1952: August 1st–17th

UFO|UAP & Entity Sightings Archive

August 1952 opens with one of Project Blue Book’s best-documented intercepts — a gun-camera-filmed object near Wright-Patterson AFB — and keeps pace with radar-tracked formations over Washington, D.C., a triangular Navy patrol encounter off Greenland, and a steady run of pilot and civilian reports across three continents. Given the volume, August has been split into two archive pages; this page covers the 1st through the 17th.

Date: August 1952 (BBU)
Location: Skylight Mountain, Washington County, Arkansas
Time: 3:30 p.m.
Summary: Inverted, tin-colored saucers (width-to-thickness ratio roughly 4:1) darted in and out of a cloud bank, completing 5-mile circles in 5 seconds — an implied speed near 3,600 mph.
Source: Berliner

Date: August 1952 (Chop Clearance List Item #39)
Location: Falls Church, Virginia
Time: Unknown
Summary: One of 41 formerly classified Air Technical Intelligence UFO reports cleared for Maj. Donald E. Keyhoe by Air Force Press Desk officer Albert M. Chop: ground observers, including police, saw a rotating light. When an officer tilted his scout car’s spotlight upward, the object seemed to descend toward it; the light was hurriedly switched off and the object rose back to its former height, continuing to rotate. No supporting documents were located.
Source: Chop list; Fran Ridge

Date: August 1, 1952 (BBU 1771)
Location: Lancaster, California
Time: 1:14 a.m.
Summary: Sheriff’s deputies and others, including a witness named Mallette, saw two brilliant red lights hovering and maneuvering for about 5 minutes.
Source: Berliner

Date: August 1, 1952
Location: Vincennes, Indiana
Time: 10:38 a.m.
Summary: Three men (one later became a Catholic priest) painting a farrowing barn on a farm three miles south of town heard a jet-like roar and watched a saucer stop in mid-air, lower itself toward the ground like a helicopter, hold for about 20 seconds, then ascend to its original height. It then moved west, then east, then west again, each time producing a loud sonic boom, before sweeping away to the southwest at extreme speed.
Source: UFO Filter Center files

Date: August 1, 1952 (Chop Clearance List Item #20)
Location: Near Troy, Ohio (radar site at Bellefontaine)
Time: 10:51–11:13 a.m.
Summary: USAF ADC radar at Bellefontaine, Ohio tracked a target 20 miles NNW of Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, moving 400–450 mph on a heading of 240°, and vectored two F-86s piloted by Maj. James B. Smith and Lt. Donald J. Hemer. The jets made visual contact within four minutes, climbed to 48,000 ft, fell off, and climbed again; Smith got a weak radar-gunsight return and shot gun-camera film of a 24–40 ft white round or silver-colored object estimated at 60,000–70,000 ft. The intercept was broken off around 11:05–11:13 a.m., roughly 100 miles WSW of Dayton. The recovered film reportedly shows the object in the upper right of the frame with noticeable motion toward the lower left.  [Full Report]
Source: BB Rpt 8; cf. Ruppelt pp. 174–6; Keyhoe 1953 p. 107

Date: August 1, 1952
Location: Sharonville, Ohio
Time: Unknown
Summary: A brilliant white disc was observed at low altitude; other witnesses separately reported an oval object.
Source: UFOE, XII

Date: August 1, 1952
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Time: 9:50 p.m.
Summary: A Scripps-Howard reporter saw a cluster of glowing white objects overhead, shifting into various patterns including a perfect V formation, with movements he described as incredibly swift and fantastically violent. “They made a flying saucer believer out of me,” he said.
Source: New York World-Telegram, Aug. 2, 1952

Date: August 2, 1952 (BBU 1783)
Location: Lake Charles, Louisiana
Time: 3 a.m.
Summary: USAF 1st Lt. W. A. Theil and enlisted man Edwards saw a red ball with a blue flame tail fly straight and level for 3–4 seconds.
Source: Berliner; FUFOR Index

Date: August 2, 1952
Location: Lubbock, Texas
Time: 8:57–9:03 a.m.
Summary: Five civilian men observed a metallic-looking, spherical object hanging in the air with a quivering motion as its only apparent movement. After about six minutes it moved straight east and disappeared into a cloud bank. One witness, Mr. Gibbs, familiar with weather balloons, was certain it was not a balloon of any type. Reese AFB was located just west of town.
Source: PBB files

Date: August 2, 1952
Location: Houlton, Maine
Time: 9:55 p.m.
Summary: Jack Smart and his wife Patricia, on a wharf, saw 21 disc-shaped objects to the north and northeast traveling 200–600 mph over 35 minutes.
Source: Hynek-CUFOS re-evaluation; Jan Aldrich; FUFOR Index

Date: August 3, 1952: Encounter near Salt Lake City, Utah

Date: August 3, 1952 (Chop Clearance List Item #21)
Location: Truth or Consequences, New Mexico
Time: 10:20 p.m.
Summary: Civilian engineer Anderson saw three light-green, cylindrical objects hovering at 45° elevation in an inverted-V formation, switching to echelon formation when one object moved, with a rolling motion along its long axis. The objects disappeared by rising rapidly and vertically over 9 minutes.
Source: BB Rpt 8; FUFOR Index

Date: August 3, 1952 (Chop Clearance List Item #33)
Location: Hamilton AFB, California
Time: 4:15–5:30 p.m. PDT
Summary: Two Air Force pilots, Capt. L. R. Hadley and Lt. D. A. Swimley, plus Capt. W. T. Perske, saw visually and with binoculars two circular or spherical silvery objects, 60–100 ft diameter, at 12,000 and 18,000 ft, drifting east to west on a 15-mile track overhead, darting and “dog fighting” at an estimated 400–450 mph. The upper object dropped from 18,000 to 12,000 ft; the group was eventually joined by eight more similar objects appearing in pairs about 15–20 miles distant to the west. No sound was reported. Total duration over an hour, with three named witnesses.
Source: Unknown

Date: August 3, 1952
Location: Kirtland AFB, New Mexico
Time: 10:20 p.m. MST
Summary: A CAA engineer at the SAC station observed three oblong, translucent objects in an inverted-V formation to the north at 40° elevation, moving at near-sonic speed with no sound. The objects held conventional formation except for one flip or tumble that revealed one object as plate-shaped. Duration 9 minutes.
Source: Dan Wilson, BB files

Date: August 4, 1952 (BBU 1812)
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Time: 2:20 a.m.
Summary: USAF A/3c W. F. Vain saw a yellow ball that lengthened and narrowed into a plate shape, flying straight and level for about 5 minutes.
Source: Berliner; FUFOR Index

Date: August 4, 1952 (BBU 1813)
Location: Mt. Vernon, New York
Time: 11:37 a.m.
Summary: A woman and two children saw an object shaped like a life-saver or donut, emitting black smoke from its top and moving through a roughly 15° reciprocating arc over about 1.5 minutes; total sighting duration around 2 hours.
Source: Berliner; cf. Hynek-CUFOS re-evaluation; Jan Aldrich

Date: August 5–6, 1952
Location: Washington, D.C. area
Time: Overnight
Summary: Two to ten unidentified objects flying at speeds of 30–40 mph were tracked on radarscopes at Civil Aeronautics Administration headquarters at Washington National Airport, with the same blips reported on radar at nearby Andrews AFB, where an aircraft was sent up to 15,000 ft to investigate but returned due to overcast.
Source: Dan Wilson

Date: August 5, 1952
Location: Between Lima and Huacho, Peru
Time: 5:13 a.m.
Summary: Panagra DC-3 pilot Sullivan and crew saw three saucer-shaped objects in a V-formation maneuver around the plane.
Source: Project 1947; FUFOR Index

Date: August 5, 1952
Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Time: Unknown
Summary: An experienced amateur astronomer observed two copper-like discs.
Source: UFOE, VI

Date: August 5–6, 1952: The Haneda AFB case, Japan

Date: August 6, 1952 (BBU 1841)
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Time: Unknown
Summary: Continuation of the Haneda AFB sightings noted above.
Source: NARA

Date: August 6, 1952 (BBU 1843)
Location: Belleville, Michigan
Time: Unknown
Summary: Military witness(es); no further detail survives in the sourced record.
Source: NARA

Date: August 6, 1952 (BBU 1845)
Location: Port Austin, Michigan
Time: Unknown
Summary: Case file missing from the record.
Source: NARA

Date: August 6, 1952
Location: Andrews AFB, Maryland
Time: 10:00 p.m. onward
Summary: An unidentified object was observed on radar 2½ miles away, bearing 116°, moving south. At 10:23 p.m. three unidentified objects appeared on the scope (4½ miles at 80°, 3 miles at 100°, 4½ miles at 113°). At 10:32 p.m. one object was tracked 5 miles out at 93°; at 10:39 p.m. two targets appeared at 53°. A returning B-25 caused the unknown radar targets to disappear as it approached. Earlier, at 9:15 p.m., a civilian in southeast Washington, D.C. saw two bright, circular objects — appearing the size of a fifty-cent piece — flying toward Andrews AFB, one on a straight course and the other circling it, faster than any jet the witness had seen. This case is not listed in the Project Blue Book Master Index.
Source: Dan Wilson

Date: August 6–7, 1952
Location: Kerkrade, Holland
Time: Unknown
Summary: A marine engineer designer saw two disc-shaped objects with superstructures. [Full Report]
Source: UFOE, X

Date: August 6, 1952
Location: Port Lyautey, French Morocco
Time: 7:51 p.m.
Summary: Control tower personnel and three Navy officer pilots flying an R5-D saw a brilliant white, disc-shaped luminous object with a red blinking light, leaving a smoke trail, traveling straight and level at high speed, then climbing vertically to 15,000 ft at high speed, hovering, and descending. When the aircraft attempted to climb toward the object, it accelerated away and the chase was abandoned.
Source: Hynek-CUFOS re-evaluation; Jan Aldrich; FUFOR Index

Date: August 6, 1952: West Lumberton, North Carolina

Date: August 7, 1952 (BBU 1855)
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Time: 9:08 a.m.
Summary: Mrs. Susan Pfuhl saw four glowing white discs — one made a 180° turn, one flew straight and level, one veered off, and one circled — over a 70-minute period.
Source: Berliner; FUFOR Index

Date: August 8, 1952
Location: Warren AFB, Wyoming
Time: 7:48 p.m.
Summary: Pollack and another witness saw an object stop immediately without appearing to decelerate. Duration about 2½ minutes.
Source: Hynek-CUFOS re-evaluation; Jan Aldrich; FUFOR Index

Date: August 9, 1952 (BBU 1870)
Location: Lake Charles AFB, Louisiana
Time: 10:50 a.m.
Summary: USAF A/3c J. P. Raley, walking to work, saw a disc-shaped object fly south at 5,000 ft at high speed, turn west, then hover for about 2 seconds, over a 5–6 minute sighting.
Source: cf. Hynek-CUFOS re-evaluation; Jan Aldrich

Date: August 9, 1952
Location: K-3 area, east of Pohang, Korea
Time: 8:57 p.m.
Summary: The pilot of USMC aircraft “Richman 18” reported a long streamer of flame with a fireball at the front, passing 500 yards off his starboard wing and 1,000 feet above. He asked radar operator Lt. Leo N. Nagrodsky to verify the sighting; Nagrodsky observed blips of the object on the scope and estimated its speed at 600–800 mph.
Source: Dan Wilson, Project 1947; FUFOR Index

Date: August 10, 1952
Location: Japan
Time: 9:45 p.m.
Summary: A USMC Major flying an aircraft saw an object move downward from 8,000 to 1,500 ft, then hover before abruptly vanishing.
Source: Hynek-CUFOS re-evaluation; Jan Aldrich

Date: August 11, 1952
Location: Rockford, Illinois
Time: Evening
Summary: At least 14 people reported “flying saucers” streaking over Rockford on a Sunday evening. Two USAF F-86 Sabre jets based at O’Hare International Airport near Chicago were sent to investigate but the pilots saw nothing.
Source: Rockford Register-Republic

Date: August 11, 1952
Location: Hampton, Virginia
Time: 9–10 p.m.
Summary: A USAF Captain and his wife, driving into town, saw a series of seven yellowish-orange, low-flying objects climb away, over about 5 minutes.
Source: Hynek-CUFOS re-evaluation; Jan Aldrich

Date: August 12, 1952
Location: Near Cape May, New Jersey
Time: 5:43 a.m.
Summary: A USAF F-94B pilot saw a stationary glowing object lose brightness and diminish in size, possibly a star.
Source: Weinstein; BB files

Date: August 12, 1952
Location: Big Spring, Texas
Time: 4:49 p.m.
Summary: A USAF T-6 pilot saw a light flying at roughly 500 mph and 15,000 ft pass his aircraft.
Source: Project 1947

Date: August 12, 1952
Location: 70 miles west of Wink, Texas
Time: 10:48 p.m.
Summary: A Navy pilot and copilot flying an SNB aircraft saw several pie-pan-shaped, aluminum-colored objects pass ahead of their aircraft and ascend.
Source: Project 1947

Date: August 13–14, 1952
Location: Washington, D.C.
Time: 7:57 p.m. onward
Summary:  A group of seven strong, stationary radar targets suddenly appeared roughly 15 miles north-northeast of the antenna. Over the next several antenna revolutions, the scope between Washington and Baltimore filled with stationary targets across a belt about 6 miles wide, joined by another cluster 10–15 miles south of the antenna. For the following four and a half hours, controllers carefully plotted many unidentified targets in grease pencil on the radar scope, timing each to calculate ground speeds; the tracks were later transferred to acetate for a permanent record. Targets disappeared at 12:30 a.m. on August 14.    [Full Report]
Source: Dan Wilson

Date: August 13, 1952 (BBU 1889)
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Time: 9:45 p.m.
Summary: U.S. Marine pilot Maj. D. McGough saw an orange light fly a left orbit at 8,000 ft and 230 mph, spiral down to no more than 1,500 ft, remain stationary for 2–3 minutes, then go out. An interception attempt was unsuccessful.
Source: Berliner

Date: August 13, 1952
Location: Dallas, Texas
Time: Unknown
Summary: An airlines chief pilot chased a maneuvering light. Cataloged as “Cat 11, Jacoby/McNaulty.”
Source: UFOE, V

Date: August 13, 1952
Location: Tucson, Arizona
Time: Unknown
Summary: An Air Force officer reported a formation of bright UFOs. Cataloged as “Cat 11, Stanley Case.”
Source: UFOE, III

Date: August 14, 1952
Location: Kelly AFB, Texas
Time: 3:45 p.m. CST
Summary: Seven Air Force employees observed a round, apparently aluminum object flying over the base, executing slow sweeping turns and reversing direction. Estimated speed 1,500 mph at 20,000–30,000 ft; the object appeared and disappeared intermittently over a 30-minute observation period.
Source: Dan Wilson, BB files

Date: 1952: Ely UFO crash cover-up in chapter of ‘weird’ book

Date: 1952
Location: Napa, California
Time: 5 p.m. PDT
Summary: A Ground Observer Corps observer saw a silver-colored, cigar-shaped object the size of a large aircraft overhead at an estimated 10,000 ft, moving on a southwest course at an estimated 800–1,000 mph — against winds that were themselves blowing from the southwest. No sound was heard. Observed for about 30 seconds.
Source: Dan Wilson, BB files

Date: Mid-August 1952: Sighting and Contact in Bakersfield, California

Date: August 17, 1952
Location: West of Athens, Alabama
Time: 12:47 p.m.
Summary: A USAF T-6G pilot saw an intensely bright, white, round object hovering, which then disappeared suddenly.
Source: Project 1947

Date: August 17, 1952
Location: East of Abilene, Texas
Time: 4:49 p.m. CST
Summary: Capt. James H. Perry, flying a T-6 at 8,000 ft, observed a highly polished, metallic, oblong object traveling at a terrific rate of speed — well over 500 mph — just below the clouds and climbing. The object was slightly smaller than a B-25.
Source: Project 1947; FUFOR Index

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

A Gun-Camera Intercept and the Washington Radar Return

The first seventeen days of August 1952 open with what may be this archive’s strongest single piece of physical evidence yet documented in the 1952 chronology: gun-camera film shot by an intercepting F-86 pilot near Wright-Patterson AFB on August 1, personally covered by Ruppelt in his own book. Less than two weeks later, Washington, D.C.’s radar scopes filled with dozens of stationary targets for four and a half hours — a smaller echo of the more famous July 1952 Washington flap, but carefully documented in its own right with grease-pencil plots preserved on acetate. Around these anchor cases, the familiar rhythm of pilot, radar, and civilian reports continues across the Pacific, Korea, and the American heartland.

“They made a flying saucer believer out of me.”
— Scripps-Howard reporter, Albuquerque, New Mexico, August 1, 1952