Aviation research and development has flourished in Dayton, Ohio where large flying fields were established in 1917. First, McCook Field was built at what is now the intersection of State Route 4 and Interstate 75. Then Wilbur Wright Field was established where the present runway is. In 1924, Wright Field was established on land donated by the community.
On July 6, 1931, Wilbur Wright Field was renamed Patterson Field after Lt. Frank Patterson, who had been killed there in the crash of a DH-4 while flight testing the synchronization of machine gun and propeller. In 1948, the fields became one installation, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
Today, as in the early 1900s, Wright-Patterson is where weapon systems of the future are conceived, tested, modified, and tested again until worthy of acceptance as part of the most responsive deterrent force in the history of military aviation.
Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow. That is what Wright-Patterson is all about. A heritage of a legendary past spurs aerospace logisticians, engineers, and scientists in a quest to "keep’em flying", faster, higher, further, and safer than man has ever flown before.
Recently, Wright-Patterson AFB has become very well-known among UFO researchers and theorists due to its connection with the Roswell incident of July 1947. This is one of the locations where wreckage of a crashed UFO or balloon as well as allegedly alien bodies were shipped. Wreckage of the craft was shipped directly to Ohio aboard a B-29 after the mysterious crash and allegedly placed in the infamous Hangar 18.
It is said that the alleged crash of a 100ft in diameter saucer with 16 dead aliens aboard near Aztec, New Mexico in 1948, had its remains sent to Wright-Patterson AFB shortly thereafter.
Wright-Patterson has become a haven for UFO folklore and stories, mainly due to its history with the controversial subject of alien landings, sightings and government conspiracy.
From 1947 to 1969, the Air Force investigated Unidentified Flying Objects under Project Blue Book. The project, headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, was terminated 17 December 1969. Of a total of 12,618 sightings reported to Project Blue Book, 701 remained "unidentified."
Some believe Wright-Patterson to be a top-secret UFO monitoring and research station, which considering its past programs, doesn't seem unreasonable at all.
