Manhattan New York Formation 1956

On July 29, 1956, hundreds of New Yorkers on the streets of Manhattan observed a formation of luminous orbs maneuvering in coordinated patterns at high altitude over the city for approximately ten minutes. Police switchboards were flooded with calls. LaGuardia and Idlewild ATC radar operators confirmed multiple contacts performing maneuvers inconsistent with any aircraft in the civilian or military inventory. NYPD officers filed official reports. The FBI's New York field office — the Bureau's largest — dispatched special agents and compiled one of the most voluminous mass sighting reports of the 1950s. The agents interviewed over 50 witnesses including pilots, police officers, and a retired Army Air Corps general who was among the observers. The classified report was forwarded to Director Hoover, who had maintained a personal interest in UAP reports since the 1947 wave. The New York case was cross-referenced with similar formation sightings over Washington DC and Wiesbaden the same week.