Timeline: Three Sightings at the Hanford Nuclear Production Facility

"I threw a brick at it. That put a hole in it and it went down"

This timeline is to help you understand the key events and UFO sightings that happened at the Hanford Nuclear Production Facility during the Second World War (also referred to as the Hanford Project, Hanford Works, Hanford Engineer Works, Hanford Nuclear Reservation, and Hanford Site). It provides specific dates and times wherever possible. All claims are cited in the endnotes.

Key Events During the Second World War

December 7, 1941: The Japanese Military launches a surprise attack on the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The United States declares war against Japan (December 8, 1941) as well as Germany and Italy (December 11, 1941). This begins U.S. involvement in the Second World War.¹

January 19, 1942: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt formally authorizes the United States Manhattan Project which is an effort to produce a nuclear weapon for use during the Second World War.² While initial discussion about the project began on August 2, 1939, they had remained largely theoretical and designed to compete with a perceived effort by Nazi Germany to produce a similar weapon.³ The entry of the United States into the Second World War now accelerates this effort and prepares the project for an offensive intent.

December 21, 1942: Du Pont de Nemours and Company receives a contract to construct and manage the world’s first plutonium production facility. A site is selected in Hanford, Washington with construction beginning in 1943. This site is being constructed to advance the United States Manhattan Project.⁴

This event is significant as there are no known UFO interactions in Washington State prior to the introduction of this nuclear facility. It remains the contention of key figures in the UFO Research Community that there is a relationship between the development of nuclear technology and the presence of UFOs.⁵

October 10, 1943: Construction begins on the world’s first full scale plutonium production reactor at the Hanford Site. The reactor will be called “B Reactor” and represents a substantial advance in the United State’s ability to make fuel for an atomic bomb.⁶