Washington Radar Logs
Type: Radar Evidence
Source: Washington National Airport
The 1952 Washington, D.C. UFO incident involved radar sightings of unidentified objects over the nation's capital on July 19–20 and July 26–27, 1952, tracked by air traffic controllers at Washington National Airport and Andrews Air Force Base.
July 19–20: Controllers detected seven slow-moving objects south of the city; when F-94 Starfire interceptors were scrambled, the radar returns vanished and reappeared only after the jets departed.
July 26–27: A second wave involved up to 12 simultaneous radar targets moving at speeds exceeding 7,000 mph, with visual confirmations from commercial pilots and military personnel.
Official Explanation: Edward J. Ruppelt of Project Blue Book attributed the returns to a temperature inversion, though internal memos noted the objects could not be attributed to known aircraft or weather.
Record Status: Radar logs and recordings from the incident were seized and archived under classified status by the Air Force to limit public exposure, and no original FAA radar tapes from the event have been publicly released to this day.
Can’t Explain Objects in Sky, Says Radar Expert
Editor’s Note — forty-eight hours of intensive investigation has failed to explain radar and visual observation of unidentified objects accompanied by brilliant white and colored lights on two successive week ends over Washington. The so-called saucers were seen on both Air Force and Civil Aeronautics Authority radarscopes. How the C.A.A. sightings were made is described in the following article by a civilian radar specialist.
Evidence Files
