1955: September UFO|UAP & Entity Sightings Archive

September 1955 brings three cases with unusually concrete evidentiary anchors: a Sao Paulo physician’s photographs of a hovering, rotating object over Santos Naval Base, examined and cleared of falsification by Brazilian Navy analysts; a terrified airman’s account of a towering, black-booted figure at Plattsburgh Air Force Base, preserved in FBI files; and a fishing couple’s extended encounter with a responsive, partially-submerged object in a New York reservoir, its lights and turbulence tracking their boat’s every approach and retreat. A French shepherd’s landed-craft encounter and a Texas boy’s close-range entity sighting round out a smaller but evidentially interesting month.

Date: Fall 1955
Location: Near Liesing, Obersteiermark, Austria
Time: Afternoon
Summary: Several children, ages 9 to 12, encountered a large, sphere-shaped object in a meadow near their homes, close to a stream. It had a large transparent bubble on top through which several standing figures could be seen. The children ran toward the object, but it emitted a loud roaring sound and shot up into the sky.
Source: Ulrich Magin

Date: Fall 1955
Location: Ohio (exact location not given)
Time: 8:00 PM
Summary: A witness walking down a road saw a rapidly approaching red ball of light that turned bright white-hot as it neared, then cooled and reddened again as it got even closer. He began floating upward toward the now-metallic-appearing object; sparks appeared and he passed out. His only memory of being aboard was two pairs of hands touching him and examining his genitals. He was later released, finding himself in the middle of the street looking at another object hovering above a nearby storage shed.
Source: Kenneth Ring, PhD, The Omega Project

Date: About September 1955
Location: Plattsburgh Air Force Base, New York
Time: 4:00 AM
Summary: A 19-year-old airman on night duty saw a blue-white flash and an elliptical object on the ground outside; frightened, he closed the door. Another door was then flung violently open, revealing a man taller than the 7 ft doorway, stooping to look in, wearing long black boots. The witness fainted; when he recovered, everything was gone. [Full Report]
Source: Edward McShane for the FBI

Date: September 1, 1955
Location: Near Santos Naval Base, Brazil
Time: Sunset
Summary: Dr. Achilles Greco, a Sao Paulo physician, was fishing a few miles from the Santos Naval Base with a companion when he photographed an object hovering over Cabras Island, rotating and giving off a whitish trail of smoke. Visible for about a minute, during which Greco took two photographs, the object then departed at great speed. The photos impressed Navy and Army officers who were interviewed by the press; official photo-analysis found nothing wrong with the negatives, and the Navy requested Greco turn them over. Enlargements reportedly rule out a lenticular cloud, supporting an unconventional aerial object. [Full Report]
Source: APRO

Date: September 3, 1955 (BBU 3743)
Location: Bellingham, Washington
Time: 9:30 PM (PST)
Summary: Ground Observer Corps observer Saunders saw a white pinpoint of light move slowly across roughly 30 degrees of sky.
Source: Berliner

Date: September 7, 1955 (BBU 3750)
Location: Washington, D.C.
Time: 6:30 AM (EST)
Summary: Two photographers — one a plate maker for the Army Map Service, the other identified only as Smith — saw a glowing, round object fly an arc across the sky.
Source: Berliner

Date: September 9, 1955 (BBU 3757)
Location: Near Alcoa, Tennessee
Time: 12:00 Noon
Summary: Witness Dawkins, using binoculars, saw a brown, almost square object flying with a circular motion.
Source: Berliner

Date: September 16, 1955
Location: Boussagues, France
Time: 6:00 PM
Summary: A young shepherd heard a whistling sound as a dark mass appeared to fall from the sky, a rush of air sweeping him off his feet. The object resembled a machine, with an opening revealing a stairway. Two occupants were seen, one with a reddish face, a bald head, and a row of very fine white teeth. The craft was round, about 11 ft in diameter and 6 ft high, lit with a neon-like glow. The occupants gathered plants before the craft departed.
Source: Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia 375

Date: September 17, 1955
Location: Bash Bish [Bush Pine] Reservoir, New York
Time: Night
Summary: Eileen Bordes, fishing with her husband Frank, saw an iridescent pink, mushroom-shaped object rise 2 ft above the water before disappearing beneath the surface. Frightened, she asked to be rowed ashore. From shore, the couple saw a brightening light roughly 100 yards off, then two long parallel lights beneath it, apparently from a partially submerged, elongated object some 15 ft long, surrounded by considerable turbulence. Persuaded to investigate further, they found that whenever they rowed toward the object it sped toward them, and when they retreated, it retreated too — with no visible light beam and no sound but turbulence, ruling out another boat. It eventually moved off down the lake at high speed until its lights faded from view. [Full Report]
Source: Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia 376

Date: September 20, 1955
Location: Del Rio, Texas
Time: Night
Summary: A young witness saw a creature about 4-5 ft tall outside his house, dark gray with thin gray arms and legs, a very large hairless head, and large eyes. Terrorized and speechless, he could not react further. Around the same time, other locals reported several UFOs flying over Laughlin Air Force Base, 6 miles east of Del Rio.
Source: MUFON UFO Reports

Date: Late September 1955
Location: Troy, New York
Time: Early evening
Summary: A young witness playing in a hilly wooded area heard a loud whistling sound from a hilltop; he and a friend investigated but found nothing, then separated near a coal yard. Walking toward a clearing, he saw two non-human, short humanoid figures wearing clear plastic helmets with yellow rims and one-piece uniforms (red top, blue pants) with silvery belts marked “G A F.” He tried to flee but felt compelled to approach instead. He was led aboard a nearby triangular object filled with monitors and equipment, shown images on a large white screen of other ships and humanoids constructing them, apparently taken to a city-like location, and eventually returned.
Source: J. Antonio Huneeus, UFO Universe

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

A Photographed Object, a Base Intrusion, and a Responsive Lake Phenomenon

September 1955’s three standalones each carry an unusually concrete evidentiary element for the era. Dr. Achilles Greco’s photographs of the Santos Naval Base object were examined by Brazilian Navy photo-analysts and cleared of any detected falsification. Plattsburgh Air Force Base’s towering intruder is preserved in FBI files rather than a UFO-club newsletter. And the Bordes couple’s New York reservoir encounter stands out for its documented behavioral responsiveness — the object’s demonstrated tendency to advance when approached and retreat when the boat retreated, observed and described consistently by two independent witnesses.

The month’s remaining entries include a French shepherd’s landed-craft encounter with plant-gathering occupants and a Texas boy’s terrified close-range sighting near Laughlin AFB — a smaller month by entry count, but a strong one by evidentiary interest.

“Whenever they headed in the direction of the object it would speed towards them. When they retreated, it would stop and gradually retreat, too.”
— Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia, Bash Bish Reservoir, New York, September 17, 1955