presents

  The 1962 UFO Chronology

The Cuban Missile Crisis: Just how close a call was it?

Map of sightings for 1962, courtesy of Larry Hatch's "U" Database

This is a chronology of UFO incidents for 1962. Most notable was the reported crash of a UFO on April 18 near Las Vegas, Nevada. A high speed brilliant maneuverable object was tracked by radars and sighted visually across the continent by numerous military and civilian witnesses. Next was the NE New Jersey mini-flap of Sept. 15-28. Across the Hudson River from New York City, was the scene of a definite flurry of sightings of UFOs, with the heaviest concentration in the Oradell-Hawthorne area. In October (18-29) the Cuban Missile Crisis occurred. It was the closest the world has ever come to a nuclear war. Right in the middle of this crisis an F-106, armed with nuclear-tipped missiles, was scrambled from Palermo AFB to intercept a UFO over New York.

The Air Force put its first ten Minuteman ICBMs on operational alert at Malmstrom AFB, Montana, in October 1962. Deployment proceeded at an equally furious pace, and within 5 years (the 1967 UFO sighting wave) 1,000 of the solid-fuel missiles stood poised in their silos.

Our thanks for these chronologies must go to our documentation team: Rebecca Wise (Project Blue Book Archive), Dan Wilson (archive researcher), and Brad Sparks (Comprehensive Catalog of Project Blue Book Unknowns). Last, but not least, our thanks to Jean Waskiewicz who created the online NICAP DBase (NSID) that helped make it possible to link from the cases to the reports themselves.

Francis Ridge

Blue Book sighting lists for 1962 by month

Radar-visual sighting by Dutch AF F-86 pilot. [NICAP UFO Evidence, X]

Feb. 20,1962
Col. John Glenn orbital flight, Project Mercury

April 9, 1952; Sample (Trip Report) from Col. Friend
 

April 30, 1962, Edwards AFB, Cal.
X-15 flight, piloted by Joe Walker; Photograph (no visual sighting) of 5 or 6 "disc-shaped or. . .cylindrical" objects. Slides later shown in Seattle conference. NICAP unable to obtain prints. [NICAP UFO Evidence]

May 18, 1962; Pompano Beach, Florida
Cigar-shaped UFO, brilliantly lighted below, dark on top. Hovered, sped away.

[NICAP UFO Evidence, VII]

May 24, 1962
Astronaut Scott Carpenter, Project Mercury orbital flight.

9:05 p.m. MST. A civilian observed a mushroom shaped object rising in the south and moving north. When the object reached a

point overhead it turned NE. At this point the object flashed and seven objects in an arrowhead formation emanated from the main object. These seven objects traveled east while the main object traveled to the NE. The first object had the apparent size of a marble held at arm's length. The total length of the observation was around six minutes. (Dan Wilson, BB files)

July 9, 1962, Starfish Prime

A high altitude nuclear test conducted by the United States, a joint effort of the Atomic Energy Commission and the Defense Atomic Support Agency. It was launched from Johnson Atoll and was the largest nuclear test conducted in outer space and one of five conducted by the US in space. (The six high altitude tests conducted in 1958 were not in outer space).

July 10, 1962; New Iberia, Louisiana
Disc-shaped UFO with rotating dome on top swept low over Naval Auxiliary Air Station, slowed over area of runway and hangar, then climbed out of sight at 20 to 30 degrees angle accelerating rapidly. [NICAP UFO Evidence, IV]

July 17, 1962, Edwards AFB, Cal.
X-15 flight, Maj. Bob White pilot. Photographs and visual sighting of unidentified object "like a piece of paper," gray-white. Observed to left of aircraft "going along with the ship" for about 5 seconds, then "darted above and behind the plane." [NICAP UFO Evidence]
July 19, 1962; Metuchen [Bayhead?], New Jersey (BBU 8020)
9:30 p.m. C. T. Loftus and H. Wilbert saw 3-5 lights from different parts of the sky dart about the sky with no pattern, brightness increased with speed of motion, complete stops, zigzags, generally straight lines, N course [?]. No trails or sound. (Mary Castner/CUFOS)

July 29 [30?], 1962; Ocean Springs, Mississippi (BBU 8034)
11:20 p.m. Mr. and Mrs. M. O. Barton saw a bright cherry-red, diamond-shaped object fly slow, hover, make fast 1/2 loops. (Berliner)

July 30, 1962; Ocean Springs, Miss.
"Diamond-shaped object, mostly round, sometimes rectangular. Color bright cherry red varying in intensity as it maneuvered. Performed intricate maneuvers. Moved slowly, sometimes stationary -- then darted up and over, etc." Case listed as unidentified. (Air Force Project Blue Book 1962 Summary.)

July 30, 1962; Pojucara, Bela Horizonte (near), Brazil
Cat. 3. Car motor stopped, then oval UFO seen alongside road.

Aug. 2, 1962; Liberal, Kansas
Series of brightly lighted colored objects seen by airline pilot, airport personnel, and passengers at airport. [NICAP UFO Evidence, V]

Aug. 7, 1962; Oracle, Arizona
UFO over Titan missile silo. Jets sent up.

Aug. 15 (approx), 1962; Near Denver, CO
Large UFO hovering over a high line tower, chased by Air Force helicopters. [This is in the area of the Lowry AFB Titan I  ICBM Complex].

Aug. 18 [19?], 1962; Bermuda (BBU 8064)
5 p.m. Owner M. Sheppard and chief announcer A. Seymour of radio station saw 3 dull-white, egg-shaped objects waver as they moved. (Berliner)

August 23, 1962: B-52 Navigation Error

SAC Chrome Dome airborne alert route included a leg from the northern tip of Ellesmore Island, SW across the Arctic Ocean to Barter Island, Alaska. A B-52 nuclear armed bomber crew made a navigational error and flew 20 degrees too far north. They approached within 300 miles of Soviet airspace near Wrangel island, where there was believed to be an interceptor base with aircraft having an operational radius of 400 miles. The necessary orders had not been given by the time of the Cuban missile crisis in October 1962, so throughout that crisis the same northern route was being flown 24 hours a day.

Sept. 8, 1962; Floresta, Argentine
"Burnished metal" lens-shaped UFO sighted by Argentine Navy pilot. [NICAP UFO Evidence, X, XII]

Sept. 15, 1962; W. Newark (Oradell), NY
At 6 p.m., ex-Navy electronics officer, J. J. McVicker reported two "silver dollars" apparently revolving as they passed over W. Nyack, N.Y. At about 7:55 p.m., five boys reported a disc which hovered over the Oradell reservoir, touched down on it, then took off silently at high speed. Later, two other boys said they had seen a very bright light moving back and forth over the edge of the reservoir, following which a loud explosion was heard. [NICAP UFO Evidence]

Sept. 15, 1962; Oradell, New Jersey (BBU)
5, 6, 7:50 p.m. 2 bright disks seen at 5 p.m., again at 6 p.m., at the state line. 2 witnesses saw one round object with a fin on top and another under it at 7:50, heading down toward Oradell reservoir. 3 young men saw and heard the object touch the water. Another witness called police. Bright luminous object surrounded with a glow, apparent size of a small plane 1/2 mile away, took off a few minutes later to the S. (Vallée Magonia 547)

Sept. 18, 1962; Westwood, N. J.
4 a.m.. Two policemen reported a 7-8 second observation of a huge object, round at the top and tapering to a cone. 4:45  a.m.; Two Oradell policemen reported a brilliant light in the sky. [NICAP UFO Evidence]


Sept. 20, 1962; Hawthorne, NJ
Early in the morning, a watchman, William Stock, of Hawthorne, reported a saucer-shaped object which hovered and moved from side to side as it shone bright enough to illuminate a huge area. [NICAP UFO Evidence]

Sept. 21, 1962; Bt. Hawthorne & North Haledon, NJ
At 3:40 a.m., William Stock and four invited policemen spent a half hour watching a round object with two apparently revolving body lights. At 4 a.m., two policemen, between Hawthorne and North Haledon, watched a bright light revolving and moving up and down and from side to side for about 35 minutes. [NICAP UFO Evidence]

Sept. 21, 1962; WSW of Biloxi, Mississippi, in Gulf of Mexico (BBU 8133)
7:37-7:50 p.m. Fishing boat captain S. A. [Danny?] Guthrie and deck hand saw 2 objects, red and black with orange streaks, one as big as the Moon, and the other smaller and trailing [?], arcing across the sky. (Mary Castner/CUFOS; Berliner)

Sept. 21, 1962; Hawthorne, NJ
That night, 4 young persons in Hawthorne reported seeing a bright star-like object with light beams coming from it. [NICAP UFO Evidence]

Sept. 23, 1962; Hawthorne, NJ
In the middle of the day a Hawthorne woman and her son saw an oblong, silvery object, for about 10 seconds. [NICAP UFO Evidence]

Sept. 24, 1962; Hawthorne, NJ
Early in the morning, a group consisting of the head of an independent news agency, a photographer and numerous policemen watched, for 10 minutes, an object which changed from red to silver to green and back to red. In the evening, a Hawthorne patrolman watched a light approach, hover for 15 minutes and then move away. [NICAP UFO Evidence]

Sept. 28, 1962; Seven counties near Hawthorne, NJ
Police from seven counties reported seeing UFOs between 2:30 and 3:30 a.m. Most reported three objects which changed color. [NICAP UFO Evidence]

Oct. 3, 1962; Chicago, IL
City of Chicago official watched circular UFO with dome move across lower half of moon. [NICAP UFO Evidence, VII]


Oct. 1962; During the Cuban Missile Crisis; Palermo AFB, NY
A "hot bird" (an F-106) was scrambled when radar tracked an unknown on the East Coast. (Fran Ridge)

Oct. 23, 1962; Farmington, Utah (BBU 8182)
3 p.m. R. O. Christensen saw a grey and silver ball, trailing what looked like twine with two knots in it, swerve, and climb away at a 45° angle, making a sound like a flock of ducks (rushing air). (“Duck Hunter Case”)  (Berliner)

October 24, 1962

A Soviet satellite entered its own parking orbit, and shortly afterward exploded. Sir Bernard Lovell, director of the Jodrell Bank observatory wrote in 1968: "the explosion of a Russian spacecraft in orbit during the Cuban missile crisis... led the U.S. to believe that the USSR was launching a massive ICBM attack." The NORAD Command Post logs of the dates in question remain classified, possibly to conceal reaction to the event. Its occurrence is recorded, and U.S. space tracking stations were informed on October 31 of debris resulting from the breakup of "62 BETA IOTA."

Oct. 25, 1962; Delta, Colorado
Police dispatcher saw round glowing object from radio room window. State patrolman and Cedaredge Marshal observed two UFOs "like an inverted umbrella with a number of bright, tail-like appendages." [NICAP UFO Evidence, VII]

October 25, 1962

At around midnight a guard at the Duluth Sector Direction Center saw a figure climbing the security fence. He shot at it, and activated the "sabotage alarm." This automatically set off sabotage alarms at all bases in the area. At Volk Field, Wisconsin, the alarm was wrongly wired, and the Klaxon sounded which ordered nuclear armed F-106A interceptors to take off. The pilots knew there would be no practice alert drills while DEFCON 3 was in force, and they believed World War III had started. Immediate communication with Duluth showed there was an error. By this time aircraft were starting down the runway. A car raced from command center and successfully signaled the aircraft to stop. The original intruder was a bear.

October 26,1962

At Vandenburg Air Force Base, California, there was a program of routine ICBM test flights. When DEFCON 3 was ordered all the ICBM's were fitted with nuclear warheads except one Titan missile that was scheduled for a test launch later that week. That one was launched for its test, without further orders from Washington, at 4a.m. on the 26th. It must be assumed that Russian observers were monitoring U.S. missile activities as closely as U.S. observers were monitoring Russian and Cuban activities. They would have known of the general changeover to nuclear warheads, but not that this was only a test launch.

Same day. Some radar warning stations that were under construction and near completion were brought into full operation as fast as possible. The planned overlap of coverage was thus not always available. A normal test launch of a Titan-II ICBM took place in the afternoon from Florida to the South Pacific. It caused temporary concern at Moorestown Radar site until its course could be plotted and showed no predicted impact within the United States. It was not until after this event that the potential for a serious false alarm was realized, and orders were given that radar warning sites must be notified in advance of test launches, and the countdown be relayed to them.

That night, for a reason irrelevant to the crisis, a U2 pilot was ordered to fly a new route, over the north pole, where positional checks on navigation were by sextant only. That night the aurora prevented good sextant readings and the plane strayed over the Chukotski Peninsula. Soviet MIG interceptors took off with orders to shoot down the U2. The pilot contacted his U.S. command post and was ordered to fly due east towards Alaska. He ran out of fuel while still over Siberia. In response to his S.O.S., U.S. F102-A fighters were launched to escort him on his glide to Alaska, with orders to prevent the MIG's from entering U.S. airspace. The U.S. interceptor aircraft were armed with nuclear missiles. These could have been used by any one of the F102-A pilots at his own discretion.

Nov. 10, 1962; North Star Bay, Greenland
At 2:15 a.m. local time, a fast moving target was observed on ground radar on a magnetic bearing 280 inbound. A CIRVIS REPORT was made. Airway notified Thule ACC. Target lost in ground clutter. Two F-102 aircraft and an L-20 aircraft searched the area without results.  (Dan Wilson)  

Nov. 17, 1962; Tampa, Florida (BBU 8215)
9 p.m. F. L. Swindale, college graduate and ex-USMC Capt., saw bright star-like lights approach, hover and bounce, then fade. (Berliner)

Nov. 19, 1962; Tampa, Florida
Three star-like objects approached horizontally, hovered. "Impression was that objects were under intelligent control at all times." Unidentified. (Air Force Project Blue Book 1962 Summary.)

Dec.12, 1962; Amagasaki City, Japan
Five students saw, and independently sketched, Saturn-shaped UFO. [NICAP UFO Evidence, X]