USS Franklin D. Roosevelt CVB-42 — Multiple UAP Incidents

The USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVB-42), a Midway-class aircraft carrier, was one of several US Navy vessels to document UAP encounters during 1952, the most active year for US military UAP reports on record. Journalist Wallace McGill, who was embedded aboard the carrier, personally witnessed a bright structured object and documented the observation. Crew members reported disc-shaped objects at medium altitude performing maneuvers inconsistent with any known aircraft. The USS Franklin D. Roosevelt encounters were reported to Naval Intelligence through standard military channels. The 1952 UAP wave included the July Washington DC overflights, the Nash-Fortenberry encounter over Chesapeake Bay, and dozens of Navy and Air Force pilot reports. The carrier's position in the Atlantic / Mediterranean operational area during this period meant its encounters added to a pattern of UAP activity documented across multiple branches of the US military during the same year. Project Blue Book received the reports. The combination of a civilian journalist witness and multiple crew members aboard a major fleet carrier made the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt incidents part of the documented 1952 wave that prompted the largest USAF press conference since WWII.