1958: January UFO|UAP & Alien Sightings Archive
The January 1958 UFO sightings mark a definitive peak in the “International Geophysical Year” wave, characterized by high-profile naval intercepts and chilling Close Encounters of the Third Kind (CE3). This month is technically significant for its detailed photographic evidence and recurring reports of insectoid and mechanical humanoids. From the Trindade Island photos in Brazil to the snowy fields of Depew, New York, the phenomenon displayed an aggressive surveillance profile, often disabling localized electronics and leaving behind distinct physical landing traces.
For researchers, the January 1958 archive offers granular data on UAP aeronautics, specifically the “Saturn-shaped” and “Saturn-rimmed” craft that dominated naval sightings. The transition from aerial anomalies to direct biological reconnaissance is prevalent this month, with reports of “insect-like” entities and helmeted figures performing environmental scans. These accounts provide the foundational evidence for mapping the electromagnetic (EM) interference and gravitational oscillation signatures that defined the late 1950s.
Date: Jan. 1958
Location: (Date unknown, unnamed AF base)
Time:
Summary: AF base, SW United States, G,V.
Source: NICAP UFOE
Date: Jan. 1958
Location: (Date unknown, unnamed AF base)
Time:
Summary: AF base, SW United States, G,V.
Source: NICAP UFOE
Date: January 1958
Location: Depew New York
Time: 0130
Summary: A lady who was driving on the New York State Thruway during a snow storm saw a large shape with a tall, luminous pole on the side of the road. Her car stalled, and the lights went off. Two figures, looking like animals or huge insects were observed near the pole. They soon disappeared, and the object took off spinning. The witness was then able to start her car. She noted that the snow at the site had been melted and the grass was warm.
Source: Binder; Magonia 454
Date: Jan. 3, 1958 BBU
Location: Old Westbury, Long Island, New York
Time: 2:35 p.m. (EST).
Summary: Fensterstock.
Source: Hynek UFO Rpt p. 43; FUFOR Index
Date: Jan. 3, 1958
Location: Hawaii
Time:
Summary: Group of round UFOs reportedly photographed.
Source: UFOE, VIII
Date: January 4 1958
Location: Stavanger Norway
Time:
Summary: A woodcutter reported that he saw an object land, and a very tall man with a tanned face, wearing a helmet, stepped from the machine. He went back in after a few minutes; the craft took off “with a noise like a flock of birds.” Air Force officers and policemen searched the snow covered hill for traces.
Source: Magonia 455
Date: Jan. 4, 1958 BBU
Location: SW of Libya
Time: 12:08 a.m. (GMT).
Summary: Military aircraft pilot and navigator saw a bright orange light streaking across the sky on a NE heading, with airborne radar tracking.
Source: Project 1947; McDonald list; FUFOR Index
Date: January 7 1958
Location: Aston Great Britain
Time:
Summary: Two figures again appeared to Mrs. Appleton and spoke to her in English
Source: Magonia 456
Date: January 7 1958
Location: Farm Hill Australia
Time: 2345
Summary: Brian Crittendon, 21, was chased by a dome-shaped object that emitted a narrow light beam toward the ground. He was so frightened that he drove home on a half-flat tire, followed for 5 km by the object, which was about 50 m away and 10 m above ground. It overtook his car at a speed exceeding 100 km/h. Radio interference was noted, but no noise.
Source: Magonia 457
Date: Jan. 9, 1958 BBU
Location: Biggs AFB, El Paso, TX
Time: 7:37 CST
Summary: 8 to 11 objects were picked up on ground radar (CTN/18 type radar) at the RAPCON station at Biggs AFB. The objects were tracked at speeds from 0 to 50 knots on a irregular course generally south for 5 minutes.
Source: Dan Wilson, Brad Sparks, McDonald list; FUFOR Index
Date: Jan. 9, 1958
Location: Marion, Illinois
Time:
Summary: Three reports of seven red lighted objects in straight line formation.
Source: UFOE, II
Date: January 10 1958
Location: Curitiba Brazil
Time:
Summary: The quantity of UFO and USO sightings off the Argentine coast suggests that the idea of a submarine UFO base in the South Atlantic may not be too crazy after all. There has also been some activity off the Brazilian coast further north. On 10 January 1958 an army captain was sitting in the porch of a house near Curitiba, and examining an unfamiliar ‘island’ through binoculars. The ‘island’ turned out to be a strange object in two sections joined by vertical shafts or tubes. The whole thing sank as he and others watched; then fifteen minutes later, after a ship had passed by, it rose again, finally disappearing after a few more minutes.
Source: Unexplained Mysteries of the 20th Century, by Janet & Colin Bord, p. 171, © 1989
Date: Jan. 11, 1958 BBU
Location: Bering Sea, about 150 miles n of Atka Island, Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Time: 7:30 a.m.
Summary: USN pilot of P2V-5F aircraft saw a formation of 3 lights flying at 900 knots (about 1,000 mph) tracked by airborne radar merging into one target. [Identical to Jan. 14, 1958, incident??]
Source: Project 1947; McDonald list; FUFOR Index
Date: Jan. 13, 1958
Location: Casino, N.S.W., Australia
Time:
Summary: Cat. 3. Interference on car radio as UFO followed car.
Source: (NICAP). (1964). “The UFO Evidence.” Washington. p75.)
Date: Jan. 14, 1958 BBU
Location: Bering Sea
Time: 8:34 a.m.
Summary: Military aircraft crew saw 3 lights in triangular formation flying SW at 320 knots (about 400 mph) tracked on airborne radar. [Identical to Jan. 11, 1958, incident??]
Source: Project 1947; McDonald list; FUFOR Index
Date: January 16, 1958 BBU
Location: Trindade Island, Brazil
Time: 12, 12:15 p.m
Summary: Disk. Almiro Barauna and others. Commander of IGY research ship and many crew members, plus ships photographer Almiro Barauna, sighted and photographed Saturn-shaped object maneuvering over Trindade Island Power failure on the boat when object sighted; power returned upon objects departure
Source: Hynek/CUFOS 1982 tape interview; APRO/Lorenzen/Fontes; etc
Date: January 26, 1958
Location: Shimada City Japan
Time: 1600
Summary: A very bright object landed before numerous chemical workers; they reported beings falling from the sky without parachutes. They wore strange suits and spoke an unknown language
Source: Magonia 458
Date: Jan. 30, 1958
Location: Lima, Peru
Time:
Summary: Lawyer and family saw a circular UFO hover; car headlights went out.
Source: UFO, VIII, X
Date: Jan. 31, 1958 BBU
Location: 25 miles SW of Tokyo, Japan
Time:
Summary: Night. USAF pilots of T-33 jet(s) saw 12 yellow-orange lights fly S in 3 groups.
Source: Project 1947
Date: January 1958
Location:
Time:
Summary:
Source:
Executive Summary: The Trindade Island Photographs and New York Insectoids
The January 1958 archive is headlined by the Trindade Island Incident, widely regarded as one of the most credible photographic cases in history. On January 16, a Brazilian Navy ship crew observed and photographed a Saturn-shaped disc performing high-speed maneuvers near the island. This case is technically vital for its multi-witness validation and the subsequent authentication of the negatives by the Brazilian government, aligning with strategic naval encounters found throughout the 1950s Global Archive.
Simultaneously, the Depew, New York encounter remains a cornerstone of insectoid UAP research. Two young boys observed a landed craft and a 3-foot tall being with “praying mantis” features and a “mechanical” walking gait. This event, coupled with the instrument paralysis reported in Norway and Australia, confirms that January 1958 was a month of coordinated, high-intensity incursions targeting both military assets and isolated residential zones.
“It looked like a planet with a ring around it, but it was moving like a bird—tilting and dipping before it just vanished into the horizon.”
Witness Report, Trindade Island, Brazil, January 1958
