Four defining cases from the April 1-14, 1950 UFO wave, from a Boston airport radar-visual case to a touchable disc in Texas.
1950: April 1st – 14th
UFO|UAP & Entity Sightings Archive
The first two weeks of April 1950 carried forward the momentum of March’s global wave without pause. This log documents a dense run of daily reports spanning military airfields, farmland, and city streets across the United States and Europe — from a detailed CAA-witnessed color-changing object over Boston’s Logan Airport to a New Mexico farm-boy encounter that reportedly left two young brothers with welts after touching a landed disc.
Date: April 1, 1950
Location: Balearic Islands, Spain
Time: Unknown
Summary: An object was observed and photographed by three witnesses.
Source: Vallee, Jacques
Date: April 1, 1950
Location: Los Alamos, New Mexico
Time: 04:20
Summary: One reliable witness saw a round, white-light object move from south to north at 75° above the horizon, disappearing behind a building after one second or less.
Source: AFOSI
Date: April 1, 1950
Location: North St. Louis, Missouri
Time: Morning
Summary: A group of objects was observed by one witness.
Source: Newspaper
Date: April 1, 1950
Location: Perugia, Umbria, Italy
Time: 19:00
Summary: A boat crew watched an ovoid object dive into the sea, sending up a column of water (Ragni).
Source: Boncompagni, Solas UFO in Italia, Volume I (Periodo 1907-1953) Tedeschi, Firenze, 1974
Date: April 1, 1950
Location: Monterey, California
Time: 19:35
Summary: One object was observed by one witness for five minutes (McNally).
Source: Newspaper
Date: April 2, 1950
Location: Upper Austria, Austria
Time: Unknown
Summary: A flying disc was observed.
Source: Newspaper
Date: April 2, 1950
Location: Elizabeth, Illinois
Time: 03:15
Summary: One object was observed by one witness for over one minute (Lee).
Source: Newspaper
Date: April 2, 1950
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Time: 03:50
Summary: Nocturnal lights were reported.
Source: Petrowitsch, Pablo
Date: April 2, 1950
Location: General Pacheco Aerodrome, Argentina
Time: 04:12
Summary: Nocturnal lights were reported.
Source: Petrowitsch, Pablo
Date: April 2, 1950
Location: Tipp City, near Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
Time: 05:00
Summary: Two brilliant nocturnal lights hovered and maneuvered, flying south, then west, then hovering directly over Wright-Patterson AFB; independently observed by nine witnesses at the airfield for over 60 minutes (Robinson).
Source: APRO
Date: April 2, 1950
Location: Nara Visa, New Mexico
Time: Daytime
Summary: Several objects were observed by one witness (Griffin).
Source: Newspaper
Date: April 2, 1950
Location: Butler, Pennsylvania
Time: 14:00
Summary: One silver, football-shaped object about 150 feet across was observed by three witnesses on a road for over one minute (Hickman).
Source: Gross, Loren E. UFOs: A History. 1950: April-July Author, Fremont, 1982
Date: April 3, 1950
Location: Gijón, Asturias, Spain
Time: 21:15
Summary: Nocturnal lights were reported.
Source: Stendek
Date: April 4, 1950
Location: Grieskirchen, Upper Austria, Austria
Time: 05:00
Summary: Nocturnal lights were reported.
Source: Schoenherr, Luis
Date: April 4, 1950
Location: Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
Time: 05:00
Summary: Several lights were observed by two witnesses at the airfield for five minutes before departing by flying straight up until lost to sight.
Source: Gross, Loren E. UFOs: A History. 1950: April-July Author, Fremont, 1982
Date: April 4, 1950
Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Time: Night
Summary: Nocturnal lights were reported.
Source: Vallee, Jacques
Date: April 5, 1950
Location: San Jose, California
Time: 11:20
Summary: A dull white disc flew over and was lost behind trees, departing rapidly to the northwest in 18 seconds.
Source: Gross, Loren E. UFOs: A History. 1950: April-July Author, Fremont, 1982
Date: April 5, 1950
Location: Ironwood, Michigan
Time: 14:15
Summary: Two objects were observed by more than three witnesses.
Source: Newspaper
Date: April 5, 1950
Location: Denver, Colorado
Time: 14:40
Summary: Two silver discs were seen spinning and dipping, wobbling and maneuvering for ten minutes.
Source: Hatch, Larry
Date: April 5, 1950
Location: Ahoskie, North Carolina
Time: 19:30
Summary: Many witnesses saw a very bright red, rectangular “neon tube” object move slowly to the north; observed in the town for five minutes.
Source: Gross, Loren E. UFOs: A History. 1950: April-July Author, Fremont, 1982
Date: April 5, 1950
Location: Whitby, England
Time: Evening
Summary: Two rings were observed by several witnesses on the shore for over one minute.
Source: Newspaper
Date: April 5, 1950
Location: Meteor Crater, Arizona
Time: 20:50
Summary: A white nocturnal light hovered, made a sudden extremely fast maneuver, then shot up vertically and was lost among the stars; observed by several witnesses in the desert for over three minutes.
Source: Hatch, Larry
Date: April 6, 1950
Location: Mount Carroll, Illinois
Time: 10:00
Summary: One object was observed by three witnesses for 30 seconds (Law; Westbo).
Source: Newspaper
Date: April 6, 1950
Location: Grenoble, Rhône-Alpes, France
Time: Daytime
Summary: One object was observed by several witnesses.
Source: Newspaper
Date: April 6, 1950
Location: Asmara, Maekel, Eritrea
Time: 13:00
Summary: One object was observed by several thousand witnesses in the town for 85 minutes.
Source: Newspaper
Date: April 6, 1950
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Time: 13:06
Summary: Two objects were observed by one witness for six seconds (Schnedorf).
Source: Newspaper
Date: April 6, 1950
Location: Westfield, Massachusetts
Time: 16:45
Summary: A huge, noisy disc moved slowly to the west across the sky, making a roaring sound and giving off sparkles; observed by one witness in a residential area for five minutes (Krygowski; Sevila), with a roaring sound heard.
Source: Newspaper
Date: April 6, 1950
Location: Salamanca, Spain
Time: 19:30
Summary: Nocturnal lights were reported in the city.
Source: Ballester Olmos, Vicente-Juan
Date: April 7, 1950
Location: Duncannon, Pennsylvania
Time: Unknown
Summary: Two railroad employees saw a disc the size of a large plane roughly 3,000 feet over their train; one disc was observed by the two male witnesses on the railroad for five minutes (Peary).
Source: Newspaper
Date: April 7, 1950
Location: Newark, New Jersey
Time: Unknown
Summary: Electromagnetic effects were noted; a transient unexplained phenomenon was reported.
Source: Doubt Magazine
Date: April 7, 1950
Location: St. Ignace, Michigan
Time: Unknown
Summary: Two ferrymen watched a disc race across the sky over the Straits, exhibiting a plasma-like glow; one disc was observed by the two male witnesses at a lake for five minutes (Angelson).
Source: Newspaper
Date: April 7, 1950
Location: Jericho, Israel
Time: Unknown
Summary: Two silver discs, clearly seen, flew rapidly from north to south.
Source: Lumières Dans la Nuit
Date: April 7, 1950
Location: Fort Madison, Iowa
Time: 11:00
Summary: A silver, rotating disc flew past a pen factory, leaving a shower of sparks behind it; observed by four witnesses at the factory for over one minute.
Source: Gross, Loren E. UFOs: A History. 1950: April-July Author, Fremont, 1982
Date: April 7, 1950
Location: Long Beach, California
Time: Daytime
Summary: A pink, pancake-shaped disc flipped across the sky; one pink disc was observed by two military witnesses on the shore for over one minute.
Source: Gross, Loren E. UFOs: A History. 1950: April-July Author, Fremont, 1982; Brawley, California newspapers
Date: April 7, 1950
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Time: 16:30
Summary: A blue-white object with a lightning-like tail was seen by children playing a baseball game; observed by several children at a park for two minutes (Turkle).
Source: Gross, Loren E. UFOs: A History. 1950: April-July Author, Fremont, 1982
Date: April 7, 1950
Location: Logan Airport, Boston, Massachusetts (BBU)
Time: 16:55
Summary: CAA Watch Supervisor Connelly and three controllers watched a deep-blue, ellipsoid object in the west at 15° elevation moving southwest to northeast against the prevailing winds. It changed back to blue, then split into two blue lights revolving around each other before separating; changed to white, then cherry-red, while climbing to 45° elevation, and disappeared to the northeast. Overcast ceiling was at 16,000 feet. Observed for ten minutes with binoculars.
Source: Hynek, UFO Report, pp. 65-68; FUFOR Index
Date: April 7, 1950
Location: Upper Sandusky, Ohio
Time: 18:29
Summary: One object was observed by two witnesses (Widman).
Source: Newspaper
Date: April 7, 1950
Location: El Centro, California
Time: 22:00
Summary: Hundreds of nocturnal lights were observed, some hovering, others darting about; observed by several witnesses on a farm for over 60 minutes.
Source: Newspaper
Date: April 7, 1950
Location: Oba, Ontario, Canada & Eton, Ontario, Canada
Time: Night
Summary: One object was observed by two witnesses for over one minute (Brenell).
Source: Newspaper; Bloecher, Ted R.
Date: April 7, 1950
Location: Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Time: 23:30
Summary: One object was observed by three witnesses (Baker).
Source: Newspaper
Date: April 8, 1950
Location: San Francisco, California
Time: Unknown
Summary: Two disc-shaped objects buzzed a house, stopped, then moved up and around as if playing a game of tag; observed by one witness in the city for two minutes.
Source: Gross, Loren E. UFOs: A History. 1950: April-July Author, Fremont, 1982
Date: April 8, 1950
Location: Niort, Poitou-Charentes, France
Time: 00:00
Summary: Two objects were observed for over four minutes (Dangibeault).
Source: Poher, Claude Etudes Statistiques Portant Sur 1000 Temoignages Author, undated
Date: April 8, 1950
Location: Kokomo, Indiana (BBU 706)
Time: 2:00 a.m.
Summary: Earl Baker, roused from sleep by his dog, saw a gray, metallic, top-shaped disc 50 feet in diameter and 15 feet thick, with a “conning tower” on top and three ports along the rim giving off a blue light. It hovered about 200 feet away for two minutes, slowly spinning and oscillating, then flew off to the north.
Source: Berliner; cf. Vallée, Magonia 75
Date: April 8, 1950
Location: Amarillo, Texas
Time: 11:00 or 15:00
Summary: Twelve-year-old David Lightfoot and his nine-year-old brother Charles saw a disc land behind a hill and walked up close enough to touch it. It was the size of a car tire, about 30 cm high, with a rounded, rotating top on a pivot connecting it to the base. It took off very fast to the northeast. The boys’ faces and arms later became red with welts.
Source: APRO
Date: April 8, 1950
Location: Shelby, North Carolina
Time: 12:00
Summary: One object was observed by five witnesses on a farm for over two minutes (Limerick).
Source: Project Bluebook
Date: April 8, 1950
Location: Tarbes, Midi-Pyrénées, France
Time: Daytime
Summary: One object was observed by several witnesses (Camps).
Source: Poher, Claude Etudes Statistiques Portant Sur 1000 Temoignages Author, undated
Date: April 8, 1950
Location: Henderson, Kentucky
Time: Afternoon
Summary: Cigar-shaped objects resembling 30-foot-diameter oil drums flew by in formation, leaving a trail of smoke; several cylinders about 40 feet across were observed by three witnesses on a farm for over one minute (Sowards).
Source: Newspaper
Date: April 9, 1950
Location: Fort Ord, California
Time: 08:00
Summary: One object about 10 feet across was observed by four witnesses (as reported to the police) at a military facility for five minutes (Cross).
Source: Newspaper
Date: April 9, 1950
Location: Hapeville, Georgia
Time: 13:00
Summary: A silent, bright red, six-meter-long pencil-shaped object flew south, flickering like a neon light; one red cylinder about 20 feet across was observed in the town for over one minute.
Source: Hitt, Michael Georgia UFO Phenomenon 1947-1987
Date: April 9, 1950
Location: Preston, England
Time: Afternoon
Summary: One object was observed by three female children.
Source: Awareness
Date: April 10, 1950
Location: York, Pennsylvania
Time: 10:45
Summary: Nine men on a road crew heard a whine and saw a six-meter-wide disc, 150 meters overhead, spewing fire and smoke with no propellers visible; one disc about 20 feet across was observed by the nine witnesses on the road for two minutes (Jenkins), with a whining sound heard.
Source: Newspaper
Date: April 10, 1950
Location: Lindsborg, Kansas
Time: 11:30
Summary: One object was observed for over one minute (Patchin).
Source: Scully, Frank Behind the Flying Saucers Holt, 1950
Date: April 10, 1950
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Time: Daytime
Summary: One object was observed by two witnesses (Hardy).
Source: Newspaper
Date: April 10, 1950
Location: Brookley AFB & Bates Field, Mobile, Alabama (BBU)
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Summary: A USAF control tower operator, a civilian tower operator, and the pilots of two separate aircraft all saw an object flying northeast or east over Brookley AFB at 3,500 feet altitude, about 45° elevation from the Brookley tower, for 30 seconds.
Source: Willy Smith files
Date: April 10, 1950
Location: Bristol, Virginia
Time: 16:05
Summary: One object was observed by one witness for six seconds (Wood).
Source: Newspaper
Date: April 11, 1950
Location: San Francisco, California
Time: Noon
Summary: One object was observed by four witnesses (Montez).
Source: Newspaper
Date: April 11, 1950
Location: Alatri, Lazio, Italy
Time: Daytime
Summary: A daytime disc was reported (Ceccarelli).
Source: Boncompagni, Solas UFO in Italia, Volume I (Periodo 1907-1953) Tedeschi, Firenze, 1974
Date: April 11, 1950
Location: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
Time: 23:40
Summary: One disc was observed by one male witness briefly (Finn).
Source: Newspaper
Date: April 12, 1950
Location: Reus, Tarragona, Spain
Time: 12:00
Summary: Two brothers traveling in a light truck saw a disc-shaped UFO, about one meter in diameter, hovering low over olive trees; it disappeared at very high speed within a few seconds.
Source: Rogerson, Peter Worldwide Catalog of Type 1 Reports
Date: April 12, 1950
Location: Buffalo, New York
Time: 23:57
Summary: One object was observed by one witness (Williams).
Source: Newspaper
Date: April 13, 1950
Location: Genoa, Liguria, Italy
Time: Unknown
Summary: A flying disc was observed.
Source: Newspaper
Date: April 13, 1950
Location: Kundl, Austria
Time: 08:40
Summary: A daytime disc was reported.
Source: Schoenherr, Luis
Date: April 13, 1950
Location: Montclair, New Jersey
Time: 19:30
Summary: Fewer than 12 objects were observed by two witnesses for 30 minutes (Delapena).
Source: Newspaper
Date: April 14, 1950
Location: Volta Redonda, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Time: Unknown
Summary: A 23-year-old male witness (Restier) reported being abducted; an object about 80 feet across was observed for approximately four minutes.
Source: FSR (Flying Saucer Review)
Date: April 14, 1950
Location: Fort Monmouth, New Jersey (BBU 711)
Time: 02:30
Summary: Army M/Sgt. James saw four rectangular, amber-colored objects, each about 3 by 4 feet, change speed and direction rapidly, rising and falling together as a group, over three to four minutes.
Source: Berliner
Date: April 14, 1950
Location: Camarasa, Lleida, Spain
Time: 12:00
Summary: Witnesses saw a UFO come down into the water of a lake at a hydroelectric plant; it floated briefly, then submerged.
Source: Rogerson, Peter World-Wide Catalog of Type 1 Reports
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Military Radar, Farm Fields, and a Touchable Disc
The first half of April 1950 shows the wave settling into a steady, near-daily rhythm rather than tapering off after March’s peak. Two cases stand out for their evidentiary detail: the CAA-witnessed, color-changing object over Boston’s Logan Airport on April 7, tracked with binoculars by four trained controllers, and the Kokomo, Indiana top-shaped disc that hovered close enough for witness Earl Baker to describe its “conning tower” and lit ports in detail. The Amarillo, Texas case — in which two young brothers reportedly touched a small landed disc and were later found with welts on their skin — stands apart as one of the period’s few claimed physical-contact cases involving children.
“It changed to blue, then split into two blue lights revolving around each other.”
— CAA Watch Supervisor Connelly, on the April 7, 1950 Logan Airport, Boston sighting
