in the news 1952
PART NINE
Above: News feature from the Long Beach, California, Independent, July 25, 1952. The caption reads:
CHARTER MEMBERS of the Upper Lemon Ave. Flying Disc Watchers Society turned out in full strength last night to watch the fifth successive nightly arrival of a "flying disc" over their neighborhood. Groups like the one (above) could be seen on almost every corner watching a small fiery dot speeding, hovering and then capering across the zenith. Charles McEwen, 44, who watched the phenomenon from the comfort of his lawn at 6026 Lemon Ave., listens to 12-year-old Larry Whiting (below) as the youngster explains the gyrations of the disc. In all, hundreds stood with upturned heads and were not disappointed. Members of the ULAFDW Society were agreed that what they saw was neither a plane, a bird, a star nor a weather balloon. Whatever it was, Mrs. Mary Leavenworth of 6021 Lemon Ave. was sure of one thing: "We are all getting a lot of good fresh air and eye exercise."
The sighting frenzy began days before (story below).
NINETEEN FIFTY-TWO might be remembered for many things, large and small. The election of Dwight Eisenhower as President of the United States. Fifty thousand American families afflicted by Polio. The British A-bomb. The first issue of Mad magazine. The theory of the Big Bang.
But for those of a certain bent, 1952 will also be remembered for the second great 'flying saucer flap' which climaxed with the reports of radar and visual sightings over the nation's capital in late July.
Part of the story of that event-filled year is now available in declassified government files. But for the public back then -- at a time when only one in three families in America had a television set -- the story was mostly found in the newspapers and magazines.
This then is a look back at those stories, as they first appeared in print...
JULY 22 THROUGH 23, 1952:
Charleston, West Virginia Daily Mail - 22 Jul 52
Terse Saying
When people of the world are troubled, they unconsciously seek escape in the unreal and see things like the Loch Ness monster and flying saucers.
-- Scientist Dr. Carl Hujer
Pocatello, Idaho State Journal 22 Jul 52
Drinkwater Says He Gets Saucer Info From Life
"What I know about flying saucers I read in Life magazine," Terrell C. Drinkwater, president of Western Air Lines, said in Pocatello Tuesday.
Drinkwater confessed that he knows nothing about the mysterious air objects and has not given any serious thoughts to them.
Charleroi, Pennsylvania Mail 22 Jul 52
MORE FLYING SAUCERS
Every once in a while mention is made of flying saucers, and then the rumors die down for awhile and one thinks the matter is forgotten. But soon it is revived again when someone somewhere comes forward with the statement that the elusive flying saucers have been seen again. So the situation reverts right back to where it was in the beginning.
A few years ago there were numerous reports that the flying saucers had been seen but apparently nothing ever came of the reports for there has never been an explanation of them given, although the rash of rumors continued intermittently. Even in this district there are some stories about the elusive saucers.
Various descriptions were given as apparently each person who reported having seen one of the various models had a different description from someone else. An item the other day appearing in a district paper stated that persons lucky enough to have seen the new models claim body lines have changed from the old curved-bottom to an ultra-modern tapered shape.
Reports over the years claimed the saucer-shaped figures seen in many spots had traveled with great speed, and they had been in various colors form white to green. Their speed has even been likened to a beam of light. But all the investigations have shown, reports indicate, that nothing has been revealed except that some weather balloons have been found. But the reports continue and make for news at least.
Long Beach, California Independent 22 Jul 52
8 Mysterious Sky Objects Seen on AF Radar Screen
WASHINGTON, July 21-- The Air Force disclosed tonight that radar operators at Washington's National Airport reported picking up eight unidentified "objects" on radar screens about midnight Saturday.
It also said airline pilots traveling south and west of here reported seeing lights moving up and down and horizontally in the sky at about the same time.
The latest report of strange aerial "objects" -- the Air Force carefully avoided saying "flying saucers" -- came as the Air Force was investigating a report by two airline pilots who said they saw eight "glowing red-orange" discs flying in formation 150 miles south of here July 13.
The Air Force said the airport's traffic control tower picked up on its radar screen eight unidentified "objects" in the vicinity of Andrews Air Force Base near here at about midnight last Saturday.
MYSTERY HEIGHTENED
The report said the objects were moving at speeds ranging from 100 to 130 miles an hour -- which made the mystery even greater since the traditional "saucers" usually are said to zip at speeds in excess of 1000 miles an hour.
The control center also said a Capital Airlines plane that left National Airport shortly after 3 a.m. (EDT) Sunday reported seeing seven lights between Washington and Martinsburg, W. Va.
These lights were described as moving rapidly up, down and horizontally as well as hovering in one position.
The control center said another airline plane reported that a light followed it from Herndon, Va., to within about four miles of National Airport.
AF "INVESTIGATING"
The Air Force declined to make any attempt to identify the strange "objects." It said it is "investigating."
An Air Force spokesman, saying he knew he would be asked if they were "flying saucers," insisted he had no comment. All he would admit is that unidentified aerial objects were reported sighted in the area.
The earlier report, made by two Pan American Airways pilots, referred to eight discs flying in formation 150 miles south of here. Those "objects" were closer to the traditional role of "flying saucers." According to the airmen they were rushing along at speeds "far above 1000 miles an hour."
There was no evidence that the two sets of objects or lights -- appearing in this vicinity almost exactly a week apart -- had any connection.
However, they added to the new rash of flying saucer reports that has cropped up in recent weeks in a revival of the mysterious wave of "saucers" that reportedly has ridden the air waves for the past five years.
The Air Force at one time set up a special investigating body to look into the reports. After two years investigating nearly 400 separate "sightings" it came up with the conclusion there are no such things as "flying saucers," and that the "visions" were due either to mass hysteria, hoaxes or mistaken identification of such things as balloons or meteors.
The Air Force refused to say whether it lumps the newest batch of "saucers" and "objects" under that general category.
All it said is, "we are investigating."
Williamsport, Pennsylvania Gazette And Bulletin 22 Jul 52
Radar Spots 'Aerial Objects' Over Capital
WASHINGTON, July 21-- The Air Force disclosed tonight it has received reports of an eerie visitation by unidentified aerial objects -- perhaps a new type of "flying saucer" -- over the vicinity of the nation's" capital. For the first time, so far as is known, the objects were picked up by radar -- indicating actual substance rather than mere light.
In addition, they were described as traveling at a slow 100 to 130 miles per hour -- instead of with the incredible swiftness attributed to earlier saucers -- although at times they shot up and down.
The "objects" were also described as hovering in one position.
The Air Force said no planes were sent out in an attempt to intercept the objects, and no sightings were reported, by "Operation Skywatch," the round-the-clock ground observer operation, now underway around the northern part the United States.
The Air Force, said it has received only a preliminary report, and therefore does not know why no attempt at interception was made.
The air traffic control center at Washington National Airport, just across the Potomac river from the capital, reported that its radar operators picked up eight of the slow-moving objects around midnight last Saturday. They were flying in the vicinity of nearby Andrews Air force Base.
The center said Capital Airlines Flight 807, southbound from National Airport, reported seeing several objects between Washington and Martinsburg, W. Va., at 1:15 a.m. (CST) the same night.
Officials of Capital Airlines said the pilot of Flight 807, Capt. "Casey" Pierman of Detroit, a veteran of 17 years service with the company, spotted the objects and described them in these words:
"They were like falling stars without tails."
Company officials said the airport picked up radar "blips" -- contact with aerial objects -- and asked Capt. Pierman to keep a watch out for any unusual objects in the sky.
Shortly thereafter, officials said, Pierman reported back to the dispatchers tower that he had spotted a group of objects.
Pierman, then flying at normal cruising speed of 180 to 200 MPH reported that the objects were traveling with "tremendous vertical speed" -- moving rapidly up and down -- and then suddenly changing pace until they seemed to hang motionless in the sky.
Officials said Pierman made only a routine report of the incident and did not specifically say that what he saw were flying saucers.
The eight objects picked up by Air Force radar were said to be traveling at slightly more than 100 MPH.
The airport traffic control center said another air liner, Capital-National airlines Flight 610, reported observing a light following it to within four miles of National Airport.
This information has been relayed to the proper Air Force authorities and the Air Force is investigating the matter," the announcement said.
Earlier the Air Force said it is receiving flying saucer reports this summer at a rate higher than at any time since the initial flood of sights in 1947.
An Air Force spokesman said that while 1947 was the big year for such reports, the current average of 100 sightings a month is the largest since then, with the November-December period of 1948 next. He said there has been no correlation of sighting reports to seasons.
Reports are checked by the air technical intelligence center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton.
San Mateo, California Times 22 Jul 52
Radar Spots Flying Saucers Over Capital
The air force today investigated reports that several "flying saucers" had been spotted by radar virtually in its own back yard on the outskirts of the nation's capital.
Not only were unidentified objects seen on radar -- indicating actual substance instead of mere light -- but two airplane pilots and a newsman saw eerie lights fitting the general description of flying saucers the same night.
Unusual
Officials could not immediately agree on whether this was the first time radar has picked up flying saucers. Some said it was. All agreed it was unusual.
The objects also were different from the average reported saucer in that they traveled at a relatively slow speed, as well as later disclosing the customary burst that far outspeeds normal airplanes.
One thing was certain: a thorough investigation is being made by the air technical intelligence center, Wright-Patterson air force base, Dayton, Ohio, which has been set up to look into flying saucer reports.
100 a Month
Such reports, officials had said earlier yesterday, are coming in faster than at any time since the initial flood in 1947. The current average is about 100 sightings a month.
The flying saucers over the capital were reported late yesterday, about 36 hours after the incident actually occurred.
This is the story as pieced together from air force reports, persons involved, and other sources.
An operator at the air traffic control center at Washington national airport, across the Potomac from the capital, spotted eight unidentified images on one of his radars -- the area surveillance scope with a range of possibly 70 miles.
Slow Moving
The images were slow-moving, going probably 100 to 130 miles an hour. And they were flying in the vicinity of nearby Andrews air force base.
The control center, operated by the Civil Aeronautics Administration, notified the air force and also asked planes in the air if they could see anything.
That was around midnight.
Capt. S.C. "Casey" Pierman of Detroit, piloting Capital Airlines flight 807, southbound from national airport, soon reported seeing seven objects between Washington and Martinsburg, W. Va. He said they changed pace, sometimes moving at tremendous speed, at other times hanging almost motionless.
He was careful in his report, and later in an interview, not to identify the objects as flying saucers.
He described them as "like falling stars without tails" but added:
"In my years of flying I've seen a lot of falling or shooting stars . . . but these were much faster. . . . They couldn't have been aircraft. They were moving too fast for that. They were about the same size as the brighter stars, and were much higher than our 6000 foot altitude."
Another airliner, Capital-National Airlines flight 610, also reported seeing a light following it from Herndon, Va., to within four miles of Washington.
Saul Pett, an Associated Press newsman, said he saw a "flying saucer" that same night near his home at River Edge, N.J., outside of New York. He said the weather was clear and calm, and what he saw wasn't an optical illusion -- it was orange colored, round, moved swiftly and soundlessly, and he did not think it could have been a plane, balloon, or meteor.
The air force did not send up interceptor planes when notified of the Washington objects. Officers explained yesterday that this was because its own radar had not picked up the images, and because the round-the-clock observer operation had not sent out any warnings.
An official said the whole thing is undergoing thorough investigation and that probably Pierman will be questioned here later this week by air force intelligence agents to get a clearer picture from him.
Washington, D.C. Daily News - 22 Jul 52
Flying Saucers Over DC Sighted On Radar
The Air Force's top field expert on "flying saucers" has been called to Washington to investigate reports that 7 to 10 "unidentified aerial objects" were tracked by radar over Andrews Air Force Base early Sunday. He is expected to arrive here today.
Radar-equipped, all-weather jet interceptors, based at Andrews Field to protect the Capital, didn't get off the ground when National Airport asked them to go up and contact the "saucers," The News was told today. Allegedly, pilots weren't available.
The Navy sent jets up from Norfolk when Andrews couldn't make it. But they failed to make contact with the mysterious objects.
Very Slow
The Air Force announced last night that:
• Seven to ten objects appeared on the radar screen in the Air Route Traffic Control Center at National Airport. They appeared to be over Andrews. They appeared on one section of the screen, then showed up seconds later on another part, traveling in an entirely new direction. They moved at only 100 to 135 miles an hour -- very slow for saucers.
• A Capital Airlines pilot -- Capt. S.C. "Casey" Pierman -- watched the lights for about 12 minutes as he flew from Washington to Martinsburg, W. Va.
• Another Capital pilot said a braillaint [sic] light followed his plane from Herndon, Va. to within four miles of National Airport.
High
Meanwhile, a Marine pilot told the United Press he saw "two green objects -- like shooting stars without tails -- shooting straight across the sky at terrific speed and a very, very high altitude" over Quantico, Va. on the night of July 10.
Capt. Pierman, who has flown in this area for 17 years, was asked by the airport tower to keep an eye out for the objects when they showed up on the radar screen.
He was flying at 180 to 200 mph toward Martinsburg, W. Va., he said, when he saw six lights.
"They were very similar to brilliant falling stars without tails," Capt. Pierman said.
Three flew in an approximately 25-degree dive at "a substantial speed" and three more flew "very, very high" on a horizontal plane. Capt. Pierman said he had "a feeling" they were in the upper atmosphere, at about 60,000 feet.
Hung Motionless
He finally lost sight of them when they went into what he called "a terrific power dive" near Martinsburg.
They traveled at "tremendous vertical speed" and then changed pace and seemed to hang motionless, he said.
An Air Force press information man said the Air Force so far has only a preliminary telephone report on the Sunday visitors and therefore he knows nothing about the report that Andrews couldn't answer the request to intercept them.
He said the report that Navy jets went up from Norfolk "is news to me."
'Top Brains'
Capt. E.J. Ruppelt, the Air Force's field investigator for the Air Technical Intelligence Command and the head of "Operation Bluebook" will check the saucer reports, probably today, the spokesman said.
"He will make a complete report, including interviews with pilots, and so on, and it will be turned over to top men in the fields of aerodynamics, physics, and other related subjects."
"The Air Force has some of the top scientific brains in the country almost at its beck and call, you might say, to help it figure this thing out."
The report that Andrews had no jet pilots available and that Navy jets from Norfolk were sent up to intercept the objects came to The News from an Operations man at Anacostia Naval Air Base here. He said Anacostia was notified of the objects when they were over Andrews, but was not asked for help because no interceptor jets are based there.
Recent attempts to explain "saucers" as optical illusions have been shaken by recent radar sightings. Illusions don't show up on a radar screen.
Anderson, Indiana Herald 22 Jul 52
News Man Sees 'Flying Saucer' Near New York
By SAUL PETT
RIVER EDGE, N.J., July 21 -- I saw a flying saucer myself Saturday, midnight, about the same time some unidentified objects were picked up on radar over Washington.
From now on you can't convince me there is no such animal. And after 12 years as a newspaperman -- almost six of them with the Associated Press in New York -- I don't jump to conclusions.
It was like this:
I was sitting on my back porch alone. The night was clear and star-lit There was no wind.
Idly, I saw a tiny orange ball draw into view from the northwest. At first I thought it was a plane.
Then as it drew closer, so distant that it appeared to be about the size of a quarter, I had two thoughts that hit me with quite an impact.
Planes have two lights that flicker on and off. This object had only one constant light.
Planes make noise. This object was silent as death. Though my neighborhood -- seven miles from New York -- is very quiet, I couldn't hear a sound from above.
Later when a plane did come by I could see its lights distinctly -- and they looked much different from the other light. Its engines were very audible.
The object flew to the southeast. I saw it for about a minute to a minute and a half.
I called my wife. She watched it and thought it looked like a Japanese lantern.
Could it have been a shooting star or a meteor?
Well, they sort of shoot down and fade away. But not this thing -- its intense glow stayed constant. It didn't get lost.
Could it have been the reflection of a search light on a cloud?
The sky was cloudless. Furthermore, the object left no trail of light as a beam would have done.
And it was moving too fast and too evenly to be a balloon.
I wasn't frightened at all, because the thing looked so peaceful and so serene. There wasn't any appearance of menace.
Syracuse, New York Herald Journal 22 Jul 52
Flying Saucer Buzzes House Near Air Base
THOSE FLYING saucers were at it again last night when they buzzed William E. Kramer's house at 114 Marsden rd., Salina.
Kramer said he was sitting on his front porch with his daughter, Patricia Ann, 35, when he saw a bright pink ball of fire come out of the western sky. He said it glided noiselessly towards the house and then turned and headed north.
Charleroi, Pennsylvania Mail 22 Jul 52
'Flying Saucer' Seen At Star Jct.
Flying saucers spun back into the news today, this one with fire in its tail.
Mrs. Mary Uhor, Star Junction farmer's wife, and her two sons observed a flaming sky visitor for the better part of half an hour last Sunday night, she disclosed today.
Her sons, Michael and August Uhor, confirmed the appearance of the strange nocturnal phenomena. They observed it until it disappeared in a fiery maze 500 feet above the Uhor barn.
Mrs. Pauline Berty, 819 Washington avenue, told her mother's story as follows:
"Mother said a strange light in the sky lighted up her bedroom and she went outdoors to investigate. There was a large sphere in the sky giving off a brilliant light. It appeared to be spinning rapidly and she thought it was about five feet in diameter.
"Mother waited until Mike and August came home about 11 o'clock and they watched it. The light was getting dimmer and it appeared to be sending off sparks just like a piece of steel on a grindstone. My one brother, Mike, who has done some flying said he judged it to be 500 feet above the earth and spinning at a high rate of speed. It eventually faded from sight as the fire diminished. Mother said you had to see it to believe it."
Marysville, Ohio Journal-Tribune 22 Jul 52
Marysville Man May Have Seen 'Flying Saucer'
Marysville has finally broken into the flying saucer news reports.
O.H. Fawcett, 600 E. Fourth st., reported the first one here yesterday, although he is rather uncertain about just what it was he saw.
Mr. Fawcett reported that he was sitting on his front porch at about 6:15 p.m. Sunday when he spotted a silvery, circular object coming into view from the northeast.
He ran into the yard and watched the object as it passed overhead and disappeared over the intersection of Fifth and Vine sts., headed toward the southwest. He said that it remained in view for about a minute.
The saucer, or whatever it was, according to Mr. Fawcett, moved fast but remained on a steady course. Judging from the height of the trees, it was about 300 feet in the air he added.
It was shaped like a small disc or ball and glistened like silver in the sunlight, he added. The object left no trail of fire or smoke and made no sound at all, he said. He added that it looked as though it was getting lower as it moved on.
Brainerd, Minnesota Daily Dispatch 22 Jul 52
Hopkins Police Scan Skies for 'Flying Saucers
MINNEAPOLIS -- Suburban Hopkins police scanned the skies throughout the night last night, but failed to spot a "flying saucer" three persons reported seeing.
Mrs. R.D. Miller, who lives five miles south of Hopkins, said that at 1:40 a.m. she looked in the direction of Hopkins and saw a brilliantly lighted object moving west. She said she and her husband watched it three or four miles before it disappeared. Mrs. James Paulos, Minneapolis, said she saw a "dazzling bright light" in the sky over Minneapolis.
"I watched it for 20 minutes," she said.
Early Monday, a Hopkins police officer and three other persons reported seeing a light-spangled object.
Clovis, New Mexico Journal - 22 Jul 52
Portales Man Sees High-Flying Lights
PORTALES -- A formation of high-flying lights that swept half-way across the sky in four seconds, and reversed positions like a Notre Dame backfield, was spotted here Monday night.
Eric Smith, local jewelry store operator, says he saw the strange lights while at a drive-in about 10:50 p.m.
They appeared out of the northwest, at an elevation of 30 degrees, and swept through a 75-degree section of the sky while he counted to five.
He says the lights were in a V formation, and the open ends of the V were in the lead.
During the flight, the two leading objects, he said, reversed their path through the formation, then went hack to the lead while the remainder of the lights paused momentarily.
Smith believes that any known plane that could have covered an equal distance in such a short time would have to have been so close that the motors would have been audible.
"I didn't believe those stories about flying saucers until now," he commented.
Eugene, Oregon Register Guard 22 Jul 52
Saucers Fly Over Goshen
The people out on Dilley Lane east of Goshen late Tuesday morning were playing "find the saucer."
First there were three shiny, whitish flying objects -- then two -- then one -- then two. Then eight, all flying in a circle.
Mrs. William Brock, the watchers' spokesman, said at 11:25 a.m. they had been watching the cavorting things for 15 or 20 minutes. She wondered whether they could be weather balloons, and described them as looking like bits of fluff. They circled and turned around each other, disappearing and then returning, apparently without making progress in any particular direction.
Just to add to the interest in the game, the Air Force has said "mysterious" objects have definitely been traced on radar screens.
But the Onion Editor, a dry skeptic, said: "Bah, they're just drifting milkweed."
Mrs. Brock had a reply to that: "Well, he's wrong. They're too big."
Long Beach, California Independent - 22 Jul 52
Shiny Object Over Downey Splits Into 5
DOWNEY -- A "shiny object" was seen high in the sky over here at 7:30 last night.
It was reported to have hovered lazily above, then swiftly divided into five "shiny objects" and raced off to the northwest.
This was the report of T.D. Whitney, of 8140 Orange Ave., who works in the Long Beach Proctor and Gamble plant. He so [sic] impressed with what he saw that he called his son-in-law to the back yard and the latter, Roscoe Schaffert, saw the objects too.
Whitney said he couldn't identify the objects as "flying saucers -- or anything else." Because he couldn't see them well enough. He estimated their height at 12,000 feet or more. When first seen, he said, the object was moving too slowly to be an airplane, but after it divided it moved "very swiftly."
Whitney reported the incident to the sheriff's office, which also expressed mystification.
Abilene, Texas Reporter-News 23 Jul 52
Of Solid Substance
The Air Force waited almost 48 hours and then released the story of strange aerial objects floating around over the nation's capital. Maybe it was waiting to see if Harry Truman was sending up trial balloons to see how the wind was blowing in Chicago.
But when the story did break, it outdid all the other flying saucer yarns of record. The radar screen at the National Airport Saturday night had picked up eight slow-moving objects flying in the vicinity of Andrews Air Force Base a few miles away. These objects had to have real substance to show on the radar screen, rather than mere light which might be attributed to optical illusion. Whatever they were, these things were real.
Their slow speed, about 130 miles, differed from most flying saucers which have been represented as traveling at enormous velocity. They made alternate up and down motions and they were also said to hover at times.
Furthermore, a commercial pilot flying southward from Washington had seen the objects the same night, only this time there were only seven instead of eight. A pilot of 17 years' service described them "like falling stars without tails."
Interviewed later, Pilot Pierman said he had never seen objects like these before. He had seen a lot of shooting stars, but these were not like stars. They were much faster than "anything like that I have ever seen. They couldn't have been aircraft, They were moving too fast for that."
This differs from the radar screen report not only in numbers involved, but in rate of speed.
"Please remember,' insisted Capt. Pierman, "I didn't speak of them as flying saucers -- only as very fast-moving lights."
The radar screen proved them to be more than light, and that is something new in all the reports of similar phenomena we have seen.
What's going on here? The Air Force and 150,000,000 Americans, not to mention two billion other human beings, would like to have the answer.
Dunkirk, New York Evening Observer 23 Jul 52
Flying Saucer Mystery Still Not Solved
WASHINGTON -- The Air Force said today it can't "prove or disprove" the existence of "flying saucers," but that two conclusions are safe in the current epidemic of saucer-itis.
First, studies disclose saucer reports rise sharply in numbers with a splurge of national publicity on the subject, such as that recently appearing in two mass-circulation magazines.
Second, only a small -- but very tantalizing -- number of the objects reported sighted in the sky cannot be explained.
Still in the unexplained category today were "seven to 10" unidentified blips of light that appeared on the radar screens which National airport traffic controllers use to direct planes in the capital area. Those "unidentified flying objects" were picked up around midnight last Saturday, the Civil Aeronautics administration said. It said they moved at 100 to 130 miles an hour.
Not often have there been radar sightings of the "things" that have amused, annoyed and worried America for five years or more. The Washington reports probably will get a good going over by the top experts at Wright-Patterson air force base, Dayton, O.
Data for these experts was collected yesterday by Capt. E.J. Ruppelt. head of "Operation Bluebook." Bluebook is the name of the Wright-Patterson project for collection of flying saucer reports.
Ruppelt investigates all "unusual" reports, an air force, spokesman said, and his findings are evaluated by experts in all fields of aviation, if such action is warranted.
North Adams, Massachusetts Transcript - 23 Jul 52
Sight Flying Discs Over New England
Boston -- Flying objects described as silver disks were reported sighted over New England last night and early today.
The reports came from observers in Worcester, in Central Massachusetts, Nahant on the coast, and West Newfield, Me. All observers concurred in saying the objects were "silvery."
At Nahant Coast Guard Station, Seaman Henry Arnpriester said he first sighted two disks flying at 2:15 a.m. (EDT) about two miles east of the station. Flying at about 2000 feet, Arnpriester said, the objects slowly circled above the station and headed back to sea.
An observer in West Newfield, Charles Buck, reported he sighted three "silver, disk-like" objects at 7:50 p.m. (EDT) flying southwest at a "very high altitude."
Both Arnpriester and Buck are air watchers for the Ground Observer Corps of Central New England.
In Worcester, a wartime flight engineer reported sighting three silvery objects whizzing across the sky about 11 p.m. (EDT) "like planes in attack formation."
The report from Hubert T. Wright was confirmed by his wife and by another couple who declined to be identified.
Wright said he "never saw anything like it all through the war."
Newport, Rhode Island Daily News - 23 Jul 52
Flying Saucers Reported By Newport Observers
Two flying saucers were seen between 2:25 and 3:25 this morning by two 15-year old spotters on duty at the Airplane Spotting Station on the Armed Services YMCA. Robert DeCosta, of 26 Walnut St., and Gerry Fill of 68 Sims St., reported both flying objects into the New Haven Filter Station, where much interest was expressed in the report.
The objects were both eggshaped and of a gray color, with a luminous glow about them. One was flying low at a fairly slow speed, the second high at a tremendous speed. They followed the slower one as it travelled a straight path out of sight. The second they could only follow about two or three seconds because of its speed.
A flying object resembling a silver disk was spotted off Easton's Point, Middletown, last night as similar reports came in from various New England points last night and early today.
In the Newport area the object, seen at some distance, resembled a planet in the sky. It appeared about 8 o'clock before it was dark enough for celestial objects to be seen. It attracted attention because the supposed planet was moving in a southwesterly direction.
Other reports came from observers in Worcester, in central Massachusetts, Nahant on the coast, and West Newfield, Me. All observers concurred in saying the objects were "silvery."
Tyrone, Pennsylvania Daily Herald - 23 Jul 52
Flying Saucers Spotted 3 Times In New Jersey
Three reports of flying saucers today were being given serious study by officers at McGuire Air Force Base at Fort Dix.
Ralph Curio, Haddenfield reported sighting a circular dark object floating in the air about 20 miles south of Millville. It displayed no lights and altered its speed several times, Curio said.
A Trenton woman shortly afterwards reported sighting a bright object streaking across the sky toward Philadelphia from New York. Three more Trenton residents later reported still another brightly lighted object moving in the same direction.
Oil City, Pennsylvania Blizzard 23 Jul 52
'Saucer' Sighted In Titusville Sky
Dr. H. David Sharp, optometrist with offices in Oil City and Titusville and son of Dr. J.R. Sharp, well known local surgeon, reported sighting a flying saucer over Titusville at 11:25 p.m. yesterday.
He said it disappeared in the northwest a few moments later.
Dr. Sharp said he saw it from his home at 210 East Main St., Titusville.
"It looked like a shooting star in reverse," Dr. Sharp said. "It came down in an arc from the direction of Warren, made another arc, and went toward Erie."
Dr. Sharp said that he happened to look out an east window just before going upstairs. Its color was blue white, he noted.
Asked about its size, the eye specialist described it as "a good sized star."
His was the second report of a flying saucer in the Titusville region in the five years since they were first observed in this country. One was observed near Townville a few weeks ago.
Air observers at the Sunset Heights observation post went off duty at 10 p.m. yesterday, so no confirmation was available from that source.
Austin, Minnesota Daily Herald - 23 Jul 52
Herald Staff Man Says He Saw 'Rockets'
By Dick Williams
We hope somebody was shooting off fireworks around Austin at about 9:30 last night because if they weren't, what was that green light with a tail of fire which trailed through the atmosphere to the south?
We suppose we could claim it was a flying saucer or something similar now that the air force has tracked the things on radar thereby proving they are solid objects rather than refracted lights as some people who should know about such things have claimed.
The thing was traveling so fast we didn't get a good look at it -- just zoop and it was gone.
It appeared to be falling earthward at a fairly rapid rate when we glimpsed it over the top of the trees as we drove south on Fourth street.
If someone was shooting off fireworks, we'd like to hear about it if for no other reason that if somebody WASN'T shooting rockets we can join the other hundreds of people who can claim they have glimpsed the mysterious celestial visitors.
Bradford, Pennsylvania Era 23 Jul 52
Tower Staff Sees 'Lights' in Sky Over Cleveland
CLEVELAND, July 22 -- Professional control tower men at Cleveland Hopkins Airport said today they couldn't explain "lights" in the sky over Cleveland. At least one said he had lost his skepticism over "flying saucers."
Clark Croft, chief of the Civil Aeronautics Administration's tower staff, told a reporter:
"I'm ready to say there's something doing. Our people have seen the lights, and experienced pilots have seen them.
"I haven't the slightest idea what they are. I'd like to think that whatever it is, it's our own, but I don't know."
The subject came up as the result of some reports in suburban Parma last Saturday that "golden lights" were seen in the sky. Several control tower men said they hadn't noticed anything on that occasion, but had seen "lights" several times, during the past two years.
Croft said some of his night staff saw a red light several months ago hovering in the sky over nearby Berea.
A pilot taking off for Akron was asked to watch for it.
"When the pilot saw it, it was below and ahead of him," said Croft. "Suddenly it took off at a very rapid rate. He tried to catch it, but couldn't. It was faster than any jet aircraft we know about."
A "skywatcher" in Springfield, 0., today added another flying saucer report.
John H Holl, a member of the Springfield ground observer corps saw a light in the sky while on duty about 10 a.m. this morning.
He reported it to the filter center.
He said that while watching a four-engined plane he noticed a bright point of light far above the plane. He said he watched it for four or five minutes before it disappeared.
"It seemed to have its own light," he said, "because there were no changing reflections that you see when a plane is in the sun's rays I couldn't tell its outline. It was just a bright point of light and kept its same brilliance."
Benton Harbor, Michigan News Palladium - 23 Jul 52
Strange Sights Seen Here During Storm
Stormy skies last night not only produced a thunder and rain storm -- they also produced some strange happenings according to the reports of two local citizens.
Ground observers at the Twin Cities airport received a call from Atty. Dale Seymour saying he sighted a weird object dodging across the horizon over Lake Michigan. And a Benton township man, Robert Clark, of 1756 Eastman, said he saw two balls of fire collide resulting in a hugh bellow [sic] of flame this morning.
Seymour's report was relayed to the Air Filler station in South Bend operated by the Air Force. Clark said he checked back over the spot this morning where he saw the phenomena but could find nothing.
The attorney's report was substantiated by his wife and his brother, Atty. Dalton Seymour. The trio was looking over the lake behind Dale Seymour's home in Edgewater shortly after 10 o'clock when suddenly the object appeared.
It was several miles out over the lake and the three thought at first It was a shooting star. It continued to fall, Dale said, and then suddenly it shot upward, began to hop and then it disappeared.
ALL THREE AGREED it was traveling at a terrific rate of speed. Mrs. Seymour said It was reddish while Dalton said ne thought it was blue.
Ground observers turned it in as a possible flying saucer. Dale Seymour said he didn't know what it was, but he added, his wife said she thought it was spinning around. The object was visible for about five seconds, Dale said.
Clark said he was looking out his window shortly before 3 a.m. towards the east when he saw the two small balls of fire. They crashed together, he said, and a sheet of flames as big as a house appeared for a second, and then there was nothing.
Said Clark: "I thought everything was about over with -- I was scared then and I'm still shaking this morning."
East Liverpool, Ohio Review 23 Jul 52
'Flying Saucer, Maybe,' Wellsville Man Says
"It appeared to be about 18 inches long and looked like a hot dog with a pin in the middle of it."
That's the district's latest "flying saucer" story.
The object was high in the sky and, of course, could have been just another jet. But, according to Charles Clutter, 200 Danbury Ave., Wellsville, the eyewitness, the wiener-shaped thing "floated, spun and then took off in a hurry out of sight" -- not in the manner of a jet.
Danbury was going about his duties as caretaker at St. Elizabeth's Catholic Cemetery, Wellsville, yesterday afternoon about 4:10 when the strange object attracted his attention. Supporting his story was Basil Galipo, a nephew, with Danbury at the time.
There was more action on the flying saucer front.
A round object, "reddish in color and flying at terrific speed," was noticed Monday night by Mr. and Mrs. John T. Harries, 451 Gardendale Ave. Harries said the object was flying too fast to be a plane and left a small vapor trail.
Billings, Montana Gazette 23 Jul 52
Flying Saucers 'Milling Around'
JEFFERSON CITY, Mon. -- The first "flying saucer report from these parts in several months was turned in Wednesday by three men who said they saw "11 white objects milling around" at a high altitude over Jefferson City Tuesday.
Louis Teura and Norman Teura of Jefferson City and William Hal of Helena said they first through the objects were "birds" until they "lined up and traveled south at high speeds."
Previously, Norman Teura said, he saw "six white objects milling around." These, too, "lined up" and left the vicinity at high speeds.
Jefferson City is about 15 miles south of Helena, Montana's capital city.
The three men reported their discovery to the Montana aeronautics commission director, Frank Wiley, and he notified the civil aeronautics administration.
C.A.A. officials said they knew of no planes in the vicinity.
Ruston, Louisiana Daily Leader 23 Jul 52
Monroe Pilot Reports Flying Disk Followed Him For 20 Minutes
Those flying saucers are buzzing over Louisiana again.
The latest reports come from a man in Monroe. He is A.D. Hanks, who says he saw one last Tuesday night. The reason he didn't tell about it sooner Hank says, is he was afraid people would think he was crazy.
He says he was flying near the Arkansas border when he saw what looked like a blood red star about 2000 feet overhead. He estimates that it was traveling at 4000 feet at a speed of over 100 miles an hour.
Hanks says the object was headed southwest, but, suddenly it turned around and started following him. Hanks thought he was seeing things. To find out, he made a 90 degree angle turn. The flying saucer did the same thing and followed his course for about 10 minutes.
Then, say Hanks, the saucer swooped down below him and kept following his course. About ten minutes later, according to the pilot, it went back overhead and switched to its original course.
Hanks has been a flier for 25 years. But, he says he has never had such an eerie feeling or seen such an unnatural sight.
Abilene, Texas Reporter-News 23 Jul 52
Abilene Family Sights Mysterious Flying Object
The R.J. Cooper family, 121 Palm St., reported seeing a "flying saucer" over Abilene about 9:23 o'clock Wednesday morning.
"It was definitely not an air plane," Cooper said. "It was a round, silver object. It was headed west, traveling not too fast."
Mrs. Cooper and 6-year-old Cathy were in the yard and noticed the object first. They called Cooper to come from the house and see it.
"I thought they were just seeing things," he said. "I never had seen one of these flying saucers people have reported."
Cooper said be could not estimate the speed or altitude, but the object was low enough for him to tell but it was round. He judged it to be about 50 feet in diameter, "although I couldn't be sure at that distance."
The object stopped, "went up and down twice," then headed off to the west and disappeared from view.
It was in sight from one to two minutes, Cooper estimated.
Cooper is manager of the appliance department at Star Merchandise Mart.
Albuquerque, New Mexico Journal 23 Jul 52
Trained Airplane Spotter Reports Seeing Flying Disk
And still they come. Another flying disk was sighted Monday evening over Albuquerque, reported by Charles Kowall, 710 Lead Ave, SW.
Kowall, trained during the war with the British Air Force to take sightings of aircraft, was able to give an accurate description of what he saw from his back porch.
"I was sitting in the dark, when I saw it at 9:24 p.m.," he said "It was so plain that I wasn't even startled. It flew from a south to a northwestern direction at an approximate speed of 600 to 700 miles per hour, about 7000 to 9000 feet high and there was no smoke trail. The duration of the sighting was 6 to 8 seconds."
Kowall said there was no sound. "None whatsoever -- it was a very still night and any sound would have been audible."
The lighting also impressed Kowall, trained to determine the height of an aircraft by the intensity of light. "The disc had no light source of its own," he said "The light visible was strictly reflected light from the city. If the disc had been flying over a thinly-populated area, it would not have been visible. It was refracted light, reflected from the illumination of Albuquerque."
Kowall added that the disk appeared almost two dimensional in that it was very slight along the edges.
Miss Mary Stevens, of the same address, who occupies an apartment adjoining Kowall's corroborated his statements as she too had been on her back porch and had observed the disc. She watched the disc appear in the south and trace an arc toward the northwest, disappearing when vision was cut by a large tree growing at the northwest corner of the building.
Kowall, now an employee of the Public Service Co. of New Mexico, was a member of the regular U.S. Army who volunteered to serve with the British Air Force.
He was assigned to "Coast Artillery AA," and for 14 months, his duty was to observe aircraft, approximating height and distance by taking an average reading between that estimated by "height finders" and that of radar detection.
Racine, Wisconsin Journal Times - 23 Jul 52
Coast Guard Chief Cracks Racine's Flying Saucers
Coast Guard Chief John Needham today "racked" a pair of "flying saucers" reported over Racine 10 days ago.
Two bright, orange lights were reported by members of the Edward Langenfeld family about 9 p.m. July 13. They reported the objects to Chief Needham, who made an investigation.
Sent Crash Boat
"The sincerity of the Langenfeld family and verification by other neighbors prompted me to make a report of the incident to Coast Guard headquarters and to the Air Force center in Chicago which is compiling data on flying saucers," Needham said.
The chief also sent a crash boat to the approximate area the lights were believed sighted and the crew searched for several hours without success.
Needham made his official report, but still was not satisfied and continued his investigation. A few days ago he learned that a Racine family had held a wedding anniversary party on the beach. The Langenfeld home is on the Middle Road, approximately a mile west of where the beach party was held.
Lights in Tree
On top of the lake bank, overlooking the beach party, is a tall tree. A member of the beach party had brought some railroad flares with him. He decided the top of the tall tree would be the best place for the flares.
Presto -- "flying saucers."
Long Beach, California Independent 23 Jul 52
Flying Discs?
See Sky Tonight
Care for a look at a flying saucer by daylight? There's a good chance of glimpsing something that answers the description if you step outside at about 7:30 tonight, according to the Leon Whiting family, of 6040 Lemon Ave.
A tiny point of light, very high, with a kind of halo surrounding it, has appeared directly overhead each night at this time since Saturday, the Whitings told The Independent.
Appearing stationary at limes, the light whisks about in a regular pattern for a half-hour or more, then zooms off to disappear in the north, Mrs. Jean Whiting said. Others in the family who have observed the phenomenon are the husband, Leon, a mechanic at Los Alamitos Air Base, and two sons, Ronald, 20, and Larry, 12.
Long Beach, California Independent 24 Jul 52
Mystery Object Hangs Over L B.
Mysterious, stratospheric hijinks by at least one flying saucer were reported by almost 100 sky watchers from many points throughout the Long Beach area at dusk yesterday.
The object, sparkling in the setting sun, was first sighted by more than a dozen residents in North Long Beach about 7:30 p.m. The first report was followed by scores of calls from persons in Paramount, Lakewood, the central Long Beach district and Belmont Shore.
From all reports, the object floated lazily over the Long Beach area at first but later picked up speed and headed northwest. When many miles distant, the sparkling, swift-moving object "came apart" and the two segments disappeared, moving in different directions at a tremendous rate of speed.
Mrs. Leon Whiting of 6040 Lemon Ave., about whose home neighbors have gathered each evening this week to watch the mysterious, airborne phenomenon, was the first to report the fourth consecutive appearance of the disc this week.
"It's here again," she said. "My husband, the children, neighbors from across the alley, Rod Ballard of the Recreation Dept, and dozens of people from down the street -- we're all here watching it.
"People may think we're nuts," said Mrs. Whiting, "but we all see it."
George Clayton of 6733 Motz St. in Paramount, said dozens of his neighbors were watching two objects hover and caper at high rates of speed across the evening sky.
"They sparkle and glow and they go like blazes," said Clayton.
George Hart, 34, of 262 Covina Ave., said he watched the discs through a high-powered scope mounted on a tripod.
"It was so high the scope would not enlarge it much," said Hart. "It traveled at a tremendous rate of speed."
Frank Leavenworth of 6045 Lemon Ave., said it sparkled "like a diamond."
Officers at the Long Beach Air Force Weather Station, however, were inclined to believe the reported object was their weather balloon which had been released immediately prior to the first flying disc reports.
The balloon often climbs to as high as 10 miles over Long Beach and while it climbs it often picks up ice, the Air Force spokesman said. This ice could shine brilliantly in the sun.
Long Beach people were not alone in their reports of mysterious air movements.
In Los Angeles, aircraft worker Jack Swinburn reported that he and several fellow workmen watched a flying saucer cut capers over Los Angeles for 20 minutes Tuesday night before it zipped straight up and disappeared.
He described it as round, shiny and emitting light from its lower surface. It moved slowly from east to west at a high altitude, he said, then suddenly flipped on its side and shot straight up, leaving a trail of vapor behind...
Long Beach's volunteer aircraft spotters remained inactive last night while plans were pushed to construct a spotting booth on top of the City Hall building.
Redlands, California Daily Facts 24 Jul 52
Aircraft Co. Owner Sees 'Discs' Four Nights In Row
LOS ANGELES -- An aircraft company owner said today he was amazed at the increasing "audacity" of strange, disc-like objects he has seen cavorting in the sky over Los Angeles for the past four nights.
Edwin C. Johnston, owner of Aircraft Hydroforming, which manufactures airplane parts, said he, watched two "flying saucers" streaking over the Northrop aircraft plant in nearby Hawthorne for the fourth night in a row.
He said at least 25 witnesses have watched the saucers, including one of his employees, Jack Swinburn.
Johnston said the objects have been sighted at the same time each night, between 7 and 8 p.m., and each night in approximately the same area.
"We were waiting for them last night," he said "We figured they would come back, and they did." He said he was amazed at the "audacity of these things."
"They sit up there in the sky in full sight of everyone and only seem to disappear when they want to," he said.
Johnston said the "saucers" apparently "like our neighborhood," Swinburn said the two objects resembled pulsating stars and were high in the clear, evening sky.
"But they weren't stars," he said. "They stood still for a while, then shot off. They were being controlled by something."
Swinburn described the objects as having a platter-like shape. One side appears to glow, and the other is a dark bluish color, he said.
"They sort of flip over on their dark sides before they zip off," Swinburn explained.
Salt Lake City, Utah Tribune - 23 Jul 52
Russ Embassy Says 'Disks' Big Mystery
WASHINGTON, July 22 -- The Soviet embassy Tuesday disowned any connection with flying saucers seen in this area.
Vladimir L. Lomoisev, attache at the embassy, was asked by a reporter if the strange objects seen in the sky recently were of Soviet origin. He first said, "I don't know," and then added firmly, "No." He conceded that he had read about flying saucers in the newspapers, but disclaimed any knowledge of them.
'I don't know'
The exchange between the reporter
and the attache follows:
Reporter - "Are the Russians flying those saucers over here?"
Attache - "I don't know. No."
Reporter - "Have you seen any flying saucers in Russia or have you heard of them over there?"
Attache - "No, we have no flying saucers in Soviet Russia. I only hear of them here. But I have not seen any. Where do you see them?"
Reporter - "There is a report there were some near here last Saturday night around midnight."
'Only for Tea'
Attache - "I didn't see them then. I think I was sleeping. What are these saucers you talk about?"
Reporter - "They're something people see in the sky. That's what I am trying to find out. Some people think they come from Russia."
Attache - "Russia? Oh, no. Never. We don't have any like that. Only for tea."
"Reporter - "Well, could they be guided missiles?"
Attache - "Missiles? I don't know anything about that. I cannot discuss this matter."
Washington, D.C. Daily News - 23 Jul 52
Air Force Defends Failure To Send Jets After Flying Saucers
The Air Force today defended its failure to send jet planes after the "unidentified objects" picked up on a radar screen here early Sunday morning. It said it didn't know where to send them.
The "blips" on the radar screen were spotted by Air Route Traffic Control Center employes at National Airport. They asked a Capital Airlines pilot to keep his eyes open on his flight from Washington to Martinsburg, W. Va., and he later reported that he watched a flight of strange "lights" for 12 minutes.
Airport employes reported their pick-up to the Air Force.
No Path
"We were unable to confirm the objects on any of our scopes and therefore we did not send any planes into the air," an Air Force spokesman said today.
"In order to direct a plane once it's in the air, you have to know where to send it. The report said the objects appeared on one side of the radar screen, moved to another, appeared somewhere else -- in other words there was no path."
He said there is "no point in sending planes" to a general vicinity to patrol, "because it takes only a matter of minutes to get jets into the air when you really get something."
Navy Says No
The nearest Air Force jets to Washington are those of the. 121st Fighter Interceptor Squadron, normally stationed at Andrews Air Force Base but now on temporary duty in Newcastle, Del.
The Navy, meanwhile, denied the statement made to The News yesterday by an operations man at Anacostia Naval Air Base that Navy jets from Norfolk went aloft but failed to make contact with the mysterious objects.
The Air Force spokesman said he did not know why no jets were sent up during the 12 minutes that the airline pilot followed the lights
"I don't know whether he reported back to the radar station, or made his report after he landed," the spokesman said. "There is no accurate time sequence."
Expert Here
He said he understood the spots were the airport radar screen "for a while." but he did not know whether they were still there at 3:15 a.m. EDT when the Capital flight took off.
"That's what Capt. (E.J.) Ruppelt is for," the spokesman said. "To establish a sequence and get a clear picture of things."
Capt. Ruppelt is the top field investigator for "Operation" Bluebook," the Air Force's project for collecting saucer reports.
Capt. Ruppelt, whose headquarters are in Dayton, 0., was in Washington yesterday.
He told The News he "just happened to be in on other business. It just so happens that it was a coincidence."
No Conclusions
The Air Force meanwhile said it cannot "prove or disprove" the existence of saucers, but that no conclusions are safe in the current epidemic of saucer-itis.
Capt. Ruppelt repeated his statement, made last Friday in Dayton, that "something" had been tracked on radar screens at 1500 to 2000 mph, but he wouldn't say where, when, by whom, for how long or what kind of radar (search or tracking) was used.
He confirmed that reports of sightings had been more frequent this summer than ever before.
"Why, we don't know," he said.
Estherville, Iowa Daily News - 23 Jul 52
- Editorial -
Wouldn't it be a unique turn of the news if flying saucers turned out to be flying saucers?
Notes:
1. Captain Ruppelt's claim that he was in Washington, D.C., by coincidence just following the Washington National/Andrews AFB reports is supported by a "Memorandum for the Record" dated July 26, 1952. The four-page document described Captain Ruppelt's trip as follows: "On 21 July 1952, Col D.L. Bower and Capt E.J. Ruppelt went to MATS Hq at Andrews AFB, Maryland, to discuss the possibility of the MATS Air Weather Service and Flight Service assisting in Project Blue Book". At the end of the document it is noted: "A telephone call was also received from a Gen Landry's secretary. She stated that the President had requested Gen Landry to find out the details of the sighting that had occurred in Washington on Saturday night. She was advised that ATIC had the report and was working on it and that an evaluation would be forthcoming."
2. Selected Air Force documents on the July 19/20, 1952 Washington National/Andrews AFB reports can be read here.
3. Selected Air Force documents on the July 22, 1952 New England area reports can be read here.
4. Of possible ancillary historical interest to the multiple reports in the New England area is the story of the unexplained loss of two fighter jets at that time. From the July 23, 1952 edition of the Newport, Rhode Island Daily News...
Waters Combed For Two Lost Jets
Navy Identifies Pilots; Cause Of Crash Unknown
Divers and a floating crane are still probing waters off Gould Island today in search of two jet planes that crashed Tuesday morning, carrying both pilots to death.
Operations were hampered late Tuesday by murky waters on the silt-covered bottom, 100 feet deep at that point. The salvage crews resumed under bright skies today.
No cause has yet been assigned for the crash. The Navy has not established whether the two craft collided or hit the water separately.
A board of inquiry is being convened at the Quonset Naval Air Station, where the planes were returning when the mishap occurred.
Presumed instantly killed were Lt. Comdr. John G. Dooling, 36, of North Kingstown, commanding Fighter Squadron 73, and Lt. Michael T. Kane Jr., 30, of Hartford, who joined that unit recently.
After the crash, servicemen on Gould Island notified Quonset and crash boats were immediately dispatched, plus all available ships from the Naval Base and two boats from the Castle Hill Coast Guard station.
Witnesses' Reports Sought
A few pieces of floating wood and the pilots' crash helmets were all that could be found. The floating crane Mary Ann with a team of divers were sent from Quonset.
A general call was sent out for any witnesses to the scene to report to Navy officials, who will assemble all evidence. Bathers at Wickford reported seeing two fighter planes head out near Gould Island at the time, flying in close formation.
Newporters recalled the crash of a jet plane off Gibbs Avenue last November and speculated that a few seconds difference in Tuesday's accident might have meant a similar incident.
Commander Dooling leaves his wife and son. He entered the Navy in 1940 and was assistant operations officer at Quonset from 1949 to early this year, when he took command of the fighter squadron, the held the Distinguished Flying cross with three stars and the Navy Air Medal with seven stars for wartime achievements in the Pacific.
Lieutenant Kane graduated from Annapolis in 1945 and entered flight training in 1947. He leaves his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Kane of Hartford.
The reason for the flights of Cmdr. Gooling and Lt. Kane -- whether as a readiness flight, an interceptor mission, or other -- were never made public in newspaper articles, in itself an unusual omission. And though announcements of the discovery of the remains of Lt. Kane were made on August 6, 1952, and the remains of Cmdr. Gooling one week later, no follow-up news reports ever revealed the initial reason for the flights or the board of inquiry's conclusions as to the cause of the crash of the two jet fighters.
5. Although the specific sighting of Ralph Curio mentioned in "Flying Saucers Spotted 3 Times In New Jersey" does not appear in Blue Book files, other reports from the night of July 22, 1952 can be read here.
6. A news article in the July 23 edition of the Washington, D.C. Times Herald was similar to the Daily News report "Air Force Defends Failure To Send Jets After Flying Saucers", but included the following...
The A.F. explained that the Washington area is still as safe as possible from enemy attack despite the fact the interceptor units have been transferred.
"Their job is still interceptions and that can be accomplished as well at New Castle," a spokesman said. "It has never been the job of the squadron anyway to meet the enemy over the Capital, but before they get here."
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