selected ufo cases
All Cases: Sorted by Most Recent First
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
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
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
McMinnville, Oregon UFO Photographs
May, 11, 1950 - McMinnville, Oregon, United States
Two of the most notorious UFO photos of all time were taken on a farm near Mcminnville by a farmer named Paul A. Trent. Beyond many such cases, these two photos have withstood the test of time--through generations of researchers. View full report
Source: STUDIOVNI ID: 258
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Photo
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
Cylindrical UFO Photographed Over New York City
March, 20, 1950 - New York City, New York, United States
This cylindrical-appearing UFO was photographed over New York City on March 20, 1950. The photographer's name was deleted from Project Blue Book's files -- as were most names when the material was finally declassified and released. Upon investigating the report, Project Grudge officially labeled it: "the moon"! View full report
Source: Knight ID: 407
Case Type: SummaryReport Features: 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
The Farmington UFO Armada
March, 17, 1950 - Farmington, New Mexico, United States
"Fully half of this town's population still is certain today that it saw space ships or some strange aircraft -- hundreds of them zooming through the skies yesterday. Estimates of the number ranged from & quotes several to more that 500. The objects appeared to play tag high in the air. At times they streaked away at almost unbelievable speeds." View full report
Source: Farmington Daily Times, March 18, 1950 ID: 880
Case Type: PressReport Features: Multiple UFOs, Group Sighting, Mass Sighting
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
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
