YEAR DOSSIER

1952 UAP Cases

Every indexed UAP case documented in 1952, drawn from publicly available official government records — NARA RG 615, AARO, NASA, FBI, and DoD PURSUE program releases.

21 INCIDENTS · YEAR-BASED ARCHIVE HUB
ALL INCIDENTSPURSUE ARCHIVEFULL TIMELINEMATCH MY SIGHTING
DoD◎ Disc / Saucer
CONFIDENTIAL
DOD-011 · 1952-07-19

Washington D.C. UFO Flap — Capitol Airspace

◎Washington D.C. / Capitol Airspace, USA

Multiple unidentified objects were tracked on radar at Washington National Airport and Andrews AFB on two separate weekends in July 1952. USAF interceptors were scrambled twice; objects vanished when jets arrived and returned when jets departed. This prompted the largest Air Force press conference since World War II and remains one of the best-documented mass radar UAP events in U.S. history.

FORMATIONRAPID ACCELERATIONDISAPPEARED INSTANTLY
MODERATE
◈ MEDIA
OPEN DOSSIER →
DoD◉ Orb / Sphere
CONFIDENTIAL
DOD-026 · 1952-07-02

Tremonton Utah — Navy UAP Film, 1952

◎Tremonton, Utah, USA

Navy CPO Delbert Newhouse filmed approximately four minutes of 16mm footage showing a formation of bright, disc-shaped objects maneuvering over Tremonton, Utah. The Navy's Photo Interpretation Laboratory spent 1,000 man-hours analyzing the film and concluded the objects were not aircraft, birds, or balloons — and were 'self-luminous.'

FORMATIONRAPID ACCELERATION
MODERATE
◈ MEDIA▶ VIDEO
OPEN DOSSIER →
FAA◎ Disc / Saucer
UNCLASSIFIED
FAA-022 · 1952-07-14

Nash-Fortenberry Eight-Disc Formation — Chesapeake Bay

◎Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, USA

Two Pan American Airways pilots observed eight large glowing discs in tight formation performing sharp directional reversals at high speed over Chesapeake Bay. USAF Project Blue Book investigators and the Civil Aeronautics Administration conducted a formal investigation. The case was never explained and is listed as an official 'Unknown' in Project Blue Book files.

FORMATIONRAPID ACCELERATION90 DEGREE TURNS
PARTIAL
◈ MEDIA
OPEN DOSSIER →
FBI? Unknown
UNCLASSIFIED
FBI-016 · 1952-09-12

Flatwoods, West Virginia — FBI Documented Encounter

◎Flatwoods, Braxton County, West Virginia, USA

Seven civilians including a National Guard member observed a pulsing craft and tall luminous entity on a hillside in Flatwoods, West Virginia. Multiple witnesses reported physical symptoms including irritated eyes and throat consistent with chemical exposure. FBI and USAF investigators formally documented the case; local sheriff Robert Carr filed an official report.

HOVERINGDISAPPEARED INSTANTLYSENSOR INTERFERENCE
MODERATE
◈ MEDIA
OPEN DOSSIER →
DoD◎ Disc / Saucer
SECRET
DOD-112 · 1952-07-14

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

◎Atlantic Ocean / Mediterranean — USS Franklin D. Roosevelt operational area

The aircraft carrier USS Franklin D. Roosevelt documented multiple UAP encounters during 1952 operations. Journalist Wallace McGill, embedded aboard the carrier, witnessed and documented a UAP observation. Crew members reported structured disc-shaped objects. The incidents were reported to Naval Intelligence. The carrier's 1952 encounters are part of the broader 1952 UAP wave that included the Washington DC overflights and multiple Navy ship incidents.

HOVERINGFORMATIONRAPID ACCELERATION
PARTIAL
◈ MEDIA
OPEN DOSSIER →
DoD◉ Orb / Sphere
SECRET
DoD-B9-008 · 1952-07-14

Gulf of Mexico Navy Encounter 1952

◎Gulf of Mexico, off Louisiana coast

A Navy patrol aircraft crew observed a formation of luminous orbs performing extreme maneuvers over the Gulf of Mexico. Ship radar tracked the objects reaching 80,000 feet in under 30 seconds. The encounter coincided with the peak of the 1952 UFO wave and was reported to Project Blue Book.

RAPID ACCELERATIONFORMATIONANTI GRAVITY
MODERATE
◈ MEDIA
OPEN DOSSIER →
FBI◉ Orb / Sphere
CONFIDENTIAL
FBI-B9-011 · 1952-08-01

Cuyahoga Falls Ohio Mass Sighting 1952

◎Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

Hundreds of witnesses including police and highway patrol officers observed a large formation of luminous orbs over Cuyahoga Falls during the 1952 wave. The FBI's Cleveland field office investigated and the case was forwarded to J. Edgar Hoover. Air Defense Command scrambled fighters from Wright-Patterson.

FORMATIONRAPID ACCELERATION
PARTIAL
◈ MEDIA
OPEN DOSSIER →
DoD◉ Orb / Sphere
SECRET
DoD-B9-018 · 1952-10-01

Langley AFB Formation Encounter 1952

◎Langley Air Force Base, Virginia

A formation of luminous orbs was tracked over Langley AFB — headquarters of Air Defense Command — in October 1952 during the post-Washington DC flap period. F-94 Starfire interceptors made radar contact and pilots made visual observations before the objects departed at extreme speed.

FORMATIONHOVERINGRAPID ACCELERATION
MODERATE
◈ MEDIA
OPEN DOSSIER →
DoD◎ Disc / Saucer
SECRET
DoD-B9-019 · 1952-02-27

Pinecastle Air Force Base Sighting 1952

◎Pinecastle Air Force Base, Florida

A USAF B-29 crew returning to Pinecastle observed a large disc that executed a series of aerobatic maneuvers before hovering stationary as the bomber passed beneath it. Tower operators confirmed the radar contact. The disc paced the B-29 for several minutes before ascending vertically at extreme speed.

HOVERINGRAPID ACCELERATIONANTI GRAVITY
MODERATE
◈ MEDIA
OPEN DOSSIER →
DoD◉ Orb / Sphere
SECRET
DoD-B10-010 · 1952-07-29

Wiesbaden USAF Europe Encounter 1952

◎Wiesbaden, West Germany

USAF Europe headquarters at Wiesbaden tracked a formation of unidentified objects during the peak of the 1952 wave. An RB-29 reconnaissance crew photographed the formation. The photos were forwarded to Wright-Patterson as some of the first quality aerial photographs of UAP in the classified archive.

FORMATIONRAPID ACCELERATION
PARTIAL
◈ MEDIA
OPEN DOSSIER →
DoD◉ Orb / Sphere
SECRET
DoD-B10-013 · 1952-08-22

USMC Okinawa Radar-Gun Camera 1952

◎Okinawa, Japan — USMC Air Station

A USMC F9F Panther pilot obtained gun camera footage of an unidentified luminous object over Okinawa during the 1952 wave. Ground radar confirmed the contact. The K-20 camera footage was classified and forwarded to Blue Book as one of the program's few authenticated aerial gun camera records.

RAPID ACCELERATIONANTI GRAVITY
COMPELLING
◈ MEDIA▶ VIDEO
OPEN DOSSIER →
DoD◎ Disc / Saucer
SECRET
DoD-B11-010 · 1952-06-18

USAF Globemaster Alaska Formation 1952

◎Alaska — Anchorage sector

A USAF C-124 Globemaster crew en route to Japan observed a large formation of discs overtake their aircraft at high speed over Alaska. Elmendorf AFB radar tracked the formation. The incident was documented in the Blue Book files and contributed to concerns about Soviet activity in Alaskan airspace.

FORMATIONRAPID ACCELERATION
PARTIAL
◈ MEDIA
OPEN DOSSIER →
FBI◎ Disc / Saucer
CONFIDENTIAL
FBI-B12-015 · 1952-07-26

Wichita Kansas Formation 1952

◎Wichita, Kansas

Boeing factory workers and ATC controllers in Wichita observed a formation of discs on the same night as the Washington DC peak overflights. McConnell AFB radar confirmed the contacts. The FBI's Wichita office investigated and the case was cross-referenced to the Washington events in Blue Book files.

FORMATIONRAPID ACCELERATION
MODERATE
◈ MEDIA
OPEN DOSSIER →
DoD◎ Disc / Saucer
SECRET
DoD-B12-020 · 1952-09-08

USS Saratoga Caribbean Encounter 1952

◎Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Fleet Exercise Area

During Atlantic Fleet carrier exercises in the Caribbean, USS Saratoga's CIC tracked an unknown formation overflying the exercise area. F9F Panther pilots made visual contact. The encounter during large-scale fleet exercises involving nuclear weapons and classified equipment protocols was classified at the fleet commander level.

FORMATIONRAPID ACCELERATION
PARTIAL
◈ MEDIA
OPEN DOSSIER →
FBI◎ Disc / Saucer
CONFIDENTIAL
FBI-B13-010 · 1952-07-28

New York State Peak Wave 1952

◎New York State — multiple locations

On the peak night of the 1952 wave — July 28, concurrent with Washington DC — New York State experienced its own mass sighting event. Griffiss AFB near Rome tracked multiple contacts. State Police received 400+ calls. The FBI's Albany and Syracuse offices coordinated one of their largest UAP investigations.

FORMATIONRAPID ACCELERATION
MODERATE
◈ MEDIA
OPEN DOSSIER →
DoD◎ Disc / Saucer
CONFIDENTIAL
DoD-B15-021 · 1952-05-07

Brazil Barra da Tijuca UAP Photographs 1952

◎Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Photojournalist Ed Keffel of Brazil's largest news magazine O Cruzeiro captured five sequential photographs of a disc-shaped craft over the beachside suburb of Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro. The photographs were analyzed by the Brazilian Air Force, the Brazilian Navy, and the US Air Force. All three concluded the photographs were genuine and not composites. One of the first military-analyzed authentic UAP photograph sets in South American history.

HOVERINGRAPID ACCELERATION
PARTIAL
◈ MEDIA
OPEN DOSSIER →
DoD◎ Disc / Saucer
SECRET
DoD-B17-001 · 1952-07-26

USS Wasp Fighter Wave 1952

◎Atlantic Ocean, off Virginia Capes

During the height of the 1952 Washington DC UFO flap, USS Wasp carrier airwing reported a formation of metallic discs performing maneuvers off the Virginia Capes. The encounter coincided with multiple simultaneous reports across the Eastern Seaboard during the busiest UAP wave in American aviation history. ONI flagged the carrier report alongside the Washington Nationals radar cases.

FORMATIONRAPID ACCELERATIONHOVERING
MODERATE
◈ MEDIA
OPEN DOSSIER →
DoD◉ Orb / Sphere
SECRET
DoD-B17-015 · 1952-10-29

USAF Alaska ADC Mass Sighting October 1952

◎Ladd Air Force Base, Fairbanks, Alaska

Ladd Air Force Base in Fairbanks Alaska was the site of one of the most extensive 1952 radar-visual encounters in the Pacific. Multiple F-94 interceptors were scrambled against contacts tracked by ADC radar. The encounter involved a formation of lights performing coordinated maneuvers over the strategic Alaskan Air Defense corridor. Project Blue Book classified the case. Part of the continental ADC radar wave that produced the 1952 National Security Council briefing on UFO phenomena.

FORMATIONRAPID ACCELERATIONHOVERING
PARTIAL
◈ MEDIA
OPEN DOSSIER →
DoD◉ Orb / Sphere
SECRET
DoD-B18-004 · 1952-07-02

Navy Warrant Officer Delbert Newhouse Film 1952

◎Tremonton, Box Elder County, Utah

US Navy Warrant Officer Delbert Newhouse captured 16mm color film of a formation of bright orbs over Tremonton Utah. The film was submitted to the Navy and studied by Navy Photographic Interpretation Center for 1,000 man-hours. Conclusion: the objects were self-luminous, not reflections, and not birds. The Robertson Panel reviewed the film. One of the most analyzed UAP films in US government history.

FORMATIONRAPID ACCELERATION
STRONG
◈ MEDIA▶ VIDEO
OPEN DOSSIER →
DoD◉ Orb / Sphere
SECRET
DoD-B18-016 · 1952-07-19

Washington National Airport Radar-Visual July 1952

◎Washington DC airspace, National Airport

The most significant radar-visual UAP event in American civil aviation history occurred over two consecutive weekends in July 1952. Washington National Airport radar, Andrews AFB radar, and multiple airline crews simultaneously tracked and observed unknown objects over the US capital. The objects performed maneuvers and, when F-94 interceptors arrived, departed at extreme speed. President Truman demanded answers. General Samford held an unprecedented Pentagon press conference.

FORMATIONRAPID ACCELERATIONSENSOR INTERFERENCE
MODERATE
◈ MEDIA
OPEN DOSSIER →
DoD◉ Orb / Sphere
SECRET
DoD-B21-016 · 1952-07-29

Project Blue Book — Continental Air Defense Intercepts 1952

◎Multiple US air defense zones

The summer of 1952 saw an extraordinary wave of UAP events across the continental United States that overwhelmed the Air Defense Command and forced General Nathan Twining to brief the CIA director on the phenomenon. Between July 1 and July 31 alone, Project Blue Book logged 536 reports — the highest monthly total in its history. ADC scrambled jet interceptors on at least 23 occasions. The wave culminated in the Washington DC overflights. CIA director Walter Bedell Smith requested an intelligence evaluation. This led directly to the Robertson Panel.

RAPID ACCELERATIONHOVERINGSENSOR INTERFERENCE
MODERATE
◈ MEDIA
OPEN DOSSIER →
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