1956: September UFO|UAP & Entity Sightings Archive

September 1956 is a diverse month in the archive — lighter on confirmed Blue Book military radar cases than July or August, but carrying an unusual concentration of entity and landing reports from four continents. A North Carolina police officer watched 14 exhaust-trailing objects sweep back and forth across the sky for 90 minutes. A USMC technical sergeant and his family saw a red-white light sit motionless for 20 minutes before accelerating west at 200 knots. Copenhagen radar tracked objects at 1,800 mph, and United Airlines Flight 459 crew near Santa Barbara filed a Blue Book report on a star-like object that shifted position. A Cessna pilot over Grand Rapids saw two delta-shaped objects pass under his wing.

Around those confirmed cases, September 1956 accumulates entity encounters from France, the Netherlands, Brazil, Russia, Virginia and California, ranging from a hovering saucer with figures visible through windows and an E-M car-stop in Normandy, to a former sheriff’s deputy in the Sierra Nevada watching a four-foot figure vanish up a gravel slope in 20-foot strides. The month’s entity reports come from diverse secondary sources and each carries its own sourcing level; the Blue Book and aviation cases are the evidentiary anchors.

Date: Autumn 1956
Location: Falls City, Nebraska
Time: Afternoon
Summary: A witness standing beside his pickup truck noticed what appeared to be a kite descending toward him. As it came closer he realized it was a winged creature approximately 8 to 9 feet tall, flying about 15 feet above the ground. Its wings were silvery and polished with multicolored lights on the underside. It had a breastplate with dials that the being appeared to be manipulating. The creature’s face was described as demonic in appearance, with large watery blue eyes and leathery wrinkled skin. As it passed over the witness he felt temporarily paralyzed and heard a hissing sound.
Source: Janet and Colin Bord, Unexplained Mysteries of the 20th Century

Source Status: Autumn 1956 — no specific date. Published in a general anomalies compilation; original source of the account not given. Filed as Autumn 1956.

Date: Autumn 1956
Location: Veluwe, The Netherlands
Time: Night
Summary: Mrs. Van B was walking through woods behind her home when she heard a gentle, high-pitched purring sound. Approaching the source, she saw on a ridge a bluish sphere of light about 3 meters in diameter, hovering just above the ground and dimly lighting the surrounding trees. Two slender figures were visible in front of the sphere; they appeared to be digging or burying something in the soil. The figures were human-like except for their slenderness, long thin arms and small, very rounded heads. They wore small square boxes on the sides of their heads and tight-fitting headgear. A third figure briefly emerged from the sphere, appeared to check something, and returned inside. The witness then observed what appeared to be an accident involving one of the figures outside — he fell to the ground and was carried behind the sphere by two others. Another figure ran toward the witness’s position, placed something on the ground about 10 meters away, and returned. The purring sound intensified, the sphere began a pendulum-like motion, sparks appeared from the soil, and the entire scene vanished. Relatives later found a crater and charred remains at the site — including what appeared to be a rubber boot and a cardboard box with tubing. The family requested anonymity.
Source: Hans Van Kampen, Spooklicht 4.2

Source Status: Autumn 1956 — no specific date. The witness family requested anonymity. Physical traces (crater, charred material) were reported but no independent investigation is documented. The source notes the small crater was still visible 21 years later.

Date: September 1956
Location: Near Chester, California
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Summary: An off-duty sheriff of Butte County was bow-and-arrow hunting in the Wilson Lake area near Chester. He was seated alone in a clearing when he heard gravel rolling down a slope behind him. Standing up, he saw a figure approximately 70 feet away. The being was about 4 feet tall, with entirely human-looking facial features that appeared to be those of a 35 to 40-year-old man, and human-looking hands. It wore brightly colored clothing: green tight-fitting pants, a gold jacket over a tan pullover shirt, low brown boots, and a red and gold cap from which brown hair protruded. No buttons, zippers or fasteners were visible. After the two stared at each other for about a minute, the figure whirled around and leaped up the gravel slope in 20-foot strides, clearing the top and disappearing. The witness’s sister, about 150 yards away, saw the figure only briefly and thought it was another hunter. The witness returned to the site later but found no traces.
Source: Paul Cerny, MUFON and CUFOS

Source Status: Month confirmed; exact date not given. Investigated by Paul Cerny for both MUFON and CUFOS. The off-duty law enforcement status of the primary witness is the key distinguishing factor.

Date: September 1956
Location: Terney, Blagodatnoye Lake, Primorskiy Kray, Far East, Russia
Time: Daytime
Summary: Several dozen fishermen on the lake reported observing what appeared to be a large UFO in serious difficulty. They described a silver hat-shaped object with red windows or portholes along its rim, approaching their location while emitting a loud grinding sound and trailing dense smoke. As it flew, the object ejected numerous thin metallic needle-shaped objects. It eventually came down into the Sea of Japan. The fishermen reportedly collected some of the ejected metallic pieces the following day.
Source: Valeriy Dvuzhilnyi, quoted by Karina Pronina and Valentin Pavlenko in Interesnaya Gazeta, Kiev, No. 82D+, 2005

Source Status: Account published nearly 50 years after the event in a Kiev popular magazine. The crash site was not officially investigated. No independent corroboration of the metallic pieces or the object is documented. The estimated 1.5 km diameter is almost certainly an exaggeration — the same sources suggest 150 meters as a more plausible figure. Filed as reported.

Date: September 1956
Location: Near Bocaina, Brazil
Time: 8:00 p.m.
Summary: A witness saw a large disc-shaped object hover and then land near a road. A tall man dressed in a Roman-style outfit and helmet emerged. He greeted the witness in a friendly manner and described a previous contact, saying that while 7 years had passed for the witness, only 3 days had passed for them.
Source: Richard Heiden, Flying Saucer Review, Vol. 27, No. 6

Source Status: Contactee-tradition account. No exact date. FSR is a secondary publication.

Date: September 1956
Location: Cabo Frio, Brazil
Time: 8:30 p.m.
Summary: O. Guarichi was walking on the beach with his dogs when he observed an object emerge from the sea and land. Two men approximately 1.80 meters tall, wearing metallic-looking uniforms, emerged. One of them picked up objects from the beach. There was an exchange of gestures with the witness. One of his dogs turned away as the witness approached. The craft was described as 20 meters wide and 3 meters high. It showed flashing lights as it departed.
Source: Passport to Magonia, Jacques Vallée, case index p. 254, 1969

Date: September 1956
Location: Le Houlme, Seine-Maritime, France
Time: 11:20 p.m.
Summary: M. Follon, riding a motorized bicycle, noticed a bright light across a valley. Investigating, he found an aluminum-colored craft about 40 feet in diameter and 30 feet high, hovering about 3 feet above the ground approximately 60 yards from the road. It had an antenna on top, a row of ports emitting verdigris-green flames below that, and windows approximately 14 by 20 inches around its equator. Through the windows he could see 3 or 4 human-form silhouettes of apparently normal stature, moving back and forth as if occupied with a task. He watched for 10 minutes. During this time a car passing on the road had its headlights extinguished and its engine stop. The flames from the ports then increased to about 20 feet in length, a powerful searchlight was directed southward, and the craft departed to the south making a loud noise, rising at a 45-degree angle and quickly reaching the speed of a jet aircraft.
Source: M. Freulon, LDLN No. 137

Source Status: The E-M engine and light stop on the passing car is the key distinguishing element. LDLN (Lumières dans la Nuit) is a French UFO periodical; Freulon was a regional investigator. No independent confirmation of the road stop effect.

Date: September 1956
Location: Johnson City, Tennessee
Time: Late night
Summary: A group of teenagers parked in an isolated area near a river were listening to a car radio when they noticed a huge dark humanoid form coming toward them from behind a rise, taking very long strides. The figure was estimated to be 12 to 13 feet tall. The witnesses fled the area and did not return.
Source: Letter from Betty Y., Strange Magazine, No. 6

Source Status: Single retrospective letter account in a fringe publication; no names given. Filed as a large humanoid report with no craft component.

Date: Sept. 4, 1956
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Time: Unknown
Summary: Radar tracking of several unidentified objects flying at approximately 1,800 mph.
Source: The UFO Evidence (NICAP), Section VIII

Source Status: Note: The August 22 Bornholm, Denmark radar case (same general area) is the confirmed BBU case from this region. Verify whether Copenhagen September 4 is a separate event or a misdated reference to one of the Bornholm tracks.

Date: Sept. 4, 1956
Location: Dallas, Texas
Time: 9:00 p.m.
Summary: USMC Technical Sergeant R. D. Rogers and his family observed a large star-like object that changed to a red color and remained stationary for 20 minutes, then moved west at approximately 200 knots (230 mph). Total observation: approximately 23 minutes.
Source: Berliner (BBU #4379)

Date: Sept. 6, 1956
Location: Pasadena, California
Time: Unknown
Summary: A Western Airlines pilot reported erratically moving white lights to Air Defense Command. The sighting received visual confirmation from the ground by 1st Lt. Mark Matlock, USAF, for 47 minutes.
Source: The UFO Evidence (NICAP), Section V; Leonard Stringfield, CRIFO ORBIT newsletter, October 5, 1956, case 210

Source Status: This case has a complex history: the HJKC Blue Book review notes that the Los Angeles Times reported an unknown helicopter as the probable explanation on September 11, and the Blue Book file for September 6 involves a separate round gray object in straight-line flight at 0810Z. The visual confirmation by Lt. Matlock and the 47-minute duration are the elements that appear in UFOE.

Date: September 7, 1956
Location: Near Twin Falls, Idaho
Time: Evening
Summary: Three men reported watching a large saucer-shaped object approximately 200 feet in diameter descend into an open field and come to rest near a steer. Before they could approach, the object departed — and the steer was gone.
Source: True “Flying Saucers & UFOs Quarterly,” No. 1

Source Status: Single-source, anonymous witness account. No follow-up investigation documented.

Date: September 9, 1956
Location: Big Bethel, Virginia
Time: 8:35 p.m.
Summary: Three witnesses — T. L. Bristow, Mrs. Bristow and Mrs. W. McPherson — saw an object comparable in size to the moon, which gradually descended to the horizon. Two of the observers thought they could see occupants wearing some sort of headgear.
Source: E. V. Monismith, USAF Project Blue Book

Date: September 10, 1956
Location: Praia do Saco de São Francisco, Brazil
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Summary: A woman seated at a beach bus stop heard a sound and saw a bright rounded object descend toward the water. The sound became severe and bathers panicked and fled the water. The witness apparently lost consciousness and later found herself lying on a table in a curved corridor aboard what appeared to be the object. Another person — a youth she had seen at the beach — was on a nearby table. Two tall beings in close-fitting silvery suits approached and moved both witnesses into a circular room. A third being, an older man with gray hair combed back and dark penetrating eyes, spoke to her in melodious Portuguese. She underwent an examination and was shown what appeared to be a control room, then experienced another memory gap and found herself back on the beach on a pile of rocks.
Source: A. J. Gevaerd and Wendelle C. Stevens, UFO Abductions at Maringá

Source Status: Abduction narrative; single witness; published in a book by Wendelle Stevens, whose cases frequently lack independent corroboration.

Date: Sept. 11, 1956
Location: Waldboro, Maine
Time: 2:50 a.m. (GMT)
Summary: A U.S. Navy aviation petty officer and a U.S. Navy civilian clerk-typist observed a silver-gray cigar-shaped object approximately the size of a quarter at arm’s length. It displayed a diffused light without a visible beam. First sighted in the south-southeast at 45-degree elevation, it appeared to hover, then executed two 90-degree turns before returning to a south-southeast heading and disappearing over a hill. Total visual duration was 4 minutes. The petty officer noted the object had a smooth surface with no projections of any kind and flight characteristics different from those of a normal aircraft, specifically its ability to hover and execute 90-degree and 180-degree turns.
Source: Loren E. Gross, 1956; Project Blue Book files

Source Status: Blue Book conclusion: aircraft. The witnesses’ own description of hovering and 90-degree turns contradicts that evaluation. Two trained Navy personnel, independent observation.

Date: Sept. 11, 1956
Location: Baltic Sea
Time: Unknown
Summary: Radar sightings of mysterious objects flying at speeds of 2,000 to 2,500 mph on curved courses, reported during a period of approximately three weeks prior to September 11.
Source: The UFO Evidence (NICAP); Altus (Oklahoma) Times-Democrat, reported as of July–September 1956

Date: Sept. 13, 1956
Location: Near Santa Barbara, California (airborne)
Time: 9:35 p.m.
Summary: The crew of United Airlines Flight 459 observed a star-like object that was initially stationary and then moved.
Source: Project 1947; FUFOR Index; BBU Files (BBU)

Date: Sept. 14, 1956
Location: Highland, North Carolina
Time: 1:00 a.m.
Summary: Scaly, North Carolina policeman O. S. Gryman observed 14 yellow-to-red round objects with tremendous exhaust flying in a vague formation from southwest to east to northeast and back again, while swooping up and down. Sighting duration: 1.5 hours.
Source: Berliner (BBU #4399)

Date: Sept. 25, 1956
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan (airborne)
Time: 4:00 p.m.
Summary: Cessna pilot Marcus observed 2 delta-shaped objects flying south, passing under the right wing of his aircraft.
Source: Weinstein; CUFOS files; FUFOR Index (BBU)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Five Continents, Three Blue Book Unknowns and a Car-Stop in Normandy

September 1956 produces three confirmed Blue Book unknowns from named observers across a spread of dates: USMC Technical Sergeant Rogers in Dallas (September 4), policeman O. S. Gryman in North Carolina (September 14) and Cessna pilot Marcus over Grand Rapids (September 25). A fourth Blue Book case — United Airlines Flight 459 near Santa Barbara (September 13) — adds commercial aviation credentialing. Copenhagen and Baltic Sea radar tracks at 1,800 to 2,500 mph are sourced through NICAP’s The UFO Evidence. The Waldboro, Maine Navy case (September 11) has two trained military observers and behavior Blue Book dismissed as “aircraft” despite hovering and 90-degree turns in the witnesses’ own account.

The month’s entity accounts — from Normandy, the Dutch heathland, coastal Brazil, the California Sierra Nevada, the Russian Far East and rural Tennessee — vary substantially in source quality. The Le Houlme France case has the most structural weight among them: a timed 10-minute observation, a detailed craft description, an E-M effect on a passing car, and a first-generation investigative source in LDLN. The Chester California case has an off-duty law enforcement witness. The remaining accounts are secondary-sourced or contactee-tradition material, presented as documented for the record.

The flight characteristics were different from that of a normal aircraft — specifically its ability to hover and make 90 and 180 degree turns.

U.S. Navy aviation petty officer, Waldboro, Maine, September 11, 1956 — via Loren E. Gross, 1956; Project Blue Book files (Blue Book conclusion: aircraft)