confirmed1952· Washington, D.C.
On the weekends of July 19 and July 26, 1952, radar operators at Washington National Airport and Andrews Air Force Base tracked dozens of unidentified objects moving through restricted airspace over the U.S. capital, prompting intercept attempts by Air Force F-94 jet fighters.
The Air Force held what was described as the largest Pentagon press conference since World War II, attributing the radar returns to temperature inversions. Project Blue Book's radar expert later reported that no one in the control tower believed the temperature inversion explanation was strong enough to account for the readings.
Citations
- 1952 Washington, D.C. UFO incident· Wikipedia, 2024
- When UFOs Buzzed the White House and the Air Force Blamed the Weather· HISTORY, 2022
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