The Creative Commons
July, 1952
(Washington, DC) – In July 1952, a wave of unidentified flying object (UFO) sightings over Washington, D.C., became one of the most famous and controversial episodes in American UFO history.
Washington National Airport terminal in 1944, The Creative Commons
Known as the “Washington flap” or the Washington National Airport sightings, the incident unfolded over two consecutive weekends — July 19–20 and July 26–27 — when radar operators and pilots reported mysterious objects over the nation’s capital.
Radar Blips Over the White House
Shortly before midnight on July 19, air traffic controllers at Washington National Airport detected multiple unknown objects on radar. The blips appeared to move erratically, change direction suddenly, and even hover over sensitive areas — including the White House and the U.S. Capitol.
Personnel at nearby Andrews Air Force Base also tracked unusual radar returns. Some observers reported seeing glowing lights in the sky that did not resemble conventional aircraft.
Air Force F-94 fighter jets were scrambled to intercept the objects. By the time they arrived, the radar contacts had vanished — only to reappear after the jets left.
The pattern repeated the following weekend.
National Headlines and Public Panic
The sightings made front-page news across the country. Headlines like “SAUCERS SWARM OVER CAPITAL” fueled public fascination and concern.
The incident came amid a broader surge in UFO reports during the summer of 1952. That year, the U.S. Air Force logged more UFO reports than in the previous four years combined. Project Blue Book — the Air Force’s official UFO investigation program — was overwhelmed.
President Harry Truman was reportedly briefed on the situation as reports intensified.
The Air Force Response
On July 29, 1952, the Pentagon held its largest press conference since World War II. Air Force Major General John Samford addressed the sightings.
The official explanation: temperature inversion.
According to the Air Force, unusual atmospheric conditions caused radar signals to bend, creating false returns. Visual sightings, they said, were likely stars, meteors, or aircraft lights distorted by weather effects.
Project Blue Book ultimately classified the Washington radar sightings as misidentifications caused by atmospheric phenomena.
Skepticism and Debate
Not everyone agreed with the explanation.
Some radar operators and Air Force personnel maintained that what they saw behaved like solid objects — not weather distortions. UFO researchers later cited the incident as one of the most compelling cases involving simultaneous radar and visual sightings.
In 1953, growing concern within the CIA about the wave of UFO reports led to the formation of the Robertson Panel, which reviewed prominent UFO cases and recommended that the government downplay and debunk sightings to prevent public hysteria.
Down in History
The 1952 Washington sightings remain one of the most discussed UFO events in American history.
Whether caused by atmospheric anomalies, misinterpretations of radar technology, or something unexplained, the incident marked the height of Cold War-era UFO anxiety — when mysterious lights in the sky over the White House captured the imagination of a nation.
More than 70 years later, the “Invasion of Washington” still fuels debate about what really appeared over the capital that summer night.
