Painted illustration Flight 19 Atlantic Ocean east of Florida (departed NAS Fort Lauderdale), USA 1945 evidence Contested Five U.S. Navy TBM Avenger bombers on a navigation training flight vanished over the Atlantic on 5 December 1945; a Mariner sent to search for them was also lost, and the case became the foundation of the Bermuda…
Open the book Five U.S. Navy TBM Avenger bombers on a navigation training flight vanished over the Atlantic on 5 December 1945; a Mariner sent to search…
Painted illustration Trinity Site Crash Padilla Ranch, near San Antonio, New Mexico, United States 1945 evidence Debunked Two boys allegedly discovered a crashed avocado-shaped craft and small humanoid occupants on a ranch near the Trinity nuclear test site, five weeks after the first atomic bomb detonation — a claim that remained untold…
Open the book Two boys allegedly discovered a crashed avocado-shaped craft and small humanoid occupants on a ranch near the Trinity nuclear test site,…
Painted illustration Foo Fighters of World War II European and Pacific Theaters of Operations, Germany 1944 evidence Documented Allied pilots over Europe and the Pacific reported mysterious luminous orbs — red, orange, and white — that paced their aircraft at high speed, defied radar detection, and were never explained.
Open the book Allied pilots over Europe and the Pacific reported mysterious luminous orbs — red, orange, and white — that paced their aircraft at high…
Painted illustration Philadelphia Experiment Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, USA 1943 evidence Debunked Legendary claim that USS Eldridge was rendered invisible and teleported via secret military experiment.
Open the book Legendary claim that USS Eldridge was rendered invisible and teleported via secret military experiment.
Painted illustration The Battle of Los Angeles Los Angeles, California, United States 1942 evidence Contested In the predawn hours of February 25, 1942, U.S. anti-aircraft batteries fired over 1,400 rounds into the sky above Los Angeles at unidentified targets that were never conclusively explained.
Open the book In the predawn hours of February 25, 1942, U.S. anti-aircraft batteries fired over 1,400 rounds into the sky above Los Angeles at…
Military encounter Churchill RAF UFO Cover-Up United Kingdom / RAF Base 1942 evidence Contested Alleged WWII RAF encounter with a UFO that Winston Churchill allegedly ordered suppressed for 50+ years to prevent mass panic and loss of faith in religion.
Open the book Alleged WWII RAF encounter with a UFO that Winston Churchill allegedly ordered suppressed for 50+ years to prevent mass panic and loss of…
Painted illustration Cape Girardeau UFO Crash Cape Girardeau, Missouri, USA 1941 evidence Contested Pre-Roswell UFO crash recovery with humanoid bodies reported by local clergyman, first publicly documented in 1991 through family testimony.
Open the book Pre-Roswell UFO crash recovery with humanoid bodies reported by local clergyman, first publicly documented in 1991 through family testimony.
Sighting Frank Smythe's Everest Sighting North face of Mount Everest, Tibet/Nepal border, China/Nepal 1933 evidence Contested English mountaineer Frank Smythe reported two dark, pulsating objects hovering in the sky during the 1933 British Everest expedition; the claim survives mainly through a 1993 Himalayan Journal essay.
Open the book English mountaineer Frank Smythe reported two dark, pulsating objects hovering in the sky during the 1933 British Everest expedition; the…
Painted illustration Swedish Ghost Fliers Northern Sweden, Norway, Finland 1933 evidence Documented A wave of unexplained aircraft sightings swept northern Scandinavia during winter 1933–1934, prompting military searches that found no conventional source.
Open the book A wave of unexplained aircraft sightings swept northern Scandinavia during winter 1933–1934, prompting military searches that found no…
Sighting Nicholas Roerich Tibet Flying Object Sighting Humboldt Mountains, Kokonor region (Tibet/Qinghai border), China 1926 evidence Contested During the Roerich expedition across Central Asia, the Russian painter-philosopher Nicholas Roerich recorded in his diary an oval object in the sky that his party watched through field glasses before it vanished; the…
Open the book During the Roerich expedition across Central Asia, the Russian painter-philosopher Nicholas Roerich recorded in his diary an oval object in…
Painted illustration Fatima Miracle of the Sun Cova da Iria, Fátima, Portugal 1917 evidence Contested On October 13, 1917, an estimated 30,000–70,000 people witnessed a spinning, multicolored luminous disk perform aerial maneuvers near Fátima, Portugal. The phenomenon, claimed as proof of a Marian apparition, later…
Open the book On October 13, 1917, an estimated 30,000–70,000 people witnessed a spinning, multicolored luminous disk perform aerial maneuvers near…
Mass sighting South African Monoplane Wave South Africa (multiple towns, incl. Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria, Warmbaths) 1914 evidence Contested Between 11 August and 9 September 1914, thousands of South Africans reported a night-flying monoplane, or its headlights, in a wave that was widely attributed to German aircraft but was never identified and is now…
Open the book Between 11 August and 9 September 1914, thousands of South Africans reported a night-flying monoplane, or its headlights, in a wave that…
Sighting Brown Mountain Lights Brown Mountain, Blue Ridge Escarpment near Linville Gorge, North Carolina, USA 1912 evidence Contested A recurring nightly light phenomenon over Brown Mountain in western North Carolina, first reported around 1912 and investigated by the USGS in 1913 and 1922, which attributed the sightings to trains, car headlights and…
Open the book A recurring nightly light phenomenon over Brown Mountain in western North Carolina, first reported around 1912 and investigated by the USGS…
Mass sighting New Zealand Airship Wave New Zealand 1909 evidence Documented Mass UFO wave across New Zealand in winter 1909 featuring cigar-shaped and boat-shaped craft with occupants, generating hundreds of reports and consistent eyewitness descriptions.
Open the book Mass UFO wave across New Zealand in winter 1909 featuring cigar-shaped and boat-shaped craft with occupants, generating hundreds of reports…
Painted illustration Tunguska Explosion Tunguska region, Siberia, Russia 1908 evidence Contested A massive explosion near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Siberia on June 30, 1908, remains the largest impact event in recorded history and a subject of UFO speculation.
Open the book A massive explosion near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Siberia on June 30, 1908, remains the largest impact event in recorded history…
Painted illustration Aurora Airship Crash Aurora, Texas, United States 1897 evidence Contested During the Great Airship Wave of 1896–1897, a cigar-shaped craft allegedly crashed into a windmill in Aurora, Texas, and townspeople reportedly buried the non-human pilot in the local cemetery — a story that has been…
Open the book During the Great Airship Wave of 1896–1897, a cigar-shaped craft allegedly crashed into a windmill in Aurora, Texas, and townspeople…
Painted illustration Great Airship Wave Sacramento, California (origin), then nationwide, USA 1896 evidence Contested A five-month wave of reported 'mystery airships' swept the western and then central United States from November 1896 to April 1897, generating thousands of newspaper reports and a mix of genuine misidentifications,…
Open the book A five-month wave of reported 'mystery airships' swept the western and then central United States from November 1896 to April 1897,…
Sighting Min Min Light Min Min Hotel site, Winton–Boulia road, Queensland (coordinates approximate, set to Boulia), Australia 1890 evidence Contested A recurring, unexplained light reported across Queensland's Channel Country since the early 1890s, most famously near the ruined Min Min Hotel, and widely attributed to a superior mirage of distant headlights or…
Open the book A recurring, unexplained light reported across Queensland's Channel Country since the early 1890s, most famously near the ruined Min Min…
Other Dundy County Hoax Near Max, Dundy County, Nebraska, USA 1884 evidence Debunked A June 1884 Nebraska State Journal story of a crashed cylindrical 'celestial visitor' on the Nebraska plains was a newspaper fabrication, admitted as a hoax in 1927, and is among the earliest American UFO-type stories…
Open the book A June 1884 Nebraska State Journal story of a crashed cylindrical 'celestial visitor' on the Nebraska plains was a newspaper fabrication,…
Painted illustration The Bonilla Observation Zacatecas Observatory, Zacatecas, Mexico 1883 evidence Contested On 12–13 August 1883, Mexican astronomer José Bonilla photographed more than 300 dark, fuzzy objects transiting the solar disk from the newly opened Zacatecas Observatory — producing what are widely regarded as the…
Open the book On 12–13 August 1883, Mexican astronomer José Bonilla photographed more than 300 dark, fuzzy objects transiting the solar disk from the…
Painted illustration The Marfa Lights Mitchell Flat, near Marfa, Presidio County, Texas, USA 1883 evidence Contested Mysterious luminous orbs observed over the Chihuahuan Desert near Marfa, Texas since at least 1883 — one of North America's oldest and most persistently documented anomalous light phenomena, partially but not fully…
Open the book Mysterious luminous orbs observed over the Chihuahuan Desert near Marfa, Texas since at least 1883 — one of North America's oldest and most…
Photograph or film UFO over Mount Washington Mount Washington, New Hampshire, USA 1870 evidence Debunked A cigar-shaped 'object' in a winter 1870 stereograph of Mount Washington, New Hampshire, was once called the earliest photograph of a UFO; it is now generally traced to a cropped scale ruler in a frost-formation photo.
Open the book A cigar-shaped 'object' in a winter 1870 stereograph of Mount Washington, New Hampshire, was once called the earliest photograph of a UFO;…
Painted illustration The Utsuro-bune Incident Harayadori coast, Hitachi Province, Japan 1803 evidence Contested A mysterious hollow vessel carrying a non-human woman washed ashore on the Japanese coast in 1803, documented in four historical texts.
Open the book A mysterious hollow vessel carrying a non-human woman washed ashore on the Japanese coast in 1803, documented in four historical texts.
Mass sighting Gwanghaegun-era Sky Objects over Gangwon Gangwon Province (Gangneung, Ganseong, Chuncheon, Yangyang), Joseon Korea, South Korea 1609 evidence Contested Officials in four Gangwon Province counties reported bright, shape-shifting objects with thunder and drum-like sounds in 1609, entered in the Gwanghaegun Ilgi; a meteor explanation is considered persuasive.
Open the book Officials in four Gangwon Province counties reported bright, shape-shifting objects with thunder and drum-like sounds in 1609, entered in…
Mass sighting Basel Celestial Phenomenon Basel, Switzerland 1566 evidence Documented A series of celestial phenomena witnessed by hundreds of Basel residents in late July and early August 1566, documented in a contemporary broadsheet.
Open the book A series of celestial phenomena witnessed by hundreds of Basel residents in late July and early August 1566, documented in a contemporary…
Painted illustration 1561 Nuremberg Celestial Phenomenon Nuremberg, Holy Roman Empire, Germany 1561 evidence Contested Residents of Nuremberg reported an aerial spectacle of spheres, cylinders, crosses, and a great black spear-shaped object battling across the dawn sky — documented in a famous woodcut broadsheet by Hans Glaser.
Open the book Residents of Nuremberg reported an aerial spectacle of spheres, cylinders, crosses, and a great black spear-shaped object battling across…
Sighting Airship of Clonmacnoise Teltown (Tailtiu), County Meath, Ireland; Clonmacnoise, County Offaly (later versions) 743 evidence Contested Medieval Irish annals record “ships with their crews” seen sailing in the air around 743–749; later retellings add a fishing-spear or anchor, a drowning sailor and a bishop.
Open the book Medieval Irish annals record “ships with their crews” seen sailing in the air around 743–749; later retellings add a fishing-spear or…
