THINK ABOUTIT UFO|UAP SIGHTINGS REPORT

1952: A Washington Man Watches an Orange Saucer-Shaped Light Jump Twice “Like the Bounce of a Basketball” Over Centreville, Maryland

At 10:42 p.m. on March 20, 1952, a Washington, D.C. man at Centreville, Queen Anne’s County, Maryland, saw a dull, orange-yellow, saucer-shaped light that looked like an old-fashioned light bulb, two to three times the size of an aircraft wing light, traveling very fast about halfway between the horizon and the zenith.

For about 30 seconds it flew in level flight, then twice jumped straight up what looked like a foot at that range, “similar in nature to the bounce of a basketball,” and carried on. It made no sound although it seemed near enough to be heard. On May 1, 1952, Lt. Ruppelt interviewed the witness and wrote down three possibilities: aircraft, meteor or unknown. The Centreville, Maryland UFO case is rated Unidentified.

Date: March 20, 1952

Sighting Time: 10:42 p.m. (2242)

Day/Night: Night

Location: Centreville, Queen Anne’s County, Maryland

Urban or Rural: Rural; Eastern Shore

No. of Entity’s: Not Applicable

Entity Type: Not Applicable

Entity Description: Not Applicable

Hynek Classification: NL (Nocturnal Light)

Duration: About 30 seconds

No. of Object(s): 1

Description of the Object(s): A dull orange-yellow, saucer-shaped light resembling an old-fashioned light bulb

Shape/Size/Color of Object(s): Saucer-shaped, two to three times the size of an ordinary aircraft wing light; dull orange-yellow

Distance to Object(s): About five miles away, halfway between the horizon and the zenith

Height & Speed: Very fast; level flight with two sudden vertical jumps; altitude not stated

Number of Witnesses: 1 (a Washington, D.C. man; name withheld in the file)

Special Features/Characteristics: Two sudden vertical jumps, each about a foot as seen at that range, then it continued; no sound heard though it seemed near enough to hear one

Case Status: Blue Book: Unidentified (BBU 1074); ATIC’s review concluded the object was not identified

Source: Project Blue Book record card; report of sighting; Ruppelt interview note, May 1, 1952; Berliner

Summary/Description: A single witness reported a fast orange-yellow saucer-shaped light that twice bounced vertically. Ruppelt checked jet, meteor and aircraft explanations and ruled each out, leaving it Unidentified.

Detailed Report

The report of sighting says the observer, a Washington, D.C. man whose name is blacked out in the file, saw the object at Centreville, Queen Anne’s County, Maryland, on March 20, 1952 at 2242. He described a dull, orange-yellow, saucer-shaped light resembling an old-fashioned light bulb, twice to three times the size of an ordinary aircraft wing light.

The object was traveling very fast and seemed about five miles away, halfway between the horizon and the zenith. Its only maneuver was twice jumping vertically a distance equal to what looked like a foot at that range, similar in nature to the bounce of a basketball. The record card gives the duration as about 30 seconds and lists the object as one saucer-shaped, orange light.

The object seemed near enough that the witness would have heard some noise from it if there had been any, but no noise was heard.

A handwritten note in the file records that on May 1, 1952 Lt. F. J. Ruppelt interviewed the witness and listed three possibilities: aircraft, meteor and unknown. If it were a jet leaving at 90 degrees at 480 mph, in 30 seconds it would have been about two miles away, or about 10,500 feet, and at that distance the witness would have heard the sound; he reported none. At twice that speed (about 960 mph, higher than any known aircraft that would be over the Washington area at night) the case for a distant jet is no better. The sudden climb would eliminate a meteor, and the note concludes the object had not been identified by ATIC.

RESEARCHER’S NOTES

Ruppelt Checks Three Explanations

Ruppelt’s Note. The handwritten May 1 note argues against a jet on speed and sound, against a meteor on the sudden climb, and concludes ATIC had not identified the object.
Level Flight and Two Jumps. The only maneuver was the two vertical jumps; the witness did not describe a turn or a descent.
Single Witness. The case rests on one man. The file gives no second witness or any radar.
Name Withheld. The witness’s name and address are blacked out. The live page’s description of a veteran and his son is not in the Centreville file I have.
Location in the List. The Blue Book list names the place “Queen Annes City, Maryland.”

Centreville is a small case with an unusually careful follow-up. A Blue Book officer interviewed the witness six weeks later, worked through the obvious explanations in his own handwriting, and left the case unidentified.

“The jumping is similar in nature to the bounce of a basketball.”
— Report of Sighting, Centreville, Queen Anne’s County, Maryland, March 20, 1952