 3; “ UFO Sighting at Pinecastle Electronic Warfare Range,” UFO Investigator, September 1978, pp. 1–2; Robert Sheaffer, “The Ocala Sighting: Did a UFO Penetrate Restricted Airspace?” Second Look, April 1979, pp. 9–11, 14; Allan Hendry, “A Second Look at the Ocala Sighting,” Second Look, May 1979, pp. 29–31; [Letters], Second Look, October 1979, pp. 1–4, 29; Clark III 829–830; Clark IV 917–918)
May 15 — Evening. Ignacio Sanchez Munoz, 19, is walking along the road between Cuajimalpa borough and Álvaro Obregón, Mexico City, Mexico, after finishing work at a nearby restaurant. He observes a hovering, multicolored, luminous, cube-shaped object that is making a buzzing sound and emitting a yellow beam. He then receives telepathic thoughts telling him that the cube is not occupied, but soon human-like beings will arrive on Earth. After conversing with the voice for about an hour he is told, “soon we shall return to chat with you.” (“ Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 7 (July 1978): 2; Patrick Gross, URECAT, April 30, 2010)
May 19 — Between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. A large silver UFO shaped like a fountain pen hovers just above the horizon near US Highway 29 outside Greenville, South Carolina. The object moves slowly and remains visible for nearly two hours, causing a traffic jam over at least two miles as drivers stop to watch. One witness describes it as pumpkin-shaped and about the size of a football field. Despite at least 75 people seeing it, the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office reports no official sighting. (Greer (S.C.) Citizen, May 31, 1978; D. N. Mansell, “ Selected UFO Reports,” Awareness 7, no. 2 (Summer 1978): 3, 12)
May 30 — 11:00 p.m. Two witnesses are stargazing with a telescope 5 miles west of Tulsa, Oklahoma, when they see four gray-white ovals in a fixed sword-like formation pass silently overhead in a straight line from the southwest. They are lost behind trees above the northeast horizon. Each oval is about the size of the moon and flying in a 45° angle to the direction of travel. (“ Case 3-7-54,” IUR 3, no. 7 (July 1978): 3–4)
Summer — Day. Eligio Macchini is taking photos from the rail of a river excursion boat on the Rhine River, Germany. When the film is developed, he notices a dark spot on one print. Years later, he sends it to the Center for UFO Studies, which determines it is not an emulsion defect or processing flaw. (“ Möglicher UFO ist über dem Rhein photographieren,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 3, no. 2 (April 1982): 1)
June — Peter Gersten, on behalf of Ground Saucer Watch, files a discovery motion requesting UFO files from the CIA. His motion consists of 635 interrogatory questions, nearly 300 requests for documents, and includes 60 CIA documents attached as exhibits. (Richard Hall, “ Lawsuit Filed against CIA,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 126 (May 1978): 9)
June — GEPAN’s Scientific Council meets for the second time. This time, a five-volume report totaling 670 pages is prepared. The first volume is a synthesis written by Claude Poher. Volumes 2–4 contain 10 detailed field investigations and the fifth volume gathers other studies and less detailed cases. The reports are never published. According to Jean-Jacques Velasco, Poher’s assistant, the statistical study evaluates 678 reports and classifies them into four categories: perfectly or probably identified (26%), insufficient information (36%), and unidentified (38%). The council asks for a deeper study on statistical methodology, models of propulsion, and the psychology of perception. (“ First Summary of the Work of the French Government’s ‘GEPAN’ UFO Organization,” IUR 3, no. 10/11 (Oct./Nov. 1978): 22; Gildas Bourdais, “ From GEPAN to SEPRA: Official UFO Studies in France,” IUR 25, no. 4 (Winter 2000– 2001): 12; Graff 267)
June or July — 10:15 p.m. Graham Niven and friends are listening to the radio in Raeford, North Carolina, when it picks up some strange interference for about 10 minutes, They see a rectangular UFO with rounded edges coming toward them from the south. (“ One Reporting Witness: Two Reported Sightings,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 10 (October 1981): 2–3)
June 2 — The Daily Mail in England publishes an article announcing a £1 million award for the capture of a visiting spacecraft. The prize is offered by Cutty Sark whisky, which has previously offered a similar prize for proof of the Loch Ness monster. The prizes are never claimed. (Nick Skidmore, “ Capture a Space Craft and Win £1m,” Daily Mail (UK), June 2, 1978, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 108 (July 1978): 13)
June 2 — 10:00 p.m. A married couple driving toward Hameenlinna, Finland, watch a formation of 7–9 bright lights in the eastern sky. After 8 seconds, they disappear behind trees. (“ Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 8 (August 1978): 2)
June 10 - 9:30 p.m. A dark, silent wedge-shaped object with a square formation of white lights in the back and a triangular formation of red and white lights in the front paces a car driven by two students, ages 21 and 19, as they travel east on State Highway 299 near New Paltz, New York (position 3 on the map). The UFO turns south toward them and passes over their car. The male student gets out and runs underneath it, noting it is as large as his outstretched hand at arm's length. It shoots off toward the southwest horizon in a few seconds. Other witnesses at 8:45 p.m. (position 1) and 9:00-9:15 p.m. (position 2) report similar objects. (" Case 3-7-121," IUR 3, no. 7 (July 1978): 4)
June 11 — 10:30 p.m. Capt. Namdar, the pilot of a Boeing 707 flying from Shiraz to Tehran, Iran, is descending to 25,000 feet over Isfahan. He sees a huge, purple form passing below him at amazing speed. The Tehran airport cannot confirm a radar tracking. Suddenly the plane’s cabin is flooded with brilliant yellow light radiating from two sources. It feels as hot as “a sunny day in summer in Spain.” The purple light continues to follow the plane until a portion of the UFO separates from it and moves toward the southeast side of the witnesses. Then the original object vanishes. (“ Review of Iranian UFO Reports,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 2 (Jan./ Feb. 1981): 15)
June 11 — 11:28 p.m. After hearing reports of unidentified aircraft from two previous sentries, Gunnery Sgt. Brininger and PFC Johnny Johnson go on sentry patrol at Naval Weapons Station Earle in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Standing outside on an 80-foot tower, the two men watch a distinctly outlined, illuminated white ball with a short conical tail approach from the south. Within 5 seconds, the object moves west of their position and 20°–30° up. Briniger estimates that the ice-cream cone shaped UFO is as close as 300 feet away and 200 feet in the air, flying parallel to the fence line. He directs a spotlight at the object, which abruptly makes a sharp turn to the west. It is in sight for 8–10 seconds. (“ Case 3-7-130: Three UFOs over High Security Military Base?” IUR 3, no. 7 (July 1978): 4–5)
June 15 — Before 3:00 a.m. The Russian motor ship Novokuznetsk is departing from the Gulf of Guayaquil, Ecuador. The crew sees from the bow four rapidly departing bright white trails about 66 feet in length. At the same time, two other trails 33 feet long approach the vessel. Later, straight ahead of the ship, a white luminescent sphere rises up from the water, flies around the ship, hovers for a few seconds at an altitude of 60 feet, flies higher, zigzags, and dives back into the water. (Stonehill and Mantle, Russia’s USO Secrets, Flying Disk, 2020, pp. 66–67)
June 17 — 4:30 a.m. Patrolmen Robert Fiorentino and Amthony Puglio of the Maplewood (New Jersey) Police Department see a soundless triangular UFO, twice the size of the full moon, while on patrol. It has a white light on each tip and red lights in the center. The object circles them twice and shines bright lights down on them. (“ It’s Unidentified, Flies, But Doesn’t Scare Cops,” New York Daily News, June 24, 1978, p. 4JL)
June 17 — 1:20 p.m. Photographer Linda Arosema is taking photos of President Jimmy Carter’s helicopter taking off from Fort Clayton [now closed] near Balboa, Panama. Her final frame shows an oval object that she has not visually noticed. Arosema, who works for the Defense Mapping Agency at Fort Clayton, sends the photo to Carter with an explanation of the circumstances. Brenda Reilly and Sandra Chandler report seeing a similar object on June 16 while fishing at nearby Fuerte Amador. However, the object appears to be a film flaw. (“ Is a UFO Buzzing the President’s Helicopter?” IUR 3, no. 8 (August 1978): 10; “ UFOs Breach Presidential Security!” UFO Update! no. 2 (Winter 1979): 15, 56; Margaret Sachs, The UFO Encyclopedia, Putnam, 1980, p. 50)
June 18 — 10:45 p.m. Manford Hammond, a water superintendent in Elsberry, Missouri, watches an object “like two hubcaps put together” that alternately hovers and maneuvers slowly and silently from the vantage point of his home on Black Street. (“ Case 3-8-12,” IUR 3, no. 8 (August 1978): 3)
June 19 — 1:30 a.m. Franck Pavia and Jean-Marc Guitard are stopped on the side of a road in Gujan-Mestras, Gironde, France, to repair a turn signal when suddenly all the lights in the town go out. A powerful rumble startles them, and they notice an oval, red object surrounded by white flames flying toward them at an altitude of 11,000 feet. Jean-Marc is unable to breathe and faints. The object then changes direction and shoots away. They knock on the door of a baker named Varisse to tell their story, visibly terrified. At about the same time, a restaurant manager named Bachère is driving toward Bordeaux when he sees a large orange ball, very bright, hovering above La Réole at about 1,000 feet before disappearing. It reappears at the same spot one minute later. (Jacques Vallée, “ Estimates of Power Optical Output in Six Cases of Unexplained Aerial Objects with Defined Luminosity Characteristics,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 12, no. 3 (1998): 354–356)
June 22 — 1:30 a.m. A woman in Pacific Palisades, California, watches an irregularly shaped oval glow with shifting green-yellow-gray colors like a “TV glow.” Moving slowly eastward at first, it speeds up until it recedes to a star size, then arcs back in two minutes and disappears in the northwest. Two other witnesses also see the UFO. (“ Case 3-18-18,” IUR 3, no. 8 (August 1978):3)
June 24 — 10:48 p.m. The pilot and passenger of a commercial charter plane flying northwest between Madison and New Lisbon, Wisconsin, see a distant bright light making extremely fast back-and- forth motions. At one point it passes above the plane. The object is tracked on radar by air traffic controllers Glen Wonnacott and Wayne Nurenberg at the Aurora (Ill.) Air Route Traffic Control Center. (“ Radar-Visual in Wisconsin,” IUR 3, no. 8 (August 1978): 11–15)
June 26 or 27 — 11:00 p.m. The 77-year-old mother of a prominent TV commentator is dazzled by a white, rotating globe of light on a rooftop terrace across from her inner house court in Vienna, Austria. The light appears to be breaking into pieces that fall down. Then a spotlight cone moves along the gutter of the terrace from left to right toward the light, and both lights go out. (“ Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 10/11 (Oct./Nov. 1978): 2)
July — 7:30 a.m. Seamen on the Russian vessel Yargora in the Mediterranean not far off the coast from Algiers, Algeria, observe a pearly white flattened sphere moving to the west. On its underside it has three antenna. (Stonehill and Mantle, Russia’s USO Secrets, Flying Disk, 2020, p. 52)
July — 1:00 p.m. A witness and his father are driving a U-Haul truck north on Interstate 65 near Ardmore, Alabama. Just after passing the welcome center, they look up and see a large silver ball on the tree line to the east. After disagreeing on whether it is a weather balloon, they stop the truck and get out to look. A door slides open in the bottom of the object and a smaller silver ball emerges and moves to their right, and a second comes out and moves to the left. They both hover for about 5 minutes, then return one at a time to the larger object, which stands motionless a few more minutes before slowly moving away to the northeast. Suddenly it shoots away at great speed. (Herbert S. Taylor, “ Satellite Objects: A Further Look,” IUR 29, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 6–7)
July 1 — 12:05 a.m. Members of three families northwest of Taos, New Mexico, see a bright orange light outside their homes. Mrs. Elias Vargas hears a crackling noise coming from it. It hovers for 2 minutes above a fuel tank and a pickup truck before moving away to the north. In the morning, a fine powder is found on the roof of the truck. A sample is sent to Robert Schoenfeld at the Schoenfeld Clinical Laboratories in Albuquerque, for analysis, which shows significant amounts of potassium and magnesium. (Fritz Thompson, “ New Findings Deepen Mystery of Mutilations,” Albuquerque (N. Mex.) Journal, December 13, 1978, pp. A1–A2; Daniel Kagan and Ian Summers, Mute Evidence, Bantam, 1984, p. 57)
July 2 — 8:00 a.m. Verlee Carson is sitting in her house in Ely, Nevada, and notices two jets flying overhead to the south. One is followed closely by four white balls and the other is followed by three balls. (Virgil Staff, “ Letter,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 4, no. 4 (Aug./Sept. 1983): 2)
July 3 — 9:00 p.m. A Mrs. Jenkinson and a friend are playing tennis in Louth, Lincolnshire, England, when they spot a flat, silver oval in the sky reflecting sunlight and moving in a straight line northward in the western sky. They watch it for 5 minutes. Another object is seen a few minutes later in moving north in the eastern sky. (“ Case 7887,” Northern UFO News 52 (September 1978): 8)
July 4 — 3:15 p.m. A small domed disc, about 3–4 feet in diameter with rotating parts on top, makes a head-on pass at 800 mph toward Floyd Hallstrom and Keith Sorensen, who are flying a Cessna at 120 mph and 3,500 feet altitude near Santa Paula, California. Its dome is a bright chrome with two protrusions. Hallstrom turns the plane around and the object makes a second pass before disappearing. (“ Case 3-8-80,” IUR 3, no. 8 (August 1978): 4)
July 4 — 3:45 p.m. A 34-year old school principal in Schaumburg, Illinois, watches a distinctly outlined metallic sphere the size of airplane rush in from the east at a speed faster than an aircraft and exceptionally high. The object stops dead over his house and remains stationary for 2–3 minutes. Then it starts rising with a slight veer to the south until it is out of sight. (“ Case 3-8-81,” IUR 3, no. 8 (August 1978): 4)
July 4 — Two Italian Air Force sergeants (Franco Padellero and Attilio di Salvatore), an Italian Navy NCO (Maurizio Esposito), and Antonina di Pietro are driving in the Parco dell’Etna, Sicily, Italy, when they spot a triangular formation of three red pulsating lights above Monte Sona. They stop the car for a better look. One of the lights breaks away from the group and approaches as close as 980 feet before disappearing. They drive in that direction and stop by a ravine to look at a luminous disc that gives off a yellow light about 325 feet away. Five or six very tall entities are standing next to it. Two of them walk up the ravine to within 16 feet of the witnesses. They are dressed in tight-fitting white coveralls and have shoulder-length hair. The two smile, and one points to the disc, which is radiating multicolored lights. The lights go out temporarily when another car drives by. Duration is 35 minutes. All the witnesses feel a euphoria, even 36 hours afterward. Richard Hall notes that the witnesses have satisfied their curiosity and drive away without more concern; he indicates that they have been exposed to the lectures of contactee Eugenio Siragusa, although the witnesses seem to be responsible people. (“ Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 8 (August 1978): 2; Good Above, pp. 146–147; Richard H. Hall, “ Italian UFO Wave of 1978,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 153 (November 1980): 12–15; Maurizio Verga, “ La vague italienne de 1978,” Lumières dans la Nuit, no. 207 (Aug./Sept. 1981): 33; Patrick Gross, URECAT, November 12, 2009; 1Pinotti 216–217)
July 5 — Many cattle mutilations are occurring on the ranch owned by Manuel Gomez near Dulce, New Mexico. State Police Officer Gabe Valdez, having heard that certain cows might be marked in some way before being mutilated, pens 120 of Gomez’s cattle in a corral and moves them through a squeeze chute under a series of ultraviolet lights. The examination reveals that five of the animals have a “glittery substance on the right side of the neck, the right ear, and the right leg.” Valdez and Gomez remove the substance, along with control samples, and send them to Robert Schoenfeld at the Schoenfeld Clinical Laboratories in Albuquerque. Schoenfeld finds “highly suspicious” deposits of potassium (70 times above normal), magnesium, calcium, and aluminum. Results seem to match the powder found on July 1 at the Vargas ranch in Taos. (Fritz Thompson, “ New Findings Deepen Mystery of Mutilations,” Albuquerque (N. Mex.) Journal, December 13, 1978, pp. A1–A2; Tommy Roy Blann, “ UFO Connection in Dulce and Taos, New Mexico?” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 138 (August 1979): 14–15; “ Valdez: Mutilation Ex-Skeptic,” APRO Bulletin 30, no. 4 (April 1982): 1, 3; Daniel Kagan and Ian Summers, Mute Evidence, Bantam, 1984, pp. 49–76; Greg Valdez, Dulce Base: The Truth and Evidence from the Case Files of Gabe Valdez, Levi-Cash, 2013)
July 6 or 7 — Between 7:00 and 8:00 p.m. The fiancée of Robert Garbauskas is in Sandwich, Massachusetts, taking photos of a ship in the Cape Cod Canal when she sees a small, rust-colored, apparently solid object hovering about 35° in the sky for 3–4 minutes. She snaps a photo of it, which shows a dark object with a yellow arc of light above it. (“ 1978 Object with Arc of Light Photographed,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 1, no. 4 (August 1980): 1)
July 7 — At the urging of Grenada Prime Minister Eric Gairy, the Grenada delegation to the United Nations issues a statement calling for “open discussions on the very important subject [of UFOs] … a matter of great significance at this time for all mankind.” (“ U.N. Background,” IUR 3, no. 10/11 (Oct./Nov. 1978): 5; Clark III 1189; Clark IV 1364)
July 7 — The CIA agrees to let Ground Saucer Watch amend its complaint to include requests for virtually all CIA-related UFO records. The lawsuit opens in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. (“ Update on the Ground Saucer Watch (GSW) Lawsuit Against the CIA,” IUR 3, no. 7 (July 1978): 8)
July 9 — 7:30 p.m. Three witnesses observe a bright light high above the mountains to the northwest of Newell Beach, Queensland, Australia. Through binoculars its shape changes from spherical with a bright white center to an oval with three dark lines across its lower half. A small dark spot seems to be constantly moving across it. At one point it splits into two, then rejoins. The witnesses say the object reappears on July 10, 11, and 20, although they do not pay attention to it. (“Further Sightings Reported from Mossman Region,” UFO Research FNQ Newsletter, no. 2, p. 3)
July 11 — 11:20 p.m. A man driving alone in a remote area on State Highway 100 three miles south of Waterbury, Vermont, sees a beam of light descend from the trees. It is about 1.5–2 feet in diameter but spreads out into a cone that covers the entire street and moves toward his car, illuminating the interior like “40 flash cameras.” The reflection off the car hood is dazzling. Petrified for 45 seconds, he finally sticks his head out the door and feels considerable heat. The light shrinks and dims, revealing the silhouette of a saucer darker than the sky and about 80–100 feet in diameter. The object is at treetop level and has small steady white lights on each side and a rib-like structure on the bottom. After hovering above the car a few seconds, it moves southwest about 200 yards and then takes off almost simultaneously. (“ Case 3-8-129,” IUR 3, no. 8 (August 1978): 4)
July 13 — Todd Zechel, research director of Ground Saucer Watch and director of Citizens Against UFO Secrecy, files a FOIA request with the CIA that includes information about a crashed spacecraft. (“ GSW + FOIA + CIA = 1,000 Pages of UFO Information,” IUR 3, no. 8 (August 1978): 9)
July 14 — Dawn. A Spanish Army unit on an exercise in Mazarrón, Murcia, Spain, watches an unfamiliar group of lights for two hours above a road: a red light that vanishes occasionally, two greenish-white lights that shine sporadically, and four white lights that appear irregularly and fly without any specific formation. Their height over the terrain is estimated at 13–100 feet. The lights oscillate and move forward, leaving the road and moving around obstacles like houses and hills, then coming back to the road in front of the group of soldiers. A reconnaissance of the area the following night reveals nothing unusual, except the antenna of a meteorological station that probably was not the source of the lights. (Swords 434)
July 14 — Eric Gairy, accompanied by ufologists J. Allen Hynek, Jacques Vallée, David R. Saunders, Leonard H. Stringfield, and Claude Poher, meet with UN Secretary General Kurt Waldheim to organize a steering committee to develop plans for possible UN involvement in UFO research. (“ UFOs in the U.N.,” IUR 3, no. 8 (August 1978): 9; Clark III 1189; Clark IV 1364)
July 16 — Residents sleeping on their terraces in the northern part of Tehran, Iran, spot a “strange glowing object” floating southwest toward Saveh. One witness claims it is hovering directly above him. The control tower at Mehrabad Airport confirms the existence of the light. An air crew reports unusual readings on their instruments. (Tehran Journal, July 18, 1978; “ Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 9 (September 1978): 2; Good Above, pp. 321–322, 501–502)
July 19 — 9:30 p.m. A teacher is driving with his wife through Hudson, New York, when they spot a motionless, amber-colored, curved object in the sky as wide as a full moon. It remains behind them as they drive to a friend’s house, where they join another couple to watch it. The light suddenly goes out, and 30 seconds later they hear a roar that moves off to the southeast. (“ Case 3-9-19,” IUR 3, no. 9 (September 1978): 6)
July 20 — 1:20 a.m. A soldier on duty at the main gate of the military section of the Logroño- Agoncillo Airport in La Rioja, Spain, sees a strange object in the air. A second lieutenant and a corporal get to the gate in time to watch for 5 minutes an object moving slowly and noiselessly east to west some 3,300 feet above the ground. Two of the witnesses describe it as lozenge-shaped, while the other two say it has the shape of a triangle. All agree that there is an intense white light flashing at one-second intervals in the center, while other lights appear in various parts of the dark object. It continues to fly steadily until it disappears from sight. (Swords 434)
July 21 - 9:30 p.m. Chloene Bechdolt notices a bright red light near the ground in the north field of her farm near Uniopolis, Ohio. She goes inside and around 10:00 p.m. notices that the light is still there and larger in size. She goes back outside and approaches the light, thinking it might be poachers. She thinks she hears someone talking, so she shouts a warning at it. The object makes a hum and shoots straight up. On July 23, she and her nephew find a 100-foot circular area of cut beans in the field, and the timothy stubble looks like it has been scorched about one inch from the ground. (" Large Circular Physical Trace: Is It Common?" CUFOS Associate Newsletter 3, no. 5 (Oct./Nov. 1982): 1-2)
July 21 — 10:15 p.m. A retired couple in Davyhulme, Greater Manchester, England, observes a dark disc hovering in the twilight sky. It is surrounded by an aura, from which 30–40 beautiful purple rays shoot out at various angles like spokes from a wheel, extending to about 12 times the diameter of the central disc. After about 90 seconds, the “rays” collapse inward in sequence, and the object slowly extinguishes itself. During the sighting, the couple notice with some puzzlement that the normally busy street is strangely quiet and devoid of people and traffic. (Jenny Randles, UFO Reality, R. Hale, 1983, pp. 98–100; Clark III 866; Jenny Randles, “Rise and Shine with Shaun and Jenny,” Fortean Times 412 (December 2021): 29; Clark IV 960)
July 22 — 1:15 p.m. A retired couple in Ventura, California, is attracted outdoors by an odd noise and see a silver form moving overhead. It has lines across its surface and is making a noise like a card flapping against bicycle spokes. It flies straight away and disappears in the northeast. (“ Case 3-9-28,” IUR 3, no. 9 (September 1978): 6)
July 22 — 11:15 p.m. Raymond Dawson, his wife Kiriakoula, and daughter are finishing an outdoor meal at a taverna in Chalandri, Athens, Greece. They hear a humming noise above them and see a large dark object with square windows and a red light on top that is nearly touching the TV antennas for the buildings. No one else seems to have noticed the object. The Dawsons leave the taverna, drive around the corner, and see the object again. There is no other traffic about, which seems odd. They stop the car and get out for a better look at the object, which is rocking from side to side and silent. Then it begins changing into different shapes and colors before vanishing. (Jenny Randles, “ UFO over a Greek Taverna,” Flying Saucer Review 25, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1979): 31–iii)
July 26 — 9:40 p.m. Chinese Air Force flying instructor Sha Yongkao is piloting a plane with a student at an airfield in Shangxi province, China. They are flying at 9,800 feet when they see two glowing objects circle the airport twice before moving off. Yongkao attempts to pursue the objects unsuccessfully and is told no other aircraft are being tracked in the vicinity. (Paul Dong, “ Extracts from Paul Dong’s Feidie Bai Wen Bai Da (Questions and Answers on UFOs),” Flying Saucer Review 29, no. 6 (August 1984): 14)
July 27 — 12:45 a.m. Clora E. Winscher is driving a 1974 Mercury Comet east on US Highway 50 on the east side of Union, Missouri, at about 45 mph. She notices in her rearview mirror a brilliant light approaching from behind at high speed. She feels a “terrific shove” and the rear end of the car lifts up and gets moved along the road for 300 feet, completely out of control. As she approaches a bridge, the car drops down again, and she sees the light rise over the roof and disappear upward to the left. Two dents, 22 inches apart, are found in the upper edge of the trunk, but the paint is not fractured. About the same time, 12 miles west in Beaufort, Missouri, Velma Clines watches a dull red-orange, round UFO fly toward her house before it speeds away. (“ Tailgating UFO under Investigation,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 30, 1978, p. 3; “ Case 3-9-59,” IUR 3, no. 9 (September 1978): 7; Shirley Hoffman, “UFO Grabs Car,” Fate 33, no. 10 (October 1978): 44–47; UFOEv II 278)
July 27 — 7:46 p.m. Three men are flying a radio-controlled model airplane in a field in Marshall, Michigan, when they spot a silver cylindrical object with black lines across its surface. It moves eastward from directly overhead to a position 45° up in the east and vanishes. (“ Case 3-9-68,” IUR 3, no. 9 (September 1978): 8)
July 27 — 10:45 p.m. Two witnesses in Sheffield, Ohio, watch a “silver banana” with a red and blue flashing light about a half-mile away, low in the east. They hear a wavering hum. It approaches their car to within 600 feet; the car’s electrical system fails, and the engine stops and cannot be restarted for another 90 minutes. After about 15 minutes the light shoots away to the west. (“ Case 3-9-65,” IUR 3, no. 9 (September 1978): 7)
July 28 — 8:28 p.m. Mr. and Mrs. Gruss of Benton Harbor, Michigan, see a long, brightly lit, silver cylinder at about 6,000 feet altitude. It stays stationary for 30 minutes, then moves southwest. (“ Complete Details on the Michigan-Wisconsin Coast Guard Sightings,” IUR 4, no. 2 (August 1979): 14)
July 28 — 11:45 p.m. The Ludington, Michigan, Coast Guard station gets a phone call from a man whose daughter and boyfriend have seen a strange object over Lake Michigan. Coast Guardsman Don Clark and others see a cluster of white lights, one flashing, and one steady green light near the shoreline. It is very bright, proceeds westerly past the Big Sable Point Lighthouse, and then accelerates silently over the horizon “faster than a plane.” Clark radios the Coast Guard station at Two Rivers, Wisconsin, about the light. (Bill McCulloch, “ Close Encounter?” Traverse City (Mich.) Record Eagle, August 4, 1978, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 111 (October 1978): 2; ClearIntent, pp. 74–76; “ Complete Details on the Michigan-Wisconsin Coast Guard Sightings,” IUR 4, no. 2 (August 1979): 14)
July 28 - 11:57 p.m. Six members of the Two Rivers, Wisconsin, Coast Guard station, including Doug Wangen and Seaman Gary Randall, see a lighted object with flashing white, red, green, orange, and blue lights coming from Lake Michigan and moving toward Rawley Point. It stops abruptly, and Randall snaps 10 photos. The object then "slingshots" to the northwest in seconds. (Larry Yellen, " UFO Sighting Reported by Area Coast Guardsmen," Muskegon (Mich.) Chronicle, July 30, 1978, via UFO Newsclipping service, no. 110 (September 1978): 5; " Complete Details on the Michigan-Wisconsin Coast Guard Sightings," IUR 4, no. 2 (August 1979): 14)
July 29 - 12:01 a.m. A second westbound light is seen by Coast Guard at the Ludington, Michigan, station. It has red lights and very bright strobes flashing erratically. The Two Rivers, Wisconsin, station spots an object 3 minutes later, but it is moving north. (" Complete Details on the Michigan-Wisconsin Coast Guard Sightings," IUR 4, no. 2 (August 1979): 14)
July 29 - 12:04 a.m. Personnel at the Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, Coast Guard station watch a similar light for 4 minutes moving swiftly from west to northwest. (" Complete Details on the Michigan-Wisconsin Coast Guard Sightings," IUR 4, no. 2 (August 1979): 14)
July 29 — 12:25 a.m. Coast Guard observers at the Grassy Island Range Lighthouse in Green Bay, Wisconsin, report to Two Rivers that they are seeing a UFO heading to the west at high speed with white and red flashing lights. (“ Complete Details on the Michigan-Wisconsin Coast Guard Sightings,” IUR 4, no. 2 (August 1979): 14–15)
July 29 — 12:45 a.m. Seaman Gary Randall and another witness at the Two Rivers Coast Guard station see another UFO closing in from the southwest. It approaches for 40 seconds then stops for 1 minute. Then it flies northeast and shoots straight up and out of sight in 20 seconds. (“ Complete Details on the Michigan-Wisconsin Coast Guard Sightings,” IUR 4, no. 2 (August 1979): 15)
July 29 — 2:40 a.m. A Coast Guard vessel in Lake Superior among the Apostle Islands, Wisconsin, sees a large, yellow-white, oblong object that appears and reappears briefly in a slightly different position each time. (“ Complete Details on the Michigan-Wisconsin Coast Guard Sightings,” IUR 4, no. 2 (August 1979): 15)
July 29–30 — The 1978 MUFON UFO Symposium takes place in Dayton, Ohio. Ufologist Leonard Stringfield announces that he has collected more than 50 sources with “information relative to the subject of retrievals or storage of alien craft, and/or deceased alien humanoids recovered from the craft.” He presents 17 witness testimonies to the audience as evidence of some 9–10 possible retrievals of crashed or downed UFOs, although his refusal to provide their names embroils him in controversy. This is the first of his seven “status reports” on accounts and rumors about UFO crash/retrievals. Keyhoe delivers a lecture, “Behind the UFO Secrecy,” opening with his tenet, “The UFO cover-up is the greatest deception in the history of the United States.” (Leonard H. Stringfield, “Retrievals of the Third Kind,” 1978 MUFON UFO Symposium Proceedings, MUFON, 1978, pp. 77–105; Leonard H. Stringfield, “ The UFO Crash/Retrieval Syndrome Status Report II: New Sources, New Data, Part 1,” Flying Saucer Review 28, no. 2 (November 1982): 3–8; Richard H. Hall, Uninvited Guests, Aurora, 1988, pp. 75–76; Leonard Stringfield, “The Chase for Proof in a Squirrel’s Cage,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, pp. 145–147; Clark III 342; John Greenewald, “ The NSA and a 1978 MUFON Conference: More Lost UFO Material,” The Black Vault, August 3, 2022; Powell, Keyhoe, 401; Graff 246–247; Clark IV 378)
August — Bank manager Serrano Silva and a Columbian Navy officer suffer temporary paralysis when a flying object buzzes their car on a highway between Tunja and Bogotá, Columbia. The car’s engine and headlights die. (“ South America: Hotbed of Bizarre UFO Sightings,” Windsor (Ont.) Star, November 14, 1978, p. 20)
August 3 — 7:20 p.m. An engineer, his wife, and his daughter are driving toward Nurmijärvi, Finland, when a 6-foot oval with clear black contours and a light-colored center flies silently in front of them, moving from right to left in 5–10 seconds before vanishing. (“ Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 10/11 (Oct./Nov. 1978): 2)
August 3 — 10:50 p.m. During a mini-flap of UFO sightings in Lowell, Indiana, a couple watch an oval light that has rising bands of shifting colors hovering above trees to the northwest. The man jumps in the car to drive to it as the woman continues watching and sees a smaller light appear to its right. A third light appears to the left, which swings above the first light and joins the second one. All of the lights vanish. (“ Case 3-9-104,” IUR 3, no. 9 (September 1978): 8)
August 4 - 9:30 p.m. A 12-year-old boy in East Leroy, Michigan, hears a noise and looks out his window to watch a silver cigar drop vertically downward to a position 100 feet away and 15 feet up. It snaps into a horizontal position and hovers for 5-10 seconds. A white, steam-like exhaust emits from a funnel at its rear and steams up the boy's window. After a few more seconds it zooms off into the sky. (" Case 3-9-107," IUR 3, no. 9 (September 1978): 8)
August 5 — 9:50 p.m. A family on the shore of Lake Sorell, Tasmania, watch a glow behind a hill to the south. Within minutes, the whole area lights up and a small white light appears, moving back and forth at tree level. It remains visible 20–30 minutes, then disappears suddenly. Earlier in the day, another group had reported a brown, cigar-shaped object over nearby Lake Crescent. (Launceston Examiner, August 12, 1978; “ Interstate Reports,” Australian UFO Bulletin, August 1978, p. 4; “ Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 9 (September 1978): 2)
August 5 — 11:15 p.m. A TV director is driving northwest on State Highway 5 about 2 miles southeast of Laurie, Missouri. He and his son watch two red lights rise up about 25 feet off the road to their left to an altitude of 30 feet. They are attached to a triangular object that flies over their car to their right, cut back to the top of a hill, turn around, and approach them again, only to descend behind trees. The rear dimension of the triangle is about 10–15 feet across. (“ Case 3-9-120,” IUR 3, no. 9 (September 1978): 8)
August 7 — 10:00 p.m. A couple is driving west on War Memorial Drive to a First Assembly of God church in Peoria, Illinois when they see a shooting star fly across their view. Five minutes later, they arrive at church and, walking behind it, see a bright white light with flashing red and blue lights hovering about 40 feet in the air for 5–7 minutes. It shoots off to the east in a split second. (“ Case 3-9-132,” IUR 3, no. 9 (September 1978): 9)
August 8 — A group of tourists along the shore of the Sea of Azov near Henichesk, Ukraine, see a flying disc three times larger than the moon. It has protrusions on the top and bottom, two rows of portholes, and is surrounded by a bright orange glow. Every 15 seconds, smaller discs (a total of 15–20) fly out from the lower protrusion, accompanied by a blinding explosion. They hover for a few seconds then depart rapidly to the south. (Stonehill and Mantle, Russia’s USO Secrets, Flying Disk, 2020, p. 176)
August 8 — 9:40 p.m. Witnesses in Belton, Missouri, and several military personnel at nearby Richards- Gebaur Air Reserve Station [now closed] witness the flyover of a UFO that is also briefly tracked on radar. Joseph Staudinger Jr. sees the object at about 2,800 feet in altitude and looking like two white strobe lights in front and back with three rows of red lights that are rotating around its middle. The encounter lasts 45 minutes. A cattle mutilation has been discovered earlier that day in Elsberry, Missouri. (“ Heavily-Witnessed Radar-Visual Case near Kansas City,” IUR 3, no. 9 (September 1978): 3–6)
August 10 — CIA Information and Privacy Coordinator Gene F. Wilson asks Todd Zechel of CAUS to suspend his FOIA request until he has a chance to look at the 1,000 pages of documents that are currently under review for release. Most of these files are from the Office of Scientific Intelligence in the 1950s, leading CAUS to suspect that they will mostly consist of Air Force and Navy UFO reports, plus some records of unauthorized CIA investigations. (“ GSW + FOIA + CIA = 1,000 Pages of UFO Information,” IUR 3, no. 8 (August 1978): 9)
August 11 — 10:30 p.m. Junior high school student Dale Wood hears a purring sound in Roosevelt, Utah, looks up, and sees a silver domed object surrounded by a green glow. It moves overhead and hovers, a pattern of body lights visible on its underside and an intense light in the center. When it begins to circle around, Wood runs to his grandmother’s house nearby to tell his brother. There the air conditioners and TV sets quit running, and the dogs are whining and crying. His mother, Larain Wood, comes outdoors in time to see the object circle twice, then take off rapidly to the northeast. Mrs. Wood calls the tribal police office in Fort Duchesne and Officer David Murray is dispatched to investigate. He also sees the object take off at high speed and disappear. (UFOEv II 192)
August 11 — 11:59 p.m. A deputy sheriff and four youngsters are driving on Chancellors Run Road in Great Mills, Maryland, when they see a silvery, blimp-shaped light hovering at treetop level above some trailers. It appears larger than a full moon. The deputy shines the cruiser’s spotlight toward it and scans the length of the object, yet the beam does not light up the large shape. She drives closer, but the UFO begins to get cloudy on its underside and moves slowly behind the trees. (“ Case 3-9-184,” IUR 3, no. 9 (September 1978): 9)
August 12 — 9:25 p.m. A young couple in Niceville, Florida, are driving on a dirt road when a lighted object that looks like an eye moves toward them. The center part is like shiny black glass and the body is metallic silver with two antennae on top. It fills half the windshield in angular size as it moves over the roof of the car. They hear no noise and feel no rush of wind. (“ Case 3-9-187,” IUR 3, no. 9 (September 1978): 9)
August 16 — Air traffic controllers at Gatwick Airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, see a UFO but decline to say exactly what it is. (Good Above, p. 72)
August 17 — Assistant US Attorney for the District of Columbia William Briggs asks Peter Gersten of Ground Saucer Watch to identify broadly all categories of UFO documents to enable the CIA to search for all its UFO records. Based on a draft by Brad Sparks, Gersten prepares a stipulation that requests the CIA to conduct a reasonable search of 22 CIA component branches. US District Court Judge John H. Pratt makes the order a binding one, giving the CIA until mid-December to complete the task. (“ GSW + FOIA + CIA = 1,000 Pages of UFO Information,” IUR 3, no. 8 (August 1978): 9–10)
August 17 — 10:30 p.m. Radars of the Air Self-Defense Corps at Nemuro Radar Site on Hokkaido, Japan, pick up a target flying from the north to south-southwest at about 40 mph more than a half-mile above Nemuro Channel south of Kunashir Island. It approaches the eastern end of Hokkaido and is later picked up by radars at Cape Erimo. Two F-4EJ Phantom jets are scrambled from Chitose Air Base about 10 minutes later and are guided to the targets, now in the vicinity of Nakashibetsu. But the pilots can see nothing on their airborne radars and return empty-handed. The target persists on ground scopes, moving south toward Kushiro. Twice more, jets are sent up but fail to detect a blip. (“ Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 9 (September 1978): 2)
August 18 — 11:20 p.m. A relative staying at the home of UFO researcher Douglas Dains in Port Crane, New York, notices the reception on the television is disrupted shortly before a UFO detector (a magnetic field instrument) starts buzzing. Dains himself is not at home. The relative steps outside and sees a domed UFO with a red light on top of an antenna approach from the northwest to a position 50 feet behind a tree and 45 feet in the air. It hovers there for 30 seconds. It then departs to the southwest, disappearing behind a mountain. (“ The Absent UFO Researcher,” IUR 3, no. 12 (December 1978): 13)
August 20 — 1:30 a.m. A nurse is sitting in her car on Oberlin Street in Maplewood, New Jersey, when she sees an object shaped like a car fender with four blue lights moving toward her from the east. She gets out of her car as it flies overhead. Then it stays in place, rocking silently back and forth, before taking off to the northeast, making a machine-like noise. (“ A Huge ‘Car Fender,’” IUR 3, no. 12 (December 1978): 13–14)
August 20 — 7:30 p.m. A 64-year old security guard is on patrol in downtown Toledo, Ohio, looking at a “large plane” approaching from the north. As it passes overhead at a uniform speed, about 1,500–2,000 feet up, it is seen as a cigar with small brackets. It is dull silver, distinctly outlined, and twice the angular size of the full moon. It then continues its straight path southbound to the horizon. (“ A Daylight Urban ‘Cigar,’” IUR 3, no. 12 (December 1978): 14)
August 21 — 5:00 p.m. A witness sketches an oblong UFO over an open area near Banksville, New York. It is at least 150–200 feet long with white and blue colors, two lights in front, and silent. It disappears over a golf course in the northeast. (“ Long Rectangular UFOs: Five Different Cases of Similarly Shaped Objects,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 9 (September 1981): 1)
August 21 — 5:30 p.m. A 33-year old housewife, in the company of her children, 8 and 10, watches a silver Frisbee-like object from their front porch 3 miles north of downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. Standing outdoors, they see the saucer in the southeast, much larger than a full moon would look, perhaps as large as a car. The Frisbee has a sharp outline and metallic appearance. No sound can be heard over the heavy traffic noise. According to the children, it then shoots over to the southwest in two seconds. Finally, it moves straight up out of sight in an instant. Duration is 5–8 minutes. (“ A Daylight ‘Frisbee,’” IUR 3, no. 12 (December 1978): 14)
August 21 - Night. The Madagascar Interior Ministry announces that a UFO has crashed and exploded in the marketplace at Fort-Dauphin. Radio Madagascar says that the cigar-shaped object had lit up the ground before plunging downward. Locals rush out of bed to put out the flames. (" UFO Crash Claim," Cardiff (UK) Western Mail, August 21, 1978, via APCIC Clipping Service 3, no. 11 (November 1978): 39; " Foreign Forum," IUR 3, no. 10/11 (Oct./Nov. 1978): 2; Valerie Martin, " Points from the Press," BUFORA Journal 8, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1979): 4; " UFO Crashes," Australian UFO Bulletin, February 1979, p. 14)
August 22 — 7:03 a.m. Four men are driving in a carpool from Moscow, Pennsylvania, to work at the Tobyhanna Army Depot in Coolbaugh Township on I-380. They watch a small circular “cloud” descend suddenly in the south. It changes to a bright silver and hovers, rocking from side to side. It now looks solid and metallic. It rises slightly and flies off to the southeast at an estimated 800–900 mph. (“ A Daylight ‘Cloud,’” IUR 3, no. 12 (December 1978): 14)
August 22 — An oval-shaped translucent object ringed by a halo of light flies silently over the Andes Mountains in Neuquen province, Argentina, in a 300-mile path. (“ Close Encounters Thrill Latins,” Detroit (Mich.) Free Press, November 22, 1978, p. 6C)
August 23 — 8:04 p.m. P. A. Hadden is on board the tanker MV Ficus in the Indian Ocean [or the South China Sea] 260 miles from the Malacca Strait. He watches an elongated triangle formation of three lights moving in from 60° above the northeast horizon. When they reach 75°, nearly overhead, the lights suddenly stop. He estimates them to be 100 miles high. The light in the right rear continues moving in the opposite direction of the ship and off to its left at great speed, disappearing in the distance; the light in the left rear shifts over to occupy the position in the formation it had occupied. After 5 seconds of remaining still, it shoots back to the left again and departs at high speed. The remaining light rushes forward, following the same path as the first light. Total duration of the sighting is 1 minute 20 seconds. (“ Foreign Forum,” IUR 3, no. 10/11 (Oct./Nov. 1978): 2)
August 24 — 10:00 p.m. A 54-year old cook is driving north from her brother’s house about 10 miles south of Ottumwa, Iowa. She is on Cliffland Road alongside the Des Moines River in a wooded , rural area. A full-moon-sized red-orange light shoots silently from the east to the west in several seconds. As it flies across the front of her car, her windshield fogs up and the car stalls out to a stop. The interference lasts only a few seconds, and the car restarts without her turning the key; the window defogs as quickly as it had steamed up. She last sees the light against a background of trees up ahead, lower than the treetops. (“ Car Interference in Iowa,” IUR 3, no. 12 (December 1978): 14)
August 24 — 11:40 p.m. Two 19-year old girls, driving west near tiny Ginghamsburg, Ohio, watch two oddly colored orange lights twice the size of aircraft landing lights. A humming sound can be heard both from the lights and from the car radio. The driver can’t get the car to go faster than about 20 mph. The lights are coming from the left, one directly over the other. They look away momentarily and the lights are gone; they look again, and the lights are moving above the car. From the south they have moved to the northwest over a field. A rod or a light beam comes down from one ball of light and shines a light at the witnesses for one second. The driver tries to flash the car lights at it, to no avail. They look away briefly and do not notice how the lights vanish. (“ Car Interference in Ohio?” IUR 3, no. 12 (December 1978): 14)
August 27 — 1:40 p.m. Arthur Silva is flying a Cessna 150 about 10 miles north of Provincetown, Massachusetts, with Harold Johnson as passenger. Johnson sees a bright reflective object at the same altitude (2,500 feet) directly ahead about 4 miles away. It moves closer, picking up speed and shooting by them at about 600 mph, apparently missing the plane by 1,000 feet. It is a silvery-white, metallic sphere with no wings and about 18 feet in diameter. (“ Daylight Sphere over Massachusetts,” IUR 3, no. 12 (December 1978): 15)
August 27 — 4:45 p.m. A Korean War veteran in Gloucester, Massachusetts, watches a bright yellow cylinder approaching him from low in the north. At an altitude of 2,000 feet, it appears smaller than an F-100 fighter. It moves off to the south, flying faster than a jet. (“ And Then, 3 Hours Later,” IUR 3, no. 12 (December 1978): 15)
August 28 —Six papers are presented at the American Psychological Association Symposium in Toronto, Ontario, relating to the topic of using hypnosis to investigate UFO experiences. The presenters are H. Kent Newman, R. Leo Sprinkle, James Harder, Alvin Lawson, W. C. McCall, and Michael Persinger. (“ Ufologists Meet the Social Scientists,” IUR 3, no. 10/11 (Oct./Nov. 1978): 19–21)
August 30 — 8:45 p.m. A witness is standing outdoors at a suburban shopping center in Nashua, New Hampshire, when she spots a formation of 6–8 white lights arranged in a circle and moving from southeast to north. (“ Meanwhile, a Little Ways North,” IUR 3, no. 12 (December 1978): 15)
August 30 — Late night. Residents of Lisbon, Portugal, see a large round object with bright red and white lights flying about 600 feet above the ground. (“ Portuguese Welcome UFO,” Oshkosh (Wis.) Daily Northwestern, August 31, 1978, p. 2)
August 30 — 11:00 p.m.–midnight. A 38-year-old man is driving a pickup on State Highway 38 a half-mile west of Nisula, Michigan, when a cone-shaped object flies toward him from the east. It has two steady red lights at the ends and one steady white light in the middle. It flies low and silently over the truck, which then stalls for one second. He gets home and he and his wife watch the red lights in the distance, still moving slowly up and down from east to south. (“ Another Vehicle Stalled,” IUR 3, no. 12 (December 1978): 15–16)
August 30 — 11:10 p.m. A man in Gloucester, Massachusetts, looks out his window to see what is causing a loud sound in 5-second bursts. He sees over Ipswich Bay an elongated, fiery red rectangle moving north to south at around 100 mph. One end is dipped down 45°. It stops, hovers for 10 seconds, and moves out of sight behind trees. (“ Again, 3 Hours Later,” IUR 3, no. 12 (December 1978): 15)
September — GEPAN organizes a large gathering of about 100 people from more than 40 civilian UFO groups, but cooperation does not last. Criticism comes from both skeptics and the conspiratorial-minded. (Gildas Bourdais, “ From GEPAN to SEPRA: Official UFO Studies in France,” IUR 25, no. 4 (Winter 2000–2001): 12)
September — Chris Rutkowski begins publishing the Swamp Gas Journal newsletter in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It continues until summer 1997, with six special issues thrown in. ( Swamp Gas Journal, no. 1 (September 1978)
September — UFOs are reported around Heathrow Airport in London, England. A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority denies that any are tracked on radar, but adds, “It’s in the interest of national security that not too much fuss is made about this sort of thing.” (Good Above, p. 72)
September — 2:00 a.m. Soldiers at Guard Post 215 in Port Belgrano Naval Base near Punta Alta, Argentina, receive notice that the base is under attack. Six first responders drive a pickup truck to the area and discover that the outpost is firing numerous rifle volleys at an apparent attack by a UFO in the shape of a flattened carousel. The object silently rises upward and vanishes. (“ ‘Go Capture That UFO’: The Puerto Belgrano CE-2, September 1978,” Inexplicata: The Journal of Hispanic Ufology, December 8, 2023)
September 1 — After 8:00 p.m. Several villagers in Llanerchymedd, Anglesey, Wales, including some teenagers and a man hunting rabbits, watch a bright white light descend slowly behind a new housing estate. An egg-shaped object is seen hovering and illuminating the trees. Other independent witnesses see a large silvery sphere above a field and watch the cows panic and hear neighborhood dogs start barking furiously. A Mrs. Parry and her young daughter look out from an upstairs bedroom and see three tall men in gray uniforms with caps or helmets attached to their suits walking across a field. Some of the teens run to the village to alert the police, who upon their arrival find the village in an uproar, thinking it has been invaded. At 10:00 p.m., Vivienne Roberts sees a purplish object with a mass of yellow lights above the vicarage. Her horses begin to panic and sweat profusely. Later, UFO investigators triangulate the position of the supposed landing site and find a circular patch of flattened barley and a path leading up to it. (Martin Keatman, “ The Llanerchymedd UFO,” Flying Saucer Review 25, no. 5 (March 1980): 16–23; Story, p. 211)
September 2 — 8:00–8:15 a.m. Roberto Pozzi, 14, hears a noise like ducks and hissing combined in a western suburb of Alessandrio, Piedmont, Italy. He sees an object over a nearby cornfield. It stops making noise, swings laterally, and shoots up into the air. He finds a 22-by-10-foot depressed area of cornstalks bent down halfway up the stalk. Two rows of stalks are bent to the east, a third row to the west. Other sightings take place in the same area around Alessandrio on September 3, 6, 7, and 13. (Paolo Toselli, Gian Mario Ragno, and Roberto Balbi, “ 1978: Piemonte e UFO,” Notiziario UFO 2, no. 2 (February 1979): 24–27; Paolo Toselli and Edoardo Russo, “ Three Landings in Italy,” Flying Saucer Review 24, no. 5 (March 1979): 6–9, 13; “ UFO Flap 1978: Italian Style,” IUR 4, no. 3/4 (Sept./Oct. 1979): 14; Maurizio Verga, “ Quarant’anni di Atterraggi UFO in Italia,” UFO Rivista di Informazione Ufologica, no. 1 (June 1986): 8, 11; 1Pinotti 217)
September 3 — David W. Swift of the University of Hawaii Department of Sociology presents a paper prior to the American Sociological Association meeting in San Francisco, California, on the disconnect among scientists’ support for SETI research and their disdain for UFO research. (“ Scientists’ Selection of New Areas for Investigation: UFOs or ETI?” IUR 3, no. 10/11 (Oct./Nov. 1978): 21–22)
September 3 — 10:00 p.m. Edilia Cresta Gallo and three other women see a strip of white light descend between a road and a maize field in Alessandrio, Piedmont, Italy. The strip morphs into a bright fireball about 5 feet wide. It disappears and reappears twice more. The women complain of a burning sensation in their eyes. (Paolo Toselli and Edoardo Russo, “ Three Landings in Italy,” Flying Saucer Review 24, no. 5 (March 1979): 6–9, 13; “ UFO Flap 1978: Italian Style,” IUR 4, no. 3/4 (Sept./Oct. 1979): 14–15)
September 4 — 12:15 a.m. A university professor in Gordon, Wisconsin, sees a flashing, pale-yellow ball of light as he is driving north on US Highway 53. It crosses the road in front of him only 50 feet away at an estimated 160 mph. It makes a sharp 90° turn parallel to the road, descending to about 15 feet, and travels parallel to his car at 60 mph about 150 feet west of the road. As he slows down to 20 mph for a better look, the light also slows down. When the light is 250 feet ahead, it goes out. (“ A Professorial Witness,” IUR 4, no. 1 (July 1979): 11)
September 6 — 6:45 a.m. Juan O. Perez, 12, goes to gather a herd of horses near Venado Tuerto, Argentina. As he rides his horse, he senses something flying overhead. Several objects appear and begin maneuvering and shooting out beams of multicolored light. His horse panics, and Perez manages to ride home. His father berates him and tells him to go back. When he returns, he finds a large domed object with windows on the ground. A door opens and a 7-foot-tall being wearing gloves and a cylindrical helmet appears. It seems to be attached to the object by some type of breathing apparatus. It invites Perez inside the craft, so he ties his horse to a ladder protruding from the bottom of the object and climbs in. His horse is panicked again and keeps kicking the object, injuring its leg. Inside, he sees a panel with buttons and some tables. A robot-like entity is cutting some animal bones into pieces. Perez tries touching the tall being and objects inside but is prevented by an invisible barrier. Perez jumps out the door and back to the ground. The tall being follows him outside. Perez asks for one of the giant’s gloves as proof of his experience. When it takes off the glove, Perez sees a green, claw-like hand with blue metallic nails. The tall being then pricks Perez’s right arm and apparently extracts some blood. As Perez rides home with the glove, two flying objects catch up to him and emit a small slab and sphere that descend and brush by the horse. They pull the glove up with a magnetic force. The wound on Perez’s arm stays open for many years and seeps a transparent liquid. A scar remains six years later when Perez has a medical check-up for military service; he is declared unfit because of the story he tells about its origin. After the event, Perez begins having premonitory dreams about unfortunate events. Perez’s story is retold in an Argentine documentary feature, “Witness of Another World,” directed by Alan Stivelman and released in 2018. (Jacques Vallée, Confrontations: A Scientist’s Search for Alien Contact, Ballantine, 1990, pp. 153–156; “ Jacques Vallée: The Juan Perez UFO Case,” Above Top Secret, October 20, 2019; David Metcalfe, “ Witness of Another World: Exploring the Soul of a Phenomenon,” Exploring the Outer Edges of Society and Mind, October 21, 2019; Mark Pilkington, “The Gaucho Also Cries,” Fortean Times 391 (April 2020): 38–40; Internet Movie Database, “ Witness of Another World”)
September 6 — Late evening. Two witnesses at the San Michele boarding house in Sassello, Savona, Italy, see two round black objects close enough to form a figure 8. The are making sounds like incomprehensible radio chatter. They depart at great speed, leaving circular imprints behind. (“ UFO Flap 1978: Italian Style,” IUR 4, no. 3/4 (Sept./Oct. 1979): 15)
September 7 - 1:00 a.m. A college student in Dayton, Ohio, sees two bright orange lights, closely spaced horizontally. They remain stationary for 2 minutes, then dim and begin to move for 2-3 minutes. (" This One's 50-50," IUR 4, no. 1 (July 1979): 11)
September 7 - 8:40 p.m. Many people in the San Michele boarding house in Sassello, Savona, Italy, see a large luminous object hovering above La Carta to the east. The boarding house owner, Piera Viacava, switches on the TV, but the picture is distorted. The light moves south for a few minutes. Franco Viacava drives off in a Fiat with two friends toward the light, but their engine loses power and slows down. The radio and tape player also malfunction briefly. A French woman driving in the area has her car stopped as the object hovers suddenly above her. Her dog barks until the light goes away and the car resumes working. (" Sassello: Visti diselli volanti tra Liguria e Alessandrino?" Stampa Sera (Turin), September 11, 1978, p. 8; " Le luci si spengono e arrivano gli `Ufo,'" La Stampa (Turin), September 12, 1978, p. 1; " UFO Flap 1978: Italian Style," IUR 4, no. 3/4 (Oct./Nov. 1979): 15)
September 9 - 8:35 p.m. Airline pilots flying over the Mediterranean about 88 miles east of Barcelona, Spain, watch some unidentified lights for 35 minutes. Personnel from Barcelona Air Control Center maintain a conversation with the pilots but detect no targets on their radar screens. (Swords 434-435)
September 10 - 8:30 p.m. Richard Renne is flying his single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza at 9,500 feet southeast at 170 mph near Bakersfield, Missouri, when he sees a yellowish-white light descending from 15,000 feet. It follows him behind his right wing, then shoots up to 20,000 feet in a perfectly straight trajectory. It moves back to his 3 o'clock position before it shoots off upward. (" But This One's Good," IUR 4, no. 1 (July 1979): 11)
September 10 - 10:15 p.m. A stationary formation of several dozen lights is seen at Dearborn Heights, Michigan, for 15 minutes before it disappears. (" Michigan NL," IUR 4, no. 1 (July 1979): 11-12)
September 13 - 9:30 p.m. Angelo Ciompi watches a reddish disc moving in the eastern sky above Spinetta Marengo, Italy. It stops abruptly, drops down, and is lost to sight behind some houses. A column of flames rises up from the spot. Ciompi and others rush to the area and see a fire burning in the brushwood-covered wasteland. Firemen put out the blaze, but the area is overflown by lights in the evening that descend and ascend at the site. (Paolo Toselli and Edoardo Russo, " Three Landings in Italy," Flying Saucer Review 24, no. 5 (March 1979): 6-8, 13; " UFO Flap 1978: Italian Style," IUR 4, no. 3/4 (Oct./Nov. 1979): 15)
September 14 - 6:00 a.m. Hundreds of witnesses all over Italy, from Sicily to Florence, watch a luminous projectile moving northward. Italian ufologists are calling it a UFO rather than a meteor because a few accounts have it moving in a different direction or appearing to stop briefly. Probable meteor. (" UFO Flap 1978: Italian Style," IUR 4, no. 3/4 (Oct./Nov. 1979): 15)
September 15 — 2:30 a.m. A 31-year-old woman is lying in bed awake for 30 minutes at her home in Delano, Tennessee, when a funny feeling makes her look outside. She stands at the south window looking out at fields and sees a bright moon and an object with lights in a long shape, red and pink as if on fire, in the southwest. Two “normal” men dressed in white suits can be seen about 300 feet from the window, but it is too dark for details. They start moving toward the house, but then stop and turn back. The UFO comes in fast at this point very close to the ground, then leaves quickly, climbing to the west. (“ Tennessee Humanoids?” IUR 4, no. 1 (July 1979): 12; Patrick Gross, URECAT, May 15, 2010)
September 15 — 4:00 a.m. A 26-year-old secretary is awakened in Carpentersville, Illinois, by a whirring sound. She goes to the bedroom window to look outside. The noise stops, but then she sees the figure of a 6-foot tall man. He is dressed in a silvery suit. Several feet away from him she sees a small, silver, domed disc (about 3 feet wide by 2 feet tall) sitting on the edge of the grass. It is opaque and smooth and the source of the whirring sound. The witness then screams at her husband to wake up, and her dog starts barking furiously. They both try to phone the police but the phone is not working. When the police arrive 15 minutes later, both the visitor and the UFO are gone. (“ Stuffing a 6-Foot Ufonaut into a 2-Foot UFO,” IUR 4, no. 1 (July 1979): 12; Patrick Gross, URECAT, October 27, 2009)
September 16 — 1:30 a.m. Stephen Colclough and his girlfriend are driving through Dilhorne, Staffordshire, England, when they notice a red and white light moving across the sky. Suddenly an enormous black object looms up in front of them, completely silent, and shoots a powerful searchlight beam for at least 3 seconds. (“UFO Shot a Beam of Light at Our Car: Claim,” Stoke-on-Trent (UK) Evening Sentinel, September 16, 1978; Marler 102)
September 17 — 8:00 p.m. Hairdresser Rivo Faralli hears an explosion like a rifle shot at Torrita di Siena, Italy. He goes to visit his mother on the other side of town, who has also heard the noise and seen a flash of light that causes the lights and TV to go out. When Faralli is driving home at 9:00 p.m. on the Via Pié agli Orti, the engine and lights of his car die. He feels paralyzed as he watches a domed disc come near and float inches from the ground. The dome opens up and two 3.5-foot-tall beings emerge, floating 4 inches from the ground. They are wearing green one-piece suits; their helmets have clear visors and two small spiraling antennas. Their faces look like green-skinned skulls through the visors. Faralli watches them make a full circle around the car without noise or gesture, then return to the UFO, which rises up several yards, seemingly propelled by three red, orange, and blue-colored beams, and shoots off vertically. The car starts on its own. He returns to the site the following day and finds three burn marks in the unpaved road. Digging into the ground, he finds the earth carbonized to a depth of 8 inches. Soil samples are taken to the European Atomic Energy Community labs at Ispra, which finds that the road material has been burned by a temperature less than 500° Celsius, and not by a bonfire or hydrocarbon fuels. (Roberto Pinotti, “ Landing, E.M. Effects, and Entities at Torrita di Siena,” Flying Saucer Review 25, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1979): 3–6; Maurizio Verga, “ Another CEIII Report from Italy,” Flying Saucer Review 25, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1979): 6–7; “ UFO Flap 1978: Italian Style,” IUR 4, no. 3/4 (Sept./Oct. 1979): 15–16; Richard Hall, “ Italian UFO Wave of 1978,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 153 (November 1980): 12, 13; Richard H. Hall, Uninvited Guests, 1988, p. 297; UFOEv II 495–496; Herbert S. Taylor, “ An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part Two,” IUR 34, no. 1 (Sept. 2011): 18; Patrick Gross, URECAT, January 15, 2012; 1Pinotti 220–223)
September 18 — 3:30 p.m. Giorgio Filiputti is fishing in the Corno river at the point where the Zumiel irrigation canal runs into it south of San Giorgio di Nogaro, Udine, Italy, when he hears a whistling sound, sees vegetation rustling, and feels a blast of air. Climbing up the riverbank to investigate, he sees a domed disc about 13–16 feet in diameter that is resting on a mudflat 66 feet away. The object is brassy or yellowish metallic with telescopic legs that terminate in flat pads. A figure about 3.5 feet tall appears from behind the dome, walking around the rim. It wears tight-fitting coveralls of scaly, silvery material that sparkles in the sunlight. It wears boots, has two containers at waist level, and white gloves. Its face is dark bronze with almond-shaped eyes and large pupils. The entity stares at the shocked Filiputti. After a few minutes it begins walking again, stoops down, and works on a horseshoe-shaped protrusion on the dome. Finally, it continues walking around to the other side. Filiputti hears a rumbling sound and a piercing whistle as the object begins to rise, withdrawing its landing gear. The underside looks like it has a grid pattern, and it emits a bluish glow like a tongue of flame. When it reaches an altitude of 33 feet, it turns on edge and speeds out of sight to the southwest. He has been watching it for about 6 minutes. Three circular imprints about 20 inches in diameter are found in the dry mud and sand. (Antonio Chiumiento, “ ‘The Little Oriental Airman’: Another Remarkable C.E.III Case in Italy,” Flying Saucer Review 28, no. 5 (June 1983): 3–8; UFOEv II 496–498; 1Pinotti 223–230)
September 20 — 3:40 p.m. G. W. Schoen is spreading fertilizer on a farm near Westminster, Maryland, when he notices a gray, pear-shaped object tilted at an angle and flying above the edge of a wooded area. He can see plates, girders, cylinders, and other structures on it. Schoen senses that it is exerting a mild “pulling” force on him. It is visible for 30–35 seconds before it passes behind a cloud. He estimates it is 340–350 feet long. (“ Correspondence,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 3, no. 4 (Aug./Sept. 1982): 4)
September 20 — 5:30 p.m.–8:30 p.m. Hundreds of people watch a white, roughly triangular object over Tuscany, Italy. It moves northeast and turns red. Probable balloon. (“ UFO Flap 1978: Italian Style,” IUR 4, no. 3/4 (Oct./Nov. 1979): 16–17)
September 21 — 8:00 p.m. A young man walking near a yard in Cosenza, Calabria, Italy, sees the area illuminated as if by daylight. The surrounding blocks are lost to view. On a hill he sees an oval object and a human shape with two antennae. Frightened, he runs away but falls as four humanoids come closer to him by jumps. He faints, and when he comes to he is surrounded by four entities wearing buttoned jackets, a rucksack, and helmets with antennae. Their hands look like pincers. He faints again and wakes up at 8:30 p.m., but the UFO and entities are gone. (Paolo Fiorino, “ Le Abduction in Italia,” UFO: Rivista di Informazione Ufologica, no. 5 (June 1988): 35, 36–37; Paolo Fiorino, Gian Paolo Grassino, and Antonio Chiumiento, “ Abductions in Italy,” IUR 14, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1989): 15; 1Pinotti 230)
September 23 — Around 3:00 a.m. Carlos Acevedo and Miguel Ángel Moya, two Chilean racecar drivers, are driving a Citroën CG on the flat pampas south of Bahia Blanca, Argentina, stragglers on the final leg of a 39-day stock car race. They are driving at about 60 mph, headed north on Highway 3, about 19 miles north of Carmen de Patagones. They notice a yellow and violet light shining in their rear-view mirror, approaching fast. Suddenly, the engine and headlights quit, then the car is lifted 13–15 feet off the road and set down again seemingly one minute later at a considerable distance away. They see a yellow cone of light retreating in the distance; it then changes shape to an oval that continues west and disappears in the distance. Moya’s hands are shaking and he has difficulty breathing; Acevedo’s legs appear to have gone asleep. At 5:10 a.m., they stop in Pedro Luro to take stock and find that it has taken 2 hours and 20 minutes to travel a distance that should have taken only 1 hour and 15 minutes. Their reserve gasoline tank, recently filled, is completely empty. They report the incident to Inspector Daniel Osimi at the Pedro Luro police station. (“ Car Levitation and E-M Case,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 130 (September 1978): 6; “ UFO Participates in Rally,” Crónica (Buenos Aires), September 24, 1978, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 112 (November 1978): 15–16; “ Precisions on Another Very Close Encounter,” Crónica (Bueno Aires), September 25, 1978, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 112 (November 1978): 16; “ El incidente del Rally: ¿Una teleportación?” UFO Press, no. 9 (October 1978): 32–42; San Diego (Calif.) Union, November 14, 1978; “ Close Encounters Thrill Latins,” Detroit (Mich.) Free Press, November 22, 1978, p. 6C; “ Foreign Forum,” IUR 4, no. 2 (August 1979): 2; Guillermo C. Roncoroni, “ The Rally Incident: A Teleportation?” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 140 (October 1979): 8–11; Richard H. Hall, Uninvited Guests, 1988, pp. 49–52, 297–298; UFOEv II 225; Dwight Connelly, “ Teleportation Event a Part of Several UFO Cases,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 404 (December 2001): 6, 8; Patrick Gross, “ URECAT: UFO Related Entities Catalog,” October 4, 2009; “ Ecuador: UFOs at the 1978 Rally?” Inexplicata: The Journal of Hispanic Ufology blog, March 16, 2010; “ Expediente policial del incidente OVNI del Rally de 1978,” Visión OVNI, January 26, 2014; “ Argentina: Police Report Documents 1978 UFO Teleportation,” Inexplicata: The Journal of Hispanic Ufology blog, January 30, 2014; “ OVNIs: Caso de los pilotos abducidos en un rally,” Están Aquí YouTube channel, August 1, 2018; “ Archivo OVNI: Caso pilotos del Rally en Argentina abducidos en 1978, Parte 1,” El Viajero Dimensional YouTube channel, May 11, 2020; “ Archivo OVNI: Caso pilotos del Rally en Argentina abducidos en 1978, Parte 2,” El Viajero Dimensional YouTube channel, May 11, 2020; “ El misterio de los pilotos de rally transportados por un ovni en Pedro Luro,” El Orden (Coronel Pringles, Argentina), October 19, 2020; Javier Zamorano, “ ¿OVNI o trampa maestra?: La Historia de los pilotos chilenos ‘abducidos’ que conmocionó al Mundo Rally,” Radio Bío-Bío (Chile), December 31, 2022; Jackson Camargo, “ O Fantástico Caso Pedro Luro,” Portal Fenomenum, January 30, 2023)
September 23 — 1:28 p.m. A man is driving past a cattle lot 2 miles north of Dexter, Iowa, when he sees a silver cigar-shaped object 150 feet above the ground. He jumps out of his truck and tries to get underneath it as it hovers, but it moves off to the northeast and is gone in less than a minute. (“ Another Daylight Cigar,” IUR 4, no. 1 (July 1979): 12)
September 23–24 — Around 12:00 midnight. Two cable car technicians at the Bâlea Lake resort, Romania, are awakened by a red light visible through dense fog. It is apparently coming from an object some 30 feet outside their window. The light disappears. At the same time, at a military barracks on the site where soldiers have been assigned work duties, Cpl. Ioan Dörr gets up and goes outside for a drink of water from a tap at the corner of the building and sees a dark, motionless silhouette only a few feet away. It persists for at least another 5 minutes. The next evening at 11:45 p.m., Sgt. Ion Radu notices a dark figure about 8 feet tall moving slowly on a mound some 65 feet away. Noticing that something had broken open the shutters of their barracks windows, some of the soldiers begin throwing stones at it. Radu approaches to within 4 feet of the figure and raises a club to hit it, but he feels a hot blast and falls backward into the snow. Two other soldiers with him remain paralyzed for a few seconds. The entity moves away with kind of a floating motion. Radu remains unconscious for about 10 minutes as the soldiers try to resuscitate him. Five soldiers see a “wreath of lights” at the spot where the figure had stood and others hear mysterious scratching at the window shutters. The next morning they find four parallel scratches on the shutters about 4 inches apart. The soldiers all decide to spend the next night at a nearby resort. (Romania 130–132)
September 24 — 5:30 p.m. Two witnesses see a silver oval moving from east to west in Vineland, New Jersey. (“ Daylight Oval,” IUR 4, no. 1 (July 1979): 13)
September 26 — 12:05 a.m. A 19-year-old grocery worker is driving on Lunn Road in Strongsville, Ohio, when she sees on her left a flat-domed disc edge on. She stops her car, and the object moves closer. When it is right in front of her car over the road, her FM radio gets lost in static for 10–15 seconds and her headlights flash off for one second. Then the object slowly rises up and flies off out of sight to her right. (“ Another EM Story,” IUR 4, no. 1 (July 1979): 13)
September 27 — 8:00 a.m. Katarzyna Kolińska is on her way to school in Przyrownica from Magnusy, Poland, when she sees a bright flash of light near a mountain. The children who arrive at the school before classes go to a small nearby grove of trees to play. There they encounter a strange man, 5.5 feet tall with a green face and dark costume, who is walking through the forest 30 feet away. He turns to face the children, and they panic and run back to school, one child losing his shoe in the rush. The teacher returns with some of the children to the spot, but student Anna Jarocińska goes in the wrong direction and meets only 480 feet from the school a being whose face is a “featureless mask.” (Poland 43–45; “ Bliskie spotkanie w Przyrownicy w 1978 roku,” UFO-Relacje.pl, February 8, 2020; “ Spotkania z UFO w Przyrownicy i Golinie: To powinien być kolejny dowód w sprawie Emilcina (1978),” Fundacja Nautilus, July 3, 2021, and [ case documents])
September 27 — 1:00 p.m. Henryk Marciniak is picking mushrooms in the forest near Golina, Poland. He notices a strange landed object standing on four legs about 330 feet away in a clearing. When he rides over to investigate, a door opens and two small beings with unpleasant faces and greenish skin emerge, walking down some steps that have appeared. They approach him, one poking at the motorcycle and the other holding a device like a camera. The first one takes his bag of mushrooms. Marciniak shakes hands with them and tries to indicate the mushrooms are edible and the bike is for riding. Suddenly a buzzing sound comes from the object. The two entities go back inside and the object takes off and disappears. Many years later Marciniak denies the story, possibly because he wants to be left alone. (Poland 45–46; “ Bliskie spotkanie w Golinie w 1978 roku,” UFO-Relacje.pl, February 8, 2020; “ Spotkania z UFO w Przyrownicy i Golinie: To powinien być kolejny dowód w sprawie Emilcina (1978),” Fundacja Nautilus, July 3, 2021, and [ case documents])
September 27 — 7:25 p.m. Two witnesses see a formation of lights above a suburban forest preserve in Gurnee, Illinois. One steady red light is on top, two steady yellow lights are below them, and one blue flashing light is seen briefly. It suddenly drops halfway to the ground and back up again in 5 seconds before moving off to the north. (“ Illinois NL,” IUR 4, no. 1 (July 1979): 13)
September 28 — 2:00 a.m. Two women driving south through a residential area of Omaha, Nebraska, see a dark cone-shaped object approaching her from the right. It has three bright white lights on the bottom. The object slows down, flying low, and the witnesses pass by it. A pre-recorded tape in the car’s player gets completely erased as this happens, even though other tapes in a box are not affected. (“ A ‘Zapped’ Cassette,” IUR 4, no. 1 (July 1979): 13)
September 28 — 7:20 p.m. A man in Kettering, Ohio, spots a grayish cigar reflecting the light of the setting sun. Flying silently with its long dimension in the direction of travel, it seems to be 10,000 feet or lower. (“ What’s Going on in Ohio? Another Daylight Cigar!” IUR 4, no. 1 (July 1979): 13)
September 29 — A resident Indian woman sees a disc-shaped object take off from the Groendal Nature Reserve near Uitenhage, Eastern Cape, South Africa. (Cynthia Hind, “ The Groendal Reserve Affair,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 131 (October 1978): 5–10)
October — John Acuff’s mismanagement of NICAP (destruction of the reporting network, loss of members, paying himself a $20,000 contractor’s fee) leads to his resignation as director. Acuff remains on the board and keeps the case files in his personal possession. He is replaced by Alan Hall, a retired CIA employee who accepts the position after a number of other ex-CIA men are offered the job. Support for Hall on the NICAP board comes from Charles Lombard, an aide to Sen. Barry Goldwater and a former covert CIA employee. Lombard and John Fisher are voted onto the board. (ClearIntent, p. 207; Richard H. Hall, “ The Quest for the Truth about UFOs: A Personal Perspective on the Role of NICAP,” in 1994 MUFON UFO Symposium Proceedings, MUFON, 1994, pp. 185–201; Powell, Keyhoe, 397)
October? — 12:00 noon. Two Chilean F-5 aircraft piloted by Capts. Hernán Gabrielli Rojas and Danilo Catalán Farias are on a training mission near Mejillones, Chile. Both pilots see a radar target that gives a return equal to 10 aircraft carriers. Ground radar at Cerro Moreno airport [now Andrés Sabella Gálvez International Airport] in Antofagasta picks up the object and confirms its large size. The pilots continue to fly south between 30,000–35,000 feet. At a distance of 20 miles, they see an object “like a plantain banana” swathed in smoke. They approach it cautiously with their gun cameras on, but the UFO disappears at a huge speed to the west, heading toward Easter Island, vanishing from all three radar screens. Duration is 5 minutes. (Martin Shough and Wim van Utrecht, “ Antofagasta, Chile: October 1978,” Caelestia, October 31, 2018)
October 2 - 11:15 a.m. Four students, ages 12-16, from Despatch, Eastern Cape, South Africa, are hiking in the Groendal Nature Reserve when they see a silver object on the ground. About 900 feet to the west of it are two beings in silver suits that seem to glide without walking. A third being joins them, holding a silver "suitcase," and they glide along a fence along a steep incline a short way before vanishing. The silver object disappears too. Later, three forest workers find 7-inch oval footprints about one mile from the site. On October 18, three South African police officers and two trackers visit the encounter site and find a large area of depressed grass with 8 symmetrical marks around its perimeter and 4 marks within the oval area. (Cynthia Hind, " The Groendal Reserve Affair," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 131 (October 1978): 5-10; Cynthia Hind, " An In-Depth Examination of Recent South African UFO Reports," Southern UFO News, no. 8 (July 1979): 3-6; " South African CE III," IUR 5, no. 1a (January 1980): 7; Cynthia Hind, UFOs: African Encounters, Gemini, 1982, pp. 138-152; Cynthia Hind, " UFOs through Innocent Eyes," in John Spencer and Hilary Evans, eds., Phenomenon: From Flying Saucers to UFOs: Forty Years of Facts and Research, Avon, 1989, pp. 355-358; Cynthia Hind, " Editorial," UFO Afrinews, no. 22 (July 2000): 2-4)
October 6 — 3:00 a.m. Two witnesses driving west on US Highway 87 halfway between Capulin and Des Moines, New Mexico, see an octagonal object several times larger than the moon with light shining through sections of it. As it passes above their car, it seems to be metallic. (“ The Octagonal Tank,” IUR 4, no. 1 (July 1979): 14)
October 7 — A woman is driving with her 13-year-old nephew near San Cataldo, Sicily, Italy, when one of her tires has a blow-out. She repairs the tire but cannot start the car again. Above at an altitude of 50 feet, she sees a silver object resembling a plate turned upside down, about 65 feet in diameter. It emits a strong light, and the bottom has a transparent door through which she can see three or four shadows passing behind it. The UFO leaves quickly with a humming sound after 5–10 minutes. (Maurizio Verga, “ La vague italienne de 1978 (Deuxième Partie),” Lumières dans la Nuit, no. 210 (December 1981): 32; Patrick Gross, URECAT, November 17, 2009; Herbert S. Taylor, “ An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part Two,” IUR 34, no. 1 (Sept. 2011): 20)
October 7 — 6:30 p.m. Two truck drivers on US Highway 224 near Lodi, Ohio, see a tight formation of pink/red lights flashing on and off floating toward them to the north. They both stop to get out and look. All four lights break formation and move off in different directions, disappearing in seconds. (“ Intriguing Ohio NL’s,” IUR 4, no. 1 (July 1979): 14)
October 8 — 7:00–9:00 a.m. A very small object is seen resting in a field 300 feet from the Marlett Sturgell farmhouse near Jenkins, Missouri. For 2 hours it is watched intermittently by his wife Dora, son Norman, son-in-law, and two others, all members of the Sturgell family. At 9:00 a.m., it ascends and moves off to the northwest. The witnesses then notice a larger, more distant object, wingless, hovering in the sky. The small object heads directly toward it and either flies under it or enters into it. It moves away rapidly and disappears. (“ Physical Trace Case in Missouri,” IUR 3, no. 12 (December 1978): 11–13; Donald L. Seneker and George M. Koch, “ Missouri Landing-Trace Case,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 135 (May 1979): 3–7; Herbert S. Taylor, “ Satellite Objects: A Further Look,” IUR 29, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 26)
October 8 — 10:30 a.m. Teenager Franklin Youri takes a photo of an unusual object behind his home near Lake Urmia, Iran. It appears just above the line of the roof, and its shape is similar to the May 13 Iranian photo. (“ Interesting Newly Discovered Photo from Iran,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 7 (July 1981): 1, 3; “ Sheraz, Iran, October 8, 1978,” Popular Mechanics, July 1998, p. 64)
October 8 — 5:11 p.m. A couple in Huntington Park, California, watch a huge black disc at a high altitude moving toward the Sierra Madre Mountains in the northeast. (“ Who Else Saw This Monstrous Disc?” IUR 4, no. 1 (July 1979): 14)
October 8 — 7:10 p.m. A student takes a photo of a distant daylight disc from his home, 2 miles east of Anderson, South Carolina. (“ UFO Photo,” IUR 4, no. 1 (July 1979): 14–15)
October 8 — 10:40 p.m. Elfed Williams is driving south on the A5025 near Penysarn, Anglesey, Wales, when he sees an orange light that passes overhead and hovers in the southwest. He stops at a friend’s house in the village and they continue to watch the light, which increases in size and is still hovering silently at about 200 feet. At first it looks like two saucers joined at the rims by a black band, but when it begins approaching the witnesses, it takes on the shape of an orange-hued triangle. It moves away then shoots off at a fast speed, (Kevin Babbs, “ Expanding UFO over Anglesey,” Flying Saucer Review 25, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1979): 23–24)
October 8 - 11:30 p.m. A Mr. and Mrs. Trantor are driving along the A580 near Lowton, England, when their headlight beams catch a figure standing in the grassy strip between the two lanes. It is well over 6 feet tall and dressed in a silver-foil reflective suit. It is immersed in orange light. Stunned, they drive past it. (" Close Encounter of the Third Kind (?)," Northern UFO News, no. 55 (December 1978): 8; Jenny Randles, " Fake Photographs, Real Sightings," IUR 11, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1986): 8-9; Patrick Gross, URECAT, April 26, 2012)
October 10 — 6:35 a.m. A chemistry professor in Agoura Hills, California, goes outside to observe Jupiter and sees another bright object to the south of it. It is moving slowly and soon splits into two lights, one brighter than the other. They spread apart and move away at different speeds. (“ Another Nocturnal Light That Split Up,” IUR 4, no. 1 (July 1979): 15)
October 10 — 9:30 p.m. A Mrs. Grime and her two sons, 15 and 21, see a silvery disc ringed by flashing white lights near their home in Leigh, England. They can see three bumps on its underside. It makes a faint humming sound as it moves overhead. (Jenny Randles, “ Fake Photographs, Real Sightings,” IUR 11, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1986): 9)
Mid-October — Around 7:30 a.m. A witness is taking photographs of eagles by the Peña Palomera road (A-1501) at the entrance of a canyon near Jaraba, Zaragoza, Spain. He hears a faint buzzing, begins to feel uneasy, and notices that his camera and watch are warm. He turns around and sees an oval object surrounded by small antennas about 65 feet away. He estimates it is about 16 feet in diameter. He also sees two humanoids about 6 feet tall wearing blue-gray suits. One is bent over a tube in the ground, and the other carries a box above which a sphere seems to float. The buzzing noise stops and the tube carrier gesture to the witness, who approaches and feels a sensation of heat. He asks if they need help, but he hears his own voice as “distorted.” The other entity pulls the tube out of the ground, and they both go inside the object. The buzzing begins again, louder, and the object rises in the air. He takes 2–3 photos before it speeds away and the buzzing stops. He notices a small, funnel-shaped hole in the ground where the tube had been. A metallic taste in his mouth persists for 2 days. The photos do not develop and the film appears fogged. (F. Louange and J. L. Casero, “ Unusual Encounter in Jaraba, Spain,” Flying Saucer Review 26, no. 2 (August 1980): 4–5)
October 20 — Dusk. Kate Chmurny, an archaeologist at Plymouth State College in New Hampshire, watches a triangular object flying at 30 mph northward along Interstate 93 at a height of 100 feet above the Pemigewasset River floodplain in Campton, New Hampshire. It is about 20 feet wide and completely silent, moving by raising and lowering one side. The object has a single bright white light on the underside and rows of red and greenish lights along the edges that reflect against a metallic surface. (Joseph K. Long, “ Letter,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 4, no. 2 (April/May 1983): 5–8)
October 21 — 7:06 p.m. Australian pilot Frederick Valentich, 20, is on a 145-mile training flight in a Cessna 182L light aircraft over Bass Strait between Moorabbin, Victoria, and King Island. He radios Melbourne air traffic control to report that an unidentified aircraft is following him at 4,500 feet. He is told there is no known traffic at that level. Valentich can see a large, unknown aircraft that appears to be illuminated by four bright landing lights. He is unable to confirm its type but says it has passed about 1,000 feet overhead and is moving at high speed. Then he says the aircraft is approaching him from the east, thinking that the other pilot might be purposely toying with him. The other aircraft is “orbiting” above him. It has a shiny metal surface and a green light on it. Then he begins experiencing engine problems. Asked to identify the aircraft, Valentich radios, “It’s not an aircraft.” His transmission is then interrupted by unidentified noise described as being “metallic, scraping sounds” before all contact is lost. A sea and air search is undertaken that includes oceangoing ship traffic, an RAAF Lockheed P-3 Orion aircraft, plus eight civilian aircraft. The search encompasses more than 1,000 square miles. Search efforts cease on October 25 without result. A Department of Transport investigation into the disappearance is unable to determine the cause, but it is “presumed fatal” for Valentich. In 1983, an engine cowl flap is found washed ashore on Flinders Island. In July 1983, the Bureau of Air Safety Investigation asks the Royal Australian Navy Research Laboratory about the likelihood that the cowl flap might have traveled to its final position from the area where the aircraft disappeared. The bureau notes that “the part has been identified as having come from a Cessna 182 aircraft between a certain range of serial numbers.” which includes Valentich’s aircraft. At least 15 other UFOs are reported between midday and 9:00 p.m., six in Victoria, one on King Island, and others further away. Roy Manifold, vacationing at Crayfish Bay, Cape Otway, Victoria, inadvertently takes two photos of peculiar black objects just 20 minutes before Valentich reported his sighting. (Wikipedia, “ Disappearance of Frederick Valentich”; “ Missing Pilot Reported UFO ‘Playing with Cessna,’” Canberra Times, October 23, 1978, pp. 1, 3; “ Fred Valentich: The Missing Australian Pilot,” IUR 3, no. 12 (December 1978): 2–10; Bill Chalker, “ The Missing Cessna and the UFO,” Flying Saucer Review 24, no. 5 (March 1979): 3–5; Richard F. Haines, “ Results of Sound Spectrum Analysis of the Metallic Noises of a Tape-Recorded Radio Transmission between Cessna VH:DSJ and the Flight Service of Melbourne, Australia,” Journal of UFO Studies, orig. ser. 3 (1983): 14–23; Bill Chalker, “ Vanished? The Valentich Affair Re-examined,” Flying Saucer Review 30, no. 2 (December 1984): 6–12; Richard F. Haines, Melbourne Episode: Case Study of a Missing Pilot, L.D.A. Press, 1987; Good Above, pp. 175–182, 461–463; Keith Basterfield, Vladimir Godic, and Pony Godic, “ Australian Ufology: A Review,” JUFOS 2 (1990): 31–32; ClearIntent, pp. 93–96; Bill Chalker, The Oz Files, 1996, pp. 168–171; UFOEv II 138–140; Kean, pp. 54–58; Richard F. Haines and Paul Norman, “ Valentich Disappearance: New Evidence and a New Conclusion,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 14, no. 1 (2000): 19–33; Clark III 1208–1212; “ Guido Valentich on the Disappearance of His Pilot Son Frederick after Reporting a UFO, 1978,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, August 5, 2022; “ Roy Manifold Took a Photo of a ‘UFO’ Moments before Pilot Frederick Valentich’s Disappearance, 1978,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, May 31, 2023; “ Leaked ATC Audio: Real Voice of Pilot Frederick Valentich, Who Disappeared after Reporting a UFO,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, June 26, 2024; Clark IV 1384–1388)
October 23 — 6:30–8:30 p.m. Some 200 people involved in 67 sighting reports watch a lighted delta- shaped UFO slowly circling over Leicestershire and Warwickshire, England. East Midlands Airport confirms they have nothing on radar, but affirms that the crew and passengers of an inbound Air Malta flight landing around 7:26 p.m. have reported a UFO with three large spotlights. (“ Dozens Report ‘UFO’ Sighting,” Nuneaton (UK) Evening Tribune, October 25, 1978, via APCIC Clipping Service 4, no. 2 (February 1979): 34; “ 200 Report Seeing UFO,” Leicester (UK) Mercury, October 30, 1978, via APCIC Clipping Service 4, no. 2 (February 1979): 34; “ Is There Anybody out There?” Leicester (UK) Mercury, April 28, 1982, via APCIC Clipping Service 7, no. 6 (June 1982): 8–9; “ Throwing a Light on UFO,” Leicester (UK) Mercury, December 2, 1985, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 199 (February 1986): 12; “ New Projects,” UFO Times, no. 42 (July/Aug. 1996): 15; Marler 103, 120; Jenny Randles, “Return of the Silent Vulcan,” Fortean Times 418 (May 2022): 27)
October 23 — 10:04 p.m. Chinese Air Force pilots are attending an outdoor film screening at Lintao Air Base, Gansu province, China, when an elongated object with two searchlights and a glowing tail appears in the sky moving to the west. Chinese Air Force pilot Zhou Qingtong says it is large and close to the ground. They watch it for 2–3 minutes as it circles above them. A report in the CIA files indicates it is flying at 20,000 feet, varying from witness reports. (“ UFO Report from China,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 2 (February 1981): 5; “ A Close Encounter with Unpleasant Consequences,” Flying Saucer Review 28, no. 4 (March 1983): 25; Wendelle Stevens and Paul Dong, UFOs over Modern China, UFO Photo Archives, 1983, pp. 119–120; Good Above, pp. 213–214)
October 25 — 5:00 a.m. Giuseppe di Giovanni, a 51-year-old farmer, is in search of a stray cow in the hills of San Donato di Tagliacozzo, Abruzzo, Italy, when he comes to an open field and spots a large light- brown object shaped like a shoeshine box on the ground. Lighted windows surround the craft. He approaches to within 3 feet and sees 6–7 humanoid beings inside. They are small and humanlike, both male and female. The women are blonde and have beautiful pink skin. They smile at him. The men are uglier, have darker skin, and appear elderly. They ignore him. Frightened, he runs behind a bush. When he looks out again, the object is gone. (“ UFO Flap 1978: Italian Style,” IUR 4, no. 3/4 (Sept./Oct. 1979): 17–18; 1Pinotti 238–239)
October 25 — The US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act creates a “secret federal court” (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court) for issuing wiretap warrants in national security cases. This is in response to findings from the Watergate break-in, which allegedly uncovers a history of presidential operations that has used surveillance on domestic and foreign political organizations. (Wikipedia, “ Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act”)
October 26 — Night. RCMP Constable James Blackwood receives a report about a UFO hovering above Random Island across from Clarenville, Newfoundland. He heads down to the waterfront and sees an object about 200 feet above the sound. He observes it for nearly two hours with binoculars and a high-powered scope. It is soundless, oval, and has a fin on its tail. When Blackwood flashes the lightbar on his cruiser, the object mimics it by flashing some lights of its own. (“ ICYMI: Story of UFO Sighting in Newfoundland Town Is in Mint Condition,” Saltwire, October 8, 2020)
October 28 — 10:45 p.m. Joyce Blackburn is putting out milk bottles on the step of her bungalow on the south side of Warrington, England. She sees a strange light hovering above the Fiddler’s Ferry Power Station. Her husband and two children also watch the UFO until it starts pulsating and moving away. Its glow is so bright that their eyes hurt in looking at it through binoculars. It vanishes, then reappears heading toward them at an angle. They can see it is a disc with a dome on top, tilted slightly toward them. As it passes over their heads, they hear a faint humming noise and can see three orange bumps in a triangular formation on its underside. It moves away to the northeast toward another power station. Total duration is 7 minutes. (Jenny Randles, “ Fake Photographs, Real Sightings,” IUR 11, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1986): 10–11)
October 29 — 11:15 p.m. Janet Fletcher is stopped at a traffic light in Woolston, Cheshire, England, when she gets static on her radio for a few seconds. She sees a bell-shaped object to the east hovering above a rail line. It has a bright light on top and rings of light circling the base, which has three glowing inset lights or bumps. After 30 seconds, it tilts at an angle and begins to move away, apparently descending. She moves forward when the light changes, but she does not see it again. (Jenny Randles, “ Fake Photographs, Real Sightings,” IUR 11, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1986): 9)
October 30 — 6:30 p.m. Two teenagers see a triangular UFO over a field in Sherman, Texas. The object shoots a blue light at the witnesses, temporarily blinding them. (“ Sherman Youth ‘Sights’ UFO,” Denison (Tex.) Herald, October 31, 1978, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 114 (January 1979): 1)
November 1 — A new civilian UFO “initiative group” holds its inaugural seminar at Moscow University in Russia. It is directed by former navy officer and ufologist Vladimir G. Azhazha with the assistance of Nikita A. Schnee. Launched under the auspices of the A. S. Popov Scientific and Technical Society for Radio, Electronics, and Communications, members include Lev M. Gindilis of the Sternberg State Astronomical Institute in Moscow, Vice Admiral M. M. Krylov, space technician Y. G. Nazarov, and cosmonaut Yevgeny Khrunov. At the seminar, some individuals storm into the auditorium and disrupt the meeting; university officials ask the group to leave. Schnee claims that Felix Ziegel is responsible for the disruption in order to thwart the activities of civilian researchers. (Nikita A. Schnee, “ Ufology in the USSR,” Flying Saucer Review 27, no. 1 (June 1981): 8–10)
November 1 — The Air Force decides to produce an F-117A stealth fighter based on the mostly successful tests of Have Blue aircraft at Tonopah Test Range in Nevada. The contract goes to Lockheed’s Skunk Works. (“ Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk”)
November 1 — 7:45 p.m. Jenny Randles’s father is getting static on his VHF radio channel at their home in Irlam, Greater Manchester, England. Shortly afterward, they both hear a loud roar. She looks out the window and sees a row of four white lights that drift slowly past from west to east. An hour later, Randles goes outside and talks to 9 children who have been playing outside. They have seen the object too. It is diamond shaped and framed by lights that do not flash. Some report three lights or bumps on the underside. (Jenny Randles, “ Fake Photographs, Real Sightings,” IUR 11, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1986): 9–10)
November 7 — 9:30 p.m. A witness traveling west on US Highway 20 near South Bend, Indiana, notices a bright light in the sky, much larger than a star. Suddenly it moves directly to the south of her location at a fast rate of speed. As it approached, it disappears and she hears a tremendous roar that shakes the ground. Suddenly, an object banks directly in front of her car about 90 feet away and no more than 20 feet above the ground, making a slow, deliberate turn, then hovering or moving slowly and silently in front of her, then passing behind her car. It is ringed with small windows and has alternating and flashing blue and red lights near each window. She turns around but loses sight of it. (“ Recently Received Sighting Reports,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 4 (April 1981): 6)
November 8 — 5:30 p.m. While fishing in the Adriatic Sea off San Benedetto del Tronto, Marche, Italy, on board the Exodus, three fishermen—Flaviano Mattiucci, Gennaro Mattiucci, and Dino Focaracci—see, at low altitude and for a few seconds, a red and yellow spherical light. After emerging from the sea, it seems to return into it, after rising and falling from the sky. About one hour later, the radar of another fishing boat, the Andrea Padre, reports a moving submerged object, which appears to follow the vessel. (NICAP, “ Ship Tracks Submerged Object / Boat Observes Light”)
November 9 — The CIA contacts the NSA with a referral of 15 UFO documents for review for possible declassification through the GSW lawsuit. (ClearIntent, p. 181)
November 10 — A cylinder-shaped UFO “bigger than a jumbo jet” with a large dome and flashing lights appears over the northern oil fields of the Kuwaiti Oil Company at Umm al-Aish, Kuwait, causing the pumping station to automatically shut down. It lands and remains on the ground for seven minutes. When the UFO vanishes, the pump starts working again. There are seven witnesses, one of them an American. This and other sightings compel the government of Kuwait to appoint a committee of the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research to investigate the reports. An Institute representative, Ratib Abu Id, tells US Embassy officials that he has rejected the idea of espionage devices. (NICAP, “ Major UFO/E-M Incidents over Kuwait”; “ Oil Crew Reports UFO in Kuwait,” Detroit (Mich.) Free Press, November 14, 1978, p. 3; “ UFOs over Kuwait,” APRO Bulletin 27, no. 7 (January 1979): 1; “ ‘UFO’ Sightings Cause Security Concern in Kuwait,” US State Dept. cable, January 29, 1979; “ Kuwaiti Landing,” IUR 5, no. 1a (January 1980): 6; James McCampbell, “ UFOs: More Engine Effects,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 203 (March 1985): 5; ClearIntent, p. 90; Clark III 662; Clark IV 738)
November 12 — 7:30 p.m. Pilots and control tower personnel see some lights and a circular object with an orange-red light flying above Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy, for about 30 seconds. (Stefano Innocenti, “ Ufo nei cieli dell’aeroporto di Fiumicino: Il caso del 1978,” Il Faro (Fiumicino, Italy), February 19, 2022; Stefano iNNOCENTi, “ Un cold case ufologico di Fiumicino arriva dal passato e ci porta altri interrogativi,” Il Faro (Fiumicino, Italo), April 8, 2024)
November 13 — 4:00 p.m. Elizabeth McKibben, a British nurse at the Inuit settlement of Black Tickle, Labrador, sees a red-orange light to the west hanging motionless at 1,000 feet above some houses for 30 minutes. A second light appears suddenly and moves underneath the first, and both begin a slow descent and disappear. Several young students also see the object and make drawings of it. A fire had broken out 2 miles west on the tundra about 3 hours before the sighting, apparently caused by “fireballs” hitting the ground. Teacher Stephen MacDonald goes to help put out the fires at Martins Pond, where the tundra is burning in patches [methane outgassing?]. (“ Canadian Trace?” IUR 5, no. 1a (January 1980): 6)
November 15 - Four military aircraft are flying over eastern Washington State when an unknown object is detected on radar at 13,000 feet some 40 miles away. One of the jets is ordered to approach the object. The pilot gets a visual confirmation but cannot lock on with his in-flight radar. The interceptor comes within 8 miles of the object but is forced to turn away by low fuel. (Bob Gribble, " Pilot Sightings and Radar Trackings, Part II," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 186 (August 1983): 11)
November 20 — 9:30 p.m. A female medical technician, her sister, daughter, and two housemaids experience a power failure in their home in a northern suburb of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. They see a bright light in the sky that shoots out bright blue rays. It moves off behind a hill, and two small lights, one yellow, the other reddish, approach from the same hill. The witnesses run upstairs and watch from a window. The lights stop next to a road, the Avenida de los Martires, as a car comes along and illuminates them with its headlights. The women now see that the lights are attached to the abdomens of two flying entities, which appear to be cone-shaped, twice as tall as a normal-sized man, and wearing white translucent sheets. Three silhouettes cross the car’s headlights, and all the lights (including the car’s) go out. The witnesses hear a metallic noise like a garage door. Then the two lights turn on again and fly off. The power in the house returns. The episode lasts 45 minutes. (“ Foreign Forum,” IUR 4, no. 2 (August 1979): 2; Leonte Obijo, “ Los seres de Los Rios, Rep. Dominica,” Stendek, no. 38 (December 1979): 20–22; Leonte N. Objio and Richard W. Heiden, “ Humanoids in the Dominican Republic,” APRO Bulletin 30, no. 1 (January 1982): 5, 6; Patrick Gross, URECAT, December 3, 2009)
November 21 - 5:30 a.m. A UFO appears over a Kuwaiti oilfield at Al-Sabriyah near the Iraqi border. An employee of the company takes photos of it as it passes a water tower and then hovers over the site for 30 minutes. Long-distance communications cease functioning. The internal phone system works, however, and workers are able to alert their boss, who steps outside and sees the object. (" UFOs over Kuwait," APRO Bulletin 27, no. 7 (January 1979): 1, 3; Richard H. Hall, " UFOs in Arab Nations," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 133 (January/February 1979): 5; " Kuwaiti Landing," IUR 5, no. 1a (January 1980): 6; UFOEv II 163-164; Clark III 663; Clark IV 738
November 22 — 5:30 p.m. Elsie Oakensen is driving home to Church Stowe, Northamptonshire, England, on the A5 when she passes beneath a hovering object shaped like a dumbbell with red and green lights. As she turns onto Main Street, her foot is flat on the accelerator but there is no sound from her engine and her car coasts to a halt. Her car lights fail as circles of light dance around the road, illuminating a nearby farmyard. The car restarts, but she only drives about 300 feet when it stops again. She claims the “natural light” disappears and she is enveloped in pure darkness. Then suddenly a white circle of light approximately 3 feet in diameter shines on the road, as if someone has pressed on a switch, the normal light returns, and she drives the car normally. She estimates she has about 15 minutes of missing time. Later, at 7:10 p.m., she feels a tightening sensation around her forehead, one that she remembers having felt just prior to the encounter. At 7:20 p.m., four young women driving through the nearby village of Preston Capes see red and green lights and beams shooting out from clouds as their car engine temporarily loses power. After trying hypnosis with minimal results, Oakensen tries creative visualization at the scene and recovers some abduction memories. (R. Pearcy, “ Strange Encounter at Church Stowe,” BUFORA Journal 8, no. 2 (April 1979): 15–17; “ Car Stop in Northamptonshire,” Northern UFO News, no. 63 (August 1979): 5; “ English Woman Encounters a UFO, Which Causes E-M Effects,” UFO Research Newsletter 6, no. 10 (Feb./Mar. 1980): 5–6; Jenny Randles, Alien Abductions: The Mystery Solved, Inner Light, 1988, pp. 190–194; Elsie Oakensen, “ A Letter to Ufology,” BUFORA Bulletin, 2nd ser., no. 8 (Jan./Feb. 1999): 24–25; Elsie Oakensen, “ The Daventry Event: A Personal Perspective,” BUFORA Bulletin, 2nd ser., no. 9 (March 1999): 7–14; Patrick Gross, URECAT, November 13, 2011; Jenny Randles, “Much More Than Marsh Gas,” Fortean Times 311 (March 2014): 27; “ UFO Case: Elsie Oakensen, nr Daventry, Northamptonshire,” Cabinet of Shadows, March 31, 2014; “ Elsie Oakensen Talks about Her UFO Encounter and Alien Abduction Experience, Northamptonshire, 1978,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, February 2023; “ 1978 GB #UFOB Case Elsie Oakensen on Her Sighting Abduction,” Robert G UFO YouTube channel, November 22, 2023)
November 24 — 11:45 a.m. Angelo d’Ambros, 61, is out gathering firewood in a copse near Gallio, Vicenza, Italy, when he comes across two entities just a few feet away from him. One is about 4 feet tall, the other about 8 inches shorter. They are suspended in the air about a foot off the ground. They are extremely thin and have a yellowish skin that is stretched tightly over their bones. Their heads are bald, and at the sides are enormous ears that rise vertically and end in points. Their eyes are large and white, without eyelids. Their large noses extend down to the lower lip of a sizable mouth from which extend two tusks. They wear tight-fitting coveralls. The smaller one starts moving back and forth from right to left in very quick jerks. Its motion causes a stir in the air, and vegetation rustles as the tips of its ears touch the lower branches of nearby trees. Incomprehensible grumblings come from the mouth of the shorter entity. The taller being reaches one of its long hands to take away d’Ambros’s pruning knife. D’Ambros holds on to it tightly, but he feels a strong electric shock. He grabs a large branch and takes a swipe at them as they take flight. D’Ambros runs after them, and he watches them make for a domed UFO resting in a clearing 100 feet away on four landing pods. The entities climb aboard, and the object takes off horizontally at a dizzying speed in absolute silence and disappears behind high fir trees. The next day he returns to the clearing and finds a nearly circular area about 12 feet in diameter in which the grass appears black, pressed, and whirled in a counterclockwise direction. D’Ambros discovers two U-shaped traces about 8 inches long. (Antonio Chiumiento, “ Gallio: Faccia a faccia con due ufonauti,” Notiziario UFO 3, no. 4/5 (April/May 1980): 4–9; Antonio Chiumiento, “ Umanoidi a Gallio, Seconda Parte,” Notiziario UFO 16, no. 99 (May/Dec. 1981): 16–19; “ Weird Humanoids Seen in Northern Italy,” Earthlink, no. 13 (1983): 16–17; “ Two Humanoids in Gallio,” IUR 8, no. 3 (May/June 1983): 8–11; 1Pinotti 241–250)
November 27 — J. Allen Hynek, Jacques Vallée, Stanton T. Friedman, Lawrence J. Coyne, and Grenada Ambassador at Large Wellington Friday speak before the UN Special Political Committee. Grenada seeks to interest the UN in a three-member panel to initiate a formal UFO study program, but its efforts are unavailing. (“ United Nations Committee Supports UFO Study,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 131 (October 1978): 3–5; J. Allen Hynek, “ Ufologists and the United Nations: A Novel Moment in the History of UFO Research,” IUR 3, no. 10/11 (Oct./Nov. 1978): 3–18; United Nations General Assembly, 33rd Sess., Summary Record of the 35th Meeting, Special Political Committee, November 27, 1978; United Nations General Assembly, 33rd Sess., Summary Record of the 36th Meeting, Special Political Committee, November 27, 1978; Charles Bowen, “ UFOs Debated at the United Nations,” Flying Saucer Review 24, no. 6 (April 1979): 5–11; “ United Nations 1978 UFO Session,” Journal of UFO History 2, no. 4 (Sept./Oct, 2005): 11–12; Antonio Huneeus, “ Rare Footage of Famous 1978 UN UFO Hearing Found,” OpenMinds, May 13, 2011; Clark III 1190; Clark IV 1364)
December — Alan N. Hall, a retired CIA employee, officially becomes president of NICAP among baseless charges that a sinister CIA conspiracy has undermined the organization. He operates out of his home without access to the files. (“ To Our Readers,” UFO Investigator, April 1979, p. 3; Richard H. Hall, “ The Quest for the Truth about UFOs: A Personal Perspective on the Role of NICAP,” in 1994 MUFON UFO Symposium Proceedings, MUFON, 1994, pp. 185–201)
December 1 — President Jimmy Carter establishes the Information Security Oversight Office through Executive Order 12065, “National Security Information.” The office is under the jurisdiction of the National Archives and Records Administration, and its mission is to provide for an informed American public by ensuring that the minimum information necessary to the interest of national security is classified and that information is declassified as soon as it no longer requires protection. (Wikipedia, “ Information Security Oversight Office”)
December 2 — A civil servant takes a photo of a UFO as he is walking along a beach in Kuwait. It shows a domed disc with a self-luminous tube protruding from the bottom. Other witnesses also see the UFO. (“ UFOs over Kuwait,” APRO Bulletin 27, no. 7 (January 1979): 3; Clark III 663; Clark IV 738)
December 4 — The CIA passes on three other UFO documents to the NSA for declassification review. (ClearIntent, p. 181)
December 6 - 11:30 p.m. While patrolling at Marzano, near Torriglia, a village northeast of Genoa, Italy, 26-year-old night watchman Piero Fortunato Zanfretta notices four lights moving in a courtyard. He gets out of his car holding his pistol and flashlight, moving cautiously along a house wall. Something pushes him forward and he falls. When he gets up, his head hits something and he points his flashlight upward to see a 6-foot-tall creature with an ugly face. Terrified, he runs to the car and is blinded by a yellow, triangle-shaped object taking off from behind the house. He calls for help on the radio. When his colleagues arrive at 1:00 a.m., they find him lying in a nearby lawn in a confused state of mind. On December 23, Zanfretta is hypnotized by a medical doctor. An abduction scenario emerges in which he is taken to a bright room by giant entities who put a hot and painful helmet on his head. The humanoids are green- skinned and have yellow triangular eyes, red veins on their heads, pointed ears, and rounded fingers. Further abductions and memories emerge over time, finally ceasing in 1980. (Wikipedia, " Zanfretta UFO Incident"; " UFO Flap 1978: Italian Style, Part Two, December," IUR 4, no. 5 (November 1979): 13-15; Luciano Boccone, " Italian Night-Watchman Kidnapped by UFO," Flying Saucer Review 26, no. 1 (June 1980): 4-9; Paolo Fiorino, Gian Paolo Grassino, and Antonio Chiumiento, " Abductions in Italy," IUR 14, no. 4 (July/Aug.1989): 15-16; " The Pier Fortunato Zanfretta's Hypnosis Made by Dr. Mauro Moretti on Jan. 7, 1979 (English subtitles)," Rino Di Stefano YouTube channel, November 7, 2011; " Il salvataggio di Zanfretta: Parlano i testimoni Cassiba e Pesci (1979)," Rino Di Stefano YouTube channel, August 21, 2013; Rino Di Stefano, The Zanfretta Case: Chronicle of an Incredible True Story, The Author, 2014; Jason Charbonneau, " Zanfretta Abductions, 1978-1981," Think Anomalous, May 6, 2017; 1Pinotti 253-258; " Il Caso di Pier Fortunato Zanfretta," Katania Soft YouTube channel, November 29, 2022; " Zanfretta Case: In the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time? Feat. Pier Fortunato Zanfretta," Michy Mistery YouTube channel, September 8, 2023; " Zanfretta UFO Incident," Pinnso YouTube channel, December 10, 2023)
December 8 — The United Nations meetings on UFOs conclude, resulting in UN Decision 33/426 relating to the “establishment of an agency or a department of the United Nations for undertaking, coordinating, and disseminating the results of research into unidentified flying objects and related phenomena.” Beyond newspaper publicity, the meetings have no impact and no other nation backs Grenada. (“ Grenada UFO Item,” WikiLeaks, [telegram], December 8, 1978)
December 8 — 11:00 p.m. Two young men walking along a mountain slope near Milanere, Torino, Italy, see a blue-white light among the trees. One of them walks toward it, but he disappears. A few minutes later the light takes off into the sky. The other man goes for help and a group of people comes to search for the missing man. He is found in a different direction, unconscious, cold, and weak. Both witnesses suffer from conjunctivitis for several days. The one who vanished has a strange scar on his leg. He only remembers approaching a pear-shaped light when he sees 3–4 human shapes with pumpkinlike heads silhouetted against the light. He becomes paralyzed and can vaguely remember being touched and raised. (Paolo Fiorino, Gian Paolo Grassino, and Antonio Chiumiento, “ Abductions in Italy,” IUR 14, no. 4 (July/Aug.1989): 15)
December 10 — The weekly Parade magazine carries a story by Michael Satchell summarizing the UFO events at Loring, Malmstrom, Wurtsmith, and other Northern Tier bases. (Michael Satchell, “ UFO’s vs. USAF: Amazing (But True) Encounters,” Parade magazine, December 10, 1978, pp. 8–11; ClearIntent, p. 54)
December 12 (or January) — Night. Police Sgt. Tony Dodd and Constable Alan Dale are driving near Cononley, North Yorkshire, England, when the road in front of them lights up. They stop the patrol car, look up, and see an object about 100 feet away and moving silently at 40 mph. It has three large spheres below it, portholes around the perimeter, and a dome on top. The object passes overhead and seems to land in a wood on a distant hillside. (Good Above, pp. 116–117; “ Sgt. Anthony Dodd & Constable Alan Dale’s 1978 UFO Encounter near Skipton, North Yorkshire, England,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, November 18, 2023)
December 14 — As a result of the Ground Saucer Watch lawsuit, the CIA releases some 340 of its own UFO-related documents, 900 pages in all. The letter, signed by CIA Information and Privacy Coordinator George Owens, states that 57 documents are being withheld for national security purposes. Also, 196 other documents originating from other agencies are forwarded to them for response to GSW. The CIA had faced a deadline of December 1977 to produce the documents but were granted an extension by US District Court Judge John H. Pratt. (“ The GSW vs. CIA Lawsuit,” IUR 4, no. 3/4 (Sept./Oct. 1979): 20–22; Good Above, pp. 327–328)
December 16 — 8:00 p.m. Radar detects a UFO at 10,000 feet in the region around Calama, Chile. Three F-5Es are sent from Antofagasta to intercept it and they see a large triangular object some 50 times the size of their planes. (“[ UFO Sighted by Chilean Pilots],” La Prensa (Buenos Aires, Argentina), May 30, 1979, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 121 (August 1979): 12; “ Spectacular UFO Encounters Baffle Chilean Air Force,” The SBI Report 1, no. 11 (1979): 36–49; “ Chile Jets Chased Huge UFO,” New York News World, December 12, 1981, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 151 (February 1982): 12; “ Chilean Jet UFO Chase,” APRO Bulletin 30, no. 7 (July 1982): 4–5; “ Select Triangular UFO Cases,” Bob Pratt Files)
December 20 — 12:00 midnight. Many people standing on the shore at Bellaria, Rimini, Italy, see a blinding object in the water about one mile off the coast. Some compare the sight to a ship on fire. Photographer Elia Faccin takes some photographs that are published in the newspaper. While taking the first picture, the shutter on Faccin’s Olympus camera jams. Roberto Mantovani and Sandro Manaresi look at the object through a telescope and describe it as an overturned dish with a tower on top showing an opening. The object is lit by a greenish and yellowish-orange light, which becomes dimmer toward the outside of the dish. It moves slowly, leaving behind a small wake. Other witnesses see 12 lights with a much brighter light in the center. (“ Che Ufo fotogenico!” Panorama, September 1, 1979, pp. 42–44, partially reprinted in Notiziario UFO 2, no. 2 (February 1979): 8, and in Nicola Gambetti, “ Che UFO Fotogenico!” Rimini Sparita, August 24, 2023)
December 20 — 5:10 a.m. Yiannakis Iounnou and his wife are driving between Paphos and Limassol, Cyprus, when he notices an object in the sky. The object is extremely bright and rectangular shaped, about the size of a car. The object seems to expand while emitting bright-orange rays of light. It stays in view for roughly 30 minutes while they continue their drive, then it is lost to sight. Possible star or planet? (Omiros Karajas, “ The Thessaloniki Earthquake of 1978,” Awareness 20, no. 3 (1995–1996): 27, 30)
December 20 — US Rep. Samuel S. Stratton (D-N.Y.) expresses concern to his Armed Services Investigations Subcommittee about the “alleged ability of unknown aircraft to penetrate airspace and over above SAC bases, their weapons storage areas, missile sites, and launch control facilities, and the inability of Air Force equipment and personnel to intercept and identify such aircraft.” Stratton sends a letter to USAF Maj. Gen. Charles C. Blanton requesting incident reports. (ClearIntent, p. 54)
December 21 — 12:30 a.m. Capt. John B. Randle is flying an Argosy cargo plane from Blenheim to Christchurch, New Zealand, when he notices white lights in the sky above the mouth of the Clarence River at Waipapa Bay. He contacts Wellington Air Traffic Control, which confirms that it has five oscillating objects on its scopes. The lights are also seen on the ground. (“ The New Zealand UFO Films, Part I,” IUR 4, no. 1 (July 1979): 3; Clark III 799; Clark IV 876)
December 21 — 3:30 a.m. Wellington Air Traffic Control contacts Capt. Vern Powell, pilot of a freight aircraft about to make the Blenheim to Christchurch run, New Zealand, alerting him to the position of the objects, which have stayed in position. He ascends to 7,500 feet and sees one white light, tinged with red, through the clouds. It follows Powell’s plane, and Wellington radar tracks it for 12 miles before it disappears. As they near Christchurch Airport, Powell and his copilot Ian Pirie notice a return on their onboard radar. By the next sweep it has moved one mile closer, moving at about 8,000 mph. They cannot confirm anything visually, but the radar indicates the object has streaked off to the left and disappears. Then Powell and Pirie see a flashing light in front of them. (“ The New Zealand UFO Films, Part I,” IUR 4, no. 1 (July 1979): 3–4; Clark III 799; Clark IV 876)
December 22 — Peter Gersten of CAUS files a request with the NSA for copies of the 18 UFO-related documents the CIA has referred to it. NSA’s Chief of Policy Roy R. Banner later declines their release on the basis of national security. (ClearIntent, p. 181)
December 24 — 6:50 p.m. Benito Franchi, 45, is working in the power station at Pietracamela, Terama, Italy, in a room with two AC generators, one connected to power and the other disconnected, when he suddenly feels ill and faint. The working generator’s dial hands register an overload on the network, and the dial hands on the disconnected generator are also waving. This continues for about one minute, leaving the dials badly out of calibration. Franchi feels paralyzed and falls to the ground. Suddenly everything stops, and out of the window he sees three or four bright flashes coming from a ball of brilliant red light that hurts his eyes. The object takes off and disappears to the southwest. Franchi suffers from severe conjunctivitis, and the generator dials must be calibrated again. Shortly afterward, a large luminous UFO is seen hovering above the Gran Sasso massif to the southwest. (1Pinotti 259)
December 25 — Peruvian fishermen observe a fleet of six UFOs over the Caynarachi River, San Martín department, Peru. They first notice a brightly illuminated rhomboid object moving from south to north. It is followed by five additional objects flying in formation. The UFOs emit yellow, amber, and violet lights, prompting the frightened fishermen to flee the scene. ([“ Peruvians Scared by UFO Fleet,”] Crónica (Buenos Aires, Argentina), December 26, 1978, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 117 (April 1979): 13)
December 26 — 4:25 a.m. Aldo Devoto, a 50-year-old truck driver, his son Mario, and his mother-in-law, Maria Cavagnaro, 75, are asleep in their room in Cigagna, Genoa, Italy, when a loud noise awakens them. It sounds “as if someone is dragging a stick along the bars of the terrace of their house.” Immediately afterward, the room lights up with two beams of light. Devoto leans out of the window and sees an object hovering close to the ground, as large as a Fiat 127, approximately 18–21 feet away. The object appears flat on its lower side and “wavy” on its upper side. At its front are two iron claws, each 20 inches long—one pointing skyward and the other toward the ground. Two circular protrusions are visible in the back. After two minutes, it emits two intense flashes of light, blinding Devoto, before it heads south and leaves behind two or three “fire trails.” The next day, Devoto consults a doctor due to redness in his eyes, while Maria Cavagnaro recalls only seeing the very bright light illuminating the room. (Gian Paolo Grassino and Paolo Mercuri, “ Casistica Italiana il 1978: Un anno di avvistamenti,” Notiziario UFO 3, no. 2 (February 1980): 45, 48; Maurizio Verga, “ La vague italienne de 1978: Phénomènes du 1er type (5) (Suite de la 2me partie),” Lumières dans la Nuit, no. 215/216 (May/June 1982): 37, 39)
December 28 — 4:30 a.m. Three employees of the Provincial Power Board—Orlanda Corizo, Severiano Brunetto, and his son Daniel Omar—are about to cross a bridge near Arroyito, Córdoba, Argentina, in their truck when they see an object hovering a short distance from the ground. One of the men exchanges signals with the occupants of the craft. Suddenly, they find themselves in the middle of the road, 9 miles away, with no sense of crossing the bridge or traveling along the road. They are still holding their cigarettes in their hands, just as they did before attempting to cross the bridge. (“ Three Men Are ‘Tele-Transported’ by Córdoba UFO,” Buenos Aires (Argentina) Herald, December 29, 1978, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 115 (February 1979): 12; [“ UFO in Córdoba,”] Crónica (Buenos Aires), December 29, 1978), via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 117 (April 1979): 14; Richard H. Hall, Uninvited Guests, Aurora, 1988, pp. 302; Patrick Gross, URECAT, January 2, 2008)
December 30 — 7:30 a.m. Erwin Vitelli sees a steely-blue object hovering in the southern sky above Zuchwil, Solothurn, Switzerland. It appears in the shape of three globes merging with one another, each one with a light source directed downward. The object is visible for about one minute. (“ Early Morning, Late December, Swiss Sighting,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 4, no. 1 (Feb./March 1983): 1, 3)
December 31 — 12:10 a.m. Quentin Fogarty, a reporter for Melbourne’s 0/10 Network assigned to do a story on the Vern Powell sighting 10 days earlier, has chartered an Argosy cargo plane, piloted by Capt. William Startup and First Officer Robert Guard. While flying from Wellington to Christchurch, New Zealand, with David Crockett and his wife Ngaire as camera crew over the Cook Strait near the site of the Powell sighting, Startup and Guard see 6–7 bright, pulsating lights like Chinese lanterns above the sea off Kaikoura. They fade and disappear, then return to view. Crockett starts filming. Wellington is tracking a target a mile behind the aircraft that stays on the screen for about one minute without moving. Another, stronger target appears to the right of the plane. Fogarty manages to crack, “Let’s hope they’re friendly!” Twice, Startup vainly attempts a 360° turn to get a glimpse of the object. After landing at Christchurch, Startup invites the passengers to accompany him back to Blenheim. Fogarty, Crockett, and another journalist, Dennis Grant, agree to do so. The plane flies out at 2:15 a.m., and within 2 minutes aircraft radar picks up a target 37 miles away. Startup turns toward it, but it moves to the right and vanishes almost immediately. Other radars pick up targets intermittently. The object returns in view of the plane, moving toward it, then drops out of sight to the right. Afterward, Fogarty notices a strange light that seems to be coming from the cargo hold. Two pulsating white lights soon appear on the port side of the plane. One settles into a rolling, turning pattern and falls at an incredible speed. This sequence Crockett captures on film. Bruce Maccabee spends 10 days in New Zealand and Australia interviewing witnesses and analyzing the film, which he concludes does not have any mundane explanation. (Wikipedia, “ Kaikoura lights”; “ NZ Air Force Hunts UFOs,” Canberra Times, January 3, 1979, p. 8; [ Kaikoura documents] in Declassified New Zealand UFO Documents, Internet Archive, January 1979, pp. 7–30; Bruce Maccabee, “ New Zealand Film,” APRO Bulletin 27, no. 8 (February 1979): 1–6, continued in Bruce Maccabee, “ New Zealand,” APRO Bulletin 27, no. 9 (March 1979): 5–8, and in Bruce Maccabee, “New Zealand,” APRO Bulletin 27, no. 10 (April 1979): 6; “ The New Zealand UFO Films, Part I,” IUR 4, no. 1 (July 1979): 4–8; “ The New Zealand Film Analysis, Part II,” IUR 4, no. 2 (August 1979): 3–6; Bruce S. Maccabee, “ Photometric Properties of an Unidentified Bright Object Seen off the Coast of New Zealand,” Applied Optics 18 (1979): 2527–28; W. Ireland and M. K. Andrews, “ Photometric Properties of an Unidentified Bright Object Seen off the Coast of New Zealand: Comments,” Applied Optics 18 (1979): 3889–3890; Bruce Maccabee, “ Photometric Properties of an Unidentified Bright Object Seen off the Coast of New Zealand: Author’s Reply to Comments,” Applied Optics 19 (1980): 1745–1746; Story, pp. 392–395; W. C. Chalker, “ A Re-Viewing of the Great Nocturnal Light,” Flying Saucer Review 26, no. 1 (June 1980): 12–18; Kevin R. Berry, “ The Kaikoura Controversy,” Flying Saucer Review 26, no. 2 (August 1980): 13–15; Quentin Fogarty, “ The N.Z. Film: A Reply to the Debunkers,” Flying Saucer Review 26, no. 2 (August 1980): 16–19; Quentin Fogarty, “A Skyful of UFOs,” Fate 33, no. 12 (December 1980): 38–47; Quentin Fogarty, Let’s Hope They’re Friendly! Angus and Robertson, 1983; Bruce Maccabee, “Analysis and Discussion of the Images of a Cluster of Periodically Flashing Lights off the Coast of New Zealand,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 1, no. 2 (1987): 149–190, slightly revised in January 2002; Bruce Maccabee, “ Atmosphere or UFO? A Response to the 1997 SSE Review Panel Report,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 13, no. 3 (1999): 431–443; “ The Kaikoura UFOs: 1978,” Marlborough Video Vault YouTube channel, May 13, 2000; Clark III 799–801; “ How the 40-Year-Old Mystery of a UFO in New Zealand Lives On,” News.com.au, December 19, 2018; Coulthart 2023, pp. 9–11, 77–80; “ The 1978 Kaikoura, New Zealand, UFO Lights Incident Was Caught on Camera and Radar,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, October 2023; Clark IV 876–878)
December 31 — 4:00 a.m. Bobby Hines wakes up at her home in Demopolis, Alabama, because her dogs are barking outside. She sees a large, bright object hovering above the trees 1,800 feet from the house and wakes her husband. The UFO is the size of a small house and triangular in shape. It approaches the witnesses, moving in a zigzag pattern and hovering 50 feet off the ground for 30 minutes. Two police officers respond to their call and watch the UFO as well, which finally moves off to the southeast making a funny noise. (“ UFO Spotted near Demopolis,” Montgomery Alabama Journal, January 2, 1979, p. 10; Demopolis (Ala.) Times, January 4, 1979; Marler 103–104, 172)
December 31 — 7:00 p.m. Hundreds of people in the United Kingdom see a bright light with a long trail behind it streak across the heavens from northwest to southeast. RAF Fylingdales in the North York Moors, England, quickly identifies it as the reentry of a booster rocket that launched a Russian satellite, Kosmos 1068, into orbit on December 26. Jenny Randles examines reports of the reentry, which in general accurately reflect the event, and compares them to UFO reports, concluding that it is unlikely that all UFOs are IFOs in various degrees of exaggeration. (“ That December 31st ‘UFO,’” Northern UFO News, no. 57 (February 1979): 2; “ Cosmos 1068…And All That,” Northern UFO News, no. 59 (April 1979): 8; “ Cosmos 1068: Again,” Northern UFO News, no. 63 (August 1979): 2; J. B. Delair, “ Aerial Phenomena over Britain on Dec 31, 1978: A Preliminary Survey,” BUFORA Journal 10, no. 1 (February 1981): 11–21; J. Bernard Delair, “ Guest Editorial: The Cosmos 1068 Debate,” Northern UFO News, no. 87 (August 1981): 1–2; T. R. Dutton, “ The Events of December 31st, 1978,” BUFORA Bulletin, no. 4 (May 1982): 11–13; J. B. Delair, “ The Events of December 31st, 1978: A Reply,” BUFORA Bulletin, no. 4 (May 1982): 14–17; “ A Case of Faulty Memory?” Northern UFO News, no. 103 (July/Aug. 1983): 12; Jenny Randles, UFO Reality, Robert Hale, pp. 44–49, 59; Jenny Randles, “ The Case Against the IFO,” IUR 10, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1985): 4–6; Jenny Randles, “ Jenny Randles Replies,” IUR 10, no. 3 (May/June 1985): 8–9, 15; “ Putting a Rocket Up Stockport,” Northern UFO News, no. 184 (Summer 2000): 10–11; UFOFiles2, pp. 98–99; Jenny Randles, “The Twelve UFOs of Christmas,” Fortean Times 374 (Christmas 2018): 29; Kosmos-1068, RocketLaunch.Live)
1979
British science fiction author David Langford publishes an allegedly nonfiction novelette, An Account of a Meeting with Denizens of Another World, 1871. It is an account of a UFO encounter, as experienced by a man in Buckinghamshire, England; in its framing story Langford claims to have found the manuscript in an old desk (the story’s narrator, William Robert Loosley, is a genuine ancestor of Langford’s wife). But no ufologists take it seriously. (David Langford, An Account of a Meeting with Denizens of Another World, 1871, David and Charles, 1979; David Langford, “Myths in the Making,” New Scientist, May 26, 1988, p. 78; David Langford, “Confessions of a UFO Hoaxer,” Fortean Times 86 (May 1996): 47; Clark III 599–600; Clark IV 659)
Jacques Bonabot founds the Studiegroep voor Vreemde Luchtverschijnselen in Antwerp, Belgium, as the Flemish counterpart to the Groupement pour l’Étude des Sciences d’Avant-Garde in Bruges. It publishes SVL Tijdschrift from January 1982 to October 1987. ( SVL Tijdschrift 1, no. 1 (January 1982))
Patrick Geoffroy founds the Association Dijonnaise de Recherches Ufologiques et Parapsychologiques in Ruffey-lès-Echirey (later in Quetigny), Côte-d’Or, France. It begins publishing Vimana 21, a journal that continues until early 1989. ( Vimana 21, no. 1 (1979))
The first Greek UFO magazine, UFO: Iptameoi Diskoi, is published. (Orestis Lazanakis, “ UAP in Greece,” UAP Check, July 27, 2024)
The Argentine Air Force creates another group to study UFOs within the Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales. It lasts until 1987. (Milton W. Hourcade, “ Argentina: UFO Declassification,” UAPSG–GEFAI, July 29, 2020)
The Uruguayan Air Force creates CRIDOVNI, a special commission to investigate all UFO sightings within the country. It includes freelance ufologists but seems to have disbanded in the mid-1980s. (Willy Smith, “UFOs in Latin America,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, p. 100)
Ananda L. Sirisena and other interested people begin publishing the English-language Sri Lanka UFO Register in Weligama, Sri Lanka, reporting on UFO sightings in that country as well as India and the Philippines. It changes its name to Kalpa-Nava in 1982 and continues through at least 1988. ( Sri Lanka UFO Register, no. 2 (Oct./Dec. 1979); Eghigian, After, p. 228)
January — In an article in Just Cause, researcher Todd Zechel claims that Keyhoe’s National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena has long been riddled with CIA-friendly or covert board members and staff, among them Joseph Bryan III, Karl T. Pflock, Stuart Nixon, John Acuff, and Roscoe Hillenkoetter. Because of NICAP’s current acute financial crisis, he concludes that if the CIA had wanted to “destroy the leading anti-secrecy organization of the 1960s, they couldn’t have done a better job.” Richard H. Hall disputes this analysis. (Todd Zechel, “ NI-CIA-AP or NICAP?” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 133 (January/February 1979): 6–9)
Early January — About 6:00 p.m. A1C John W. Mills III is with a second lieutenant conducting a below-ground azimuth alignment procedure at the Ellsworth AFB Delta-3 missile site southwest of Cottonwood, South Dakota, when the security guard bangs on the ladder and tells them to come up. Going topside, they hear a loud, low-frequency hum permeating the launch facility. The guard leads them out of the gate where they see a dark object with straight edges in the sky. It seems to be shaped like a parallelogram, but they can’t tell how high it is. The guard is upset, but the other two men are oddly calm, even though they are not supposed to be outside the gate, and they return to the missile and descend the ladder to continue the alignment. Then the lights go off, the truck engine stops running, the radio goes out, and the missile site goes off alert. The hum is gone, but they can still see the dark object. Some 10 minutes later the lights come back on and they notice the object is gone. Targeting teams from two other launch sites report similar experiences. (Nukes 377–387)
January 1 — 5:00 a.m. Former USAF UFO spokesman Albert M. Chop and his wife and daughter watch a triangular UFO moving slowly eastward over the mountains southeast of Palm Desert, California. It is about 10 times as bright as the background stars. It is in sight for about 45 minutes, by which time it has become a small, distant light in the eastern sky. (Margaret Sachs, The UFO Encyclopedia, Putnam, 1980, p. 61)
January 4 - Just after 12:00 midnight. Meagen Quezet and her son André go looking for their dog that has just run barking away from their home in Krugersdorp, Gauteng, South Africa. Driving along a remote country road, they find the dog standing 60 feet away from a lead-colored, egg-shaped object with landing gear. Five or six dark-skinned entities are standing in front, wearing white or pink suits and shoes. One with a beard bows to Quezet and says something unintelligible. André runs to get his father, whereupon the beings enter the craft, which takes off making a purring sound. Quezet undergoes hypnotic regression by Bernard Levinson on June 21, where she remembers the "leader" cajoling her to come on board, which she does with her son, seeing lights, panels, chairs, and a table. They jump out again, protesting that they can't go. (Cynthia Hind, " Mystery at Mindalore," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 134 (March/April 1979): 3-8; Cynthia Hind, " Mindalore Case Follow-Up," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 140 (October 1979): 5-7; " Another South African CE III," IUR 5, no. 1a (January 1980): 7-8; Cynthia Hind, " Editorial," UFO Afrinews, no. 21 (January 2000): 4-5; UFOEv II 498)
January 4 — Morning. Jean Hingley waves her husband off to work on Bluestone Walk, Rowley Regis, West Midlands, England. As she turns to go back indoors, she sees a large orange sphere hovering above the carport. Three small figures shoot past her into the house, making a high-pitched buzzing noise. Each figure is about three-and-a-half feet tall and dressed in a silvery tunic with buttons down the front. The heads are covered in “goldfish-bowl” shaped helmets, through which eyes set in wide, white faces glitter “like black diamonds.” Each has a pair of large, transparent wings covered in small dots. Their limbs taper to points, and they hover and fly with their arms clasped over their chests and their legs hanging stiffly down. Each is surrounded by a halo. The entities head directly into the living room, where two of them begin shaking the Christmas tree. At one point, two of them fly over to the sofa and bounce on it like children. When Hingley asks them to stop, they shine a beam of light at her forehead that blinds and burns her. The entities accept a plate of mince pies that Hingley offers them. When she speaks to them, the beings press the buttons on their tunics and reply in gruff, masculine voices. Eventually, they fly out the back door and return to the UFO, a sphere with a scorpion-like tail at the rear. The object takes off, leaving a trail of inch-wide, parallel lines in the snow. On January 6, the Christmas tree vanishes from the Hingleys’ living room. It reappears on January 8 in the back garden, minus its decorations and in several pieces. The decorations reappear just outside the garden at intervals over the next few days. (Eileen Morris, “ The Winged Beings of Bluestone Walk,” Earthlink 3, no. 2 (Spring 1979): 12–18; Eileen Morris, “ The Winged Beings of Bluestone Walk,” Flying Saucer Review 25, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1979): 24–27; Albert Budden, “ The Rowley Regis Case (Part One),” UFO Brigantia, no. 28 (Nov./Dec. 1987): 22–25; Albert Budden, “ The Rowley Regis Case (Part Two),” UFO Brigantia, no. 29 (Jan./Feb. 1988): 16–24; Albert Budden, “The Mince-Pie Martians: The Rowley Regis Case,” Fortean Times 50 (Summer 1988): 40–44)
January 5 — 6:20 p.m. Anmarie Emery is driving near Auburn, Massachusetts, when she notices three, red-glowing, triangular objects flying over woods to her left. As she rounds a corner, she sees them hovering above the road directly in front of her. The radio goes dead, the car slows to a stop (although the engine continues to run), and she feels completely paralyzed. The closest object is only 30 feet away. She feels heat on her face and smells an unpleasant odor. When another car approaches, the three objects shoot straight up, one at a time, and everything returns to normal. When she returns home to Cambridge, Massachusetts, she notices her face is reddened. She develops a rash and peeling skin the next day. (Raymond E. Fowler, “ Close Encounters with E-M and Physical Effects,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 134 (March/April 1979): 8–9; Raymond E. Fowler, Casebook of a UFO Investigator, Prentice-Hall, 1981, pp. 70–74; Richard H. Hall, Uninvited Guests, Aurora, 1988, pp. 302–303)
January 6 — 10:30 a.m. A journalist aboard the Japanese icebreaker Fuji in Antarctic waters sees an object resembling a bluish-white kite moving silently at a high rate of speed. Witnesses guess the altitude as 2–3 miles, with differences of opinion on whether its course s straight or zigzag. The crew reports further sightings of a similar object. (Asahi Shinbun (Osaka), January 23, 1979; “ Foreign Forum,” IUR 4, no. 2 (August 1979): 2)
January 13 — 11:50 a.m. Marcos Rafael Suarez, 12, is by himself in a small schoolroom in Loreto, Santiago del Estero, Argentina, when he hears a cardboard box fall on the floor. He turns and sees a aluminum- colored rectangular object floating in the room about 8 inches above the floor. Its dimensions are 2 feet wide by 4.5 feet high and 3 feet long, and it has a horizontal black portal on it through which part of the interior can be seen. It is making a noise like an electric fan. Suddenly two doors open on each side and two small beings about 32 inches high and dressed in shiny coveralls and helmets emerge from either side. One of the beings grabs the boy’s arm and he hears a voice telling him to sit down and be still. He does and seems to be unable to move. A being turns on a red beam on the object that blinds the boy and makes his eyes water so that he loses consciousness. When he wakes up, the object and beings are gone. (Heriberto Janosch, “ Schoolroom ‘Landing’ in Loreto, Argentina,” Flying Saucer Review 25, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1979): 21–22)
January 14 — The New York Times gives brief coverage to Ground Saucer Watch’s attempt to obtain UFO documents from the CIA. (“ C.I.A. Papers Detail U.F.O. Surveillance,” New York Times, January 14, 1979, p. 23)
January 16 — Gen. Emiliano Alfaro Arregui, chief of staff of the Spanish Air Force, writes to the Ministry of Defense to say that whenever a UFO sighting is reported to the authorities, an Informing Judge is appointed by the corresponding Air Region to proceed with a proper investigation. Some reports are caused by natural phenomena, while others are unidentified. (Swords 424, 513)
January 18 — 7:07 p.m. Brinsley Le Poer Trench, Lord Clancarty, has put down a motion for debate in the House of Lords on the official policy of the UK government on UFOs. He begins the debate by launching into a history of UFOs and stresses the international character of the phenomenon. He concludes with a request for the Minister of Defence to be interviewed on national TV. Lord Trefgarne rejects the proposal on the grounds that there are many things that can masquerade as UFOs, plus the Bible has nothing to say about extraterrestrials. Lord Kimberley agrees that a parliamentary group should be set up. Lord Oxfuird and Lord Davies agree there should be future investigations to settle the question. The Bishop of Norwich expresses concern that a UFO cult could compete with Christianity. Lord Gladwyn deems the evidence inconclusive, but Lord Kings Norton favors an investigation. Lord Rankeillour states emphatically that UFOs exist, and they might be dangerous. Lord Gainford relates a personal sighting of a nocturnal light over Argyll, Scotland, the previous December 31. The Earl of Halsbury provides a list of natural causes for UFOs, and Lord Hewlett paraphrases debunking arguments. The Earl of Cork and Orrery lashes out at Trefgarne’s skepticism. Lord Strabolgi firmly rejects the request for an official investigation on the grounds that all UFO reports can be explained conventionally. Clancarty winds it up by saying, “Nothing is impossible in this world or this universe. It is just that the seemingly impossible takes a little time to come about.” (“ Unidentified Flying Objects,” Hansard Lords Debate, vol. 397, cc1246–1316, January 18, 1979; [Charles Bowen], “ House of Lords Debate,” Flying Saucer Review 24, no. 6 (April 1979): 1–4; Robert K. G. Temple, “House of Lords Debate UFOs,” Second Look 1, no. 6 (April 1979): 17–25, 28; John Michell, ed., The House of Lords UFO Debate, Open Head Press, 1979; Allan Hendry, [ House of Lords UFO Debate], IUR 4, no. 2 (August 1979): 9–11; Good Above, pp. 73–75; UFOFiles2, pp. 99–104; Clark III 616–618; Isaac Koi, “ UFOs in Parliament (UK),” Isaac Koi—UFOs and Parliament, 2024; Clark IV 675–677)
January 18 - 11:30 p.m. A car driven by a 42-year-old woodcutter stops abruptly in Lusiana, Vicenza, Italy. Its lights go out and the doors open by themselves. An orange ball is sitting in the road ahead, and two 3-foot-tall, copper-colored humanoids emerge from a door. They are wearing metallic-looking, scaled coveralls. Their hands are long and end in pointed nails. They invite him on board by gestures and he follows them into a small room with electronic-looking gadgets and a screen. They begin undressing him, but he resists. The wall opens and an overall garment is shown to him. He refuses to wear it and he implores them to let him go. One of the beings gives him a small box with writing on it. A door opens and the man leaves. Suddenly the orange light disappears and his car lights come on again. (Paolo Fiorino, Gian Paolo Grassino, and Antonio Chiumiento, " Abductions in Italy," IUR 14, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1989): 14)
January 20 — The Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research committee releases its report on eight UFO sightings in Kuwait from November to December 14, 1978. The report rejects the idea that the UFOs are espionage devices, but it remains equivocal about whether they are extraterrestrial. The committee recommends that the government take all measures to protect the country and its oilfields. (“ ‘UFO’ Sightings Cause Security Concern in Kuwait,” WikiLeaks, [telegram], January 29, 1979; ClearIntent, p. 90)
January 20 — At least 10 people in Kuwait see another UFO, and a photographer for the Arab Times takes some photographs that show blobs of light. The object seems to be rotating, changing from circular to a more triangular form as it hovers. It disappears to the northeast at great speed. Front- page newspaper stories of about this appear the day after the committee’s report. (Richard Hall, “ UFOs in Arab Nations,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 133 (Jan./ Feb. 1979): 5; ClearIntent, p. 90)
Late January — The Setka-AN group of the USSR Academy of Sciences publishes a skeptical article in the weekly publication Nedelya that tries to show that all UFOs are natural phenomena that UFO enthusiasts are popularizing through their inept investigations as anomalous. Setka-AN hopes to have a solution to the UFO problem “in a few months.” The USSR State Committee for Hydrometeorology (Goskomgidromet) takes an active part in the Soviet Setka-AN program around this time, asking all meteorological stations and field studies to fill out report forms on any anomalous sightings. (Nikita A. Schnee, “ Ufology in the U.S.S.R.,” Flying Saucer Review 27, no. 1 (June 1981): 8; Good Above, p. 237)
January 26 — 8:45 p.m. Keith Jones is about to enter the Brookhouse Mill Restaurant on Ruthin Road in Denbigh, Wales, when he sees a lighted object passing overhead about 150 feet up. It has a clear dome with a rapidly revolving, brilliant white light, flashing at one-second intervals. He brings another witness, John Mace, out from the restaurant, who also sees the UFO, which is now alternately hovering and shooting off to another location. They watch it for another 15 minutes until it moves off in the distance. (Janet and Colin Bord, “ Impressive Corroboration for CE1 in Clwyd,” Flying Saucer Review 25, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1979): 3–5; “ Low Level Object in Welsh Valley,” Northern UFO News, no. 61 (June 1979): 6)
February — 8:30 p.m. A woman and her aunt in Shelby, Ohio, are just sitting down to watch television when a bright light shines outside their window. It is hanging in the air behind their dog kennel. When the woman goes out to investigate, two more lights appear and enter the original one. Then that light disappears and is replaced by red and green lights that resolve into a large number of lights of both colors on an object. As she approaches, the UFO begins to move toward her and passes overhead. It is as big as a jetliner, with bolts on its base as large as volleyballs. Her dog begins whining and cowering, and she gets a severe pain in her head that causes her to fall on her knees. As the object moves away with a soft whirring noise, she gets back on her feet. She estimates she was only outside for 5 minutes, but she and her aunt cannot account for an additional 45–50 minutes. Her headache persists for several weeks. (Michael D. Swords, “ Unusual Experiences from the Timmerman Files,” IUR 27, no. 2 (Summer 2002): 22)
February 5 — 9:50 p.m. A man is driving on the Lyell Highway near Lawitta, Tasmania, when his car radio stops. Seconds later, an intense white light envelops the car, and he cannot see beyond the hood. The car’s lights and motor fail at the same time. The next thing he knows, he is getting stopped in Hobart by police for driving his car without headlights. The police find that he does not know his name, where he has come from, or where he is going. He is taken to the hospital and examined, where he is found to be in a state of shock. It is only at the Royal Hobart Hospital that his memory of the preceding events returns. His vehicle, a Ford Cortina 71TC, is inspected and found to have a dead battery and low oil level. The cut- off switch on the alternator needs replacing, as does some wiring, especially for the headlights. Radiator water is also found to be low. (“ Sightings,” TUFOIC Newsletter, no. 27 (May 1979): 2)
February 9 - 9:00 p.m. Peter Hathaway is driving on the Bruce Highway north of the Liverpool Creek bridge near Cowley Beach, Queensland, when he sees a "little white light" sitting on the edge of the asphalt. As he approaches within 100 feet, he notices a dark beehive-shaped object behind it, which now rises vertically off the surface about 3 feet. Hathaway is momentarily blinded by a flash of light. Opening his eyes, he sees that his car headlights and engine have stopped. He coasts to a truck rest stop, where his lights come back on and the engine starts perfectly. (" 1979," Australian UFO Research Network; Keith Basterfield, " Two Vehicle Effect Cases from Australia," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 142 (December 1979): 5-6; Richard H. Hall, Uninvited Guests, Aurora, 1988, pp. 304-305)
February 16 — New Mexico State Police Officer Gabe Valdez informs the FBI that cattle in New Mexico are “being shot with some type of paralyzing drug and the blood is being drawn from the animal after an injection of an anti-coagulant.” In some cases, the animal’s legs have been broken, perhaps by clamps being placed on them. Helicopters without any identifying numbers are seen in the area of these mutilations. Valdez tells the FBI that he thinks it is a clandestine operation either by the CIA or the Department of Energy (although in 1980 he tells journalist Linda Moulton Howe that he thinks aliens are responsible). (Federal Bureau of Investigation, [cattle mutilation documents])
February 22 — 4:00 p.m. Two 14-year-old girls, Lynsey Tebbs and Susan Pearson, are tobogganing down the slopes that surround their housing complex in Meanwood, Leeds, England. They are startled by a loud whining noise coming from an object that is descending nearby. After it lands, the noise changes to a hum, which then fades as it rests on the snow. It is gray and egg-shaped, with two fins on either side, and is the size of a small car. Frightened, the girls run up the hill but pause to take another look. The object rests on the ground for about 3 minutes, then starts humming and approaches the girls, landing again on the slope about 80 feet away. After another few minutes, it wobbles and takes off. Investigators from the Yorkshire UFO Society visit the site on February 25 and find odd indentations in the snow in two places. (Mark Birdsall and Graham Birdsall, “ Landing and Possible Traces near Leeds,” Northern Ufology, no. 62 (July 1979): 9–10; Good Above, pp. 72–73)
February 25 — 2:00 a.m. Both Circulación Aérea Militar Operativa (CAMO) radar and radar at the W-8 military station detect an unidentified target 52 miles to the southeast of Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, flying at an altitude of 14,400 feet. An Iberia airliner in the area is alerted, and the pilot reports an intense, elongated light above his position. The W-8 local radar detects a transponder signal. (Swords 435)
Late February — 9:10 p.m. Chinese Air Force flight instructor Sha Yangkao is flying a night fighter over Houma, Shanxi, China, when he sees a bright luminous object shoot across the sky from south to north, apparently flying supersonically at an altitude of 3,300 feet. (Paul Dong, “ Extracts from Paul Dong’s Feidie Bai Wen Bai Da (Questions and Answers on UFOs),” Flying Saucer Review 29, no. 6 (August 1984): 14)
March 2 - Early morning. Witnesses in Rivera, Uruguay, see an oval-shaped object with portholes. One witness, Ernesto Fagundez, watches the UFO circle a transmitting tower he is working on then stop. Through the portholes he can see entities with large heads that are wearing transparent helmets. The object dives over a truck carrying farm workers before it rises into the air, leaving a fiery trail and a column of smoke. (" Foreign Forum," IUR 4, no. 2 (Aug. 1979): 2)
March 5 — Dusk. Many residents of the Canary Islands are captivated with the sight of a strange sunset. Multicolored concentric rings or bright zigzag trails are seen on the horizon towards the west, forming an enormous cloud. A few minutes after 8:00 p.m., a point of light is seen to ascend, leaving a luminous jet that appears to expand, developing into a huge, bright dome. Independent sets of clear photos are obtained from distant points of view. The phenomenon is even seen from Safi, Morocco. Maj. Pedro Ortega García and Capt. José Juan Abad Cellini investigate for the Spanish Air Force and conclude that the luminous cloud was 320 miles in diameter at an altitude of 40 miles. They again reject the missile hypothesis, but the US Navy has launched four Poseidon missiles from the USS Kamehameha around the same time that probably account for the phenomena. (Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos and Ricardo Campo Pérez, “ Navy Missile Tests and the Canary Islands UFOs,” IUR 29, no. 4 (July 2005): 4–5)
March 6 — 7:30 p.m. Ben Chastain watches a round, luminous object about 12 feet in diameter skimming low over treetops in Westminster, South Carolina, arousing the dogs. At one point the object comes within 150 feet, its glow illuminating the area. Oconee County Deputy Sheriff Jimmy Roach and his wife see the object from a distance. About 8:00 p.m., Bill Osborne watches a larger object (80 feet long and 25 feet wide) that sweeps the area with a light beam. (“ UFO Sightings Reported in Oconee,” Seneca (S.C.) Journal and Tribune, March 12, 1979, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 118 (May 1979): 2; “ UFO Sightings Reported Throughout S.C. Piedmont,” Westminster (S.C.) News, March 14, 1979, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 118 (May 1979): 2; Iris Harrelson Maack, “ Press Reports,” APRO Bulletin 27, no. 12 (June 1979): 7–8; “Occupant, E-M Effects, Photo Highlight Reports,” UFO Research Newsletter 6, no. 6 (June/July 1979): 7–8; Bob Gribble, “ Looking Back,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 251 (March 1989): 19; UFOEv II 226)
April 9 — Two Apache tribal officers on patrol near Dulce, New Mexico, see a round, silent craft hovering 50 feet above the ground, with a searchlight aimed downward on cattle below. (Wikipedia, “ Cattle mutilation”)
April 12 - Early evening. A family is driving home from the grocery store at Brockton, Massachusetts. They see a piano-shaped object with lights all over it. A spotlight is beaming down, and there is one red light on top. They lose sight of the object, but suddenly all four car windows go down and back up; then they go down halfway and back up. The same thing happens when they stop at a red light. They see the object again, which is now following them. They park near their house, and the UFO hovers across the street. The man shuts off the engine and the windows act up again as the UFO moves directly overhead. The father and son get out of the car, and the UFO shoots a beam down at each of them in turn. It then moves down the the street and away. (Michael D. Swords, " Messing Around with the Force," IUR 31, no. 4 (March 2008): 17
April 13 — Night. Jocelino de Mattos and his younger brother Roberto are walking along the Maringá–Astorga road outside Jardim Alvorada, a suburb of Maringá, Paraná, Brazil, when they see an approaching object. They lose consciousness and Jocelino later remembers floating into the UFO and taken to a “medical room” where humanoids take a semen sample from him. A woman enters and he has sex with her. Afterward she tells him, “Perhaps the seed will come alive.” The other beings assure him of their peaceful intentions and let him and his brother go. (A. J. Gevaerd, “ The Abduction at Jardim Alvorada: Investigation under Hypnotic Time-Regression,” Flying Saucer Review 30, no. 2 (December 1984): 17–25; Clark III 1062–1063; Clark IV 1178)
April 19 — 11:30 p.m. John Milroy and his mother are driving from Ardersier to Croy, Inverness, Scotland, when he sees headlights in the distance. The lights get larger and rise above the road. Thinking it is an airplane crash, they get out of the car and experience an abnormal silence; they can no longer hear the car engine or the door slam when they flee. Everything reverts to normal when they reach a ditch. The mother is so excited she needs to be sedated the next day. (“ UFO Scare for Mother and Son,” Aberdeen (Scotland) Evening Express, April 20, 1979, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 119 (June 1979): 11; “ Foreign Forum,” IUR 4, no. 2 (August 1979): 2)
April 21 — Late night. A helicopter pilot and a mechanic are returning by car to their unit in the Blonie area, Poland. A light descends rapidly and silently over the road, resolving itself into 4 large lights attached to a solid object more than 100 feet long. It stops and hovers at 300 feet and then shoots upward instantaneously. (Poland 68–69)
April 29 — 10:45 p.m. A couple at Makapu’u Beach, O’ahu, Hawaii, spot a huge triangular UFO with many lights at about 2,000 feet elevation. It moves at an estimated 100 mph and emits a humming sound. The object maneuvers over a residential section and then moves toward Koko Head before flying away out to sea. (Iris Maack, “ UFOs Abound in Hawaii,” APRO Bulletin 27, no. 11 (May 1979): 1)
May -The China UFO Research Organization is founded in Wuhan, China, by Sun Shili. By 1983 it has 500 members and 30 regional chapters, three of which are publishing their own newsletters. By 1988, it supposedly has 50,000 members and becomes affiliated with the state-run Qigong Science and Research Society. (Eghigian, After, p. 229; Clark IV 1327)
May 1 — 4:00 a.m. YPF company engineers at the Vizcacheras oil fields in a remote area of Argentina’s Mendoza province accessible only to employees are awakened by goats bleating in a corral. When they go outside to investigate, they see a UFO hovering silently about 230 feet from the encampment and 65 feet above the ground. They wave a lantern and the UFO seems to respond by blinking a light, then slowly lands nearby. More light signals are exchanged, then the UFO takes off and disappears toward the Andes mountains at 4:35 a.m. After the sighting, the goats (about 1,500) refuse to return to their corral. The engineers go to inspect the landing spot and find a large circle in which the sand has been petrified or hardened into chunks. Soil samples are taken to a Professor of Literature Victorio Corradi for analysis. Corradi, identified as director of the Institute for Extrahuman Studies, says the samples are being analyzed by the Office of Mining. Corradi remarks that that the “permanent presence of the UFOs over the uranium mines of La Pintada and Cuesta de los Terneros in San Rafael and now in Vizcacheras, is not a coincidence.” (Richard H. Hall, “ Extraterrestrial Psychology,” 1988; “ Argentine Oil Field Landing,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 139 (September 1979): 6; “ Vizcacheras, Mendoza: Aterrizaje en campo de petróleo (1 de mayo de 1979),” Orbita Cero: Mendoza, Argentina, February 17, 2013; Luis Emilio Annino, “ Adiós al Prof. Victorio Corradi, pionero y decano de la Ufología mendocina,” Orbita Cero: Mendoza, Argentina, February 10, 2022)
May 3 — 9:00 p.m. Mrs. Ragna Karlsson is gathering firewood in a birch copse about 160 feet from her house in Undenäs, Västra Götaland, Sweden, when a vivid blue-white flash from the cloudless sky startles her. Looking up, she sees an object about 8–10 feet long moving through the trees just below treetop level, roughly 100–130 feet away. Frightened, she runs across a meadow toward her home. At the end of the meadow, she pauses and looks back to see the object, now resembling a transparent bowl filled with multicolored pulses, hovering over a pile of logs. After a few seconds, the object shoots up into the sky, leaving behind a spiral-shaped cloud. Many people across central Sweden witness this cloud. Two dull explosions “like sonic bangs” are heard. (Acke Svensson, “ The Swedish UFO ‘Like Halley’s Comet,’” Flying Saucer Review 29, no. 2 (December 1983): 5–7)
May 7 — 10:00 a.m. Two witnesses on an airliner about one hour south of Chicago, Illinois, notice two bright-white rectangular objects slightly higher than the airplane. They gradually fade from view. (“ Long Rectangular UFOs: Five Different Cases of Similarly Shaped Objects,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 9 (September 1981): 2)
May 9 — Early morning. A fleet of 10–15 UFOs alarms people in Choconta, Colombia. Eight of the objects have lights that change from red to blue to orange and yellow. An electrical blackout takes place, and dogs, chicken, and cattle get disturbed and run away. The objects examine the Telecom satellite tracking station before ascending rapidly and disappearing in the clouds. (“ Foreign Forum,” IUR 4, no. 2 (August 1979): 2)
May 16 — 10:30 a.m. Arlindo Gabriel dos Santos is hunting with two friends in a forest near Baependi, Minas Gerais, Brazil, when he becomes separated from the others. He sees an object descend towards the ground in a clearing. He approaches to within 600 feet and sees that the object is shaped like a telephone booth about 3 feet tall. He takes a photo of the object before it abruptly disappears in plain sight. He walks to the clearing and sees another object shaped like a toy top and a little larger than the previous object, descending swiftly. It has a small propeller on top and a long, pointed protrusion on the bottom. As he tries to photograph the second object, he hears a whooshing sound, and the craft is quickly enveloped in smoke. He notices a third craft descending overhead. This one is barrel-shaped and hovers for a bit before landing. It also has a large propeller at one end and is covered with red stripes. It vanishes when he tries to approach. Dos Santos finally sees a huge, white, egg-shaped object descend. It has a pointed top and fin-like protrusions on each side. Next to the fins are several windows. As it descends it makes a horrific noise like a choking motor and puts out four landing pods. He approaches and tries to take another photograph, but there is a sudden flash that temporarily blinds him and leaves his eyes irritated. Frightened, he drops the camera and runs, but is only able to get about 30 feet before he is can no longer move. Behind him he notices two men wearing helmets with transparent visors and gloves. They grab him, each taking one arm. He begs them to let him go in the name of God, but they answer, “In the name of God, we are all brothers; we don’t harm anybody.” The voice comes from a box-like apparatus on their backs. He is taken toward the landed UFO. As he gets near, he can feel an intense cold surrounding it. Another helmeted figure stands by a ladder extending from the craft, looking from side to side. The man asks dos Santos if he has seen a “Zurca.” Dos Santos thinks he is referring to one of the smaller objects. The man extends a gloved hand and pulls dos Santos inside the craft through a square doorway. The atmosphere inside the craft is pleasant and cool, and there is a smell like “baby powder” in the air. Other men wearing dark, tight-fitting outfits are sitting on seats. The men have large slanted eyes, thin noses, and large mouths, and they are operating some type of machinery. They stand up and begin conversing in an unknown language. Suddenly, a heavyset woman emerges from another room. She wears a white uniform, gloves, but no helmet. Dos Santos describes her as good looking, tanned, with long light fine hair. The woman and one of the men then take him into a corridor. He enters a room where he sees a square object in the middle. The man pushes a button on the wall and the object rises. It resembled a large piece of marble. The woman takes out a long wand and points it at the object. On the object dos Santos sees an image of the planet Earth and other planets. At this point, the man removes his helmet revealing short, light-colored hair. When dos Santos leaves the craft, he is told to cover his eyes and not look as the object leaves. He follows these instructions and does not see the object depart. (NICAP, “ May 16, 1979: Near Baependi, Minas Gerais State, Brazil”; “ Grandes Manobras Extraterrestres na Fazenda do Sobrado, Baependi, MG,” SBEDV Boletim, no. 132–135 (Jan./Aug. 1980): 28–71; Jackson Luiz Camargo, “ O Caso do Embornal,” Portal Fenomenum, June 15, 2016; Brazil 258–266)
May 19 — 2:27 a.m. Tailor Mike Sacks and his brother Ray are on the moors near Stacksteads, Lancashire, England, looking for the UFO that Mike had already seen twice the previous winter. They have staked out the hills with a camera and suddenly hear a muted howling noise echoing through the night. The noise is coming from a white, glowing light falling toward them. The glowing mass slows down and the howling stops. Now directly overhead, the object is hovering just feet above a stream. They see a dome on top that emits electric blue sparks, a middle section, and a rim with a translucent metallic glow. The object tilts to reveal intricate detail on its underside, then accelerates and disappears. The men take a dozen photos, but they only show black sky when processed. (Jenny Randles, “The House on Haunted Moor,” Fortean Times 322 (January 2015): 23)
May 22 — 10:00 p.m. A man walking in a park in Piastów, Poland, sees two bright yellow beams of light coming from a dark object about 10 feet wide floating just above the ground. Walking to within 10 feet of the object, he can see a third beam of light below it. Green geometrical shapes appear and vanish along the side of the UFO. A blinking red light shines out on the upper surface, in between the vertical bars of an H-shaped sign taking up almost the entire top. Suddenly the object shines with a white-blue light, and the man’s face feels like it is burning. Frightened, he runs away and does not look back. The next morning, he feels as if something heavy is pressing on his head; two weeks later, sores containing dried blood break out on his face. (Bronislaw Rzepecki, “ UFOs and Ufologists in Poland,” IUR 11, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1986): 15–16; Bronislaw Rzepecki, “UFOs in Poland,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, p. 124)
May 26 — 12:05 a.m. Jim Gallagher, the pilot of a private airplane flying at about 10,000 feet near Hailey, Idaho, spots five orange objects flying in a horizontal line. They tilt, spread out, and regroup in a vertical formation. As they pass to his left, his magnetic compass and direction finder begin spinning, the radio is filled with static, and the engine sputters. One of the objects approaches at high speed, and the pilot begins a climb and loses sight of the UFOs. (NICAP, “ Compasses, Radio, Engine Affected on Aircraft”; Bob Gribble, “ Looking Back,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 253 (May 1989): 19; Richard F. Haines, Project Delta, 1994, pp. 154–155; UFOEv II 140–141)
June - In Messengers of Deception, Jacques Vallée claims that a shadowy human group, some of whom have infiltrated UFO organizations like NICAP and CUFOS, is manipulating UFO myths for its own purposes, while the UFO phenomenon operates as a control system-manifested in "intense activity followed by quiet periods-intended to lead human consciousness into a new concept of reality." On the other hand, he argues that the UFO phenomenon is ancient and that the message has changed with the times. He claims the current concept of flying discs originated in Germany in the 1930s, with the unknown private group gaining control of them after World War II. Contactees are manipulated by human programmers. Many ufologists think Vallée has gone too far in his anti-ETH approach and is conspiracy mongering. (Jacques Vallée, Messengers of Deception: UFO Contacts and Cults, And/Or, 1979; Vincent White, " A Critique," APRO Bulletin 27, no. 12 (June 1979): 3-5; Clark III 881, 1214; Clark IV 976, 1390)
June 19 - 12:30 p.m. A middle-aged couple, Allan and Maila, are sitting in their living room in Rauma, Finland, when they see an object that is hovering above a rock some 200 feet away. Curved on top and flat on the bottom, the UFO is emitting a blue-black beam that sweeps the nearby woods horizontally with an undulating motion. After a minute, the beam disappears suddenly. Maila goes outside and walks up to the object, which is about 3 feet wide, about knee-high, and resting on tiny legs. Inside the transparent top part she can see two creatures sitting on small chairs in front of a console with levers and dials. They have crooked, hawk- like beaks, and their skin is flecked with green-brown spots. Their eyes and mouths are large, their chins are long, and their ears pointed. They are wearing helmets with antennae, a black garment, and black gloves. She reaches out to touch the object, but one of the creatures motions to her with its left hand and she feels "electricity in her eyes." Momentarily blinded, she staggers briefly and the object takes off. She develops a severe headache. Allan sees the craft take off but doesn't witness the beings. The incident lasts 10 minutes. Maila later describes being especially frightened by the humanoid's stare and suffers from disturbing dreams afterward. (Juhani Kyröläinen and Pekka Teerikorpi, " CE-III Report from Rauma, Finland," Flying Saucer Review 27, no. 3 (November 1981): 3-7; Pekka Teerikorpi, " CE-III Report from Finland (Part II)," Flying Saucer Review 29, no. 3 (March 1984): 26-28)
July - Day. A woman is driving with her 4-year-old son in a rural area near Sarnia, Ontario. Her son keeps asking what something outside is, and she looks and sees a silver-colored object hovering above the car. It has a cylindrical body with round balls at each end. It follows the car around a bend and across a bridge. She drives about a quarter mile before she can stop the car. When she gets out, the object rises silently and moves out of sight. (Powell, Scientist, 52)
July 1 — 3:40 p.m. A factory supervisor and his wife are driving in Crystal Lake, Illinois, when they see an aluminum-colored ellipse hovering in the north-northeast at an estimated 1,000 feet. It moves with jerky movements to the east-southeast, drops down to 500 feet, and remains stationary over a stand of trees about one mile away for 2–3 seconds. It ascends and descends about five times. (“ Daylight Disc in Illinois,” IUR 4, no. 2 (August 1979): 13)
July 4 — 1:30 a.m. A Swedish man is walking along a dark road after leaving a tavern not far from Monastiri Beach, Poros, Greece. He hears a powerful buzzing or shushing noise overhead. Not more than 25 feet above the trees on the uphill side of the road is a black, disc-shaped object, about 25 feet wide, that is blocking out the light of the stars. Within seconds a bright light beams down at him from the center of the object. He feels an electrical sensation and a general lightness. The light blinks out and the man begins running away, but the disc is descending and following him. The beam of light blinks on again when it is 50–60 feet above him. Two backpackers witness this and come running to aid him. The light blinks out again and four blinking red and green lights appear at the edge of the disc, which moves ahead another 150–200 feet. The UFO then rises to 400–500 feet and flies steadily until it disappears behind a hill. (“ High Adventure in Greece,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 6 (Jan./Feb. 1982): 15–16)
July 17 — 6:00 a.m. A couple in a rural area northeast of Des Moines, Iowa, are fixing breakfast when through their window they see a small, circular light source to the northeast. It hovers silently for 5 minutes. It starts moving slowly upward at a 70° angle, then breaks into two smaller objects that shoot out of sight. (“ Iowa UFO Splits in Two,” IUR 4, no. 3/4 (Sept./Oct. 1979): 10)
July 25 — 11:30 a.m. Farmer Federico Ibáñez Ibáñez, 54, leaves the village of Turís, Valencia, Spain, to gather grapes from his vineyard. He finds an egg-shaped, white, metallic object resting on two feet in the access road to his field. Two small beings run from behind a carob tree on his left and enter the craft. They are wearing white outfits “puffed up with air” with protruding black tubes. The UFO suddenly ascends at great speed, stirring up a whirlwind. The case is investigated in depth in 1979 and reinvestigated in 2008. It features unique shapes for both the landed craft and its occupants. The one witness is apparently credible. Ground traces are found as circumstantial evidence. Spanish investigator Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos concludes: “My considered impression is that the witness sincerely believes in the tangible reality of his experience, and I have not found any reasonable evidence of a lie or episode of fantasy, nor any proof that he embellished his account.” Ballester Olmos’s latest thought is, “Did the witness invent or hallucinate the event under the influence of the current publicity for the Star Wars movie?” (Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos, “ Imagination or Reality? The Landing at Turís, Revisiting a 1979 Spanish CE3,” IUR 33, no. 1 (March 2010): 3–7, 22–24 ; Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos, “ Imagination or Reality? The Landing at Turis,” Academia.edu, [2013])
July 27 — 11:10 p.m. Gary Hull is on the patio of his in-laws’ home in Stamford, Connecticut, when he sees an orange light in the northwest. He calls his wife Kathleen and others, and they watch it move silently across the sky at treetop level. After 5 minutes, it stops and hovers. Four or five white flashes erupt from its right side, followed by 4–5 faint sounds like firecrackers. At 11:19, a commercial jet flies overhead and under the UFO, which accelerates almost straight up in 5–10 seconds, diminishing to a pinpoint. Other witnesses 3.5 miles to the north and a few miles to the west watch similar objects. (Matthew L. Wald, “ Many Scientist Feel UFOs Merit Study,” Ottawa (Ont.) Journal, August 25, 1979, p. 63; Matthew L. Wald, “ What Was That Red Ball over Stamford?” San Francisco (Calif.) Sunday Examiner and Chronicle, September 2, 1979, “This World” magazine, p. 38; “ Independent Witnesses in Connecticut,” IUR 4, no. 3/4 (Sept./Oct. 1979): 10)
July 28 — 9:50 p.m. Pattie Ong watches a huge triangular UFO with numerous lights descend rapidly in Wenona, Illinois, before stopping abruptly. She estimates it is about 200 feet long and a half-mile away. It descends again and the lights start blinking, while lines of lights protrude from the underside and start pulsing like a strobe. Within seconds, the display fades away. (William Retoff, “ Low-Flying Triangle in Illinois,” Flying Saucer Review 26, no. 4 (November 1980): 25–27)
August — Dusk. A witness in Halifax, Nova Scotia, watches through a telescope a round object with 12–18 lights around its base approaching from the southeast. It hovers for about 30 seconds. He calls to his wife to verify the observation, which has now moved directly overhead. The lights give off constant beams downward. (“ Correspondence,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 3, no. 4 (Aug./Sept. 1982): 3)
August — Evening. A resident of Człuchów, Poland, is rowing his boat on a lake when he sees a “dark oblong object” moving rapidly and soundlessly along the surface of the water without disturbing it. It disappears behind some lakeside vegetation. Another witness on shore sees it apparently land, so he calls his two dogs and heads toward the spot. About 65 feet from the shore he can see two entities in dark suits walking toward the forest. The dogs run toward them and they stop and turn around. The dogs stop in their tracks, bark, and retreat in terror. The witness watches the entities as they continue walking. They are about 5 feet tall and sealed in diving outfits. At the level of their eyes is a glass plate through which they can apparently see. Their hips are unnaturally wide and each has a hump between the back of the neck and the shoulders. The witness calls out to them, but they begin running into the trees. A luminous rectangular object floats up from the treetops about 325 feet away and hovers 100 feet from the ground. A blue-green light is along its sides, shading away into white in the middle. The UFO speeds away, leaving no findable landing traces. The witness claims his dogs’ front legs become paralyzed 6 months later and he has to put them to sleep. (Bronislaw Rzepecki, “ UFOs and Ufologists in Poland,” IUR 11, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1986): 16; ; Bronislaw Rzepecki, “UFOs in Poland,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, pp. 124–125)
August 1 — 1:35 a.m. Westchester County police officer William Shaughnessy sees apparently the same white ball of light at the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, New York, as that reported by several citizens of Lewisboro the same night. It passes southeast directly over his car, at 600–800 feet altitude. It stops above some treetops, makes a complete right turn, and disappears to the west. 12 minutes later, it comes flying back, hovers, shoots over his car again, and is gone quickly. During this time, Shaughnessy cannot reach his station by either low-band FM or portable radio. (“ Patrolman Spots UFO in the Early Morning at Local Reservoir,” Mount Kisco (N.Y.) Patent Trader, August 2, 1979, via APCIC Clipping Service 4, no. 8 (August 1979): 23–24; “ UFO Was Spotted Twice,” White Plains (N.Y.) Reporter Dispatch, August 2, 1979, p. 3; “ County Cop Says He Sighted UFO,” Mt. Vernon (N.Y.) Daily Argus, August 2, 1979, p. 2; “ Cop Ridiculed for NL Sighting in New York,” IUR 4, no. 3/4 (Sept./Oct. 1979): 10–11; Vincent Mangiamele and Charles Taylor, “ A Special Report,” SBI Report 1, no. 7 (1979): 11–15; Richard Schwartzberg, “ Are UFOs Trying to Contact Police Officers?” Beyond Reality, no. 43 (June 1980): 34–37, 58)
August 2 — Morning. A teen who mows the lawn finds a strange design on the lawn of an 8-acre estate about 8 miles north of Chagrin Falls, Ohio. The owner waits a week before reporting it to the police, who alert the Center for UFO Studies, which investigates the marking on August 22. The trace is visible as flattened, yellowed grass in a semicircle between two straight lines forming a 120° angle. An analysis of the soil sample indicated nothing unusual in the chemistry, and no herbicides or petroleum. (“ 1979 Ground Mark Remains Unidentified,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 1, no. 2 (June 1980): 1–2)
August 2 — 11:30 p.m. Multiple witnesses watch a triangular object flying from south to north over Herndon and Atwood, Kansas; and Culbertson and McCook, Nebraska. Wilma Tongish and her daughter Dawn are riding their bicycles near their farm in Herndon when they see a strange light hovering to the south. They return to the farmhouse to get some binoculars and alert her husband Denis and two other children. The object appears to be three-sided, about 50 feet long, and a metallic color, with red lights at each corner and one in the middle. It seems to be 500–800 feet in altitude. It hovers silently, but as it moves away they hear the faint sound of a motor. Other families in the vicinity also watch the object. (“ More Residents Report Seeing ‘Strange Light,’” McCook (Nebr.) Gazette, August 4, 1979, via APCIC Clipping Service 4, no. 8 (August 1979): 22; “ Strange Object Seen by Kansas Residents,” McCook (Nebr.) Gazette, August 7, 1979, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 122 (September 1979): 4; “ A Bird? A Plane? No, It’s...(?),” McCook (Nebr.) Gazette, August 9, 1979, via APCIC Clipping Service 4, no. 9 (September 1979): 9; “ Flying Object Seen North of Culbertson,” McCook (Nebr.) Gazette, August 10, 1979, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 122 (September 1979): 10; “ What Was Up August 2?” McCook (Nebr.) Gazette, August 11, 1979, via APCIC Clipping Service 4, no. 9 (September 1979): 11; “ Hovering Light Still a Mystery,” McCook (Nebr.) Gazette, August 17, 1979, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 122 (September 1979): 7; Marler 104–106)
August 4 — 10:35 p.m. Maria Artura and her grandson see a domed, disc-shaped object approach from the west over Canoga Park, Los Angeles, California. Two humanoid beings with oversized heads are visible inside. The object stops and hovers above an apartment building on the other side of the street. It tilts to one side, returns to horizontal, then flies behind a tree, stops, and tilts the other way. Finally, it flies away to the west. (“ UFO in Canoga Park,” Canoga Park (Calif.) Chronicle, August 16, 1979, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 123 (October 1979): 1; Walt Greenawald, “ UFO Scene,” Canoga Park (Calif.) Chronicle, August 23, 1979, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 123 (October 1979): 2; “ California Humanoids?” IUR 4, no. 3/4 (Sept./Oct. 1979): 11; Walter H. Greenawald, “ San Fernando Valley UFO Sighting Wave, July and August 1979,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 151 (September 1980): 3, 5–6; Ann Druffel, “ California Report: An Urban Problem: Very Close Encounters with UFOs,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 166 (December 1981): 13–15; Richard H. Hall, “ Dyad ‘Scout Craft,’” IUR 25, no. 4 (Winter 2000–2001): 25; UFOEv II 463–464; Patrick Gross, URECAT, December 25, 2007)
August 5 — 7:00 p.m. A man driving 20 miles north of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, sees five large red lights suddenly appear in front of his car. They are in a V-formation, four in one row, the fifth forming the other. They move downward toward the horizon, where they vanish. (“ Strange Formation in Wisconsin,” IUR 4, no. 3/4, Sept./Oct, 1979): 11)
August 10 — Two large metallic spheres are found in Bolivia, one near Enconada and another near Buen Retiro, just hours after reports of a fireball in Bolivia and northern Chile. Newspaper reports at the time focus on the reentry of a satellite or rocket stage as the possible cause, suggested by Col. Ariel Coca, director of the Bolivian Air Force Academy. The Defense Attaché of the US Embassy in La Paz promptly informs the US Defense Intelligence Agency via telexed Moon Dust reports, which include translations of two Bolivian newspaper reports. Moon Dust is the unclassified name of a cold war USAF program to obtain Soviet space hardware that survives reentry. In 2014, amateur satellite tracker Ted Molczan presents strong circumstantial evidence that the spheres are debris from the reentry of the Delta rocket second stage 1979-072B that launched Westar 3 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the same day. (“ Moon Dust, Object Found near Santz Cruz *U*,” August 17, 1979; “ Moon Dust, Additional Object Reportedly Found near Santa Cruz *U*,” August 21, 1979; Ted Molczan, “ Re-Entry Sightings and Debris Recovery of 1979-072B, Bolivia: 1979 August 10 UTC,” Visual Satellite Observer, July 30, 2014; Ted Molczan, “ Bolivia: Spheres Found August 1979, La Prensa Article,” Visual Satellite Observer; Good Above, pp. 322–323)
August 10 — 9:00 p.m. Two witnesses are on the shore of a lake near Czluchow, Poland, when they see an object gliding swiftly along the surface and vanishing behind some vegetation on the bank. One witness collects his dogs and approaches the spot, but before he gets there, he encounters two entities dressed in black who are moving toward the woods. The dogs run toward them barking, but the entities turn to face them and the dogs stop barking and go back. The beings are dressed in coveralls. They have wide hips, a lump at the base of their necks, and curved forearms, and they are gliding rather than walking. They vanish, and while searching for them the witness sees a rectangular object hovering about 300 feet away and flashing beams of white and blue-green light. It vanishes suddenly. (Bronislaw Rzepecki, “ UFO Reports from Poland,” Flying Saucer Review 33, no. 1 (March 1988): 5–6; Poland 46–48)
August 11 — 9:41 p.m. A graduate student and a friend are taking an evening drive in a semi-rural area in Northfield Township, Michigan. They notice two white stationary lights about 300 feet from the road and 500 feet in the air. They turn the car around and see another formation of white lights and a flashing red light to the west. A total of three sets of lights appear heading south. They follow one group, which hovers above some power lines. The couple continues to pursue and be pursued by the similar formations of lights for 30 minutes. At the intersection of Joy and Whitmire Lake Road, one set of lights flies directly above them at 1,000–1,500 feet altitude, making a noise like a jet or the wind. (“ Scientists Chase Michigan UFOs?” IUR 4, no. 3/4 (Sept./Oct. 1979): 11–12)
August 11 — 11:00 p.m. Two 18-year-olds, a male college student and a female telephone company employee, are sitting in a car near Bergen Park, Colorado, looking at the homes at the base of a small mountain on Soda Creek Road off Interstate 70. They see a white light about two-thirds of the way up the mountain. It grows bigger, four times the brightness of the houselights at the base of the mountain. It seems to become a cluster of four lights with a dark space in the middle. After 3 minutes, the light silently rises over the mountain, hovers for 3 seconds, and drops down behind it. A glow remains over the mountain. (“ Colorado Landing,” IUR 4, no. 3/4 (Sept./Oct. 1979): 12)
August 12 — 2:00 a.m. Engineer Y. Podvyazniy and two companions are on the shore of the Black Sea west of the microdistrict of Khosta near Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Russia. They notice a brightly illuminated object approaching erratically from the sea. Suddenly it skips to within one mile of the witnesses, who take 9 photos, estimate its size as 165–330 feet, and notice four glowing lights that look like portholes. The object is only 16–65 feet above the water when it slowly moves away to a distance of 9 miles. A patrol boat uses its searchlight to illuminate the object, which appears to be spherical. When the object lights up and dims, the searchlight and the patrol boat’s lights also dim. (Stonehill and Mantle, Russia’s USO Secrets, Flying Disk, 2020, pp. 133–134)
August 12 — 10:00 p.m. Two teenage brothers are driving 9 miles west of Rolla, Missouri, in an undeveloped area. A red light and a blue light appear over the car, apparently circling each other. The two lights seem to blend into one, forming a soft white color. Sparks shoot out, and the single light source arcs upward and vanishes in the western sky. Both feel strange sensations of both pressure and floating as this occurs. These effects, along with involuntary body movements and trouble speaking and breathing, last 10 minutes. (“ Teens Claim Bizarre Effects,” IUR 4, no 3/4 (Sept./Oct. 1979): 12)
Mid-August — Night. Hospital administrator Jon Linnell and his wife are driving home from Northwood, North Dakota, to Warren, Minnesota, when they see bright lights over a field to the left. 15 seconds later the lights come toward them and hover above their car. Linnell slows the car down and the object takes off to the north. It is silent and too bright to look at. (“ Deputy’s UFO Story Evokes Other Tales,” Minneapolis Star, September 11, 1979, pp. 1, 5; Clark III 716)
August 16 — 4:22 a.m. A male nurse is driving south on US Highway 19 seven miles south of Washington, Pennsylvania. Ahead of him on the left is a large, luminous object that looks like a football. It appears to be 60 feet up as he drives underneath it. It remains stationary as he drives away. (“ Pennsylvania ‘Football,’” IUR 4, no. 6 (December 1979): 4)
August 16 — 4:30 p.m. A silver, pan-shaped object flies past an eastbound truck near Providence, Kentucky, at 2,000–3,000 feet altitude. It tumbles in flight, turning over sideways before disappearing behind a hill. (“ Kentucky Daylight Saucer,” IUR 4, no. 6 (December 1979): 4)
August 17 — 9:00 p.m. Elma l’Abbe is flying above Saint-Jovite, Quebec, in a Piper PA-28 Cherokee Warrior piloted by a friend. She looks out the window and notices that both wings are turning red. The pilot says his controls are jammed, but both feel the aircraft being pulled upward. They then see a large red ball of energy nearly 300 feet in diameter and 50 feet thick close to the right wing. It speeds away rapidly and appears to have a white light on its tail end. The aircraft falls about 1,000 feet and levels out at 4,000 feet. The object disappears into a cloud, where it rotates, showing red on one side and white on the other. The ball of light disappears into the orange sky of the sunset. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 92–95)
August 19 — Evening. A mother and her two children, a teenage girl and a 5-year-old boy, are collecting wildflowers in some fields adjacent to the River Mersey in East Didsbury, Manchester, England, when they see an object like a flying gondola landing just above the water meadow. They run toward it as it descends on its curved base. The children recall seeing a strange look in their mother’s eyes, as if she is being drawn toward it. The next thing they remember is running back toward the river. On arriving home, they are surprised to find that it’s an hour later than they expect. Over the next few days, the mother and daughter develop bruises on their legs, which fade after a few more days. The young boy has nightmares of men with heads “shaped like raindrops” coming for him. (Jenny Randles, “River of Time,” Fortean Times 438 (December 2023): 29)
August 19 — 10:20 p.m. A witness at his home 16 miles southeast of Dallas, Texas, sees a shimmering light with amber portholes silently darting around near some radio towers. (“ Texan NL,” IUR 4, no. 6 (December 1979): 4)
August 20 - 7:30-9:00 p.m. Some 119 people in northern and eastern Poland observe several different types of cylindrical or spherical UFOs. Reports come from Sopot, Jurata, Gdansk, Bydgoszcz, Malbork, Jastrzebie, Olsztyn, Swiecie, and Warsaw. Vacationers in Sopot and Jurata see a cigar ejecting a smoky trail and flames. In Gdansk, the objects are cigar-shaped or oblong changing into a sphere. Bogdan Smiech from Malbork watches 9-10 balls of light 3-4 miles above the ground. (Poland 72-73)
Late August — 10:00 p.m. Mrs. H. M. Dickinson and another witness see a small, transparent object shaped like a lightbulb moving west to east just outside the window of her home in Surry, Maine. Inside it is an entity sitting on a box and facing what seems to be a control panel. The object is lighted from within and blinks out after 5 seconds. (“ Seated Occupant in Light-Bulb-Shaped 1979 Maine CE-III,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 5, no. 2 (April/May 1984): 1, 3)
August 23 — 8:15 p.m. Two fishing boats belonging to the Szomborg family, the Hel-125 and Hel-127, are in the Baltic Sea some 46 miles off the Hel peninsula, Poland, when their radar malfunctions and the TV set reception fails. Lucjan Szomborg on the Hel-127 notices two bright-red lights in the air less than a mile away. Suddenly another larger, pulsating light appears abut 1,500 feet in front of the boat and the original two lights, which are apparently attached to a dark object, move silently toward it. A white light emerges from the two smaller lights, which then disappear in the distance. The pulsating light begins flashing erratically, emitting strong vibrations, and Szomborg steers his boat closer. The red light places itself directly in the Hel-127’s path three times, matching the boat’s course changes. The crew members begin to get nervous, some getting severe headaches, chest pains, and nausea. The navigator, Henryk Elwardt, is gripped with pain, affected by the pulsing vibrations. Szomborg, feeling symptoms of paralysis and temporary blindness, manages to change course and warn his father on the Hel-125 of danger. All the on-board equipment has suddenly stopped working. After 20 minutes, Szomborg notices that the red sphere has moved further away. The boats safely return to Hel by 4:00 a.m., and the equipment is working again. Doctors, neurologists, and psychiatrists examine the crew and find nothing physically wrong, but they are prescribed sedatives and the Polish Navy prohibits them from going out to sea for 3 weeks. (Poland 122–124; “ UFO nad Bałtykiem 23 sierpnia 1979 r.,” UFO-Relacje.pl, August 4, 2019)
August 25 — 3:30 p.m. Three witnesses in a boat at Balsam Lake, Wisconsin, watch an object with a metallic surface move downward in an oscillating manner and maneuver for 6–7 minutes. (“ Wisconsin DD,” IUR 4, no. 6 (December 1979): 4)
August 27 — 1:40 a.m. Deputy Sheriff Val Johnson is on duty in the west end of Marshall County, Minnesota, driving on County Highway 5 west of Stephen when he sees a light through his side window. The light is to his south, shining from a grove of trees standing along State Highway 220 near the Red River. He thinks it might be from a downed drug-smuggling airplane. He turns south on 220, accelerates to 65 mph, and moves closer. The light moves toward him, traveling so fast that it crosses the 1.5 miles separating them almost instantaneously. It makes no sound and still looks just like a blinding light. Johnson hears glass breaking and sees the inside of the patrol car light up. After the light hits, he loses consciousness. When he wakes up, his head is resting on the steering wheel and his eyes are staring at the red “engine” light on the dashboard. He looks out the window and sees the car has skidded sideways across the northbound lane and now faces eastward. The front tires are touching the gravel on the shoulder. He can see only with difficulty and feels like he is moving in slow motion. At 2:19 a.m., he radios headquarters and asks for assistance. Deputy Greg Winskowski arrives on the scene shortly. Johnson is still inside the car with a red bump on his forehead, so he calls an ambulance. At the hospital, Dr. W. A. Pinsonneault examines Johnson’s eyes, but the probe light hurts so much that Johnson cannot stand it more than a few seconds at a time. Pinsonneault suspects corneal flash burns and covers his eyes with bandages. Sheriff Dennis Brekke drives Johnson’s 1977 Ford LTD patrol car back to the garage. The inside light on the driver’s side is smashed. On the hood, 4 feet 4 inches behind the smashed light and close to the windshield, is a flat-bottomed, circular dent, half an inch in diameter. A crack in the windshield on the driver’s side about 18 inches behind the dent runs top to bottom, with four apparent impacts; it looks as if a cluster of small objects, stones perhaps, have done the damage. The car’s battery-powered clock, set correctly at 7:00 p.m. when Johnson came on duty, is 14 minutes late. So is Johnson’s wind-up wristwatch, set at the same time. The red plastic lens covering the roof light on the driver’s side shows a triangular puncture, and the lens is dislodged from the housing. A radio antenna shaft is bent over at a 60° angle. The large “bubble” lamp just inches in front of the antenna is unscathed. The trunk antenna for CB radio is bent at 90°. Brekke, after calling the Center for UFO Studies in Evanston, Illinois, takes Johnson to Grand Forks, North Dakota, at 11:00 a.m. for an eye examination by ophthalmologist Leonard Prochaska, who finds that Johnson’s problems have cleared up. Allan Hendry of CUFOS determines that the car damage is inconsistent with anything an airplane could have caused. Meridan French, a windshield expert with the Glass Division of Ford Motor Company, concludes that a flat-ended object had made a forceful impact with the hood and then tilted toward the windshield. A team of engineers at Honeywell’s materials testing laboratory indicates that flying particles were responsible for the damage to the headlight glass and lamp plastic. (Wikipedia, “ Val Johnson incident”; NICAP, “ Val Johnson Case”; “ Deputy’s UFO Story Evokes Other Tales,” Minneapolis (Minn.) Star, September 11, 1979, pp. 1A, 5A; “ Minnesota CEII: The Val Johnson Story,” IUR 4, no. 3/4 (Sept./Oct. 1979): 4–9; “ Minnesota CEII: The Val Johnson Story, Part Two, Laboratory Analyses and Conclusion,” IUR 4, no. 5 (November 1979): 4–11; Chris Rutkowski, “ Special Report: Stephen, Minnesota; Not Proof, But…” Swamp Gas Journal 1, no. 6 (April 1980): 1–4; Allan Hendry, “UFO Bangs up Police Car,” Fate 33, no. 5 (May 1980): 55–64; Mark Rodeghier, “ UFO/Vehicle Very Close Encounters,” IUR 27, no. 1 (Spring 2002): 25; “ That’s Incredible!—Val Johnson Case,” Paranormal Videos You May Have Missed YouTube channel, November 4, 2015; Clark III 713–716; Clark IV 781–785)
August 27 — 2:30 p.m. Flying instructor Laurie Adlington has just left Blackbushe Airport in Yateley, Hampshire, England, with Lt. James Plastow from Sandhurst Military College for his pilot’s license test in a Cessna 150. They are at 2,000 feet heading toward Basingstoke when Adlington suddenly grabs the controls and throws the Cessna into a steep bank and descent to avoid a collision. An object suddenly speeds past the front of the aircraft, coming within a few feet of the windshield. The rotating object is about 12 inches in diameter, shaped like a doughnut, reflects light with a silvery glow “like a blob of mercury,” and has a honeycombed surface. They can make out the hint of an aerial on one side. The object begins flying around the plane for a short time before it flies underneath it and then streaks upward and away to about 3,000 feet. Possible early use of a drone. (Omar Fowler, “ Mini-Disc over Blackbushe,” Flying Saucer Review 26, no. 1 (June 1980): 18–19)
August 27 — 11:00 p.m. A family in Smithtown, New York, watches a round object with a band around its equator and many small orange lights fly toward them from the north. They remain outside after it disappears, hoping it will return, and it does, flying from west to east and rising up sharply and silently. (“ New York NL Appears Twice,” IUR 4, no. 6 (December 1979): 5)
August 28 — 11:15 p.m. Harry Joe Turner is driving a 1974 Kenworth tractor-trailer loaded with mustard and ketchup on US Highway 17 two miles from Warrenton, Virginia. His CB radio starts acting up, giving out a noise that gets louder and louder. Something grabs him tightly on his left shoulder. He sees a large object looming over his cab and hears two thumps. Even though he is going 70 mph, he sees a figure standing outside. When it throws open the door, Turner grabs his .32 automatic pistol and fires 8 rounds at it with no effect. He then blacks out. Turner wakes up in the passenger seat at 3:00 a.m. at his destination in a Fredericksburg warehouse but can’t remember how he got there. The odometer indicates he has only traveled 17 miles, not 80, yet he has used 114 gallons of fuel. The top 2 inches of the CB antenna are melted off, and 30 inches of the AM/FM antenna has broken off. A filmy substance covers the truck. He drives back home but is confused and his eyes are overly sensitive to light. Turner wakes up in a Winchester hospital diagnosed with a broken blood vessel in his left eye. He begins to remember more about the experience and recalls his truck being lifted into a UFO piloted by two humanlike figures dressed in white shirts and pants, one of whom is named Alpha La Zoo Loo. He seems to take a trip in space to a planet beyond Alpha Centauri. On September 3, after taking valium, Turner is arrested for speeding. He thinks aliens are chasing him. Turner continues to undergo anxiety attacks. Allan Hendry and Fred Whiting from the Center for UFO Studies are unable to corroborate Turner’s story, and the two antennas appear to be deliberately altered. (Bill McKelway, “ Trucker Says Journey Covered Light-Years,” Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch, September 23, 1979, pp. D-1, D-6; Iris Maack, “ Truck, Rig, Abducted (?),” APRO Bulletin 28, no. 6 (December 1979): 1–3; Fred Whiting, “ The Abduction of Harry Joe Turner,” MUFON UFO Journal 145 (March 1980): 3–7; Fred Whiting, “The Harry Joe Turner Case,” Second Look 2, no. 3 (Mar./Apr. 1980): 32–38; Clark III 1139–1141; Clark IV 1296–1298)
August 29 — 2:00 a.m. Russ Johnson is driving on Highway 50 on the western outskirts of Vermillion, South Dakota, when he spots a blinding headlight in front of him. It is stationary for 2 seconds, then it streaks toward him and engulfs his car. Johnson closes his eyes and hits the brakes, skidding the car to a stop, spinning sideways until it faces east. He opens his eyes and sees the light heading away west. The next day, the still-shaken Johnson goes to the site with Robert Adams at the University of South Dakota, who sees the skid marks. (Debra Stone, “ Deputy’s UFO Story Evokes Other Tales,” Minneapolis (Minn.) Star, September 11, 1979, pp. 1A, 5A; “ Case 4-5-2,” IUR 4, no. 5 (November 1979): 11; Clark III 716; Clark IV 784–785)
August 29 — 8:00 a.m. A woman is in her alfalfa field 10 miles north of Pasco, Washington, when she sees what appears to be a post sitting a half-mile away. It is about 4–5 feet tall. About 10 minutes later she sees that the object is now in the air, flying slowly in a horizontal position, land bullet-shaped, looking black on its flat end and silver on its rounded end. A neighbor also sees the object before it disappears in the west. (“ A Flying Fence Post in Washington State,” IUR 4, no. 6 (December 1979): 5)
August 29 — 7:30 p.m. A married couple is taking their dog on a duck hunt between Dziki and Ernestowo, Poland, when they notice a “strange orange ball” coming from behind a hill about 3 miles away. The husband studies it through binoculars, estimating its speed as about 95 mph. The ball proves to be the front of a huge steel-colored cigar-shaped object, which stops 1,300 feet away and hovers above some buildings for about 10 seconds. They can see five large, square windows with rounded corners; the three in the front glow with orange light, while the other two seem covered by a shade. The object moves forward about 40 feet and stops. Half a minute later, sparks shoot from the rear and the UFO vanishes over the horizon. An orange glow remains behind. Alojzy Pawlik sees the same object in Laskowice at about the same time. (Bronislaw Rzepecki, “ Encounters in Poland,” IUR 12, no. 3 (May/June 1987): 17)
August 29 — 10:00 p.m. A 47-year-old housewife sees the lower corner of a gigantic “mothership” outside her living room window in a southwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois. The blimp-like UFO is so huge she can’t see the whole length or height. It extends the whole block of houses at treetop level. She reports four different kinds of humanoid creatures (7 in all) visible through the hull, which is luminous and yellow in color. She hears a loud humming sound. The duration is 45 minutes. (“ Two That Got Away,” IUR 5, no. 1 (January 1980): 5)
August 29 — 10:30 p.m. Charles Weeden and his father see an orange light moving erratically in the sky to the west over Sycamore, Illinois. They call the police, and Deputy Berna Van Vlerah looks outside the station 2.5 miles west of the Weedens and sees the orange light to her southeast, low above the horizon. Using binoculars, she sees a flat-bottomed orange dome shape within the light. She watches it for 5 minutes, then drives to the Weedens and watches it there to the west. (Terry Farley, “ Dome-Shaped Flying Object Reported over County,” DeKalb (Ill.) Chronicle, August 30, 1979, p. 1; “And One Sighted near DeKalb,” Rockford (Ill.) Register Star, August 31, 1979; Paul Gross, “Sycamore Pair Believe We Are Not Alone,” Arlington Heights (Ill.) Herald, September 2, 1979; “ Orange NL in Illinois?” IUR 4, no. 6 (December 1979): 5; Richard Schwartzburg, “ Weird Shaped UFOs Crowd Our Skies,” UFO Update, no. 8 (Fall 1980): 42, 45; William Retoff, “ Unearthly Visitors Terrify Residents in Central Illinois,” UFO Update, no. 10 (Spring 1981): 28–31)
August 30 — 2:30 a.m. A student camping out at Slip Bluff County Park near Lamoni, Iowa, is awakened by her dog barking. She sees a formation of lights on an oval object about a city block away. It moves away horizontally, still close to the ground. (“ Landing in Iowa?” IUR 4, no. 6 (December 1979): 6)
August 30 — 4:00 p.m. During a thunderstorm, three passengers and the driver watch a 2-foot yellow and green ball of light rush down from the north only 5 feet in front of a Metropolitan Transit Commission bus on the southwest side of Minneapolis, Minnesota. It hits the pavement and erupts into a shower of sparks and smoke with a loud explosion. The shocked bus driver runs over the point of impact as the vehicle is shaking. No lasting effects can be found in the pavement after the storm. (“ Case 4-5-3,” IUR 4, no. 5 (November 1979): 11)
September 3 — 7:30 p.m. Two witnesses watch an “aluminum oil drum with wings” flying silently above Oroville, California, in a straight line. (“ California Flying Drum,” IUR 4, no. 6 (December 1979): 6)
September 3 - 7:45 p.m. A man is hunting with his daughter near Ogden, Utah, when he is alerted to a sound similar to that of a screaming, tumbling artillery shell. In the southwest, he briefly watches a dark, roundish "chunk" dropping straight down, landing in the brush 1,500 feet away with a thud. Five seconds later, he hears the same sound and watches a second white form land in a swampy area 3,000 feet downhill from his position. He spends all day searching the area with his children, but cannot find the projectiles. (" Strange Falls in Utah," IUR 4, no. 6 (December 1979): 6)
September 3 — 9:30 p.m. Two couples in Balsam Lake, Wisconsin, see a red disc hovering in the western sky as they are driving from their cottage. The dashboard and engine lights fail, so the driver pulls over. The lights come back on but go off again when the car moves forward again. This happens again 5–6 times in less than a minute. Once their view of the light is blocked, the lights come back on. The object moves on to the southwest at incredible speed. (“ Car Interference Case,” IUR 4, no. 6 (December 1979): 6)
September 3 — 10:40 p.m. Two witnesses in Cape Charles, Virginia, see a bright light zigzagging in an unusual manner for one minute in the northeast. (“ Virginia NL,” IUR 4, no. 6 (December 1979): 6)
September 4 — 7:45 p.m. Three men are driving north along Richmond Township Road A near New Richmond, Wisconsin, when they see a silver disc 500 feet to the west over some treetops. It moves toward the road and crosses it at 10 mph behind their pickup, then pausing to hover above a field 10 feet up. They jump out to watch the UFO wobbling about 300 feet away. Two more cars stop to watch. The object moves off to the east, still wobbling. (“ DD and Independent Witnesses,” IUR 4, no. 6 (December 1979): 7)
September 4 — 8:15 p.m. Two boys in Ashland, Wisconsin, watch a cone-shaped object with a slightly curved bottom flopping around and tumbling in the sky. They chase it on their bicycles but it outdistances them. (“ Tumbling Cone in Wisconsin,” IUR 4, no. 6 (December 1979): 7)
September 5 — 3:40 a.m. Dr. Barbara Anaczkowska-Piazza, a driver, and a stretcher bearer are taking a pregnant patient in an ambulance from Żuławka Sztumska to the hospital at Sztum, Poland. As they are passing through Tropy Sztumskie, they notice a large orange-red ball on their left that seems to parallel them as they turn toward Kalwa. At one point it looks so close that the driver fears it will block their way. It seems to have two dark, horizontal bands across it. They turn back to a railway crossing and alert the guards to the object, which is now less bright and soon turns dark. The observation lasts 20 minutes. Although there are some discrepancies in the accounts of its movement, Wim van Utrecht and others are certain that the object was the full moon setting. (Emma Popik, “ Under Intelligent Control?” Flying Saucer Review 26, no. 6 (March 1981): 2–4; Poland 55–57; Stanislaw Barski, “ Incydent Sztumski: Czerwona Kula Blokuje Ddrogę Ksretce Pogotowia,” April 22, 2010; “ UFO nad miejscowością Tropy Sztumskie 5 września 1979,” UFO Relacje.pl, December 29, 2018; Wim van Utrecht, “ Lunar Terror in Poland: A Doctor’s Dilemma,” CENAP UFO-Forschung, October 31, 2020, reprinted in Vicente-Juan Ballester-Olmos and Richard Heiden, eds., The Reliability of UFO Witness Testimony, UPIAR, 2023, pp. 205–219)
September 5 — 10:45 a.m. Lawrence Hogan is driving on County Road MM one mile east of Dresser, Wisconsin. A black dot moves over the trees ahead of him about 50 feet up, slowing down 600 feet away and descending below the tree line. He stops his truck to watch it move east. He sees that the object is metallic and silent. He chases it, alternately moving and hovering, for 5 minutes. (“Investigator Comes to Dresser to Probe UFO,” Polk County (Wis.) Ledger, September 20, 1979; Iris Maack, “ Sighting Summary,” APRO Bulletin 28, no. 6 (December 1979): 3; “ Then, the Next Day,” IUR 4, no. 6 (December 1979): 7–8)
September 9 — 4:30 a.m. A driver sees a bright amber light through her windshield to the west in Streamwood, Illinois. It approaches, then moves back to the west, dipping left and right. It approaches again, floating downward and growing brighter. Red and yellow spikes of light emanate from a bright white center. When she feels her face growing hot, she pulls sharply onto another street. Looking through her rear-view mirror, she sees the light make an abrupt turn to the left and disappear in the north in a few seconds. By noon, her face is sunburned and sore; the skin flakes off the next day and she quickly recovers. (“ Case 4-5-4,” IUR 4, no. 5 (November 1979): 12)
September 9 — 7:30 p.m. A salesman and some customers are outside in Richfield, Minnesota, when they notice a silver form shaped like a truck tire with a flat underside moving to the south. It hovers for 4–5 seconds before moving off only 80–90 feet away from them. (“ Minnesota Daylight CE I,” IUR 4, no. 6 (December 1979): 8–9)
September 11 — 5:40 p.m. Donald Schultie watches a blue-gray object approach him from the east in Millsboro, Delaware. His son and councilwoman Dorothy Grey also see it. The UFO is an oblate sphere with a flashing white light. He estimates it is 10 feet wide. It hovers 300–500 feet away in a nearby field for 5 minutes then moves up and away to the northwest. (“ Delaware DD,” IUR 4, no. 6 (December 1979): 9)
September 12 — 8:45 p.m. A complete power failure takes place in Huaihua, Hunan, China. At 9:00 p.m., a bright object appears overhead, emitting a vertical stream of white rays. It flies upward at an angle and vanishes soundlessly a minute later, leaving two masses of hemispherical luminous clouds about 328 feet across. (Paul Dong and Wendelle C. Stevens, UFOs over Modern China, UFO Photo Archives, 1983, p. 132)
September 12 — 11:00 p.m. A fire lookout at the Satus Peak tower on the Yakama, Washington, Indian Reservation sees a large orange ball of light between the Goat Rocks Wilderness Area and Mount Adams. It remains below the skyline for the most part, slowly moving in a number of different directions before fading from view. An hour and 15 minutes later, two more orange balls appear in the area of Simon Butte, moving erratically. They are joined by a third light, and all fade away after 45 seconds. The third ball apparently makes another appearance 5 minutes later and is visible for 45 seconds. (“ More NLs in Yakima,” IUR 4, no. 6 (December 1979): 9)
Mid-September — 4:30 a.m. Teenagers Holly Travis and Debbie LaRose wake up at the Travis house in Sanford, Maine, and see through a window a huge, orange, round object whose underside is clearly visible as it slowly (10–15 mph) passes overhead, gently spinning on its axis, at about 500 feet elevation. It slowly descends behind the roof of the neighbor’s house. (Richard Sigismond, “ Four Huge Orange Discs and the Case for the UFO,” IUR 8, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1983): 6–7)
September 16 — Night. Curtis Olson is mowing hay on his farm near Lake City, Minnesota, when he finds a circle of flattened corn 50 feet in diameter. The stalks are flattened in a pattern radiating from the center of the circle, and some are charred. He finds a path leading to another circle 18 feet away. At first, he thinks lightning caused it, but then he considers the possibility of a UFO. County Extension Agent Matt Metz thinks it might have been a combination of wind and decay. In 1987, Curtis’s uncle David Olson admits to creating the circles as a practical joke, using his burlap-covered feet and a posthole tamper. (“ Farmer Says UFO Caused Field Damage,” Minneapolis Tribune, September 19, 1979, pp. 2B, 4B; “ Ground Traces in Minnesota,” APRO Bulletin, September 1979, p. 1; “ Not Everyone in Lake City Accepting Prankster’s Confession in UFO Mystery,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, April 8, 1987, pp. 1B, 6B; Clark III 602; Clark IV 662)
September 17 — 9:00 p.m. A witness driving in Portsmouth, Virginia, sees a large star approaching her until it is only 30 feet up and less than a block away. She says it seems as large as a three-story house and looks like a gigantic faceted wedding cake with three layers. She hears a muffled sound of a motor. One small green light is on the object’s side, while the underside floods the ground with light. After 2 minutes, it moves slowly off to the left. (“ A Faceted Wedding Cake?” IUR 4. No. 6 (December 1979): 9–10)
September 19 — Peter Gersten, on behalf of Ground Saucer Watch, meets with CIA attorneys and Judge John H. Pratt at US District Court for the District of Columbia. The CIA has moved for summary judgment, asserting that the GSW requests for UFO files are an “undue burden” and that the papers released so far are of little importance. Pratt gives GSW 60 days to provide a written response to the CIA motion. (Larry W. Bryant, “ UFO Secrecy Update,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 140 (October 1979): 13)
September 20 — 5:30 a.m. A woman is driving in Poplar Grove, Illinois, when a pear-shaped blue light, surrounded by a white haze, engulfs her van in blinding light. Her AM radio is racked with static. She floors the accelerator to get away but can’t get past 40 mph. She recalls a sense of lightness as if she and the van are floating. The next thing she remembers is driving almost 6 miles further ahead at the intersection of Beaverton and Poplar Grove Road. She stops a police car for help, and her husband comes to pick her up. She sleeps abnormally and exhibits bouts of hysteria for a while after the event. (“ Case 4-5-5,” IUR 4, no. 5 (November 1979): 12)
September 26 or 27 — 8:45 p.m. Pat Gagliardo and another woman watch a single, blinking white light moving above the treetops near Norwich, Connecticut. They drive home to get two binoculars and another witness, then see the light approaching them from the east, now visibly attached to a boomerang-shaped object with the concave side toward them. It stops, tumbles end over end, and moves toward them again, slowly passing overhead, then shoots off to the east. (“ Connecticut NL,” IUR 4, no. 6 (December 1979): 10)
September 29 — 8:45 a.m. A screenwriter sees two bright silver spheres moving above Hollywood, California. Each is somewhat smaller than a full moon and are revolving counterclockwise around a common axis between them. (“ A Different Kind of Hollywood Spectacle,” IUR 4, no. 6 (December 1979): 10)
October — In a remote area near Melville, Saskatchewan, a CUFOS investigator is looking into a cattle mutilation when his truck begins swerving uncontrollably. He stops and gets out as he hears a low humming noise in the nearby bush. Walking toward it, he feels sharp pains in his back and his knees collapse. The hum becomes louder as he crawls back to the truck and drives away. He loses his sense of direction and hears a rapid clicking noise. The speedometer needle fluctuates wildly between 10 and 85 mph. Suddenly his disorientation leaves and he drives home. (“ Two CE-IIs in Western Canada,” CUFOS Bulletin, Summer 1980, pp. 6–7)
October — Day. Cornel Alexandru Olteanu is gathering mushrooms in a forest near Valea Berii near the source of the Teleajen River in the Ciucaş Mountains, Romania. He notices a gray object like a car in a clearing under a high cliff about 320 feet away. He walks toward it and sees it looks more like a metallic disc with a turret and is sitting on 3–4 legs. Nearby are two little men about 4 feet tall who seem to be working on something. They have large eyes, bald heads, and yellowish skin, and they are dressed in a one-piece suit. Noticing him, they turn toward Olteanu, who is suddenly unable to move. The men turn around and climb up a ladder into the object. Flashing white lights come on and the object takes off into the sky and over some trees, which bend over as if they are going through a hurricane. After it is gone, Olteanu can move again. He notices a yellowish stain at the landing site. (Romania 132–133)
October 4 — 12:00 noon. A sales manager watches a silver, domed-shaped object with a black flat bottom from a 38th-floor window on Madison Avenue and 26th Street in New York City. It is seen by three others on the same floor and two others on the floor immediately below. It moves north and makes a sharp turn before apparently hitting the Empire State Building. It clears the Pan Am building and flies off along the Hudson River at a high altitude. (“ The UFO That Almost Hit the Empire State Building,” IUR 4, no. 6 (December 1979): 10–11)
October 6 — 7:30 p.m. A couple driving south on County Road 46 near Amery, Wisconsin, see two red, luminous globes, each as large as the full moon, hovering above the southeast horizon. They drive on another 2–3 miles watching them before the two objects join together and hovers 250 feet above the field to their left, bathing it in a pinkish glow. (“ Red Globes in Wisconsin,” IUR 4, no. 6 (December 1979): 11)
October 6 — 9:30 p.m. A couple are driving on Interstate 35 east of Barnum, Minnesota, when they see a ball of light 3–6 feet in diameter approaching low over some trees. It rolls and bounces silently over the top of the car in about 10 seconds. After driving another 500 feet, the car’s engine dies and the headlights malfunction. The battery is so dead that it can’t be jump- started. The alternator also has to be replaced. The mechanic who does the repair work says that the interior looks like a fire has gone through it (though not the exterior). (“ Case 4-5-6,” IUR 4, no. 5 (November 1979): 12; Mark Rodeghier, “ A Summary of Vehicle Interference Reports and a Description of a Possible Natural Phenomenon Causing Some Events,” The Spectrum of UFO Research, CUFOS, 1988, p. 165)
October 16 — 6:10 p.m. Two witnesses on the east side of Saint Paul, Minnesota, near Interstate 694 see a silvery domed disc with a flat bottom traveling toward the southwest, moving up and down and drifting about. (“ Another Minnesota DD,” IUR 4, no. 6 (December 1979): 11)
October 20 — 12:30 a.m. A 15-year-old boy in a farmhouse in Baldwin, Wisconsin, sees two intense white lights circling counterclockwise over a hayfield about 1,200 feet away. He goes outside for a closer look, but the lights disappear. Three days later, the family finds a 30 foot-by-45 foot triangular area of brown and dried vegetation in the hayfield. (“ Wisconsin CE II?” IUR 4, no. 6 (December 1979): 11)
October 25 — 5:56 p.m. A young man and his sister are driving through Westmont, Illinois, and see a flat-bottomed object. Bright luminous white in the middle, its outer edge is more yellow. It moves back and forth, somersaults, and disappears. (“ Illinois Flipping Disc?” IUR 4, no. 6 (December 1979): 11–12)
October 27 — 6:15 a.m. Lou Blackburn takes three photographs of his friends’ fishing boat coming out of the Motunau River on the South Island of New Zealand. After it is developed, one of the slides shows a cluster of about 19 blue-white lights in the sky. (Fred and Phyll Dickeson, “ The Motunau, New Zealand, UFO Photograph,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 6 (June 1981): 1, 3–4)
October 27 - Three Russian aircraft approaching Khatanga, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, encounter a large UFO about 850 feet long and only a half-mile away with three spheres attached to it. Each sphere has three portholes. The pilot of an Antonov An-26 transport cannot get his compass to work properly unless it is directed at the object, which paces the aircraft, flying over and around it. A similar object is seen shortly afterward at Alykel Airport near Norilsk, and the Messoyakha Gas Field. (Stonehill and Mantle, Russia's USO Secrets, Flying Disk, 2020, p. 95)
November 8 — 7:00 p.m. Five teenage girls in West Palm Beach, Florida, watch a round object with multiple lights, a door, and a bubble roof descend to the east and hover there for 5 minutes. It rises again, flies over a store near the witnesses and disappears over the southern horizon. (“ Palm Beach Puzzle,” IUR 4, no. 6 (December 1979): 13)
November 9 — 10:30 a.m. Robert Taylor, a 61-year-old forestry worker, is out one night working in the Dechmont Woods near Livingston, Scotland. Taylor and his dog are on duty when he spots a UFO hovering completely motionless and silent above the ground. Described as approximately 20 feet across and 12 feet high, the strange object is made of a “dark gray metallic material.” Taylor thinks the UFO is possibly going transparent from time to time in order to disguise itself. A ring or platform encircles the object with spikes topped with propellers. Two more small spiky spheres come from the craft and make a sound as their spikes move across the ground. Taylor is then grabbed by these two smaller objects and dragged to the UFO. As this is happening, he can smell a strong, sickening odor. Soon after this, he loses consciousness and remains passed out about 20 minutes. He is woken up by his dog, which is running around and barking in a panic. He hears a kind of hissing sound and realizes that the craft is beginning to leave. Seconds later the UFO disappears. Taylor is unable to walk or talk properly after the event. He suffers from a headache, sickness, and pain in his chin for some hours afterward. Authorities are appointed to investigate the site and find tracks where Taylor says the smaller spheres were dragging him. Patricia Hannaford, founder of the Edinburgh University UFO Research Society and a qualified physician, suggests that Taylor’s collapse is an isolated attack of temporal lobe epilepsy with hallucinations. Symptoms such as Taylor’s history of meningitis, his report of a strong smell that no one else can detect, his headache, dry throat, paralysis of his legs, and period of unconsciousness indicate an epileptic episode. (Wikipedia, “ Robert Taylor incident”; NICAP, “ Taylor Incident”; Steuart Campbell, “ Close Encounter in Scotland,” Journal of Transient Aerial Phenomena 1, no. 2 (March 1980): 43–46; Martin Keatman and Andrew Collins, “ Physical Assault by Unidentified Objects at Livingston, Part I,” Flying Saucer Review 25, no. 6 (April 1980): 2–7; Martin Keatman and Andrew Collins, “ Physical Assault by Unidentified Objects at Livingston, Part II,” Flying Saucer Review 26, no. 1 (June 1980): 25–28; “ The Scottish Landing Case,” APRO Bulletin 29, no. 1 (July 1980): 1–3; “ A Scottish Abduction?” IUR/Frontiers of Science 2, no. 5 (July/Aug. 1980): 15–16; Martin Keatman and Andrew Collins, “ Physical Assault by Unidentified Objects at Livingston, Part III,” Flying Saucer Review 26, no. 3 (September 1980): 1–4; Steuart Campbell, “ Close Encounter at Livingston,” ed., Charles F. Lockwood and Leslie W. Bayer, BUFORA Case History No. 1, July 1982; Patrick Gross, “ Dechmont Woods, Scotland, November 9, 1979”; Gary Heseltine, “The Livingston Case Revisited,” UFO Magazine, March 2003, pp. 34–38; David Slater, “ Spaceships, Spheres, and the Devil’s Herb: A Possible Explanation of the Livingston UFO Incident,” Musings on Anomalous Culture, May 30, 2010; Hamish MacPherson, “ Scot’s Close Encounter with UFO at Dechmont Law Still Baffles,” The National (Scotland), May 15, 2023; “ Robert Taylor Talks He Was Attacked by a UFO in Dechmont Woods, Livingston, Scotland, 1979,” Eyes On Cinema YouTube Channel, June 25, 2023)
November 11–12 — 11:00 p.m. Flight JK-297, a TAE Supercaravelle outbound from Salzburg, Austria, has just made a refueling stop on Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain, before setting course toward Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. Pilot Francisco Javier Lerdo de Tejada and his crew notice a set of red lights that are fast approaching the aircraft. They appear to be on a collision course, alarming the crew. The captain requests information about the lights, but neither the Pegaso Defense Radar Center in Torrejón Air Base, Madrid, nor the flight control center in Barcelona can provide any explanation. In order to avoid a possible collision, the captain changes altitude. However, the lights mirror the new course and stay about 1,600 feet away from the plane. Since the object is violating all elementary safety rules and the crew considers an evasive maneuver impossible, the captain decides to go off-course and make an emergency landing at the Manises airport in Valencia. The lights abandon the pursuit just before the aircraft lands. However, three new UFO targets are detected by the radar, each one with an estimated diameter of 650 feet. The objects are seen by several witnesses. One of the UFOs passes very close to the airport runway, and emergency lights are lit by the land crew in case the object happens to be an unregistered flight experiencing difficulties. Because the object answers no attempts to communicate, a Mirage F-1 takes off at 2:10 a.m. from the nearby Los Llanos Air Base in Albacete to intercept the object. The pilot, Spanish Air Force captain Fernando Cámara, has to increase his speed to 920 mph just to achieve visual contact with what he sees as a truncated cone-shaped object. Despite his initial efforts, the object quickly disappears. Cámara is told of a new radar target, indicating that another object might be near Sagunto. When he is close enough, the object accelerates and disappears again. This time, though, the UFO seems to respond, and the Mirage has its electronic flight systems jammed. At last, and after a third intercept attempt, the UFO finally disappears, heading for Africa. After 90 minutes of pursuit, the pilot is forced to return to the base with no results. However, a close examination by Spanish engineer Juan Antonio Fernández Peris identifies the two red lights as gas burn-off flares from a nearby oil refinery that are distorted by a temperature inversion in place that evening. The lights seen by the ground crew can be traced to stars and planets. Some family problems of the airliner pilot predispose him to an overanxious reaction when the Barcelona air traffic control fails to provide a conventional solution. The EM interference reported by the fighter pilot results from the electronic countermeasures of a US Navy ship in the Mediterranean that is operating under a heightened state of alert as the Iranian hostage crisis unfolds. (Wikipedia, “ Manises UFO incident”; NICAP, “ Spanish Radar Visual Case? Probably Not”; “ Spanish Radar Visual Case,” IUR 4, no. 6 (December 1979): 14–15; Juan José Benitez, “ Jetliner ‘Intercepted’ by UFO near Valencia,” Flying Saucer Review 25, no. 5 (March 1980): 13–15; J. J. Benítez, Incidente en Manises, Plaza y Janés, 1982; Good Above, pp. 156–157; J. Plana Crivellén, “ Encounters in Spanish Air-Space between Aircraft and UFOs,” Flying Saucer Review 34, no. 1 (March 1989): 22–23; “ The Anomaly Foundation Solves the ‘Manises’ UFO Case: 20 Years of Mystery Are Over,” Fundación Anomalía, 1999; Juan Antonio Fernández Peris, El Expediente Manises, Fundación Anomalía, 2000; Miguel Ángel Ruiz, “ El Expediente Manises: Un análisis crítico,” Informe OVNI 2009; “ 1979 ES #UFOB [Case] Impression of the Manises Incident Spain,” UFOB | Your UAP Library YouTube channel, October 3, 2022; Jackson Camargo, “O Incidente Manises,” Portal Fenomenum, April 23, 2024; “El caso Manises ovni en Valencia,” El Valenciano, April 26, 2024; “1979 ES #UFOB [Case] The Manises Incident in Spain,” UFOB | Your UAP Library YouTube channel, August 29, 2024; “ Bibliografía caso Manises (#6215, 11/11/1979),” Proyecto CUCO, November 11, 2024)
November 14 - 8:10 p.m. A witness near Killaly, Saskatchewan, sees a white light land in a field about a quarter mile to the south of her house and then go out. Her dogs keep snarling and barking all night long. The next morning her husband passes the field and notices that it is emitting a dense cloud of smoke. He finds a ring of smoldering grass some 30 feet in diameter, but with snow still visible in the center. The unburnt grass next to it is flattened. (" Two CE-IIs in Western Canada," CUFOS Bulletin, Summer 1980, pp. 6-7
November 15 — 5:00 p.m. A group of children playing in Chiraleș, Romania, see a milky- white object that looks like a mace head with protuberances moving silently from north to south about 50 feet from the ground. It appears to be 3 feet in diameter and lands at a nearby mound. The children run toward the mound but stop when they see two glowing objects land on it with tripod legs. Two little men 2.5 feet tall, dressed in metallic costumes with antennae, come out of one of the objects through a door and walk around with a bouncing motion. The children keep approaching, so the men run back into the craft, which takes off in a burst of red-orange flames. Small circular impressions are found, although they get disturbed by curious onlookers. (Romania 134–135)
November 15 — 9:00 p.m. Two teenage boys in Gadsden, Alabama, see a domed disc the size of a house approach them from the south until it is 900 feet away and 750 feet in the air. The light underneath it is so bright that it illuminates the entire object. It makes a U-turn and passes overhead as it moves south with a jerky motion. (“ Alabama Saucer,” IUR 5, no. 1 (January 1980): 4)
November 17 — 2:30 p.m. A 13-year-old boy is walking home from school through a clearing in the woods in Pound Ridge, New York, when he sees what looks like a solid, 3-foot-tall maple tree surrounded by an electric glow. It hovers for 3 seconds only 12 feet away from him, then shoots straight up into the sky, changing color from green to red. (“ A Flying Tree in New York?” IUR 5, no. 1 (January 1980): 4)
November 18 — 1:15 a.m. A man in Antioch, California, watches a bright red light flying from east to the northeast. It stops for 3–5 seconds and changes to purple then pale blue and moves off. (“ Fast NL in California,” IUR 5, no. 1a (January 1980): 4)
November 26 — 5:00 a.m. A phone call to police in Pontoise, Val d’Oise, France, brings officers to the apartment of Jean-Pierre Prevost, 25, a clothing seller, who has claimed that a colleague, Franck Fontaine, has been abducted by a UFO. Fontaine reappears on December 3, claiming to remember only that a luminous fog had descended on his car and he woke up later in a cabbage field. GEPAN investigates and finds the story problematic. On July 7, 1983, Prevost confesses that the story was a hoax intended to promote a spiritual message. (“ Un O.V.N.I. apparaît … un jeune homme disparaît,” Sud Ouest (Bordeaux, France), November 27, 1979; “ On recherche toujours le jeune homme enlevé par un O.V.N.I.,” Sud Ouest (Bordeaux, France), November 28, 1979; “ O.V.N.I. kidnappeur: Le mystère s’épaissit,” Sud Ouest (Bordeaux, France), November 29, 1979; “ Un ‘boule de feu’ sur la route du boucher d’Annot (04),” Le Provençal (Marseille, France), December 3, 1979; “ L’aventure extra-terrestre de Franck Fontaine: Les gendarmes s’obstinent,” Sud Ouest (Bordeaux, France), December 5, 1979; “ Franck Fontaine,” Sud Ouest (Bordeaux, France), December 6, 1979; “ French Abduction: ‘Travis Walton’ Style,” IUR 5, no. 1 (January 1980): 3; “ ‘Enlèvement’ par OVNI égale affabulation,” Sud Ouest (Bordeaux, France), June 6, 1980; Enquête GEPAN 79/07: A propos d’une disparition, Note Technique no. 6, Groupe d’Étude des Phénomènes Aérospatiaux Non-identifiés, Centre Nationale d’Étude Spatiales, March 31,1981; Hilary Evans and Michel Piccin, “Who Took Who for a Ride?” Fate 35, no. 10 (October 1982): 51–58; Jacques Bonabot, “ 1979 Fontaine Case in France Now Admitted to Be a Hoax,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 190 (December 1983): 10; “ Cergy-Pontoise Hoax,” Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology; Clark III 230–232; Clark IV 270–273)
November 27 — A 13-year-old girl (“Christelle”) in France is terrorized by the landing of a UFO and the sight of one of its crew. GEPAN investigates the landing traces. Grass is flattened for several days after the incident, and samples are taken to Paul Sabatier University in Toulouse for analysis. Prof. André Touzé of the university’s Center for Plant Physiology says there is no “unequivocal evidence of chemical of biological disturbance of the samples.” ( Enquête GEPAN no. 79/06, Note Technique no. 8, Groupe d’Étude des Phénomènes Aérospatiaux Non-identifiés, Centre Nationale d’Étude Spatiales, October 26, 1981; Peter A. Sturrock, The UFO Enigma, Warner, 1999, pp. 97–98; Clark III 547; Clark IV 605)
November 27 — 4:25 p.m. Yvette Godfrey is assistant manager of a spa in the Barker Shopping Plaza off State Highway 82 near the Connecticut Turnpike in Norwich, Connecticut. She sees a cigar- shaped object hovering at an angle directly above the Norwich Sheraton Motor Inn about 30 feet above the Sheraton sign on the roof. Other women at the spa observe it too. It moves a bit to the south and stops again for a minute before turning west into the clouds. (“ Connecticut Cigar,” IUR 5, no. 1 (January 1980): 4)
November 30 — 8:00 p.m. At Playa el Combate beach outside Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico, Radamés Torres and his wife Tita are watching television when they see a bright light hanging at a height of 100 feet above the sea about 900 feet from their house. After about 30 minutes it moves down toward the sea, flares up, and goes out. Torres goes back to the TV set, but after 15 minutes the light returns, this time shining brightly through the window. The light is on a platform floating on the sea only 130–140 feet away, approaching at about 8 mph, and they can see a small man on it about 4 feet high wearing silvery-white coveralls and a big helmet. Suddenly the platform reverses and the light goes out. (Scott Corrales, Flashpoint: High Strangeness in Puerto Rico, Amarna, 1998, pp. 55–56; Jorge Martín, “ A Small Alien Being Seen in Puerto Rico,” Flying Saucer Review 44, no. 3 (Autumn 1999): 21–22)
December — The Moscow City Committee of the Soviet Communist Party forbids all activities of the BVPTS civilian UFO group, but it persists into the 1980s. (Nikita A. Schnee, “ Ufology in the USSR,” Flying Saucer Review 27, no. 1 (June 1981): 8–10; Nikita A. Schnee, “ Comments,” AFU Newsletter, no. 27 (Jan./Dec. 1984): 21)
December 3 — 7:45 p.m. Chris and Ralph Smith of Shag Harbour, Nova Scotia, see a shiny, semicircular object with red and yellow fire beneath it hover for 5 minutes before it disappears into the sea. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, pp. 102–103)
December 3 — 10:20 p.m. Former Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer John Pushie takes 7 photos (four of which turn out) of a bright light from his home 7 miles west of Sydney, Nova Scotia. The light hovers in one spot then moves quickly away at one point. He shows them to the commanding officer of CFS Sydney Radar Base [now closed] in Lingan Road, who says he wants to send them to the National Research Council. One month later they are returned with a note saying that Pushie had photographed the star Vega. (“ Former RCMP Officer Photographs UFO near Sydney N.S.,” Journal UFO 2, no. 4 (March 1981): 13–14)
December 4 — 5:00 p.m. Two witnesses are driving on State Highway 32 near Mansfield Depot, Connecticut, when they see a bright, football-shaped “cloud” hovering low over the trees to the north, turning slowly. The driver stops just north of the intersection with US Highway 44. The object is now seen to have a complex shape with multiple lights as it hovers above some power poles to the west. It starts moving slowly to the south. The witnesses try to follow it but lose sight of it. (“ Six Days Later in Connecticut,” IUR 5, no. 1 (January 1980): 4–5)
December 5 — 5:55 p.m. Norma White watches a bright star from her restaurant in Ansted, West Virginia. It remains stationary for 15 minutes at a height of 2,000 feet over the mountains to the north. Then it approaches her, passing overhead at 100 mph. It hurts her eyes to look at it. Then the light goes out, allowing her to see a Y-shaped object emitting a dull green light. Clusters of red lights are at the three points of the Y. It silently turns and flies off to the east. Other lights appear in the sky (18 or so) and are observed by police officers Charles Crosier and Dan Cohenour. (“ The Mini-Flap of West Virginia,” IUR 5, no. 1a (January 1980): 4)
December 6 — 6:29 a.m. An Archuleta County deputy sheriff is driving west on US Highway 160 in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, when he sees an orange-gold light in the western sky. It quickly grows to the size of a fuzzy full moon in 2–3 seconds. Holding its position, it vanishes without a sound. (“ Colorado UFO: Head On?” IUR 5, no. 1 (January 1980): 5)
December 7 — 10:10 p.m. A couple sees a milky-white object while driving through Madison, Connecticut. They pull over on Bishop Lane and watch it make abrupt changes of direction for a few minutes before it fades from sight. (“ Connecticut Disc,” IUR 5, no. 1a (January 1980): 4–5)
December 9 — 9:15 a.m. French Air Force Capt. Jean-Pierre Fartek and his wife observe an oscillating UFO hovering near the ground in front of a row of apple trees at his home in a village near Dijon, Côte d’Or, France. It looks like two “reversed saucers pressed against each other,” gray-metal above and dark blue below, with no lights or portholes. He describes the sighting to Gen. Denis Letty, who includes the case in the 1999 COMETA report. (“ 1979: Air Force Captain Jean-Pierre Fartek Spots UFO,” UFO Casebook, September 14, 2010; Kean, pp. 124–126)
December 9 — 9:45 p.m. US Coast Guard Storekeeper 1st Class Michal Williams sees a stationary white light above the Mississippi River near the dam in Keokuk, Iowa. It lights up the river below it. The light moves straight up at high speed, changing from white to red and coming to an abrupt stop. The light goes out. Williams and a radioman see it again in the northeast and view it through binoculars. It has two red lights and a white light flashing irregularly. It flies around the dam and into the west-northwest in a matter of seconds. (“ Coast Guard Sighting in Iowa,” IUR 5, no. 1a (January 1980): 5)
December 11 - 11:45 a.m. Flight instructor Leslie Groves is tutoring a pupil aboard a Cessna 150 flying at 4,500 feet south of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, when he spots something strange that appears to come out of a cloud above Winter Hill. It is clearly a solid ball of white light that is passing in and out of the clouds. He asks the student to bank in order to minimize any risk of a collision. By now the object is pulling away in an arc described as a "well-controlled swooping motion" at about 2,500 feet. (Ron Sergeant and Jenny Randles, " Aircraft in Encounters over Bolton," Flying Saucer Review 26, no. 1 (June 1980): 19-21)
December 13 — 4:00 a.m. Two truckers (Wang Dingyuan and Wang Jianming) are driving separate vehicles on the Lanxi-Xin’angiang Highway near Longwangmiao, Zhejiang, China, when they see a bright beam of light ahead. When the lead driver sees two “unusual human beings” standing on the highway, he stops. They are short, perhaps 4.5 feet tall, and wear what look like spacesuits. The second driver also stops but does not see the beings, which soon vanish. The drivers decide to switch vehicles. A few miles down the road, the new lead driver sees the same entities, and the men again stop the trucks. The drivers turn their lights off and on, but the beings remain. When one of the drivers emerges with a crowbar, they disappear. (Paul Dong and Wendelle C. Stevens, UFOs over Modern China, UFO Photo Archives, 1983, pp. 140–141; Good Above, pp. 214–215)
December 20 — 4:30 a.m. A pilot and two other witnesses are driving near Therien, Alberta, when they see an elongated object drop from 1,000 feet to 200 feet, turning red as it descends, for about 5–10 minutes. It crashes into the ground not too far away from their car. They can feel the impact. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, p. 103)
December 23 — 3:30 p.m. A salesman exiting the Orange Freeway at Riverside in Northeast Anaheim, California, sees an object silently pass over him at 300 feet up. The front part is octagonal and the rear is a rectangle. (“ A California ‘Whatsit,’” IUR 5, no. 1a (January 1980): 5)
December 27 — 11:15 a.m. Two construction workers are driving south on Knott Street in Coquille, Oregon, when they see a bright flash in the southern sky. It is caused by a reflection off a thin, metallic, domed object wobbling nearby. It is about 40–50 feet in diameter and 6–7 feet thick. The object descends to about 1,000 feet. The witnesses try to drive closer and look at it through inexpensive binoculars as it flies down the valley before it disappears to the south. (“ Daylight Disc in Oregon,” IUR 5, no. 1a (January 1980): 5)
December 27 — Night. A car factory worker at Halewood, Merseyside, England, is walking home when he senses something behind him. Turning around, he sees a floating white sphere, several feet in diameter, heading silently toward him. He watches it pass, and the tingling at the back of his neck intensifies. When it is about 20 feet ahead, it stops and shoots to the southwest at a 45° angle. The man’s hair remains charged with static for two days. (Jenny Randles, “The Twelve UFOs of Christmas,” Fortean Times 374 (Christmas 2018): 29)
1980
Ann Druffel and D. Scott Rogo publish The Tujunga Canyon Contacts, a report on their investigations into a series of abductions and UFO-related events in California involving several women over a period of 25 years. (Ann Druffel and D. Scott Rogo, The Tujunga Canyon Contacts, Prentice-Hall, 1980; Clark III 415)
Richard F. Haines, an aerospace psychologist at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California, publishes Observing UFOs, a technical book on analyzing UFO reports. (Richard F. Haines, Observing UFOs: An Investigative Handbook, Nelson-Hall, 1980)
Alejandro Agostinelli and Juan Carlos Zabalgoitia establish the Centro de Estudios de Fenómenos Aéreos No Convencionales in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and publish three issues of a boletín informativo. ( CEFANC Boletin Informativo, no. 1 (Jan./March 1980))
Roberto Enrique Banchs and Richard W. Heiden publish an analysis of 54 reported CE-3s in Argentina. Focusing on the 22 most reliable reports, they find that 47.6% of the witnesses are driving a vehicle at the time of the encounter; in only two cases are they inside their home. The entities rarely appear alone and often appear preoccupied with carrying out tasks. (Roberto Enrique Banchs and Richard W. Heiden, “ The Humanoids in Argentina,” Journal of UFO Studies 2 (1980): 58–71; Eghigian, After, p. 266)
Ufologist Ahmad Jamaludin begins publishing the Malaysian UFO Bulletin in Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia. It persists until at least 1983. Jamaludin has also compiled a summary of UFO occupant encounters in Malaysia since 1950 and notes that most of the entities “came in a standard size of 6 inches or less.” He concludes that the UFO occupants are the same as Islamic jinn. ( Malaysian UFO Bulletin, no. 2 (November 1980); Ahmad Jamaludin and Robert Bartholomew, UFOs over Malaysia and Southeast Asia, The Authors, 2022; Eghigian, After, pp. 228–229)
UFO Research (NSW), also known as UFOIC, joins forces with the cooperative publishing venture UFO Research Australia Newsletter, edited by Vladimir Godic. (Clark IV 1271)
An All-Russian Research Public Organization is launched informally by Russian science-fiction writer Alexander Kazantsev, aerospace engineer Vadim Chernobrov, astronaut Georgy Beregovoy, and other enthusiasts to explore the mysteries of the universe and nature, research new ways of space technology development, and collect information about UFOs and anomalous events in the Soviet Union. (Wikipedia, “ Kosmopoisk”)
Donald Goldsmith and Tobias Owen publish The Search for Life in the Universe, an open-minded textbook on SETI. (Donald Goldsmith and Tobias Owen, The Search for Life in the Universe, Benjamin/Cummings, 1980; Michael D. Swords, “ SETI/ETI and UFOs,” JUFOS 5 (1994): 147–151)
During interception exercises, seven MiG-12s from the Mierzęcice Air Base [now Katowice Airport], Poland, notice a saucer-shaped object with flashing lights approaching them. It has a blue-gray cupola on top and is three times bigger than any of the aircraft. It flies to each of the MiGs and maneuvers around them. (Poland 65)
January — The Gemeinschaft zur Erforschung unbekannter Phänomene (later Gesellschaft zur Erforschung des UFO-Phänomens) publishes the first issue of Journal für UFO-Forschung in Lüdenscheid, North Rhine–Westphalia, Germany, which is still in operation in 2024. ( Journal für UFO-Forschung, no. 1 (January 1980); Journal für UFO-Forschung website)
January — 11:00 p.m. A Brazilian electronics businessman and 9 others see a disc-shaped object shine a light down on the water near the eastern bank of the Rio Tapajós 30 miles south of Santarém, Brazil. The man, his family, and some relatives are camping at a beach. Several teenagers are still awake, lying in hammocks and talking, when they see the UFO come across the river, stopping about 30 yards from the beach and shining a light on the water 60 feet below. The UFO hovers briefly then begins moving north, parallel to the shore. It travels more than half a mile, with the spotlight shining straight down before it disappears. The light beam leaves a trail of luminescence for several hundred yards. (Bob Pratt, UFO Danger Zone: Terror and Death in Brazil—Where Next?, Horus House, 1996, pp. 146–147; Carl W. Feindt, “ Beam of Light into a Body of Water,” IUR 33, no. 3 (December 2010): 22–23)
January 10 — The NSA’s Roy R. Banner releases two UFO-related documents to Peter Gersten, but states that the original 18 he has requested are exempt from release because of national security, adding that the NSA is reviewing 79 other documents originating with other federal agencies. (ClearIntent, pp. 182–187)
January 13 - 9:00 p.m. Brenda Simanski and Janine Mattson quit their shift at the Seminary Nursing Home on Pioneer Road in Red Wing, Minnesota. Standing in the parking lot, they see a star making a bizarre zigzag pattern. It moves above them and they see it is a triangle 15 feet wide and 20 feet long with two white lights in front, blue lights in two of the corners, and a red light between the blue ones. Three other witnesses come out of the building and also watch the object, which leaves slowly and silently to the north-northwest. (" 5 Watch Tree-Hovering UFO for 6 Minutes, `Won't Say It's from Space,'" Red Wing (Minn.) Republican Eagle, January 15, 1980, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 128 (March 1980): 3; Joe and Doris Graziano, " Press Report Summary," APRO Bulletin 28, no. 9 (March 1980): 7-8; " UFOs Enter the New Decade," UFO Research Newsletter 6, no. 11 (April/May 1980): 1-2)
January 13 — 5:00 p.m. Songwriters Steve Glen and Mike Burns are driving on Hendon Way in London, England, followed in another car by the band The Toys, when they see a massive object in the sky. They turn off Finchley Road to West Heath Road and stop just below Leg of Mutton Pond to get a better look. The gray-brown object is right above them and emits an orange cloud that surrounds it. After a short period of time, several small gray-brown winged objects shoot out of the cloud and descend toward the witnesses. Glen runs to a nearby telephone booth and calls the Army first, which is dismissive, then the police. Officers soon arrive and they observe the large object. After a total of 40 minutes, the UFO shoots silently into the sky and disappears. Glen and Burns later discuss the sighting, thinking there was no doubt about their seeing a UFO. They write the song “No Doubt about It,” which becomes a hit in May for the pop group Hot Chocolate. (“ Sky’s the Limit for UFO Disc,” Probe Report 1, no. 1 (June 1, 1980): 9; “ Close Encounter of a Hit,” Barnet and Potters Bar Times (UK), March 17, 2011, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 502 (May 2011): 15; Philip Mantle, “No Doubt About It,” Fortean Times 420 (July 2022): 51)
January 14 - 6:05 a.m. Truck driver William Barrett is on an early delivery run from Burnley to Todmorden, West Yorkshire, England, when he hears a deep humming sound. Looking ahead, he sees a machine with flames underneath hovering at a lay-by off the roadside. He slows his truck to a near crawl and moves past the object, which looks like a "toast rack" with curved sides and three red glows emerging from the edge to create a misty fuzziness bscuring the base. Now only 25 feet away, he sees that it has a bell- or tortoiseshell shape with a metallic sheen and a tube sticking up from the top. The red glows emerge from under a rim that runs around the lower part of the object. He can now see two figures standing in front of the object, one standing erect and wearing a uniform with a peaked cap, and the other crouched forward, wearing a silvery-gray jump suit. As he passes, the arc lights on the object start flickering like a disco. His headlights go out, and his mind gets hazier and he loses consciousness. He experiences missing time until he jerks awake sometime around 8:30 a.m. (Jenny Randles, " Close Encounter in UFO Alley," IUR 26, no. 1 (Spring 2001): 3-8, 28-29
January 17 — 10:30 p.m. Chilean astronomer Fernando Noël is at his home in the eastern suburbs of Santiago, Chile, when he sees a luminous point of light at 20° elevation moving from southwest to west. It is silent and resembles a satellite. He calls two other witnesses, during which time the object disappears. At 10:45 p.m., he sees a bright light moving slowly toward the zenith. Looking more closely, he sees it is actually a group of 30 objects in a V- formation. Each individual light of the group is pale white with a slight tint of yellow. The formation moves from 20° above the western horizon to about 20° above the eastern horizon before disappearing gradually. The duration is approximately 2 minutes. (“Unidentified Atmospheric Phenomena Observed by an Astronomer,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 7, no. 4 (1993): 439–441)
January 21 - 11:40 p.m. Seven women are driving home in two cars from a bridge game near Council Bluffs, Iowa. The first car with six witnesses, including Marilyn Anderson, sees a cluster of lights in the western sky as they are driving on Pioneer Trail. The lights are hovering about 200-300 feet above a bluff less than a city block away. When they stop the car to get out for a closer look, the lights speed away to the southwest. The seventh woman, in a separate car behind them, does not see the lights, but Anderson tells her about them when she pulls up. She continues driving home, but when she gets to Longview Drive, her car stalls, and the radio and lights go out. She restarts the car, but it stalls out another quarter-mile away. A bright orange light appears in a cornfield about 900 feet away with an intensity that hurts her eyes. Scared, she locks herself inside the car and passes out. When she wakes up, her car is turned sideways across the road, but she is able to drive it home. She can still see the orange light from her kitchen window, but she has some blotches and redness on her skin that fades by 4:20 a.m. (" Possible Abduction in Iowa," IUR/Frontiers of Science 2, no. 5 (July/Aug. 1980): 13-14)
January 23 — Peter Gersten files an appeal with the NSA to release more UFO material. (ClearIntent, p. 187)
January 24 — 1:00 p.m. A. Golotikin is working as a mechanic aboard the Brilliant, a Russian fishing trawler operating 20–30 miles off the coast of Western Sahara. He and the rest of the crew see a black, cigar- shaped object moving slowly toward the ship in complete silence. They watch it for 5–7 minutes through binoculars, then it disappears as it gets closer to the ship. (Stonehill and Mantle, Russia’s USO Secrets, Flying Disk, 2020, pp. 15–16)
February — The Australian Centre for UFO Studies begins publishing the Journal of the Australian Centre for UFO Studies, edited by Harry Griesberg and Keith Basterfield, until at least November 1985. ( Journal of the Australian Centre for UFO Studies 1, no. 1 (February 1980))
February 7 - 9:50 p.m. Daryl Browne, a ranch hand at the Glenalta horse ranch near Stirling, South Australia, is watching TV when he hears dogs howling and timber crashing outside. His two guard dogs are howling in fear. Outside he sees a yellow half-moon-shaped object about 25-30 feet long. It is 100 feet up in the branches of a 230-foot-tall cypress tree, branches bending under its weight. The trunk shows large gouges. Browne calls the police, but the object is gone by the time they arrive. For 2 days, Browne's dogs refuse to go near the tree. (" Mystery `Craft' Smashes Tree," Adelaide (S.A.) News, February 8, 1980, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 128 (March 1980), p. 14; " UFO Smashes Tree in Australia," IUR/Frontiers of Science 2, no. 5 (July/Aug. 1980): 16; " Phil Tindale on Witnessing a `Battle' between 2 Hostile UFOs; 1 Crashed into a Tree, Stirling, 1980," Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, August 12, 2024)
February 21 — 11:15 a.m. An 11-year-old girl getting ready for bed in Stamford, Connecticut, looks through a window and sees a large white oval of light low in the west-northwest sky, apparently four times the size of the moon. Her grandmother joins her and watches the object, which is swinging with a pendulum motion. It is still visible about 30 minutes later. The family’s German shepherd dog barks continually at it while it is visible and for 20 minutes after it is last viewed. (Allan Hendry, “ Unusual Backyard Visitor,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 1, no. 2 (June 1980): 3)
February 25 — 2:30 p.m. Oil worker Rusty Pennington is watching a pump a quarter mile west of Youngsville, Pennsylvania. Suddenly he hears an explosion that lasts only a split second and sees a domed disc to the left of his truck. He estimates the object is 20 feet wide and 6–8 feet high. Flying at treetop level, it streaks silently downward from southwest to northeast and disappears in the distance. (“ Daylight Disc in Pennsylvania,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 2, no. 5 (July/Aug. 1980): 14)
February 28 — The National Enquirer runs an article, “Former Intelligence Officer Reveals ‘I picked up wreckage of UFO that exploded over U.S.’” that includes a portion of a December 1979 interview by Bob Pratt with Jesse Marcel Sr. as a pre-publication teaser for Berlitz and Moore’s forthcoming book. (Patrick Gross, “ Roswell 1947: First Ufologists Investigations”)
March — Nanotechnologist Robert A. Freitas Jr. advocates searching for alien probes or artifacts on planets, satellites, and asteroids because it is more cost-effective than looking for distant radio signals. (Robert A. Freitas Jr., “ Interstellar Probes: A New Approach to SETI,” Journal of the British Interplanetary Society 33 (1980): 95–100)
Early March — 9:45 p.m. Fred Wirth Jr. steps outside his home in Bulverde, Texas, and sees a large orange glow 45° up in the northern sky about 100 feet above his property, lighting it up with an orange glow. After hovering silently, it shoots up in the air and stops, now appearing as a red, blinking dot. His wife joins him but instantly becomes nauseous and throws up. He starts sweating profusely. (“ Strange Reactions to Huge Glow,” IUR/Probe, September 1980, pp. 74–75)
March 7 — 12:10 a.m. Former Navy pilot Larry Crawford sees a star-like light moving 700–800 mph at 30,000 feet above Memphis, Tennessee. While he is watching it move for 10 seconds, it executes a hairpin turn. (“ Pilot: ‘No Human Could Have Survived Turns Like That!’” IUR/Probe, September 1980, pp. 75, 78)
March 12 — 12:45 a.m. At least 10 witnesses, including city police and county sheriff deputies, watch an odd light maneuvering, climbing, and descending in the sky above Gladstone, Michigan. (“ Authorities Sight Fast-Moving UFO,” Logansport (Ind.) Pharos-Tribune, March 12, 1980, p. 14; “ UFO Sighted over Gladstone,” Escanaba (Mich.) Reporter, March 12, 1980, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 129 (April 1980): 8; “ UFO Watchers Kept Busy,” Escanaba (Mich.) Daily Press, March 13, 1980, p. 2; “ UFO Calls Keep Police Hopping,” Escanaba (Mich.) Daily Press, March 14, 1980, p. 1; “ UFO Investigators Say Area Had Real Close Encounter,” Escanaba (Mich.) Daily Press, March 14, 1980, pp. 1, 3; “ Close Encounter of a Puzzling Kind,” Escanaba (Mich.) Daily Press, March 16, 1980, p. 14; “ Taking a UFO Break,” Escanaba (Mich.) Daily Press, March 29, 1980, p. 7; “ UFO Sighting Raises Many Questions,” Escanaba (Mich.) Daily Press, March 22, 1980, p. 8; “ Much Ado about Little?” IUR/Probe, September 1980, p. 78)
March 13 — 7:50 p.m. A subcontractor on a job is driving near Haselor, Warwickshire, England, when he sees a white, cigar-shaped object with a steady red glow on either end pass in front of his windshield. The steering wheel instantly becomes hot, causing him to lift his hands off the wheel. He maneuvers the car off the road until it cools enough to steer. (Tony Green, “ Witness Burned by Passing UFO,” Flying Saucer Review 26, no. 5 (January 1981): 32–33
March 15 — 8:00 p.m. A couple in Bannock, Ohio, Spot a bright light in the southwestern sky. They watch it for 20 minutes before it approaches their home. The light is a spotlight attached to a large cigar- shaped object with red and blue lights along its length. The spotlight switches off as it passes overhead and moves to the northwest. (“ Chief Investigator Allan Hendry Reports: Huge Cigar UFO in Ohio,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 1, no. 4 (August 1980): 5)
March 22 - Stringfield meets with two new sources in Erie, Pennsylvania, who show him three photos allegedly showing an alien cadaver encased in glass in Wright-Patterson AFB near Dayton, Ohio. He is suspicious and tries to verify them. (Leonard H. Stringfield, " Status Report on Alleged Alien Cadaver Photos," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 154 (December 1980): 11-16)
March 22 — 10:00–11:00 p.m. Burlington (Vermont) International Airport radar tracks three small objects that join with a larger, brighter object then separate again. They are apparently over Malletts Bay. Speeds of up to 1,500 mph are recorded, and the objects quickly disappear to the west. Traffic controller Donald Kernan says the lights “did a kind of dance.” (NICAP, “ Satellite Objects on Radar”; Bob Gribble, “ Looking Back,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 263 (March 1990): 22; UFOEv II 246)
March 24 — The NSA issues a general denial of releasing all of its UFO materials to the public as requested by Peter Gersten. (ClearIntent, p. 187)
March 24 — 7:30 p.m. When his dog starts barking furiously, James Balkcom notices a bright light moving along the railroad tracks in James, Georgia, at treetop level. It comes to a stop and hovers above the home of Benton Evans. The Evanses go outside to watch the light, which has colored lights blinking inside it. After 5–10 minutes, it begins moving along the tracks again with a pulsing “shh-shh” noise. (“ Low-Flying Georgian Globe,” IUR/Probe, September 1980, pp. 78–79)
March 25 — 10:15 p.m. Debbie Harris and Sheri Gustafson are driving on the Dayton–Xenia Road three miles east of Dayton, Ohio, when Harris notices bright, beaming lights in the sky. They assume it is an illuminated tower, but when they pull over, it appears to be about 25 feet above the ground and 210 feet away. The lights seem to come from an airplane-sized object with a green light, a red light, and crossed white beams. After hovering to their north for about 2 minutes, it shoots off rapidly to the northeast and disappears behind a hill. (“ Ohio Close Encounter,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 1, no. 3 (July 1980): 3)
April — A farmer in Milam County, Texas, is walking through his pasture to check on a cow that is about to give birth. Instead, he sees two nonhuman creatures carrying a calf between them, each holding one of its limbs. They are about 4 feet high and light yellow-green in color. He runs away and does not return to the location for two days, whereupon he finds the carcass of the calf. It looks as though it has been turned inside out, and only the head, feet, and hide remain. Researcher Tom Adams says the farmer is extremely reluctant to discuss the incident any further. (Thomas R. Adams, “Animal Mutilations: A Decade of Mystery,” MUFON 1984 UFO Symposium Proceedings, MUFON, 1984, pp. 45, 51–52; Linda Moulton Howe, An Alien Harvest: Further Evidence Linking Animal Mutilations and Human Abductions to Alien Life Forms, Howe Productions, 2d ed., 2014, pp. 85–86; Clark III 136; Clark IV 163–164)
April 6 — 9:00 p.m. William Meara and his wife Brenda are driving on I-84 just south of its intersection with I-90 in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, when they see a red blur above a road sign. The blur resolves into a disc about 30 feet in diameter with smaller discs surrounding it. The object passes silently above their car, moving northeast. The duration is 3 minutes. When Meara tries to start his car 30 minutes later at home, it acts completely dead but works again normally the next morning. (“ Connecticut Close Encounter,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 2, no. 6 (Sept./Oct. 1980): 14)
April 9 — 10:35 p.m. Steven Dayman-Johns and his wife Julie are driving along Ridgeway Lane southwest of Frome, Somerset, England, when Julie points out a white object moving left to right at high speed. It comes to a complete stop, and Daymon-Jones stops the car and gets out to get a good view, and he sees it has a definite outline with a black ring at the top. The object moves away and they lose sight of it but can see its glow in the distance. They continue driving and encounter the object again about two or three fields away on their left. It has a vertical beam of white light slowly coming from its base, descending in a similar way as a solid object being lowered. Daymon-Jones begins walking toward it and the light beam retracts in about 3 seconds. They resume driving to get a bit closer and at another vantage point they see another light beam coming from its center and pointing downward. Soon it moves toward them and passes over their car. The object had been in view for 30 minutes. (Martin Shipp, “ UFO-Car Chase near Frome,” Probe Report 4, no. 2 (October 1983): 11–14; Clark IV 1218–1219)
April 10 - A businessman driving on the Philadelphia Church Road near Lincolnton, North Carolina, sees a red, disc-shaped object approach and hover above his car. It directs a light toward the ground. When he stops his car and rolls down the window, he hears an intense humming sound. He watches it for about 5 minutes until it takes off at a 30° angle and heads south, leaving a thin exhaust trail. (" Those Funny Lights in the Sky," Hickory (N.C.) Focus, May 1, 1980, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 130 (May 1980): 7)
April 11 — 7:15 a.m. Personnel at the La Joya Air Base [part of the Mariano Melgar Airport], Arequipa, Peru, see a strange object flying in the vicinity. The base commander orders a Sukhoi Su-22 fighter-bomber to destroy the target, assumed to be a Chilean balloon. Lt. Oscar Santa María Huertas commands the scrambled aircraft. As soon as the object is in his sights some 1,800 feet above the ground, he fires 64 rounds from his 30mm guns at it. The bullets seem to hit the object without causing any damage. The UFO then hurls skyward at tremendous speed. Huertas follows, putting the Sukhoi into Mach 1.2. As he approaches, the object makes a sudden stop and the Sukhoi flies past it at 36,000 feet. Further maneuvering takes place, and Huertas finds the object chasing him at one point at 62,000 feet. He abandons the mission 52 miles away from the base. After he lands 22 minutes later, the object reappears at the base and remains visible nearly 2 hours. A Department of Defense information release gives an erroneous date of May 9, 1980. (Good Above, pp. 324–325, 503–504; Kean, pp. 93–98, 150–151; Dolan II 214; Yohanan Díaz Vargas, “ Peru: La Joya AFB, the Perfect UFO Case (1980),” Inexplicata, November 14, 2016; “ Peruvian Fighter Pilot Oscar Santa Maria Huertas Talks Chasing and Shooting at a UFO on April 11, 1980,” Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, August 28, 2024)
April 13 — A witness is driving on the eastern outskirts of Halifax, Nova Scotia, when he sees an unusually bright light. As he drives 5–6 miles closer, it resolves into two lights side by side. After driving another 20 miles closer, he sees the two lights are attached to one object. When directly underneath, it appears to be 1,000–1,200 feet long and cigar-shaped with lights on the front and back and one side. A truck driver has also pulled over to watch the UFO. (“ Correspondence,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 3, no. 4 (Aug./Sept. 1982): 2–3)
April 17 — Day. Michael Romanowski, 8, sees a white boomerang-shaped object in Buffalo, New York. (“ Crescent Reports from New York and Illinois,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 1, no. 4 (August 1980): 4)
April 20 — 5:30 a.m. Richard A. Jokinen, an electrical engineer, is driving north on I-280 in San Mateo, California, on a fishing trip with his 18-year-old son. They see five bright, apparently metallic, Saturn-shaped objects flying very fast in formation at low altitude. The objects are traveling about 500 feet above the Crystal Springs Reservoir and are visible against trees of the coastal mountains west of the reservoir. The sighting lasts about 5 seconds, during which the objects cross 120° of viewing angle. (Allan Hendry, “ Five ‘Saturns’ in California,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 1, no. 5 (September 1980): 3; “ Brief Reports,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 151 (September 1980): 12; UFOEv II 164–165)
April 20 — 8:20 p.m. Sam Puccinelli is parking his car in his garage in Palatine, Illinois, when he sees a crescent-shaped, gray-black object with flashing white lights. He looks at it with his binoculars with his 13-year-old son for 7 minutes before it disappears. (“ Crescent Reports from New York and Illinois,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 1, no. 4 (August 1980): 4)
April 20 — 9:00 p.m. A group of nine family members are on their front lawn in Hyderabad, India, and see a bell-shaped cloud forming at about 2,000–3,000 feet altitude. It remains stationary and they look away, but soon they see three smaller bell-shaped clouds forming evenly spaced below the first and forming an equilateral triangle. The smaller clouds then merge with the larger one and form an orange ball bright enough to throw a shadow on the roof near them. It shoots off at great speed toward the airport, then disappears after breaking into four smaller orange balls of light. The duration of the sighting is 15 minutes. (Herbert S. Taylor, “ Mystery Clouds and the UFO Connection,” IUR 29, no. 4 (July 2005): 18–19)
April 22 — 10:00 p.m. Police Officer Manuel Medina and dispatcher Sedilla of Springer, New Mexico, are parked on a traffic watch when one of them notices a bright star in the west at about 45° moving like a balloon with a start-stop motion. Medina shines his car’s spotlight on the object, which drops to a lower elevation. He turns the light off and the object ascends again. He turns the red cruiser light on, and the object seems to respond with a reddish hue. The light disappears over the Cimarron Mountains 20 miles away at 11:10 p.m. (Allan Hendry, “ Familiar Description,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 1, no. 2 (June 1980): 3)
April 26 — 11:00 p.m. Two witnesses in Holton, Indiana, watch a luminous flashing form in the northwest sky. Golden-colored and triangular in shape, it appears larger than the full moon. The object hovers, then shoots straight up in seconds. It zigzags before vanishing in the northwest. (“ Golden Triangle in Indiana,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 1, no. 5 (September 1980): 3)
May — Citizens Against UFO Secrecy’s attorney Peter Gersten brings a lawsuit against the National Security Agency to compel it to release 135 documents it has withheld from FOIA requests. The suit also includes the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Federal Aviation Administration (which it claims conducted an inadequate search for its UFO records). (Fred Whiting, “ CAUS Goes to Court,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 2, no. 6 (Sept./Oct. 1980): 18; “ Citizens Against UFO Secrecy Founder Peter Gersten on the Release of Withheld Secret UFO Documents,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, October 25, 2023)
May — Early afternoon. Thousands of base personnel and their families are congregating at Ellsworth AFB in Rapid City, South Dakota, to watch an SR-71 Blackbird take off after a refueling stop. A1C John W. Mills III and a few other airmen are on top of the barracks for a view. They see an odd, triangular object above the B-52 Alert Pad about half a mile away. It begins to move down the flight line, and they see it is a gray-black delta shape at an altitude of 500 feet. For some reason it is not visible through the pair of binoculars they have. It makes a right turn and suddenly disappears above a parachute-rigging building. The SR-71 does not take off. Later in the day, an official “flash” message goes out to base personnel telling them not to talk to the press in case they had seen anything. (Nukes 387–392)
May — The Chinese UFO Studies Association is established under the auspices of Wuhan University, with branches in Beijing, Shanghai, and the provinces of Guangdong, Sichuan, Shanxi, Hubei, and Guangxi. It is headed by Cha Leping, a 26-year-old astrophysics student. The association later is incorporated into the China UFO Research Organization as an official branch of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. (Paul Dong, “ Letters,” IUR 7, no. 2 (March 1982): 3; Good Above, p. 206)
May — Late afternoon. Two witnesses are driving through Manlius, New York, when they catch a glimpse of a disc-shaped object the size of a football field hovering above a patch of trees. The driver stops the car and steps outside. Yellow, red, and green lights are rotating around its perimeter. A commercial aircraft and news helicopter are also visible in the sky. The object is still not moving and soundless. Then two jet fighters, apparently scrambled from Griffiss AFB [now the Griffiss Business and Technology Park] in Rome, New York, fly toward the object, which takes off like a bullet and disappears. (Dolan II 211)
May 2 — 10:15 a.m. A Santa Clara County park ranger and another county employee are in the hills east of San Jose, California, when they see a shiny, mirror-like spherical object moving north to south. They take turns studying it through binoculars. The object has a blue-green band in the center and is orange at the bottom. It makes rapid up-and-down motions as it moves forward and spins faster as its speed diminishes. The object stops and spins toward Lick Observatory to the east of their position for 10 seconds. Then it accelerates rapidly and speeds away to the south. The sighting duration is 3–4 minutes. (UFOEv II 226)
May 5 — As she is driving home from Oklahoma to Eagle’s Nest, New Mexico, Myrna Hansen and her 6-year- old son see several UFOs in a field near Cimarron, New Mexico, after which they suffer confusion and a 4-hour loss of time. Paul Bennewitz, an Albuquerque, New Mexico, owner of humidity equipment company Thunder Scientific and a UFO investigator, on May 11 brings psychologist R. Leo Sprinkle in to meet Hansen. He hypnotizes them and gets a detailed abduction story from the mother, who also remembers watching the aliens mutilate a calf. Hansen also remembers being taken by the UFO to an underground area in New Mexico (leading Bennewitz to suspect it is the Manzano Weapons Storage Area at Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque) where she sees tanks of water with cattle body parts, as well as a human arm. (Linda Moulton Howe, An Alien Harvest: Further Evidence Linking Animal Mutilations and Human Abductions to Alien Life Forms, Howe Productions, 1989, pp. 112–116; Linda Moulton Howe, Facts and Eyewitnesses, The Author, 1993, pp. 234–245; Greg Bishop, Project Beta, Paraview, 2005, pp. 15–28; Clark III 136, 359–360; Marcus Lowth, “ The Chilling and Bizarre Abduction Encounter of Myrna Hansen,” UFO Insight, May 19, 2018; Eghigian, After, p. 260; Clark IV 163)
May 6 — Leonard Stringfield finds an article in UFO Sightings by David McCarthy titled “ The Quest for Teleportation,” which features a photo of an alien cadaver similar to the ones he was given in March. (David McCarthy, “ The Quest for Teleportation,” UFO Sightings 1, no. 1 (July 1980): 40–45; Leonard H. Stringfield, “ Status Report on Alleged Alien Cadaver Photos,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 154 (December 1980): 11–16)
May 7 — Day. X-ray technician Ruth Weaver experiences interference on her car radio while driving near Valdese, North Carolina. It blacks out completely and she sees a huge object move beneath the cloud cover directly ahead of her car. It makes a U-turn, then it banks, revealing the shape of an upside-down soup bowl with a dome on top. A red triangle is on the underside. It looks like a Stetson hat as it moves away. (“ Brief Reports,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 151 (September 1980): 12; George D. Fawcett, Human Reactions to UFOs Worldwide (1940–1983): What We Have Learned from UFO Repetitions, The Author, 1986, p. 16; UFOEv II 452)
May 7 — 3:50 p.m. A Dutch KLM airliner is flying just over 30,000 feet above the Dachstein Mountains in the Austrian Alps. The pilot sees a gray spherical object flying overhead, which he reports to the Air Control Center in Vienna, which contacts the Austrian Air Force. Maj. Karl Schwarz orders three Saab 105 aircraft to intercept. Once they make visual contact, two of the jets attempt the intercept while the third takes film footage. The UFO’s erratic movements, however, make it impossible to follow, and the object is soon out of sight. At 5:50 p.m., a German Lufthansa airliner comes in close contact with a similar object, Schwarz orders two more fighters to scramble. The Saab 105 pilots think the object’s variable speed means it is playing with them. It is flying some 9,800 feet above them, but they cannot maneuver well enough to catch it. (Terry Hooper, “ UFO Interceptions Attempted,” Flying Saucer Review 26, no. 4 (November 1980): 21)
May 9 — 9:00 p.m. A woman is driving home with her daughter in Bargersville, Indiana, when bright red flashes of light illuminate the inside of her truck and the surrounding area. The flashes are caused by red balls of light about the size of lemons in the empty fields around them. The balls blink on and off in succession, climbing up one telephone pole, moving down, and crossing the road to perform the same motion on another pole. They approach the truck, forcing her to back up the truck. Finally, the phenomenon ceases and she drives home. When they get there, her German shepherd dog starts whining and barking. Her husband steps outside to see what’s going on. Suddenly, their two daughters start screaming as small red balls of light move across their mother’s back and behind her hair. She does not feel anything, but the dog runs to the barn and stays there all night. (“ Allan Hendry Reports: A Spooky Experience in Indiana,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 1, no. 6 (October 1980): 3)
May 14 — 3:30 a.m. Howard and Julia Pickrel are driving on US Highway 49 through Simpson County, Mississippi, when they see a glowing disc high in the sky. A beam of light from the disc makes a spot of light on the ground as wide as their car. As they drive through the light beam, their lights go on and off 7–8 times. After they are out of the beam’s path, the lights do not flicker again. (“ Dallas Couple Caught in UFO Spotlight,” Biloxi-Gulfport (Miss.) Daily Herald, May 14, 1980, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 130 (May 1980): 6; Richard H. Hall, Uninvited Guests, Aurora, 1988, pp. 307–308)
May 14 — 9:15 p.m. John Ray spots three dark discs while he is driving in the rain through a rural area near Mars Hill, Maine. Each is larger than the full moon and has numerous white lights on the bottom. They pass silently above his car and hover ahead of him in close formation about 500 feet up. Suddenly they take off and disappear. (“ Close Encounter in the Rain,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 1, no. 7 (November 1980): 2)
May 16 — 3:00 p.m. A civilian pilot is flying a Pirat glider near a cement mill in Działoszyn, Poland, when he notices an object maneuvering across the fumes from factory chimneys below. Seconds later it moves in front of the glider, and he takes evasive action. It is an isosceles triangle shape with a side length of 30 feet and a dull brownish-green. At one point it turns up one of its corners at an angle of 45° in an apparent attempt to correct its flight. Then it changes orientation to the horizontal, shrinks in size, and disappears. A similar object is seen the same day near Wielún. (Poland 69)
May 22 — 11:05 p.m. The Air Transit Control Center at Gran Canaria Airport in the Canary Islands detects some unidentified traffic toward the southwest moving at 685 mph. A few minutes later, an aero-taxi pilot reports a bright object passing to his left and descending toward the ocean. A Spanish Air Force officer investigates and concludes the object is unknown, even though its position observed by the pilot matches that of Venus. A false radar echo is also possible. (Swords 436, 528–529)
May 23-25 - The first Rocky Mountain Conference on UFO Investigation, organized by psychologist R. Leo Sprinkle to bring contactees together, is held in Laramie on the University of Wyoming campus. Barely 20 people show up, but Sprinkle notes they are average, normal people, though highly susceptible to hypnotic suggestion. Most claim some psychic abilities, and many report a feeling of being monitored or experiencing continuing contact with UFO entities. They feel anxiety about the state of the human race and worry about a coming cataclysm. The conferences continue to at least 1996, attracting as many as 200 attendees. (R. Leo Sprinkle, " Psychotherapeutic Services for Persons Who Claim UFO Experiences," Psychotherapy in Private Practice 6, no. 3 (1988): 151-157; Clark III 300-301; Eghigian, After, p. 277; Clark IV 340-341)
May 28 — Denver KMGH-TV investigative journalist Linda Moulton Howe releases A Strange Harvest, a documentary that suggests unusual wounds found on cattle are the work of extraterrestrial beings who harvest body parts required for their survival or research, and that the US government is complicit. The documentary wins a Regional Emmy award in 1981. She interviews Denver surgeon Arlen Meyers on excising tissue with a laser;and Lou Girodo, chief investigator for the District Attorney’s Office in Trinidad, Colorado. The show also features a hypnotic regression session by R. Leo Sprinkle on Judy Dorarty, who says she witnessed a mutilation outside Houston, Texas, in May 1973; under hypnosis, she describes seeing a calf drawn up in a pale yellow beam of light into a UFO. (Internet Movie Database, “ A Strange Harvest”; “ Alta Loma 1973,” Texas UFO Museum and Research Library, February 1, 2003; Clark III 136, 363; “ A Strange Harvest: A UFO Documentary,” Nobad_78 Dailymotion channel, March 14, 2024; Clark IV 163)
May 30 — The CIA moves for summary judgment in Peter Gersten’s lawsuit for UFO documents. The court grants it, despite the 57 remaining UFO documents the CIA admits it is withholding. CAUS appeals on June 24. (“ CAUS Update,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 1 (Nov./Dec. 1980): 15–16)
Early summer — Two women see a green, miniature airplane outside a house in Matsbo, near Hedemora, in central Sweden. (Clas Svahn, “ Green Miniature Airplane Hovers in Front of a House,” IUR 29, no. 3 (Fall 2004): 6–7)
June — NICAP is disbanded after the last issue of the UFO Investigator is published, and its files are eventually turned over to the Center for UFO Studies in Evanston, Illinois. ( UFO Investigator 11, no. 6 (June 1980); Clark III 794; Clark IV 874)
June — Citizens Against UFO Secrecy is reorganized after the departure of W. Todd Zechel, with Peter Gersten as director and Lawrence Fawcett as assistant editor. (Clark III 240; Clark IV 281)
June — Kenneth Rommel releases Operation Animal Mutilation, a long report that devastatingly debunks popular theories. The animals have died of natural causes, he contends, and the mysterious aspects can be explained prosaically. He cites ornithologist Kenneth Sager: “The larger the animal, the more difficult it is for the scavenger to gain access to the food supply below the tough surface. [Thus they attack the] softer points of entry, namely the eyes, anal openings, and the soft underbelly areas, especially the udders of female bovines.” L. D. Kuttner of the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine says that many scavengers can make as clean a cut as “might be done by a surgeon with a knife.” (Wikipedia, “ Cattle mutilation”; Kenneth M. Rommel Jr., Operation Animal Mutilation, Report of the District Attorney, First Judicial District, State of New Mexico, prepared for the US Criminal Justice Department, 1980; Federal Bureau of Investigation, Animal Mutilation documents, 1974–1980, part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5; Clark III 133)
June — Leonard H. Stringfield publishes The UFO Crash/Retrieval Syndrome: Status Report II, New Sources, New Data, presenting the accounts and rumors he has heard of crashed UFOs retrieved by the military. He has contacted four different military sources claiming to have seen a movie film depicting a crashed saucer and small alien bodies. (Leonard H. Stringfield, “The UFO Crash/Retrieval Syndrome Status Report II: New Sources, New Data,” Flying Saucer Review 28, no. 2 (November 1982): 3–8; 28, no. 3 (January 1983): 6–15; 28, no. 4 (March 1983): 4–10; 28, no. 5 (June 1983): 9–12; Leonard Stringfield, “The Chase for Proof in a Squirrel’s Cage,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, p. 147)
June 2 — Stringfield receives eight more prints showing an alien cadaver encased under glass. One photo shows a hand with four fingers and claw-like nails. His source claims they were obtained from a secret study conducted at the University of Pennsylvania. (Leonard H. Stringfield, “ Status Report on Alleged Alien Cadaver Photos,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 154 (December 1980): 11–16; Leonard Stringfield, “The Chase for Proof in a Squirrel’s Cage,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, pp. 147–148; Jason Colavito, “ Examining Vintage 1970s Ancient Astronaut Material from ‘Ancient Astronauts’ Magazine,” Jason Colavito, August 31, 2014)
June 3 — R. Leo Sprinkle arrives at Paul Bennewitz’s house in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for another hypnotic session with Myrna Hansen. Bennewitz, now very paranoid, meets him at the door with a gun, saying he needs to protect himself from aliens. A strained and brief hypnosis session follows, after which Sprinkle returns to Wyoming. (Greg Bishop, Project Beta, Paraview, 2005, pp. 24–25)
June 11 — An unknown cigar-shaped object passes close to a commercial aircraft near Venice, Italy. (Nick Redfern, A Covert Agenda: UFO Secrecy Exposed, Simon & Schuster, 1997, p. 162)
June 14 — Evening. Many residents of Moscow, Russia, see a huge, reddish-orange, horseshoe-shaped object accompanied by swirling luminous gases. Some 250 miles to the west, Lt. Col. Oleg Karyakin hears a low-frequency booming noise and sees a bright object less than 500 feet away. He runs toward it, feels some resistance, but continues until he is about 150 feet away. It gives off a high-pitched sound and briefly emits three white rays, then ascends rapidly, hovers for 2 seconds, then moves to the northwest and vanishes. Shortly afterward, he sees a large, reddish UFO above some treetops. Another bright object is accompanying the first, flying horizontally and leaving a fiery trail. Some 30 others witness this event. Soviet investigators conclude that the objects were the launches of two communications satellites, a Gorizont and Kosmos 1188. (Gordon Creighton, “ Dr. Felix Zigel’ and the Development of Ufology in Russia, Part II,” Flying Saucer Review 27, no. 4 (January 1982): 13–19; Pekka Teerikorpi, “ Soviet ‘UFOs’ Identified As Satellite Launchings,” Flying Saucer Review 27, no. 6 (June 1982): 9–11; James Oberg, “ Giant UFO over Two Continents,” Fate 36, no. 1 (January 1983): 44–52; Good Above, pp. 238–241; Paul Stonehill and Philip Mantle, The Soviet UFO Files: Paranormal Encounters behind the Iron Curtain, Quadrillion, 1998, pp. 58–59)
June 14 - 7:00-8:00 p.m. A flurry of UFO sightings by numerous witnesses takes place in Córdoba, Jorge Newbery and Ezeiza airports in Buenos Aires, and Rosario, Argentina, including airport personnel and meteorologists, with extensive newspaper coverage. Objects appear singly and in "fleets" and are described variously as "luminous oval-spherical," "spinning top," spindle-shaped, and a sphere that emits "an intense luminous ray that illuminated the surface of the river." At Pajas Blancas Airport in Córdoba, a UFO causes operations to be stopped for several minutes after it follows the landing pattern of aircraft into the airport. Sightings occur around the same time in Uruguay, Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay. CUFOS suspects many of the observations might be due to a high-altitude barium cloud produced by a rocket launch. (" The UFO `Flap' in South America," IUR/Frontiers of Science 2, no. 6 (Sept./Oct. 1980): 15-16; James Oberg, " Giant UFO over Two Continents," Fate 36, no. 1 (January 1983): 44-52)
June 15 — 2:00 a.m. A 70-year-old woman in Oak Park, Illinois, sees an object like a white half-moon with a serrated edge. At first she thinks it is the moon, but it begins moving to the east and disappears in 5 minutes. (“ Allan Hendry Reports: A Lunar Impostor,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 1, no. 4 (August 1980): 2)
June 15 — 2:30 a.m. Security Policeman Charles P. Wagner and two others at RAF Bentwaters [now closed], near Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, watch a 2-foot diameter spherical object maneuver above several A-10 aircraft parked at the base. Moments later, the orb suddenly splits into three smaller spheres, all of which vanish in a flash of light. (Robert L. Hastings, “ New Bentwaters UFO Witness Goes on the Record,” UFOs & Nukes, November 22, 2015)
June 15 — 11:30 p.m. Students Kevin Smith and Jill Harper are walking along Hidden Beach in Rio Del Mar, California, when a 4-foot-long, 10-inch-wide cigar-shaped object passes about 30 feet above them moving southwest over the water and landing in the ocean without a splash. As it bobs about, a light comes on in the interior. Smith yells at it and the light goes out. (“ Romance under a UFO,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 2, no. 5 (July/Aug. 1980): 14)
June 17 — 11:00 p.m. Two women driving with four young children north on Interstate 75 near Grayling Army Airfield in Grayling, Michigan, when they see two lights moving from right to left in front of their car. Two minutes later, three more lights (two blinking, one steady) appear to the right and pace the car at 85 mph, moving closer until they are about 100 feet directly above them. They are completely silent and possibly attached to an oblong-shaped object. (“ Michigan Close Encounter,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 1, no. 3 (July 1980): 2)
June 20 — 9:00 p.m. While descending through 15,000 feet for a landing, a senior Kuwait Airways pilot and crew observe a huge, brightly illuminated hemispherical object with a flat base moving steadily eastward over Kuwait City at a slightly lower speed than his aircraft. “When I turned north at Wafra, the phenomenon was still clearly visible and remained so until we descended below the haze layer and started to approach the runway.” The crew of another airline flight 90 miles away reports sighting the same phenomenon. Radar does not detect the object. (American Embassy, Kuwait, “Investigation of Unusual ‘Light Phenomenon’ Seen in Kuwait’s Skies,” telex, July 1980, in “ U.S. State Department ‘UFO’ Documents, Reviewed and Released 7 Feb 2000”)
June 21 — 1:30 a.m. Janet McLeod notices two large, orange, domed discs circling low about four blocks west of her home in Assumption, Illinois. They stop and hover at treetop level. The top one gradually fades out from top to bottom. The lower one turns on its side and shines a beam toward the ground for 5 minutes. Then it goes back to the horizontal and fades out in the same way. When she steps outside 5 minutes later, she notices it is dead quiet, the natural sounds resuming after 2 minutes. (“ Twin Domed Discs in Illinois,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 2, no. 5 (July/Aug. 1980): 14)
June 28 — Two civilian pilots, José L. Maldonaldo Torres and José A. Pagán Santos, are flying an ERCO Ercoupe 415-D at 1,500 feet over the Mona Passage between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. They send out a mayday message saying they are looking at a “weird object” that makes them change course three times. Their plane disappears and no wreckage is found. (Aviation Safety Network, “ Occurrence #9407, Saturday 28 June 1980”; Jorge Martín, “ A ‘Valentich Type’ of Case off Puerto Rico,” Flying Saucer Review 43, no. 4 (Winter 1998): 6–10; Timothy Good, Unearthly Disclosure: Conflicting Interests in the Control of Extraterrestrial Intelligence, 2000, pp. 34–39; Good Need, pp. 312, 320)
July — AFOSI special agent Sgt. Richard Doty writes an anonymous letter to APRO claiming that a Civil Air Patrol cadet named Craig R. Weitzel had seen and photographed a UFO landing near Pecos, New Mexico. Weitzel takes photos and is debriefed at Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque. An alien, a man in a dark suit from Sandia Laboratories, and crashed UFOs stored at the Manzano Nuclear Weapons Storage Facility are also mentioned. But the letter is disinformational bait to see whether the Lorenzens might prove to be “useful idiots.” Weitzel admits to investigator William Moore and, later, Benton Jamison in 1985 that he had seen a UFO in 1980, but it was a classic daylight disc and took place in the southeast, not New Mexico. Much later on, Doty admits to Moore that he had composed the letter as disinformation. ([Richard Doty], Craig Weitzel letter, July 1980; Good Above, pp. 406–408; Greg Bishop, Project Beta, Paraview, 2005, pp. 54–57, 64–66; Clark III 361–362; Clark IV 405–406)
July 12 — 11:00 p.m. A professor and his wife are getting ready for bed in Urbandale, Iowa, when they notice three round light spots in a triangular formation high in the southern sky. The lower two are like bright stars, while the upper ones seem larger. The smaller lights are zig-zagging and coming together under the larger light for 20 minutes until all three abruptly disappear. (“ Meandering Lights in Iowa,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 1, no. 6 (October 1980): 5)
July 21 — Farmer John Scull discovers a circular swathe of flattened oats in his field near the Westbury White Horse in Wiltshire, England. He discovers a second circle on July 31 and informs the media on August 13. (UFOFiles2, p. 117; Terry Wilson, “ Case Study 1: Westbury 1980,” Men Who Conned the World, December 24, 2018)
July 26 — 6:50 p.m. The crew of the tugboat Caiobá Seahorse notice a light moving over the water in front and to the right of their vessel, which is approximately 24 miles off Pititinga, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. First Mate Fernando Fangueiro watches the object with binoculars for a few minutes until it stops and hovers about 32–50 feet above the water. Another sailor describes the object as oval, about half the size of the full moon, with a white light on top. The crew slows the tugboat, as it is directly in its path, and stops about 130 feet away, just as another light in the water shines brightly for 20 seconds and goes out. The light seems to be connected to a gray object on or just below the surface of the sea. The commander of the vessel, Captain José da Silva, goes to the bridge and describes the object as saucer-shaped and about twice the size of the moon. It emits blue and orange lights and at one point shines a beam of intense light downwards. Another light beam is directed at the tugboat for about 2 seconds. Da Silva radios the maritime service in Natal, Brazil, and reports the sighting. The Teche Seahorse, a speedboat following the Caiobá, detects one object at the location with its radar. The Teche’s engineer, Atilio Scarpati, and another crewman see the object as an unusual white light that is difficult to look at. Around 7:20 p.m., the object quickly moves away to the northwest, then shoots upward and disappears. The crew reports the sighting to the Navy, the Port Authority, and the Brazilian Air Force. (Jackson Camargo, “ O Caso do navio Caiobá Seahorse,” Fenomenum, July 17, 2024)
August — Another set of photos allegedly showing part of an alien cadaver is released by Charles Wilhelm and Dennis Pilichis, who receive them through UFO researcher Willard McIntyre, apparently from an anonymous US Navy source. William Spaulding of Ground Saucer Watch analyzes them and suggests they show a monkey used in early rocket tests. (Leonard H. Stringfield, “ Status Report on Alleged Alien Cadaver Photos,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 154 (December 1980): 11–16; Leonard H. Stringfield, “ The Puzzling Case of the Cadaver Photos,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 163 (September 1981): 15–19; Juan-Vicente Ballester-Olmos, “ The Tomato Man in Retrospective,” UFO FOTOCAT Blog, March 13, 2022)
Early August - Thousands of witnesses see UFOs for several days in a row over Tianjin, China, and the Bohai Sea. One large object keeps appearing and vanishing like a will-o'-the-wisp. Occasionally objects are tracked on radar. (Paul Dong, " Extracts from Paul Dong's Feidie Bai Wen Bai Da (Questions and Answers on UFOs)," Flying Saucer Review 29, no. 6 (August 1984): 18)
August - 10:00 p.m. Two students at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, see a brilliant oval object in the sky near the Summer Palace. It has several lights that flash on and off 2-3 times per second. The object itself is shaped like "two straw hats placed brim to brim" with a brilliant center line. It stops hovering and ascends vertically, disappearing in 3-4 seconds. (" The Chinese Connection.and Some Wholesome Chinese Philosophy," IUR 7, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1982): 13)
August 8–9 — Before 12:00 midnight. Three security policemen—S/Sgt Stephen Ferenz, Airman 1C Martin W. Rist, and Airman Anthony D. Frazier—on the eastern side of the Manzano Weapons Storage Area adjacent to Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque, New Mexico, see a bright light descend in a restricted area about 3 miles to the north-northeast. It travels quickly and stops suddenly over Coyote Canyon. At 12:20 a.m., a Sandia guard observes a disc-shaped object with a bright light hovering behind a building. He approaches it with a shotgun and attempts to use his radio, but it has stopped working. The object shoots straight up. These and other incidents result in a report being filed with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations at Kirtland. The incident is subsequently investigated by agent Richard Doty, who files a preliminary report on the incident. The document is leaked to William Moore in January 1982 and obtained in a subsequent FOIA request by Barry Greenwood. Moore and Bruce Maccabee both interview Doty, who says there are most likely other documents including a longer report that he had written up. However, after Noah Lawrence at AFOSI Headquarters tells Maccabee there are no other documents on file, Doty begins to backtrack. Maccabee also meets Russ Curtis inside the Manzano area who says that the incident never took place (which contradicts Curtis’s statement to Moore in 1982). (Harry Lebelson, “ Who’s Watching Us?” Pursuit 19, no. 1 (Spring 1986): 27, 29–31; Good Above, pp. 405–406, 522–523; Bruce Maccabee, “ UFO Landing near Kirtland AFB: Welcome to the Cosmic Watergate,” 2000; Good Need, pp. 322, 329; Robert L. Hastings, “ UFOs Filmed Hovering over U.S. Air Force Nuclear Weapons Storage Area,” UFOs & Nukes, May 13, 2012; Clark III 362; Clark IV 406)
August 15 — UFO skeptic Philip Klass sends a letter to A. G. McNamara of the Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics in Ottawa, Canada, which serves as a repository for Canadian UFO reports for the Canadian National Research Council. Klass characterizes New Brunswick ufologist Stanton Friedman as a snake oil salesman and UFO guru whose lectures are filled with falsehoods, disparaging his credentials, his ego, and his modus operandi. He warns McNamara that the astronomers at the institute will soon be the targets of Friedman’s coverup accusations. (Dolan II 221–222)
August 17 — 1:15 a.m. Security guard Phil Battle is driving his truck in the parking lot of the Teledyne-Ohio Steel plant in Lima, Ohio, and sees an unusual bright light in the sky. He steps out and watches a round, silvery form about 270 feet away. It has little holes on the surface, a flashing yellow light, and white floodlights all around it. It hovers for about 5 minutes, moving back and forth. Battle’s CB radio does not work when he tries to alert others. Suddenly a yellow light shoots out at Battle, knocking him back against his truck, scarring his knee and hurting his back and kidneys. The beam also reddens his left eye. The UFO then takes off. He and other guards look for the object and see a light about 1,200 feet to the north, slightly larger than the moon, which drifts westward after 15–20 seconds. (“ Pair Probe Encounter with UFO in Area,” Lima (Ohio) News, August 26, 1980, pp. 1, 4; “ Knocked Back by a Light Beam,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 2, no. 6 (Sept./Oct. 1980): 14; “ Correspondence,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 1 (January 1981): 2–3)
August 20 — 10:30 p.m. A college student is driving on a rural road about 5 minutes east of Mossy Head, Florida, when he becomes aware of an array of lights hovering above a hill ahead of him. They move low over the area from right to left, 300–600 feet ahead of him. It disappears, but another cluster of lights rushes by him on his left side with a quiet whoosh sound. Inadvertently he begins driving more slowly, slumped over the steering wheel. He continues driving to Jacksonville, where he notices his bare feet are red and inflamed. The redness fades away by the evening of the following night, leaving only some apparent bites marks that are sore to the touch. (“ A CE I—or II—or III in Florida,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 1, no. 7 (November 1980): 5)
August 22 — Three other security policemen at Manzano Weapons Storage Area in New Mexico see the same aerial phenomena as the witnesses on August 8–9. An object lands in Coyote Canyon. (Harry Lebelson, “ Who’s Watching Us?” Pursuit 19, no. 1 (Spring 1986): 27, 31)
August 24 - 4:08 a.m. Three tourists camping out in the Changping District near the Juyong portion of the Great Wall of China take a photo of an unusual object. The photo reportedly looks like three stars in an inverted T shape with a surrounding halo of light. (" World Round-Up," Flying Saucer Review 26, no. 5 (January 1981): 5-6; " Will Martians Finally Appear-in Mao Jackets?" St. Louis (Mo.) Globe-Democrat, March 5, 1981, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 140 (March 1981): 12; " First UFO Spotted in China," CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 3 (March 1981): 4; " Chinese UFO Study," IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 3 (March/April 1981): 14; Wendelle Stevens and Paul Dong, UFOs over Modern China, UFO Photo Archives, 1983, p. 174)
September - Charles Berlitz and Bill Moore publish The Roswell Incident, the first major review of the 1947 Roswell crash, based largely on Stanton Friedman's research. (Charles Berlitz and William L. Moore, The Roswell Incident, Berkley, 1980; Clark III 320; Graff 247- 248; Clark IV 357)
September 1 — NSA attorneys move for a summary judgment in the CAUS-initiated lawsuit, asserting that the 135 documents are being justifiably withheld. (“ CAUS Update,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 1 (Nov./Dec. 1980): 16)
September 3 — 3:00 p.m. Margaret Lambert and her family are parked at a scenic overlook along Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia when they notice a bright reflection. She is taking a photo of her son and the reflection seems to be pulsating as she focuses her camera. It appears as a small round light behind her son’s head in the photo. (“ ‘Glowing Object’ Photographed on Virginia Hillside,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 5 (May 1981): 6)
September 4 — 1:15 p.m. Flight instructor Lloyd List is flying northbound at 138 mph in a Cessna 172 at 6,500 feet about 5 miles south of the airport in Red Bluff, California. His passenger, a school official, calls his attention to a shiny object ahead of them. For the first 5–6 seconds, the object grows larger in angular size. Then it stops getting larger, as if it has adopted the Cessna’s speed and direction. They close in on the object and watch it shoot right by the airplane’s left wingtip only 30 feet away. It looks like a metallic football no larger than 3 feet in size. It is silent and the surface has a mirror finish. It exhibits no wobble as it passes through the plane’s turbulence. List descends to 6,000 feet and turns to the south to look for it but cannot find the object. (“ Plane’s Near Collision with Mini-UFO,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 1 (Nov./Dec. 1980): 11–12)
September 6 — UFO proponents and debunkers square off at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., for a day-long debate on the merits of UFO sightings. The proponents include Bruce Maccabee, J. Allen Hynek, and Allan Hendry; the debunkers are Philip J. Klass, James E. Oberg, and Robert Sheaffer. The debate is moderated by Frederick C. Durant. The most heated exchanges occur between Klass and Hendry over the Val Johnson close encounter case of 1979. (“ Smithsonian UFO Symposium, September 6, 1980,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 1, no. 4 (August 1980): 5; Stuart Rohrer, “ Tempest in a Saucer,” Washington Post, September 8, 1980, p. B-1; Robert Sheaffer, “ Prepared Talk for the Smithsonian UFO Symposium, Sept. 6, 1980,” The Debunker’s Domain; J. Allen Hynek, “ Encounter at the Smithsonian,” CUFOS Bulletin, Fall 1980, pp. 6–10; Richard Hall, “ Smithsonian UFO Symposium,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 152 (October 1980): cover, 3-4; Jerome Clark, “Phil Klass vs. the ‘UFO Promoters,’” Fate 34, no. 2 (February 1981): 56–67; Keith Basterfield, “ More on the Little Known 1980 Smithsonian Institution UAP Symposium,” Unidentified Aerial Phenomena— Scientific Research, September 18, 2014; Clark III 1081–1082; Clark IV 1197–1198)
September 6 — 9:15 p.m. Ufologist Jenny Randles and a friend are riding a motorcycle north on the M4 after attending the Farnborough Airshow in Hampshire, England, when they see three lights that appear one after another then line up in a triangular formation hovering above a distant hilltop. As they drive past, one light blinks out, leaving two side by side. (Ian Mrzyglod, “ M4 UFOs,” The Probe Report 2, no. 1 (June 1981): 3–4; Jenny Randles, “Mass Market Media Saucery,” Fortean Times 361 (Christmas 2017): 29)
September 8 — After doing a radio show in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Bill Moore is contacted by phone from someone at Kirtland Air Force Base. He meets the man he calls “Falcon” (described as elderly and gaunt) later at a restaurant, beginning a long-running relationship between Moore and 10 members of a shadowy group connected with military intelligence and supposedly opposed to the coverup of UFOs. The story soon emerges that the Roswell incident involved alien bodies and that in 1949 another alien, this one still alive, was found and housed at Los Alamos until its death in the early 1950s. It is called an Extraterrestrial Biological Entity (EBE) and is the first of three that the government would have in its custody. Moore decides to cooperate with these AFOSI sources and provide them with information. They tell him there is considerable interest in Paul Bennewitz and that he is to spy on Bennewitz and APRO as well, inundating them with disinformation that Richard Doty and others will supply. (Greg Bishop, Project Beta, Paraview, 2005, pp. 59–63; Clark III 360; Eghigian, After, p. 261; Clark IV)
September 8 — Doty writes and signs a fake two-page AFOSI complaint form, titled “Kirtland AFB, NM, 8 Aug–3 Sept 1980, Alleged Sightings of Unidentified Aerial Lights in Restricted Test Range,” which describes several UFO sightings at Manzano and at the Coyote Canyon section of the Department of Defense Restricted Test Range, as well as an alleged report of a UFO landing on August 10 by a New Mexico state patrolman. (Clark III 362; Clark 406)
September 9 — 8:00 p.m. Barbara Kaisler is driving home with her daughter in Portsmouth, Virginia, when they see a dark disc some 5–6 stories higher than the rooftops in the north. When they stop at an intersection, they can see the disc tumbling end over end, now climbing at a 30° angle. It disappears in clouds to the northeast. (“ Dark Disk in Virginia,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 3 (March/April 1981): 14)
September 11 — 4:20 a.m. Jerry McAlister is awakened in his bedroom in Anderson, South Carolina, by a loud screech. He goes to the window and sees a round object about 70 feet wide hovering above his backyard trees 110 feet away. Hundreds of steady bright white lights surround its perimeter, rotating in a clockwise direction. A row of square white windows is also visible. McAlister wakes up his wife Faye, who also watches the object, which, after tilting on its side, is now receding to the east-northeast at a good rate of speed. The UFO settles into place as a distant white light source that persists until dawn at 7:05 a.m. McAlister claims his ears ring for another 3 days from the initial noise. (“ UFO Sightings ‘Nothing New’ in Anderson,” Anderson (S.C.) Independent Daily Mail, September 14, 1980, p. 1; “ More UFOs: Broadway Residents See Two More,” Anderson (S.C.) Daily Mail, September 16, 1980, p. 1; “ South Carolina’s Giant UFOs,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 2, no. 6 (Sept./Oct. 1980): 11–13; “ ‘Close Encounter’ Brings Fame to Andersonian,” Anderson (S.C.) Independent, November 24, 1980, pp. 1A, 5A; “Burned by a UFO,” National Enquirer, December 9, 1980, p. 3; Pete Mazzola, “The McAlister South Carolina UFO Encounter,” Saga UFO Report, February 1981; Doris and Joe Graziano, “ Press Reports,” APRO Bulletin 29, no. 4 (April 1981): 5–6; Donald Roberts, “ The Anderson Event,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 158 (April 1981): 5–7)
September 11 — 8:05 a.m. Larry Garrett is working on his car in Easley, South Carolina, when he hears a sound like a swarm of bees. Looking north, he sees a large metallic UFO with black, square windows. He guesses it is 80–100 feet in size. It hovers above a hill then drifts off to the north behind some trees. (“ UFO Sighted in Easley,” Easley (S.C.) Progress, September 17, 1980, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 136 (November 1980): 2; “ South Carolina’s Giant UFOs,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 2, no. 6 (Sept./Oct. 1980): 13–14; Doris and Joe Graziano, “ Press Reports,” APRO Bulletin 29, no. 3 (March 1981): 8)
September 11 — 9:25 p.m. Milton Shippee and his family are driving south on State Highway 32 near I-84 in West Willington, Connecticut, when they see a “pancake”-shaped object in the southeast. It is tilted on one side as it moves about 50 mph. (“ ‘Domed Pancake’ over Connecticut,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 1 (Nov./Dec. 1980): 12
September 12 — A bright, round object radiating red and white colors from all sides is reported south of Bojnord, North Khorasan, Iran. It moves very quickly for one hour above the city. (“ Review of Iranian UFO Reports,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 2 (Jan./Feb. 1981): 15)
September 13 — 2:30 a.m. Herb Van Gundy and three other people camping at Hamilton Pool Preserve, Travis County, Texas, wake up when their tent is lit up with a yellow glow. Outside is a loud humming sound and above them at no more than 125 feet is a triangular object. The underside is grayish or greenish, and two lights appear at each tip of the triangle—yellow and white, red and green, and blue and white. The object is moving north very slowly but stops for about 10 seconds and begins to pulsate, almost sounding as if it will stall. It starts up again, heads north, and is gone after about one minute. Thirty minutes earlier, the group had heard a loud explosion, and some of them saw sparks above the top of a hill. (Robert E. Morgan, “ Triangular UFO: Preliminary Report,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 155 (January 1981): 6; Dennis Stacy, “ S.A.’s Fly-by-Night Encounters,” San Antonio (Tex.) Express and News, June 6, 1982, via APCIC Clipping Service 7, no. 7 (July 1982): 1–4)
September 21 — 7:00 p.m. A witness is driving west on a county road near Lima, Ohio. She looks up and sees a square opening in the clouds that looks like a picture frame. A vivid orange or red object that looks like the bottom of an Army tank with runners on two sides appears in the opening, remaining stationary for a few seconds before disappearing back into the opening, which then fills up with clouds. (“ Army Tank in the Clouds in Ohio,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 1, no. 7 (November 1980): 2)
September 22 - 3:43 a.m. Pan Am Flight 440, flying at 39,000 feet and piloted by Capt. Dave Garber, nearly collides with an unidentified blue-green cigar-shaped object over the Caribbean Sea south of Haiti. The UFO has a horizontal row of 5-6 steady lights, which the flight crew presumes are windows. The distance between the Pan Am flight and the UFO at its closest approach is less than a mile. The estimated length of the UFO is 50 feet. It changes course when the plane flashes its landing lights. The event is witnessed independently by the crew of two other airliners in the area. ("` Chiles-Whitted' Revisited: UFO Sighting Confirmed by Three Flight Crews," IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 1 (Nov./Dec. 1980): 12-14)
September 26 — 4:30 a.m. Susan Southerland, Debbie Riley, and Kim Conolty are driving in Washington, Indiana, when they see a streetlight-shaped light source slightly above the treetops. It begins moving toward them. Even after their car turns, the light stays on their left side. They drive to the police station and ask officers Tim Roark and Don Grannon to look at it through binoculars, and they are convinced it is something unusual. (“ UFOs Shake Area Viewers,” Washington (Ind.) Times-Herald, September 27, 1980, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 136 (November 1980): 4; Doris and Joe Graziano, “ Press Reports,” APRO Bulletin, March 1981, p. 8; “ UFO Mini-Flap in Southern Indiana,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 3 (Mar./Apr. 1981): 11)
September 26 — 2:26 p.m. A woman watches a Saturn-shaped object approach her home in Blythe, California, from the east and pass overhead for 2–3 minutes and shoot straight up out of sight. (“ Daylight ‘Saturn’ over California,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 1 (Nov./Dec. 1980): 14)
September 28 — Cosmos: A Personal Voyage debuts as a 13-part TV series written by Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan, and Steven Soter, with Sagan as host. It covers a wide range of scientific subjects, including the origin of life and a perspective of our place in the universe. Owing to its bestselling companion book and soundtrack album using the title, Cosmos, the series is widely known by this title. It is the most widely watched series in the history of American public television at the time, and as of 2009, it is still the most widely watched PBS series in the world. The series is notable for its groundbreaking use of special effects, which allow Sagan to seemingly walk through environments that are actually models rather than full-sized sets. (Wikipedia, “ Cosmos: A Personal Voyage”; Graff 287–291)
September 30 — 1:00 a.m. George Blackwell, a farmer near Rosedale, Victoria, Australia, is awakened by a noise and his disturbed livestock. Getting up, he goes outside and sees a 24-by-15-foot sphere passing by, some 6–9 feet off the ground and 450 feet distant. It stops above a water tank, then settles to the ground. Blackwell rides a motorcycle to the spot and stops 45 feet from the landed object. It is making a loud whistling sound. After 3 minutes, the UFO emits a louder noise, gives off a blast of air, and moves off to the east. A 30- foot doughnut-shaped ring is found where the object rested, and Blackwell experiences health problems the next week. The 10,000-gallon water tank is mysteriously drained of water. (NICAP, “ Rosedale, Victoria, Australia: September 30, 1980”; Pat Gildea, “ The White-Acres Encounter,” Australian UFO Bulletin, December 1980, pp. 6–7; Keith Basterfield and Bill Chalker, “ Rosedale, Victoria: A Close Encounter,” UFO Research Australia Newsletter 2, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1981): 17–22; Keith Basterfield and Bill Chalker, “ The 30th September 1980 Rosedale, Victoria Event,” ACUFOS Journal 2, no. 1 (February 1981): 7–10; Keith Basterfield and Bill Chalker, “ Rosedale-Victoria, Update,” UFO Research Australia Newsletter 2, no. 2 (March/April 1981): 10; Bill Chalker and Keith Basterfield, “ The Rosedale Landing with Physical Traces,” Flying Saucer Review 26, no. 6 (March 1981): 4–5; “ Physical Trace in Australia,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 3 (March/April 1981): 14–15; Pat Gildea, “ The White-Acres Encounter,” Australian Annual Flying Saucer Review, June 1981, pp. 9–10, 14–15; “ From Foreign Lands,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 5 (July/Aug. 1981): 17; Bill Chalker and Keith Basterfield, “ Landing with Physical Traces near Rosedale, Victoria, Australia,” APRO Bulletin 29, no. 12 (December 1981): 3–5; Keith Basterfield and Bill Chalker, “ Rosedale Victoria: A Close Encounter,” 1989; Keith Basterfield, Vladimir Godic, and Pony Godic, “ Australian Ufology: A Review,” JUFOS 2 (1990): 31; UFOEv II 62–63)
September 30 — UFO researcher William Moore meets for the first time with AFOSI officer Richard Doty (whom Moore refers to as “Sparrow”). Doty is the middleman for an Air Force colonel (later called “Falcon” by Moore) who Moore first contacted on September 5. (The identity of the colonel has not been established, but it may possibly be Doty’s superior officer, Col. John Barry Hennessey.) Doty claims that Stanton T. Friedman and Brad Sparks know him personally and will vouch for him (untrue). (Brad Sparks and Barry Greenwood, “ The Secret Pratt Tapes and the Origins of MJ-12,” in MUFON 2007 International UFO Symposium Proceedings, MUFON, 2007, pp. 92–159)
October — Leonard Stringfield, who now has about 20 first-hand informants to various crash/retrievals, begins to encounter resistance and silence from some of them, who are apparently under increased suspicion and surveillance. (Leonard H. Stringfield, “ Status Report on Alleged Alien Cadaver Photos,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 154 (December 1980): 11–16)
October — James W. Allen, 14, is photographing Ben Vrackie mountain in Perthshire, Scotland. As he is walking home he hears a weird humming noise, sees a disc-shaped object, and takes a photo of it. Analysis of the photo points to a hoax photo of a helium-filled balloon. (“ Young Scottish Photographer Sends Photograph,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 10 (October 1981): 1, 6; Steuart Campbell, “ Investigation Report on 1980 Photograph at Pitlochry, Scotland,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 6, no. 1 (Feb./ March 1985): 1–2)
October or November — Ground-based radar at RAF Neatishead, near Norwich, England, tracks an aerial object executing aerial maneuvers that “defied all convention.” A very bright light is seen by the pilot of an RAF F-4 Phantom II aircraft. It vanishes as quickly as it has appeared. (Nick Redfern, A Covert Agenda: UFO Secrecy Exposed, Simon & Schuster, 1997, p. 136)
October 1? — A group of people go to Lucky Point, east of Monroe City, Indiana, to look for UFOs. High in the eastern sky they notice a dark triangle, as large as the full moon and possibly surrounded by a light glow. As it moves overhead, they hear a voice announce, “the time is now.” It changes direction slightly and accelerates to the northwest. The group reports a tingling sensation and a humming noise on their FM scanner radios. (“ UFO Mini-Flap in Southern Indiana,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 3 (Mar./Apr. 1981): 12)
October 5 - 3:00 a.m. Five off-duty metalworkers at the Dagang Oilfield, Tianjin, China, see a cone-shaped, red, glowing object that lights the area below. Workers feel a scorching heat as it flies by and disappears over Bohai Bay. (Paul Dong and Wendelle Stevens, UFOs over Modern China, UFO Photo Archives, 1983, p. 190)
October 6 — 5:50 p.m. A retired man is resting on his sundeck in Ipswich, Massachusetts, when he sees a silver object tumbling end-over-end. He grabs binoculars and watches as it passes overhead and continues, appearing to descend as it disappears behind trees toward the Sagamore Hill Solar Radar Observatory [now relocated to Millstone Hill, Westford] in South Hamilton. (“ Tumbling Daylight UFO,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 2 (Jan./Feb. 1981): 11)
October 7 — 11:30 p.m. Witnesses near Yelm, Tenino, and Offutt Lake, Washington, report a large object shaped like a triangle or diamond with red and green lights. (“ Thurston County Logs Some Mysterious Night Sights,” Olympia (Wash.) Daily Olympian, October 9, 1980, p. 1)
October 8 — 10:15 p.m. A private investigator is driving south on Alberta Highway 2, returning to Calgary from Red Deer. Just south of Olds, he notices a bright light about a mile ahead. The light forms an inverted V pattern illuminating a 300-foot stretch of the highway. He slows down, along with other drivers, despite seeing no emergency vehicles. The light intensifies, illuminating a half-mile section for about 30 seconds before it suddenly goes out. A stationary light resembling a landing light remains for another 30 seconds before moving rapidly westward, disappearing after traveling 40–50 miles. Once home, he shares the incident with his family and contacts Calgary International Airport, where the staff confirms they had received similar reports and that no aircraft were in the area at the time. (“ Light Phenomena in Canada,” APRO Bulletin 30, no. 2 (February 1982): 1–2)
October 15 — 11:30 p.m. A Knox County, Indiana, deputy sheriff stops by the side of a road to stretch his legs. Out of the east comes a black triangular form, as big as a house and 10 times the angular size of the full moon. He estimates it is 250 feet away and 200 feet up at its closest. Five figures are visible from the waist up through a long window on one side of the triangle. Large slanted unblinking eyes, white skin, and a straight-line mouth are visible on their elongated heads. He thinks they look afraid, so he tries to telepathically assure them not to be afraid. They respond by asking him, “Why do you hate the Iranians?” The object draws closer the speeds away to the northeast. During the sighting, his police radio displays intermittent interference and his patrol car’s engine and headlights pulsate. The deputy feels light-headed and sluggish, and his eyes water. (“ UFO Mini-Flap in Southern Indiana,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 3 (Mar./Apr. 1981): 11–12)
October 15–20 — According to analyst Gary Sick, meetings are allegedly held in Paris, France, between emissaries of the Reagan/Bush campaign, with future CIA Director William J. Casey as a key participant, and “high-level Iranian and Israeli representatives” to make a secret deal with Iran to delay the release of the American hostages until after the election. In return for this, the United States purportedly arranges for Israel to ship weapons to Iran. Sick is never able to prove his claims, but the evidence suggests that the Reagan administration ships arms to Iran, both through Israel and directly, from 1981 to 1987 as payment for Iranian cooperation. (Wikipedia, “ October Surprise theory”; Gary Sick, October Surprise: America’s Hostages in Iran and the Election of Ronald Reagan, Times Books, 1991)
October 16 — Evening. Operators at Tianjin Binhai International Airport, China, are observing the movements of Flight 402 on radar when an unexplained echo shows up. When the airliner is about 6,500 feet from the runway, the plane’s blip disappears for 7 seconds. The mystery target gives a strong, distinct return, and it seems to cause strong radio interference as the airliner touches down. Other anomalous targets show up later that night, but none are seen visually. (Paul Dong, “ Extracts from Paul Dong’s Feidie Bai Wen Bai Da (Questions and Answers on UFOs),” Flying Saucer Review 29, no. 6 (August 1984): 18; Good Above, pp. 215–216)
October 19 — 7:50 p.m. Donald Shive, his wife Star, and two children are driving west near Albion, Michigan, when they see an object with two white lights on the sides and a red and blue light on the front and back. It is moving at about 25 mph at an altitude of 200–500 feet when it moves over the car at an intersection. The car stalls and the lights go out briefly. (“ UFO Stalls Van in Michigan?” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 1 (Nov./Dec. 1980): 14)
October 21 — 8:35 a.m. Betty Long and a friend see a formation of three egg-shaped objects in the northern sky over San Diego, California. The bright sun makes them seem uniformly white and featureless. After moving to the right for three minutes, they turn 90° to the left and move away from the witnesses. The formation retains its triangular shape throughout the sighting. (“ Daylight ‘Eggs’ over California,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 1, no. 8 (December 1980): 5)
October 23 — 8:55 p.m. Randall Rogers and Larry Mortensen, employed at the Phelps-Dodge Corporation’s copper smelting site at Morenci, Arizona, go outside to pick up three other employees for an evening meal break. They notice a boomerang-shaped object approaching the north smokestack at 1,500–2,000 feet altitude and a very slow speed. It stops and hovers briefly, then comes down to 700–1,000 feet, just above the stack. A brilliant light erupts from the forward angle and shines directly down into the interior of the stack. 10 seconds later it goes out and the object moves south to hover above the south stack and shine the bright light inside. It then moves off at 5–10 mph to the south, then suddenly takes off at great speed to the southwest. A very short time later, it returns and hovers above the slag dump. The object is seen as dull black and perhaps 1,320 feet from wingtip to wingtip. Eight reddish lights are on each wing about 75 feet apart and connected by a white tube of light. Greenlee County Sheriff Ralph Gomez also observes the object, as do about 100 members of the Morenci High School band. (“ UFO over Copper Smelter,” APRO Bulletin 29, no. 7 (1981): 1–3; UFOEv II 40)
October 26 — Paul Bennewitz over a number of months has become convinced that he has uncovered evidence of aliens controlling humans through electromagnetic devices, and furthermore claims that UFOs are regularly flying near Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque and the nearby Manzano Nuclear Weapons Storage Facility and Coyote Canyon Test Area. He is also convinced there is an alien base beneath Archuleta Peak northwest of Dulce, New Mexico. After failing to convince APRO (who considers him deluded), Bennewitz contacts AFOSI special agent Sgt. Richard Doty at Kirtland Air Force Base, who meets with him at his home today along with Jerry Miller, Kirtland’s scientific advisor for the Air Force Test and Evaluation Center. (Greg Bishop, Project Beta, Paraview, 2005, pp. 34–35, 135–137; Robert L. Hastings, “ UFOs Filmed Hovering over U.S. Air Force Nuclear Weapons Storage Area,” UFOs & Nukes, May 13, 2012; Alejandro T. Rojas, [ Bennewitz/Kirtland AFB documents]; Clark III 141, 359; Alejandro T. Rojas, “ Ex–Air Force Law Enforcement Agent Claims He Hoaxed Major UFO Mythologies,” June 29, 2019; Dolan II 225–229; Coulthart 2023, pp. 132–133; Clark IV 168)
October 26 — 7:00 p.m. An oddly shaped UFO is observed by a husband and wife on their farm 2 miles southeast of Bloomfield, Indiana. The object looks like two full moons spaced about 12 feet apart with a flashing red light in back like a lopsided triangle. Each white light is about 3 feet in diameter, and the white is intense but nothing around lights up. The object is at treetop level and passes to the right of a security light. There is no reflection of metal anywhere. The woman gets the impression that the lights are connected to something huge, saying: “The object passed about 20 feet above the barn making no sound and lights making no light. When it was over the barn roof, the sows with baby pigs in the barn jumped up and began wild grunting and knocking about in their pens. They settled down immediately after the object cleared the roof. The object is now coming very slowly towards the front of our house and yard. My husband had gone back into the house to watch from the front windows, my children are crying, and I am on the back porch having the time of my life.” The UFO disappears behind the roof line of the house. (“ Tractor-Chasing Saucer,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 5 (July/Aug. 1981): 14–15; “ October UFO in Indiana Reported,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 8 (August 1981): 6; “ Greene County, Indiana, 1980 CE II,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 6, no. 2 (April/May 1985): 1, 6, 8; John P. Timmerman, “ Greene County Close Encounter,” IUR 28, no. 1 (Spring 2003): 10–12)
October 31 — Day. The airport control tower at Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, detects a UFO on its radar. An F-5 squadron has just landed, with the exception of one plane, whose pilot requests authorization to pursue. He sees a bright gold object right in front of him and accelerates to approach, but the object immediately speeds up. The control tower loses the object on its radar. The pilot continues to pursue for 2 minutes before the UFO speeds off over the ocean. (Clark III 206–207; Brazil 555–556; Clark IV 247)
November 2 — 12:42 p.m. A couple driving westbound on US Highway 50 some 20 miles east of Montrose, Colorado, notice a silver, oblong object in the distance. As the highway starts to curve, it is seen against a background of mesa. They stop the car for a better look for another 10 seconds. It banks like an aircraft to the right and its shape changes to an oval. It disappears by shooting up over the top of the mesa toward the northeast. (“ Daylight Disc in Colorado,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 3 (March/April 1981): 14)
November 2 — 3:00 p.m. Mike Clampett and his wife are stepping out of a Toyota showroom on Solano Avenue in Vallejo, California. They see a group of people looking at the sky where a Piper Cub seems to be on a collision course with a cigar-shaped object. The plane is moving north to south while the UFO flies silently from high in the east to the west. The object is rotating or spiraling about once every second. It takes nearly 10 minutes for the object to reach nearly overhead, dropping in altitude all the while. It remains stationary in the zenith about 5 minutes then moves to the south at a higher altitude. (“ A Spiralling Daylight Cigar,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 2 (Jan./Feb. 1981): 11–12)
November 5 — 8:45 p.m. A private pilot named Dennis is flying a Piper PA-32R-301T Turbo Saratoga SP at 8,000 feet near Lake Berryessa, California. He spots an orange, bullet-shaped light that is keeping even with him at 212 mph. The light brightens and begins to pulse with an increasing frequency, then shoots forward and makes a perfect right-angle turn upward. Five minutes later, it reappears behind him and performs a similar maneuver. The sighting is corroborated by a commercial airliner. (“ A Twin ‘Déjà vu’ Sighting?” IUR 7, no. 1 (January 1982): 5)
November 6 — Peter Gersten files a reply to the NSA’s September request for summary judgment. (“ CAUS Update,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 1 (Nov./Dec. 1980): 16)
November 6 — 7:55 a.m. Nancy Parker is a passenger on a Western Airlines flight passing over Monterey Bay, California. She takes three photos of the scenery below, but when she develops the film, a bright, disc-shaped object appears on the second photo. Probable reflection or lens flare. (“ Reflection or Object? Photo from Airliner Being Studied,” CUFOS Associates Newsletter 2, no. 3 (March 1981): 1)
November 10 — Paul Bennewitz visits with a small group of officials—including Brig. Gen. William Brooksher, base AFOSI head Maj. Thomas Cseh, and scientists from the USAF Phillips Weapons Lab—at Kirtland AFB in New Mexico to present his film, photos, and electromagnetic findings. (Greg Bishop, Project Beta, Paraview, 2005, pp. 41–44; Alejandro T. Rojas, [ Bennewitz/Kirtland AFB documents]; Clark III 141, 359; Clark IV 168–169)
November 10 — 9:00 p.m. A man observes a stationary white light some 30° up in the western sky near the intersection of State Highway 30 and Interstate 270 in Sunset Hills, Missouri. A second object, orange in color, silently circles it for several minutes before taking off to the west. (“ Orbiting Lights near St. Louis,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 1, no. 8 (December 1980): 5)
November 11 - 6:40 p.m. Seven commercial aircraft-four Iberia Boeing 727s, a British airliner, an air-taxi, and a Transeuropa aircraft-encounter an unusual green object over Barcelona, Maella, Palma de Mallorca, and other points in northeastern Spain. Spanish journalist Juan J. Benítez investigates and determines that either 7 identical UFOs are involved or a single object is responsible, one capable of traveling hundreds of miles within minutes. Comandante Ramos, one of the Iberia pilots, says that the object is "like an enormous soap bubble" that is coming straight for his aircraft. He puts it into an evasive dive. When it passes close to the plane, they see a second smaller ball. (Juan J. Benítez, " Anniversary Aerial Encounters," Flying Saucer Review 26, no. 6 (March 1981): 12-14; Good Above, pp. 157-159)
Mid-November — 4:30 p.m. A man doing research on UFOs at a university library (possibly the University of Pennsylvania) is approached by a thin, dark-complected man with black hair and wearing a dingy dark suit and string tie. He chats briefly in a foreign accent about flying saucers, then gets very agitated about the subject before calming down and leaving. (Peter M. Rojcewicz, “ The ‘Men in Black Experience and Tradition: Analogues with the Traditional Devil Hypothesis,” Journal of American Folklore 100 (Apr./June 1987): 148–160; Clark III 733; Clark IV 813–814)
November 17 — Sgt. Richard Doty tells Bennewitz that AFOSI has decided against any further investigation of his claims. The same day, Doty forges a communication (later called the “Aquarius document”) from AFOSI headquarters at Bolling AFB in Washington, D.C., to the Seventeenth District AFOSI office at Kirtland and gives it to Bill Moore. It mentions, briefly and cryptically, analyses of a UFO film apparently taken in October. It also mentions MJ-12 and a government UFO investigation “outside official intelligence channels” called the Aquarius Project. Bill Moore calls it a retyped version of a real AFOSI message with a few spurious additions. Doty tells Moore to pass it on to Bennewitz, which he does eventually. In 2005, Doty tells radio host Art Bell that AFOSI’s interest in Bennewitz has nothing to do with aliens; rather, it is to protect the technologies and activities at Kirtland AFB. (Good Above, p. 528; Greg Bishop, Project Beta, Paraview, 2005, pp. 43, 120–129; “ Greg Bishop and Richard Doty, Coast to Coast AM with Host Art Bell, Interview Transcript,” February 27, 2005; Clark III 362; “ ‘Mislead the Public’ Ep. 3 Official Clip | UFO | Showtime Documentary Series,” Showtime YouTube channel, August 25, 2021; Clark IV 406)
November 18 — For the resolution of CAUS v. NSA, the National Security Agency creates two affidavits to explain why UFO information is to be withheld from the public. The affidavits are written by the chief officer of policy for the NSA, Eugene F. Yeates. The first of the two is the “unclassified, softened-down” version released to CAUS and the public. The affidavit says that it is in the NSA’s direct interests not to have the documents published, as they can compromise national security because they contain sensitive intelligence regarding the interception of foreign communication; and no meaningful amount of information can be declassified without giving foreign intelligence information regarding US time and methods of information interception. The second affidavit is for Judge Gerhard A. Gesell only, classified “top secret,” which the judge can read with an “in camera” clearance. The judge sides with the NSA after reviewing the affidavit (released to CAUS through an FOIA request with 95% redactions, later released in 1997 with only 25% redacted, and in 2014 with a bit less missing). Gesell states that “the public interest in disclosure is far outweighed by the sensitive nature of the materials and the obvious effect on national security their release may well entail.” CAUS fashions an appeal to the US Supreme Court. (Wikipedia, “ Citizens Against UFO Secrecy”; Eugene F. Yeates, In Camera Affidavit, Citizens Against Unidentified Flying Objects Secrecy v. National Security Agency, US District Court for the District of Columbia, October 9, 1980; J. Allen Hynek, “ A Cosmic Watergate?” IUR 9, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1984): 10–12; ClearIntent, pp. 187–188; Good Above, pp. 417–419, 535–539; John Greenewald, “ UFOs: The National Security Agency (NSA) Collection,” The Black Vault, September 10, 2016)
November 18 — 7:30–11:00 p.m. Many people living in northern Missouri and northeastern Kansas, from Edina, Missouri, to Fairview, Kansas, report a formation of unusual lights traveling slowly and noiselessly. An airport and the police department in Kirksville, Missouri, receive 25 calls or so. The basic description is a triangular formation with two bright headlights. Rick Hull, a 20-year-old photographer from Trenton, Missouri, watches the lights pass overhead four different times; the underside shows a diamond-shaped array of white lights with a steady red beacon in the middle. There are also two bright headlights and an apparent dome with seven green lights around it. He manages to photograph the array only once out of several attempts. Most people provide an estimated altitude for the lights as 300–400 feet, but a Trenton witness puts it at 1,000–1,500 feet, and Missouri Highway Patrolman Bob Lober guesses 1,500–1,800 feet in Edinburg, Missouri. The lights change direction frequently. Radar technician Franklin West, located at a remote radar station of the Kansas City Air Route Traffic Control Center at Sublette, Missouri, finds a radar target in the same direction and distance as visual reports that local witnesses alert him to. It passes through the Kirksville area 4–5 times in a 2–3 hour period. He estimates its speed at 45 mph. A pilot landing at the Olathe, Kansas, Air Route Traffic Control Center says he recognizes the UFO as a refueling tanker with jets following it, which matches an established refueling track in the area. The Center for UFO Studies confirms that Altus AFB in Oklahoma, flew a huge C-5A cargo aircraft behind a KC-135 tanker from Grissom AFB in Peru, Indiana, that evening. The two planes flew in tandem at 20,000 feet at an indicated air speed of 250 knots beginning at 8:00 p.m. and ending around 11:00 p.m. However, there are a few discrepancies with the reports. (“ North Missourians Report Strange Lights in Night Sky,” Chillicothe (Mo.) Constitution-Tribune, November 19, 1980, pp. 1, 12; Bob Pratt, “Hundreds Spot Gigantic UFO As It Cruises over 2 States,” National Enquirer, February 3, 1981; “ Radar-Visual Light Form Seen by Independent Witnesses,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 3 (March/April 1981): 12–14; Joe and Doris Graziano, “ Press Reports,” APRO Bulletin 29, no. 5 (June 1981): 6; Marler 109–112)
November 19 — 11:45 p.m. A couple is driving home to Longmont, Colorado, from Denver when they hear a loud “whish” and a beam of blue light strikes their car. Their headlights begin to dim and the radio emits static before fading out. The back wheels of the car leave the pavement and the car rises at an angle into the air. They lose consciousness and wake up as the car is resuming its 50 mph journey down the road. More than one hour of time is missing. The next day, the woman finds a rectangular mark on her abdomen and soon has vivid dreams of a craft and an entity. She develops a nearly fatal case of pneumonia and finds out she is pregnant. The man discovers a melanoma on his legs, but it improves. Under hypnosis they recall seeing a hovering domed craft, a luminous entryway, and a humanoid with a large head, gray skin, thin fingers, and shiny golden garb. (Richard Sigismond, “ CE-IIIs: New Dimensions in Investigations,” IUR 7, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1982): 9–15, reprinted in Flying Saucer Review 29, no. 2 (December 1983): 21–26; Richard Hall, Uninvited Guests, Aurora, 1988, pp. 311–312; Martin Kottmeyer, “ This One’s a Keeper,” REALL Newsletter 4, no. 8 (August 1996))
November 24 — Around 10:00 p.m. A teenager in New Lenox, Illinois, sees two green light sources from his bedroom window. They move back and forth in the southern sky and disappear briefly when a plane flies below them. (“ UFOs—or IFOs over Joliet?” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 2 (Jan./Feb. 1981): 12)
November 25 — Early morning. Policemen in New Lenox, Manhattan, Joliet, and Ellwood, Illinois, watch a bright white light that fluctuates in brightness and mostly remains stationary. Probable sightings of Venus. (“ UFOs—or IFOs over Joliet?” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 2 (Jan./Feb. 1981): 12)
November 25 — 6:40 a.m. A glowing orange ball is seen maneuvering around the Ninian Northern oil platform in the North Sea. It is large enough to be seen by workers at the Brent oil platform 12–15 miles away. An RAF Hawker Siddeley Nimrod aircraft is sent to the area, but no public conclusions are reached about its nature. (Nick Redfern, A Covert Agenda: UFO Secrecy Exposed, Simon & Schuster, 1997, p. 136)
November 26 — Doty receives a call from former astronaut Sen. Harrison Schmitt (R-N.Mex.) who asks him about AFOSI’s role in Bennewitz’s claims. Doty tells him they are not investigating. But Doty later admits what he tells Schmitt is not true. AFOSI has told him to make Bennewitz believe there is an impending alien invasion because Bennewitz is actually observing secret Air Force projects. According to Doty, the Air Force wants to discredit Bennewitz so no one will figure that out. However, Doty claims that in doing so, he created hoaxed documents that are given to Bennewitz and other UFO researchers, and that he broke into Bennewitz’s house and office. (Mark Pilkington, Mirage Men: A Journey in Disinformation, Paranoia, and UFOs, Constable and Robinson, 2010; Alejandro T. Rojas, “ Ex–Air Force Law Enforcement Agent Says He Hoaxed Major UFO Mythologies,” Huffington Post, May 13, 2014; Clark III 359–362; Clark IV 403–406)
November 29 — 5:00 a.m. While checking reports of cattle wandering around a local council estate in Todmorden, West Yorkshire, England, Police Constable Alan Godfrey allegedly sees a bright light ahead on Burnley Road that appears to be a hovering, rotating object. He sees twigs and leaves swirling around beneath it. He experiences missing time of approximately 25 minutes, during which he splits a boot and acquires an itchy, red mark on his foot. Via hypnotic regression, he recalls being medically examined by alien creatures. In May, Godfrey had investigated the death of Zigmund Adamski, who had been missing for five days before his body was found on top of a coal pile. According to the coroner, Adamski died of a heart attack. Godfrey tells reporters at the time that he believes it possible that Adamski was abducted by aliens and placed on the coal pile “by someone or something.” Godfrey self-publishes Who or What Were They? in 2017, a book that includes his speculations regarding the Adamski case, abduction claims by Travis Walton, and his own UFO sighting. In 2014, a partial witness to the event surfaces, a bus driver on Burnley Road who around 4:55 a.m. experiences one of the physical effects Godfrey describes—an oddly localized whirlwind buffeting debris and leaving a swirled road surface beneath. (Wikipedia, “ Alan Godfrey”; Jenny Randles, “ The Alan Godfrey Abduction, November 28, 1980,” UFO Casebook; “ Alan Godfrey,” Northern Ontario UFO Research and Study; Jenny Randles, The Pennine UFO Mystery, Granada, 1983, pp. 122–135, 147–168; Good Above, pp. 118–119; UFOEv II 561–562; “ PC Alan Godfrey 1980,” Andy Bell YouTube channel, March 29, 2009; Jenny Randles, “Flappy Valley: Part One,” Fortean Times 325 (April 2015): 27; Jenny Randles, “Flappy Valley: Part Two,” Fortean Times 326 (May 2015): 27; Jenny Randles, “Flappy Valley, Part 3,” Fortean Times 327 (June 2015): 29; Jenny Randles, “Flappy Valley, Part 4,” Fortean Times 328 (July 2015): 28–30; Alan Godfrey, Who or What Were They? The Author, 2017; Jenny Randles, “Twister Time in Todmorden,’ Fortean Times 442 (March 2024): 29; “ Policeman Alan Godfrey on Witnessing a Diamond-Shaped UFO and Being Abducted by Aliens, Nov 28, 1980,” Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, September 19, 2024)
November 29 — Mechanic Granger Taylor, 32, of Duncan, British Columbia, a man obsessed with aliens and UFOs to the point of building his own full-size model in his backyard, announces to his friends and parents that he is going to board an alien spacecraft and take a 42-month interstellar voyage. He is never seen again. In 1986, truck fragments and bones are found at a blast site on Mount Prevost. Though DNA testing is not in common use at the time, pathology work by the coroner attributes the adult human bones to Taylor. Fragments of clothing found amid the decayed material are from a shirt owned by Taylor, as confirmed by his mother. Representatives from the auto division of the RCMP confirm the truck is his. A report by the B.C. Coroners office officially declares Taylor dead. A CBC-TV documentary about Taylor, Spaceman, is released in 2019 but fails to come up with a likely explanation. (Tyler Hooper, “ The Man Who Went to Space and Disappeared,” Vice, July 1, 2016; Mike Taylor, “ What Happened to Granger Taylor?” Vancouver (B.C.) Times Colonist, February 3, 2019; CBC-TV, “ Spaceman,” 2019)
December — Army Lt. Col. John B. Alexander discusses in Military Review how psychotronic weapons could be developed by studying the paranormal. He discusses the remote-viewing studies of Russell Targ and Harold E. Puthoff and their potential military applications. As for psychotronic weapons, he sees much potential, saying, “with development, these weapons would be able to induce illness or death at little or no risk to the operator. Range may be a present problem, but this will probably be overcome if it has not been already.” As an example, he cites work by the Soviets, who have “examined the effects of electromagnetic radiation on humans and have applied those techniques against the US Embassy in Moscow.” (John B. Alexander, “ The New Mental Battlefield: ‘Beam Me Up, Spock!’” Military Review 60, no. 12 (December 1980); John B. Alexander, UFOs: Myths, Conspiracies, and Realities, Thomas Dunne, 2011, pp. 15–17)
December 3 — 8:30 p.m. On State Highway 57 about 10 miles south of McLain, Mississippi, Robert and Janice Lowrey [or Lawrey?] see a luminous, blue-white ball of light to the east. The FM radio of their car quits, the car’s headlights dim, and the car heater quits when light comes briefly over the right side of the hood. They estimate the light to be about a foot in diameter and only 3 feet away. The seat belt alarm also comes on during the encounter. The light just vanishes. (“ Vehicle Affected by Mini-UFO?” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 2 (Jan./Feb. 1981): 12–13)
December 4 — 8:38 a.m. Graham Moyle and other controllers at the Perth, Western Australia, airport report watching “silver tumbling discs” two or three times through 11:00 a.m. Danielle Russell, 12, sees four objects with lights that change color from red to blue to green moving quickly north to south at 11:00 a.m. There is a reported paint on the radar 7 miles distant at a speed of 138 mph and a height of 5 miles. The target is lost in the radar’s cone of silence. The RAAF scrambles a Macchi jet, but it cannot find the objects. At 1:20 p.m., a target is detected on the radar at 21 miles, due south. The tower tracks an object high above one of the runways. Five minutes later, the radar returns another target. (“ Jet Hunt for Australian UFOs,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 2 (Jan./Feb. 1981): 14)
December 4 — 6:15 p.m. UFO researcher Ray Stanford allegedly shoots 25 seconds of a film through the window of a Braniff airliner flying over Mexico that seems to show faraday rings around a domed UFO. (Douglas Dean Johnson, “ Gravity Waves and Faraday Rings—Or Imaginary Things?” Mirador, April 4, 2024)
December 5 - 10:00 p.m. Two teenagers parked next to a swimming pool in a subdivision of Normal, Illinois, see a stationary bright white light about half the size of the full moon in the western sky. Suddenly it splits into two smaller halves that rejoin, growing small and fuzzy, then brighten and enlarge. Three small lights shoot out and snap back in again. They watch the display for about one hour. During the last 15 minutes, their ears begin to hurt simultaneously. The pain shifts from their right ears to their temples, and they both feel a pea-shaped lump under their skin. They return home. The next day the lumps are gone but they have headaches. On December 8 at 8:45 p.m., the boy returns to the same spot alone and sees another light for about one minute. When he calls his girlfriend again to tell her, both regain the painful lumps in their temples. (" Youths Link Pain with UFO," CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 2 (February 1981): 6)
December 6 — 12:45 a.m. A man is driving westbound a few miles north of Edwardsville, Illinois, when a disc-like object cuts across his view from the south about 100 feet away. It seems to be 40 feet in diameter and 9–13 feet thick. Five intense, steady, blue-white lights illuminate its dark shape. He sees windows at the center. The witness tries to drive toward the object, but his car engine fails for 1–2 minutes. The object zips off after a few minutes. (“ Current Sighting Reports,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 3 (March 1981): 6)
December 6 — 9:01 a.m. Jean Findlay of Poole, Dorset, England, is waiting for a bus and feels the urge to look up. She sees a disc-shaped, domed UFO hovering above nearby trees. Feeling “spellbound” and experiencing a sensation of “peace, calm, and warmth,” she watches the object emit a beam of light, rotate once, and fly away at a great rate of speed. She looks at her watch and sees that 4 minutes have elapsed, seemingly in the space of a few seconds. Even though it is rush hour, she sees no one else around. (Leslie Harris, “ A Warm and Peaceful Experience,” Flying Saucer Review 27, no. 3 (November 1981): 15–16, 27; Jenny Randles, UFO Reality, R. Hale, 1983, p. 73; Clark III 866; Clark IV 960–961)
December 13 — 5:47 p.m. James Garrigus sees an oblong, pulsating orange glow descending at a 30° angle in the northeast as he is driving in Lima, Ohio. Suddenly it curves back upward in a backwards “J,” continuing to move in the same direction. The light increases speed, still bobbing and spinning, and finally shoots upward. (“ Nocturnal Light in Ohio,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 2 (February 1981): 6)
December 15 — 3:00 p.m. About 40 witnesses at the Orpington Hospital redevelopment site in London, England, watch a UFO that alternately hovers, moves slowly, shoots across the sky, and finally divides into three and disappears straight up at 4:15 p.m. The object is an elongated triangular shape with a reddish-orange nose, silvery body, and diamond-blue rear section, with its nose pointing southeast. Peter McSherry, clerk of works for Lovell (Southern) Ltd estimates its height at 50,000 feet. A video of the object is taken in the presence of other witnesses at Seal Chart near Sevenoaks, Kent, and although it shows only a point of light in a cloudless sky, it does corroborate the sighting. (Good Above, pp. 76–79)
December 25 - 9:00 p.m. Soviet spy satellite Kosmos 749 (launched July 4, 1975, from Plesetsk) re-enters the Earth's atmosphere, breaks into several pieces, and creates a spectacular fireworks display over northwest Europe. Police stations, coast guards, and the RAF receive hundreds of calls reporting four or five "comet-like objects leaving bright trails." Astronomers also record three fireball meteors the same night, the largest and brightest appearing at 3:00 a.m. (John Mason and Howard Miles, " Re-Entry of `Cosmos 749' Rocket on 1980 December 25," Journal of the British Astronomical Association 91 (1981): 561-566; UFOFiles2, p. 105)
December 26 — 3:00 a.m. A series of reported sightings of unexplained lights near Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk, England, have become linked with claims of UFO landings. The events occur just outside RAF Woodbridge [now MOD Woodbridge], used at the time by the United States Air Force. USAF personnel, including deputy base commander Lieutenant Colonel Charles I. Halt, claim to experience a UFO event. A security patrol (A1C John Burroughs and S/Sgt Budd Steffens) near the East Gate of RAF Woodbridge sees lights apparently descending into nearby Rendlesham Forest. These lights are attributed by astronomers to a piece of natural debris seen burning up as a fireball over southern England at the time. The observers initially think it is a downed aircraft but, when others (S/Sgt James Penniston, Burroughs, and A1C Edward Cabansag) enter the forest to investigate they see, according to Halt’s memo, a glowing object, metallic in appearance, with colored lights. As they attempt to approach the object, it appears to move through the trees, and “the animals on a nearby farm went into a frenzy.” Penniston later claims he and Burroughs encountered a “craft of unknown origin” while in the forest, which he photographs and touches, although there is no publicized mention of this at the time and no corroboration from other witnesses. (Burroughs only reports a blinding white light.) Shortly after 4:00 a.m., local police are called to the scene, but they report that the only lights they can see are those from the Orfordness Lighthouse, a few miles away on the coast. After daybreak, Burroughs and Penniston return to a small clearing near the eastern edge of the forest and find three small impressions on the ground in a triangular pattern, as well as burn marks and broken branches on nearby trees. At 10:30 a.m., the Suffolk Constabulary are called out again, this time to see the impressions, which they think could have been made by an animal. Georgina Bruni, in her book You Can’t Tell the People (2000), publishes a photo of the supposed landing site taken on the morning after the first sighting.
December 27 — 9:30 p.m. Construction workers skating in Yantan Park, Lanzhou, Gansu province, China, notice a red triangular object moving slowly in the eastern sky. It moves above them and they notice it has a misty circle surrounding it and a dark red center. It also has a gray protuberance that shines a brilliant light, and the outer edge emits regular flashes of yellow light. They watch it for 7 minutes until it disappears in the northwest. (“ The Chinese Connection…and Some Wholesome Chinese Philosophy,” IUR 7, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1982): 13)
December 28 — 1:48 a.m. RAF Woodbridge Deputy Base Commander Charles Halt visits the alleged December 26 landing site with 20–30 servicemen (including John Burroughs, Sgt. Adrian Bustinza, Sgt. Bobby Ball, and Sgt. Monroe Nevels). They take radiation readings in the triangle of depressions and in the surrounding area using an AN/PDR-27, a standard US military radiation survey meter. Although they record 70–100 microR/hr at the landing site, in other regions they detect only 30–40 microR/hr, around the background level. Furthermore, they detect a similar small “burst” over half a mile away from the landing site. Halt records the events on a microcassette recorder, the “Halt tape,” released to UFO researchers in 1984 by Col. Sam Morgan, who has succeeded Ted Conrad as Halt’s superior. The tape chronicles Halt’s investigation in the forest in real time. During this investigation, a flashing light is seen across the field to the east, almost in line with a farmhouse, as the witnesses had seen on the first night. The Orfordness Lighthouse is visible further to the east in the same line of sight. Later, three star-like lights are seen in the sky, two to the north and one to the south, about 10° above the horizon. The brightest of these hovers for 2–3 hours and seems to beam down a stream of light from time to time. Astronomers have explained these as merely bright stars. In June 2010, retired Col. Charles Halt signs a notarized affidavit, in which he again summarizes what happened, then states he believes the event to be extraterrestrial and covered up by both the UK and US military. Contradictions between this affidavit and the facts as recorded at the time in Halt’s memo (dated January 13, 1981) and tape recording (made December 28) have been pointed out. In 2010, base commander Col. Ted Conrad provides a statement about the incident to UFO researcher David Clarke. Conrad states that “We saw nothing that resembled Lieutenant Colonel Halt’s descriptions either in the sky or on the ground” and that “We had people in position to validate Halt’s narrative, but none of them could.” In an interview, Conrad criticizes Halt for the claims in his affidavit, saying “he should be ashamed and embarrassed by his allegation that his country and Britain both conspired to deceive their citizens over this issue. He knows better.” Conrad also disputes the testimony of Sgt. James Penniston, who claims to have touched an alien spacecraft; he had interviewed Penniston at the time and he had not mentioned any such occurrence. Conrad also suggests that the entire incident was a hoax.
December 28 — 5:30 p.m. Ohio County, Kentucky, Sheriff Deputy Frank Chinn is leaving his home in Echols, Kentucky, to report for his shift when he notices six objects following the same flight path out of the southwestern sky. He calls for verification from the state police. Trooper Don Beemer arrives in time to witness one of the objects leaving. Chinn sees two more UFOs later in the evening. Chinn meets up with Deputy John Cooper at a gas station in Centertown, Kentucky, where they watch one of the objects through a telescope set up on the premise. Chinn compares the bottom of the UFO to a faceted diamond. “The difference was that in each facet or plane of the surface, there was a bright spotlight sending off a brilliant white light,” Chinn notes. “And in the center of the craft there were three rotating, flashing lights colored red, green and yellow.” The sheriff’s department receives 14 calls from local residents who also report sightings. (“ Sightings of UFOs Reported,” Owensboro (Ky.) Messenger-Inquirer, December 30, 1980, p. 11; “ Officials Offer No Reason for Apparent UFO Sightings,” Owensboro (Ky.) Messenger-Inquirer, December 31, 1980, p. 21)
December 28–29 — Around 12:00 midnight. USAF A1C Larry Warren claims he is on patrol at RAF Woodbridge with other servicemen who are bringing lighting equipment to a large clearing called Capel Green. At 12:30 a.m., he is directed into the woods to “investigate a disturbance.” They soon come to a large field where about 40 military personnel are gathered. They are ordered to surround what appears to be a bright fog or mist. When his group enters the field, Warren sees it is a glowing, yellow-green, circular object not more than 12 inches in height. Two officers walk around it with Geiger counters, someone takes photos, and another operates a movie camera. He hears shouts of “Here it comes!” and sees a small red light that quickly approaches his group at 1:30 a.m. The basketball-sized object makes a downward arc and hovers at 20 feet above the ground. It then explodes in a blinding flash that gives off no heat. Instantly, about 25 away, Warren claims he sees a large, pyramid-shaped object topped by a glowing red light. Covering the entire surface are what look like boxes and pipes. An officer orders Bustinza and Warren (now feeling nauseous) to approach within 10–15 feet of the object. Before long they are ordered further back. A staff car arrives, carrying Col. Gordon Williams and his staff. From far behind the object comes a bright bluish ball of light. Warren claims he can see large-headed beings inside. He sees Col. Williams approach the beings and stare at them. Warren arrives back at Security Control at 4:30 a.m. Most ufologists find Warren’s account unreliable, and the book he coauthored, Left at East Gate, is withdrawn by the publisher, Cosimo, in 2017 after finding “inaccurate or embellished” testimony. In 2010, Jenny Randles, who first reported the Rendlesham case in the London Evening Standard in 1981 and coauthored with local researchers the first book on the case in 1984, Sky Crash: A Cosmic Conspiracy, emphasizes her previously expressed doubts that the incident was caused by extraterrestrial visitors. While suggesting that an unidentified phenomenon might have caused parts of the case, she notes: “Whilst some puzzles remain, we can probably say that no unearthly craft were seen in Rendlesham Forest. We can also argue with confidence that the main focus of the events was a series of misperceptions of everyday things encountered in less than everyday circumstances.” The most plausible skeptical explanation is that the sightings are due to a combination of several factors. The initial sighting on December 26, when the airmen saw something apparently descending into the forest, coincides with the appearance of a bright fireball over southern England; such fireballs are a common source of UFO reports. The supposed landing marks are identified by police and foresters as rabbit diggings. According to the witness statements from December 26, the flashing light seen from the forest lay in the same direction as the Orfordness Lighthouse. When the eyewitnesses attempted to approach the light, they realized it was further off than they thought. Timings on Halt’s tape recording indicate that the light he saw, which lay in the same direction as the light seen two nights earlier, flashed every five seconds, which was the flash rate of the Orfordness Lighthouse. The star-like objects that Halt reported hovering low to the north and south are thought by some skeptics to have been misinterpretations of bright stars distorted by atmospheric and optical effects. No evidence has emerged to confirm that anything came down in the forest. However, Nick Redfern in The Rendlesham Forest UFO Conspiracy alleges that the events were created by US and UK military as part of a series of top-secret experiments involving ball lightning and the “use of sophisticated holograms and hallucinogens” to test the reactions of the personnel exposed to them. (Wikipedia, “ Rendlesham Forest incident”; NICAP, “ Rendlesham Forest Encounter / Halt Case”; Brenda Butler, Dot Street, and Jenny Randles, Sky Crash, Grafton, 1984; Jenny Randles, “ Mystery at Rendlesham,” IUR 9, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1984): 10–11, 15; “ A Flashlight in the Forest,” The Guardian (UK), January 5, 1985, p. 9; Robert H. Coddington, “ An Analysis of the Rendlesham Forest Incident Tape,” IUR 10, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1985): 9–13; Jenny Randles, “ The Cover-Up in England,” IUR 12, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1987): 9–12, 20; Good Above, pp. 79–96, 456; Jenny Randles, “ A Fire in the Forest: New Light on the Rendlesham Landing,” IUR 13, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1988): 4–17, 21; Jenny Randles, “ Rendlescam,” IUR 14, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1989): 16–18; Jenny Randles, From Out of the Blue: The Incredible UFO Cover-Up at Bentwaters NATO Air Base, Global Communications, 1991; [Michael Aspel], “Strange But True: Rendlesham Forest UFO Incident,” part 1, part 2, part 3, [ITV Meridian, December 9, 1994], Zoromes YouTube channel, January 12, 2009; Nick Pope, Open Skies, Closed Minds, Simon & Schuster, 1996, pp. 141–165; Larry Warren and Peter Robbins, Left at East Gate: A First-Hand Account of the Bentwaters-Woodbridge UFO Incident, Its Cover-Up, and Investigation, Marlowe, 1996; Jenny Randles, UFO Crash Landing? Friend or Foe? The Full Story of the Rendlesham Forest Close Encounter, Blandford, 1998; Jenny Randles, “ Seeing the Forest for the Trees: New Twists in the Bentwaters Case,” IUR 23, no. 2 (Summer 1998): 16–19, 29–30; Don Berliner, with Marie Galbreath and Antonio Huneeus, UFO Briefing Document: The Best Available Evidence, Dell, 2000, pp. 105–111; Georgina Bruni, You Can’t Tell the People, Sidgwick & Jackson, 2000; Jenny Randles and Richard Hall, “ The Rendlesham Forest Case: Point/Counterpoint,” IUR 25, no. 3 (Fall 2000): 8–15, 30; UFOEv II 99–108; Jenny Randles, “ Rendlesham Forest: The British MoD File,” IUR 26, no. 3 (Fall 2001): 21–25, 30–32; Ian Ridpath, “ The Rendlesham Forest UFO Case,” Ian Ridpath, February 28, 2003; “ Rendlesham: UFO Hoax,” Inside Out: BBC, June 30, 2003; Dave Cosnette, “ The Bentwaters Rendlesham Forest Incident,” January 2005; Michael D. Swords, GrassRoots UFOs: Case Reports from the Timmerman Files, Fund for UFO Research, 2005, pp. 145–146; Kean, pp. 169–173, 179–188; UFOFiles2, pp. 105–115; Nick Pope, with John Burroughs and Jim Penniston, Encounter in Rendlesham Forest, Thistle, 2014; Jenny Randles, “Rendlesham Forest Genesis: Part One,” Fortean Times 336 (February 2016): 24–25; Jenny Randles, “Rendlesham Forest Genesis: Part Two,” Fortean Times 337 (March 2016): 28–29; Jenny Randles, “Rendlesham Forest Genesis: Part Three,” Fortean Times 338 (April 2016): 26–27; Jenny Randles, “Rendlesham Forest Genesis: Part Four,” Fortean Times 339 (May 2016): 26–27; Jenny Randles, “Rendlesham Forest Genesis: Part Five,” Fortean Times 340 (June 2016): 28–29; Andrew Pike, The Rendlesham File: Britain’s Roswell? Flying Disk Press, 2017; Nukes 403–443; Clark III 950; Matt Salusbury, “Rendlesham Revisited,” Fortean Times 387 (Christmas 2019): 28–29; Jim Penniston and Gary Osborn, The Rendlesham Enigma: Book 1, Timeline, The Authors, 2019; “ Col. Charles Halt Returns to Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK, Sept. 8th 2019,” David Young Paranormal Dimensions Radio Presenter YouTube channel, October 6, 2019; Nick Redfern, The Rendlesham Forest UFO Conspiracy, Lisa Hagan, 2020; Jim Penniston and Gary Osborn, “ The Full Report,” The Rendlesham Forest Incident Official Website; Jim Penniston and Gary Osborn, “ Witness Statements,” The Rendlesham Forest Incident Official Website; Jim Penniston and Gary Osborn, “ Others Involved,” The Rendlesham Forest Incident Official Website; Center for UFO Studies, [ Rendlesham case documents]; George Wingfield, The Rendlesham Forest UFO Mystery, Squeeze Press, 2022; Coulthart 2023, pp. 81–82; “ John Burroughs and the Government’s Unprecedented Acknowledgment,” Roswell (N.Mex.) Daily Record, May 7, 2023; Gary Heseltine, Non-Human: The Rendlesham Forest UFO Incidents, 42 Years of Denial, The Author, 2023; Randle, 1973, pp. 175–189; Graff 284–286; Jackson Camargo, “ O Caso da Floresta de Rendlesham,” Fenomenum, December 20, 2023; “ Admiral of the Fleet Lord Hill-Norton on the UFO Landing at Rendlesham Forest near RAF Bentwaters,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, July 18, 2024; Clark IV 1064; “ Eyewitness John Burroughs’ Hypnosis Session Concerning the 1980 Rendlesham Forest UFO Encounter,” Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, February 14, 2025; “ Landed UFO Closely Observed by Jim Penniston, Missing Time Experienced; Took Notes on the Spot, 1980,” Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, May 3, 2025; Cristina Gomez, “ New Rendlesham Testimony Reveals Second UFO Landing,” UFO/UAP News, August 20, 2025; “ Rendlesham Forest UFO Incident Whistleblower Gary Baker, SAC at RAF Station Neatishead,” Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, August 24, 2025)
December 29 — 9:00 p.m. While driving through the Piney Woods of East Texas near Huffman, about 40 miles northeast of Houston, Betty J. Cash and her two passengers notice a bright light ahead. As they draw within about 130 feet, they are confronted by a fiery diamond-shaped object, emitting flames down toward the road. What happens after that is mind-boggling. Betty Cash and Vickie and Colby Landrum suffer apparent radiation illness after watching a flame-spewing UFO and mystery helicopters. Eventually, Cash and Landrum contact their US Senators, Lloyd Bentsen and John Tower, who suggest that the witnesses file a complaint with the Judge Advocate Claims office at Bergstrom Air Force Base [now Austin-Bergstrom International Airport]. In August 1981, Cash, Landrum, and Colby are interviewed at length by personnel at Bergstrom and told that they should hire a lawyer and seek financial compensation for their injuries. With attorney Peter Gersten taking on the case pro bono, the case winds its way through the US courts for several years. Cash and Landrum sue the federal government for $20 million. On August 21, 1986, US District Court Judge Ross N. Sterling dismisses their case, noting that the plaintiffs have not proved that the helicopters are associated with the government and that military officials have testified that US armed forces do not have a large, diamond-shaped aircraft in their possession. Although there is no doubt that the incident occurred, it is now considered by many to be a non-UFO case. In December 2018, Brian Dunning investigates the case and reports his findings on the Skeptoid podcast. He finds that the notes taken by Cash’s cardiologist, Vasudev B. Shenoy, attribute her hair loss to the autoimmune disease alopecia areata, that her other symptoms could be caused by illnesses that started before the incident, and that Landrum’s only documented illness is developing a cataract in one eye. He suspects that “Cash and Landrum wrongly, but honestly, placed the blame for their health problems onto whatever they saw; and even pushed the truth a bit trying to get the Air Force to pay for it.” (Wikipedia, “ Cash-Landrum incident”; NICAP, “ Cash/Landrum Case”; “ Burns Follow UFO Incident,” APRO Bulletin 29, no. 8 (1981): 1–4; “ Physical Effects, Helicopters, and a Fiery UFO,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 4 (May/June 1981): 13–14; ClearIntent, pp. 106–108; Harry Lebelson, “ Diamond Fire: A Close Encounter of the Military Kind,” Pursuit 18, no. 1 (Spring 1985): 18–21; John F. Schuessler, “Cash-Landrum UFO Case File: The Issue of Government Responsibility,” in Walter H. Andrus Jr. and Richard H. Hall, eds., MUFON 1986 UFO Symposium Proceedings, MUFON, pp. 175–182; John Schuessler, “ Cash-Landrum Case Closed?” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 222 (October 1986): 12, 17; Good Above, pp. 303–305; John Schuessler, “ Medical Injuries Resulting from a UFO Encounter,” The Spectrum of UFO Research, CUFOS, 1988, pp. 58–69; John F. Schuessler, The Cash-Landrum Radiation Case, Project VISIT, 1998; Project VISIT, [ case articles and clippings]; UFOEv II 226–229; “ Huffman 1980,” Texas UFO Museum and Research Library, December 11, 2006; Good Need, pp. 335–337, 345–346; Michael D. Swords, “ Can UFOs Cause Physiological Effects? Part 2,” IUR 34, no. 1 (September 2011): 4–5; Curt Collins, “ Report on the Cash/Landrum New Caney CEII Case by Allan Hendry,” Blue Blurry Lines, November 19, 2013; Curt Collins, “ Who’s Who in the Cash-Landrum UFO Case,” Blue Blurry Lines, February 26, 2014; Robert Sheaffer, “ Between a Beer Joint and a Highway Warning Sign: The ‘Classic’ Cash-Landrum Case Unravels,” Skeptical Inquirer 38, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 2014): 28–30; Clark III 226–228, 951; Brian Dunning, “ The Cash-Landrum UFO Incident,” Skeptoid Podcast, no. 652, December 4, 2018; Curt Collins, “ The Cash-Landrum Case UFO Document Collection,” Blue Blurry Lines, October 3, 2019; Curt Collins, “ The Cash-Landrum UFO: 1980s Recording of Witnesses Interviews,” Blue Blurry Lines, October 7, 2022; Curt Collins, “ The NSA Cash-Landrum UFO Document,” Blue Blurry Lines, December 14, 2022; Randle, 1973, pp. 189–196; Gary P. Posner, “ The Legendary Cash-Landrum Case: Radiation Sickness from a Close Encounter?” in Vicente-Juan Ballester-Olmos and Richard Heiden, eds., The Reliability of UFO Witness Testimony, UPIAR, 2023, pp. 166–179; Coulthart 2023, pp. 82–83, 256; “ The Cash-Landrum Incident: Traumatized & Physically Ill after Terrifying UFO Encounter, Dec 29, 1980,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, October 2023; Curt Collins, “ The Cash-Landrum UFO Encounter of 1980,” Blue Blurry Lines, December 14, 2023; “ Vickie Landrum’s Original Phone Report & Hypnosis Session of the Terrifying Piney Woods UFO Incident,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, December 17, 2023; Curt Collins, “ Cash-Landrum UFO Questions,” Blue Blurry Lines, December 26, 2024; Clark IV 266–268, 1064–1065)
1981
New York artist Budd Hopkins publishes Missing Time, which first describes his research into abductions that show they are far more plentiful than anyone suspects, biological in purpose, and perhaps lifelong in scope. Hopkins also shows that a period of unexplained missing time is a typical aspect of the abduction experience. The information comes primarily from hypnotic regression performed by licensed psychologist Aphrodite Clamar, who also conducts psychological tests on the abductees. (Budd Hopkins, Missing Time: A Documented Study of UFO Abductions, R. Marek, 1981; Graff 329-330; Eghigian, After, p. 280; Clark IV 19)
Center for UFO Studies researcher Mark Rodeghier publishes UFO Reports Involving Vehicle Interference, a comprehensive catalog and analysis of 441 cases where UFOs seem to affect cars or motorcycles. He finds that most of these cases occur in the late evening or early morning hours, and that in 35% of the cases, witness estimate they are within 100 feet of the object. Rodeghier also notes a high concentration of four characteristics: the presence of a light beam, loss of control of the vehicle, a physiological effect on the witness, and the UFO chasing the vehicle. (Mark Rodeghier, UFO Reports Involving Vehicle Interference, CUFOS, 1981)
A husband and wife are sleeping in their farmhouse near Newark, Ohio, when their dogs start barking loudly. They can hear people talking outside their window in a “foreign” language. They do not investigate, but in the morning they find three sets of footprint-like traces outside. They look like elongated scratch marks about 12 inches long, are uniform in shape, and go all the way to the fence line and through it. The couple begins to see a “perfectly round white circle of light,” about 1.5 inches in diameter, moving slowly around in their bedroom each night. The light is seen for about a month, no matter how the blinds and curtains are arranged. Sometimes it would stop moving for hours. (Michael D. Swords, “ A Trick of the Light,” IUR 31, no. 2 (June 2007): 9)
The Norsk Institutt for Vitenskapelig Forskning og Opplysning in Trondheim, Norway, begins publishing the NIVFO Bulletin, edited by Gunnar Bertelsen and Kilbjørn Stenødegård. It continues through spring 1995. ( NIVFO Bulletin, no. 1 (1981))
The first Ukrainian scientific meeting on UFOs is held in Kyiv, with 12 PhD’s and 40 doctoral candidates participating. The group produces a resolution to study anomalous phenomena “in the interests of the sciences and practical activities of human society.” The Ukrainian Academy of Science, especially academician G. S. Pisarenko, lends support to the effort. (V. S. Troitsky, [“ UFOs: Myth or Reality?”], Nauka i Religiya, 1982, no. 10; Mikhail Gershtein, “ A Short History of UFO Research in the Former Soviet Union,” UAP Check, July 6, 2024)
January — A. Bindas observes a radiant object above the city of Khatanga, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, during the polar night. It disappears and reappears abruptly, hovers, and directs a wide beam of light on the ground. After 5–7 minutes it zooms off in a spiral-shaped trajectory. (Stonehill and Mantle, Russia’s USO Secrets, Flying Disk, p. 97)
January 8 — 5:00 p.m. A well-documented case of physical effects from a UFO takes place in Trans-en- Provence, Var, France. Renato Nicolaï, a gardener, hears a strange whistling sound while doing agricultural work on his property. He then sees an object in the shape of two saucers, one inverted on top of the other, about 8 feet in diameter land about 150 feet away at a lower elevation. It has a thick band around the middle section, two circles that look like trapdoors, and two feet that extend about 8 inches below the body of the machine. The object takes off almost immediately, rising above the tree line and departing to the northeast. The case quickly comes to the attention of the police and is soon investigated by GEPAN, the French government’s scientific team of UFO investigators. The physical traces include evidence of vegetation and soil heating, skid marks, and circular ground marks. The chemical analysis reveals that the soil has been heated to 300°–600° C. Jean-Jacques Velasco thinks that the object could have weighed between 4 and 5 tons. Trace amounts of phosphate and zinc are found in the sample material, and an analysis of wild alfalfa near the landing site shows chlorophyll levels 30%–50% lower than expected. The police report says that the trace, which appears on an active road, looks like one made by a car tire. This explanation is dismissed by GEPAN because of Nicolaï saying otherwise. (Wikipedia, “ Affaire de Trans-en-Provence”; NICAP, “ Disc Leaves Extensive Ground Traces”; M. Julien, “ Atterrissage d’un engin non identifié á Trans-en Provence (Var),” Lumières dans la Nuit, no. 207 (Aug./Sept. 1981): 11–18; Enquête 81/01: Analyse d’un Trace, Note Technique no. 16, Groupe d’Étude des Phénomènes Aérospatiaux Non- identifiés, Centre Nationale d’Étude Spatiales, March 1, 1983; François Lagarde, “ Enfin ! La science s’intéresse à l’environnement des traces, laissées par ‘quelque chose’ sur le lieu allégué d’un atterrissage d’ovni,” Lumières dans la Nuit, no. 231/232 (Sept./Oct. 1983): 3–6; “ Phénomène d’ovni à Trans en Provence,” Institut National de l’Audiovisuel, from Côte d'Azur Actualités, March 1, 1984; “ GEPAN’s Most Significant Case,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 193 (March 1984): 3–16; Michel C. L. Bounias, “ Biochemical Traumatology As a Potent Tool for Identifying Actual Stresses Elicited by Unidentified Sources: Evidence for Plant Metabolic Disorders in Correlation with a UFO Landing,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 4, no. 1 (1990): 1–18; Jean-Jacques Velasco, “ Report on the Analysis of Anomalous Physical Traces: The 1981 Trans-en-Provence UFO Case,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 4, no. 1 (1990): 27–48; Jacques Vallée, “ Return to Trans-en-Provence,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 4, no. 1 (1990): 19–25; Michel Bounias, “ Further Quantification of Distance-Related Effects in the Trans-en-Provence Case,” JUFOS 5 (1994): 109– 121; Eric Maillot and Jacques Scornaux, in Hilary Evans and Dennis Stacy, UFOs: 1947-1997: Fifty Years of Flying Saucers, John Brown Publishing, 1997, pp. 151–159; Éric Maillot, “ Trans en Provence: Le mythe de l’OVNI scientifique,” Zetetique, [ca. 1997]; Peter Sturrock, The UFO Enigma, 1999, pp. 257–297; UFOEv II 63–65; Don Berliner, with Marie Galbreath and Antonio Huneeus, UFO Briefing Document: The Best Available Evidence, Dell, 2000, pp. 112–120; Swords 443–445; GEIPAN, “ Trans-en-Provence (83) 08.01.1981,” July 16, 2018; Clark III 547, 1131–1132; 2Pinotti 53–56; Graff 267–268; Clark IV 605, 1282–1284)
January 12 — Citizens Against UFO Secrecy files an appeal against the CAUS v. NSA decision. (ClearIntent, p. 188)
January 15 — 9:30 p.m. People in Terre Haute, Indiana, begin reporting a string of about a dozen lights in the sky to a local television station. The lights are stationary then disappear by shooting straight up. (“ UFO Mini-Flap in Southern Indiana,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 3 (Mar./Apr. 1981): 12)
January 15 - 10:15 p.m. Three sets of witnesses in Prairieton, Indiana, driving past two different fields on the same road, see 7-11 four-foot-tall humanoids that appear to be searching for something. Some witnesses think they are naked; others report they are wearing "tight-fitting suits." Most witnesses are within 20 feet of the creatures, usually watching for 15-20 seconds before racing off. At 10:30 p.m., two women in a different area of town get a fleeting glimpse of a 6-7-foot tall creature with fur and luminous red eyes. (" UFO Mini-Flap in Southern Indiana," IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 3 (Mar./Apr. 1981): 12)
January 17 — 10:00 a.m. A witness at a construction site near Virginia Beach, Virginia, sees two silver cigars moving northbound in the eastern sky. Each has distinct outlines, a surface like aluminum, and pointed ends. They are flying with a slight up/down motion but horizontally at about 1,000–2,000 feet. (“ Current Sighting Reports,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 3 (March 1981): 6)
January 22 — Many witnesses see a brilliant triangular object with multiple red lights descending swiftly above the treetops just southeast of Jesup, Georgia. It is only visible for a few seconds. (Marler 171–172)
January 25 — 3:30 p.m. Some 20–30 people in a two-block area of Chatsworth, California, see a white object like an elongated cigar inclined at a 10°–20° angle from the horizontal. Witnesses in several locations take still photos, slides, and 8mm color films as the object hovers and moves around the sky for 45 minutes. Most of the photos have tees or other landmarks in the foreground. The object appears to be many miles distant. Finally the object appears to roll up in a ball, dart around, and shoots straight up out of sight. Those who watch it through telescopes and binoculars see a pattern of pink-red lights moving from left to right along the edge of the object. One witness sees a domed disc with two rows of blinking lights around its edge. (UFOEv II 294–295)
February 7 — The Larry King Show carries a three-hour program on UFOs with a panel consisting of Richard H. Hall, Bruce S. Maccabee, and Don Berliner. The first hour consists of Larry King interviewing the panelists; then he takes phone calls for two hours. (“ MUFON Featured on Nationwide Broadcast,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 157 (March 1981): 3)
February 9 — Day. Gary Rounds and Charles Shackleford are flying a rented Cessna 150, making touch- and-go landings at the San Jose (Calif.) International Airport. As they are climbing away from the runway after one of their passes at about 500 feet, they see ahead and above them a bright, round red light. They change course to avoid it. The object approaches them head on, then instantly reappears behind the plane. Air traffic controllers Randy Blount and Rich Gutterud observe the performance from the tower and watch the object make tight turns, hover, then accelerate away at a high rate of speed. (UFOEv II 46; Powell, Scientist, 67)
February 9 — 9:55 p.m. The crew (including Lt. Fred W. Kingdon Jr. and US Naval Reserve Lt. Graham E. Bethune) and passengers of a US Navy R5D transport flying west from Keflavík, Iceland, at 10,000 feet about 212 miles northeast of Gander, Newfoundland, observe a large orange-rimmed UFO with a dark center. It is about 400 feet in diameter and first seen moving above the surface of the ocean. As the plane approaches, the object changes colors, executes a sudden 180° turn and disappears over the horizon. Over time, several attempts to disguise the participants (such as Lt. George Williams on February 21) have resulted in confusion over the date. (NICAP, “ The Bethune Encounter”; NICAP, “ Huge Object Rushes up from Ocean Surface”; Keyhoe, FSTS, pp. 9–26; “ Casebook: February 8, 1951,” UFO Investigator, September 1970, p. 3; “ Casebook: February 8, 1951,” UFO Investigator, October 1970, p. 3; “ Unidentified Flying Object: A Provocative Tale,” Naval Aviation News, June 1973, pp. 18–19, reprinted by Project 1947; Keyhoe, Aliens from Space, Signet ed., 1974, pp. 78–79; Loren E. Gross, UFOs, A History: 1951, The Author, 1983, pp. 10–11; Good Above, pp. 268, 486; Graham E. Bethune, “ Lights on the Surface,” 1999; Good Need, pp. 137–139; Kevin H. Knuth, Robert M. Powell, and Peter A. Reali, “ Estimating Flight Characteristics of Anomalous Unidentified Aerial Vehicles,” Entropy, September 25, 2019; Patrick Gross, “ The Bethune Flight 124 Airmiss in 1951”; Dolan, USO1, 142–144)
February 12 — 12:23 p.m. About 25–30 people on an interstate highway in Flagstaff, Arizona, see a cigar-shaped object like a blimp, white in color with dark veins. A small white object is at one end. After 2 minutes, the small object takes off at a high rate of speed and disappears. Meanwhile, a fog surrounds the blimp and it drifts away. (National UFO Reporting Center, “ NUFORC Sighting 09731,” November 20, 2002; Herbert S. Taylor, “ Cloud Cigars: A Further Look,” IUR 30, no. 3 (May 2006): 12–13)
February 28 — The Center for UFO Studies can no longer afford to keep Allan Hendry on as a full-time investigator, so his affiliation ends. It closes its Evanston, Illinois, office and moves to Allen Hynek’s home. (Clark III 569; Clark IV 627)
March — The Centro Ufologico Nazionale begins a newsletter to supplement its official journal, Notiziario UFO, edited by Roberto Pinotti. Titled Quaderni UFO, it is edited by Gianfranco Neri in Bologna, Italy, and continues through at least May 1983. ( Quaderni UFO 1, no. 1 (Mar./Apr. 1981))
March — The China UFO Research Organization led by Bo and Xhu Fuzheng in Beijing and Paul Dong in Oakland, California, begins publishing the bimonthly Journal of UFO Research. The magazine covers UFOs in China and elsewhere, aerospace, cosmogony, evolution, ancient Chinese civilization, psychic powers, and religion. By 1983, it claims a circulation of more than 300,000. (Paul Dong, “ Letters,” IUR 7, no. 2 (March 1982): 3; Gordon Creighton, “ Bad News for CSICOP in China,” Flying Saucer Review 29, no. 2 (December 1983): 19–21; Eghigian, After, p. 230)
March - 4:30 a.m. A witness is driving toward a pancake house in Memphis, Tennessee, for a cup of coffee when she sees three shining objects in the sky. She is so engrossed in watching that she passes by the restaurant. Suddenly the objects disappear into what look like puffs of smoke. A minute later, one reappears directly over the street in front of her. She turns into the Admiral Benbow Inn parking lot and alerts the night watchman, who sees the object hovering above her car and then rise above the inn. (" UFOs in a Puff of Smoke," IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 5 (July/Aug. 181): 15-16)
March 6 — 1:00 a.m. A registered nurse living on West Granville Avenue on the north side of Chicago, Illinois, watches a triangular array of three white lights outside her south-facing window. The lights seem to be connected by “spokes.” The array is rotating in a clockwise direction. (“ Nocturnal Triangle in Chicago Night Sky ,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 4, no. 6 (Dec. 1984/Jan. 1984): 8)
March 17 - 4:03 a.m. Sgt. Russell Yokum of the St. Helens, Oregon, police is on patrol on US Highway 30 on the edge of town when he sees a bright light apparently above the Columbia River. He goes to the Columbia County Courthouse for a better view, where he is joined by other police, but the object is no longer visible. Meanwhile, they are conversing via CB radio with Donald Atkins, who is in nearby Ridgefield, Washington, and watching a stationary light over the river. Atkins transmits a faint humming sound the object is making through his CB radio to officer Ricky Cade, who captures it on a cassette recorder. Yokum and Cade look to the south and see a bright orange-red light about 80-100 feet above the river, apparently the same one that Atkins is watching. (" An Orange(!) Ball at St. Helens for St, Patrick," IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no 4 (May/June 1981): 11-13; Mark Rodeghier, " St. Helens Revisited," IUR 7, no. 3 (May/June 1982): 12-14; J. Allen Hynek and Howard R. Schechter, " Narrow-Band Acoustic Analysis of a Recorded UFO Sound," The Spectrum of UFO Research, CUFOS, 1988, pp. 1-12; Greg Long, " What Was That Light and Sound over the Columbia River?" Pacific Harbor Publishing, 1996; Wendy Connors, "Cops and Saucers: Law Enforcement and UFO's, 1957-1981 Guide," November 20, 2013, audioclips 38, 39; " 1981 Columbia River UFO Incident: UFO Sound Recorded," QUFOSR YouTube channel, December 12, 2016; Julie Thompson, " The Strange Case of the St. Helens UFO," St. Helens (Oreg.) Chronicle, October 11, 2017; " Sgt. Russell Yokum Recorded the Sound of a UFO Hovering over the Columbia River, St. Helens, OR, 1981," Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, September 16, 2022)
March 18 — NORAD becomes the North American Aerospace Defense Command. (Wikipedia, “ North American Aerospace Defense Command”)
March 20 — 9:30 p.m. Larry Tilman is on Neil Road southwest of London, Ohio, hoping to get a UFO photo. He notices a small orange light over the city moving in a zig-zag fashion. It moves closer to his location, so he takes a time exposure photo as the light blinks out. (“ Nocturnal Lights, March 20–21, 1981, London, Ohio,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 5, no. 2 (April/May 1984): 4)
March 21 — 7:00 p.m. Larry Tilman again takes time-exposure photos of orange balls of light east of London, Ohio, near Madison Lake State Park. One appears to be the size of a car. (“ Nocturnal Lights, March 20–21, 1981, London, Ohio,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 5, no. 2 (April/May 1984): 4–5)
March 21 — 11:35 p.m. A friend is driving Alba Dunlap home northbound on Runnymede Road in Toronto, Ontario. They see a disc-shaped object directly ahead and above them that has a red light on a central dome and white flashing lights around its perimeter. It seems to be 30–40 feet in diameter. They watch it for 2 minutes, then it moves slowly west and disappears. (“ Correspondence,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 6 (June 1981): 2)
March 30 — 10:00 p.m. A huge bright light hovers over trees for 10 minutes in Alton, Illinois. The UFO moves towards two witnesses at about 10 mph. Frogs stop croaking and dogs begin barking excitedly. The object appears oval and is black except for lights on the circumference. A large circular opening is visible in the bottom of the black disc. Inside the opening the witnesses see “this churning motion of bright white light with yellow and orange colors in it...like gases rolling around in there.” After about 20–30 minutes it takes off rapidly. Shortly thereafter a jet flies over. Another UFO is seen coming across the trees a good 5 minutes later with the same results. (“ Another World,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 5 (July/Aug. 1981): 16)
April 3 — 9:30 p.m. Some 50 people driving on National Route 35 north of Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina, watch an object hovering about 300 feet directly over the Escuela Agrotécnica de Santa Rosa for several minutes. It is a saucer-shaped craft about 100 feet in diameter that is radiating light over its circumference due to an intense white light at its center. It speeds away to the west and disappears. (“ A Group of Car Drivers from La Pampa Marveled at Seeing a Concert of Lights from a UFO over the Skies of Santa Rosa,” La Razón (Buenos Aires, Argentina), April 4, 1981, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 142 (May 1981): 15; “ A New Radio Link,” CUFOS Bulletin, Spring 1981, p. 3)
April 8 — 3:00 a.m. A private pilot named Dennis is flying a Piper PA-28-181 Archer II near the San Luis Reservoir, California, when a bullet-shaped object pulls alongside the airplane. Simultaneously, Dennis’s distance-measuring equipment, navigation and communications radios, and transponder go out. The object shoots ahead of the plane by about 1,500 feet and executes some erratic motions. Then, slowly drifting back, it paces him. The object is glowing orange and has a whirling bluish ring around it. The object pulsates and shoots forward about 4–5 miles ahead of the plane, and makes an instantaneous right-angle turn upward, in somewhat of a repeat of his November 5, 1980, sighting. (“ A Twin ‘Déjà vu’ Sighting?” IUR 7, no. 1 (January 1982): 6)
April 12 — 1:30 p.m. Civil engineer R. E. Schenk and his wife are driving south on State Highway 58 in Goodhue, Minnesota, when they see an aluminum-colored disc about 2 feet in diameter hovering a few feet above the road about 40 feet away, sunlight reflecting off its surface. Schenk turns and drives back to investigate. He and his wife then see the object at an estimated 2,000–4,000 feet altitude and climbing rapidly to the northwest. They watch it disappear high in the sky. (Richard H. Hall, “ Car Pacing, Pilot Sighting, Buzzing UFO,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 164 (October 1981): 6–7; UFOEv II 165)
April 15 — 7:30 p.m. Walking through the parking lot of the P&C grocery store in Windsor, Vermont, Linda Kingsbury and Lucy Slothower notice two bright lights in the sky moving toward them. They are part of a dark, triangular object with additional blue and yellow lights on the underside. As it passes overhead, they hear a heavy humming. (“ UFO Cruises Windsor,” White River Junction (Vt.) Valley News, April 17, 1981, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 142 (May 1981): 4; “ Two Women Report UFO in Windsor,” Burlington (Vt.) Free Press, April 17, 1981, p. 1; Joe and Doris Graziano, “ Press Reports,” APRO Bulletin 29, no. 8 (August 1981): 7)
April 16 — 9:30 p.m. Engineer Eugene A. Fucci is driving southeast on Interstate 89 in Grantham, New Hampshire, when he notices two bright stars, one of which descends to just above the horizon. Shortly afterward, a huge triangular-shaped object with colored lights on the underside and a bright white light on top flies over his car. He estimates the object is about the size of five B-52s and moving at 2,000 feet altitude at 200 mph. It appears to be all metal and black in color. It passes to the west-southwest. (“ Mount Sunapee UFO Supports Area Sightings,” West Lebanon (N.H.) Valley News, April 22, 1981, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 143 (June 1981): 4; “ Triangular UFO, April 16, 1981, at Grantham, N.H.,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 3, no. 2 (April 1981): 2, 4; Joe And Doris Graziano, “ Press Reports,” APRO Bulletin 29, no. 9 (September 1981): 7)
April 25 — 7:00 a.m. Du Shengyuan notices a curious object circling in the sky above Beijing, China. After unsuccessfully calling media outlets, he goes back outside and finds the object is now directly overhead at more than 6,500 feet. Through binoculars he can see it is bullet-shaped and varies its speed, sometimes hovering. The middle part is white, and the bottom is luminous green. It moves out of sight at 7:25 a.m. Some 20 other people also watch the UFO. (Paul Dong and Wendelle Stevens, UFOs over Modern China, UFO Photo Archives, 1983, pp. 216–218; Good Above, pp. 217, 470)
Early May — Merle Shane McDow is attached to the US Navy Atlantic Command Support Facility in Norfolk, Virginia, when a UFO is tracked moving at high speed on at least five radar scopes up and down the Atlantic coast. The UFO sets off a Condition Zebra alert in the Naval Command Center, and Adm. Harry D. Train II gives the order to force down the object and recover it. US jets chase the UFO for more than an hour as far north as Greenland, sometimes confirming it visually, but it evades them. During the event, KH-11 reconnaissance satellites take photos of the object. The object moves from Nova Scotia to Norfolk in one sweep of the radar. Eventually it moves off at tremendous speed. (Good Need, pp. 337–338; Steven M. Greer, Disclosure: Military and Government Witnesses Reveal the Greatest Secrets in Modern History, Crossing Point, 2001, pp. 238–245; “ Condition Zebra: UFOs Overhead, Merle Shane McDow,” Abundance of Energy YouTube channel, October 7, 2013; Stephen Erdmann, “ Dr. Greer’s Greatest UFO Query,” UFO Digest, June 1, 2018)
May 4 — 2:00 p.m. As he is pulling up to his home in Danville, Pennsylvania, on a motorcycle, William F. Hummer notices “cobwebs” hanging over houses, telephone wires, and parked cars. Wispy material is falling from the sky. He sees something moving around in the sky and goes in to get binoculars. He and another man watch several flying discs as they dart overhead in groups of twos and threes. One pauses and he can see it is round and metallic with a dome and “kind of peak on it.” His sister joins them and says they can see big masses of material floating around for 30 minutes. (“ Were ‘Fuzzies’ Really from UFOs?” Sunbury (Pa.) Daily Item, May 5, 1981, p. 8; Joe and Doris Graziano, “ Press Reports,” APRO Bulletin 29, no. 9 (September 1981): 7; Bob Pratt, “ ‘Saucer’ Spotted by Guard,” Battle Creek (Mich.) Enquirer and News, December 28, 1981, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 152 (March 1982): 1; “ Many Report Sighting UFOs Locally,” Danville (Pa.) News, February 26, 1988, Special Report, pp. 3–4; Clark III 126; Clark IV 152–153)
May 5 — 6:00 p.m. Russian cosmonaut Vladimir Kovalyonok is orbiting in the Salyut 6 space station over South Africa and moving toward the Indian Ocean. After doing some gymnastic exercises, he notices through a porthole an elliptical object resembling a “melon” with two clouds like a “barbell,” moving in the same direction as the Salyut in a suborbital path. Then a “kind of explosion happened, very beautiful to watch, of golden light.” One or two seconds later, a second explosion follows, and two golden spheres appear. Soon the Salyut enters the Earth’s terminator and he cannot see them any longer. James Oberg speculates that the object could have been a South African test of an Israeli Jericho-class solid-fuel missile from the Denel Overberg Test Range near Arniston, Western Cape. (Pegasus Research Consortium, “ Russian Cosmonaut Sees UFO While in Orbit Aboard Salyut-6 Space Station,” 2002; Mori, “ The Amazing Story of the Salyut-6 UFO Encounter,” forgetomori, April 16, 2011; James Oberg, “ Have Cosmonauts Seen Launches?” December 18, 2016)
May 5 — 9:30 p.m. The Earl Richards family in Tewksbury, New Jersey, notices lights moving outside after their television goes off and the electric lights dim. Earl Jr. sees dozens of green, blue, and red lights buzzing in the southern sky, apparently accompanying an enormous flying object covered with hundreds of lights. It is elongated and he can see an outline of wings. (“ UFO Reported in Tewksbury,” Hunterdon County (N.J.) Democrat, May 14, 1981, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 143 (June 1981): 6)
May 14 — Cosmonauts Victor Savinykh and Vladimir Kovalyonok, aboard the Salyut 6 space station, supposedly observe a strange spherical object with 8 windows and well-lit inside. At first it is 1/2 mile away but it eventually approaches to 300 feet. Inside, the cosmonauts see three brown- skinned beings with slanted bright blue eyes, straight noses, and bushy eyebrows. At a distance of 100 feet, they resemble mechanical robots. Their facial expressions remain emotionless. They seem to be requesting closer contact with the Soviet craft. The object shifts around erratically and from time to time it vanishes, but then reappears in an instant. It seems to be metallic, but it has no doors, no solar batteries, no optical systems, no antennae, and no marks or writing of any kind. The cosmonauts also notice normal-looking armchairs, some devices, and walls inside the craft. Using a pair of powerful binoculars, the cosmonauts see the beings showing them what appears to be a star map. Allegedly the cosmonauts film the event and the film is later shown to party leaders by cosmonaut Georgy Beregovoy. (Paul Stonehill and Philip Mantle, The Soviet UFO Files: Paranormal Encounters behind the Iron Curtain, Quadrillion, 1998, pp. 67–68)
May 16 - 2:30 p.m. A man is fishing in the Thompson River near Kamloops, British Columbia, when the water about 300-450 feet away starts bubbling up. A 15-20-foot UFO rises out of the water and slowly approaches the witness at a 45° angle, passes directly above him, accelerates upward, and speeds away. Pellets from the UFO, apparently from the object, fall around him. (" A Submarine UFO," IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 5 (July/Aug. 1981): 13-14)
May 20 — 1:30 a.m. A witness is driving south on Shawnee Road southwest of Lima, Ohio, when he notices lights on his left less than a mile ahead. He sees an object hovering silently about 150–200 feet away and 75–100 feet in the air. He watches it from his car for 3 minutes. It has a glowing lavender-colored area around its outer edge and a dim white light radiating from the center of its flat base. The object moves to the northeast and accelerates. He loses interest and drives away, but another object begins moving parallel to his car about 300 feet to his left. He speeds up, but it maintains its pacing until it veers to the southwest. (“ Recent Close Encounter with UFO in Ohio,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 7 (July 1981): 6)
May 22 — Evening. Several hundred people in Florida, Uruguay, watch a drum-like UFO with red lights on the rear and green and red lights on each side. Its appearance coincides with an electrical blackout due to a power overload in the area. (“ A New Radio Link,” CUFOS Bulletin, Spring 1981, pp. 2–3)
Summer — William Moore gives Paul Bennewitz an altered version of the Project Aquarius document from 1977. Moore had seen the original in November 1980 and has had his own copy since February 1981. He gives Bennewitz this document on behalf of Air Force Intelligence, knowing it has been altered, in order to retain his access to inside information. The document is the first time that the term MJ-1 makes its appearance. According to Moore, the original said that the NSA had altered Bennewitz’s photos and incidentally found them to be authentic. In the altered memo, NSA becomes NASA. (Greg Bishop, Project Beta, Paraview, 2005, pp. 120–123)
Summer - Chinese UFO researcher Paul Dong (Moon Wai), a resident of Oakland, California, and the editor of the China UFO Research Organization's Journal of UFO Research, goes on a month- long lecture tour all over China. He collects hundreds of UFO cases from the period 1978-1981. In the next few years, hundreds of other cases (some dating back to 1940) are published in the journal. Many of them are published in UFOs over Modern China, by Wendelle C. Stevens and Paul Dong, 1983. (Paul Dong, " Letters," IUR 7, no. 2 (March 1982): 3; Gordon Creighton, " Bad News for CSICOP in China," Flying Saucer Review 29, no. 2 (December 1983): 19-21; Good Above, pp. 206-207)
June 5 — 10:00 p.m. Ding Shiliang and other students at Xi’an University, Shanxi, China, see a luminous flying object that splits into two parts, then three, then four. Shortly afterward, two of the units on either side vanish, leaving the other two segments still in position. Another UFO appears and the objects merge into one, splitting into two again later. It vanishes 20 minutes later. (Paul Dong and Wendelle Stevens, UFOs over Modern China, UFO Photo Archives, 1983, pp. 219–220)
June 10 - 12:15 a.m. An Indian couple on the Yakama Indian Reservation in Washington State are driving west when the immediate area around their vehicle is illuminated. Overhead they see a large "badge-shaped" object about 35 feet in the air. Its periphery is marked by small, multicolored flashing lights. There are three large pale-yellow lights, one on each side and one centered between these. The object follows them for about one mile and then ascends vertically at a rapid speed and disappears into a cloud-like mist of its own making. (" Yakima Reservation Report," IUR 8, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1983): 11)
June 10 — 5:19 p.m. A worker at Sandia Laboratories is in the back yard of his home on the east side of Albuquerque, New Mexico, when he sees an object flying west at a high altitude, 20,000–30,000 feet. It begins to tumble erratically. A second object with a bright light appears slightly above it, moving 2–3 times faster than a commercial airliner. The witness can hear no sound. The duration is 5 minutes. (“ What the Bombardier Saw,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 6 (Jan./Feb. 1982): 12)
June 12 — Farmer Chen Kang and his wife watch an object with twinkling lights in southern Taiwan. After hearing a strange sound, they look up and see a crystal object shaped like a reversed cone gliding downward. It lands behind a tree and continues whirling like a top and emitting fog. It flies off after about 10 minutes without leaving any traces. (South China Morning Post, June 14, 1981; “ UFO Lands in Taiwan,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 7 (July 1981): 3)
June 12 — 2:10 p.m. Truck driver Robert Gomez sees a brilliant white domed disc hovering in the sky above Alice, Texas, a dark ring around its center. The truck slows, apparently lifted just off the road, and the radio stops playing. After the object disappears into clouds, everything returns to normal. Later Gomez discovers that about 165 gallons of water are missing from his tank. (James M. Hill, “ South Texas Vehicle Effects Cases,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 167 (January 1982): 8; UFOEv II 278)
June 18 — The first YF-117A stealth fighter makes its maiden flight at Groom Lake, Nevada. The aircraft remains a tightly held secret for much of the 1980s. (Wikipedia, “ Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk”)
July 4 - 4:45 p.m. Captain Phil Schultz is flying TWA Flight 842, a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar commercial airliner, east at 37,000 feet over south-central Lake Michigan not far from Muskegon, Michigan, when a silvery disc darts into view ahead and above it. Expecting a mid-air collision, they brace themselves for impact. The object then moves rapidly in an arc down to the left and rolls, presenting a side view with six evenly spaced black portholes along the edge. It then disappears to the north. Schultz estimates the disc is moving at 1,000 mph. (Richard F. Haines, " Commercial Jet Crew Sights Unidentified Object: Part 1," Flying Saucer Review 27, no. 4 (January 1982): 3-6; Richard F. Haines, " Commercial Jet Crew Sights Unidentified Object: Part 2," Flying Saucer Review 27, no. 5 (March 1982): 2-8; UFOEv II 141-142; Kean, pp. 59-61)
July 11 — 10:30 p.m. A camp director at Girl Scout camp headquarters [probably Shabonee Camp about a mile south of town] near Port Byron, Illinois, suddenly hears his dog barking in a warning manner. Through the trees that screen the camp swimming pool, he sees bright lights. He moves to an unobstructed view of the pool and notices the pool lights are not on. Instead, directly above the pool, and higher than the regular lights, is a brilliant light. Suddenly the lights go out. He hears a whirring noise that rises in pitch as it apparently rises into the sky. When he turns on the lights, he notices the pump is not running and the water level is down three feet, meaning some 30,000 gallons of water are gone. (“ Encounter at the Pool,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 6 (Jan./Feb. 1982): 11–12)
July 12 — 12:50 a.m. Mr. and Mrs. Ken Thew are driving east along a back road from Pleasant Point to Temuka, New Zealand, with their three young daughters when they are confronted by a brilliant, bright green, gold, and red object coming from the opposite direction. It stops abruptly about 600–900 feet away, then changes direction and begins silently pacing the car. Mrs. Thew, who is driving, becomes frightened and speeds up to 65 mph in an effort to reach a lighted area of town. The UFO keeps pace and moves closer, allowing the witnesses to see more details, such as two slots like vertically elongated rectangles and a row of square portholes. After a while it shoots away to the east. When they arrive home in Temuka at 1:20 a.m., they are surprised to see the object about 1,000 feet overhead. It remains visible another 40 minutes. (UFOEv II 49–50)
July 15 — 10:55 p.m. Four witnesses, three of them fire control lookouts, on the Yakama Indian Reservation in Washington State, see a large, bright-white object make two passes over the reservation. One witness sees a rocketlike flame coming out of the object. On a second pass, the object is moving south when it makes an almost right-angle turn and disappears to the west. (“ Yakima Reservation Report,” IUR 8, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1983): 11, 14)
July 15 — 2:30 p.m. Robert H. Nelson is flying a kite on the west side of Westfield, Massachusetts, when he notices a white rectangular object motionless in the southeast. After 20 seconds it emits swirls of vapor along its entire length that gradually dissipate. Another similar object appears in the north at the same altitude and also emitting vapor or smoke. (Robert H. Nelson, “ Letter,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 4, no. 4 (Aug./Sept. 1983): 3–4)
July 16 — Before midnight. Two teenage boys are driving south on Highway 2A past CFB Penhold [now Red Deer Regional Airport]. A cube-shaped object 100 feet long with flashing lights approaches them from the front, stops about 15 feet off the ground, circles their car, and moves out of sight. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, p. 227)
July 19 — 8:27 p.m. Malcolm Smith is traveling on a boat up the Mahakam River in Borneo, Indonesia, when he sees an odd star that begins to blink, move in an arc, fade, and go out. It reappears 2 minutes later, moving and blinking more frequently, then it veers away and fades out. (Malcolm Smith, “ Enigmatic Objects,” IUR 20, no. 5 (Winter 1995): 30)
July 19 — Around 11:45 p.m. Chrystal Jackson and her son Chris are driving north on State Highway 17 near Sugar Camp, Wisconsin, when they see a large, reddish-orange, elliptical object hovering near some pine trees less than 500 feet away on their right. One minute later, their car’s speed unaccountably reduces from 55 to 30 mph. The car seems to be dragging, even with the accelerator pressed to the floor. The object keeps the same distance from the car for 10–15 minutes and another 10 miles when they turn west on State Highway 70, although it appears to be stationary. The car regains engine power after another 2 miles. A mechanic later finds that the two fuses controlling the brake lights and tail lights have blown, and the battery is leaking. A few days later, they discover that the thermostat in the engine is broken. (Mark Rodeghier, “ Two People, a Car, and a Strange Object,” CUFOS Bulletin, Summer 1981, pp. 9–10, 2)
July 22 — 3:10 a.m. Al Wagner, toll booth operator at the Norbert F. Beckey Bridge over the Mississippi River in Muscatine, Iowa, goes out to feed some wild rabbits that hang around the bridge, when he notices six of them lying flat as though paralyzed with fear. Wagner sees an orange, nearly spherical object rising from behind the trees on the Illinois side of the river. It is about 30 feet in diameter and is glowing with an internal yellow light, which goes out as the object approaches. The object clears the highest part of the bridge by about 10 feet, making a wheezing sound. At its closest, it is 150 feet above the ground and 750 feet away from Wagner. It disappears above a small hill to the west. (“ The Case of the Paralyzed Rabbits,” IUR/Frontiers of Science 3, no. 6 (Jan./Feb. 1982): 13)
July 23 — 8:45 p.m. Louise Betulius is fishing in a lake near Evansville, Indiana, when she sees the reflection of a large object in the water. It is a large sphere about 10–12 feet in diameter and moving silently west to east. Shortly afterward, it returns over some trees to the east, moving slowly toward the lake. It comes down about 3 feet off the ground and hovers 4–5 feet from the edge of the water, then moves slowly back to the east. (“ Correspondence,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 3, no. 5 (Oct./Nov. 1982): 2–3)
July 23 — 10:30 p.m. James L. McCabe is sitting outside his home on Highland Avenue in Dover, New Jersey, looking for satellites with binoculars. Suddenly, two flashing white lights appear above the southern horizon. Their flashes become more frequent when their speed increases. One speeds away, but the other approaches, slipping in and out of the clouds for 20 seconds. He estimates it is at 1,500 feet when overhead, has a flat bottom, a strange raised center section, and a flat metallic color. Its top has a rippled appearance. The upper section has two windows. (“ Cast Metallic Object Reported over Dover, New Jersey,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 4, no. 2 (April/May 1983): 4–5)
July 30 — Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.Mex.) meets briefly with Sgt. Richard Doty at Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque, New Mexico, about AFOSI investigations into Paul Bennewitz’s claims. He then dashes off to talk to Bennewitz. However, he soon loses interest and drops the matter. (Alejandro T. Rojas, [ Bennewitz/Kirtland AFB documents]; Clark III 359; Clark IV 403)
July 30 — 8:30 p.m. Jennifer Lindsey and her three children are driving near Berwick, Mississippi, when they notice an object with bright lights moving back and forth across the sky. As they arrive home, the object is moving at a low altitude above the house. It is bigger than an airplane, shaped like an arrowhead, and appears to be metallic. Behind it is a red light traveling in tandem. It passes over the house again 30 minutes later, moving west, without the trailing red light. (“ UFO Is Seen in Area,” McComb (Miss.) Enterprise Journal, August 4, 1981, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 147 (October 1981): 2; Doris and Joe Graziano, “ Press Reports,” APRO Bulletin 30, no 1 (February 1982): 8)
July 31 — An interview with Russian UFO expert Felix Ziegel appears in the Italian weekly magazine Gente, followed by a second part in the August 7 issue. Ziegel claims he has 50,000 UFO reports on file in the Moscow Aviation Institute and has compiled eight volumes of research material that are still unpublished. He believes there are three basic types of UFO occupants: spacemen (tall beings), humanoids (human-like), and aliens (short and like the “greys”). He says that UFOs carry crews of androids that possess the ability to appear and disappear at will and “seem to be deliberately constructed in order to confound all our notions of space, matter, time, and dimension.” (Good Above, pp. 240–241)
July 31 — 8:50 p.m. Two men in a motorboat on lake Mönninselkä near Pielisjärvi, Finland, see a dark spot in the sky. Four lights suddenly appear above them, and a fog forms in front of the boat. They lose the ability to move and soon lose consciousness. When they wake up, they are differently placed in the boat, the time is 4:10 a.m., and the boat is drifting. They go back ashore to their cottage, their heads begin to ache, and they feel very sleepy. Their hands tremble for nearly 2 weeks afterward, and their sense of balance is disturbed. (“ The Pielinen Event,” UFO Research of Finland Annual Report, 1981, p. 10)
July 31 — 9:15 p.m. A husband and wife are driving along a bumpy road near Kinston, North Carolina, when their headlights and dash lights go out and the engine stops. They open the doors and get out to push the car to the side of the road (noticing later that it is odd that they can see the road on a moonless night) and the lights suddenly come on again. They start the car up again and drive the short way home. Mechanics tell them they don’t know why a car would do that, so they assume there was a UFO involved. (“ Cars That Go Stop on the Night,” IUR 7, no. 1 (January 1982): 9–10)
July or August — 11:00 p.m. A man is camping with the Red Cross in a small town to the southeast of San José, Costa Rica. He sees a well-lit, triangular object about 1,200 feet away and perhaps 1,000 feet above the ground. It is completely silent. After hovering, the object turns, moves, makes a sharp angular turn, and then another to draw a triangular path in the sky. Then it moves rapidly high, then low, back to its original location. A second triangle approaches, and they hover in close proximity to each other for 30 minutes. Then they split up and disappear rapidly. (Michael D. Swords, “ Timmerman’s Triangles,” IUR 29, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 15–16)
August — Three mysterious flattened circles appear in a cornfield within a natural amphitheater known as The Devil’s Punchbowl at Cheesefoot Head near Winchester, Wiltshire, England. The central circle is 55 feet in diameter; two smaller circles are arranged on either side. Ufologist Pat Delgado examines the field and is struck by the sharply defined edges of the circles and the manner in which the cornstalks are flattened in a clockwise swirl. He suspects UFO activity. (Pat Delgado, “ Cheesefoot Head Mystery Rings,” Flying Saucer Review 27, no. 5 (March 1982): 13–15; Pat Delgado and Colin Andrews, Circular Evidence, Guild, 1989, pp. 20–21; Pat Delgado, “ 1981: Cheesefoot Head Triplet,” The Croppie, July 11, 2016)
August 8 - 6:15 p.m. A witness is on the beach with some friends at Chalupy on the Hel peninsula, north of Gdynia, Poland. He leaves them briefly to go back to a camping area and sees, 500 feet in front of him, "two boys in dark suits" dashing into the bushes on his right. A moment later they reappear, standing on the path in front of him. They are 5 feet tall, wear green suits, and have green faces with big, almond-shaped eyes and slits for mouths. He can see dark boxes, violet and yellow cables, and tapes and spirals hanging from belts on the entities. He notices a silvery object and receives a telepathic message to "not be afraid." He walks closer to them and hears another message: "Keep walking. Don't stop." The witness has the curious sensation of "passing through the interior of a ball." He walks past them, looks back, and they have disappeared. On his right, the silvery disc, 6 feet high and 16-20 feet long, is hovering only 3 feet above the ground. Investigators later find seven odd oval marks where the object had been. (Bronislaw Rzepecki, " Encounters in Poland," IUR 12, no. 3 (May/June 1987): 18, 21; Bronislaw Rzepecki, " UFO Reports from Poland," Flying Saucer Review 33, no. 1 (March 1988): 6-7; " Bliskie spotkanie w Chalupach w 1981 roku," UFO-Relacje.pl, February 10, 2020; Poland 48-50)
August 10 — 3:30 a.m. Russell Matson is driving west on 150th Street in Apple Valley, Minnesota, when just west of Pilot Knob Road he sees a hexagonal object nearly overhead, at perhaps a distance of 500 feet. It has two green, two red, and white lights on its corners. It is 60–90 feet across. The object pivots, making a 90° turn while stationary, then descends and approaches the witness. It makes a soft whooshing sound as it passes, like gas escaping from a propane tank. (“ The Investigator’s Dilemma,” IUR 7, no. 1 (January 1982): 13–14)
August 12 — 2:15 a.m. Rupert Pring is several miles outside of Anderson, Indiana, taking time-exposure photographs of the Perseid meteor shower with a camera attached to a tripod. He notices a distant light flashing like a strobe far to the south; it is soon joined by a second strobing light, and both move northeast in a straight line. The lights are as bright as a “halogen automobile headlight at 50 feet.” They stop moving briefly twice near the star Eta Tauri, then make a sharp right turn to the southeast. When Pring first notices the lights, he gets out of his car for a better sight, but freezes abruptly, “like something heavy was pushing down on my head and shoulders.” He experiences nausea for three days afterward and has a temporary, day-long memory loss. Meanwhile, the camera has captured much of the 6-second flight path of the lights in an 8-minute time exposure. Further investigation prompts Pring to reveal that he and his wife had an abduction experience with missing time later that morning. As for the photo, the lights were most likely caused by Pring failing to close the shutter of his camera as he removed it from the tripod and thus picked up two mercury-vapor lights at a farmhouse about a half-mile away. (“ A Nocturnal Light Close Encounter,” IUR 7, no. 2 (March 1982): 5–7; Mark Rodeghier, “ March-April Cover Photo Mystery Solved,” IUR 7, no. 4 (July/ Aug. 1982): 4–5)
August 15 - 6:00 p.m. Twenty workers returning from the fields at the Forestry Commission Station of La Rochelle, 5.5 miles northeast of Mutare, Zimbabwe, see a ball of light moving around at a low level. Clifford Muchena is in charge of the group, and he watches the 5-foot fireball maneuver around the grounds then move up to an observation tower, entering through the top window before it bursts into flame. As Muchena is ringing a warning bell, he sees the fireball come back down the tower, go past him, and burst into flame again at an outbuilding. Muchena goes to douse the fire but stops when he sees three men wearing silver coveralls. The light is too bright to see clearly, and after it goes out the beings are gone. Women in the compound have seen the fireball and the entities and run out into the bush, thinking they are ghosts. (Cynthia Hind, " Entities at La Rochelle," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 183 (May 1983): 6-10; Cynthia Hind, "UFOs and the African Tribal System," UFOs 1947-1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, pp. 94-96; Cynthia Hind, UFOs over Africa, Horus House, 1996, pp. 16-20)
August 16 — A huge object approaches the island of Cyprus. Radar at a Sovereign British Base, either Akrotiri or Dhekelia, track it at 30,000 feet going 900 mph. It comes to a sudden stop and hovers above the base for 45 minutes. Witnesses take many photos of a bright white triangle more than 700 feet long. Allegedly, the Ministry of Defence had sent an encrypted message to the base prior to the sighting, ordering a “complete stand-down of aircraft in the event that any strange ‘aerial phenomena’” are sighted. On August 17, a man and woman arrive at the base, stay for 6 hours, then leave with all the photos and other evidence. Shortly afterward, according to an informant, US and UK Air Force personnel meet at RAF Lakenheath in England to discuss the case. (Nick Redfern, A Covert Agenda: UFO Secrecy Exposed, Simon & Schuster, 1997, pp. 157–158)
Late August — 5:00 p.m. Three men and two women are driving just east of Hamilton, Ontario, when they see a red domed disc about 50 feet in diameter approach their car and cross the road in front of them to the left. Yellow lights are shining from its base. It slows down and drops slowly into the water of Lake Ontario. As it submerges, the lights slowly fade out. (Carl Feindt, “ UFO Observed Entering Water,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 430 (February 2004): 12–13; Covert 44)
August 30 — 10:35 p.m. A computer engineer is driving through El Cajon, California, when he sees an object directly ahead. As he drives closer, his car interior becomes brightly illuminated and the car stops. The witness becomes frightened and confused and cannot account for a period of time. He feels that he has been outside the car but has no concrete memory of what has happened. As he drives away, a light circles the car. Still frightened, he fires six pistol shots out the car window at the object and flees at high speed. Later he finds red dots like puncture marks on his wrists. (UFOEv II 166)
September 10 — 11:15 p.m. Denise Bishop, 23, is returning to her home in Weston Mill, Plymouth, England, when she sees some lights behind the house. As she goes to the back of the bungalow, she sees an enormous metallic- gray UFO hovering above houses on top of a hill. Six or seven broad shafts of light are shining down on the rooftops beneath it. As she grabs the doorknob to go inside, a lime-green pencil of light comes from the object and hits the back of her hand and she cannot move. The light remains for 30 seconds; when it switches off, she opens the door and goes inside. The UFO then lifts into the sky and moves away. An hour of so later, she notices a burn mark on her hand. The next day she visits Bob Boyd, an investigator with the Plymouth UFO Research Group, who takes photos of her hand, which has a patch of shiny dermis with spots of blood and bruising. On September 12, Boyd visits her with a nurse, who persuades her to see a doctor. Scab tissue forms on September 15, followed by a scar that is still visible in July 1982. (Good Above, pp. 98–101)
September 18 — 8:45 p.m. Six members of a family in Simi Valley, California, watch a light approach and see a triangular object with five bright white lights on the front and sides. The unlit center portion appears to be like brushed aluminum with a grid pattern. As it passes overhead, they hear a low-pitched hum. A blinking, red-orange light is at the rear. Two or three smaller lights are following in its path. (UFOEv II 229)
September 18 — 9:15 p.m. John Sharwath and Randy Bandurant are driving north on the Moorpark Freeway north of Thousand Oaks, California, when they notice three bright lights like floodlights on the horizon to the north. As they approach the end of the freeway in Moorpark, the light resolves into five separate lights, three in a row above and two below. When they pass nearly under the lights, they notice two triangular bodies that the lights are associated with. At 9:25 p.m., Cherie Thompson and Joyce Bandurant are driving on the Moorpark Freeway some distance behind the other car, and they see two triangular lighted objects. The lowest passes over their car at 50–100 feet altitude near the Olsen Road interchange. They stop along the freeway to watch, but the objects are disappearing behind the hills. (William Hassel, “ Multiple Sightings of Triangular UFOs,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 167 (January 1982): 9–12; UFOEv II 229–231)
September 25–27 — The Center for UFO Studies holds a second conference in Chicago, with talks by J. Allen Hynek, Budd Hopkins, Bruce Maccabee, and Mark Rodeghier. Presented papers are printed in The Spectrum of UFO Research. (“ CUFOS Symposium in Chicago Well-Attended,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 11 (November 1981): 1, 6; Mimi Hynek, ed., The Spectrum of UFO Research, CUFOS, 1988; Ron Westrum, [ review], JUFOS 1 (1989): 172–174)
September 26 - Mountaineers Reinhold Messner and Doug Scott watch a UFO the size of the full moon for nearly 3 hours during an unsuccessful attempt on the main peak of Mount Chamlang in the Himalayas near Makalu in Nepal. The object at first is moving slowly southward, then shifts to the east, northwest, and finally north, making irregular movements before it disappears somewhere over Tibet. (" Top Climber: I Spotted UFO," Montreal (Quebec) Gazette, October 10, 1981, p. 26; " From the Heart of Asia: Two UFOs, a Half Century Apart," IUR 7, no. 1 (January 1982): 10)
September 28 — Hungarian-American filmmaker and UFO hobbyist Colman VonKeviczky, founder of the Intercontinental UFO Galactic Spacecraft Research and Analytic Network, writes a five-page letter to President Ronald Reagan, claiming that UFOs are an extraterrestrial task force that will destroy earth unless world leaders collaborate. It is the third time he has written, and he includes 17 documents that illustrate the “potential threat of the UFO forces.” In response to VonKeviczky’s letter to Reagan, Maj. Gen. Robert L. Schweitzer, White House chief military advisor, writes: “The President is well aware of the threat you document so clearly and is doing all in his power to restore the national defense margin of safety as quickly and prudently as possible.” VonKeviczky shows the letter to the Associated Press, which contacts Schweitzer, who says the letter is a mistake and thought the threat refers to the Soviets. Schweitzer is fired on October 21 for making unauthorized belligerent statements about Russia. (presidentialufo.com, “ Ronald Reagan, 40th President, January 20, 1981–January 20, 1989”; “ A Top General Talks of War, Is Reassigned,” Boston (Mass.) Globe, October 21, 1981, pp. 1, 8)
October — NORAD refuses to waive fees for FOIA requests from Citizens Against UFO Secrecy because of “cumulative and recurring” requests. (ClearIntent, p. 10)
October — USAF Airman Simone Mendez, 21, trained as a telecommunications specialist, is working at Nellis AFB in Las Vegas, Nevada, with a top-secret clearance. One of her coworkers gives her a top-secret message with a copy of a classified document stating that NORAD has been tracking UFOs entering the Earth’s atmosphere. She holds on to it until January 1982 when she attempts to return the document to Nellis. She is told that the document must be destroyed. One thing leads to another, and Mendez finds herself under interrogation by the FBI and AFOSI. This includes polygraph tests, which she fails because she finds them very distressing. This leads to an emotional breakdown, hospitalization, and medication. There are more interrogations over the next few months, and another hospitalization. Eventually, the Air Force clears her of criminal charges, but her security clearance is stripped, and she is transferred to another base. (“ The Simone Mendez Case,” Alien Expanse, September 18, 2018; Paul Carr, “ Conversation 18: Simone Mendez,” Aerial Phenomena Investigations, September 23, 2018)
October 1 — 8:00 p.m. A young couple are traveling west along State Highway 20 about 4 miles west of Hesperia, Michigan, when they notice a distant lime-green glow in the sky. In less than 10 seconds it comes directly at them, the green light engulfing their pickup truck and blocking their view of anything outside. They are terrified, but suddenly they are driving along at the same speed as if nothing has happened. They watch the green oval object fly off to the southwest and into the sky. When they reach home about 3 miles away, it is 9:00 p.m., and are missing some time. (National UFO Reporting Center, “ NUFORC Sighting 67734”; Powell, Scientist, 102–103)
October 2 — Around 9:30 p.m. Grant Breiland, while walking his elder sister to her car in the driveway in front of their home in Victoria, British Columbia, glances up and notices an unusually large and bright object in the clear night sky, which he initially mistakes for a star. His mother, sister, and a passerby on a bicycle are all unable to spot the object. Grant uses his CB radio to contact a witness, N.B., who is on Mount Tolmie three miles away. N.B. confirms he can see a big white light that he describes as “like a star that is about to shoot” and then reports seeing through binoculars a large red light pointing directly at him. Grant then uses his camera and tripod to photograph the object, which appears to be an object with a inverted dome-like structure, with a moving small diamond-shaped red light at its center. Surrounding the central object are four larger white lights that move with it and seem to have dark dots, possibly windows, around their edges. The UFO performs movements similar to the gestures of a priest making the sign of the cross. At 10:00 p.m., the UFO suddenly vanishes. Later that night, Victoria experiences an unusual thunderstorm, and the street light opposite Breiland’s house malfunctions but gradually comes back on. Both Breiland and N.B. later experience headaches during a visit to discuss the sighting. (P. M. H. Edwards, “ M.I.B. Activity Reported from Victoria B.C.,” Flying Saucer Review 27, no. 4 (January 1982): 7–12)
October 5 — Afternoon. Grant Breiland goes down to the business district in Victoria, British Columbia, to meet a friend. When the friend does not show, Breiland calls him up from a pay phone. Immediately afterward, he sees two men watching him. Dressed in dark suits, they have suntanned, expressionless faces and unblinking eyes. When they speak, their lips do not move. The first one asks his name, then the second asks for his address and phone number. He does not respond, and after 5 seconds, the men leave through the main door and walk in perfect synchronization to a nearby roadway. Breiland follows them and sees them enter a muddy plowed field some 80–90 feet across. Three-quarters of the way across, the men vanish, leaving no footprints behind. During the entire time the men are visible, no other human beings are in view and no cars pass by. (P. M. H. Edwards, “ M.I.B. Activity Reported from Victoria B.C.,” Flying Saucer Review 27, no. 4 (January 1982): 7–12; Clark III 733; Clark IV 814)
October 8 — 11:00 a.m. Hannah McRoberts is taking photos with her family at a rest area some 30 miles north of Kelsey Bay, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. She snaps a color photo of one of the mountains to the west that has an interesting cumulus cloud above it. When the photo is developed, it shows a silvery disc to the right of and above the peak. UFO researcher Richard F. Haines examines the original and determines that the image shows an unknown three-dimensional object positioned at least 30 feet away from the camera. (NICAP, “ Daylight Disc Photo”; Richard F. Haines, “ Analysis of a UFO Photograph,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 1, no. 2 (1987): 129–147; UFOEv II 295)
October 15 - 7:30 p.m. Many citizens of Hällefors, Sweden, observe a huge cigar-shaped object "as large as a truck" that appears suddenly in the north gliding along just above the treetops. Four oblong windows are apparent, through which a blue-white light shines, and a red light is in the rear. A clear and piercing engine noise is evident as it slowly moves south for more than an hour. Former Chief Constable Björn Fagrell describes it as like two connected railway cars. The object makes a slow clockwise turn around the village, after which a flame comes out of the rear of the object. (" `Flying Truck' Seen over Hällefors for 75 Minutes!" Nordic UFO Newsletter, 1982, no. 1, pp. 6-8; Stig Aggestad, " The Hällesfors Incident Continues to Grow: Giant UFO Still Unidentified," Nordic UFO Newsletter, 1983, no. 1, pp. 2-3; Christer Nordin, " The UFO over Hällefors: A Smuggled-In Airship, Says `Magasinet,' a Channel 2 TV Program," Nordic UFO Newsletter, 1983, no. 1, pp. 3-5)
October 19 — Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.) responds to constituent Lee M. Graham asking about rumors of alien technology and bodies at Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio. He writes: “I have long ago given up acquiring access to the so- called blue room at Wright-Patterson…. this thing has gotten so highly classified, even though I will admit there is a lot of it that has been released, it is just impossible to get anything on it.” (“ The Color Blue and UFO’s,” Above Top Secret forum, March 30, 2011; Nick Redfern, “ UFOs and Senator Barry Goldwater,” Mysterious Universe, May 1, 2014)
October 28 — An appeal of the CAUS v. NSA case is heard by a three-judge panel ( J. Skelly Wright, Roger Robb, and Norma Holloway Johnson) of the US Court of Appeals, District of Columbia. In a brief decision issued barely a week after oral arguments, the judges uphold the lower court’s decision without comment. (“ Suit Seeks to Lift Secrecy Veil from Agency’s Documents,” Washington Post, December 3, 1981; William A. Moore, “ CAUS vs. NSA Lawsuit Goes to US Supreme Court,” APRO Bulletin 30, no. 1 (February 1982): 2–3)
November — Residents of the Hessdalen valley, Norway, begin reporting frequent sightings of unusual lights that hover (sometimes for as long as an hour) and sometimes streak off at speeds that render them all but invisible. On many occasions the lights are below the horizon, either just beneath the tops of nearby mountains or not far from the ground or the rooftops of nearby houses. The lights come in various shapes, but three predominate: a bullet or cigar, a sphere, and an “upside-down Christmas tree.” They are usually yellow or white. Sometimes a small red light appears in front of the others, the various lights maintaining a fixed position, leading observers to suspect they are all attached to a single, dark object. More often than not, they are seen at night moving from north to south; but daylight sightings also occur, usually during the winter. Anomalous sounds are sometimes reported. Especially frequent activity occurs between December 1981 and mid-1984, when the lights are seen 15–20 times per week, attracting many tourists. (Wikipedia, “ Hessdalen lights”; “ Project Hessdalen: The Colored Lights of Norway,” IUR 8, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1983): 6–8; “ Project Hessdalen,” IUR 10, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1985): 14; J. Allen Hynek, “ Tracking the Hessdalen Lights,” IUR 10, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1985): 10–11; Clark III 571; Clark IV 629)
November 3 — The US District Court for the District of Columbia issues a per curiam judgment that denies an appeal of the CAUS case against the NSA. (“ Federal Court Upholds Decision Against CAUS,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 2, no. 12 (December 1981): 6; ClearIntent, p. 188)
November 12 — 6:00 p.m. Air traffic controllers at the Greek-American NATO base in Chortiatis, Greece, pick up unidentified targets on their radar screens. Six pursuit aircraft are scrambled, but the UFOs disappear as soon as the planes approach. At 6:45 p.m., luminous objects appear over Edessa, Greece, and maneuver for 30 minutes. Other objects are spotted at Kalochori, Michaniona, Giannitsa, Larissa, Ptolemaida, and Lagyna. (“ The Hide-and- Seek of the UFOs and the Six Jets That Went after Them,” IUR 7, no. 1 (January 1982): 11–12)
November 24 - 9:30 p.m. Power company employee Dale Spurlock sees a red pulsating domed disc at treetop level while driving just north of Darco, Texas, on the Darco Cutoff Road near a small lake and some power lines. It has four colored lights-a row of red, blue, green, and amber lights-at the base of the dome. It makes no sound as it passes left to right just above the tress, and then hovers. The object tilts and two headlights from the front of the UFO shine directly down on Spurlock's pickup truck. The object is revolving counterclockwise and moves off to the east. The truck's electrical system (alternator and battery) is damaged. (Richard H. Hall, " Typical 1981 UFO Reports," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 170 (April 1982): 6; " Nocturnal Rural Encounters," IUR 7, no. 3 (May/June 1982): 5-8; " 1977 Sketch/Sighting and 1981 Sketch Similarity: Another One," CUFOS Associate Newsletter 4, no. 5 (Oct./Nov. 1983): 1; UFOEv II 231-232)
December — A triangular object appears between Royton and Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. The UFO has a light on each corner; one of the lights detaches and flies off. (Marler 137)
December 4 — President Ronald Reagan issues Executive Order 12333 extending the powers of US intelligence agencies. It is regarded by the American intelligence community as a fundamental document authorizing the expansion of data collection activities and later is employed by the National Security Agency as legal authorization for its collection of unencrypted information flowing through the data centers of internet communications giants Google and Yahoo! It repeats a prohibition against state assassinations. (Wikipedia, “ Executive Order 12333”)
December 8 - 7:30 p.m. Alma Hobbs is driving with her two children on State Highway 12 three miles southwest of Reserve, New Mexico. An enormous UFO shaped like an orange ball, estimated to be 750 feet in length, makes a number of turns in the sky. They arrive at a restaurant near the intersection of State 12 and US Highway 180, where Dan Luscomb and Rosie Tafoya also see the object, which executes a 90° turn near Luna Mountain as a jet aircraft chases the UFO out of sight. (" Hunting Old and New UFOs in New Mexico," IUR 7, no. 2 (March 1982): 13-14; " Update on the Reserve, N.M. `Tube-Like' UFO," IUR 7, no. 3 (May/June 1982): 15)
December 15 — After sunset. Ali Ozel sees an extremely bright light hovering at a distance of 650– 980 feet above his car in Aksaray, central Anatolia, Turkey. It performs some maneuvers and disappears to the southwest. (“ ‘Mysteries of Turkey’: UFO Activity Revealed,” IUR 8, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1983): 9)
December 20 — 7:00 p.m. Journalists Nils Kåre Nesvold and Per Holden see a shiny, spherical object at Vongraven, Norway, the apparent size of a large star. It is steady and intense with no halo. It is flying nearly 3 miles distant and about 3,300–6,500 feet above a mountain. Its speed is irregular, and it changes both course and altitude. Suddenly it disappears as though it is switched off. (Kim Hansen, “UFO Casebook,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, pp. 89–90)
December 21 — Captain O. Celen and other people in Aksaray, Turkey, see a huge, glittering, silent, egg-shaped object shedding a greenish light over the building site of the Aksaray Engine Factory. It is hovering at 800–1,000 feet and shoots away to the southwest. (“ ‘Mysteries of Turkey’: UFO Activity Revealed,” IUR 8, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1983): 9)
December 28 — 10:30 a.m. G. W. Schoen and two others are talking outside a stable on a farm south of Westminster, Maryland, when they see a grayish-black object flying east to west against the wind and below the clouds at 1,000 feet. It is shaped like a lightbulb, with visible ribs and dark black lines. It climbs slowly and gradually disappears from sight. (“ Correspondence,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 3, no. 4 (Aug./Sept. 1982): 4)
December 29–30 — William Moore meets twice with AFOSI officer Richard Doty in a restaurant in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Doty provides Moore with copies of three documents, one of which is a “fake” to test Moore. Another is the one-page Aquarius teletype. (Brad Sparks and Barry Greenwood, “ The Secret Pratt Tapes and the Origins of MJ-12,” in MUFON 2007 International UFO Symposium Proceedings, MUFON, 2007, pp. 92–159)
December 31 — The Center for UFO Studies finalizes the agreement to purchase NICAP’s assets, including its extensive case files, and absorb the NICAP organization into CUFOS. (John L. Acuff to John P. Timmerman, [Letter], December 9, 1981, page 1, page 2; Powell, Keyhoe, 402–403)
1982
Richard Mingus is coordinating security operations for Livermore in the Area 6 section of the Nevada Test Site when, just as an unsecured, live nuclear weapon is being lowered into an 800-foot-deep shaft prior to testing, an alert goes off that the facility is under attack. It turns out that Wackenhut Security has decided to conduct a mock helicopter attack on an access point to Area 51 to test the system for weaknesses but neglects to inform the Department of Energy beforehand. (Jacobsen, Area 51, pp. 333–338)
The National Security Agency, through the Department of Justice, covertly misappropriates a Prosecutors Management Information System (PROMIS) developed by private firm Inslaw to aid prosecutors in tracking cases. Inslaw claims that the feds withheld payments on the software, then pirated it, making modifications to allow it to monitor intelligence operations, then giving or selling it to Israel and 80 other countries through Earl W. Brian, a man with close personal and business ties to President Ronald Reagan and then-presidential counsel Edwin Meese. The NSA uses it to covertly conduct real-time electronic surveillance of the flow of money to suspected terrorists and other perceived threats to US national interests. Fabrizio Calvi and Thierry Pfister in 1997 claim that NSA has been “seeding computers abroad with PROMIS- embedded SMART (Systems Management Automated Reasoning Tools) chips, code-named Petrie, a Trojan horse capable of covertly downloading data and transmitting it, using electrical wiring as an antenna, to US intelligence satellites” as part of an espionage operation. (Wikipedia, “ PROMIS (software)”; Ryan Gallagher, “ Dirtier Than Watergate,” New Statesman, April 20, 2011)
CIA officer Christopher (Kit) Green hires a retired senior USAF officer who is a physician to work on a science board at the CIA. The man tells Green “the stories about alien incursions, recoveries, and information are true” and that he will clear him for the programs, but this never happens. Even during Green’s retirement while at General Motors, the officer still insists he will get him cleared. Green never names the individual, but it is later revealed he passed away in 1997. Later evidence shows this is likely former Brig. Gen. Donald D. Flickinger, who was a director of “human factors” for the USAF’s plan to put a man into space, a consultant for NASA and the CIA, and familiar with the fields of bio-astronautics and life sciences. (Keith Basterfield, “ Kit Green’s USAF ‘UFO’ Mentor,” Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena—Scientific Research, August 29, 2019)
Audits and Surveys, in a report sponsored by Merit Report, finds that 49% of Americans definitely or probably think extraterrestrial UFOs have visited Earth. (Robert J. Durant, “ Evolution of Public Opinion on UFOs,” IUR 18, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1993): 13)
British UFO researcher Paul Devereux writes Earth Lights, describing his theory that luminous UFOs are generated by geological forces and correlating UFO sightings with proximity to fault lines. Instead of piezoelectricity as the cause of luminance, he suggests triboluminescence as a more likely candidate. Although resembling the tectonic strain theory of Michael Persinger, the earthlight theory restricts “earth energy” effects on human systems to distances less than one kilometer. Devereux follows this book up with Earth Lights Revelation in 1989. (Paul Devereux, Earth Lights: Towards an Understanding of the UFO Enigma, Turnstone, 1982; Paul Devereux, Earth Lights Revelation, Blandford, 1989; Clark III 429–431; Clark IV 475–477)
Brazilian ufologist Irene Granchi founds the Centro de Investigação sobre a Natureza dos Extraterrestres in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The group is eventually taken over by her daughter Chica Granchi. (Claudio Tsuyoshi Suenaga, “ A Grande Pioneira da Pesquisa Ufológica no Brasil,” Portal UFO, January 10, 2008)
The Royal Australian Air Force grants permission to UFO researcher Bill Chalker to examine its UFO files. Chalker visits the archives in Canberra, A.C.T., and reviews more than 1,000 reports in 53 RAAF files through 1984, allowing him to compile a detailed summary covering the years 1950 to 1980. He concludes that the existence of some interesting cases in the files is not suggestive of an RAAF coverup. (Keith Basterfield, Vladimir Godic, and Pony Godic, “ Australian Ufology: A Review,” JUFOS 2 (1990): 33; Danielle O’Neal and Piia Wirsu, “ How Bill Chalker Became One of the First Civilians to Access the RAAF’s UFO Files,” Australian Broadcasting Corporation, December 6, 2024; Bill Chalker, “ The Tully UFO UAP Legacy,” TheOzFiles, December 12, 2024)
January 2 — Writer Bob Pratt flies out to Arizona to meet William Moore, who has called him to propose a non-fiction book project about UFOs. Moore tells him about MJ-12, Project Aquarius, and other alleged revelations. Pratt secretly tapes his conversations with Moore, which reveal his contacts with Richard Doty and other agents of disinformation. (Brad Sparks and Barry Greenwood, “ The Secret Pratt Tapes and the Origins of MJ-12,” in MUFON 2007 International UFO Symposium Proceedings, MUFON, 2007, pp. 92–159)
January 3 — Two Brazilian Air Force F-5 fighters flying at about 5,000 feet over Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, see a dark metallic-looking object about 66 feet long, 55 feet high, and 3,000 feet away. The control tower cannot see anything in the vicinity. The F-5s get closer, but the object ascends and stays above them. They stay in this position for 30 seconds and then the UFO accelerates and disappears. (Clark III 205; Brazil 552; Clark IV 246)
January 5 — The Society for Scientific Exploration is founded by Peter A. Sturrock at a meeting held at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., in order to study phenomena “generally regarded by the scientific community as being outside their established fields of inquiry.” (“ Professors Join in UFO Study Forum,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 3, no. 4 (Aug./Sept. 1982): 1, 3; Clark III 1082–1083; Clark IV 1198–1199)
January 9 — 8:20 p.m. Carl (Eddie) Cox III steps outside his rural home near Washington, North Carolina, to photograph the rising full moon with a new 35mm camera using high-speed color film. He sees and takes 8 photographs of a strange, tubular object moving from the northeast. The photos show a double tube with varying configurations of white and red-orange lights. The final photo shows the tops of nearby trees and distant condensation trails. Analysis suggests that the sighting is due to a distant aircraft passing through a condensation trail. (“ Tubular UFO Photographed, January 9, 1982,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 3, no. 3 (June/July 1982): 1, 4; “ Up-Date on UFO Photographs Taken January 9, 1982,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 3, no. 4 (Aug./Sept. 1982): 1; “ January UFO Photos Become Identified FOs,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 3, no. 6 (Dec. 1982/Jan. 1983): 5–6)
January 15 - 7:05-11:35 p.m. Three sightings occur one after the other in Turkey. An object resembling a tray is seen at 7:05 p.m. over Nigde in central Anatolia. At 9:35 p.m., two UFOs are reported at Havsa, Edirne, accompanied by reported malfunctioning TV sets in the town. Around 11:30 p.m., a reported UFO causes the citizens of Izmir, western Anatolia, to panic. When the UFO hovers above the Buca forest it takes on a flaming appearance, causing fire brigades to rush to the scene, keeping watch over the object for 45 minutes until it vanishes. (" `Mysteries of Turkey': UFO Activity Revealed," IUR 8, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1983): 8-9)
February — William Moore receives a plain envelope from one of the intermediaries of “Falcon.” Inside are Air Force documents signed by Richard Doty regarding unexplained lights over Kirtland AFB and Manzano in New Mexico from 1980. Moore and Bruce Maccabee examine the documents and conduct a detailed on-site investigation, finding no contradictions. (Greg Bishop, Project Beta, Paraview, 2005, p. 209)
February 2 - 8:00 p.m. Susanne Anderson, 18, is jogging in Skövde, Sweden, when she notices two intense blinking lights that seem to be coming toward her. She hears no sound and gets frightened. After speeding up to a full run, she turns around and sees a metal-blue, saucer-shaped object with a blinking red light on the bottom. Terrified, she hides in a school building. (" A Short Tale of a Swedish CE-1," IUR 7, no. 6 (Nov./ Dec. 1982): 14)
February 8 — Capt. Gerson Maciel de Britto, piloting a Boeing 727 for VASP Flight 169, notices an intense light source while flying over Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil, on a southern course. It starts accompanying the aircraft in a parallel course, keeping the same distance. But the object soon begins changing its speed, moving ahead of the plane and then allowing it to catch up. As it approaches Belo Horizonte, the object approaches the plane, allowing crew and 150 passengers to view its lenticular form. At this point, the light emanating from the UFO penetrates the interior of the cabin and illuminates it with a bluish tint. The UFO is still in clear view as the aircraft begins landing at Galeão Airport in Rio de Janeiro. Some witnesses on the Rio-Niterói Bridge also see the object. (“ The Climactic UFO Case of the Winter 1982 Brazilian ‘Flap,’” IUR 7, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1982): 11–13; Luiz Augusto da Silva, “ Unidentified Aerial Phenomena: The VASP-169 Flight Brazilian Episode Revisited,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 27, no. 4 (2013): 637–654; Patrick Gross, “ UFO-Aircraft Encounters”; Clark III 198–200; Brazil 537–541; Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos, “ Analysis of the VASP-169 Flight UFO Sighting and Photographs by L.A.L. da Silva,” academia.edu, August 2022; Clark IV 238–241)
February 10 — 11:35 p.m. Tammy Utt and two other 17-year-old girls are driving in a car on I Road and 18th Road near Riverland, west of Escanaba, Michigan, when they encounter a low-flying domed disc. The mist from the rear of the object looks like “lit up snowflakes.” The rim around the bottom of the UFO has red windows all the way around it, and a red light shines through the windows. The sighting lasts seven minutes. (“ Six UFOs Reported,” Green Bay (Wis.) Press-Gazette, February 21, 1982, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 152 (March 1982): 5; “ Nocturnal Rural Encounters,” IUR 7, no. 3 (May/June 1982): 8–11; Kenneth C. Schellhase, “ A Unique Triad of CE-I Sightings,” IUR 7, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1982): 4)
February 12 — 5:45 p.m. Civil engineer Robert A. Sproat is driving south on Gouger Road just south of County Road 7 in Lockport, Illinois, when he sees a light similar to an aircraft landing light over the Lockport locks and dam. It begins a smooth banking turn to the left at about 1,000 feet, and he can make out a structure about 40 feet square. (Robert A. Sproat, “ Letter,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 4, no. 3 (June/July 1983): 2)
Mid-February — 9:00 p.m. Aubre Brogden is driving along Vermont Highway 36 near Bakersfield, Vermont, when she sees a lighted triangular object in the sky approaching her. As she pulls into her driveway, it hovers above her backyard about 25 feet away then silently moves directly above her. She estimates it is as large as a football field. The object moves away noiselessly. (“ Recurrent Sightings on Vermont Highway,” APRO Bulletin 31, no. 7 (July 1983): 4–5)
February 19 — 4:54 p.m. A strange radiance is noticed in the sky above the frozen Lake Onega, from Petrozavodsk in the Republic of Karelia, Russia. The glow is pale blue and is shaped like a cloud, inside of which is an elliptical bright spot. After a few minutes, the bright spot disappears behind the forest, but the luminescent cloud remains in the sky for a time. Around 5:00 p.m., two more spots appear, moving together. One of them resembles the first object but is smaller. The other is a luminous sphere moving in a spiral. As it moves, it leaves a hazy trail that quickly disappears. At 5:15 p.m., a bright arrow-shaped object flies directly above the city a great speed, leaving a trail. None of the objects make any sound. (Stonehill and Mantle, Russia’s USO Secrets, Flying Disk, 2020, p. 152)
February 24 — 5:15 a.m. Neillsville, Wisconsin, police officer Chuck Urban is patrolling 12 miles west of town when a bright light approaches him on his left. He stops his squad car, turns off his headlights, grabs a camera, and takes a picture that turns out poorly. He hears no sound from the object. The light follows him as he returns to Neillsville. The light is so bright he can see the road plainly. At one point the light crosses the road ahead of him for a few miles, then recrosses to the other side. He loses sight of it as he enters town. (“ Nocturnal Rural Encounters,” IUR 7, no. 3 (May/June 1982): 11; “ Neillsville Revisited: The Cop and the Light That Turned Night into Day,” IUR 7, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1982): 14–15)
March 4 — Brinsley Le Poer Trench, the Earl of Clancarty, asks in the House of Lords how many UFO reports the Ministry of Defence has received in the past 4 years, Viscount Long replies that there were 750 sightings in 1978, 550 in 1979, 350 in 1980, and 600 in 1981. Clancarty thinks the totals must be higher, but Long explains that not all reports reach the MoD. The Earl of Kimberley asks how many of those remain unidentified, and Long replies that he does not have those figures as they “disappeared into the unknown before we got them.” Peter Hill-Norton asks whether all UFO reports received by the MoD before 1962 were destroyed because they were of “no defense interest,” and if so, who decided that. Long says that all reports have been preserved since 1967. (“ Unidentified Flying Objects: Sightings,” House of Lords [Hansard], March 4, 1982, vol. 427, cols. 1370–1371; Good Above, pp. 101–102; Isaac Koi, “ UFOs in Parliament (UK),” Isaac Koi—UFOs and Parliament, 2024)
March 6 — Night. A cylindrical object passes above the Stadium Morenão in Campo Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, during a soccer game attended by more than 24,000 people. (“ [UFO Flyover in Campo Grande,]” O Dia (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), March 8, 1982, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 152 (March 1982): 14; Brazil 290–293; Jackson Camargo, “ O Caso do OVNI do Morenão,” Fenomenum, May 25, 2024; Clark IV 572)
March 8 — Peter Gersten’s 84-page petition (filed in early 1982) for the Supreme Court to hear an appeal of CAUS v. NSA is dismissed by the US Supreme Court, which declines to hear the case because releasing the files “could seriously jeopardize the work of the agency and the security of the United States.” (ClearIntent, pp. 188–189)
March 8 — 8:15 p.m. Two highly technically trained people separated by more than a mile observe a silent object near Bethel, Connecticut. (“ The Case of the Rumbling Leviathan,” IUR 7, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1982): 8–10)
March 17–20 — The Project Hessdalen team manages to take four photos of oblong lights passing in front of Finnsåhøgda and Fjellbekkhøgda mountains near Hessdalen, Norway. (“ Project Hessdalen: The Colored Lights of Norway,” IUR 8, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1983): 7–8)
March 21 — 8:30 p.m. Karl Stewart is driving eastbound on the Ohio Turnpike in northwest Ohio when he sees what appears to be a jet aircraft to the south at about 500 feet altitude. Its lights are much brighter than normal landing lights, and there are no airports in the vicinity. Pulling over to watch it, he sees it has three arms, small windows, and red and green strings of running lights. It gains altitude before banking north over the highway. (“ A New Model UFO?” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 4, no. 1 (Feb./March 1983): 3)
March 23 — 2:00 a.m. Tim Miron, 18, is driving north on I Road northwest of Escanaba, Michigan, when he sees an orange-red light, which gets bigger and begins flashing red beams from its underside after he turns on I.5 Lane. The object keeps moving closer and he sees it directly behind a telephone pole to his left 125 feet from the road, hovering 10 feet above the ground. Miron arrives at his family’s farm, jumps out, and sees the UFO moving directly toward him. He wakes up his mother and the two of them watch the object for the next 30–45 minutes as it maneuvers over a wide area around the farm, finally disappearing behind some trees. (Kenneth C. Schellhase, “ A Unique Triad of CE-I Sightings,” IUR 7, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1982): 5–7)
March 26 — Leading investigators from UFO-Norge hold a town meeting in Ålen, Norway, near Hessdalen. Of the 130 residents who attend, 17 say they have seen a yellow spherical light, 12 a cigar-shaped object, and 6 an oblong object with one red and two yellow lights. Later in the week, two officers from Værnes Air Station in Trondheim interview some witnesses and conclude that Hessdalen residents have been seeing these lights since 1944 and their accounts are credible. (Kim Hansen, “UFO Casebook,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, pp. 89, 90; Clark III 571; Clark IV 629)
March 30 - 11:15 p.m. Nanette Morrison is driving home in Charlottesville, Virginia, when she spots a large, brilliant light in the sky hovering several hundred feet in the air and a quarter mile away. It approaches as she makes a turn and flies right over her car, later pacing her as she drives the remaining 15 blocks. She pulls up to the curb, and the UFO stops and hovers above a house across the street less than 400 feet away. The object reverses direction and moves away as she runs up to her house. However, the object may have been a large airliner, possibly a 737, landing at the airport. (" Mother, Daughter Claim UFO Sighted," Charlottesville (Va.) Daily Progress, April 2, 1982, p. 1; Jimmy Smith, [Letter] " That Flying Object May Have Been a 737," Charlottesville (Va.) Daily Progress, April 14, 1982, p. 4; J. Allen Hynek, " A Remarkable Double Encounter," IUR 8, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1983): 4-5; " Double Encounter Questioned," IUR 9, no. 2 (March/April 1984): 15; Carle Hodge, " Never Mind: `UFO' Report Dogs Expert," Phoenix Arizona Republic, October 1, 1984, pp. B1, B6; Manfred Cassirer, " The Strange Case of a `Remarkable Double Encounter,'" BUFORA Bulletin, no. 20 (January 1986): 14-17)
April 1 — 7:15 p.m. Three men are repairing a jeep in Petrolia, Pennsylvania, when one of them notices a bright object with a flashing red light just above the trees. A few minutes later they see it has risen much higher. After they turn on the jeep’s headlights, the bright object moves toward them. When they turn the lights off again, the object backs away. The lights go on again, and the UFO passes over their heads at 250 feet. Its bright lights go out, and its triangular shape becomes clear, as well as its gun-metal color and the luminescent mist surrounding it. A red light is on the front, with white and amber lights on the other angles. Two bright lights shoot away from the triangle, one going north and the other south. When a jet approaches from the east, the object stops and becomes bright. Then it rises straight up until it is out of sight. For several days, the witnesses have severe headaches, and one has diarrhea. Other triangular UFOs are seen in the Pittsburgh area from March 22 to May 19. (Stan Gordon, “ Pennsylvania Low-Level UFO Sightings,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 172 (June 1982): 3)
April 1 — 11:30 p.m. Nanette Morrison looks out her front window and sees a bright, fluorescent object hovering a few hundred feet above the tree line and a short distance away from her home in Charlottesville, Virginia. She tells her mother to come and look. As she does, the object flares up brightly and zips away at an incredible speed. (“ Mother, Daughter Claim UFO Sighted,” Charlottesville (Va.) Daily Progress, April 2, 1982, p. 1; J. Allen Hynek, “ A Remarkable Double Encounter,” IUR 8, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1983): 5, 15; “ Double Encounter Questioned,” IUR 9, no. 2 (March/April 1984): 15; Manfred Cassirer, “ The Strange Case of a ‘Remarkable Double Encounter,’” BUFORA Bulletin, no. 20 (January 1986): 14–17)
April 2 — President Reagan issues Executive Order 12356, which eliminates response time limits on FOIA requests. Searches for UFO documents show significantly more delays of 2 years or more, and search fees rise dramatically. (Wikisource, “ Executive Order 12356”)
April 3 - 3:00 a.m. A woman schoolteacher in Bolingbrook, Illinois, is awakened by a high- pitched sound "like a blender running in a box." She looks outside and sees a bright blue, domed, disc-shaped object land next to some power lines. It lifts off and then lands a second time. The UFO has blue lights around the rim and is only about 150 feet away. The blue lights illuminate the area as bright as day. A streetlight goes out. The police receive calls of power outages and blue flashes at the same time. (Fred Merritt, " A Blue Domed-Disc for Bolingbrook," IUR 7, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1982): 6-8)
April 7 — The Earl of Cork and Orrery asks in the House of Lords how many of the 2,250 sightings of UFOs reported to the MoD in 1978–1981 are still classified. Viscount Long says none are and there is no reason why anyone could not come and look at the reports in the MoD archives. (Good Above, pp. 102–104; Isaac Koi, “ UFOs in Parliament (UK),” Isaac Koi—UFOs and Parliament, 2024)
April 8 — 11:50 p.m. Angie Parrotta and Nancy Hanson, both 18, are driving south on County Road 533 west of Escanaba, Michigan. They notice a bright star to the southwest, which soon becomes two huge yellowish-white “headlights” attached to an object. It descends and moves toward them. They speed up but the object keeps pacing them on their right. They become frightened when they see a blinking red light on the craft. They watch the UFO move swiftly toward Escanaba in the east and quickly lose sight of it. (Kenneth C. Schellhase, “ A Unique Triad of CE-I Sightings,” IUR 7, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1982): 7–8)
April 22–23 — Night. A group of Polish Air Force pilots during missions over northwest Poland in the area from Elbląg to Ostróda and Olsztyn encounter a weird light at 47,500 feet that does not appear on their radar. It looks like a cloud with the central part a raised-up cupola and is emanating beams of light from the underside. Around it is some kind of vapor. (Poland 66)
April 23 — 5:15 a.m. Officials at the Head Office of Meteorology in Ankara, Turkey, observe two UFOs that are maneuvering over the city for an hour. They are elliptical and disappear in the direction of the Eskisehir Highway around 6:15 a.m. (“ ‘Mysteries of Turkey’: UFO Activity Revealed,” IUR 8, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1983): 10)
April 27 — Citizens Against UFO Secrecy files a request with the National Security Agency for all legal documents used to prepare its case in CAUS v. NSA, especially any portion of the top-secret Yeates affidavit of November 1980. (ClearIntent, p. 189)
May 9 - 1:30 p.m. Yoriaki Tsuda, 17, a student and member of his high school's photography club, goes outside to photograph his house in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan. He spots a black object slowly scouting the sky. Acting quickly, he snaps a photo with his Canon camera, equipped with a 35- 70mm zoom lens. The resulting image captures a UFO with a dome and four visible portholes. (Hachiro Kubota, " George Adamski the Cosmic Man," UFO Contactee, no. 1 (May 1985): 1, 3)
May 14 — Afternoon. Tom Powers, his son Tony, Guy Lindstrom, and Barry Thomas are standing outside a gas station in Townsend, Wisconsin, when a bright object suddenly appears, hovering 3–4 feet above an old railroad right of way. Thinking it might be a helium balloon, Tom tells Tony to run across Route 32 and “catch that thing.” But by the time Tony gets across, the object quickly zooms northward. All four men agree the object is round, shiny, and shaped like “two pie pans or bowls glued together.” Tony estimates its size at about 2½ feet across. Thomas adds, “It looks about the size of a fairly big tire. It’s extremely bright and metallic, like chrome.” The object occasionally rises a foot or so, then settles back to the 3-foot level. As it nears the town garage, it suddenly rises to treetop height and shoots out of sight. (“ Strange Object Seen in Sky over Townsend,” Oconto (Wis.) Reporter, May 26, 1982, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 157 (August 1982): 1; Doris and Joe Graziano, “ Press Reports,” APRO Bulletin 30, no. 11 (December 1982): 7)
May 18 — NSA Director of Policy Eugene Yeates releases a highly redacted portion of his 21-page affidavit used in the CAUS v. NSA lawsuit. An unredacted section reveals that the NSA holds 79 UFO documents referred by other agencies as well as 160 documents originating with the NSA, four of which have already been released. (ClearIntent, pp. 189–190)
May 22 — 11:00 p.m. Liberty County Deputy Sheriff John McDonald notices two bright lights above tall pine trees near Cleveland, Texas. He points his spotlight toward them as they sink out of sight, but they reappear and pass over his head at about 1,000 feet. He shines his spotlight again and sees a diamond shape with four rounded corners. The object is large, silent, and grayish in color. Seconds later he hears a high-pitched whine as it quickly departs. (John F. Schuessler, “ Policeman Encounters Diamond-Shaped UFO,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 182 (April 1983): 3)
May 24 — 10:15 p.m. An orange-colored light is seen by many tourists moving at a slow speed at an altitude of 4,900–6,500 feet toward Marmaris, Muğla, Turkey. It hovers for about 5 minutes over the sea, moves to the south, speeds up, and ascends. (“ ‘Mysteries of Turkey’: UFO Activity Revealed,” IUR 8, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1983): 10)
June — Leonard H. Stringfield issues his third status report, UFO Crash/Retrievals: Amassing the Evidence. (Leonard H. Stringfield, UFO Crash/Retrievals: Amassing the Evidence, Status Report III, The Author, 1982)
June 1 - Two UFOs allegedly hover above the Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, for 14 seconds, one of them directly above launch pad number 1. On June 2, bolts and rivets are found that supposedly have been sucked out of the support towers, and welded sections have come apart. The other UFO hovers above the adjacent housing complex, knocking out thousands of panes of glass or making fine holes in them. The cosmodrome is said to be put out of action for two weeks. (Gordon Creighton, " Russia: Naughty Henry Gris Says It Again! `Soviet Space-Centre Knocked Out by UFOs," Flying Saucer Review 28, no. 6 (August 1983): 27-28)
June 3 - Night. The examining magistrate and bailiff at Demirköy, Kirklareli, Turkey, watch an object with orange lights at an altitude of 160-200 feet. It has two lighted hemispheres with a dark rectangular mid-section. The poplar trees underneath it are shaking violently. (" Mysteries of Turkey': UFO Activity Revealed," IUR 8, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1983): 10)
June 10 — Three witnesses in Madbury, New Hampshire, see a wedge-shaped object with bright white lights and smaller blue-green-red body lights hovering about 50 feet above the Bellamy Reservoir, its lights reflecting on the surface of the water. As they try to move to a better viewing location, the object moves away, almost instantly. They see it again hovering above a house with an oscillatory motion. A red light beam shines down on the house and then on the car. After a while the object approaches the car from behind and passes above it by about 30 feet. (UFOEv II 40–41; Powell, Scientist, 67)
June 12 — Everyone on board a British aircraft sees a large translucent object 500 feet long flying at 41,000 feet altitude over Dinkelsbühl, Bavaria, Germany. It has the form of a “double rectangle surmounted by a globe (egg- shaped) crowned by a silver one.” (Nick Redfern, A Covert Agenda: UFO Secrecy Exposed, Simon & Schuster, 1997, p. 162)
June 18 - 9:10-10:53 p.m. Five Chinese Air Force pilots are flying on patrol over the northern military frontier in Hebei province, China. At 10:06 p.m., a large yellowish-green object appears in the northern sky, whirling fast and creating rings of light. After 10 seconds, the center of the ring explodes "like a hand grenade." It grows larger than the apparent size of the full moon, and black spots appear near its center. The aircraft lose their communications and navigational systems and are forced to return to their base. (NICAP, " 5 Chinese Pilots Encounter Object / EME"; Paul Dong and Wendelle Stevens, UFOs over Modern China, UFO Photo Archives, 1983, pp. 243-245; Good Above, pp. 217-218, 471; Richard F. Haines and Dominique F. Weinstein, A Preliminary Study of Fifty Seven Pilot Sighting Reports Involving Alleged Electro-Magnetic Effects on Aircraft Systems, NARCAP Technical Report no. 3, April 5, 2001, p. 32)
June 25 — 2:30 a.m. Kathy Freeman watches a bright star that makes two right-angle turns near Libertyville, Illinois. (“ Correspondence,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 3, no. 4 (Aug./Sept. 1982): 5)
June 27 — Following a screening of E.T.: The Extraterrestrial at the White House, President Reagan leans over to director Steven Spielberg and comments, “You know, there aren’t six people in this room who know how true this really is.” (presidentialufo.com, “ Ronald Reagan, 40th President, January 20, 1981–January 20, 1989”)
July - 4:30 a.m. A 15-year-old-boy sets out on his bicycle for his summer job at a kindergarten in Odense, Denmark. He notices a bright object like two saucers piled on top of each other hovering over a field about 165-195 feet away. It seems to be about 6 feet in diameter. As he gets closer, he can see two small, humanoid creatures no larger than 2 feet tall with large heads and narrow hips. (" Dänische Luftwaffe öffnet geheimes UFO-Archiv," grenzWissenschat-aktuell.de, January 30, 2009)
July 1 — The Center for UFO Studies discontinues its toll-free 1-800 number distributed to police offices across the country. (“ Discontinue 800 #, Report Quality Low,” IUR 7, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1982): 13)
July 6 - 7:30 p.m. A man driving alone near Hampshire, Tasmania, finds that his car is gradually losing power and stops. He turns off the ignition and the lights, then gets out of the vehicle when he notices a stationary, noiseless object that looks like a large army helicopter about the size of a bus. It is blue-black in color and seems to be gradually moving to the west for about 90 seconds. He starts the car's engine and leaves the area. An inspection of the car finds nothing to account for its behavior. (Herbert S. Taylor, " An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part 1," IUR 33, no. 4 (May 2011): 19)
Early August — A man is in a meadow near a forest on the shore of the Vistula River a few miles northwest of Warsaw, Poland. Suddenly he hears a sound like an electric motor and sees a rectangular, black, domed object above the treetops that rises and sails slowly beyond the river. Windows in the dome cast a flickering light (Bronislaw Rzepecki, “ Encounters in Poland,” IUR 12, no. 3 (May/June 1987): 17)
September - Rosalind Reynolds-Parnham and her boyfriend Philip are driving through the northwestern outskirts of Sudbury, Suffolk, England, when they see an object with an oval mass of orange lights moving through some pylons and causing sparks. They can smell a noxious odor. They drive on, and when they are near Cavendish on the A1092 some lights approach them from behind and the car loses power. When they arrive at their destination, they realize they have lost four hours of time. Rosalind begins to recall an abduction experience, aided by some disturbing dreams and odd scars on her abdomen. (Jenny Randles, " Abduction and Physiological Effects," IUR 20, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1995): 4-6, 23; Carl Nagaitis and Philip Mantle, Without Consent: A Comprehensive Study of Missing Time and Abduction Phenomena in the United Kingdom, Ringpull, 1994; " Aliens Cost Me My Boyfriend and Kids," London Express, August 24, 2016)
September 2 — 7:15 p.m. John T. Sery notices an object following a Cessna aircraft at an altitude of 1,500 feet above Minneapolis, Minnesota. It matches the pace of the airplane until it reaches a point about 4 miles away when it descends. His two daughters also view the UFO. The bottom and top of the object are jet black, and it has an equatorial band that is silvery metallic with a hint of rainbow reflections. (“ Minnesota Flying Black Hamburger,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 5, no. 6 (Dec. 1984/Jan. 1985): 6–7)
September 9 — A partial meltdown occurs at Chernobyl nuclear power plant Unit One in Pripyat, Ukraine. Officials deny that an accident has taken place, but radioactive contamination reaches the town and spreads as far as 9 miles from the plant. It includes iodine-131, fragments of uranium dioxide fuel, and hot particles containing zinc-65 and zirconium-niobium-95 consistent with partial destruction of the reactor core. Contaminated areas around the plant are simply sluiced with water and covered with soil and leaves. Lenin Square is discreetly covered with a new layer of asphalt. (Adam Higginbotham, Midnight at Chernobyl, Simon & Schuster, 2019, pp. 69–70)
September 17 — 9:00 p.m. Capt. Stefan Freitag and the crew of the Romanian cargo ship Bosca are steaming 200 miles off the coast of Brazil in the South Atlantic when they see an object like a full moon, accompanied by a smaller, star-light object, which grows brighter and larger in size. Both objects disappear, leaving behind a shiny cloud. Then another moon-like object appears, during which a silent explosion takes place and an orange object is ejected. A fourth moon appears and approaches the ship, causing the crew to panic and the ship’s dog to howl. A fifth object appears briefly, leaving a glow that persists for 30 minutes. A Geiger counter indicates a radiation level of 5–7 rads on the ship. A similar phenomenon is seen by another ship in the general area at 11:03 p.m. and on the following night. (Gerhard Cordier, “ Adventure under the Equator,” UFO Research Australia Newsletter 4, no. 3 (Nov./Dec. 1983): 3; “Unidentified Phenomena,” Marine Observer 53 (July 1983): 132)
September 18 — 3:00 p.m. Villagers in Suchowola, Poland, see a triangular UFO with lights at its tips. (Poland 75–76)
September 30 - 1:30 a.m. A man and his son finish picking fruit in their orchard on Wolicka street near Czerniaków Hill in Warsaw, Poland. It is well after curfew, so they make their way toward home stealthily. Near the Zaklad Ubezpieczen Spolecznych building they smell smoke and see a strange object 20 feet in diameter hovering 3 feet above the ground. A faint orange glow is emanating from its base, causing the grass to smolder. Two thin beings are near the object. One has a device that projects an orange glow. The witnesses leave the scene carefully. (Poland 51; " Bliskie spotkanie w Warszavie w 1982 roku," UFO-Relacje.pl, February 12, 2020)
September 30 — 10:15 p.m. Four women, all management personnel of New England Bell Company, are returning to Exeter, New Hampshire, after a trip to a county fair to the north. They are riding in a Mercedes owned by the driver, Mary Ann Poland. She and the passengers (Rose Messina, Mary LaMontagne, and Nicky LeClair) see a low-flying bright light approaching. Poland pulls the car over and they all jump out, as if the object has a compelling influence on them. The object is egg-shaped with swirling red lights around its equator and a white beam of light coming down from the side. After a few minutes it sinks down behind the tree line. (“ The Hampton Encounter,” Atlantic News and Advertiser (Hampton, N.H.), November 23, 1982, p. 1, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 163 (February 1983): 3; “ Exeter Revisited,” IUR 8, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1983): 4–7)
October — A generator explodes at Reactor Number One of the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant in Armenia. The turbine hall burns down, and an emergency team is airlifted from the Kola Peninsula in northwest Russia to help save the core. (Adam Higginbotham, Midnight in Chernobyl, Simon & Schuster, 2019, p. 70)
October 2 —8:00 p.m. The North Arkansas Community College volleyball team (and their coach Sue McDonald) is returning from a game in Kansas and are near Springfield, Missouri, when they see an object with two brilliant white lights and a blinking red light. It hovers 100–150 feet nearly above the bus. The underside is in full view and about 40–50 smaller lights are plainly visible. (“ CE-I for a Volleyball Team,” IUR 8, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1983): 12–14)
October 4 — 4:00–8:00 p.m. Russian Army Lt. Col. Vladimir Plantonev witnesses an hours-long UFO sighting near an IRBM missile base outside the village of Belokorovichi, Ukraine. It looks “just like a flying saucer,” but with no portholes and a smooth surface. It soundlessly makes a turn on its edge. Suddenly, an unspecified number of nuclear missiles spontaneously go into an automated launch sequence by themselves, proceeding to a countdown of 15 seconds before aborting and returning to standby status. (NICAP, “ Russian Base Loses Control of Nuclear Missiles”; Paul Stonehill and Philip Mantle, The Soviet UFO Files: Paranormal Encounters behind the Iron Curtain, Quadrillion, 1998, p. 81; J. Antonio Huneeus, “Incident at Usovo: From the Soviet and Russian Military UFO Dossier,” The Anomalist 7 (Winter 1998/1999); Robert L. Hastings, “ Remarkable Reports from the Missile Field,” IUR 32, no. 1 (August 2008): 25–26; Antonio Huneeus, “ Soviet Nukes and UFOs,” Open Minds, January 26, 2010; Nukes 445–452; “ Historic! 3rd Public UFO Hearing in the U.S. Marks a Milestone for the Disclosure of Truth,” Ovnilogia, September 9, 2025)
October 12 — Nova presents the documentary The Case of the UFO’s, which is criticized as a biased perspective. The participants on the US version of this BBC production include skeptics Philip Klass, James Oberg, and Michael Persinger, with only brief appearances by Bruce Maccabee and Allan Hendry. ( Nova: The Case of the UFO’s, Time-Life, 1982; J. Allen Hynek, “ Nova and UFOs,” IUR 7, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1982): 3–5; J. Allen Hynek, “ An Editorial Apology,” IUR 8, no. 3 (May/June 1983): 3)
October 14 — 2:00 a.m. Four residents of Alta, Troms og Finnmark, Norway, see three points of light appear above the mountains to the south-southeast. Each point of light is made up of several smaller lights bunched close together. They move in a northerly direction at a great speed, apparently about 43–50 miles in 5 seconds, or about 35,000 mph. Suddenly light rays flash down toward the ground simultaneously from all three objects. The rays are made up of cones with an opening angle of about 15°. Their color is a powerful white with a bluish hue, especially at the sides. After 20–25 seconds, the rays begin to widen just as the light begins to diminish in strength. In 2–3 seconds the cones become “an ocean” of light with an opening angle of some 180°. Then they move off one by one with a separation time of one second. At the same moment as the lights go out there appears an ellipsoid object that gives off a faint light, but nevertheless is distinctly visible. Its color is pink with a deeper color tone that becomes gray just underneath the object. It is motionless, hanging in the sky for 30 minutes, then it suddenly disappears. All of the observers feel a strange, dead silence during the entire observation. (Elbjørg Feldbjerg, “ Extraordinary Observation from Alta,” Nordic UFO Newsletter, 1983, no. 2, pp. 15–18)
October 15 — 1:35 p.m. A witness at the Diamond Shamrock plant at Lamar [now Botham Jean Boulevard] and Lenway Street in Dallas, Texas, sees a domed, metallic disc that apparently has risen up from the Trinity River bottom and is heading east. He estimates it is 60 feet wide and flying at 3,000–4,000 feet. It has bright red lights on top. (“ Letter,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 4, no. 4 (Aug./Sept. 1983): 2)
October 18 — 7:50 p.m. A couple is driving along Quinpool Road near Armview Avenue in Halifax, Nova Scotia, when they see an object about 8 times the size of the full moon traveling silently south to north at about 50 mph and 300 feet altitude. It is cigar-shaped with a steady green light in front and a flashing green light in back. They have it in sight for 15 seconds. (“ Correspondence,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 4, no. 1 (Feb./March 1983): 2)
October 19 — Night. A US Air Force RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft monitoring Soviet military activity is buzzed by a huge object (larger than the RC-135) over the eastern Mediterranean Sea. British personnel at RAF Troödos on Cyprus listen to the radio calls of the American crew for 90 minutes as the encounter unfolds at 35,000 feet. The UFO, described as a multitude of lights flashing 20 at a time, is picked up on the aircraft’s radar as it approaches from the south about 2 miles away. It circles around the plane and closes in. Two US Navy F-14 fighters are scrambled from an aircraft carrier, and an RAF Phantom is diverted from a night flying exercise to intercept the object south of Cyprus. As the three interceptors approach, the RC-135 crew sees the object depart to the south. The fighter pilots can see nothing. Following the incident, British authorities launch a secret investigation, the results of which (including a transcript of the RC-135 crew’s conversation with ground controllers) are sent to the US Department of Defense in November. One senior RAF official strongly suspects that the object is a mirage effect from lights on the coast of Israel or Lebanon. (David Clarke, “A Cold War Close Encounter,” Fortean Times 357 (September 2017): 17)
October 21 - 12:35 p.m. An oval object about 3 feet in diameter descends into a garden in Nancy, Meurthe-et-Moselle, France, and hovers about 3 feet off the ground. After 20 minutes the object takes off silently. The witness, a cellular biologist, reports that when the UFO rises up, the grass under it stands up straight. In the afternoon, the witness notes that two amaranth plants located near the UFO have desiccated, withered leaves. The witness calls the Gendarmerie, who inspect the garden and take some samples of the amaranth plants. The analysis of the samples made by GEPAN finds that the plants are dehydrated, but there is no evidence of radiation. ( Enquête 86/06: L'Amarante, Note Technique no. 17, Groupe d'Étude des Phénomènes Aérospatiaux Non-identifiés, Centre Nationale d'Étude Spatiales, March 21, 1983; Swords 445-446; Éric Maillot and Jean-Michel Abrassart, " Very Close Encounter with a UAP in Levitation," in Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos and Richard Heiden, eds., The Reliability of UFO Witness Testimony, UPIAR, 2023, pp. 94-106; Clark III 547; Clark IV 605)
October 24 — 9:20 a.m. Pilot Michael Davis and his father (a student pilot) are flying a 1968 Piper PA-28 Cherokee 140 about 10 miles southeast of Lowell, Indiana. Just after reaching their cruising altitude of 2,300 feet, they encounter an object they at first think is a malfunctioning parachute. At one point, the UFO flicks across their nose, veering to its left and missing the aircraft’s right wingtip by no more than 10 feet. It has no exhaust trail. At the instant that it passes, the vortex hits them so hard that the plane’s airframe groans in protest, and the altimeter goes “wacky.” It continues to curve to the left, still accelerating and eventually beginning to climb until it finally disappears into the distant haze. (NICAP, “ Pilots Encounter Object over Indiana / EME”; Mark R. Remaley, “ An Incredible Close Encounter from Credible Pilots,” IUR 8, no. 3 (May/June 1983): 4–7)
October 27 — Early evening. Bonnie McCrory and her father, Maurice Smith, are driving south on the Richardson Highway near Summit Lake, Alaska, when their pickup stops with a frozen gas line. After about 20 minutes, they notice a huge ball on the ridge to the east. It is silver-colored and looks like a geodesic dome. Within the next hour it changes color from silver to yellow to orange to fiery red-orange. It slowly moves up the ridge until it moves out of sight. Possibly the full moon. (Richard Sigismond, “ Alaska Close Encounter,” IUR 9, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1984): 8–9; Hobart Gregory Baker, “ Sail Along, Silvery Disc,” IUR 10, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1985): 16, 20; Richard Sigismond, “ Sail Along, Silvery Disc: A Response,” IUR 11, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1986): 20)
November — After 12:00 midnight. A man and his wife are camping in Davies Valley, Imperial County, California, when they are awakened by a surge of static electricity. A huge object shaped like a manta ray 200 feet across is hovering above them. It makes a humming sound as it slowly passes over them, heading east. (Doris and Joe Graziano, “ Press Reports,” APRO Bulletin 31, no. 8 (August 1983): 8)
Early November — 6:15 p.m. Rachel Morton is waiting for a bus in Whitby, North Yorkshire, England, when a triangular-shaped object with a domed covering passes noiselessly overhead. Two small white lights are at the front and three lights at the top. (Whitby (UK) Gazette, November 12, 1982; Marler 114)
November 2 — 10:50 a.m. Capt. Júlio Miguel Guerra is flying a DHC-1 Chipmunk in the region of Serra de Montejunto and Torres Vedras, Portugal, near Ota Air Base [now Military and Technical Training Center of the Air Force] in Ota, Alenquer, Portugal. He encounters a metallic disc at 4,900 feet that engages in evasive maneuvers and circles his plane. The object is 7 feet in diameter and its lower hemisphere is reddish. A circular dark area is visible on the bottom and something looking like a grid encircles its middle. The pilot of another Chipmunk trainer sees the same object at 11:05 a.m. The object continues circling between the two aircraft for 10 minutes, when it makes a pass at the second plane and speeds off to the southwest. (José Sottomayor and Antônio Rodrigues, “ Close Sighting by Portuguese Air Force Pilots (November 1982),” Flying Saucer Review 32, no. 5 (August 1987): 12–13; UFOEv II 108–109; Júlio Miguel Guerra, “ Circled by a UFO,” IUR 33, no. 3 (December 2010): 3, 21; Kean, pp. 47–511; “ Pilot Júlio Miguel Guerra’s Plane Was Circled by a UFO during the 1982 Ota Air Base Incident,” Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, May 28, 2025)
Late November — Senior Coastguard Bernard O’Reilly watches a lighted triangular object hovering silently for several minutes over Skegness, Lincolnshire, England. It moves away to the southeast. (Lincolnshire (UK) Daily Echo, December 1, 1982; Marler 114)
November 25 - Day. US Army Military Policeman Christopher Grooms is on guard duty in Tower 5 at the Army Special Weapons Depot at Kriegsfeld, a nuclear weapons storage and maintenance site in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. He watches for over 10 minutes a dark triangular-shaped craft fly slowly in a straight line from the southwest, over the valley, over the town of Gerbach, and directly over his watchtower, flying toward the northeast. After approaching for about 7 minutes, it flies directly overhead and Grooms steps out onto the tower landing with M-16 in hand and looks straight up at the object. It is completely silent and has no markings. As it passes over, the object rotates 360° nose down, pointing directly at him, then rotates back into its original position. Grooms has "the overwhelming feeling that it was acknowledging my presence with this maneuver or was `checking me out' as it did it." (Robert L. Hastings, " Triangular UFO above a U.S. Army Nuclear Weapons Depot Performs a 360-Degree Roll," UFOs & Nukes, January 26, 2015)
November 27 — 5:00 a.m. A luminous object with brilliant lights brightly illuminates a police atrol car driven by Cmdr. Michael McDonald near the intersection of West Northwest Highway and Smith Street in Palatine, Illinois. Two other officers (Ron Roszak and Dennis Somsel) in two other patrol cars on Lincoln Avenue see a domed, disc-shaped object 30 feet in diameter, which emits a light beam toward the ground, then changes direction when pursued. The white disc is later seen to the east, with a light beam extended toward the ground, as it descends behind the tree line, seemingly landing in Busse Woods (Ned Brown Forest Preserve). The entire episode lasts about 12 minutes. (Mark Rodeghier, “ A Police Puzzler from Palatine,” IUR 8, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1983): 10–14)
November 29 — 1:50 a.m. João Valéria da Silva goes outside his home in Botucatú, São Paulo, Brazil, and encounters a bright, dazzling light. A human figure appears and pushes him to a device inside the light, which hoists him up into a “vestibule” where there is another being. They are wearing suits that cover everything except their eyes and mouths. After examining him and speaking to him an in unknown language, they step outside, passing through the walls. Soon a beautiful, dark-skinned woman enters and places a Y-shaped device against his cheek. He loses consciousness and is found by his family around 5:00 a.m., nude and covered with oil. There are marks on his chest and lesions on his penis. His watch has stopped at 4:30 a.m. (Robert Marsland, “ Two Claimed Abductions in Brazil,,” APRO Bulletin 31, no. 10 (November 1983): 1–2; Irene Granchi, “ Abduction at Botucatú,” Flying Saucer Review 30, no. 1 (October 1984): 22–25; Clark III 1063; Clark IV 1178)
December — During naval exercises in the Black Sea near the port of Sevastopol in the Crimea, Russia, an unidentified target is detected over the Balaklava District at a low altutude. It has a sharp nose and sparks coming from its tail section. The object does not respond to attempts at communication, so jet interceptors are scrambled. The object descends into the water when they approach. Soviet naval ships cannot detect it underwater. (Stonehill and Mantle, Russia’s USO Secrets, Flying Disk, 2020, pp. 133–134)
December 8–12 — The Third International Congress of Extraterrestrial Science is held in Rosario, Argentina, with representatives from Spain, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, and the US, as well as Argentina. (“ Third International Congress of Extraterrestrial Science,” IUR 8, no. 3 (May/June 1983): 3, 7, 13)
December 10 - 7:55 a.m. Stephen Eric Alexander is waiting for a school bus with his daughter in Rosedale, Queens, New York City, when he sees an object among a flock of birds. The birds disperse and leave the object alone, drifting silently at 25 mph. After 15 seconds, it tilts and veers to the southwest and disappears. He estimates the object is 11 feet wide and 5 feet tall, 150 feet away from him, and 210 feet above the ground. Its ends pointed slightly downward. (" 1977 Photograph/Sighting and 1982 Sketch Similarity," CUFOS Associate Newsletter 4, no. 4 (Aug./Sept. 1983): 1-2)
December 21 — A witness driving from Échallens to Orbe, Vaud, Switzerland, notes a red globe 5–6 inches in diameter closely following his car. The light spreads inside the car as the object apparently settles down on the rear seat. He experiences about 8–10 minutes of missing time. (“ Newspaper Item from Bern, Switzerland, January 12, 1983,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 4, no. 4 (Aug./ Sept. 1983): 4)
December 31 - Around 11:50 p.m. An off-duty police officer and his family see a boomerang- shaped object drift slowly over their home near Kent Cliffs, New York. They can see a solid structure with roughly 15 red, green, and white lights anchored to its underside. It maintains a constant altitude of about 490 feet, moves at a gentle walking pace, and makes only a faint hum. As it passes over, he feels a deep vibration in his chest. At one point, the lights go out and three blinding white lights in the shape of a triangle appear in their place. About 5 seconds later, the colored ones return, and the object drifts out of sight. Warehouse foreman Edwin Hansen, 55, sees what appears to be the same object as he is driving down Interstate 84, just moments later. Hansen, among others, stops on the side of the road after spotting a boomerang-shaped formation of lights that project a bright beam of light to the ground. It is so large that it fills the sky in front of him, and it makes slow, tight circles in the air. Just as he thinks he'd like to get a closer look, the object moves in his direction. He panics as it approaches, but then hears a voice in his head that tells him not to be afraid. At the same time, the object turns away and the beam goes out. Hansen says that he "felt thoughts that weren't [his] own," and believes that he has received a telepathic communication from the UFO. (NightSiege 6-9; Clark III 1277; Clark IV 1460)
1983
Since 1966, some 6,700 Ummo communications have been received. The early ones are written in Spanish, but over time they are composed in French, though certain grammar and punctuation oddities indicate that Spanish, not French, is the writers’ first language. Other analyses indicate a British origin. (Wikipedia, “ Planetary objects proposed in religion, astrology, ufology, and pseudoscience”; Wikipedia, “ Ummo”; Jacques Vallée, Revelations: Alien Contact and Human Deception, Ballantine, 1990, pp. 90–121; Bob Rickard, “The Ummo Mystery,” Fortean Times 149 (September 2001): 34–35; Reinaldo Manso, Ummo: Un Historia de un Obsesión, Megustaesscribirlibros, 2015; Reinaldo Manso, “Were the Ummites British?” Fortean Times 336 (February 2016): 58–59; Clark III 1185–1186; Clark IV 1359)
Philip J. Klass writes UFOs: The Public Deceived for Prometheus Press, claiming that all significant government documentation has been released and that UFO reports are nothing but hoaxes, misidentifications, and distortions. He personally attacks Hynek, Maccabee, Richard Hall, and others. (Philip J. Klass, UFOs: The Public Deceived, Prometheus, 1983)
January — The first issue of Cuadernos de Ufologia, edited by José Ruesga Montiel and featuring case investigations by many Spanish ufologists, is published in Seville, Spain, by the Colectivo Cuadernos (and beginning in 1997 by La Fundación Anomalía). It continues through April 2012. ( Cuadernos de Ufologia, no. 1 (January 1983))
January 10–11 — CAUS director and attorney Peter Gersten has two meetings with Richard Doty in New Mexico. During the first meeting, with Bill Moore in attendance, Doty is guarded in his comments. At the second meeting with Gersten alone, he speaks openly about the 1977 Ellsworth AFB “incident” that he claims AFOSI and the FBI are investigating. He tells Gersten that the US government knows why UFOs appear in certain places and that “beyond a doubt they’re extraterrestrial” and come from 50 light years away. He mentions Project Aquarius, which he says is the government’s top-secret involvement in communications with aliens. He speaks of documents that tell of agreements between the US government and extraterrestrials under which the aliens are free to conduct animal mutilations and land at a certain base, in exchange for information about advanced UFO technology. (Clark III 363; Clark IV 407)
January 12 - 4:30 p.m. A man and his two sons encounter a short entity in a gray "wetsuit" uniform holding a glowing L-shaped object in a swampy area near their house in Pine Township, Porter County, Indiana. Both are floating 2-3 feet above the ground. A second being is peering over a fence at them. The encounter lasts about 5 minutes, and no UFO is seen. (R. A. Busse, "An Indiana CE-III," IUR 8, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1983): 6-9)
January 14 — 5:54 p.m. Amateur astronomer Todd Lohvinenko in Winnipeg, Manitoba, observes a “perfectly black orb” traversing the Sun in 3 seconds. (Todd Lohvinenko, “ A Mysterious Object,” National Newsletter of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada 77, no. 2 (April 1983): L19)
January 14 — 7:53 p.m. A bright object appears in the sky above Adana, Turkey, and many people stop their cars to look at it. Soon the object is joined by two US Air Force jets from Incirlik Air Base. One of the jets flies in tight circles around the UFO, which dwarfs it in size and is described as a disc with a dome on the underside. The object accelerates and disappears over the Mediterranean Sea with the jets in pursuit. Only one jet returns to base, although the other could have been lost during an unrelated search-and-rescue mission. (Good Need, pp. 312–313)
January 19 — 6:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m. South Wales police begin to receive reports of UFOs. Two detectives in Swansea observe a silent, triangular object with three pulsating lights at 1,000 feet altitude. Carole Griffiths and her husband are driving home in Cardiff when they see a large triangular object in the sky and pull over to watch. It has 11 lights around it. Similar objects are seen in Porthcawl and other Welsh localities. (“ What Carole Saw over Cardiff,” South Wales Echo (Cardiff), January 20, 1983, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 163 (February 1983): 16; “ UFOs? It’s Not Us, Say RAF Rescue Flight,” South Wales Echo (Cardiff), January 21, 1983, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 164 (March 1983): 13; “ Meteors! Never Say All the UFO Spotters,” South Wales Evening Post (Swansea), January 21, 1983, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 165 (April 1983): 13; “ That Triangle Is No ‘Plane’—Expert,” South Wales Echo (Cardiff), January 24, 1983, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 166 (May 1983): 11; “ Was There Close UFO Encounter?” South Wales Evening Post (Swansea), January 26, 1983, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 166 (May 1983): 11; “ Support for UFO Spotters,” South Wales Echo (Cardiff), January 27, 1983, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 164 (March 1983): 13; Marler 114–117; “ How Hundreds Witnessed UFOs during South Wales’ ‘Night of the Triangles’,” Higgypop, September 12, 2024)
January 27 - 7:00 p.m. Peggy Iery sees a large central white light with two flanking lights over some power lines as she is returning home 2 miles north of Marquette, Michigan. Suddenly it appears over her car and seems so huge that it blocks out the sky. Its shape is a perfect pentagon with a small white light at each of the corners; the bottom is silvery and flat. She drives home quickly, and she and her husband see four lights nearby, which gradually recede beyond the trees. (Kenneth C. Schellhase, " The Marquette Pentagon," IUR 8, no. 3 (May/June 1983): 11-13)
February 7 — 8:19 p.m. A witness in Coffeen, Illinois, sees a triangular object with bright lights. A similar object is seen by a police officer 10 miles southwest of Brighton, Illinois, around 8:27 p.m. (“Report UFO,” Alton (Ill.) Telegraph, February 8, 1983, p. B-4; Marler 209)
February 11 — The Parisian newspaper Le Figaro cites unnamed specialists who say that GEPAN exists only because it reflects the enthusiasm of former President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing and that it costs too much, even though it is only a small percentage of the CNES budget. (Clark III 547; Clark IV 605)
February 26 - 8:30 p.m. Monique O'Driscoll and her 17-year-old daughter are driving near the frozen White Pond in Putnam County, New York, when they see a silent, multicolored, boomerang- shaped object about 200-300 feet wide. It has many lights, which seem to respond to their thoughts. It has a crisscross lattice structure and tubes on its underside. Their CB radio just has static. Another independent witness, Rita Rivera, probably sees the same object, a V-shaped array of 50 lights with amber, red, and blue colors. (Philip Imbrogno, George Lesnick, and Chris Clark, " Boomerang Update," IUR 8, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1983): 8-9; NightSiege 9-14)
Spring — 10:00 p.m. A woman hospital employee is driving to work near New London, Connecticut, when she sees a light flick by quickly in the sky ahead. It stops above the treetops and shines a searchlight- like beam down on the woods. She pulls over to watch. Abruptly the object moves directly in front of her. There is no other traffic, although the road is usually busy. The object is round and has blue, yellow, red, and white lights flickering in a circle. She blacks out for a short time and finds that the engine, lights, and radio have been shut off. The window has been rolled down. The car stalls when she tries to start it, but the engine finally catches and she drives to work, where she arrives uncharacteristically late at 11:05. (Michael D. Swords, “ Unusual Experiences from the Timmerman Files,” IUR 27, no. 2 (Summer 2002): 23)
March 8 — President < Ronald Reagan delivers a speech to the National Association of Evangelicals in which he refers to the Soviet Union as an “evil empire” and the “focus of evil in the modern world.” He asserts that the Cold War is a battle between good and evil. (Wikipedia, “ Evil Empire speech”)
March 11 — Reagan authorizes National Security Decision Directive 84, which substantially increases governmental control over federal employees, particularly their relationships with the media. It mandates that all employees with access to sensitive information are now subject to lifetime censorship of their writings and speeches on these topics. (“ Safeguarding National Security Information,” National Security Decision Directive 84, March 11, 1983; Frederick W. Whatley, “ Reagan, National Security, and the First Amendment: Plugging Leaks by Shutting Off the Main,” CATO Institute Policy Analysis no. 37, May 8, 1984)
March 11 — Richard Mull finds a large star-shaped hole in his bean field west of Wauseon, Ohio, around which the dirt is mounded up. It has six long points 19 feet long and four shorter points 9 feet long. In the center is a depression 8 feet in diameter and 8 inches deep, and at the center of this depression is a small hole 2 inches in diameter that goes down to a depth of 6 feet. (“ Two Physical Trace Cases in Northwest Ohio Unexplained,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 6, no. 3 (June/July 1985): 4–5)
March 15 — 5:00 p.m. An unidentified target is tracked by USAF radar at RAF Upper Heyford [now closed], Oxford, England, until 9:15 p.m. Sgt. Byrd Cormier says they do not have radio contact with it. A slow, brilliant white light is seen by some civilians in Berkshire. Cpl. Candellin at RAF Brize Norton, Oxford, claims that RAF radar cannot pick up the object. (“ UFO Alert As Mystery Light Passes over Berks,” Reading (UK) Evening Post, March 16, 1983, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 165 (April 1983), p. 13; Good Above, pp. 104–105)
March 17 — 7:00–10:00 p.m. Hundreds of people see a boomerang-shaped object moving slowly and hovering over I-84 near Brewster, New York. (Philip Imbrogno, “ Boomerang over Three Counties,” IUR 8, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1983): 11; Philip Imbrogno, George Lesnick, and Chris Clark, “ Boomerang Update,” IUR 8, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1983): 9–10; R. Perry Collins, “ The Westchester Wing, Part II,” Pursuit 18, no. 4 (Winter 1985): 166, 167; NightSiege 18–25; Patrick Gross, “ The Hudson Valley UFO Flap”)
March 23 — In what later becomes known as his “Star Wars” speech, President Ronald Reagan announces his plans to develop an anti-missile capability to counter the threat of Soviet ballistic missiles and to make these nuclear weapons “impotent and obsolete.” This paves the way for a Strategic Defense Initiative as an alternative to a proliferation of missiles under the concept of mutual assured destruction. SDI is derisively nicknamed by Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) as “Star Wars,” after the 1977 film by George Lucas. By the early 1990s, with the Cold War ending and nuclear arsenals rapidly reduced, political support for SDI collapses. SDI officially ends in 1993, when the administration of President Bill Clinton redirects the efforts towards theatre ballistic missiles and renames the agency the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization. BMDO is renamed the Missile Defense Agency in 2002. (Wikipedia, “ Strategic Defense Initiative”)
March 23 - Night. Russian Major V. Gorsky is stationed in the Altai Mountains of Mongolia when he sees, along with two of his commanding officers, a silvery disc at an altitude of 1,300 feet and 1-2 miles away. Its colors seem to be changing constantly, and it is surrounded by a blue halo. A narrow beam of light descends from it, illuminating the area. More than 30 other soldiers witness the display. It studies the area another 4 minutes, then the beam disappears, the halo vanishes, and the object is gone instantly. (Stonehill and Mantle, Russia's USO Secrets, Flying Disk, 2020, pp. 127-128)
March 24 — 7:30 p.m. A corporate executive in Bedford, New York, sees a half-circle of lights hovering behind some trees near a commuter-bus station. There is no sound. After watching for 5 minutes, he goes inside his house to alert his family, but when they come outside, the lights are gone. (NightSiege 29; Clark III 1277; Clark IV 1460)
March 24 — 8:00 p.m. Four persons in Carmel, New York, see a half-circle of red and white lights and the vague outline of a larger object to which they are attached. The lights are hovering above trees several hundred yards away. They drift to the east and are lost to view, but almost immediately a family living a quarter mile away sees them drift into view. Through binoculars they can see a “huge object” with a dull-green metallic color connecting the lights. When the UFO turns slightly, they see it has a V shape. At that moment a brilliant beam of white light shoots down from the center of the object, and in it a small reddish object descends then shoots off “very, very fast toward the north.” The beam is shut off and the object turns and heads slowly east. (Clark III 1277; Clark IV 1460)
March 24 — 8:30 p.m. Police officers in Yorktown, New York, say that their switchboard is flooded with calls reporting a large, boomerang-shaped UFO with red, blue, and green lights. Police in the nearby villages of Millwood and New Castle receive a flood of calls as well, describing an object as large as a football field. William Hele, a meteorologist for the National Weather Corporation, sees an asymmetrical V-shaped object about 1,300 feet long, with 6–7 lights as he is driving south on the Taconic Highway. The object descends from about 2,000 to 980 feet altitude and slows as it approaches. Hele realizes that the lights are all changing colors at different times, as if lit by a rotating prism within the structure. Suddenly, all the lights go out, leaving nothing in their place, as if whatever object was supporting them has simply disappeared. The lights reappear 30–40 seconds later, and a few seconds after that, the object turns to the north and flies away, as the lights change to a slime green. At the same time, people 15 miles north in Putnam County see a smaller object exhibiting similar behavior. Ruth Holtsman describes a silent object that hangs motionless in the sky. While it is in view, a driver pulls up and stops almost directly underneath it. The lights start to flash in a wild sequence up and down its “wings.” The driver jumps into his car and speeds away. Then the UFO approaches Holtsman’s car, which is bathed in a blinding white light as it speeds under the boomerang. John Miller sees the object hovering above a pond near his home in Brewster, New York. It is aiming two very bright searchlight beams over the surface of the water. He hears a faint whooshing sound. (Philip Imbrogno, “ Boomerang over Three Counties,” IUR 8, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1983): 10–11; Philip J. Imbrogno and Chris Clark, “ Boomerang Saga Continues,” IUR 9, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1984): 4–6; Michael Vitez, “ UFOs Amaze Experts, Chill State Residents,” Hartford (Conn.) Courant, August 16, 1984, pp. A1, A18; Philip J. Imbrogno, “ Westchester Boomerang: March 24, 1983,” IUR 9, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1984): 9– 12; R. Perry Collins, “ The Westchester Wing: A Closer Look,” Pursuit 18, no. 1 (Spring 1985): 6–7; R. Perry Collins, “ The Westchester Wing, Part II,” Pursuit 18, no. 4 (Winter 1985): 166, 167; NightSiege 15–17, 29, 31–37, 39–42; Marler 117–119; Clark III 1277–1278; Clark IV 1460–1461)
March 24 — 8:45 p.m. Several dozen diners at a ski-resort restaurant near Stormville, New York, see white lights in a boomerang shape hovering over a utility pole 600 feet away. Three other people driving near the pole stop by it. The driver, a corrections officer, gets out and studies the object about 200 feet above him. It is silent, and the structure that holds the lights is dark and nonreflective. After watching it for 20 minutes, he heads back to his jeep, at which time the UFO moves down the road. He follows it to Interstate 84 and all the lights go out, allowing him to see the boomerang shape. The lights come back on and he follows the object for more than an hour, clocking it speed at 20 mph. (Chris Clark, “ Boomerang!” IUR 9, no. 3 (May/June 1984): 10; NightSiege 41, 61–69; Clark III 1278; Clark IV 1461)
March 24 — 10:00 p.m. The last sighting of many this night is by Robert Golden, an IBM executive who sees a lighted object “larger than a 747” hovering over pine trees near his home in Danbury, Connecticut. (NightSiege 49–50; Clark III 1278; Clark IV 1461)
March 28 — Radar at the airport at Gorky [now Nizhny Novgorod], Russia, tracks an unidentified target flying at 110–125 mph at an altitude of 1,310–1,970 feet. Flight Controller A. Shushkin sees the cigar-shaped object, which is similar to an aircraft in size but has no wings and is metallic. It is in view for only 10 seconds. (Good Above, p. 243; Paul Stonehill, “ Pilot and Cosmonaut Pavel Popovich and UFOs,” Open Minds, June 12, 2014)
April — French physicians Daniel Mavrakis and Jean-Pierre Bocquet publish the results of their examinations of six claimed abductees. They conclude that five of them suffered from paranoid delusions that are immune from criticism and reasoning. (Daniel Mavrakis and Jean-Pierre Bocquet, “ Psychoses et objets volants non identifiés,” Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 28, no. 3 (April 1983): 199–201; Eghigian, After, p. 294)
April 9 — Linda Moulton Howe flies to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to interview Sgt. Richard Doty for an HBO series she is working on, UFOs: The ET Factor, but Doty does not show. She calls Jerry Miller, chief of reality weapons testing at Kirtland AFB, whom she knows from an earlier conversation about Paul Bennewitz’s claims. Miller drives her to his home and calls Doty, who arrives promptly. Doty’s attitude is defiant and nervous, but Howe asks him about the alleged 1971 Holloman AFB landing. Doty says Robert Emenegger got the date wrong and that it was actually April 25, 1964, shortly after the Socorro landing. Transferring to his office at Kirtland, Doty is reluctant to talk about the 1977 Ellsworth landing. He shows her a bogus, undated document, A Briefing Paper for the President of the United States on the Subject of Unidentified Flying Vehicles. The document lists UFO crash/retrievals and states that UFOs are piloted by extraterrestrials from a nearby solar system and have been on earth for many thousands of years. Through genetic manipulation, they have influenced the course of human evolution and helped shape our religious beliefs. Roswell and the 1949 living alien are mentioned, as well as Projects Snowbird (retro-engineering a crashed UFO), Aquarius (umbrella project involving all ET contacts), Sigma (an ongoing electronic communications effort with aliens), and the defunct Garnet (investigation of ETs on human evolution). Doty promises Howe thousands of feet of film of crashed discs, bodies, EBE-1, and the Holloman landing for her documentary. He says that a similar release of data through Emenegger and Allan Sandler was halted because “political conditions were not right.” When she tells her HBO contacts about this, they ask her to secure a letter of intent from the US government with a legally binding commitment to secure the promised film footage. HBO wants the film, but Doty now stalls. In June, Doty tells her he is officially off the project. Further contacts up to March 1984 are fewer. In 2008, Doty claims that the intelligence community targeted Howe to find out who her inside sources were. (Good Above, p. 425; Linda Moulton Howe, An Alien Harvest: Further Evidence Linking Animal Mutilations and Human Abductions to Alien Life Forms, Howe Productions, 1989, pp. 143–156; Dolan II 299–307; Clark III 363–365; Clark IV 407–409)
April 10 — 8:30 p.m. Two drivers near Ross, Ohio, see a large, bright, oval object that seems to land. The property owner at the location also sees a white light on a hillside behind his home and watches the object ascend slowly before moving away at speed. The drivers’ car lights flicker, and the engines nearly stall. The landowner reports flickering houselights and TV problems. Investigation of the landing site indicates that a heavy circular object about 50 feet in diameter has landed, producing a 3-foot burn mark in the center. (NICAP, “ Ross, Ohio: April 10, 1983”; Charles J. Wilhelm, “ Ross, Ohio Landing Case,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 186 (August 1983): 3–7; UFOEv II 65)
April 26–27 — Day. For two days, a UFO is seen above Nuremberg, Germany. Amateur astronomer Walter Schwarz takes a photo that apparently shows a balloon. A local radio station hires a Lear jet to approach it, reaching 12,300 feet, but it is still too far away to identify it. Eckard Pohl, the astronomer at the Nuremberg Observatory, tracks it and says that it looks like a deformed pyramid with a pointed top and estimates it is flying at an altitude of 14.3 miles. The object is later identified as a balloon launched from eastern Europe. (Hans-Werner Peiniger, “ ‘UFO’ bei Nürnberg aufgeklärt,” Journal für UFO-Forschung, no. 27 (May/June 1983): 68–69; Hans-Werner Peiniger, “ UFO über Köln identifiert,” Journal für UFO-Forschung, no. 28 (July/Aug. 1983): 99–100; “ Excitement Chasing a Mysterious Flying Object,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 4, no. 6 (Dec. 1983/Jan. 1984): 3; “ Nurnberg UFO Becomes IFO,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 5, no. 1 (Feb./March 1984): 4)
April 27–May 2 — Divers see an object like a submarine conning tower in Husnesfjorden, Hordaland, Norway. By 1:00 p.m., a search team from Norwegian Defense is at the site, consisting of the corvette KNM Sleipner, two submarines, and one Orion aircraft equipped with antisubmarine weapons. The next day the KNM Oslo and two more frigates join the search. At 4:55 p.m., the Oslo has a first sonar contact south of Leirvik on Stord island. At 5:21 p.m., it fires a Terne rocket as a warning. On April 29, a possible sonar contact is recorded in Selbjørnfjord. On the afternoon of April 30, the Oslo, after another sonar contact, fires a Terne rocket and drops a mine. Five minutes later it launches four more rockets, but then the sonar contact is lost. Around 4:00 p.m., five Terne rockets are fired at nearby Halsenøy. Near midnight, a sonar contact south of Leirvik results in another rocket firing. On May 1, at 4:20 p.m., another sonar contact takes place and six Terne rockets are fired. They hit the water and plunge deep before detonating. Immediately afterward, an Orion aircraft drops a mine at the same spot in Skåneviksfjorden. At 5:20 p.m., the Oslo again attacks with six rockets. Five minutes later it launches four more rockets, and the sonar contact is lost. At 8:30 p.m., an Orion aircraft has the last sonar contact. The aircraft drops mines at the entrance to the Høylandssundet. On May 2, mines are dropped in the Selbjørnfjord. (Ole Jonny Brænne, “ Observations of Unidentified Submarine Objects in Norway,” IUR 20, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1995): 13)
May 4 — 3:50 a.m. Police officer James Philips sees a silent, yellowish-orange ball of light over the outskirts of Lawrence, Kansas, hovering 350 feet over a power line pole. It flies away toward the northeast slowly at 30–40 mph. The sighting lasts three minutes. (“ A ‘Yorg’ in Kansas,” IUR 8, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1983): 14)
May 12 — 1:50 a.m. Three police officers on the Warrenville Heights, Ohio, police force see four dim lights moving silently in a wedge formation from south to north. They smoothly transition to a diamond formation as they near the constellation of Ursa Major. They shift into another formation again before speeding off in two different directions. (“ Multiple Witness: Multiple UFO Sighting,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 4, no. 4 (Aug./Sept. 1983): 5–6)
May 20 — Sam Meadows and another ranch hand discover a perfect circle of disturbed grass in a pasture on the Teas Ranch in Hemphill County near Canadian, Texas. The circle is 29 feet in diameter, with an outer circle of much shorter and greener buffalo grass that is 4 inches wide. This is a characteristic of new grass that comes up after a fire has burned the old grass. A prickly pear cactus pad is found at the edge of the ring; the side closest to the ring is devoid of spines, while all the spines facing away from the ring are undamaged. No UFO is seen. (W. Clark Ellzey, “ A Ring on a Panhandle Ranch, and Others,” IUR 8, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1983): 10–11)
May 23 — 7:30 p.m. A high school art teacher and his daughter watch a disc-shaped object with a black top, blue sides, square windows, and a reddish golden metallic bottom maneuvering over trees in McHenry, Illinois. It then rocks violently, levels out, and flies off following the contour of the land. (“ ‘I Know What I Saw…But I Don’t Know What I Saw,’” IUR 10, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1985): 7–8)
May 23 - Night. Farmer Alcineu Sousa is aboard his twin-engine airplane returning from a visit to a farm near Corumbiara, Rondônia, Brazil. As he is about to land on his farm near Porto Velho, Rondônia, he sees an opaque light about 30 feet in diameter on his left that begins to approach and shine more brightly. His airplane instruments start to go haywire. He pulls the plane sharply to the right, but the UFO does the same but more moderately. A few seconds later, the light disappears over the horizon. (Clark III 200-201; Brazil 541; Clark IV 241)
May 24 — 6:00 p.m. A schoolboy is in his parents’ backyard in Jüchen, Germany, when he sees a red ball shoot down and hover above a nearby electric power line. It ejects a pyramid-shaped array of colored lights toward the ground. A few minutes later, the array disappears from the object downward to the ground. The object then speeds away into the sky toward its point of origin. Wim van Utrecht suspects that the object was actually the Moon shining through clouds with crepuscular rays creating the pyramid shape. (Hans-Werner Peiniger, “ CE 2–Fall in Jüchen,” Journal für UFO-Forschung, no. 30 (Nov./ Dec. 1983): 161–168; “ CEII Case in Jüchen, West Germany,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 5, no. 1 (Feb./March 1984): 1–2; Wim van Utrecht, “ Solid Light or Lunar Light? The 1983 Jüchen Case Revisited,” UFO Fotocat Blog, June 15, 2024)
June 5 - 5:00 a.m. Retired restaurant manager Mario Claretto wakes up because his dogs are barking outside his home at Varzi, Pavia, Italy. He sees a shining object with an orange headlight on a hill across the road from his house. It is hovering low above an alfalfa field. Its upper portion is slowly rotating, showing a silver section, a dark section, then the orange light. After finishing some work in the kitchen, Claretto goes outside for a closer look. He sees another person walking toward the object; after approaching very near, the person runs away, escaping down the road. Claretto points the object out to a neighbor, Bruno Stafforini, who has also woken up because of the dogs. The UFO rises after skimming the grass for a few feet, its dome recedes, and it emits a vapor. It seems to change its form to cigar-shaped. Suddenly it speeds off to the south-southwest. (Antonio Chiumiento, " Un U.F.O. a Varzi," Notiziario UFO, no. 101 (Sept./Oct. 1983): 4-10; Antonio Chiumiento, " Close Encounter at Varzi," IUR 9, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1984): 4-5, 13; Antonio Chiumiento, " A Landing at Varzi in Northern Italy," Flying Saucer Review 30, no. 6 (August 1985): 2-9; Antonio Chiumiento and Paolo Toselli, " L'atterrissage de Varzi (Italie)," Lumières dans la Nuit, no. 257/258 (Nov./ Dec 1985): 32-37; 2Pinotti 61-68)
June 6 — 9:30 p.m. Warren Eggé, Lou Burlingame, and their wives are sailing to Bermuda on the two-masted ketch Beluga. When they are about 150 miles due east of Cape May, New Jersey, Eggé notices a two-tone blob of blue light with a trail approaching from the west. He and Burlingame watch as it passes overhead for about 7– 9 seconds. Within 10–15 seconds after it disappears, a second blue blob approaches from the same direction, followed by at least a dozen more objects over the next 10–15 minutes. Some of the objects travel in clusters of three and four but in different sizes. The last object is seen about 45° above the horizon past the boat’s stern. (Robert C. Warth, “ A Train of UFOs,” Pursuit 16, no. 2 (Summer 1983): cover)
June 20 - Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.) replies to UFO researcher William S. Steinman regarding government knowledge of UFOs: "I have no idea of who controls the flow of `need-to-know' because, frankly, I was told in such an emphatic way that it was none of my business that I've never tried to make it my business since." (Kean, p. 243)
June 22–27 — At the International Symposium on Multiparticle Dynamics at Lake Tahoe, Nevada, the Los Alamos National Laboratory puts forward a proposal for a 3,500-square-foot (with plans for extending it to 6,000 square feet) National Underground Science Facility beneath the Nuclear Test Site in Nevada. (Michael Martin Nieto, “ Physics at the Proposed National Underground Science Facility,” Los Alamos National Laboratory, June 1983)
July — Statistician Jean-Jacques Velasco replaces Alain Esterle as director of GEPAN. Esterle is dismissed, apparently because of potential scandal about GEPAN’s apparent collaboration with the French Army on magnetohydrodynamic propulsion experiments, done without the knowledge of GEPAN’s resident expert, Jean-Pierre Petit, who has suggested such a project. (Wikipedia, “ Groupe d’études des phénomènes aérospatiaux non identifiés”; Gildas Bourdais, “ From GEPAN to SEPRA: Official UFO Studies in France,” IUR 25, no. 4 (Winter 2000–2001): 12–13)
July — Morning. Farmers Ron and Paula Watson see a shiny, flickering object in one of their faraway pastures near Springfield, Missouri. Through binoculars, they can see a green, cone-shaped craft, with a door and platform on the side. Standing next to it is a bipedal, lizard-like creature with big eyes. They then notice two small, white-skinned humanoids in silver suits who are bending over a cow, which they cause to float up into the craft. (Linda Moulton Howe, “Further Evidence Linking Animal Mutilations and Human Abductions to Alien Life Forms,” in Walter H. Andrus Jr., ed., MUFON 1991 International UFO Symposium Proceedings, MUFON, 1991, pp. 133– 1247; Clark III 136–137; Clark IV 164)
Early July - Debbie Jordan-Kauble (using the pseudonym of "Kathie Davis") and her mother see a light about 2 feet in diameter moving around the family pool house in Indianapolis, Indiana. Some days later they notice a section of their backyard has turned brown, a circular area about 8 feet in diameter. She contacts Budd Hopkins, who speaks with Debbie and her family and uncovers a pattern of events that have affected them for years. It appears that Debbie, her mother, and two of her children have been abducted at different points of their lives. Debbie and her mother have identical scars on their lower legs from apparent childhood abductions, and Hopkins believes that Debbie and her son have implants inserted near their brains, one through the nasal cavity and another through the ear. Hopkins conducts numerous hypnotic regression sessions, revealing apparent pregnancies induced by aliens. (Budd Hopkins, Intruders: The Incredible Visitations at Copley Woods, Random House, 1987; Debbie Jordan and Kathy Mitchell, Abducted! The Story of the Intruders Continues, Carroll and Graf, 1994; Eghigian, After, pp. 281-282)
July 2 — The primary scientific arguments against ETH are summarized by astronomer J. Allen Hynek during a presentation at the 1983 MUFON Symposium, where he outlines seven key reasons why he cannot accept the ETH: (1) Failure of sophisticated surveillance systems to detect incoming or outgoing UFOs, (2) gravitational and atmospheric considerations, (3) statistical considerations, (4) elusive, evasive and absurd behavior of UFOs and their occupants, (5) isolation of the UFO phenomenon in time and space (the Cheshire Cat effect), (6) the space unworthiness of UFOs, and (7) the problem of astronomical distances. According to Hynek, points 1 through 6 could be argued, but point 7 represents an “insurmountable” barrier to the validity of the ETH. (J. Allen Hynek, “The Case against E.T.,” in Walter H. Andrus and Dennis W. Stacy, eds,. MUFON 1983 UFO Symposium Proceedings, MUFON, 1983, pp. 118–126)
July 7 — An unauthorized target appears on the radar screens at Darłowo Airport, Poland, corresponding to a rotating, oblong object with a steel-colored covering flying at 11,0000 feet. Polish Air Force Captain Praszczałek and another pilot go up to intercept it and get within 660 feet. He sees a solid hull, 50 feet long and 6 feet across. Just after they are ordered to shoot it down, the object shoots up to 30,000 feet, too high to pursue. (Poland 64–65)
July 12 - 9:30 p.m. A police officer answers a call at a location southeast of Danbury, Connecticut, where several people are standing outside looking at a circular pattern of lights that are flashing red, blue, and green. The lights appear to be attached to a silent object 300 feet in diameter and less than 500 feet in altitude. The officer shines a spotlight on it, and the object projects a brilliant flash of white light downward. It then moves quickly to the north and is lost behind trees. At 10:55 p.m., Danbury Police Chief Nelson Macedo, his brother-in-law Charles Yacuzzi, his son Michael, and retired policeman Jim Lucksky are boating on Candlewood Lake north of Danbury. They notice a circular gray object silently hovering high in the sky. 20-30 bright blue, red, orange, and green lights moving in a circular pattern are visible on the object. The men turn off the boat lights and the object shuts off its own lights. After several minutes, Yacuzzi turns the lights on again, and the UFO switches on bright lights and moves off behind the mountains. (NightSiege 108-112; Richard Haines, CE-5: Close Encounters of the Fifth Kind, Sourcebooks, 1998, pp. 132-133)
July 22 — 12:40 a.m. Police constables Raymond Ellens and Peter Ferguson are on car patrol east of Melton, Melbourne, Victoria, when they see a bright, stationary light over the center of the town. As they approach, they discern that it is composed of two lights. The object turns west and hovers about 200 feet above the Melton Regional Shopping Centre. Soon the object flies off to the southeast, making a high-pitched humming sound. After rising to about 500 feet, the UFO moves off to the north and is lost to sight. The UFO is picked up on radar at Tullamarine Air Traffic Control in Melbourne. The constables see it again at 2:40 a.m. when it appears to be on the ground at the rear of the Toolern Vale stables (they inspect the paddock but find no traces), then it is lost to view until 4:30 a.m. when they are again at the shopping mall. At some point police Sgt. Barry Harman and Chief Inspector Hickman also see the UFO above the shopping center. The constables follow the object, this time with more lights visible. Between their position and the object is the Australian Army Rockbank Receiving Station, and it seems to be headed directly toward the antenna array. Before reaching it, the object turns and arcs again to the north. Ellens and Ferguson lose sight of it at about 6:00 a.m. Their written report states that over time the UFO flew in a triangular pattern bounded by Melton, Rockbank, Sydenham, and Diggers Rest in a counterclockwise path between 200 and 1,600 feet in altitude. The Australian Signal Intelligence facility at Rockbank is alerted that its security has been breached. (Bill Chalker, “ The Australian Government and UFOs,” IUR 22, no. 3 (Fall 1997): 21–22; Keith Basterfield, UFOs: A Report on Australian Encounters, Reed Books, 1997, pp. 84–86)
July 25 — 5:15 a.m. Tom Jackson is getting ready for work in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, when he sees a bright light outside his bathroom window. He opens it and sees a huge object hovering above pine trees about 750 feet away. It is metallic gray, possibly 300 feet long, and elongated but with the front and back ends dropping down. It has two rows of evenly spaced windows. After 5 minutes it moves toward the town’s sewage plant. Other residents report a brilliant orange light over the sewage plant. Still others hear a loud, high-pitched sound so intense that it causes headaches and disturbs neighborhood dogs. (Stan Gordon, “ Pennsylvania Flap Is Biggest Since 1973,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 188 (October 1983): 9–11)
July 25 — Night. For 2–3 minutes, four witnesses in Flushing, Michigan, watch a disc-shaped object that silently approaches within a few hundred feet of them. The object has two oversized bright white lights, each about 2 feet across, but the lights do not hurt their eyes and do not appreciably illuminate the surroundings. (Powell, Scientist, 96)
August 1 — 12:15 a.m. Terry Conner is at the intersection of West County Line Road and South Ashland Avenue about 1.5 miles southwest of Beecher, Illinois, when he sees a cluster of red flashing lights. They are coming from an object in a farmer’s field about 450–600 feet away. It appears to be 30 feet tall with 40–50 continuously flashing red lights in the shape of a vertical U. After 2 minutes, two large steady red lights appear to rise until they are even with the top of the U. After 10 seconds, all the lights go out at once. (“ Beecher, Illinois, Nocturnal Lights Remain Unexplained,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 5, no. 5 (Oct./Nov. 1984): 1)
August 2 — 4:50 p.m. Christopher W. Pepo and his 8-year-old son see two silver-white, metallic discs slowly traveling north to south along the coastline at Point Pleasant, New Jersey. They are visible for about 3 minutes before they disappear into a cloud. (Christopher W. Pepo, “ My Fortean Vacation: A Comprehensive Report on a UFO Sighting,” Pursuit 16, no. 4 (Winter 1983): 147–149)
August 9 — 7:30 p.m. Julio Platner has parked his truck and is opening a gate to a farmhouse along Highway 35 near Eduardo Castex, La Pampa, Argentina, when he sees a bright light approaching him at high speed. He raises his arm to shield his face, then finds himself seated inside a room with beige walls and glass cases illuminated by a soft white light. Around him stand four humans, three men and one woman, about 5 feet 5 inches tall, bald, with large and lidless eyes, and wearing close-fitting jumpsuits. He tries to speak but cannot make a sound, but he gets a mental message to remain calm. They apparently anesthetize him and draw some blood with a transparent instrument. Afterward he gets up and tries to walk but suddenly finds himself back in his truck with his hands on the steering wheel, but some miles from his original location on an unimproved road. Returning to the farmhouse, he finds the gate still open, so he closes it. He looks at his left arm and sees a scab on the inside of his elbow. He returns to his home in Winifreda and tells his wife about the incident. (Scott Corrales, “ CE-3 at Winifreda: Julio Platner’s Experience (1983),” UFO Digest, April 14, 2011; Clark IV 698–700, 1015–1016)
August 12 - Around 1:00 a.m. Alfred Burtoo is fishing along the Basingstoke Canal in Aldershot, Hampshire, England, when a disc-shaped UFO lands nearby. Two humanoid beings approach him. They are 4 feet 6 inches tall, dressed in green overalls, and wear helmets with visors. They gesture at Bertoo to follow them, and he goes up a stairway into the craft. He is made to stand under an amber light. The beings speak to him in broken English, telling him that he is too old and infirm for their purposes. They then let him go. (Good Above, pp. 106-112; Marcus Lowth, " The Bizarre Ordeal of Alfred Burtoo: The Abduction That Wasn't," UFO Insight, August 7, 2017)
August 12 — 11:10 p.m. In the Maraponga neighborhood of Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil, João de Lira Pessoa Neto is riding his motorcycle with his friend Plínio Couto de Alencar Júnior to a party. The cycle breaks down, so they push it home and head back on foot to the party. They pass the train tracks and the Cavan poles factory, where they notice that a transformer that always buzzes is silent. Stray dogs do not bark, and the lights on the poles are blinking intermittently. A strong light blinks near them and they see a disc-shaped object about 325 feet above the Lagoa da Maraponga, its shape reflected in the dark water. The object moves, and the two witnesses run off. Party hosts Roberto de Lira Pessoa Neto and his wife Rejane, Rejane’s sister, and a sailor named Cal are intrigued and decide to return to the site together. They look around and see the UFO landing on the lake shore. The disc has large round windows and a brightly lit interior. Inside they see human-looking beings moving about and looking out the windows. Roberto sees three humanoid figures beside the UFO. They seem to be covered in a plastic cloak and have a wobbling gait. Plínio thinks the object disappears and reappears like a mirage. The witnesses begin running away when another similar UFO appears above them and causes a gale. It disappears, and everything returns to normal, with dogs barking and the transformer buzzing. Later at home, João has a strong urge to return to the scene. The object is still there, and he has a compulsion to meet the occupants. He suddenly gets dizzy and nauseous and falls to the ground unconscious. He revives 2 hours later and finds himself in a soccer field and cannot remember how he got there. He goes home, but his behavior changes, becoming ruder. On May 21, 1989, João drowns under mysterious circumstances in a lagoon in Uruoca, Ceará, Brazil. (Reginaldo de Athayde, “ Seqüestro por ETs no Nordesté e reavaliado,” Portal UFO, December 1, 1995; Clark III 710–712; Brazil 297–303; Clark IV 777–779)
August 21 - Evening. R. Perry Collins views a huge, wing-shaped object with three red, green, and blue lights from his residence near St. Vincent's Hospital in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Its lights go off and on as it slowly moves at a low altitude to the east. He watches it for 20-30 seconds until the lights blink out. Other large objects are seen over New Haven, Connecticut, the same night. (" UFOs Taking on Elis at Yale Bowl?" Meriden (Conn.) Record-Journal, August 24, 1983, p. 23; R. Perry Collins, " The Westchester Wing: A Closer Look," Pursuit 18, no. 1 (Spring 1985): 6-9; R. Perry Collins, " The Westchester Wing, Part II," Pursuit 18, no. 4 (Winter 1985): 166, 167-168)
August 26 — 4:00 a.m. A Mrs. Zurawski is awakened by brilliant white flashes of light reflecting off the trees to the east of her house in Cedar Lake, Indiana. She gets up, thinking a thunderstorm is approaching, and she sees the screen on the front door flooded with intense light. Her husband is also awake by now, and he describes the light as yellowish. Through a picture window, Mr. Zurawski sees an object hovering 4–5 feet off the ground in their yard. Mrs. Zurawski hears a swoosh and a crackle and notices a ribbon of light moving southeast. Five days later, they discover in their yard a ring of dead grass in a perfect circle 13 feet in diameter. (Mark Remaley, “ The Light and the Ring,” IUR 9, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1984): 4–6)
August 27–29 — The British UFO Research Association holds its Third International UFO Congress in High Wycombe, London, England. (“ 3d International UFO Congress, August 1983,” BUFORA Bulletin, no. 11 (November 1983): 8–21; “ 3d Bufora International UFO Congress,” IUR 8, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1983): 9, 16)
September — British ufologist Jenny Randles publishes UFO Reality, in which she defines the “Oz Factor,” the “sensation of being isolated, or transported from the real world into a different environmental framework.” She suggests that this feeling, often reported by UFO witnesses, “is almost suggestive of the witness being transported temporarily from our world into another, where reality is but slightly different.” (Jenny Randles, UFO Reality: A Critical Look at the Physical Evidence, R. Hale, 1983; Clark III 866;Clark IV 960)
September 1 — GEPAN is reorganized by transferring it to a smaller department in CNES. The seven members of its scientific council are given different assignments, leaving Jean-Jacques Velasco in sole charge with no scientific advisers. GEPAN’s resources and personnel are drastically reduced. During the following years, the scientific council no longer meets, despite repeated demands by one of its members, Christian Perrin de Brichambaut, general inspector of the National Meteorology Office. A last meeting of the council takes places in 1987. (Gildas Bourdais, “ From GEPAN to SEPRA: Official UFO Studies in France,” IUR 25, no. 4 (Winter 2000–2001): 12–13; Clark III 547; Clark IV 605)
September 1 — Korean Air Lines Flight 007 is shot down by a Soviet interceptor over the Sea of Japan near Moneron Island (just west of Sakhalin island) while flying over prohibited Soviet airspace. All 269 passengers and crew aboard are killed, including Rep. Larry McDonald (D-Ga.) and president of the anticommunist John Birch Society. (Wikipedia, “ Korean Air Lines Flight 007”)
September 3 — Day. Wiesław Machowski, his daughter, and a friend are fishing in a coastal lake near Wicie, Poland. They notice an orange sphere with another object below it and keep their eyes on it for 30 minutes or so. The larger light emits a smaller one that stops and returns to the bigger one; the sequence keeps repeating. When they return to their boarding house, they see it again but much closer to the coast. Machowski grabs a camera and takes three photos that shows the large object looking like a hat standing on its brim, and the object disappears shortly afterward. (Poland 57–58)
September 23 — 11:00 p.m. Three high-school girls and one adult watch a large, kite-shaped object with four steady, glowing lights (two red, two blue) above Sandy Hook, Connecticut. They estimate the object is flying low above Highway I-84. (R. Perry Collins, “ The Westchester Wing: A Closer Look,” Pursuit 18, no. 1 (Spring 1985): 6, 9–10)
September 26 — Midnight. The Soviet orbital missile early warning system (SPRN), code-named Oko, reports a single intercontinental ballistic missile launch from the United States. Lt. Col. Stanislav Petrov, who is on duty during the incident, correctly dismisses the warning as a computer error when ground early warning radars do not detect any launches. Part of his reasoning is that the system is new and known to have malfunctioned previously; also, a full-scale nuclear attack from the US would involve thousands of simultaneous launches, not a single missile. Later, the system reports four more ICBM launches headed to the Soviet Union, but Petrov again dismisses the reports as false. The investigation that follows reveals that the system indeed has malfunctioned, and false alarms are caused by a rare alignment of sunlight on high-altitude clouds underneath the satellites’ orbits. (Wikipedia, “ 1983 Soviet nuclear false alarm incident”)
October - 6:45 p.m. Paula E. Green, 12, undergoes her first abduction experience as she is walking through Judy Woods in Bradford, England, with a 14-year-old friend. It is the first of some 52 further incidents. (Daily Star Sunday, May 9, 2021; Nigel Watson, "Fifty-two Shades of Grey: Paula's Story," Fortean Times 407 (July 2021): 30-31)
October 10 - The Soviet space probe Venera 15 reaches the orbit of Venus. The spacecraft is inserted into Venus orbit a day apart from Venera 16, with its orbital plane shifted by an angle of approximately 4° relative to the other probe. This makes it possible to reimage an area if necessary. Together with Venera 16, the spacecraft images the area from the north pole down to about 30°N latitude (approximately 25% of the planet's surface) over the eight months of mapping operations. (Wikipedia, " Venera 15")
October 15 — 8:30 p.m. Catherine Burk is driving to her home in Altoona, Pennsylvania, when she sees a large, silvery disc pass about 30 feet above her car. The force of the UFO lifts the right side of her car briefly off the road, causing her lights to blink out and the engine to stall. She suffers hearing loss in her right ear, has severe headaches, and develops problems with her shoulder, chest, and spine. Local police investigate and find her “visibly shaking.” (“ UFO Lifts Car Up on Its Side,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 189 (November 1983): 3–4; UFOEv II 232)
Late October — Evening. Villagers in Hollesley, East Suffolk, England, witness a triangular object with three powerful white lights on its base that illuminate the ground below it. Ron Marco says the lights form a triangle and remain perfectly still, until it moves above his head and other witnesses. Debbie Foreman and Pauline Osborne report headlight and engine trouble when the UFO appears. (Nick Redfern, A Covert Agenda: UFO Secrecy Exposed, Simon & Schuster, 1997, pp. 160–161; Stacia Briggs and Siofra Connor, “ Weird Suffolk: Hollesley, the UFO Hotspot,” East Anglian Daily Times (Ipswich), April 13, 2018)
October 24 — In response to a question by MP Patrick Wall, Minister of State for the Armed Forces John Stanley tells the House of Commons that his department has received 1,400 UFO reports since 1980. He is aware of the Rendlesham case, but he knows of no sightings that are a defense concern. (Isaac Koi, “ UFOs in Parliament (UK),” Isaac Koi—UFOs and Parliament, 2024)
October 25–29 — The US and a coalition of six Caribbean nations attack the island nation of Grenada. Codenamed Operation Urgent Fury, the intervention results in an American victory in a matter of days. It is triggered by the strife within the People’s Revolutionary Government that results in the house arrest and execution of the previous leader and second Prime Minister of Grenada Maurice Bishop, and the establishment of the Revolutionary Military Council with Hudson Austin as chairman. The invasion results in the appointment of an interim government, followed by democratic elections in 1984, and serves as a tune-up for the US military, which has been out of action for 10 years. (Wikipedia, “ United States invasion of Grenada”)
October 26 — 9:00 p.m. David Keener is driving on US Highway 321 northeast of Hickory, North Carolina, when a diamond-shaped object, red in front, bright green in the rear, hovers low over his car and then rises up again. The observation lasts about 5 minutes and the object is silent throughout. He reports the incident to the sheriff’s department. (“ Recent Sightings in North Carolina,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 194 (April 1984): 8)
October 28 — 2:15 a.m. Biomedical engineer Jim Cooke is driving by the Croton Falls Reservoir on his way back to Mahopac, New York, when he sees “aircraft lights” approaching and dropping very fast. Oddly, they seem to hover for a while, then blink out. Cooke gets out of his car, walks toward the shoreline, and spots a triangular object hovering less than 15 feet above the water and 200 feet away. After a few minutes, 9 red lights come on from its sides and a red beam of light from the underside probes the water. The UFO moves to four locations above the reservoir, each time shining the red light on the water and remaining at a steady altitude. Each time a car drives by, its lights go out. Cooke estimates the object is 100 feet long at the base and 30 feet at the apex. After 10–15 minutes, it lifts upward at a 30° angle and disappears. (NightSiege 1–4)
October 28 — 10:00 p.m. Two men are driving in the countryside near Ithaca, New York, looking for signs of deer in order to plan their hunting activities. They see a lighted area low in the sky ahead of them. Through binoculars, they see that the light is cast by a round object with three rows of lighted window panels and an illuminated rotating dome that is bright enough to reflect off the low clouds. They estimate it is 15–25 feet in diameter, It stays visible for about 5 minutes as it moves slowly and noiselessly over the ridge of a hill. (CUFOS case file)
November — The captain and crew of the Russian diving support vessel Sprut are in Kola Bay, northern Russia, when they observe an ellipsoid object slowly moving over the surface at an altitude of 1,640–3,280 feet for 90 minutes. The object separates into three parts, each of which increases in speed and flies to the west. (Stonehill and Mantle, Russia’s USO Secrets, Flying Disk, 2020, p. 145)
November 27 - 2:30-7:30 p.m. Diego Illi, 7, is climbing a tree with a friend outside an abandoned house on Calle 600 in the Villa Montoro neighborhood of La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, when they see several small, green-skinned beings. His friend runs away, but Diego stays and plays with them for several hours. They have wrinkled faces, long nails, little boots, and green caps. Over the next few weeks, other children and teens report seeing and interacting with the little humanoids. A parapsychologist named Oscar Avendaño claims to receive telepathic messages from the beings. ("Habrían visto `enanitos verdes' en Villa Montoro," La Gazeta de la Tarde (La Plata), December 1, 1983, p. 8; Scott Corrales, " The Little Green Men of La Plata: The Villa Montoro Case," UFO Digest, July 29, 2014; Franco Ferreyra, " El mito más grande de La Plata: La noche que llegaron los extraterrestres a Villa Montoro," Periódico Sin Limites, October 11, 2024; Clark IV 1404-1406)
November 28 — 8:40 p.m. A woman in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, notices a ball of light approaching her. She goes inside to get her boyfriend and two children. They watch the light approach to within 400 feet, where it hovers at treetop level. It appears to be half the size of the house. Three smaller objects come from behind it and travel southeast, apparently landing in a swampy area near a manufacturing plant. The woman and children run toward the object on foot, while the boyfriend jumps in a car to pursue it. At one point he sees the object hovering above a small lake less than 200 feet away. But within seconds it vanishes. All four witnesses later experience eye irritation, and the boyfriend’s face and hands turn red and feel sore. (“ Recent Sightings in North Carolina,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 194 (April 1984): 8)
December — A witness walking his dogs at Sherlocks Farm in Groombridge, East Sussex, England, sees a triangular UFO with an orange light at each apex. It makes a low droning sound as it passes by. (Marler 137)
December 7 — 9:00 p.m. A woman and her son and daughter stop at the Pioneer Road exit off I-43 near Cedarburg, Wisconsin, to watch a brightly lit object silently move toward them, getting brighter as it approaches. It descends slowly “like a feather” and stops directly in front of their car about 600 feet away at a height of two telephone poles. At one point it disappears, then reappears as hundreds of smaller lights apparently attached to an object that looks something “like a cooking wok” with a dark area in the middle. It floats around for 5–6 minutes then suddenly disappears. (Bob Gribble, “ UFO Hotline Reports,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 5, no. 1 (Feb./March 1984): 5; Richard Heiden, Jeffrey Paul, and Donald Schmitt, “ CE-I with an ‘Orgy’ of Lights,” IUR 9, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1984): 8–9, 15)
December 12 — 6:30 p.m. Mike and Jeff Goodwin and Robert Blanchard are driving in Byron, Illinois, when they see a triangular “falling star” that starts moving horizontally at treetop level. At one point it seems to nearly collide with a similar object. They both have blinking red and white lights. (Doris and Joe Graziano, “ Press Reports,” APRO Bulletin 32, no. 6 (September 1984): 8)
December 14 — 8:00 p.m. Realtor Antônio Nelso Tasca is driving about 4 miles north of Chapecó, Santa Catarina, Brazil, when he feels compelled to turn onto a dirt road. After about 5 minutes he encounters a white and green object like a bus about 33 feet long and 10 feet high in the road ahead. He stops 100 feet from it, turns off the headlights and engine, and walks toward it. It has 10 squarish windows and is floating just above the ground. A few feet away he begins to feel heat and decides to return to his car. Suddenly a beam of white-red light strikes him and somehow pulls him toward the object. He wakes up inside the UFO and an abduction scenario takes place, complete with sex with a light-haired alien female who says her name is Cabala. She gives him a message warning that continued deployment of nuclear weapons will lead to bad things for Earth. Tasca wakes up around 6:00 a.m. at a different spot from where he had the encounter. A medical examination reveals a strange burn on his ribs and other odd marks on his backbone. The narrative is somewhat similar to the Antonio Vilas-Boas case of October 1957, also in Brazil. (Patrick Gross, URECAT, March 15, 2007; Brazil 303–311)
December 27 — 10:30 p.m. A small disc-shaped object with eight green lights lands in an open field across the street from the home of a witness in Indianapolis, Indiana. After 10 seconds, the lights go out. The witness continues to watch from her home for an hour before retiring. (Bob Gribble, “ UFO Hotline Reports,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 5, no. 1 (Feb./March 1984): 5)
December 30 - 6:30 p.m. Four witnesses are driving along Illinois Highway 70 near Eddie Road about 8 miles northwest of Rockford, Illinois, when a red domed-shaped object emerges from what looks like an explosion and moves to the south. It vanishes when it reaches an unusual configuration of parallel stars. (" Letter," CUFOS Associate Newsletter 5, no. 4 (Aug./Sept. 1984): 2)
1984
Daniel Kagan and Ian Summers publish a 500-page book titled Mute Evidence, arguing that animal mutilations are a made-up mystery. Only veterinary pathologists, not regular veterinarians, are truly qualified to determine the cause of an animal’s death, they write. They do admit there are some real mutilations of two kinds: copycat incidents where pranksters cut up the bodies of already dead cattle, and ritualistic killings by cult members. The latter incidents occur mostly in Idaho. (Daniel Kagan and Ian Summers, Mute Evidence, Bantam, 1984; Clark III 140–141; Graff 283–284; Clark IV 167–168)
UK researcher Hilary Evans publishes Visions, Apparitions, Alien Visitors, which equates a wide range of entity experiences, including UFO events, and explains them all as psychosocial manifestations because percipients psychologically need them for some reason. He follows up with a sequel in 1987, in which he argues that psychological factors predispose some individuals to become abductees and that dreams or hallucinations add fantastic content to other abductee accounts. (Hilary Evans, Visions, Apparitions, Alien Visitors, Aquarian, 1984; Hilary Evans, Gods, Spirits, Cosmic Guardians, Aquarian, 1987; Clark III 943–945; Clark IV 22, 1054–1056)
UFO Research Australia is formed as an informal information-exchanging network. (Keith Basterfield, Vladimir Godic, and Pony Godic, “Australian Ufology: A Review,” JUFOS 2 (1990): 34)
University of York doctoral student Shirley McIver explores the beliefs of British UFO groups in her dissertation. She examines newsletters and publications, surveys the BUFORA membership, interviews members of other organizations, and corresponds with lapsed members. She divides UFO enthusiasts into researchers and seekers, but both groups of people often have a direct or indirect personal experience that prompts them to study the mystery. BUFORA largely attracts the researchers, with 80% of them male, most between 21 and 40, white-collar workers, and with a relatively high level of education; reading plays a pivotal role in their lives. Seekers are drawn to spiritual or contactee organizations, which have a much more diverse membership than BUFORA; the term most often used to refer to their activities is “metaphysics.” (Shirley McIver, A Sociological Study of Unidentified Flying Object Groups, Ph.D diss., University of York, 1984; Eghigian, After, pp. 243–244)
A Hispanic male living in the Reseda neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, encounters odd lights in his house and missing time. Although not his first abduction experience, his memories are uncovered through hypnosis sessions conducted by parapsychologist D. Scott Rogo, who gives him the pseudonym of "Sammy Desmond." The case is significant for the marks on the witness's body and the many sexual elements of the story. ( D. Scott Rogo, " The Abduction of Sammy Desmond," IUR 12, no. 4 (July/ Aug. 1987): 4-13)
The F-117 completes testing at Tonopah Test Range in Nevada and begins formal operations under the 4450th Tactical Group. The 4450th is absorbed by the 37th Tactical Fighter Wing in 1989. In 1992, the entire fleet is transferred to Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, under the command of the 49th Fighter Wing. (Wikipedia, “ Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk”)
9:45 p.m. Brazilian Air Force Col. Marcelo Hecksher of the 1st Squadron of the 10th Aviation Group (Poker Squadron) is flying back to Santa Maria Air Force Base from Rio de Janeiro. When he begins descent preparations over the city of Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, he notices a strong, slightly bluish light on his right. Radar in Curitiba and Santa Maria do not have it on their scopes. The light then accelerates forward, rises, and disappears. (Clark III 207–208; Brazil 557–559; Clark IV 248–249)
An antiaircraft defense system near Astrakhan, Russia, tracks a spherical object flying along the Caspian Sea coast at 6,500 feet. It does not respond to radio contact. Two fighters are scrambled but they fail to catch up with it. When the pilots fire at the UFO, it descends to 325 feet. When it approaches Krasnovodsk [now Türkmenbaşy], Turkmenistan, a helicopter gunship is scrambled to make another attempt to shoot the object, which then ascends to a height beyond the copter’s capabilities. The UFO then heads for the Caspian Sea and disappears from sight. (Vadim K. Ilyin, “ KGB’s ‘Blue Folder’ Reveals Shootings, Landings in USSR,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 403 (November 2001): 8; “ KGB Blue Folder,” Above Top Secret forum, November 1, 2005; Good Need, pp. 353–354)
January — Project Hessdalen sends out a report form to 3,300 households in and around Hessdalen valley, Norway.
January — Seven oil field workers in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, see a silvery disc flying at a high altitude. (Stars and Stripes, January 28, 1984; “ U.S. Armed Forces Publication Tells of Lebanon UFO,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 5, no. 2 (April/May 1984): 8)
January — A luminous triangle preceded by a flashing light passes over Guildford, Surrey, England, silently moving to the east. (Marler 137)
January 3 — 4:14 a.m. A woman wakes up in her home near Port Washington, Wisconsin, when a bright light shines through the bedroom window. She sees a strange object with three circular lights in a fixed position about 50 feet from the shore of Lake Michigan. The center light, as bright as a searchlight, rotates north, casting an illumination on the water, which is seen to be turbulent. All three lights are rotating clockwise around a 30-foot body. She wakes up her husband, who suggests that it is a Coast Guard helicopter. But the object is completely silent. After a short time, a smaller object also with three lights appears over the first one, hovers a few minutes, then disappears. The searchlight periodically shines directly in the window. The object moves about 20–30 feet then hovers there another 10–15 minutes. At 5:15 a.m., it moves away and disappears to the southeast. The woman goes back to bed, but soon feels a powerful electric shock penetrate her body with a buzzing sound. (Donald R. Schmitt and Richard W. Heiden, “ People Who Live in Glass Houses…See UFOs,” IUR 9, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1984): 3, 16)
January 8 — 3:15 a.m. Three people are traveling southeast in a van at mile marker 236 on I-80 southeast of Cozad, Nebraska, when the highway lights up and they see a huge disc as big as a baseball diamond 75–100 feet above and slightly to the right of the road. Bright lights are evenly spaced around the rim, most of them white, but others pink or blue. As the car passes it at a slow speed, they can detect no motion and can hear no sound. They attempt to communicate by Citizens Band radio, but the radio picks up strange interference like an “intermittent bleeping.” (J. Allen Hynek, “ Nebraska Close Encounter,” IUR 9, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1984): 10–12; “ Addendum to Nebraska Encounter,” IUR 9, no. 3 (May/June 1984): 3)
January 9 — 10:30 p.m. Two witnesses driving on State Highway 208 near Hawthorne, New Jersey, see an object with lights descend then move away from their car. After driving another 300 feet they spot another object over the road. They drive directly under the object, which is moving slowly at an altitude of 200 feet. The driver pulls over, and the object moves toward the first UFO. (Bob Gribble, “ UFO Hotline Reports,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 5, no. 1 (Feb./March 1984): 5)
January 21 - 9:30 p.m. A mother and two children are driving near Jasper, New York, when they see a large, gold, oval object that seems to be pacing their car. It lands on a nearby ridge and after a few seconds ascends into the sky. It repeats this maneuver several times, speeding up and slowing down when she does the same. (Bob Gribble, " UFO Hotline Reports," IUR 9, no. 2 (March/April 1984): 7)
January 21–February 26 — Project Hessdalen sets up three fieldwork stations, the primary one on Aspaskjolen mountain, and two smaller ones at Hersjøen and Litlefjellet, Norway. This group secures technical assistance from the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment, the University of Oslo, and the University of Bergen. Over the course of one month, investigators see numerous lights, take photos of many of them, and track them instrumentally. On three occasions, lights are seen visually and tracked on radar simultaneously, casting a reflection on the radar screen so strong that a Norwegian defense expert later says that if that is not a solid object, then it must be a “strongly ionized gas.” One of the lights is tracked moving at 19,000 mph. On another occasion, a light under constant visual observation shows up on radar only on every second sweep. In most instances (33 in all), when radar shows something, the eye or a camera sees nothing. On two occasions the researchers direct a laser beam on passing lights. Out of a total of nine times, the lights respond all but once in a curious way, changing from a regular flashing light to a double-flashing light. The total number of sightings in this period is 188, although some may be attributable to passing aircraft. Only four of the photos taken through the special lens grating come out well enough to show light spectra, and only two of these are useful for analysis. Changes in the magnetic field are recorded in 40% of the sightings, but the Geiger counter and infrared viewer prove unhelpful. Researchers categorize the phenomenon into three different types: a white or blue-white flashing light, high in the air; a yellow light with a red light on the top, sometimes flashing; and a slow-moving, yellow or white light that maneuvers, stops for an hour or more, and continues maneuvering. (“ Project Hessdalen” website; “ Description of the Phenomena,” Project Hessdalen; Erling Strand, “ Project Hessdalen 1984: Final Technical Report,” Project Hessdalen, January 5, 1985; “ Hessdalen: 18 February 1984,” Project Hessdalen; “ Project Hessdalen: 1984,” Project Hessdalen; “ Norway Lights Continue: Update on Project Hessdalen,” IUR 9, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1984): 9, 12; Kim Hansen, “UFO Casebook,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, p. 90; UFOEv II 295–296; Clark III 572–573; David Clarke, “Spooklights: A Survey of Transient Luminous Phenomena,” Fortean Times 422 (September 2022): 44; Etienne Caron and Pouya Faridi, “ To Investigate or Not to Investigate? Researchers’ Views on Unexplored Atmospheric Light Phenomena,” Frontiers in Earth Science 4 (February 24, 2016); Erling P. Strand, “ Project Hessdalen, Part 1: From 3 June 1983 to 24 March 1994,” Society for UAP Studies, January 4, 2024; Calrk IV 630–631)
January 22 — 7:09 a.m. A witness in Huntington, West Virginia, observes a brilliant orange ball of light about 900 feet hovering above a neighbor’s house. Its glow illuminates the ground. After a minute, it speeds away to the west. (Bob Gribble, “ UFO Hotline Reports,” IUR 9, no. 2 (March/April 1984): 7)
January 22 — 7:25 a.m. The cabin crew of United Flight 729 is flying westbound 30 miles east of Toledo, Ohio, at 43,000 feet. They see a blurry, bright-red object the size of a DC-9 move from northeast to southwest for a few seconds. It leaves a contrail that they pass through. (Bob Gribble, “ UFO Hotline Reports,” IUR 9, no. 2 (March/April 1984): 7)
January 22 — 7:00 p.m. A young couple parking near Waycross, Georgia, spot a large object approaching their car at treetop level. It crosses a logging road near their car, goes across an open area to a stand of trees, then turns around. The driver begins speeding away, but the object moves directly over the car. It has an L-shaped light pattern on its underside with two red lights and one green light. The glow from the red light illuminates the car interior. The object follows them for about 75 feet down a county road before it moves away at high speed. (Bob Gribble, “ UFO Hotline Reports,” IUR 9, no. 2 (March/April 1984): 7)
January 22 — 7:00 p.m. Two witnesses in a car in Arnold, Missouri, see a circular object with three brilliant white lights and a corona of white light surrounding it. As it approaches the car, the driver makes an evasive turn, only to have the object pace them within 150 feet for 3 minutes. A vertical shaft of light comes from the top of the object. (Bob Gribble, “ UFO Hotline Reports,” IUR 9, no. 2 (March/April 1984): 7)
January 27 - 5:40 a.m. Four witnesses at Valley Center, California, see five stationary white lights in the northern sky about 2 miles away. Four are in a diamond formation while the fifth is in the center. After watching the display for several minutes, they notice smaller white lights maneuvering around the larger ones. They seem to increase to as many as 100. Suddenly the formation, small lights as well, moves away to the northwest and the witnesses can hear a soft humming sound. (Bob Gribble, " UFO Hotline Reports," IUR 9, no. 2 (March/April 1984): 7)
January 27 — 6:15 a.m. Two boys delivering papers in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, see a circular object with lights around its edge hovering above houses about two blocks away. After a few seconds it ascends at a 45° angle. (Bob Gribble, “ UFO Hotline Reports,” IUR 9, no. 2 (March/April 1984): 7)
January 28 — 6:30 p.m. A young couple in Flemington, New Jersey, notice an orange ball descending through the cloud layer and appear to land on a ridge behind the tree line. At 6:50 a.m., the husband sees a bright object ascend from the same ridge, pause in mid-air, then move away horizontally in the distance. (Bob Gribble, “ UFO Hotline Reports,” IUR 9, no. 2 (March/April 1984): 7)
January 30 — 9:00 p.m. Nine men working on an oil platform in the Big Cypress National Preserve about 40 miles west of Miami, Florida, see a bright orange object descending at a high rate of speed about five miles away. At about 10,000 feet, it comes to an instant stop. The orange glow fades and they can see an object with a chrome dome and dozens of flashing lights on the underside. All witness estimate it to be at least 200 feet in diameter. It remains stationary for 10 seconds, turns orange again, and speeds away to the east. Witnesses in Jensen Beach and the Miami area also see the object. (Bob Gribble, “ UFO Hotline Reports,” IUR 9, no. 2 (March/April 1984): 7)
February — The Commission for the Investigation of Anomalous Atmospheric Phenomena is established in Moscow, Russia, although its announcement in the West is delayed until May. Affiliated with the Committee for the Protection of Natural Environment of the All-Union Council of Scientific Technical Societies, the commission is is headed by scientist V. S. Troitsky, with the assistance of N. Zheltukhin, G. S. Pisarenko, and former cosmonaut Pavel Popovich, who tells the trade union newspaper Trud that there have been hundreds of reports in Russia each year, most of which can be explained away. The commission intends to collect raw reports from the public and perform on-site investigations. (Good Above, p. 243; Mikhail Gershtein, “ A Short History of UFO Research in the Former Soviet Union,” UAP Check, July 6, 2024)
February — The Centro Ufologico Nazionale begins a newsletter, Notizie C.U.N., to replace Quaderni UFO. It is edited by Gian Paolo Grassino in Turin, Italy, and continues until September 1985. ( Notizie C.U.N., no. 0 (February 1984))
February — Night. The commander of a group of soldiers in the 103rd Regiment guarding warehouses at Przasnysz Airfield, Poland, sees a light silently coming in his direction. It is attached to a huge oval object 70–100 feet across that is moving soundlessly 150 feet above the ground. He and his assistant feel unexplained terror and paralysis, remaining rooted to the spot. Noticing a light at its rear end, he considers taking an AK-47 and shooting it out, but receives a mental command not to do so or he would be paralyzed. (Poland 67)
February 7 — 4:00 a.m. A witness in Atco, New Jersey, awakes to a loud humming sound and finds his room illuminated by a bright light. He goes to the window and sees a bright circular object with a hump on top in a stationary position about four feet above his neighbor’s yard and 200 feet away. It is about the size of a small car. A human-like “image” is standing next to it, but that vanishes and the object ascends in a zigzag pattern, then moves away at a high rate of speed. (Bob Gribble, “ UFO Hotline Reports,” IUR 9, no. 2 (March/April 1984): 7)
February 19 - 3:30 a.m. A driver in Everett, Washington, near the Boeing plant sees a huge, silvery green, egg-shaped object moving toward his car from a wooded area. Within a few seconds it bounces from one side of the road to the other, passing over his car. (Bob Gribble, " UFO Hotline Reports," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 194 (April 1984): 6)
February 20 — 6:12 p.m. Leif Havik is standing in the snow outside the Project Hessdalen headquarters on Aspaskjolen, Norway, when a red light flies around his feet and disappears. It is also witnessed by Age Moe. (Kim Hansen, “UFO Casebook,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, p. 90)
February 22–23 — Night. Witnesses in Flushing, Michigan, see objects with triangular lighting patterns that shine beams of light to the ground. The lights approach the car of one witness who sees they are part of a cigar-shaped object 100 feet above the ground. A jogger reports a light so intense that it hurts his eyes. Another witness sees an object with triangular-shaped lights hovering less than 200 feet above the ground, illuminating the area behind her house and panicking her cats. Two more objects pass above her house. Investigator Shirley Coyne locates 12 people who have seen the lights, but only three will fill out a report. (Shirley Coyne, “ 12 See UFOs in Michigan,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 194 (April 1984): 5–6)
February 23 — 4:00 p.m. Five witnesses, all with PhDs, report an upside-down-ice-cream-cone-shaped object over the Ohio State University campus in Columbus, Ohio. It seems to be surrounded with a fog, but it changes its appearance about every 60 seconds, at one point looking rectangular. It is seen for 20 minutes, heading in the direction of Port Columbus Airport [now John Glenn Columbus International Airport]. (Irena Scott, “ Description of an Aerial Anomaly Viewed over Columbus, Ohio,” Ohio Journal of Science 88, no. 2 (1988): 23; Irena Scott, “ UFO Studies in the Scientific Literature,” IUR 15, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1990): 18)
February 29 — 9:00 p.m. A woman in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, sees a dark, diamond-shaped object approach her at no more than 50 feet above the ground. White lights are at the front and back, blinking red lights at the sides, and smaller lights between each of the four points. It is “longer than a tractor trailer and wide as two tractor trailers.” It wobbles and passes over trees to the southwest. (Stan Gordon, “ Diamond-Shaped UFO in Pennsylvania,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 194 (April 1984): 7–8)
March 4 — The UK Ministry of Defence, for the first time ever, releases UFO reports to the public. Sixteen reports, most of which are severely redacted and missing key data, are sent to the British UFO Research Association. When he is asked about possible landing cases, such as the 1980 Rendlesham incident, Defence Undersecretary for Procurement John Lee replies that these are not distinguished from other reports of aerial phenomena. In any event, he says, “none of these reports was of any defence significance.” (Good Above, pp. 112–113; Nick Pope, Open Skies, Closed Minds, Simon & Schuster, 1996, Appendix 1)
March 6 - 10:00 p.m. Two police officers, Tom Jensen and Gary Myers, watch a large boomerang or U-shaped UFO west of Norris, South Dakota, after having been alerted by a citizen 10 minutes earlier. At its closest approach, Myers sees it as a pattern of lights in an inverted L pattern. As it passes, it blocks out the sky and stars. (" Bennett County Families, Officials Report Unidentified Flying Object," Rapid City (S.Dak.) Journal, March 8, 1984, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 177 (April 1984): 5; " Unidentified Lights Bring Attention to Rural Area," Bennett County (S.Dak.) Booster, March 9, 1984, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 177 (April 1984): 1; " Officers Encounter Strange Lights in S.D. Sky," Minneapolis (Minn.) Star and Tribune, March 9, 1984, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 178 (May 1984): 1; " UFO Hunt Yields No Close Encounters of Any Kind," Rapid City (S.Dak.) Journal, March 9, 1984, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 177 (April 1984): 4; " Officers Unable to Get Second Look at UFO," Minneapolis (Minn.) Star and Tribune, March 10, 1984, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 177 (April 1984): 4; Ron Bender, " Weekender," Rapid City (S.Dak.) Journal, March 10, 1984, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 177 (April 1984): 5; J. Allen Hynek, " A CE-I, a Lonely Road, a Starry Night," IUR 9, no. 3 (May/June 1984): 6-9; Linda Moulton Howe, " Focus on South Dakota," Stigmata, no. 22 (1985): 25-28)
March 9 — MP Patrick Wall asks in the UK House of Commons that the Secretary of State for Defence provide statistics on UFO landings, unexplained cases, and radar sightings for 1980–1983. John Lee responds that there were 350 UFO reports in 1980 (dodging the question of whether or not the MoD could identify them), 600 in 1981, 250 in 1982, and 390 in 1983. (Good Above, p. 113; Isaac Koi, “ UFOs in Parliament (UK),” Isaac Koi—UFOs and Parliament, 2024)
March 11 — After 12:00 midnight. A mother and her daughter see a large cylindrical object just a few feet away through the window of their home in Wolcott, Connecticut. For 7 minutes it hovers about 7 feet above the ground, then moves away silently. (Bob Gribble, “ UFO Hotline Reports,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 194 (April 1984): 6)
March 13 — MP Patrick Wall again asks about statistics on UFO landings and unexplained cases in the House of Commons. Secretary of State for Defence John Lee responds that landings are not separated out from UFO reports and that none of these are of “defence significance.” (Isaac Koi, “ UFOs in Parliament (UK),” Isaac Koi—UFOs and Parliament, 2024)
March 21 — 7:45 p.m. A truck driver driving on Interstate 87 near Woodbury, New York, sees a boomerang- shaped UFO about 100 feet altitude that looks larger than a Boeing 747. It has red, white, and green lights. It paces his truck for five minutes then vanishes. (NightSiege 71–73)
March 21 — 8:00 p.m. A mother and daughter driving south on Perry Road near Claxton, Georgia, notice an unusual light through the trees. As they top a hill, they slow the car to a near stop when they see three boomerang-shaped objects, with wings pointing downward, hovering above a field. Each has two bright lights in the top center and a row of small, multicolored lights that blink in rapid sequence. One object is larger (at least 40 feet wide) than the others and moves over their car in perfect silence. Its underside appears dark metallic. (“ Local Woman, Daughter Report ‘Close Encounter,’” Claxton (Ga.) Enterprise, March 29, 1984, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 177 (April 1984): 6)
March 24 — 5:50 a.m. Five nuns at the Sainte-Marie Cistercian Abbey in Boulaur, Gers, France, see a bright oval object about 16 feet long and 6.5 feet tall from the first-floor balcony. It is hovering at first, then starts moving up and down and right and left “at the speed of lightning.” It stops about 100 feet above the cemetery and 325 feet away from the witnesses. There is no sound. Then it takes off in the direction it came from. (Groupe d’Études et d’Informations sur les Phénomènes Aérospatiaux Non-identifiés, “ Notes d’Enquête, Boulaur (32) 24.03.1984,” June 30, 2014; Swords 447)
March 25 — 8:55 p.m. A driver in Santa Monica, California, sees a bright red ball of light, about 10 inches in diameter, maneuvering around her car with a bouncing motion. It approaches to within a foot of her car, lighting up the hood and windows for one minute. (Bob Gribble, “ UFO Hotline Reports,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 194 (April 1984): 6)
March 25 — Night. Hundreds of people see low-flying lights over the Taconic State Parkway near Peekskill, New York. The lights seem to be attached to a slow-moving, boomerang-shaped object with six intense white lights and a green light in the center. A photographer estimates the object is about 300 feet long and flying at 30 mph. It moves over some water and the lights go out. He videotapes the incident, but nothing shows up on the tape. (NightSiege 77–81)
Spring — A Soviet pilot in a MiG-23 is scrambled to intercept an object flying at supersonic speed from north to south over the Mikha Tskhakaya Airfield south of Senaki, Georgia. The MiG-23, flying at 16,400 feet in full afterburner at Mach 1.2, is unable to close in on the object. By the time the interceptor is approaching the coastline of the Black Sea, it is flying at Mach 1.6. The pilot activates his infrared search and track system when he is 7.5 miles away from the target and sees the largest “bloom” he has ever encountered. By the time he reaches Mach 2, he has to break off due to lack of fuel, never having acquired a visual target. (Good Need, pp. 352–353, 365)
April 10 — Night. While driving down a country road near Rhinelander, Wisconsin, two witnesses see a stationary, cigar-shaped object about 225 feet from the roadway. It has a row of lighted windows, and several spokes protrude from the surface. Each spoke has a white light on the tip. While hovering at treetop level, the object pivots 360° and then stops. After observing it for 4 minutes, the witnesses drive past it and go home. (Bob Gribble, “ UFO Hotline Reports,” IUR 9, no. 3 (May/June 1984): 16)
April 12 — 2:10 a.m. Air traffic control radar at Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados tracks a large group of unknown targets moving at about 100 mph in “loose but distinct formation” 30 miles southeast of the island. Authorities notify Prime Minister Tom Adams, the Barbados Defense Force, and the police commissioner. The BDF is put on Red Alert. By 2:20 a.m., the formation is 14 miles off the coast when two targets veer off to the island’s west side, two others move to the east, while the remainder keep on moving north. Police are deployed to the beaches. At 3:30 a.m., the BDF launches a patrol boat and scrambles a Cessna but does not find anything. Radar is still tracking objects at 4:00 a.m. over the northern part of the island. By 4:10 a.m., they disappear to the west. A temperature inversion is a possible cause. (“ 1984: UFOs Place Barbados Defence Force on Full Alert, This Really Happened,” Notes from the Margin, March 13, 2008)
April 13 — 10:00 p.m. While boating on a lake near Gainesville, Florida, two witnesses see a stationary oval-shaped object at an altitude of 100 feet about 300 feet away from their boat. The object shines a cone of bright white light onto the surface of the water. After about 3 minutes, it hovers out of sight behind some trees. (Bob Gribble, “ UFO Hotline Reports,” IUR 9, no. 3 (May/June 1984): 16)
April 15 — 12:00 midnight. Some 20 witnesses (farm workers, a police officer, venture scouts) at Llangernyw, North Wales, see a pink-orange ball that drifts to the ground and explodes in a shower of purple sparks. Out of the shower emerges a white disc that appears to land out of sight behind a ridge. A large army helicopter and two military trucks apparently perform a search of the area beginning at daylight. (Jenny Randles, “ Anatomy of a UFO Wave,” IUR 11, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1986): 4–5)
April 18 — 9:30 p.m. A married couple is driving on a road near RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, England, when they come upon a huge rectangular object straddling the road ahead. It has at least 60 lights arrayed in rows on its frame. Red and green lights are at its edges, but the majority are white. The object remains absolutely still and silent about 100 feet in the air. They are anxious to get home, so they do not see the object leave. (Jenny Randles, “ Anatomy of a UFO Wave,” IUR 11, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1986): 5)
April 19 — 8:05 p.m. Melinda Cook and her four daughters in Lone Grove, about 8 miles northeast of Llano, Texas, watch a huge dome-shaped object pass over their house at an altitude of only 200 feet. It has a row of red lights around it that are pulsating. One of the girls thinks it has an arrow-shaped pattern on its base. A jet aircraft appears to be pursuing it. Cook says she can hear a low-frequency humming sound coming from it. Soon the red lights change to red, blue, and green. The object turns north, then makes another turn to the west, the jet following this maneuver. The girls watch the object continuously for 4 minutes. (Bob Gribble, “ UFO Hotline Reports,” IUR 9, no. 3 (May/June 1984): 16; Walt Andrus, “ Llano Light Puzzle,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 198 (October 1984): 8–9)
April 20 - 10:04 p.m. Four people in a car in Beaverton, Oregon, see a large, pulsating, yellow light high in the sky. The driver stops, and a small, bright-blue object comes into view, moving toward the yellow object at high speed. Suddenly, a "fast red thing" shoots out of the blue object and knocks the yellow object in half, one part disintegrating and the other part falling to the ground. Two other objects, yellow and blue, appear with the blue object chasing and apparently shooting down the yellow object. The blue object then climbs at a high speed vertically and vanishes in the clouds. The observation lasts 20 minutes. (Bob Gribble, "UFO Hotline Reports," IUR 9, no. 3 (May/June 1984): 16)
April 22 — 10:10 p.m. A woman and her mother are watching TV at a trailer park in Saltfleet, Lincolnshire, England, when they see a dome-shaped object with circle of white lights, a small group of red lights above, and a brilliant white light on top. It is hovering nearby and about 500 feet in the air. More lights turn on and the object begins to revolve. As its speed increases, the colors blend into one another. The object moves away to the south, but over the next hour it circles the trailer park in wide loops that take it several miles out to sea before returning over their heads. It switches a searchlight beam off and on. The woman’s two dogs are looking fearfully at the UFO. At one point the object drops to 100 feet and hovers in absolute silence above the witnesses. The searchlight comes from two headlight beams projecting forward. The UFO has a “smoky glass” dome on top. Dogs are howling for miles around. The object switches off all but four of its lights and climbs vertically before heading out to sea to circle for a few more minutes. (“ The Saltfleet Encounter,” Northern UFO News, no. 113 (May/June 1985): 10–11; Jenny Randles, “ Anatomy of a UFO Wave,” IUR 11, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1986): 7)
April 25 — 6:00 p.m. A woman is in her garden at Blairgowrie, Scotland, working on a tapestry when her dog leaps up and runs indoors. A ball of light appears in the air and seems to enter her body. She is blinded for a few seconds but feels calm. A white cloud rises from her head and hovers above some bushes. It blinks twice and climbs into the sky toward a large silvery object shaped like a house key. The cloud moves along the length of the key, flashing and lighting up bits in turn. She calls her son, who arrives just as the UFO sways from side to side and vanishes in a sudden pink flash. (Jenny Randles, “ Anatomy of a UFO Wave,” IUR 11, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1986): 7–8)
April 25 — 9:55 p.m. Three witnesses driving on American Canyon Road south of Napa, California, see a huge triangular object the size of a football field hovering 100 feet above the road. They drive beneath it, and after 5 minutes the object moves out of sight. (Bob Gribble, “ UFO Hotline Reports,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 195 (May/June 1984): 10, 11; Bob Gribble, “ UFO Hotline Reports,” IUR 9, no. 3 (May/June 1984): 16)
April 26 — On a visit to the 6513th Test Squadron, Red Hats at Groom Lake, Nevada, USAF Lt. Gen. Robert M. Bond requests to fly a MiG-23 BN fighter-bomber, a newly acquired supersonic Soviet aircraft flown for testing. Instead of the usual 2 weeks of training, Bond is given a cursory briefing while sitting inside the cockpit with an instructor. Just as he is flying at 40,000 feet and over Mach 2 speed, a hydromechanical inhibitor activates, preventing him from disengaging the afterburner. Bond loses control, makes a distress call, and is killed while ejecting. The MiG-23 crashes on Jackass Flats in Area 25, still contaminated from NERVA rocket testing. Bond’s body is discovered by a USAF sergeant on his way to work, who removes the rank insignia from Bond’s flight suit with a pocketknife before going to get help. The USAF does not confirm or deny that Bond was flying a MiG when he died and states that he was flying “an Air Force specially modified test craft,” but it leaks the information on the MiG testing program to journalist Fred Hoffman. There are fears that the publicity will also lead to the exposure of the F-117 program, still secret and also based at Tonopah, but this does not happen. (Wikipedia, “ Robert M. Bond”)
April 26 — 9:45 p.m. Terri West spots an odd light in the sky from her home on Belmont Lane, Stanmore, Greater London, England. At 10:15 p.m., she joins her neighbors Ruth and Bruno Novelli to watch the light, which is moving back and forth and constantly changing colors from blue to green to pink. Soon it emits a large ball of light that shoots toward the ground. The witnesses call the police at 10:22 p.m. A team of police arrives and watches the object for about 2 hours. Police Constable Richard Milthorp says the light is originally at 45° but after 15 minutes it moves up and to the right. He draws a sketch of the object, which is circular in the middle with a dome above and below. It has different colored lights on the top and bottom. One of the officers takes photos, but they do not come out well. Some others chase the UFO by car, but it is already fading from view. (Good Above, pp. 114–115; UFOFiles2, p. 130)
April 27 — 9:45 p.m. Linda Braga and her daughter Piper see a starlike object that follows their car along West Ridge Road in Cornville, Maine. About 35–45 feet in diameter, the red and yellow object comes almost within touching distance. When they reach their driveway, it backs off and hovers above a field, then moves around to the other side of the house. It disappears in the distance. (“ Recently Received Sighting Reports,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 5, no. 5 (Oct./Nov. 1984): 4)
May 2 — Australian Minister of Defence Gordon Scholes announces that the RAAF will fully investigate only those UFO sightings that “suggest a defence or national security implication.” (“ RAAF Resets UFO Targets,” Canberra Times, May 3, 1984, p. 3; Bill Chalker, “ The North West Cape Incident: UFOs and Nuclear Alert in Australia,” IUR 11, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1986): 11; Good Above, p. 182; Swords 408–409)
May 4–6 — The Centro Ufologico Nazionale holds its Third International Congress in Genoa, Italy. Speakers include J. Allen Hynek, Roberto Pinotti, and Antonio Ribera. (Roberto Pinotti, “ Italian Report,” IUR 9, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1984): 3, 16; 2Pinotti 70)
May 5 — 2:55 a.m. A witness in Piedmont, South Carolina, hears a loud pulsating sound and looks out the window in time to see a large metallic object passing above his house at about 750 feet. Described as bigger than an Air Force C-5A transport, the object is shaped like a flattened football. A car stops along the road, and the driver gets out to watch it. All of the dogs in the neighborhood are howling as it is in view for 2 minutes. (Bob Gribble, “ UFO Hotline Reports,” IUR 9, no. 3 (May/June 1984): 16)
May 5 — 7:30 p.m. An ultrasensitive orbiting US Defense Support Program spy satellite detects the entry of an unknown object that passes 15 miles in front of it only 1.8 miles away, and then flies below it over the Indian Ocean. The encounter lasts 9 minutes. An alert is triggered at NORAD. The object is moving at 22,000 mph, changes course, and flies back into outer space. Probable classified NRO Vortex satellite 1984-009A launched on January 31, 1984. (NICAP, “ DSP Satellite Tracks Fast Walker”; David Kauble, “ A UFO the Military Tracked,” Deb’s UFO Research Information Clearinghouse, January 10, 1997; Ronald S. Regehr, How to Build a $125 Million UFO Detector, 1998, pp. 27–28, 84; Jeffery Richelson, America’s Space Sentinels: DSP Satellites and National Security, University Press of Kansas, 1999, pp. 106–107; “ Fast Walker Mystery Solved,” Unexplained-mysteries.com Forum, August 3, 2006)
May 5 — 9:45 p.m. Five workers on a garbage truck are near the Rio Seco, Tucumán, Argentina, when they see a strange light like a fireball. The truck stops, and later it is found that the fuses have burnt out. The upper part of the object is giving off a red light and the lower part a blue light, and it hovers above the truck for 20 seconds. It then moves away silently and disappears. Residents of Rio Seco also see the light, which illuminates the village. (Herbert S. Taylor, “ An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part 1,” IUR 33, no. 4 (May 2011): 19)
May 6 — 10:30 p.m. A 13-year-old boy is washing out dog pens in Williston, Florida, when he hears a humming sound behind him. The dogs start whimpering and running around the pens. Suddenly, the area turns red and looking up, the boy sees a bright red circular object that hovers for about 5 seconds at only 20 feet altitude before it shoots across a field and stops again. He goes inside to get his mother, who sees the object moving across the field before vanishing. The dogs remain agitated afterward. (Bob Gribble, “ UFO Hotline Reports,” IUR 9, no. 3 (May/June 1984): 16)
May 29 — J. Allen Hynek gives a presentation on “Properties of the UFO Phenomenon” at a special session on “The Edges of Science” of the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in New York City. He presents a summary of 400 UFO cases by responsible witnesses, “some of whom were independent of each other but observed the same event (and sometimes in daylight) which defied both common sense and common physical sense.” (J. Allen Hynek, “ The UFO Phenomenon,” IUR 9, no. 4 (July/August 1984): 3–5, 16)
May 29 - A huge disc with a flat base and two vast searchlights passes silently over Fairy Cottage, near Laxey, Isle of Man. (Jenny Randles, " Mysterious Island: The UFO Legacy of the Isle of Man," IUR 29, no. 1 (Spring 2004): 14)
May 31 — 8:15 p.m. A V-shaped formation of 15 lights, estimated to be the size of a Boeing 747 airliner if all are connected to one object, passes directly over the home of John Burdett, an IBM engineer in Hawthorne, New York. It makes no sound as it passes overhead except for a faint humming. All lights simultaneously turn blue and then it makes a tight 180-degree turn and flies off to the north. At 8:30 p.m., the object is seen from Route 117 in Pleasantville, New York, and follows a car down the Taconic State Parkway. At 8:45 p.m., David Boyd in Yorktown, New York, sees a V-shaped formation of lights turn and fly away to the west. (Philip J. Imbrogno, “ More Nocturnal Lights,” IUR 9, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1984): 6–8)
Summer -Day. A Mrs. Danuta takes her 2-year-old son to a playground in the Podwislocze district of Rzeszów, Poland. A green-metallic object with a bright cupola 8 feet tall approaches, brushing a tree, and the woman picks up her son and hides behind a tree. It is making a loud noise and hovering 30-50 feet above the ground. It then moves toward some nearby apartments, shoots up, and disappears. (Poland 59)
June 14 — 10:15 p.m. New York State Power Authority security police at the Indian Point Nuclear Plant near Buchanan, New York, watch 10 or more bright lights arranged in a boomerang pattern hovering for about 15 minutes a quarter mile away. Behind them is a dark mass about 300 feet long that blocks out the lights of a plane that flies behind it. (Philip J. Imbrogno, “ Incident at Indian Point,” UFO Evidence; NightSiege 162–164; Clark III 1278; Clark IV 1461)
Mid-June - 4:10 p.m. Seaman Alexander Globa and mate of the watch Sergey Bolotov are beginning their watch on board the Russian tanker Gori in the Mediterranean Sea 20 nautical miles east of Gibraltar. They see what seems to be an airplane with its landing lights on and flying toward them at an altitude of 4,920 feet about 2 miles away. It is shaped like a "frying pan turned upside down" with a shiny, metallic surface. It emits bright, irregular flashes of light. In two minutes it reaches the ship's position, turns south, and keeps pace with the ship, gyrating for 3 minutes. The object is perfectly round and about 75 feet in diameter. There is a round, black spot on the bottom, and a cylindrical "tailpipe" is seen at the junction of two segments that are rotating in opposite directions. At 4:20 p.m., another ship approaches to the left, and the object flies quickly toward it and hovers above it. Capt. Sokolovsky contacts the vessel, an Egyptian dry cargo ship enroute to Greece, and it confirms the presence of the UFO. After 90 seconds it quickly moves back to the Gori, ascends at an angle of 40°-45°, veers to the right, and eventually disappears. Total duration of the sighting is 12 minutes. (Sergey Romanav, " Disk with Rotating Cupola Observed near Straits of Gibraltar by Russian Ship in 1984," IUR 18, no. 3 (May/June 1993): 17-18; Paul Stonehill, " Questions about a Russian Case," IUR 18, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1993): 21; Stonehill and Mantle, Russia's USO Secrets, Flying Disk, 2020, pp. 69-70)
June 21 — 9:30 p.m. Investigators Dick Ruhl and Richie Petracca are on Interstate 84 in Dutchess County, New York, when they see a brilliant white wedge-shaped object floating and turning in the sky. The lights suddenly turn red, and as the object continues to turn, they see red, green-blue, and white lights. They stop and get binoculars out, then notice another object on the left. Both objects glide slowly and maneuver, constantly changing from white as they approach, and to red as they turn away. They finally form up into a boomerang shape. Ruhl and Petracca suspect they are seeing the “Stormville pilots,” so they drive to the Stormville airport. After waiting in the snack bar a short time, people see lights in the direction of the Green Haven Correctional Facility. It turns out they are six Cessna Skyhawks, apparently with mufflers on the engines, and they land one by one on a nearby runway. Ruhl photographs the serial number of one of the planes, N76106. (“ Probe of Mysterious V Shape Widens,” Poughkeepsie (N.Y.) Journal, June 28, 1984, p. 15; Dick Ruhl, Richie Petracca, Sal Giamusso, and Gerry Arena, “ The Westchester Sightings,” APRO Bulletin 32, no. 6 (September 1984): 1, 5–6; Philip J. Imbrogno, “ The Hudson Valley Sightings: A Reply to Dick Ruhl and APRO,” IUR 10, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1985): 16)
June 21 — 9:44 p.m. Witnesses see unidentified lights over the Wanaque Reservoir in New Jersey for more than two hours. The manager of a tavern on Ringwood Avenue in Haskell sees an egg-shaped object moving faster than a blimp. (“ E.T. Circling Area?” Wayne (N.J.) Today, July 4, 1984, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 181 (August 1984): 7)
June 25 — Night. A huge, slow-moving object with many lights is seen near Bethel, Connecticut, for 20 minutes. It looks like a big Ferris Wheel on its side. (NightSiege 98)
July — Prentice-Hall publishes Clear Intent by Lawrence Fawcett and Barry J. Greenwood, a history of Air Force, FBI, and CIA involvement in UFO investigations and secrecy, including many FOIA-released recent reports and documents. The book immediately sells out and is unavailable for most of the summer. A second printing in late August also sells out immediately. (Lawrence Fawcett and Barry J. Greenwood, Clear Intent: The Government Coverup of the UFO Experience, Prentice-Hall, 1984; George M. Eberhart, “ ‘Clear Intent’ Reviewed,” IUR 9, no. 4 (July/August 1984): 6–7, 16)
July 10 — Four members of the Italian Parliament— Giancarlo Abete, Publio Fiori, Alessandro Scajola, and Martino Scovacricchi—present a question to the government on whether it would consider involving private and civilian experts as future consultants on UFOs. Minister of Defence Giovanni Spadolini emphasizes the role of the Italian Air Force in UFO investigations and denies the necessity to involve outsiders, although it does not rule out cooperation with Italy’s National Research Council. (2Pinotti 71)
July 13 - 4:30 p.m. A mysterious object comes into view above Rzeszów, Poland, remaining stationary for a long time. A flight controller from Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport estimates it is at 6,500 feet and is slowly moving to the northwest. Mielec Airport air traffic controller Kasimierz Lubertowicz scrambles an Iskra jet trainer on a scouting mission. As pilot Henryk Bronowicki approaches the object at 24,600 feet, he realizes it is not a weather balloon and is moving away from him. He gives up the chase, but the object descends and he approaches it again, failing to reach it as it retreats. (" Cale Podkarpacie widzi UFO: Czyli sprawa, która chciano zataic (1984)," Portal Infra, September 20, 2013; Poland 74-75; Arek Miazga, " Pilot kontra UFO nad Mielcem 13.07.1984," Spotkania z Nieznanym, June 1, 2019)
July 19 — 10:00–11:00 p.m. Police in Danbury, Bethel, Brookfield, and New Fairfield, Connecticut, receive reports of a low-flying, slow-moving object “as large as a football field.” It directs intense beams of light toward the ground and gives off heat felt by those beneath it. It has white lights in a circular pattern. (“ Area Police Get Reports of UFOs,” Danbury (Conn.) News-Times, July 20, 1984, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 181 (August 1984), p. 1)
July 24 — 9:00 p.m. Security police at Indian Point Nuclear Plant at Buchanan, New York, again see a UFO with a semicircle of lights. The lights first flash yellow, then white, then blue. Far to the rear is a blinking red light. The dark mass behind the lights blocks out the stars as it approaches steadily. The plant’s movement-detecting sensors and alarm systems fail, as does the computer responsible for security and communications. By the time it gets to 500 feet away, the police can see an ice-cream-cone-shape and a solid body the length of three football fields. As it passes over the Unit 3 reactor, at one point getting as close as 30 feet, it is moving so slowly that the police can keep up with it by walking. An officer inside the plant watching security monitors is instructed to film the object using a camera atop a 95-foot pole; the camera has to pan almost 180° to cover the entire length of the object. One officer notices two hollow spheres or portals in the bottom. The UFO takes 5 minutes to pass over them. By the time the security police call Camp Smith, a National Guard base 10 miles away, and ask for an armed helicopter, the UFO is gone. Many other people in the area also report seeing the UFO over the plant. Police in Peekskill receive quite a few calls that evening. Police Sgt. Hoffman goes out to investigate and sees a giant UFO with more than a dozen white lights in a V formation slowly move toward the power plant. On July 25, the security guard supervisor tells them to forget what happened. Video and audio records of the event are removed, and in the next two days representatives of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission oversee a shakeup of the plant’s security operations. (“ UFOs: Did Aliens Buzz Indian Point Plant?” White Plains (N.Y.) Reporter Dispatch, January 12, 1985, pp. 1, 8; “Nuke Plant Guards Report Hovering UFOs,” Nyack (N.Y.) Journal News, January 12, 1985; R. Perry Collins, “ The Westchester Wing, Part II,” Pursuit 18, no. 4 (Winter 1985): 166, 168–169; Harry Lebelson, “ Who’s Watching Us?” Pursuit 19, no. 1 (Spring 1986): 27, 29–30; Philip J. Imbrogno, “ Incident at Indian Point,” UFO Evidence; NightSiege 164–168; Clark III 1278; Clark IV 1461–1462)
July 24 — 10:20 p.m. Electronics executive Bob Pozzuoli shoots a videotape of a large object with a ring of 6 lights in the sky over Brewster, New York. It moves behind a pine tree then emerges as a string of rotating multicolored lights and a flashing red light in the rear. The video also shows airplanes flying in formation. The tape is analyzed by Lew Allen at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who is apparently unable to explain it adequately. (NightSiege 122–124)
August — J. Allen Hynek moves to Scottsdale, Arizona, from Evanston, Illinois, under the influence of entrepreneurs Tina Choate and Brian Myers, who introduce him to wealthy Englishman Jeffrey (or Geoffrey) Kaye with the promise of funding a new UFO organization (the International Center for UFO Research in Phoenix), publications, and a TV series about Hynek’s life. The CUFOS office moves to Glenview, Illinois, where Sherman J. Larsen operates it. (“ UFO Expert Moving to Arizona,” Chicago Tribune, August 21, 1984, Sec. 2, p. 1; Keith Basterfield, “ Why Did J. Allen Hynek Move to Scottsdale?” Unidentified Aerial Phenomena—Scientific Research, October 8, 2017)
August — Researcher Antonio Ribera finds that in Spain, 90% of alien abductees are young people, most of whom are male, and they tend to report being given a mysterious mission by their captors, along with a cryptic message. (Antonio Ribera, “ Do Abductees Fit into a Certain Pattern?” Flying Saucer Review 29, no. 6 (August 1984): 20–22; Eghigian, After, p. 292)
August 20 — 9:00 p.m. Irene Lunn and her daughter are driving near Deer Trail Drive in Mahopac Falls, New York, when they notice triangle-shaped UFO with an unusual L-shaped tailpiece. They stop to observe it more carefully. The object has one red light, one green light, and eight white lights, and is moving south when it makes a sudden 90° turn and slowly moves toward them. They drive the short way home where they retrieve some binoculars. She can clearly see a dark, metallic object, which moves off to a neighbor’s yard and hovers. A rectangular object with white lights in each corner comes into view and moves in front of the first UFO for 5 seconds, then vanishes. The triangular object continues to hover, then silently moves off out of sight. (“ Multiple Sightings in New York,” APRO Bulletin 32, no. 11 (May 1985): 1–2)
August 23 — Afternoon. Military radar at Otopeni Airport [now Henri Coandă International Airport] near Bucharest, Romania, picks up a target flying above Alexeni Air Force Base [now closed] east of Urziceni at 13,000–14,700 feet. The target, the size of a small plane or helicopter, appears out of nowhere and is tracked by 4–5 different radars in separate locations on different frequencies. After 15 minutes, the object is spotted visually. Through a telescope it appears oval, metallic and shiny, and about 9 feet long. During its appearance, the base notices a strong interference on VHF and short wave radios. The target climbs and descends about 7–8 times to altitudes ranging from 6,500 feet to 34 miles as it moves west at speeds up to 7,450 mph, making zigzagging movements and turning at sharp angles. It is under observation for 40 minutes and is lost at a height of 62 miles as it disappears into space at 620 mph. (Romania 104–105)
August 25 — Philip Imbrogno and Peter Gersten convene a public meeting on the Hudson Valley sightings in a middle school in Brewster, New York, and 1,500 people show up. Hynek attends, as well as news media, various people from the FBI, Air Force officers from Pease AFB [now Pease Air National Guard Base], and a mysterious man who has met with Imbrogno and claims to be from the National Security Agency. The Pozzuoli videotape is shown and 900 people fill out UFO sighting reports. (“ Strange Sights Brighten the Night Skies Upstate,” New York Times, August 25, 1984, p. 25; Larry W. Bryant, “ UFO Town-Hall Meeting: A Case Study,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 198 (October 1984): 5; NightSiege 135–147)
August 26 — 3:00 a.m. Three fishermen aboard a small boat off Campomarino, Taranto, Italy, notice the sea has become clear, as if a large wake has become visible in a particular spot about 1,640–3,280 feet away. As they slow their boat, a light gray object with fuzzy outlines silently emerges from the sea at an angle of 60°–70,° rising at a very high speed without generating spray. It then changes direction before disappearing. (Marco Bianchini, “ USOs: The Underwater UFOs, Part II,” SCU Review 6, no. 3 (July 24, 2025): 19–20)
Late summer — 8:00 p.m. Kazimierz Lubertowicz, chief of air traffic control at Mielec airfield, Poland, reports that a pilot and 30–40 airfield workers and military personnel are watching a motionless red-orange light for 2 hours. It is actually floating very slowly to the southeast at an altitude of 1,300–1,600 feet. (Poland 68)
September — Lawrence Fawcett and Barry Greenwood launch a new series of Just Cause newsletters to continue their documentation of government involvement in UFOs discussed in Clear Intent. The newsletter continues until November 1997. ( Just Cause, new series, no. 1 (September 1984))
September — Marc Leduc begins publishing Bulletin d’Information Ufologique in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec, until June 1986. ( Bulletin d’Information Ufologique 1, no. 1 (September 1984))
September 2 —7:28 p.m. Physicist Bruce Maccabee is standing near the Light Street Pavilion in the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland, when he sees a black spot in the air to the southeast. Its most noticeable characteristic is its extreme blackness. It moves slowly north for 7 minutes at a steady rate until it disappears. Maccabee rules out a bird, a kite, an aircraft, and a balloon. (Bruce Maccabee, “ ‘Black Hole’ over Baltimore,” IUR 10, no. 2 (March/April 1985): 6–9)
September 7 - 4:10 a.m. While approaching Minsk, Belarus, the pilots of a Soviet Aeroflot Tu-134 airliner are startled to see a strange, brightly glowing shape that appears to their right and follows their path closely for several minutes. The glowing object changes shape repeatedly, appearing first as rays, then concentric circles, then as a cloud, and finally as an amorphous mass. While copilot Gennady Lazurin sketches the object, Captain Igor Cherkashin contacts air traffic officials, who report that radar shows a strange "double" object, believed to be the airliner and the unidentified object. Years later, reports surface of a second flight crew traveling in the opposite direction who also had seen the glowing object. Lazurin's sketches of the object closely parallel sketches made by other witnesses at rocket launches. A missile launch from a Russian submarine in the Barents Sea is a likely explanation, according to James Oberg. (" Soviet Airliner Given `Escort' by UFO," Houston (Tex.) Chronicle, January 31, 1985, pp. 1, 10; Richard H. Hall, " Soviet Sky Spectacular," IUR 11, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1986): 11-14; Good Above, pp. 243-247; Paul Stonehill and Philip Mantle, The Soviet UFO Files: Paranormal Encounters behind the Iron Curtain, Quadrillion, 1998, pp. 88-89; James Oberg, " The Minsk UFO Case: Misperception and Exaggeration," Skeptical Inquirer 33, no. 1 (January/February 2009): 35-41; Dmitry Sudakov, " USSR's Most Renowned UFO Sighting Linked to Ballistic Missile Launch?" Pravda, August 9, 2009)
September 14 — Between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m. A woman is driving on a deserted road outside of Goshen, Connecticut, when the sees a long string of white lights on the side of the road paralleling her car. She slows to look and the lights move directly above her, changing in formation to a horseshoe. After hovering for 2 minutes, they “uncoil” and form a V shape, which then moves rapidly away to the north. Within an hour, witnesses in Southington and Southbury, Connecticut, report similar lights. (R. Perry Collins, “ The Westchester Wing, Part II,” Pursuit 18, no. 4 (Winter 1985): 166, 168)
Late September or early October — 9:00 p.m. Militia Capt. Boris Ivanovich Vladimirov is riding in the right seat of a patrol vehicle with another policeman in Bairamgulovo, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, when they notice an unusual triangular pattern of colored lights about 80 feet away on the right side of the road in a freshly plowed field. There are 11 lights on the left and right sides of the object and 13 lights up the center. The lights on the edge flash sequentially like a theater marquee. After a bit, all the lights turn off. The next day, Vladimirov returns to the field and finds three round depressions in the soil about 10 inches deep and 36 inches in diameter. They are at the corners of an equilateral triangle 26 feet apart. (Richard F. Haines, “ CE2 in the Eastern Urals,” IUR 17, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1992): 11–13)
October — Jenny Randles writes in Magonia that ufology should take seriously the “quasi-conscious experiences” that often accompany UFO close encounters in which the observer enters a dream-like state that she calls the “Oz factor.” As this state unfolds, “the witness believes he is perceiving reality exactly as before, unaware that he has slipped into another niche on the spectrum, where he is now subjectively dramatising received data and superimposing this on the UAP.” (Jenny Randles, UFO Reality, Robert Hale, 1983; Jenny Randles, “ Not the E.T.H.,” Magonia, no. 17 (October 1984): 3–6; Eghigian, After, pp. 257–258)
October - 11:45 p.m. Five witnesses, including missile technician Shamil Yuaihmetov, see a metallic cigar-shaped object slowly descending at a 45° angle near the Kattakurgan tactical nuclear missile base in Uzbekistan. It emits a hissing sound. The next day, three apparent landing-gear marks in an equilateral triangle pattern are found in a nearby vineyard in an area of damaged vines measuring 100 by 260 feet. Each depression is 20 inches deep. The case is investigated by S. P. Kuzionov of the Russian Geographical Society. (Ted R. Phillips, " Physical Traces Associated with Unidentified Flying Objects," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 445 (May 2005): 5; Nukes 452-453)
October 5 — 1:00 a.m. Science teacher and UFO investigator Philip J. Imbrogno and Fred Dennis are returning from an interview with witnesses in Peekskill, New York, on US Highway 9 when they see, near Ossining, New York, a large half-circle of 6 bluish-yellow lights connected to a partially illuminated structure. Suddenly it flips on its side and turns like a Ferris wheel. After 30 seconds, it is lost behind some trees. (Philip J. Imbrogno, “ Incident at Indian Point,” UFO Evidence; Clark III 1277; Clark IV 1460)
October 8 — 7:40 a.m. Giuseppe Cocozza goes into his alfalfa field near Prata di Principato Ultra, Avellino, Italy, to get some fodder for his cow. On the beaten-earth path to the field he encounters an entity about 4 feet tall, wearing a blue helmet on its head and carrying a blue box on its back that features tubes running into the helmet and the entity’s back. Its body is covered with long, dark-brown hair, and it appears to be using a T-shaped instrument to explore the ground. There is a wide, aluminum-colored slit around its eyes. After noticing Cocozza, the entity moves toward a clearing among some hazel bushes, emitting small bluish flames from its sides. The witness backtracks and loses sight of it, but sees a UFO ascend at an angle from the bushes, turn, and shoot away toward a mountain range. Cocozza returns with a shotgun and finds some hoof- like footprints and holes left by the strange instrument, as well as landing marks apparently caused by the object. (Umberto Telarico, “ Rencontre du 3e type à Prato di Principato Ultra (Italie) le 8 octobre 1984,” Lumières dans la Nuit, no. 261–262 (March/April 1986): 20–29; Umberto Telarico, “ Close Encounter at Prato di Principato Ultra (Italy), October 1984,” Flying Saucer Review 32, no. 1 (December 1986): 9–18; 2Pinotti 72–83)
October 9 — 3:30 a.m. A beam of light coming in through a window wakes up Isidoro Ferri in his residence on the Via della Tessaia in Polcanto, northeast of Florence, Italy. He sees that it is coming from the forehead of a dark figure on a nearby hill across the road. Suddenly the figure and light vanish, and Ferri sees a stationary ink light with three jets projecting downward. After several minutes, this light disappears and an extremely bright white light approaches and floods the area. Ferri gets up and approaches the window but finds himself paralyzed for a few seconds. The light then withdraws, and he finds he can move again. The white light is replaced by a red lens-shaped light that hurts his eyes then moves on to the northwest. Ferri’s dog has not barked through the entire encounter, refuses food for the next several days, and stays in its doghouse for 2 weeks. Three circular holes 4 inches in diameter and 1 inch deep are found in an area of somewhat flattened grass. (Edoardo Russo, “ Italian Update 1984,” Flying Saucer Review 30, no. 4 (May 1985): 26; Edoardo Russo, “ Ufologie italienne: Le point sur 1984,” Lumières dans la Nuit, nos. 255–256 (Sept./Oct. 1985): 39–41; Patrick Gross, URECAT, February 1, 2007; 2Pinotti 84–92)
Fall — The UK Ministry of Defence is reorganized, making the group Sec. AS (2a) its main focal point for receiving public UFO reports. Its mission is to “determine whether or not UFOs present a threat to the security and defence of the United Kingdom.” It has no other budget than minor staff costs and its records are unclassified. However, Timothy Good uncovers evidence that the U.K Provost and Security Services at RAF Rudloe Manor [now MOD Corsham] northeast of Bath, England, are conducting more serious and secret UFO investigations. More recent declassified files have revealed that RAF Rudloe Manor was a filter center for UFO reports in the 1950s. The British Police Force’s elite Special Branch in 1997 opens files on two UFO researchers in the UK who are collecting data on the Rudloe Manor operations—Robin Cole and Matthew Williams. (Good Above, pp. 70, 121–126; Nick Redfern, A Covert Agenda: UFO Secrecy Exposed, Simon & Schuster, 1997, pp. 193, 203, 210; “ Churchill Ordered UFO Cover-up, National Archives Show,” BBC News, August 5, 2010; Nick Redfern, The Roswell UFO Conspiracy, Lisa Hagan, 2017, pp. 35–37)
November — Discover magazine publishes a cover story on the Westchester County sightings, which claims that the UFOs are actually a group of pilots from Stormville, New York, who fly ultralight aircraft in a tight formation and use their lights in such a way as to create boomerang or circle patterns. The author, Glenn Garelik, notes that single-engine planes, even when directly overhead, are barely audible at ground level when they are flying above 3,000 feet. However, it fails to disclose that many witnesses are much closer to the object than that, nor does it mention the hovering for extended periods. In his 1987 book Night Siege, Philip J. Imbrogno lists 12 reasons for rejecting the explanation of the Stormville pilots. On those occasions when witnesses see both a plane and a UFO, the plane is clearly audible and the UFO is not, even if it is much closer. The UFO also appears on nights when the Stormville pilots are not in the air. The UFO’s maneuvers simply are beyond the capacity of most aircraft, and the power and intensity of the lights is far beyond the power capacity of small planes. (Glenn Garelik, “The Great Hudson Valley UFO Mystery,” Discover 5 (November 1984): 18–24; Thomas Burch, “ Bad Science, Bad Journalism: Discover Magazine Scolded for Article on Hudson Valley UFOs,” Pursuit 18, no. 3 (Fall 1985): 130–132; NightSiege 51–60, 244–248; Clark III 1278–1279; Clark IV 1462)
November — British UFO researcher Timothy Good interviews astrophysicist Pierre Guérin on the future of GEPAN. Because it is under the aegis of CNES, which is ill-disposed toward UFOs, Guérin says, it is doomed. (Good Above, pp. 136–139)
November 14 - As the space shuttle Discovery approaches the dysfunctional satellite Westar VI on the STS-51-A mission, its video camera records for 2 seconds a gray blob that seems to materialize near the top center of the frame and move in a curved path across the right side of the frame. Bruce Maccabee says the blob could be a "reflection of something in a window or a small nearby particle." (" UFO Appears during NASA STS-51-A Mission November 1984," Real UFO Files Disclosed YouTube channel, July 10, 2020)
December — Bob Gribble, who operates the National UFO Reporting Center in Seattle, Washington, discontinues sending UFO reports to MUFON and sends them to Michael Hart’s Compufon for posting on the Usenet bulletin board. (Walt Andrus, “ Director’s Message,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 210 (October 1985): 18)
December — Night. A married couple are up late watching TV in Trafford, Pennsylvania, when they hear a tapping on the window. They see a red ball of light about as big as a basketball that moves away from the window. They turn on the outside lights to watch the ball, which has black marks among the red and gives off beams and sparks. It floats over a neighbor’s house. They go back to watching TV, but the red light taps on the window once more before going away. (Michael D. Swords, “ A Trick of the Light,” IUR 31, no. 2 (June 2007): 10)
December 11 - North Hollywood, California, film producer Jaime Shandera receives an unmarked package in the mail containing an undeveloped roll of 35mm film with the faked 1952 Eisenhower briefing document and the 1947 Truman MJ-12 memo. He tells researcher William Moore, and they have the roll developed. Postmarked Albuquerque, New Mexico, the package is most likely sent by individuals in AFOSI at Kirtland AFB, including special agent Master Sgt. Richard Doty, to plant disinformation in William Moore's UFO research. They wait until 1987 to release the document. (Good Above, pp. 545-551; Howard Blum, Out There: The Government's Secret Quest for Extraterrestrials, 1990, pp. 240-242; Michael Hesemann and Philip Mantle, Beyond Roswell, Marlowe, 1997, p. 90; Clark III 365-366; Graff 313-314; Clark IV 409-410)
December 27 — Allan Hills 84001, a fragment of a Martian meteorite, is found in the Allan Hills in Antarctica by a team of American meteorite hunters. In 1996, a group of scientists found features in the likeness of microscopic fossils of bacteria in the meteorite, suggesting that these organisms also originated on Mars. The claims immediately made headlines worldwide, culminating in US president Bill Clinton giving a speech about the potential discovery. These claims are controversial from the beginning, and the wider scientific community ultimately rejects the hypothesis once all the unusual features in the meteorite have been explained without requiring life to be present. (Wikipedia, “ Allan Hills 8401”; “ President Clinton Statement Regarding Mars Meteorite Discovery,” August 7, 1996; “ Online Document: Clinton Calls for Intensified Search for Life on Mars,” Deseret News, August 8, 1996; David S. McKay, et al., “ Search for Past Life on Mars: Possible Relic Biogenic Activity in Martian Meteorite ALH84001,” Science 273 (August 16, 1998): 924–930; Graff 366–372)
1985
Near the town of Krasnovodsk [now Türkmenbasy], Turkmenistan, a radar station under the command of Captain L. Valuev tracks a disc-shaped object at an altitude of 60,000 feet and apparently more than one-half mile in length. The object is stationary, and some time later a small disc about 16 feet in diameter flies out of it and then lands on a lengthy spit on the Caspian Sea. Patrol boats rush to that area, but when they reach a distance of 325 feet from the object, it takes off and flies more than one-half mile away. This happens five times. Then the object ascends at a huge speed and reaches the larger disc, which rises up and disappears. (Good Need, p. 354; Vadim K. Ilyin, " KGB's `Blue Folder' Reveals Shootings, Landings in USSR," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 403 (November 2001): 8; Alexander Dremin, " Soviet Army Fought UFOs," Pravda, January 2004)
January 13 - Journalist James Bamford reveals the existence of the still-secret National Reconnaissance Office in a New York Times article. (James Bamford, " America's Supersecret Eyes in Space," New York Times Magazine, January 13, 1985, Sec. 6, p. 39)
February - 2:35 a.m. Freight train #1702, consisting of 70 empty cars and a locomotive, is paced by a strange object for 31 miles from Essoyla station through Suoyarvi, Karelia, Russia, for 1 hour and 20 minutes. It comes from the side and crosses the railway about 100- 160 feet ahead of the train. The men feel as if hypnotized and stare at an object about 13 feet in diameter that moves silently above the ground as if drifting. When the train is approaching the Novye Peski station, Engineer Sergei Orlov switches on his portable radio and contacts a woman on duty who goes out to meet the approaching train. She is surprised to see the shining ball followed by the vibrating object looking like an "upturned basin." The train appears, moving at about 37 mph. She thinks the ball might hit the station, but right before the switch, it suddenly separates from the locomotive and passes around the building. When it returns, the object moves again toward the train, which speeds up as if the UFO is pulling it. The train manages to stop only near the Zastava station and the ball disappears behind the forest. The crew has to wait for a train coming from the opposite direction toward Petrozavodsk. Conductor Mironov gets out of the cab to examine the wheels, and as soon as he walks around the locomotive he feels a strange force press him against the train. He cannot move, but eventually it lets up; he reaches the cab and the train starts off as if it is waiting for him to take his seat. The train keeps moving for some time until the ball disappears behind trees. Automatic recorders on the locomotive and other official documents corroborate the testimony. The shining ball is noticed earlier at the Kutizhma station even before it is spotted by the train. (NICAP, " Objects Pull Train"; Paul Stonehill and Philip Mantle, The Soviet UFO Files: Paranormal Encounters behind the Iron Curtain, Quadrillion, 1998, p. 95)
March - Noon. At a military shooting range at Malina, west of Galati, Romania, Doru Voloseniuc is sent to collect compasses from a military vehicle when he sees a flat, silvery object hovering about 5 feet above the ground. It becomes shrouded with a blue-green mist as it increases its rotation. He hears an unusually strong and penetrating ringing sound and he is lifted off the ground more than 12 inches and slams into the road face down. Looking up, he sees the object is no longer there. (Romania 93-94)
March 7 — 11:40 a.m. A witness is driving south on North Stevens Street between 12th and 16th streets in Tacoma, Washington, when he sees a long, glowing, oval object to his left less than 2 miles away. The object, the width of four full moons, begins banking to the northeast. At a traffic light, the witness is able to take three photographs of the distant object, and he drives another mile toward the UFO, taking a fourth photo before it shoots straight up and out of sight. The photos only show a blur of distant light. A day later, the witness develops a rash on his face. (“ Sighting Report from Tacoma,” CUFOS Associate Newsletter 6, no. 3 (June/July 1985): 6–7)
March 20 — 9:00 p.m. Philip Imbrogno and his team of investigators (Sheila Sabo, George Lesnick, and R. Perry Collins) see a UFO immediately after leaving the University of Bridgeport, Connecticut, where they took part in a call-in TV show about the Hudson Valley sightings. They see a circular structure ringed in 7 brilliant lights hovering over a 15-story building, watch it turn in the sky, and chase it down Interstate 95. The object glides effortlessly across the sky. The FAA later tells them that the sighting involves pilots flying in an illegal formation. (R. Perry Collins, “ The Westchester Wing, Part II,” Pursuit 18, no. 4 (Winter 1985): 166, 170; NightSiege 189–194; Clark III 1277; Clark IV 1460)
May - Hachiro Kubota begins publishing UFO Contactee, an English-language newsletter in Tokyo, Japan. It focuses on the experiences of George Adamski and other contactees and continues through 1998. Kubota has translated all of Adamski's books into Japanese. His Get-Acquainted Program group, which he formed as early as 1961, holds monthly meetings that attract students who explore Adamski's philosophy. ( UFO Contactee, no. 1 (May 1985); Eghigian, After, p. 228)
May 23 - 10:35 p.m. A Soviet bomber regiment carrying out a scheduled mission spots an oval, orange object over the Khabarovsk Krai, Russia. Radar does not track it, but observers estimate it is traveling close to 350 mph. A light halo surrounds it. The sighting lasts 13 minutes, during which time the object occasionally descends and remains motionless. Two hours later, a similar object is seen at high altitude for 10 minutes, emitting beams of light. (Paul Stonehill and Philip Mantle, The Soviet UFO Files: Paranormal Encounters behind the Iron Curtain, Quadrillion, 1998, p. 76)
Summer — Midnight. Biochemist Kary Mullis (who in 1993 won a Nobel Prize for his work on the polymerase chain reaction) is outside his cabin in Mendocino County, California, when he sees a glow next to a fir tree. Pointing his flashlight in that direction, he sees that the glow is coming from a raccoon with black eyes. The raccoon speaks to him, saying, “Good evening, doctor.” He gives a friendly reply, and a moment later it is suddenly morning and he is walking on a road uphill from the cabin with no idea how he has gotten there. His clothes are clean and dry. Mullis goes back to the cabin for some sleep. Later, he returns to the area near the fir tree and experiences an irrational panic. In 1987, he sees the cover of Whitley Strieber’s Communion and feels a vague sense of recognition. His adult daughter Louise, who has also experienced missing time at the cabin, has the same reaction. Mullis has no memory of seeing a UFO or having an abduction experience, but he insists the experience is real. (Kary B. Mullis, Dancing Naked in the Mind Field, Pantheon, 1998, pp. 130–136; Bill Chalker, “ An Interesting Aside,” 1999; Bill Chalker, “ The Raccoon and the Nobel Prize,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 420 (April 2003): 6–7)
June 11 - 10:40 p.m. A Chinese Boeing 747 airliner encounters a UFO on its flight from Beijing to Paris that almost forces the captain to make an emergency landing. Flight CA 933 is over Lanzhou, Gansu province, China, when Captain Wang Shuting and his crew first observe the object. The UFO crosses the path of the airliner at an altitude of 33,000 feet at a very high speed. The object illuminates an area of 25-30 square miles and is huge, with an apparent diameter of 6 miles. It is elliptical in shape and has an extremely bright spot in the center, with three horizontal rows of bluish-white lights on the perimeter. The sighting lasts for 2 minutes. Passengers do not see the object. (" Translation from China of June 11th UFO over Dung Kou," CUFOS Associate Newsletter 6, no. 3 (June/July 1985): 6; Good Above, p. 218)
July — 3:00 p.m. As a pilot is flying a Grumman AA TR-2 toward the Port Columbus International Airport [now the John Glenn Columbus International Airport] in Ohio, the airport gives him authorization to investigate a “second sun” about two-thirds the size of a football field a few miles to the northwest. It is not tracked on ground radar. As he approaches, he sees it is a huge bright light that switches off as he gets closer, revealing a gray sphere. The object apparently consists of “millions” of clearly visible, pentagon-shaped, partially translucent crystals. The pilot estimates they are 6 inches in diameter, all spaced identically about 12 inches apart. He decides to penetrate the mass with his left wing, hoping he can knock some to the ground. As his wing slices through, he hears what sounds like a hailstorm on a tin roof and he sees hundreds of crystals breaking along the wing. The aircraft turbulence does not disturb the small objects, but their impact on the wing nearly destabilizes him. Later, he looks for fragments embedded in the wing, but does not find any. (George Filer, “ Filer’s Files,” #12-2005, March 16, 2005)
July 14 — 12:56 a.m. Brian McMullan Sr., Brian McMullan Jr., and a third member of the rock band C.E.IV (because of their interest in UFOs) are in the garden outside the home of their bass player in a northern suburb of Glasgow, Scotland, when they see an amber ball skipping along the sky. It crosses the sky in 25 seconds, slowly changing color to red. They estimate it is about 60 feet across and vanishes toward Fenwick Moor. The band remembers being “paralyzed with awe” for several minutes after the sighting. (Jenny Randles, “Cosmic Rock,” Fortean Times 397 (October 2020): 31)
July 22 - 5:45 p.m. Two Hawk jets of the Zimbabwe Air Force piloted by C. Cordy-Hedge and T. R. Van Rooyen are scrambled from Thornhill Air Base in Gweru, Zimbabwe, following sightings in Bulawayo and five other cities in Matabeleland South. The object is seen and tracked on radar at Bulawayo Airport. It looks orange and round with a short cone on top. When the jets arrive at Bulawayo, the object is hovering at 7,000 feet, but it suddenly accelerates to a height of above 70,000 feet in less than a minute. The Hawks level off at 31,000 feet and return to Thornhill, where the object is seen for a few moments before disappearing horizontally at high speed. Air Commodore David Thorne states: "As far as my Air Staff is concerned, we believe implicitly that the unexplained UFOs are from some civilization beyond our planet." UFO researcher Cynthia Hind speaks to some Bulawayo witnesses who think the object is a balloon coated with reflecting material, but radar operators say it is clear it is no balloon. (Cynthia Hind, " African Report," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 211 (November 1985): 3-5, 19; Cynthia Hind, " Report on the UFO Sighting in Zimbabwe: July, 1985," BUFORA Bulletin, no. 21 (May 1986): 5-9; Good Above, pp. 433-434)
August - Several dozen Chinese scientists gather in Dalian, Liaoning, China, to exchange views on UFO research for the first time. Some 40 papers are presented and 17 of them are selected to be published in the proceedings. An article in China Daily reports that there is an enormous interest in UFOs in China and that the China UFO Research Organization has a membership of 20,000. The organization's chairman, Liang Renglin of Jinan University in Guangzhou, says that more than 600 reports were made in the past 5 years. ("UFO Conference Held in Darlian," China Daily, August 27, 1985; Good Above, pp. 219, 472)
August 5 — 8:15 p.m. Antiaircraft batteries open fire on a UFO that is flying from west to east over northeastern Tehran, Iran. They apparently miss. The batteries believe the object is an Iraqi warplane. (“ Iran Fires on Shining Object in Sky,” Newport News (Va.) Daily Press, August 7, 1985, p. 12)
August 15 — 4:05 p.m. Greek Olympic Airways Flight OA 132, piloted by Christos Stamulis, is flying from Zürich, Switzerland, to Athens and is just passing the Swiss-Italian border at 25,000 feet when a wingless projectile passes 200–500 feet below them from left to right. The object is about 6 feet long, dark brown or black, and is coming from the Italian side of the border. Italian and Swiss military deny any tests. (Clas Svahn and Anders Liljegren, “ Close Encounters with Unknown Missiles,” IUR 19, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1994): 12)
August 17 — Afternoon. For several hours, witnesses throughout central Chile see distinct, luminous spots in the sky, sometimes motionless, sometimes moving slowly. Television crews film the objects, astronomers in Santiago photograph them, and the Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport tracks them on radar. Early explanations by the Chilean Air Force center on weather or research balloons, but a Chilean Civil Aeronautics report states that the sightings remain an enigma. (J. Antonio Huneeus, “ A Chilean Overview,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 218 (June 1986): 5–6)
August 18 — Four civilian pilots are flying a Cessna on a southerly course at 3,200 feet altitude near Söderhamn, Gävleborg, Sweden, when they spot a missilelike object, some 20 feet long, going in the opposite direction. They see it is a metallic missile with steering fins in the back. It occasionally changes its course according to the terrain. The pilot dives down a bit to follow it, but they can’t keep up. The Swedish military spends 6 months trying to identify it. (Clas Svahn and Anders Liljegren, “ Close Encounters with Unknown Missiles,” IUR 19, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1994): 12; Swords 369–370)
September 9 - 12:05 p.m. British pilot David J. Hastings is flying a Cessna 337 Super Skymaster with his instructor, US pilot David Patterson, south of Las Vegas, Nevada, with the Mojave Desert in California just coming into view, when they nearly collide with an oblong-shaped object that suddenly appears directly in front of them. They duck beneath the instrument panel. When they get up, they sense something moving on the port side of the plane, so Hastings takes two photos in that direction. When the film is developed, one shot shows a blurry image of a UFO. (David J. Hastings, "Across the USA in a Cessna Skymaster," Pilot, June 2000, pp. 56-59; Good Need, pp. 399-400; UFOFiles2, pp. 132-133)
September 12 — 9:00–10:30 p.m. An unusual object, studded with lights, flies low over New York City and surrounding areas of Yonkers and New Rochelle. Some witnesses report a V shape; others say the lights vary in appearance. Some can see a dark object occulting the background stars as the lights pass overhead. (R. Perry Collins, “ The Westchester Wing, Part II,” Pursuit 18, no. 4 (Winter 1985): 166, 171)
September 27 — Two police officers in Long Clawson, England, are the latest witnesses of a triangular-shaped object that has been seen multiple times in the area around Leicester since August. (“ Throwing a Light on UFO,” Leicester (UK) Mercury, December 2, 1985, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 199 (February 1986): 12)
Autumn - 8:30 p.m. A father and son are driving in Cannock Chase toward Rugeley, Staffordshire, England. As they round a bend in the road, they see a large, black, triangular object stationary 150 feet in the sky about 100 feet away. A bright light appears at each point of the triangle. After a short time, it shoots away at incredible speed. (" Tale of a Chase Hi-Tech Triangle," Wolverhampton (UK) Cannock Chase Post, December 21, 2000, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 383 (June 2001): 13)
October - The Russian motorship Baltiysky-35 is in the Baltic Sea bound from Lübeck, Germany, to Riga, Latvia, when the crew observes a bright dot in the sky emanating concentric circles of a light-green color. Researcher Konstantin Khazanovich considers this to be the result of a Soviet ballistic missile launch from the Murmansk area. (Stonehill and Mantle, Russia's USO Secrets, Flying Disk, 2020, p. 172)
October 17 — Evening. An estimated 2,000 witnesses see a dark object with lights over Bridgeport, Fairfield, and Danbury, Connecticut. Several witnesses see the lights change from a V to a straight line and back to a V formation. It moves very slowly, rotates on its axis, and accelerates rapidly. Some describe it as larger than an airliner at low altitude. (R. Perry Collins, “ The Westchester Wing, Part II,” Pursuit 18, no. 4 (Winter 1985): 166, 171–172)
November 3 — 8:30 p.m. Two men in a small vessel in the waters off Vladivostok, Primorsky Krai, Russia, notice a high-altitude object in the north looking a bit larger than a star, rapidly moving toward them. It sends a beam of light to earth at a sharp angle, although the beam does not reach the ground. As the UFO approaches the boat its engine stops. The captain restarts the engine, but it dies again when the object is overhead. The UFO moves off toward the city and disappears. The men use oars to return to shore. (Paul Stonehill and Philip Mantle, The Soviet UFO Files: Paranormal Encounters behind the Iron Curtain, Quadrillion, 1998, pp. 77–78)
November 19 — 11:00 p.m. A woman is returning to her home in Madison, Wisconsin. Suddenly she sees three lights above a row of trees descending toward a house near the East Madison Baptist Church on the north side of Milwaukee Street. She pulls over to the curb and sees the lights make a sharp, 90° turn toward her car. Then it rises several feet in front of the car avoiding the power lines. Triangular and black, the object is the size of a large car with a light on each side. Sweeping to the north, the triangle stops and hovers directly over a house. She leaves and calls the Madison police department. (“ Oh, Oh, UFO: Two Are Sighted Here,” Madison Wisconsin State Journal, November 26, 1985, Sec. 4, p. 1; Don Schmitt, “ The Belleville Sightings, Part Two,” IUR 13, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1988): 17–18; “ Upfront,” from Madison newspaper, October 1992, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 283 (February 1993): 19; Marler 163)
November 22 - After 5:00 p.m. A Wisconsin state employee is driving north on County Highway CV near DeForest, Wisconsin, when he notices three white lights hovering 20-30 feet above a farmhouse. He exits the highway for a closer look. The UFO is roughly triangular, dull gray, 40 feet across, and its bottom is sloped into contours. It is hanging stationary over a 60-foot-high tree as the witness pulls his car past it. He gets out of his car about 200 feet away, and the object moves closer toward him to about 100 feet over the road. Smoothly and quickly it moves away to the west. (Don Schmitt, " The Belleville Sightings, Part Two," IUR 13, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1988): 18)
December 23 - 3:10 a.m. The merchant ferry Manuel Soto, owned by Transmediterránea Company, is sailing from Las Palmas to Arrecife in the Canary Islands when the third officer on duty sees a light on the horizon ahead. Initially he identifies it as the star Antares but soon realizes the position is wrong. He takes measurements of its height and azimuth. It remains in the same spot for 15 minutes, after which it begins moving quickly. Other crew members see the light approaching the ship and reaching the zenith 2 minutes later. The object's outline does not resemble an airplane or helicopter, and it has an intense white light at its center, a weaker red light near it, and another soft light set apart. The object is flying low and silently. (Swords 436)
December 26 — Night. Novelist Whitley Strieber undergoes a bizarre UFO abduction in his cabin in upstate New York. After he is awakened by a peculiar noise, he opens his eyes to see a small, inhuman creature rushing toward his bed. The next thing he knows it is morning, and he is feeling disoriented and angry but can’t tell why. Later, the full story of missing time, terrifying flashbacks, and intrusive examinations by entities he calls the “visitors” unfolds under the direction of Budd Hopkins in hypnosis sessions by Donald F. Klein of the New York Psychiatric Institute beginning in March 1986. Strieber tells the story in his 1987 book Communion. (Whitley Strieber, Communion: A True Story, Avon, 1987; Nick Redfern, “ Whitley Strieber’s Communion at 30,” Mysterious Universe, March 2, 2017; Clark III 1112–1113; Graff 331–332; Eghigian, After, pp. 288–289; Clark IV 1238–1239)
1986
Night. Dissident Chinese writer Ma Jian has escaped from custody and is making his way through dangerous terrain in Lancang Lahu Autonomous County in southern Yunnan, China. Suddenly, a ball of light the size of a cantaloupe appears in the darkness. It rises from a stream and floats through the trees, then stops by some branches 30 feet away. It drops to his eye level and he follows it through the forest, guiding his way for 12 miles until dawn. (Ma Jian, Red Dust: A Path through China, Pantheon, 2001, p. 279; Clark III 652–653; Clark IV 728)
January 7 - A UFO emitting beams of light toward the ground is seen in Butler, Pennsylvania. In Pittsburgh, 20 minutes later, a silver-gray disc is seen hovering. Mist forms around it, the object tilts, and it moves out of sight. (Stan Gordon, " Pennsylvania Wave," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 224 (December 1986): 7)
January 9 — 9:00 p.m. Multiple cars stop along Interstate 84 in Hartford, Connecticut, to watch a silent boomerang-shaped object, estimated to be the size of a Boeing 747, with white, red, blue, and green lights. It moves low through the sky then hovers for 15 seconds before heading off to the west. The boomerang is also seen by dozens of witnesses in Torrington, Connecticut. A family sees the UFO, with 10 white lights, hover directly over their house, engulfing their home in a brilliant white light. They are so frightened they flee to the basement. The building inspector for Torrington sees a “cigar with square windows” near Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks. The FAA claims the object is a blimp, although there are no blimps flying in the area. (Tracy Gordon and Deborah Peterson, “ UFO Sighting Sends Theories Flying,” Hartford (Conn.) Courant, January 11, 1986, pp. B1, B4; NightSiege, 5–6, 194)
January 29 — 7:50 p.m. Inhabitants of Dalnegorsk, Primorsky Krai, Russia, see a reddish ball about half the size of the full moon. The ball is flying soundlessly parallel to the ground. It is later determined that its speed is approximately 34 mph and that it is about 2,300–2,625 feet in altitude. When the object reaches Height 611 (also known as Mount Izvestkovaya) it starts to descend and then crashes into the hill. All witnesses but one agree there is no sound when the object reaches the ground. Some say the object falls with a flash and is not visible after that; others claim it oscillates at altitude above the hill, radiating light of varying intensity as it goes up and down. The light given off by the object is described by some as a forest fire, which lasts for approximately one hour. A scientific team led by Valery Dvuzhilny, head of the Far Eastern Commission for Anomalous Phenomena, arrives on the site on February 3. Some rocks at the impact site have drops of silvery metal, which are later determined to be lead. The type of lead found on Height 611 is different from lead found in local lead deposits. Also, black, glassy, drop-shaped beads and mesh fragments are found at the site. In all, approximately 70 grams of lead, 5 grams of mesh fragments, and 40 grams of beads are discovered. The radiation level of the landing ground is normal. Photos of the site using two different cameras all develop as blank. Chemical analyses of the beads show they are mostly composed of lead, silicon, and iron. Some of the drops contain significant amounts of zinc, bismuth, and rare earth elements. An analysis of the soil, rocks, and burned wood taken from the landing ground shows that the chemical composition is similar to the composition of samples taken from the site of the 1908 Tunguska event. The mesh fragments are also analyzed; the material does not dissolve in strong acids and organic solvents, even when exposed to high temperatures for prolonged periods of time. One of the mesh fragments is discovered to be composed of scandium, gold, lanthanum, sodium, and samarium. An analysis of another mesh fragment shows gold, silver, and nickel. After that fragment is heated in a vacuum, the analysis no longer shows these elements; however, molybdenum and rhenium are detected. The concentration of gold found in one of the mesh fragments is equivalent to 1,100 grams per metric ton. This is much higher than gold deposits in the region, which become economic to extract when the concentration of gold reaches 4 grams per metric ton. There are no gold deposits in Dalnegorsk that contain gold at concentrations high enough to extract. (StealthSkater Archives, [ Dalnegorsk articles]; “ USSR: Media Report Multitude of UFO Sightings,” CIA Foreign Broadcast Information Service Foreign Press Note, November 22, 1989; Paul Stonehill and Philip Mantle, Russia’s Roswell Incident, Flying Disk Press, 2017)
February — 11 p.m. A couple are rising a motorcycle south on US Highway 23 near Franklin, North Carolina, when they see three red lights in the shape of a triangle flying silently at a height of 300 feet. The lights appear to be about 300 feet apart. As it moves slowly away, the lights reposition themselves and begin spinning off to the east. (“ North Carolina Huge Triangular Craft,” Filer’s Files, #25-2006, June 21, 2006; Covert 25)
February 4 — 3:00 a.m. A woman in Reseda, California, wakes up with a sinus headache. She hears animals in the neighborhood barking, growling, and howling. Looking outside, she sees above a power line a black object hovering with a peculiar vibrating motion. It is “like a black mirror with a small, white fluorescent aura around it.” After 3–4 minutes, it emits orange bands of light. She wakes her husband, who manages to see a thin, white mist floating away. A strong wind comes up for 5 minutes afterward. (Mark Rodeghier, “ From the CUFOS Files: 1986 Reports,” IUR 11, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1986): 14)
February 8 - 7:00 p.m. Matthew Woodard, 16, and Melinda Hays, 17, are driving toward Lima, Ohio, from the west on State Route 117. As they are crossing the bridge over the Ottawa River, they see a large, dark object about 50-60 feet long hovering above some trees on the right side of the road. It parallels them as they turn left on Seriff Road. It has a rectangular upper section with a single steady white light on top and sloping sides with a red and blue light on the lower left. The object eventually disappears in the distance behind trees and houses. (John P. Timmerman, " A Giant Triangle," IUR 11, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1986): 9)
February 12 — 12:33 a.m. A woman who lives on the northwest edge of Lima, Ohio, is awakened by a loud sound. She looks out and sees a “strange dark object” in the southeast sky. It is triangular in shape, has white lights in the two lower corners and a red light in the top corner, and is hovering about 250 feet away. She goes to wake her husband, but when she returns the object is gone. (John P. Timmerman, “ A Giant Triangle,” IUR 11, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1986): 10)
February 28 - 11:30 p.m. Multiple witnesses in New Castle, Pennsylvania, watch a 50-foot- long lighted object, with two apparent legs for landing, hovering and moving up, down, and sideways. A dog becomes completely agitated. (Stan Gordon, " Pennsylvania Wave," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 224 (December 1986): 8)
March 18 — Two triangular objects flying one behind the other with their points forward are seen near Newport, South Wales. The first is covered with multicolored lights, while the second has three lights at each point. Both are a few hundred yards long. (Marler 138)
March 26 - 8:00 p.m. Some 500 witnesses in Kingston, New York, see an object "like a giant Ferris wheel" the size of a football field. It makes a humming sound and has intensely bright lights, mostly white but also red, yellow, green, and blue. A dark mass behind the lights blots out the sky. Suddenly the object flips on its side before moving away. A police officer who sees the UFO says it cannot be "a bunch of guys flying in planes." (NightSiege 196-198)
April 22 — After 10:00 p.m. Medical technicians taking an injured man in an ambulance to Debrecen, Hungary, see a huge, luminous, orange sphere flying silently above the right side of the road at Hajdudorog and moving along with them. It is about 325 feet away from them, floating at 100–130 feet. The sphere is surrounded by a ring, and flames appear on its surface from time to time. Two flames blaze on opposite sides, while another moves to and fro along its middle. The sighting lasts for 15 minutes for a distance of nearly 12 miles. When the ambulance reaches Hajdúböszörmény, the object speeds up, stops above a forest, and slowly descends while radiating a bright light that illuminates the trees. It goes out shortly afterward. On the return from Debrecen, the huge sphere returns over Józsa, this time with 6–7 flames instead of 3. It speeds over the village and “waits” on the other side for the ambulance, following it again to the north. The perplexed technicians decide to stop the ambulance. The UFO slows down, but does not stop, moving over a power line and illuminating the cables below. The ambulance recommences its journey, with the object following for another 10 minutes. A short time later, covering the same route, the technicians notice that the forest where the sphere landed is on fire. They find the grass all wet, with 5-foot flames (natural gas?) emanating from the ground. (Karoli Hargitai, “ The UFO Phenomenon in Hungary,” IUR 14, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1989): 14)
April 22 — 11:00 p.m. Two people are driving on the Via Flaminia near Pesaro, Italy, when their car engine stops. After hearing a strange sound, they see 3 discs 65 feet in diameter with domes and tripods standing on the left of the road. They have white and blue lights. After hovering for 20 seconds, the discs emit a strong whistle, accelerate, and disappear. (Herbert S. Taylor, “ An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part 1,” IUR 33, no. 4 (May 2011): 19)
April 25 — 9:05 p.m. A private pilot sees a V-shaped configuration of approximately 12 spherical nocturnal lights for about 15 seconds in Memphis, Tennessee. He estimates they are moving at 300 knots at an altitude of under 1,000 feet. (Mark Rodeghier, “ From the CUFOS Files: 1986 Reports,” IUR 11, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1986): 14)
April 26 - About 4:30 a.m. During the nuclear disaster at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, Mikhail Varitsky and other technicians observe a fiery sphere, similar in color to brass, within 1,000 feet of the damaged Unit 4 reactor at the height of the fire. Two bright rays shoot out from the object, directed at the reactor. It hovers in the areas about 3 minutes, then the rays vanish as the UFO moves slowly away to the northwest. Radiation levels taken just before the UFO appears read 3,000 milliroentgens/hour; after the rays, the readings show 800 milliroentgens/hour. (Paul Stonehill and Philip Mantle, The Soviet UFO Files: Paranormal Encounters behind the Iron Curtain, Quadrillion, 1998, pp. 68-69; " UFO Prevents Blast at Chernobyl Nuclear Plant," Pravda, September 16, 2002)
May 6 — Several witnesses are driving from Worthing to Billinghurst in West Sussex, England, when they see a trapezium-shaped object with two square lights in front, and two green and one red light in the rear. Making a dull humming sound, it hovers above the road then zigzags behind their car. After they step out of their vehicle, the object comes straight at them, turns, and proceeds to the north. (Marler 138)
May 1921 UFOs were tracked on radar over multiple Brazilian states, including São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The Brazilian Air Force scrambled five fighter jets to intercept. Pilots reported erratic objects flying at speeds over 15,000 mph, vanishing and reappearing. The Minister of Aeronautics, Brigadier Otávio Moreira Lima, held a press conference confirming the sightings: "It’s not fantasy or imagination. Something real happened, and we do not know what it was." In 2009, the Brazilian government released official documentation of the encounter, including pilot testimonies.
May 19 — 6:30 p.m. 2ndSgt Sergio Mota da Silva, airport flight controller for São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil, sees two luminous objects about 6,500 feet above the city and 9 miles away. Through binoculars, the objects have distinct borders and intense multicolored flashing lights in the lower part. At 7:00 p.m., flight controllers at Brasilia and São Paulo confirm three primary radar targets above São José dos Campos. Around 7:30 p.m., da Silva sees more lights, predominantly red, but changing to yellow, green, and orange.
May 19 — 7:40 p.m. Visual UFO sightings continue over São José dos Campos, with objects remaining motionless for long periods of time. By 8:00 p.m., CINDACTA radars in Brasília track 8 unidentified targets on their screens.
May 19 - 9:00 p.m. A Xingu light airplane piloted by Col. Ozires Silva, an aeronautical engineer and a manufacturing CEO for Petrobras, is preparing for a landing at Sao José dos Campos. His copilot Cmdr. Alcir Pereira da Silva receives a call from CINDACTA in Brasília asking them to confirm some unidentified targets. They look and see bright red or red-orange lights "not at all like stars or planes." Aborting the landing, they attempt to pursue one of the objects, which blinks on and off irregularly, appearing in a new location each time as if changing position rapidly. After about 30 minutes, they give up the chase and land. The Xingu makes three other attempts to land, but each time is diverted toward looking at other unidentified lights and targets.
May 19 — 10:23 p.m. By this time, the Air Defense and Air Traffic Control Center is on full alert, radar screens showing numerous unidentified targets. Three F-5E fighter jets are scrambled from Santa Cruz Air Force Base near São Paulo. One of the pilots, Capt. Marcio Brisola Jordão, is able to approach within 12 miles of an unidentified target, visible to him as a strong, constant light that is changing colors continuously from white to green. He breaks off contact when the object moves away out to sea. Another F-5E, piloted by Lt. Kleber Caldas Marinho, chases a very intense red light that changes to white, then green, then red again. Running low on fuel, he has to return to base. Both ground and airborne radar are tracking the objects. After the F-5E pilots make visual contact, more jets are scrambled from Anápolis Air Force Base, Goiás, about 10:50 p.m. This second flight consists of three Mirage III fighters equipped with Sidewinders and Martra missiles. One of the pilots, Capt. Armindo Sousa Viriato de Freitas, is vectored toward 10–13 unidentified targets at a distance of 20 miles. Radar controllers see the objects surrounding his plane, 6 stationed on one side and 7 on the other, and later following his plane at a distance of two miles, but only see them visually once when they are climbing vertically. During the night, a total of 21 luminous objects, apparently spherical and ranging in size from 165 to 330 feet in diameter, are seen, captured on radar, and pursued by jet fighters. Activity ceases around 11:20 p.m. The Air Force Minister, Brig. Gen. Octávio Júlio Moreira Lima, makes the events public at a press conference and allows the pilots and radar officers to submit to news media questioning in Brasilia. (NICAP, “ Brazilian Aircraft / UFO Encounter / Radar-Visual”; Wikipedia, “ Noite dos discos voadores”; “Jatos da FAB perseguem 21 discos voadores,” Folha de S. Paulo, May 22, 1986;“Aeronáutica detecta 21 OVNIs no céu do país,” Folha de S. Paulo, May 22, 1986; Willy Smith, “ The Brazilian Incident,” IUR 11, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1986): 4–6; Fred Bobb, “ The Astounding UFO Invasion of Brazil,” Pursuit 19, no. 2 (Summer 1986): 82–83; Walt Andrus, “ UFOs over Brazil,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 221 (September 1986): 3, 11; Willy Smith, “ More on Brazilian OVNIs,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 221 (September 1986): 4–5, 11; J. Antonio Huneeus, “ UFO Alert in Brazil,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 223 (November 1986): 6–7, 9, 15; Willy Smith, “ UFO Chase in Brazil (May 1986),” Flying Saucer Review 32, no. 1 (December 1986): 6–8; Willy Smith, “UFOs in Latin America,” UFOs 1947–1987, Fortean Tomes, 1987, pp. 111–113; Good Above, pp. 427–428; Don Berliner, with Marie Galbreath and Antonio Huneeus, UFO Briefing Document: The Best Available Evidence, Dell, 2000, pp. 121–127; UFOEv II 109–111; Kean, pp. 199–202; Clark III 830–835; Brazil 417–441; André Bernardo, “ A noite em que 21 óvnis invadiram o espaço aero brasileiro e foram perseguidos por caças da FAB,” BBC News Brasil, January 14, 2022; Jackson Camargo, “ Noite Oficial: Os Documentos Oficiais,” Portal Fenomenum, April 22, 2022; Patrick Gross, “ Jets Chase UFOs over Brazil in 1986”; Jackson Camargo, “ Os 37 Anos da Noite Oficial dos OVNIs,” Portal Fenomenum, May 19, 2023; Clark IV 918–923)
June 26 - 9:49 p.m. A husband and wife see two objects traveling from southwest to northeast, about as bright as Venus, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They move on parallel paths below a scattered cloud cover. After a minute, they appear to begin rotating, then stop and move out of sight. (Mark Rodeghier, " From the CUFOS Files: 1986 Reports," IUR 11, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1986): 14)
July 15 - 12:00 midnight. A single witness walking home from the bus station in Watertown, Massachusetts, is watching airliners land at Logan Airport when he sees a string of three bright-orange lights. They are moving along the same glide path as the incoming jets but seem to slow down, come to a dead stop, then vanish instantly. (Mark Rodeghier, " From the CUFOS Files: 1986 Reports," IUR 11, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1986): 13)
July 21 - Ben Rich, executive vice president and general manager of Lockheed's Advanced Development Projects, replies to a letter from researcher John Andrews about man-made and extraterrestrial UFOs, saying "Yes, I'm a believer in both categories. I feel everything is possible. Many of our manmade UFOs are Un Funded Opportunities." (Keith Basterfield, " Which Aerospace Company Is Hiding a UAP Black Project?" Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena-Scientific Research, August 28, 2021)
August 31 - 2:30 a.m. A man is driving home when his car engine stops in Manzuno, Italy. He gets out to find out what happened, hears a sharp whistle and dogs barking, and sees two bright lights. The objects descend and remain visible for more than 15 minutes. He sees their shape as rectangular with a luminous trail. The engine comes back on as the objects disappear. (Herbert S. Taylor, " An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part 1," IUR 33, no. 4 (May 2011): 19)
October 14 - 11:00 p.m. A couple driving north on US Hwy 45 near Bristol, Wisconsin, sees red and white lights flickering on the road ahead. They drive cautiously forward and see a large, triangular object hovering 30 feet above the pavement. The lights are running along its outer edges. They pull up almost directly underneath it, park, and step out of the car. They see a grid structure on its lower surface. Two minutes later the UFO drifts slowly toward the southeast and vanishes. (Don Schmitt, " The Belleville Sightings, Part Two," IUR 13, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1988): 18-19; Clark III 247; Clark IV 287)
November 16 - 9:00 p.m. Between Nocera Umbra and Valtopina, Perugia, Italy, two witnesses see a dark disc, 26 feet in diameter with a blue dome, fly over their car. The car stops and restarts after the object goes away. (Herbert S. Taylor, " An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part 1," IUR 33, no. 4 (May 2011): 19)
November 17 - 5:10 p.m. Japan Air Lines Flight 1628, a Boeing 747 cargo plane with a crew of three, is in the vicinity of Fort Yukon, Alaska, on its way to Anchorage. The jet is carrying a cargo of French wine and is flying at 35,000 feet through darkening skies, a red glow from the setting sun lighting one horizon and a full moon rising above the other. Capt. Kenju Terauchi and First Officer Takanori Tamefuji, along with Flight Engineer Yoshio Tsukuda, see two small objects and one huge Saturn-shaped object visually and on radar for more than 30 minutes. The objects follow the airplane for about 350 miles. The pilot changes course and altitude several times, with FAA permission, in an effort to identify the objects. Two rectangular-appearing objects sparkling with arrays of lights suddenly loom directly in front of them, one above the other. After a few minutes they abruptly change position and appear side by side. They move quickly, stop suddenly, and swing from side to side in unison, as if linked together. VHF radio communications are occasionally garbled at this time and cease when the two objects move away to the left of the aircraft. Two flat white lights continue to pace the airplane, then drop back and are lost from view both visually and on radar. About 5:30 p.m., while in the vicinity of Fairbanks, Terauchi checks a white light behind the plane and sees "a silhouette of a gigantic spaceship." It is walnut-shaped, symmetrical above and below, with a central flange. He says, "It was a very big one-two times bigger than an aircraft carrier." At its closest point, the large object casts such a bright light that it illuminates the cockpit, and Terauchi can feel heat on his face. Radio communications again became garbled during the close approach. The crew becomes frightened by the large object and requests permission to change course. After the course change, they look back and see the object still following them. Increasingly fearful, they request a descent to get away from the UFO ("We had to get away from that object"). After they descend and turn again, the object disappears. The FAA at first confirms that several of its radar traffic controllers had tracked both the 747 and the large object, and that USAF radar has also done so. Later official statements back away from this and try to ascribe the radar targets to weather effects. On December 29, the FAA issues a report stating, "We are accepting the descriptions of the crew, but are unable to support what they saw." (Wikipedia, " Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 1628 incident"; NICAP, " Fantastic Flight of JAL 1628"; Walter Andrus, "Strange Alaskan Encounter," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 226 (February 1987): 3-8; Bruce Maccabee, " The Fantastic Flight of JAL 1628," IUR 12, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1987): 4-23; Marguerite del Giudice, " The UFO That Can't Be Explained," Philadelphia (Pa.) Inquirer Magazine, May 24, 1987, pp. 14-17, 24-27; Good Above, pp. 432, 532; Don Berliner, with Marie Galbreath and Antonio Huneeus, UFO Briefing Document: The Best Available Evidence, Dell, 2000, pp. 128-132; UFOEv II 142-144; Kean, pp. 218-229; Swords 342; Good Need, pp. 400-401; " JAL Flight 1628 over Alaska," UFO Evidence; Clark III 630-632; Coulthart 2023, pp. 83-85; Powell, Scientist, 17-18; Clark IV 692-694; John Greenewald, " The Vault Files: 1986 Alaska JAL Flight 1628," The Black Vault, August 25, 2025)
November 25 -Afternoon. Civil and military personnel in Magadan Airport, Russia, notice an unidentified radar target. Since there is another aircraft in the vicinity, air traffic control asks the pilot to be aware of an unknown object. The plane and UFO "pass clear of each other," although no details are given. Afterward, the object turns east and speeds up to 1,800 mph over the water toward Kamchatka and disappears from radar screens. (Vadim K. Ilyin, " KGB's `Blue Folder' Reveals Shootings, Landings in USSR," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 403 (November 2001): 8)
Late December - 2:30 a.m. A road-maintenance engineer is driving on the highway between Hajdúböszörmény and Debrecen, Hungary, when he sees a "trailer with lit-up windows" landed in a field about 900 feet away. An orange light is flooding through the windows. The object is in the same spot where the sphere chasing the ambulance in April had passed above power lines. (Karoli Hargitai, " The UFO Phenomenon in Hungary," IUR 14, no. 2 (Mar./ Apr. 1989): 14-15)
1987
January 9 - 2:30 a.m. A road-maintenance engineer is on a routine checking tour near Józsa, between Hajdúböszörmény and Debrecen, Hungary, at the same point where his colleague had seen a "trailer" in December. He sees a "farmhouse" with the windows lit up, but knowing there is no farmhouse in that location, he stops the truck. The object is sitting near the overhead power lines between two stacks of straw. It is about 50 feet in diameter, disc-shaped, and rounded off at the rim. Through the center line runs a row of 8-10 portholes with warm, yellow light emanating from them. Between each window is a grayish-white streak of light. He can see an open door about 5-6 feet high under the row of windows, through which he can see light and a floor with transverse ribs. Then he notices two entities wearing dark coveralls standing outside the object, while another appears in the door opening. Yellowish flashes erupt every 2-4 seconds from the top of the object. The witness flees the scene. (Karoli Hargitai, " The UFO Phenomenon in Hungary," IUR 14, no. 2 (Mar./ Apr. 1989): 15-16)
January 15–16 — 8:00 p.m. Police officer Glen Kazmar and Jeff Furseth watch a triangular configuration of red, white, and blue blinking lights that remain stationary in the southwestern sky over Belleville, Wisconsin. At 2:50 a.m., they are driving along Quarry Road west of town and see a “close-knit cluster of red, blue, and white lights.” After 15 minutes, they alert the Dane County Sheriff and are soon joined by a deputy from Verona and two Green County sheriff’s deputies, all of whom leave after debating what to do about reporting the lights. At 3:20 a.m., Kazmar and Furseth see the object move to the southwest. They call the FAA Center in Aurora, Illinois, which admits it has a slow-moving target in the area that won’t respond. Other witnesses near Monroe, New Glarus, and Verona also see lights. (“ They’re Still Around! UFO Sightings Continue in Area,” Monticello (Wis.) Messenger, March 11, 1987, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 213 (April 1987): 11; Don Schmitt, “ The Belleville Sightings, Part One,” IUR 12, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1987): 4–6; UFO Wisconsin, [ Belleville articles]; “ The Other UFO Days: Belleville, WI,” UFO Days, August 13, 2019)
February 6 — 7:30 p.m. Jeff Zweifel is walking home from work near Belleville, Wisconsin. He sees an object nearby with a bright white directional light aimed at a right angle to him. A red light is also visible, then a blue light. As he continues to walk, the object approaches him. When it is directly in front, a white light comes on. From left to right, red, white, and blue lights flash. A short gray trail of smoke is coming out the back. The object continues moving slowly and silently east at the same altitude. (Don Schmitt, “ The Belleville Sightings, Part One,” IUR 12, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1987): 6)
February 25 - 4:10 p.m. Filmmaker Paul Davids is at work in his home office in East Los Angeles, California, when his children call him to see a "flying saucer." Looking outside, he sees a metallic, domed disc making its way silently and smoothly across the sky over the valley in front of his house. They open the window and go out on the roof for an unobstructed view and spend the next 4-5 minutes watching it. At its closest point, about 500 feet away, it hovers in one position for about 2 minutes, wobbling with an even, slow oscillation. Its bottom seems to transform from silver to pitch black and back to silver again. Then it flies away at a faster but uniform speed. (Paul Davids, " Starry Night," IUR 14, no. 3 (May/June 1989): 13-15, 23)
March — San Antonio, Texas, freelance journalist Ed Conroy begins to find himself a target of an unmarked Bell 47 helicopter that hovers around his apartment building. The instances increase as he researches Whitley Strieber’s abduction story for a possible article. Black helicopters and CH-47 Chinooks also appear in his vicinity, and someone repeatedly changes the outgoing message on his home answering machine. Several people close to him begin to tell him about their nighttime experiences with entities and balls of light. These occurrences continue through 1988. (Ed Conroy, Report on Communion, Avon, 1989)
March — 3:00 a.m. A British Army communications officer is sleeping alone on the moors near Bishop Monkton, North Yorkshire, England, during a military exercise. He sees a strange red light in the sky circling slowly and silently around him. He watches it for 20 minutes as it makes three circuits that are precisely the same. Two F-4 Phantom II jets appear and give chase to the light, which plays cat and mouse with them. This continues for 5 minutes, then the light shoots away at great speed. The jets remain a few more minutes before returning. (“ Brief Cases,” Northern UFO News, no. 157 (October 1992): 13; Nick Redfern, A Covert Agenda: UFO Secrecy Exposed, Simon & Schuster, 1997, pp. 163–164)
March 6 — 5:30 p.m. County surveyor Harvey Funseth and Fred Gochenauer are driving north of Belleville, Wisconsin, and spot four peculiar objects one above the other in the western sky. They take a side road to get a better look and stop alongside an open field. The main cigar-shaped object is silhouetted against the sunset, standing vertically above three smaller sections. The objects are all about a quarter mile away at low altitude. As they watch, the top object moves away from the smaller ones toward their right. It looks like an airplane fuselage without any markings, wings, or tail. It has a flashing light on top and two red glowing areas on the back, followed by a short vapor trail. Funseth estimates it is about 2,000 feet altitude. It picks up speed and streaks away to the northeast. The remaining smaller objects are now obscured by a mist. Witnesses in other parts of town also see a similar display. (Don Schmitt, “ The Belleville Sightings, Part One,” IUR 12, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1987): 7–8)
March 7 - A family of three in Pingwu county, Sichuan, China, is awakened by a loud, high- pitched hum. They go outside and are blinded by a beam of light coming from a huge reddish object shaped like a straw hat that is hovering above them. They pass out and wake up later to find themselves strapped to steel tables in a circular room occupied by humanoid entities with 3 eyes and standing 3 feet tall. The aliens take blood samples from them and probe them with needles, also making an incision on the child's thigh. The next thing they know, they are walking down a road 7 miles from their home. (Lon Strickler, " China: Cryptids, Humanoids, Monsters, and Alien Visitors," Phantoms & Monsters, September 5, 2013; Chris Saunders, " UFOs over China," Fortean Times 331 (October 2015): 32)
March 23 - Evening. A woman hears a crash outside her home in Concord, North Carolina, and goes outside to investigate. She sees a domed disk in her backyard about 75 feet away, partially obscured by a tree. The dome is about 6 feet in diameter on top of an object about 25 feet high. The dome is projecting an intensely bright orange light that creates shooting pains in her eyes and lights up the entire yard. The lower part of the object is blue-silver and an 18-20 foot wide ramp extends down from it. Her eyes still hurt, so she does not see the UFO leave. No ground markings are found the next day, although two days later she discovers that a metal post on her dog lot has been magnetized. (Michael D. Swords, " Unusual Experiences from the Timmerman Files," IUR 27, no. 2 (Summer 2002): 22-23)
May - The Centro Italiano Studi Ufologici engages the Italian survey organization Doxa to conduct an opinion poll on UFOs. The poll shows a decline in belief in extraterrestrial UFOs since a previous survey in 1979 (19%, down from 39%) and an increase in skepticism (53%, up from 32%). The poll also indicates that those younger and more educated are more likely to believe in the physical reality of UFOs. Belief is more common in central Italy and less common in the south and north. (Edoardo Russo, " What Do Italians Believe about UFOs?" Italian UFO Reporter, no. 6 (December 1987): 1-3)
May 16 — Capt. Rick Olsen is flying a Canadian Air International Boeing 737 en route from Toronto, Ontario, to Winnipeg, Manitoba, at 31,000 feet when he and his first officer observe an unidentified target on their weather radar. The track indicates an object about the size of an aircraft carrier about 50 miles away at approximately their altitude, traveling roughly the same course at 5,400 mph. The target persists for 4 minutes. (T. Scott Crain Jr., “ Return of the Motherships,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 234 (October 1987): 15; UFOEv II 246)
May 26 — 9:30–10:15 p.m. More than 100 people around Newtown and Southbury, Connecticut, see a low-flying, silent, circular formation of lights that passes over Interstate 84, causing many cars to pull over for a look and some to lose power. Commercial airline pilot Randy Etting sees the lights as he is driving along I-94. He pulls off the road and snaps a photo of the formation. He is sure there is a solid object behind the lights. (NightSiege 199–201; Philip J. Imbrogno, “ 1987: Close Encounter on Interstate 84, Connecticut,” ThinkAboutIt)
June 9 - 7:00 p.m. At RAAF Base Learmonth, near Exmouth, Western Australia, soldiers of the Special Air Service Regiment see a white light at 5,000 feet about 16 feet in diameter moving silently in a zigzag fashion from east to west. It hovers at the north end of the airstrip for 6-7 minutes, changes from white to amber, moves up into a cloud, then speeds off to the northeast. A Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport that takes off during the observation has difficulty establishing VHF radio communication. (Swords 409-410; Coulthart 2023, pp. 85-86)
June 19 — 11:00 p.m. Brazilian Air Force Capt. Faria de Sousa is landing his aircraft at Anápolis Air Base ALA 2, Goiás, Brazil, when the control tower asks him to investigate “strange traffic” nearby. When he arrives at the location, his onboard radar registers the presence of another aircraft close by and his cockpit lights up. He sees a huge ball of light about 10 feet in diameter above his plane, but the light does not register on his radar. After 3 minutes he lands because he is running out of fuel. (Clark III 206; Brazil 554–555; Clark IV 246–247)
June 25 — Capt. William Cantrell and the crew of Delta Airlines Flight 1083 are near Charleston, West Virginia, when they see a small missile heading straight for the aircraft before it swerves to the side about 500–600 feet below. Cantrell describes the projectile as short, squatty, and homemade looking, about 4–6 feet long with large fins. It appears to be descending and unpowered. (Clas Svahn and Anders Liljegren, “ Close Encounters with Unknown Missiles,” IUR 19, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1994): 12–13)
June 25 - Bruce S. Maccabee, a Navy physicist and chairman of the Fund for UFO Research, along with Larry Koss, Jaime Shandera, and Budd Hopkins, provide an on-the-record press briefing on the "40-Year History of UFOs" at the Washington (D.C.) Foreign Press Center. (" 40 Year History of UFOs: A 1987 Foreign Press Center Briefing with Budd Hopkins, Bruce Maccabee," Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, February 8, 2024; " '87 Foreign Press Center Briefing," The Black Vault Originals YouTube channel, May 23, 2024)
July 27 — 12:00 midnight. Witnesses in Accra and the Volta Region of Ghana see a large and apparently silent object over the Gulf of Guinea. Some people report the sound of explosions associated with it. A Ghana Air Force pilot views the missile-shaped object from the ground near Accra, traveling south over the ocean. It displays a yellow light at its trailing end, similar to a rocket. It appears to be at least twice as large as a Boeing 747. It stops descending and begins to climb, gaining altitude. Eight smaller, bluish lights appear in circular formation, seemingly the result of the object’s propulsive power. (Dolan II 413–414)
Late July - 9:00 p.m.-5:00 a.m. A married couple and their daughter are riding in a horse cart, returning to their home near Bedzienica, Poland. They notice two huge red spheres, apparently attached to each other, descending toward the northeast a few miles away and disappearing behind the horizon. After arriving home a few minutes later, the area outside their house becomes flooded in white light. The family rushes outside and sees two groups of three white lights silently floating low above a field less than one mile away to the northeast. The man alerts his neighbor and they return to the road to watch the lights for several minutes. Soon they notice a large red triangular light moving up and down in the northeast less than 2 miles away. After 6 minutes they hear a high- pitched sound like a car horn and the red light disappears. They continue watching the white lights, but soon notice that another neighbor's barn about 1,000 feet away seems to be on fire. The man goes home to get his motorcycle and two daughters, but when they get to the barn there is no fire and the light is coming from another set of white spheres to the south. By this time it is after 10:00 p.m., and they ride the motorcycle to a nearby hill to watch the lights. Soon one of the daughters sees a large object like a vertical white TV screen 10 feet high approaching from the east about 60-100 feet above the ground. Two humanoids with angular heads and in green coveralls are visible against the screen, one large and one smaller. The man restarts the motorcycle with difficulty and returns home. Some 300 feet from their farmhouse, they see another object, a fireball with a tail descending in the area where they had seen the red triangle. Tired, the daughters and his wife go to sleep around 11:00 p.m., but the man stays up to watch the UFO activity. Around 4:00 a.m. the original two sets of white objects rearrange into a complex group of 7 lights and remain that way for another hour. The next day, the man feels sick with heart problems and is taken to a hospital for a short stay. (Arek Miazga, " Z historii UFO na Podkarpaciu: Bliskie spotkanie w Bedzienicy- Nockowej (1987)," Spotkania z Nieznanym, July 3, 2011; Poland 77-80)
Early August — A Soviet soldier serving with the military contingent in Leningrad [now St. Petersburg], Russia, is dispatched with four others to northern Karelia, where they join up with another unit. Their job is to guard a UFO that soldiers had recently discovered near Vyborg. A military plane had taken it to Monchegorsk, Murmansk Oblast, and deposited it in a former fuel depot. The guards get a close look at the object, which is more than 50 feet long, 16 feet wide, and 9 feet high, grayish-tan in color, smooth, and seamless. It is tube-shaped, with fins extending from the mid-section all the way to the rear. At the tip of its nose are outward-pointing triangles in a triangular formation. One week later, senior officers show up and attempt to enter the craft unsuccessfully. The craft is moved to a hangar and all but one of the soldiers are sent back to Leningrad. In September, a successful entry is made, according to the remaining officer. Inside, they discover two armchairs, two steering wheels, and a featureless control panel. The cockpit is so small that two adults can hardly fit inside. Investigators who collect “rod-like items” from inside experience mild burns on their hands (though gloved). (Paul Stonehill and Philip Mantle, The Soviet UFO Files: Paranormal Encounters behind the Iron Curtain, Quadrillion, 1998, pp. 96–97; Clark III 345; Clark IV 381)
August 4 — 10:00 p.m. Gordon Baker and two others watch two cross-shaped objects pass slowly and silently over his home from northeast to southwest in Exmouth, Devon, England. Describing it like a “flying fairground” at 38,000 feet, he watches a jet aircraft fly underneath it. They watch it for 15 minutes until it disappears on the horizon. Observers in Lympstone and Budleigh Salterton also see the object. Two huge, delta-shaped objects are seen making successive passes over Plymouth, Devon, between 10:30 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. Observations were also made in Bude, Cornwall, and Exeter, Devon, where they were apparently tracked on radar. (“ ‘Flying Fairground’ Is Seen over Town,” Exmouth (UK) Herald, August 7, 1987, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 222 (January 1988): 16; “ Whitehall Silent over Flying Fairground,” Exmouth (UK) Herald, August 14, 1987, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 222 (January 1988): 16; Marler 139)
August 11 - A witness in Osbornville, New Jersey, sees a shiny, oval object that hovers, becomes brighter, and takes off like a shot, leaving a white trail. It then stops abruptly, maneuvers, flashes more lights, and shoots straight up out of sight. (Ocean County (N.J.), Observer, August 16, 1987; UFOEv II 30)
August 11 — Several people see a triangular object with three lights over Sevastopol, Crimea, Russia. A yellow light surrounds the perimeter, and a bright white light is seen inside. The object hovers and maneuvers for 3 hours with a trajectory that changes unpredictably. It disappears, reappears, and smaller objects separate from it and take off at great speed. It finally takes off quickly away from the shore. (Stonehill and Mantle, Russia’s USO Secrets, Flying Disk, 2020, p. 136)
August 23 — 2:00–3:00 a.m. A witness sees a circular, white object west of Hajdúböszörmény, Hungary, flying slowly to the north. A thin, orange-colored light beam sweeps from it several times from west to east. Suddenly it “jumps” with tremendous speed from one place to another and remains stationary, still sweeping its light beam for at least 30 minutes. Then it suddenly disappears. (Karoli Hargitai, “ The UFO Phenomenon in Hungary,” IUR 14, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1989): 16)
August 23 — 10:20 p.m. A brilliant-orange, flare-like light suddenly appears at 20°–25° in the south-southeastern sky in Corydon, Indiana. It appears stationary but might be moving in the direction of the 12–15 observes, five of whom are MUFON field investigators. At one point it rapidly descends to the left. Several times the light winks completely out, only to flare up again. After about 5–8 minutes, the object goes into a flat east-to-west flight mode at a relatively slow rate of speed and an elevation of 10°–15°. During the last 30 seconds or so a small commercial or private aircraft enters the immediate area from west to east on an apparent collision course with the light. Several seconds of videotape document this apparent near miss. (NICAP, “ Aircraft Appeared in a ‘Near Miss’ with an OBOL”; “ Corydon OBOL,” NICAP Official YouTube channel, January 23, 2023)
August 31 — 10:55 p.m. A dark, domed, disc-shaped UFO with a mast or antenna on top comes down quickly over the high-security Naval Submarine Base Bangor [now Naval Base Kitsap] on the Kitsap Peninsula, Washington, which houses the Trident nuclear ballistic submarine fleet. It hovers over a playground. Randy Springsteen, 8, and Dennis Mauer, 10, sons of military personnel, are sitting on the swings and see an entity with a big head, big pointed “cat” ears, wrinkled skin, and a greenish complexion in an open hatch. It has a thin, spindly body, long webbed fingers and toes, and tabs or suction cups on the ends of its fingers and toes. It also has a wrinkled mouth “like an old grandma’s.” The boys estimate the being is about 6 feet tall. It points a device that directs a beam of energy at the two boys on the swings, causing the levitation of the metal swings. The boys flee quickly into the Springsteen home and get Charlene Springsteen, who sees a row of lights in the sky as the UFO takes off and flies away. Charlene then has the boys draw separate sketches of both the UFO and the alien, which are remarkably similar. (Donald A. Johnson, “ The Bangor CE3,” IUR 14, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1989): 4–6, 23)
Early autumn — Evening. Rich and Kathy Dicenzo, their children, and a family friend are sitting outside their weekend residence in the southern Ohio hills in front of a campfire. Suddenly a dark shape appears passing from in back of them from the north over the roof of the house and blotting out the stars in a precise boomerang shape. The perimeter of the shape is covered with 12–20 individual lights. All sounds from insects, tree frogs, and distant dogs stops. The campfire flame rises straight up, frozen. The aspen tree in the front yard stops “quaking” and the children gasp. The soundless object is low, and it extends beyond the 72-foot length of the house. After one minute, the light configuration wobbles, the lights change from amber to red, and the object splits into three sections, spreads out, and dissipates. (Jennie Zeidman, “ Strangeness in the Night,” IUR 14, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1989): 5, 22)
September — Three witnesses in Taunton, Somerset, England, observe a triangular object with bright white lights at each point and red lights underneath, rotating to the left. Its size is estimated to be comparable to three C-130 aircraft. (Marler 139)
September 8 — 5:00 a.m. A 10-year-old child in a farm family at Nort-sur-Erdre, Loire-Atlantique, France, is awakened by a noise and sees a luminous orange disc with a flashing light outside. He turns on his cassette player to record the noise, which lasts 20 seconds, and the light disappears shortly afterward. GEPAN investigators take samples of damaged leaves from a birch tree where the light appeared and conduct an analysis of the noise on the cassette tape. A biochemical analysis of the leaves provides mixed results, with one leaf showing possible thermal or light stress. They conclude that the recorded noise arose internally from the recorder and not from the microphone. The child later admits he made up the incident to attract his parents’ attention. (Groupe d’Étude des Phénomènes Aérospatiaux non Identifiés, “ Nort-sur-Erdre (44) 07.09.1987 ‘Joe Le Taxi,’” March 22, 2007; Clark III 547; Clark IV 605)
September 11 — 8:15 p.m. Lydia B. Lövendal-Papae and her husband are walking between Herăstrău Park [now King Michael I Park] and Aviators Square in Bucharest, Romania, when they see a large, reddish- orange star hovering above the nearby Arcul de Triumf. After a minute, it moves to right above them and stops for a couple minutes before it sways back and forth. Suddenly it makes large zigzag movements toward the Romanian National Television building and disappears to the northeast. After 5 minutes, her husband sees a white beam shooting briefly from the direction it has gone. (Romania 45–46)
September 14 — 6:05 p.m. A man and his daughter are walking in Debrecen, Hungary, when she sees a “flying log.” The man looks up and sees a cylindrical object flying very slowly to the north. After 3 minutes it disappears without a trace. (Karoli Hargitai, “ The UFO Phenomenon in Hungary,” IUR 14, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1989): 16)
September 22 - 9:00 p.m. A young couple is sitting outside in Bossier City, Louisiana, when they see a large, conical or triangular object pass silently in the sky. It has sparsely distributed lighting on its base and seems metallic and solid. They estimate it is several football fields in length. On October 6, the man sees the object again, moving in the same direction toward Barksdale Air Force Base. (Michael D. Swords, " Timmerman's Triangles," IUR 29, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 16)
Mid-October - 6:00 p.m. A man is driving up Candlewood Lake Road, near Brookfield, Connecticut, when he sees a low-flying aerial object that passes over the trees to the left. After making a turn, he notices four cars stopped with no lights on off the side of the road. He flashes his headlights and his car's radio and electrical power dies. All the other drivers-three men and a woman-are out of their cars. They tell him that their vehicles stopped as a large, bright aircraft flew over and passed silently over a hill in the west. It had all white and amber lights and was triangular in shape. Two other cars drive by at that time and their engines sputter but they do not stop. He notices a glow in the woods. He wants to investigate it, but no one will accompany him. Grabbing a flashlight, he walks into the woods for about a quarter of a mile, watching the glow get brighter. As he climbs a hill, the glow turns deep red and then off-white. As he reaches the top of the hill, he sees a lighted object, but trees block his view. He climbs down the hill to a clearing and sees an object like a dark triangle hovering silently in (not above) the trees. He hears a noise and sees a figure wearing a helmet and a dark suit with glowing metallic stripes around the arms and waist approaching the object. It reaches the UFO and looks in the witness's direction. He hears thoughts in his head saying that he shouldn't come closer. As he watches, the figure raises its hand as if to say goodbye and vanishes in a flash of red light. The object then blinks out as if someone has just turned it off. (NightSiege 201-203)
November 11 — 5:00 p.m. Edward Walters, president of a construction company in Gulf Breeze, Florida, has his first alleged encounter with a UFO. He sees a glowing, top-shaped craft with a row of portholes across the midsection and a luminous ring on the bottom. He rushes in and grabs a Polaroid camera and snaps a photo just as the UFO is moving from behind a tree. He takes three more photos as the object, 150 feet away, drifts in a northeasterly direction. As he is taking more photos, the object moves above him, and Walters is hit by a blue beam that paralyzes him and lifts him several feet off the ground. After hearing a computerlike voice and a female voice, he sees images of dogs. Then he falls hard on the pavement and the UFO is gone. Over the next few months, Walters (initially concealing his identity as “Mr. X”) and his family claim a bewildering variety of close encounters, including abduction incidents, and Walters continues to produce more photos of the UFOs plaguing him. The veracity of his claims causes a rift in ufology, with MUFON championing the case and CUFOS very skeptical. California ufologist and songwriter Zan Overall produces evidence that Walters knew how to double-expose photos well before his UFO pictures. In June 1990, a model UFO, seemingly a prototype for a fake UFO in his photos, is found in the wall of the house formerly occupied by Walters. One week later, Tom Smith Jr., 22, comes forward claiming he has seen Walters fake some of the photos. Photoanalyst Bruce Maccabee continues to support Walters’s claims, coauthoring a book with him in 1997. (Wikipedia, “ Gulf Breeze UFO incident”; Donald M. Ware, Charles D. Flannigan, and Walter H. Andrus Jr., “ The Gulf Breeze, Florida, Photographic and CE III Case, Part 1,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 239 (March 1988): 5–15; Donald M. Ware, Charles D. Flannigan, and Walter H. Andrus Jr., “ The Gulf Breeze, Florida, Photographic Case: Supplement to Part I,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 240 (April 1988): 13–14, 21; Jerome Clark, “ Editorial: Ill Breeze,” IUR 13, no. 2 (March/April 1988): 3, 23; Dennis Stacy, “ Gulf Breeze: A Note to the Skeptical,” IUR 13, no. 2 (March/April 1988): 10–11; Mark Rodeghier, “ Gulf Breeze: A Note to the Committed,” IUR 13, no. 2 (March/April 1988): 12–13, 23; Mark Rodeghier and Robert D. Boyd, “ Gulf Breeze, Florida: The Other Side of the Coin,” CUFOS Bulletin, April 1988, pp. 1–4; Donald M. Ware, Charles D. Flannigan, and Walter H. Andrus Jr., “ The Gulf Breeze, Florida, Photographic and CE III Case, Part 2,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 241 (May 1988): 11–15; Jerome Clark, “ Editorial: Breeze from the Gulf,” IUR 13, no. 3 (May/June 1988): 3; Donald M. Ware, Charles D. Flanagan, and Walter H. Andrus Jr., “ The Gulf Breeze, Florida, Photographic and CE III Case, Part 3,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 242 (June 1988): 12–16; Donald M. Ware, Charles D. Flanagan, and Walter H. Andrus Jr., “ The Gulf Breeze, Florida, Photographic and CE III Case, Part 4,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 243 (July 1988): 9–11; Donald M. Ware, Charles D. Flanagan, and Walter H. Andrus Jr., “ The Gulf Breeze, Florida, Photographic and CE III Case, Part 5,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 244 (August 1988): 6–8; Bruce Maccabee, “A History of the Gulf Breeze, Florida, Sighting Events,” in MUFON 1988 International UFO Symposium, MUFON, 1988, pp. 113–204; Richard H. Hall and Willy Smith, “ Balancing the Scale: Unanswered Questions about Gulf Breeze,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 248 (December 1988): 3–7; Dan C. Overlade, “ Psychological Evaluation of Mr. Ed,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 248 (December 1988): 7–8; Bruce Maccabee, “ The Scale Remains Unbalanced,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 252 (April 1989): 3–24; Bruce Maccabee, “ Billy, No; Ed, Yes,” IUR 14, no. 3 (May/June 1989): 16–19, 24; Wim van Utrecht, “ How to Take Your Own Gulf Breeze Photos,” IUR 14, no. 3 (May/June 1989): 20–21, 24; Bruce Maccabee, “ Recent UFO Videotapes,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 265 (May 1990): 3, 6–7; Ed Walters and Frances Walters, The Gulf Breeze Sightings, Morrow, 1990; Zan Overall, Gulf Breeze Double Exposed: The ‘Ghost-Demon’ Photo Controversy, CUFOS, 1990; Craig Myers, “ Gulf Breeze UFO Model Found,” Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal, June 10, 1990, pp. 1, 8; Craig Myers, “ I Saw UFO Photos Faked, Witness Says,” Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal, June 17, 1990, pp. 1, 4; Bruce Maccabee, “ The Gulf Breeze Lights,” IUR 17, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1992): 4–12; Art Hufford, “ The Gulf Breeze Lights, Continued,” IUR 17, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1992): 11–12; Zan Overall, “ The Gulf Breeze RUFOs,” IUR 17, no. 2 (March/April 1992): 14–18; Barbara Becker, “ The Invention of a Gulf Breeze UFO,” IUR 17, no. 2 (March/April 1992): 19–21, 23; Bruce Maccabee and Ed Walters, UFOs Are Real: Here’s the Proof, Avon, 1997; UFOEv II 296–297; James W. Moseley and Karl T. Pflock, Shockingly Close to the Truth! Confessions of a Grave-Robbing Ufologist, Prometheus, 2002, pp. 287–297; Clark III 550–552; Keith Conroy, “ A Review of the Photographic Evidence in the Gulf Breeze Sightings of 1987–1988,” SCU Review 3.3 (July 25, 2022): 7–15; Craig R. Myers, “ The MUFON-ian Candidate: The Gulf Breeze UFO Case As Political Contest,” in Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos and Richard Heiden, eds., The Reliability of UFO Witness Testimony, UPIAR, 2023, pp. 121–136; “ The Gulf Breeze, Florida, UFO Sightings, 1987–Early 1990s,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, January 13, 2024; Clark IV 608–610)
November 23 — 8:25 p.m. Rick Devine goes out the back door of his home in Shreve, Ohio, to round up the family dogs and cats. He glances up and sees four blobs of cool-white light maneuvering in a cloverleaf pattern (elliptical orbits with a common center of flight, meeting at the center) in an area of sky a few hundred feet in diameter. The objects move slower at the outer edges of the orbit and faster as they near the center. Devine shoos the animals inside (no reaction to the display) and calls to his wife Janet. She joins him and they continue to watch the objects. She describes the lights as rectangular. They cross the street into a schoolyard to get closer to the lights, which move away as if in response. At no time does the brightness or color or altitude of the lights change. Seemingly, the display covers an area equivalent to a baseball diamond. It moves back across the road, and the Devines follow. As they watch, the four blobs of light come together in the center, move outward and continue onward, disappearing 90° from each other. The sighting lasts 35 minutes. (Jennie Zeidman, “ Strangeness in the Night,” IUR 14, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1989): 4–5)
November 28 - 9:10 p.m.-12:00 midnight. 33 unknown objects fly at low altitude over the coast of Primorsky Krai, Far Eastern district, Russia, on the Sea of Japan. Witnesses describe various shapes-cylinders, cigars, globes-all moving silently. Thirteen UFOs are seen above Dalnegorsk. The objects cause a 2-minute disruption of electrical circuits, including TVs and computers. More than 100 witnesses are questioned by the Far Eastern Commission. (Paul Stonehill and Philip Mantle, The Soviet UFO Files: Paranormal Encounters behind the Iron Curtain, Quadrillion, 1998, p. 94)
Winter — Night. Air Force Security Policeman Joseph C. Pscolka is awakened by the night shift flight security controller at the Malmstrom AFB N-01 missile alert facility northwest of Grassrange, Montana, who tells him that an alarm response team responded to a security alert at the N-06 launch site and had not been heard from for nearly an hour. Pscolka assembles a security response team and joins them to drive to the site. The security lights are out and the alarm team’s vehicle parked 50 feet from the wide-open gate with its lights out and engine off. Pscolka drives up to the vehicle when his own Peacekeeper APC loses power. At that moment, the alert team bursts from its vehicle and runs to the APC, begging to be let in. Their vehicle had shut down entirely, even the flashlights. The entire launch facility, up to 20 feet outside the gate, is devoid of snow, even though the snow outside is knee-deep. Pscolka goes up to the facility alone after posting guards. When he gets to the snow-free zone, he notes the temperature is warmer, even hot. Everything within the facility is warm to the touch, including the soil. But there are no intruders. A few more APCs approach down the access road, and suddenly all the facility and vehicle lights come on again. After the incident, the teams are debriefed and ordered not to tell anyone about it. (Nukes 397–401)
December 1 — 7:15 a.m. A former London policeman (pseudonym Philip Spencer) is walking across Ilkley Moor in West Yorkshire, England, to visit his father-in-law in East Morton. He was walking up a small hill when he notices an odd-looking figure in the trail ahead of him. It is dark green and about 4 feet tall with an oversized head and long, thin arms. The creature makes a gesture at Spencer, which he takes to be a warning telling him to stay away, but he takes out his camera and snaps a picture. The creature then runs away and Spencer follows it. He loses the creature in the fog but then sees an object rise from the moor and disappear into the sky. It is a whitish color and consists of two saucer-shaped parts on top of each other. He hears a loud hum. He fails to take a photo of the object. Rather than continue with his planned route, Spencer heads to another town that was about 30 minutes away. When he arrives, he finds that it is about two hours later than he expects it to be. Additionally, the compass he has taken with him is pointed in the opposite direction than it should be. While the photo is getting examined by experts, Spencer has strange dreams. Following ufologist Peter Hough’s advice, he attends a session of regressive hypnotherapy carried out by Jim Singleton on March 16, 1988. Under hypnosis, Spencer’s original account of the incident changes. Singleton calls it a genuine recall. Spencer now remembers that when he saw the creature on the hill he was instantly paralyzed, lifted up a few feet, and pulled into the craft. When he enters, a voice tells him to be calm. A group of green aliens then performs medical experiments on him, inserting items into his nose and mouth. He is given a tour of the craft and shown a film with apocalyptic imagery, including nuclear explosions, famines, and floods. He is then shown a second film, but he never reveals the contents of this film, saying that the aliens who abducted him do not want humanity to know. Following this, Spencer is returned to Ilkley Moor, where he then takes his photograph. He claims that the alien is actually waving goodbye to him, not telling him to stay away, as in his original account. (Wikipedia, “ Ilkley Moor UFO incident”; Peter Hough, “ The Green Alien of Ilkley Moor,” Fate, March 1999, pp. 35–41; Matty Sweeney, “ Ilkley Moor Alien Photograph,” The Paranormal Guide, October 7, 2014; “ Picture Post: When Ilkley Moore Became an Alien Landing Site,” Yorkshire Post, October 13, 2014; Nick Redfern, Top Secret Alien Abduction Files, Red Wheel/Weiser, 2018, pp. 129–134; Aaron Sakulich, “ The Ilkley Moor Monster: A Watertight Story,” Iron Skeptic; Patrick Gross, “ The Ilkley Moor Encounter of the 3rd Kind, 1987”)
December 9 — Night. Oddly moving lights in the sky appear over Nottingham, England, traveling quickly and emitting a deep hum. A triangular object about 250 feet long covered in 150 red and white lights is observed over a farm near Hull around the same date. Similar UFOs are seen in Staffordshire and Long Eaton, Derbyshire. (“Mystery of City UFO Sightings,” Nottingham (UK) Evening Post, December 10, 1987; Hull (UK) Daily Mail, December 11, 1987; Long Eaton (UK) Trader, December 23, 1987; Gary Anthony and Philip Mantle, “ Humberside Happenings,” UFO Brigantia, no. 30 (Mar./Apr. 1988): 4–5; “ The Biggest Sighting—Ever!” Northern UFO News, no. 132 (July/Aug. 1988): 14–15; Marler 121; Philip Mantle, “ The Humberside Flying Triangle of 1987,” Outer Limits Magazine, no. 7 (April 2017): 40–45)
December 14 - 9:30 p.m. A gray, oval-shaped object lands on the road ahead of a Mercedes car near Launceston, Tasmania. The engine and lights fail instantly, and the driver brakes to a stop. Intense light comes from the base of the object that is painful to the driver's eyes. He leaves the car and gets sick, hiding behind a tree from where he watches his car being dragged about 33 feet, as if attracted by a magnet, and leaving tire marks on the road. A Land Cruiser approaches the scene and its lights fail, but the diesel engine continues to operate. The object takes off with a whirring sound. The car is covered with melted specks of asphalt, and serious electrical problems must be fixed after the incident. (Pat Hldea, " Interstate Report," Australian UFO Bulletin, June 1988, p. 5; Keith Roberts, " The Tasmanian Connection," UFO Research Australia Newsletter 7, no. 1 (May 1989): 10-12; Herbert S. Taylor, " An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part 1," IUR 33, no. 4 (May 2011): 19)
December 29 — Lear Jet heir John Lear, based on stories by Albuquerque businessman Paul Bennewitz, claims in a statement on ParaNet that he has independent confirmation of a secret underground base near Dulce, New Mexico, populated by gray aliens and humans. Direct communication between one alien group and the US government took place at Holloman AFB in April 1964. Lear alleges that the MJ-12 group entered into a relationship with possible ET intelligences between 1969 and 1971 and in exchange for super technology, gave carte blanche to the ETs to conduct experiments and abductions on unsuspecting human beings. Lear also claims that the ETs, with our government’s knowledge, are mutilating domestic cattle and sheep, and in some cases even humans are the victims. In 1972–1973, a secret underground facility at Groom Lake, Nevada, was built “for and with the help of” the ETs. Lear claims that William Moore is being used as a conduit by MJ-12 (which includes Edward Teller, Henry Kissinger, Bobby Ray Inman, and possibly John Poindexter) to release information about the alien presence on earth. Many ParaNet members question his assertions. (Wikipedia, “ Dulce Base”; “ Statement Released by John Lear,” December 29, 1987; Don Ecker, “Driven to Destruction,” Fortean Times 121 (April 1999): 40–43; Clark III 9; Graff 320–321; Clark IV 24)
1988
January — A family in the vicinity of Pasadena, California, notices a large, perfectly circular brown spot, 13 feet in diameter, in their backyard in the midst of their lush, well-cared for St. Augustine grass. It seems to have appeared the morning after the wife awakens to see a small, gray-skinned entity standing beside her and probing her torso with medical instruments. She had seen a strange light beam one month earlier. The brown area slowly fills in with Bermuda grass after 6 months. The Los Angeles County agricultural pathologist who examines a soil sample finds four southern chinch bugs (Blissus insularis) that he says can cause similar damage, although the progression is much slower and requires many more insects than four. (Ann Druffel, “ CE3—and CE2?” IUR 14, no. 3 (May/June 1989): 10–12, 23)
January 5 (or 15) — 5:00 a.m. Cristian Tuţă is doing mandatory military service in a unit at Roşu, Romania, on the shore of Lacul Morii. While on guard duty, he notices an oval light positioned vertically 30 feet above the bridge to the only island on the lake. He estimates it is 45 feet high and 15 feet wide. Inside are four much brighter lights in the shape of a cross. At first it remains motionless, but begins quickly moving up and down along the bridge like a sine wave for 30 minutes. It stops abruptly and moves slowly to the southwest at an altitude of 60 feet. When it comes to a clump of trees, it changes its shape to two discs put together. In a split second it zooms away to the west. (Romania 46–48)
January 19 - 5:00 p.m. A father and daughter are driving to pick the mother up from work at the Pierre Bossier Mall in Bossier City, Louisiana. When they pull into the mall parking lot, the daughter notices a streak of light in the sky that suddenly moves right in front of them about 150 feet away and 50 feet above the ground. It is a dull silver disc with "turbines" or openings around its perimeter that are spinning like a slowly moving fan. From the top of the object emerges a sheath with rotary blades, although the blades do not rotate. The disc is about the size of an automobile, around 5 feet tall, and completely silent. For 90 seconds, all the noise of the mall seems muted. Then the device begins to move and zips away quickly. (Michael D. Swords, " Unusual Experiences from the Timmerman Files," IUR 27, no. 2 (Summer 2002): 21)
January 20 — 4:10 a.m. Faye Knowles and her three sons Patrick, Sean, and Wayne are en route along the Eyre Highway from Perth, Western Australia, to Melbourne, Victoria, by car, when they observe a bright, egg-shaped object ahead of them on the road near Mundrabilla, Western Australia. Sean is driving and has to swerve to miss the object. The egg-shaped object then begins to follow their station wagon. At some point, Sean does a U-turn to approach the object, but soon goes back to driving eastward. The family becomes disoriented, and the sequence of events is difficult to reconstruct. They roll down the windows and a “grayish-black mist” enters into the car. Faye reaches out the window to touch the roof and feels something warm, soft, and rubbery that covers her hand in black dust. They hear a thud on the roof and come to believe that the object has lifted their car off the road. They are let down suddenly and the right rear tire blows out. A truck driver named Graham Henley is driving ahead of the Knowles’s car; he sees a bright light in his rearview mirror for about 5 minutes. Shortly after Henley pulls into Mundrabilla, the Knowles family arrives in a state of disorientation. He inspects the damaged tire, sees dents in the roof, and smells something burnt. Henley and another trucker drive back to the scene and find skid marks and footprints. In the afternoon, the family report to police in Ceduna, South Australia, who note their distress and the dents in the roof. Samples of the black dust are collected for forensic analysis. The police tests are never done, but at least half of the material is obtained by ufologists Keith Basterfield and Ray Brooke, who take it to a laboratory. The analysis reveals ordinary materials: sodium chloride, sodium, aluminum, magnesium, sulfur, potassium, silicon, chlorine, clay particles, and calcium. The Seven Network pays the Australian Mineral Development Laboratories to test the vehicle for radioactivity, but there is none above background. AMDEL states that the car tire has failed due to being underinflated, and the dust, smell, and smoke is due to the blowout. Another set of samples is taken from the car by the Victorian UFO Research Society and sent to two different labs, again with commonplace results. However, one analysis by Richard Haines in the US concludes that the interior dust is different from the exterior dust, which contains a possible trace of astatine, a radioactive chemical element. Faye’s hand became red and swollen in the days after the event. (“ UFO Encounter on Nullarbor Plain Reported>,” Canberra (A.C.T.) Times, January 21, 1988, p. 7; “ Desert UFO Puzzle,” Melbourne (Vic.) Sun, January 21, 1988; “ UFO Was After Us, Says Perth Woman,” Melbourne Age, January 22, 1988, p. 5; John Auchettl, “ The Knowles-Nullarbor Encounter,” Australian UFO Bulletin, March 1988, pp. 7–14; Walt Andrus, “ The Mundrabilla Incident, Part 1,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 239 (March 1988): 16–22; Walt Andrus, “ The Mundrabilla Incident, Part 2,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 240 (April 1988): 14–19; Keith Basterfield and Ray Brooke, “ The Mundrabilla Incident,” UFO Research Australia Newsletter 6, no. 1 (April 1988): 3–20; “ The Mundrabilla UFO in Western Australia,” Pursuit 21, no. 1 (Spring 1988): 14; Ben Harris, “ The Nullarbor UFO Incident: Dramatic Case Quickly Fades,” Skeptical Inquirer 12, no. 4 (Summer 1988): 349–352; John Auchettl, “ The Knowles-Nullarbor Encounter, Part 2,” Australian UFO Bulletin, June 1988, pp. 6–11; Pat Delgado, “ The Nullarbor Encounter,” Flying Saucer Review 33. no. 2 (June 1988): 1–4; Tim Mendham, “ News Report: The Nullarbor UFO,” The Skeptic 8, no. 1 (Autumn 1988): 8–10, 13; “ Riddle of the Alien ‘Dust,’” Australasian Post (Melbourne, Vic.), November 26, 1988, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 233 (December 1988): 15; Paul Norman, “ More on the Nullarbor Desert Case,” Flying Saucer Review 33, no. 4 (December 1988): 7–8; Gordon Creighton, “ The Calvary of the Knowles Family,” Flying Saucer Review 33. no. 4 (December 1988): 9–10; John Auchettl, The Knowles Family Encounter, Victorian UFO Research Society, 1989; Keith Basterfield and Ray Brooke, “ The Mundrabilla Incident: An Update,” UFO Research Australia Newsletter 7, no. 1 (May 1989): 3–9; Keith Basterfield, Vladimir Godic, and Pony Godic, “ Australian Ufology: A Review,” JUFOS 2 (1990): 36–37; Keith Basterfield, “ Samples from the Mundrabilla CE2,” IUR 15, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1990): 12–13; UFOEv II 232–237; Siani, “ UFOs on the Nullarbor Plain (Part 1),” Strange Days, September 27, 2007; Siani, “ UFOs on the Nullarbor Plain (Part 2),” Strange Days, September 27, 2007; “ The 1988 Knowles Family Rare Interview: UFO Encounter [QUFOSR],” QUFOSR YouTube channel, December 17, 2016; “ 1988 Knowles Family UFO Encounter Australian Nullarbor Plain,” Shala Albertson YouTube channel, January 28, 2018; “ Sightings: Nullarbor Plain, Australia UFO Case (July, 1995),” Paranormal Videos You May Have Missed YouTube channel, April 23, 2018; Brian Dunning, “ The Knowles Family UFO Incident,” Skeptoid podcast, no. 715, February 18, 2020; “ 1988 AU #UFOB [Case] Sightings: The Knowles Family Australia,” UFOB | Your UAP Library YouTube channel, September 18, 2022)
January 21 — 8:00 p.m. Ex-Navy Lt. Dan McIndoe and his family are at their home 5 miles north of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington, when they see a white light with red and blue flashes. They watch it maneuvering for 2 hours. (Donald A. Johnson, “ UFOs in Washington Skies,” IUR 13, no. 2 (March/April 1988): 4–6)
February 4 — 8:10 p.m. A woman is driving between Bacup, Lancashire, and Todmorden, Yorkshire, England, when she sees an intense orange, egg-shaped light to the south-southeast above Tooler Hill when she is crossing the border between the two counties. Its interior is like a “swirling liquid (or fire embers) with constantly changing patterns.” She stops to watch it as it hovers for another 2–3 minutes. As she drives away it starts to move, so she pulls over again and watches it (now dimmer) move away to the southwest. It speeds up as it descends below the level of the hillside. (Jenny Randles, “ Another Pennine Earthlight?” Northern UFO News, no. 137 (June 1989): 15)
February 9 — 8:00 a.m. A man looking for farm work near Oswestry, Shropshire, England, sees a dog run from a parked car he is passing. The dog crosses the road and runs barking straight int a swirling, yellowish, glowing mist about 45 feet in diameter that straddles a hedgerow. The mist is making a noise like rushing air. The dog owner gets out of the car, and the witness follows her toward the glow and tries to calm her down. As they approach, their hair stands on end, their skin begins tingling, and they smell sulfur as an eerie stillness envelops them. Moments later, the glow disappears as if it is melting away. The dog is lying on the ground looking ill. Its eyes are red and its coat is soaking wet, yet the moisture is evaporating rapidly with steam visibly rising. The man carries the dog back to the car and the woman drives off with it. He later finds out that the dog recovered after an hour or so but died a few weeks later. (Jenny Randles, Time Storms: Amazing Evidence for Time Warps, Space Rifts, and Time Travel, Piatkus, 2001, p. 11; Jenny Randles, “UFOs Can Damage Your Health, Part Two,” Fortean Times 365 (April 2018): 27)
February 10 - 7:45-8:30 p.m. Numerous independent observers on the border of Cambria and Somerset counties near Johnstown, Pennsylvania, see a 60-foot object with several rows of lights that make it look like a "cruise ship in the sky." The object passes over cars and trees at an altitude of 50-100 feet. It emits a slight humming sound and projects multiple beams of light toward the ground. (" Number of UFO Reports in State Unprecedented in '88," Latrobe (Pa.) Bulletin, January 9, 1989, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 235 (February 1989): 11-12)
March 2 — 9:25 a.m. A UH-50 helicopter flying on patrol above the Pirassununga Air Base, São Paulo, Brazil, notices a large circular area on the ground in a sugarcane field near the base. The plants seem to be crushed as if something had landed there. They report the mark, and another helicopter arrives and lands to make an investigation because the area is too difficult to access by truck. A 1st Lt. Zogovich takes some film footage of the flattened circle. During the examination, the airmen find evidence that someone else has collected samples from the site. (Jackson Camargo, “ Um OVNI pousou ao lado da Base Aérea de Pirassununga,” Portal Fenomenum, April 14, 2024)
March 3 - 8:30 p.m. The brothers Farisano are returning home from a soccer championship near General Belgrano, Buenos Aires, Argentina, when they notice some strange lights above a nearby bridge. As they approach the lights, their vehicle engine suddenly stalls. They try to restart it but cannot, so they remain in their truck watching the lights. They now see that the lights are on a spherical object with a large red light on the top and several white lights in a row on the bottom section. The object hovers close to the ground. Inside the transparent midsection the witnesses can see a shadow-like figure moving about. The object suddenly moves slowly out of sight, after which the truck engine restarts and they drive home. (Herbert S. Taylor, " An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part 1," IUR 33, no. 4 (May 2011): 19; " 1988: March UFO and Alien Sightings," Think AboutIts)
March 4 — 8:35 p.m.Sheila Baker and her three children are driving home to Eastlake, Ohio, after going to dinner. As they near the waterfront, Sheila notices something hovering above Lake Erie, so after picking up her husband Henry at home, they drive down to the beach to investigate. A huge, metallic-gray, football-shaped object like a blimp is silently rocking back and forth, blinding white light emanating from both ends. It begins circling, moving overhead at about 1,300 feet. Somehow it causes the lake ice to rumble and crack. The Bakers get nervous and drive home, where they can still see the UFO with red and blue blinking lights along the bottom edge. Five or six bright triangular lights detach from the side, hovering at first, then darting and zigzagging around at high speeds. Each is smaller than a Cessna and cross 50-mile stretches low over the ice “in the snap of a finger.” They make several passes toward the Perry Nuclear Power Plant about 20 miles away. The Bakers alert the Coast Guard, and Seaman James Powers and Petty Officer John Knaub drive to the beach, where the triangular objects approach them. They give a blow-by-blow radio report to the Coast Guard base in Detroit. Other witnesses in different locations also see the triangles. Suddenly the smaller objects return to the large one, which seems to be landing on the ice. They reenter it, the ellipse flashes a series of red, blue, and yellow lights, and the light at the end turns from white to red. Suddenly the lights go out and the ice booming stops. The witnesses assume the object has gone beneath the surface. The Coast Guard report the next day suggests that the lights were Venus and Jupiter. (NICAP, “ Eastlake Close Encounter”; “ Cozying of Jupiter, Venus Light Up Sky,” Cleveland (Ohio) Plain Dealer, March 7, 1988, via APCIC UFO News 13, no. 5 (May 1988): 23; Richard P. Dell’Aquila, “ Ohio Flap,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 249 (January 1989): 15–17; Christopher Evans, “ Space Case: The Night the Coast Guard Got Buzzed,” Cleveland (Ohio) Plain Dealer, July 12, 1992, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 279 (October 1992): 2–3; Dolan II 428–431; John Lasker, Technoir: 13 Investigations from the Dark Side of Technology, the US Military, and UFOs, The Author, 2010, pp. 23–28; “ Never Before Heard 1988 Lake Erie Coast Guard UFO Event Witness Testimony!” Michael Lee Hill YouTube channel, August 31, 2014; Marcus Lowth, “ The Baker Family UFO Encounter over Lake Erie,” UFO Insight, August 2, 2018; Michael Lee Hill, “ Never Before Heard! Famous 1988 Lake Erie Coast Guard UFO Event Update: Audio Witness Testimony!” Michael Lee Hill blog, August 18, 2018; Patrick Gross, “ Lake Erie, USA 1988”)
March 7 - During a campaign rally in Rogers, Arkansas, vice president and presidential candidate George H. W. Bush is approached by a UFO buff named Charles Huffer, who asks him if he will tell the truth about UFOs. He sort of promises to declassify the information. Later, Huffer declines to send him any UFO cases because "you're a CIA man. You know all that stuff." "I know some," Bush replies, "I know a fair amount." (presidentialufo.com, " George Bush, 41st President")
April 12 - Coral Lorenzen, founder of APRO, dies in Tucson, Arizona. CUFOS had been attempting to purchase the APRO archives, but is thwarted by someone who convinces Coral's son, Larry Lorenzen, that this is a bad move and that the APRO board should reconsider. He wants the archive to stay in Arizona. Tina Choate and Brian Myers, with their dubious International Center for UFO Research, convince the APRO board that they are the most logical recipients. In 1989, the board gives them the archives free of charge. Former APRO board member Robert Dean later realizes Choate and Myers are scam artists. They immediately bar anyone from using the files and move them to a garage at an undisclosed location in Scottsdale or Sedona, Arizona. Fortunately, APRO case files prior to 1957 have been preserved digitally. In 2010-2012, Choate and Myers are involved in a fraudulent scheme to acquire and illegally sell a valuable collection of fossils. (" Obituary: Coral Lorenzen," Flying Saucer Review 33, no. 3 (September 1988): 15; Clas Svahn, " Unique UFO Archive Hidden in Warehouse (APRO Archives and Files)," UFO Evidence; Jamie Ross, " Collector Sues over $25M in Fossils," Courthouse News Service, May 17, 2010; Isaac Koi, " Rare Microfilms of UFO Documents Now Online: APRO, US Air Force, etc. (PDF archives)," Above Top Secret forum, December 15, 2014)
May 4 - During a question-and-answer session following a speech to the National Strategy Forum in Chicago's Palmer House Hotel, President Reagan is asked about the most important "need" in international relations. He replies: "I've often wondered, what if all of us in the world discovered that we were threatened by an outer-a power from outer space, from another planet. Wouldn't we all of a sudden find that we didn't have any differences between us at all, we were all human beings, citizens of the world, and wouldn't we come together to fight that particular threat?" (presidentialufo.com, " Ronald Reagan, 40th President, January 20, 1981-January 20, 1989"; " President Reagan's Remarks at the National Strategy Forum on May 4, 1988," Reagan Library YouTube channel, February 26, 2018)
May 16 — 9:30–10:00 p.m. Eileen Ballard and four friends are outside in Stafford, England, when they notice two spotlights in the sky. The objects they are attached to position themselves side by side, one above the other, and fly slowly and silently across the sky. Red and green lights are visible on the undersides. BUFORA initially attributes the sighting to two US Air Force F-117 stealth fighters, an aircraft that had not yet been acknowledged, but this is considered unlikely as other witnesses come forward. (“ Did Mystery Lights Reflect Secret Flights of F-19?” Stafford (UK) Newsletter, May 20, 1988, p. 3; “ After MP’s Plea, More Tell of UFO Mystery,” Stafford (UK) Newsletter, July 1, 1988; Marler 121–123, 139–140)
June 1 - 8:10 p.m. A LAN Airlines pilot, on a final approach to the runway at El Tepual Airport in Puerto Montt, Chile, suddenly encounters an object with a large white light surrounded by green and red flashes. It is coming straight toward the airplane, and the pilot makes a steep turn to the left to avoid a collision. The object is also seen by air traffic control personnel. (Kean, pp. 194-195; " 1988: La historia del Ovni de El Tepual, Puerto Montt," Prensa Vértice TV YouTube channel, August 17, 2012; Rodrigo Bravo Garrido and Juan Castillo Cornejo, " Incidente del Boeing 737 del Vuelo Lan Chile 045 con un F.A.N.I. el 01 de Junio de 1988," Parinacota UFO Arica, October 10, 2015)
July — Walter Corrêa do Prado of Boqueirâo, Paraiba, Brazil, undergoes about one hour of missing time after seeing a strong light illuminating three blocks in his neighborhood. After witnessing other UFOs over the next month or so (one with his wife that leaves traces of burned grass), he begins reading UFO literature. In April 2000, do Prado is hypnotically regressed by Mario Rangel, and an abduction narrative surfaces. (Clark III 308–309; Brazil 329–333; Clark IV 348–349)
July 3 — A police officer in Montgomery, Ohio, watches a barbell-shaped object making quick, near-instantaneous movements, zig-zagging, moving up and down, and hovering. (Powell, Scientist, 67)
July 17 - Night. Several witnesses see two objects with red and green flashing lights make two crisscross passes near the generating station in Homer City, Pennsylvania. Later one object drops from the sky and makes two passes about 200 feet from the ground. It is circular in shape and about the size of a large car. It has four leg-like structures with lights on them that protrude from the bottom. A hissing noise can be heard as the object passes close by. (" Number of UFO Reports in State Unprecedented in `88," Latrobe (Pa.) Bulletin, January 9, 1989, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 235 (February 1989): 11-12)
August 3 — 11:15 a.m. Kaye Stricker is stopped at a traffic light at the corner of Gadsden Avenue and West Avenue K in Lancaster, California, when she sees a shiny object in the sky coming from the northwest. It hovers briefly over the Sierra Highway before “evaporating.” (“ Van Driver Reports Sighting UFO in Sky over Lancaster,” Palmdale (Calif.) Antelope Valley Press, August 4, 1988, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 232 (November 1988): 1)
August 23 - Early morning. A woman, "Amy," dreams of being taken into a UFO and flown to a small, unearthly island with a "ruddy, orange-brown forest." Looking out the hatch, she sees a bizarre creature like a winged mammal. She has a friendly telepathic conversation with it, and the two enter a clearing where they encounter three other creatures, one a "hideous bovine/reptilian seeming mix-up that stood upright, and two very large winged snakes." She also sees a human being in a dazed, unaware state. Accompanied by the friendly creature, Amy leads the man to the UFO and flies up into the clouds. Her final sensation is being hit by lightning, then hitting her bed at home. (Amy, "ET Vacation," in Andrea Pritchard, et al., Alien Discussions: Proceedings of the Abduction Study Conference, North Cambridge Press, 1994, pp. 75-76; Clark III 1036-1037; Clark IV 1151-1152)
September 2 - Afternoon. A man sitting by a pond on his rural residence near Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, is startled to see an object come out of the sky from the north and hover 50 feet away from him about 30 feet above the ground. It is spherical and about 15-20 feet in diameter. The upper section is red and the underside orange-red. The center is divided by a glass-like, amber-colored window, and lights can be seen flashing inside. The object emits a mist toward the ground. It silently hovers for about 2 minutes before moving off to the north. Later, the man finds a depressed area in the tall grass about 12 feet in diameter where the grass is swirled counterclockwise. (" Number of UFO Reports in State Unprecedented in `88," Latrobe (Pa.) Bulletin, January 9, 1989, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 235 (February 1989): 11-12)
September 25 —10:30 p.m. A man is driving along State Highway 113 in Lorain County, Ohio, when his car stalls. He sees two other stalled cars on the side of the road, so he gets out and talks to the four people from the other cars for a few minutes. They realize there are lights nearby in the woods that come from a silvery triangular object with a rim and rounded base. The treetops above it seem to be moving, although it is a calm night. After 15–20 minutes the object rises at an angle and moves away slowly and silently, passing overhead. It seems wider than the road. From the center of the base there is a white light like a fluorescent lamp. (Thomas M. Olsen, “ Sighting Alert in Ohio,” Flying Saucer Review 34, no. 2 (June 1989): 11–12; Herbert S. Taylor, “ An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part 1,” IUR 33, no. 4 (May 2011): 19)
October 25 - 5:00 a.m. A Miami, Florida, couple is on their balcony terrace when they see 3 yellow lights moving erratically from west to east. They pass behind the only cloud in the sky then disappear. (Herbert S. Taylor, " Mystery Clouds and the UFO Connection," IUR 29, no. 4 (July 2005): 19)
October 26 — 9:00 p.m. Many residents of the San Joaquin Valley around Fresno and Kingsburg, California, see a low-flying object with three red lights in a V-formation. It seems to be circling and is visible for 45 minutes. (“ Unidentified Object Steals across Valley Sky,” Fresno (Calif.) Bee, October 28, 1988, pp. 1, 16)
October or November — Pilot Robert Hopkins is flying a USAF RC-135S Cobra Ball reconnaissance aircraft east of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia when he is notified that the USSR has launched an RSD-10 Pioneer IRBM toward the Kura Missile Test Range at Klyuchi, Kamchatka Krai. The 1988 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty allows the Soviets to test- fire IRBMs into the sea, rather than breaking them up. Moving into position to collect telemetry information from the launch, Hopkins observes a “translucent, milky white wall moving from the left, over the USSR, to the right, over the Northern Pacific Ocean. It covered the entire sky from ground level to as far up as we could see looking out the front windows of the airplane.” The wall of light passes at an estimated 6,200 mph, disappearing eastward and leaving darkness behind it. Some analysts at the USAF Foreign Technology Division think it is caused by something in the first-stage fuel of the RSD-10; others suggest it is produced deliberately to dazzle US observation satellites. Some speculate that Russia has a secret Dome of Light weapon that has been observed several times since and that might involve a plasma that can temporarily disrupt electronics and blind a satellite. (Tyler Rogoway, “ U.S. Spyplane Pilot’s Account Indicates Soviet Russia Tested a ‘Dome of Light’ Superweapon,” The Drive: The War Zone, February 6, 2019)
November 11-12 - 5:00 p.m. A truck driver returning from Utah to Baker, California, goes through a series of bizarre and inexplicable experiences, some of them ufological, that leave him convinced that his truck is possessed and "they" have been in control of him all along. The experiences end shortly after midnight before he returns to Baker and leave him terrified. During the drive he has been drinking copious amounts of coffee, which may have contributed to his hallucinatory excitement. (Ann Druffel, " The Caffeine Zone," IUR 13, no. 3 (May/June 1988): 18-22)
December 1 — 11:00 p.m. A captain of the Brazilian Air Force flying a Mirage fighter jet is returning from a mission and is over Jaboãtoa dos Guararapes, Pernambuco, Brazil, when his radar indicates traffic about one mile from his position. He requests permission to intercept and goes after the brilliant disk-like object that has a dull glow like copper. The CINDACTA III radar still finds nothing. The UFO begins to approach the jet and suddenly his instruments begin to fail. A red light in the center begins to grow stronger and the pilot arms his missiles; but the missiles do not respond to his command and the UFO flies off in mere seconds. But the chase continues another 10 minutes, during which time the UFO plays with its pursuer. After landing, the pilot is told that another aircraft has seen a strange object about 15 minutes earlier in the state of São Paulo more than 1,242 miles away. (Clark III 207; Brazil 556–557; Clark IV 247–248)
December 4 — 5:25 a.m. A police officer en route to his station in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, notices a brilliant glow in the sky ahead of him. It is so bright he can hardly see as he drives down a four- lane road, and he swerves and blocks two lanes. About 150 feet in the air is a 75-foot-long, highly polished silver object shaped like an ellipse. It is emitting a humming sound and casting light into and all around his car. It moves left and right, then shoots straight up into the sky, stopping again briefly before departing. The officer’s eyes hurt badly from the brightness and he feels ill. There is a sunburn-like rash on his face, and he has severe eye irritation, headache, and neck pain after the incident. He notes that the paint on his car has been dulled and an unusual powder-like substance is found on the exterior. It is analyzed and found to consist of clay, sodium, carbon, salt, and potassium chloride. (“ Number of UFO Reports in State Unprecedented in ‘88,” Latrobe (Pa.) Bulletin, January 9, 1989, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 235 (February 1989): 11–12; Stan Gordon, “ Pennsylvania Law Officer Reports CE2 Incident,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 253 (May 1989): 10–12, 23; UFOEv II 192–193)
December 18 — Milton William Cooper surfaces on CompuServe online network, claiming that while working as a quartermaster with an intelligence team for Adm. Bernard A. Clarey, commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet, he had seen two documents, Project Grudge Special Report 13 and an MJ-12 briefing. He elaborates on Moore’s and Lear’s tales of crashes and alien bodies, adding that the aliens are called Alien Life Forms (ALFs) and that he has seen photos of aliens that supposedly landed at Holloman AFB, New Mexico, in 1964 or 1977. (Dolan II 452–453; Clark III 9, 367; Clark IV 24)
December 28 - 7:45 p.m. Many people in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, see a huge, bright-yellow triangular object in the sky. Mañuel Marcado watches as two F-14 Tomcats (probably from an aircraft carrier) approach the object from either side then cross in front of it. The light stops in mid-air and absorbs both planes, according to Marcado. The object moves over Lago Samán, then divides itself into two triangles, one of which shoots off to the east and the other to the north. Allegedly, the triangular objects were tracked on US Navy radars. (Jorge Martin, " Did Huge Triangle-Shaped UFO Abduct Two U.S. Fighters in Puerto Rico?" MUFON UFO Journal, no. 261 (January 1990): 20-23; Richard D. Seifried, " Jorge Martin and the Puerto Rican UFO Experience," Australian UFO Bulletin, December 1993, pp. 26-27; Alan Caviness, " Military Encounter with a UFO," Caviness Report; Good Need, pp. 379-381; " Puerto Rico UFO Encounters: Fighter Jets Went Missing near Gigantic Triangular Object, 1988," Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, October 17, 2023; "` Mile-Wide' Delta-Shaped UFO Made Two US F-14 Fighter Jets Disappear in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, 1988," Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, July 27, 2025)
1989
Budd Hopkins organizes the Intruders Foundation in Manhattan, New York City, to provide support for alleged victims of alien abduction, conduct research, and promote public awareness of the phenomenon. With funding from real estate magnate Robert Bigelow and Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein, the group sets up a network of sympathetic therapists, hypnotists, and investigators across North America to whom abductees can turn. (Eghigian, After, pp, 282–283)
January - Leonard Stringfield issues his fifth Status Report. (Leonard H. Stringfield, UFO Crash/ Retrievals: Is the Coverup Lid Lifting? The Author, 1989)
January 28 — Evening. A triangular UFO is seen over Tiptree, Essex, England. Its color changes from bright to dull white before it shoots to the southwest. Other triangular UFOs are observed in southeast Essex in January. (Marler 124)
February - Numerous witnesses in Gloucestershire, England, report a noiseless triangular UFO "ablaze with lights." One report describes a series of light beams emanating toward the ground that give it a "tripod effect." (Wilts & Gloucester Standard of Cirencester, February 24, 1989; Marler 124-125)
February 8 — 3:40 a.m. A man in Gulf Breeze, Florida, wakes to the sound of dogs barking outside. He sees a small object descending low over a nearby lot. It appears to be two connected discs, one on top of the other, not more than 3 feet in diameter. A white light is on top, and many other lights are blinking in shades of red, orange, and green. He approaches it, but it disappears in a flash of light. The duration is about 12 minutes. (NICAP, “ Gulf Breeze, Florida: February 8, 1989”)
February 10 — 8:42 p.m. A woman in Grove Oak, Alabama, tells the Fyffe, Alabama, police department that she has been watching a curved object for more than an hour with a pair of binoculars. It has a red light on each end and a white light in between, with the top of the curve outlined in green light. Police Chief Junior Garmany and Assistant Chief Fred Works drive to the site and see the lighted object at 1,000–1,500 feet, completely silent. It begins moving away as they approach. The officers drive after the object, following it for 12 miles when it suddenly reverses direction and flies over their patrol car at 300–400 mph. Works later on confirms that he thinks they had seen two different objects. A UFO is soon seen by law enforcement officers to the south in Crossville, Geraldine, and Collinsville, Alabama. The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office receives more than 50 calls from citizens in surrounding communities, including Dawson and Dog Town, Alabama, and Lick Skillet, Tennessee, regarding a “silent thing streaking through the dark.” (“ Friday Night UFO Remains a Mystery,” Fort Payne (Ala.) Times Journal, February 14, 1989, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 236 (March 1989): 10; Carey H. Baker, “The Fyffe, Alabama, Experience,” in Walter H. Andrus Jr., ed., MUFON 1990 International UFO Symposium Proceedings, MUFON, 1990, pp. 86–91; Meghan Mitchell, “ Alabama’s UFO Capital Still Has a Story to Tell,” The Crimson White (University of Alabama), October 28, 2019)
February 13 - 9:00-10:00 p.m. A large, low-flying, cylindrical UFO is reported by many witnesses in the North Caucasus region of Russia. It has spotlights in front and back, porthole-like openings along the sides, fins on its tail, and travels at about 65 mph. As it flies over Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria, it drifts down to an altitude of 150 feet then flies off. (Jacques Vallée, UFO Chronicles of the Soviet Union: A Cosmic Samizdat, Ballantine, 1992, pp. 32-33)
February 15 — Fyffe, Alabama, police officer Dennison Scott and two other officers investigate a citizen’s report of a strange object in the sky, flashing multicolored lights for more than an hour before it moves away toward the northwest. (Dolan II 472–473)
March — The Center for UFO Studies launches a new series of its Journal of UFO Studies, edited by Michael D. Swords, who examines the literature relating to extraterrestrial intelligence in order to provide a basis for judging the ETH as an acceptable concept for use in analyzing UFO phenomena. (Michael D. Swords, “ Science and the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis in Ufology,” JUFOS 1 (1989): 67–102)
March - Robert Lazar allegedly sees a disc on his third visit to S-4 at Groom Lake, Nevada. It is a classic-looking flying saucer, resting on three legs in a hangar. It is about 35-40 feet in diameter, 15 feet tall, and the color of pewter. During his stay at S-4, he sees a total of 9 flying saucers, each distinctive in design and size. His assignment, however, involves just one craft he nicknames the "sport model," which he is allowed to examine on his fourth visit to S-4. The disc has three levels, and he is cleared for the lower two. Lazar crawls underneath the craft and sees three "gravity amplifiers" that focus a "Gravity A" wave from the "total annihilation" reactor in the center level of the craft. In this level, he sees a control panel and very small chairs-too small for human pilots. He discovers that part of the skin of the craft can become transparent, allowing one to look through it like a window. According to Lazar, the fuel for the craft is Element 115 [later synthesized in 2003 and named moscovium in 2016, but this is much different than what Lazar describes], housed in the reactor where it undergoes bombardment and spontaneous fission, producing antimatter particles that are converted to electricity with 100% efficiency. This power operates the amplifier, distorts the surrounding gravitational field, causes the craft to be invisible, and shortens the distance to a charted destination. Speed-of-light limitations are irrelevant. But Element 115 cannot be manufactured on Earth. The aliens have left only 500 pounds of it, but just 223 grams (half a pound) can fuel a craft for a long time. On another occasion, Lazar witnesses a demonstration of the craft, which lifts off the ground, moves left and right, and sits back down. He has access to and reads more than 100 documents dealing with the craft, its propulsion, and alien technology, as well as photos of gray alien bodies. The aliens are allegedly from the Zeta Reticuli 1 and 2 star system. The Reticulans claim to have genetically corrected human evolution up to 65 times over the past 10,000 years using viruses. They have given humans religion to prevent them from self-destructing and claim to be able to exert mind control on people when they are relaxed or sleeping. Lazar allegedly catches a glimpse of a small, gray alien standing between two men in white coats in a small room inside the secret S-4 facility. The documents also mention an exchange of information and hardware between the US government and the Reticulans until 1979, when some kind of conflict occurred. This is when the aliens leave and the military begins reverse-engineering what alien tech they have acquired. Then in May 1987, some scientists take an antimatter reactor to an underground Nevada test facility, where they are killed when attempting to cut the reactor open. Lazar claims he was hired as a substitute for one of these men. (" Billy Goodman Happening, Nov. 21, 1989," transcript of call-in radio show, KVEG-AM, Las Vegas, Nevada; Erich A. Aggen Jr., " Black Holes and Robert Lazar," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 266 (June 1990): 6-7; Grant R. Cameron, T. Scott Crain, and Chris Rutkowski, " In the Land of Dreams," IUR 15, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1990): 4-8; " S-4 Papoose Lake," Bob Lazar Debunked; " New High-Def Photos of S-4," Bob Lazar Debunked; " Element 115," Bob Lazar Debunked; Dolan II 475-478; Jacobsen, Area 51, p. 12)
March 1 — Albuquerque, New Mexico, ufologist Robert Hastings issues a 13-page statement with 37 pages of appended documents and mails it to many prominent individuals in ufology. He claims “Falcon” is Richard Doty and “Condor” is Robert M. Collins, and that Doty and Moore are spreading disinformation. (Robert Hastings, “ The MJ-12 Affair: Facts, Questions, Comments,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 254 (June 1989): 3–11; Clark III 370; Clark IV 414)
March 9 — Night. Susan Stockman, a reporter for the Rainsville (Ala.) Weekly Post, is with general manager Teri Baker when she snaps three time-lapse photographs of a distant UFO just above the treetop level, showing a movement unlike that of an airplane that appears shortly afterward. (Susan Stockman, “ Section Native Says UFOs Are Real,” Rainsville (Ala.) Weekly Post, March 9, 1989, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 237 (April 1989): 4; Susan Stockman, “ A First-Hand Glimpse of the UFO,” Rainsville (Ala.) Weekly Post, March 16, 1989, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 237 (April 1989): 5–6)
March 12 — 7:30 p.m. Gary Coker of Skirum, Alabama, sees a large UFO with red and green flashing lights on the side and two white lights about 6 feet in diameter on the bottom hovering about 5 miles away. Another man in Geraldine, Alabama, sees an object the size of a football field hovering above his chicken house at about the same time. In both cases, the object disappears after the witnesses go inside to get a camera or binoculars. (“ Some Say UFO Is As Big As a Football Field,” Rainsville (Ala.) Weekly Post, March 16, 1989, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 237 (April 1989): 3)
Late March — 9:20 p.m. After a training exercise at Mihai Kogălniceanu Air Force Base [now Mihai Kogălniceanu International Airport] in southeast Romania, 18–20 aircraft pilots of Regiment 57 are inside a building at the base planning future exercises; outside, Col. Aurelian Dobre notices multiple lights appear above some nearby trees. He alerts the oher pilots to come out, and they see a triangular formation of objects at an equal distance from each other, all bathed in a silver light, moving south to north at a height of 4 miles. Dobre hears a noise like the rustle of a flight of birds; unlike his colleagues, he thinks the lights are on a single object the size of a football stadium. Col. Dan Aloanei is flying a MiG-29 and sees them as a V-formation of neon lights that disappear to the northeast. The next day, all the witnesses are required to submit written reports. (Romania 105–109)
March 22 — 8:30 p.m. After telling writer Gene Huff and pilot John Lear about his UFO secrets, Lazar and his wife Tracy drive Lear’s RV to Tikaboo Peak, Nevada, off Highway 375 to view a test flight of a flying saucer at S-4. Lear sees an elliptical-shaped light through Lear’s Celestron telescope for 7 minutes. Lear videotapes the encounter, and the tape shows a bright light apparently maneuvering. When the camera zooms in close to the object, it seems to be spinning. They watch it descend behind a mountain. (Tom Mahood, “ The Robert Lazar Timeline,” Other Hand, January 1997; Susan Wright, UFO Headquarters: Investigations on Current Extraterrestrial Activity, St. Martin’s, 1999 ed., pp. 186–209)
March 25 - The Soviet Mars probe Phobos 2 takes an infrared photograph of what appears to be a large and long cylindrical object very close to Mars moonlet Phobos. If this Phobos Mystery Object is at the same distance as the moonlet itself, it would be roughly 1.2 miles wide and 15 miles long. Its surface brightness is the same as Phobos. Its sides are parallel and both of the ends are rounded. The end toward Phobos narrows slightly; the other end has a short protrusion. This is the last image taken by the probe. On March 27 it fails to reestablish communications with Earth due to an onboard computer malfunction and goes into a spin. (Paul Stonehill and Philip Mantle, The Soviet UFO Files: Paranormal Encounters behind the Iron Curtain, Quadrillion, 1998, pp. 70-73; Patrick Gross, " Soviet Probe Meets UFO on Phobos Mission")
March 29 — Robert Lazar, Tracy Lazar, Gene Huff, John Lear, and Jim Tagliani drive to Tikaboo Peak, Nevada, to observe another flight test. They videotape a moving light.
Spring — Abductee author Whitley Strieber begins publishing The Communion Letter, containing news and information on UFOs and the visitors. Nine issues are released, the last in Spring 1991. Strieber also gives approval to a number of local Communion groups in Cleveland, Ohio; San Antonio and Houston, Texas; Los Angeles, California; Boulder, Colorado; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and New York City. These informal circles offer a support group and a welcoming fellowship for those with similar experiences to Strieber’s. (“ The Communion Letter,” Beyond Communion; Eghigian, After, pp. 289–291)
April 5 — Robert Lazar, Tracy Lazar, her sister, Gene Huff, and John Lear make a third trip to view a flight test along Groom Lake Road, Nevada. They are discovered by guards and questioned by the Lincoln County sheriff.
April 6 — Lazar is prevented from going to work at Groom Lake and is taken to Indian Springs Air Force Base [now Creech AFB] for questioning. He is told he is no longer employed by EG&G, and if he comes near Groom Lake again he will be arrested for espionage. He is allegedly given a transcript of Tracy’s telephone conversations which indicate she is having an affair. (Jacobsen, Area 51, pp. 12–13)
April 13 — The Kerry Committee report, the result of an investigation led by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics, and International Operations, shows that Lt. Col. Oliver North and other members of the Reagan administration had set up a private network involving the National Security Council and CIA to deliver military equipment to the Contras, US-backed right-wing rebel groups in Nicaragua. This has not been authorized by Congress, and much of the funding comes from drug trafficking. DEA agent Celerino Castillo testifies that from 1985 to 1987, he discovered that the Contras were transporting cocaine through El Salvador’s Ilopango Airport. Castillo tried to bust the operation, but discovers that the traffickers were protected by the CIA. The subcommittee determines that there is “substantial evidence of drug smuggling... on the part of individual Contras, Contra suppliers, Contra pilots, mercenaries who worked with the Contras, and Contra supporters.” It does “not find that Contra leaders were personally involved in drug trafficking.” (Wikipedia, “ Kerry Committee report”)
April 15 - 5:30 p.m. A father and his 16-year-old son watch from their front lawn in Novato, California, a slowly descending object shaped like "two spheres connected by together like a stem." They are golden with a white halo around them. Through binoculars, they can see four smaller objects, golden discs, maneuvering near the original dumbbell-shaped UFO. The father notes a "strange absence of kids and dogs at the time." (Richard F. Haines, " Daylight Dumbbell," IUR 14, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1989): 12-13, 23; Clark III 866; Clark IV 961)
April 24 — 10:55 p.m. An object described as three times the size of an aircraft hovers above Cherepovets, Vologda Oblast, Russia, at a height of 1,000 feet. (Jacques Vallée, UFO Chronicles of the Soviet Union: A Cosmic Samizdat, Ballantine, 1992, p. 11)
May 2 — Pilot Manoel Luiz Christóvão, flying a small plane about 6 miles west of Arapongas, Paraná, Brazil, sees a huge circular light in the sky as he is preparing to land. Another plane flying nearby cannot see the light. Christovào continues to land, but the light positions itself in front of the plane, forcing him to make a sudden maneuver. The object moves in front of him again, forcing him to maneuver again. The pilot decides to head directly toward the light, after which the UFO accelerates abruptly and disappears. The maneuvers last approximately 10 minutes. (“ Piloto se arrisca em prova de fogo no Paraná,” Portal UFO, December 1, 1995; Clark III 201; Brazil 542–543; Clark IV 241)
May 7 — Hoaxed South African Air Force documents purport to describe a UFO crash in the Kalahari Desert in Botswana 50 miles north of the South African border. Two Mirage fighter aircraft allegedly pursue a fast-moving UFO and shoot it down with an experimental “thor 2 laser cannon.” However, UFO researcher Cynthia Hind notices ludicrous errors in the documents, not least among them that they are in English, not Afrikaans. (Wikipedia, “ UFO sightings in South Africa”; “ UFO Crash on Botswana/South African Border (Case no. 21),” UFO Afrinews, no. 3 (May 1990): 5–13; Cynthia Hind, “ Further Report on the Alleged Botswana/South African UFO Border Crash: Case no. 21,” UFO Afrinews, no. 4 (March 1991): 20–24; “ Almost Final Report on the Botswana/South African Alleged UFO Crash,” UFO Afrinews, no. 5 (January 1992); 29–35; Cynthia Hind, “ Anatomy of a Hoax: The UFO Crash on the South African/Botswana Border,” UFO Times, no. 23 (May/June 1993): 15–18; Clark III 1096–1098; Clark IV 1222–1224)
May 12–14 — Psychiatrist Rima E. Laibow holds the first of seven Treatment and Research of Experienced Anomalous Trauma conferences, this one at Fairfield University in Connecticut. Laibow has suggested that abductions, which she considers “experienced anomalous trauma,” are the result of an unknown factor, possibly one outside the realm of conventional psychological explanations. Her research focus is on the psychological impact of these experiences and clinical assessment and treatment. The conference brings together clinicians, social scientists, journalists, and UFO investigators. Laibow believes that a large number of abductees exhibit the same symptoms as victims of child sexual abuse, such as a sense of affection toward their abusers; however, these feelings are later replaced by “reactions of fear, anger, distrust, and resentment.” She considers the work of Budd Hopkins and David Jacobs to be amateurish and potentially clinically harmful. (Rima E. Laibow, “ Dual Victims: The Abused and the Abducted,” IUR 14, no. 3 (May/June 1989): 4–9; Patrick Huyghe, Swamp Gas Times: My Two Decades on the UFO Beat, Paraview, 2001, p. 151; Keith Basterfield, “ Whatever Happened to Key Abduction Researcher Dr. Rima E. Laibow?” Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena—Scientific Research, January 2. 2021; Eghigian, After, pp. 284–285)
May 15 — Robert Lazar is first interviewed by George Knapp on KLAS-TV in Las Vegas, Nevada, in silhouette, using the pseudonym “Dennis.” Lazar discusses his purported employment at S-4, a subsidiary facility he claims exists near in Area 51. He says the S-4 facility is adjacent to Papoose Lake, which is located south of the main Area 51 facility at Groom Lake. He claims the site consists of concealed aircraft hangars built into a mountainside. Lazar says that his job was to help with reverse engineering the antigravity propulsion system of one of nine flying saucers, which he alleges are extraterrestrial in origin. Lazar claims one of the flying saucers, the one he terms the “sport model,” is manufactured out of a metallic substance similar in appearance and touch to stainless steel. (Tom Mahood, “ The Robert Lazar Timeline,” Other Hand, January 1997; Grant R. Cameron, T. Scott Crain, and Chris Rutkowski, “ In the Land of Dreams,” IUR 15, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1990): 4–8; Don Ecker, “Freedom of Disinformation,” Fortean Times 122 (May 1999): 28–31; Jacobsen, Area 51, pp. 9–15; George Knapp and Matt Adams, “ I-Team: The Man Who Sent Shock Waves through UFO Circles 30 Years Ago,” KLAS-TV, May 15, 2019; “ Bob Lazar Describes Alien Technology Housed at Secret S-4 Base in Nevada, Part 5,” 8 News Now–Las Vegas YouTube channel, November 8, 2019)
May 23 - Milton William Cooper produces a 25-page document titled The Secret Government, in which he claims that an unscrupulous group of covert CIA and other intelligence operatives actually runs the country. He says they were responsible for murdering one-time Secretary of Defense James Forrestal in 1949 because he threatened to expose the UFO cover-up. He claims there have been at least 16 downed alien craft, 65 bodies, and one live alien retrieved between 1947 and 1952, with at least 10 more crash/retrievals during the Eisenhower years. Cooper says aliens from a dying planet orbiting Betelgeuse landed at Holloman AFB, New Mexico, in 1954 and reached an agreement with the government. A second meeting took place with President Eisenhower at Edwards AFB, California, and signed a formal treaty with an alien ambassador, His Omnipotent Highness Krill. But, he claims, the aliens broke the treaty, abducting humans, conspiring with the Soviets, and manipulating society through secret organizations. Cooper also claims that Eisenhower had created a scientific advisory group in 1960 called the Jason Group to "discover the truth of the alien question." Much more spurious and outlandish tales develop. (Milton William Cooper, The Secret Government: The Origin, Identity, and Purpose of MJ-12, The Author, May 23, 1989; Clark III 367-368; Graff 323-324; Clark IV 411-412)
May 30 — 3:46 a.m. TAM Airlines Flight 573 in the vicinity of Americana, São Paulo, Brazil, is contacted twice by the local control tower to ask if they can see an aircraft in their vicinity. Both times the pilot answers no, but at 3:52 a.m. the pilot says he can now see a strong light near the airplane. It maneuvers near the aircraft and one of the pilots estimates its size as about 164 feet. About 8 minutes later, they lose visual contact. (Clark III 201; Brazil 543; Clark IV 241–242)
May 30 — 9:15 p.m. A man and his son in Winnipeg, Manitoba, observe a “silvery, metallic hot dog,” oriented vertically and moving steadily west. After several minutes, the object is lost in the distance. (Chris Rutkowski, “ The Canadian UFO Wave of 1989,” IUR 14, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1989): 7)
June - Jacques Vallée presents "five arguments against the extraterrestrial origin" of UFOs at the eighth annual conference of the Society for Scientific Exploration in Boulder, Colorado. (1) There are too many close encounters to explain them as a physical survey of the earth. (2) The humanoid body structure is unlikely to have originated elsewhere and is not biologically adapted to space travel. (3) The behavior of alien abductors contradicts the idea that advanced aliens are conducting genetic or scientific experiments. (4) UFOs have been recorded throughout human history. (5) The apparent ability of UFOs to manipulate space and time suggests different and richer alternatives to the ETH. Vallée cites the earthlight theory, the control system hypothesis, and travel via wormholes as viable explanations. (Jacques Vallée, " Five Arguments Against the Extraterrestrial Origin of Unidentified Flying Objects," Journal of Scientific Exploration 4, no. 1 (1990): 105-117)
June — Robert Hastings lines up an impressive case against Bill Moore, saying that the Project Aquarius message was altered by Moore, that Richard Doty had forged the Ellsworth AFB document, that Doty’s typewriter at Kirtland AFB was implicated in the July 1980 Craig R. Weitzel letter, that Doty had given data to Linda Moulton Howe that contradicted data in the Eisenhower briefing memo, and that Moore admitted to faking a government ID card and passed himself off as an intelligence operative for two years. (Robert Hastings, “ The MJ-12 Affair: Facts, Questions, Comments,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 254 (June 1989): 3–11)
June — Capt. Robert P. Osedacz completes an engineering thesis at the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, in which he states that NORAD has operated a database of unknown objects in geosynchronous orbit (fastwalkers) since 1972. Most of these are assumed to be uncataloged satellites. (Robert P. Osedacz, Orbit Determination of Sunlight-Illuminated Objects Detected by Overhead Platforms, thesis, Air University, June 1989)
June 2 — Paul Paulsen Frøyen sees two “U-boats” in Sognefjord between Lavik and Vadheim, Vestland, Norway. He watches them for two-and-a-half minutes, noting their periscopes and towers. When they submerge, he can see the spray. The Norwegian Air Force sends two jets to look for them, and the Coast Guard is also alerted. (Ole Jonny Brænne, “ Observations of Unidentified Submarine Objects in Norway,” IUR 20, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1995): 13)
June 4 — 7:45 p.m. A security guard and an air traffic controller at Air Force Facility 42 in Palmdale, California, witness a silver flying object and three orb-shaped UFOs during testing of the B1-B bomber. There is also a rumor of an abduction occurring on this date at the same facility. (William F. Hamilton III, “ Flying Wings and Deep Desert Secrets,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 271 (November 1990): 15–16, 21)
June 6 - School children near the village of Konantsevo, Vologda Oblast, Russia, see a luminous dot in the sky. It gets larger, turns into a shining sphere, lands in a meadow, and moves to the Reka Kubena river about a quarter mile away. It seems to split, and a "headless person in dark garb" appears. The entity and sphere become invisible. Three more spheres are said to land later in the same meadow. (" UFO Sightings in Soviet Union," UPI, June 23, 1989; Jacques Vallée, UFO Chronicles of the Soviet Union: A Cosmic Samizdat, Ballantine, 1992, pp. 11-12; Gordon Creighton, " III-The Strange Events at Konantsevo, near Kharovsk (June, 1989)," Flying Saucer Review 35, no. 3 (September 1990): 4; " IV-Extract from Bulletin No. 8/1989 Issued by the Yaroslavl' UFO Study Group," Flying Saucer Review 35, no. 3 (September 1990): 5-6; " V-A Fuller Report on the Kharovsk (Konantsevo) Case; Little Kharovsk Shakes the Entire Vast Country," Flying Saucer Review 35, no. 3 (September 1990): 6-10; Patrick Gross, " URECAT: UFO Related Entities Catalog," June 13, 2007; " 1989 RU #UFOB [CASE] Russian Kids in Konantsevo See Strange Robotic Beings," UFOB | Your UAP Library YouTube channel, January 13, 2023)
June 24 — 12:00 midnight. A. N. Olkhovay goes out on her balcony in Kyiv, Ukraine, and sees a dim, twinkling, rectangular object shaped “like a loaf of bread” hovering above the Obolon neighborhood. She calls her neighbors, and one of them named Ivanitsky hastily takes two photos. The film is developed in the offices of the Pravda Ukrainy newspaper but it shows nothing. (V. D. Musinsky, “ Letter: Soviet Ufology,” IUR 15, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1990): 21)
June 30 — 9:30 p.m. G. I. Lerman and his wife Ann watch a fiery object with a tail over Lake Radunka in Kyiv, Ukraine, flying at an altitude of 1,640–3,280 feet, first slowly, then speeding up. After a minute or two the flames die out and they see a silver-white object. During the sighting they feel their own movements slowing down. (V. D. Musinsky, “ Letter: Soviet Ufology,” IUR 15, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1990): 21)
Summer — Night. Edward Chard sees some odd lights hovering in Essex, England. He looks at them through binoculars and sees a large triangular object. (Nick Redfern, A Covert Agenda: UFO Secrecy Exposed, Simon & Schuster, 1997, p. 183)
July 1 — Bill Moore makes a stunning presentation at the MUFON UFO Symposium in Las Vegas, speaking candidly for the first time about his part in counterintelligence operations against Paul Bennewitz. Moore says he provided Doty with information about Bennewitz’s thinking and activities. Moore suggests that Doty was chosen by the real Falcon as a liaison person. He says that by mid-1982 Bennewitz had put together the story that contained all the elements later circulated by Lear and Cooper. Moore decided to go along with the disinformation game in order to keep in good graces with people who knew something about UFOs and national security. He withheld and blacked out certain portions of UFO-related government documents. He says he stopped cooperating in 1984 because he realized the documents he was receiving from AFOSI were faked, much of the scenario similar to the alien-contact mythos later spun by Lear and Cooper. All of it originated in the disinformation directed at Paul Bennewitz. He gives the names of others who “were the subject of intelligence community interest between 1980 and 1984”: Leonard H. Stringfield, Pete Mazzola, Peter Gersten, Lawrence Fawcett, Jim and Coral Lorenzen, and Larry W. Bryant. Moore leaves the stage through a back door, his reputation in ruins. (Don Ecker, “Freedom of Disinformation,” Fortean Times 122 (May 1999): 28–31; Clark III 370–372; “ Bill_Moore_1989_MUFONSpeech.avi,” The Breeders Syndicate YouTube channel, February 7, 2022; Curt Collins, “ Bill Moore and UFO Disinformation Accusations,” Blue Blurry Lines, April 29, 2022; Eghigian, After, pp. 259–260; Clark IV 414–416; “ Full, Infamous 1989 Disinformation Confession Speech by Bill Moore on Ufology, Paul Bennewitz and More,” Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, September 3, 2025)
July 4 - Twilight. Two women are walking with a 6-year-old girl along the Dnieper River in a park near Kyiv, Ukraine, when they see a "boat" with three beings on board. The entities have absolutely identical faces-extremely pale, long blond hair, large eyes, and collarless silver shirts that look like nightgowns. They tell the women they are from another planet and want to show them their spaceship. The women walk with them but experience odd physical sensations and beg to be let go. They see a ship behind some trees, and the little girl gets frightened. The beings relent and board the craft by a ladder that then retracts. The door closes silently, and the craft departs. (V. D. Musinsky, " Letter: Soviet Ufology," IUR 15, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1990): 20-21; Jacques Vallée, UFO Chronicles of the Soviet Union: A Cosmic Samizdat, Ballantine, 1992, pp. 37-39)
July 4 — Night. Members of the Iskuskovs family are on vacation in the Podgortsy section of southern Kyiv, Ukraine. They watch silver-suited beings emerge from a landed UFO. (V. D. Musinsky, “ Letter: Soviet Ufology,” IUR 15, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1990): 21)
July 6 — 7:00 p.m. Yasuhiko Hamazaki takes an 8mm videotape recording of a brightly luminous object that passes nearly overhead in Hakui, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. At one point he uses a zoom lens to get a clearer image. The object has a central ring like the planet Saturn, except that it is squarish and dome-shaped. About one minute of the video captures the object descending rapidly at a shallow angle, then suddenly changing direction and rising at a steep angle at very high speed. Bruce Maccabee’s photo analysis shows that the object is not an airplane, balloon, kite, or model airplane. (Bruce Maccabee, “ A Rare Photo Coincidence,” IUR 15, no. 3 (May/June 1990): 4–9, 22; UFOEv II 297–298)
July 26 — 2:40 p.m. R. H. Stepanian, air traffic controller at Sochi International Airport, Krasnodar Krai, Russia, receives information from a Tupolev Tu-154 airliner crew flying from Simferopol, Crimea, that they have seen UFOs from a distance of 20–30 miles. According to the pilots, first one, then two “strange objects” pace them on their left. One is almost exactly square, while the other is the shape of an elongated rhombus. At the time of the radio transmission, the two objects are swiftly moving away and beginning to separate. Apparently two other flights report multiple UFOs to the airport. (Paul Stonehill and Philip Mantle, The Soviet UFO Files: Paranormal Encounters behind the Iron Curtain, Quadrillion, 1998, pp. 74–76; Stonehill and Mantle, Russia’s USO Secrets, Flying Disk, 2020, pp. 134–135)
July 28–29 — 11:20 p.m. A domed disc-shaped object is seen over the rocket weapons depot at Kapustin Yar, Astrakhan Oblast, Russia. The object is flashing an intensely bright light from its underside. It hovers above the site at a height of 65 feet. Roughly 13–17 feet in diameter, its hull is illuminated with a dim green, phosphorus-like color. It circles two or three times and moves toward a railway station, still flashing its light, then returns to the weapons depot at a height of 200–230 feet. Soviet soldiers Levin and Klimenko say the object performed acrobatic maneuvers, at one point dividing into three shining points and taking the shape of a triangle. A fighter jet is scrambled, but the object evades it. Two other objects appear at low altitudes of 980–1,300 feet. The last one to appear, a cigar-shaped object, gives off flashes of red light at constant intervals, then lights of all colors. At around 1:30 a.m., it flies to the southwest and disappears. (Don Berliner, with Marie Galbreath and Antonio Huneeus, UFO Briefing Document: The Best Available Evidence, Dell, 2000, pp. 133–138; Good Need, pp. 354–355, 363; Paul Stonehill and Philip Mantle, The Soviet UFO Files: Paranormal Encounters behind the Iron Curtain, Quadrillion, 1998, p. 79; Nukes 453–456)
August — Day. A man is walking his dog in a nature preserve between Wolverhampton and Dudley, England, when he sees a tennis-ball-sized “soap bubble” that has a white, feathery mass inside floating slowly about 12 feet above the ground. It floats into a field where there are several horses, which do not seem concerned about it. Suddenly the object changes direction and moves into a strong wind, coming straight toward him. In moments it is just inches away from him, seemingly surveying him. At close quarters he could see that the object has an oily look. At the instant he thinks about popping the bubble, it speeds off to the east, covering about 30 feet in one second, and disappears. (Jenny Randles, “Don’t Forget the Y-Files,” Fortean Times 405 (May 2021): 29)
August 2 — Richard L. Huff in the FBI Office of Information and Privacy affirms in a letter to researcher Larry W. Bryant that it keeps a classified personal file on Stanton T. Friedman and denies access to it. (Nick Redfern, Body Snatchers in the Desert, Paraview, 2005, p. 191)
August 2 — The Russian tanker Volgoneft-161 is in the Sea of Japan off the region of Primorsky Krai, Russia, when crew members notice an unusual sphere about 35° above the northern horizon. It is pale yellow and surrounded by a hazy luminescence. The object moves to the northeast, ascending, and is visible for 5 minutes. (Stonehill and Mantle, Russia’s USO Secrets, Flying Disk, 2020, p. 116)
August 10 — 9:00 p.m. William Heijster, a Dutch military psychologist who works at the Ministry of Defence at The Hague, Netherlands, is driving with his family near Estepona, Spain, when they see an object hovering over a mountain. Heijster stops the car and videotapes the object off and on for the next hour. The incident is plausibly explained by Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos as the flight of a Transmediterranean research balloon launched from Sicily in a joint operation by CNES (France), INTA (Spain), and the Italian space agency. (Bruce S. Maccabee, “ Recent UFO Videotapes,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 265 (May 1990): 3–7; Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos, Expedientes Insólitos, Temas de Hoy, 1995, pp. 125–130; UFOEv II 298–299; “ El caso ovni acaecido en Malaga en 1989,” El Blog de Malaga, October 1, 2012)
August 22 — 2:40 p.m. A circular, flashing light is in view for about 5 minutes near Sunderland, England. At first it is stationary, but then it moves rapidly upward, leaving a hole in a cloud that then glows red. (Mark Rodeghier, “ Another Hole in the Cloud,” IUR 33, no. 2 (July 2010): 24)
August 28 — Larry W. Bryant files suit in District Court for the District of Columbia for the FBI to release its files on Stanton T. Friedman. (Nick Redfern, Body Snatchers in the Desert, Paraview, 2005, p. 191)
Late August — 12:00 midnight. A woman is driving north of La Salle, Manitoba, when she sees a “cloudlike boomerang” pass over her car. (Chris Rutkowski, “ The Canadian UFO Wave of 1989,” IUR 14, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1989): 7)
Late August — While working as an engineer on the jack-up barge GSF Galveston Key in the North Sea, Chris Gibson and another witness see an unfamiliar isosceles triangle– shaped delta aircraft, apparently refueling from a Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker and accompanied by a pair of F-111 fighter-bombers. Gibson and his girlfriend watch the aircraft for several minutes until they move out of sight. He subsequently draws a sketch of the formation. (Christopher Bellamy, “ Oil Rig Engineer Sketches Secret US Spy Aircraft,” The Independent (UK), December 14, 1992; Bill Sweetman, “Secret Mach 6 Spy Plane,” Popular Science 242 (March 1993): 56–63, 98–101; Bill Sweetman, Aurora: The Pentagon’s Secret Hypersonic Spyplane, Motorbooks, 1993, pp. 12–15, 88–89; Susan Wright, UFO Headquarters: Investigations on Current Extraterrestrial Activity, St. Martin’s, 1999 ed., pp. 154–155; James Randerson, “ Is It a Bird? Is It a Spaceship? No, It’s a Secret US Spy Plane,” The Guardian (UK), June 24, 2006; Simon Gray, “ Chris Gibson’s Aurora Sighting,” Secret Projects forum, November 1, 2007; UFOFiles2, p. 144; Marler 178–180)
September — CAUS devotes all of one issue of its Just Cause newsletter to a harshly critical review of Moore’s activities. (“ A Majestic Deception,” Just Cause, new ser., no. 21 (September 1989): 1–16; Clark III 371; Clark IV 415)
September 6 — 11:13 p.m. Tong Yuwei, a worker in Ürümqi, Xinjiang Autonomous Province, China, sees a dark cloud light up with a yellow flash. A rotating, saucer-shaped object with a black gap on its edge appears. It makes a noise louder than a car engine. After hovering for a minute, the red-and-yellow glowing object moves out of sight at high speed to the southwest. (Central Intelligence Agency, “ UFO Sighted over Urumqi Evening of 6 Sep,” [memo on Xingua news report], September 13, 1989)
September 13 — A woman is returning home from the grocery store in Protvino, Moscow Oblast, Russia, when two tall women in tight, silvery suits jump out from behind some boulders and paralyze her. The women have light blonde hair, gray-green skin, and hats with antennae. They take her to a small, disc-shaped craft by the side of the road and invite their captive for a ride, which they insist will not last long. She hesitantly accepts. Inside are three chairs, one of them occupied by a man. The woman offers them some of the bread she has just purchased, but the women decline, offering her some of their own bread. Without thinking, she reflexively pops a piece into her mouth and swallows. She later describes the taste as a lightly sweet rye bread. The craft ascends and flies over Protvino before dropping the woman off at her apartment. The space people tell her they will meet again. (Vladimir Azhazha, Inaya Zhizn’, Golos, 1998; Joshua Cutchin, “The Great Alien Bake-Off,” Fortean Times 332 (November 2015): 44)
September 15 — 3:40 a.m. A woman in eastern Winnipeg, Manitoba, is looking out her kitchen window when a deltoid-shaped object sails past. It has lines of “Christmas lights” spreading out from its leading edge and moves silently out of view in 4–5 seconds. (Chris Rutkowski, “ The Canadian UFO Wave of 1989,” IUR 14, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1989): 8)
September 15–19 — The Center for UFO Studies conducts the first expedition to the Roswell debris field site near Corona, New Mexico. The 10-member team includes Mark Rodeghier, Mimi Hynek, Donald R. Schmitt, and Kevin Randle. They find no unusual debris but survey the site and take soil samples. (Mark Rodeghier, “ Roswell, 1989,” IUR 14, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1989): 4–8, 23)
September 16 — Night. A female employee at a meat packing plant in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, steps outside for a quick break when a beam of light strikes her from above. Looking up, she sees a hovering disc-shaped craft about 130–260 feet in diameter. She feels no fear and has a euphoric feeling as she begins rising up into the air toward the object. She also hears a voice extolling her to “fly with them.” Other workers come to the scene and begin yelling and running toward the woman. The beam disappears, and the UFO flies away. (Jacques Vallée, UFO Chronicles of the Soviet Union: A Cosmic Samizdat, Ballantine, 1992, p. 36)
September 27 - 6:30 p.m. Several children playing at a park in Voronezh, Russia, see a pinkish aerial glow approaching them. As it passes overhead, they see that it is a deep red, ball-shaped object. The object flies around in circles for a few minutes and then leaves. When it returns, it hovers briefly, and then descends close to the ground. A hatch opens and a heavy-set figure emerges. The being moves very slowly and looks around. It has a small head resembling that of a doorknob, set in between the shoulders. It has three luminous eyes, the middle one moving around like "radar." On its chest is a shield-like object. The being then closes the hatch and the object lands gently on four legs. The hatch opens again and three huge humanoids with small knob-like heads step out. They wear silvery coveralls and bronze- colored boots. A strange robot-like creature accompanies the giants. All four walk around the object several times. A beam of light comes out of the chest of one of the beings and strikes the ground, creating several luminous triangles that later fade away. At one point the craft and beings become briefly invisible but then reappear. One of the boys screams in fear. Then one of the beings looks at the boy and points a tube at him. A luminous beam comes from the tube and hits the boy, which makes him disappear. The boy later reappears after the beings and the objects have gone. Subsequent information reveals that on the craft's hull and on the landing prop of another craft is the letter or symbol "zhe," reported as similar to the "Ummo" insignia reported in Western Europe in the 1970s. In a work published by Socialist Industry slightly after the incident, a self-proclaimed UFO specialist asserts the marks left by the supposed landing were simply scorch marks from a burnt hay-bale. (Wikipedia, " Voronezh UFO incident"; " UFO Lands in U.S.S.R.: Read All about It in Tass," Philadelphia Daily News, October 9, 1989, p. 5; " Soviet Youngsters Source of UFO Story," Macon (Ga.) Chronicle-Herald, October 10, 1989, p. 8; " A Tass Bulletin: Knobby Aliens Were Here," New York Times, October 10, 1989, pp. 1, 10; " U.F.O. Landing Is Fact, Not Fantasy, the Russians Insist," New York Times, October 11, 1989, p. 6; " Rare Thrill for Tass: Joshing Over Its U.F.O. Report," New York Times, October 12, 1989, p. 18;" The Voronezh Visitors," New York Times, October 14, 1989, p. 24; " Aliens Visit Voronezh," Moscow News, no. 43 (October 1989), via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 244 (November 1989): 12; Gordon Creighton, " Introduction: News from Muscovy," Flying Saucer Review 34, no. 4 (December 1989): 1-2; Gordon Creighton, " The UFO Landings at Voronezh," Flying Saucer Review 34, no. 4 (December 1989): 2-7; Lev Aksyonov and Boris Zverev, " The `Moscow News' Report (Full Text)," Flying Saucer Review 34, no. 4 (December 1989): 8-10; " Crisis Over! Problem Finally Solved.," Flying Saucer Review 34, no. 4 (December 1989): 10; " Last Word," Flying Saucer Review 34, no. 4 (December 1989): 10-11; " Tail-Piece on Voronezh," Flying Saucer Review 34, no. 4 (December 1989): 11; " Follow-up on the Landings at Voronezh (Russia)," Flying Saucer Review 35, no.1 (March 1990): 14; Jacques Vallée, UFO Chronicles of the Soviet Union: A Cosmic Samizdat, Ballantine, 1992, pp. 40-61; Lily Rothman, " Why `Aliens' `Landed' in Russia 25 Years Ago," Time, October 9, 2014; Clark III 1229-1231; Clark IV 1409-1411)
September 28 — Night. Long Island UFO Network founder John Ford claims that a UFO is shot down and retrieved at Moriches Bay, Long Island, New York. (Other sources put the date of a crash as November 24, 1992.) Although UFOs are observed on the southern coast of Long Island, the crash/retrieval seems to be an exaggerated fantasy. Ford is convinced the nearby Brookhaven National Laboratory is part of a UFO coverup and is developing ET-related weaponry. On June 12, 1996, Ford and LIUFON member Joe Mazzachelli are arrested in a sting operation on conspiracy charges to poison John Powell, the head of the Suffolk County Republican Party, who Ford believes is covering up UFO retrievals and engaging in illegal activities, by putting radium in his toothpaste. Ford is convicted without a trial and sent to a mental institution because of his paranoid conspiracy obsession. (John Ford, “ The Moriches Bay Case of September 28, 1989,” Long Island UFO Reporter 1, no. 3 (November 1989): 2–6; John Ford, “ The Chairman’s Corner,” Long Island UFO Reporter 2, no. 1 (February 1990): 2–4; John Ford, “ UFO Captured at Moriches Bay?” The East Ender, February 9, 1990, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 249 (April 1990): 7; Elaine Douglass, “The Ordeal of John Ford,” John Ford Defense Committee; “ The John Ford Affair,” UFO UpDates, November 26, 1998; J. B. Michael, UFO Encounters: The True Story Behind the Brookhaven and Carp Incidents, The Author, 2017; Dolan II 489–492; “ John Ford and the Long Island, New York, UFO Crash Incident, 1992,” Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, September 3, 2024; Naman Shrestha, “ John Ford: Where Is Chairman of Long Island UFO Network?” TheCinemaholic, September 24, 2024; Emily Louise, “ Radioactive Toothpaste and Conspiranoia: The Strange Saga of Ufologist John Ford, Part 1,” Getting Spooked, February 5, 2025; Emily Louise, “ Radioactive Toothpaste and Conspiranoia: The Strange Saga of Ufologist John Ford, Part 2,” Getting Spooked, May 28, 2025)
October — Night. Hundreds of residents of Omsk, southwestern Siberia, Russia, report seeing a UFO. Major V. Loginov sees an object about 1.5 the size of the full moon passing overhead at an altitude of several kilometers. It projects four bright lights, some downward, others parallel to the horizon. Loginov watches it for 5 minutes hovering above the civil airport before descending. The lights turn off, and a whirling plume trail appears around the sphere. Pilots taking off from the airport can see the object, but it is not visible on radar screens. (“ USSR: Media Report Multitude of UFO Sightings,” Foreign Press Note (Foreign Broadcast Information Service), November 22, 1989, p. 4)
October 6 — 11:30 p.m. A woman driving near Tyndall, Manitoba, sees a bright light flash upward out of sight in front of her car. (Chris Rutkowski, “ The Canadian UFO Wave of 1989,” IUR 14, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1989): 8)
October 9 — 2:50 p.m. A couple and their child are getting into their car at a wildlife sanctuary in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They see a white “boomerang-shaped” object hanging silently and motionless in the east over the city. The mother puts the child in the back seat for safety. The man continues to watch as the object tilts and moves, revealing a bulge on its underside. It moves away, and the object goes home. (Chris Rutkowski, “ The Canadian UFO Wave of 1989,” IUR 14, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1989): 8)
October 9 — 11:30 p.m. Carl Weselak is observing a meteor shower from his third floor apartment in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba, when he sees a large boomerang-shaped object flying north to south over the city. Over the next few hours he sees more UFOs ranging from balls of light to other boomerangs. He telephones a newspaper to have a reporter verify the sightings. However, UFOROM discovers that several aircraft takeoffs and landings at the airport correspond to some of Weselak’s observations. (Chris Rutkowski, “ The Canadian UFO Wave of 1989,” IUR 14, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1989): 8)
October 11 — A 16-year-old girl in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia, sees a “net” fall from the sky, apparently surrounding her, in the center of which is a bright point. She tries to push it away but gets a shock. She screams, but her voice sounds distorted. Her family rushes out of the house and sees a flying disc hovering less than 50 feet away. It soon vanishes. The girl remains paralyzed a while, the tips of her fingers burned and enlarged, and she is taken to a hospital. (Jacques Vallée, UFO Chronicles of the Soviet Union: A Cosmic Samizdat, Ballantine, 1992, pp. 36–37)
October 11 — 7:30 p.m. Brad Schmidt, 13, Todd Weinheimer, 13, Paul Goddard, 12, Kevin Still, and one other boy are skateboarding outside the town pool in Centennial Park, Langenburg, Saskatchewan, when they see an object with multicolored lights approaching them from the east. They wave their skateboards at it, and the lights hover silently 400 feet away at 100–200 feet in the air. They duck down in the tall grass. The object moves away over nearby Parkside School, pauses for a moment, then takes off to the west. The boys alert two teachers in the school, Bob Markham and Mark MacMurchy, and they go out to watch the object for another 10–15 minutes. One of the teachers says the object has a bright flashing light on top and a red light on the bottom. It is more than half a mile away and only 650 feet in the air. The top light flashes every 15–20 seconds. Soon it moves away to the west. (“ Strange Lights over the Park,” Regina (Sask.) Leader-Post, November 4, 1989, pp. C1–C2; Chris Rutkowski, “ The Canadian UFO Wave of 1989,” IUR 14, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1989): 8)
October 12 — 12:20 a.m. A shift worker in Winnipeg, Manitoba, is returning home through a park when he sees a “shimmering boomerang” in the sky. He goes closer and hears a high-pitched whine coming from it. The object starts to move slowly then shoots away making a noise like a sonic boom. (Chris Rutkowski, “ The Canadian UFO Wave of 1989,” IUR 14, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1989): 8)
October 13 — 10:20 a.m. Rose Neumeier is in her kitchen 7 miles southwest of Langenburg, Saskatchewan, when she sees a flash of light near a shed about 50 feet away. An object like “two pie plates rim to rim” is motionless in the air about 50 feet above the shed. It is shiny and metallic, 30 feet long and 10 feet thick, and has a flattened top and “corrugated” bottom. Light is shining brightly from the joint between the two halves. It is silent and the dog and cattle are not disturbed. After a few minutes, it rises slowly, moves north, curves through the hayfield, circles the barn, and moves away across the pasture. (“ Object Hovers over Garage,” Regina (Sask.) Leader-Post, November 4, 1989, p. C2; Chris Rutkowski, “ The Canadian UFO Wave of 1989,” IUR 14, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1989): 8–9)
October 16 — 7:45 a.m. A woman is driving near Langruth, Manitoba, when she sees a “star with a tail of smoke going up” in the east. After a few minutes, the object takes on a dome shape and its tail is no longer visible. (Chris Rutkowski, “ The Canadian UFO Wave of 1989,” IUR 14, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1989): 9)
October 16 — 7:45 p.m. A man in Langenburg, Saskatchewan, is driving with his daughter when they observe an object “as wide as a small airplane is long” with colored flashing lights. It coasts silently over the highway “right over our heads.” (Chris Rutkowski, “ The Canadian UFO Wave of 1989,” IUR 14, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1989): 9)
October 21 — Witnesses in Burkhala, Magadan Oblast, Russia, watch a red, shining sphere maneuvering near an electric power transmission line for 30 minutes. About 7–9 lights are seen along its edge. One witness estimates its speed as 600 mph. (Vadim K. Ilyin, “ KGB’s ‘Blue Folder’ Reveals Shootings, Landings in USSR,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 403 (November 2001): 9)
October 25 — 7:45 p.m. A resident of Gilbert Plains, Manitoba, sees a large object with red flashing lights. It is moving slowly and silently at an altitude of 200 feet. (Chris Rutkowski, “ The Canadian UFO Wave of 1989,” IUR 14, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1989): 9)
November 1 — 6:50 p.m. A pilot flying a small airplane 20 miles north of La Ronge, Saskatchewan, sees a pair of blinking lights moving across his path at 8,500 feet. Air traffic control confirms there are no other aircraft in the area at the time. (Chris Rutkowski, “ The Canadian UFO Wave of 1989,” IUR 14, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1989): 9)
November 4 — 5:30 p.m. A couple and their two children are sitting in front of a large living room window in Hall Beach, Nunavut, watching television. The family dog begins barking, and soon the man’s attention is drawn to a strange object in the sky. The family watches the UFO, which looks like an upside-down cup and saucer. The bottom portion has a red light in the center, and three windows emitting white light are across the middle. After only a couple of seconds, the object departs, seemingly straight up, and disappears. A local employee of the Department of Public Works also sees the object. (Chris Rutkowski and Geoff Dittman, The Canadian UFO Report, Dundurn Press, 2006, pp. 142–143)
November 7 — 12:40 a.m. Two women in their 40s are driving on Interstate 70 west of Goodland, Kansas, when they encounter a UFO and lose 2 hours of time. They experience anxiety, insomnia, irritability, and bewilderment as a result. Neither women claim any interest in UFOs. They initially believe that they never left their car or observed anything further. Hypnotic regressions (obtained independently) reveal abduction scenarios with at least 40 direct correlations between their accounts. (John S. Carpenter, “ Double Abduction Case: Correlation of Hypnosis Data,” JUFOS 3 (1991): 91–114; UFOEv II 565–566)
November 10 — KLAS-TV in Las Vegas, Nevada, identifies and interviews Robert Lazar, unmasked and using his real name. Lazar claims that during his onboarding to the Area 51 program, he read briefing documents describing the historical involvement of Earth for the past 10,000 years with extraterrestrial beings described as grey aliens from a planet orbiting the twin binary star system Zeta Reticuli. The Zeta Reticuli system was previously claimed by Barney and Betty Hill as the origin of aliens they allegedly encountered in their abduction. Lazar’s story quickly garners enormous media attention, controversy, supporters, and detractors. Lazar admits he cannot support with evidence his core claim of alien technology. (George Knapp, “Area 51, Robert Lazar, and Disinformation: A Reevaluation,” in Walter H. Andrus Jr. And Irena Scott, eds., MUFON 1993 International UFO Symposium Proceedings, 1993, pp. 231–238; Tom Mahood, “ The Robert Lazar Timeline,” Other Hand, January 1997; Don Ecker, “Freedom of Disinformation,” Fortean Times 122 (May 1999): 28–31; “ Bob Lazar Describes Alien Technology Housed at Secret S-4 Base in Nevada—Part 5,” 8 News Now—Las Vegas YouTube channel, November 8, 2019)
November 10 — Communion, a feature film based on abductee Whitley Strieber’s book of the same name, premieres in the US. Directed by Philippe Mora, Strieber is played by actor Christopher Walken. (Internet Movie Database, “ Communion”)
November 11 — 8:28 p.m. A British Midland Airways pilot is descending into Belfast, Northern Ireland, following a scheduled flight from Heathrow in London. As the aircraft passes through 11,200 feet at a position three nautical miles east of Kirkistown, the crew witnesses a ball of light pass overhead heading due west. It descends to a position on the port beam where it appears to burst into a cascade of white and blue magnesium lights. At the time, the aircraft is between two layers of stratus cloud less than 3,000 feet apart. Another aircraft in the vicinity observes the light, and it is reported to Belfast air traffic control. Probable meteoric fireball. (Isaac Koi, “ UFOs in Parliament (UK),” Isaac Koi—UFOs and Parliament, 2024)
November 13 — The FBI releases a handful of its files on Stanton T. Friedman as a result of Larry Bryant’s lawsuit. (Nick Redfern, Body Snatchers in the Desert, Paraview, 2005, p. 191)
November 18 — Early evening. A large, black, boomerang-shaped object glides over downtown Lancaster, California. Low-intensity lights, similar to stars, outline its frame. Witness Robert Puskas estimates its size as 800–900 feet wide. Off its left tip he sees a silvery metallic disc about 30–40 feet in diameter, reflecting the streetlights. (William F. Hamilton III, “ Flying Wings and Deep Desert Secrets,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 271 (November 1990): 15–16)
November 20 — 5:30 a.m. A couple in the rural town of Marieville, Quebec, wakes up to the sight of a strange blue light shining through the curtains. They hear a noise like an electric generator and feel a vibration. But looking outside they can see nothing. About 900 feet down the road, a neighbor is also awakened by the bright light and observes four blue objects over the other couple’s house. He also feels a vibration and describes the lights as intermittent, blinking out and reappearing in a different spot. At one point, the streetlights along Route 112 weaken when one of the objects gets too close. He thinks the lights are about 30 feet off the ground. Two other witnesses also see the lights interact with power lines. One reports that her power goes out for 10 minutes. On November 22, a strange pattern is discovered about 150 feet from the first couple’s residence—a perfectly round circle, 65 feet in diameter, of flattened (not burned) grass. The RCMP visits the circle on November 23 and 28, noting a striking difference in color of the flattened grass within the circle and the straight grass outside it. (Chris Rutkowski and Geoff Dittman, The Canadian UFO Report, Dundurn Press, 2006, pp. 149–150)
November 22 — The USAF SR-71 Blackbird program is officially terminated. The odd thing is that there is no dissension in the military about this. The alleged additional savings of $300 million is insignificant. Analysts point out that satellites, though useful, simply cannot perform the type of missions for which the Blackbird is suited. Some observers suspect there is a secret, better replacement. (Wikipedia, “ Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird”; Bill Sweetman, Aurora: The Pentagon’s Secret Hypersonic Spyplane, Motorbooks, 1993, p. 4; Micah Hanks, “ Aurora Spacecraft Concept Looks Like an Area-51 Style ‘Black Jet,’ and It Could Revolutionize Hypersonic Spaceflight by 2030,” The Debrief, August 29, 2023)
November 29 — 5:15 p.m. While patrolling on the road between Eupen, Belgium, and the German border, two federal policemen, Heinrich Nicoll and Hubert von Montigny, see an intense light in a nearby field. Above the field is a triangular object with three spotlights shining down and a red flashing light in the center. Without making a sound, it moves slowly toward the German border for 2 minutes and then suddenly turns back toward Eupen. Nicoll and von Montigny follow it. (Patrick Vantuyne, “ Mystery Craft: Eupen, Belgium,” Patt Nayeu & Son, June 12, 2010; Kean, p. 24; Graff 326)
November 29 — 5:24 p.m. About 250 witnesses, in 143 separate observations, watch the same or similar triangular or delta-winged craft maneuvering overhead at Eupen, Belgium. Two police officers in a patrol car are illuminated by a brilliant light beam from a dark triangular object hovering at 600–900 feet and making a faint humming noise. The light is so dazzling that “we could read a newspaper under it.” The UFO moves slowly away to the southwest, where it hovers near the Lac de la Gileppe dam for 45 minutes. Policemen Heinrich Nicoll and Hubert von Montigny watch it repeatedly emit two red beams with a red ball at the spearhead of both beams; the beams soon disappear, leaving the red balls, which return to the object. Then around 7:23 p.m., it moves further to the southwest and is seen over Spa for 30 minutes before it disappears. On two occasions, a pair of F-16 fighters chase the mysterious object, but to no avail. (Bob Pratt, “ The Belgium UFO Flap,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 267 (July 1990): 3–7; Société Belge d’Etude des Phénomènes Spatiaux, Vague d’OVNI sur la belgique: Un dossier exceptionnelle, SOBEPS, 1991; Auguste Meessen, “ The Belgian Sightings,” IUR 16, no. 3 (May/June 1991): 4–5; Wim van Utrecht, “ Triangles over Belgium: The SOBEPS Report,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 286 (February 1992): 5–6; Steven M. Greer, “ UFOs over Belgium,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 289 (May 1992): 8–12; Auguste Meessen, “ Étude approfondie et discussion de certaines observations du 29 novembre 1989,” Inforespace, no. 95 (October 1997): 16–70; Auguste Meessen, “ The Belgian Wave and the Photos of Ramillies”; Don Berliner, with Marie Galbreath and Antonio Huneeus, UFO Briefing Document: The Best Available Evidence, Dell, 2000, pp. 137–144; UFOEv II 50–51; Kean, pp. 24–27; Jean-Michel Abrassart, “ The Beginning of the Belgian UFO Wave,” SUNlite 2, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 2010): 21–23; Powell, Scientist, 20, 99; “ ‘They’re Playing Games with Our Aircraft’: Belgian F-16s Were Scrambled to Intercept a Triangular UFO,” Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, November 19, 2024)
November 29 — 6:45 p.m. Gendarmes Heinrich Nicoll and Hubert von Montigny see another object near Eupen, Belgium, which appears from behind a wood and makes a forward tilting maneuver. It has a dome on top with rectangular windows. It then departs to the north. (Joël Mesnard, “ The UFO ‘Wave’ of November/December 1989 over Eastern Belgium,” Flying Saucer Review 35, no. 2 (June 1990): 4; Kean, p. 25)
November 29 — 6:45 p.m. A man is driving alone in his car on the Rue Mathieu de Lexhy at the intersection with the Rue Hector Denis near Grâce-Berleur, Belgium, when he sees to his left an immense stationary object at about 325 feet altitude and 1,600 feet away. He slows down, lowers his window, and hears a soft sound like an electric motor. The object is larger than a Boeing 707. It has flashing red, green, and white lights and a light beam directed toward the ground. He drives away while the UFO is still visible. (Patrick Vidal and Michel Rozencwajg, “ The Belgian Wave,” IUR 16, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1991): 7; Patrick Vidal, “ Immense Object in the Sky over Bierset,” UFO Times, no. 22 (March/April 1993): 20–21)
November 29 — 7:20 p.m. Two federal policemen, Lieter Plumans [or Dieter Plummans] and Peter Nicholl [or Nicole], on duty along the Rue de Moresnet north of Kelmis, Belgium, see some large lights slowly approaching the rail station at Lontzen. They set off to the southwest to follow it, stopping in front of the Maison Beloeil on the west side of the commune of Henri-Chapelle, where 10 minutes later they have a good view of it only 300 feet away. The object has three very strong spotlights and a flashing red central light. It is at an altitude of about 250 feet and about 50 feet wide. It is immobile and silent, but it suddenly emits a hissing sound and its lights fade a bit. Simultaneously, a red ball comes out of the center and heads straight downward, shoots up, makes a right-angle turn, and disappears behind some trees. The object then passes above their police car at about 60 mph, moving northeast. They follow it for 5 miles before losing it. (Joël Mesnard, “ The UFO ‘Wave’ of November/December 1989 over Eastern Belgium,” Flying Saucer Review 35, no. 2 (June 1990): 6–7; Kean, pp. 25–26)
November 30 — 3:15 a.m. New York City resident Linda Napolitano (pseudonym “Linda Cortile”) is allegedly abducted by aliens from her 12th-story apartment on the lower east side of Manhattan. Five aliens come into her bedroom while she is still awake. They paralyze her and move her into the living room. Linda and three of the five aliens are floated out through her living room window, directly through the window, to a large hovering UFO. Three independent witnesses to the abduction are two security intelligence agents (“Richard” and “Dan”), who see the UFO and abductees from a car near the Brooklyn Bridge, and a VIP political dignitary later identified as UN Secretary General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, who does not confirm any involvement. The UFO then dives into the East River. Budd Hopkins delves into the case, although he never meets the two security guards or even confirms their existence. Music critic Greg Sandow writes an insightful analysis of the case in 1997. Hopkins’s former wife Carol Rainey has been critical of the quality of his abduction research in this case and in that of singer Phoebe Snow, which he never publicized. (Budd Hopkins, “ The Linda Cortile Abduction Case,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 293 (September 1992): 12–16; Budd Hopkins, “ The Linda Cortile Abduction Case, Part II: The Woman on the Bridge,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 296 (December 1992): 5–9; Joseph J. Stefula, Richard D. Butler, and George P. Hansen, “ A Critique of Budd Hopkins’ Case of the UFO Abduction of Linda Napolitano,” January 8, 1993; Jerome Clark, “ Saucer Smearers,” IUR 18, no. 2 (March/April 1993): 3, 22–24; “ The Claims in Question,” IUR 18, no. 2 (March/April 1993): 4–5; Donald A. Johnson, “ Why the Linda Case Is a Hoax,” IUR 18, no. 2 (March/April 1993): 5, 22; Willy Smith, “ The Impossible Testimony of Janet Kimball,” IUR 18, no. 2 (March/April 1993): 6–7, 21; Budd Hopkins, “ House of Cards: The Butler/Hansen/Stefula Critique of the Cortile Case,” IUR 18, no. 2 (March/April 1993): 8–14, 21; David M. Jacobs, “ A Matter of Ethics,” IUR 18, no. 2 (March/April 1993): 15–16; John E. Mack, “ Stirring Our Deepest Fears,” IUR 18, no. 2 (March/April 1993): 17, 21; Walter H. Andrus Jr., “ Rejoinder to the Critique of Budd Hopkins,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 300 (April 1993): 8–9; Willy Smith, et al., “ The Linda Case,” IUR 18, no. 3 (May/June 1993): 22–23; Linda Cortile [Napolitano], “ A Light at the End of the Tunnel,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 302 (June 1993): 12–17; Robert J. Durant, “ Cortile Case: The Missing Evidence,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 303 (July 1993): 4–8; Linda Cortile [Napolitano], “ Budd Hopkins’ ‘Linda’ Case: A Look behind the Evidence,” 1994 UFO Symposium Proceedings, MUFON, 1994, pp. 238–255; Budd Hopkins, Witnessed: The True Story of the Brooklyn Bridge UFO Abductions, Pocket Books, 1996; Greg Sandow, “ The Linda Cortile Case Analyzed: Part 1,” IUR 22, no. 1 (Spring 1997): 18–23; Greg Sandow, “ The Linda Cortile Case Analyzed: Part 2,” IUR 22, no. 2 (Summer 1997): 3–10, 35–36; Kevin D. Randle, “ A Response to Budd Hopkins,” A Different Perspective, February 18, 2011; Sean F. Meers, “ The Linda Cortile UFO Abduction Case: Abstract,” February 27, 2012; Carol Rainey, “ The Singer’s Hybrid Daughter, Part I,” The UFO Trail, February 5, 2016; Carol Rainey, “ The Singer’s Hybrid Daughter, Part II,” The UFO Trail, February 22, 2016; Clark III 7–8, 613; “ Linda Napolitano (Cortile) Talks about Being Abducted by Aliens from Her Manhattan Apartment, 1989,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, October 2023; Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, “ Woman Who Claims She Was Abducted by Aliens in 1989 Sues Netflix over Docuseries,” Forbes, October 29, 2024; Internet Movie Database, “ The Manhattan Alien Abduction”; Wikipedia, “ The Manhattan Alien Abduction”; Robert Sheaffer, “ Levitated Linda Sues Netflix over New Documentary! ” Bad UFOs, November 18, 2024; Eghigian, After, pp. 283–284; Clark IV 22, 673)
December 1 — Weather forecaster Francesco Valenzano and his young daughter are walking in the Square Nicolaï in Ans, Liège, Belgium, when they see a large, slow-moving craft approaching at low altitude. The object silently makes a tour of the square; when it passes over their heads, they notice it has a delta shape with three lights in a triangular position and a red rotating light in the middle and positioned lower than the belly of the object. (Kean, pp. 27–28)
December 1 — 6:50 p.m. An amateur photographer is sitting in his living room at Eupen, Belgium, when he sees a lozenge-shaped UFO with two white lights at each corner. He draws a sketch but fails to take a photo. He sees a similar object on January 10, 1990. (Auguste Meessen, “ The Belgian Sightings,” IUR 16, no. 3 (May/June 1991): 8–9)
December 5 or 12 — 9:50 p.m. A couple is driving on the Trierer Strasse in Aachen, Germany, when they see a flying object cut across the road in front of them to the right. It has two headlights in front, emitting beams that slant downwards. There is a flashing orange light on the underside. The same object reappears at their home around 11:15 p.m. (Auguste Meessen, “ The Belgian Sightings,” IUR 16, no. 3 (May/June 1991): 9–10)
December 11 — 6:30 p.m. A 12-year-old boy and his family in Trooz, Belgium, watch a domed, triangular object for 15 minutes. It is hovering at first, then passes above their house. (Kean, p. 28)
December 11 — 6:45 p.m. Lt. Col. André Amond of the Belgian Army and his wife spot a strange aerial object while they are driving on the deserted Rue de Sart Ernage between Ernage and Gembloux, Belgium. It looks like a series of 3–4 panels of light traveling north to south at an altitude of 650–980 feet. Beneath the series of panels, and close to the center, is a rotating red lamp. Amond stops where the road dead ends and watches the UFO pass for 2–4 minutes. Then the object abruptly changes course and silently heads in his direction. Only an enormous spot of white light is visible now, “much bigger than the spotlight of a big air carrier.” They both are frightened, so Amond starts the car again. The big light disappears, and three smaller white spotlights become visible, which form a more or less equilateral triangle. The rotating red light is still there, now seen in profile. The object then performs a turn of 180° to the left. The distance between the white luminous points is estimated at approximately 33 feet. They cannot distinguish any solid object around this triangle of three lights. The maneuver is majestic and slow. Next, the luminous points disappear. Only the red rotating light is still visible, and it takes off in a south-southwesterly direction. The duration of the sighting is about 5–8 minutes. (Michel Bougard and Annie Eyckmans, “ Le 11 décembre 1989: Une soirée de reconnaissance systématique?” Inforespace, no. 80 (April 1991): 16, 23–26; Kean, pp. 28–29; Wim van Utrecht, “ The Lieutenant-Colonel and the UFO,” Caelestia, January 7, 2016)
December 12 — 2:15 a.m. A man in Jupille-sur-Meuse, Belgium, wakes up to a dull throbbing noise coming from outside. He sees an enormous oval object seemingly jammed between two fir trees. On its circumference, small lights are changing color from blue to red and back. The object is metallic, with an oar or paddle at its rear. In the front is a window or cockpit. On the front part is a logo consisting of several ellipses crossing themselves. After a few minutes, the object rises slightly, the sound it emits changing slightly. It moves toward a neighbor’s meadow, shining down three beams of lights. Some moments later, it emits an intense and well-defined shaft of light into the sky. The witness goes back to bed. The next morning, he reports his sighting to the Gendarmérie, which investigates and finds a gigantic circular trace in the meadow. At the center, the grass has been cut off, but the cuttings are nowhere to be seen, and the grass within the circle is yellow. (“ Objet insolite à Japille-sur-Meuse,” Inforespace, no. 80 (April 1991): 35–42; Patrick Vidal and Michel Rozencwajg, “ The Belgian Wave,” IUR 16, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1991): 6–7)
December 24 or 25 - 3:00 p.m. Pilot Vladimir Kuzmin sees a dark gray, cigar-shaped object hovering southwest of Chelyabinsk, Russia, while he is flying a two-seat Aero L-29 Delfin. He estimates its altitude at 4.6 miles. The sighting lasts more than 8 minutes with the object in direct view for over 4 minutes. Within hours, Kuzmin experiences a strange, crustlike skin rash on the exposed portion of his face that lasts for more than 11 days. (Richard F. Haines, " UFO Activities in the Soviet Union," IUR 16, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1991): 14; Richard F. Haines, " Encounter over Siberia," IUR 16, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1991): 12-13, 21-22)
1990
Sociologist Christopher Bader surveys members of the UFO Contact Center International in Seattle, Washington. He finds that two-thirds are female, with an average age of 44; almost 89% self-identify as "white," the rest as Native American; 55% are marries and 68% had attended college. Members also report being abducted an average of 10 times, yet 88% find the experience to be at least partly positive. (Christopher Bader, " Supernatural Support Groups: Who Are the UFO Abductees and Ritual- Abuse Survivors?" Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 42, no. 4 (2003): 669-678; Eghigian, After, p.291)
Donald Johnson obtains a copy of UFOCAT on 10 3.5-inch diskettes from David R. Saunders, courtesy of John S. Derr of the US Geological Survey. Derr has created the diskette version from one of the tape backups for use in his own research. Unfortunately, he is unable to read the first portion of the tape, so it is lacking the first 10,000 records. Fortunately, the Center for UFO Studies has another backup copy, and Johnson is able to merge the two sources and recreate the database as it existed in 1982. Since then, more than 10,000 additional records have been added. (“ UFOCAT Is Back!” IUR 16, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1991): 24; Clark III 1157; Clark IV 1319)
Sociologist Christopher Bader surveys members of the UFO Contact Center International in Seattle, Washington. He finds that two-thirds are female, with an average age of 44; almost 89% self-identify as “white,” the rest as Native American; 55% are marries and 68% had attended college. Members also report being abducted an average of 10 times, yet 88% find the experience to be at least partly positive. (Christopher Bader, “ Supernatural Support Groups: Who Are the UFO Abductees and Ritual-Abuse Survivors?” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 42, no. 4 (2003): 669–678; Eghigian, After, p.291)
Jerome Clark publishes volume one of the first edition of his UFO encyclopedia. (Jerome Clark, The UFO Encyclopedia: UFOs in the 1980s, vol. 1, Apogee, 1990; Michael D. Swords, [ review], JUFOS 2 (1990): 189–191)
Steven M. Greer founds the Center for the Study of Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (CSETI) in Asheville, North Carolina, to create a diplomatic and research-based initiative to contact extraterrestrial civilizations. The group defines CE-5 or “close encounters of the fifth kind” as human-initiated contact and communication with extraterrestrial life. (“ Dr. Steven Greer and UFOs,” Horizon Report, January 9, 2025)
Early January - 10:30 a.m. Two women are driving southwest near Thimister-Clermont, Belgium, when they see a bizarre object on their right, moving at an altitude of 980-1,300 feet. Dark and massive, it resembles an iron seen from underneath. After a few seconds, it disappears behind a farmhouse. (Patrick Vidal and Michel Rozencwajg, "The Belgian Wave," IUR 16, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1991): 7)
January — Sunrise. USAF pilot Lenval Logan is on a flight accompanying a British Airborne Warning and Control (AWACS) aircraft in an Exercise Reforger operation. His aircraft is heading southeast past Iceland when he notices a diamond- shaped object zipping in and out of the clouds. It seems to change vectors each time it is in a cloud and emerges on a different heading. It also changes from black to a whitish color. Years later, he asks some AWACS operators what the object might have been, and they tell him that this type of object is often seen and fails to respond to signals or intercepts. Logan says that on “every sweep of the radar he was in a different position.” He later compares what he saw to the Calvine photograph of August 14, 1990. (“ Logan: UAP Task Force Member, The Program–Whistleblower, Calvine Witness, Phenom App Co-Founder,” UFO TV YouTube channel, January 1, 2025; Keith Basterfield, “ Another 1990 Observation of a ‘Calvine’ Like Shaped Object,” Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena—Scientific Research, January 3, 2025)
January 20 — 1:15–1:20 a.m. A silvery dome-shaped object with two rows of lights flies just ahead of a car for two to three miles on Highway 446 at Boyle, Mississippi. The engine and lights fail until the object departs. (Herbert S. Taylor, “ An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part 1,” IUR 33, no. 4 (May 2011): 16)
January 22 — 10:00 a.m. UFOs approach the Santa Cruz Air Force Base, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Air traffic controllers spot them on their radars but cannot identify them because they do not make movements like an airplane or helicopter. Interceptors approach, but the objects move away and disappear. They return about 40 minutes after the interceptors land. Two other fighters are assigned to chase the objects, which are at an altitude of 4,800 feet. The case is investigated by an internal commission of the Brazilian Air Force, which can find no explanation. (Clark III 205–206; Brazil 553; Clark IV 246)
February — Arranged by Norio Hayakawa, Robert Lazar is interviewed in Las Vegas, Nevada, by Nippon TV for 3–4 hours. Hayakawa and the TV crew drive out to Tikaboo Peak, where they film an orange light maneuvering above Groom Lake. (Jacobsen, Area 51, p. 14)
February 21 - Sundown. Norio Hayakawa, a Nippon TV journalist, takes a crew to the Area 51 Mailbox Site (near the 29 ½ mile marker, Highway 375, Tikaboo Valley) to watch the test flight of an object from Groom Lake, Nevada. The group sees an orange-yellow light appear above the hills. They get a second sighting later that evening when an object moves to the right, descends, performs a back turn and a 5,000-foot sudden descent, more or less instantly. (Michael Hesemann, UFOs and Area 51: Secrets of the Black World, Lightworks video, 1995, on UFO Central YouTube channel; " Norio Hayakawa," Dreamland Resort
February 21 — 9:07 p.m. A woman, her mother, and son are driving through Koblenz-Karthause, Germany, when they notice two lights beaming down at them at a 45° angle. The woman pulls to the side of the road at an angle to watch. The object bearing the lights stops almost directly overhead. She sees a large triangular object, stationary and noiseless, at rooftop height. The sides of the triangle measure about 65 feet. Three milky, yellowish-white lights are at each of the corners. In the center is a larger, primarily gray-blue light, although its colors change as something rotates on the UFO. The object itself has a metallic appearance. It has some structures that look like riveted plates. The object remains for 2–3 minutes then departs suddenly to the southwest behind the roofs of nearby houses. The woman succeeds in locating two other witnesses at nearly the same time. (Auguste Meessen, “ The Belgian Sightings,” IUR 16, no. 3 (May/June 1991): 10–11)
February 28 —7:30 p.m. Gary Schultz goes to the Area 51 Mailbox site in Nevada with his wife Pearl. He leaps out of his lawn chair when he spots the first object. Every 45 minutes, a new object arrives, 6 in all. Two or three of the craft are bright, pulsing, ellipsoid objects. He takes photos, one of which clearly captures an object shaped like a bell. (“ Unknown Craft over Area 51 in 1990, Photographed by Gary Schultz,” Norio Hayakawa YouTube channel, January 25, 2010; Michael Hesemann, UFOs and Area 51: Secrets of the Black World, Lightworks video, 1995, on UFO Central YouTube channel)
March — A classified US Department of Defense document, Joint Staff Information Report #5049, “Belgium and the UFO Issue,” states that “Numerous UFO sightings have been made in Belgium since Nov 89. The credibility of some individuals making the reports is good… Investigation by BAF [Belgian Air Force] continues.” It notes that Belgian Col. Wilfried De Brouwer asked whether the objects were American B-2 or F-117 military aircraft, stating that he made the inquiry despite knowing that “the alleged observations did not correspond in any way to the observable characteristics of either US aircraft.” The US Air Force does confirm to the Belgian Air Force and Ministry of Defense that no US stealth aircraft were operating in the Ardennes area at the time.” (Nick Redfern, “ Belgium and the UFO Issue,” Mysterious Universe, February 11, 2016)
March 7 — A woman feeding her infant in Gulf Breeze, Florida, notices a beam of white light about 3 feet in diameter descend to the ground beyond her window. She feels a slight vibration and 2 seconds later the object is gone. The next morning her husband finds a circle of burned grass 11 feet in diameter near the window. Several people detect a strong “perfume” odor from the scorched area. (Dan Wright, “ Current Case Log,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 265 (May 1990): 16)
March 12 — Night. Large, shining discs appear in the sky along the Yaroslavskoye Shosse outside Moscow, Russia. Their place is taken by three groups of objects, some like pineapples (with platelets) but about 18 feet long. Others are like “triangular milk cartons,” and the third group are like upside-down basins about 40 feet across. (“ UFO’s Reported near Moscow,” [telegram], April 15, 1990)
March 21 - 8:00 p.m.-12:00 midnight. UFOs are seen over a wide area of Russia encompassing Novoselye, Sergiyev Posad, Yakovlevo, Dubki, Kablukovo, Fryazino, Khabarovsk, and Kirzhach. Radar stations and aircraft are put on alert. At 9:38 p.m., a UFO is seen at 6,500 feet altitude over Pereslavl-Zalessky, Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia. Lt. Col. A. A. Semenchenko is sent up in an interceptor to find it. At 10:05 p.m., he sees the object ahead and to the right. He tracks it on the in-flight radar as it flashes two white lights and changes speed and altitude. It does not respond to a radio challenge to identify itself. The pilot turns steeply and flies 1,600-1,900 feet above the UFO, but he can see only a vague shape. Between 8:00 p.m. and midnight, UFOs are also seen over a wide area Witnesses in Khabarovsk watch bright red spheres flying in complete silence and darting above the icebound Amur River, and a black cigar-shaped object 160 feet long with a ruby-red exhaust is seen traveling low above the ground. Radars do not register it. The commanding officers of several antiaircraft defense units around Moscow gather more than 100 visual reports from their subordinates, which are forwarded to the chief of the antiaircraft defense headquarters, Gen. Col. Igor Maltsev, who says that the object is a disc between 325-650 feet in diameter with two blinking lights. It turns on its axis and its course is "snakelike." (" UFOs on Air Defense Radars," Rabochaya Tribuna, April 19, 1990; " Soviet Air Defenses Baffled by Huge UFOs," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 266 (June 1990): 8-9; V. D. Musinsky, " Through the Secrecy Barrier," IUR 15, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1990): 14-15; UFOEv II 51-52; Patrick Gross, " FOIA Declassified Documents"; Antonio Huneeus, " Airplane Pilot UFO Encounters in the USSR and CIS, Part 2," OpenMinds, August 20, 2010; Stonehill and Mantle, Russia's USO Secrets, Flying Disk, 2020, p. 116; Powell, Scientist, 67)
March 28 — 11:20 p.m. A silent UFO is seen about 25 miles north of Chongqing, China. It is about 65 feet long with orange and pale green lights, and it flies toward the northeast at an altitude of 150 feet. (Defense Intelligence Agency, [ unclassified report], The Black Vault, p. 11)
March 30–31 — 11:00 p.m. The Glons (Belgium) Control Reporting Center receives reports that three unusual lights are moving toward Thorembais-Gembloux, Belgium, constantly changing color, in the shape of an equilateral triangle. It requests the Wavre gendarmerie to send a patrol car to investigate. Ten minutes later, a second formation moves toward the first. Traffic Center Control at Semmerzake tracks one object only on its radar, and an order to scramble two F-16 fighters from Beauvechain Air Base is given. Throughout this time, in reports after the event, some people claim that the phenomenon is visible from the ground, describing the whole formation as maintaining relative positions while moving slowly across the sky. Over the next hour, the two scrambled F-16s attempt 9 separate interceptions. On three occasions, they manage to obtain a radar lock for a few seconds, but these are later shown to be radar-locks on each other. The pilots never see any of the claimed visual sightings or the claimed maneuvers, and they never get a lock on any objects apart from the other F-16. Investigator Wim van Utrecht suspects that the lights in the sky that triggered these scrambles were misperceptions of bright stars and planets. The other contacts are all the result of a well-known atmospheric interference called Bragg scattering, in which an aircraft’s own radars interfere with each other. After 12:30 a.m., radar contact becomes much more sporadic and the final confirmed lock takes place at 12:40 a.m. Following several further unconfirmed contacts, the F-16s eventually return to base shortly after 1:00 a.m. Members of the Wavre gendarmerie sent to confirm the original report describe four lights as arranged in a square formation, all making short jerky movements, before gradually losing their luminosity and disappearing in four separate directions at around 1:30 a.m. They also hear a low engine noise and that it seems to have a stick coming out one end with a turbine on it, which many claim shows it was a helicopter. (Wikipedia, “ Belgian UFO wave”; NICAP, “ Three Lights in Triangle Are Also Picked Up on Radar”; “ Remarkable Military Encounter in Belgium,” IUR 15, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1990): 23; Bob Pratt, “ The Great Belgium UFO Flap,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 267 (July 1990): 3; Marie- Thérèse de Brosses, “ F-16 Radar Tracks UFO,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 268 (August 1990): 6–7; Joël Mesnard, “ Belgium Haunted by Huge Triangular Craft, Part II,” Flying Saucer Review 35, no. 4 (December 1990): 2–6; Marie-Thérèse de Brosses, “ An Interview with Professor Jean-Pierre Petit,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 273 (January 1991): 3–9; Auguste Meessen, “ The Belgian Sightings,” IUR 16, no. 3 (May/June 1991): 4–8; Robert Durant, “ UFO Intercept,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 332 (December 1995): 3–8; Patrick Gross, “ The Belgium Flap Official Reports,” [summary report on observations 30–31 March 1990], February 22, 2001; Patrick Gross, “ The Belgium Flap Official Reports,” [the full version of the Belgian Air Force report by Major Lambrechts, VS3/Ctl-Met 1], February 22, 2001; Kean, pp. 37–38; Jean-Michel Abrassart, “ In Defense of the Psycho-Sociological Hypothesis: Another Reply to Auguste Meessen,” SUNlite 3, no. 4 (July/Aug. 2011): 9–12; Swords 457; Marler 20–23; David Clarke, “Echoes and Angels: UFOs on Radar,” Fortean Times 403 (March 2021): 44–45; Graff 326–327; Covert 25; Powell, Scientist, 21; “ ‘They’re Playing Games with Our Aircraft’: Belgian F-16s Were Scrambled to Intercept a Triangular UFO,” Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, November 19, 2024)
March 31 — Night. Lucien Clerebaut (secretary general of the Belgian UFO group SOBEPS), film director Patrick Ferryn, and José Fernandez take four photos, using high-sensitivity film, of one of the triangular objects passing directly overhead about 19 miles southeast of Brussels, Belgium. Ferryn estimates its altitude is only 1,000 feet with a diameter six times that of the full moon. As a control, he photographs an ordinary airplane several minutes later in the same spot, using all the same camera settings. The spotlights on the UFO, which seemed very bright to the observers, are barely discernible on the photos. The triangular shape, clearly visible to the naked eye, is also lost on the film. At the same time, the airplane lights come out brighter than those on the UFO, appearing just the way it looked from the ground, even though the UFO was much closer to the observers than the airplane. Lab experiments show that this is probably due to the effect of infrared light around the UFO. (Marie-Thérèse de Brosses, “ Un OVNI sur le Radar du F16,” Paris-Match, July 5, 1990)
Early April - Many observers, including a journalist with Sovetskaya Estoniya, see UFOs hovering above power lines along the Tallinn Highway, Estonia, on several occasions. Maj. V. Stroynetskiy and several hundred other witnesses repeatedly observe UFOs over the Yaroslavl Highway in Russia, many of which look like large "triangular milk cartons." The objects are flying at altitudes of 1,600-2,600 feet. At times, the entire body of an object "scintillates," while at other times it becomes iridescent with "lights of various colors." The objects fly at great speeds, make sudden stops in mid-air, and suddenly break off in lateral directions from the line of flight, "at which time they emitted rays." (Central Intelligence Agency, " USSR: UFO Sightings No. 2-General Maltsev Comments," Foreign Broadcast Information Service PROD Group, May 24, 1990)
April 4 — Patrick Maréchal, a young worker at Petit-Rechain, Belgium, takes a photo of a delta- shaped object on which three lights are visible at each corner. Maréchal admits the photo is a hoax in an interview for RTL on July 26, 2011. He and some friends take a sheet of Styrofoam, cut it into a triangle, paint it black, embed a flashlight in each corner, then hang it from a string. Maréchal shows reporters many trial photos they had taken trying to get the perfect look. (Wikipedia, “ Belgian UFO wave”; NICAP, “ Petit-Rechain, Belgium Photo”; Wim van Utrecht, “ Battle over Belgian UFOs,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 292 (August 1992): 20; Patrick Ferryn, “ La photo de Petit-Rechain: Un état de la question,” Inforespace, no. 111 (December 2005): 4–21; André Marion, “ Nouvelle analyse de la diapositive de Petit-Rechain,” Inforespace, no. 111 (December 2005): 22–27; Benôit Mussche, “ Le rapport SeerSight,” Inforespace, no. 111 (December 2005): 28–41; Wim van Utrecht, “ Famous Belgian UFO Photo a Hoax,” Caelestia; Kean, pp. 29–31; Auguste Meessen, “ The Belgian Wave and the Photos of Ramillies”; Robert Sheaffer, “ ‘Classic’ UFO Photo from Belgian Wave: The Hoaxer Confesses,” Bad UFOs, July 26, 2011; “ Classic Belgian Photos a Fake?” IUR 34, no. 1 (September 2011): 6; Brian Dunning, “ The Belgian UFO Wave,” Skeptoid podcast, September 27, 2016; Graff 327; Andreas Müller, “ Belgische UFO-Welle 1989–92: Neue Kontroverse um berühmtes Dreiecks-Foto,” Grenzwissenschaft-aktuell.de, December 4, 2024)
April 5 - 8:15 p.m. A motorist driving near the shore at Gulf Breeze, Florida, sees what looks like a jet fighter about to crash. Two military jets approach from the north, and the original object immediately shoots laterally southward, halting 1-2 miles away. The man gets out of his car to watch. The object appears to be a white disc with red and green lights spaced evenly around the side and an unlit dome on top. Slowly, it begins to rise. He calls a friend and the sheriff's office. Two deputies arrive on the scene, and for the next 2 hours all three witnesses watch a bright light continue to ascend slowly. (Dan Wright, " Current Case Log," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 265 (May 1990): 17
April 10 — A couple driving north on the Pensacola Bay Bridge in Florida see an object that looks like a long isosceles triangle with a centered red light on the bottom and pairs of white lights at the three apexes. As they near the end of the bridge in Pensacola, the object moves toward the west. It hovers, then moves off over the bay and out of sight. (Dan Wright, “ Current Case Log,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 268 (August 1990): 22–23)
April 10 — A triangular UFO is seen for 10 minutes over Abakan, Republic of Khakassia, Russia. (Paul Stonehill and Philip Mantle, The Soviet UFO Files: Paranormal Encounters behind the Iron Curtain, Quadrillion, 1998, p. 110)
April 11 — Evening. Several residents of Gulf Breeze, Florida, watch a red light move toward the southwest and out into the Gulf of Mexico before winking out. Some think they can see clusters of balloons associated with the light, but others disagree. (Rex Salisberry, “ Red Lights in the Sky! Hoax or Real?” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 266 (June 1990): 10–11)
April 12–13 — Night. Two witnesses see a bright red light hovering above Little Sabine Island off Pensacola Beach, Florida. It stays there for several minutes before blinking out. It reappears the next night to the west of Gulf Breeze. (Rex Salisberry, “ Red Lights in the Sky! Hoax or Real?” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 266 (June 1990): 10–11)
April 14 — At least seven people report a red light to the north of Gulf Breeze, Florida. It approaches from the east at high speed and comes to a dead stop. It hovers, moves back and forth several times, then ascends out of sight. Other red lights appear and are seen in various locations around Pensacola by other groups of people. Some of these sightings are undoubtedly hoax balloons. (Rex Salisberry, “ Red Lights in the Sky! Hoax or Real?” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 266 (June 1990): 10–11; Dan Wright, “ Current Case Log,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 268 (August 1990): 21–22)
April 22 — Before 12:00 midnight. Two workers in a factory courtyard in Basècles, Belgium, watch two enormous spotlights illuminate the area. A huge trapezoid-shaped “platform” moves slowly and silently above a smokestack, at one point covering the entire courtyard, 330 by 200 feet. They observe six lights on the object, which is grayish. Structures on the bottom of the platform look like “an aircraft carrier turned upside down.” (Kean, p. 31)
May 4 - 11:15 p.m. A retired archaeologist in Stockay, Liège, Belgium, is about to return home after checking his greenhouse when he hears neighborhood dogs barking. He sees, in a field about 325 feet away from him, a pyramidal or conical illuminated object topped by a "bright white mushroom cone" floating about 1 foot off the ground. He approaches to about 165 feet and watches the object change color from white to orange as its upper part rises. He calls his wife to watch the UFO too. She sees two small antennas on top. They leave to get their son, but when they return the object is gone. The next day, he finds four circular holes about 3 feet in diameter with a thin layer of yellowish powder sprayed on the grass. Some days later, the traces vanish after a rainstorm. (Patrick Vidal and Michel Rozencwajg, " The Belgian Wave," IUR 16, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1991): 4)
May 25 - Day. A giant reddish-orange disc some 980 feet in diameter and with portholes around its rim is seen hovering at an altitude of 3,300 feet above Mary, Turkmenistan. Col. Anatoly Kurkchy, chief of the Air Defense Division of the Russian 12th Army, orders three ground-to-air missiles fired at it. The UFO makes a slight horizontal maneuver, and three beams of light coming from its port side destroy the missiles. Kurkchy then scrambles two jet interceptors, but at a point about 3,200 feet from the disc, the jets are allegedly thrown to the ground and destroyed, killing the four pilots. Kurkchy is removed from his post and transferred to a remote location. (Good Need, pp. 356-357)
June 11 — 2:08 a.m. Nine soldiers from RAAF Base Learmonth are on routine patrol at a beach near Exmouth, Western Australia, when they see a massive triangular craft that is at least two football fields wide. The object is black with eight dull-white lights on two edges and a red light in the center. It is emitting a low humming noise and is moving slowly like a zeppelin. They watch it for 14 minutes until it begins moving rapidly southwest out to sea and disappears. (Keith Basterfield, “ A Catalogue of the More Interesting Australian UAP Reports,” Project 1947, June 3, 2016)
Summer - The crew of a Russian ship harbored in the Anadyr' River off Ust-Belaya, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, sees a perfectly circular opening in the cumulus clouds above the village. Groups of objects enter the circle and fly away. Watch officer Aleksandr Polorotov begins taking photos of them until his camera malfunctions. When the film is developed, a luminous cigar-shaped object can be seen on some of the photos, but the open circle of sky is not on any of them. Some crew members experience severe headaches after the episode. (Stonehill and Mantle, Russia's USO Secrets, Flying Disk, 2020, pp. 109-110)
July 6 - Day. Anna Dmitrievna Yerygina is herding goats on a lonesome road near Zvarykino, Belgorod Oblast, Russia, when a woman appears, seemingly out of thin air. Dressed in a light- gray, loose-fitting outfit with a hood, she seems somewhat tall and lean. The woman greets her and asks whether goats' milk is tasty. Yerygina says it is, but she prefers cows' milk. The woman then abruptly invites her on a brief excursion that will last no longer than three hours, touching her on the shoulder and saying, "Do not be afraid." She takes Yerygina to a large oval craft in a nearby field, A man awaits them and helps them aboard. Yerygina sits in the dimly lit interior, then suddenly finds herself in another room with others dressed in the same gray coveralls. She feels as if she has been transported to another world. The entities radiate spiritual warmth and hospitality. One of them offers her some tasty bread and a strange liquid. After she finishes the meal, her memory goes blank and she finds herself back in the field with her goats, the strange woman by her side. The woman says goodbye with a smile, promising to meet her again. (Priyma Alexey, XX vek. Hronika Neobyasnimogo: Fenomen za fenomenom, AST Olympus, 2000; Joshua Cutchin, "The Great Alien Bake-Off," Fortean Times 332 (November 2015): 42)
July 9 — 4:00 a.m. A witness is traveling toward Germany and makes a stop east of Brzózka near the bridge over the Bóbr River southwest of Krosno, Poland. He goes for a short walk in the woods when he hears an odd sound and sees a landed object like an overturned bowl. He estimates it is nearly 17 feet across and 80 feet tall, and has a nauseating odor like burned chocolate. About 15 entities resembling mummies are in front of the UFO, poking plants with a prod and hopping about like kangaroos. They are about 4.5 feet tall and wear deep-green uniforms and headgear like welding masks. Their fingers resemble claws. At some point the witness coughs and loses consciousness, waking up an hour later. (Poland 82; “ Bliskie spotkanie w Brzózce w 1990 roku,” UFO-Relacje.pl, February 12, 2020)
July 19 — Shortly after 12:00 midnight. The base perimeter at Fort Allen Training Center in Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico, is suddenly illuminated by a powerful white light. An officer orders that all personnel must remain in the barracks or other base facilities and not come out under any circumstances. From a window, the officer can see a brightly lit, circular, metallic object over the base. It has windows around a central rim, with yellowish-white lights revolving in them. On the underside there is a round, turbine-like protrusion with many colored lights around it. A bright beam of pinkish-white light is coming from the underside, as if searching for something—this is the light illuminating the perimeter. Two F/A-18 Hornets (probably scrambled from Roosevelt Roads Naval Station) fly at high speed over the base toward the UFO, which departs at high speed to the west with the jets in pursuit. The officer later tells UFO investigators that Fort Allen personnel have been briefed on UFOs with training films that show crashed UFOs, and it is just the most recent of several briefings since the 1988 Cabo Rojo incident. (Good Need, pp. 380–381)
July 26 — 10:35 p.m. A married couple is driving south through Grâce-Hollogne, Belgium, when they see a triangular object hovering in the sky. It seems to measure about 39 feet on each side. A belt of white light like a large neon tube runs along two sides. The witnesses see three spotlights beaming down, apparently detached from the object but connected to each other by a support “bracket.” Two flashing lights, one red and one green, are on the underside. The man flashes his car lights twice, and two white lights at the base of the triangle rotate, tilt toward the car, and flash on and off three times. Keeping these lights pointed at the moving car, the object moves with its base forward and positions itself 330 feet away at a height of 200–300 feet, It makes a banking turn and paces the car, moving with the terrain and maintaining a constant height above the sloping ground at the same speed as the car (around 40 mph). When they approach the bridge at Seraing, the object crosses the Meuse River right next to them, ascending silently and moving back toward Grâce-Hollogne. (Kean, pp. 32–34)
Early August — Many witnesses in Rostock, Greifswald, and the islands of Rügen and Usedom, Germany, see groups of luminous spheres that accelerate rapidly and abruptly. One witness, Gerald Schwab, watches the lights stand still for 3 minutes before they accelerate rapidly forward. (Illobrand von Ludwiger, “ The ‘Greifswald Lights,’” MUFON Central European Section, May 2000)
August 4 - Day. Two hikers near the A9 near Calvine, Perthshire, Scotland, see a diamond- shaped object that appears to be shadowed by an RAF Harrier jet. The object is visible for about 10 minutes. One of the hikers takes color photographs of the incident. Desk officers from DI55 suspect the image might show a US Air Force black project aircraft. The prints are sent to the Glasgow Daily Record newspaper, which forwards them to the Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre at RAF Brampton [now closed] for scrutiny. The prints subsequently disappear and the MoD claims there is no surviving record of the conclusions reached about the investigation. However, in October 2020 the Ministry of Defence blocks release of the photos from their scheduled declassification on January 1, 2021, until 2072 without any explanation. Former MoD official Nick Pope, one of the few people to see the photos and the analysis, says the photos are authentic and show a material device of unknown origin that has no wings, no fuselage, no tail, no visible engine, and bears no inscription. Compared to elements in the landscape, the object appears to be about 98 feet in diameter. The British government continues to deny that its US ally has ever been allowed to operate experimental aircraft in UK airspace, but David Clarke discovers that a dossier of evidence was shared with US intelligence after the British expressed "concern about a possible stealthy platform flying in UK airspace." A 1992 letter from the British Defence Staff in Washington, D.C., reveals that one of the Calvine photos was brought to the US by British Intelligence officials to be examined by their US counterparts. In August 2022, David Clarke discovers a print of the actual photo that RAF officer Craig Lindsay has kept safe for more than three decades. Wim van Utrecht suspects that the photo might have been hoaxed with a Christmas tree star suspended on edge from a fishing line. Mike Bara claims the photo actually depicts a mountain peak showing above the clouds. (UFOFiles2, pp. 148-149; Paul Sims, " Alien Mystery: Government Bans Release of Secret UFO Dossier about Calvine for 50 Years," Scottish Sun, October 10, 2020; Nick Pope, "` Dark Forces': I've Seen Top Secret Photos of Calvine UFO Sighting-It Left Me Shell-Shocked," Scottish Sun, October 10, 2020; David Ramasseul, " Ovni de Calvine: L'interminable secret," Paris Match, October 13, 2020; David Clarke, "Revisiting the Calvine `UFO' Photographs," Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3, UAP Media UK, June 29-July 1, 2021; David Clarke, "The Jox Files: Was a US `Special Project' Captured on Film in Scotland?" Fortean Times 409 (September 2021): 52-53; Simon Houston, " What Was the Calvine UFO Sighting and Are the Photos Real?" Scottish Sun, May 2, 2022; David Clarke, " The Calvine UFO Photograph-Revealed," Dr. David Clarke: Folklore and Journalism, August 12, 2022; Wim van Utrecht, " A UFO with a High X(-mas) Factor," August 18, 2022; David Clarke, "UFO Cover-Up at Calvine," Fortean Times 423 (October 2022): 30-35; Ewan Mowat, " Legendary 30-Year-Old UFO Mystery `Tracked Down to a Lancashire Warehouse,'" Lancashire News, March 6, 2024; David Clarke, "UFO Photo Update," Fortean Times 447 (August 2024): 4-5; Jon Austin, " UFO Breakthrough as UK's Most Famous Case `Finally Solved' with Bombshell Explanation," Daily Express (UK), September 12, 2024; Andrew Robinson, " Craig Lindsay and the Calvine UFO: Transcript," Anthology Substack, December 30, 2024; Daniel Lavelle, " What Really Happened in Calvine?" The Guardian (UK), February 11, 2025)
August 24 — 8:35 p.m. Many witnesses in northern Germany see a formation of seven luminous objects over the Baltic Sea. They hover for nearly 30 minutes near Peenemünde (on Usedom) and the Soviet-built nuclear power plant at Lubmin [shut down soon afterward]. Five people, including nuclear physicist Ludmilla Ivanova, videotape the event from Greifswald, enabling researchers to triangulate the lights and reconstruct their positions. Ufologist Illobrand von Ludwiger’s group MUFON-Central European Section obtains 6 videos and 11 photos from different observers and interviews more than a dozen witnesses. They conclude that two groups of luminous spheres hovered nearly motionless for about 30 minutes over the sea. The brighter and closer group forms a circle of 6 spheres. The second group is in the shape of a “Y,” with some spheres performing individual movements. Some of them move back and forth between the two groups. They are able to move extremely fast, estimated by one witness as “supersonic velocity,” then come to an abrupt stop when reaching the formation. (Illobrand von Ludwiger, Best UFO Cases: Europe, National Institute For Discovery Sciences, 1998, pp. 70–74; Jacques Vallée, “ Estimates of Power Optical Output in Six Cases of Unexplained Aerial Objects with Defined Luminosity Characteristics,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 12, no. 3 (1998): 356–357; Illobrand von Ludwiger, “ The ‘Greifswald Lights,’” MUFON Central European Section, May 2000)
September 2 — Early morning. Residents of Murmansk Oblast, Russia, see a large illuminated ball above the Arctic Ocean. It is at a high altitude, gives off no electronic signals, and moves slowly toward the Kola Peninsula. Soviet Air Defense thinks it resembles a large airship. Finally, the order is given to destroy it, and it turns out to be an enormous weather balloon. (Central Intelligence Agency, “ Airship-Like UFO Sighted over Murmansk,” September 4, 1990)
September 2 — A dozen lights are seen flying in a straight formation at various locations in Greece. While flying above Atalanti, Phthiotis, one of the lights turns red, emits smoke, and starts losing altitude, eventually making a forced landing on top of a nearby hill and setting the entire slope on fire. Other lights descend with it, and circle around the landed object. The closest eyewitnesses are about a half-mile away and describe the objects as circular and the size of tractors. The observers move closer and see “shadows” going in and out of the objects. About five hours later, the objects all take off. The following morning, locals who visit the site notice that even though the area is burned, the ground is moist and sticky. They find some metal and foam fragments that are confiscated by the police. Some spherical depressions in the ground, arranged in a circular formation, are also noted. The Greek Air Force, which is on the site within an hour after the objects depart, claims that the landed object is a satellite. (Orestis Lazanakis, “ UAP in Greece,” UAP Check, July 27, 2024)
September 10 — 8:30 a.m. A group of schoolchildren and some adults in Alfena, Portugal, watch a hovering or slowly moving metallic sphere with legs. Journalist Manuel Gomes manages to take four photos of the object, which later moves away at high speed. (“ Case UFO Alfena, Oporto, Portugal 1990,” Above Top Secret Forum, September 13, 2008; “ 1990: Alfena, Portugal, UFO Mystery: Article,” ThinkAboutIt; Clark IV 117)
September 13 - Shortly after 12:00 midnight. A Soviet radar unit in Samara, Russia, tracks an approaching object that apparently causes the equipment to malfunction and go blank. Going outside, the operators see a flying black triangle giving off three bright rays pass directly overhead at no more then 30 feet. It lands nearby and gives off more bursts of energy for 90 minutes. Cpl. S. Dudnik sees it knock out a radar aerial with a light beam. Two sentries, A. Blazhis and A. Varenitsa, allegedly disappear and reappear with no memory of the event and without realizing they have been missing. The ground where they were standing guard seems to be blasted by an explosion. Their wrist watches are running nearly 2 hours slow. Capt. D. Rudzit tells a military reporter from Za Rodinu who is investigating the incident that nothing has happened. In November, Deputy Minister of Defense Gen. Ivan Tretiak claims the incident was all a newspaper hoax. (Paul Stonehill and Philip Mantle, The Soviet UFO Files: Paranormal Encounters behind the Iron Curtain, Quadrillion, 1998, p. 50; Good Need, pp. 358-360, 364)
September 27 — 10:50 p.m. Cosmonauts Gennady Manakov and Gennadi Strekalov are aboard the Mir space station. When Strekalov is looking down at Newfoundland through a clear atmosphere, he sees a glittering, iridescent, perfect sphere. He calls Manakov and together they study the object. Strekalov says it “shone like the balls that hang on trees at Christmas, greenish in color and all shimmering.” It appears to be 12–18 miles above the Earth. They watch it for 10 seconds when it disappears abruptly. (Central Intelligence Agency, “ Take 1 of 3—Foreign Press Note—FB PN 91-014—USSR,” January 11, 1991; Good Need, p. 360; 2Pinotti 119–122)
October 8 — 11:00 a.m. Near Grozny, Chechnya, Russia, an unidentified target appears on ground radar screens. Commander S. Prokoshin orders an interceptor jet scrambled and pilot Maj. P. Riabishev takes off in pursuit. Something makes him turn his head and he sees to his right rear two large, cigar-shaped objects. The length of the first is about 6,500 feet and the second about 1,300 feet. They are too distant to make out details. When he starts closing on them, both disappear from his field of vision, although ground radar continues to track them. (Central Intelligence Agency, “ Take 1 of 3—Foreign Press Note—FB PN 91-014—USSR,” January 11, 1991; Good Need, pp. 360–361; Covert 71)
October 10 — 9:00 p.m. Police and citizens in Skibo, Minnesota, watch formations of white objects with red and green body lights alternately hovering and darting around southeast of Hoyt Lakes at about 10,000 feet altitude. Air traffic controllers at Duluth Airport notice a series of ambiguous radar returns at 10:15 p.m. and confirm radar echoes from the Hoyt Lakes area. Two separate radars track several targets intermittently over the next hour. One controller in Duluth continuously monitors a roughly circular formation of 3–5 objects, one of which repeatedly darts away, reverses direction, and returns to the formation. An Air National Guard facility calls the Duluth tower to express puzzlement over unexplained targets appearing on their radar screen. An airline pilot flying at 11,000 feet some 40–50 miles west of Hoyt Lakes spots two distinct glowing red lights below his altitude and a few miles apart. (Dan Wright, “ Current Case Log,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 274 (February 1991):11; UFOEv II 166)
October 14 - 7:00 p.m. Frau Wengere and her husband are driving from Lostorf to Zürich, Switzerland, when she sees two motionless, bright white lights ahead of them to the left over a range of mountains. Her husband can't stop because there is no place to pull over. The lights of an approaching aircraft are much smaller and paler. They lose sight of the lights while driving through a village, but they see them again a little higher in the sky to the right of the road. A third light is now visible a bit to the left of the others and they watch it moving closer to the other two lights, which move from a 45° angle to horizontal, keeping the same space between them. The witnesses see two chains of red and green lights joining the two. They drive on and lose sight of the lights. (Auguste Meessen, " The Belgian Sightings," IUR 16, no. 3 (May/June 1991): 11, 22)
October 21 — 10:05 p.m. Mme. Henquinet and her 15-year-old son Stephane are at the intersection of NB47 and N30 near Rachamps, Belgium, when two lights suddenly drop toward them. But the lights disappear, and as they turn south on the N30, another light appears behind a hedge bordering the right-hand side of the road, about a dozen yards from the car. The light paces the car at the same speed, slowing down when she does. When they reach the end of the hedge, Mme. Henquinet brakes, and Stephane runs out of the car to look. They see a dark mass, more than 50 feet across, rise up rapidly and silently into the sky. On the lower part of the object is a circle of 7–8 lights. (Patrick Vidal and Michel Rozencwajg, “ The Belgian Wave,” IUR 16, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1991): 5)
October 23 - 5:30 a.m. A young woman in Athus, Belgium, wakes up, looks out the window, and sees a light 1,300 feet away on or just above a nearby hill. It consists of two bright headlights directed at her. A smaller blue light is between the two white ones. About 10 minutes later, the lights rise together and move in toward her. The ground below lights up as they pass. A few moments later, the object passes silently over her house. She notices a small red light on its underside. The object then veers left in the direction of Luxembourg and disappears in the distance. (Patrick Vidal and Michel Rozencwajg, " The Belgian Wave," IUR 16, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1991): 5)
October 23 — 9:25 p.m. Four witnesses, ages 15–17, see an unusual object with very bright lights in Pepinster, Belgium. The have the impression that the object is taking off at a low altitude about 1,640 feet away. The object moves silently to the northeast, displaying on its lower part three bright white lights in the form of a triangle. At the center of the triangle is a steady red light. The object is shaped like a pyramid with the apex pointing forward. The sighting lasts for about 30 seconds. (Patrick Vidal and Michel Rozencwajg, “ The Belgian Wave,” IUR 16, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1991): 5)
Late 1990 — A US Army captain is stationed in the Iraqi desert with his unit during Operation Desert Shield. He is informed by a superior officer that his unit is not to fire on any objects that might appear within a specific, rather restricted, area of the sky. A few nights later, he and his men see several bright objects maneuvering in an extraordinary fashion. “We could not have shot them down if we had tried,” he said. He does not know what they are, although UFOs are primary suspects. (Dolan II 555)
November — Along State Highway 59 South near Rosedale, Oklahoma, a 14-year-old boy is sitting under a tree in a wheat field, watching the area for deer, when he notices a bright white light moving north at a low altitude. It maintains a level flight. As the light gets closer, he lifts his rifle to view it through the scope and realizes there’s no sound. He watches the disc-shaped object, estimating it to be 30–40 feet in diameter and 7 feet high, with white lights on the sides and a spinning motion. A blue-green light from its bottom illuminates the field below. The object flies north at a steady 40–60 feet altitude and 20–30 mph until it disappears in the distance. (“ Current Cases,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 289 (February 1993): 14, 15)
November 5 — Around 6:00 p.m. The pilot and copilot of a British Airways flight from Rome to Gatwick Airport notice a large, silver-shaped object over the North Sea. They bring two crew members into the cockpit to observe it with them. Ground radar sees nothing unusual. (Nick Redfern, A Covert Agenda: UFO Secrecy Exposed, Simon & Schuster, 1997, p. 169; Good Need, pp. 382–383)
November 5 — 6:00 p.m. Two RAF Tornados over the North Sea encounter two large round objects, each with five blue lights and several white lights around the rim. As the jets close to investigate, one of the UFOs heads for one of the jets, which is forced to take evasive action. The two objects then head north and disappear. Nothing shows up on the jets’ radar. Commercial aircraft also report odd lights over the North Sea. Other high-speed contacts take place along the border of Germany and southern Belgium. (Paul Whitehead, “ Special Report to FSR (May 1991),” Flying Saucer Review 36, no. 2 (Summer 1991): 10; Nick Pope, Open Skies, Closed Minds, Simon & Schuster, 1996, p. 177; Good Need, pp. 383–384; UFOFiles2, pp. 140–142)
November 5 - 7:00 p.m. French pilot Jean-Gabriel Greslé is standing outside a gym in Gretz-Armainvilliers, Seine-et-Marne, France, with six of his martial arts students when a massive UFO comes into view. His first impression is of a huge crane with many lights. It is about 2,600 feet away at an altitude of 985 feet, moving downward. Another witness sees it level off and turn. It is projecting two very long, divergent beams of solid light that do not quite touch the ground. The object itself is at least 1,000 feet long and 200-250 feet thick with triangular substructures and many lights. Its rear section is trapezoidal. When it flies above them at no more than 100 mph, t somehow tunes out all surrounding noise as if carrying a "zone of silence." As Greslé moves around a tree to view it better, it dims and moves away, disappearing into a cloud. (Good Need, p. 382)
November 5 — 7:00 p.m. Two different explosions are heard in the area around RAF Rhendahlen in Mönchengladbach West, North Rhein–Westphalia, Germany. Two RAF Phantom jets are performing practice intercepts under strict radar control. After the second explosion at 10:00 p.m., one of the crews sees UFOs heading north in “finger” formation. (Paul Whitehead, “ Special Report to FSR (May 1991),” Flying Saucer Review 36, no. 2 (Summer 1991): 10; Good Need, pp. 383–384)
November 5 — Night. Witnesses report a large, cigar-shaped object, some accompanied by spheres, over many localities in southern Poland. Hundreds of people in Opole see a group of 15–20 spheres emitting bright trails. (Poland 73–74)
November 7 — 7:15 p.m. An American woman tourist is swimming in the rooftop pool of the International Hilton Bonaventure Hotel in downtown Montreal, Quebec, when she sees a yellowish, oval object hovering directly overhead. Other hotel guests come to view it, as well as the pool lifeguard, who describes it as “a lighted object with six lights on the perimeter of a large circle with a ray of light emitted from each one.” Municipal police and the RCMP are called and they also view the UFO. Around 9:00 p.m., Marcel Laroche, a journalist from La Presse, takes some photos. The object disappears around 10:10 p.m. due to increasing cloud cover. Other people around the city and at the airport also report seeing unusual lights. (Chris Rutkowski and Geoff Dittman, The Canadian UFO Report, Dundurn Press, 2006, pp. 172–174; Wim van Utrecht, “ Large Stationary Object over Montreal,” Caelestia, September 28, 2007; “ OVNI du Hilton-Bonaventure (17 Nov 1990),” Réseau OVNI Alerte / UFO-Alert Network Facebook page, November 7, 2018)
November 9 — Soviet Deputy Minister of Defense Ivan Tretyak speaks with a writer from Literaturnaya Gazeta and confirms that fighter-interceptors have encountered UFOs in Russian air space. However, most are explainable as natural phenomena, rocket launches, or satellites. He admits that some pilots report UFOs apparently of artificial origin, but their real nature remains unknown. (Central Intelligence Agency, “ Take 1 of 2—Foreign Press Note—FB PN 91-003—USSR,” January 5, 1991)
November 22 — 5:28 a.m. Mme. Bouffioux is lying awake in bed at her home in Fleurus, Belgium, when she senses an intense light. She looks out the window, which is covered in vapor, and sees the light about 80 feet away behind the wall bordering her neighbor’s garden and in an abandoned field. After a while, the light turns off, and she sees bluish flashes erupting from a spot to the right of where the object was last seen. (Patrick Vidal and Michel Rozencwajg, “ The Belgian Wave,” IUR 16, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1991): 7)
December 9 - 9:30 p.m. Mme. Cortvriendt and her husband are at the Waterloo exit of the Brussels Ring Road near Belle-Vue, Belgium, when they see a luminous triangle off to the right at an altitude of 160 feet. On its circumference are a multitude of white lights that are "bright as diamonds." Stretching from the center of the object are four brass-colored arms in the shape of a cross. They lose sight of it as it travels away from them to the northeast. (Patrick Vidal and Michel Rozencwajg, " The Belgian Wave," IUR 16, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1991): 8)
1991
Aircraft carrier USS Nimitz Petty Officer Kevin Thomas sees a “huge black triangle” lifting out of the ocean when he is accidentally left on deck after the ship is ordered to turn out all lights and clear the decks. The object has no water dripping off it, makes no sound, and shortly afterward flies up vertically out of sight. Thomas says he is interviewed by people in civilian clothes about why he was outside and what he saw. Thomas claims he did not tell them he saw the triangle because he was concerned he would be disciplined. (“ New USS Nimitz Witness (Kevin Thomas),” Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena YouTube channel, October 22, 2022)
January 6 -6:00 p.m. Four family members driving along the E411 motorway near Spontin, Belgium, watch a gigantic, plate-shaped UFO with many lights and a cupola pass overhead heading northwest. At 6:30 p.m., a family driving south on the A4 in Beez, Belgium, see three lights attached to an object hovering above a quarry. An army veteran named Hardy estimates the UFO to be about 260 feet long and 30-50 feet high, with the forward three lights in the form of a rectangle and a red light on the lower rear end. The bottom part is bulged out and dark gray in color. On the side, 15 portholes are lit up in white light. After parking their car on the side of the road, the witnesses watch the object for another minute or so. As soon as Hardy turns on his headlights, the object moves away to the northeast. (Patrick Vidal and Michel Rozencwajg, " The Belgian Wave," IUR 16, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1991): 8, 23)
February — 1:00 a.m. A security camera at Birchwood Shopping Mall four miles east of Warrington, Cheshire, England, picks up a white light, seemingly tennis-ball sized, moving around an open walkway. It appears to inspect a garbage bin, climbs a wall, and at one point approaches the camera. The security guard zooms the camera in on it, revealing a white, doughnut shape. It flies away, hovering above a tree to the south, and vanishes. About 8 minutes has elapsed. (Jenny Randles, “ UFOs in Focus,” IUR 18, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1993): 15–16)
February 6? - Evening. A woman is walking with two friends near the Etang de l'Ursine in Chaville, Hauts-de-Seine, France, when they see a large and brilliant star in the west. At nightfall, they return to their homes. One, named Sylvia, who lives on the Rue Alexis Maneyrol, goes back to look for the star and notices now that it is moving in a triangular motion. While walking back through the woods, she is struck by a beam. Suddenly, she is enveloped by a beam of light that seems to be trying to trap her, but she escapes back to her house. She goes to sleep but is surprised by an intruder in her house, a small figure in a watery-green cosmonaut suit who points to a screen showing the interior of a spaceship. The screen and figure dissolve. The next day, near a bus stop, she sees a strange figure wearing a cape who scowls at her terrifyingly. (Joël Mesnard, " A Failed Abduction at Chaville?" IUR 32, no. 3 (July 2009): 21-22, 24)
February 22 — 12:45 a.m. Three youths driving home from a school reunion at Maids Moreton, Buckingham, England, see a white, cigar-shaped object glowing with numerous lights. It comes closer with an unsteady, jerky motion. They park the car in a field to watch the object, which approaches to within 100 feet. As they try to leave, their engine and headlights fail to respond. A brilliant beam of light envelops the car and they hear a faint humming sound. The light beam and sound disappear suddenly, along with the UFO, and they restart the car and drive away. (Herbert S. Taylor, “ An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part 1,” IUR 33, no. 4 (May 2011): 19)
March 6 — 7:58 a.m. A glowing turquoise, cigar-shaped object on an easterly course crosses the path of Air Charter Flight 866 near Kingston, Ontario, stops ahead of the airliner, then proceeds to the north. (UFOEv II, 127)
March 12 — On two occasions an object is seen over the Tihange Nuclear Power Station, Belgium. One witness reports a UFO directly above the red lights on one of the plant’s huge chimneys, where it hovers about 1 minute, beaming one of its lights on the outside structure while another light points directly down one of the chimneys. After its inspection, it flies straight through the enormous white plume of steam before disappearing in the dark. (Kean, p. 32)
March 15 — Night. An electronics engineer in Auderghem, Belgium, wakes up and hears a barely audible, high-frequency, whistling tone. He looks outside and sees a large rectangular object at a low altitude with irregular structures on the bottom. He walks upstairs to an upper-level terrace and watches the dark-gray object drift overhead slowly without lights. The whistling noise has stopped. (Kean, pp. 31–32)
March 18 — Captain Zho, the pilot of a regional airliner over Kunshan, Jiangsu, China, sees a ring-shaped object, two rectangular objects moving back and forth, and a red blaze of light coming from the ring. (UFOEv II 127)
March 27 - Darol Ady is driving east on US Highway 20 near Hines, Oregon, when he spots two bright lights resembling airplane landing lights coming toward him above the road. He initially assumes the lights are from a plane preparing to land but suddenly they vanish. In their place a shower of red lights appears, resembling burning embers. Upon reaching the area, Ady and his wife see three heaps of ashes on the ground, with his wife noticing chunks of what looks like burning equipment. Later, he contacts the sheriff's office and Officer Frank Hickey accompanies him back to the site, but they find no evidence of fire or charring. Meanwhile, a ranch resident near the Wild Horse Corrals reports seeing a massive red glow in the sky. Another local describes witnessing enormous blue-green lights in the east near Lawen, brighter than airplane lights. The lights hover before descending toward the horizon and vanishing. A massive red light appears seconds later. (" UFO Seen West of Hines by Traveller," Burns (Oreg.) Times-Herald, April 3, 1991, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 262 (May 1991): 4; " UFOs Reported in E. Oregon," Corvallis (Oreg.) Gazette-Times, April 12, 1991, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 262 (May 1991): 1; " Foremost Sighting This Issue," Flying Saucer Digest, no. 114 (Summer 1991): 6, 7; Rick R. Hilberg, " Around and About the Saucer World," Flying Saucer Digest, no. 115 (Fall 1991): 7-9)
March 29 — 4:00 a.m. Cleo Hall wakes up and notices a strange bright light in the sky over the Chetco River area near Brookings, Oregon. As an insomniac, she feels an urge to get up and, upon opening her curtain, sees a brilliant orangey light shining through the trees. She describes the object as initially appearing like a fingernail tip of the moon, but in the wrong part of the sky. The light grows in intensity, glowing brilliantly before suddenly fading out, as if moving away. Hall, an artist and retired nurse, quickly sketches the sighting to confirm she was fully awake. (“ Strange Light in Sky Seen over the Chetco,” Curry Coastal Pilot (Brookings (Oreg.), March 30, 1991, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 262 (May 1991): 9; Rick R. Hilberg, “ Around and About the Saucer World,” Flying Saucer Digest, no. 115 (Fall 1991): 7, 9)
March 31 - For two nights in a row a couple in Palmarejo, Puerto Rico, hears their two Dobermans howling as if frightened, apparently upset by a peculiar sound like a phonograph record played at the wrong speed. It seems to move around the house, but the sound source cannot be located. Suddenly one of the dogs shrieks, and the husband runs outside to find two strange beings on his patio. They are 3-4 feet tall, gray, with big heads, big black eyes, and a slit for a mouth. The beings flee. The female Doberman is unharmed, but the male is found killed, with empty eye sockets and internal organs missing. (Jorge Martin, " UFO Connection Seen in Puerto Rico Mutilations," The Ufologist 2, no. 2 (Apr./June 1993): 22-25; Clark III 139; Clark IV 166)
April 2 — 7:00 p.m. Residents of Faribault, Minnesota, report a strange object in the sky. The object appears cylindrical, well-lit, and either moves slowly or hovers. Dick Feichtinger, a local theater owner, first sees it while driving, describing it as a vertical, oblong shape that is white and glowing. Later, he observes it again, now flashing red and green lights. As Feichtinger reaches home, he calls his family outside, and they also see the object. He alerts neighbors, leading to multiple witnesses describing the object as changing colors and moving as if guided by intelligence. Around the same time, two large military planes fly unusually low, in close formation, with one momentarily turning on what seem to be floodlights. Other reports mention helicopters and additional aircraft in the area. A spokesperson for the Air National Guard states that two C-130 planes are conducting a routine training mission in the Faribault area at the time, but the pilots do not witness any strange lights in the sky. The National Weather Service rules out the possibility of a weather balloon, as none were released, and such balloons do not have lights. (Paul Adams, “ No Explanations for Strange Object in Rice County Sky,” Faribault (Minn.) Daily News, April 5, 1991, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 262 (May 1991): 3; Rick E. Hilberg, “ Around and About the Saucer World,” Flying Saucer Digest, no. 114 (Summer 1991): 8, 10–11)
April 7 — 10:00 p.m. Ten residents report a strange aerial object giving off blue and red rays hovering directly over Burns, Oregon, before disappearing. (“ UFOs Reported in E. Oregon,” Corvallis (Oreg.) Gazette-Times, April 12, 1991, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 262 (May 1991): 1; “ Foremost Sighting This Issue,” Flying Saucer Digest, no. 114 (Summer 1991): 6–7)
April 9 - Night. Residents of Burns, Oregon, describe seeing aerial lights with flames, hovering objects, and something silent flying low over cars in Harney County. Burns Police Chief Aaron Richardson responds to a sighting at 9:15 p.m. above the Burns-Paiute Indian Reservation. Observing the object through a spotting scope, he cannot determine its nature. Pauline Brymen, editor of the Burns (Oreg.) Times-Herald, examines the light with a telescope and concludes it is a star. (" UFOs Reported in E. Oregon," Corvallis (Oreg.) Gazette-Times, April 12, 1991, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 262 (May 1991): 1; " Foremost Sighting This Issue," Flying Saucer Digest, no. 114 (Summer 1991): 6-7)
April 11 — 7:00–9:00 p.m. A bright, oval-shaped object that changes color from blue to red flies over the Complexo Penitenciário da Papuda, a federal prison in São Sebastião in the Federal District of Brasilia, Brazil. The object is seen by dozens of residents of the Lago Sul area and by more than 20 police officers on duty that night. The first to see the UFO is Lt. Damasceno of the Independent Company of the Military Police. He calls colleagues and is greeted with jokes. But he persuades them to go outside and see the UFO. He says the object is blue when vertical but turns red when it changes position. It appears to be no more than 1,650 feet above the prison. It flies up and down and horizontally without leaving a trace, and the intensity of its lights and colors vary. Carloads of people descend upon Papuda and dozens of people observe the UFO. After 100 minutes, a strange haze begins to engage the UFO, which disappears about 20 minutes later. Damasceno informs Sgt. Petronius, a CINDACTA flight controller, that he is seeing a “strong blue light that changed to red in the direction of three hours to the right.” Petronius is following the object on radar; it seems to be rectangular and moving at about 435 mph. CINDACTA confirms that the object has been tracked over much of the Lago Sul area and close to the Brasilia airport. Later, it identifies the object as a meteorological balloon, deemed an inadequate explanation by witnesses. (Clark III 874–875; Brazil 336–338; Jackson Camargo, “ OVNI sobrevoa Presídio no Distrito Federal,” Fenomenum, October 31, 2023; Clark IV 968–969)
April 19? — Afternoon. Two militiamen on patrol in Almaty, Kazakhstan, notice a flare at the top of Kok Tobe Mountain. They watch flames go up and down and then see an array of red light beams. They drive to within 650 feet of a hovering UFO. At that point, a few rays sweep across the car and it stops dead. The object then dims its lights and disappears. The men return to the police station but cannot recall how they did so. (Central Intelligence Agency, “ Alma-Ata Patrolmen Report UFO Sighting,” from Tass, April 19, 1991)
April 21 — 8:00 p.m. Captain Achille Zaghetti and his copilot are flying a McDonnell Douglas MD-80 Alitalia airliner with 57 passengers. They are over the English Channel just off the coast of Romney, Kent, England, and preparing to land at Heathrow Airport, London, when they see a round object or missile, about 10 feet long, approaching from their left. It is less than 100 feet away. The control tower confirms a radar target, which is now behind them. The British Army denies firing any missiles. The British Civil Aviation Authority concludes that “extensive enquiries have failed to provide any indication of what the sighting may have been.” Nick Redfern notes that the description of the UFO is consistent with a pilotless drone of the type used for defense practice. (Stephen Ward, “ Inquiry into Pilot’s Sighting of Missile,” The Independent (UK), May 6, 1991, p. 2; Clas Svahn and Anders Liljegren, “ Close Encounters with Unknown Missiles,” IUR 19, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1994): 13–14; Nick Pope, Open Skies, Closed Minds, Simon & Schuster, 1996, p. 196; Nick Redfern, A Covert Agenda: UFO Secrecy Exposed, Simon & Schuster, 1997, pp. 170–172; “ Britain Releases UFO Files, Dispels Some Mysteries,” KPIC, Roseburg, Oregon, October 19, 2008; “ Airliner Had Near Miss with UFO,” BBC News, October 20, 2008; UFOFiles2, pp. 135–137; 2Pinotti 113–116)
April 26 — A different security camera at Birchwood Shopping Mall near Warrington, Cheshire, England, records a similar object to the one detected in February in a location several hundred yards away. The camera records it for 20 minutes as it moves across the ground, passes by a road sign, climbs onto the roof of the mall, and vanishes in the sky above the M6 motorway. The camera operator lets the object enter the camera’s infrared spot beam, then switches the beam off; the light vanishes, then returns when the beam is turned back on. Investigators suspect that the light was caused by an insect interacting with the beam. (Jenny Randles, “ UFOs in Focus,” IUR 18, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1993): 16–17)
May 12 - 7:00 p.m. Farmer Moisés Campelo is walking home from his brother's house in Campo Redondo, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, when a bright light approaches and stops right above his head, spinning slowly. His eyes begin to burn and he feels paralyzed, as if he is being sucked into the light. He remains suspended under the light for about 5 minutes, after which he is dropped to the ground. Campelo starts crawling home, but the light returns and levitates him again. This time he is suspended for 15 minutes before being dropped. He remains traumatized and sustains an eye injury. (Bob Pratt, UFO Danger Zone: Terror and Death in Brazil-Where Next?, Horus House, 1996, pp. 9-13; Brazil 340-342)
May 17 — 1:30 a.m. A nurse in Braine l’Alleud, Belgium, hears an intense hum and looks out her window to see a large triangular object moving slowly overhead. At the front of the triangle, there is a group of lights located symmetrically along the edges. They are grouped toward the front point of the triangle. At least four of these lights are white and flickering quickly, with approximately two lights on the left and on the right flickering each second, but never reproducing the same sequence. She thinks there is also a steady red light. Slightly back from the central axis, she sees a ray of light, inclined on 45°, coming from an opening that is larger than the diameter of the flickering lights. This beam projects to the ground onto the street, and traces a brief series of figure 8s. Suddenly, after 5 seconds the UFO instantly reappears far away, its blinking lights (but not the ray) still visible. (Vague d’OVNI sur la Belgique, Tome 2: Une énigme non-resolué, SOBEPS, 1994, pp. 16–19; Patrick Gross,“ The Belgium Flap”)
May 22 — A husband and wife in Nottingham, England, see an array of lights in an “elongated triangle” formation. The same object is seen 15 minutes later by another man in the area. He estimates it is about 1,000 feet high and gives off a low humming noise. (Nick Redfern, A Covert Agenda: UFO Secrecy Exposed, Simon & Schuster, 1997, p. 184)
June 1 — 2:38 p.m. A Britannia Airways Boeing 737 is descending for a landing at 8,000 feet near Heathrow Airport, London, England, when the pilots see an unknown object for 1–2 seconds through the windshield. It disappears rapidly on the left. The missile has a yellow-orange cylindrical body with a “wrinkled” appearance and is about 10 feet long. (Clas Svahn and Anders Liljegren, “ Close Encounters with Unknown Missiles,” IUR 19, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1994): 14)
June 8 — 6:00 p.m. Pilot Cesar Escobar and Copilot Angel David Farina are flying two passengers to Asunción, Paraguay, in his Cessna 210. While monitoring airport frequencies near Concepción, he overhears a conversation between the control tower and a Líneas Aéreas Paraguayas airliner, with the pilot reporting a brightly lit object approaching on a convergent course. The object is also showing on airport radar. He hears the pilot exclaim as the UFO speeds past. A few minutes later, Escobar sees a bright, blue-white light approaching on his right side. Just then radar control radios to ask if he has traffic on his right, and he replies affirmatively. The object paces his plane for 25 minutes within about 1,300 feet. Its intense light tends to conceal its exact shape, but it appears to be oval. Several times it moves in closer, as if playing a game, and Escobar becomes frightened. When it approaches, his instruments go crazy, including his automatic direction finder, which drifts around aimlessly. As he begins descending into Asunción Airport at 7:22 p.m., the object stops following and hovers. Anibal Gavigan, the air traffic control specialist on duty, is called by radar control and informed that a strange object has followed the Cessna 210 into the airport. He is asked if he can see it, and he can see the luminous object. After the Cessna lands, the airport lights are turned off to better identify the glowing object, which remains motionless over the field. At one point a luminous, yellow ray briefly shoots from the object to the western horizon. When it departs, the object accelerates so rapidly that it disappears after one sweep of the radar scope. (Jorge Alfonso Ramirez, “ UFO Intercepts Aircraft over Paraguay,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 310 (February 1994): 8–10; Don Berliner, with Marie Galbreath and Antonio Huneeus, UFO Briefing Document: The Best Available Evidence, Dell, 2000, p. 145; UFOEv II 144–145; Clark IV 749–750)
June 16 — 1:30 a.m. A businessman stops by the side of the road to relieve himself near The Bridestones, Cheshire, England, a Neolithic site with standing stones. He sees a golden beam of light above the stones from which emerges a shower of sparks. He returns to the car, but the engine will not start. He begins to run away when a large, glowing ball heads from the sparks straight toward him. It is so bright that it causes pain in his eyes and he feels rooted to the spot. He blacks out and regains his senses several hundred yards away from his car. He is naked above the waist and his shoes are missing. As he tries to get up, he brushes down his trousers and finds that they are charged with static electricity, causing sparks to jump from his body. After staggering around, he finds his car with the keys still in the ignition. Next to the door are his shoes and shirt, folded on the ground and warm to the touch. The car starts without trouble and he drives away, realizing that it is now 3:05 a.m. (Jenny Randles, “Much More Than Marsh Gas,” Fortean Times 311 (March 2014): 27)
June 17 — 6:30 p.m. Walter Leiss and three other passengers on board Dan Air Flight DA 4700 from London (Gatwick Airport) to Hamburg, Germany, see a wingless projectile below and to the left of the plane flying at an altitude of 4,000–5,000 feet with no vapor trail. The object is slender, gray, and cigar-shaped. The crew does not see it. (Clas Svahn and Anders Liljegren, “ Close Encounters with Unknown Missiles,” IUR 19, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1994): 14–15; David Freeman, “ Close Encounter at 14,000 Feet: The Gatwick UFO Incident,” Above the Norm News, June 17, 2025)
July — A boomerang-shaped object flies directly above two students in Copperas Cove, Texas, at an altitude of 150–200 feet. The entire surface of the object is glowing a bright white, but it does not light up the surroundings. (Powell, Scientist, 96)
July 11 - 12:21 p.m. While many people in Mexico City, Mexico, are looking to the sky to see the last total solar eclipse of the 20th century, they also notice a bright object hovering in the sky. Videos are recorded as far south as Puebla and Oaxaca. Skeptics claim the object is the planet Venus, but the full eclipse lasts just under 7 minutes, and the object is seen for more than 30 minutes-before, during, and after the event. Guillermo Arragin, a reporter, videotapes the object, and Jaime Maussan, host of the Mexican version of the CBS TV show 60 Minutes, shows the Arragin footage a week later. He asks his viewers to share any sightings they had during the eclipse. Fifteen videotapes are submitted, each taken by a witness in a different location. Maussan enlists the help of the station's video experts for digital enhancement and enlargement. The videos show solid, metallic-looking objects that reflect light. Maussan looks into balloons, helicopters, and other conventional objects, but comes up empty. The enhancements reveal a "hockey puck" shape, and many of the recorded objects pass in front of clouds. Tim Printy strongly suggests the observations were due to Venus. (Unsolved Mysteries Wiki, " Mexico City UFO"; Tim Printy, " The July 11, 1991, Mexico City UFOs: Basic Astronomy Ignored," February 2003; " Most Documented Mass UFO Sighting during the July 11, 1991, Solar Eclipse in Mexico," Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, January 18, 2024
July 15 — 5:45 p.m. The copilot of a Britannia Airways Boeing 737 on a flight from Crete to Gatwick Airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, sees a small, black, lozenge-shaped object about 1.5 feet in diameter, smooth, and some 1,600 feet ahead and above. It is on a collision course, and within 2 seconds it passes the aircraft’s wing at a distance of only 325 feet. The London Air Traffic Control Center picks up a target moving away from the plane to the southwest at 100 mph. (Clas Svahn and Anders Liljegren, “ Close Encounters with Unknown Missiles,” IUR 19, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1994): 15; UFOFiles2, p. 137)
August 4 - Night. Seven hikers near Lacul Bucura in the Retezat Mountains in west central Romania see a bright red light approaching them from behind. Thinking it might be a lost tourist, they wave their flashlights at it, but it starts zigzagging and increasing its speed. Soon they see other lights of varying colors, shapes, and configurations, all moving in the Valea Rea. Through binoculars they take on the shape of discs with luminous portholes. (Romania 55-57)
August 10 - US freelance writer Danny Casolaro is found dead in a bathtub in room 517 of the Sheraton Hotel in Martinsburg, West Virginia, his wrists slashed 10-12 times. The medical examiner rules the death a suicide. His death becomes controversial because his notes suggest he is in Martinsburg to meet a source about a story he calls "the Octopus." This centers on a sprawling collaboration involving an international cabal, primarily featuring a number of stories familiar to journalists who worked in and around Washington, D.C., in the 1980s-the Inslaw case, about a software manufacturer whose owner accused the Justice Department of stealing its work product; the October Surprise theory that during the Iran hostage crisis, Iran deliberately held back American hostages to help Ronald Reagan win the 1980 presidential election, the collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, and Iran-Contra. Casolaro's family argues that he has been murdered; that before he left for Martinsburg, he told his brother that he frequently received harassing phone calls late at night; that some of them were threatening; and that if something were to happen to him in Martinsburg, it will not be an accident. They also cite his well-known squeamishness and fear of blood tests, and state they find it incomprehensible that if he were going to commit suicide, he would do so by cutting his wrists a dozen times. A number of law-enforcement officials also argue that his death deserves further scrutiny, and his notes are passed by his family to ABC News and Time magazine, both of which investigate the case, but find no evidence of murder. (Wikipedia, " Danny Casolaro"; Kenn Thomas and Jim Keith, The Octopus: Secret Government and the Death of Danny Casolaro, Feral House, rev ed., 2003; Cheri Seymour, The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro's Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal, TrineDay, 2010; " Danny Casolaro's Files and Notes")
September — 10:45 p.m. Security policeman T/Sgt Anthony W. Keel is working as an alert response team leader at the Ellsworth AFB Oscar Flight area 30 miles west of Opal, South Dakota, when he is dispatched to a missile launch site with multiple alarms. They arrive, clear the site, and reset the alarms. Then he gets another call for a different site with the same alarm pattern, which they then reset. On the way back to the Oscar Launch Control Facility, he gets another call, and the team can see a blue, pulsating light above the site experiencing the alarm. The light moves away as they pull in to secure the site. The light is the size of a small helicopter, semicircular and oblong, and completely silent. (Nukes 468–469)
September 15 — One of the cameras on Space Shuttle Discovery Flight STS-48 captures several anomalous, glowing objects that float along and then sharply change direction, apparently in response to a flash in the lower left portion of the picture. NASA explains the objects as ice particles reacting to a Space Shuttle thruster firing. Astronomer Philip C. Plait discusses the issue in his book Bad Astronomy, agreeing with NASA. However, physicist Jack Kasher and Mark Carlotto dispute that explanation, arguing that there are two groups of correlated object motions involving at least a dozen distinct events. Kasher’s analysis reveals that the objects behaved oddly for any type of particle, ice or otherwise, and Carlotto indicates that no thruster was fired in that timeframe. (NICAP, “ STS Video Footage of Possible UAP Phenomenon in Orbit”; Wikipedia, “ STS-48”; Mark J. Carlotto, “ Digital Video Analysis of Anomalous Space Objects,” Journal of Scientific Exploration 9, no. 1 (1995): 45–63; Jack Kasher, “ Anomalous Images on Videotape from Space Shuttle Flight STS-48: Examination of the Ice-Particle Explanation,” JUFOS 6 (1995/96): 80–148; Lan D. Fleming, “ Examination of the Trajectories of Anomalous Objects Imaged during the STS-48 Space Shuttle Mission,” JUFOS 9 (2006): 71–98; “STS 48 UAP, Sept. 15, 1991 (Jack Kasher),” Part 1, Part 2, NICAP Official YouTube channel, June 11, 2021)
September 19 - 6:35 p.m. Maria Kulis is visiting Medjugorje, Bosnia, and takes a photo of St. James Church from a distance of about 500 feet. When she has the film developed, she notices an odd dark object in the sky almost above the church. The image is sharp and silhouetted against a purplish-blue sky. The object would be about 6.6 feet long if it was at an altitude of 1,000 feet. (Bruce Maccabee, " The Medjugorje UO," IUR 17, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1992): 12-13, 23; UFOEv II 300-302)
October - Following a request by Russian cosmonaut Pavel Popovich, the KGB declassifies several documents from its so-called "Blue Folder." The material is obtained by Vadim K. Ilyin from the late Vyacheslav Shtyepa of the Ufological Committee of the Russian Geographical Society. (Good Need, p. 353)
Late — Night. Annette Farinaccio is riding south on the North West Cape coast road toward Exmouth, Western Australia, with two Australian Protective Service police officers from Naval Communication Station Harold E. Holt when they see a long, gray, diamond-shaped object with a row of lights hovering 100 feet above them and to the right. Within a minute, the object shoots straight up and drops down immediately on their left. It seems to follow them along the road for nearly one mile, then shoots up into the sky and lands in the scrub several hundred feet off the road. A light shines from its base. The two officers speed ahead to Exmouth to drop Farinaccio off at home before returning to take some photos. They had seen the same object the previous night. Two days later, American officials at the station try to convince them that they have seen a weather balloon. The photos and camera are confiscated. (Coulthart 2023, pp. 1–4)
November 6 — The small near-Earth Object 1991 VG is discovered by American astronomer James Scotti at Kitt Peak National Observatory. The uncertainty of the object’s origin and its small size (16–39 feet), combined with rapid variation in the object’s brightness in images obtained during its close passage with Earth in early December 1991, leads to some speculation that 1991 VG might be a spent rocket fuel tank from a space mission, or even an alien artificial object. However, a detailed analysis of the available evidence confirms that there is no compelling reason to believe that 1991 VG is unnatural. (Wikipedia, “ 1991 VG”; Duncan Steel, “ SETA and 1991 VG,” The Observatory 115 (1995): 78–83; Mark Rodeghier, “ Alien Probe Detected in Solar System?” IUR 20, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1995): 9–10; Carlos de la Fuente Marcos and Raúl de la Fuente Marcos, “ Dynamical Evolution of Near-Earth Asteroid VG 1991,” Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 473 (2018): 2938–2948)
December 15 - 7:30 p.m. Clare Holcomb is returning to her home near Catlett, Virginia, from Winchester when she notices a pair of silent, low-flying bright lights. She stops the car for a better look. What seems like just a moment later, she finds herself driving 5 miles further down the road and feeling nauseous. She arrives home more than an hour later than usual. Her ear lobes are inflamed and bleeding, and her earrings have been inserted backward. In 1992, she begins having flashbacks about regular abduction experiences going all the way back to her childhood, many of them featuring her friend Diana Graves, who also begins having abduction memories. Holcomb begins consulting with clinical psychologist David Ruxer in Fairfax, Virginia. (Lisa Faye Kaplan, " Abducted by Aliens: Two Women Share a Nightmare That's Out of This World," Wausau (Wis.) Daily Herald, December 19, 1993, pp. 4B, 6B; " The Strange Case of the Shared Alien Abduction Experiences of Clare Holcomb and Diana Graves, 1991," Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, December 29, 2023)
1992
A man is driving near Alton Barnes, Wiltshire, England, when he sees a bright glow approaching from the opposite direction. Thinking it is from a speeding motorcycle, he stops the car and leaves the engine idling. As it approaches, the light changes direction and passes over the roof of the car. The engine stalls. The object seems to be emitting light all around it, but a few seconds later it disappears. (Herbert S. Taylor, " An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part 1," IUR 33, no. 4 (May 2011): 19-20)
Jerome Clark publishes the second volume of the first edition of his UFO encyclopedia. (Jerome Clark, The Emergence of a Phenomenon: UFOs from the Beginning through 1959, Omnigraphics, 1992; Michael D. Swords, [ review], JUFOS 4 (1992): 181–183)
The Research Institute on Anomalous Phenomena is established in Kharkiv, Ukraine, to study UFOs and extraterrestrial visitation. It has Russian and Ukrainian ufologists on its board, and it publishes RIAP Bulletin (in English, edited by Vladimir Rubtsov) from January 1994 to June 2006. ( RIAP Bulletin 1, no. 1 (Jan./March 1994); Vladimir Rubtsov, “ Ukraine Research Institute on Anomalous Phenomena,” IUR 18, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1993): 15–16)
The U.S. government funds an operational SETI program, in the form of the NASA High Resolution Microwave Survey (HRMS). The project is planned as a long-term effort to conduct a general survey of the sky and also carry out targeted searches of 800 specific nearby stars. HRMS is to be performed by radio antennas associated with the NASA Deep Space Network, as well as the 140-foot radio telescope of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory at Green Bank, West Virginia, and the 1,000-foot radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. The signals are to be analyzed by spectrum analyzers, each with a capacity of 15 million channels. These spectrum analyzers can be grouped together to obtain greater capacity. Those used in the targeted search have a bandwidth of 1 hertz per channel, while those used in the sky survey have a bandwidth of 30 hertz per channel. HRMS soon draws the attention of Congress, where the program is ridiculed and canceled one year after its start. SETI advocates continue without government funding, and in 1995 the nonprofit SETI Institute of Mountain View, California, resurrects the HRMS program under the name of Project Phoenix, backed by private sources of funding. (Wikipedia, “ Search for extraterrestrial intelligence”; Wikipedia, “ High Resolution Microwave Survey”)
The first confirmed discovery of extrasolar planets is made in 1992 when a system of terrestrial-mass planets is announced to be present around the millisecond pulsar PSR B1257+12. (Wikipedia, “ Discoveries of exoplanets”)
January 15 — The Spanish Air Force transfers responsibility for handling UFO reports to the Air Operative Command (whose head is Gen. Alfredo Chamorro Chapinal) at Torrejón Air Base in Madrid, Spain, which updates the procedures for reporting and investigating UFO sightings by military personnel. The added responsibility is placed in the intelligence section, commanded by Lt. Col. Ángel Bastida. (Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos, “ The Spanish Air Force UFO Files,” IUR 18, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1993): 13; Swords 425, 517)
February - 4:00 a.m. Near Tennant Creek, Northern Territory, Australia, five people are in a car driving around a bend when they encounter a huge area lit up from above. The engine, headlights, and dash lights cut out. They stop the car, restart it, and drive on, but 2 minutes later the same thing happens, then again 2 minutes after that. (Herbert S. Taylor, " An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part 1," IUR 33, no. 4 (May 2011): 20)
February 15–16 — The Center for UFO Studies and the Fund for UFO Research hold the Plains of San Agustin Conference in the Sofitel Chicago Hotel in Rosemont, Illinois, in order to examine the nature and quality of the evidence for a reported crash of a UFO and the recovery of aliens—both dead and alive—on the Plains of San Agustin, New Mexico, in July 1947. A focal point for the discussion is the testimony of Gerald Anderson, who contacted investigators Kevin Randle and Stanton Friedman with his claim that he had been present on the Plains when he was 5 years old. The separate stories of archaeologists and Grady L. “Barney” Barnett at this retrieval are also considered. Moderator Michael D. Swords concludes that the evidence for the Plains of San Agustin crash is “single-witness testimony with no physical or instrumental evidence to support the story” as well as problematic and inconsistent testimony. A summary report on the conference is published in June 1992. (Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, UFO Crash at Roswell, Avon, 1991, pp. 31–32, 87–90; Thomas J. Carey, “ The Search for the Archaeologists,” IUR 16, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1991): 4–9, 21; Stanton T. Friedman, Thomas J. Carey, Kevin D. Randle, and Donald R. Schmitt, “ The Search for the Archaeologists: An Exchange,” IUR 17, no. 3 (May/June 1992): 6–12, 22–23; Donald R. Schmitt and Kevin D. Randle, “ Second Thoughts on the Barney Barnett Story,” IUR 17, no. 3 (May/June 1992): 4–5, 22; Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, “ Missing Time,” IUR 17, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1992): 21–23; The Plains of San Agustin Controversy, July 1947: Gerald Anderson, Barney Barnett, and the Archaeologists, CUFOS/Fund for UFO Research, 1992; John Carpenter, “ Gerald Anderson: Disturbing Revelations,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 299 (March 1993): 6–9; Mark Rodeghier and Mark Chesney, “ Who’s the Dummy Now? The Latest Air Force Report,” IUR 22, no. 3 (Fall 1997): 8–9; Kevin D. Randle and Karl T. Pflock, “ Barney Barnett’s Crashed Saucer: Where Did It Come From?” IUR 28, no. 1 (Spring 2003): 15–18, 24–25; “ 1947 UFO Crash and Alien Bodies Eyewitness Gerald Anderson Interviewed by Stanton Friedman,” Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, August 27, 2024)
March — US historian David M. Jacobs publishes Secret Life, in which he lays out a detailed study of abduction phenomenology based on his research with numerous abductees. He finds many accounts of hybrid making and clues that the aliens exploit human genes to repopulate their planet or perhaps plot a takeover of the Earth. Jacobs argues that post-abduction syndrome differs from PTSD in that “external forces” are responsible for repressing memories in abductees. (David M. Jacobs, Secret Life: Firsthand Accounts of UFO Abductions, Simon & Schuster, 1992; Mark Rodeghier, [ review], JUFOS 4 (1992): 184–189; Clark III 8, 1064; Graff 338–339; Eghigian, After, p. 287; Clark IV 1179–1180)
March or April — 4:30 a.m. S/Sgt Joseph M. Brown is posted to a security team at the Malmstrom AFB A-3 flight launch facility outside Sluice Box Canyon near Monarch, Montana. Due to an alarm-system malfunction, two men are staked out in a security camper. Just after arriving at the site, Brown sees a bright white light moving erratically through the sky with sudden direction changes and abrupt stops and starts. He watches it for 15–20 minutes, then the light moves closer to the facility. He wakes up his partner, who also watches the light. Another security team at A-10 about 10 miles away can also see the light, which is less than a mile away. They continue to watch the light until about 6:30 a.m. when it shoots up into the sky and stops. With more daylight, they see a black area around the light. (Nukes 457–461, 466–468)
March 3 — 7:50 p.m. Roger Cross is driving on Highway 3A in Concord, New Hampshire, when he hears an unusual drumming sound. He pulls to the side of the road and sees an immense triangular object with pulsating lights flying 400–500 feet above the road. (“ Did a UFO Buzz Concord Tuesday Night?” Manchester (N.H.) Union Leader, March 5, 1992, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 272 (March 1992): 1; Marler 217)
March 4–5 — UFO sightings at the Benito Juárez International Airport in Mexico City, Mexico, are confirmed by radar. (Don Berliner, with Marie Galbreath and Antonio Huneeus, UFO Briefing Document: The Best Available Evidence, Dell, 2000, p. 146)
March 5 — 6:30 p.m. Military Policeman Luis Ribeiro and a colleague are hunting in the interior of Ceará state, Brazil, when a domed disc lands nearby. Five 4.5-foot tall humanoids emerge and take Ribeiro inside the craft. The beings communicate with him in Portuguese and tell him they are from “Catandório.” After a 5-hour abduction experience, he is returned to the encounter site. (Brazil 342–344)
March 19 — 3:51 a.m. Patrolman Luis Delgado has just checked the doors on a local business at Haines City, Florida, and turns onto 30th Street. He sees a green light in his rear-view mirror. The light seems to come from a small plane that is about to crash. Just seconds later, the interior of his patrol car is illuminated with a green glow. The object begins to pace his car which is traveling about 40 mph. The object moves from the right side to the front of the vehicle several times. When it has moved to the front for the third time, Delgado slows his car and pulls off the roadway, fearing he might collide with the object. It is a color of green he had never seen before that seems to flow over the surface. It is 15 feet long with a 3-foot-thick center. The object hovers approximately 10 feet off the ground. The engine, lights, and radio on his patrol car cease to function. The object hovers in front of his car and then shines a bright white light into the interior. He exits and begins to walk backwards away from the object. He tries to radio Haines City dispatch on his radio, but it does not function. The air around him has chilled to the point that he can see his breath. The object is hovering about 20 feet northeast of his car, then it speeds away after approximately 2–3 seconds. It departs the area in a northeasterly direction at 10 feet altitude. Delgado loses sight of the object in only seconds. (UFOEv II 193–194; Herbert S. Taylor, “ An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part 1,” IUR 33, no. 4 (May 2011): 15)
March 23 — Near Amarillo, Texas, radio hobbyist Steven Douglass photographs a “donuts on a rope” contrail and links this to distinctive sounds. He describes the engine noise as “strange, loud pulsating roar... unique... a deep pulsating rumble that vibrated the house and made the windows shake... similar to rocket engine noise, but deeper, with evenly timed pulses.” In addition to providing the first photographs of the distinctive contrail reported by others, Douglass also reports intercepts of radio transmissions: “Air-to-air communications... were between an AWACS aircraft with the call sign Dragnet 51 from Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, and two unknown aircraft using the call signs Darkstar November and Darkstar Mike. Messages consisted of phonetically transmitted alphanumerics. It is not known whether this radio traffic had any association with the ‘pulser’ that had just flown over Amarillo.” (Wikipedia, “ Aurora (aircraft)”)
March 31 — The Spanish Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Gen. Ramón Fernández Sequieros, issues Instrucción General 40-5, a 28-page set of procedures for UFO investigations that is issued to all units in June. Lt. Col. Ángel Bastida admits it is inspired by several questionnaires that Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos has supplied, including those used by the US Air Force. (Swords 426, 520)
Spring — NASA Chief Flight Surgeon Maj. Gregory Rogers is working at a NASA site in Florida when he is approached by an Air Force officer who leads him into a darkened room and shows him a CCTV video. The footage shows a white, disc-shaped object hovering inside an aircraft hangar. It seems to be about 20 feet wide and 8-10 feet high with no visible seams, engines, or control surfaces. Three black rectangular markings are visible and a thin boom with hoses is protruding from the upper section. The object bears the insignia and inscription “US Air Force.” At one point, the object tilts 45° to one side, yet remains perfectly stationary. The Air Force officer says the object came “from them,” pointing upward. The viewing is interrupted by other military personnel entering the room. Rogers does not reveal the incident until 2025. (Josh Boswell, “ Top NASA Official Breaks 30-Year Silence to Reveal Sensational UFO Footage of Giant ‘Flying Saucer’ Secretly Created by US Air Force,” Daily Mail (UK), May 3, 2025; “ Exclusive NASA Whistleblower Statement: Dr. Gregory Rogers, Flight Surgeon,” Total Disclosure: UFO Cover Ups & Conspiracies YouTube channel, May 5, 2025; Theo Burman, “ Ex-NASA Official Breaks Decades-Long Silence on ‘Flying Saucer,’” Newsweek, May 6, 2025)
April 22 —The Spanish Joint Chiefs of Staff downgrade UFO documents from secret to “internal reserve” (confidential). (Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos, “ The Spanish Air Force UFO Files,” IUR 18, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1993): 13; Swords 426, 519)
April 28 — A crop circle appears in a rapeseed field at Sutton Scotney, close to Winchester, England. (Data Research, “ Crop Circle Update,” Awareness 18, no. 2 (1992/1993): 16–17; Geoff Ambler and Paul Anderson, “ Crop Circle Report 1992,” Awareness 18, no. 3 (1992/1993): 19; “ 1992: The Crop So Far,” Earthquest News 2, no. 1 (June 1992): 13; George Wingfield, “ The Return of the Circles in ’92,” The Circular 3, no. 2 (July 1992): 4; Chris Talarski, “ Going around in Circles,” IUR 17, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1992): 4–9)
May - The Roper Organization releases the results of its "Unusual Personal Experiences" survey of nearly 6,000 US adults devised by Budd Hopkins, David Jacobs, and Ron Westrum, and conducted in 1991. Its intent is to determine how widespread the abduction phenomenon might be. Five indicator questions in the survey assess the respondents' sleep paralysis, dreams of flying, missing time, observations of unusual lights inside a room, and puzzling body scars. The poll, financed by the Bigelow Holding Corporation, suggests that 2% of adult Americans (more than 3.7 million) think they have been abducted by aliens. (Budd Hopkins, et al., Unusual Personal Experiences: An Analysis of the Data from Three National Surveys, B igelow Holding Corporation, 1992; Geraldo Fuentes, " Abductions: A Report on the Roper Analysis Data"; Robert L. Hall, Mark Rodeghier, Donald A. Johnson, " The Prevalence of Abductions: A Critical Look," JUFOS 4 (1992): 131-135; Robert J. Durant, " Evolution of Public Opinion on UFOs," IUR 18, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1993): 20-22; Lloyd Stires and Philip J. Klass, " 3.7 Million Americans Kidnapped by Aliens?" Skeptical Inquirer 17, no. 2 (Winter 1993): 142-146; Susan Blackmore, " Abduction by Aliens or Sleep Paralysis?" Skeptical Inquirer 22, no. 3 (May/June 1998): 23-28; Mark Rodeghier, " Counting Abductees: What Can Surveys Tell Us?" IUR 25, no. 3 (Fall 2000): 20-21)
May - Harvard psychiatrist John E. Mack has investigated 58 abduction cases by now and is in such high demand that he must turn away additional requests for consultations. He establishes a standard set of practices in working with abductees, in which an assistant first screens prospective clients for signs of psychopathology. Despite this, Mack estimates that about 25% of those he sees turn out not to be genuine. In an initial session, he spends 2 hours going over their personal history; subsequent sessions generally last about three hours. At first he relies on hypnotic regression, using deep breathing exercises to help abductees recall details, but he eventually abandons this in favor of simple relaxation methods. At first, Mack sees clients at his home, but later uses his office at Cambridge (Mass.) Hospital. He also organizes a support group that meets monthly. Ultimately, Mack is persuaded of the abductees' sincerity by the powerful emotions their experiences elicit, the consistency in their testimony, their deepened awareness of the environmental crisis, and the fact that even children as young as 2 years old report encounters. (Niall Boyce, " The Art of Medicine: The Psychiatrist Who Wanted to Believe," Lancet 380 (September 29, 2012): 1140-1141; Eghigian, After, pp. 295-296)
May 1 — University of Connecticut psychologist Kenneth Ring publishes The Omega Project, in which he argues that ostensible aliens, angels, and otherworldly entities exist in an imaginal realm, a “third kingdom” between reality and fantasy that is accessible through certain altered states of consciousness that undermine ordinary perception and conceptual thinking. Through extensive psychological testing, Ring finds that abductees and those who have near-death experiences are emotionally indistinguishable, with childhoods that typically involve episodes of abuse, trauma, and serious illness. One consequence is the development of a dissociative state as a means of coping with stress; it is the key to experiencing the imaginal realm, a shamanic journey through which symbolic language and images are expressed. (Kenneth Ring, The Omega Project: Near-Death Experiences, UFO Encounters, and Mind at Large, Morrow, 1992; Kenneth Ring and Christopher J. Rosing, “ The Omega Project: A Psychological Survey of Persons Reporting Abductions and Other UFO Encounters,” JUFOS 2 (1990): 59–98; David A. Gotlib, “ Abductions: Imagined or Imaginal?” IUR 17, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1992): 18–20; Clark III 886; Clark IV 980)
May 17 — CBS broadcasts a two-episode miniseries, Intruders, partially based on Budd Hopkins’s book of the same name. The miniseries is directed by Dan Curtis and stars Richard Crenna, Daphne Ashbrook, and Mare Winningham. (Wikipedia, “ Intruders (miniseries)”)
Summer — An unnamed family from Albuquerque is hiking and prospecting about 12 miles from Horse Springs, New Mexico, in the general area of the Plains of San Agustin, when they discover an odd piece of metal. They unsuccessfully try to cut it, burn it, and bend it. The discovery remains unconfirmed. (Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt, “ The Hatch Enigma,” IUR 18, no. 2 (March/April 1993): 18)
Summer — Héctor and Jaime Feliciano watch a gigantic silent triangle pass over Salinas, Puerto Rico, heading toward the MATES Camp Santiago military base. It is a metallic dark gray with a rough undersurface containing multiple small colored lights and two large white lights. White beams shine down from the object at three points. (Jorge Martín, “ Triangular UFOs over Puerto Rico,” Flying Saucer Review 44, no. 3 (Autumn 1999): 24)
June — Day. The captain and four crew members of a commercial fishing boat are on Georges Bank in the North Atlantic Ocean when they spot a silver-white, reflective object shaped like a barbell. They watch it for 2–3 minutes, but when the captain tries to take a photo, the object shoots upward at a 75° angle and vanishes. (Powell, Scientist, 52)
June 1 — The US Strategic Command is established as a successor to the Strategic Air Command in response to the end of the Cold War. Its principal mission is to deter military attack and, if deterrence fails, to counter with nuclear weapons. (Wikipedia, “ United States Strategic Command”)
June 10 — 4:30 p.m. Several workers at the Lukens Steel Company plant in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, see a disc-shaped UFO land on the factory grounds around quitting time. A security guard reports that the object briefly touches down before taking off toward the old Coatesville Hospital. The company, a defense contractor, refuses to let UFO investigators speak with any witnesses or answer further questions. Attempts to arrange interviews outside the plant also fail. (“ UFO Lands at Lukens...Maybe,” West Chester (Pa.) Daily Local News, June 12, 1992, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 277 (August 1992): 2; “ Did Their Eyes Play Tricks on Them...Or Was That a UFO That Landed at Lukens Steel Co. Wednesday?” Coatesville (Pa.) Record, June 13, 1992, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 278 (September 1992): 1; “ Lukens UFO Report Gets Group’s Attention,” West Chester (Pa.) Daily Local News, July 7, 1992, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 279 (October 1992): 7; “ Unidentified Lands at Steel Mill in Pennsylvania,” MUFON New Jersey Chronicle 2, no .6 (July/Aug. 1992): 1, 3; “ Possible Coatesville, Pennsylvania Landing Reported on June 10th,” Flying Saucer Digest, no. 119 (Fall 1992): 6–8)
June 13–17 — The Massachusetts Institute of Technology hosts an Abductions Study Conference in Cambridge, Massachusetts, chaired by David E. Pritchard and John E. Mack, with presentations, panels, and discussions about the UFO abduction phenomenon. It is financed by the Robert Bigelow Foundation and the Fund for UFO Research. UFO researchers like Budd Hopkins, David Jacobs, and Mack hold forth beside relative novices and abductees themselves. Representative non-US research is also contributed (Brazil, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia). Even skeptics are represented and speak. The conference marks the cracking apart of the public unity of American researchers into at least two major schools of opinion, which deeply disagree to this day. Both continue to believe that the phenomenon is extraterrestrial. Hopkins, Jacobs, and others are present to elaborate what some have come to refer to as the “Dark Marauders” view of abductions. But conference co-organizer and Harvard psychologist John Mack presents an entirely different spin: These experiences are extraterrestrially caused but are positively transformational for the human spirit. Despite the severe disagreements that follow, this gives researchers like Joseph Nyman a foundation stone authority figure around whom to rally. The so-called pessimist and optimist schools take shape right before the attendees’ eyes. A third major position exists within the US research community, the “probably extraterrestrial but I don’t know the details” viewpoint, represented at the conference in the persons of Mark Rodeghier, Stuart Appelle, and David Gotlib. Kenneth Ring also presents his interesting view comparing abductions and near-death experiences, and David Hufford does likewise regarding the “Old Hag” imagery of sleep paralysis. Thomas E. Bullard finds that two-thirds of all alien abduction reports originate in North America. Other speakers include Ann Druffel, Richard H. Hall, James Harder, Jenny Randles, and several abductees. Journalist C. D. B. Bryan interviews several of the presenters for a book, and the proceedings are published in 1994. (John E. Mack, “ Helping Abductees,” IUR 17, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1992): 10–15, 20; Andrea Pritchard, et al., Alien Discussions: Proceedings of the Abduction Study Conference Held at MIT, Cambridge, MA, North Cambridge, 1994; C. D. B. Bryan, Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind: A Reporter’s Notebook Alien Abduction, UFOs, and the Conference at M.I.T., Knopf, 1995; Stuart Appelle, “ The Abduction Phenomenon at MIT,” IUR 20, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1995): 20–21, 24; Thomas E. Bullard, [ book reviews], JUFOS 6 (1995/96): 231–248; Michael D. Swords, [ review], Journal of Scientific Exploration 11, no. 1 (1997): 101–104; Ralph Blumenthal, The Believer: Alien Encounters, Hard Science, and the Passion of John Mack, University of New Mexico, 2021; Graff 338–340; Eghigian, After, pp. 296–297; Clark IV 20)
July 9 — A 450-foot “Snail” pictogram appears in a wheatfield at Alton Barnes, Wiltshire, England. (Chris Talarski, “ Going around in Circles,” IUR 17, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1992): 4–9)
July 17–19 — The First International Conference of the Center for Crop Circle Studies is held at King Alfred’s College in Winchester, Hampshire, England. (Chris Talarski, “ Going around in Circles,” IUR 17, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1992): 4–9)
July 23 — 7:30 a.m. An abduction event takes place in a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, involving a rare case of physical evidence. Businessman Peter Khoury had at least one previous abduction experience in 1988 that left him so disturbed that in 1993 he forms a support group to help others like him. The details of his 1992 abduction slowly emerge through extended conversations with Australian ufologist Bill Chalker. Khoury wakes up suddenly and finds two nude females seated on his bed, one blonde and the other dark-haired with some Asian features. They are human-like but have some odd physical characteristics: narrow heads and large eyes. Khoury says that what happens next feels weird and dreamlike, “like looking through binoculars, but through the back of my own head.” The blonde reaches out and forces him towards her. Before he knows what he is doing, he takes a small bite out of her and swallows it. There is no blood or screaming. The two beings look at each other in a puzzled way, then vanish. Khoury has a coughing fit and goes to the bathroom where he discovers a blonde hair wrapped around a body part. He turns the hair over to Bill Chalker for mitochondrial DNA analysis in 1999 (by Horace R. Drew of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification. The results are startling: DNA from the shaft of the hair reveals very rare and unusual Asian signatures common to the isolated Lahu people of China and Thailand, but DNA from the root shows sequences indicating rare Basque/Gaelic and Asian results—suggesting advanced cloning techniques and possible hybrid characteristics. (Bill Chalker, “ Strange Evidence,” IUR 24, no. 1 (Spring 1999): 3–13; Anomaly Physical Evidence Group, “ Mitochondrial DNA Sequence Analysis of a Shed Hair from an Alien Abduction Case,” IUR 24, no. 1 (Spring 1999): 13–16, 31; Bill Chalker, “ Aliens, Hair, and DNA,” IUR 29, no. 3 (Fall 2004): 3–5, 10; Bill Chalker, Hair of the Alien: DNA and Other Forensic Evidence of Alien Abduction, Simon & Schuster, 2005; Bill Chalker, “ Peter Khoury and the ‘Hair of the Alien’: 20 Years On,” TheOzFiles, July 29, 2012; Clark III 651–654; Bill Chalker, “ ‘Hair of the Alien,’ Peter Khoury, Betty Hill and Her Dress: A Curious Anomaly?” TheOzFiles, October 23, 2022; Clark IV 727–729)
August — Crop circles appear in wheatfields near Ipswich and Strathclair, Manitoba. (Chris Rutkowski, “ ‘A Looney a Look’: Crop Circles in Western Manitoba,” IUR 17, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1992): 9–12)
August 5 - 1:45 p.m. Pilots of United Airlines Flight 934 are flying at 23,000 feet some 50 miles northeast of George AFB [now Southern California Logistics Airport], Victorville, California, when an unusual aircraft comes directly toward them and passes underneath at an estimated distance of 500-1,000 feet. It resembles the forward fuselage of a Lockheed S-71, without wings but with a sort of tail. The size is about 50 feet long and its speed is supersonic. (Aviation Week and Space Technology, August 24, 1992; Clas Svahn and Anders Liljegren, " Close Encounters with Unknown Missiles," IUR 19, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1994): 15)
August 8 — 10:30 a.m. A couple and their two children are driving from Dunstable to Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The man swerves to avoid a car driving straight toward him at Hockliffe. They continue up the hill and find themselves in a torrential downpour, which they think is odd. At this point a bank of mist or fog suddenly appears in front of the car and they drive straight through it. Everything is unusually quiet and there is no other traffic around. They have no memory of driving through the fog or coming out of it. Their next memory is driving through some woods on the outskirts of Woburn Sands, some miles away from where they should have been. They remember seeing a road worker in bright yellow doing something with a manhole cover, and watching two white cars with bright headlights pointed at them. They develop another brief blank period until they reach the Fishermead roundabout, where they stop for petrol at 10:50 a.m. They get out of the car, feeling disoriented and even having difficulty gripping the car handles. The parents develop a redness on their hands, pins-and-needles pains lasting hours, and an icy-cold tingling in their heads. Their children seem less affected, but puzzled and quiet. They continue to feel a sense of reality and decide to return home early. Both parents remain preoccupied by the experience and retrace their journey the next day to make some sense of it. (Gloria Heather Dixon, “ Reality Tilt at Hockliffe,” BUFORA Bulletin, no. 26 (August 2001): 29–33; Jenny Randles, “Time in the Land of OZ,” Fortean Times 432 (June 2023): 31)
August 19 - 1:00 a.m. A witness is driving near Tucson, Arizona, when he notices a strange light in the distance. As it approaches from the northeast, it descends rapidly, moves across a field, and hovers. A cone of light emerges from the bottom that completely bathes the area, illuminating the ground. At this point the witness is about 600-900 feet away and is able to see that it is a solid object that looks like a manta ray with a dull-black matte finish. He pulls over and can hear no sound coming from it. The object moves directly overhead, and the witness gets back in the car and speeds away. He sees the object again as it stops 15 feet above a nearby farmhouse. Again a bright light comes from its base, engulfing the entire house for 20 seconds. It moves away and illuminates a large area of trees behind the house. (" Current Cases," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 296 (December 1992): 18; UFOEv II 238)
August 29 — A father and his two children are driving east on the New York State Thruway west of Batavia, New York, when they notice a distant flashing of light. The light approaches them and follows the car less than 150 feet away at the same speed. The object is the length of a tractor trailer truck, elliptical in shape, and gray. The father describes the surface as clean, smooth, and without any seams or rivets. It is silent, gives off no heat, and creates no turbulence in the trees surrounding the road. It has intensely bright circular lights, and the father notes that they do not illuminate the car or the surrounding area. After several seconds pacing the car, the object recedes and moves away much faster than it had approached. (Powell, Scientist, 96)
September — The first Spanish Air Force UFO document is declassified. The process lasts until 1999, when 84 files (covering 122 cases between 1962 to 1995) are disclosed. (Swords 427, 521–522)
September 18 — The existence of the US National Reconnaissance Office is declassified by the Deputy Secretary of Defense, as recommended by the Director of Central Intelligence. (Wikipedia, “ National Reconnaissance Office”)
September 23 — The last (official) US underground nuclear test, Divider, takes place at the Nevada Test Site. (Wikipedia, “ Operation Julin”). Bear in mind this is officially the last test. These people have been proven liars and murderers. So, take it with a giant grain of salt.
October — The first official Spanish UFO reports are declassified, leaving only witness names redacted. (Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos, “ The Spanish Air Force UFO Files,” IUR 18, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1993): 14)
October 9 — 7:50 p.m. A fragment of the Draconid meteor stream strikes a 1980 Chevrolet Malibu owned by Michelle Knapp while she is home in Peekskill, New York. She goes outside after hearing a crash and discovers a hole in the trunk of the car and a 6-inch crater in her driveway. The stony fragment (oval shaped and about 1 foot in length) is in the crater, along with pieces of the car. The rock is still hot and weighs about 30 pounds. (Wikipedia, “ Peekskill meteorite”; “ A Hot Rock from Outer Space? Meteorite May Have Hit Teen’s Car,” Yonkers (N.Y.) Herald Statesman, October 11, 1992, p. 28; Mark Rodeghier, “ UFO/Vehicle Very Close Encounters,” IUR 27, no. 1 (Spring 2002): 5)
October 12 — 3:00 p.m. The 1,000-foot radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico points to the star at GL615.1A, some 63 light-years away in the constellation Hercules. In the Mojave Desert, the 112- foot Gladstone telescope also begins scanning the sky. NASA’s High-Resolution Microwave Survey, with SETI researcher Jill Tarter on board, quickly finds a few intriguing signals, but none of them pan out. One year later, Sen. Richard Bryan (D-Nev.) is responsible for removing the project’s funding. (Wikipedia, “ High Resolution Microwave Survey”; John Noble Wilford, “ Astronomers Start Search for Life beyond Earth,” New York Times, October 13, 1992, pp. C1, C8; Stephen J. Garber, “ Searching for Good Science: The Cancellation of NASA’s SETI Program,” Journal of the British Interplanetary Society 52 (1999): 3–11; Graff 361–363)
October 15 - 6:00 p.m. Witnesses in Lubbock, Texas, see a gray cigar-shaped object that becomes visible for about 20 minutes after a cloud disappears. It moves close enough to them so that they can see windows on the object. The cloud reappears and the object is no longer visible. (National UFO Reporting Center, " NUFORC UFO Sighting 38211," July 19, 2004; Herbert S. Taylor, " Mystery Clouds and the UFO Connection," IUR 29, no. 4 (July 2005): 19)
October 16 — 10:30 p.m. Modesto “Cota” Colman, a rancher near Victoria, Entre Rios, Argentina, is attending to a windmill adjacent to his farm when the area suddenly lights up and he sees a disc-shaped object about 33 feet in diameter floating in the air. Frightened, he runs across the field and draws a knife for defense, but the object follows him. At some point it stops and three small beings that he thinks look like herons emerge, walking in a trot. He hides behind a tala tree (Celtis tala), but a beam from the object hits the tree and burns his face. Another beam hits his little dog, Siroco. Colman makes his way home and looks in the mirror, realizing that he can barely see, his hearing is impaired, and his face is red and burned. His dog dies a few minutes later. His burn requires a few days of hospitalization. The tala tree is burned and shriveled. A landing mark in the shape of a horseshoe about 19 feet in diameter is found later; strangely large mushrooms are found growing there. (Clark IV 349–352, 1409)
October 20 — John Strawn of Albertville, Alabama, finds one of his Black Angus cows dead in the field, its udder removed cleanly. Over the next few months several other farmers in Marshall and DeKalb counties report other cattle mutilations. Researcher Charles “Ted” Oliphant vigorously promotes the UFO angle. (“ The Alabama Cattle Mutilations: An Overview,” The Ufologist 2, no. 2 (Apr./June 1993): 5–7; Linda Moulton Howe, “Moving Lights, Disks, and Animal Mutilations in Alabama,” in Walter H. Andrus Jr. and Irena Scott, eds., MUFON 1993 International UFO Symposium Proceedings, MUFON, 1993, pp. 26–40; Clark III 144; Clark IV 171)
October 27 — Just before 12:00 midnight. A1C Michael R. Reager and A1C Jason H. Barrier are approaching the operations hanger of the 44th Field Maintenance Missile Squadron at Ellsworth AFB, Rapid City, South Dakota. A group of bright white lights suddenly appears in the air, moving rapidly in rigid formation. Witnesses assume the lights are attached to a large, dark aircraft. It hovers briefly above the hangar at 300–500 feet then moves away. (Nukes 470–472)
November - Night. A man in Brighton, England, calls the RAF to report a brightly lit UFO shaped like a "squashed rugby ball" hovering above his house. Through windows in its side, he can see two men wearing beige uniforms standing in front of machinery. When one of the crew members appears to notice him, the object's lights go out and the UFO zooms away over the English Channel. (UFOFiles2, p. 128)
November — After 10:00 p.m. Three Romanian military helicopters are flying at an altitude of 328 feet at a speed of 93 mph on a night exercise near Buzău, Romania. Col. Marcel Smoleanu notices a silent, bright-red sphere about 60 feet in diameter to his left that begius to fly parallel to the helicopters. The other pilots confirm the sighting. After a minute or so, the object accelerates sharply, makes a 90° turn, and cuts across their flight path. The helicopters slow to a hover and the object disappears suddenly. The flight exercise is scrapped and the helicopters return to the military airfield at Buzău. One of the pilots, Lt. Col. Doru Drăgoi, is called into the radar room where operators show him more than 10 unidentified targets on the screen making odd movements northeast of Buzău, including sharp 180° turns near Săpoca. Drăgoi also sees bright objects crossing overhead from east to west at an amazing speed. (Romania 110–113)
November 16 — Lt. Col. Ángel Bastida, head of the Intelligence Section of the Spanish Air Operative Command, establishes an informal agreement of cooperation with Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos to act as a civilian consultant on the declassification of UFO reports and establish a direct contact procedure for future cases. This allows him to personally view, handle, and copy all of the agency’s original UFO case files. It ensures that all reports in official custody are released, increases the momentum of the process, and secures copies of all related documentation. (Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos, “ Monitoring Air Force Intelligence (Spain’s 1992–1997 UFO Declassification Process),” MUFON 1997 International UFO Symposium Proceedings, pp. 139–178; Swords 428–429)
December 16 — Night. Werner Noeske observes a large, brightly illuminated disc with a large triangular window in the base over Leipzig, Germany. Additional witnesses come forward, but an investigation reveals that two unrelated incidents contributed to the sightings: a “sky tracker” searchlight common in European discos, and a cargo plane that makes routine flights at the same hour. A photograph confirms the latter interpretation. (Hans-Werner Peiniger, “ UFO-Beobachtungen,” Journal für UFO-Forschung, no. 86 (Mar./Apr. 1993): 3–4)
December 24 - 6:09-8:15 p.m. Twenty civilian witnesses and police south and west of Monroe, Louisiana, watch a silent, boomerang-shaped UFO with bright beams of light pass over cars in a forested area and bounce up and down for 6 minutes. The two deputies describe the object as enormous with two large, blinding lights on the front. It moves silently above their vehicle at tree-top height before accelerating slightly and disappearing with a tremendous burst of speed. The object is videotaped by one of the witnesses, Cecil Cullipher, in West Monroe. About 30 minutes later, another object is seen by a dozen witnesses near Philpot Road just south of Monroe. Several witnesses notice that its two bright lights in the front are not illuminating the ground or the trees. (W. L. Garner Jr., " UFOs Compete with Santa for Christmas Eve Limelight," IUR 18, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1993): 8-11, 23; Powell, Scientist, 96-97)
1993
Jean-Jacques Velasco coauthors OVNIs: La science avance, with journalist Jean-Claude Bourret, in which he admits the physical reality of UFOs and the probability of their extraterrestrial origin. He stresses that it's his personal opinion, although he has been authorized by CNES to write the book. Its foreword is written by astrophysicist Jean-Claude Ribes, president of the French Astronomical Society. (Jean-Claude Bourret and Jean- Jacques Velasco, OVNIs: La science avance, Laffont, 1993; Gildas Bourdais, " From GEPAN to SEPRA: Official UFO Studies in France," IUR 25, no. 4 (Winter 2000-2001): 13).
The High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) facility begins construction north of Gakona, Alaska, just west of Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park, funded by the Air Force, Navy, University of Alaska Fairbanks, and DARPA. Its original purpose is to analyze the ionosphere and investigate the potential for developing ionospheric enhancement technology for radio communications and surveillance. As a university-owned facility, HAARP is a high-power, high-frequency transmitter used for study of the ionosphere. The most prominent instrument at HAARP is the Ionospheric Research Instrument (IRI), a high-power radio frequency transmitter facility operating in the high frequency band. The IRI is used to temporarily excite a limited area of the ionosphere. Other instruments, such as a VHF and a UHF radar, a fluxgate magnetometer, a digisonde (an ionospheric sounding device), and an induction magnetometer, are used to study the physical processes that occur in the excited region. (Wikipedia, " High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program"; University of Alaska Fairbanks, " About HAARP"; John Greenewald, " The High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program," The Black Vault, March 13, 2023).
Steven M. Greer founds the Disclosure Project in Crozet, Virginia, the goal of which is to publicly disclose the government's alleged knowledge of UFOs, extraterrestrial intelligence, and advanced energy and propulsion systems. (Steven M. Greer, " Project Background," The Disclosure Project, April 2001).
January 1 - 1:30 a.m. A taxi driver has just dropped off revelers at a remote house in Hethersgill, Cumbria, England. She heads home down a remote track toward the main road when suddenly her CB radio begins to crackle then fades entirely. Moments later her car engine and lights fail, and she coasts to a stop. She gets out, hoping to walk back to the house, when she sees a ball of light low over the road heading towards her. It swoops over her car and shoots into the sky, causing her skin to tingle. The headlights come back on, the car lurches forward, and she hears her sister talking on the CB asking where she has been for the past 30 minutes. (Jenny Randles, "The Twelve UFOs of Christmas," Fortean Times 374 (Christmas 2018): 29)
February 26 - 11:50 p.m. Jefferson County Air Unit police officers Kenny Graham and Kenny Downs are on helicopter patrol over General Electric Appliance Park in Louisville, Kentucky, when Graham sees something like a small fire off to his left. Downs shines his spotlight on the light, which begins to drift back and forth as the spot washes over it. Then it gradually floats up to the helicopter's altitude at 500 feet, where it hovers for a few seconds before moves away at high speed, making two counterclockwise loops and doubling back to the rear of the helicopter. Graham pushes his speed up to 100 mph. The object passes them and climbs hundreds of feet into the air before descending again toward the helicopter. Graham tries to close the gap, but it eludes him. As it approaches again on a parallel course, the object releases three fireballs. Fearing a collision, Graham banks away. When his move is complete, the light has vanished. Two officers in their squad cars, Mike Smith and Joe Smolenski, also see the light and the fireballs. Smolenski tries to follow the light for a full minute before it disappears. (" Police Officers Describe `Dogfight' with a UFO," Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal, March 4, 1993, pp. 1, 5; " Jefferson Man Says He Created `UFO' Police Thought They Saw," Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal, March 6, 1993, p. 2; "UFO Fires on Louisville, Ky. Police Chopper!" Weekly World News, May 4, 1993, p. 29; " Unwanted Fame: Officers Who Reported UFO Subject of Tabloids, Teasing," Louisville (Ky.) Courier- Journal, May 8, 1993, p. 5; " Louisville, Kentucky Police Aircraft Case," Flying Saucer Digest, no. 122 (Summer 1993): 12-13; " `Dogfight' with Police Helicopter," MUFON Minnesota Newsletter, no. 42 (July/August 1993): 5-6
March - Journalists Bryan Gresh and George Knapp spend 10 days in Russia, conducting interviews with researchers and scientists who had investigated UFOs during the Soviet period, including "one of the architects [Rimili Avramenko] of the Russian `Star Wars' program who emphatically claims the exchange of information between aliens and humans was incorporated in Russian' beam weapon' technology; a Moscow professor [Rem Varlamov] who has spent 30 years studying reported UFO landing sites, including many in and around Moscow; a Russian scientist [Valeriy Burdakov] with first-hand knowledge of the reported crash of a UFO near Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947; a quiet, shadowy figure who heads the ongoing Ministry of Defense studies into UFOs; and an author and scientist [Yuri Fomin] who became, in essence, a non-person for talking publicly about the UFO phenomenon." They also obtain several dozen pages of still-classified documents and take them back to the US. The documents outline a specific timetable for a UFO study ("Thread-3") by the Ministry of Defense to be concluded by 1995, information on the 1947 Roswell crash, another crash in November 1950 on the Texas/Mexico border, contactees, US government efforts to maintain a coverup, and sightings by cosmonauts. (Bryan Gresh, " Soviet UFO Secrets," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 306 (October 1993): 3-7; George Knapp, "What the Russians Know about UFOs," MUFON 1994 International UFO Symposium Proceedings, MUFON, 1994, pp. 275-306; Keith Basterfield, " Dr. Hal Puthoff and the Soviet Project `Thread-3,'" Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena-Scientific Research, June 17, 2018; Adam Kehoe, " Answering `Who Else Knows,'" UAP, November 28, 2020)
April - Spanish communications technician José Luis Jordán Peña confesses for the first time to hoaxing the Ummo letters as well as the UFO sightings at Aluche, Spain, in 1966 and San José de Valderas in 1967. He says that he used the word "Ummo" because it suggests the Spanish word humo (smoke) and randomly chose Wolf 424 as the home star for the imaginary planet. "I wrote the reports on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, and I took advantage of my trips to France, England, Mozambique, etc., or those of friends, to send letters from there." However, other hoaxers begin copying his style, and after he receives an invitation to an Ummo conference in Cuba, he decides to admit the hoax he had started 25 years earlier. (Wikipedia, " Ummo"; Jim Keith, Casebook on the Men in Black, IllumiNet, 1997)
May 9-September 20 - Artist and ceramicist Filiberto Caponi has a series of encounters with a humanoid alien near his home in Pretore, Ascoli Piceno, Italy. He takes six Polaroid photos of the creature in seemingly painful physical conditions. (Timothy Good, Unearthly Disclosure: Conflicting Interests in the Control of Extraterrestrial Intelligence, Random House, 2001, pp. 140-206; Patrick Gross, " The Filiberto Caponi Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind, 1993")
June 26 - 4:00 a.m. Witnesses in Hartcliffe, Bristol, England, see a large cigar-shaped object (a possible blimp) drifting slowly and silently over the rooftops. large white light (the planet Venus) in the southeast climbing slowly upward. It fades into the lightening sky shortly before dawn. One witness takes many minutes of video of this object, compressing several hours of its appearance. The same light appears at the same time for weeks. (Jenny Randles, " UFOs in Focus," IUR 18, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1993): 14-15)
August 8 - Early morning. Kelly Cahill and her husband Andrew are returning from a party in Narre Warren North, in the Dandenong Foothills of Victoria, Australia, and are near Eumemmerring Creek south of Belgrave when they see a huge lighted object with windows in front of them on the road. It seems to have people in it, but it quickly shoots off to the left and disappears. They continue driving, and about one kilometer ahead they encounter another bright light. Her husband continues driving, and they do not recall anything else until they get home. They agree they saw a UFO but can't agree on whether they had missing time or saw people. They both can smell vomit and feel stomach pains. Kelly notices a triangular mark below her navel, which is bleeding a bit. Kelly has a strange dream immediately after the encounter, and two subsequent dreams in September, October 23, and January 1994-all involving entities and a "strange physical dimension." A few weeks later, both of them start remembering that the UFO has landed in an adjacent field and that they get out of the car to look at it. An abduction scenario ensues involving tall black beings. They also recall that there is another car stopped by the road with at least two people in it. By November 17, Phenomena Research Australia has located the couple in the other car and a woman who was with them. They have also undergone an abduction experience and have missing time. These witnesses, unknown to the Cahills, confirm the UFO landing site, and their drawings of the UFOs and entities closely coincide with Kelly's. The second group also recalls seeing a third car with one male who is gazing fixedly toward the encounter site. Unfortunately, Kelly's account of the incident is the only one that has come to light. (Bill Chalker, " An Extraordinary Encounter in the Dandenong Foothills," IUR 19, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 1994): 4-8, 18-20; Kelly Cahill, Encounter, HarperCollins, 1996; Bill Chalker, The Oz Files: The Australian UFO Story, Duffy and Snellgrove, 1996; Bill Chalker, " Aliens, Hair, and DNA," IUR 29, no. 3 (Fall 2004): 3; Bill Chalker, " The Kelly Cahill Case Revisited: An Extraordinary Lost Opportunity," TheOzFiles, March 2, 2016)
August 13 - Night. Costin and Mariana Popa are driving with their daughter Diana in a rural area a few miles south of Telega, Romania, when their car engine stops unexpectedly and the headlights go out. Examining the engine, they are suddenly hit by a "wall of air" and see a fog-like rectangular screen on the right side of the road floating 18 inches above the grass. It is pulsating every 2-3 seconds with a yellowish-white light. They hear no noise and feel no heat. After about 20 minutes the screen begins to move across the road and stops in front of them, having become a narrow band of light 90 feet long and 3 feet wide. Soon it becomes brighter and shoots into the sky and disappears. The car starts normally again. (Romania 58-59)
September 16 - 4:00 p.m. Pilots of two airliners preparing to land at Benito Juárez International Airport in Mexico City, Mexico, see an object like a balloon, but it is going too fast. One pilot describes it as looking like a praying mantis. (Jaime Maussán, "OVNIs sobre la Terra," La Epoca (Mexico), November 19, 1993; Antonio Huneeus, "UFO Chronicle: UFOs and IFOs from Mexico, Part II," Fate 47, no. 12 (December 1994); Don Berliner, with Marie Galbreath and Antonio Huneeus, UFO Briefing Document: The Best Available Evidence, Dell, 2000, p. 146)
December 1 - The European Parliament considers a resolution that enables the French UFO agency, Service d'Expertise des Phénomènes de Rentrée Atmosphérique (SEPRA), to carry out UFO investigations throughout the member countries of the European Community. The resolution was first proposed in 1991 by Belgian deputy Elio Di Rupo in the wake of the Belgian UFO wave to set up an all-European agency to study UFO reports. The EP's committee on industry, external trade, research, and energy, chaired by physicist Tullio Regge, holds several meetings on the proposal in consultation with SEPRA's Jean-Jacques Velasco, and approves the motion for a resolution. However, the Parliament does not have the necessary votes to implement and fund the resolution, the agency is never created, and SEPRA has its own funding problems. (George M. Eberhart, " The European Parliament," IUR 19, no. 2 (March/April 1994): 19; 2Pinotti 137-140)
1994
January 12 - Rep. Steven Schiff (D-N.Mex.) tells the press that he has been stonewalled by the US Defense Department when he requested information about the 1947 Roswell incident on behalf of his constituents and witnesses. Schiff calls the lack of response "astounding" and indicative of a cover-up. (" Roswell Declaration 1994," IUR 19, no. 2 (March/April 1994): 21; Graff 347)
February - Leonard Stringfield releases his seventh and final status report on UFO crash/retrievals. (Leonard H. Stringfield, UFO Crash/Retrievals: Search for Proof in a Hall of Mirrors, Status Report VII, The Author, 1994).
March - Night. A married couple are driving in Bestwood Village, Nottinghamshire, England, when they see a huge triangular object hanging in the sky. It has three steady white, green, and red lights and is apparently only 200 feet from the ground. Its base has a ribbed pattern. It moves off slowly to the northwest, then accelerates, changing direction to the south. (" UFO Sighting Convinces Hucknall Man," Hucknall (UK) Dispatch, March 11, 1994, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 298 (May 1994): 16)
April - John E. Mack's first book on abductions, Abduction: Human Encounters with Aliens, is published, in which he takes the narratives quite seriously. He argues that the aliens are here to expand the consciousnesses both of individual abductees and of all humanity. Hypnotized, Mack's abductees recall not only previous lives bu abductions in previous lives. (John E. Mack, Abduction: Human Encounters with Aliens, Scribner, 1994; James Willwerth, " The Man from Outer Space," Time, April 25, 1994, p. 74; Clark III 305; Graff 340, 342-343; Eghigian, After, pp. 298-299; Clark IV 23, 345).
May 21 - 11:00 p.m. A witness in Plauen, Germany, is watching TV when she notices a light outside. She sees a disk with several rings of lights illuminating a tree and causing it to whip around violently. It is about 30 feet in diameter, and its top and bottom halves are rotating in opposite directions. After it hovers silently for a minute, it stops shaking the tree and moves behind a building and shoots away, leaving a hole in the clouds above. Two other witnesses see the disc from a different perspective and feel a strong wind. (Illobrand von Ludwiger, Best UFO Cases: Europe, National Institute for Discovery Science, 1998, pp. 26-27, 30)
June - Day. An object like a balloon suddenly appears in the sky above US Highway 22 and East Kemper Road in Symmes Township, Ohio, outside Cincinnati. It remains perfectly stationary until after dark. One witness takes at least three photos of it. At one point it ascends to a higher altitude. The object is approached and circled three times by local air traffic. (Patrick Gross, " The Symmes Township Orb, USA, June 1994")
Early June - A tree farmer named Meng Zhaoguo is at Red Flag logging camp near Wuchang, Heilongjiang, China, with two other workers when they see a strange light in the sky. Thinking it is either a downed satellite or helicopter, Meng goes to retrieve the wreckage. However, at some point he is hit in the forehead by a shining light and knocked unconscious. He wakes up at home some time later, with no r ecollection of how he got there. A few nights later, he wakes up in his bed to find that a 10-foot-tall female alien with six fingers and braided leg fur is in his room. He and the alien have sex for 40 minutes before it disappears, leaving a 2-inch scar on his thigh. He also claims that on July 17, he levitates through a wall and meets with a group of three-eyed aliens on their ship. He asks to see the female alien again but is rebuffed. The aliens show him images of Mars (or Jupiter), which they claim is their home world, and tell him that "on a distant planet the son of a Chinese peasant will be born in 60 years." His story is examined by the UFO Enthusiasts Club at Wuhan University throughout 1997. They conclude that while the initial contact may have occurred, the subsequent reported events are almost certainly untrue. However, other UFO groups in China think that his ongoing story is true. In September 2003, Zhang Jingping and the state-sponsored Chinese UFO Association give Meng a medical exam, a lie detector test, and a hypnotic regression session to prove his claims. The results supposedly confirm his story. (John Kohut, " UFO Group Probes Claims of Sex with Jupiter Visitor," South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), October 30, 1994; Teresa Poole, " Close Encounters of an Intimate Kind: Peking Days," The Independent (UK), March 17, 1995; " Calling Occupants of Inter-planetary Craft," China Daily, October 31, 2010; " One of the Strangest Alien Abduction Cases in China Ever Told," Before It's News, July 20, 2014; Chris Saunders, "UFOs over China," Fortean Times 331 (October 2015): 28-30; Michael Meyer, " Meet the Chinese Lumberjack Who Slept with an Alien," HuffPost, October 16, 2015; Bill Chalker, " The Untold Story of UFOs in China: Lost in Translation or the Devouring Dragon?" New Dawn Special Issue 14, no. 1 (January 2020); Clark IV 1273, 1322)
July 2 - 1:30-1:45 p.m. A resident of Limelette, Belgium, is at home in the Petit-Ry neighborhood when he looks out a window and sees a group of 10 white vertical structures with rounded edges moving back and forth about 180 feet above a vacant lot. They are all about 15-26 feet high and somewhat translucent, moving in an erratic pattern. The dry grass below has risen up into the air, forming a tornado shape and spinning anticlockwise. He watches it for 2-3 minutes, and the phenomenon moves slowly to the north and disappears. Possibly a wind devil. (Wim van Utrecht, " Dancing Ice-Lollies over a Waste Ground," Caelestia)
August 31 - 8:30 p.m. Six witnesses in Mongo, Indiana, see a light glowing through the treetops to the southwest at a low altitude. It looks somewhat like the Moon, but it starts moving from behind the trees into an open area near a road and hovers. It looks like a domed disc with a white strobe light on top of the dome. A bright red light on the bottom flashes 3-4 times like a strobe, then the object disappears to the southeast within 2 seconds. One of the witnesses takes at least four good pictures with a Vivitar fully automatic 35 mm camera with a standard lens and loaded with 400 ASA color film. Dogs do not react to the object. (NICAP, " The Mongo Photos"; Patrick Gross, " The Mongo Multiple Visual and Photographic Case, August 31, 1993")
September 14 - 8:50-9:05 p.m. A brilliant ball of fire with a long trail of sparks is seen over a wide range of territory in Zimbabwe, Botswana, and southern Zambia, followed by a sonic boom. Some people see three large lights in front, with from 8-20 smaller lights behind. Many report that the objects are traveling very fast from north to south; others see it moving slowly, and one man says he walked along with it more than 320 feet. Geologists Euen Nisbet and Kathy Silva, working in Zvishavane, Zimbabwe, report that the display takes a minute to cross the sky on a path angled about 10° away from north to south. Witnesses at Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe, variously see three orange-red lights with trails, a bright link with a dark center and 14 lights flashing around it, a light flying at treetop level, a row of green lights with a trail, and an object several times larger than a Boeing 747. Possibly debris from the rocket that launched the Russian satellite Kosmos 2290. (Cynthia Hind, " UFO Flap in Zimbabwe," UFO Afrinews, no. 11 (February 1995): 4-18; Cynthia Hind, " UFO Flap in Zimbabwe," IUR 20, no. 3 (May/June 1995): 20-21; James Oberg, " Zimbabwe: 1994 Sep 14 near 18:51 UTC," PowerPoint presentation)
October 1 - TV host Larry King broadcasts "Larry King Live at Area 51," which includes a prerecorded interview with former Sen. Barry Goldwater, who says: "I think the government does know. I can't back that up, but I think that at Wright-Patterson field, if you could get into certain places, you'd find out what the Air Force and the government knows about UFOs. I called Curtis LeMay and I said, "General, I know we have a room at Wright-Patterson where you put all this secret stuff. Could I go in there?' I've never heard him get mad, but he got madder than hell at me, cussed me out, and said, `Don't ever ask me that question again!'" (" UFOs: Oct 1, 1994, Filmed Outside Area 51," SmokingMan47 YouTube channel, November 28, 2015)
December 1 - A strong, flaming light with a train-like rumbling noise causes destruction to 1,700 square feet of woodland in the Guiyang Baiyun Duxi Forest Farm near Guiyang, Guizhou province, China. Trees are broken off at the same height and some roofs are damaged. Although a probable airburst from a meteor, some Chinese researchers argue it could be a ufological event. (Bill Chalker, " The Untold Story of UFOs in China: Lost in Translation or the Devouring Dragon?" New Dawn Special Issue 14, no. 1 (January 2020); " High Strangeness," Reddit, " The Guiyang `Flying Train' Incident"; Clark IV 1321)
December 29 - 9:45 p.m. A mother and her six children are driving northwest on Zaring Cutoff Road west of Dusty, Washington. To the east she sees three bright yellow lights that appear to be sitting in a snow-covered field. She stops the car to look and realizes that the lights are attached to triangular objects, each with stubby wings and a bright light on the nose. They move slowly and pass in front of the car to a field on the left. Suddenly they pivot 90° and move parallel with the road toward the southeast, maintaining the same configuration. Each has a window on the bottom that emits a bluish light and a buzzing sound. (National UFO Reporting Center, " Case Brief, La Crosse, WA"; National UFO Reporting Center, " NUFORC UFO Sighting 00226," November 20, 2001; Marler 225-226)
1995
Astronomer Carl Sagan publishes The Demon-Haunted World, in which he aims to explain the scientific method to laypeople and encourage them to learn critical and skeptical thinking. He explains methods to help distinguish between ideas that are considered valid science and those that can be considered pseudoscience. Sagan states that when new ideas are offered for consideration, they should be tested by means of skeptical thinking and should stand up to rigorous questioning. He argues that the chances of extraterrestrial spacecraft visiting Earth are vanishingly small. However, he does think it plausible that Cold War concerns contributed to governments misleading their citizens about UFOs, and writes that “some UFO reports and analyses, and perhaps voluminous files, have been made inaccessible to the public which pays the bills ... It’s time for the files to be declassified and made generally available.” He cautions against jumping to conclusions about suppressed UFO data and stresses that there is no strong evidence that aliens are visiting the Earth either in the past or present. He worries that fake news and conspiracy theories will become the reality of the future, predicting: “I have a foreboding of an America in my children’s or grandchildren’s time—when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what’s true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness.” (Wikipedia, “ The Demon-Haunted World”; Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science As a Candle in the Dark, Random House, 1995)
From 1995 through March 2004, Project Phoenix conducts observations at the 64-meter Parkes radio telescope in Australia, the 140-foot radio telescope of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia, and the 1,000-foot radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. The project observes the equivalent of 800 stars over the available channels in the frequency range from 1200 to 3000 MHz. The search is sensitive enough to pick up transmitters with 1 GW EIRP to a distance of about 200 light-years. (Wikipedia, “ Search for extraterrestrial intelligence”)
The National Research Council of Canada announces that it will no longer accept UFO reports for analysis. As a consequence, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigations on its behalf ceases. Ufologist Chris Rutkowski casually suggests that the NRC could forward any non-meteoric sightings it runs across. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada’s UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, p. 11)
The China UFO Research Organization in Beijing has now collected more than 5,000 reports of UFOs in Chinese airspace. (Good Need, p. 403)
January 6 — 6:48 p.m. Capt. Roger Wills and First Officer Mark Stuart are piloting a British Airways Boeing 737 aircraft with 60 passengers when they are buzzed by a bright wedge-shaped object as they are preparing to land at Manchester Airport, England. The object appears only yards in front of the airliner as it flies at 4,000 feet. It is so close that Stuart instinctively reacts by ducking down inside the cockpit. It has small white lights, makes no attempt to change course, and makes no discernable sound or turbulence. The object does not appear on radar. Possibly a fireball meteor. (Harvey Elliott, “UFO ‘Buzzed’ Airliner at Manchester Airport,” The Times (London), February 2, 1996; David Boras, “ UFO Nearly Collides with British Airliner,” IUR 21, no. 1 (Spring 1996): 26–27; Good Need, pp. 402–403; “ UFO Near Miss over the Airport,” Manchester (UK) Evening News, February 18, 2010; UFOFiles2, pp. 137–139; Marler 140–143, 266–269; Patrick Gross, “ Air Misses”)
January 12 - Around 5:00 a.m. Farmer Beto Lima is hunting armadillos on his property near Feira de Santana, Bahía, Brazil, when he finds an object the size of a Volkswagen Beetle floating on a pond. He manages to pull it to the shore when suddenly liquid flows from it and two creatures emerge. One of them is hairy and clawed like a sloth, the other is apparently dead and looks like a child. The object is lightweight, and Lima carries it into his house. Brazilian soldiers allegedly retrieve the wreckage and the creatures. (" O caso Roswell nordestina: Queda da UFO na Bahia, em janeiro de 1995," UFOs-Wilson, May 20, 2012; Brazil 521-529).
February - A Boeing 737 is starting a landing approach at 7,900 feet at Guiyang Airport [now Guiyang Longdongbao International Airport], Guizhou province, China, when its anti- collision system detects an object rushing toward the aircraft. Some 6,000 feet away, the pilot sees a UFO changing from a rhomboid to a circular shape and from yellow to red. The pilot lands safely, even though the object remains on his radar screen for some time before disappearing to the south. (Good Need, p. 403; Patrick Gross, " Air Misses").
February 20 — In briefing notes on the safety implications of UFO close approaches for the Joint Airmiss Working Group in the UK, former British Airways Capt. Graham Sheppard comments: “It would not be surprising to discover that, in the past, unexplained aeroplane losses have been caused by instinctive maneuvering to avoid a conflicting UFO… The commercial sensibilities of the airlines should now be set aside along with the media’s inability to give serious treatment to the subject. Otherwise this discrete and notifiable hazard to aircraft safety will continue to be concealed and thus gratuitously omitted from the briefing syllabus.” (Good Need, p. 404; “ British Airways Capt. Graham Sheppard Talks Pilot’s UFO Code of Silence and His Own Sightings,” Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, April 16, 2025)
February 22 — Researcher Timothy S. Cooper receives a document purporting to be the first annual report of the Majestic 12 Project, supposedly written in 1951 and referring to possible virus contamination stemming from retrieval of the Roswell aliens. Nick Redfern has examined it and says it is definitely a hoax, though it could possibly represent disinformation from Russia. (Timothy S. Cooper, “ Research Synopsis on the Majestic Documents,” The Author, December 30, 1999; Nick Redfern, “ Why the Majestic 12 ‘1st Annual Report’ Is a Hoax,” Mysterious Universe, July 30, 2019; Kremlin 202–208)
March 8 - A military radar installation near Luzern, Switzerland, detects a series of anomalous radar targets that, taken together, appear to make up the straight-line trajectory of an unidentified object traveling at a speed near Mach 3. The consistency in velocity and direction of the three track segments strongly suggests that it is a single object traveling about 150 miles in just over 4 minutes, which corresponds to an average velocity of about 2,147 mph. Another track going in the same direction was picked up 70 seconds after the first one dropped off the radar, separated by a few miles. This time the system recorded six consecutive returns, each registering a radial speed component of about 2,088 mph. Again the system dropped the track. A minute later the Luzern radar records hits on yet another object, loses it again, and detects it three more times over 40 seconds before it is dropped for the final time. (Bruce Maccabee, " Atmosphere or UFO? A Response to the 1997 SSE Review Panel Report," Journal of Scientific Exploration 13, no. 3 (1999): 421-459).
March 14 — 3:40–4:00 a.m. Ismailovich Borovkov wakes up to a bright light shining in his home on Serebristy Boulevard in St. Petersburg, Russia. He sees a bright orange light hovering outside the window for 10 minutes, then it suddenly diminishes to a point and disappears. Borovkov hears a loud ringing in his right ear. Around 4:00 a.m., another resident sees a UFO over the Pulkov Highway. (“ Close Encounters over St Petersburg, March 14, 1995,” IUR 20, no. 5 (Winter 1995): 12)
March 14 — 7:00–8:00 p.m. A further cluster of UFO sightings, some of them close encounters and one a radar-visual case, take place around St. Petersburg, Russia. At 7:10 p.m., Tatiana Mikhailovna Kalvarskaya is near the Ozerki subway station when she sees an object above Prosveshcheniya Prospekt. It looks like a glowing yellow ellipse with spots of brighter yellow on its surface. Two other perfectly spherical objects move in front of it. Later she sees the objects hovering above a construction site on the other side of Engelska Prospekt. Shortly afterward, the objects disappear at about the height of the construction cranes. After sunset, Mikhail Petrovich Baryshok and other air traffic personnel at Pulkovo Airport see a distant triangle with several lights that also appears on their radar screens. (“ Close Encounters over St Petersburg, March 14, 1995,” IUR 20, no. 5 (Winter 1995): 12–15)
March 30 — 8:30 a.m. Farmer Jan Pienaar, 45, is driving in the North West Province, South Africa, when his truck stops dead. About 240 feet ahead is a huge object on three landing pads. It has the form of two inverted soup plates with a pudding bowl on top, and the upper level has portholes. The object buzzes like a “giant electric beater.” He gets out of the car but feels paralyzed as if a magnet is holding him. After 3–5 minutes the UFO takes off, and he regains his senses and the car starts up. (Herbert S. Taylor, “ An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part 1,” IUR 33, no. 4 (May 2011): 17)
April — The Centro Italiano Studi Ufologici begins publishing UFO Forum, edited by Giuseppe Verdi in Vittoria, Italy. It continues through at least October 2001. ( UFO Forum, no. 1 (April 1995))
April 10 — 7:30 a.m. An 11-year-old boy is on his way to school with his mother and two younger sisters near Merweville, South Africa, when they see a strange object on a side road. It looks like a cloud but is stationary. Then it moves north, although the prevailing wind is to the west, and disappears behind some clouds. The object is about the size of a large truck. (Marie van Staden, “A Peculiar Cloud-Like Object,” UFO Afrinews, no. 13 (February 1996): 10–13)
April 14 — President Bill Clinton issues Executive Order 12,958, which establishes a system to automatically declassify information more than 25 years old, unless the government takes discrete steps to continue the classification of a particular document or group of documents. The order takes effect on October 14, 1995. (US Department of Justice, “ FOIA Update: Executive Order 12,958,” 1995)
April 18 - 9:00 p.m. A woman in Prospect, Chebucto Peninsula, Nova Scotia, sees a large, brilliant, white light hovering in the sky to the northwest. She can see its reflection on the surface of the still water. She calls her husband, who gets binoculars and determines there are two lights side by side. After several minutes or so, his mother on the floor above says she can see the light too. As soon as they switch the deck lights off for a better view, the two lights start moving directly toward their house, and he watches it slowly fly about 100 feet above the house. It seems to be a rectangular object about 200 feet long by 100 feet wide. It disappears behind the tree line. (Don Ledger, " The Flying Triangle Phenomenon," IUR 27, no. 3 (Fall 2002): 7)
May 5 — 4:15 a.m. A senior master sergeant and an airman are patrolling the perimeter of the Ghedi Air Force Base near Brescia, Italy. Suddenly they notice an unusual yellow light zigzagging and maneuvering in the sky, much bigger than a star and heading toward the northern part of the airfield. After several minutes it increases in size and becomes a round, orange object as big as the full moon, moving at least 186 mph before hovering a while and zooming away. It returns and leaves twice more, the last time descending to 65 feet above their patrol vehicle. They think this time it will land, but it ascends and zooms away again. They prefer not to report the incident. (2Pinotti 150–151)
May 25 - 10:30 p.m. An America West B-757 airliner is cruising at 39,000 feet near Bovina, Texas. To their right and somewhat below their altitude, Capt. Gene Tollefson and First Officer John J. Waller see a row of bright white lights that sequence on and off from left to right. Waller contacts the Albuquerque FAA Air Route Traffic Control Center while the sighting is in progress and checks with military installations in the area, but no explanation can be found. As the airliner proceeds to the west and the object begins dropping behind, the crew sees it against a background of thunderclouds. When the background clouds pulse with lightning, the UFO appears as a dark, wingless, elongated cigar-like object around the strobing lights. Though they do not know the exact distance, Tollefson and Waller estimate the object to be 300-400 feet long. One of the air traffic controllers at Albuquerque contacts NORAD, which confirms an unidentified radar target in the vicinity. But this later proves to be a small aircraft whose transponder is not initially operative. (NICAP, " America West Airlines Flight 564 / NORAD/ F-111 Incident"; Richard Hall, " America West Airline Case," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 336 (April 1996): 16-17; Walter N. Webb, Final Report on the America West Airline Case, May 24-25, 1995, Fund for UFO Research, July 1996; " 1995: The America West UFO Sighting," ufocasebook.com; Patrick Gross, " Texas, May 1995"; UFOEv II 66-67; " America West UFO Audio Recording," supermangoodgame YouTube channel, September 28, 2011; " UFO History America West Flight 564 Encounters Huge Cigar Shaped UFO," AmericanHotChicks YouTube channel, October 24, 2013; John Greenewald, " America West Airlines Flight 564 UFO Case, May 25, 1995," The Black Vault, June 18, 2021)
June 15 - 2:30 a.m. A triangular UFO with two other brightly lit round objects is seen over RAF West Drayton [now closed], England. (Marler 143)
June 22 — 1:00 a.m. Soldiers guarding a military ammunition dump in the southern Carpathian Mountains near the Buzau River, Romania, notice several bright lights in the valley below. They are attached to an object that begins ascending and approaching them from the southwest. It is a flat triangular object with rounded edges that passes straight above their unit, illuminating the ground from a height of about 150 feet. They can hear a loud buzzing noise. It glides to the northeast over the mountains near Întorsura Buzăului and disappears. The next day the unit is rounded up and told never to speak about the sighting. (Romania 94–95)
July — USAF Headquarters publishes, through the Government Printing Office, The Roswell Report: Fact Versus Fiction in the New Mexico Desert, by Col. Richard L. Weaver and Lt. James McAndrew, blaming the Roswell debris on a top-secret Project Mogul balloon array sent aloft to detect signs of Soviet nuclear explosions. The first part of the 1,000+-page document is an introductory summary, supported by 31 attachments, by Weaver that was released in September 1994. The second part is a synopsis of Project Mogul balloon research findings by McAndrew, with additional attachments and appendices. A photo section includes photos of various Air Force personnel and Mogul scientists. The report claims Mogul flight number 4, launched on June 4, 1947, was responsible for the Roswell debris. The attachments and appendices are mostly memos dealing with the Air Force requests of its departments for Roswell records; statements and interviews with persons connected with Project Mogul; and New York University progress reports on the Constant Level Balloon project (a study to determine how balloons and their payloads could be maintained at high altitudes for long periods of time). About 95% of the report is padding. (Robert A. Galganski, “ The Roswell Debris: A Quantitative Evaluation of the Project Mogul Hypothesis,” IUR 20, no. 2 (March/April 1995): 3–6, 23–24; Charles B. Moore, Robert G. Todd, Mark Rodeghier, and Kevin D. Randle, “ Project Mogul and the Roswell Crash: An Exchange,” IUR 20, no. 2 (March/April 1995): 7–9, 19–22; Col. Richard L. Weaver and 1Lt. James McAndrew, The Roswell Report: Fact versus Fiction in the New Mexico Desert, US Air Force Headquarters, July 1995; Mark Rodeghier and Mark Chesney, “ The Final(?) Air Force Report on Roswell,” IUR 20, no. 5 (Winter 1995): 5–6; Richard Hall, “ Fact vs. Fiction in the Pentagon,” IUR 20, no. 5 (Winter 1995): 7–8; Swords 352–354; “ Air Force Reports on the Roswell UFO Incident,” Military Wiki; Clark III 32)
July 1 — Dusk.As a Varig Airlines flight is descending about 37 miles from Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, the commander sees a very bright disc-like object spinning in the sky in a curious way. The UFO is about 215 feet in diameter and emits a bright white light. As they approach the landing, the light speeds up and crosses in front of them. (Clark III 201; Brazil 543–544; Clark IV 242)
July 15 - 2:45 p.m. Two witnesses (an emergency room nurse and her husband) are driving home (probably along State Highway 8, adjacent to the Naugatuck River) after a fishing trip to Harwinton, Connecticut. A shadow crosses the road as they are driving north, and they look up to see a large metallic disc about 500 feet in diameter at an altitude of about 200 feet, over trees about a half mile away. The object is traveling 65-70 mph and its surface is metallic gray with a band of apparent panes of dark glass and facets on its upper portion. It passes behind trees to the right in about 10-15 seconds. A group of independent witnesses at another location does not observe the object. (Mark Cashman, " The Harwinton Daylight Disc," IUR 25, no. 2 (Summer 2000): 14-19)
July 16 — Las Vegas businessman Robert Bigelow calls Jacques Vallée and informs him that he will not continue with his collaboration with the UFO Coalition (MUFON, CUFOS, and the Fund for UFO Research). Instead Bigelow intends to establish a new institute that will “attract world-class scientists to study UFOs and the paranormal including consciousness beyond death.” (Jacques Vallée, Forbidden Science, Volume 4: Journals, 1990–1999, Lulu.com, 2019, pp. 257–258; Keith Basterfield, “ Jacques Vallée on the National Institute for Discovery Science,” Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena—Scientific Research, May 19, 2019)
July 28 — The US General Accounting Office releases Results of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947 Crash near Roswell, New Mexico, which says that all administrative records from Roswell Army Air Field in New Mexico from March 1945 to December 1949 have been destroyed, as well as outgoing messages from October 1946 to December 1949. This is perhaps not unusual for the time, as record retention and disposition procedures were unclear; however, Nick Redfern suggests the possibility that the records were destroyed or removed to hide evidence of unethical radiation and other experiments on unwilling human subjects. The GAO agrees with the Air Force that the wreckage was most likely from a Project Mogul balloon train. The report is in response to a request by Rep. Steven Schiff (D-N.Mex.). ( Results of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947 Crash near Roswell, New Mexico, General Accounting Office, July 1995, reprinted in IUR 20, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1995): 3–6; Rep. Steve Schiff, “ Schiff Receives, Releases Roswell Report,” July 28, 1995; Mark Rodeghier and Mark Chesney, “ What the GAO Found: Nothing about Much Ado,” IUR 20, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1995): 7–8, 24; Swords 354–355; Nick Redfern, The Roswell UFO Conspiracy, Lisa Hagan, 2017, pp. 134–139; Graff 351–353)
July 29 — 12:15 a.m. Five witnesses in Low Bradfield, South Yorkshire, England, watch a triangular object, “bigger than a commercial airliner, “flying flat side forward. A low humming sound is heard. (Marler 143–144)
July 31 - 6:10 p.m. Aereolíneas Argentinas Flight 734, a Boeing 727 with three crew and 102 passengers, is in the landing pattern for San Carlos de Bariloche Airport, Rio Negro, Argentina. Capt. Jorge Polanco suddenly sees a white light bearing down on the aircraft before halting only 300 feet away. The object then makes a turn and flies parallel to the 727. It looks like an inverted flying saucer as large as the airliner, has two green lights at each end and a flashing orange light in the center, and very powerfully illuminated, according to the captain. As Polanco begins to land, the runway and airport lights go out, so he is forced to climb back to 9,800 feet, accompanied by the UFO. Airport chief Maj. Jorge Orviedo reports that the airport's radio support is cut off, and there is a blackout in many parts of the city. When the ground lights come back on, the UFO shoots away at tremendous speed. The object is also observed by a Gendarmeria Piper PA-31-310 that is flying 1,900 feet above the 727. (Good Need, pp. 403-404; " Un extraño fenómeno complicó el vuelo de un avión en Bariloche," Clarin (Buenos Aires), August 2, 1995, p. 8; " Ovni contre avion: On a frôlé le crash!" France Soir (Paris), August 3, 1995; " Bariloche Case: Argentine Pilot Reveals Details about His Famous Encounter with a UFO," Monkey and Elf, September 20, 2020; Patrick Gross, " Air Misses"; Covert 42, 170-171; Clark IV 212-213)
August 8 — Two airliners, one from TAM and the other from Rio Sul Serviços Aéreos Regionais, watch a UFO over Macapá, Amapá, Brazil. TAM Cmdr. Marcos Aurélio de Castro reports that he and his copilot see a metallic glow ahead of them to the right. The air traffic center cannot see anything but notes that the Rio Sul flight has reported something similar 5 minutes earlier. Suddenly the silvery object approaches the TAM aircraft. The sighting lasts about 10 minutes. (Clark III 201–203; Brazil 544–545; Clark IV 242)
August 11 — Jacques Vallée declines Robert Bigelow’s offer to serve as the project director of his new National Institute for Discovery Science, although he says he will consider a position on the scientific board. (Jacques Vallée, Forbidden Science, Volume 4: Journals, 1990–1999, Lulu.com, 2019; Keith Basterfield, “ Jacques Vallée on the National Institute for Discovery Science,” Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena—Scientific Research, May 19, 2019)
August 14 — 11:59 p.m. An enormous, roughly triangular object is seen by three family members near the Brighton Racecourse, Sussex, England. (Marler 144)
August 19 — Vallée and Hal Puthoff meet the board of the National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS). Initial members are Dean Radin and Dianne Arcangel. (Jacques Vallée, Forbidden Science, Volume 4: Journals, 1990–1999, Lulu.com, 2019; Keith Basterfield, “ Jacques Vallée on the National Institute for Discovery Science,” Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena—Scientific Research, May 19, 2019)
August 25 — About 12:35 a.m. An apparent fireball meteor streaks through the sky toward the south and seemingly crashes in Windsor, Ontario, around 12:40 a.m. Police and air traffic controllers across Ontario and in New York state are flooded with reports. A Windsor police spokesman says the object is seen coming from Detroit with a fiery tail. It crosses the Detroit River, streaks across Windsor and disappears in the city’s south end. According to Staff Sgt. Lloyd Grahame of the Windsor police, a witness reports smoke from the area where the fireball lands, but this is apparently caused by a coincidental arson fire in a Windsor trailer park. (Blair Crawford, “ ‘It Lit Up the Sky’: Mystery Fire May be Linked to Meteorite, Expert Says,” Windsor (Ont.) Star, August 25, 1995, p. 1; “ Police Searching for Meteorite,” United Press International, August 25, 1995)
August 27 - 9:30 a.m. Tim Edwards shoots a video of a disc-shaped object hovering then darting about the sky over Salida, Colorado. A series of ripples or moving lights are seen to rotate from left to right on the object, which stays just above the sun while Edwards, his daughter, and four construction workers also watch. UFO investigators are not impressed with the video, which might be spider web or cottonwood fluff. Bruce Maccabee thinks it might be a genuine UFO. (" Colorado Man and His Films Bring UFO Meet Back to Earth," Salt Lake City Deseret News, November 30, 1995; Jennie Zeidman, " The Will to Believe: Gnats, Moths, and Cottonwood Fluff from Outer Space," IUR 21, no. 4 (Winter 1996): 14-17; Bruce Maccabee, " Salida: An Analysis of the Video," IUR 21, no. 4 (Winter 1996): 17-19; " UFO Video Salida Tim Edwards 1995," UFOvideodotcom YouTube channel, October 4, 2012; " Daylight Sighting of a `Mile-Long' Cigar-Shaped UFO Filmed by Tim Edwards in Salida, Colorado, 1995," Eyes On Cinema YouTube video, May 1, 2023; Leslie James, " 7-Minute Video Captures UFO above Colorado in `Compelling' Footage," Denver Gazette, August 8, 2025)
August 28 — Fox TV broadcasts for the first time the “alien autopsy film,” a 17-minute black-and-white film supposedly depicting a secret medical examination and autopsy of an alien by the US military. The program, hosted in the US by Jonathan Frakes, is given the title Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction. The film is broadcast by Channel 4 in the UK as a segment of “The Roswell Incident.” London-based entrepreneur Ray Santilli presents it as an authentic autopsy on the body of an alien recovered from the 1947 crash of a flying disc near Roswell, New Mexico. The film footage is allegedly supplied to him by a retired military cameraman who wishes to remain anonymous. Experts, including pathologist Cyril Wecht, special effects specialist Stan Winston, and cinematographer Allen Daviau, are shown commenting on the film’s authenticity. The program causes a sensation, with Time magazine declaring that the film has sparked a debate “with an intensity not lavished on any home movie since the Zapruder film.” Fox rebroadcasts the program twice, each time to higher ratings. But even after segment director John Jopson tells producer Robert Kiviat that he suspects the entire film is a fake, Fox makes it clear that such suspicions will not be allowed. Mike Maloney, a former photographer for the London tabloid Daily Mirror, says it is the same footage that he saw in the late 1970s at a private viewing in the Los Angeles house of a Disney executive. In 2006, Santilli admits the film is not authentic but rather a staged reconstruction of footage (using sheep brains and jelly stuffed into puppets made by a UK sculptor John Humphreys) that he claims to have viewed in 1992, but which has deteriorated and become unusable by the time he made his film. The military cameraman is portrayed by a homeless man in Los Angeles. Santilli claims that a few frames from the original are embedded in his film, but he never specifies which ones. Producer Spyros Melaris claims that he has made all the auxiliary footage, including that of the homeless man. The existence of an original filmstrip of the alleged autopsy has never been independently verified. Philip Mantle of BUFORA has spent more than 25 years examining both the footage and the story surrounding it. (Wikipedia, “ Alien Autopsy (1995 film)”; Internet Movie Database, “ Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction?”; Richard Corliss, “ Autopsy or Fraud-topsy?” Time, November 27, 1995; Joseph A. Bauer, “A Surgeon’s View: Alien Autopsy’s Overwhelming Lack of Credibility,” Skeptical Inquirer 20, no. 1 (January 1996): 23–24; Kent Jeffrey, “ Santilli’s Controversial Autopsy Movie: A Comprehensive Review,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 335 (March 1996): 3–13; Michael Hesemann and Philip Mantle, Beyond Roswell: The Alien Autopsy Film, Area 51, and the US Government Coverup of UFOs, Marlowe, 1997, pp. 182–210; Philip Mantle, Alien Autopsy Inquest, The Author, 2007; Philip Mantle, “ Alien Autopsy Film, R.I.P.,” IUR 32, no. 1 (August 2008): 15–19; “Eamonn Investigates: Alien Autopsy,” UFOHighway YouTube channel, September 19, 2010, part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4; “ Alien Autopsy,” Orbitalmedia YouTube channel, February 14, 2013; Nathalie Lagerfeld, “ How an Alien Autopsy Hoax Captured the World’s Imagination for a Decade,” Time, June 24, 2016; Philip Mantle, Roswell Alien Autopsy: The Truth behind the Film That Shocked the World, Flying Disk Press, 2017, revised ed., 2020; Stu Neville, “Effects, Lies, and Videotape: 25 Years of the Alien Autopsy,” Fortean Times 395 (August 2020): 32–36; Nigel Watson, “Alien Autopsy: The Interview,” Fortean Times 395 (August 2020): 37–40; Graff 353–354)
September 21 — The USAF Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory issues a Report on Project Mogul by 1Lt. James McAndrew. (1Lt. James McAndrew, Report on Project Mogul: Synopsis of Balloon Research Findings, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, September 21, 1995)
September 29 - 8:50 p.m. A witness in Stanley, Durham, England, watches a strange triangular object through binoculars. It flies pointed-end forward and has a pulsing red light on its front tip and steady white lights on its other tips. (Marler 144)
September 29 — 9:30 p.m. Near Vejle, Jutland, Denmark, a 24-year-old man is driving when the dashboard lights behave erratically, the wipers go on, and his dog gets agitated. Then the engine goes completely dead. Without warning, a powerful light explodes over the vehicle, coming from a huge disc, some 40–50 feet in diameter, directly above the car. His dog is whining and trying to hide under the front seat. After a short time, the intensity of the light diminishes. Through the windshield, he sees that the disc is slowly moving forward toward some nearby trees. The man notices that the bottom of the disc is not flat, but has “triangles” or “spikes” on roughly one-third of its top. The bottom appears flat with a mosaic of small, intensely pulsating lights arranged in concentric circles, ever closer towards the center. As the object reaches the trees, it has to tip its left side up to avoid touching them. The object moves on and disappears in a matter of seconds. After 3–4 minutes, he tries the car’s ignition and the headlights and digital clock turn on. The car starts up and he drives off. (“ Bilstop med Effekter,” UFO-Nyt 1996, no. 1, pp. 4–5; Kim Moeller Hansen, “Car Stop Encounter in Denmark,” in Hilary Evans and Dennis Stacy, eds., UFOs 1947–1997: Fifty Years of Flying Saucers, John Brown, 1997, pp. 188–193; Kim Moeller Hansen, “ Witness Reports UFO Stops Car along Denmark Road,” MUFON UFO Journal, no. 450 (October 2005): 9–11; Herbert S. Taylor, “ An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part 1,” IUR 33, no. 4 (May 2011): 17–18)
October 1 — 11:00 p.m. Fernando Beserra and Wilson da Silva Oliveira are fishing off the Ilha do Major, a mangrove area near the Rio Piaçabuçu adjacent to São Vicente, São Paulo, Brazil, when a bright yellow object approaches swiftly and silently, landing on a nearby islet. Their boat engine fails as the UFO passes over, but they restart it and flee the area. They return the next morning and find an area of dry vegetation twisted clockwise in a circle 18 feet in diameter. Four marks of apparent landing gear are also found, each measuring 4 by 6 inches and half an inch deep. Researchers from the Instituto Nacional de Investigações de Fenômenos Aeroespaciais find that in the soil samples obtained within the burned area seeds germinate easily, but those planted in the samples harvested outside the circle do not germinate and are attacked by fungi. (Brazil 354–360; Thiago Luiz Ticchetti, “ UFO Landing in São Vicente: UFO Lands and Leaves Marks on Ground,” Nexus Newsfeed, October 2, 2019; “ Caso de OVNI avistado em São Vicente completa 25 anos,” Diário do Litoral (Santos, São Paulo), March 9, 2020)
October 15 - 9:30 a.m. Adolfo Zaráte, 74, is working in the fields near Kilometer 126 on the Autopista Nacional near Torriente, Cuba, when he sees an oval object bathed in a greenish light descend and land about 200 feet away from him, emitting a bluish electrical flame. Zaráte hides behinds some bushes and watches two small men, one inside the craft and the other outside and leaning against an open hatch. They are wearing divers' suits with a facial attachment like a gas mask. The one outside gathers up some taro plants and brings them inside. Then the UFO emits some whitish smoke, a powerful blast of air, and a blue flash before it ascends vertically. At about 12 feet up, the object is engulfed in a bright glow and vanishes at top speed into the clouds. Local police find the adjacent shrubs bent and two holes where landing pods presumably were. (Jorge Martín, " UFOs and Humanoids in Neighbouring Cuba," Flying Saucer Review 44, no. 3 (Autumn 1999): 19; Ricardo Potts, " Flying Saucers over the Caribbean," OVNI, July/Aug. 2000, pp. 3-4)
November 1 — Laurance Rockefeller persists in lobbying the Clinton administration for UFO disclosure, which will “accelerate the recognition of a new paradigm of consciousness which recognizes the oneness of mind, body, and spirit.” (Laurance Rockefeller to William J. Clinton, “ Lifting Secrecy on Information about Extraterrestrial Intelligence as Part of the Current Classification Review,” attached in letter from Henry L. Diamond to John Gibbons, November 1, 1995)
November 27 - 6:20 p.m. Mohammad Ahsan and four colleagues see two triangle-shaped objects emitting laser-like blue rays splashed with red over Dubai, United Arab Emirates. They are silently moving from the al-Hamriya Fish Market southeast toward Dubai International Airport. (" UFO Sighting in UAE Reported," Saudi Gazette, November 28, 1995, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 317 (December 1995): 16)
November 30 — During a Christmas tree lighting event in Belfast, Northern Ireland, President Clinton responds to a Belfast schoolboy who has written him a letter: “No, as far as I know, an alien spacecraft did not crash in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947. And Ryan, if the United States Air Force did recover alien bodies, they didn’t tell me about it, either, and I want to know.” (“ Remarks on Lighting the City Christmas Tree in Belfast,” in Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton, Government Printing Office, 1995, Book II, pp. 1813–1815; “ Pres. Clinton at a Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony (1995),” clintonlibrary42 YouTube channel, November 5, 2015)
December — Real-estate developer Robert Bigelow has founded the National Institute for Discovery Science in Las Vegas, Nevada, to research and advance serious study of various fringe science and paranormal topics, especially ufology. It holds its first organizational meeting in December. Bigelow soon hires retired US Army Col. John B. Alexander part-time and biochemist Colm Kelleher as deputy administrator. Alexander puts together a Scientific Advisory Board that includes ufologist Jacques Vallée, parapsychologist Harold E. Puthoff, astronaut Edgar Mitchell, mathematician Gian-Carlo Rota, physicist O’Dean Judd, physicist Johndale Solem, astronaut and Senator Harrison Schmitt, psychologist Albert Harrison, and Christopher (Kit) Green as chair. NIDS is headquartered in a two-story building off the Las Vegas Strip and has a 24-hour UFO hotline. Staff is sometimes sent on a Bigelow jet to UFO sighting locations and cattle mutilations. The teams carry expensive equipment to detect EM anomalies and radiation, and infrared and spectrometry equipment. NIDS disbands in October 2004. (Wikipedia, “ National Institute for Discovery Science”; Colm A. Kelleher, “ What Is NIDS?” [PowerPoint], July 15, 2000; Brandon M. Mercer, “ The UFO Hunters: Meet the Scientists Who Are Serious about Explaining Strange Flying Phenomena,” TechTV, January 17, 2003; John B. Alexander, “From Los Alamos to Skinwalker Ranch,” Fortean Times 363 (February 2018): 38–39; Keith Basterfield, “ Jacques Vallée on the National Institute for Discovery Science,” Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena—Scientific Research, May 19, 2019; Skinwalkers 14–15, 31; Graff 386–389)
December 12 - 2:30 p.m. Farmer Egon Kratz and his son-in-law, Adilson Marcílio, are working on their Bela Vista Farm off Highway 227 about 5 miles from Ituporanga, Santa Catarina, Brazil, when a bright, silent, disc-shaped object appears low above some nearby trees, moves swiftly about 30 feet from the ground, and disappears into a valley. On December 15, Marcílio and some friends return to look for traces and find much of the vegetation scorched. Technicians from the Federal University of Santa Catarina arrive on December 20 to collect soil samples and rocks. Kratz notes in January that much of the foliage and vegetation where the UFO has passed is dead or defoliated. (Brazil 350-353)
1996
Nick Pope, a former Ministry of Defence official who served on the Sec (AS) 2a UFO desk in 1991-1994, publishes a memoir titled Open Skies, Closed Minds that recounts his conversion from UFO skeptic to believer due to his investigation of cases that seem to be evidential. He concludes that "extraterrestrial spacecraft are visiting Earth and that something should be done about it urgently." (Wikipedia, " Open Skies, Closed Minds"; Nick Pope, Open Skies, Closed Minds, Simon & Schuster, 1996).
January 13 - Oralina Augusta de Freitas is watching TV in her home near Varginha, Minas Gerais, Brazil, when she sees a UFO hovering over the cattle, which are agitated. She calls her husband, Eurico Rodrigues, and they watch the object, which is the size of a microbus and the shape of a submarine. For 40 minutes the object flies less than 20 feet above the ground, heading toward town. The object has a hole in its structure through which white smoke is billowing. Pieces of its fuselage sway in the wind. (Roger K. Leir, UFO Crash in Brazil: A Genuine UFO Crash with Surviving ETs, Book Tree, 2005, pp. 80-81; " ET de Varginha: Caso completa 20 anos com mistérios e incertezas," G1, January 20, 2016; Clark III 1222; Clark IV 1398).
January 13 - 4:00 a.m. Businessman and pilot Carlos de Souza is driving from Très Coracoes to Varginha, Minas Gerais, Brazil, along Highway 491. About 3 miles from Varginha, he hears a sound like an engine rumbling, so he stops by the side of the road and gets out of his vehicle. He sees a cylindrical airship 33-40 feet long and 13-16 feet in diameter flying about 395 feet above him toward Varginha. It is metallic, polished, and reflects the morning sunlight. He notices a hole in the right side of the ship and white smoke pouring out. After it crosses the highway, de Souza gets into his car and starts chasing it. When it crashes into the woods, he finds a dirt road that leads him to the scene, which is covered with debris that looks like tinfoil. He picks up a larger piece that is thin and light. When he kneads it, he is amazed to see that it returns to its original state. Further away, he sees an Army helicopter, two tarpaulins, an ambulance, and three cars. He smells a powerful ammonia odor and is startled by a military police officer who approaches him and shouts, "Go away, you saw nothing." Two more soldiers appear and force him to leave, so he returns to his car, drives away, and stops at a restaurant. A man approaches him and asks if he is Carlos de Souza, He replies yes, and the man calls him over and says, "What you saw, I saw too. You should not talk to anyone about it." The man then relates details about de Souza's private life. Meanwhile, two soldiers from the Escola de Sargentos das Armas in Très Coracoes contact ufologists Ubirajara Franco Rodrigues and Claudeir Covo about the incident to tell them that the area has been cordoned off and that trucks are loading odd material. There are rumors that NORAD has alerted the Brazilian authorities that it has tracked a large number of UFOs over the western hemisphere and that one has penetrated Brazilian airspace. (Wikipedia, " Incidente de Varginha"; Roger K. Leir, UFO Crash in Brazil: A Genuine UFO Crash with Surviving ETs, Book Tree, 2005; Good Need, pp. 369-376; " ET de Varginha: Caso completa 20 anos com mistérios e incertezas," G1, January 20, 2016; Clark III 1222; " Entrevista com Carlos de Souza: Casa Varginha," Marco Leal YouTube channel, June 15, 2020; Patrick Gross, " The Varginha Affair"; Clark IV 1398).
January 20 - 8:00 a.m. The Varginha, Brazil, fire department receives a call from someone who asks them to investigate a strange creature seen in a park north of the Jardim Andere neighborhood. At 10:00 a.m., firefighters arrive expecting to find a wild animal, but they encounter a 5-foot-tall bipedal entity with red eyes and brown skin. Fish peddler Joao Bosco Manoel comes across firefighters Sgt. Palhares, Cpl. Rubens, and soldiers Santos and Nivaldo, who are carrying a net with a strange being inside it. One of its feet is brown, and the firefighters are trying to conceal it from curious onlookers. A smell of ammonia permeates the scene. (Clark III 1222-1223; Clark IV 1398-1399)
January 20 - Afternoon. According to testimony by an ex-soldier, uniformed military men open fire while they are sweeping the small forest near Varginha, Brazil, where the creature had been found earlier. A soldier becomes frightened when he sees a creature apparently helping a wounded comrade. Two shots strike its belly and one its chest. A fourth shot hits its shoulder. These two creatures differ from the earlier one and have black hair. Immediately afterward, soldiers come out of the woods carrying the creatures in two black sacks. Something is moving in one of them. (Clark III 1223; Clark IV 1399-1400)
January 20 -3:30 p.m. Sisters Liliane Fátima da Silva, 16, and Valquíria Aparecida da Silva, 14, and their friend Kátia Andrade Xavier, 22, are crossing a vacant lot at Rua Dr. Benevenuto Bráz Viêrira in the Santana neighborhood of Varginha, Brazil, when they encounter a thin, hairless, dark-skinned creature with dark veins, two legs with enormous two-toed feet, two arms with only three fingers, a huge head two three bony protrusions (one on each side and one in the center), and huge red eyes crouching beside a wall. At first they think it is a statue, but then it turns its head and they think it is a devil. They run home and call their mother, Luzia Helena da Silva, but when they return to the vacant lot, all they find is two footprints and an awful stench. The Brazilian Army contends that the girls have seen "Little Dumb," an odd-looking local resident, but they deny this. (Wikipedia, " Incidente de Varginha"; " ET de Varginha: Caso completa 20 anos com mistérios e incertezas," G1, January 20, 2016; " Caso Varginha Minuto a Minuto," Joao Marcelo YouTube channel, July 13, 2016; Clark III 1223-1224; Brazil 494-509; Clark IV 1400, 1403; Thiago Ticchetti, " ET de Varginha: Terreno da suposta apariçao do alien `mais famoso do Brasil' vira ponto turístico 30 anos depois," Revista UFO, May 23, 2025)
January 20 - Around 6:00 p.m. After a hailstorm halts the search for several hours, the Varginha, Brazil, search units venture back into the woods. Two plainclothes officers of the Military Police Intelligence Service, one of them Marco Eli Chereze, locate and capture a fourth creature, forcing it into the back of their car. They bring it to a health clinic but are turned away, so they take it to the Hospital Regional do Sul de Minas, where the first examinations are performed. (Clark III 1224; Clark IV 1400)
January 21 - 2:00 a.m. Marco Eli Chareze returns home to his mother's house to change clothes because his are drenched with rain. He begins to fall ill. (Clark III 1225; Clark IV 1401)
January 21 - The strange creatures are transferred to Hospital Humanitas Unimed in Varginha, Brazil. There are many reports of unusual movements of the Army, the police, and the fire department between the two hospitals. Vehicles are also seen arriving at a hospital in Belo Horizonte, where allegedly one of the creatures dies. (Clark III 1224; Clark IV 1400)
January 22 - The Brazilian military uses three trucks and several other vehicles to move the covered bodies. The trucks are parked on the side of Hospital Humanitas Unimed, and a series of cover-up operations are performed involving doctors, nurses, soldiers, firemen, and military police. The bodies inside the three trucks go to the Escola de Sargentos das Armas in Très Coracoes, Brazil. (Clark III 1224; Clark IV 1400, 1404)
January 23 - 4:00 a.m. A military convoy leaves the Escola de Sargentos das Armas for Campinas, Brazil. (Clark III 1224; Clark IV 1400)
January 23 - 9:00 a.m. The creatures are delivered in a metal box punctured with holes to the University of Campinas in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where doctors Fortunato Badan Palhares and Conradín Metz begin performing autopsies. Lab workers are prevented from entering the site. According to three military sources, at least one creature is taken to underground labs located at the university. Another creature is referred to the Legal Medical Institute at the Cemitério dos Amarais in Campinas. Army officials continue making decisive movements around Campinas through April. There are rumors that metal fragments of an unknown origin are taken to the Brazilian Departamento de Ciência e Tecnologia Aeroespacial in Sao José dos Campos, Sao Paulo, where they are examined in secret underground facilities. The same day, a cargo aircraft takes off from Canoas Air Force Base, Rio Grande do Sul, transporting three containers, a box, several soldiers, and a sophisticated radar system to be deployed near Varginha. (Clark III 1224; Clark IV 1400, 1404)
January 25 - The US military arrives in Campinas, Brazil, by helicopter, where the entire university is on standby. (Clark III 1224-1225; Clark IV 1401)
January 26 - Several scientists and military personnel linked to NASA arrive at the University of Campinas, Brazil. The cover story is that US scientists are choosing Brazilian scientists to take part in future space missions. (Clark III 1225; Clark IV 1401)
February 15 - Chereze wakes up very tired and in a state or torpor, with signs of cyanosis. He is transferred to intensive care, where his condition deteriorates rapidly. Chereze dies at 11:00 a.m. An autopsy confirms septicemia caused by a urinary infection, but the cause of death is unclear, according to Dr. Cesário Lincoln Furtado, who says it is highly unusual for a young man to quickly acquire an immunodeficiency followed by an attack of three kinds of virulent bacteria. Doctors order his body to be cremated immediately, but his family will not allow it. The death certificate gives the cause of death as acute respiratory failure, sepsis, and pneumonia. The family begins a legal challenge to have the records released. (A. J. Gevaerd and Ubirajata Franco Rodrigues, " Varginha Case: New Revelations," translation of " Novas revalaçoes agitaram Varginha," UFO Brazil, no. 102, August 1, 2004; Clark III 1225; Brian Dunning, " Brazil's Roswell: The Varginha UFO," Skeptoid Podcast, October 11, 2022; " Leslie Kean: The Varginha Case," TOE Clippings YouTube channel, April 18, 2023; " Exclusivo: Médico e legista doutour Joao Janini fala sobre o Caso Varginha e Marco Chereze," Revista UFO, May 4, 2023; Clark IV 1401)
March 9 - 10:50 p.m. Two groups of motorists at Gallows Corner, Romford, East London, England, watch a triangular UFO as large as a soccer field with a white light in each corner and a pulsating orange light in the center. (" UFO Flies in over Flyover!" Romford Record (Essex, England), March 15, 1996, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 327 (October 1996): 13; Marler 220-221)
March 12 - Two hunters are snowmobiling near Trout Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada, when they come upon two metallic "spaceships" blocking their trail. Both objects are about 300 feet in diameter, with a bright light on their tops and windows on their sides. One stands on three legs while the other hovers. As the hunters drive around the objects, the lights go out. Later, Trout Lake officials find large rectangular impressions in the snow. (Mark Rodeghier, " UFOs in Canada-1996," IUR 22, no. 2 (Summer 1997): 32)
April 21 -Around 9:00 p.m. Terezinha Gallo Clepf is celebrating her 67th birthday at the restaurant at the Parque Zoobotânico Municipal Dr. Mário Frota in Varginha, Brazil, when she steps onto a porch to smoke a cigarette. She looks to her left and sees a strange creature with bright red eyes and a yellow helmet on its head. It is behind a fence that circles the porch. They stare at each other. Clepf goes back into the restaurant but soon comes back out and the creature is still there. She gets her husband to take her home. (Clark III 1225; Clark IV 1401)
May 17 - 8:00 p.m. Hildo Lúcio Gardino, 20, is traveling from Très Coracoes to Varginha, Brazil, when she sees a strange creature on the side of the road. She dims her headlights and speeds past as the creature places its hands over its eyes and flees into the woods. (Clark III 1225; Clark IV 1401)
May 22 - 3:30 p.m. A motorist on the West Tamar Highway near Bradys Lookout State Reserve in Tasmania, Australia, notices an upright, vapor-like trail to the north. The trail changes into an upright, bronze-colored cigar shape that disappears in front of their eyes. (" Northern Flap," TUFOIC Newsletter, no. 79 (October 1996): 3; Herbert S. Taylor, " Cloud Cigars: A Further Look," IUR 30, no. 3 (May 2006): 13)
June 17 - 10:30 p.m. A witness is driving east on East Kingsfield Road in the northern part of Pensacola, Florida, when he sees a large, black triangular object. He pulls to the side of the road to watch, as does a truck in front of him. The object has a single white light at each corner and hovers directly above the road. A red blinking light is at the center. (" Triangular Shaped Craft Hovers over Witness," Pensacola Beach (Fla.) Islander, July 10, 1996, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 325 (August 1996): 5)
July 9 - 12:30 a.m. Police Sgt. Marian Mancu and volunteer guard Maricel Rusu are patrolling on the main road through Cer?e?ti, Romania. Rusu sees a lighted object descending silently, causing nearby neon lights to vary in their intensity. Mancu hears a whistling sound and sees an object with flashing blue and red lights hovering 2 feet above the pavement. Three small people with elongated heads, white faces, big eyes, and scaly bodies are moving around inside it. The object is top-shaped, 15-20 feet across and 8 feet tall, and has a girdle of lights around the edge like a rainbow. After 2 minutes it rises vertically, its lights become brighter, and nearby streetlights go out. It turns northwest and departs with tremendous speed. Other residents of the town witness unusual light phenomena. (Romania 135-146)
July 17 - Dusk. A woman near Langruth, Manitoba, is startled to see a disc-shaped object moving quietly and slowly through her farmyard. The object, 9-12 feet in diameter and 2.5 feet thick, has slit-like lights along its edge. The next morning, she finds three circular patches of deep green growth in the area where the object had been. She thinks her well water has been affected by the incident. (Mark Rodeghier, "UFOs in Canada-1996," IUR 22, no. 2 (Summer 1997): 32)
September 16 - Day. A witness is repairing a fence on his property near Valley, Alabama, when his dog starts barking loudly. Going over to his dog, he looks up to see a low-flying space- capsule-shaped UFO hovering and moving slowly over one of his cow pastures. He takes six photos of the object. Black to dark green in the photos, the cone-shaped object, when enlarged, shows a black Teflon-like covered bottom and a flange or rim that goes around near the top. In each photo the UFO is shown at a slightly different position and altitude, making it more difficult to hoax. (Wyatt Cox, UFO and Bigfoot Sightings in Alabama, The Author, 2004, pp. 88-89; Patrick Gross, " Mysterious Photos")
October 15 - 11:00 p.m. A couple is driving near Trois Rivières, Quebec, when they see three strange triangular objects flying in the northern sky. One object, shaped like a "topper" and much larger than an airplane, aims an intense white light at their car for 20 minutes. They feel like "time was stopped." Dozens of other people in the region see UFOs that same night. (Mark Rodeghier, " UFOs in Canada-1996," IUR 22, no. 2 (Summer 1997): 32)
December 11 - 7:00-9:00 p.m. At least 31 people in the Yukon Territory, Canada, witness a giant UFO. Indications are that it may be the size of several football stadiums. The sightings principally take place in four locations in the central Yukon along a 134-mile stretch of the Klondike Highway: Fox Lake, Carmacks, Pelly Crossing, and Mayo, with 6, 9, 8, and 8 witnesses respectively. In one observation around 8:15 p.m., two witnesses are driving northbound from Whitehorse to Carmacks in two separate vehicles when they spot a huge UFO with multiple lights above frozen Fox Lake. One of them gets out of his vehicle, and the object moves towards him until it is directly overhead, then passes over a hill to the east and eventually disappears. Shortly afterward, a witness is tending his trapline northeast of Pelly Crossing when he sees a long row of lights slowly moving over the hills. When he accidentally points his flashlight toward it, the object starts speeding toward him; when he cups his hand over the light, the object stops. It is now hovering about 900 feet in front of him. The object is silent; a beam of light coming from its base sweeps the ground once, and there are other light beams coming from the front and back. After the witness runs across a small clearing, he turns around and the object is gone. Around the same time, two witnesses are traveling northbound just south of Pelly Crossing when they see a huge row of lights slowly moving from left to right. They estimate the row of lights is as wide as the Big Dipper. From this and five other observations, investigator Martin Jasek estimates from triangulation calculations that the object's size is between one-half mile and 1.1 miles in length. Tim Printy is convinced it is a satellite re-entry. (NICAP, " Dec. 11, 1996: Yukon Territory"; Martin Jasek, " 22+ Witnesses Observe a UFO Larger Than a Football Stadium, Yukon Territory, Canada," UFO*BC, February 3, 2000; Martin Jasek, " 22 Witnesses Report Giant UFO in Yukon," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 382 (February 2000): 3-12, reprinted in Flying Saucer Review 45, no. 3 (Autumn 2000): 1-13; Martin Jasek, Giant UFO in the Yukon Territory, UFO*BC Special Report no. 1, June 2000; Chris Rutkowski and Geoff Dittman, The Canadian UFO Report, Dundurn Press, 2006, pp. 188-194; Chris Rutkowski, " The Cold, Hard Facts about UFOs in Canada," IUR 34, no. 1 (September 2011): 22-23; Robert Sheaffer, " `Top Ten' UFO Case: Yukon, Canada, 1996-Busted!" Skeptical Inquirer 36, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 2012): 22-23; Thomas E. Bullard, " Is the Anomalist on a Fool's Errand?", Paranthropology 5, no. 1 (January 2014): 8-9; Tim Printy, " December 1996 Yukon UFO Revisited," SUNlite 6, no. 2 (March/April 2014): 10-19; Thomas E. Bullard, "Skeptical Successes and Ufological Failures: Opportunities in Uncomfortable Places," Appendix B: The Yukon UFO and Reentry Observations, 2017; " Thirty Witnesses Encounter the Biggest UFO Sighting Ever Reported | Close Encounters," Quest TV YouTube channel, February 11, 2020; " A Giant UFO Was Witnessed by 31 People in the Yukon Region, Canada, December 11, 1996," Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, February 13, 2023; " Jean Van Bibber and Other Eyewitnesses on Seeing a Giant UFO in the Yukon Region, Canada, Dec. 11, 1996," Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, June 28, 2024)
December 19 - A Boeing 757-200 operated by China's Southern Airlines takes off from Beijing on a routine flight south to Wuhan. As the jetliner reaches an altitude of 31,500 feet, the copilot spots a bright flash in the sky just ahead of them. A silver-gray metallic UFO strikes the top of the 757's cockpit, cracking the outer windshield. The pilot immediately declares an in-flight emergency and radios Beijing's Capital International Airport, requesting permission to land. The plane lands safely 10 minutes later. (Patrick Gross, " Air Misses")
1997
January 13 - Morning. A woman driving on Highway 1 from Abbotsford to Chilliwack, British Columbia, notices a fluffy cloud in a clear sky that "bursts downward" with a bright white light three times in succession. It dissipates, leaving behind a black bar. After 5 minutes, a solid stream of white light comes downward from it and another black bar appears, about 45° below the first one. They both start moving east in a wavy motion. She loses sight of them when she gets off the freeway at the Sardis exit. (Herbert S. Taylor, " Satellite Objects and Cloud Cigars," IUR 29, no. 1 (Spring 2004): 26)
February 22 - Near Aklavik, Northwest Territories, Canada, two silver-gray objects follow five people along a road. They hover above the highway then glide smoothly down to the snow behind them. The objects have rows of windows with bright blue light shining through them. After 15 minutes, the objects are lost to view as the witnesses turn along an ice road. (Chris Rutkowski, " 1997 Canadian UFO Survey," IUR 23, no. 2 (Summer 1998): 15)
February 27 - 7:30 p.m. A luminous blue sphere appears over Aviano Air Base, Italy, and hovers. After it disappears, a larger, orange-yellow-red sphere appears, and six fighters are scrambled to intercept it. The jets circle around the sphere but it disappears. (2Pinotti 155
March 13 - 6:55-10:30 p.m. Aerial lights of varying descriptions are seen by thousands of people (many of whom are looking for Comet Hale-Bopp) in a linear space of about 300 miles from Henderson, Nevada, at 6:55 p.m., through Phoenix to the edge of Tucson, Arizona. Tim Ley and his family at first see a tiny arc of five white lights just after 8:00 p.m. in the northwestern sky. They slowly draw nearer (around 30 mph), and Ley discerns a V-formation flying no more than 100 feet above the ground. The lights hold this pattern for more than 15 minutes, leading him to believe they are on one structure. Ley's report is the most detailed, but there are many others. There are two distinct events involved in the entire incident: a triangular formation of lights seen to travel around 8:10-9:30 p.m. from Paulden to Tucson, passing over Prescott and Phoenix. Some witnesses see a huge carpenter's square-shaped UFO, containing five spherical lights or possibly light-emitting engines. Gov. Fife Symington is one witness, although he does not reveal this until 2007; he calls the object "otherworldly." One overriding characteristic prevails: The UFO is a massive solid object, not merely lights, and it appears low in the sky, blocking out the stars behind it. Many witnesses say it is the size of multiple football fields and up to one mile long. Reports vary in terms of the number and color of lights and their movements. The second group of events is a series of stationary lights seen in the Phoenix area around 10:00 p.m. The Air Force identifies this group as magnesium LUU2 flares dropped by A-10 Warthog aircraft in a training exercise at the Barry Goldwater Range in southwest Arizona as part of Operation Snowbird; news coverage later shows a video taken around 10:00 p.m. by an amateur photographer that clearly shows the flares, not the earlier UFO. Phoenix city councilwoman Frances Emma Barwood is the only elected official to launch a public investigation, but she receives no help from any level of government. She speaks to more than 700 witnesses who call her office, including police officers, pilots, and former military personnel. Minimal coverage is provided at the time by the media, even in Phoenix. (Wikipedia, " Phoenix Lights"; NICAP, " The Phoenix Lights Case: More Than Lights and Flares?"; William F. Hamilton, " Mass Sightings in Arizona," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 349 (May 1997): 3-6, 14; Tony Ortega, " The Great UFO Cover-up," Phoenix New Times, June 26, 1997; Peter Davenport, " Summary of `Phoenix Lights' Event," 1997; Bruce Maccabee, " Phoenix Lights Revisited," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 370 (February 1999): 3-8; Bruce Maccabee, " Report on Phoenix Lights Arrays," 2000; Donald R. Burleson, " UFO Secrecy and the Law," IUR 28, no. 4 (Winter 2003- 2004): 16; Lynne D. Kitei, The Phoenix Lights: A Skeptic's Discovery That We Are Not Alone, Hampton Roads, 2004; "Former Arizona Governor Says He Saw `Phoenix lights' UFO," American Chronicle, March 18, 2007; Good Need, pp. 387-390; Kean, pp. 247-249, 253-261; Thomas E. Bullard, " Defending UFOs," IUR 34, no. 2 (March 2012): 12-13, 30; Tim Ley, " My Eye Witness Description of the Phoenix Lights UFO Flyover 3/13/1997," Phoenix Lights UFO, March 13, 2012; " UFO's with Boyd Bushman and His Last Interview on Area 51 and UFOs over Tucson, Arizona," Michael Thomas YouTube channel, October 24, 2014; Thomas E. Bullard, "Skeptical Successes and Ufological Failures: Opportunities in Uncomfortable Places," Appendix A: The Phoenix Lights, 2017; Clark III 901-905; Patrick Gross, " The Phoenix Lights, Arizona, USA, March 14, 1997"; Graff 377-379; Tim Callahan, " The Phoenix Lights: The Fallibility of Human Perception and Memory," in Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos and Richard Heiden, eds., The Reliability of UFO Witness Testimony, UPIAR, 2023, pp. 39-44; " Eyewitnesses Talk about the Phoenix Lights Mass UFO Sighting from March 13, 1997," Eyes on Cinema YouTube channel, February 29, 2024; " Eyewitnesses Talk about Videotaping the Phoenix Lights UFO Incidents on March 13, 1997," Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, August 2, 2024; Clark IV 1010-1014; Ryan Sprague, " The Phoenix Lights Incident Still Haunts Witnesses 28 Years Later," Medium/Ryan Sprague, March 13, 2025)
March 30 - 10:30 p.m. A mother and her three children are chased along the Klondike Highway near Whitehorse, Yukon, by an object the size of a "small satellite dish." They first see the huge white light on the riverbank near the Takhini River bridge along the highway. At times she notices white and yellow lights and then white and red blinking lights that almost make the single ball of light look like it is two object. At one point, the object is directly above the car at treetop level. At the junction of the Klondike and Alaska Highways, she pulls off to the side of the road to watch for about 5 minutes; the UFO moves in one direction, then the other, slows, goes faster, moves straight up, hangs in mid-air, stops, and in general seems to be doing maneuvers for their benefit. She continues driving, then stops again and gets out near the Crestview Subdivision area. The two younger children remain in the back seat, scared and crying. Other cars do not seem to notice the object. When the object moves abruptly in their direction, she gets back into the car and takes off. They see the light over Porter Creek but lose sight of it on their approach into Rabbits Foot Canyon. The encounter lasts 20-30 minutes over a distance of more than 9 miles. (" Family Followed by UFO near Whitehorse, Yukon," UFO*BC Quarterly, Spring 1998; Chris Rutkowski, " 1997 Canadian UFO Survey," IUR 23, no. 2 (Summer 1998): 15)
April 10 - Rear Adm. Thomas R. Wilson, vice director of intelligence for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, meets in a Pentagon conference room with former astronaut Edgar Mitchell and UFO Disclosure founder Steven M. Greer to discuss the rogue nature of certain "special access programs" (SAPs) connected to the study of alien technology that are dominated by private contractors. Others allegedly there are retired Cmdr. Will Miller, Adm. Mike Crawford, Gen. Patrick Hughes, Shari Adamiak (Greer's assistant), and Stephen Lovekin. Greer claims he has extracted a pledge from Wilson during the meeting to investigate SAPs involving UFO technology. But Wilson soon reports that he doesn't have the proper security clearance to inspect those files. As Greer informs a Portland, Oregon, audience in 2001, Wilson says, "`I am horrified that this is true. I have been in plenty of black projects, but when we tried to get into this one,' he was told, and I quote, `Sir, you do not have a need to know.' The head of intelligence Joint Staffs. You don't have a need to know. Neither did the CIA director, and neither did the president." In a July 4, 2008, appearance on Larry King Live, Mitchell tells the audience he had learned the admiral "had found the people responsible for the cover-up and for the people who were in the know and were told, I'm sorry, admiral, you do not have need to know here and so, goodbye." Shortly afterward, Wilson admits meeting with Mitchell but denies he was ever refused access. (Steven M. Greer, " Dr. Steven Greer Disclosure Project Talk, Sept. 2001, Portland, Oregon," UFO Evidence; Steven M. Greer, Disclosure: Military and Government Witnesses Reveal the Greatest Secrets in Modern History, Crossing Point, 2001; Steven M. Greer, Hidden Truth, Forbidden Knowledge, Crossing Point, 2006, pp. 148-160; " Admiral: Never Looked for UFO Data," Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune, August 6, 2008; Dolan II 538-539; Kean, pp. 234-235; Richard Dolan, " UFO Leak of the Century: Richard Dolan Analyzes the Admiral Wilson Leak," Richard Dolan Members, June 9, 2019; " Astronaut Dr. Edgar Mitchell Recounts Admiral Wilson Story on CNN's Larry King Live, 7/4/08," The Black Vault YouTube channel, June 17, 2020; Joe Murgia, " The Wilson/Davis Documents: My Twenty-Three Year Journey, Part 1," Part 2, UFO Joe, June 21, 2020; Coulthart 2023, pp. 111-119, 260-273)
Summer - About 11:00 p.m. A young soldier serving in the 28th Group Army based in Datong, Shanxi, China, wakes up to a loud crash. He goes outside his barracks and sees a silvery white disc (like a satellite dish) crashed among some trees. He runs up to the object, which he estimates is 6 feet high and 19 feet wide. Standing next to an open door are two skinny entities, dressed in silvery suits. One is apparently dead or unconscious and the other severely injured. They are only about 3 feet tall and their facial and body skin is covered with fur. Their facial features are like a mouse or opossum. The injured alien grabs his hand and speaks some incomprehensible words. The soldier goes to find a squad leader who might help out, but all are scared or reluctant. Later that night, the UFO and two aliens are apparently retrieved by the military police. The entire army camp is quarantined the next day and notified that no one is permitted to leave or enter the complex and no one is to talk to civilians about the event. (National UFO Reporting Center, " NUFORC UFO Sighting 143294," September 27, 2018; Clark IV 1324- 1325)
August 9 - 5:07 p.m. Swissair Flight 127 to Zürich, Switzerland, is flying northeast over Queens, New York, near John F. Kennedy International Airport, when pilots Capt. Philippe Bobet and First Officer Kurt Grunder see a cylindrical, glowing-white object, about the size of a fuselage of a small light aircraft, heading toward the Boeing 747 at high speed. The airliner is in level flight at 20,000 feet and cruising at 390 mph in a cloudless sky, and the UFO is 100-200 feet above it. There is no noise from the object, and no trail or wake disturbance is detected. The near collision lasts about only one second. The object is not detected on radar, and it does not trigger the aircraft's collision warning system. The object is explained as a weather balloon, which is spotted by a United Airlines pilot in nearly the same location and height 72 minutes after the incident. (NICAP, " Swiss Air Has Near Miss with UFO"; Don Berliner and Robert J. Durant, Near Miss with a UFO: Swissair Flight 127, UFO Research Coalition, 1999; Robert J. Durant, " Swissair Jet Has `Near Miss' with UFO," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 377 (September 1999): 3-9; Good Need, pp. 405-406)
August 12 - 1:00 a.m. Two police officers are on patrol near Lacock Road in Corsham, Wiltshire, England, when a triangular object flies past them at only 30 feet altitude and 45-50 mph. It heads to the northeast and is joined by a second object that seems to be following it. Their speed increases as they are lost to sight within seconds. (Marler 144-145)
October 17 - In an effort to gauge the vulnerability of military satellites to laser attacks, the US military tests a directed energy weapon, Mid-Infrared Advanced Chemical Laser (MIRACL) developed by the US Navy in 1980, against an aging USAF reconnaissance satellite. From its location at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, MIRACL sends two blasts of its deuterium fluoride laser against MSTI-3 at a distance of 238 miles. The Pentagon claims mixed results because a computer glitch prevents the satellite from reporting back that the second shot has struck the target. (" Call it a MIRACL," Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 54, no. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1998): 5-6)
November 13 - Night. Two witnesses are driving home near Lac La Biche, Alberta, when they see a diamond-shaped object, consisting of three white lights in the front and one red light in the rear, suddenly "turn on." It hovers above trees about 900 feet away, and they can see the bottom of the object. (Chris Rutkowski, " 1997 Canadian UFO Survey," IUR 23, no. 2 (Summer 1998): 15)
December 8 - Night. After two brightly lit objects fly above Surrey, British Columbia, a large, disc-shaped, pewter-colored craft spins and bobs around in the sky. The witnesses give chase in their car, but lose sight of it. (Chris Rutkowski, " 1997 Canadian UFO Survey," IUR 23, no. 2 (Summer 1998): 15)
December 31 - 11:30 p.m. Many people in the area of Rzeszów, Poland, watch a spherical orange object. Jan Skobran and Maciej Robert see it briefly before it disappears. At 11:50 p.m., it reappears and they videotape it on VHS. After about 40 seconds it disappears, but another shows up at 12:20 a.m., pulsating with an intense orange glow. Seconds later it disappears, but another light appears over the Slocina forest. (Arkadiusz Miazga, " Rzeszów: `Polski biegun UFO,'" Infra, May 28, 2011; Poland 153-154; Arkadiusz Miazga, Bliskie spotkania z UFO nad Podkarpaciem, Ridero, 2024)
1998
Podiatrist Roger K. Leir publishes The Aliens and the Scalpel, in which he reviews his investigation of alien implants since 1995. Leir has performed surgery to remove small objects from the feet and hands of 17 abductees. Robert Bigelow's National Institute for Discovery Science provides the funding for the analysis of these objects. Some of the findings are potentially noteworthy-the objects are found on the left side of the body, most of them fluoresce under ultraviolet light, some are magnetic, and most appear metallic and seem to emit radio signals. Calcium, copper, and iron are the most common constituents. Critics dismiss the objects as tiny slivers of metal or glass embedded in tissue and find no evidence for radio emissions. None of the objects reveal any apparent technological structure. (Roger K. Leir, The Aliens and the Scalpel: Scientific Proof of Extraterrestrial Implants in Humans, Granite, 1998; Roger K. Leir, "Alien Implants and Physical Evidence," MUFON 2005 International UFO Symposium Proceedings, MUFON, 2005; Clark III 11; Clark IV 26)
January 2 - 9:30 p.m. Fernando Mariano de Oliveira and Luciene da Cunha Lopes are in a townhouse on the Rua Luis Augusto Ferreira in the Capao Redondo neighborhood of Sao Paulo, Brazil, when they see a small luminous sphere about 8 inches in diameter moving up and down in the sky at variable speeds about 500 feet away from them. Other family members join them to watch the silent white light, and the neighborhood dogs bark constantly. Fernando's brother, Alan Bruno de Oliveira, 10, picks up a camcorder and films the light with the help of his cousin Katiuscia da Cunha Lopes for 4.5 minutes. The light disappears around 10:00 p.m. (Brazil 385-392; " Intelligent Controlled Orbs / Spheres Witnessed in Capao Redondo (Brazil), Mexico, and the UK," Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, June 4, 2024)
February - Night. Two young men are driving from Opole to Niemodlin, Poland, when the car radio goes off and the engine of their Polski Fiat 125p fails just as a large object flies over them. The lights, radio, and engine come back on by themselves after the object is gone, but they can still see it in the west as it apparently descends toward the road a mile or two ahead. From the top of a hill, they see it emitting a dazzling light and hovering above the trees. Suddenly it approaches them, flying 65-100 feet off the ground, and they speed ahead into town. (Poland 84-85)
April 22 - 9:20 p.m. A former Canadian F-104 pilot watches a UFO embedded in a cloud of green light fly toward the south over his car as he is driving near Whistler, British Columbia. It is visible only a few seconds. Other witnesses further south see the UFO stop over Puget Sound for 5-10 seconds, jump instantly to another location, and hover again before speeding away to the south. (George Filer, " Washington Large Disc with Hole in Its Center," Filer's Files, #34-2007, August 22, 2007; Nukes 495)
April 22 - 9:23 p.m. Civilian Larry Swanson sees a disc-shaped UFO fly silently north to south at about 300-400 feet altitude over the center of Naval Submarine Base Bangor [now Naval Base Kitsap] on the Kitsap Peninsula, Washington. At one point, the disc tilts slightly, allowing Swanson to view its underside, which is glowing white except for a central circular area about 30 feet in diameter. It slowly glides out of sight. (" Sighting Report," National UFO Reporting Center, January 28, 1999; Nukes 494-498)
June 5 - 10:30 p.m. Paul Best and his girlfriend are driving near Llanidloes, Powys, Wales, when they notice three triangular objects that are rounded on the bottom. They remain stationary for 6-7 minutes, then begin moving slowly before shooting away at high speed. (" UFOs Spotted near Llani," Welshpool (UK) County Times, June 12, 1998, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 351 (October 1998): 14)
July 2 - 8:00 p.m. A couple working outside in their yard at Ticonderoga, New York, see a soundless, wingless object moving swiftly through the sky. The man takes a video of it as it flies past the eastern side of St. Mary's Church. Probable aircraft. (Bruce Maccabee, " `Flying Peanut'/Double UFO Video Seems to Be Authentic," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 369 (January 1999): 3-7; Wim van Utrecht, " Luminous Peanut over Ticonderoga, New York," Caelestia)
July 21 - 11:19 p.m. An object the size of a small trailer appears suddenly over Napoleon, Ohio. It is emitting a dense fog and stays stationary for 7 minutes, then branches out and grows until 5 smaller craft are seen circling it. The large object seems to dissolve and disappear, the smaller objects still circling for another few minutes. (" NUFORC UFO Sighting 11877," National UFO Reporting Center, February 16, 2000; Herbert S. Taylor, " Cloud Cigars: A Further Look," IUR 30, no. 3 (May 2006): 13)
August 10 - 12:00 noon-1:00 p.m. At least four witnesses at Quirindi, New South Wales, see "20 silver balls" performing complex maneuvers. Angel hair streams from the objects during acceleration and right-angle turns. The substance consolidates into long, white strands that slowly fall to earth, draping on telephone lines and trees. It is white, cotton-like, and strong, requiring a good tug to break, but quickly sublimates to nothing on handling. A sample is sent to UFO researcher Bill Chalker for analysis. Microscopic imaging by indicates it is spider web. Another witness in Piallaway, New South Wales, reports similar material at 2:00 p.m. (Brian Boldman, " An Analysis of Angel Hair, 1947-2000," IUR 26, no. 3 (Fall 2001): 10; Keith Basterfield, " Angel Hair: An Australian Perspective," IUR 27, no. 1 (Spring 2002): 7; Brian Boldman, " Angel Hair Physical Analyses: A Review," JUFOS 9 (2006): 107-108; Clark III 126; Clark IV 153)
September 14 - Lt. Col. Enrique Rocamora, in charge of declassification of UFO reports for the Spanish Air Force from 1993 to 1999, enters the 57th staff course at the Escuela Superior del Aire in Madrid, Spain. Along with consultations and contributions from Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos, he creates a massive monograph, "The Process of Declassification of UFO Documentation in the Air Force," with 10 chapters and 16 attachments amounting to 296 pages. (Swords 428, 523)
October 18 - 12:40 p.m. Dave Rose is at Sandwell Valley, West Midlands, England, with his parents when they see a motionless sphere in the sky. After 20 minutes another object, a metallic-looking triangular UFO, also appears. The triangle moves from side to side in short bursts before vanishing completely. The sphere dwindles to a dark spot in another 10 minutes. (" Did You See This UFO?" Wolverhampton (UK) Express and Star, October 29, 1998, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 353 (December 1998): 12)
October 19 - Four different radar stations in Hebei province, China, pick up an unknown target moving above a military flight training base near Cangzhou. At least 140 observers at the base see the object as a small star that grows larger and larger as it descends. It has a mushroom- shaped dome on top and a flat bottom covered with rotating lights. Two solid light beams extend a short way from the base of the object. The base commander scrambles a Shenyang J-6 fighter, which gets to within 2.5 miles of the UFO over Qing County, whereupon it abruptly shoots upward. The UFO plays cat and mouse with the jet, appearing and reappearing. Permission to fire on the UFO is denied by the base commander, Col. Li. The fighter is forced to return after running low on fuel, and the UFO disappears before other aircraft arrive. (Hong Kong Standard, November 4, 1998; Good Need, p. 393; Stephen Chen, " China Military Uses AI to Track Rapidly Increasing UFOs," South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), June 4, 2021; Bill Chalker, " China's `Nimitz' UFO/UAP Event," TheOzFiles, April 23, 2023; Clark IV 1221-1222, 1314, 1329-1331)
November 6 - 3:00 a.m. A man is driving with his wife near Childers, Queensland, when he sees an object moving quickly across the road. Five minutes later he sees a green beam of light shining down from the sky. The light source seems to be about 3,000 feet above them. Both he and his wife, who is asleep in the car, experience swelling in the hands and lips, as well as headaches. They both feel compelled to take their wedding rings off and sense that something else will happen to them. (" Australian CE2," IUR 24, no. 2 (Summer 1999): 12)
November 6 - 7:00 a.m. A witness in Bothell, Washington, sees a thin, horizontal cloud that tilts and descends. A taller horizontal cloud tilts to the left, but it soon appears to be a dark, cylindrical object. Two small oval clouds emerge from a larger cloud. All of the objects slowly descend past the Cascades Mountains. A few jets fly toward them one at a time, until 9:30 p.m. (Herbert S. Taylor, " Mystery Clouds and the UFO Connection," IUR 29, no. 4 (July 2005): 26)
December 2 - Night. UFO activity in Brisbane, Queensland, consists of a bright white light, an orange ball of light, and a missing time experience, all by different witnesses. (" UFOs Converge on Brisbane," UFO Roundup 3, no. 49, December 7, 1998)
December 3 - 11:30 p.m. A witness is driving in Kirkland, Washington, when she notices a cluster of four white lights and one red light to the south. They seem to be approaching, and when she arrives home she sees they are attached to a large equilateral triangle that passes overhead. (Marler 227-228)
December 11 - During mission STS-88, the crew of Space Shuttle Endeavor takes photos of an unusual dark object in low earth orbit. Conspiracy theorists claim it is an alien satellite, dubbed the Black Knight, in polar orbit around the Earth. However, the object is later identified as a thermal blanket that became dislodged and lost during a December 9 EVA by astronauts Jerry L. Ross and James H. Newman during their installation of antennas on the International Space Station. (Wikipedia, " Black Knight satellite conspiracy theory"; Lorenzen, UFOs: The Whole Story, Signet, 1969, p. 220; James Oberg, " Phantom Satellite?" PowerPoint presentation; Martina Redpath, " The Truth about the Black Knight Satellite Mystery," Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, July 18, 2013)
December 17 - Minister of State for Defence Procurement John Gilbert provides the House of Lords with a list of 38 files related to UFOs held by the Public Record Office covering the period 1970-1985 and which are scheduled for release under the 30-year rule. (Isaac Koi, " UFOs in Parliament (UK)," Isaac Koi-UFOs and Parliament, 2024)
1999
Harvard University psychologist John E. Mack publishes a second book on abductions, Passport to the Cosmos, in which he continues to focus on the experience as transformative and ultimately benevolent. Much of the experience consists of a life lesson in symbolic form, Mack asserts. The hybrids combine the human and alien in a shared mission to save the Earth. The nurturing of hybrid children emphasizes the importance of emotion, and the otherness of the aliens awakens a sense that humans are not the apex of existence. The shock and terror of kidnap by unearthly beings breaks the illusion that the world is under our control. Although Mack hears the usual accounts of examinations and reproductive procedures from dozens of other experiencers, he still reads these events as symbolic agents of the larger purpose to save Earth from humans and humans from themselves. Whether or not the abductors are extraterrestrial hardly matters. (John E. Mack, Passport to the Cosmos: Human Transformation and Alien Encounters, Crown, 1999; Clark III 9-10; Graff 344-345; Clark IV 23-25)
January 22 - 7:03 a.m. A witness driving south on State Highway 3 near the off-ramp to Naval Submarine Base Bangor [now Naval Base Kitsap] on the Kitsap Peninsula, Washington, sees an orange volleyball-sized light 20 feet above the overpass moving at 60-70 mph toward the base. (" Sighting Report," National UFO Reporting Center, February 11, 2003; Nukes 498)
February 3 - A British Debonair Bae146 charter jet encounters a "long cylindrical object" the size of a battleship while flying at 28,000 feet over the North Sea off Denmark. The captain observes rows of square portholes on the UFO just before it bathes the airliner in incandescent light. The object comes to an abrupt halt, then accelerates past the airplane at an incredible speed. RAF radar stations track the object, which is also seen from three other nearby aircraft. A Civil Aviation Authority source says the object is tracked by a military radar station in Yorkshire after it enters British air space. (" North Sea Encounter," IUR 24, no. 2 (Summer 1999): 31)
March 5 - Midnight. A diamond-shaped UFO is blamed for the unexplained collapse of a theatre roof in Kimberley, British Columbia. An object covered with flashing lights is seen by several witnesses prior to the incident. (East Kootenay (B.C.) Weekly, March 23, 1999; " Recent UFO Cases," IUR 24, no. 1 (Spring 1999): 31
March 24 - Night. Five people in the towns of Brinsley, Nottinghamshire, and Crich and Belper, Derbyshire, England, watch a flying object that looks like a black wedge with two bright headlights. The blunt end of the wedge is facing forward as it flies at about 35 mph. ("` Black Wedge' Seen in Skies over Town," Belper (UK) News, March 24, 1999, via UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 360 (July 1999): 13)
April 2 - Two Chilean national police officers see a UFO hovering above Mount Balmaceda in Puerto Natales, Tierra del Fuego, Chile. They see red, green, and yellow lights on the object, which performs several side-to-side displacements as it hovers near the summit. (La Tercera (Santiago, Chile), April 4, 7, 1999; " Recent UFO Cases," IUR 24, no. 1 (Spring 1999): 31)
April 7 - 10:58 p.m. A woman is looking through the second-story window of her home in East Falmouth, Massachusetts. She sees strange, double, white lights resembling car headlights attached to a triangular object silently moving across the sky through the maple trees. It is in view for only 4-5 seconds. (" Recent UFO Cases," IUR 24, no. 1 (Spring 1999): 31)
June 9 - A huge fall of "white filamentous threads" covers hedges, trees, and power lines over 10,000 square kilometers in Esperance, Western Australia. Some strands are 30 feet in length. Witness Marilyn Burnet has a sample analyzed and finds copper, aluminum, zinc, iron, sodium, manganese, silicon, and other minerals. (George A. Filer, " Filer's Files," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 375 (July 1999): 14; Brian Boldman, " Angel Hair Physical Analyses: A Review," JUFOS 9 (2006): 108; Keith Basterfield, " Angel Hair: An Australian Perspective," IUR 27, no. 1 (Spring 2002): 7-8)
June 30 - 11:00 a.m. Two witnesses are walking their dog in the Park Zachodni in Wroclaw, Poland, when they see a blue-gray, disc-shaped object with a row of blue lights pass over the trees to the northeast. Another similar object follows a similar path shortly afterward. (" UFO nad Polska: 2013," Porta Infra, April 19, 2013; Poland 83-84)
July - A man's car is stuck in a rut at Campo, California, as he is returning home from a fishing trip. As he is getting back into the car, he notices a bright white sphere about 40-50 feet away. It is only 4-5 feet in diameter and 25 feet above the ground. The man takes 10 steps toward the object, then it shines a bright blue beam at him for a few seconds. The beam does not turn off; instead it retreats back into the bottom of the object "as if it was on a string." The UFO slowly glides away. (Powell, Scientist, 99-100)
July 27 - Day. Several people living near the shore of Lake Backsjön, near Gunnarskog, Värmlands, Sweden, see and hear a rocket-shaped object plunge into the water. The object is 6-10 feet long and descends at high speed, creating a splash in the water before sinking. One witness contacts the rescue station at Arvika, who in turn contact the police and military. Stellan Jansson, chief of staff for the I 2/Fo52 Värmland Regiment, interviews the witnesses. In September, the army begins an intensive search of the lake under the code name Operation Sea Find using divers, sonar equipment, and a mini-sub. The operation conducts a 10-day search and examines 75% of the lake, but the search is discontinued on September 16 after finding no evidence. On October 1, a secret report is completed for military intelligence in Stockholm. (Clas Svahn and Eileen Fletcher, " The Swedish Military and UFOs," IUR 25, no. 3 (Fall 2000): 16-17; Swords 370; Clas Svahn, " Backsjön: Militärer letade efter störtat föremål," Riksorganisationen UFO-Sverige)
September 30 - 10:35 a.m. A serious criticality incident takes place in the Tokaimura uranium processing facility operated by JCO in the village of Tokai, Iberaki Prefeccture, Japan. The accident occurs as three workers are preparing a small batch of fuel for the Joyo experimental fast breeder reactor, using uranium enriched to 18.8% with the radioisotope uranium-235 (with the remainder being the fertile uranium-238). It is JCO's first batch of fuel for that reactor in three years, and no proper qualification and training requirements appear to have been established to prepare those workers for the job. A precipitation tank reaches critical mass when its fill level, containing about 35 pounds of uranium, reaches about 11 gallons. The two technicians who receive the higher doses die several months later. (Wikipedia, " Tokaimura nuclear accidents")
October 9 - 7:57 p.m. While fishing off Fort Pickens near Pensacola, Florida, an ex-Air Force security policeman and a city police officer watch a triangular UFO with high-intensity blue arcing lights traveling west over the Gulf of Mexico in a zigzag fashion. It is about 200 feet in the air, a quarter of a mile distant, and moving at 115-350 mph. At least four times it seems to hover for 30 seconds. After 15 minutes, it moves away to the west. (George Filer, " Florida Triangle with Blue Ionization near Gulf Breeze," Filer's Files, #43-1999, October 18, 1999)
November 11 - 8:30 p.m. Two men are loading gravel onto a truck in Tomelilla, Skåne, Sweden, when they see a boomerang-shaped object flying overhead, blocking out the stars. The object is solid and observed for 5-10 seconds. UFO-Sweden researchers Clas Svahn and Anders Persson check with the Swedish military for their radar data at the time and find that it has recorded many targets. They conclude that a flock of migrating birds, probably eiders, flying in formation is responsible. (Clas Svahn and Eileen Fletcher, " The Swedish Military and UFOs," IUR 25, no. 3 (Fall 2000): 17-18)
December - Cao Gong, a middle-aged man from Beijing, China, claims he is abducted by aliens and flown to Qinhuangdao, Hebei province, in a UFO. The entities look like humans but have large hands and are very pale. Zhang Jingping of the World Chinese UFO Association begins to investigate the Cao case in April 2000 and has him hypnotically regressed by a psychologist from Suzhou. Cao also passes a lie detector test at the Beijing Bureau of Public Security. Cao remembers meeting in the spacecraft a Chinese girl who looks about 13 years old. She tells him the aliens cured her of a disease. Zhang brings Cao to the Tangshan Bureau of Public Security in July 2000, where the police construct a computer reconstruction of the girl's face according to his description. In November 2002, Zhang leads a group of students from Beihang University on a trip to Qinhuangdao to look for the girl. They arrive in Qinglong County and begin a blind search among the area's 400,000 inhabitants. On the second day, an old man recognizes the girl in the image. They locate her and she turns out to be 15 years old. Zhang brings her back to Beijing to meet Cao Gong, who identifies her as the girl he met. (Bill Chalker, " The Untold Story of UFOs in China: Lost in Translation or the Devouring Dragon?" New Dawn Special Issue 14, no. 1 (January 2020); Clark IV 1273-1274, 1323)
2000
Ufologist Chris Rutkowski and Ufology Research of Manitoba begin receiving UFO reports made to Canadian agencies, allowing them to create a yearly statistical report on sightings in Canada. (Chris Rutkowski, Canada's UFOs: Declassified, August Night, 2022, p. 11)
January 5 - Shortly after 4:00 a.m. The "St. Clair Triangle," "UFO Over Illinois," "Southern Illinois UFO," or "Highland, Illinois UFO" sighting takes place over the towns of Highland, Dupo, Lebanon, Shiloh, Summerfield, Millstadt, and O'Fallon, Illinois, all within the vicinity of Scott Air Force Base in St. Clair County. Five on-duty police officers around these locales, along with various other eyewitnesses, report a massive, silent, triangular or rectangular craft operating at an unusual treetop-level altitude and speeds. The officers are able to track the object and maintain radio contact with each other throughout the event. One of the police officers manages to get a single yet ambiguous Polaroid photograph of the object. Investigator David Marler initially concludes that, despite some differences in descriptions, the reports indicate a single unknown object with bright lights flying below 1,000 feet altitude. However, later reports suggest there are as many as three objects. The incident is examined in the ABC special Seeing Is Believing with Peter Jennings, an hour-long Discovery Channel special UFOs Over Illinois, an episode of the 2004 Syfy series Proof Positive, and a 30-minute independent documentary titled The Edge of Reality: Illinois UFO, January 5, 2000 by Darryl Barker Productions. (Wikipedia, " Black triangle (UFO)"; " Police Officers in St. Clair County Report Seeing Early-Morning UFO," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 9, 2000, pp. D1-D2; " UFO Sighting Brings Media Attention, Investigative Team to Southern Illinois," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 12, 2000, pp. A1, A6; " UFO Baffles Observers," Waterloo (Iowa) Republic-Times, January 12, 2000, p. 2; " Buffs Baffled by UFO," Chicago Sun-Times, January 20, 2000; David B. Marler, " Illinois Police Officers Track UFO near Scott AFB," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 383 (March 2000): 3-8; Robert T. Leach, "The Illinois Arrowhead," UFO Magazine, May 2000, pp. 42-51; Internet Movie Database, " UFOs over Illinois"; " Illinois UFO, January 5, 2000," IUR 26, no. 2 (Summer 2001): 16; " Hypothesis: The Illinois Flying Triangle Is a Department of Defense, Not an ET Craft," National Institute for Discovery Science, July 2002; Darryl Barker, " The Illinois Triangle: Do We Have the Technology?" Darryl Barker Productions, August 2, 2002; Internet Movie Database, " Proof Positive," Episode 108, November 24, 2004; Internet Movie Database, " Peter Jennings Reporting: UFOs, Seeing Is Believing"; Thomas E. Bullard, " Defending UFOs," IUR 34, no. 2 (March 2012): 33; Marler 26-60; " UFOs: Seeing Is Believing (2005), ABC Documentary," Movie Buff Guy YouTube channel, June 18, 2019; Skinwalkers 106-108; Covert 170; William J. Granger, " The St. Clair Triangle: A Look Back," SCU Review 5, no. 2 (May 3, 2024): 15-21; Tim Oliver, " Review of `Hypothesis: The Illinois Flying Triangle Is a Department of Defence, Not an ET Craft,' National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS), Las Vegas, NV, July 2002," SCU Review 5, no. 2 (May 3, 2024): 22-25
March 30 - 5:00 a.m. Leah Isaac, a friend, and their small boy are driving on the Klondike Highway at the west end of Little Fox Lakes, Yukon Territory, when they spot a 40-foot wide disc hovering home 300 feet away. The UFO shoots across the road at "incredible speed," then stopped abruptly for a split second before shooting off at a 90º angle. The car's headlights dim and the tape deck ceases working when the UFO is nearby. Leah's analog watch stops, and her friend's digital watch goes blank. (Martin Jasek and Mark Rodeghier, " Vehicle Interference at Little Fox Lake, Yukon," IUR 25, no. 2 (Summer 2000): 23-24, 32)
April 17 - For the first time, Aerial Images, Inc., of Raleigh, North Carolina, working with Microsoft, Kodak, and a Russian satellite company, posts online five photos showing the long- secret Area 51 test site near Groom Lake, Nevada. (Mary Manning, " At Last, a Glimpse of Area 51," Las Vegas (Nev.) Sun, April 18, 2000)
July 17 - 10:50 p.m. A witness in Silverdale, Washington, sees four orange lights descending to the west over the Olympic Mountains. When the second to last light is gone, the witness sees a flash like an explosion. About 15 minutes later, another orange light appears, moving south to north at a speed too slow for a meteor. It descends behind the same mountain. A Blackhawk helicopter is visible in the same area at the same time. (" Sighting Report," National UFO Reporting Center, February 11, 2003; Nukes 498-499)
August 5 -11:30 a.m. A witness spots a silver disc in the sky over Old Noarlunga, South Australia, and calls out his wife to watch. Over the next 90 minutes they see 3 whitish additional balls and something that looks like a helicopter, all traveling west to east. Long, silver, cobweb-like substance falls in large wads or strands. Once touched with a stick, it shrivels up and evaporates. Similar material falls on Moana and Aldinga Beach, where one witness also sees a bright light. (Keith Basterfield, " Angel Hair: An Australian Perspective," IUR 27, no. 1 (Spring 2002): 8)
September - UFO researchers Karl Pflock and Peter Brookesmith organize an invitation-only symposium to re-evaluate the Betty and Barney Hill abduction case in depth. It takes place at the Indian Head Resort in Lincoln, New Hampshire, near the site of the abduction event itself. The other researchers are Dennis Stacy, Marcello Truzzi, Thomas E. Bullard, Hilary Evans, Robert Sheaffer, Joe Firmage, and Greg Sandow. Betty Hill joins the group for an evening's entertainment and a morning tour of the site where the abduction took place. The essays written by participants, along with reflections by Walter N. Webb and an appendix by Martin S. Kottmeyer, are compiled in Encounters at Indian Head. (Karl T. Pflock and Peter Brookesmith, eds., Encounters at Indian Head, Anomalist, 2007; Robert Sheaffer, " Betty Hill's Last Hurrah: A Secret UFO Symposium in New Hampshire," Skeptical Inquirer 31, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 2007); Greg Sandow, " The Hill Case and the Limits of Ufology," IUR 31, no. 4 (March 2008): 3-7, 19-28)
September 27 - 9:45 p.m. Four men are camped in a trailer at a rural hunting camp near Challis, Idaho. One goes out to the truck for food and sees a massive, dark, triangular object hovering motionless above him. He yells for the others to come out, lights on the object turn on, and it slowly moves toward the nearby mountains. When it reaches one, it tips upward and ascends the side of the mountain vertically. When it reaches the top, it tips forward and disappears from sight. (Marler 228-229)
October 31 - After sunset. A woman delivering pizzas in Cygnet, Ohio, is stopped along Cygnet Road when she sees an elongated, football-shaped object clearly visible just beyond a thin grove of trees ahead of her. It is slowly moving westward toward and above Interstate 75, which is busy with cars and large trucks. It hovers for a few seconds and turns brighter, then shoots off westward in a streak of light. Two men driving north on I-75 also see the object. (John P. Timmerman, " Possible Close Encounter in NW Ohio," IUR 25, no. 3 (Fall 2000): 18)
November - 7:00 p.m. A retired law enforcement officer and several friends are cooking dinner over an open fire in a wooded area near Elsberry, Missouri, when they see a huge flying wing with white lights on each end. It seems to be flying completely silently at 3,000 feet. They watch it for 30 seconds before it disappears into the southeast.
December 13 - 10:00 pm. A group of five people is traveling in a Volkswagen on a dirt road 9 miles from Iturama, Minas Gerais, Brazil-Joao Caiana, his wife Valdeir Martins, daughter Magui Martins, a 3-year-old granddaughter, and an 18-year-old friend. Some odd colored lights in the sky seem to follow them for 2 miles. Suddenly the interior of the car begins to get hot, and a light gray entity with big eyes approaches them. Everyone loses control and seems to be sucked into a UFO for an abduction scenario. (Laura Maria Elias, " Caso Caiana: Desdobramentos de um clássico de Ufologia Miniera," Portal UFO, February 1, 2015; " Caso Família Caiana em Iturama," Freak TV YouTube channel, February 14, 2020; Brazil 393-396)
December 24 - 7:00 p.m. A woman living in the Baranówka neighborhood of Rzeszów, Poland, sees a light outside her window on the 4th floor of an apartment building. It makes unusual maneuvers like a figure-8 and zigzags, and is joined by another light that flies at a constant speed. Both are about 5 feet in diameter. She snaps two motion-blur photos with her Minolta that shows an object hovering above the apartment block opposite her. The second object approaches the first one and they fly away together. (Poland 151-153)
2001
January 1 - 12:01 a.m. Five people driving along Highway 3 south of New Plymouth, New Zealand, spot an orange object about 30-50 feet in diameter pacing their car 100 feet above them. They pull over to watch and see three similar objects hovering and swaying around. They look like they are changing color from metallic glowing orange to metallic deep purple and shades of blue. One more larger object appears on the horizon and speeds toward the other four. Each seems to react in a way similar to an army unit and forms a line and disappears almost instantly to the south. As they leave several minutes later, they realize they haven't seen any traffic for 30 minutes and only see some as they enter New Plymouth. (George Filer, " New Zealand Discs Start New Millennium," Filer's Files, #2-2001 (January 9, 2001))
January 5 - 10:30 a.m. A white, "self-lit" cigar-shaped object with a small vapor trail is seen at Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. Its hops forward in its progress through the sky before it moves out of view behind a mountain. It returns and flies back again. (Mark Rodeghier, " UFOs in Canada, 2001," IUR 26, no. 4 (Winter 2001- 2002): 17)
January 22 - 12:30 a.m. Barnaul Airport in Altai Krai, Russia, shuts down after a slightly tilted, oscillating, disc-shaped object is detected hovering above its runway. The crew of an Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane refuses to take off, claiming they can see a luminous object. An incoming Yakovlev Yak-40 passenger plane also sees an object at Barnaul and lands at another airport. Sergei Kurennoi, the chief airspace controller at Barnaul, sees the object at an elevation of 15°-20º above the horizon above the end of the track. With his binoculars, he distinguishes a solid structure that radiates light of various colors (red, green, purple). Nothing is tracked on radar. The UFO noiselessly takes off to the northwest, changes direction to the southwest, and vanishes after 90 minutes. (Patrick Gross, " UFO Shuts Down Russian Airport")
February - French ufologist Dominique Weinstein creates a massive catalogue of 1,305 UFO sightings by pilots from 1916 to 2000. She finds that 606 cases (36.7%) are sightings by military pilots and crews; 444 cases (26.9%) are by civilian pilots; and 196 cases (11.8%) are by private pilots. In 200 cases (12.1%) the visual observation is confirmed by on-board or ground radar. And in 57 cases (3.45%) the pilots note electromagnetic effects on one or more of the plane's transmission systems. (Dominique F. Weinstein, " Unidentified Aerial Phenomena: Eighty Years of Pilot Sightings, a Catalog of Military, Airliner, and Private Pilots Sightings from 1916 to 2000," National Aviation Reporting Center on Anomalous Phenomena, February 2001)
March - Religious studies scholar Brenda Denzler writes The Lure of the Edge, an overview and evaluation of the UFO subculture as a social phenomenon juxtaposed between scientific and religious ideals. One section deals with the contactee movement, in which extraterrestrials have been met by Earthlings and received insights into the human condition and humanity's place in the cosmos. She finds that between the years 1995 and 1997, some 80% of invited speakers at 21 UFO conferences are men, while male authors account for 87% of the articles published in major UFO periodicals. In the first half of the 1990s, between 55% and 74% of alien abductees are women. Denzler observes that women who write about abductions are usually chronicling their own story, and researchers like Ann Druffel and Karla Turner are exceptions. (Brenda Denzler, The Lure of the Edge: Scientific Passions, Religious Beliefs, and the Pursuit of UFOs, University of California, 2001; Eghigian, After, p. 291)
April 1 - 10:30 p.m. Farm manager George Hofer and several children from the Rosedale Hutterite Brethren Colony near Etzikom, Alberta, see a brilliant fireball falling and apparently striking the Earth only a few miles away. On April 16, Ken Masson, who farms 13 miles south of Etzikom, discovers a circular, crater-like formation on his land. On May 1, Pano Karkanis of the University of Lethbridge Department of Geography visits the site, interviews the witnesses, measures the crater, and takes soil samples. The crater is 6 inches deep, with an inside diameter of 7.9 feet, surrounded by a mound of dirt 16 inches high. He notes four indentations inside the circle that he suspects are caused by rainwater. The dirt inside is cracked and sere, and he finds some odd reddish-brown particles of dirt on the mound. He concludes the crater was formed by a meteorite fragment that vaporized, leaving only the reddish-brown particles. Meteorite impact expert Alan Hildebrand at the University of Calgary doubts the crater was made by a meteorite. (Pano G. Karkanis, " Occurrence of a Circular Crater-Like Formation Near Etzikom, Alberta," Alberta UFO Study Group, June 2001; Chris Rutkowski and Geoff Dittman, The Canadian UFO Report, Dundurn Press, 2006, pp. 204-206; Chris Rutkowski, " Crash Go the UFOs...onto Canada!" Ufology Research, June 1, 2016)
May 3 - In the UK House of Lords, Peter Hill-Norton asks the Ministry of Defence why the UFO documents it referred to on January 25 were classified secret. Minister of State for Defence Procurement Elizabeth Symons replies that "One document was classified `Secret' with a `UK Eyes Only' caveat because it contained information about the UK air defence ground environment that could be of significant value to hostile or potentially hostile states. Associated correspondence was given the same classification. Generally, however, notifications of and correspondence on the subject of UFO sightings are unclassified." She adds that the ministry received 229 reports in 1999 and 210 reports in 2000. (David Clarke and Gary Anthony, " The British MoD Study: Project Condign," IUR 30, no. 4 (August 2006): 32; Isaac Koi, " UFOs in Parliament (UK)," Isaac Koi-UFOs and Parliament, 2024)
May 9 - Twenty government workers from military and civilian organizations speak about their experiences regarding UFOs and UFO confidentiality at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The press conference is initiated by Steven M. Greer, founder of the Disclosure Project, which has the goal of disclosing alleged government UFO secrecy. The purpose of the press conference is to build public pressure through the media to obtain a hearing before the US Congress on the issue. Aerospace illustrator Mark McCandlish testifies that gravity control propulsion research started in the 1950s and successfully reverse engineered the vehicle retrieved from the Roswell, New Mexico, crash site to build three Alien Reproduction Vehicles (ARVs) by 1981. McCandlish describes their propulsion systems in terms of Thomas Townsend Brown's gravitators and provides a line drawing of its interior. The diagram closely resembles the drawing provided earlier in Milton William Cooper's book Behold a Pale Horse. Another Disclosure Project whistleblower, Philip J. Corso, states in his book The Day after Roswell that the craft retrieved from the second crash site at Roswell had a propulsion system resembling Brown's gravitators. Corso's book also features several gravity control propulsion statements made by Hermann Oberth. Although major American media outlets report on the conference, interest quickly dies down, and no hearing takes place. (Steven M. Greer and Theodore C. Loder III, Disclosure Project Briefing Document, Disclosure Project, April 2001; " Group Calls for Disclosure of UFO Info," ABC News, May 10, 2001; " UFO Spotters Slam `US Cover-Up,'" BBC News, May 10, 2001; Jean-Pierre Petit, " I Have a Doubt about `Disclosure,'" March 19, 2003; Wikipedia, " United States gravity control propulsion research"; Gideon Lewis-Kraus, " How the Pentagon Started Taking U.F.O.s Seriously," The New Yorker, April 30, 2021; Coulthart 2023, pp. 274-287; Clark IV 705-706)
June 12-August 31 - Eight cattle mutilations are reported in north central Montana, similar to those from the 1970s. In all the cases, part of the animal's face, called the mask, is removed, along with reproductive organs. There is usually no blood, and predators will often not touch the carcass. (Jim Robbins, " Unsolved Mystery Resurfaces in Montana: Who's Killing Cows?" New York Times, September 17, 2001, pp. B1, B22)
June 23 - 9:45 p.m. Three witnesses are sitting in their yard in Fernandina Beach, Florida, when they see a bright white light with a bluish tinge descend and hover about 2,000 feet due east of them above the ocean. After one minute it emits a mist from three points on its underside so that it appears to be sitting on a cloud. Then it emits mist from its upper area and becomes enshrouded with the light shining through. Then the light blinks off, leaving only a cloud that stands there for about one minute. It disappears 5-10 seconds afterward. (National UFO Reporting Center, " Sighting Report," March 21, 2003; Nukes 506-507)
June 30 - 10:30 p.m. Electrical power goes off in the small village of Nanesti, Romania, even though the lights in neighboring villages are still on. A number of witnesses notice a red, round ball moving slowly in the air. When it stops it begins to spin, turning into a rotating segmented ring of pale yellow light. The ring becomes larger in diameter, coming closer to the ground where it gets as large as 600 feet in diameter. After a short period of time it climbs again, still rotating but shrinking and turning into a red dot that moves around in the sky until it starts rotating again and repeating the cycle some 8-20 times over the course of 45 minutes. Some witnesses see it as a dark red cloud lit from inside by squares of light. The display ceases sometime after midnight and the power returns mysteriously at around 2:00 a.m. (Romania 70-73)
July 14-15 - Evening-night. Dozens of Staten Islanders and residents of Carteret, New Jersey, observe lights in the southwestern sky on a clear, cloudless night. The lights appear in various formations at about 45° above the horizon. Witnesses view the scene from Arthur Kill Road and the West Shore Expressway on the New York side. The Waterloo Cafe, located opposite the Blazing Star Burial Ground on Arthur Kill Road, provides the most significant witnesses. The consensus of their testimonies reveals a series of lights, numbering from 4-5 to as many as 16-20, bright orange or orange-red in hue, and appearing as solid round objects. Witnesses number about 50, including the owner of the cafe, but not all come forward. Those who do, agree that there was no sound emanating from the lights, and no one can see any wings. The lights are often no more than 1,000 feet in the air, often described as flying in an inverted V-shaped configuration. Unknown targets without transponders, some at heights of 99,000 feet, are picked up on radar at Newark International Airport. (" New Jersey Preliminary Investigation," Filer's Files, #30-2001, July 22, 2001; " New Jersey Lights," Filer's Files, #31-2001, July 29, 2001; " New Jersey Lights," Filer's Files, #32-2001, August 7, 2001; " New Jersey Carteret Case Investigation Continues," Filer's Files, #33-2001, August 14, 2001; " New Jersey Oval UFO," Filer's Files, #34-2001, August 22, 2001; Dennis K. Anderson, " The Arthur Kill Sightings, July 14-15, 2001," IUR 28, no. 2 (Summer 2003): 3-6, 26-27; Covert 169; " Patricia Ercolino and Other Eyewitnesses on Seeing Mystery Lights in the Skies over New Jersey, 2001," Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, January 9, 2025)
August 12 - 12:25 a.m. Five people watch seven gray objects flying in a straight line over Victoria, British Columbia, which change position in flight into a hexagonal formation and ascend into the sky. They are lost to view after 15 minutes. (Mark Rodeghier, " UFOs in Canada, 2001," IUR 26, no. 4 (Winter 2001-2002): 17)
August 17 - 9:30 p.m. An astronomer in Mitchell, Manitoba, hears loud booming sounds and runs outside to see three steady lights in triangular formation moving east to west. (Mark Rodeghier, " UFOs in Canada, 2001," IUR 26, no. 4 (Winter 2001-2002): 17)
August 20 - Dozens of passengers on the Rogalin ferry returning from Sweden to Gdansk, Poland, with 50 passengers on board watch an object 10 feet in diameter rise to the surface about 500 feet away. It approaches the boat, submerges, and maneuvers underwater. After three minutes, the ferry leaves it behind. (Poland 121-122)
August 25 - 3:27 p.m. An astronomer and others at St.-Laurent, Quebec, watch two solid-appearing objects moving slowly through the clear sky. They take some photos. (Fédération OVNI-Alerte Québec Canada, " Voici un résumé des plus récentes observations OVNI rapportées à la FOAQC à ce jour," 2001; Mark Rodeghier, " UFOs in Canada, 2001," IUR 26, no. 4 (Winter 2001-2002): 17; UFOdna, " 25 Aug 2001, St-Laurent, Quebec, Canada," 2007)
October 4-5 - Keith and Amy Rylance, along with a business partner named Petra Heller, claim a complicated abduction at their property near Gundiah, Queensland. Three different police jurisdictions are involved in the investigation, as well as the Australian UFO Research Network. The alleged events include abduction, teleportation, time distortion, aliens, "solid light," physical traces, and men in black. Bill Chalker's later assessment is that "Further enquiries indicated that the affair may have been some misguided or bizarre scientology mediated saga, which seemed more convoluted and unbelievable than the suspect UFO story. So much of the information we had gathered, some with the assistance of police, pointed towards a hoax. None of our many critical questions and queries were satisfactorily responded to. Information gathered later increased our certainty that our final conclusion was that the case was a hoax." (Bill Chalker and Diane Harrison, "The Gundiah Mackay Abduction Milieu," Australasian Ufologist 5, no. 4 (2001): 26-28; Kate Johns, "The UFO Report: I Was Abducted by Aliens," New Idea, November 17, 2001, pp. 32-35; Marcus Lowth, " The Gundiah Mackay Incident: The Abduction of Amy Rylance," UFO Insight, September 19, 2018; " Amy Rylance Talks about Her Alien Abduction Experience, Gundiah/Mackay, Australia, October 4-5, 2001," Eyes On Cinema YouTube channel, September 8, 2022; Bill Chalker, " The 2001 Gundiah Queensland UFO `Abduction' of Amy Rylance," TheOzFiles, July 31, 2024; Clark IV 1215)
November 15 - 8:00 p.m. A huge diamond-shaped UFO with an elongated bottom, a light on each end, and an orange light in the middle is seen flying toward the northwest in Boyne City, Michigan. After five minutes, it returns, heading southwest. When it's over the city, all the lights start spinning around, and the light on the right side veers off from the main body. (George A. Filer, " Filer's Files," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 405 (January 2002): 16, 18)
Mid-November or early December - The crew of a Southwest Airlines flight approaching Albuquerque, New Mexico, notices a triangular object less than 500 feet from the front of the aircraft. A flight attendant sees "bright blue pilot lights" on the object and describes it as a "flying skyscraper" made of "solid black steel." The pilot turns on the speaker to hear excited chatter about the object from air traffic control and hears that reports are coming in even from Canada. Passengers begin seeing the object as well. More than 100 people on the airliner observe the object. (Donald Burleson, "Looking Up," Roswell (N.Mex.) Daily Record, July 16, 2023)
December 11 - 8:06 p.m. Pilots of a commercial airliner flying above Craik, Saskatchewan, see lights that they think belong to another aircraft at a higher altitude, but air traffic controllers have no other aircraft on their radar. (Mark Rodeghier, " UFOs in Canada, 2001," IUR 26, no. 4 (Winter 2001-2002): 17)
2002
February 2 - 2:53 a.m. A witness is driving down a road in Clermont, Florida, when he sees a silent, bright light over Lake Minnehaha. The object passes over his car at about 15-20 feet in the air, and his engine dies. It shoots off like a slingshot and disappears. The car starts again. (National UFO Reporting Center, " NUFORC UFO Sighting 21657," February 22, 2002; Herbert S. Taylor, " An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part 1," IUR 33, no. 4 (May 2011): 18)
February 20 - 8:15 a.m. A witness aboard a cruise ship off the southern coast of Puerto Rico sees an irregularly shaped object like a cloud high in the sky. He takes a photo, then leaves to attend a meeting. Analysis indicates that the object is most likely a Tethered Aerostat Radar System airship used to provide radar data in support of the US drug interdiction program. (John P. Timmerman and Mark Rodeghier, " Snapshot from a Cruise: An Aerostat Sighting," IUR 28, no. 1 (Spring 2003): 13-14)
March 15 - 9:30 p.m. Lisa Stone is driving with her 16-year-old son when she sees a triangular object with white lights that is maneuvering around Magazine Hill, outside Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The object is massive, perhaps the size of a university football field. She drives directly underneath, and "hail" starts falling from it. The object does a figure eight before heading in the direction of Fall River to the northeast. (Don Ledger, " The Flying Triangle Phenomenon," IUR 27, no. 3 (Fall 2002): 7, 23)
April - Skandinavisk UFO Information begins publishing UFO-Mail in Ringsted, Denmark. ( UFO-Mail, no. 1 (April 2, 2002))
Summer - Two men see an object over Mosinee, Wisconsin, that shines a straight, 5-foot-wide beam of light on the Wisconsin River like a searchlight. The beam does not change shape as the object goes higher above the water. (Carl W. Feindt, " Beam of Light into a Body of Water," IUR 33, no. 3 (December 2010): 23
July 26 - 1:00-1:55 a.m. Near Andrews AFB, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C., independent witnesses 8 miles apart become aware of unusual and persistent aircraft activity. In both locations, witnesses see odd lights or objects pursued by one military jet. Two pairs of fighters take off from Andrews at 1:00 a.m., remain airborne for 50 minutes, fly at low altitude using afterburners over residential areas, and pursue an unidentifiable light on three occasions. Gary Dillman, working late shift at a sand-and-gravel operation in Brandywine, Maryland, sees the first two fighters at 1:00 a.m., then at 1:30 a.m. and 1:40 a.m. he sees a glowing, round, hard-edged orange object that one of the fighters is chasing. The pursuit takes place between broken clouds at about 4,000 feet and a light overcast at about 6,000 feet; the unknown object and fighter are about 1-2 miles away. In Waldorf, Maryland, around 1:35 a.m. Renny Rogers feels the walls of his home rattling from a low-flying aircraft and goes out to see a single jet fighter. At 1:40 a.m., he sees a bright, pale-bluish light in the north-northeast moving at a high rate of speed. He calls a neighbor to come watch the display. Soon a fighter comes over his house in obvious pursuit of the light and about 1,000-2,000 feet behind it. The four fighters return to base around 1:50 a.m. (Kenny Young, " UFO Violates D.C. Airspace," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 413 (September 2002): 11; Joan Woodward, " The Washington, D.C., Jet Chase of July 26, 2002," IUR 27, no. 4 (Winter 2002-2003): 3-7, 22-25; Good Need, pp. 394-396)
August 7 - A circular, bright-metallic object about 3 feet in diameter touches ground near Prinos, Trikala, Greece, and leaves a series of small circular, square, and triangular depressions, all arranged in a spiral, similar to a circle with an opening or a capital G. The eyewitnesses, who are on the field when the landing takes place, hide behind their vehicle and watch as a door opens and three short beings emerge from the object carrying a drill-like instrument. They pick up some dirt with the device and return to their craft, which then takes off. The witnesses identify the creatures as Maimounia (leprechauns). (Orestis Lazanakis, " UAP in Greece," UAP Check, July 27, 2024)
September 6 - 10:00 p.m. Police on patrol in Sampacho, Cordoba, Argentina, receive an alert on their car radio about several UFOs above the Cerro Sampacho. They appear to be silently hovering at an altitude of 5,000 feet. (" Argentinsk politi ser åtte UFOer," UFO-nytt, 2002, no. 2, p. 21; " UFOs Seen in Argentina," IUR 27, no. 2 (Summer 2002): 4)
October 23 - 7:40 p.m. Pilot Thomas J. Preziose takes off from Mobile, Alabama, in a Cessna 208B single-engine cargo plane en route to Montgomery. Six minutes later, he collides with an unknown object at 3,000 feet and descends uncontrolled into swampy water in the Big Bateau Bay in Spanish Fort, Alabama. The pilot's final words are: "Night Ship 282, I needed to deviate, I needed to deviate." A strange red residue ("transfer marks") is found coating at least 14 different areas of the downed airplane that are widely separated in location both inside and outside the aircraft. The engine block has been split. The final NTSB report indicates that the accident is caused by pilot disorientation. However, an independent investigation finds numerous discrepancies with regard to both the FAA documentation and the NTSB investigation. The composition of the red residue is variously found to be tere- and isophthalate polymer with possible presence of inorganic silicate compounds; and epoxy material with some inorganic silicate filters. (Joe Danborn, " Cessna Collided with `Unknown Object,' Says NTSB," Mobile (Ala.) Register, April 14, 2004; " NTSB: `Collision with Unknown Object' Killed Mobile Pilot," Aero News Network, April 15, 2004; Mike Ahlers, " Plane's Wreckage Puzzles Investigators," CNN, May 22, 2004; " NTSB Solves Riddle of `02 Small-Plane Crash," Washington Post, January 11, 2006; " `Red Marks' Confound Accident Investigators," Aviation International News, July 24, 2007; Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives, " Crash of a Cessna 208B Super Cargomaster off Mobile: 1 Killed"; Kean, pp. 61-62; Aviation Safety Network, [ incident summary]; National Transportation Safety Board, [ Project Summary, ATL-03-FA-008], April 22, 2014; " Night Ship 282 Cockpit Voice Recording," dontbesojumpy YouTube channel, August 5, 2015; " Cessna Collides with UFO in Alabama: The Preziose UFO Crash," Paralopedia YouTube channel, May 26, 2016; Marcus Lowth, " Just What Did Happen to Tom Preziose? Contact, or Cover-Up?" UFO Insight, November 8, 2017; " Mysteries and Oddities: The Mystery of What Impacted Night Ship 282 and Caused It to Crash," williamdefalco YouTube channel, March 29, 2022)
November - British hacker Gary McKinnon is indicted in a US District Court for hacking into US Army and NASA computers over the previous two years. McKinnon has admitted in many public statements that he obtained unauthorized access to computer systems in the US including those mentioned in the indictment. He states his motivation, drawn from a statement made before the Washington Press Club on May 9, 2001, by the Disclosure Project, was to find evidence of UFOs, antigravity technology, and the suppression of "free energy," all of which he claims to have proven through his actions. McKinnon claims an image held at the Johnson Space Center's Building 8 shows a "cigar shaped" object floating above the northern hemisphere in low-Earth orbit. McKinnon also states he found an Excel document on a NASA server titled "non-terrestrial officers" that has the ranks and names of unknown USAF personnel. The United States initiates extradition proceedings against McKinnon, but they are blocked by the British government on October 16, 2012, because McKinnon has Asperger's syndrome and suffers from depression. On December 14, 2012, the British government declines to prosecute McKinnon because of the difficulties involved in bringing a case against him and the likelihood he would be acquitted of any charge. ( United States of America v. Gary McKinnon, in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Indictment, November 2002 Term, at Alexandria; " Hacker Fears `UFO Cover-Up,'" BBC News, May 5, 2006; Nigel Watson, "` UFO Hacker' Tells What He Found," Wired, June 21, 2006; " Gary McKinnon Extradition to US Blocked by Theresa May," BBC News, October 16, 2012; " Gary McKinnon Will Face No Charges in UK," The Guardian (UK), December 14, 2012)
November 28 - Night. Two policemen in Buenos Aires, Argentina, see a large light maneuvering in the sky and emitting colored sparks before it approaches their patrol car. The light reverses its course, and the engine and headlights fail. About 30 minutes later, the object moves away, the car starts again, and the siren suddenly comes on. The UFO paces them to one side before it finally disappears. Five police cars are involved in the incident. (Herbert S. Taylor, " An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part 1," IUR 33, no. 4 (May 2011): 20)
December 26 - Roswell, New Mexico, witness Walter G. Haut signs an affidavit that asserts he had seen bodies recovered from the 1947 crash in a temporary morgue at Roswell Army Air Field. Haut dies December 15, 2005, and the affidavit is released by his family. (Thomas J. Carey and Donald R. Schmitt, Witness to Roswell: Unmasking the Government's Biggest Cover-Up, New Page, 2007, pp. 215-217)
2003
January 10 - 4:45 a.m. A witness in Lockport, New York, opens the window and sees a pulsating light hovering in the distance. It is flashing white, red, and yellow but is perfectly stationary. After 7 minutes, the light becomes very bright, dims out with a reddish hue, and winks out. (" New York Pulsating Object and Five Discs," Filer's Files, #5-2003, January 28, 2003; Covert 57)
January 31 - 10:30 p.m. Two witnesses in Villeneuve, Alberta, watch a large white object described as "two saucers rim to rim" move slowly through a farmyard and over some houses, then out of sight. (Mark Rodeghier, " UFOs in Canada, 2003," IUR 28, no. 3 (Fall 2003): 13)
February 25 - 7:30 p.m. A witness in downtown Bremerton, Washington, looks up and sees a triangular object with a light at each point flying silently over Naval Submarine Base Bangor [now Naval Base Kitsap] on the Kitsap Peninsula, Washington, at an altitude of 800-1,000 feet. (" Sighting Report," National UFO Reporting Center, March 4, 2003; Nukes 499)
March 3 - 7:55 a.m. The driver and passenger of a truck traveling along a highway in Houston, British Columbia, watch as a silver object the size and shape of an Airstream trailer flies alongside them, then zooms away. (National UFO Reporting Center, " NUFORC UFO Sighting 28024," March 21, 2003; Mark Rodeghier, " UFOs in Canada, 2003," IUR 28, no. 3 (Fall 2003): 13)
April - 2:30 a.m. Some Air Force security policemen for Area 2, a weapons storage area of the Nevada Test Site [now the Nevada National Security Site], are having a meal outside when they notice a red glow at their feet. The light is coming from a giant sphere perhaps 100 feet across approaching them from the south. By the time they notice it, the reddish-orange object has passed silently overhead at about 75 feet altitude in a few seconds. Apparently, it projects a zone of silence and exerts a zone of pressure directly below it, causing the guards' ears to pop. It disappears over some mountains to the north, where it apparently explodes in a burst of white light with no sound or shockwave. Building in intensity, the explosion keeps growing until it is painful to perceive through closed eyes, then quickly dies down. The light effects last for 5 seconds. The security controller orders all outside units to search for the downed object. They look until 7:00 a.m. but find nothing. (Nukes 512-515)
May 3 - 3:30 a.m. A man sitting on his back porch in North Richland Hills, Texas, looks out at the horse pasture behind his home. Suddenly, he hears loud squealing and what sounds like horses kicking a metal sheet, along with distant dogs barking. As he strains to look toward the horse shed, an eerie silence falls over the area, making him uneasy. Stepping off the porch, he hears a low whirring sound. A beam of light flashes onto the ground in the middle of the pasture, coming from a black craft hovering about 100 feet above the ground. The craft emits flashes of light from a pod on its right end and has a multicolored mist or heated gas beneath it. On the left side, a red rectangular window reveals movement inside. As he watches, he suddenly feels sick. The craft, about 50 feet long, has a dull blue light on top. After five minutes, the whirring fades, and the craft hovers silently for two more seconds before shooting straight up and disappearing without a sound. He then notices that the electrical power in the neighborhood appears to be out. (National UFO Reporting Center, " NUFORC UFO Sighting 28668," May 9, 2003)
June 5 - 4:45 p.m. Shortly after TAM Flight 3287 takes off from Palmas-Brigadeiro Lysias Rodrigues Airport in Palmas, Brazil, to Brasilia, air traffic control asks the pilot if he can see any other aircraft near his plane. He cannot, but ground control says there is another object in his flight area. When they are over Palmas, the copilot sees a gigantic object on the right side of the plane. It is metallic and surrounded by bright multicolored lights. It flies as if it is sliding with no friction. The UFO follows the aircraft for almost an hour before moving away. (Clark III 203-205; Brazil 548; Clark IV 242, 244)
July 28 - 12:45 a.m. Hundreds of witnesses see a large, white, moon-shaped object flying over the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, zigzagging from northwest to southeast and changing direction in some cases to move over local mountains and drop into valleys. At 1:00 a.m., a beam of white light arches across the sky from horizon to horizon and persisting until at least 2:00 a.m. Dubbed the "Okanagan Arch," the beam is seen from Kamloops to Jaffray. (Chris Rutkowski and Geoff Dittman, The Canadian UFO Report, Dundurn Press, 2006, pp. 207-209)
August 6 - 12:32 a.m. Three witnesses in North Bay, Ontario, watch as a gray, cigar-shaped object, stationary in the sky, becomes "wavy" and then suddenly disappears from view after 5 minutes. (Mark Rodeghier, " UFOs in Canada, 2003," IUR 28, no. 3 (Fall 2003): 13)
August 11 - 6:00 p.m. Diana Luca and her mother are chatting at the kitchen table in her home in New Westminster, British Columbia. Out of the corner of her eye, Luca spots a black object behind the trees in the back alley. The two step out on the patio for a better look and see a UFO flying behind the trees and over the top of the shorter ones. The object, flat and shaped like a Frisbee, flips on its underside, which is as red and shiny as a Coke can. She calls her husband, Mark Murphy, who is inside. By the time he gets to the porch, the UFO looks cigar-shaped and is an estimated 1.8 miles away. Murphy rushes inside to get a camcorder and gets the rest of the sighting on tape. (" B.C. Sighting," IUR 28, no. 3 (Fall 2003): 27; " UFOs over British Columbia," Vancouver (B.C.) Courier, March 15, 2004)
October 14 - 8:45 a.m. Three Boeing contractors are working near one of the launch facilities at Vandenberg Air Force Base [now Vandenberg Space Force Base] in Santa Barbara County, California, when they notice a red, silent, 300-feet-square object approach the area from the ocean and hover at low altitude near Launch Pad 21. It remains for 45 seconds before darting off over the mountains. A similar square object returns to the base after sunset and approaches the entry control point at high speed, terrorizing some of the security guards before it speeds away. (Callie Fausey, " Big, Red UFO Hovered over Vandenberg in 2003, Congressional Witness Testifies," Santa Barbara (Calif.) Independent, August 1, 2023; " Air Force Officer Breaks Silence over `Red, Glowing' UFO Sighting: This Is Not a Joke,'" The Independent (UK), November 10, 2023; Stephan Buendia, " Vandenberg's `Red Square,'" UAP Check, November 10, 2023)
November 21 - 4:37 a.m. Robert Williams goes to the back door of his home in Deerfield Township, Livingston County, Michigan, for a smoke when he notices an extremely bright light hovering about 50-60 feet above Bennett Lake. He watches it for about 2 minutes then goes to get his mother Christine to look at it as well. It is about 1,800 feet away and just below the treeline. After another 3 minutes it begins moving slowly closer to them. Gradually it passes them and they can see a definite disc shape with white lights around the perimeter and blue lights around the bottom. (" Witnesses Report Unusual Object over Bennett Lake, Michigan," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 437 (September 2004): 9-10; Covert 69)
December 8 - 8:45 p.m. An unusual white, oval object with a ring of blue lights hovers above a house in Houston, British Columbia, dropping sparks. It then flies steadily toward the mountains and is lost to sight. (Mark Rodeghier, " UFOs in Canada, 2003," IUR 28, no. 3 (Fall 2003): 14)
December 24 - 1:00 p.m. Three people in Airdrie, Alberta, watch a chrome-colored "marble" hanging motionless in the sky. After about 15 seconds, it vanishes without a trace. (Mark Rodeghier, " UFOs in Canada, 2003," IUR 28, no. 3 (Fall 2003): 14)
2004
Afternoon. A Brazilian pilot flying an ATR 42-300 twin turboprop airliner has a near-miss with a luminous sphere near the Sao Paulo-Congonhas Airport, Brazil. The encounter lasts 14 minutes. (Richard F. Haines, " Near Miss with UAP near Sao Paulo Airport," IUR 32, no. 3 (July 2009): 9-18, 23-24; Robert J. Durant, " Commentary on the Sao Paolo Near Miss," IUR 32, no. 3 (July 2009): 19-20)
January 4 - 8:30 p.m. An Aer Lingus Boeing 737 with 135 people on board is about 2 miles off the east coast of Ireland approaching Dublin Airport. It is being followed in for landing on Runway 10 by a British Midland Airbus A330-200 at a distance of 6 miles. Both are at an altitude of 3,000 feet and moving at 287 mph. As the 737 approaches Slane, the A330 crew observes unidentified traffic take off vertically from a field. The object has bright strobe lights and is triangular in shape. It begins to circle the 737, which experiences a power drain. The A330 sees a purplish glow surround the 737, whose captain requests a course change to avoid the object, which is passing in front of the airliner. The UFO angles to the port side and the 737 experiences a huge wake turbulence and an increase in outside air temperature to 327° F. for about 15 seconds. The A330 also feels the turbulence, and the UFO heads southeast at great speed. When the 737 lands, the crew cannot raise the speed brakes on the wings, which are found to be damaged, as if dented by a hammer. There is also aircraft skin damage and hydraulic damage to the brakes caused by the UFO wake. (Dermot Butler and Carl Nally, Conspiracy of Silence: UFOs in Ireland, Mercier, 2006, pp. 41-42; Good Need, pp. 406-410)
January 4 - 10:30 p.m. Another Airbus 330-200 is approaching the east coast of Ireland, bound for Dublin Airport, when the crew sees a flashing strobe light over Slane, County Meath. As the aircraft throttles back to 265 mph at 2,500 feet, the UFO takes on a triangular shape, passes in front of the plane, and gives off a bright flashing light. The UFO begins circling the Airbus in an aggressive manner. The crew expects a collision with the object, which is about 360 feet wide. The interior lights dim (power drain) and the encounter continues for 8-10 minutes as passengers watch. At one point, wake turbulence from the UFO triggers the wind shear warning device. Other aircraft in the vicinity are watching the encounter and listening in to radio transmissions. Just 2 minutes before landing, the UFO shoots away to the southeast. (Dermot Butler and Carl Nally, Conspiracy of Silence: UFOs in Ireland, Mercier, 2006, pp. 42-43; Good Need, pp. 407-410)
February 10 - Raymond Mulhall and seven other witnesses in Meanwood, Leeds, England, watch an object descending silently. It is about 50 feet in diameter and 18 feet thick. It appears to land in an area called the "Witches Quarry." They find damaged trees and three triangular imprint marks, 25 feet apart. They can feel heat rising from the soil. (Ted Phillips, " Physical Traces," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 462 (October 2006): 18; Covert 26)
March 5 - Mexican Air Force pilots flying a C-26A Metroliner using infrared equipment to search for drug-smuggling aircraft record 11 unidentified objects on infrared video and radar near Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche, Mexico. The objects are not visible to the crew. Secretary of Defense Gen. Gerardo Clemente Vega issues a press release on May 12 accompanied by videotape that shows moving bright lights at 11,500 feet. Mexican journalist Jaime Maussan interprets the videotape as "proof of alien visitation," but science writer and skeptic Michael Shermer is critical of witness accounts that vary wildly, saying, "it was like a fisherman's tale, growing with each retelling," while NARCAP suggests the lights are most likely burn-off flares on offshore oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. (Mark Rodeghier, " Special Failures Down Mexico Way," IUR 28, no. 4 (Winter 2003-2004): 12-13, 28; " Mexican Air Force Films UFOs," Wired, May 12, 2004; Dwight Connelly, " Unique Mexican Encounter," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 434 (June 2004): 4-5; " NARCAP Statement on the Mexican FLIR Case," IUR 29, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 17; Robert Sheaffer, " The Campeche, Mexico `Infrared UFO' Video," Skeptical Inquirer 28, no. 5 (Sept./Oct. 2004): 36-40; " Leaked UFO Military Footage: Mexican Air Force Chasing Alien Sighting Leaked Video in Mexico," Modi Elnadi YouTube channel, June 30, 2006; Alejandro Franz, " Mexican Air Force FLIR's video lights are not UFO's, Part II," Alcione.com, August 16, 2009; " Mexican UFOs Identified," Cap. Alejandro Franz YouTube channel, August 7, 2010; " Ben McGee Debunks Mexican Military FLIR Footage," NationalAtomicMuseum YouTube channel, October 2, 2014; Alejandro Rojas, "Famous Mexican UFO Video Debunked by TV Host," Open Minds, October 2, 2014; " 2004 Mexican Air Force FLIR's Video Lights Are Not UFO's," Cap. Alejandro Franz YouTube channel, February 20, 2018)
April 30 - 10:25 p.m. A witness is traveling west on Oak Tree Road in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey, when he notices a jet-black cylindrical object floating northeast at a height of less than 1,000 feet. He estimates it is about 75 feet in length. It crosses in front of him above Wood Avenue, changes to a V shape and speeds up in that direction. Two small spheres are attached to it at each end. (George Filer, " New Jersey Shape Changer," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 434 (June 2004): 14; Covert 54, 71)
Summer - Two security guards at a glass factory in Czestochowa, Poland, watch a large, oblong- shaped object with two bright yellow lights on both ends fly 90 feet above their guard post. (Poland 110)
June 13 - 11:00 p.m. A couple and their two cousins in Sandy, Utah, see a transparent triangular object fly silently above them. It seems fuzzy on the edges. It only takes 2 seconds to disappear behind some trees. A smaller triangle appears, headed southeast. It looks like two shaded triangles that are somehow linked. (" Our UFO Sighting: The Story," Underground Vine, June 13, 2004; " Utah: Two Transparent Triangles," Filer's Files, #27-2004, June 23, 2004; Covert 55)
July 23 - 10:15 p.m. A husband and wife and two teenage children are driving on US Highway 10 between Mondovi and Durand, Wisconsin, when they notice strange red lights above a field to the south. When they turn the car around, a triangular object passes slowly above their car at about 300 feet. It is black and gray with three white lights underneath. They watch it until it disappears behind some trees. (" Double Sightings of Lights and Triangle Reported by Wisconsin Family," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 439 (November 2004): 3; Covert 41)
August 28 - 10:11 p.m. A circular metallic UFO the size of an airliner is seen above the Pemex oil storage and distribution terminal in Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico. It is accompanied by six luminous spheres at an altitude of about 3,300 feet. The larger craft performs erratic maneuvers at high speed. (El Universal (Mexico City), August 29, 2004; " Recent UFO Reports," IUR 29, no. 1 (Spring 2004): 25; " Mexico: Six UFOs Reported over Tapachula (2004)," Inexplicata: The Journal of Hispanic Ufology, December 2, 2023)
September 16 - 9:00 p.m. Brian Junkin, Chuck Martin, and three children in Poulsbo, Washington, watch a multicolored light move erratically for 10 minutes about 500-1,000 feet above the canal adjacent to Naval Base Kitsap on the Kitsap Peninsula. The light keeps changing colors from green to red to orange. Flashes of light also come from what appear to be corners of an underlying object. Another light comes speeding in from the north on a straight course and stops close to the first light, which continues to dance around. Suddenly, both lights blink out at the same time. (" Sighting Report," National UFO Reporting Center, September 29, 2004; Nukes 499-502)
October 28 - Night. An Iranian Air Force F-14 is on combat air patrol near the heavy water reactor near Khondab, Iran, when it picks up an unidentified target at a distance of 50 miles away that is making rapid changes in altitude, heading, and speed. The pilot is ordered to bank toward the target after regional command receives a visual confirmation from an Arak Air Defense Group observer. Approaching at 22,000 feet, the pilot spots the target at 5,000 feet. The object is spherical and has a green halo surrounding it and a green light on its tail end. When the pilot turns toward the light, it disappears then reappears a few miles away, apparently moving at a speed of Mach 7 or greater. The F-14 is ordered to turn all lights off and descend to pursue the target. At 7,800 feet the target disappears again, but after the F-14 makes a turn at 7,000 feet, it picks up the target again and flies 2,000 feet below it. The F-14 arms its weapons and the pilot requests clearance to engage the object. Every time the radar officer attempts to lock on the object, the radio, radar, and other instruments become jammed. Finally, the F-14 ascends to 19,000 feet because it is low on fuel and spots the object one last time at low altitude. The pilot returns to the 8th Predator Tactical Fighter Base in Isfahan. (Air Forces Monthly, December 18, 2017; " Iran UFO Reports Revealed," Key Aero, December 18, 2017)
November 10 - Navy Chief Petty Officer Kevin Day, stationed on the guided missile cruiser USS Princeton, notices the clear radar traces of 8-10 objects traveling southwards in a loose though fixed formation at 28,000 feet in the immediate vicinity of Catalina and San Clemente islands, California. He is startled by their slow speed of 120 mph but receives confirmation of their presence from radar operators on other vessels. Regular observations are made of a similar number of objects over the following six days. The objects are also faintly detected by an E-2C Hawkeye plane after Princeton sends them coordinates. (" No One Seemed to Believe Me, Ep. 2 Clip, UFO," Showtime 2021; Kevin H. Knuth, Robert M. Powell, and Peter A. Reali, " Estimating Flight Characteristics of Anomalous Unidentified Aerial Vehicles," Entropy 21, no. 10 (October 2019); Clark IV 1277)
December 11 - 3:00 a.m. A woman wakes up in her home in Mount Holly, New Jersey, and sees two red basketball-sized lights floating in the corner of the bedroom. A third red plasma disc about 12 inches in diameter enters the room and hovers above her sleeping husband. It remains about a minute and flies outside through the wall. (" New Jersey: Miniature UFO," Filer's Files, #3-2005, April 12, 2005; Covert 56)
2005
January 31 - 10:00 p.m. Two men ice fishing at Columbia City, Indiana, encounter a large triangle above the east end of the pond. It crosses the frozen water at a low altitude, then hovers for some seconds before rising silently upward, leaving a trail of steam from the surface of the ice. The men try to call the local sheriff, but their cellphones are dead, as is their electrical fish locater. After the object disappears, they find a two-inch hole in the ice where the object had hovered. (Jenny Randles, "UFOcal Points," Fortean Times 196 (June 2005): 28)
February 7 - 2:00 a.m. In the farming area of El Paraiso, Mar del Plata, Argentina, a resident hears a noise like a strong wind or turbine and sees two misty yellow lights drifting above a copse of trees and climbing slowly. Other witnesses hear and see the phenomena, and others are wakened by their farm animals going crazy and dogs howling as if in pain. At dawn, two circular marks are found near the copse. Police forensic experts take samples of an ash-like deposit that leaves a greasy smear when touched. Meanwhile, the daughter of one of the locals involved is having nightmares about a UFO trying to catch her. (Jenny Randles, "UFOcal Points," Fortean Times 196 (June 2005): 28)
April 27 - Late morning. Air traffic radar detects an unidentified target in restricted air space near Ronald Reagan Washington International Airport in Arlington, Virginia, causing President George W. Bush to be taken to a bunker and Vice President Dick Cheney to be evacuated to safety. The target gets within 7 miles of the airport, then vanishes. Although it is not identified, officials argue it is caused by a radar anomaly. (" Radar Blip Causes White House Security Scare," Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, April 28, 2005, p. 10)
May 1 - Night. A biotechnologist and his daughter are driving on the Central Oregon Highway about 50 miles southeast of Bend, Oregon. They notice three bright blue objects zigzagging around each other about 300 feet away above a field. Suddenly two of the lights move toward them and through their vehicle. One passes through the windshield and passes through a window. The second passes through the man's left arm and upper body, exiting his right arm. He feels a bit hazy, but notices the light is spherical and about the size of a softball. Still driving, the man feels nauseous and scared. The next 45 minutes into Bend seems like 3 hours. Days later, he develops a red rash on the left side of his face and loses some hair on that side. His ankles swell, and he loses some sight and hearing on the left. In the next few weeks, he gains about 50 pounds (although exercising and dieting) and sleeps a lot. In February 2007 he is diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in his left chest, a pre-cancerous condition, and undergoes surgery in May, his health gradually improving by the end of 2008. (Skinwalkers 70-75)
June 19 - 3:10 p.m. Three witnesses in Silverdale, Washington, see a black, rectangular object fly silently in a straight line and constant speed from south to north almost directly above the town. (" Sighting Report," National UFO Reporting Center, June 20, 2005; Nukes 502-503)
July 5 - 8:50 p.m. A woman is driving home from a fishing trip at Sargent, Texas, on FM2611 when her lights blink twice and the engine goes dead. She gets out of the car to check the battery cables, and sees a bright bluish glow lighting up a wooded area across the highway. The light gets brighter and moves upward through the trees. The outer edges of the light seem to vibrate or tremble slightly. The higher it goes the faster it gets until it disappears. The car starts right up afterward. (Herbert S. Taylor, " An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part 1," IUR 33, no. 4 (May 2011): 18; Covert 72-73)
Late July - 7:30 p.m. Just as an airliner is making its final approach to the Santa Rosa Airport, La Pampa province, Argentina, the airport control tower operator notices an unknown, luminous object moving slowly and parallel to the aircraft. The flight plan operator is alerted, and they both watch the UFO stop, emit a brilliant flash of blue-white light, move again, emit another flash, and vanish. The airliner crew does not see the UFO. (Good Need, p. 411)
August 27 - 8:45 p.m. Dennis Speed is outdoors at his home in Lenah Valley, Tasmania, when he sees a formation of six orange lights approaching from the north. They are the size of bright stars and are moving slowly below the cloud level. Suddenly, they scatter about 1,650 feet apart, and a white aura appears in the sky around them. He watches them for 15 minutes. Up to 9 oranges UFOs are seen elsewhere in Hobart. ("Orange UFOs over Hobart," IUR 31, no. 2 (June 2007): 18)
September 17 - 10:30 a.m. A man is at his home on 31st Avenue in Peoria, Arizona, when he sees a bright object approaching from the east. Seven other objects appear around it, staying in the same spot for about 15 minutes, then moving to the left quickly. They go higher, moving left to right and right to left, almost hitting each other. They are completely silent. (Joseph Trainor, " Seven Spherical UFOs Seen in Peoria, Arizona," UFO Roundup 10, no. 39 (September 28, 2005); " Spherical UFOs in Arizona," IUR 30, no. 1 (October 2005): 32)
September 20 - Attorney and Army Reserves Brig. Gen. Stephen Lovekin, who had worked for the Army Signal Corps in the 1950s and early 1960s, speaks with writer Peter Janney about the extraterrestrial presence on Earth and the official coverup. He claims that in 1995 he attended a conference on the Strategic Defense Initiative in Monterrey, Mexico, that included high-level US and Russian participants. The purpose of SDI is to protect both countries from incursions by UFOs, he alleges. (Dolan II 289)
October - Cognitive psychologist Susan Clancy publishes Abducted: How People Came to Believe They Were Kidnapped by Aliens, in which she describes her psychological testing of a sample of abductees. These tests reveal a propensity for false memories and magical ideation, making abductees more likely than average to imagine, be led by investigators, and integrate cultural scripts like the abduction story into memory. Clancy demonstrates that alien abduction stories give people meaning and a way to understand their own lives and circumstances. It also gives them a feeling that they are not alone in the universe. New York Times reviewer Benedict Carey's takeaway is that "in this sense, abduction memories are like transcendent religious visions, scary and yet somehow comforting and, at some personal psychological level, true." However, Clancy fails to ask her subjects about their religious beliefs. (Richard J. McNally and Susan A. Clancy, " Sleep Paralysis, Sexual Abuse, and Space Alien Abduction," Transcultural Psychiatry 42, no. 1 (March 2005): 113-122; Susan Clancy, Abducted: How People Came to Believe They Were Abducted by Aliens, Harvard University, 2005; Benedict Carey, " Explaining Those Vivid Memories of Martian Kidnappers," New York Times, August 9, 2005; Clark III 7, 27; Clark IV 21, 45)
2006
January - GEIPAN's Jacques Patenet announces that the organization will make its UFO files available to the public worldwide and placed on the CNES website. (Swords 452)
May 10 - In response to a question by MP John Hayes, Under-Secretary of State for Defence Tom Watson tells the House of Commons that "Over the last five years evidence of risk to the integrity of UK airspace from a reported unidentified flying object has been assessed on 12 occasions; in no case was there considered to be any actual risk." (Isaac Koi, " UFOs in Parliament (UK)," Isaac Koi-UFOs and Parliament, 2024)
July 13 - 11:00 p.m. A woman camping on the beach at Wicie, Poland, sees several red and blue lights maneuvering within a glow about 10 feet above the water. Then she realizes that the glow surrounds a huge metallic saucer-shaped object with lights that are turning on alternately from left to right. Her cellphone is acting crazy and she thinks the sea is roaring louder than usual. The object scares her so much that she hides in the forest nearby. (Poland 125)
August 26 - 4:00 a.m. An 18-year-old is driving east across the Orwell Bridge south of Ipswich, Suffolk, England, when she sees two spinning lights about 12 feet ahead of her. They remain in front of the car as she drives and bother her so much that she misses the A12 turnoff at Seven Hills. They are a dull color and hover just above her windshield. She drives on to Felixstowe and the lights stay with her until she turns around at the Trimley roundabout. (Norfolk Evening Star, September 13, 2006; " Strange Lights Give Driver a Fright," UFO UpDates, September 14, 2006)
September 5 - Residents of Vladivostok, Primorsky Krai, Russia, see several types of UFOs maneuvering near the city. One looks like a radiant sphere with three parts. Other witnesses report four lights. A police officer sees an object with 10 yellow lights moving around in a circular motion and hovering above the Sea of Japan at an altitude of 1-2 miles. Other smaller objects approach it, one of which explodes in a bright flare-up. The official explanation is that these are candle bombs used as aerial targets for Russian Sukhoi Su-27 fighter aircraft. (Stonehill and Mantle, Russia's USO Secrets, Flying Disk, 2020, pp. 117-118)
First week of October - 11:00 p.m. A police cruiser is on patrol along the extension of Calle 10 near the municipal cemetery of Mercedes, Buenos Aires, Argentina, when the two officers see an intense light at a low altitude to their left. They stop the car and see that the object is heading in their direction at about 600 feet altitude. The light is attached to a dark circular object with a diameter of 12-15 feet and a red light in the center. It moves slowly to the northwest then disappears. (" Difunden avistamiento de OVNI por parte de la policía en la ciudad de Mercedes," Noticias Mercedinas, October 30, 2006)
November - Many people in a village in Zhenyuan Yi, Hani and Lahu Autonomous County, southern Yunnan, China, see seven white hemispherical objects hovering directly over the property of a local Chinese Communist Party cadre for nearly two hours. They appear to keep changing shape. Many people from neighboring villages hear about the phenomenon and arrive to watch it. People try to pursue the lights, but they soon disappear. (Clark III 653)
December 13 - Fastwalkers, a documentary on NORAD's Defense Satellite Program and its detection of UFOs (fastwalkers and slowwalkers) entering the Earth's atmosphere, is released. (Internet Movie Database, " Fastwalkers"; " Military's Secret UFOs and Abductions Exposed | Fastwalkers: UFOs and Aliens on Earth | Documentary," FilmIsNow Movies YouTube channel, September 22, 2024)
2007
January 30 - Brian Tietje is driving west between Bastrop and Austin, Texas, when he sees a small object in the sky just above the treetops about 30° to his left. Within a second, the object moves to within 300 feet of his vehicle, remaining stationary for about one second at 100 feet in the air. It is shaped like a bullet and about the size of a car. A hinge or flap on its rear end drops down and it heads north at a high rate of speed, disappearing within a second. (Powell, Scientist, 68)
March 5 - 7:15 p.m. Several witnesses around Bremerton, Washington, see a steady red light above the smokestack at Naval Base Kitsap on the Kitsap Peninsula. It moves slowly north for 10 minutes, stops for 3 minutes, then suddenly dims, brightens, and disappears. (" Sighting Report," National UFO Reporting Center, March 8, 2007; Nukes 503)
March 8 - 10:30 p.m. Two hunters are driving south of National Park village near a burned area on the North Island of New Zealand when they notice a trapezoid-shaped object with four evenly spaced red-orange lights and a yellowish light below it. One of them jumps out of their pickup truck and shines a spotlight on it, but the object takes off quickly and silently to the south. (Ufocus NZ, " New Zealand UFO/UAP Sightings 2007")
March 16 - 11:00 p.m. Two witnesses in a subdivision on the outskirts of Tauranga, New Zealand, see a bus-sized, glowing, amber object moving slowly above the treetops from west to east. It appears to be rectangular or trapezoid in shape. It tilts briefly and they can see an oval shape on the top before it is lost to view in the clouds. (Ufocus NZ, " New Zealand UFO/UAP Sightings 2007")
April 6 - Night. Brian Vike is driving near North Park Lake, McCandless, Pennsylvania, with friends when he sees a strange light shining directly on the lake from high above it. They get out and walk towards the lake. Vike is able to see fish swimming beneath the surface of the lake under the beam. The object projecting the light moves away to above the trees and is only the size of a streetlight. (Brian Vike, " Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (North Park) Strange Light in the Water Then Rose Up," waterufo.net; Carl W. Feindt, " Beam of Light into a Body of Water," IUR 33, no. 3 (December 2010): 24)
July 16 - 12:52 a.m. A witness is walking a dog in Port Orchard, Washington, when an orange fireball travels from southeast to northwest for 30 seconds. It disappears in thick clouds over Green Mountain. (" Sighting Report," National UFO Reporting Center, August 7, 2007; Nukes 503-504)
September 18 - 4:30 p.m. Curt Collins is driving west from Carthage, Mississippi, on State Highway 16 when he sees about 8 faraway objects in the sky to the west. They are in a loose elliptical grouping, and some are slowly orbiting along the curve of the ellipse. The others are hovering or moving slightly in a different direction. The objects are in view until he turns left onto State Highway 25 about 60 seconds later. He suspects they might have been birds or Chinese lanterns. (Curt Collins, " Analyzing a 2007 UFO Sighting in Mississippi," Blue Blurry Lines, November 2, 2023)
October 10 - 10:40 p.m. A man sees a silver-gray disc about 70 feet wide hovering above Lake Easton, Washington, for 3-5 minutes. A beam of bright greenish light is extended from it, illuminating the lake. He sees small objects floating up to it, apparently fish. (Carl W. Feindt, " Beam of Light into a Body of Water," IUR 33, no. 3 (December 2010): 24)
October 17 - 7:00 p.m. A man is driving on Interstate 90 near Cle Elem, Washington, when he sees a bluish-gray disc hovering about 600-700 feet in the air. It bobbles slightly for about 5 minutes then disappears. (Carl W. Feindt, " Beam of Light into a Body of Water," IUR 33, no. 3 (December 2010): 24)
October 30 - Afternoon. Pilot Marin Mitrica is flying a MiG-21 LanceR fighter on a training flight from Romanian Air Force 71st Base at Câmpia Turzii, Romania, when he is suddenly hit by an unknown object. The collision breaks the plastic window covering the cockpit, punches a hole in his helmet, and wounds his face. He reduces speed and descends from his altitude of 4 miles to avoid hypoxia and hypothermia. After landing, an examination of the flight recorder shows two small triangles approaching from the right. No traces of organic matter are found on the plane, ruling out birds, and there are no other civilian or military aircraft or balloons in the area. (" A Mid Air Collision between a MiG 21 and a UFO over Romania in October 2007?" Flying Saucer Review 53, no. 1 (Spring 2008): 1; Romania 114-115)
December 14 - 6:45 p.m. Witnesses in Kingsland, Georgia, see a triangular object with a light in each corner that changes from red to blue to white, with a bright burst happening occasionally. The object moves slowly at about 500 feet altitude. (" Sighting Report," National UFO Reporting Center, March 4, 2008; Nukes 507-508)
December 29 - 9:00 p.m. Two witnesses driving near the Kitsap Mall in Silverdale, Washington, see an object with three white lights apparently hovering above Trigger Avenue near Naval Base Kitsap to the north. As they approach its location, they see that it is large, triangular and made out of reflective metal. It is silently hovering 500 feet in the air over a farm a few yards from the highway. (" Sighting Report," National UFO Reporting Center, January 21, 2008; Nukes 504-505)
2008
January 8 - 6:10 p.m. Truck driver Harlan Cowan is traveling east toward Stephenville, Texas, when he sees two stationary lights directly ahead. They are as bright as welding arcs. They split apart and move rapidly away from each other to the north and south at a high rate of speed. At 6:15 p.m., private pilot Steve Allen and three other witnesses 5 miles southeast of Stephenville see four lights similar in intensity to burning magnesium. They come out of the northeast at a speed faster than a military jet. Allen thinks the lights are spread out over a one-mile area. They slow down and remain stationary northwest of his position, then they shift from 4 lights in a horizontal position to 7 lights in a vertical position, emit a white flame, and blink out. Over 30 more witnesses come forward to report odd lights until about 9:30 p.m. Some also see fighter jets chasing the light. Angela Joiner, a reporter with the Stephenville Empire-Tribune, calls Maj. Karl Lewis, spokesman for the 301st Fighter Wing at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, who first tells her he thinks the lights are reflections of the sun on high-altitude aircraft. When she asks about military aircraft reported by witnesses, Lewis volunteers the information that there were no F-16s from his unit operating that night, and no other pilots had reported a UFO. On January 16, a FOIA request is sent to the Federal Aviation Administration for any radar data from sites around Stephenville. On January 23, the Air Force admits in a press release that there indeed were 10 F-16s performing training operations that night between 6:00 and 8:00. Joiner contacts Lewis again, who now merely reads the press statement and is not helpful. In February, responses to FOIAs by Robert Powell and Glen Schulze begin to arrive. Military bases unanimously respond with "we have found no records responsive to your request." However, the FAA releases its raw radar information in mid-February. It is clear that the unknown lights are not related to F-16 activity, but there is intense Air Force activity that night. Ten F-16s and one AWACS jet make figure-8s over the area. Two F-16s from Oklahoma fly south to the Stephenville area. FAA radar returns also show a target four miles north of Allen's sighting that moves at an apparent speed of 2,100 mph. At 7:20 p.m., two radar sites pick up a target that corresponds to Constable Lee Roy Gaitan's observation of an unknown light. Another radar track begins at 6:51 p.m. An unknown object without a transponder signal is tracked with FAA radar for more than one hour. Two different radars (one at Fort Worth and another at Temple) make contact with the object 187 times as it covers a distance of 50 miles on a constant trajectory to the southeast. Its speed varies from stationary, to accelerating to 532 mph in 30 seconds, to deaccelerating to 49 mph in 10 seconds. It is traveling on a direct course to President George W. Bush's Western White House in Crawford, Texas. At 8:00 p.m. it is 10 miles from Prairie Chapel Ranch. Two witnesses riding bicycles 2 miles away from the ranch see a light that slowly descends, makes a 90° turn, then speeds out of sight in 1-2 seconds. But no F-16s pursue this potential interloper. Skeptical researcher James McGaha concludes that the sightings were a military training operation involving the deployment of exceptionally bright LUU/2B/B flares. (NICAP, " Large Object Seen / Tracked by Radar / Near Bush Ranch"; " Stephenville 2008," Texas UFO Museum and Research Library; Angela K. Brown, " Military Reverses Itself, Says F-16s Were in Texas Area Where Residents Reported UFO," Brattleboro (Vt.) Reformer, January 23, 2008; " Over 50 Witnesses Report UFO Sighting at Stephenville, TX,"MUFON UFO Journal, no. 478 (February 2008): 3; Sally Petersen, " Update on Investigation of Stephenville, Texas Sightings," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 479 (March 2008): 3-5; Don Ledger, "Stephenville, Texas, UFOs," Fate 61, no. 3 (March 2008): 10-15; Steve Hudgeons, " Stephenville: Report of Cluster of UFO Sightings in Erath County, Texas, Nov. 2007 to Feb. 2008," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 481 (May 2008): 3-11; Michael Ray DeGroff, " A Field Investigator Relates an Unprecedented Investigation," MUFON UFO Journal, no. 481 (May 2008): 11-12; Glen Schulze and Robert Powell, " Stephenville Lights: A Comprehensive Radar and Witness Report Study Regarding the Events of January 8, 2008, 4pm to 8pm," MUFON, July 3, 2008; " MUFON Releases Report on UFO Sighting in Stephenville, Texas," Wikinews, July 18, 2008; " The Stephenville Lights: What Actually Happened," Skeptical Inquirer 33, no. 1 (January/February 2009): 56-57; Glen Schulze and Robert Powell, " Stephenville Lights: A Comprehensive Radar and Witness Report Study Regarding the Events of January 8, 2008, 4pm to 8pm," Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies, December 18, 2010; Swords 344-348; Chet Dembeck, " Triangular UFO over Stephenville, Texas, Still Evokes Claims of Government Cover-Up and Harassment," Unknown Boundaries, November 12, 2023; Covert 42, 44; Powell, Scientist, 18, 37-39; Brian Dunning, " The Stephenville Lights," Skeptoid podcast, June 11, 2024
May 5 - At the request of the Brazilian Commission of Ufologists, the office of the Deputy Chief of Legal Affairs contacts the Ministry of Defense and requests access to documents related to UFO material that is no longer classified and can be turned over to the National Archives. (Clark III 1072; Clark IV 1187)
May 14 - Witnesses near Needles, California, reportedly see an object crash. Helicopters and convoys allegedly arrive in the area in the following weeks. One ex-police officer reports speaking with an official wearing a uniform shirt that says "Nevada Test Site" and carrying a badge from the DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). A key NNSA component is the Office of Secure Transportation (OST), a special unit created to transport nuclear weapons and weapons grade material since 1975. It is never publicly revealed what crashed in the area nor what was recovered. (George Knapp, " Strange Object Crashes in Needles, Investigation Leads to Secretive Government Agency," Mystery Wire, May 14, 2020)
August 20 - 4:45 p.m. A military witness one mile outside Hrubieszów, Poland, watches a silvery isosceles triangle hovering and rotating around its axis in the west. He estimates it is 50 feet long on one side and less than 2 miles away. It flies over the area at an altitude of 330 feet. At one point it dims and literally vanishes in mid-air in a matter of seconds. (Poland 94-95)
September 16 - 10:30 p.m. A witness and his fiancée are driving north near Radomsko, Poland, when they see a black triangle with lights (apparently gas jets) at its corners slowly floating 500 feet above the road. Two of the lights are blinking and one is steady. The 30-foot-wide object has cubical protrusions on its side and a smooth bottom. It seems to be rotating at first and takes another pass over the highway at a higher altitude after doubling back. (Poland 93-94)
October 23 - 3:45 a.m. Truck driver Tim Comstock is driving on State Highway 7 north of Empire, Ohio, when he sees other drivers stopped along the side of the road. He stops his truck and sees, near the top of a hill ahead, a white light with a bit of orange inside it. He thinks it looks biological, not technological. It is the size of a large pickup truck and begins rising toward a triangle of blue lights above it, which seem to belong to one object. He takes some cellphone photos that capture both the large light and the triangle. (Linda Moulton Howe, " More Ohio Eyewitnesses See Glowing `Pod' Rise Up to Triangle," Earthfiles, December 12, 2008; Steve Hammons, " UFO in UK Resembles Texas, Ohio Sightings," Earthpages.org, February 1, 2009; Covert 69)
October 31 - 6:00 p.m. An architect in Sandomierz, Poland, sees a boomerang- or half-moon-shaped object surrounded by a mist filled with red points of light. It is silently moving northeast at tremendous speed. (Poland 92-93)
November - 9:00 p.m. A Polish woman living in Aarhus, Denmark, looks up and sees a gigantic luminous object silently heading west. It looks like it s made of glass or jelly and is surrounded by a misty illumination. (Poland 93)
November 17 - A teacher is taking his dog for a stroll in Sulejówek, Poland, when he comes across a triangular object with lights along its rounded edges and in the center. It flies directly over him. (Poland 93)
December 22 - Maj. Gen. John H. Bordelon, NORAD chief of staff, responds to Powell's request. He claims an "exhaustive search" in data files was conducted, and the Air Force "could find no tactical or technical information that would corroborate this event." He refers Powell to the National UFO Reporting Center hotline. (Swords 348, 512)
2009
Denmark and Sweden publicly release more than 15,000 UFO files each. Finland releases 300 UFO files from the years 1933 to 1979. (" Dänische Luftwaffe öffnet geheimes UFO-Archiv," grenzWissenschat-aktuell.de, January 30, 2009; " Hundreds of Official UFO Reports Released in Finland," Finnish UFO Network, November 12, 2009; Kean, p. 117)
January 5 - 8:15-9:00 p.m. Mysterious floating red lights in the sky are reported near Morristown, New Jersey. The red lights are also observed on January 26, January 29, February 7, and February 17. The events are later revealed as a hoax perpetrated by Joe Rudy and Chris Russo, who are conducting a social experiment to expose ufology as a pseudoscience and raise consciousness around the unreliability of eyewitness claims. They release five flare lights attached to helium balloons. Reports are concentrated in the towns of Hanover Township, Morristown, Morris Plains, Madison, and Florham Park. On April 7, Russo and Rudy plead guilty to charges of disorderly conduct and are sentenced to fines of $250 and 50 hours of community service. (Wikipedia, " Morristown UFO hoax"; " Cops: Flares Ignite UFO Calls," Morristown (N.J.) Daily Record, January 6, 2009, p. 3; " Little Red Lights in Morris Sky Raising a Big Stir, Questions," Morristown (N.J.) Daily Record, January 8, 2009, pp. 1, 7; " Prosecutor Probes Strange Lights," Morristown (N.J.) Daily Record, February 19, 2009, pp. 1, 7; Chris Russo and Joe Rudy, " How We Staged the Morristown UFO Hoax," eSkeptic, April 1, 2009; " Two Morris Men Face Charges in UFO Hoax," Morristown (N.J.) Daily Record, April 3, 2009, pp. 1, 7; " How We Staged the Morristown UFO Hoax, Part 1: The Setup," Skeptic YouTube channel, April 26, 2011; " How We Staged the Morristown UFO Hoax, Part 2: The Launches," Skeptic YouTube channel, April 26, 2011; " How We Staged the Morristown UFO Hoax, Part 3: The Reactions," Skeptic YouTube channel, April 26, 2011; " How We Staged a UFO Hoax | Fakes, Frauds & Scammers," VICE YouTube channel, July 26, 2021)
April 4 - 1:23 a.m. Iris Waters and her teenage son, Michael, are driving down the street near their home in Crestline, Kansas, when they see a bright orange light some 200 feet above the trees. It is about as big as a small house. They turn the car north to follow the light, but it starts moving east. She takes a quick photo with her cellphone. (Covert 128-131}
April 20 - 5:20 a.m. A witness is driving between Ranger and Chickalah, Arkansas, when she notices a light to the north, apparently above Mount Nebo. It moves closer to her car to about 100 feet, and she sees it is triangular with a light on each point. Her car starts making a rumbling noise and her cellphone is not working. She sees three metallic blue rotating lights on two sides of the object. Suddenly there is a flash and her car is illuminated. She looks back, and the object is gone. (Covert 123-126)
May 8 - 11:45 p.m. "Derek Jones" is alerted by his two dogs barking in his backyard in northern Georgia, where his 10-year-old son is camping out in a tent with a friend. He sees a large triangular object about 300 feet long with yellowish lights at each apex moving silently above him. There is a bluish-white light in the center. Behind the triangle are four small objects, two egg-shaped and two round, with bluish-white lights that change to greenish to white and back to bluish. The smaller objects dart up and down soundlessly and erratically. He attempts taking pictures of it with a camera and a videocamera, but the batteries fail in both devices. When he points a bright spotlight beam at the triangle, it responds immediately with a beam of intense bluish-white light about 2-3 feet in diameter that strikes him for about 3 seconds, causing a burning sensation. He runs back into the house, where he watches two of the smaller objects move away to the south-southwest while the other two shoot straight up. He goes to bed, but is awakened by low-flying helicopters at 2:00 a.m. Around 7:30 a.m., he is visited by two men who want to talk about his "sighting report." They are driving a black sedan, produce no identification, one of them is armed, and they behave oddly as they interview him for 30-40 minutes. After he sees the same men in the black sedan a week later, he reports the license plate to Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS), which tracks it to a Department of Homeland Security carpool. Jones experiences hair loss and general unwellness within 18 days of the incident. In October he develop lumps on his legs, groin, and back; they enlarge, multiply to 24, and become painful in February 2010. One of the lumps is diagnosed as non-malignant lymphoma, but a BAASS-contracted physician suspects Jones has undergone about 300 Grays of ionizing radiation. (Skinwalkers 99-105)
June - The Uruguayan Air Force declassifies its UFO files and makes them public, including records of 40 cases that remain unexplained, some involving military pilots. Col. Ariel Sánchez, in charge of the UFO office, says that the "Air Force does not dismiss an extraterrestrial hypothesis based on our scientific analysis." (" Uruguay Joins the Party," Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune, June 12, 2009; Kean, p. 190)
June 24 - 1:55 p.m. A package handler at Louisville International Airport in Kentucky sees a reflection in the sky from the south end of a runway. As it approaches, he sees it is a rotating object, first a cylinder, then a diamond shape. It moves over the runway in a straight line and at a steady speed about 1,500 feet high. The object stops at the end of the ramp and hovers for 30-40 seconds, then moves up into the clouds and disappears. (Roger Marsh, " Reports from Louisville and Kansas City," IUR 32, no. 3 (July 2009): 20)
July 5 - 9:20 p.m. Retired police officer Buck Scarsdale is sitting with his son Bo and girlfriend Joanna Fife on the porch of his ranch home in Lagol, Ventura County, California. They notice seven bright blue lights silently hovering several feet off the ground in the orchard about 500 feet away. They jump in a truck and drive slowly with the lights off toward the display. When they get there, the lights are gone. After returning to the house, they decide to drive back, this time with flashlights. After 10 minutes of searching on foot, they hear two loud clicks coming from some dense bushes, and three others clicks coming from different directions. They return to the house. Buck's brother Roger arrives at 10:30 p.m., and both of them return to the orchard. Just before 11:00 p.m., Roger sees a silver, gray, and blue flash as an oblong object disappears into an opening in the sky that closes quickly. On July 10, Buck, Bo, and Joanna see an intensely blue light at the northern end of the pasture. Buck and Roger approach it and watch a floating light 5 feet in diameter maneuvering for 5 minutes 900 feet away before it vanishes. Two teams of investigators sent by BAASS also see lights and orbs the rest of the month, and their camera and video equipment behaves oddly. (Skinwalkers 59-69)
August 21 - 9:40 p.m. Tomasz Skorupski sees a deep-black object in the shape of the letter M flying west to east 200 feet above the ground at 50 mph at Kowale Oleckie, Poland. He estimates it is 10 feet in length and 30 feet at the widest point. Seven dimly yellow lights are positioned on the craft, while the rest seems dark and obscures the stars on its flight path. (Poland 100)
September - Ademar José Gevaerd announces he has received a significant set of UFO-related Brazilian government documents, some of which have been classified for 80 years. The documents include details on the May 19, 1996, radar/visual cases in southern Brazil. However, Gevaerd says in an interview that tapes of the interception operations from that event have been destroyed. (Clark 572-573)
November - Sen. Harry Reid's request for Special Access Program status for the US Defense Intelligence Agency's Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program is denied by a group at the Pentagon consisting of Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III, Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Gen. James R. Clapper, special programs officer at USDI Susan Jones, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs Marcel Lettre, and Defense Intelligence Agency defense warning officer Bob Carlsberg. (Skinwalkers 92-93; Gideon Lewis-Kraus, " How the Pentagon Started Taking UFOs Seriously," The New Yorker, April 30, 2021; Clark IV 714)
November 25 - 12:15 a.m. A mental health professional is driving north on the Minisink Turnpike from Unionville to Port Jervis, New York, listening to Christmas CDs on the car's player. Coming around a bend, he sees lights in the sky about one mile away. As he comes to the next turn, he slows down to 25 mph to get a better look, but by then he is surprised to see that the five lights, blue-white-red-white-blue, are attached to a cigar-shaped object that is now almost on top of him. He stops the car on the side of the road, putting it in park with the engine running. The object is 200 feet long and rotating clockwise as it approaches slowly like a hot-air balloon. He hears a sound like a cat purring at a low frequency. Oddly, the lights do not illuminate the ground. The UFO passes overhead and his vehicle suffers a complete power failure. His cellphone is also dead. He opens the driver's door and looks up, seeing lights on the bottom of the object, which immediately blink out. The car starts again spontaneously and his cellphone boots up. (Herbert S. Taylor, " An Update on Vehicle Interference Reports, Part 1," IUR 33, no. 4 (May 2011): 20-21; Powell, Scientific, 89-90, 95; Clark IV 1219-1220)
December 9 - Night. A large beam of light is seen and photographed for 10 minutes over all of northern Norway from Trondelag in the south through all the counties further north, as well as parts of northern Sweden. The phenomenon consists of a blue beam of light with a grayish spiral emanating from one end of it. It moves from behind a mountain, stops in mid-air, and starts to spiral outwards. A similar, though less spectacular, event also occurred in Norway the month before. Both events have visual features of failed flights of Russian RSM-56 Bulava SLBM. The Russian Defense Ministry admits shortly afterward that such an event had taken place at the time on December 9. (Wikipedia, " 2009 Norwegian spiral anomaly"; Tony Spell, " Estimation of the Trajectory, Location, Size, and Altitude of the `Norway Spiral' Phenomenon," December 29, 2009)
2010
January - US Navy Petty Officer John Baughman sees a "Tic-Tac" shaped object from the flight deck of the supercarrier USS Carl Vinson off the coast of Haiti. It is a solid, white object, some 20 feet long, that darts into the water and appears to collapse on itself and disappear. (Ryan Sprague, " New Navy Witness Says He Saw a `Tic Tac' Operating Underwater," Medium: Trail of the Saucers, July 11, 2021)
February 14 - 5:17 p.m. A couple and their daughter are having a Sunday picnic near the El Yeso Reservoir in the Andes Mountains about 45 miles southeast of Santiago, Chile. The woman takes several photographs of the sky because it is "unusually pretty." Viewing the photos later on a computer monitor, they notice a reddish object on one of the frames. An analysis by Richard F. Haines shows that the object is apparently solid with several interesting surface details, including a red-and-white woven pattern with a large area of straight lines along the bottom. A portion of the object is obscured by clouds, but Haines estimates it could be as much as 200 feet in length. (Richard F. Haines, " Photoanalyses of Digital Images Taken on February 14, 2010 at 1717 Hours above the Andes Mountains in Central Chile," NARCAP IR-2, July 2, 2010)
March 8-12 - Dozens of independent witnesses in Kraków and Rzeszów, Poland, report a strange disc-shaped object of considerable size with white or red lights on its perimeter and red-green lights on its base. (Poland 104-107)
July 7 - 8:40 p.m. A UFO is seen hovering above Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport near Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. An airliner preparing for descent first notices the object and notifies the tower. Within minutes, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) closes the airport down, grounding outbound flights and diverting inbound ones to other airports. Normal operations resume an hour later. Nearby residents take photos of the UFO. One daylight photo taken earlier in the afternoon shows an object with a clear, comet-like tail; another, taken after dusk shows a glowing object emitting golden light. Another photo clearly shows an airplane with a contrail. CAAC conducts an investigation but refuses to release it publicly because there is a "military connection." MIT weapons analyst Geoffrey Forden says the most credible photo shows an arc streaking across the sky around sunset and that the most likely cause is the launch of a DF-21 missile somewhere near Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and aimed at a point somewhere in the eastern Gobi Desert. (" Flights Diverted, Delayed As UFO Detected Hovering," People's Daily Online, July 9, 2010; " UFO Forces Hangzhou Airport to Shut Down," China Central Television, July 10, 2010; " Hangzhou Light Show," Arms Control Wonk, July 12, 2010; " UFO in China's Skies Prompts Investigation," ABC News, July 14, 2010; Alexis C. Madrigal, " A UFO over China? Well, No," The Atlantic, July 19, 2010; Bill Chalker, " Chinese Airport UFO Incident Is Not an `Alien Flying Saucer' According to Combined Beijing Shanghai UFO Investigation Team," TheOzFiles, July 24, 2010; " UFOs over China? Not Quite, Analyst Says," CNN, July 20, 2010; Clark IV 1328)
August 13 - 8:00 p.m. A circle of six yellow lights appears in the sky above the Jardim Bela Vista district of Bauru, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Dentist Daniela Tamarossi and others spend more than 2 hours watching it maneuver. (Brazil 403-405)
September 27 - Researcher Robert Hastings organizes a briefing at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., that brings together former US Air Force personnel who testify to the existence of UFOs and their ability to neutralize American and Russian nuclear missiles. Those appearing include former Capt. Robert Salas, retired nuclear missile targeting officer Robert C. Jamison, and retired Col. Charles I. Halt. Several of the ex-servicemembers say that when they brought their concerns to superiors, they were told it is "top secret" or that it "didn't happen." Hastings suggests the presence of such phenomena means that aliens could be monitoring our weapons and perhaps warning us about their use. (" Ex-Air Force Personnel: UFOs Deactivated Nukes," CBS News, September 28, 2010; Robert L. Hastings, " The UFOs-Nukes Connection Press Conference," October 11, 2010; " Military Witnesses of UFOs at Nuclear Sites: National Press Club," QUFOSR YouTube channel, December 15, 2016; Nukes 511-512)
October 11 - 8:40 p.m. A man named Qiao sees two luminous objects, one small one and the other larger, over the Xincheng district of Taiyuan, Shaanxi, China. They keep circling in a regular pattern. Other luminous objects are reported above the Sanqianglu district. Soon the media hotlines are flooded with phone calls. Two luminous objects circling in the air are seen at 8:55 p.m. in the Xinhuajie district, at 9:01 p.m. near the Apparel Town area, and at 9:05 p.m. near the racetrack. When reporters arrive at the plaza of the Taiyuan Railway Station, they see a large, milky-white, luminous spot circling above the clouds with a diameter of at least 32 feet. The object first looks like a luminous spot produced by a searchlight against the clouds, but it has no obvious light beams. The object circles and moves up and down and from side to side until it disappears around 9:10 p.m. (" Chinese UFO Report Affirms Reality of Manipulative Extraterrestrial Abduction," Canadian Business Daily, September 24, 2011)
October 13 - 4:00 a.m. A village in the Qinling mountains of southern Shaanxi province, China, supposedly disappears overnight after witnesses contact news agencies to report UFOs in the area. Chinese troops allegedly cordon off the area with no explanation. A video circulates online, reportedly showing bright blue lights in the sky over the village. Subsequent reports deny a military presence in the area and attribute the story to rumor and misinformation. Other reports indicate the "disappearance" took place in 1987 and was part of a rural relocation program to alleviate poverty in the area. (" Inexplicable Disappearance of a Village in the Qinling Mountains: UFO Village Vanishing?" Before It's News, October 14, 2010; " China Qinling Mountains Village Vanishing after UFO (13/10/2010)," Marco Maia YouTube channel, October 14, 2010; " UFO Abduction of Whole Village Exposed As Rumor," People's Daily Online, October 18, 2010; Chris Saunders, "UFOs over China," Fortean Times 331 (October 2015): 31; Robert Foyle Hunwick, " China Unsolved: The Village That Vanished," SupChina, July 11, 2018; Brent Swancer, " A Mysterious Vanishing Village in China," Mysterious Universe, June 26, 2019; " Across China: Revisiting a Disappearing Village in Northwest China," Xinhua, June 17, 2020)
October 23-24 - Air Force personnel at Francis E. Warren AFB near Cheyenne, Wyoming, report seeing an enormous cigar-shaped craft maneuvering high above its missile field. The UFO appears similar to an advertising blimp but has no passenger gondola or advertising on its hull. On the same day, the missile site temporarily loses its ability to communicate with 50 of its Minuteman III nuclear missiles. The five Missile Alert Facilities affected, Alpha through Echo, are responsible for launching those ICBMs in time of war and comprise the 319th Strategic Missile Squadron. The Air Force then quickly acknowledges the problem, saying that a backup system could have launched the missiles if necessary and that the breakdown lasted only 59 minutes. But according to two missile technicians stationed at the base, the communications problem, while intermittent, lasts several hours. These confidential sources further report that the commander of the squadron sternly warns its members not to talk to journalists or researchers about "the things they may or may not have seen" in the sky near the missiles in recent months and threatens severe penalties for violating security. (NICAP, " Base `Loses' 50 Missiles"; Marc Ambinder, " Failure Shuts Down Squadron of Nuclear Missiles," The Atlantic, October 26, 2010; Robert L. Hastings, " Huge UFO Sighted near Nuclear Missiles during October 2010 Launch System Disruption," UFOs & Nukes, June 21, 2011; Nukes 515-517)
November 14 - 6:30 p.m. A swiftly moving light is seen maneuvering in the sky above Logradouro, Ceará, Brazil, apparently following witnesses, for more than 6 hours. (Brazil 407-408)
December 22 - The New Zealand Ministry of Defence releases 12 volumes of documents related to UFOs dating from 1952 to 2009. (Suzy Hansen, " Relinquishing Responsibility? Circumstances Surrounding the Release of the New Zealand MOD UFO Files 2010/2011," Ufocus.nz, 2018)
2011
February 7 - James T. Lacatski provides an in-depth briefing to Jim Bell and Sacha Mover of the Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate on the accomplishments of the AAWSAP in an attempt to transfer the program out of the Department of Defense. He recounts the BAASS investigations into UAPs and the paranormal events at the Skinwalker Ranch in Utah, as well as AAWSAP's research into advanced technologies. Lacatski works with Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) to attempt to get the BAASS-like project funded. Negotiations and presentations continue through December, but DHS is ultimately uninterested and concerned about negative publicity. (Skinwalkers 28, 142-143, 148-154)
March 11 - 2:46 p.m. A 9.0 Mw earthquake takes place with an epicenter near Honshu, Japan. Immediately after the earthquake, the electricity-producing Reactors 1, 2, and 3 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, automatically shut down their sustained fission reactions by inserting control rods in a safety procedure referred to as a SCRAM, which ends the reactors' normal running conditions, by closing down the fission reaction in a controlled manner. Because the reactors are now unable to generate power to run their own coolant pumps, emergency diesel generators come online, as designed, to power electronics and coolant systems. These operate normally until a 46-foot tsunami sweeps over the plant's seawall and destroys the generators for Reactors 1-5. Large amounts of water contaminated with radioactive isotopes are released into the Pacific Ocean during and after the disaster. (Wikipedia, " Fukushima nuclear accident")
May 6 - The Argentine Air Force creates the Comisión de Estudio de Fenómenos Aeroespaciales for the study of aerospace phenomena. Capt. Moriano Mohaupt, Air Force press spokesman, says that the commission is composed of meteorologists, air traffic controllers, pilots, and radar experts, who will look into sightings. Since 2015 it has been managed with rigor and transparency by Commodore Rubén Lianza. (" Argentina Creates UFO Commission," IUR 34, no. 1 (September 2011): 21; Milton Hourcade, " Argentina: UFO Declassification," U.A.P.S.G.-G.E.F.A.I., July 29, 2020)
June 6 - 8:00 p.m. A Mrs. Beata is walking her dog in the Baranówka neighborhood of Rzeszów, Poland. She sees an elliptical, dull metallic object crossing the sky just above the trees about 180 feet away. It is about 30-50 feet long and 15-30 feet across and completely silent. It disappears after emitting some flashes of light from its perimeter. (Poland 155-156)
August - The UK National Archives makes available its first batch of Ministry of Defence UFO files from 1985 to 1995, followed shortly afterward by files for 1997 and 1998-2000. (UK National Archives, " Briefing Document: Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs)," 2013
September 25 - 5:00 a.m. An 18-year-old girl in Baborów, Poland, is awakened by a light from a blue triangular object hovering outside her bedroom window. Its contours are outlined with white halogen-like lights and there is what looks like a hatch in its center from which a mist is emanating. She can feel the heat from the object on her face and forehead. The object departs to the west but does not disappear until 6:30 a.m. (Poland 100-101)
October 27 - 5:25 a.m. A married couple are outside their home near Sealy, Texas, looking at the stars. They notice that the star Rigel is pulsating in an unusual fashion-gradually brightening for 3 seconds, holding bright for 10 seconds, dimming to its normal brightness for 3 seconds, then holding steady for 2-3 seconds before the cycle repeats. This process repeats about five times. Suddenly the husband sees an orange-red orb, large enough to be discernible as a distinct object, appears at the 9 o'clock position some 1 to 1.5 orb-diameters away from Rigel. It disappears after 2 seconds, then after another 2 seconds, another orange-red orb appears in the 3 o'clock position of Rigel, a similar distance away. It persists for 2 seconds, then disappears. Rigel makes no more pulsations after the orb disappears. (Powell, Scientist, 57-58)
November - Out of its 1,170 fully investigated UFO cases, the French UFO agency GEIPAN shows that 22% are unidentified. (Swords 453)
November 15 - Navy Aviation Maintenance Administrator Angelo Accetta sees a triangular glowing object with white glowing points above Fleet Readiness Center West at Naval Air Station Lemoore in Lemoore Station, California. After watching the triangle travel slowly for 3 minutes, it departs at instantaneous speed and disappears. Accetta tells his superior but is laughed at and asked if he had been drinking. While on watch, Accetta allegedly sees the triangle four other times between February and October 2012, but he notices no response by the air station to the overflight. (Ryan Sprague, " Navy Serviceman Reports Five Separate Triangle UFO Incidents over Naval Air Station," Medium: On the Trail of the Saucers, June 13, 2022)
2012
Native American Andy Sixkiller Clarke writes of many abduction accounts she uncovered in her interviews with American Indians on their UFO experiences. (Andy Sixkiller Clarke, Encounters with Star People, Anomalist, 2012)
February 18 - 2:00 p.m. A father and son, both pilots, are in their propellor-driven Mooney Ovation II flying at 7,480 feet. Shortly after they cross the border of Virginia from Charlotte, North Carolina, they prepare to land in Richmond. Above Chase City, Virginia, the father unexpectedly sees a bright, glowing sphere about 30 feet in diameter flying alongside the aircraft. As the UFO begins to soar about 50 feet away from the right wing, the plane loses power. All of the electrical equipment (including the computer) suddenly turns off. A few seconds later, the plane regains all systems as the UFO swiftly shoots away at an incredible speed. (NICAP, " Aircraft Encounters UFO and E-M Effects (Case 36293)")
April 13 - Afternoon. Mihnea Mustata and other observers north of Ploiesti, Romania, watch a white, hat-shaped object passing over a field to the east at about 53 mph toward the village of Pleasa. It disappears for a few minutes and reappears in a different location. Starting at 2:28 p.m., Mustata takes several photos of the object before it disappears, accompanied by several balls of light. (Romania 80-82)
May 10 - 3:00 p.m. Workers at a warehouse in Rzeszów, Poland, see a group of spherical objects converging from various directions to a point where a large object shaped like a "screw- thread" is hovering. Two spheres fly away after maneuvering in the air. The other objects disappear (Poland 155)
May 10 - 9:30 p.m. A witness in Hermanowa, Poland, watches a light approach him until it is only 100 feet away, only 6-10 feet above his neighbor's house. An identical object, also about 1 foot in diameter, on the same flight path appears and stops in the same position above the adjacent house. After 20 seconds, it veers off at an angle of 130° and both objects fly away. (Poland 155)
Late May - Evening. Two wind-farm engineers are on top of a 4-5 story building in Mamaia-Set, Romania, when they see a large V-formation consisting of clusters of three lights approaching at high speed from the south. The formation crosses the sky in 4-5 seconds. (Romania 82-83)
June 14 - 10:00 p.m. A security guard sees a glowing white object some 40-50 feet in diameter, 1,530 feet away from his vehicle in Yuba City, California. It has three exterior blue, green, and red lights that are flashing alternately. He watches the object for 5 minutes with his night-vision- equipped binoculars as it glides slowly along the tree line, swaying from side to side, then stopping and hovering. (" MUFON Case 41298," May 18, 2013; Powell, Scientist, 47-48)
July 5 - 10:04 p.m. A security camera at a well site in the Eagle Ford Shale Field near Cotulla, Texas, snaps an image of what appears to be a 60-foot-diameter object with an array of four lights hovering above the caliche pad of an oil well. Later, in October, workers at the site report UFOs in the night sky. One of them named Xavier Garza takes a blurry video of a reddish-orange orb in the northern sky. It is possible that the photo is a blurry, open-aperture image of a truck passing by. (" Observers Think UFOs Hovered above the Eagle Ford Shale," San Antonio (Tex.) News-Express, January 12, 2013; " Cotulla 2012: Security Camera Shows UFO Hovering over South Texas Oil Field," Texas UFO Museum and Research Library)
August 1-15 - Indian Army troops deployed along the Chinese border from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradash report as many as 100 UFO sightings. The 14th Corps, which is deployed in the Kargil and Leh districts and patrols the frontier with China, sends reports to Army headquarters about sightings by an Indo-Tibetan Border Police unit in the Thakung district near lake Pangong Tso in the Himalayas. The reports describe yellowish spheres that appear to lift off from the horizon on the Chinese side and slowly traverse the sky for 3-5 hours before disappearing. The Army uses a mobile ground-based radar unit and a spectrum analyzer to verify the identity of the UFOs, but they cannot track the spheres on radar. Officials insist the objects are not Chinese drones. (" Over 100 UFOs Seen along China Border," Times of India, November 6, 2012; Dirk Vander Ploeg, " Chinese, Russian, and Indian Troops Jointly Spot UFOs," UFO Digest, March 16, 2013)
September 19 - 9:45 p.m. Jennifer Styer is driving north on Antelope Lane near Roy, Montana, when she sees two V-shaped objects to the northwest that speed silently toward her. They have orange lights on each arm and are flying in a straight line quite close to each other. Civilians in Roy notice elevated USAF security patrols and missile maintenance vans in the weeks following the overflight. (Robert L. Hastings, " UFOs Reported near Malmstrom AFB's Nuclear Missile Sites in September 2012," UFOs & Nukes, November 4, 2012)
2013
January 8 - 4:00 a.m. Two policemen in a village near Nysa, Poland, notice distant lights that appear and reappear. At one point, they stop their patrol car to observe the light, which is changing shape and radiating a number of colored lights. The light approaches them and stops a half-mile away. Small points of light break off from its base, some returning into it and others disappearing in mid-air. The primary light then gives off a stroboscopic flash of light that illuminates a large area. The officers drive away, but the light follows them. They stop again at a parking lot and see that the light is coming from a domed disc emitting dazzling yellow lights. Three blue lights are on its base. They drive off again, but the object paces them at a distance of about one mile. Both officers experience strong anxiety during the sighting, and there is a possible element of missing time. (" Opolskie: Policjanci widza UFO (08.01.13): Raport," Portal Infra, March 1, 2013; Poland 110-114)
January 12 - 8:20 p.m. A married couple pull out of their driveway in West Melbourne, Florida, to go out to dinner. As the couple drive west down their street, they see three bright lights in a row in the sky. They assume that the lights are Chinese lanterns, since they are all at or above the same elevation. As they draw closer, they realize that the lights form a single object. As the object turns, the lights are in a pyramidal shape (indicating rotation of the object that causes the three horizontal lights to appear like a pyramid). At the same time, the object bolts away at an incredible speed and disappears in a few seconds. (NICAP, " Pyramid-Shaped Object Observed by Couple")
March 5 - 5:30 p.m. A witness in the Slocina neighborhood of Rzeszów, Poland, lets her cat outside, but it panics. She looks up and sees strange lights about a quarter of a mile away. She looks through binoculars and sees that the lights are attached to an object with a cupola hovering about 650 feet above some houses in the area. It flies away to the east. (Poland 157)
April 18 - Members of the Brazilian Ufologists Commission meet with representatives of the Brazilian armed forces at the Ministry of Defense to discuss gaining access to military documents involving UFOs. Attendees determine that Navy, Army, and Air Force documents related to UFOs are to be made public, as established by the law on access to information. More than 10,000 pages of previously confidential documents are released to the public and are available at the National Archives in Brasilia and online. (Alejandro Rojas, " UFO Researchers Meet with Brazilian Ministry of Defense," OpenMinds, April 26, 2013; Thiago Luiz Ticchetti, " Momento Histórico: Ministério da Defesa recebeu ufólogos para tratar sobre extrsterrestres," Revista UFO, April 19, 2024; " Carta inédita de Gevaerd sobre a visita com Forças Armadas, autoridades governamentais e ufólogos," Revista UFO, August 17, 2024
April 25 - 9:20 p.m. An unknown object flying at a low altitude passes directly above the Rafael Hernández Airport runway in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, causing the delayed departure of a commercial aircraft. No transponder signal or other communication from the object alerts the airport tower, creating a dangerous situation with departures and arrivals. The pilots of an airborne US Customs and Border Protection De Havilland Canada Dash 8 turboprop aircraft see a pinkish or reddish light over the ocean in their vicinity, so they film the object on infrared thermal video. The object is 3-5 feet in length and its speed varies from 40 to 120 mph. The 3-minute footage shows the flight of an object that crosses into northwestern Puerto Rico from the Atlantic Ocean, traverses the space over the airport twice, then returns to the Atlantic where it apparently submerges. Its speed through the water reaches a high of 95 mph. Chemist Robert Powell and five other members of the Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies later obtain the video and subject it to a thorough analysis. Their conclusion in 2018 is that the video is the "best documentation of an unknown aerial and submerged nautical object exhibiting advanced technology" that the authors have seen. An analysis by AARO in March 2025 claims that the video actually depicts two objects, possibly sky lanterns, traveling near each other rather than a single object splitting apart. The agency states that a reconstruction of the event using Systems Toolkit modeling determined that the objects drifted at approximately 8 mph, consistent with wind speed at the time. Its report claims that what appears to be transmedium behavior is instead the result of the infrared sensor's limitations and that thermal crossover (a phenomenon in which an object's heat signature blends with the background) caused the objects to appear to vanish when they reached the ocean. (Robert Powell, et al., " 2013 Aguadilla Puerto Rico UAP: The Detailed Analysis of an Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon Captured by the Department of Homeland Security," Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies, August 15, 2018; " Limina Inaugural Symposium Day 3-Robert Powell," Society for UAP Studies YouTube channel, April 2023; Powell, Scientist, 18; All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, " Case: `The Puerto Rico Object,'" March 20, 2025; John Greenewald, " DoD Report Says Aguadilla UFO Was Just Sky Lanterns; Previous Scientific Studies Claim Otherwise," The Black Vault, March 20, 2025; Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies, " SCU Announcement on the AARO Investigation of the Aguadilla Video," April 28, 2025)
June - Researcher David Marler publishes Triangular UFOs, an evaluation of hundreds of reports of delta-shaped UFOs seen worldwide. Marler assesses whether these represent an extraterrestrial UFO visitation or a secret project developed by one or more governments. (David Marler, Triangular UFOs: An Estimate of the Situation, Richard Dolan Press, 2013)
June 21 - The UK National Archives releases another batch of 209 UFO files, approximately 52,000 pages, covering 2009. The full set of files show that the Ministry of Defence received an average of 150 sightings annually from 2000 to 2007, increasing to 643 in 2009. This is supposed to be the final batch, but more files are discovered later. (" Britain's Defense Ministry Releases Its Final UFO Files," USA Today, June 21, 2013; UK National Archives, " Briefing Document: Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs)," 2013)
July 15 - 10:00 p.m. A 60-year-old postal worker and his wife see a rectangular-shaped object maneuver through the sky and come within 100 feet of them in Bellingham, Washington. It executes precise turns that avoid electrical poles, wires, and streetlights. The object's color changes from a glowing red to a dull gray as it performs a banking turn and comes to a standstill. The color change is not uniform because it begins at the top of the object and moves downward. The object appears about the size of a large SUV, and at its closest approach it is about palm-width in size at arm's length. The wife sees it as tumbling along its central axis. (NICAP, " Rectangular Object Viewed at 100'"; Powell, Scientist, 49)
August 28 - 9:40 p.m. A scientist is in the back seat of a Dodge 4 x 4 truck with two companions after a day of hunting in a remote area of south-central Ontario. He notices some odd lights in the distance flying low over the trees. The lights silently begin to approach the truck, and he asks the driver to stop. He takes out a Sony Cybershot camera to attempt to take a video, but every time he turns it on it immediately powers off. Soon the lights are close and they can see they are attached to two large discs connected by a bar. The lights are revolving around each circular end in opposite directions. The scientist uses triangulation to estimate its size as 170 feet long and as tall as a house. Dark bands encircle the discs on each end. It is so close that they could hit it with a rock, but it is moving completely silently at 15-20 mph. It has a tail of sparkles or fire coming about 150 feet from its rear end. The object is covered 12-16 inches in a deep shade of indigo blue plasma. The scientist has no success taking a photo with his Motorola Droid phone, as it acts as though it is booting up. He spends a few minutes observing the object through the scope of his hunting rifle. He can see no rivets or hardware on the surface. As it moves away, he finds that he can turn the Sony camera on; he takes a video of the object, but the screen remains black. During the recording, they see a fast-moving object flash across the sky, apparently the barbell-shaped object departing. The Motorola radio is dead and they find later that it is permanently damaged. The Sony camera recording has some odd properties, including electrical interference patterns on each RGB channel. The Sony footage is tested on an oscilloscope, which shows that the pulses of interference match the revolution of the UFO's lights at roughly one-second intervals. The primary witness owns a company that receives Department of Defense contracts and he puts together a 17-page report and a video on the sighting. He describes the interference as a "polyphasing of two immense high-frequency alternating current fields polarized differently." (" The Ontario Barbells: DoD Contractor Sees Unidentified Object with Strange Symbols," It's [redacted] YouTube channel, October 17, 2020; Powell, Scientist, 53-56; " Robert Powell Details Shocking `Barbell' UFO | Rob Schmitt Tonight," Newsmax YouTube channel, June 13, 2024; Matthew Phelan, " Pentagon Official Reveals Tantalizing Seven-Minute Encounter with Glowing Blue UFO," Daily Mail (UK), June 12, 2024)
September 12 - Night. A delta-shaped UFO is seen above Franciszka Hynka street, Warsaw, Poland. (Poland 98)
October 6 - 9:00 p.m. A father and daughter are traveling west on Highway 40 through Rabbit Ears Pass, Colorado, when the father notices two white lights in the distance. The dimmer of the two begins to descend erratically. It seems to wave back and forth, rather than just move straight down, as it disappears behind a stand of tall pine trees. Then the brighter light begins to grow as it approaches quickly. He tells his daughter to look up, and she immediately sees the object as it speeds toward them. The white light develops a red border that transitions into a solid red light. A very short bright green line also appears just below and to the immediate left of the solid red light. The object then slows and swerves to the north. When the object is positioned just to the left and in front of them, it drops in elevation and begins to pass slowly overhead. The father sees that the short green line is actually a long, flat, bright, rectangular strip. Both note how crisp and clear the green box angles are and how there is no glow, given the brightness of the green light. The father, who had previously worked with low-powered lasers, identifies the green color as exactly 532nm. They cannot see any reflections on the body or wings. The object slows almost to a hover as it passes above them. Once the object passes out of view to the rear, they are unable to see it again out the back window or in the rearview mirrors. They do not want to stop and get a better look. The father comments that he has never seen a solid object emit such a bright green light. (NICAP, " Solid Object Emits Bright Green Light")
November 8 - 4:36 p.m. Two witnesses are driving on the Ring Road around Bucharest, Romania, near the exit for the Autostrada Soarelui. They see a light-brown cylinder-shaped object rotating on its axis and hovering silently above some high-voltage power lines. They watch it for 10 minutes until it disappears suddenly without moving. (Romania 83-84)
November 19 - 6:20 p.m. Two witnesses, each with 30+ years experience as Army and Air Force aircraft maintenance technicians, see a huge triangular UFO that flies from north to south about 500 feet above them near Adel, Georgia. The surface of the object is not clear and has a rippling effect like "a heat mirage down the road on a hot summer's day." There are no anti-collision lights required for all aircraft. The object has a wingspan larger than a C-5A cargo plane and flies slowly at 12-17 mph with absolutely no noise. The rear of the object displays a row of white pulsing lights that are set back or surrounded by a shroud. As the object moves further away, a small drone-like object is seen flying alongside on the left. Soon it banks to the southeast, allowing them to see clearly its triangular shape. (NICAP, " Triangular UFO Observed by Experienced Military Men"; Mutual UFO Network, (MUFON) " Top UFO Cases from 2013 Identified by MUFON's Science Review Board")
December 18 - 3:00 p.m. Another Super Hornet pilot from VFA-143 encounters a white object visually and on radar in the W-72 warning zone. (Tyler Rogoway and Joseph Trevithick, " Here Are the Navy Pilot Reports from Encounters with Mysterious Aircraft off the East Coast," The Drive: The War Zone, May 12, 2020)
2014
February - Day. An aircraft matching the black triangle description is photographed multiple times over Kansas and Texas. Amateur photographer Jeff Templin snaps pictures of a triangular aircraft while photographing wildlife in Kansas. (" Texas Mystery Aircraft Also Photographed over Kansas," Deep Black Horizon, April 17, 2014)
March 10 - Day. Steve Douglass and Dean Muskett photograph a triangular aircraft giving off a long contrail over Amarillo, Texas. (Bill Sweetman, " Mystery Aircraft over Texas," Aviation Week, March 28, 2014; " Mystery Aircraft' over Texas Draws Speculation of Real Spy Plane," Houston Chronicle, March 28, 2014)
April 27 - The crew of a F/A-18F from Strike Fighter Squadron 11 (VFA-11), flying out of NAS Oceana in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and operating in the W-72 warning area, encounters an unknown aerial device. This report is the most spartan in its details of the three, but it describes a "near mid-air collision with balloon-like object." (Tyler Rogoway and Joseph Trevithick, " Here Are the Navy Pilot Reports from Encounters with Mysterious Aircraft off the East Coast," The Drive: The War Zone, May 12, 2020)
June 13 - 2:36 p.m. The pilot and first officer of an Airbus 320 flying at just under 3,500 feet and headed into Manchester Airport observe a man-like object that passes them to the northeast over Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. They estimate it is about 200-300 feet above their altitude and only a few hundred yards distant. They cannot see any parachute or paraglider apparatus. Air traffic control confirms there are no other radar targets in the area. The object is in sight for only 3-4 seconds. ("Airprox Report No. 2014089," Assessment Summary Sheet for UKAB Meeting on 17th September 2014, pp. 136-138; " Is It a Bird, Is It a Plane?" Daily Mail (UK), October 18, 2014; Jenny Randles, "Superman vs. Airbus," Fortean Times 323 (February 2015): 30-31)
July 31 - Gen. Ricardo Bermúdez, director of Chile's official UFO agency, Comité de Estudios de Fenómenos Aéreos Anómalos, convenes a three-hour meeting at the offices of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC) in Providencia of 19 experts from a wide range of disciplines to discuss whether UFOs pose a threat to aerial safety. Among those present are astronomers, psychologists, meteorologists, physicists, and representatives of the armed forces. All seem to accept the premise that UFOs, whatever they are, exist and are worthy of investigation. The DGAC chief of operations says that because many witnesses believe UFOs demonstrate intelligent behavior, it is the government's duty to look for the intention behind that intelligence. However, the group concludes that, despite some accidents attributed to UFOs around the world, they "do not present a threat or a danger to air operations." (Leslie Kean, " Chile Declares UFOs Pose No Threat to Aircraft," HuffPost, August 12, 2014; " Capitulo 55 DGAC TV," DGAC TV Institucional YouTube channel, August 7, 2014)
August 28 - 5:00 a.m. A single witness at a camping site in Sainte-Lucie de Porto-Vecchio, Corsica, France, watches a dark, circular object with a light in the center move slowly between two groves of trees. Small groups of objects move in front of and behind the larger mass. Researcher Wim van Utrecht thinks it might have been a hot air balloon surrounded by birds. (" Détail du Cas: Zonza (2A) 28.08.2014," GEIPAN; [case documents], GEIPAN; Wim van Utrecht, " Some Notes on an Unexplained Sighting from Corsica, France," UFO FOTOCAT Blog, December 15, 2023)
October 5-20 - Unidentified drones are observed over seven nuclear plants in France. Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve tells France Info radio that a judicial investigation is underway. The tiny, unmanned craft appear late in the evening, at night, or early in the morning. The nuclear plants are the Superphénix in Creys-Malville (closed in 1997); the Bugey Nuclear Power Plant, Ain; Blayais Nuclear Power Plant near Blaye, Gironde; the Cattenom Nuclear Power Plant, Moselle; the Chooz Nuclear Power Plant, Ardennes; the Gravelines Nuclear Power Station, Nord; and the Nogent Nuclear Power Plant, Aube. (" Drones Spotted over Seven French Nuclear Sites, Says EDF," The Guardian (UK), October 30, 2014)
October 16 - The Swedish military reportedly intercepts a radio transmission in Russian on an emergency frequency, sparking a massive search for a Russian submarine thought to be stricken in Swedish waters, the largest Swedish mobilization since the Cold War. Further encrypted radio traffic from Kanholmsfjärden in the Stockholm archipelago, Sweden, and in Kaliningrad, Russia (home to the Russian Baltic fleet), is intercepted the next day. The search involves stealth ships, minesweepers, and helicopters, as well as hundreds of sailors, pilots, and divers. On the island of Korsö, Finland, a mysterious man dressed in black with a backpack is seen wading to shore and is later photographed wading off the nearby island of Sandön, Finland. (It later turns out that the man is a Stockholm pensioner named Ove who is doing some trout fishing.) At a press conference later in the month, the Swedish navy shows a photograph of an unidentified foreign vessel (although it later turns out to be a Swedish ship). A Russian defense ministry spokesman announces that there have been no emergency situations involving Russian military vessels. (Wikipedia, " Swedish submarine incidents"; "Baltic Sub Mystery," Fortean Times 322 (January 2015): 12)
October 20 - Strands of cobweb-like "angel hair" fibers fall from the sky in Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka. (" Cobwebs Like Particles Floating in Polonnaruwa Skies," Gossip Lanka News, October 21, 2014)
October 21 - Swedish military commander Gen. Sverker Göranson announces that he aims to force the unidentified submarine object to the surface with depth charges if necessary. He reveals there have been visual observations twice on October 17 and once on October 19. ("Baltic Sub Mystery," Fortean Times 322 (January 2015): 12)
October 25 - Afternoon. Miguel Monteiro is walking in the parish of Alverca do Ribatejo e Sobralinho, Portugal, when he sees white, cottony flakes or fibrous strands falling from the sky and sticking to electrical wires. They feel somewhat like cobwebs but are whiter and thicker. Monteiro takes some home and stores them in liquid nitrogen. He claims that under ultraviolet light the fibers wiggle "as if alive." Another witness says the strands fell two weekends in a row. (" Mysterious Rain of `Alien Angel Hair' Falls from Sky in Portugal," Metro (UK), November 26, 2014; " Strands of White `Angel Hair' Rained from Sky-Which Wriggle under UV Light," Metro (UK), December 17, 2014)
November 11 - 1:52 p.m. A Chilean Navy Airbus Cougar AS-532 helicopter is flying northward west of Santiago, Chile, at an altitude of 4,500 feet and 152 mph. The technician aboard is taking video footage when he notices an object about 40 miles away. He zooms in on it using infrared film. The naval pilot sees it as a "flat, elongated structure with two thermal spotlights like discharges that do not coincide with the axis of motion." The video shows a dark, disc-shaped object flying above the sea, which "in two instances discharged some type of gas or liquid with a high thermal track or signal." The official Comité de Estudios de Fenómenos Aéreos Anómalos spends two years studying the film, then releases the footage, admitting it cannot ascertain what the object is. CEFAA Gen. Ricardo Bermúdez Sanhueza says: "We do not know what it was, but we do know what it was not." However, Chilean ufologists suspect the object is a 4-engine airliner. (Leslie Kean, " Groundbreaking UFO Video Just Released by Chilean Navy," HuffPost, January 5, 2017; " Conclusive Proof? Airforce Probe Finds Navy Filmed Real UFO over Ocean," The Express (UK), January 7, 2017; Leslie Kean, " The Chilean Navy UFO Video: Is It a Plane?" HuffPost, January 17, 2017; Mick West, " Curated Crowdsourcing in UFO Investigations," Skeptical Briefs 27, no. 1 (May 25, 2017); " Chilean Navy Helicopter Pilot Shoots Video of UFO," Charlotte (N.C.) Observer, February 8, 2018; Brian Dunning, " The Chilean Navy UFO," Skeptoid podcast, June 28, 2022)
November 14 - Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven announces that there is "clear evidence" of a submarine incursion in Swedish waters in October. (" Sweden Confirms Submarine Violation," The Guardian (UK), November 14, 2014; "Baltic Sub Mystery," Fortean Times 322 (January 2015): 12)
2015
January 21 - Evening. An infrared video recording, known as the GIMBAL video, is taken by an F/A-18 Super Hornet from the USS Theodore Roosevelt off the East coast of the US in the vicinity of Jacksonville, Florida. Another infrared video, called the Go Fast video, released at the same time in April 2020, is taken either on the same day or several weeks apart. Both videos include audio with voices of military personnel who are questioning what they are observing. The Navy confirms the authenticity of the videos, stating only that they depict what they consider to be "unidentified aerial phenomena." Susan Gough, a Pentagon spokeswoman, confirms that the videos were made by naval aviators and that they are "part of a larger issue of an increased number of training range incursions by unidentified aerial phenomena in recent years." In April 2020, the two videos are declassified and officially released by the Department of Defense, alongside footage from the 2004 USS Nimitz incident. Five pilots from the VFA-11 "Red Rippers" fighter squadron have reported sighting UFOs "almost daily" while training at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia for a deployment to the Persian Gulf in the summer of 2014. Three of those pilots have chosen to remain anonymous, while two, Lieut. Ryan Graves and Lieut. Danny Accoin, have given interviews and appeared on a History Channel program about UFOs. Radar contacts, infrared detections, and visual sightings by the pilots and weapon systems officers are reported for several months. According to Accoin, the objects have "no distinct wing, no distinct tail, no distinct exhaust plume." One pilot describes something "like a sphere encasing a cube." Another source confirms to "The War Zone" that the same description is given by several other pilots and that encounters are commonplace among multiple squadrons including the nearby E-2 Hawkeye squadrons from Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. Accoin says that "multiple sensors [are] reading the exact same thing." Graves states that the objects are showing up at 30,000 feet as well as sea level and can accelerate, slow down, and hit hypersonic speeds with maneuvers "beyond the physical limits of a human crew." The pilots also report that the objects persist in the air for long periods of time and might "be out there all day." When one of the sightings is made, "usually we'd just say, `we're seeing one of those damn things again,'" Graves says. Once, an object almost collides with two jets, prompting the VFA-11 fighter squadron to submit a Notice to Airmen aviation flight safety report. According to the pilots, the squadron has speculated that the sightings could be a classified drone development program, but the near miss angers the pilots and convinces them that this is a safety issue and not a black project. When the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier group leaves the Florida coast for the Persian Gulf in March 2015, the objects follow them there. Graves says the sightings are less frequent in the Middle East. (Wikipedia, " Pentagon UFO videos"; " GIMBAL: Authenticated UAP Video," To the Stars Academy, December 13, 2017; Clark III 49; Helene Cooper, Ralph Blumenthal, and Leslie Kean, " Wow, What Is That?' Navy Pilots Report Unexplained Flying Objects," New York Times, May 26, 2019; Joseph Trevithick and Tyler Rogoway, " Carrier Group in Recent UFO Encounters Had New Defense Tech Like Nimitz in 2004 Incident," The Drive: The War Zone, May 31, 2019; Joe Murgia, " Transcript-Mellon: Eight Members of Congress Can Gain Access to the Most Sacred and Tightly Held Special Access Programs (Crashed UFOs and Bodies?)," interview on The Fox News Breakdown, UFO Joe, June 5, 2019; Tyler Rogoway, " Navy F/A-18 Pilot Shares New Details about UFO Encounters during Middle East Deployment," The Drive: The War Zone, June 11, 2019; Tyler Rogoway, " Recent UFO Encounters with Navy Pilots Occurred Constantly across Multiple Squadrons," The Drive: The War Zone, June 21, 2019; " UFO Fleet," Unidentified: Inside America's UFO Investigation, Season 1, Episode 4, History channel, June 21, 2019; John Greenewald, " U.S. Navy Releases Dates of Three Officially Acknowledged Encounters with `Phenomena,'" The Black Vault, September 11, 2019; " Unidentified: UFO Testimony from Lt. Ryan Graves (Season 1) / History," History YouTube channel, September 22, 2019; Jan Tegler and Cat Hofacker, " Mystery of the `Damn Things,'" Aerospace America, November 2019; " Unedited Navy Gimbal video.mp4," 8 News Now-Las Vegas YouTube channel, April 27, 2020; Coulthart 2023, pp. 208-209, 211-215; Yannick Peings and Marik von Rennenkampff, " Reconstruction of Potential Flight Paths for the January 2015 `Gimbal' UAP," ArXiv, June 14, 2023; NASA Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Independent Study Team Report, September 14, 2023, p. 28; Powell, Scientist, 131-132, 136; Clark IV 3)
February 13 - 9:32 p.m. A witness is in his living room at Ada, Oklahoma, when he notices that his son has driven onto his property, but his car has stopped near the gate about 300 feet east of the house. He sits there about 10 minutes before coming inside and tells his father to come outside and look at two objects, one diamond-shaped some 300 feet above the ground and a doughnut-shaped object about 150 feet up and 100 feet west of the diamond. Both are a dull-orange color, silent, and about 900 feet away. After 10 minutes, the larger diamond- shaped object (about the size of a Boeing 727) begins moving slowly to the east, passing behind some trees before it rises to an elevation of about 700-800 feet, hovering for another 10 minutes. It then moves east and climbs to 1,000 feet, then moves north to 1,500 feet and begins flashing. It moves north and disappears. The doughnut-shaped object is still stationary and seems to fade away. (Roger Marsh, "Oklahoma Witnesses Describe Two UFOs near Ground Level," Open Minds, February 20, 2015)
June 4 - Two friends pull into a gas station in Marengo, Iowa, to watch a triangular object hovering 278 feet away to the south and 288 feet above the ground. After a few seconds, the object moves swiftly about 4 miles east in a straight-line path and hovers again. It vanishes from view a moment later. (David Kreiter, " MUFON Case 69105," August 28, 2015; Powell, Scientist, 68)
September - In Walking Among Us, David M. Jacobs explains how 14 abductions have detailed for him how an alien invasion is already underway. The alien hierarchy consists of insect-like entities as the leaders, tall Grays the skilled workers, short Grays the menial workers, and masses of hybrids-the end products of the abduction program. These hybrids begin as half-human/half-Gray entities and become progressively more human over four successive stages. The ultimate product is the human hybrid ("hubrid"), fully human in appearance, capable of integration into society. Hybrids have become deeply embedded on Earth, living in their own apartments, mingling with humans, working their way into positions of influence. Their growing numbers on earth advance the Change, the day when they and their alien masters supplant or absorb humankind. Jacobs broadens the term "abduction" to call it an interaction with humans, initiated by aliens who take mental and physical over the humans in real time and at any location. (Dana DiFilippo, " Space Aliens Walk Among Us? Indeed, Claims Retired Temple Prof," Philadelphia Inquirer, July 15, 2014; David M. Jacobs, Walking Among Us: The Alien Plan to Condition Humanity, Disinformation Books, 2015; Clark III 10-11, 93, 629-630; Clark IV 25, 121)
December 10 - Federal Aviation Administration Order JO7110.65W (Air Traffic Control) recommends that any UFO reports be addressed to a "UFO data collection center, such as the National UFO Reporting Center." (US Federal Aviation Administration, " Air Traffic Control," Order JO7110.65W, p. 417)
December 22 - Janel Sturzl, 31, an employee of the Daily Mining Gazette in Houghton, Michigan, dies while in a coma after being diagnosed with thallium poisoning at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. The police investigate her death as a homicide. (" Poisoning Still under Investigation," Houghton (Mich.) Daily Mining Gazette, October 24, 2017; Tim McMillan, " Bob Lazar Says the FBI Raided Him to Seize Area 51's Alien Fuel: The Truth Is Weirder," Vice: Motherboard, November 13, 2019)
2016
January - The SETI project Breakthrough Listen is launched at the Berkeley SETI Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley. With $100 million in funding from Russian tech billionaire Yuri Milner and thousands of hours of dedicated telescope time on state-of-the-art facilities, it is the most comprehensive search for alien communications to date. It is expected to continue through 2026. The project aims to discover signs of extraterrestrial civilizations by searching stars and galaxies for radio signals and laser transmissions. It uses radio wave observations from the Green Bank Observatory and the Parkes Observatory, as well as visible light observations from the Automated Planet Finder at Lick Observatory. Targets for the project include one million nearby stars and the centers of 100 galaxies. All data generated from the project are available to the public, and SETI@Home (BOINC) is used for some of the data analysis. A side project, Breakthrough Starshot, aims to develop a proof-of-concept fleet of light sail interstellar probes that are capable of making the journey to the Alpha Centauri star system 4.34 light years away. A flyby mission has been proposed to Proxima Centauri b, an Earth-sized exoplanet in the habitable zone of its host star, Proxima Centauri. At a speed between 15% and 20% of the speed of light, it would take between 20 and 30 years to complete the journey, and approximately 4 years for a return message from the starship to Earth. (Wikipedia, " Breakthrough Listen"; Wikipedia, " Breakthrough Starshot"; Graff 421-424)
January 1 - John and Carla Shearer of McPherson County, Kansas, find one of their pregnant cows dead with one of its eyes harvested, including the eyelid and both eyelashes removed. A similar case had occurred in Harvey County on December 18, 2015. (Amy Bickel, " Recent Cattle Mutilations Bring Memories of 1970s Attacks," Hutchinson (Kan.) News, January 15, 2016)
February 3 - 7:00 p.m. A married couple is driving on Interstate 10 near Katy, Texas, when they look up through the sunroof and see three black dots that they at first think might be breaks in the cloud cover. Watching them while stopped at a traffic light, they see the dots are part of a vast, noiseless triangular object that emerges from the clouds. The witnesses think it is generating a kind of night fog low above the ground. The witnesses try to take a video, but their cellphones are not working properly; both devices die and do not recharge the entire night. (Roger Marsh, " Texas UFO Kills Allegedly Ground Electronics, Creates Fog to Hide in," OpenMinds, February 10, 2017)
April 15 - Night. The Canadian Air Defence Sector is notified of a WestJet flight near Toronto, Ontario, that "reported a very bright light pass overhead of them" when "there was no other traffic in the area." In the day's log, the lines following what's clearly referred to as a "UFO report" are all redacted in white. ( CADORS Report, no. 2016O0730, April 24, 2016; Daniel Otis, " Credible UFO Reports Are Being Ignored, Declassified Canadian Government Documents Reveal," Motherboard, November 29, 2021)
April 28 - Romanian-American aerospace engineer Salvatore Pais, stationed at NAS Patuxent River in Maryland, files a patent for a "craft using an inertial mass reduction device," one embodiment of which could be a high speed "hybrid aerospace/undersea craft" able to "engineer the fabric of our reality at the most fundamental level," the patent application for which is supported by the Naval Aviation Enterprise's chief technical officer on the grounds that the Chinese military are already developing similar technology. This patent is subsequently approved and published on December 4, 2018, and is currently assigned to the US Navy, expiring in 2036. Starting in 2015, Pais has filed patent applications on behalf of his employers with futuristic- sounding names suggesting potential military and energy-producing applications, including a plasma compression fusion device, an electromagnetic field generator, and a high-frequency gravitational wave generator." No working prototype of any of these concepts is ever developed. These attract attention, as well as speculation that they may be disinformation intended to mislead the United States' strategic adversaries about the direction of the country's defense research. (" Craft Using an Inertial Mass Reduction Device," Google Patents, US10144532B2, December 4, 2018; Brett Tingley and Tyler Rogoway, " Docs Show Navy Got `UFO' Patent Granted by Warning of Similar Chinese Tech Advances," The Drive: The War Zone, June 28, 2019; Brett Tingley, " The Secretive Inventor of the Navy's Bizarre `UFO Patents' Finally Talks," The Drive: The War Zone, October 9, 2020; Coulthart 2023, pp. 288-299; Rob Waugh, " This Man Wants to Build UFO Technology for America," The Times (London), July 24, 2025)
May 9 - Former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Christopher Mellon speaks publicly about UAP for the first time. He tells journalist Leslie Kean that if UAP technology was hidden, he'd "take it outside government oversight entirely and place it in a compartment as a new entity within an existing defense company and manage it as what we call an `IRAD' or `Independent Research and Development Activity.'" (Leslie Kean, " Is There a UFO Cover-Up? A Government Insider Speaks Out," HuffPost, May 9, 2016)
May 30 - Morning. A Porter Airlines de Havilland Dash 8 aircraft is descending at 9,000 feet toward Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport in Ontario when the crew observes an object in their flight path "shaped like an upright doughnut or inner tube" which prompts an evasive maneuver. The aircraft, its four crew members, and 54 passengers safely land 11 minutes after the near miss, but both flight attendants are taken to a hospital afterward with minor injuries. There is no conclusive evidence that it is a drone. (Micah Hanks and Chrissy Newton, " Recent Pilot UAP Sightings Point to Aviation Safety Challenges, Pilots Say," The Debrief, November 30, 2022)
July 1 - NORAD releases figures indicating that radar Tracks of Interest have averaged 1,800 per year since 2011. It states that it routinely withholds Unknown tracks and Tracks of Interest data because the release of any details might affect national defense. (" `Alien Cover Up': Nearly 2,000 UFOs Tracked by Radar System But Details Suppressed," The Express (UK), July 1, 2016; Clark III 801
Mid-July - Night. Appalachian State University astronomers Daniel Caton and R. Lee Hawkins obtain footage from two separate webcams of the Brown Mountain lights in North Carolina. The footage shows a stationary light that appears in the same area, between exposures, four times during a span of 20 minutes. (Katie Murawski, " Professors Research the Mysterious Brown Mountain Lights," The Appalachian, October 27, 2016)
September 19 - 11:45 p.m. An Air Canada Express pilot flying to Vancouver, British Columbia, reports "3 red lights 3,000 feet above him and going slower" while at 25,000 feet over an uninhabited stretch of British Columbia's rugged northern coast. Vancouver air traffic controllers report the incident 20 minutes later to the RCAF in Ontario as a "vital intelligence sighting." The RCAF reviews radar data, but finds nothing near the plane. Within an hour, reports are faxed to the Canadian government's transportation department and the RCAF's secretive Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Division in Winnipeg. There is no further follow-up. ( CADORS Report, no. 2016P1783; Daniel Otis, " Credible UFO Reports Are Being Ignored, Declassified Canadian Government Documents Reveal," Motherboard, November 29, 2021)
November 14 - 7:22 a.m. A Porter Airlines flight from Ottawa to Toronto is above Lake Ontario and approaching its destination when the flight crew notices an object directly ahead on their flight path that appears to be solid, approximately 5-8 feet in diameter and shaped like an upright doughnut or inner tube. To avoid a collision, the pilot overrides the autopilot in order to quickly descend the aircraft. Two flight attendants are in the process of securing the cabin for arrival and receive minor injuries when they are thrown into the cabin structure. No passengers are hurt in the incident. The Transportation Safety Board cannot identify the object, although it could be a balloon. (Colin Perkel, " Two Hurt in Mid-Flight As Porter Airlines Plane Evades Possible Drone," CTV News, November 14, 2016; Simon Hradecky, " Accident: Porter DH8D at Toronto on Nov 14th 2016, Near Collision with Unmanned Aerial Vehicle," The Aviation Herald, November 14, 2016; CADORS: Report 2016O22991, November 22, 2016)
December 10 - 4:44 a.m. A married couple is driving near Windsor, Maine, when they observe a "large triangle-shaped object" in two pieces ("like a carpenter's framing square") in the northeast sky. The object has six flashing red lights and one turquoise light that goes out as they are watching. It shows a black surface that is about 300 feet long. When they get out of the car for a better look, the man grabs his wife's phone to take photos and a video. He shoots 6-8 minutes of video, but when he views it, it shows only black. The object seems to move effortlessly like a boat coasting through the water-"slow enough to where we could make out some detail but fast enough to where it was out of sight within 10 minutes or so." They both feel weird as they watch the object. The woman becomes nauseous and the man feels strangely "awestruck." (MUFON case file)
December 22 - 7: 10 p.m. A westbound American Airlines flight is more than 185 miles south of Goose Bay, Newfoundland, when it reports a "possible aircraft off its left side and below." NORAD cannot confirm by radar, but two other aircraft also report a possible target. The pilot takes evasive action as Canadian CF-18 Hornets are scrambled to investigate "Track of Interest 2." The pilot makes a 90° turn to the right to separate the airliner's radar blip from the other, and a "single radar hit" is detected behind him. When the pilot returns to his original flight plan, he sees an aircraft with a rotating white light behind him. A Lufthansa flight near the Gulf of Saint Lawrence sees an object slightly below them and to the left, while a Swiss flight reports a "white light and rotating beacon." The CF-18s see nothing and return to their base after 90 minutes in the air. ( CADORS: Report 2016A1096, January 17, 2017; " UFOs: Canadian Air Force Responds to `Threats' with CF-18 Fighter Jets," CTV News, October 31, 2022
2017
January - Luis Elizondo informs former Defense Department official Christopher Mellon that restricted US airspace is being violated by Unidentified Aerial Phenomena on a weekly, if not daily, basis for years; yet the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community is in the dark. Elizondo is alarmed by the prospect of clandestine reconnaissance directed against US Naval Strike Groups and other vital US military capabilities. These mysterious objects in some cases appear to demonstrate capabilities beyond anything in the US inventory, even including the classified reconnaissance platforms developed by the Lockheed Martin Skunkworks, the Boeing Phantom Works, and other contractors. (Christopher Mellon, " Setting the Record Straight," christophermellon.net, December 29, 2022)
February 7 - The US Forest Service releases 18 pages of records relating to UFO sightings from 1952 to 2016. (John Greenewald, " U.S. Forest Service UFO Files and UFO Photographs," The Black Vault, August 17, 2023)
March 8 - Gen. John E. Hyten, commander of the US Strategic Command, testifies before the House Committee on Armed Services that "Of recent concern have been the unauthorized flights of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) over Navy and Air Force installations. These intrusions represent a growing threat to the safety and security of nuclear weapons and personnel." (US House Committee on Armed Services, 115th Cong., 1st Sess., Military Assessment of Nuclear Deterrence Requirements, Hearing, March 8, 2017, p. 63)
May - Researcher Robert Hastings writes a second edition of UFOs and Nukes, which summarizes his interviews with more than 150 military witnesses to UFO sightings at nuclear bases, storage areas, and test sites. He presents incidents at ICBM sites across the US, including Malmstrom, Minot, F. E. Warren, Ellsworth, Vandenberg, and Walker Air Force Bases. He finds evidence that UFOs are taking an interest in nuclear weapons storage areas at Wurtsmith and Loring AFB, as well as RAF Bentwaters in England. (Robert Hastings, UFOs and Nukes, The Author, 2017; Coulthart 2023, pp. 154-155)
May 9 - Steven M. Greer releases a documentary, Unacknowledged, on the history of UFO secrecy. Interviews with George Filer, Tom Bearden, Glenn Dennis, Richard Doty, Stephen Lovekin, and John Podesta are featured. Narrated by Giancarlo Esposito. (Internet Movie Database, " Unacknowledged")
May 28 - Evening. Rik Koops and Harm Duursma see UFOs over Park Sonsbeek, in Arnhem, Netherlands. Koops shoots a 3-minute video of three globular objects. A spokesperson for the Defence Helicopter Command at nearby Deelen Air Base denies that the objects are drones. (" 3 bal vormige objecten bewegen in de lucht," UFO Meldpunt Nederland, May 29, 2017; " UFO boven Arnhem? `Ledeeren die het ziet, zit met open mond van verbazing,'" de Gelderlander, May 30, 2017; " Het ufo-seizoen is veer aangebroken," de Gelderlander, May 31, 2017)
July 1-2 - The second Dulce Base UFO Conference is held at the Wild Horse Casino and Hotel in Dulce, New Mexico. The event is organized by members of the Jicarilla Apache, Southern Ute, and Navajo nations and features speakers Chuck and Nancy Wade; the Paranormal Rangers (Stanley Milford Jr. and Jonathan Dover), Navajo law officers; abductee Travis Walton; and actor Alan Tafoya. (Paul Ross, "`The Truth Is Around Here.Someplace,'" Fortean Times 361 (Christmas 2017): 42-47
July 14 - 7:20 p.m. The pilot of an Airbus A319 is holding at 7,000 feet at Gatwick Airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, when the First Officer, in the right-hand seat, notices an object close to the aircraft. He mentions it to the captain, who also sees it. Both believe the object is not close enough to hit the aircraft and that they will miss it. It is black and shiny metallic in color and appears to be a square or cube. It maintains its altitude and takes about 7 seconds to pass, making them believe it is hovering. They are not certain it is a drone because they cannot see any propellors. They alert Gatwick, but the controllers there do not report seeing it. (UK Airprox Board, " Assessment Summary Sheet for UKAB Meeting on 11th October 2017"; "UKAB `Unknown Object' Log 2017-2020," Fortean Times 406 (June 2021): 43)
August - Reports begin to surface that US and Canadian diplomatic personnel in Havana, Cuba, have experienced unusual, unexplained health problems dating back to late 2016. The health problems typically have a sudden onset: The victim suddenly begins hearing strange grating noises that seem to come from a specific direction. Some of them experience it as a pressure or a vibration; or as a sensation comparable to driving a car with the window partly rolled down. The duration ranges from 20 seconds to 30 minutes, and always happens while the diplomats are either at home or in hotel rooms. Other people nearby, family members and guests in neighboring rooms, do not report hearing anything. Affected individuals describe symptoms such as hearing loss, memory loss, and nausea. Some US embassy individuals reportedly experience lasting health effects, including one unidentified diplomat who now needs a hearing aid. In October, the Associated Press releases what it says is a recording of the sound some embassy workers are hearing. Accusations are made that these are a result of attacks using unspecified technology, perhaps a sonic or ultrasonic weapon. (Wikipedia, " Havana syndrome"; David Hambling, "The Sound of Violence," Fortean Times 360 (December 2017): 14; " Ottawa Doctor Treating Canadian Diplomats with Mysterious `Havana Syndrome,'" Ottawa (Ont.) Citizen, November 30, 2018 )
August 2 - 7:30 p.m. In clear daylight, a couple observe a large, black, silent, symmetrical object-described as a 3D diamond or double-sided pyramid hovering over Herceg Novi, Montenegro. The craft, estimated to be the size of a house and roughly two-thirds of a mile away, makes no sound and remains motionless. By the time one witness tries to photograph, the object vanishes. (National UFO Reporting Center, " NUFORC UFO Sighting 188716," April 6, 2025)
August 9 - 9:20 p.m. A couple are walking south along North Lake Shore Drive just north of Schiller Street in Chicago when they notice something large and dark flying toward them from the east and crossing ahead of them at an altitude of 20 feet or so. It sweeps upward over the trees in front of 1400 North Lake Shore Drive, then stops in mid-air after it reaches a height just below the top of the building. It hovers with a large pair of wings for about 5 seconds, then dives toward the ground. As the witnesses quicken their pace toward the building, the "winged being" descends in front of them, no more than 25 feet away, and hovers 5 feet above the sidewalk with its wings spread open. They can see its bright red eyes that vary in intensity. Several people on the other side of the street also see the being, which hovers for 10 seconds, pulls its wigs in close, and silently shoots up into the sky. The witnesses describe it as "human-like" with a small head that narrows at the top, two legs with long tapered feet, and no apparent arms. It is 5-6 feet in height and has wide wings that resemble the top wings of a butterfly. The sighting is the most recent of 29 reported in the Chicago area in the summer. (Lon Strickler, " Winged Humanoid Confronts Shocked Chicago Witnesses," Phantoms and Monsters, August 10, 2017; Joe Vince, " Winged Freak Terrorizes Chicago? Wait'll You Get a Load of These 29 Sightings," Chicago Patch, August 11, 2017)
August 30 - Six triangular objects in formation are detected by satellite imagery above a body of water in Southeast Asia. AARO determines that the objects are static, cone-shaped fishing nets on the surface of the water. (All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, " Case: `Southeast Asia Triangles,'" December 2023)
September 23 - 7:50 p.m. Witnesses in Son, Netherlands, watch a white, U-shaped light for 5 minutes. One witness manages to take a photo of the light, which by then is diminishing in size before disappearing. (" U-vormig wit licht hoog ver weg in die hemel, stilstaand," UFO Meldpunt Nederland, September 23, 2017)
October - Night. An oddly shaped object with streamers hanging down like a jellyfish is picked up by an unmanned Persistent Threat Detection System (PTDS) surveillance balloon at a US joint operations base (probably Al-Taqaddum Air Base at Habbaniyah) in Iraq. After it moves across the base, it passes over water, makes a seemingly controlled descent, and submerges. After 17 minutes, the object allegedly reemerges from the water and disappears at a high rate of speed. (However, this submergence and reemergence is disputed by Michael Cincoski, who served in 2018 as an Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Tactical Controller at Al-Taqaddum and was shown the video when he arrived.) According to those familiar with the footage or who witness the event, the object is not visible through night vision equipment, appears to jam the targeting capability of the optical platform, and displays positive lift with no signatures for propulsion maneuvers present. The PTDS team rule out a camera artifact or a dirty lens. Journalist Jeremy Corbell releases only about 2 minutes of the full video. AARO assesses that the object does not demonstrate anomalous performance characteristics. (" `Unlikely' That Object in New UAP Video Is Camera Smudge: Expert," NewsNation, January 9, 2024; " `Jellyfish' UAP Video Reveals Strange Object in Iraq," NewsNation, January 10, 2024; Steven Greenstreet (@MiddleOfMayhem) post on X (Twitter), January 10, 2024; Brian Entin, " Marine Says `Jellyfish' UAP Was "Ghost Story of the Base,'" NewsNation, January 11, 2024; Bob Spearing, " The Iraqi Jellyfish UAP: A MUFON Analysis," MUFON News, February 13, 2024; " Al Taqaddum Object," Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, April 29, 2025)
October 24 - The Cuban government employs about 2,000 scientists and law enforcement officers who interview 300 neighbors of diplomats, examine two hotels, and medically examine non-diplomats who could have been exposed. Cuban officials analyze air and soil samples and consider a range of toxic chemicals. They also examine the possibility that electromagnetic waves are to blame and even look into whether insects might be the culprits but find nothing they can link to the medical symptoms. The FBI and Cubans meet to discuss the situation, although the Cubans say that the US declines to share the diplomats' medical records with Cuban authorities or to allow Cuban investigators access to US diplomats' homes to conduct tests. (" Cubans Forcefully Reject Blame for U.S. Diplomats' Mystery Ailments," NBC News, October 24, 2017)
December 5 - In Moscow, Russia, covert CIA operative Marc Polymeropoulos suddenly gets symptoms similar to Havana Syndrome. In the spring of 2018, a private neurologist gives Polymeropoulos a diagnosis: occipital neuralgia, a condition resulting from damage to the two nerves that run from the base of the skull, curving toward the front of the head. (Julia Joffe, "The Mystery of the Immaculate Concussion," GQ, October 19, 2020)
2018
January - A total of 11 satellites carrying Space-Based Infrared System or Space Tracking and Surveillance System payloads are operating in medium-earth, highly elliptical, and geosynchronous orbits that together provide continuous global coverage of infrared energy sources. Originally designed to detect missile launches, and later aircraft, this highly sophisticated capability continues to evolve and improve. This work is being undertaken at the Air Force's Overhead Persistent Infrared Battlespace Awareness Center at Buckley AFB in Aurora, Colorado, as well as its new Data Utilization Lab. (Wikipedia, " Space-Based Infrared System")
January 5 - 1:30 a.m. A woman looking from her bedroom window in Linden, Michigan, sees a large object emitting red-orange light approaching her. It stops dead above her head, accelerates, then slows down. Her husband goes outside and watches it before it blinks out. (Jenny Randles, "The Twelve UFOs of Christmas," Fortean Times 374 (Christmas 2018): 29)
January 9 - The Defense Intelligence Agency responds to an inquiry by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) regarding 38 projects that the military's Advanced Aviation Threat Identification Program [in reality, the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Application Program] has been involved with. The letter is released on January 16 in response to a FOIA request by Steven Aftergood, director of the Federation of American Scientists' Project on Government Secrecy. One such research topic, "Traversable Wormholes, Stargates, and Negative Energy," was led by Eric W. Davis of EarthTech International, which was founded by Harold E. Puthoff, who was formerly involved in the Stargate Project. Another project called "Invisibility Cloaking" was headed by German scientist Ulf Leonhardt, a professor at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. Yet another title, "Warp Drive, Dark Energy, and the Manipulation of Extra Dimensions," was attributed to theoretical physicist Richard Obousy, director of the nonprofit Icarus Interstellar. One of those papers was released to the public by Popular Mechanics on February 14, 2020. Titled "Clinical Medical Acute and Subacute Field Effects on Human Dermal and Neurological Tissues," it is written by Christopher (Kit) Green, formerly a CIA agent, forensic clinician, and neuroscientist, who describes it as "focused on forensically assessing accounts of injuries that could have resulted from claimed encounters with UAP." (Joseph Trevithick, " Here's the List of Studies the Military's Secretive UFO Program Funded, SomeWere Junk," The Drive: The War Zone, January 18, 2019; US Defense Intelligence Agency, [ A list of all products produced under the AAWSAP contract]; Nigel Watson, "Rubbish Data and Sceptical Dogma," Fortean Times 420 (July 2022): 30; John Greenewald, " The Black Vault's AAWSAP/AATIP and Post 2017 UAP/UFO Timeline Project," The Black Vault, January 21, 2023)
February 1 - 6:10 p.m. An Airbus A321 pilot is descending from 10,000 feet into Manchester Airport, England, when he sees a grayish, thin-profiled object that passes by very close at the same altitude at great speed down the left side of the aircraft. His initial reaction is that he has seen an internal reflection, but the First Officer and another person have also seen it. None of them have a clear view because it is in the landing-light beam for a split second. (UK Airprox Board, " Assessment Summary Sheet for UKAB Meeting on 25th April 2018"; "UKAB `Unknown Object' Log 2017-2020," Fortean Times 406 (June 2021): 43)
February 16 - 9:16 p.m. A witness in Driebergen-Rijsenburg, Netherlands, sees three irregularly flashing lights flying toward the northwest. One of the lights suddenly leaves the formation and flies off in another direction. The lights fly slowly and silently for 6 minutes. (" 3 rode oplichtende punten aan de hemel," UFO Meldpunt Nederland, February 16, 2018)
February 20 - 10:00 p.m. A woman in Ede, Netherlands, sees three points of light (one brighter than the others) on a triangular object that is moving toward the northwest. She watches it for 2 minutes. (" Driehoek formatie 3 lichtpunten," UFO Meldpunt Nederland, February 21, 2018)
February 23 - 7:30 a.m. Several people traveling to work in Wielsbeke from the village of Waregem, Belgium, see a hovering triangle with two bright lights like a star. There are red lights on its wings, and it is shaped like a B2 stealth bomber. ( Belgisch UFO-Meldpunt, March 4, 2018)
February 23 - 6:50 p.m. Two witnesses in Oudenaarde, Belgium, see a "hanging dot" that ascends at an enormous speed. ( Belgisch UFO-Meldpunt, March 4, 2018)
February 23 - 10:40 p.m. A witness going outside for a smoke in Biervliet, Netherlands, sees three globes flying in a straight line. They move closer together and disappear at the same time as they seem to merge. (" Drie lichtbollen," UFO Meldpunt Nederland, February 23, 2018)
February 24 - 1:00 a.m. A man steps outside his house in Mol, Belgium, when it suddenly becomes light outside. Looking up, he sees an orange fireball flying past with small fragments falling off it. It is silent and does not explode. ( Belgisch UFO-Meldpunt, March 4, 2018)
April 5 - Night. Dogs belonging to a witness in DeRidder, Louisiana, begin growling in the living room, and cows in the pasture are mooing excitedly. Outside, he sees a huge white light growing in intensity and pulsating for 15 minutes. When it disappears, the animals calm down. (Randle, Levelland, 2021, p. 125)
May 5 - 12:45 p.m. A B757 airliner pilot is approaching Gatwick Airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, in busy airspace when the First Officer and Captain see a fairly large, irregular- shaped, dark-lack object pass down the left side at the same altitude within 200 feet of the aircraft, heading in an easterly direction. No avoiding action is needed, but the incident is reported to Gatwick control. (UK Airprox Board, " The UKAB Meeting on 20th June 2018 Consisted Solely of Consolidated Drone/Balloon/Model/Unknown Object Report Sheet"; "UKAB `Unknown Object' Log 2017-2020," Fortean Times 406 (June 2021): 43)
August 6 - 11:20 p.m. A resident of Heemstede, Netherlands, is skywatching when he suddenly sees a silent triangular object with three white lights moving faster than an airplane. (" Drie lichtjies in driehoeksvorm leek zwart vlak in het midden te zitten," UFO Meldpunt Nederland, August 6, 2018)
September - Mick and Judy Cook, a farming couple at Cloverly Station, northwest of Mackay, Queensland, have found five of their cows dead with udders, ears, and tongues cut out cleanly over the past three months. The mutilations continue through March 2021. (Jessica Johnston, "Cattle Mutilated in North Queensland," North Queensland Register (Charters Towers), September 7, 2018; Coulthart 2023, pp. 123-124)
November 6 - Around midnight. The pilots of a US Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopter are preparing to take off from an airstrip about 40 miles northwest of Tucson, Arizona, when they spot three objects in a loose triangular formation in the sky at a low altitude. The copilot continues to follow the three objects with the aircraft's multi-sensor imaging system, the Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor. As the three objects approach the foothills of nearby Picacho Peak, they suddenly appear to rotate around each other, as if revolving around an unseen axis, all while maintaining a steady eastward trajectory. Pilot Chris Lehto says they are moving at an unexpectedly high rate of speed. After several rotations, the objects then resume an obtuse triangular formation before speeding out of sight as the Apache begins to take off. (Tim McMillan, Micah Hanks, and Christopher Plain, " Incursions at the Border: Homeland Security Agents Tell of Encounters with Unidentified Aerial Phenomena," The Debrief, May 27, 2022)
November 17 - Day. A Cargojet flight from the Cincinnati area to Calgary, Alberta, observes bright lights high above Saskatchewan, while a corresponding Canadian Air Defence Sector log entry describes "bright shining lights" that are "maneuvering and moving fast." ( CADORS Report, no. 2018C4984; Daniel Otis, " Credible UFO Reports Are Being Ignored, Declassified Canadian Government Documents Reveal," Motherboard, November 29, 2021)
December 30 - 6:45 p.m. The pilot of an Embraer 175 passenger plane approaching the runway at Glasgow Airport, Scotland, sees an "object pass between three and 10 feet from the aircraft at the same level." The pilot cannot tell what it is, but it is "lit up in various places and was more horizontally long than it was vertically." The Airprox board is unable to identify the object but decides there was a definite risk of collision and luck played a part in missing it. (UK Airprox Board, " Assessment Summary Sheet for UKAB Meeting on 13th February 2019"; "UKAB `Unknown Object' Log 2017-2020," Fortean Times 406 (June 2021): 43)
2019
January 6 - The crew of a Vanguard Air Care flight sees an unidentified light moving parallel to them for about three minutes while they are travelling at about 265 mph at an altitude of 7,500 feet around the 55th parallel over northern Manitoba. The CIRVIS report says the brightness of the light in the night sky is what attracted the observer's attention and that NAV Canada's Winnipeg Air Control Centre assumes that it is another aircraft. 21 Aerospace Control and Warning Squadron at Canadian Forces Base North Bay in Ontario is notified of the sighting. An unclassified intelligence report is then faxed to Transport Canada. (" 2019 Sighting of Unidentified Light in Northern Manitoba Sky Was Reported to Air Force, Vice Says," Thompson (Man.) Citizen, April 14, 2021)
January 15 - 11:40 a.m. An RAF Typhoon pilot is leading a pair of fighters from Coningsby, England, to an exercise in the North Sea. After receiving clearance to climb to 30,000 feet from 15,000 feet, he notices an object at 11 o'clock about one nautical mile away, slightly higher and maintaining a constant altitude. The radar and data link show no traffic conflictions. The object reflects sunlight and appears to have a linear form. It passes down the left-hand side of the aircraft. The wingman independently sees the same object as it passes over the leader's aircraft. He maintains the formation at 15,000 feet until they are clear of the object. Nothing unusual is noticed by ground radar. (UK Airprox Board, " Assessment Summary Sheet for UKAB Meeting on 13th March 2019"; "UKAB `Unknown Object' Log 2017-2020," Fortean Times 406 (June 2021): 43)
February 10 - Afternoon. Several people in Cogollos de Guadix, Granada, Spain, observe three mysterious lights flash across the sky at great speed, each of which falls in a different part of the village. José María Madiedo at the Universidad de Huelva rules out meteorites because the objects are only seen locally. ("Seen in the Skies," Fortean Times 382, August 2019, p. 17)
March - An airline passenger films a supposed UFO over the Aegean Sea between Turkey and Greece. The film is taken through the airplane window and shows a massive, gray-black, contrail-like object cutting through a layer of clouds. Some investigators conclude it is an F-4 fighter jet of the Greek Air Force. ("Seen in the Skies," Fortean Times 382, August 2019, p. 17)
March 30 - 2:00 p.m. A B787 airliner pilot flying over London, England, sees a red object pass down the right-hand side of the aircraft at 6,000 feet. It is impossible to identify, although it is large enough to cause concern. (UK Airprox Board, " Assessment Summary Sheet for UKAB Meeting on Wednesday 15th May 2019"; "UKAB `Unknown Object' Log 2017-2020," Fortean Times 406 (June 2021): 43)
April - The Parkes Observatory in New South Wales, Australia, picks up a 982.992 MHz radio signal, labeled BLC1, emitted from Proxima Centauri. Researchers from the Breakthrough Listen Project cannot attribute it to any Earth-based or near-Earth human-created source. Shifts in the signal's frequency are consistent with a planet's movement and may be suggestive of a third planet within the system. As of December 2020, follow-up observations have failed to detect the signal again, a step necessary to confirm that the signal is a technosignature. (Wikipedia, " BLC1"; "Signal from Space," Fortean Times 404 (April 2021): 15; David Appell, " Meet the Technosignature Researcher on the Lookout for Exocivilizations," Physics World, February 2, 2022)
April 24 - 8:30 p.m. The USS Zumwalt, a US Navy guided missile destroyer, is in international waters some 17 nautical miles from Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in San Diego County, California. The crew reports as many as six unmanned aerial systems (UAS) operating nearby at altitudes ranging from 300 to 1,000 feet. At one point in the incident, the UAS reportedly crossed over the deck of the USS Zumwalt. As in similar incidents, the drones are documented by the Ship Nautical Or Otherwise Photographic Interpretation and Exploitation (SNOOPIE) team. These sailors essentially act to document dangerous, uncertain, or unusual situations using a variety of commercial-grade cameras. The Navy releases a video of the event in 2022. The only clear feature in the video is a set of several lights in a rectangular formation. The lights appear to be white and green, with an intermittently blinking red light presumed to be in the center of the object. (Adam Kehoe and Marc Cecotti, " Video of Mysterious Drone Swarm over Navy's Most Advanced Destroyer Released (Updared)," The Drive: The War Zone, August 30, 2022)
April 30 - 10:27 a.m. A "round silver drone" is observed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California, flying around the Process Area at a high altitude and "periodically stopping and hovering for several seconds." The object then moves on toward the north, stopping and hovering again for a short period. (Micah Hanks, " U.S. Department of Energy UAP Documents Reveal Puzzling Aerial Incursions near American Nuclear Sites," The Debrief, September 29, 2023)
May 26 - The New York Times reports that US Navy pilots fully briefed AATIP about encounters they had with unexplained objects during the summer of 2014 to March 2015 while flying at high altitudes off the East coast of the United States. (Helene Cooper, Ralph Blumenthal, and Leslie Kean, " `Wow, What Is That?' Navy Pilots Report Unexplained Flying Objects," New York Times, May 26, 2019; Powell, Scientist, 130-131)
July 15 - 8:39 p.m. The USS Rafael Peralta again spots unidentified UAVs between San Clemente Island and San Diego, California, and by 9:00 p.m. the USS Kidd is also reporting them. The drones seem to be pursuing the ships, even as they continue to maneuver throughout the incident. By 9:20 p.m., the USS Kidd logs simply remark "Multiple UAVs around ship." 17 minutes later, the Kidd issues orders for the crew to man what is possibly a Mark 87 Electro-Optical Director to provide surveillance and tracking data. At approximately the same time, the USS Russell records a frenzy of activity, with drones dropping in elevation, and apparently moving forward and backward, left and right. Meanwhile, the USS Rafael Peralta receives a radio call from a passing cruise ship, the Carnival Imagination, notifying them that the drones are not theirs, and that they also see as many as five or six drones maneuvering nearby. The incident continues into the night, with the USS Rafael Peralta first recording two UAVs and then four UAVs near their ship. Approaching midnight, the USS Russell reports a final sighting involving multiple pyramid- shaped objects. Despite the nearly three-hour duration of the event, none of the warships involved appear to have been able to identify the drones. The Navy, Coast Guard, and FBI investigate the matter and are unable to provide an adequate investigation. Leaked photos and videos said to pertain to this incident are released by filmmaker Jeremy Corbell. The materials consist of footage of radar screens showing multiple unknown contacts, video of an object apparently falling into the ocean, and a brief video of a triangular- shaped lights flying over the deck of a ship. The apparent triangular shape of the object has been strongly debated, as many have posited it was the result of a common optical artifact. An investigation by the US Navy indicates that the drones were launched by the Hong Kong-flagged bulk carrier MV Bass Strait, which was likely conducting surveillance on the Navy vessels. (Adam Kehoe and Marc Cecotti, " Multiple Destroyers Were Swarmed by Mysterious `Drones' off California over Numerous Nights," The Drive: The War Zone, March 23, 2021; Jeremy Kenyon Lockyer Corbell, " The US Navy Filmed Pyramid Shaped UFOs," Extraordinary Beliefs, April 8, 2021; " 2019 the US Navy Filmed `Pyramid' Shaped UFOs: Here Is That Footage," Jeremy Corbell YouTube channel, April 8, 2021; " Pyramid UFO, New Footage: It's Just Bokeh, Not a Pyramid," Mick West YouTube channel, April 15, 2021; Graeme Rendall, " `Drone Swarms': UAPs or Other Actors?" UAP Media UK, April 20, 2021; " VFX Artists Debunk Pentagon UFO Videos," Corridor Crew YouTube channel, August 15, 2021; Adam Kehoe and Marc Cecotti, " Bizarre Drone Swarms That Harassed Navy Ships Demystified in New Docs," The Drive: The War Zone, June 11, 2022; Christopher Sharp, " Case Not Closed: DoD to Review 2019 West Coast UFOs Which Harassed US Warships," Liberation Times, May 8, 2023; (Marco Bianchini, " USOs: The Underwater UFOs, Part II," SCU Review 6, no. 3 (July 24, 2025): 20)
August - A US copilot reports watching as "an object suddenly appeared in the windscreen. Before I could even communicate a warning it flew just overhead of our aircraft." "Pilot Flying did not see the object as it passed directly overhead within 50 feet. I immediately commented on a near miss with some type of unidentified object," the observer states in the Aviation Safety Reporting System. The observer offers an intriguing description of the object, noting they initially think they have seen "a large flat type of balloon," though emphasizing that it "appeared solid in nature as it flashed by." Air traffic controllers subsequently communicate that an unauthorized drone is believed to have been operating in the area, based on similar reports indicating the unusual object had been observed "flying east of the airport north of the final approach course." (Micah Hanks, " Pilot UFO Sightings Collected by NASA Reveal Serious Safety Concerns over Objects in US Airspace," The Debrief, August 29, 2023)
November 9 - 5:16 p.m. A young couple are driving home on the A629 near Halifax, West Yorkshire, England, when they see a white glow over the moorland. They stop and get out to watch as they hear the roar of what seem to be fighter jets headed for the glow. Other cars also stop and watch. Some start to film the object and the jets, as do the couple on their cellphones, but the footage is blurry. The mother of the driver starts an appeal on social media for any other witnesses who filmed the event to come forward. Jenny Randles determines that two aircraft are at that location, but they are not military and not jets; they are Partenavia P.68 Observers belonging to Ravenair and flying at 2,200 and 2,300 feet side by side and landing at John Lennon Airport in Liverpool 25 minutes later. No radar target matches the UFO itself. (Jenny Randles, "2020 Vision," Fortean Times 389 (February 2020): 28-29)
November 11 - 5:33 p.m. A commercial aircrew is flying a Boeing 737-800 airliner at 37,000 feet altitude and 506 mph near Marseille, France. The pilot observes an unusual light flying just above their altitude on a collision heading from the right side into the 2 o'clock position relative to the aircraft. It performs a 180° turn and then matches the speed and heading of the airliner before beginning to cross above and in front of its flight path. At this point the pilot uses a cellphone to take a photograph and record 47 seconds of the UFO crossing their flight path, accelerating, and moving away. (Ted Roe, "NARCAP Technical Report 19: Analysis of a November 11, 2019, Aviation Safety-Related Incident Involving a Commercial Airliner and a UAP Over Europe," July 2019)
November 23 - 2:06 a.m. An oddly shaped object (like a "rubber duck") giving off no heat signature is recorded on two 30-minute videos taken from a FLIR camera system onboard an RC-26B aircraft used by the Arizona Air National Guard above the western edge of the San Luis Mountains along the Arizona-Mexico border. The object is flying below the aircraft against the wind with no aerodynamic structures for lift and no visible means of propulsion. The aircraft is circling above it at 157-254 mph. The object seems to be made of two parts tethered together and has no visible lights. Size estimates range from 1-9 feet due to the uncertainty of its distance from the aircraft. Peter Reali of the Scientific Coalition of UAP Studies analyzes the videos and concludes that the "object cannot be explained as any known natural phenomenon or by any known technology used for aeronautical propulsion." (" UFO? UAP? Rubber Duck? What Is It?" 5X5 News YouTube channel, October 8, 2021; Peter Reali, " A Forensic Analysis of `Rubber Duck,' a Publicly Available Video Showing a UAP Purportedly Filmed by Arizona National Guard on November 23, 2019," Scientific Coalition of UFO Studies monograph, November 12, 2022; Ross Coulthart, " NewsNation Presents `Hunting UFOs: The Desert Sky Mystery," NewsNation, May 11, 2025)
December 31 - Dusk. Placido Montoya, a plumber from Fort Morgan, Colorado, gives chase to a mystery drone in Morgan County after seeing blinking lights in the sky. But they take off rapidly and he speeds up to 120 mph before losing them. Vince Iovinella, deputy sheriff at the Morgan County Sheriff's Office, receives more than 30 calls from locals reporting drones "zipping around all over the place." Iovinella himself sees one with red, white, and green lights that he also tries to chase, but it outruns him. (" Attack of the Drones," The Guardian (UK), April 18, 2021)
2020
January 8 - Drones are now being seen in Castle Rock and Parker in Douglas County, Colorado, and Fort Collins in Larimer County. Kerry Garrison, a vice president at drone vendor Multicopter Warehouse in Centennial, claims the drone reports are actually sightings of Starlink satellites launched by SpaceX; although they are at orbital altitude, in a clear sky they can look lower than they really are. But Garrison also visited the eastern plains with other aviation experts to view the drones. He says he saw red lights go zipping by at 100 mph, faster than any drone. A close call with a drone and a Flight for Life helicopter near Fort Morgan, Colorado, prompts officials to add ground-based spotting teams and aircraft equipped to hunt drones. However, an investigation by Colorado Homeland Security later say the incident is unrelated to the drone activity. (" Local Drone Dealer Says Lights Spotted over Castle Rock Were Satellites," KDVR, Denver, January 7, 2020; Paul Seaburn, " Mysterious Drones Fly near Denver As Colorado Residents Fear a Government Cover-Up," Mysterious Universe, January 8, 2020; Brett Tingley, " Surveillance Plane Joins Intensifying Hunt for Mystery Drones over Colorado and Nebraska (Updated)," The Drive: The War Zone, January 8, 2020; Kevin D. Randle, " X-Zone Broadcast Network: Drones, Drones, Drones," A Different Perspective, February 7, 2020; Brett Tingley and The War Zone Staff, " Newly Released FAA Documents Give Unprecedented Look into Colorado Drone Swarm Mystery," The Drive: The War Zone, July 16, 2020)
February 14 - A Popular Mechanics article by UFO investigative writer and retired police lieutenant Tim McMillan says that Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS) was contracted under the auspices of the AATIP program to study UFO reports and purported paranormal phenomena. According to Steven Aftergood, director of the Federation of American Scientists Project on Government Secrecy, the AAWSAP contract "sounds like it was a good deal for the contractor. But it would be hard to argue that either the military or the public got their money's worth." (Tim McMillan, " Inside the Pentagon's Secret UFO Program," Popular Mechanics, February 14, 2020)
March 19 - Night. A commercial Boeing 767 airliner is flying from Mexico City to Houston, Texas. At an approximate position somewhere west of Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, Mexico, the plane is flying north at 37,000 feet at 575 mph when the first officer, looking across to the left side of the cockpit, sees a yellowish-white light descend into view from above. He first thinks that it is a meteor and begins to say so when it suddenly stops at nearly the same altitude as the aircraft. The UFO then projects an illuminating beam of bright white light on the aircraft and appears to take a collision heading. The captain takes a defensive attitude and prepares for evasive measures, but the beam of light illuminating the aircraft ceases, and the UFO suddenly accelerates to the same speed and heading of the aircraft, maintains separation, and begins pacing. The captain estimates that the UFO maintains a distance of 1,000-2,000 feet, near the minimum allowable separation of 1,000 feet. The copilot describes the UFO as a "brilliant yellow white plasma object, teardrop shaped." There are no navigation lights or other features associated with airplanes, and the light seems to have a tail. During the following 30 minutes, the crew observes and takes 8 photographs and four video segments of the UFO, one of which lasts 4:47. The video documents that the Airborne Collision Avoidance System SSR radar does not detect anything while the crew is actively observing the object. As the aircraft and its attendant UFO approaches the Mexico/US border, the light begins to flicker, changes colors from yellow-white to pinkish-purple, and turns on a perpendicular heading away from the aircraft and parallel to the border without crossing into the US. (Ted Roe, " An Independent Analysis of a March 19, 2020, Aviation-Safety Related Incident Involving UAP, Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, over Mexico," NARCAP, June 1, 2020; " UFO near Fedex Flight FX-82: March 19, 2020," NICAP Official YouTube channel, March 10, 2021)
April 27 - The Pentagon officially releases the three videos (Tic-Tac, GIMBAL, and Go Fast) showing UFOs that were previously released between December 2017 and March 2018 by the private company To the Stars Academy of Arts and Sciences. The release states that "the aerial phenomena observed in the videos remain characterized as `unidentified.'" However, the Navy withholds 498 pages in full regarding its internal decision to release the videos, which is a direct result of Freedom of Information Act pressure. (US Department of Defense, " Statement by the Department of Defense on the Release of Historical Navy Videos," April 27, 2020; " Pentagon Officially Releases UFO Videos," CNN, April 29, 2020; David Clarke, "Echoes and Angels: UFOs on Radar," Fortean Times 403 (March 2021): 40; John Greenewald, " The Black Vault's AAWSAP/AATIP and Post 2017 UAP/UFO Timeline Project," The Black Vault, January 21, 2023; John Greenewald, " Navy Withheld Nearly 500 Pages about UAP Video Release Decision, Records Show FOIA Pressure Drove Disclosure," The Black Vault, July 9, 2025)
July 16 - 5:00 a.m. Paul Froggatt sees a glowing orange sphere that follows him as he is cycling through the Oakwood and Blacklow Spinney Woods in Warwickshire, England. The usual early morning birdsong has gone silent. Turning a bend, he encounters a 7-foot-tall, green-colored creature that stands on two legs and looks like a praying mantis. It has a triangular head and two large black eyes that stare at him. He thinks it is trying to transmit evil thoughts into his mind, so he speeds up and escapes it. (Nigel Watson, "M Is for Mantis and Missile," Fortean Times 404 (April 2021): 22)
August - Contractor Andy Segobia is driving to work at El Mirage Field near Adelanto, California, when he sees a metallic sphere hanging in the air at an altitude of only 50 feet. He takes a video of the object with his iPhone and estimates it is about 6-10 feet in diameter. He goes inside for 30 seconds and it has disappeared. The airfield is primarily used for testing unmanned aerial vehicles. (Josh Boswell, " Exclusive: Video Shows Mysterious `Black Glass' UFO Floating in Sky near Airfield Used by Military Contractor General Atomic in El Mirage, California," Daily Mail (UK), January 16, 2024)
August 30 - 6:45 p.m. An American Airlines pilot reports that a man flying in a jet pack has passed by them about 90 feet away at their altitude of 3,000 feet coming into Los Angeles International Airport in California. About 10 minutes later, a Jet Blue Airways pilot spots the flying man. (" FBI Investigating Pilot's Report of `Guy in Jetpack' Flying 3,000 Feet in Air near Planes at LAX," KTTV-TV, Los Angeles, August 31, 2020; Tyler Rogoway, " Airline Pilots Landing at LAX Report a Guy in Jetpack Flying Alongside Them," TheDrive: The War Zone, September 1, 2020; John Greenewald, " Jetpack Man Sighting over Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), August 30, 2020," The Black Vault, February 15, 2021)
September 1 - 10:13 p.m. A B737 is approaching the runway at Leeds Airport, England, at 1,800 feet. Both pilot and First Officer suddenly see a bright light and an object that appears to be headed toward the aircraft, almost head on, slightly up and to the left. It appears without warning and gives them no time to act. After landing, the crew informs Air Traffic Control, who tells them that the West Yorkshire police helicopter had earlier seen "lanterns" in the area, but neither crew member thought that matched what they saw. The UK Airprox Board concludes that a "definite high risk of collision had existed." (UK Airprox Board, " Monthly Meeting October 2020"; "UKAB `Unknown Object' Log 2017-2020," Fortean Times 406 (June 2021): 43)
October 14 - 1:45 p.m. A China Airlines crew member reports what appears to be someone in a jet pack flying at about 6,500 feet roughly seven miles northwest of Los Angeles International Airport, California. The air traffic controller alerts another pilot who is preparing to land, and the Federal Aviation Administration alerts local law enforcement and the FBI. However, it's more likely that the pilots were seeing a battery-powered electric drone fitted with a mannequin. Jet packs would take up too much fuel to get to those altitudes. (" A Man Flying in a Jetpack Has Been Spotted Again in the Skies over Los Angeles," CNN, October 14, 2020; " This Jetpack Maker Isn't So Sure That's What's Been Spotted over the L.A. Skies," NBC News, October 15, 2020; John Greenewald, " Jetpack Man Sighting over Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), October 15, 2020," The Black Vault, March 8, 2021)
November 23 - 4:00 p.m. A US Air Force reconnaissance platform records infrared (FLIR) footage that appears to show a disc-shaped object moving through clouds over the Hindu Kush range near the Afghanistan-Pakistan frontier. It executes a sudden heat plume without any visible heat plume. The three short videos are released to the public on June 17, 2025, by journalists Jeremy Corbell and George Knapp on their Weaponized podcast, who note that the documentation they have seen indicates the US Department of Defense has labeled the object as UAP. (Christopher Sharp, " Newly Released Footage Shows `Disc'-Shaped UFO Making Abrupt Turn over Hindu Kush Mountains," Liberation Times, June 17, 2025; Andreas Müller, " Neue US-Militär-UFO-Videos geleaked," grenzWissenschaft-aktuell.de, June 18, 2025)
2021
January 5 - 5:30 p.m. An observer in Weston, Connecticut, sees a bright white teardrop- shaped object with a neon-green interior crossing a road low in the sky. Its movement is "similar to a shooting star, but the object was much bigger" and traveling too low. (National UFO Reporting Center, " NUFORC UFO Sighting 161470," January 19, 2021; Rich Kirby, " UFO Sightings in Connecticut: Here Are the Latest Reports," Patch Media, Danbury, Conn., April 4, 2021)
January 5 - 10:00 p.m. An observer in Bristol, Connecticut, sees about 13-15 large and dull lights in the sky. Some 10-12 of them are white and flying extremely fast in sync with each other, making swirly shapes. These lights disappear and reappear occasionally. Surrounding the white lights are three stationary black, dim lights in a triangular shape. The formation lasts more than 20 minutes, passes over the entire neighborhood, and is reminiscent of a light show. (National UFO Reporting Center, " NUFORC UFO Sighting 161498," January 19, 2021; Rich Kirby, " UFO Sightings in Connecticut: Here Are the Latest Reports," Patch Media, Danbury, Conn., April 4, 2021)
January 6 - 5:45 p.m. A resident of Naugatuck, Connecticut, notices a bright, slightly bluish "ball of light with rope-like appendages hanging" from it. The sphere is followed a short time later by an exceptionally large and loud helicopter. (Rich Kirby, "UFO Sightings in Connecticut: Here Are the Latest Reports," Patch Media, Danbury, Conn., April 4, 2021)
February 14 - Early morning. Scottish explorer Ashley Cowie photographs a ball of light that hovers above the rock formation known as the Temple of the Moon, an indigenous burial spot close to the summit of La Pena de Juaica, Colombia. More sightings follow, along with better quality images. In June, he obtains five clear photos of anomalous lights from his base at Palo Verde. The folklore of the local Muisca Indians refers to the Juaica lights as "glowing horsemen," "golden balls," "searchlights," and "the charm." In Muisca tradition, they are male and female spirits who combine as airborne lovers to produce rain. The earliest recorded mention of the phenomenon occurs in a Spanish document dating from 1606. (" Project Juaica"; " June 2021 UAP Report," UAP Colombia, July 7, 2021; David Clarke, "Spooklights: A Survey of Transient Luminous Phenomena," Fortean Times 422 (September 2022): 40)
February 21 - 12:19 p.m. An American Airlines Airbus A320 pilot reports a long, cylindrical object like a cruise missile pass above his location west of Clayton, New Mexico. The FAA has no reports of objects on air traffic controller radar screens. (" Intercept: American Airlines Flight 2292 Reports Close Encounter with Unknown Flying Object," Deep Black Horizon, February 21, 2021; Tyler Rogoway, " FAA Releases Statement on Airliner's Encounter with Unknown Object over New Mexico," The Drive: The War Zone, February 24, 2021; John Greenewald, " American Airlines Flight 2292 UFO Encounter, February 21, 2021," The Black Vault, December 18, 2024)
March 24 - 7:30 p.m. A witness in Moosup, Connecticut, watches six fireballs that move "with intent and intelligence. Two of them appear to be floating; the one on the left moves from left to right and the other from top to bottom, while the other spheres stay in one place. The maneuvers continue for 5 minutes before it dissipates. (Rich Kirby, " UFO Sightings in Connecticut: Here Are the Latest Reports," Patch Media, Danbury, Conn., April 4, 2021)
June - Harjit Sajjan, the Canadian Minister of Defence, receives a briefing on Defence research, recent sightings, and historical information on UAP. (Tristin Hopper, " First Reading: Canadian Military Suddenly Takes Notice of UFOs," National Post (Canada), May 10, 2022; Keith Basterfield, " The Canadian Government's Interest in UAP between 2021 and 2024," Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena-Scientific Research, May 16, 2024)
June 4 - According to Chen Li, a member of the Chinese Air Force's Early Warning Academy in Wuhan, China, the Chinese armed forces have a task force on UAPs that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze its data. Human analysts have been overwhelmed by increasing number of military and civilian sightings. The Chinese military uses a three-tier reporting system to gather and analyze UAP reports, and it assigns a "threat index" to each object "based on the observed behaviors, frequencies, aerodynamic design, radioactivity, possible make and materials," and other pertinent information. A radar specialist is Xian says that the increasing use of drones is partially responsible for the increase in reports, as well as increased US military activities in he South China Sea. (Stephen Chen, " China Military Uses AI to Track Rapidly Increasing UFOs," South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), June 4, 2021; Tim McMillan and M. J. Banias, " China Confirms It Has Its Own UFO Task Force," The Debrief, June 4, 2021; Clark IV 1313, 1329)
June 7 - 2:32 p.m. The pilot of a Cessna C82R Skylane light aircraft observes a "25 foot long black triangular" object around 500 feet below them and to the right as they fly at around 6,000 feet near Los Angeles International Airport, California. The crew notifies the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office. (Joseph Trevithick and Tyler Rogoway, " Multiple UAPs Reported on FAA's Internal Hotline in Just a Week," The Drive: The War Zone, July 14, 2023)
June 12 - 5:10 p.m. The crew of an Envoy Air Embraer E170 airliner see a "white and diamond shaped" object traveling fast while they are flying southwest at around 20,000 feet and some 46 miles northeast of Palm Beach International Airport in Florida. The crew sees the UAP "pass underneath" them at around 19,500 feet. The "unknown phenomenon was smaller than their aircraft." They notify the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. (Joseph Trevithick and Tyler Rogoway, " Multiple UAPs Reported on FAA's Internal Hotline in Just a Week," The Drive: The War Zone, July 14, 2023)
July 13 - 1:25 a.m. Ashley Cowie takes a long exposure photograph of a formation of flashing red lights moving in an arc beyond the ridge of the mountain La Pena de Juaica in Colombia. Another set of images taken in March 2022 shows a gaseous, shape-changing blob of light that takes on a vaguely anthropomorphic form. (David Clarke, "Spooklights: A Survey of Transient Luminous Phenomena," Fortean Times 422 (September 2022): 40-41)
July 28 - A man in a jetpack is seen at an altitude 5,000 feet by pilots near Los Angeles International Airport. (John Greenewald, " Jetpack Man Sighting over Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), July 28, 2021," The Black Vault, May 2, 2023)
September 8 - A resident of Oxford, Connecticut, sees three bright but silent objects hovering for about 30-40 seconds right before an intense light appears that seems to be "scanning from front to back." Something or someone is silently lowered out of one of the lights into a field across the street, then quickly drawn back up. Shortly afterward, the lights flash and disappear, but the witness can still see light trails left behind. (Rich Kirby, " Are UFOs over Connecticut Growing Bolder? (We May Never Know)," Patch Media, Brookfield, Conn., January 1, 2022)
October - US diplomats in Bogota, Colombia, and Berlin, Germany, are being affected by Havana Syndrome. (" Havana Syndrome: Berlin Police Probe Cases at US Embassy," BBC News, October 9, 2021; " Havana Syndrome Reported at US Embassy in Colombia," BBC News, October 13, 2021)
October 25 - 8:30 a.m. A witness in Bootle, Merseyside, UK, takes a video that seems to show a comet-like UFO passing through the sky. Ufologist Jenny Randles identifies it as an Emirates Airbus 380 with the low sun illuminating its trail. (Jenny Randles, "Liverpool Echoes," Fortean Times 413 (Christmas 2021): 29)
November 6 - 8.55 a.m. A witness in Marietta, Georgia, photographs a white, cigar-shaped object moving in a westerly direction. (" Strange Cigar-Shaped Object Seen and Photographed," UFOs Northwest, November 23, 2021)
November 11 - 5:13 a.m. A resident of Woodbury, Connecticut, sees a "bright orange glowing object" that resembles an "intense sunrise." The fireball moves behind a hill and the sky returns to its normal nighttime color. (Rich Kirby, " Are UFOs over Connecticut Growing Bolder? (We May Never Know)," Patch Media, Brookfield, Conn., January 1, 2022)
December 3 - 6:00 p.m. A woman driving in downtown Green Bay, Wisconsin, in foggy conditions, spots five lights moving in different directions. The lights merge into one. Three other oval, blue-purple lights also fly through the clouds. She then sees green lights moving very quickly. The sighting lasts 45 minutes and she takes several photos. (" Groups of Multicolored Lights Move Rapidly on Foggy Night," UFOs Northwest, December 4, 2021)
2022
An unnamed military platform in the US Africa Command takes a 31-second infrared video of a UAP. The footage shows an apparent heat signature with characteristics consistent with those of a physical object. However, AARO cannot determine whether the observed signature originates from a physical source, either as a thermal emission or a thermal reflection, or other source, such as a heat differential in the environment or sensor display error. The case is listed as insufficient information. (All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, " PR-001 Unresolved UAP Report, Africa 2022," Defense Visual Information Distribution Service," August 7, 2025)
January 31 - 11:00 a.m. An unnamed 93-year-old woman is walking along Robert Street in Milford Haven, Wales, when she sees a huge, round, shimmering object dipping in and out of the Milford Haven Waterway. It emits a cloud-like smoke from one side, then from the other side. Then the smoke shoots out of both sides simultaneously, going about 2 feet high. Then the object shoots off into the sky. (" 93-year-old among First to Spot Possible UFO in Pembrokeshire," Pembrokeshire Herald, February 4, 2022)
Early February - Night. Isabella Cooper is out for a walk with her father Justin on the Milford Haven side of the Cleddau Estuary. She takes a photo of a blue object several hundred feet in the air above the Valero Pembroke oil refinery. (" Photographer Snaps Possible UFO Sighting in Pembrokeshire Skies," Pembrokeshire Western Telegraph, February 8, 2022)
March 1 - The pilots of two F-35s observe a blue-green object while southbound at 36,000 feet near Glendale, Arizona. (Joseph Trevithick and Tyler Rogoway, " Pilots Are Seeing Some Very Strange Things in Arizona's Military Training Ranges," The Drive: The War Zone, August 2, 2023)
March 2 - National Resources Canada staff appear before a meeting of the House of Commons Standing Committee on National Resources on the Supplementary Estimates. MP Larry Maguire asks a question on incident reporting of drones and UAP, in or near Canadian nuclear facilities. (Keith Basterfield, " The Canadian Government's Interest in UAP between 2021 and 2024," Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena-Scientific Research, May 16, 2024)
April 22 - An F-345 pilot sees "8 silver UAS between 16,000 and 20,000 feet" in the vicinity of Glendale, Arizona. (Joseph Trevithick and Tyler Rogoway, " Pilots Are Seeing Some Very Strange Things in Arizona's Military Training Ranges," The Drive: The War Zone, August 2, 2023)
April 22 - 8:52 p.m. The pilot of an Embraer Phenom business jet flying at 45,000 feet above Kessel, West Virginia, notices a light 10,000 feet above him. It changes to a string of lights. As he passes underneath, he notices the object's lights go out and the aircraft's avionics system fails. Other pilots can see the light as well. Probable Starlink satellite deployment. (John Greenewald, " FAA Confirmed UFO Sighting April 22, 2022, by LXJ359 over Kessel, West Virginia," The Black Vault, May 19, 2022; Groupe d'Études d'Information sur les Phénomènes Aérospatiaux Non-identifiés, " Note d'enquête: Observations liées a Falcon 9," July 4, 2022)
May 14 - A US military Reaper drone takes a 7-second video and six images of a cigar-shaped object north of Baghdad, Iraq, in an active combat zone. (John Greenewald, " The `Baghdad Phantom UAP' Imagery Published by Jeremy Corbell and George Knapp," The Black Vault, March 7, 2023)
June 22 - 4:00 a.m. Philosophy instructor Carlos Paz Morales is driving north from Cafayate to Salta, Argentina, when a light comes flooding in through the rear window of his truck. He pulls onto the shoulder of the road near a rock formation known as El Sapo. He gets out and sees a large, white object in the hills not far away. It is cigar-shaped and moves from left to right in a zig-zag pattern. For the next 5 minutes he watches the object and takes some photos with his cellphone, then it vanishes in an instant. (" Argentina: Teacher from Salta Claims Seeing UFO on the Way to Cafayate," Inexplicata: The Journal of Hispanic Ufology, June 24, 2022)
July 6 - 5:06 p.m. A witness in Spruce Grove, Alberta, is followed by a black, triangular object that buzzes him then flies away. Later, pieces of what appears to be molten metal are found on the ground where he had been standing. (Chris Rutkowski, " Some Interesting UFO Sightings Reported in 2022," Ufology Research, February 6, 2023)
July 22 - 10:25 p.m. A married couple resting in their outdoor garden in Calangianus, Sardinia, Italy, notice a silent, illuminated object moving south to north above their house. It is oblong with sharp edges. The interior seems to have a sparkling light like a disco strobe. They see two luminous points on it that at first seem to flicker, but when they look at it through binoculars, the lights seem to be rotating. The object's speed is constant and similar to that of an airliner. A photograph accompanies the report, but there is no mention of one being taken. (Stefano Innocenti, " Ancora Ufo della Sardegna: Interessante Avvistamento nella Provincia di Sassari," Il Faro (Fiumicino, Italy), July 30, 2022)
July 31 - Just before 12:00 midnight. A bizarre metal orb emblazoned with a secret code and perhaps containing "valuable information inside" falls from the sky onto a tree in Veracruz, Mexico, creating a firestorm of intrigue on social media and in local media. Meteorologist Isidro Cano Luna calls on the Mexican Navy to study the object. (Jason Koebler, " Mysterious Metallic Orb Falls on Mexico, May Contain `Valuable Information,' Meteorologist Says," Vice, August 1, 2022)
August 3 - 10:45 a.m. A witness is driving down his driveway in a rural area of Oxford, Connecticut, when he sees a "bipedal creature about 4 feet tall" run out of the woods to his left, move across the driveway about 30 feet in front of him, and take off into the woods. The creature is brown, skinny, with no fur or hair, and looks like it is not even touching the ground. (Rich Kirby, " Why Has There Been an Increase in UFO Sightings in CT?" Patch Media, Across Connecticut, January 2, 2023)
September 10 - 8:00 p.m. Witnesses sailing on the Fraser River near Vancouver, British Columbia, see a large, disc-shaped object, with a mirror-like finish on its underside, hovering above their sailboat. (Chris Rutkowski, " Some Interesting UFO Sightings Reported in 2022," Ufology Research, February 6, 2023)
October 7 - 10:30 p.m. An aircraft reports a UFO 5.7 miles south of La Crosse (Wis.) Regional Airport flying at 1,500 feet. The airport's air traffic control also sees the object, which has alternating green, red, and blue lights and appears to "look like a jellyfish." It is traveling westbound and shows up as a strong radar target. (John Greenewald, " FAA Confirms `Jellyfish'-Like `Large Unknown Object' over Minneapolis, Minnesota-October 7, 2022," The Black Vault, December 20, 2022)
November 4 - Night. Pilots and flight attendants of Azul Flight 4248 see several lights moving quickly and changing colors over Lagoa dos Patos, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The landing is delayed, and when the plane lands the pilot apologizes to the passengers, saying he had to report the sighting before landing. Carlos Fernando Jung of the Heller and Jung Space Observatory in Taquara, Rio Grande do Sul, finds an unidentified object near Lagoa dos Patos on photographic plates taken at the time. (" Exercício de guerra e novas informaçoes de Ultima Hora sobre OVNIs no Rio Grande do Sul," Galeria do Meteorito YouTube channel, November 11, 2022; Clark IV 1315, 1317-1318)
November 11 - 12:42 p.m. The pilot of a commercial airliner flying over Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, spots a drone flying uncomfortably close to his aircraft. The flight is at 9,000 feet and the crew watches as the drone flies within 200-300 feet off the left wingtip. (Chris Rutkowski, " A Curious Collection of Canadian CADORS Cases," Ufology Research, December 1, 2022)
December 9 - 9:40 p.m. A witness in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, sees a silent, triangle-shaped object with three dim orange lights moving slowly near the Limerick Generating Station on the Schuylkill River. The object heads south, then turns west at the plant. (" Witness Report Claims UFO near Pennsylvania Nuclear Power Plant," NorthCentralPA.com, January 27, 2023)
December 14 - The pilot of an F-35 on a training sortie in the southeastern portion of the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range in southwest Arizona sees a "small black, and metallic object" after detecting it on radar. (Joseph Trevithick and Tyler Rogoway, " Pilots Are Seeing Some Very Strange Things in Arizona's Military Training Ranges," The Drive: The War Zone, August 2, 2023)
December 15 - The pilots of two F-35s detect a UFO, possibly through radar alone, while flying at 16,000 feet through the Gladden and Sells Military Operations Areas, respectively, in Arizona. (Joseph Trevithick and Tyler Rogoway, " Pilots Are Seeing Some Very Strange Things in Arizona's Military Training Ranges>," The Drive: The War Zone, August 2, 2023)
2023
An unnamed military platform in the US Africa Command takes a 4:58 infrared video of an apparent UAP. The footage shows an apparent heat signature with characteristics consistent with those of a physical object. However, AARO cannot determine whether the observed signature originates from a physical source, either as a thermal emission or a thermal reflection, or other source, such as a heat differential in the environment or sensor display error. The case is listed as insufficient information. (All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, " PR-003, Unresolved UAP Report, Africa 2023," Defense Visual Information Distribution Service," August 7, 2025)
January 5 - The pilot of a 56th Fighter Wing F-35 conducting a training sortie in the Gladden Military Operations Area in Arizona makes radar contact with a UFO at 18,700 feet. (Joseph Trevithick and Tyler Rogoway, " Pilots Are Seeing Some Very Strange Things in Arizona's Military Training Ranges," The Drive: The War Zone, August 2, 2023)
January 19 - An F-16 Viper fighter jet flying in the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range in Arizona collides in mid-air with an "orange-white UAS." The supposed drone strikes the fighter's canopy. (Joseph Trevithick and Tyler Rogoway, " Pilots Are Seeing Some Very Strange Things in Arizona's Military Training Ranges," The Drive: The War Zone, August 2, 2023)
January 29 - 11:15 p.m. A Canadian North air crew from Fort McMurray watches two unidentified yellow lights maneuvering east of the airfield at Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. The lights then shift to 10 nautical miles northwest of the city. The air traffic controller can see nothing and has no radar targets. (" Canadian North Crew Reports `Lights in Sky' over Yellowknife," Cabin Radio, February 11, 2023; CADORS Report, no. 2023C0560, February 17, 2023)
February - Early morning. Pilots in two different aircraft observe a fast-moving, elongated white object in an undisclosed location in the US. The incident report states that the pilot "observed [the] unexplained phenomenon at my 2 o'clock at what appeared to be near my altitude or above. I am not sure the distance. At first I thought it to be a reflection in my windscreen, but after moving my head around and point of view, the object stayed steady." "The object appeared rectangular or oblong and milky white," the pilot states. "My First Officer (FO) returned from the forward [lavatory] and observed the object moving briskly southbound with me after I asked him `what is that'. It moved at steady speed southbound and disappeared." "I regret not taking a video, but was taken by what I was seeing," the pilot adds about the fleeting encounter. Within minutes, the pilot receives radio communication from a nearby ARTCC asking "if anyone had seen the light or object." "Another flight captained by a friend also witnessed the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP), along with numerous other aircraft," the pilot writes. "I have never witnessed anything like it in almost 30 years of flying." (Micah Hanks, " Pilot UFO Sightings Collected by NASA Reveal Serious Safety Concerns over Objects in US Airspace," The Debrief, August 29, 2023)
February 1 - 9:30 p.m. Clark Watson observes, from his hotel room in Wyong, New South Wales, a white, blinking light move in from the direction of the ocean. It is joined by a second light and both dart around in the sky and move over the town at a high speed. The lights come in over Tuggerah Lake at around 1,500 feet, then swoop as low as 200-300 feet and move directly above his hotel. He records their movements with a 3-minute mobile phone video, which shows several indistinct, flickering lights moving around in the sky. At one point, the two lights maneuver around a third, solid, unmoving white light before heading back the way they had come. About one hour later, Watson sees a huge triangle with dim lights on its corners move in from over the ocean. It hovers at 400 feet. (" `Giant Triangle': Aussie's `Mind-Blowing' UFO Encounter," news.com.au, September 1, 2024)
February 12 - 4:00 a.m. At least three different commercial flights over Quebec report "seeing very strange lights in the sky, high above the flight paths" that are "moving in a rapid and irregular way." A crew member on a cargo flight from Chicago to Luxembourg reports to air traffic controllers that "It looks like it's more than one and sort of circling." ( CADORS Report, no. 2023Q0623, February 21, 2023)
February 14 - 2:00 a.m. The Atlanta, Georgia, Air Traffic Control Center is notified by three commercial flights of targets detected by all three aircraft's Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance Systems (TCAS). The targets that are detected by two Southwest Airlines pilots and one Spirit Airlines pilot are reported between the southeast and southwest arrival corridors of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. There is no mention of any visual contact made by any of the pilots. The mysterious targets are "not able to be verified" by the Atlanta Air Route Traffic Control Center. (Dustin Slaughter, " As Congress Introduces New UAP Reporting Legislation for Pilots, FAA Reports Continue to Detail Flight Safety Incidents Posed by UAP," The UAP Register, February 10, 2024)
February 14 - An object is detected floating over southeast Romania at an altitude of 36,000 feet. The Romanian Air Force quickly scrambles two MiG 21 Lancer jets to the scene, but they are unable to find the object. Later, Moldova closes its airspace for more than three hours due to an "object similar to a weather balloon" detected near the Ukrainian border. (" Moldava Briefly Closed Its Airspace, Raising Tensions in a Country Shaken by the War," New York Times, February 14, 2023; James Felton, " Romania Sends Jets to Deal with Mysterious Object Floating in Its Airspace," IFLScience, February 15, 2023)
March 1 - Eamonn J. Ansbro of the Kingsland Observatory in Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland, says the facility has recorded about 40 instances of "balls of light" in the vicinity of Lough Key since the year 2000. The observatory's camera tracking system has recorded them numerous times, but the images are usually fuzzy. He speculates that this is "because we are dealing with a . new space-time situation within the objects as they are casting their light. The whole time dilation is different . that's why we get the fuzzy images." ("UFO Hotspot Ireland Identified As Astronomer Says 40 Incidents Reported at Observatory," Galway (Ireland) Beo, February 28, 2023)
March 26 - After 11:00 p.m. Several residents of Castrop-Rauxel, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, observe a point of light against the clouds. A cellphone video taken of the phenomenon seems to show another sphere leaving a trail of light in the air and through the clouds. The duration of 3 hours hints at a searchlight, with the video an artifact of the camera. (Andreas Müller, " Kurioses Lichterschauspiel am Himmel über Castrop-Rauxel," grenzWissenschaft-aktuell.de, April 3, 2023)
April - Morning. A pilot flying an air carrier out of an undisclosed airfield in New York State encounters a dark-colored object potentially "as large as a small business-type jet aircraft" that is also detected on the radar of the nearest air traffic control center. "During climb out on departure," a portion of the pilot's report reads, "we encountered an unidentified flying object or phenomena of some sort," which reportedly occurs between the MSLIN and STOMP FIX geographical positions. "The object was brought to our attention by ATC when they advised us of a primary radar target that was at our 9 o'clock position within a half-mile distance," the pilot states in the report. "The close proximity of the traffic advisory raised our attention to the threat." The pilot states that the object is observed close to the 8 o'clock position on the captain's side of the aircraft flying at the same altitude of 25,000 feet above mean sea level at the time the first visual contact is made. The object or aircraft seems to maintain its track, moving to the 7 o'clock position relative to the reporter's aircraft, at which time it is no longer deemed a potential threat. The object, which cannot be identified by the pilot, is described as potentially being some kind of large unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or possibly "a single ship military fighter/trainer aircraft," which the pilot judges to have been traveling at least 200 knots. (Micah Hanks, " Pilot UFO Sightings Collected by NASA Reveal Serious Safety Concerns over Objects in US Airspace," The Debrief, August 29, 2023)
April 17 - 4:30 a.m. Frontier Airlines flight FFT1164 notifies an Air Traffic Control Center near Fort Bragg, North Carolina, that two bright lights in their vicinity are turning on and off at an altitude of 35,000 feet. The ATC confirms two primary targets at that location as the tracks appear and disappear on the scope. Suddenly, the two targets reappear two miles south of the position before disappearing completely. The encounter lasts approximately 25 minutes. (Dustin Slaughter, " As Congress Introduces New UAP Reporting Legislation for Pilots, FAA Reports Continue to Detail Flight Safety Incidents Posed by UAP," The UAP Register, February 10, 2024)
April 26 - 9:00 a.m. A witness is driving east on Killam Drive near the Wheeler Boulevard overpass in Moncton, New Brunswick, when he sees a white object with two windows hovering about 500 feet above the Moncton Coliseum. It fades out of sight or into the clouds by the time he reaches Millennium Drive. He estimates it is 70 feet wide with extensions that might be wings. (Bob Spearing, " MUFON Cases #130602 & 130105 a Stealth B-21 Raider?" Mutual UFO Network news, November 13, 2023)
May 20 - At least 18 flights are suspended at Gaziantep Oguzeli International Airport in Gaziantep, Turkey, after a commercial aircraft reports an alleged UFO on its radar at 9,000 feet. Air traffic control is also said to have detected the target. Flights resume 12 hours later. (" Report: Turkish Airport Suspends Flights for 12 Hours Following `UFO Sighting,'" New Straits Times (Malaysia), May 20, 2023)
May 22 - 9:30 a.m. After China Airlines Flight CI152 reports a suspected drone-like object about 1,000 feet above a runway at Taoyuan International Airport, Taiwan, the airport suspends takeoffs and landings for about 40 minutes. ("` Unidentified Flying Object' Forces Closure of Taiwan Taoyuan Airport," Taiwan News, May 22, 2023)
May 29 - 7:53 p.m. A Morningstar Aircraft is flying above Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, when the flight crew observes an object about 6 feet in height with a white dome and a red device underneath it. It is less than half a mile from the airplane. (Chris Rutkowski, " Mining the Transport Canada Incident Reports for UFOs," Ufology Research, July 25, 2023)
June 3 - 10:00 a.m. Four witnesses in a parking lot across from the Meijer's grocery store in Bad Axe, Michigan, hear a loud noise and see two military airplanes flying together. They appear to be interested in a white, metallic disc that overtakes the jets, hovers, spins, and outmaneuvers them. The jets apparently shoot some type of flares at it. The witnesses describe the maneuvers as a dogfight. After three attempts, the jets move away. The disc silently shoots off in the opposite direction. (" Fighter Jets Circle UAP in Michigan on June 3," National UFO Reporting Center, June 6, 2023; Mark Birdsall, " Something Happened in the Skies over Bad Axe on June 3-But What?" Huron (Mich.) Daily Tribune, June 16, 2023)
June 27 - 7:50 p.m. Seven mystery drones fly above the Koh Nhek district, Mondulkuri province, Cambodia, appearing as fuzzy white lights in videos shot by local troops. The same type of drone was seen one week earlier. The Cambodian Border Troops initially think they are of Vietnamese origin, but the Vietnam government denies any involvement. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen orders a detachment of 500 troops equipped with 200 anti-aircraft weapons to the border and offers a $20,000 bounty to any military unit that shoots one down. (" Video: Unidentified Drones Spotted Flying over Cambodian Territory," Khmer Times (Phnom Penh), June 28, 2023; " PM Promises $20,000 Bounty for Military Unit Who Shoot Down `Mystery Drones,'" Khmer Times (Phnom Penh), June 28, 2023)
July 11-August - Villagers in the indigenous Ikitu village of San Antonio de Pintujacu, in the Alto Nanay district of Peru, claim that 7-foot-tall green entities with large heads and yellowish eyes are attacking them each night, causing injuries. They are impervious to bullets and move by floating. Representatives from the police and Peruvian Navy visit the area to assess the situation. (Sam Allcock, " Peruvian Villagers Report Attacks by 7ft Armoured Aliens Resembling Green Goblin from Spider-Man," Z News Service, August 7, 2023; "Peru vs. Aliens," Fortean Times 436 (October 2023): 4-5; " Peruvian Alien Encounter of June 2023," Fiction, 2024)
July 14 - Australian astro-photographer Ari Rex captures an odd oblong light on a time-lapse image near Gundaroo, New South Wales. However, he later determines that "the mysterious object is actually the fumes from the Chandrayaan-3 rocket launched by India to explore the Moon." (Georgia Curry, " Canberra Astro-Photographer Captures Incredible Image in Our Night Sky," Canberra Weekly, August 2, 2023; James Coleman, " Canberra Astro-Photographer '99.99% Sure' UFO Mystery Is Solved," Riotact, August 8, 2023)
July 28 - Portuguese MEP Francisco Guerreiro poses a question in the European Parliament on whether the European Commission, the European Defence Agency, or the European Union Aviation Safety Agency have any protocols for collecting UAP reports. (" European Reports and Protocols on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena," European Parliament, Parliamentary Question E-002375/2023, July 28, 2023)
September 3 - 9:00 p.m. A woman is walking her dog a few blocks from the Susquehanna River in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. Her dog, which is deaf, looks up into the sky and she sees a bright flash of light similar to a starburst. Hovering about 300 feet above her building is a massive, solid black, triangular object with rounded corners. The surface of the object has a flat-matte black color. It has no individual lights, but it has two circular protuberances on the back section that are possible vents, which have an orange color that she assumes is metal cooling down from an intense heat. Other indentations or protrusions are visible on the underside. She detects a barely audible humming sound, then a click as the object begins to move slowly away. Suddenly it takes off in a blur of speed and disappears. (Stan Gordon, " Solid Black Triangular UFO/UAP Hovers Low over Pennsylvania Building," Stan Gordon's UFO Anomalies Zone, October 9, 2023)
October 13 - Evening. Residents and tourists on the beach at Mazagón, Huelva, Spain, watch and take videos of lights in the sky moving at impossible angles and high speed and changing colors. (" Un avistamiento de un OVNI en la playa de Mazagón," Huelva Información, October 15, 2023; Ulrich Magin, "And the Depths Below!" Fortean Times 440 (January 2024): 19)
November 18 - 11:02 a.m. Omni Air International Flight 1169 en route from Honolulu, Hawaii, to Fort Worth, Texas, encounters "several bright, erratic lights directly in front and above their flight path" as it approaches Los Angeles International Airport in California. Concerned about a possible collision, Flight 1169 requests "deviations 20 degrees left to avoid the lights." Once granted by Air Traffic Control, the plane shifts course and then continues on its way without further incident. The flight returns to its original course, noting that the lights are "80 miles off their right side" and approximately over the El Toro FAA radio station, east of Costa Mesa, California. The FAA entry emphasizes that it is "not a UAS [unmanned aerial system] report." (Dustin Slaughter, " As Congress Introduces New UAP Reporting Legislation for Pilots, FAA Reports Continue to Detail Flight As Congress Introduces New UAP Reporting Legislation for Pilots, FAA Reports Continue to Detail Flight Safety Incidents Posed by UAP," The UAP Register, February 10, 2024)
December 2 - 11:04 p.m. Air Traffic Control staff at Great Falls International Airport, Montana, spots more than five "lit objects flying in a circular pattern," according to an FAA report. "Lights changed in intensity consistent with circling or holding pattern at different altitudes." While some features of the sighting are consistent with a Starlink launch, additional details are not: "Movement not always circular in pattern, but at times appeared to form up in formation or move to/from the area." Security personnel at Malmstrom Air Force Base, located 20 miles east, also witness the objects. (Dustin Slaughter, " As Congress Introduces New UAP Reporting Legislation for Pilots, FAA Reports Continue to Detail Flight Safety Incidents Posed by UAP," The UAP Register, February 10, 2024)
2024
An unnamed military platform in the US Africa Command takes a 1:18 infrared video of an apparent group of unidentified objects. AARO determines that the objects are almost certainly a group of migratory birds. (All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, " PR-002, Resolved as Migratory Birds, Africa 2024," Defense Visual Information Distribution Service," August 7, 2025)
January 31 - Portuguese MEP Francisco Guerreiro poses a question in the European Parliament on why the preparatory work for an EU Space Law does not include a UAP reporting and monitoring system. (" UAP Monitoring and Reporting in the EU Space Law," European Parliament, Parliamentary Question E-000318/2024, January 31, 2024; Jochen Ickinger, " UAP in the European Parliament, Part 2," UAP Check, February 28, 2024)
February 9 - 12:23 a.m. The pilot of a Jazz Aviation Bombardier Challenger CL600 business jet flying above Black Rock Mountain, Alberta, notices three bright lights that "grow dimmer." More lights appear and disappear for the next few minutes. Air traffic control reports no air traffic in the vicinity. (Chris Rutkowski, " UFOs Reported through Transport Canada on March 18-19, 2024," Ufology Research, March 19, 2024)
February 12 - An American Airlines pilot reports a high-speed object with a flashing orange light while flying between Boston, Massachusetts, and Harrisburg. Pennsylvania. An audio recording posted on YouTube allegedly documents the conversation between the unidentified pilot and air traffic control. (" Pilot Spots UFO While Flying from Boston: `Bright Orangy Thing,'" Flight Simulator Fantasy - F.S.F. YouTube channel, February 16, 2024; Timothy Frudd, " Audio: Pilot Spots UFO Mid-Flight: Report," American Military News, February 28, 2024)
February 16 - 7:04 p.m. Two pilots flying an airliner at 36,000 feet near or off the coast of South Carolina watch a large, triangular object, "roughly the size of a football field," moving at about 4,000 feet below them. The object has three white lights at its corners and a central red light at its rear, which blinks out after 30 seconds. Neither onboard radar for the Traffic Collision Avoidance System detects it. After about 3 minutes, the object appears to emit a static discharge and vanishes, leaving the pilots to wonder whether it had accelerated or merely gone dark. They capture a few photos of the object on a cellphone. (National UFO Reporting Center, " NUFORC Sighting 180940," April 27, 2024)
February 27 - 3:20 a.m. Two witnesses in Pozzuoli, Campania, Italy, see three whitish lights flying at a high altitude. After a few seconds, one manages to film the lights briefly before they disappear. (" UFO Sighting in Pozzuoli: Mysterious Lights in the Night Sky," Il Mattino (Naples), April 5, 2024)
March 1 - Canada's Chief Science Advisor Mona Nemer announces that the first report of the Sky Canada Project will be ready in late summer or early fall. The project, launched in the fall of 2022, has contacted counterparts in the US and France, while also collecting information from Canadian departments and agencies like the Department of National Defence, Transport Canada, the Canadian Space Agency, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. (Canada, " Sky Canada Project"; " Canadian Government's Top Science Advisor Provides Update on Official UFO Study," CTV News, March 1, 2024)
March 10 - Early morning. After receiving a report of a pulsating orange blob above Scotts Bottom Road east of Green River, Wyoming, MUFON State Director Richard W. Beckwith heads to an observation point with a video camera, a telephoto lens, and a tripod. The light sems to oscillate back and forth for about 40 minutes, and at one point a smaller white light seems to emerge from it, hover for a few minutes, then disappear. Beckwith captures the object and its movements on video. (" City Attorney for Rock Springs Captures Video of `UFO' near Green River," Cowboy State Daily (Lander, Wyo.), March 11, 2024)
March 16 - 7:04 p.m. German astrophotographer Sebastian Voltmer is taking videos of the Moon with a smartphone attached to a telescope on the Spicherer Höhen, a historical landmark on the French side of the border just south of Saarbrücken, Germany. He captures a swiftly moving bright object flitting across the lunar terminator. The high speed is improbable for a satellite or spacecraft, and although it could be a meteor, the International Meteor Organization does not show a match with a known observation. The telescope's focus range rules out an insect, and a high-flying bird is unlikely because the sun has already set. (" Strange Lunar Observation!" spacemovie YouTube channel, March 16, 2024; Andreas Müller, " Bekannter Astrofotograf filmt unidentifiziertes Objekt vor dem Mond," grenzWissenschaft-aktuell.de, March 19, 2024)
March 25 - 2:30 p.m. Spirit Airlines NKS 3380 passenger Michelle Reyes spots a "flying cylinder" from her window as her plane is heading into LaGuardia Airport in New York City. One other passenger also notices the object. She takes a video that she posts on her Facebook page and alerts the Federal Aviation Administration by email. The object appears to be flying very fast and is only on five frames of the video. MUFON investigator Thomas Wertman estimates the object is at 2,500 feet and relatively close to the aircraft. However, Mick West thinks the object is moving slowly and is consistent in appearance with a balloon. (" Caught on Camera: Possible UFO Reported over New York's LaGuardia Airport: Banfield," NewsNation YouTube channel, April 25, 2024; " UFO Spotted over New York City? Here's Is the Truth," The Economic Times, April 25, 2024; Metabunk.org thread, " Michelle Reyes, LaGuardia UFO from Plane Window," April 2024; National UFO Reporting Center, " NUFORC Sighting 180939," April 27, 2024)
March 28 - 9:20 a.m. Mike Pritchard and his 13-year-old son are traveling south on Colorado Highway 9 approaching Hoosier Pass when they see a strange metallic object hovering just above the tree line on the left. It is spherical but slightly flattened at top and bottom, and apparently between 9 to 30 feet in diameter. Snowbanks prevent Pritchard from pulling over, so he continues watching it for about 2 minutes while he drives. (Robert Powell, " UAP Sighting by SCU Member, Mike Pritchard," SCU Review 6, no. 1 (January 27, 2025): 13-15)
April 8 - 11:30 a.m. Two people are in Irwin, Pennsylvania, entering the exit ramp from US Highway 30 to travel on Interstate 76 when they notice a smooth, white, cylindrical object low above the "business district." It is distinctly visible against a cloudy background and seems rounded on the front end and square on the back. As the object rises higher in the sky, it becomes a brighter white. The total viewing time is 5-10 seconds. (Stan Gordon, " Two Daylight, Low Level UFO/UAP Sightings Reported above Populated Communities in Southwest Pennsylvania, April 2024," Stan Gordon's UFO Anomalies Zone, April 15, 2024)
April 9 - During a meeting of Japan's House Committee on Security, Rep. Yoshiharu Asakawa raises a question about whether the government is utilizing a UAP tracking platform similar to the Gremlin System used by the US Army. Defense Minister Minoru Kihara replies that he will propose developing such a data collection system. Asakawa asks whether the Japanese military is capable of intercepting UAP over sensitive areas, citing a report of objects near Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's residence and Yokosuka Air Force Base. Defense officials reply that they have that capability, but are unable to verify the report. (Baptiste Friscourt, " Japanese Minister of Defense Says Responding to Unidentified Objects Is `Essential,'" Sentinel News Substack, April 9, 2024)
May 28 - Japanese lawmakers form a nonpartisan council (the "Parliamentary League for UAP Clarification from a Security Perspective") of 16 members chaired by former Minister of Defense Yasukazu Hamada that will ask the government to set up an agency to investigate UAP sightings from the perspective of national security. Former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi will serve as secretary-general. The group will hold its founding general meeting on June 6. (Japan UAP Study Team, " UFO Parliamentary League Established," X post, May 28, 2024; " Japan Lawmakers to Create Group for Government Probes into UFOs," Japan Times, May 28, 2024; " In the Name of Security, Diet Group Planned to Study UFOs," Asahi Shimbun (Tokyo), May 29, 2024; Keith Basterfield, " The Japanese Government and UAP" Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena-Scientific Research, June 1, 2024)
June 3 - 6:00 p.m. Air Traffic Control personnel at Stewart International Airport near Newburgh, New York, observe a 50-foot-long object appear about 4 miles to the southwest. It remains hovering at 4,000 feet for 50 minutes before disappearing into the clouds. Airport radar is unable to detect the object. AARO conducts an investigation. (Dustin Slaughter, " Large `Boomerang-Shaped' Object spotted near New York Airport Remains Unidentified, Pentagon Says," The UAP Register, December 26, 2024)
July 2 - 11:15 a.m. A man is driving south on US Highway 119 about one mile south of Smithfield, Pennsylvania, when his radio gets "staticky" and his car stalls out. He notices a large, black, cylindrical object, perhaps 30 feet long and about 300 feet overhead. There is a pale-green haze around one end of the object. It hovers for a few seconds then moves off behind some trees where it alternately hovers and moves east for a few seconds about one mile away. He gets out of his car to take a few pictures with this cellphone, but they only show a dark object with no detail. Another motorist has pulled over after experiencing car trouble and seeing the object. The batteries on both cars appear to be dead, but they start up again after about 30 minutes. (" Two Vehicles Stall on Pennsylvania Highway As Cylindrical UFO Passes Low Overhead (July 2, 2024)," Stan Gordon's UFO Anomalies Zone, September 8, 2024)
August 1 - 8:00-9:00 p.m. A woman is with her teenage son at Anthony Lakes in eastern Oregon. She sees a small amber light across the lake flickering and blinking on the western shoreline. It blinks on and off several times before turning off for good. At 10:30 p.m., as they are walking along a trail near their campground, they see a bright orange and red light approximately 350 feet away and near the northwest part of the lake. They shine their flashlights at it, and the light begins approaching them, growing larger, but then stops and hovers about 6 feet above the water. They wake up her uncle at the campground, and he gets up and watches the light as well. The teenager says that there are flames around the sphere that look like plasma. (National UFO Reporting Center, " NUFORC UFO Sighting 183117," September 23, 2024)
September 17 - 2:30 p.m. A US military pilot code-named Troy21 flying a Beechcraft Super King Air 350C on a classified flight involving a Homeland Security drug interdiction mission at 20,000 feet over Kings County, California, reports a gray, cylindrical object passing directly underneath his wing and traveling eastward. The pilot estimates the object to be 10 feet below the aircraft and flying at Mach 2 speed in 2 minutes. He then tracks the object via onboard radar about 60 miles away. (National UFO Reporting Center, " NUFORC UFO Sighting 183084"; Ashleigh Banfield, " Military Pilot's Reported Encounter with UFO: `This Is Going to Sound Weird,'" NewsNation, February 20, 2025; Shane Galvin, " US Air Force Pilot Reports Close Encounter with `Football-Sized' UFO in Leaked Audio: `Right under My Wing,'" New York Post, February 20, 2025; " UFO `Tic Tac' Encounter Described by Plane Crew Member," NewsNation, April 24, 2025; " Tic-Tac UAP Buzzes Homeland Security Flight," National UFO Reporting Center, April 30, 2025)
October 3 - Two witnesses in Seaside, Oregon, watch a silent, triangular object, about 40-50 feet long and flying at 100-150 feet in altitude, approaching their property from the south. Two steady bright lights are at two of the corners and pointing down. A larger third light is in the center and blinking every 2-3 seconds. It moves away to the north, apparently following US Highway 101. (National UFO Reporting Center, " NUFORC UFO Sighting 183328," October 7, 2024)
November 1 - 9:20 p.m. A commercial aircraft that has just taken off from Salt Lake City (Utah) International Airport en route to Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport in Oregon levels off at 36,000 feet and notices a group of about 5 or 6 bright white lights circling one another. The lights increase in speed corresponding to the intensity of the light. At one point, they form a triangle and remain motionless. The pilot and crew watch them for 45-50 minutes. (National UFO Reporting Center, " NUFORC UFO Sighting 183840," November 8, 2024)
November 18-December 2 - Night. From five to twelve unidentified large drones are reported swarming above several areas in Morris County, New Jersey, including the US Army's Picatinny Arsenal, for 2 hours on November 18. The drone sightings are followed by appearances of military aircraft, a Blackhawk helicopter, and a New Jersey State Police helicopter. The sightings continue nightly, except for November 28. It is perhaps this incident that prompts the FBI to open an investigation into the mystery drones. The FBI opens a tip line, at first locally, then statewide, which records more than 5,000 drone sightings by December 18. Nancy Read, who lives on Ironia Road in Mendham, sees groups of drones-one stationary, the others "in and out of the tree line"-for long periods of time between 8:00 and 10:00 p.m. near the Randolph Regional Animal Shelter. Witness Mike Walsh estimates the largest drones are the size of a car. One night he is on a ridge near Black River Middle School in Chester, where he counts eight drones flying at once. He also sees multiple drones above Randolph's Company 4 Firehouse on Dover-Chester Road. Walsh reports the drones to Mendham and Randolph police. The Ocean County (N.J.) Sheriff's Office's Drone Unit, armed with a flight radar tracker, sets up a mobile command center at Hiering Avenue and Ocean Terrace in Seaside Heights to search for mystery drones; their radar definitely tracks unmanned devices that are 3-4 feet long and fly at speeds up to 60 mph. On the other hand, many of the videos posted on social media, upon analysis, actually do show aircraft. (Wikipedia, " 2024 United States drone sightings"; Howard Altman, " Army Arsenal Seeking Info on Mysterious Drone Flights over Installation," The War Zone, November 19, 2024; Adam Harding, " FBI Joins Hunt for Answers behind Nightly Drone Sightings in New Jersey," WNBC-TV, New York City, December 2, 2024; Tina Kelley, " Mysterious Drone Night Flights Leave N.J. Residents on Edge," NJ.com, December 2, 2024; Nick Caloway, " Video Shows Drones Circling the Skies of New Jersey: Here's What the FBI Is Doing about Them," CBS New York, December 3, 2024; Morris County (N.J.) Prosecutor's Office, " Law Enforcement Advises Public How to Report Drones Activity," December 3, 2024; Kyle Morel, " Mysterious Drone Sightings Continue in Additional North Jersey Spots: Here's Where," North Jersey Media Group, December 4, 2024; " Ocean County Sheriff's Unit Tracking Drones: See How They Are Confirming Sightings," Asbury Park (N.J.) Press, December 15, 2024; Department of Homeland Security, " CTAB: NJ Drones," December 18, 2024; " Many Videos That Purport to Show Drones in New Jersey Likely Show Planes, Visual Analysis Finds," New York Times, December 19, 2024; John Greenewald, " DHS Briefing Details Select Drone Sightings in New Jersey, Highlights Potential Misidentifications among 5,000+ Reports," The Black Vault, May 5, 2025; Howard Altman, " What Were the New Jersey Drones? Former High-Ranking FAA Official Gives his Take," The War Zone, August 21, 2025)
December 3-4 - Unidentified drones are observed over the USAF's Ramstein Air Base near Ramstein- Miesenbach, Germany, as well as above locations belonging to the German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall and the chemicals group BASF. (" Mögliche Spionagedrohnen fliegen über US-Militärbasis Ramstein," Der Spiegel, December 13, 2024; " Unidentified Drones Spotted over US Air Base in Germany, Report Says," The Guardian (UK), December 13, 2024; Thomas Newdick, " U.S. Air Force Confirms Drone Sightings over Ramstein Air Base in Germany," The War Zone, December 13, 2024)
December 7 - 8:39 p.m. A United Airlines pilot flying over Willamette National Forest east of Eugene, Oregon, reports red, circular lights moving erratically toward the ocean and returning at various altitudes from 30,000 to 50,000 feet. Another crew member on the same flight observes the objects moving in corkscrew patterns at an extreme speed. At 8:46 p.m., a pilot flying a Life Flight medical evaluation plane over Siuslaw National Forest northwest of Eugene sees a red light going in circles about 20 miles away at an altitude of 1,000 feet. It zips toward the plane and then reverses to the ocean at high speed. A 44-minute recording of air traffic controllers talking to the pilots is archived from LiveATC.net. (" Pilots Report Mysterious Lights `Moving at Extreme Speeds' across Oregon Skies," KGW-TV, Portland, Oreg., December 11, 2024; Flynn Nicholls, " Pilots Told to `Maneuver; around Oregon `UFO' in Leaked Cabin Audio," Newsweek, December 11, 2024; Flynn Nicholls," Pilot Encountered Mystery Objects `Moving at Extreme Speed': FAA," Newsweek, December 12, 2024)
December 12 - 5:25 p.m. A witness in Clinton, New Jersey, watches a drone flying from northeast to north, dipping up and down while spraying a gray mist. The Transportation Security Administration identifies the object "with a high confidence level" as a Beechcraft Baron 58 aircraft experiencing turbulence. The gray mist is explained as a condensation cloud caused by rapid pressure changes over the surfaces of its wings. (Transportation Security Administration, " LE/FAMS NWK Sightings Review," December 17, 2024)
December 23 - Night. A flight crew is flying an empty private jet over the Bahamas when air traffic control in Miami, Florida, asks the pilot to identify an unknown radar target to the west. The pilot sees three objects, but flight attendant Cassandra Martin only sees one white light that turns slightly green. Martin takes a cellphone video that shows a spherical object darting about. It stays with the aircraft for 45 minutes before the crew loses sight of it. Later, they notice it has moved high above their altitude of 45,000 feet. (" UFO Sighting? Fort Lauderdale Flight Crew Spots Something Strange in the Sky," WTVJ-TV, Miami, Florida, January 9, 2025)
2025
January 3-4 - 10:30 p.m. From 4-20 mystery drones are reported above the marina at Koge, Denmark. Danish police verify the initial report, and the last drones are seen disappearing above the Koge Bugt at 1:16 a.m. (" Mystiske dromer: Nu reagerer PET," Ekstra Bladet (Copenhagen, Denmark), January 4, 2025; " Danish Police Investigate Mystery Drone Sightings," Deutsche Welle, January 4, 2025)
January 15 - The Office of the Chief Science Advisor of Canada releases its first preliminary report on the Management of Public Reporting of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena in Canada: A Preview of the Upcoming Sky Canada Report. It contains a Message from the chief science advisor, Mona Nemer, and an executive summary. These are followed by two appendices, the first a list of contributors and experts consulted and the second the results of a survey of Canadians by an outside agency regarding opinions on UAP. It recommends that a federal agency such as the Canadian Space Agency be designated to handle UAP reports, and that Transport Canada should actively encourage pilots to report UAP. A full report will be released later in the year. (Government of Canada, Preview: Sky Canada Report from the Office of the Chief Science Advisor of Canada, January 2025; Chris Rutkowski, " The Sky Canada Project `Preview Report,'" Ufology Research, January 15, 2025; " What We Learned from Canada's First UFO Report in Decades," CTV News, January 15, 2025; Baptiste Friscourt, " Government: 27% of the Canadian Population Claim to Have Observed UFOs," Sentinel News, February 18, 2025)
January 21 - 5:00 a.m. A witness near Hopwood, Pennsylvania, notices a light outside his window that is coming from three spherical objects, each the size of a basketball, sitting in his yard. They immediately come together to form a single white light that is much brighter and shoots up into the sky after a few seconds. (Stan Gordon, " Three Glowing Orbs on the Ground Rise Straight Up into the Sky in Pennsylvania," Stan Gordon's UFO Anomalies Zone, February 1, 2025)
January 22 - Projekt Záre in the Czech Republic reports 41 observations of UFOs during 2024. (Martin Chlebovsky, " 2024 UAP Reports from Czechia," UAP Check, January 22, 2025)
January 26 - 7:20 p.m. Two witnesses in Steeleville, Illinois, watch a silent object shaped like a black diamond moving to the northwest about 20 mph some 80 feet above their house. It has dimly glowing lights on its bottom front section. It remains in sight for 10 seconds. (National UFO Reporting Center, " NUFORC UFO Sighting," January 31, 2025)
February - Morning. Roughly 15 miles from Fort Worth, Texas, the pilot of a cargo aircraft encounters a white, elongated drone that passes approximately 100 feet above the cockpit while the plane is flying at 15,500 feet. "It appeared to be not a small hobby drone, and it looked maybe 3 to 4 feet long," the pilot wrote in an Aviation Safety Reporting System report. (Tim McMillan, "` We Are Going to Have a Catastrophic Incident': Drone Incursions in Restricted Airspace Are Surging in 2025," The Debrief, May 30, 2025)
March 1 - Near Gillespie Field in El Cajon, California, the pilot of a Cessna 172 is forced to take evasive action to avoid a potential midair collision with a drone. Tower personnel confirms the UAV is flying at 1,000 feet, approximately half a mile west of the airport. The drone begins trailing the Cessna, prompting authorities to suspend all air operations at Gillespie for more than 30 minutes. A San Diego County Sheriff's Department helicopter is dispatched to investigate, but deputies cannot locate the drone. (Tim McMillan, "` We Are Going to Have a Catastrophic Incident': Drone Incursions in Restricted Airspace Are Surging in 2025," The Debrief, May 30, 2025)
March 28 - The Japanese government's UAP investigatory group holds a second general meeting that features online video presentations by Christopher Mellon, Timothy Gallaudet, Peter Skafish, and Rep. Eric Burlison. ([ The 2nd General Meeting of the Parliamentary League for Clarifying Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena from a National Security Perspective], Niconico News YouTube channel, March 27, 2025; Keith Basterfield, " Recent Japanese Government Interest in UAP," Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena-Scientific Research, March 31, 2025)
April 4 - Chris Rutkowski releases statistics on UFO reports in Canada during 2024, showing 1,008 reports filed, 3.77% of which are considered unexplained. (Chris Rutkowski, " Results of the 2024 Canadian UFO Survey," April 4, 2025)
April 24 - 9:00 p.m. Two witnesses observe a dark metallic, octahedron-shaped object near Granite High School in Porterville, California. The object, estimated to be 600-800 feet away and about the size of a UPS truck, flies silently and without lights, matching the vehicle's speed (30- 35 mph) while traveling parallel to it. When one of the witnesses points it out, the object instantly makes a sharp 90° turn and flies toward the city, disappearing after 10-15 seconds. The witness describes the craft as having markings or engravings-possibly resembling ancient hieroglyphics-visible due to moonlight. There are no windows, cockpit, or sound. (National UFO Reporting Center, " NUFORC UFO Sighting 188813," April 10, 2025)
May 16 - Members of the Japanese "Parliamentary League for UAP Clarification from a Security Perspective" deliver a formal proposal to Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, urging the government to strengthen surveillance and data collection in response to recent incursions by drones and surveillance balloons, particularly those believed to originate from China. The proposal calls for the ministry to form a specialized division focused on three key tasks: collecting and analyzing UAP-related data, disclosing relevant findings to the public, and reporting investigation results regularly to the National Diet. ([ The Bipartisan UAP Diet Members' League], Fuji News Network, May 16, 2025)
June 16 - The Brazilian Air Force releases documents on 26 UFO sightings by military personnel in 2024. In two incidents, the UFOs disrupted the aircraft's on-board electronics so that their position was visible on the collision avoidance system, even though they did not appear on the air traffic control radar. (Andrea Müller, " Brasiliens Luftwaffe veröffentlicht UFO-Sichtungen durch Piloten 2024," grenzWissenschaft-aktuell.de, June 16, 2025)
July 14 - Mona Nemer, Canada's Chief Science Advisor, releases the final report of the Sky Canada Project, recommending the creation of a new federal body to standardize, collect, and investigate UFO sightings. The report specifically points to the Canadian Space Agency as a "trusted" scientific organization that could lead this new effort in collaboration with government and academic partners. It also recommends that Canadian aviation officials should do more when flight crews file UAP reports. Other recommendations include combatting disinformation, making UAP records available to the public, and creating tools for data collection. The report flags several government departments and agencies that routinely receive UAP reports, including Transport Canada, the Department of National Defence, the Canadian Space Agency, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. (Office of the Chief Science Advisor of Canada, Management of Public Reporting of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena in Canada, June 14, 2025; Daniel Otis, " Canada's Top Scientist Releases New UFO Report: Here's What You Need to Know," CTV News, July 14, 2025)
July 17 - 2:30-3:00 p.m. A woman is walking to her backyard garden near Monaca, Pennsylvania, when she sees a glowing white sphere about the size of a basketball about 5 feet above her sidewalk and blocking her way. It begins moving slowly toward her, stopping about 2 inches away. Then it moves closer and touches her. It seems to be metallic, but not stiff, and a bit cold. When it begins to push, she backs away, stumbles, and falls backward on the ground. The sphere hovers above her for a couple seconds, then vanishes. (Stan Gordon, " Daylight Luminous Orb Approaches Witness and Makes Physical Contact in Pennsylvania," Stan Gordon's UFO Anomalies Zone, July 27, 2025)
Late July - Night. Four security guards near the main entrance to the Kyushu Electric Power Company's Genkai Nuclear Power Station in Genkai, Saga Prefecture, Japan, see three drone-like lights. (" Defense Experts, Lawmakers call for More Serious UFO Research," Asahi Shimbun (Tokyo), September 4, 2025)
August 7 - Yasukazu Hamada and other members of the "Parliamentary League for UAP Clarification from a Security Perspective" in the House of Representatives of Japan's National Diet hold closed- door hearings in the basement floor of the lower house's office building to discuss the Genkai incident in July and other drone activity in Japan. Officials from the Nuclear Regulation Authority, the Defense Ministry, and the Land Ministry provide testimony. (" Defense Experts, Lawmakers call for More Serious UFO Research," Asahi Shimbun (Tokyo), eptember 4, 2025)
September 10 - MUFON releases statistics on UFO sightings reported to the organization in the first seven months of 2025. (Rob Swiatek, " MUFON CMS Statistics for 2025: The First Seven Months," Mutual UFO Network, September 10, 2025)
Jan 02, 2026 (2026w01)
January 02. (2026w01) #302. UFO Crash Retrievals: Ten Stories of Crashed UFOs, Alien Bodies & Reverse Engineering ET Craft (1:07:45).
It is perhaps the single most controversial aspect of UFO research. At first, researchers refused to even consider the possibility that such things could even happen. Today, UFO crashes are considered the cutting edge of UFO research. Cases like these are more common than most people know. In fact, there are hundreds of accounts. If true, UFO crash/retrieval cases represent the best possible evidence there is: the actual craft and alien bodies. This video presents ten little known cases, ten pieces of the puzzle towards ending the UFO coverup.
HE WASN’T SUPPOSED TO SEE. In 1946, ten-year-old Tex Martin was invited by his father to join him at his place of employment at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio. Wandering around, Tex came across an open door to a hangar and couldn’t believe his eyes. There was a UFO and several alien bodies lying on the floor. He called his father to view them too. Soon both would regret having seen what they saw.
EYEWITNESS TO A UFO CRASH. In early July 1947, a welder stationed at Walker AFB (soon to be renamed Roswell) was called to an aircraft crash in the desert. He was taken to a saucer-shaped craft that had come down in the desert. It had no openings. It was his job to blow- torch an opening. He obeyed and created an opening. Looking inside, he saw three dead alien bodies in purple jumpsuits.
OF INTERPLANETARY NATURE. In August 1952, a teletype secretary at an unnamed air base in Ohio went to the photo lab and was surprised to see the technician developing several pictures of flying saucers. The technician said he had taken the photos himself after being taken to the actual crash site. The secret soon learned that the craft were believed to be of interplanetary in origin.
THE MATTYDALE INCIDENT. In 1954, a couple were driving through Mattydale New York when they came upon a group of police cars. Looking out into the nearby field, they saw a classic flying saucer with multicolored lights sitting out in the field. They drove off and later called police and newspapers, who told them it was a military secret and not to talk about it.
I COULDN’T BELIEVE WHAT I WAS SEEING. In the summer of 1953, “HJ” was a private in B Company at Camp Polk, Louisiana when he and his fellow officers saw an egg-shaped UFO come in for a crash landing. Ordered to guard it, an emergency team arrived. He saw three short beings exit the craft. One had to be carried out by stretcher. He later learned they were taken to an isolation ward where they passed away.
NOBODY WILL BELIEVE YOU. 1980s. NEW MEXICO. In the 1980s, Jonathan, a flight commander Trainee had the opportunity to speak with a retired CIA agent who began to share startling information that the US Air Force has recovered crashed UFO and alien bodies. He said that scientists learned to reverse-engineer the craft and were flying them over New Mexico Highways.
RETURN TO SENDER. In the late 1980s, Diane Tai (a contactee) and her husband were shocked when a package arrived in the mail by mistake. The package turned out to hold copies of letters between a colonel and Senator Barry Goldwater talking about UFOs and aliens being held in captivity. The letters made it clear that our government knows far more about this subject than they have publicly revealed.
THE WHISTLEBLOWER. In the 1980s, a civilian subcontractor who worked at Edwards Air Force Base in California was walking by a hangar when he heard a low thrumming noise. Turning, he saw a small silver craft, a flying saucer, suspended in the hangar. His employer refused to discuss it, until many years later, finally revealing that it was in fact a human-piloted craft using ET technology.
THEY DEFINITELY DID NOT LOOK HUMAN. In 1986, a 14-year-old boy and his fellow civil air patrol members were taking a tour of the Air Force Museum at Wright Patterson AFB in Ohio, when their guide, an airman first class, took them into a private hangar and showed them what appeared to be alien bodies being kept preserved in glass tubes behind a thick glass wall. No other information was shared, and to this day, he wonders what he saw.
A SECRET BASE IN ALASKA. Sometime in the 1990s a high school student received an almost perfect score on the SATs. This caught the attention of the US government who hired him to work at a secret underground base in Alaska. The witness says that the base worked in three main areas: biological warfare, advanced sensing devices, and the reverse engineering of extraterrestrial technology.
These 10 cases are just the tip of the iceberg. It's becoming undeniable that our governments have UFOs and alien bodies in their possession. Sadly, none of this evidence is in the public arena, and the entire subject relies solely on anecdotal eyewitness testimony. Despite this, there are too many cases to dismiss. And if even one is true, it’s a game-changer and has the potential to revolutionize the way all humanity views the UFO subject. Where are the scientists with a backbone? None (or almost none) will even investigate UFOs and ETs. Why such cowardice? So many spineless deutsche-bags. Their career is somehow more important than humanity. Pathetic.
Jan 09, 2026 (2026w02)
January 09. (2026w02) #303. The Onboard UFO Encounters of Leo and Mike Dworshak (0:54:48).
One of the most astounding cases of UFO contact is that of Leo and Mike Dworshak, two brothers from the small town of Killdeer, North Dakota. In the summer of 1932, Leo (age 12) and Mike (age 8) were hiking near their home when they came upon a landed silver flying saucer. At that time, neither of them had heard of UFOs (few had!) so they had no idea what they were seeing, but they knew it was unusual. They became even more intrigued when a door opened and three men wearing jumpsuits emerged. The boys tried to move closer, but found their path forward blocked by an invisible forcefield. The men walked around briefly and then returned inside the craft. It was getting dark, so the brothers returned home. This was to be the first of an escalating series of contacts.
Over the next few days, they returned to the area hoping to see it again. Their patience was rewarded when, two weeks later, they were in the valley and the craft appeared overhead. They hid behind some bushes and watched in awe as the craft landed. As before, men came out of the craft and began to study the environment. The boys tried to move closer but again found themselves blocked by a forcefield. They watched for an hour, but as night fell, they returned home. They told their parents about it, but they were dismissive, and told them not to talk about it.
A few weeks later, they returned to the valley and again, the craft landed nearby. This time they were able to approach within 800 feet before being stopped by the forcefield. Still the strange visitors seemed oblivious to the presence of the boys, but both boys felt certain that the men were aware of them.
By now Leo and Mike were becoming obsessed with the UFO and the strange men. It was beginning to dawn on them that these men probably came from outer space and were studying the valley for some mysterious reason. They longed to get closer and make contact, and maybe even go onboard the craft. Two weeks later they had their fourth encounter. It was the same as before, only this time they stayed long enough to watch the craft leave.
They realized by this time that the saucer almost always visited in late afternoon, so they began to spend more time in what they now called “spaceship valley.” One afternoon in late August, they were in the area when the ship landed closer than ever, only 300 feet away. This time, they found themselves stuck in the forcefield, unable to move forward or back. They were both frightened and thrilled. It was dark when the men finally entered the craft, which took off, releasing the boys. They rushed home. Strangely, their parents didn’t seem to notice or care that they were out after dark.
Three days later, on August 28, they returned to the valley and had their sixth encounter. They were able to approach within 100 feet of the craft before the forcefield stopped them. They got their best look at the strange visitors, who all had brown hair, blue eyes, wore strange jumpsuits and looked almost exactly alike. They tried waving and calling out but got no response. So Mike began jumping up and down and screaming, at which point a few of the men looked at them, and the boys again found themselves glued to the ground by the invisible forcefield. The craft left and the boys ran home.
By now, they started to know when the craft would be there and when it wouldn’t. Some days later, they got the feeling it was there and hiked the one and a half miles to the valley and there it was. This time, they were stopped much further than normal. They waved at the men, and to their delight, a few of the men waved back. Then one approached to within 10 feet of the boys, smiled and held his hand up in a welcoming gesture, then turned around and joined the other men, who all went back onboard the craft. The forcefield released, and the boys ran home. They told their parents again, who were more receptive this time, but told them not to talk to anyone about it.
Several days later, they had their eighth encounter. This time they walked righ up to the craft and the strange men and got their closest look ever. One of the men spoke verbally to them, saying that the boys had been very determined to learn about them, and that they were, as the boys had guessed, extraterrestrials. The man told them that they would meet again and learn much knowledge from them. The boys realized that the ETs had already telepathically downloaded volumes of information about themselves and the future of the Earth.
On September 19, Leo and Mike knew that the craft would be in the valley. It was almost night when they arrived, and this time they were invited onboard the craft. They were given a tour of the craft and shared a two-hour-long conversation where the ETs shared volumes of information. This was to be the first of many other onboard encounters for Leo Dworshak, who continued to be visited by the ETs throughout his life.
Jan 16, 2026 (2026w03)
January 16. (2026w03) #304. I Was Never So Terrified in My Life: Ten Astounding Humanoid Encounters (1:03:09).
Humanoids! Reports come from all over the world and go back centuries. There are tens of thousands of documented cases. Since most people never report their encounters, the number is more likely in the millions. This video presents ten little known cases, each adding to the growing worldwide database, showing with increasing certainty that we are not alone in this universe.
EXTRATERRESTRIAL HOUSE GUESTS. In the early 1950s, a nurse lay in bed in her home in Corby New Town, England, when a small shiny object flew into her bedroom and landed on the floor. It soon faded away, but moments later, three human-looking men in black jumpsuits entered her home and began to speak to her telepathically. They said that they were extraterrestrials from another planet and asked if she wanted to visit. The nurse was not afraid but declined the invitation.
A CONVERSATION WITH AN ALIEN. On October 17, 1969, a man from Toolo, Finland, was shocked when a strange orb appeared in his home and began to speak to him. It said that they ETs in a ship above Earth. They requested that he tell the world about their presence, and that they were friendly. The man requested to see them, but they said that this was impossible, but they would return later.
THE NORDIC IN THE FOREST. In 1974, Pedro, a young boy from Puerto Rico was visiting the home of Carlos Ochoa, a famous UFO contactee. When the man walked into the Yunque forest one night, Pedro secretly followed him and was shocked when he was confronted by a 7-foot-tall blond man in a skintight silver uniform. Pedro was paralyzed by a strange force coming from the man. Pedro fled. Shortly after this, he had a close-up encounter with a UFO.
THE JAY-WALKING GRAY. On the night of December 24, 1974, a man drove on a lonely highway through Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Without warning, a strange creature jumped into the road. It stopped like a deer in the headlights, and the witness saw it was a bald, skinny, gray-skinned humanoid. It seemed paralyzed with surprise, then leapt off the road. It took years before the witness realized he saw a gray alien.
I WAS NEVER SO TERRIFIED IN MY LIFE. One night in the fall of 1975, a 12-year-old girl woke up in the bedroom of her home to see five humanoid creatures in her bedroom. One of them stood by her bed, waving its hands over her body. The girl was terrified and unable to move or speak out. She saw one standing guard by the bedroom door, while the others explored her room. She finally passed out. In the morning, they were gone. From that night on, she suffered from chronic insomnia.
A LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE. On October 16, 1980, “Cheryl” was getting ready to go to sleep when she noticed strange lights outside her home in Winchester, Wisconsin. She called her husband, and they both watched the light zoom forward and strike them with a beam of light. They ran outside and were amazed to see it was a flying saucer, and inside were several humanoid figures looking down at them. They later learned many people in the area were seeing UFOs.
THE FLYING THING. One night in late 1995, a group of ten churchgoers were traveling by bus near Wedowee, Alabama, when a glowing object began to pace their vehicle. It followed them for the next half-hour. At one point, it came close enough that they saw a strange humanoid figure moving around inside. Afterwards, a few of the ladies had watery and sore eyes.
BEAMED BY A UFO. After midnight on July 9, 2007, a woman driving home from work was confronted by a huge UFO over Interstate 20 in Fort Worth, Texas. She wondered if it was a hoax of some kind until it struck her with a blue beam of light. Then she saw an opening in the craft and saw four grays and two tall human-looking figures. It paced her car for a while, then darted off at incredible speed.
HEALED BY GRAY ALIENS. On July 23, 2012, a man was driving when a voice told him to drive to his parents’ home in Lehighton, Pennsylvania. Arriving there, the dogs were barking furiously, and he saw two grays outside, accompanied by taller shadowy figures. Frightened, he ventured outside with a fire-stoker. The next thing he knew, he was waking up on the ground hours later. To his amazement, his broken foot was healed.
THE ALIEN IN THE KITCHEN. Lying on the couch one night at her grandparents’ home in rural Tennessee, a young lady noticed strange lights outside. She called her grandfather and they looked outside, but nothing was there. He went back to bed, and shortly later, the girl was shocked when she noticed a strange humanoid in the kitchen staring at her. It was bald with large dark eyes and gray skin. Scared by its strange appearance, she closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep until it went away.
These accounts are remarkably consistent. In fact, the striking commonalities between cases widely separated in time and space argue strongly for their veracity. We are not alone!
Jan 23, 2026 (2026w04)
January 23. (2026w04) #305. UFOs In Your Hometown: Episode Fifteen (1:15:20).
I am very happy to announce, “UFOs in Your Hometown Episode Fifteen”. This ongoing UFO investigative series explores various towns and locations across the world, to prove that UFOs are being seen everywhere on this planet. So far, we have explored almost 200 locations…and yes, UFOs have been encountered in every one of them. This latest installment visits seven new locations and includes virtually the entire range of UFO encounters: sightings, landings, humanoids, missing time and more. If UFOs have truly been seen everywhere on this planet—as this series seems to show—the implications of this are profound.
MILDURA, AUSTRALIA. This city of more than 30,000 people is well-known for growing grapes and citrus fruits. It also has a long and rich history of UFO encounters. On March 10, 1967, a family of seven had a very close sighting of a large oval-shaped craft. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, there were many impressive encounters, at least one involving a fleet of more than a dozen objects. An impressive landing case occurred on September 25, 1976, leaving undeniable traces on the ground. Another fascinating case involved two police officers who testify to their own encounter with an unknown craft.
TIBURON, CALIFORNIA. This small town of 9000 people not far from San Francisco has produced some compelling cases. On August 26, 1956, James Geer observed a fleet of 9 objects scooting across the sky at high speed. On November 5, 2006, a father and son used binoculars to watch a solid, metallic craft hover overhead for several minutes. After it disappeared, two military jets showed up, apparently to investigate. On August 15, 2019, another father and son drove along Tiburon Blvd and saw a large metallic cigar-shaped craft move only 80 feet above their car, causing strange electromagnetic effects.
CORBIN, KENTUCKY. This small town of about 8000 people is perhaps best known for being the birthplace of Kentucky Fried Chicken. It also has some truly astonishing encounters. In the 1960s, a couple were followed for miles by a UFO. One night in September 1973, a father and son had a UFO appear in front of their car, causing 3 hours of missing time. In 1988, a young couple visiting Cumberland Falls had a close-up sighting of a huge disc-shaped craft. In 1999, a couple driving in rural Corbin had a very close encounter with a craft, involving possible missing time. In 2003 and 2015, there were two separate encounters where witnesses had UFOs drop down directly over their heads. As late as 2021, a man had a dramatic sighting of a triangular craft outside his home.
GLASSBORO, NEW JERSEY. On September 5, 1964, this small town was put on the UFO map when a series of sightings was followed by a report from two young boys of a UFO landing which left behind dramatic traces on the ground. It was a case that left more questions than answers. In 1973, a college student had a close-up sighting with a solid craft. More impressive sightings occurred in 1999, and one in 2011 involving many witnesses and a fleet of 10 objects. In 2020, a man had an unusual series of sightings in his backyard which were only picked up by his infrared security camera.
WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA. This town has many reports of amazing UFO encounters. In 1997, six people saw a solid top-shaped object hovering at low altitude above their home. The 2000s were particularly active with several separate cases of people seeing various types of UFOs including boomerang-shaped, egg-shaped, dome-shaped, U-shaped and more, many involving multiple witnesses. The 2010s were equally active, with sightings in 2011, 2013 and one in 2014 involving multiple independent witnesses. In 2019, a man reported his sighting with a strange humanoid which communicated with him telepathically.
MASSILLON, OHIO. This city of more than 30,000 people has many incredible cases. The 1960s had a case involving a fleet of 11 objects, another involving a cigar-shaped craft with humanoids staring down at the witnesses, and a third involving a dramatic display of solid objects. In 1973, there was a wave of encounters, one which involved a UFO landing on a man’s car. In 1982 there was a massive wave of sightings. In 2007, two barmaids had a very memorable and closeup encounter. The encounters continued, including a few with photos and video.
SMITHFIELD, NORTH CAROLINA. One night in 1984, Wilma Creech had an incredible encounter with a craft with portholes which struck her with a beam of light and knocked out her phone and power. Shortly later, he daughter also had a very close encounter. An amazing case occurred in 2013 involving two neighbors who saw three UFOs hanging around their house for over an hour, coming as low as ground level before finally departing.
Seven new locations, making it increasingly undeniable that UFOs are being seen everywhere on this planet. Have UFOs been seen in your hometown? More than likely, the answer is, YES!!!
Jan 30, 2026 (2026w05)
January 30. (2026w05) #306. I Felt No Fear: Ten Very Weird Humanoid Encounters (0:59:27).
One of the puzzling enigmas about humanoid encounters is the fact that they are almost without exception, always humanoid. The humanoid form appears to be the standard template throughout the universe. And yet, the variations among reported humanoids are astounding. Some look much like us, and some look very different. Despite all these differences, the cases also share striking commonalities that argue strongly for their veracity. This video presents ten cases of particularly unusual humanoids, each adding to our knowledge of these strange visitors to Earth.
IT TOOK MY BREATH AWAY. One morning in May 1950, a father and daughter went to check the cows on their farm in Vaux-en-Dieulet, France. Suddenly a glowing object descended and landed nearby. As the glow faded, they saw it was a translucent saucer-shaped object with a little man inside. It looked like the Michelin man. The figure stared at them and the craft took off, leaving behind strange landing traces.
A COLD SCIENTIFIC MIND. In 1954, a family from Norco, California sat down to eat when they heard an odd sound outside. The mother and daughter rushed to the door and were amazed to see a small canoe-shaped craft with a transparent dome. In the dome were five human-looking men in jumpsuits staring down at them. The men wore jumpsuits and helmets. The craft left, leaving the witnesses wondering who they saw.
IT STILL GIVES ME CHILLS. In 1981, an 8-year-old girl crept down to the basement of her parents’ home in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. She noticed a strange glow under the table and a long bony finger sticking up through a hole in the tabletop. She found herself face-to-face with a glowing humanoid with a large head, skinny body and huge dark eyes. She held a short conversation and the being left, leaving her with an enduring mystery.
SOMETHING THAT IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THERE. One night in October 1987, a 17-year-old student woke up in the bedroom of her parents’ home in Lucasville, Ohio to find that her covers had been pulled to the foot of her bed. But this time, looking around her room, she saw a gray alien wearing a blue jumpsuit standing by the wall. Suddenly, it smacked her on the forehead and she lost consciousness.
WE WILL BE BACK. On the night of September 20, 1997, a 23-year-old woman spent the night at her boyfriend’s house in Texas and was awakened by a blue light and a humming noise. She realized she was paralyzed and floating above the bed. Two small grays and one tall one were in the room. She managed to break the paralysis and the ETs disappeared, but spoke to her telepathically saying, “We will be back!”
IT STOOD THERE WATCHING ME. One evening in June 1999, unable to fall asleep, a young boy lay awake in a bedroom in his grandparents’ home in New Mexico. Without warning, a green light filled the room. Feigning sleep, the boy turned around and saw a gray alien standing there looking at him. Finally he fell asleep. Later he told his mother, and she told him that, as a kid, the same thing happened to her.
THOSE THINGS WALKED WITHOUT TOUCHING THE GROUND. On the night of November 19, 2008, a wave of UFO sightings swept over the city of Claudio in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Hundreds of people viewed the strange objects. A small group of police officers followed the lights and were amazed to see glowing humanoids floating above the ground. All experienced strange physical and mental effects.
I WAS SO SCARED. One night in June 2009, a 23-year-old woman staying at her grandma’s home in Ashdown, Arkansas, found herself unable to sleep as a strange light was shining in her room. She hid under her covers. Almost immediately, something tried to pull the covers off her bed. She held on when without warning, a long-fingered gray hand clamped down on her wrist, causing her to black out.
I FELT NO FEAR. As a young boy, “Donald,” recalled weird dreams of entities in his bedroom. Years later as an adult, on July 16, 2011, he and his wife stayed at a B&B at Cape May, New Jersey. That night he woke up to see two very strange humanoids wearing odd jumpsuits standing next to the bed. They stared at him studiously. He felt no fear. Suddenly they seemed to put him to sleep.
AN ALIEN IN THE EMPLOYEE BATHROOM. On the night of January 16, 2016, a man went to the bathroom at Magneti Mareli Factory in Pulaski, Tennesee, where he worked, and was puzzled to see a unusual-looking man with gray skin and silver clothes peeking out from behind the wall. Suddenly the little man turned and jumped through a portal that appeared in the bathroom wall and disappeared.
Each of these ten cases have much more detail. Together, they show both the incredibly diversity among humanoids, and the important similarities between the cases. Those who would deny the reality of the extraterrestrial presence on our planet have yet to adequately explain these and the many thousands (if not millions) of other reports.
Feb 06, 2026 (2026w06)
February 6. (2026w06) #307. The Venezuelan UFO Wave of 1954: Invasion of the Hairy Humanoids (1:10:20).
UFO waves occur regularly across the planet. A UFO wave is a short period of intense UFO activity in a sharply defined area. One of the most intense and unique waves is one that happened in December of 1954 in Venezuela. This wave involved virtually the entire range of UFO encounters including sightings, fleets of UFOs, landings and face-to-face encounters with humanoids. What makes the Venezuelan wave unique is that the humanoid cases almost exclusively involved short, aggressive hairy humanoids. This episode presents a day-by-day, hour-by hour account of this incredible UFO wave, from beginning to end.
The first hints of strange activity began in February 1954 when a passenger plane had a closeup encounter over Barquisimeto. Two months later, a man outside of Caracas described a violent encounter with hairy humanoids. Then, on November 4, three men encountered a UFO along the Amacura Delta and were amazed to see hairy humanoids gathering samples from the ground and putting them into the craft.
But it was the encounter on the night of November 28, 1954, in Petare that marked the actual beginning of the wave. Around 2am on that evening, Gustavo Gonzalez and Jose Ponce drove through town and came upon a circular craft blocking their way. A hairy being approached. Gustavo grabbed the being, who responded by throwing the man to the ground. As the being approached him again, Gustavo tried to stab it, but its body seemed hard as steel. More beings appeared. As Jose ran for help, one of the beings struck Gustavo with a beam of light, paralyzing him. The hairy humanoids retreated into their craft which took off. The two men reported their encounter. At first, they were not believed, but soon dozens of witnesses came forward to report UFO activity in that area on that night. The wave had begun!
Four hours later, a group of farmers in Palmarito saw a UFO land and humanoids outside it. Later that evening, numerous people saw a UFO hovering over the Avila Mountains above Caracas. That same evening, dozens of people saw a UFO land in the middle of the town of Borburata.
From that day on, UFO encounters occurred nearly every, sometimes multiple accounts per day. Pilots reported near-misses with UFOs. Thousands of people in many Venezuelan cities reported a wide variety of craft. They were seen by farmers, police officers, priests, businessmen and more. Some sightings involved hundreds if not thousands of witnesses. Police stations were inundated with calls. Caracas seemed to be the focus of most of the activity, but virtually no area of Venezuela was spared. And it wasn’t long before more people started to report humanoids.
On December 9, a group of people in Chacao, saw a UFO hover and land in various parts of the town and at one point, humanoids came out. One man claimed to have tried to grab one. The next case to really capture the country’s attention occurred on December 9 when two 15-year- old boys in Corora came upon a craft and were attacked by four hairy humanoids who tried to drag them into their craft.
Not long after this, a doctor and his father saw short humanoids cross the road in front of them, followed shortly by a UFO which rose up from the bushes and take off. Meanwhile sightings continued, including people seeing massive fleets of UFOs. Reportedly on the night of December 14, witnesses claimed to see a short non-human bipedal creature enter in the Hotel Embajada in Ciudad Bolivar.
On December 15, 1954, three men reported another hairy humanoid encounter in San Carlos Del Zulia. One of the men had stopped to relieve his bladder in the trees alongside the highway. He says he was attacked by a hairy humanoid. His two friends rushed to his side just in time to see the humanoid encounter a craft which took off.
Meanwhile, various towns and cities were visited nearly every day. There were so many sightings with so many witnesses, it was impossible to deny. On December 19, Jose Parra was jogging along a road near Valencia and came upon a landed craft and six short hairy humanoids. He turned to run and was struck by a paralyzing beam of light. The beings returned to their craft.
Sightings in some areas were so brazen that it was clear to the witnesses that the UFOs wanted to be seen. There were reports of people shooting at the UFOs, and others fainting from shock. There were at least ten documented humanoid accounts, and dozens of sightings, but the numbers of both are likely much higher as witnesses were often discouraged by officials from reporting their encounters. By the end of December, sightings finally began to slow down.
In January 1955, sightings slowed to a trickle and finally stopped. The wave was over. But the effects would last forever. The wave of encounters was impossible to cover up. To this day, the reason for the wave remains a mystery. But the people of Venezuela will never forget what happened in December of 1954.
Feb 13, 2026 (2026w07)
February 13. (2026w07) #308. Friends of Earth: UFO Encounter of Michael and Janet (0:51:53).
Just after sunset on August 17, 1968, sixteen-year-old Michael Lapp and nineteen-year-old Janet Cornell (pseudonyms) sat on the dock at the Buff Ledge Girls Camp on the shore of Lake Champlain, Vermont, where they were employed. Suddenly a brilliant star-like light appeared in the sky, swooped down and revealed itself to be a large glowing object. It ejected three smaller glowing objects and darted away. The three remaining objects began to dart around the sky, putting on a fantastic display. After about ten minutes, two of the objects moved off and one moved closer then plunged into the lake. Moments later it came out and started to approach the witnesses, who could now see it was a domed-shaped craft. It then approached to within fifty feet, and both could see two bald-headed humanoids with dark eyes inside a transparent dome. Janet found herself becoming entranced. But Michael heard a telepathic voice in his head as one of the ETs began to communicate with him. A long conversation followed, and despite his growing fear, Michael became curious about what it might be like to go inside the craft.
The craft promptly moved overhead and struck them both with a beam of light, causing them to lose consciousness. What seemed like moments later, they woke up on the dock, only to realized that an hour or two had passed. Meanwhile, other people at the camp had also seen strange aerial activity. As the days passed, Janet completely forgot about the encounter. But Michael began having flashbacks and dreams of being taken onboard. He became deeply spiritual and spent the next ten years thinking about what happened, while also trying to forget it. Then one day he read an article about UFOs and decided to contact an investigator.
Researcher Walter Webb was assigned the case, and after separately interviewing both Michael and Janet (who hadn’t spoken once since the encounter) he arranged to have them hypnotized. Under hypnosis, they both independently recalled being taken onboard the craft, meeting what appears to be gray aliens. Both described the beings as having over-sized bald heads, dark eyes, grayish-green skin, thin bodies and wearing skin-tight gray jumpsuits.
Michael and Janet recalled that they were transported inside a small craft to a much larger mother ship. Janet was placed on a table and given a thorough medical exam. Michael watched from the side while one of the grays explained that Janet was not being harmed, and that samples were being taken from Janet so that they could start life elsewhere in the universe. Janet confirmed that she felt no pain, and that while she felt like a specimen, the ETs were kind to her. One of the grays explained to her what was happening. Janet was unable to recall much else, except seeing Michael also being examined.
Michael was taken aside and given his own examination. He was reassured that no harm would come to him. The grays proceeded to answer a long list of questions posed by Michael. They told him that although they came from far away, they had been to Earth long before us, but were drawn back by humanity’s use of atomic energy and warned him that atomics were more dangerous than humanity knew. They identified themselves as “friends of Earth,” and expressed delight that Michael was able to remain conscious and calm and ask many questions. They said that he would be trained and taught by them, and that the knowledge he gained would take lifetimes to divulge. They said it would be hard for him to process the encounter afterwards and that at times, he would consider them evil, but the truth was, they loved him. Michael asked why they don’t help people on Earth and solve the many problems we have, such as starvation. The ETs explained that if they did that, humanity would never learn to help themselves, and it would make things much worse.
Michael asked many other questions, which they answered. When he asked if they all looked alike, they took him to a room where he saw more than a hundred different grays. He was placed in a chair where the ETs scanned his mind. The ETs appeared to be delighted by his potential. He was taken to another room and given more training about how to control his own thoughts. Finally, he was taken to a park-like setting where there were many other humans, all of whom were dazed or entranced. It appeared to him to be some kind of waiting area. He and Janet rejoined there, and suddenly both found themselves being placed back on the dock.
Feb 20, 2026 (2026w08)
February 20. (2026w08) #309. The Humanoids Are Here: Twelve Really Weird Humanoid Encounters (1:07:02).
As all humanity accepts the reality of the extraterrestrial presence on our planet, more people are stepping forward to share their firsthand encounters with humanoids. There are more cases than you might think. This video presents twelve firsthand accounts from all over the world. These involve a wide variety of humanoids, grays, human-looking figures, short humanoids, reptilians and more. Each case shares both commonalities and unique details that have much to teach us about life beyond Earth.
NO MAN LOOKS LIKE THAT. On the night of November 4, 1954, Jose Alves was fishing at the Pardo River in Pontal, Brazil when a strange craft landed near him. To his shock, strange little men emerged and began to collect samples from the environment. It was a brief encounter, but it left the witness stunned and amazed.
A UFO WITH OCCUPANTS. One night in February 1957, Ina Salter drove along a remote road near Georgetown, Connecticut when she came upon a cigar-shaped craft with portholes hovering by the road. Inside she saw strange movement. She knew instantly that this was not a normal craft.
ALIEN MINERS. On the night of June 13, 1967, miner Carmen Cueno stepped outside the Domtar Gypsum Mine in Caledonia, Canada and was amazed to see two small disc-shaped craft low in the sky. Sitting on the ground below them was a much larger craft. In front of it were three humanoids collecting samples from the mine slag heap.
THE ALIEN IN THE DOCTOR’S OFFICE. On August 7, 1967, Dr. Luis Sanchez Vega was in his office in Caracas, Venezuela when a little humanoid appeared and announced that he was an extraterrestrial. The ET held a conversation with the doctor and disappeared. Unknown to Dr. Sanchez, many other people were also having encounters in that area on that night.
THEY SEEMED TO FLOAT IN THE AIR. On the afternoon of August 18, 1972, two bricklayers, Raimundo Villegas Alvarez and Pancho Torres were working on a house in Iztapalapa, Mexico when two 7-foot-tall floating humanoids dressed in silver approached. It was an encounter that would leave both men deeply traumatized.
NO FEAR, NO FEAR, NO FEAR! On the night of February 13, 1976, Carol W. was in her home in Ringwood, New Jersey when all the dogs began barking. Looking outside, she saw a short silver-suited humanoid standing in her yard. She was unable to move until the being left. Later, strange footprints were found.
ALIENS IN METALLIC SPIDER-LIKE CRAFT. Just a few days after seeing a UFO, on April 12, 1977, Andrea Kerlin and Bridget O’Connor walked through a field near their homes in Tucson, Arizona when they saw a strange craft on the ground. As it took off, they saw a group of human-looking figures in jumpsuits. Soon they saw more short, bald humanoids.
A VERY STRANGE ENCOUNTER. One night in July 1977, Molly Smith was driving near her home in rural Hulberg, Michigan when she saw a strange humanoid with big, slanted eyes, wearing a metallic blue uniform near the side of the road. As she drove by it, her car was lifted off the road and set on a woodpile. The humanoid disappeared and she ran home. Later, her whole family began having encounters.
MY BEDROOM WAS FILLED WITH GRAY ALIENS. One night in September 1980, a mother and her 5-year-old son woke up to see a crowd of gray ETs in the bedroom of her home in Greeneville, Tennessee. They were unable to move and fell unconscious. The mother thought it might be a dream until her son confirmed all the details.
WE’RE NOT HERE TO HURT YOU. One night in 1980, two siblings woke up in the bedroom of their home in Cape Town, South Africa to see the room filled with light. Looking outside, they saw at least 5 short humanoids wearing white spacesuits with dark visors holding strange instruments. The siblings received a telepathic message in their minds which convinced them that they were dealing with ETs.
NO SHRED OF DOUBT. One afternoon in January 1995, three men were hiking in the El Yunque forest in Puerto Rico when one of them came upon a short gray ET. The little gray was closely examining the plant life. It finally noticed the witness who was able to approach very closely to the ET before it suddenly disappeared.
TEXAS REPTILIAN. On February 6, 1997, Dr. Martin Feldman drove along a forested highway outside of Big Spring, Texas when he saw a green, scaly humanoid in the road. As he drove by it, the creature faced him and Dr. Feldman saw that it was not human. Going to the police, he learned that several others had also reported the strange creature.
These humanoid cases very clearly show that we are not alone in this universe. To dismiss these cases would be to lose a huge opportunity to learn about life beyond Earth. For that reason alone, these accounts should be taken seriously.
Feb 27, 2026 (2026w09)
February 27. (2026w09) #310. UFOs In Your Hometown: Episode Sixteeen (1:21:49).
I am delighted to present to you the latest installment, “UFOs in Your Hometown Episode Sixteen.” This ongoing UFO investigative series explores the idea that UFOs have been seen everywhere on this planet. It started out with a challenge: name any town, city or location on Earth, and I will find a UFO case there. You, the viewers, have provided a list of more than 1000 locations! Working down the list, we have explored almost 200 locations, and yes, every single one of them has a history of encounters. These include sightings, landings, humanoids, onboard encounters and more. Many of these cases are supported by evidence such as photographs, radar-returns, landing traces, medical effects, animal reactions, electromagnetic disturbances and more.
And that is true for the seven new locations we are exploring today, which include: Torrington, Connecticut; Anniston, Alabama; Scottville, Michigan; Quitman, Georgia; Abilene, Texas; Aloha, Oregon; and finally Reykjavik, Iceland. Have UFOs been seen in your hometown? Submit the name of your hometown and see!
TORRINGTON, CONNECTICUT. This mid-sized city of 35,000 people has many interesting cases to offer. In 1972, a man had a very close up sighting of a classic saucer in downtown Torrington. From 1984-1989, there were numerous sightings during the famous Hudson Valley UFO wave which reached into Torrington. In 2004, an amateur astronomer reported three sightings of darting star-like objects in the space of two weeks. In 2007, a group of coworkers in a high-rise building watched in astonishment as a UFO remained visible for one and a half hours. In 2008, a UFO passed so low over Route 8 that several cars lost power as the UFO passed overhead.
ANNISTON, ALABAMA. This city of 21,000 people is home to the Anniston Ordnance Depot, a large munitions storage facility. In 1958, a guard at the facility reported his sighting of an oval-shaped object which appeared to be surveying the area. One month later, in January 1959, UFOs returned and again hovered over the base. In 1975, a man pulled off of Highway 431 with several other cars to observed a dramatic UFO display involving a glowing blue object. In 1980, a military man in basic training at Anniston AFB observed multiple objects over the base. Others there also saw the objects. In 1990, three boys had a very close-up and unusual encounter right outside their home.
SCOTTVILLE, MICHIGAN. This small town of 1300 people offers some very profound cases. In 1978, a man had a close up encounter with a UFO that followed him home. In 1994, two friends said that their car was based by a sphere-shaped object. In 2012, a married couple were puzzled by strange lights near their home. The lights suddenly zoomed overhead and shone down intensely bright light, causing a half-hour of missing time and other weird effects.
QUITMAN, GEORGIA. About 4000 residents live in this town, which also has some amazing encounters. In 1962, a family observed a star-like object which zoomed towards them, showing itself to be a solid craft. In 1979, a young man had missing time after a mysterious beam of light came into his room. This was one of several encounters, including one involving humanoids. In 1980, a group of police officers and others saw a strange craft cavorting over town. In 2002, three children flashed a flashlight at a star-like object which zoomed down right over their heads, causing them to flee in fear. In 2008, a woman reported seeing gray aliens in her bedroom. And more!
ABILENE, TEXAS. This city of 125,000 people has a long and rich history of encounters. In 1951, the crew of a DC-4 aircraft had a scary encounter with a close-up object. So many cases here, too many to list…including a family who saw a classic disc, sightings by truckers and police officers, a UFO that hovered over a nearby lake, missing time encounters, humanoid encounters and more.
Aloha, Oregon. With 50,000 residents, this location has many interesting cases. In 1947, a woman saw a very unusual-looking metallic disc. In 1973, four boys saw a massive fleet of UFOs. More close-up sightings, and a crop circle case, and a case involving incredibly unusual humanoids and much more.
REYKJAVICK, ICELAND. In 1976, the crew of Glofax Airlines captured a UFO on radar. In 1984, two hunters had a disconcerting encounter with a bizarre cryptozoological creature at Lake Kleifarvatn. In 1995, a young couple experienced a frightening missing time encounter. In 1996, 2007, 2010 and 2014 there were more spectacular sightings. In 2018, a young man had an encounter with UFOs and skinny occupants that he will never forget. And more!
These seven locations alone provide a microcosm for UFO activity all over the world. As this continuing investigation shows, UFOs appear to be ubiquitous. Cases are far more common than most people believed. UFOs are everywhere, almost certainly including your own hometown!
Mar 06, 2026 (2026w10)
March 06. (2026w10) #311. I Felt No Fear: Ten Very Weird Humanoid Encounters (1:02:06).
Being taken onboard a UFO! This is the ultimate UFO encounter. These cases dive into the very heart of the UFO phenomenon. They have the greatest potential to answer the many questions surrounding this subject, such as who are these visitors to our planet, where do they come from and why are they here? This episode presents ten cases from all over the world that you probably haven’t heard before.
I COULD NOT STOP MYSELF. One night in July 1968, a young boy from Cleveland, Ohio was awakened by a bright light streaming into his window. He looked outside and saw a craft landed in the field across the street. He then recalled that he and his entire family (and some of his neighbors) walked in a trance onboard the craft. He was separated and physically examined by gray extraterrestrials. The next day, he had a strange scar and so did his siblings.
PREGNANT WOMAN TAKEN. On the evening of January 17, 1970, Barbara Kent (8 months pregnant) was in the living room of her home in Westbury, New York when the TV set began emitting strange beeping sounds. Suddenly she found herself lying on a table in a dimly lit room surrounded by strange creatures. The next thing she knew, she was in her bed. Years later, she spontaneously recalled the entirety of the encounter, being taken onboard and seeing grays who were interested in her pregnancy.
I WAS FASCINATED BY THEM. One night in the Summer of 1975, a computer programmer woke up in her home to see gray aliens surrounding her bed. The glowed with light and showed her their ability to levitate objects. She was invited onboard and examined. They offered to teach her how to obtain supernatural abilities, but she declined. Finding herself in bed, she rushed to the window and saw the UFO taking off.
I WAS TAKEN INSIDE THE CRAFT. On the afternoon of August 30, 1978, Miguel Freitas was at a ranch in Mendoza, Argentina when a UFO landed next to him. A glowing blue humanoid emerged and pulled him onboard. Inside he was physically examined. After speaking with him, the ETs gave him some alien artifacts and let him go. Miguel rushed to the police and gave them the artifacts, which were never seen again.
WE KNOW YOU. On the night of September 26, 1978, Alejandro Hernandez and his son were driving outside of Chile, Santiago, when a UFO appeared overhead and pulled them and their car into the craft. Alejandro’s son passed out, but Alejandro was greeted by human-looking figures who had an important message for him, one which Alejandro refused to share, saying only that it was deeply spiritual.
I WAS THERE ALONE, TERRIFIED. On November 25, 1978, Pam and Chris Owen were driving near Trier, Germany when a UFO appeared. They raced away but soon realized they were missing one and a half hours of time. Later, Pam went under hypnosis and recalled that she alone was taken onboard. The ETs seemed very interested in her pregnancy. Pam says that the encounter was scary, but the ETs were friendly.
THEY SAID THEY WOULD RETURN. On November 24, 1979, a man was driving to his home in Lachute, Quebec, Canada when he saw a UFO. Arriving home, he was missing one and a half hours of time. Having flashbacks of being onboard, he went under hypnosis and recalled an extensive encounter where he was met by human-looking ETs, examined and given a tour of the craft.
WE WILL NOT HARM YOU. On May 14, 1990, Vinbe Hari of Estonia was in her home when human-looking figures showed up and pulled her through the wall into a craft above her house. She was taken to what appeared to be another planet and was questioned by the ETs. She was returned to her home, but later had a second encounter involving a physical exam, and other procedures and conversations which she refused to talk about.
I SHOULD HAVE BEEN TERRIFIED. One morning in July 1996, a young woman was relaxing outside her home in Bilton, North Yorkshire, UK when a craft appeared overhead and levitated her inside. She was met by white-skinned gray aliens who examined her and gave her messages about the future. After being returned, she became interested in art, healing and environmentalism.
THIS THING WAS NOT HUMAN. One night in June 2004, an 8-year-old boy had what he first thought was a nightmare of being pulled onboard a craft and physically examined by grays and mantid beings. He had never heard of such things, and was later shocked to hear about similar cases. He now wonders if his “nightmare” was actually real.
Onboard UFO encounters used to be considered rare events. Now many researchers are reversing their opinions and believe that millions of people may have had these kinds of experiences. The potential opportunities these cases provide to advance our knowledge cannot be underestimated. The ETs appear to be very advanced in science, psychic abilities, medicine and other fields of knowledge. For that reason alone, these cases are of profound importance and should be taken very seriously.
Mar 13, 2026 (2026w11)
March 13. (2026w11) #312. Do You Want to Come With Us? (And Nine Other Extraordinary Encounters With Extraterrestrials) (1:02:33).
Firsthand accounts of humanoids take us deep into the very heart of the UFO phenomenon. This video presents cases from across the world, each with striking commonalities which argue strongly for their veracity. Each also contains unique details of high strangeness which show we still have much to learn about the extraterrestrial presence on our planet. Each account provides a unique perspective and adds to our knowledge of these strange visitors to our planet.
I THOUGHT IT WAS A JOKE. One night in the summer of 1951, Walter DeYoung and 60 other army personnel rushed onto the runway at Mountain Home AFB in Boise, Idaho and observed a classic flying saucer hovering only a few hundred feet overhead. The craft had portholes which showed what appeared to be humanoid figures. The craft came so low that some of the men thought it would land.
THEY WERE VERY CONCERNED. One afternoon in 1952, Mr. Thomas took a walk on the beach near Castlemartin, Wales, and stumbled upon a UFO. He was warned by human-looking occupants to come no closer but was able to hold a long conversation with the apparent ETs, who warned him that Earth was on a pathway towards self-destruction.
TERROR STRUCK ME. One night in the late 1950’s, Mrs. C. Wickens walked to the bus-stop in Leigh, England, when she noticed three figures in glowing white jumpsuits and balaclava-type helmets. An eerie silence settled over the area. She soon saw more of the strange figures. Then one approached her very closely. Convinced that they were not human, she fled in a panic.
DO YOU WANT TO COME WITH US? One night in December 1968, agricultural engineer Robert Iglesias was stunned to see a flying saucer land near his home in Santiago, Chile. Two human-looking figures in glowing jumpsuits approached and offered him an incredible invitation to go onboard their craft and travel with them into space. Robert was so overwhelmed by the possibilities of what might happen, he declined the invitation.
ALL MY LIFE I HAD DREAMED OF SUCH A MOMENT. On the night of July 7, 1972, Mr. Joly was drawn outside his home in Racine, Quebec, Canada, by the bellowing of his cows. To his amazement, a strange craft had landed on his farm. Two short greenish beings wandered around the craft. As he stepped closer, the two aliens saw him and fled into the craft, followed by a third figure who was evidently caught by surprise. The craft departed, leaving behind strange landing traces and perhaps more.
I MET A SPACEMAN. On November 28, 1976, Dr Leopoldo Diaz Martinez (a respected physician) received the surprise of his life when a human-looking extraterrestrial entered his office in Guadalajara, Mexico, and asked for a physical exam. Dr. Diaz agreed and was convinced of the man’s extraterrestrial origin. The ET shared information on many subjects: science, religion, politics, sociology and more.
A DARK BEING. On September 23, 1978, immediately following a UFO sighting, army personnel stationed at Lake Balea, in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, reported their sighting of a tall dark humanoid figure loitering outside the army barracks. After the humanoid figure was seen three times over two days, a sergeant approached it with two other men. The sergeant was rendered unconscious and the two others were temporarily paralyzed until the creature left.
A LEVITATING HUMANOID. One night in October 1978, two factory workers from Godoy Cruz, Argentina, got the shock of their life when a two-foot-tall playful humanoid confronted them and then levitated them in their air, leaving them hopelessly suspended. The little man himself levitated upwards and disappeared into the sky, and the two men were returned to the ground.
EXTREMELY BEAUTIFUL. On the night of June 14, 1980, Juan Froche Jiacola and his wife Ana were woken up in their home in Libertad, Uruguay by a strange noise coming from outside. Going to investigate, Juan saw two strikingly beautiful human figures (one male and one female) in skintight, almost transparent gray jumpsuits. But then the male figure tried to force open the door. Juan prevented the man’s entry but suffered a burnt hand as a result.
THE ALIENS ON THE BEACH. One morning in November 1980, Domingos Monteiro Brito stepped out of his farmhouse in Braganca, Brazil and was amazed to see a craft land on the shoreline a short distance away. Two human-looking men emerged and proceeded to ask him many questions. Domingos was so shocked, he was scarcely able to answer. The ETs said they would return in one month and then departed.
These ten cases from all over the world are just a tiny sample of thousands upon thousands of other similar cases. While many of these cases are supported by various forms of evidence such as landing traces, electromagnetic disturbances, medical effects, animal reactions and more…it is the huge number of cases that make it undeniable that something very profound is happening here.
Mar 20, 2026 (2026w12)
March 20. (2026w12) #313. When UFOs Crash! Seven Shocking Cases (1:14:40).
The field of ufology is changing fast. A subject that used to be regarded with derision, skepticism and ridicule is now gaining the legitimacy and attention it has long deserved. Truth is coming out as governments across the world are admitting that UFOs are real. One of the cutting edges of the UFO phenomenon are accounts involving UFO crashes. And there are more of them than you might think. This episode presents seven shocking UFO crash incidents that you probably haven’t heard of before. But they all deserve to be well known.
UFO CRASH IN VENEZUELA. In 1952, Mr. JP (full name known by the researchers) went on an expedition in the Amazon Jungle in Venezuela in search of gold. The expedition was a tragic failure as the group struggled for survival and soon disbanded, and JP found himself alone in the jungle. Then he came upon a metallic-disc shaped craft. There was an opening in the side and right in front of it was a short deceased gray alien. He saw three more inside it. JP took a piece of the ET technology as proof and headed back to his home in Caracas. He hoped to mount another expedition to the site, but a series of misfortunes prevented him from doing so. The craft might still be there today.
UFO CRASH IN NEW MEXICO. In 1953, radar specialist Mr. TE was stationed at Fort Monmouth, NJ when he and other specialists were called into the base theater to view a mysterious film. To his shock, it showed a crashed UFO and alien bodies in the deserts of New Mexico. He soon heard rumors that it had been recovered one year earlier. Years later, he met another man who saw the same film at another base. He contacted researcher Leonard Stringfield, who managed to locate yet another witness to this mysterious film.
UFO CRASH IN OHIO. One evening in April 1977, family was in their yard in Xenia, Ohio when the nighttime became brilliantly illuminated by a glowing object which zoomed overhead and crashed into a massive oak tree on their property. The craft became lodged in the branches. The family called the police who arrived, and contacted officers from nearby Wright-Patterson AFB. As the Air Force arrived, the family watched from their home as the craft and several small beings were scooped up by the Air Force. The family was told to leave their home and return the next day. Upon returning, the tree was dead and the yard torn up.
UFO CRASH IN AUSTRALIA. On February 7, 1980, Daryl Brown watched TV inside a home in Stirling, Australia. Suddenly a huge crashing noise shook the house, and the dogs outside barked furiously. Rushing outside with a flashlight, he was amazed to see a small craft had crashed into a 120-foot-tall cypress pine tree. He fled inside and called the police. When they went back to the tree, the craft was gone. However, the damage to the tree was apparent, and researchers arrived and confirmed the damage and other strange traces. Before the encounter, witnesses just a few miles away observed a dramatic UFO display.
UFO CRASH IN ESTONIA. Starting around 1984 or earlier, information started to leak out about an unusual event at a farmhouse in Tallin, Estonia. Reportedly the owners were digging a well and came upon a massive metallic disc-shaped object. The report found its way to the Russian military who began a thorough investigation and determined that it was some kind of craft, which had been there for thousands of years. Attempts to excavate the craft met with ongoing problems, d and were eventually abandoned. Per some accounts, the craft is still there today.
UFO CRASH IN MEXICO. In 1989, Dr. Rafael Lara Palmeros and two colleagues were walking near an electrical station in Santa Rosalia, Mexico when they came upon an apparent UFO crash/ retrieval operation. They saw a massive military force. The craft was spherical and there were two badly burned short humanoids lying next to it. He inside the craft and saw two little seats. A bogus news story was leaked to the press, and the entire event was covered up.
UFO CRASH IN KAZAKHSTAN. In 1992, researchers and military personnel began to investigate a mysterious craft which apparently crashed at the foot of the Tien Shan Mountains of Kazakhstan. The craft was massive, but when people tried to approach it, their equipment failed and they suffered what appeared to be radiation burns. A helicopter that got too close crashed. Still, researchers were able to determine that the craft was about 2000 feet long and apparently not of Earthly origin. This was not the only crash. An earlier one was even more dramatic.
These seven cases are just the tip of the iceberg. The vast majority of cases like these are never made public, so the actual number of UFO crashes is probably much larger. UFO crash/retrievals provide incontrovertible evidence of extraterrestrials. Ironically, the reports are almost purely anecdotal. Hopefully as more attention is paid to this subject, the truth will come out!.
March 23 9:15 p.m. Added links to other UFO websites
- UFO Casebook.com
- The Black Vault.com
- MUFON - Mutual UFO Network
- World UFO Photos and News Organization
- Listen to Terra Chat Live on Universe Talk radio
- Essentia Foundation Blog
- HTTP://WWW.PHENOMENALOG.COM
- UFO Enthusiasts Archive Information
- US National Archives UAPs
Mar 27, 2026 (2026w13)
March 27. (2026w13) #314. It Doesn't Get Any Weirder Than This! Ten Extremely Bizarre Close Encounters of the Second Kind (1:10:36).
Close encounters of the second kind are cases in which UFOs affect the environment or the witness in some way. The variety of effects are mindboggling, including everything from strange landing traces to physiological symptoms and more. This video presents ten extreme accounts of this kind, cases involving very unusual or even unique aspects of high strangeness that are very difficult to understand. These cases show that we still have much to learn about the extraterrestrial presence on our planet.
SOMETHING UNIMAGINABLE. One summer morning in 1976, a wildfire struck the area of Tolima, Colombia. In the pathway of destruction was an estate owned by Ines de Montana, a famous Colombian journalist. As the fire seemed sure to burn down the house, a UFO showed up and saved the estate in a very unusual way.
THIS WAS THE END. On May 5, 1977, student pilot Manuel Jose Lopez Ojeda was performing flight maneuvers near Bogota, Colombia when his plane mysteriously malfunctioned. He was preparing to make an emergency landing when a UFO showed up and began flying circles around his plane. Manuel felt strange physiological effects, the weirdest which was, his vision began to deteriorate. As the UFO flew off, Manuel found he was blind. He called the control tower for help, who did their best to help him.
UFO SPOILS BARBECUE PICNIC. On August 22, 1978, three people were enjoying a barbecue outside the small town of Coronel Dorrego, Argentina. They suddenly smelled a strange odor and saw that their food had been strangely transformed. Looking up, they saw a UFO. They fled in their car, but the UFO struck them with a beam of light, and suddenly they found themselves on a different road.
EVERYTHING WAS ENHANCED. On the night of September 30, 1978, Jose Marchisio drove to his home in rural Maria Teresa, Argentina. While on the remote road, his progress was blocked by a gigantic red sphere. Suddenly it seemed to explode, causing his perception to become altered in very unusual ways. He felt as if his car was flying through the air. Suddenly it ended and he found himself miles from his original location. Both his body and his car were deeply affected.
ONE GOOD TURN. On October 12, 1978, a group of people were taking a bus journey from Linares, Chile to Constitucion. Without warning, they came upon a giant red glowing “thing.” Exiting the bus to take a closer look, the light suddenly disappeared. Turning around, they saw that something very unusual had happened to their bus.
I WAS FROZEN. On the night of January 5, 1979, a wave of sightings hit Sturbridge, Massachusetts. One witness, Anmarie Emery drove along Route 90 that night and saw three UFOs flying along the highway. The road divided and all the cars took the other route. Anmarie was now alone on the highway. The UFOs dropped down and blocked the road in front of her, causing both her body and car to be affected in unusual ways.
KNOCKED OVER BY A UFO. On the night of August 17, 1980, Phillip Battle Sr., a security guard at a steel foundry plant in Lima, Ohio, was at this location when a UFO showed up. It began to put on a display for him, then suddenly struck him with a beam of light, physically knocking him over. He called for help and other witnesses came out and saw the UFO. This was just one of many encounters Phillip has experienced.
I SAW THIS THING. On the night of September 30, 1980, ranch manager George Blackwell of Kilmany, Australia, was awakened by a whistling sound. He looked outside and saw a glowing bell-shaped craft. It moved over the farm water tank, then landed next to it. It caused a strong wind and took off. Afterwards, George’s watch stopped, he felt ill, there were odd landing traces, and all the water in the tank was gone.
ANOTHER THIRSTY UFO. On the night of July 11, 1981, the supervisor of a girl scouts’ camp in Port Byron, Illinois noticed an unusual illumination in the pool area. Venturing to the pool, he was shocked to see a massive orb floating over the pool. It darted away, and the manager was shocked to see that thousands of gallons were missing from the pool. Not only that, the water had been de-chlorinated.
FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE. On the night of September 30, 1982, four women pulled off the road in Hampton, New Hampshire, to observe a massive craft hovering over a nearby field. Two of the women leapt from the car and ran towards the craft, which sent down a beam of light then took off. All the women were deeply impressed, but one of the witnesses reports that the UFO had a personal message just for her.
Ten cases, each showing how UFOs can affect people and the environment in bizarre and baffling ways that make it clear we still have a lot to learn about UFOs and extraterrestrials. Cases like these, and other close encounters of the second kind provide an excellent opportunity to advance our knowledge of this subject.
Apr 03, 2026 (2026w14)
April 03. (2026w14) #315. The Thing at the Window: (And Nine Other Very Weird Humanoid Encounters) (1:03:30).
Humanoid encounters are a truly fascinating and important aspect of Ufology. In these cases, people meet the UFO occupants face-to-face. These cases have much to teach us about who these beings are. The diversity of cases is mindboggling. While each case is unique, they contain striking similarities that argue for the veracity of these incidents. This video presents ten cases from across the planet, each illustrating the incredibly variety of these visitors to our planet.
AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL HITCHHIKER. One day in August 1962, two friends were driving between Puolanka and Oulu, Finland when a very short man flagged down their car and asked for a ride. One of the friends noticed several strange things about the man. He was not only short, his head was overly large, his eyes were not normal, and he had six fingers on each hand. There were other strange details. After dropping the little man off, the two men saw a UFO, which convinced them that the little man was an extraterrestrial.
THE ETS AT THE RESERVOIR. One night in October 1972, a dating couple were at the Carlington Heights Reservoir in Ottawa, Canada when they saw a UFO approach. It hovered about 20 feet above the ground. A door opened and they saw three humanoids looking down at them. After fifteen minutes, the lady became frightened, so they drove away.
STRANGE CREATURES. On the morning of October 7, 1972, Mrs. H. was bicycling to her home in a rural area south of Ljubljana, Yugoslavia and saw three 3-foot-tall figures standing on a nearby hill. They were dressed in strange gowns and were also moving strangely. Mrs. H. was convinced that they were not human and fled the area. She later learned other witnesses had seen strange humanoids in the same place.
THE THING AT THE WINDOW. On the night of April 24, 1977, Billy and Pauline Coombs were in their home in Dyfed, Wales when a silver-suited humanoid looked in their window. Not long after this, their children saw the same figure and a landed UFO. Then Pauline and two of her children had a third encounter with the silver-suited figures. More events followed. In fact, a huge wave of activity occurred in the area.
I WILL REMEMBER THIS AS LONG AS LIVE. On the night of August 22, 1978, a newly married couple were honeymooning on the island of Bermuda when they saw a strange craft. Later, as they walked on the beach, the craft hovered overhead and struck them with a beam of light. The wife ran, but the husband stayed and saw grays inside the craft. That night, the couple was visited by the grays in their hotel room.
LIKE THOSE WHO GO TO THE MOON. Around sunset on January 13, 1979, Vittorio Mancini worked the fields of his farm in Viterbo, Italy. Suddenly a UFO dropped from the sky and landed in his field. He saw a little man get out and collect samples. He fled the scene. When he returned with others, the craft and the little man were gone. Unknown to him, other witnesses in the area saw a UFO and captured photographs.
TEN-YEAR-OLD GIRL MEETS ALIENS. On January 25, 1979, 10-year-old Marta Isabel Carabajal was playing in her grandparents’ home in El Dean, Argentina, when she saw a UFO land in the yard. Some little men in jumpsuits emerged and floated around. One approached Marta and asked her to come closer. When Marta refused, the little man struck her with a beam of light. The men returned to their craft and flew away.
DON’T LOOK BACK! On the night of September 11, 1980, a family drove outside of Willington, Connecticut when a huge flattish disc-shaped craft appeared and approached their car. There was a small transparent dome on top. And inside it, the father saw the head and shoulders of a small humanoid. He quickly drove away. Later they learned there were other sightings in the area.
THE WEIRD HUMANOID AT THE RANCH. On September 20, 1997, the Rodrigues family were puzzled to find that 17 chickens were missing from their ranch in Mateus Leme, Brazil. The next night, the father, Jose, saw a short humanoid figure by the henhouse. More chickens were missing. The next day, he came face-to-face with a strange humanoid. He tried to shoot at it, and the humanoid fled, never to return.
I COULD ONLY MOVE MY EYES. One summer day in 1992, an 11-year-old boy watched a movie about gray aliens. That night he woke up to see three gray aliens by his bed. He was completely paralyzed and could only watch. He was amazed to see that they looked different from the grays portrayed in the movie. Waking up the next morning, he saw a faint scar on his leg. The next night, he saw a UFO.
These ten cases all involve firsthand eyewitness testimonies of strange humanoids, which are supported by various forms of evidence such as landing traces, physiological effects, animal reactions, electromagnetic disturbances and even photographs. So many cases—too many to explain away. It is time to take these accounts seriously.
Apr 10, 2026 (2026w15)
April 10. (2026w15) #316. UFOs in Your Hometown: Episode Seventeen (1:14:53).
Welcome to the latest installment of the UFO investigative series, “UFOs in Your Hometown.” This series has its origin in challenge: name any town or city and I will find a UFO encounter there. I am now working my way down a list of more than 1000 locations, submitted by viewers, and so far, every single place has a history of UFO encounters. In this Episode Seventeen, we explore eight new locations from across the world. Have UFOs been seen in your hometown? Submit the town or city and I will look it up! But I can tell you already, the answer is almost certainly yes!
Barryton, Michigan is a small town of about 500 people. Despite its small size, it has several profound UFO encounters. In 1978, a police officer had a close-up sighting of a solid craft with portholes. A few months later, the local police station received several calls about UFOs, and the sheriff himself became a witness. A few other cases involve clearly anomalous lights. But another case from 2022 involves a very strangely shaped UFO.
The beautiful town of Smedjebacken, Sweden has about 5000 people and an incredible history of encounters. In 1968, a group of 15 boys (age 11-15) were hiking in the woods when they were approached by two humanoids. Only a few of the boys remember the encounter, and one became a major contactee. In 1973, two witnesses saw three UFOs sitting on the ground outside their home. A short distance away, there were other witnesses. In 1974 and 1976, there were two other incredible encounters.
Due to its large number of encounters, the London burrough of Wandsworth, in the UK, it has been given the nickname of UFO City. In 1986, a young athlete reports that a UFO hovered above him. He experienced a period of missing time and woke up on a bus. The UFO was still following him. There were more sightings in 1987 and 1992. In 2006, there was a mini wave of UFOs over the city, involving many witnesses. Even the MOD was unable to explain it. There was another sighting in 2008 which also had multiple witnesses.
Tuscaloosa, Alabama has a population of 110,000 people and so many amazing encounters. In 1950, dozens of people saw a flaming cross arc across the sky. In 1950, two Navy pilots tracking a skyhook weather balloon were amazed to see a half-dozen UFOs also investigating the balloon. In 1978, the chief operator of the Holt Lock and Dam on the Black Warrior River was one of many witnesses to a UFO which remained in view for several hours. In 1980, a college student was followed by a UFO to Tuscaloosa University. He was able to capture multiple photographs of the strange lights before they disappeared. In 1989, dozens of people including police and security guards in Tuscaloosa and beyond reported strange lights darting across the sky. In 1996 and 1999 there were sightings of solid metallic craft. In 2019, a young man was able to capture videotape of strange lights in the forest.
Buford, Georgia has a population of 20,000 people. One incredible encounter occurred in 1969 when a UFO zoomed mere feet above a car as it traveled down the highway. There are several other cases of solid disc-shaped craft including in 2001, 2010 and 2012. In 2013 witnesses observed a glowing red object surrounded by black helicopters.
Pottstown, Pennsylvania was founded in 1753. With 23,000 people, this town has several incredible encounters. In 1952, there were two cases investigated by Project Blue Book. In 1971, a woman had an alarming encounter with a UFO on a country road. A close encounter of the 2nd kind occurred to a man in 2004. Pottstown has a nuclear power plant, and several sightings, including one in 2000, another in 2011, and another in 2016 all occurred near the power plant.
Haddon Heights, New Jersey is a very small town, but it does have some interesting UFO cases. In 1984, two boys reported their sighting of a black pyramidal-shaped craft cruising down the street in full view. In 2002, two UFO researchers sighted what they believe to be a solid anomalous object right off the 295 Interstate.
Twinsburg, Ohio (population 20k) is most famous for hosting the annual festival of twins and multiple births. But it also has many amazing UFO encounters. In 1959, a man had a sighting there that inspired him to become a prominent UFO researcher. In 1966, a 6-year-old boy had a missing time encounter and later remembered he was not only taken onboard a craft, but perhaps to another planet. A wave of sighting on March 6, 1969 was widely viewed by residents and police officers, and two months later, resulted in an odd visit by what appears to be a gray-human hybrid at the local police station. 2009 and 2014 brought two more amazing encounters.
Eight locations across the planet, each showing a history of close encounters of the first, second, third and fourth kind, with many cases involving multiple witnesses and many forms of evidence. These cases show that UFOs are seen everywhere, and are far more common than most people think.
Apr 17, 2026 (2026w16)
April 17. (2026w16) #317. A Message to All Humanity: Three Incredible Onboard UFO Encounters (1:17:23).
Onboard UFO encounters represent the heart of the UFO phenomenon. These cases hold the greatest potential to answer the many questions surrounding this subject: who are these visitors, where do they come from and why they are here. This video presents three very extensive cases, each with remarkable similarities. In each of these three cases, the witness is a young single man on a desolate highway at night when they are confronted with a UFO. In each case the witness was taken onboard and conversed with short humanoids who imparted profound messages. In each case the witness experienced missing time, and a traumatic aftermath including unusual medical effects, nightmares, ridicule and disbelief. The incredible similarities between these three cases, widely separated both chronologically and geographically, argue strongly for their validity. That alone makes all of them vitally important to our understanding of extraterrestrial contact.
THE ONBOARD UFO ENCOUNTER OF HARRISON BAILEY. In July 1952, a huge wave swept across the United States, including a sighting directly over the United States Capital. Just two months later, on the morning of September 23, 1952, Harrison Bailey (a 24-year-old steel worker) walked along a remote highway outside of Joliet, Illinois. Feeling a strange prickling feeling, he looked up and saw a UFO. He had never seen one before, so he just kept walking. But shortly later, he came upon the craft sitting by the road. An opening appeared and two short figures in jumpsuits appeared. They began to speak to him. Harrison was afraid and quickly fled the area. The next thing he knew, six hours had passed. He immediately became very ill. Years later, he underwent hypnotic regression to learn what happened during the missing time. He recalled that after seeing the UFO, he was confronted by very short frog-like humanoids. As he ran from them, he came upon the UFO and was pulled onboard. He was examined by what appear to be short gray-type aliens. The ETs told him that they had made contact with him because, as a black man in a society that did not accept him, they too were not accepted. They said it was his duty to spread the word about the reality of ETs, and that they meant no harm to humanity.
THE ONBOARD UFO ENCOUNTER OF HERBERT SCHIRMER. At 2:30 am on December 3, 1967, Herbert Schirmer (a 22-year-old patrolman and Navy veteran) drove along a rural highway outside the small town of Ashland, Nebraska when he came upon a UFO hovering. As he approached it, his engine died and his car was pulled off the road. He stared in disbelief when suddenly the craft flashed a bright light and took off. Racing away, Herbert realized he was missing about a half-hour of time. He found a strange welt on his neck and had a bad headache. Curious about the missing time, he agreed to try hypnosis. A complex onboard encounter was revealed. Herbert was shocked to learn that the craft had landed. A human-looking figure wearing a full-body jumpsuit emerged and pulled him from his police patrol-car, then invited him into the craft. Inside, Herbert saw two other human- looking figures and was given a tour of the craft. The ETs shared volumes of information about where they came from, how they operate their craft, why they are here and more.
THE ONBOARD UFO ENCOUNTER OF DIONISIO LLANCA. In October of 1973, a wave of UFO and humanoid encounters swept across the world. During this time, on the night of October 28, 1973, Dionisio Llanca (a 25-year-old truckdriver) drove on a lonely highway outside of Bahia Blanca, Argentina. As he pulled over to change a flat tire, a saucer-shaped craft hovered nearby and he was approached by three blond-haired human-looking figures. Dionisio was paralyzed with fear as one of them pulled him to his feet. Dionisio passed out. When he woke up, six hours had passed, and he was miles from his original location. He was so traumatized that he couldn’t even remember his own name. He was rushed to the hospital where he slowly recovered. His memory came back, except for the missing six hours. Later he did hypnosis and recalled being taken onboard. The ETs took a blood sample. Dionisio looked out a porthole and saw the craft siphoning electricity from powerlines. The ETs explained why they had chosen him, and their reasons for visiting this planet, including a dire warning for all humanity. Although his encounter was terrifying, Dionisio does not believe the ETs meant him harm. He says he suffered much worse from the people on Earth who studied him like a guinea pig or accused him of hoaxing or ridiculed him mercilessly.
These three cases each provide profound insights into the ETs and their agenda on this planet. They are just the tip of the iceberg. There are thousands upon thousands of cases, and many researchers believe these cases number in the millions. And the ETs continue to give vitally important messages for all humanity.
Apr 24, 2026 (2026w17)
April 24. (2026w17) #318. The Most Terrifying Things I've Seen: Ten Scary Extraterrestrial Encounters (0:59:51).
A face-to-face encounter with a humanoid extraterrestrial is often a terrifying experience. There is something about being confronted with something completely alien that causes people to react with fear. An extraterrestrial encounter can, and often does, change a person’s life forever. This video presents ten cases from all over the world, with many different types of ETs. These cases show that we still have much to learn about the extraterrestrial presence on our planet.
I WAS SCARED TO DEATH. On the night of March 4, 1967, DeWitt Baldwin went hunting in the woods near Eden, New York. Without warning, he came upon a landed UFO. Out stepped a human-looking figure who walked directly up DeWitt and began asking him strange questions. The ET took DeWitt’s rifle, examined it and gave it back. The ET returned to his craft, which took off. DeWitt discovered his rifle was now broken.
AN INTELLIGENT AND FEARLESS MAN. On November 26, 1967, a patrolman from Americana, Brazil saw a strange craft plunge toward the Earth. Thinking it was an aircraft crash, he rushed to the spot and saw it was a UFO. It sent down a beam of light which caused his car engine to fail. Two days later, the UFO returned, only this time he saw two humanoids, and was able to hold a short conversation with them.
LEAVE NOW! On April 4, 1969, two soldiers were hiking in the woods outside of Dillon, South Carolina. Suddenly, the area in front of them lit up with green light and they saw a massive UFO and dozens of humanoids. They froze in shock. One of the humanoids spoke to them telepathically, saying, “Leave now!” The soldiers turned and left. Oddly, they forgot the encounter for years. Then one day, they remembered.
THE MOST TERRIFYING THING I’VE EVER SEEN. On April 16, 1972, at the end of a UFO wave, a man was shocked to see a glowing figure near his home in Natal, South Africa. This turned out to be the first of a series of encounters in this area, during which more than a dozen witnesses viewed the same very strange and unique humanoid.
NOT ONE OF OURS. On September 25, 1973, a man observed a glowing light over Waco, Texas. It soon revealed itself to be a dark triangular craft. The man followed the craft in his car until suddenly his engine died. As the craft hovered overhead, the man saw three humanoids looking down at him from a cockpit window. He is convinced that the beings were extraterrestrials.
I WAS SO SCARED. One morning in 1979, Hector Maldonado jogged on the beach near Taballa in Puerto Rico. To his shock, he came upon a group of six gray aliens who were in the process of pulling another man onboard their craft. The man was unconscious but looked frightened. As Hector fled the area, one of the ETs saw him and began to communicate telepathically. Hector himself was very nearly taken by the ETs.
I DON’T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED. On April 22, 1980, Fermin Sayago was driving in Santa Rosa, Argentina when a UFO caused his car to stall. Getting out of his car, he suddenly saw two very strange humanoid figures near him. They gestured at him and suddenly approached and grabbed his head. Fermin passed out and woke up several blocks away. Others in the area also experienced strange activity.
BEAUTIFUL GREEN HUMANOIDS. Early on the morning of August 5, 1980, a man was awakened by a strange noise outside his home in Cebolatti, Uruguay. As he opened his front door, he was confronted by two beautiful green human-looking figures. One of them held a strange device in its hand which it used to take temporary control of the man’s body, pulling him back inside his house and throwing him to the floor before departing.
COME INTO THE CRAFT. One night in October 1984, a woman was with a group of farm workers outside Leningrad, Russia, when huge flying saucer landed in a nearby field. They tried to approach but were repelled by an unseen forcefield. The craft disappeared. Afterward, the woman (and one other witness) were the only ones who remembered the encounter. Later the woman recalled being invited onboard by a human-looking alien.
I AM NO HARM TO YOU. On the afternoon of July 18, 2025, a park ranger was hiking in the Badlands of South Dakota when he came upon a muscular bare-chested blond man standing on the trail. As the ranger moved closer, he saw that the man had unusually large eyes and strange facial features. In fact, they were so strange, he didn’t look human. When the man spoke telepathically, the ranger was convinced the man was an alien.
These ten cases may sound unusual, but in fact they are just the tip of the iceberg. There are thousands upon thousands of similar accounts coming from all over the world. While some of the stories to have corroborating witnesses and some evidence, it is the huge number of cases that make it impossible to dismiss the idea that we are not alone in this universe.
May 01, 2026 (2026w18)
May 01. (2026w18) #319. Frightened to Death: Eight Exceptionally Odd Extraterrestrial Encounters (1:06:17).
UFO encounters are by their very nature, odd. A face-to-face encounter with an extraterrestrial humanoid is even stranger. This video, however, presents cases that are exceptionally unusual, with events that are only rarely reported or are even unique. These involve a wide variety of ETs: grays, human-looking ETs, giant humanoids, robotic-beings and more.
I’LL CALL THEM ALIENS. One day in September, 1971, a platoon of Army Special Forces Officers was on a mission in the Tonle Sap rain forests of Cambodia when they came upon a landed spherical-shaped craft and more than a dozen short, gray-skinned humanoids. One of the officers panicked and opened fire, shooting one of the ETs, who fell to the ground. Another one of the ETs approached and rendered the man unconscious. Meanwhile, the ET who had been shot stood up, and was unharmed. The ETs quickly entered the craft which took off. Back at base, the officers were interrogated and told not to talk about the incident.
WE DIDN’T BELIEVE IT…AT FIRST. On June 4, 1972, six teenagers were exploring the Bents Basin area in New South Wales, Australia when they came upon a saucer- shaped craft sitting on a hill. The witnesses were unable to start their car, and all felt a strange pain in their heads. The car finally started and they fled the area, but the engine malfunctioned again. Then an 8-foot-tall humanoid appeared and started to approach. It soon disappeared, but all the witnesses were deeply affected by the encounter.
THE MOST CURIOUS THING HAPPENED. On July 24, 1980, a man was in his home in Mar Del Plata, Argentina watching TV. Turning it off, he was surprised to see the TV set still functioning. Weirdly it showed a scene of a UFO landing and ETs getting out. A few days later, the same thing happened again. Then on August 2, 1980, the man was walking home from work when he was confronted by the same scene he had seen earlier on TV. Only this time, he was confronted by the ET who temporarily paralyzed him with a beam of light, then returned into the craft and left. At the time, the area was having a big wave of sightings.
THE HUMANOIDS ON THE BALCONY. On January 18, 1991, a woman waiting at a bus-stop in Czestochowa, Poland was amazed to see a UFO. The sighting left her with an incredible feeling of well-being. Later that night, two humanoids appeared on her balcony. She invited them in, but they would not come inside and soon disappeared. Meanwhile, people throughout the area were seeing all kinds of UFOs.
I WAS FRIGHTENED TO DEATH. On June 20, 1994, a sheepherder from Arad, Romania, was tending to his flock when a UFO appeared, descended and caused the sheep to scatter. As it got closer, the sheepherder could see two unusual human-looking figures inside, looking down at him. Suddenly there was a blast of light and wind, and the craft took off upwards. Below the craft in the field, a crop circle appeared. The event was viewed by several outside witnesses. This was just one of many similar incidents to happen in that area at that time.
THEY ONLY WANTED TO EXAMINE ME. One night in August 1994, a young man woke up in the bedroom of his home in Villa Palmeras, Puerto Rico to see two gray aliens. He managed to break free of a weird paralysis and lunged at them. They disappeared, but a few days later, they were back. This time he held a conversation with them, during which they explained how people become paralyzed in their presence, and told him that he had the choice to not have contact with them if he desired.
DON’T BE SCARED. In September, 2019, the Amazon rain forests of Bolivia were being devastated by wildfires. People had come from a wide area to assist in the disaster. Among them was Dr. Paul Parada, who was assigned to a medical post near Taperas, Bolivia, to treat anyone injured in the fire. To his shock, a very tall blond man in a skintight jumpsuit approached and requested his wound to be treated. When the man began to speak telepathically, Dr. Parada realized that the man was apparently an extraterrestrial. After treating him, the man led Dr. Parada to a UFO and gray aliens in the nearby forest. Following this, the doctor began having regular contact.
I WAS VISITED BY THREE NON-HUMANS. On January 6, 2023, a woman from Alfalfa, Oregon went to join her husband in their bed. She had no sooner turned off the lights and crawled into bed when three gray aliens appeared by her bed and tried to pull her from bed. The woman fought vainly to free herself. Finally, she gathered her will and told them to go away. To her surprise, they did. They filed away into the closet and disappeared.
Eight cases, each with remarkable commonalities and each with mysterious and unique elements. Each with something new to teach us about the nature of extraterrestrial contact.
#UFO #UAP
May 08, 2026 (2026w19)
May 08. (2026w19) #320. Time Stood Still: Eleven Extraordinary UFO & Alien Encounters with Missing Time (1:05:35).
Missing time remains one of the least understood aspects of UFO encounters. The closer the encounter, the greater the chance of missing time. Some blame the ETs. Some claim that the witnesses themselves bear some responsibility. Missing time can sometimes be so seamless that it might go completely unnoticed by the witnesses themselves. It’s clear that cases like these need more attention. This video presents ten stand-out examples of this kind, each offering profound insights into the nature of extraterrestrial contact and missing time.
IT WAS LIKE TIME STOOD STILL. One day in 1969, a nine-year-old girl played in the backyard of her home in rural Spring Valley, New York. A silver craft appeared, hovered overhead and out floated several gray-skinned humanoids. The beings never approached, and they soon re-entered their craft, which departed. Running home, the witness’s mother scolded her for being out too long. Then came the nightmares.
STOP ALL ATOMIC TESTS. On April 24, 1959, Helio Aguiar drove his motorcycle along the beach in Piata, Brazil. His motorcycle stalled as a UFO appeared overhead. He began snapping photos but then fell unconscious. Upon awakening, he found a note in his hand warning about atomic tests. There was also a photo he didn't even remember taking.
INSTEAD OF FRIGHT, THERE WAS SADNESS. While walking home through a rural area in the USA one evening in December 1967, two young men saw a UFO which began to follow them. They panicked and ran in stark terror, when suddenly, they watched the UFO and were overcome with sadness. They soon realized they were missing two hours of time.
THE VANISHING BOY. One day in February 1969, Ruben Rusin (age 11) was in his home in Buenos Aires, Argentina when he disappeared in full view of his aunt and grandmother. A search ensued, but Ruben was nowhere to be found. Two hours later, he spontaneously reappeared with an astonishing story to tell.
TWENTY-TWO MISSING HOURS. On the night of August 21, 1975, Jose Abad Avalos walked to his home in Benidorm, Spain, and saw a UFO. Arriving home, he later learned it was the next night, and more than 22 hours had passed. Years later, he spontaneously recalled that the UFO blocked the road in front of him, humanoids emerged from the object and he passed out.
A SENSE OF LIGHTNESS. On September 20, 1979, a lady was driving to work when a UFO swooped down and hovered over her car, filling it with light. She felt a floating sensation, and the next thing she knew, she was six miles down the road. Afterwards, she had panic attacks. What happened during the missing time remains unknown.
SEVEN HOURS OF MISSING TIME. On July 31, 1980, two men were boating on Lake Pielinen, Finland when a UFO appeared overhead. It swooped down towards them. Suddenly, they were each sitting in different positions on the boat. Seven hours had passed. After having nightmares and other physical symptoms, they tried hypnosis but were unable to remember what happened during the missing time.
WHEN UFOS KNOCK. One night in February 1983, a lady was in her home in Grand- Mere, Quebec, Canada and kept getting awakened by knocking noises. Going to her kitchen, she looked out the window and saw a huge UFO. As she stared at the UFO, she suddenly realized a full hour had passed in what seemed like moments.
THEY WANT TO FORGET. While driving home on the night of August 14, 1983, a mother and daughter were one mile from their home in Baltimore, Maryland when a UFO appeared and followed them home. Rushing inside, they were shocked to find that it was one hour later than it should have been. Both witnesses admitted that they wanted to forget the whole encounter.
WE DIDN’T SEE ANYBODY. Late one night in January 1988, two college students were driving through the suburbs of Washington DC when they came upon a 5-car pile-up. The weird thing was, there were no people or emergency vehicles. Later under hypnosis, one of the ladies recalled the accident was a screen memory, and she was taken onboard by gray aliens and examined.
WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED? One night in June 2013, a man woke up in the bedroom of his home in Kanab, Utah to find four gray aliens standing near his bed. He felt himself being floated from his bed. The next thing he knew he was being floated back. One hour had passed. This event sparked another memory of a UFO encounter with missing time.
While most UFO cases can be categorized as a close encounter of the first, second or third kind, missing time encounters defy categorization. What often seems to be a simple sighting later turns out to be an onboard encounter. This means that there might be millions of unrecognized missing time encounters still waiting to be discovered. If you ever see a UFO, be sure to check the time!
#ufo #uap
May 15, 2026 (2026w20
May 15. (2026w20) #321. You Must Tell the People: Seven Spectacular Onbaord UFO Encounters (0:59:51).
There are many different types of UFO encounters, and each case contributes to our understanding of the ET presence on our planet. But the most important cases are onboard UFO encounters. These cases are the very heart of the UFO phenomenon. Almost everything we know about the ETs comes from people who have been taken onboard an extraterrestrial craft and met the ETs face-to-face. This video presents seven onboard cases, each providing insights into who the ETs are, where they come from and why they are here.
FRIENDS FROM ANOTHER PLANET. One day in 1973, Randal and Elizabeth Richmond drove along State Road 24 through the Black Hills National Forest in NE Wyoming. Both were amazed to see a red dome-shaped object overhead. Arriving home, they were missing one hour of time. Years later, Elizabeth tried self-hypnosis and meditation and was able to recall that she and her husband were taken onboard a craft. Elizabeth was taken into a separate room and given a physical examination. She held a long conversation with the ETs who provided volumes of information.
YOU MUST TELL THE PEOPLE. On July 21, 1975, “Tolya” Malishev (age 17) was walking in the forest near Kostino, Russia when he came upon a landed flying saucer and three human-looking ETs in silver suits. The ETs invited Tolya onboard and offered to take him to 1their planet. Tolya agreed. He was given a physical exam. Looking out a porthole, he watched the craft leave Earth. He arrived on another planet and saw other human-like ETs, strange buildings and other humanoids. The ETs warned about the dangers of a nuclear holocaust and said a day would come when they would make contact with all humanity. They offered to let Tolya live with them permanently, but he declined. Returning him home, they said it was his duty to inform the people of Earth of the existence of the ETs.
FIFTEEN HOURS ON A UFO. On June 16, 1980, Juan Jorge Gomez was in his aunt’s home in Rosario, Argentina when he was visited by four short humanoids in yellow jumpsuits. Twelve days later, as he walked through downtown, a bright light hovered overhead, and Juan felt himself being levitated up inside it. He saw the same, yellow-suited ETs who placed him in a chair and began to examine. Juan passed out and woke up miles away. Prior to his encounters, Juan had been a skeptic. Now he believes.
YOU DID GOOD. On the night of March 7, 1988, a man stepped out of his home in Texas and was amazed to see a red lights zipping around the sky. Soon the lights came over his head and sent down a beam of light. The witness passed out and woke up to find himself on a table. Strange figures surrounded him. One spoke to him mentally telling him to have no fear, that he wouldn’t be harmed. He passed out and when he woke up, he was still on the table. The ET again reassured him. The witness passed out again and woke up standing on his driveway six hours later.
IT REALLY DID HAPPEN. In 1989, a twelve-year-old girl was on vacation with her parents in the town of Laugharne, Wales. One night she was in bed and heard odd noises outside. Suddenly, colored lights shone through the window. She found herself paralyzed and blacked out. When she woke up, she was in a strange room, lying on a table, with four gray- type ETs in turquoise jumpsuits. Terrified, she lost consciousness. She woke up back in bed and told her mother, who said it was just a dream. But the witness recalled an earlier encounter at age seven and soon had more visitations.
ALIENS TOOK MY TWENTY DOLLAR BILL. On the night of June 8, 1991, Timothy Brandenburg went into the backyard of his home in Centerville, Indiana to investigate the barking of his dogs. He saw glowing craft. He was struck by a beam of light. Moments later, he was inside the craft looking at two gray aliens. Timothy found himself handing the ET a twenty-dollar bill. The ET took it and then grabbed Timothy’s arm and examined him with a pen-like device. Timothy was put in a chair and examined with another instrument. He passed out and woke up in bed the next morning.
I CAN’T GET IT OUT OF MY MIND. In 1992, "Luis" was walking near the town of San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico when a UFO appeared overhead. Her rose up and into the object. He was met by short humanoids with green-gray skin and weird eyes. After placing Luis in a chair and examining him, the ETs removed his clothes and dressed Luis in a jumpsuit like theirs. He was taken on a journey to what appeared to be another planet where he saw other craft and other aliens and humans. He was then returned to Earth to the city of Adjuntas. His return was seen by outside witnesses.
These seven cases are just the tip of the iceberg. As can be seen, most involve fully conscious recall without hypnosis, and many are supported by evidence such as medical effects, animal reactions, landing traces and electromagnetic disturbances. It’s time to take the onboard cases seriously.