1952 - Pittsburg, Kansas

This case involves a single circle discovered in a grassy field on August 25, 1952, where a UFO was reported to have come down. At the time, the US government had just launched Project Blue Book, a systematic investigation of the UFO phenomenon, and as part of the programme, researched this case.

Pictured to the right are two of the many dozens of pages on the case, from the government's files. These pages were not for publication and have been released only recently. Though difficult to read, these pages detail the grass circle, as reported by a member of the public and investigated by officials.

In the account we read,

"The grass under the exact location was pressed down and formed a round 60' diameter impression, with the grass in a recognisable concentric pattern ... the vegetation was laid down in concentric circles."

The grass is described as being long, and the observation that there were concentric circles probably refers to the nature of the lay. It is presumed this was a geometric circle.

The Hynek UFO Report

In 1977, details of this case were placed in the public domain for the first time, with the publication of The Hynek UFO Report, written by J Allen Hynek, scientific advisor to Project Blue Book.

This book details Project Blue Book and discusses a number of cases including the Pittsburg events. With additional detail, Hynek recounts the story outlined above, an excerpt of which is shown right. It is interesting that he states matted grass was verified by several witnesses.

Most of the account ignores the grass circle and focuses on the UFO report, which is in keeping with the view at the time that these types of circles were merely "traces" of more important events.

 

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Press coverage

This event was covered by the local media. Again, the circle itself is mentioned incidentally, the brief detail limited to,

"The backwash from the [UFO] whipped the grass and reeds on the ground"

It goes on to state (erroneously, in view of the above papers) that investigators could find no evidence of the marking, suggesting that it may have been obliterated by rain.

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