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selected ufo cases

Cases with Images or Photographs

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

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

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 Featured Case

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) Featured Case

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

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) Featured Case

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 Featured Case

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

The 'Alien Autopsy' Film (Socorro, NM 1947 UFO Crash) Featured Case

1947 - Socorro, New Mexico, United States

In 1995 London based businessman Ray Santilli caused what has been arguably the biggest controversy in the entire history of UFO research when he launched his 'Alien Autopsy' film across the front pages of magazines and via the TV screen in over 20 different countries.  View full report

Source: Michael Hesemann, Nexus Magazine, 1996   ID: 809
Case Type: MajorCase    Features:  Alien Photograph, Crash/Retrieval, Humanoid/Occupant, Physical Trace

New Mexico UFO Crash Encounter In 1945 Featured Case

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 Featured Case

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

Alien captured on film in 1930's Alaska

1930 - Alaska, United States

The picture was taken in the early 1930s by the sender's grandfather, who lived in Alaska. The entitiy was first seen when the grandfather was on his way to a lake. He chased the entity until he got close enough to take this one picture. It was some four months before the photograph was developed, being in in a remote, sparsely populated area. The sender received the picture from his grandfather only last week. His grandfather died the day after giving him the photo, and relating his story.  View full report

Source: UFOCasebook.com (B.J. Booth, editor)   ID: 1109
Case Type: RawReport    Features:  Alien Photograph, Humanoid/Occupant

Formation of round UFOs maneuver near ship in 1904

February, 28, 1904 - Pacific Ocean off San Francisco, California, United States

Three members of the crew of the USS Supply, at 6:10 a.m. local time, sighted an echelon formation of three objects which appeared near the horizon below clouds, moving directly toward the ship. As they approached, the UFOs began soaring, rose above the cloud layer, and were observed climbing into space, still in echelon. The lead object was egg-shaped and about the size of six suns, and the other two were smaller and round.  View full report

Source: NICAP / Richard Hall (1964) citing "Monthly Weather Review" (1904)   ID: 640
Case Type: SummaryReport    Features:  Multiple UFOs, Water-Related
Cases per page:  8   16   24