Nash-Fortenberry UFO sighting
Encyclopedia
The Nash-Fortenberry UFO sighting was an unidentified flying object
sighting that occurred on July 14, 1952, when two experienced commercial pilots (William B. Nash and William H. Fortenberry) claimed to have seen eight UFOs flying in a tight echelon formation
over Chesapeake Bay
in the state of Virginia
.
Though the encounter lasted only twelve to fifteen seconds, Nash and Fortenberry were able to offer a detailed moment-by-moment chronology of events. Both pilots were World War II
U.S. Navy veterans, and had been trained in identification of enemy aircraft -- Nash was a Naval Air Transport veteran who specialized in anti-submarine patrols, while Fortenberry worked with the Navy's air experimental wing.
The encounter was particularly noteworthy because the pilots observed the UFOs between their aircraft and the ground, allowing for relatively precise measurements of the objects' motion and size when compared to known landmarks; more often claimed UFOs are spotted against an open sky, making such comparisons difficult. The encounter was lent additional corroboration by several groups of independent ground witnesses who reported their own sightings within an hour of their occurrence, before the case earned mass media attention.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Air Force's Project Blue Book
, who could find no conventional explanation for what the pilots described, and who declared the case an "unknown." Astronomer and UFO skeptic Donald Menzel first argued the pilots might have seen reflections in their cockpit, but withdrew this explanation following a rejoinder from the pilots.
Unidentified flying object
A term originally coined by the military, an unidentified flying object is an unusual apparent anomaly in the sky that is not readily identifiable to the observer as any known object...
sighting that occurred on July 14, 1952, when two experienced commercial pilots (William B. Nash and William H. Fortenberry) claimed to have seen eight UFOs flying in a tight echelon formation
Echelon formation
An echelon formation is a military formation in which members are arranged diagonally. Each member is stationed behind and to the right , or behind and to the left , of the member ahead...
over Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
in the state of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
Though the encounter lasted only twelve to fifteen seconds, Nash and Fortenberry were able to offer a detailed moment-by-moment chronology of events. Both pilots were World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
U.S. Navy veterans, and had been trained in identification of enemy aircraft -- Nash was a Naval Air Transport veteran who specialized in anti-submarine patrols, while Fortenberry worked with the Navy's air experimental wing.
The encounter was particularly noteworthy because the pilots observed the UFOs between their aircraft and the ground, allowing for relatively precise measurements of the objects' motion and size when compared to known landmarks; more often claimed UFOs are spotted against an open sky, making such comparisons difficult. The encounter was lent additional corroboration by several groups of independent ground witnesses who reported their own sightings within an hour of their occurrence, before the case earned mass media attention.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Air Force's Project Blue Book
Project Blue Book
Project Blue Book was one of a series of systematic studies of unidentified flying objects conducted by the United States Air Force. Started in 1952, it was the second revival of such a study...
, who could find no conventional explanation for what the pilots described, and who declared the case an "unknown." Astronomer and UFO skeptic Donald Menzel first argued the pilots might have seen reflections in their cockpit, but withdrew this explanation following a rejoinder from the pilots.
External links
- UFO CASE REPORT: The Nash-Fortenberry Sighting (aircraft encounter with formation of UFOs) from UFOCasebook.com
- "We Flew Above Flying Saucers", by William B. Nash and William H. Fortenberry, from True magazine, 1967