The National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (Nicap)

Approved For Release 2001/04/02 : CIA-RDP81R00560R000100010001-0

DATE	LOCATION	TIME	NUMBER	SHAPE	COLOR	OBSERVERS	ACTIONS	SECTION
”	4 Idaho-Boise	2100	9	Discs	Silhouetted	Airliner crew	2 groups, apart	V.
”	6 Calif.-Long Beach	1315-1330	1	Disc	Brilliant	WW I Pilot, teacher	Side-slipped
”	6 S. Central Wyoming	1445	1	Oval	Unspec.	Aviation engineer	Steady flight	VI.
”	7 Wash.-Tacoma	1430-1500	3	Unspec.	Red-purple blue-white	2 policemen	Spinning, threw sparks	VII.
”	7 Ore.-Medford	1720	1	Disc	Blue-white	Radar technician	S to N on edge
July	8 Calif.-Muroc (Edwards) AFB	0930	3	Spheres or discs	Silvery	Pilots	Est. 300 mph.	III.
”	8 Calif.-Rogers Dry Lake	1150	1	Hemisphere	White	AF technicians	Descending, oscillating	II.
”	8 Calif.-Edwards AFB	1200	1	Thin	Metallic	USAF Test Pilot, others	Dove, climbed, oscillated	III.
”	9 Nr Boise, Idaho	Day	1	Disc	Dark	Pilot/aviation editor	Climbed, turned on edge	VII.
”	10 N. Mex.-(South)	1647	1	Ellipse	White	Astronomer	Wobbled	VI.
”	13 Ohio-Dayton	---	1	Cone	Bright	Mfg. Pres./Am. Astronomer	High speed
”	13 Mass.-Gardner	1748	1	Disc	Silver	Interior decorator	Tilted, accelerated rapidly	VII.

## The 1952 "Flap"

The year of 1952 saw the greatest wave of UFO reports in the United States; a wave which carried with it a major group of simultaneous radar-visual sightings of objects displaying outstanding speed, maneuverability and persistence.

By official Air Force figures (Project Blue Book, Special Report No.14), there were 1501 sightings during the year which were reported through official channels. As an indication of a much larger total number of sightings, one Ground Observer Corps Filter Center (Columbus, Ohio), covering about 1% of the continental U.S., reported 70 UFOs during six weeks at the height of the activity in mid-summer (on-the-spot count by NICAP member).

Project Blue Book Chief, Capt. E.J. Ruppelt stated that as of July 21, when the tide approached flood stage, "We were getting an average of 40 reports a day, 1/3 of which were unidentified." [6]

The early part of the year was marked by a number of interesting events:

January 29 - An Air Force pilot flying north of Misawa, Japan, in a practice intercept mission, watched a small disc pace one of the jet interceptors, then climb steeply away. [Section I.]

May 13 - In National City, California, two aeronautical engineers, an ex-Navy pilot and an amateur astronomer watched a round, white UFO descend at meteor-like speed; the UFO then levelled off and circled the area, darting erratically from side to side. [Section I.]

The first of more than a dozen simultaneous radar-visual observations occurred just after midnight, June 19, at Goose Bay AFB, Labrador. A light-first, red, then changing to white- hovered briefly. When it appeared to oscillate, its image on the radar scope flared up. Then it returned to its original size and disappeared. [Section VIII; Radar.]

On the first of July, the pace began to quicken. Capt. Ruppelt later stated, "By July 1 were were completely snowed under with reports." [7.]

At Fort Monmouth, N.J., three radar instructors and 12 trainees tracked two objects on an SCR 584 radar set as they hovered at 50,000 feet for about five minutes. Viewers outside saw two shiny objects at the same time. [Section VIII; Radar.] Later that day, in Washington, D.C., hundreds of persons, including a physics professor from George Washington University,

watched a dull grey object for about eight minutes, as it hovered, with an occasional movement to the side and return.

The next day, July 2, Navy photographer W/O Delbert Newhouse took color movies of 12 disc-shaped UFOs maneuvering in a group at high speed near Tremonton, Utah. [Section VIII; Photographs.]

After a week of nationwide activity, there began a period marked by almost daily accounts of almost unprecedented reliability and detail.

At 3:00 a.m., on the morning of July 13, Captain W. Bruen, National Airlines, reported to Washington, D.C., ARTC Center that a blue-white light was approaching his aircraft. He was 60 miles SW of National Airport. The UFO "came up to altitude of aircraft, hovered two miles to left of northbound aircraft. Pilot turned on all lights. Ball of light took off, going up and away." [From Civil Aeronautics Administration Report. See Section VIII; Radar.]

Group sightings played a significant part in the 1952 "flap", with some patterns appearing. Near Newport News, Va., July 4, the pilots of a Pan American Airways DC-4 watched a formation of six red discs speed below their plane, turn sharply and speed away, joined by two more discs. [Section V.]

Over a three-day period, July 16-18, there were three observations of groups of four UFOs. (See below).

An American Airlines pilot, Capt. Paul L. Carpenter, was approaching Denver, Colorado enroute to Chicago on the night of July 17/18. Capt. James Smay, on a flight ahead, radioed back and reported some odd lights maneuvering in the area. About 2:45 a.m., while at 17,000 feet over Denver, Capt. Carpenter noticed a speeding yellowish light to the south. It darted from a compass bearing of about 165 degrees (SSE) to about 180 degrees (S). About a minute later, a light sped back toward the east from about 195 degrees (SSW) to about 180 degrees. Simultaneously, two more lights sped from south to the south-southwest. Moments later, two lights were observed headed from south-southwest to south.

To Capt. Carpenter, it seemed that some unidentified objects were speeding back and forth, reversing direction sharply. The objects maneuvered over an arc of 30 degrees. Assuming they were over Colorado Springs, Capt. Carpenter estimated the speed at 3000 mph. If they were farther away, he pointed out, the speed would be even more fantastic.