Project Blue Book Case #1707. On July 28, 1952, an unidentified object was observed over McGuire Air Force Base in central New Jersey — one of the Military Air Transport Service's primary East Coast hubs. McGuire handled the movement of personnel and cargo to Europe and the Middle East, with a constant stream of transport aircraft departing and arriving.
July 28, 1952, was during the peak week of the great wave — the day after the second Washington, D.C., radar events had generated the Pentagon's largest press conference since World War II. The entire military was on heightened alert for unusual aerial activity, and McGuire — with its dense traffic and comprehensive monitoring — was watching closely.
Fort Dix, the Army's massive training center, was immediately adjacent to McGuire, adding ground force activity and additional observer populations. The combined McGuire-Fort Dix complex was one of the largest military installations on the East Coast.
The object did not match any of the diverse transport aircraft that cycled through McGuire. The case was classified "Unknown."