THINK ABOUTIT UFO|ENTITY SIGHTING REPORT
Date: August 6 1952
Sighting Time: 2100
Day/Night: Night
Location: West Lumberton, North Carolina
Urban or Rural: Rural
Hynek Classification: CE-III (Close Encounter III) Close observation with animate beings associated with the object.
Duration:
No. of Object(s): 1
Size of Object(s): 8 ft long, 6 ft high
Distance to Object(s): 10 ft
Shape of Object(s): ball
Color of Object(s): orange
Number of Witnesses: 1
Special Features/Characteristics: a little man 30” high standing beside it
Source: Newspaper source
Summary/Description: Mr. James Allen saw an orange ball coming through the air; it hit his chimney, knocked part of it in, and fell in his back yard. It was 8 ft long, 6 ft high. He walked to within 10 ft; the lights went out, and he saw a little man 30” high standing beside it. “When I asked if it was hurt, it went away in a whiff; then it made a loud noise, like air whistling, and was gone.”
Historical Context: The Great 1952 UFO Wave
The encounter reported by James Allen occurred during the peak of the 1952 UFO wave, a year that remains unparalleled in American history for the sheer volume of high-quality reports. This period saw the famous ‘Washington Flap’ just weeks prior, leading to a heightened state of awareness among both the public and Project Blue Book investigators. The West Lumberton case is particularly significant as it transitions from a simple aerial observation into a CE-III event, reflecting a broader pattern where rural witnesses across the United States began reporting physical interactions with craft and biological entities rather than just distant lights in the sky.
Technical Analysis: Physical Effects and Craft Dynamics
“From a technical standpoint, the West Lumberton object exhibited characteristics common to mid-century ‘ball’ sightings—specifically the vibrant orange hue and the ability to hover at low altitudes. The fact that the object struck a physical structure (the chimney) and caused property damage adds a level of physical evidence often missing from purely visual sightings. Furthermore, the ‘whiff’ or air-whistling sound reported during the rapid ascent is a recurring acoustic signature in UFO literature, often associated with a sudden displacement of air as the craft utilizes a non-conventional propulsion system to exit the immediate vicinity.”
The West Lumberton encounter remains one of the more compelling cases of the 1952 wave due to the direct physical interaction between the craft and the witness’s property. James Allen’s report of a small humanoid entity beside a grounded ‘orange ball’ object provides a rare CE-III data point that includes both structural damage and an audible acoustic signature. As ufology moved toward more scientific documentation in the early 1950s, cases like this served as vital evidence that the phenomenon was not merely atmospheric, but involved tangible objects capable of interacting with the physical world. It continues to stand as a significant chapter in North Carolina’s rich history of unidentified aerial phenomena.
