selected ufo cases

Cases by Decade: 1940s

Cases 1 - 20 out of 20 in this section

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

Aztec, New Mexico UFO Crash Recovery of 1948

1948 - Aztec, New Mexico, United States

It was the columnist Frank Scully who first alerted the world to sensational stories of recovered flying saucers and little men in his best-selling book Behind the Flying Saucers published in 1950. Scully claimed that up to that time there had been four such recoveries, one of which was alleged to have taken place around Aztec, New Mexico, when sixteen humanoid bodies were recovered together with their undamaged craft. View full report

Source: (Credit: aztecufo.com) ID: 879

Case Type: StandardCase Features: Crash/Retrieval, Humanoid/Occupant

The Villa Santina Case (two humanoids encountered by Italian artist)

August, 14, 1947 - Villa Santina, Italy

Italian artist R. L. Johannis was out painting when he noticed a 30 ft. disc-shaped object landing nearby. Next, Signor Johannis saw two child-sized beings standing alongside the object. The artist hailed the creatures. It is possible that this was interpreted as a hostile gesture, for one of the beings touched the centre of its belt and projected a thin vapour which caused the artist to fall dazed onto his back. The creatures approached, picked up the artist's easel, then returned to the craft. The object then rose, hovered, and disappeared. View full report

Source: Charles Bowen (ed.), The Humanoids, Flying Saucer Review Special Issue (1966) ID: 751

Case Type: StandardCase Features: Humanoid/Occupant, Landing, Witness Sketch

Disc Zooms Down Snake River Canyon, Idaho

August, 13, 1947 - Snake River Canyon, Idaho, United States

A farmer and his two sons, were at his fishing camp on August 13, 1947. He noticed an object some 300 feet away, 75 feet above the ground. It was edge hopping, following the contour of the ground, was sky blue, about 20 feet in diameter and 10 feet thick, and had pods on the side from which flames were shooting out. It made a swishing sound. View full report

Source: Twin Falls Times News, (Twin Falls, Idaho) August 15th, 1947 ID: 415

Case Type: PressReport

Flying Disc 'Bigger Than Car' Photographed By Youth

July, 9, 1947 - Norfolk , Virginia, United States

The flying disc "was lots bigger then an automobile" and 13-year-old Bill Turrentine of 410 West fourteenth Street doesn't understand why almost everybody in Norfolk didn't see. He saw the large object, "rocking and spinning like a football" and coming from the southwest. View full report

Source: Norfolk Ledger-Dispatch (Norfolk, Virginia), July 9th, 1947 ID: 414

Case Type: PressReport Features: Photo, Children

United Airlines Flight 105 pilots witness formation of disc-shaped objects

July, 4, 1947 - Emmet, Idaho, United States

On the evening of July 4th at Boise, Idaho, Captain Smith was walking up the ramp to board his plane, flight 105, for a trip to Seattle when someone mentioned the massive wave of saucers taking place all day over the northwest. Captain Smith joked: "I'll believe in those discs when I see them." Shortly after takeoff five disc-like objects, one larger than the rest, approached Captain Smith's DC-3 head on. View full report

Source: James McDonald, Statement to US Congressional Hearings/UFO Symposium, 1968 ID: 723

Case Type: StandardCase Features: Interaction/Reaction, Pilot/Aircrew, Witness Photo, Multiple UFOs

Roswell UFO Incident (Crash and Recovery)

July, 3, 1947 - Roswell, New Mexico, United States

In early July 1947 an incident occurred in the desert just outside of Roswell, NM. Many people have heard of the Roswell UFO crash, but very few people know the details of the incident. The following account of the 1947 UFO incident was taken from public records, from information provided by the International UFO Museum and from the press release for UFO Encounter 1997. View full report

Source: Roswell Online ID: 1134

Case Type: MajorCase Features: Crash/Retrieval, Humanoid/Occupant, Military, Witness Sketch, Witness Photo

The 1947 Kenneth Arnold UFO Sighting

June, 24, 1947 - Near Mt. Rainier, Washington, United States

The modern phenomena of UFOs and “flying saucers” began in Washington state on June 24, 1947, when Kenneth Arnold spotted nine mysterious, high-speed objects “flying like a saucer would” along the crest of the Cascade Range near Mount Rainier. His report made international headlines and triggered hundreds of similar accounts of “flying saucers” locally and across the nation. View full report

Source: Loy Lawhon, About.com ID: 511

Case Type: MajorCase Features: Pilot/Aircrew, Witness Sketch, Witness Photo, Multiple UFOs

New Mexico UFO Crash Encounter In 1945

August, 16, 1945 - San Antonio, New Mexico, United States

Reme Baca and Jose Padilla were young boys living in San Antonio, New Mexico in August 1945 when, they say, they literally stumbled across the remains of what they believe to have been an alien spacecraft. Their personal account of the case displays many of the key ingredients of crashed UFO lore. View full report

Source: Ben Moffett, The Mountain Mail, Socorro NM, Nov. 2, 2003 ID: 852

Case Type: StandardCase Features: Crash/Retrieval, Humanoid/Occupant, Children, Witness Photo

The 1942 'Battle of Los Angeles'

February, 25, 1942 - Los Angeles, California, United States

Imagine a visiting spacecraft from another world, or dimension, hovering over a panicked and blacked-out LA in the middle of the night just weeks after Pearl Harbor at the height of WWII fear and paranoia. Imagine how this huge ship, assumed to be some unknown Japanese aircraft, was then attacked as it hung, nearly stationary, over Culver City and Santa Monica by dozens of Army anti-aircraft batteries in full view of hundreds of thousands of residents. Imagine all of that and you have an idea of what was the Battle of Los Angeles. View full report

Source: Jeff Rense, Rense.com ID: 509

Case Type: MajorCase Features: Photo, Mass Sighting

Photo of UFO over busy street in China, 1942

1942 - Tiensten, China

Young Japanese student Masujiro Kiryu, going through his fathers scrapbook of photographs fron the China Campaign, just before World War II, discovered a strange cone-shaped object in the sky above a Tsientsien Street. A number of people in the street are looking up and two are pointing up at the object. View full report

Source: Wendelle Stevens, reposted on UFOArtwork.com ID: 259

Case Type: StandardCase Features: Photo

UFO Crash and Retrieval in Missouri, 1941

April, 1941 - Cape Girardeau, Missouri, United States

One of the most mysterious stories of a crashed UFO with alien bodies preceded the well know Roswell events by some six years. Reverend William Huffman was summoned to pray over alien crash victims outside of Cape Girardeau, Missouri in the spring of 1941. He was shown three victims, not human as expected, but small alien bodies with large eyes, hardly a mouth or ears, and hairless. View full report

Source: Excerpt from UFO Casebook (BJ Booth) ID: 858

Case Type: MajorCase Features: Crash/Retrieval, Humanoid/Occupant, Clergy, Witness Photo, Witness Sketch

Udo Wartena Contact Case in 1940

May, 1940 - Boulder Mountain, Montana, United States

At an isolated location miner Udo Wartena saw a large disc shaped object about 35 foot high and over 100 feet across hovering above a meadow. The object resembled two soup plates, one inverted over the other and stainless steel in appearance. Wartena then saw a staircase unfold from the bottom of the craft. Out of it came a man who asked him if the ship could take some water. The man then invited Wartena inside the object. Wartena accepted and met another man inside that told him they had come from a distant planet and were 609 years old. View full report