USS Wasp Fighter Wave 1952

The summer of 1952 produced the largest concentration of documented military UAP encounters in American history, and USS Wasp (CV-18) operating off the Virginia Capes contributed a carrier aviation report that was added to the growing pile of incidents demanding presidential attention. On July 26, 1952 — the same week as the most intense Washington DC radar-visual incidents — USS Wasp carrier airwing pilots encountered a formation of metallic disc-shaped objects performing sustained maneuvers at 10,000 feet. The formation held geometric spacing before departing in sequence at high speed. Atlantic Fleet ASW radar tracked the contacts independently. ONI flagged the report alongside the simultaneous Washington National Airport radar cases in an intelligence summary that went to the Joint Chiefs. The convergence of carrier, civilian aviation, and ground radar reports during the summer of 1952 ultimately led to the largest Pentagon press conference ever held on the UAP subject at that time, addressed by USAF Major General John Samford.