UFO and UAP cases: historical accounts

6 well-documented UFO/UAP encounters of the kind “historical account”, 1561 to 1949: 4 explained, 2 disputed. Each case has its sources, timeline and the official or best explanation.

6 cases

• Celestial phenomenon over Nuremberg 14 April 1561 · Nuremberg, Holy Roman Empire (Germany) EXPLAINED
• Celestial phenomenon over Basel 7 August 1566 · Basel, Swiss Confederacy (Switzerland) EXPLAINED
• Utsuro-bune — the "hollow ship" of Hitachi 22 February 1803 · Haratono-hama, Hitachi Province (Ibaraki), Japan EXPLAINED
• Mystery airship wave 17 November 1896 · California to the Midwest and Texas, United States EXPLAINED
• The Sheerness airship — questions in Parliament 14 October 1912 · Sheerness and Queenborough, Isle of Sheppey, Kent DISPUTED
• Clyde Tombaugh’s Las Cruces sighting 20 August 1949 · Las Cruces, New Mexico DISPUTED

By kind of encounter

• Photo and video cases 48
• Military encounters 37
• Close encounters 35
• Aviation encounters 31
• Mass sightings 30
• Tracked object events 22
• Radar-visual cases 20
• Landing and trace cases 17
• Recurring lights 15