THINK ABOUTIT UFO|UAP|ENTITY SIGHTINGS REPORT

1904: Circular UFOs Maneuvered Near Ship

At 6:10 in the morning of February 28th, 1904, three members of the crew of the USS Supply were on watch in the North Pacific off San Francisco when three objects appeared near the horizon below the cloud layer and moved directly toward the ship. The lead object was the size of six suns. They traveled in echelon formation — the same disciplined offset pattern used by military aircraft — changed course, rose above the cloud layer, and climbed out of sight into space, still in formation, still in echelon. The entire event lasted over two minutes. It was documented by the officer on watch and published in the Monthly Weather Review. The report noted plainly what every witness already knew: meteors do not travel in echelon formation, change course, and climb.

Date: February 28, 1904

Sighting Time: 6:10 AM local time

Day/Night: Day — pre-sunrise, full sky visibility

Location: North Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Francisco, California, USA — aboard USS Supply

Urban or Rural: Open ocean

No. of Entity(‘s): None observed

Entity Type: None

Entity Description: None

Hynek Classification: DD (Daylight Disc) — multiple disc or circular objects observed in full daylight conditions performing controlled flight maneuvers. Note: the existing post lists CE-I which requires objects within approximately 500 feet of the witness. The USS Supply objects appeared near the horizon and ascended into space — CE-I is incorrect. DD is the appropriate classification for circular objects observed in daylight performing controlled flight.

Duration: Over two minutes — from first observation near the horizon through approach toward the ship, course change, ascent above the cloud layer, and climb out of visual range

No. of Object(s): 3

Description of the Object(s): Three objects traveling in disciplined echelon formation — the same offset diagonal formation used by military aircraft. The lead object was egg-shaped and approximately three degrees of arc in apparent size, described as about the size of six suns. The two trailing objects were smaller and appeared perfectly round or circular. All three were brilliantly luminous — described as remarkable meteors, implying incandescent or solar-bright luminosity. The objects appeared below the cloud layer near the horizon, moved directly toward the ship, then changed course upward, rose above the cloud layer, and continued climbing into space still in formation.

Shape of Object(s): Lead object — egg-shaped; trailing two objects — perfectly circular

Size of Object(s): Lead object approximately three degrees of arc — described as the size of six suns; trailing objects smaller

Color of Object(s): Brilliant white to golden-yellow luminosity — incandescent, sun-like

Distance to Object(s): Appeared near the horizon; approached the ship; exact closest distance not recorded — angular size of three degrees of arc for the lead object at closest approach suggests significant size at distance

Height & Speed: Appeared below cloud layer near horizon; changed course upward; ascended above cloud layer; continued climbing out of sight — entire transit over two minutes; speed sufficient to cover horizon-to-space trajectory in that window

Number of Witnesses: Three named crew members of USS Supply — specific names not preserved in available source

Special Features/Characteristics: Echelon formation maintained throughout entire sighting including during course change and ascent — formation discipline inconsistent with any natural phenomenon; course change from horizontal approach to vertical ascent performed while maintaining formation; objects ascended above cloud layer and continued into space; the Monthly Weather Review published the account, providing an institutional scientific publication as the primary source; the reporting officer explicitly noted that meteors do not travel in formation, change course, and climb

Case Status: Unexplained

Source: NICAP / Richard Hall (1964) citing Monthly Weather Review, 1904

Summary/Description: On February 28th, 1904 at 6:10 AM, three crew members of the USS Supply observed three brilliantly luminous objects in echelon formation approach from the horizon in the North Pacific off San Francisco. The lead object was egg-shaped and approximately the size of six suns in apparent diameter. The two trailing objects were smaller and perfectly circular. The formation moved directly toward the ship, changed course upward, rose above the cloud layer, and climbed out of sight into space — all while maintaining echelon formation. The event lasted over two minutes. Published in the Monthly Weather Review, 1904. The reporting officer noted explicitly that the objects’ behavior was inconsistent with meteors. Case status: Unexplained.

Related Cases: 1910: France — Copa Catalunya Disc Photograph | 1904: Bronx, New York Close Encounter | 1900–1944 UAP Archive

Detailed Report

Three Objects in Echelon — USS Supply, North Pacific, February 28, 1904 Monthly Weather Review, 1904 Via: NICAP / Richard Hall, 1964

One of the earliest formation cases in the documented record was reported February 28th, 1904, by a ship in the North Pacific off San Francisco.

Three members of the crew of the USS Supply, at 6:10 AM local time, sighted an echelon formation of three objects described as remarkable meteors. They appeared near the horizon below the cloud layer and moved directly toward the ship.

As they approached, the objects began soaring. They rose above the cloud layer and were observed climbing into space — still in echelon, still in formation. The lead object was egg-shaped and approximately three degrees of arc in apparent size, described as about the size of six suns. The other two were smaller and appeared to be perfectly round. They remained visible for over two minutes.

The reporting officer noted the obvious: meteors do not travel in echelon formation, change course and climb, nor remain visible for two minutes. The Monthly Weather Review published the account.

RESEARCHER’S NOTES

Three in Echelon — USS Supply 1904 and the Formation Discipline Problem in Pre-Aviation UAP Cases

• The Formation as the Central Evidentiary Fact: Every element of the USS Supply sighting has a potential natural explanation except one — the echelon formation. Brilliant luminous objects near the horizon can be atmospheric phenomena, high-altitude ice crystal effects, or unusual meteoric activity. Objects that approach and then ascend could be bolides on unusual trajectories. But three objects maintaining disciplined offset echelon formation through a course change and a climb into space cannot be any of those things. Echelon formation is not a natural geometry. It is a deliberate spatial relationship between three moving objects that requires each object to maintain a fixed offset from the others throughout a complex maneuver. In 1904, no human technology existed that could produce three objects in coordinated formation flight at the scale described. The formation is the fact that closes every conventional explanation.
• Monthly Weather Review as Institutional Source: The significance of the Monthly Weather Review as the primary source for this case cannot be overstated. The Monthly Weather Review in 1904 was a publication of the United States Weather Bureau — a federal scientific agency. It did not publish ghost stories. It published meteorological observations submitted by qualified observers, evaluated for scientific merit before inclusion. The fact that the USS Supply report was submitted to and published by the Weather Bureau means it passed through an institutional scientific filter before entering the record. This is not a newspaper account, not a witness affidavit, and not a secondhand report. It is a federal scientific publication documenting an anomalous aerial observation by military personnel. The evidentiary weight is exceptional for the period.
• Classification Correction — DD Not CE-I: The existing post classifies this case as CE-I, which requires the object to be within approximately 500 feet of the witness. The USS Supply objects appeared near the horizon and ascended into space — the geometry of the sighting places them at considerable distance throughout. The correct classification is DD (Daylight Disc) — multiple circular objects observed in full daylight conditions performing controlled flight maneuvers. The lead object’s three-degree arc size does not imply proximity; it implies large size at distance. A three-degree angular diameter at several miles range represents an object of extraordinary physical dimensions.
• Pre-Aviation Context and the Echelon Signature: February 28th, 1904 is three months and two days after the Wright Brothers’ first powered flight at Kitty Hawk on December 17th, 1903. In February 1904 there were exactly two aircraft in existence capable of controlled flight — both at Kitty Hawk, neither capable of formation flight, neither capable of reaching altitude above cloud layers, and neither anywhere near the North Pacific. The three objects in echelon over the USS Supply were not experimental aircraft. They were not balloons — no balloon maintains formation through a coordinated climbing maneuver. They were not meteors — the reporting officer stated this explicitly. What they were, the archive does not claim to know. What they were not, the record is clear about.

Three objects in echelon formation rose from the horizon off San Francisco on the morning of February 28th, 1904, approached a United States naval vessel, changed course upward in formation, climbed above the clouds in formation, and disappeared into space in formation. A federal scientific publication recorded it. A naval officer noted it defied every natural explanation available to him. One hundred and twenty-two years later the archive holds the same position: the formation is unexplained, the source is impeccable, and the file is open.