selected ufo cases
Standard / Medium Cases
The 1954 Cennina Landing and Encounter with Humanoids
November, 1, 1954 - Cennina, Italy
Rosa Lotti was walking into Cennina, when she perceived a big vertical spindle, "like 2 cones joined at their bases." From behind this craft emerged two little men 3 ft tall, who approached her with friendly expressions, the older one laughing. They were speaking a language that sounded like Chinese, 'liu, lai, loi." Approaching Lotti, they snatched from her the carnations and one of her stockings. Lotti ran away. A deep hole in the ground was later found at the site. View full report
Source: Sergio Conti, excerpt from FSR (Sept/Oct 1972) ID: 703
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Humanoid/Occupant, Landing, Physical Trace
Engineer observes lens-shaped disc in New York
October, 1954 - Cherry Valley, New York, United States
"It seemed to be a large disc or lens-shaped object, and in comparison with the objects below I estimated it to be perhaps 30 or 35 feet in diameter... It was moving like a wheel sliding sidewise and not rotating, and in perspective presented an elliptical appearance such as any circular object would when viewed from an anglel...The color was gray." View full report
Source: Richard Hall, The UFO Evidence, 1964 (NICAP) ID: 1096
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Silent, Scientist/Engineer
Circular object, appearing as a flaming ring, seen by architect
April, 26, 1954 - Newburyport, Massachusetts, United States
Russell M. Peirce, architect, reported a circular object which made a right-angle turn. "I was standing at the rear of the local High School building talking with two friends... Suddenly we all heard a very loud deep roar as of many motors... The object as I first saw it appeared as a flaming ring. The color was a little on the whitish tone but also had some suggestion of the orange-yellow of the common flame of burning wood, say." View full report
Source: NICAP / Richard Hall, 1964 (from NICAP case file) ID: 646
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Sound, Witness Sketch
Round, metallic object near Livermore, California
1953 - Livermore, California, United States
John B. Bean was a flyer with 17 years experience. "it was perfectly round and had a metallic sheen somewhat similar to that of aluminum with a satin finish... It also began to climb at the most terrific rate of ascent that I have ever witnessed." View full report
Source: Richard Hall, UFO Evidence, 1964 (NICAP) ID: 1103
Case Type: StandardCase
'Figures' seen through windows of oval-shaped object
August, 25, 1952 - Pittsburg, Kansas, United States
Among those cases declared Unidentified by the Air Force which are reported to involve alleged occupants is a sighting by William Squyres. He described the object as resembling two turtle shells placed edge to edge. Along the rim where the two halves joined he noticed a series of small propellers six to twelve inches in diameter projecting outward all the way around the object. View full report
Source: NICAP (National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomenon), ID: 556
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Humanoid/Occupant, Physical Trace, Portholes/Windows
The Haneda AFB case, Japan, 1952
August, 5, 1952 - Haneda US Air Force Base , Near Tokyo, Japan, Japan
This is one of the cases that the Colorado Project has considered "explained" - a star and an anomalous radar propagation. Not so. On the contrary, as a careful study of the records shows, it is a very interesting case of anomalous flying objects in the sky who fly under intelligent control and cannot be of human origin. View full report
Source: UFOs at Close Sight (Patrick Gross) ID: 10
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Radar, Military
UFO seen at close range with appearance of occupant aboard
August, 1952 - Seat Pleasant, Maryland, United States
Sometime in August, 1952 (the exact date cannot be recalled) during the major UFO sighting wave of that year, Mrs. Suzanne E. Knight, a young housewife and mother, saw a UFO at close range with what appeared to be an occupant aboard. The UFO appeared to Mrs. Knight to resemble the wingless fuselage of a plane and was dull silver in color. View full report
Source: NICAP (National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomenon), ID: 557
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Humanoid/Occupant, Portholes/Windows
Lac Chauvet UFO Photos
July, 18, 1952 - Lac Chauvet, France
Andre Fregnale, an engineer and photographer, walked around France's Lake Chauvet taking pictures of a UFO that came out of the Northwest sky. The photographs have been scrutinized by many experts and all have found them to be real shots of a real UFO. View full report
Source: STUDIOVNI ID: 256
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Photo
UFO with occupants encountered by former mayor in Hasselbach, Germany
July, 9, 1952 - Hasselbach, Germany
Oscar Linke, former Wehrmacht major, and his daughter Gabrielle, 11, had to leave their motorcycle when they had a flat tire. Inside the woods the girl noticed two men in silvery suits examining the ground in a clearing near a pink disk-shaped object, 13-15 meters in diameter, showing a double row of openings around the rim and a black turret on top. One of the men had a flashing box. Both men went inside, and the disk vibrated, rose along the turretlike cylinder, then spun faster and rose out of sight. View full report
Source: Kathimerini newspaper (Athens, Greece), 1952, found in declassfied CIA files ID: 715
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Humanoid/Occupant, Landing, Portholes/Windows, Humming, Physical Trace
Engineer and others observe manuevering object in California
May, 13, 1952 - National City, California, United States
From the witness: "To the naked eye the object appeared as a sphere of about 1/16 inch diameter... Through the [6 power] telescope the object presented a larger disc but the brightness did not appreciably increase... In level flight the object seemed to dart from side to side in an oscillating motion without diminishing of forward speed...Its dive from an extreme altitude at possibly meteoric speed, its deceleration, leveling off, and circle of the city twice indicate that it arrived from interplanetary space and was under intelligent control." View full report
Source: Richard Hall, UFO Evidence, 1964 (NICAP - National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomenon) ID: 1097
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Group Sighting, Scientist/Engineer, Silent
Canadian Naval Officer Has Close Encounter In Hawaiian Waters, 1952
May, 1952 - Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, United States
From the witness: "Suddenly one of these objects appeared at close range on our port bow at a low elevation. It was disc shaped and consisted of a very bright light with black windows running around the whole side which was visible to us. It maintained perfect station on us for at least fifteen minutes. I scanned the object with binoculars attempting to see into the windows but saw nothing." View full report
Source: Gavin McLeod, UFO*BC, 3-6-98 (credit: Rense.com) ID: 1078
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Portholes/Windows, Military, Silent, Water-Related
Scientist Reports Sighting Disc
April, 25, 1952 - San Jose, California, United States
Directly over a building across the street was a small, metallic-looking disc, tilted at about a 20 degree angle and rotating around a vertical axis, wobbling "like the motion of a disc in a water meter". The distance was estimated to be about 50 ft, and the disc appeared to be 4-5 feet in diameter View full report
Source: NICAP, Dr. James McDonald ID: 34
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Scientist/Engineer
F-86 intercepts and shoots at saucer-shaped UFO
1952 - United States
In the summer of 1952 a United States Air Force F-86 jet interceptor shot at a flying saucer. This fact, like so many others that make up the full flying saucer story has never before been told... The object was definitely round and flat saucer shaped. The pilot described it as being "like a doughnut without a hole." View full report
Source: Captain Edward J. Ruppelt, 'The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects' (Credit: NICAP.org) ID: 1024
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Pilot/Aircrew, Military, Radar
Puerto Maldonado Photograph (Cigar-shaped object with trail photographed in Argentina)
1952 - Puerto Maldonado, Peru
On July 19, 1952, the attention of Customs Inspector Sr. Domingo Troncoso was called to a very strange cigar-shaped flying object over the river area. The big dirigible-shaped craft was flying horizontally and fairly low in the sky, passing from right to left from the observers position. It was leaving a dense trail of thick smoke, vapor, or substance on its wake. The object was estimated to be over a hundred feet long. View full report
Source: Wendelle Stevens / B.J. Booth / Mark Cashman ID: 876
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Photo, E-M Effects
Squadron of Discs Over Atomic Test Site
October, 1951 - Nellis Air Force Base, Yucca Flat, Nevada, United States
Formation of 18 silvery, rotating, disc-shaped objects, each one with a dome, come down over a nuclear test site, hover for 10 to 15 minutes, and then depart, at an angle, vanishing out of sight in seconds." View full report
Source: NICAP, Walter Webb ID: 35
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Military, Nuclear Facility
Cigar-shaped UFO over Mt. Kilimanjaro witnessed by pilot and passengers
February, 19, 1951 - Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
In 1951 a huge cigar-shaped UFO, which hovered over the famous Mt. Kilimanjaro, was photographed from an East African Airways plane flying in the vicinity, and witnessed by the crew and passengers. After remaining motionless for a considerable period of time, the object suddenly climbed steeply and disappeared. The movie film was developed and reportedly showed a clear and sizeable image of the object, according to the Natal Mercury. View full report
Source: NICAP / Richard Hall, 1964 (citing Nairobi Sunday Post, Feb. 25, 1951) ID: 648
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Pilot/Aircrew, Group Sighting
The Bethune / Gandor Air Encounter
February, 10, 1951 - Gandor, Newfoundland, Canada
US Naval Reserve Lieutenant Graham Bethune, copilot of Flight 125, first sighted a huge object [at least] 300 feet in diameter on a near collision course with their aircraft. "A rough estimate would be at least 300 feet in diameter, over 1,000 miles per hour in speed, and approached to within 5 miles of the aircraft." View full report
Source: Disclosure Project / NICAP website / ufologien.net ID: 980
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Pilot/Aircrew, Military, Radar, Witness Photo, Witness Sketch
Korean War battlefield UFO encounter; physiological effects
1951 - Chorwon, Korea, Republic
"We suddenly noticed on our right-hand side what appeared to be a jack-o-lantern come wafting down across the mountain... It had an orange glow in the beginning... But then this object approached us. And it turned a blue-green brilliant light... and then, we were attacked. We were swept by some form of a ray that was emitted in pulses... then I saw it shoot off at a 45 degree angle, that quick, just there and gone." View full report
Source: John Timmerman, J. Allen Hynek Center For UFO Studies (credit: CNI News) ID: 1076
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Military, Group Sighting, Light Beam, Physiological Effects, Sound
Man encounters humanoids at Varese, Italy (the Bruno Facchini case)
April, 24, 1950 - Varese, Italy
Bruno Facchini heard and saw sparks coming from a dark, hovering object, near which a man dressed in tight-fitting clothes and wearing a helmet seemed to be making repairs. Three other men were seen near the craft. The full realization of what he was witnessing sent Bruno into a full run away from the frightening encounter, at which point one of the beings projected a "light" from a tube and the witness fell to the ground. When the work was finished, a trap through which light had been shining was closed and the craft took off. View full report
Source: Ezio Bernardini, excerpt from FSR 1987 No. 4 ID: 746
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Humanoid/Occupant, Physiological Effects, Physical Trace, Artifact, Witness Photo
Airline pilots observe fast-moving, disc-shaped UFO over Arkansas
March, 20, 1950 - Stuttgart, Arkansas, United States
Chicago & Southern Airlines Capt. Jack Adams and First Officer G. W. Anderson, Jr., were flying a commercial DC-3, when they saw an object approaching the airliner at high speed. It appeared to be circular (disk-shaped), with a diameter of approximately 100 feet. The bottom side appeared to have 9 to 12 symmetrical oval or circular portholes. Capt. Adams estimated the speed to be in excess of 1000 mph. View full report
Source: U.S. Air Force Project Blue Book Special Report #14 (Battelle Institute Study), 1955 ID: 677
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Pilot/Aircrew, Portholes/Windows, Witness Sketch, Witness Photo
CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite's UFO Encounter in the South Pacific (1950's)
1950 -
In the 1950s Cronkite was part of a pool of news reporters brought out to a small South Pacific island to watch the test of a new Air Force missile... a large disc-type UFO appeared on the scene. Cronkite guessed that the object was about 50-60 feet in diameter, a dull grey color and had no visible means of propulsion. As Air Force guards ran toward the UFO with their dogs, the disc hovered about 30 feet off of the ground." View full report
Source: Bill Knell, UFO researcher ID: 1178
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Military, Witness Photo, Famous Person
Employees of aeronautical laboratory see metallic, disc-shaped object
May, 24, 1949 - Rogue River, Oregon, United States
An employee in the supersonic laboratory of an aeronautical laboratory and some other employees of this lab, were by a river, 2-1/2 miles from its mouth, when they saw an object. The time was about 1700 hours on May 24, 1949. The object was reflecting sunlight when observed by naked eye. It was of metallic construction and was seen with good enough resolution to show that the skin was dirty. View full report
Source: Dr. Bruce Maccabee / U.S. Air Force Project Blue Book Special Report 14 (Battelle Study), 1955 ID: 728
Case Type: StandardCase
Maneuvering elliptical UFO seen by trained observers at White Sands Proving Ground
April, 24, 1949 - White Sands Proving Ground , New Mexico, United States
"The object was an ellipsoid about 2-1/2 times as long as it was wide. It had a length of about .02 degrees subtended angle and was gleaming white in color. It did not have metallic or reflected shine. Toward the underside near the tail, the gleaming white became a light yellow. The object was seen under conditions of a cloudless sky and no haze. It left no vapor trail or exhaust. View full report
Source: Richard Hall, The UFO Evidence, 1964 (NICAP - National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomenon) ID: 1095
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Military, Sound, Group Sighting, Scientist/Engineer
'Tomato Man' Photographs of Alien Body and the Laredo, Texas Crash
July, 7, 1948 - 38 Miles South of Laredo (Texas), Mexico
In 1978, a former Naval photographer released a series of photographs of the charred remains of a head and torso, which he claimed were extraterrestrial. He said that the photos were taken in 1948, when he was flown to Mexico, south of Laredo, Texas, to document the crash of 90-foot diameter "flying saucer" and its dead pilot. View full report
Source: Ron Schaffner, of the former Ohio UFO Investigators League (OUFOIL) ID: 378
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Alien Photograph, Humanoid/Occupant, Military, Crash/Retrieval
