selected ufo cases
Cases by Decade: 1940s
Astronomer Clyde Tombaugh UFO Sighting (Astronomer Who Discovered Pluto)
August, 20, 1949 - Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States
Clyde Tombaugh was the American astronomer who discovered the planet Pluto. On August 20, 1949, he observed a UFO that appeared as a geometrically arranged group of six-to-eight rectangles of light, window-like in appearance and yellowish-green in color, which moved from northwest to southeast over Las Cruces, New Mexico. View full report
Source: Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia ID: 355
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Scientist/Engineer, Astronomer, Famous Person, Witness Photo
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
The Gorman Dogfight
October, 1, 1948 - Fargo, North Dakota, United States
On the evening of October 1st, 1948, Lieutenant Gorman was returning from a cross-country flight with his squadron of North Dakota Air National Guard, when he saw an unidentified light source. He closed to within about l,000 yards to take a good look, later saying, “It was about six to eight inches in diameter, clear white, and completely round without fuzz at the edges." For 27 hair-raising minutes, Gorman pursued the light through a series of intricate maneuvers. View full report
Source: North Dakota Public Radio, Dec. 10. 2003 ID: 704
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Pilot/Aircrew
Electrician and wife in Indianapolis see domed disc shaped object
July, 31, 1948 - Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Vernon Swigert, an electrician, was standing by the bathroom window of his home when he first sighted an object. He ran to his kitchen where he pointed out the cymbal shaped or domed disc object to his wife. It was about 20 ft across, and 6-8 ft thick. Total time in sight was approximately 10 seconds, during which the object flew on a straight and level course from horizon to horizon, west to east. View full report
Source: U.S. Air Force Project Blue Book Special Report #14 (Battelle Institute Study), 1955 ID: 675
Case Type: SummaryReport
The Chiles-Whitted Case
July, 24, 1948 - Montgomery, Alabama, United States
Another one of the famous airline sightings of earlier years is the Chiles-Whitted Eastern Airlines case. An Eastern DC-3, en route from Houston to Atlanta, was flying at an altitude of about 5,000 ft.. near Montgomery. ...The object was some kind of vehicle. They saw no wings or empennage, but both were struck by a pair of rows of windows or some apparent openings from which there came a bright glow "like burning magnesium." View full report
Source: Dr. James E. McDonald, U.S. House Hearings, 1968 ID: 116
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Pilot/Aircrew, Witness Sketch, Portholes/Windows
'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
The Thomas Mantell Incident (aircraft crashes after chasing UFO)
January, 7, 1948 - Godman Air Force Base, Kentucky, United States
Many stories have been written about the untimely death of Captain Thomas Mantell whose USAF P-51 Mustang aircraft crashed on the 7th. January 1948, shortly after having observed a UFO seen hovering in the air close to the US Army Air Force Base at Godman Field, Kentucky. The official Army Air Force verdict is that Mantell’s aircraft crashed after he blacked out owing to lack of oxygen while attempting to fly too high an altitude in what was later described as a high altitude weather balloon. View full report
Source: Tony Dodd, excerpt from 'Flight to destruction: The strange death of pilot Thomas Mantell' ID: 482
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Military, Pilot/Aircrew, Injury, Witness Photo
