1952 Washington DC UFO Incident — July 26-27 1952: The Second Weekend
| Incident Name: | 1952 Washington, D.C. UFO incident |
|---|---|
| Incident Date: | July 19–20 July 26–27, 1952 |
| Location: | Washington National Airport |
| State/Provence: | Washington, D.C. |
| Country : | USA |
| Case Files : | 1952 Washington, D.C. UFO Incident Case Files |
1952 Washington DC UFO Incident — July 26-27 1952: The Second Weekend
[edit | edit source]8:15 PM, Saturday July 26: The Second Wave Begins
[edit | edit source]At 8:15 PM on Saturday, July 26, 1952, a pilot and stewardess aboard a National Airlines flight into Washington observed strange objects above their aircraft. Within minutes, both radar centers at Washington National Airport and the radar at Andrews Air Force Base were tracking more than a dozen unidentified targets — dispersed across a 100-mile area from Andrews to northern Virginia.
The scale was larger than the first weekend. The objects were spread more widely. And this time, two specific features distinguished the encounter from the first: Maj. Dewey Fournet and Lt. John Holcomb were present on-site at the radar facilities, and Lt. William Patterson made direct visual contact with the objects.
The Radar Picture: July 26–27
[edit | edit source]Controllers at Washington National Airport spent hours watching unidentified targets dip, stop, disappear, and then resurface on radar screens across a 100-mile sweep. They contacted their counterparts at Andrews who confirmed they were tracking the same objects. The targets were behaving in ways that no known aircraft could — quickly reversing direction, hovering, making abrupt 90-degree turns.
The On-Site Investigators: Fournet and Holcomb
[edit | edit source]Maj. Dewey Fournet, the Pentagon's Project Blue Book liaison officer, and Lt. John Holcomb, a Navy radar specialist from the Naval Observatory in Washington, rushed to the control tower at National Airport after learning of the returns. They arrived to find the screens showing more than a dozen targets dispersed across the region.
Fournet and Holcomb questioned the technical staff about the radar returns. The technical staff told them that a slight temperature inversion was present over the city. Holcomb assessed this and concluded that the inversion was "not nearly strong enough to explain the 'good and solid' returns"*** on the radar scopes.
Fournet later relayed that all those present in the radar room "were convinced that the targets were most likely caused by solid metallic objects." He added that weather targets were also present on the scope — a common occurrence that the controllers "were paying no attention to them" because they were clearly distinguishable from the solid, structured unknown returns.
Lt. William Patterson's Intercept
[edit | edit source]Late on the night of July 26, Lt. William Patterson of the 142nd Fighter Interceptor Squadron and Capt. John McHugo — flying under the call signs "Shirley Red 1" and "Shirley Red 2" — were scrambled from their base. They roared their F-94 jets into the humid night, afterburners flaring, turning south toward the capital.
At 20,000 feet, ground controllers guided Patterson toward a cluster of radar blips registering around Andrews AFB. Patterson arrived first near National Airport and was directed toward the targets. Through his cockpit he saw:
- Four bright lights
- The lights did not blink or drift — unlike stars or conventional aircraft navigation lights
- They appeared to be solid objects radiating their own light
As Patterson manoeuvred toward the objects, something extraordinary occurred: the objects turned and converged on his aircraft, surrounding him.
Patterson radioed Andrews AFB to ask whether he should open fire on the unknown objects circling his interceptor.
According to Albert M. Chop — a civilian press spokesperson for the Air Force who was present in the radio room at the moment:
"Stunned silence. After a tense moment, the UFOs pulled away and left the scene."***
No order was given. The objects simply departed.
President Truman's Personal Inquiry
[edit | edit source]The sightings of July 26–27 made front-page headlines and prompted an extraordinary institutional response: President Harry S. Truman personally contacted his Air Force aide to request an explanation.
According to the documented account:
- Truman had his Air Force aide call Capt. Ruppelt at Project Blue Book headquarters in Dayton, Ohio
- Truman listened on a separate phone line to the conversation between his aide and Ruppelt
- Truman did not ask questions himself but clearly wanted to hear the explanation directly
- Ruppelt — who had not yet conducted his investigation — offered the temperature inversion explanation he had heard from Capt. Roy James
Fournet's Final Assessment
[edit | edit source]After the night was over, Dewey Fournet was asked for his assessment. His statement has been frequently quoted in UFO research:
"I have no explanation for what we saw that night."***
This assessment — from a Pentagon officer whose specific job was to serve as the military's liaison to Project Blue Book's UFO investigation — is the most significant official statement produced by the July 26–27 events.
