Rhodes UFO photographs
Coordinates: 33°29′56″N 112°03′07″W / 33.498843°N 112.051887°W
The Rhodes UFO photos, sometimes called the shoe-heel UFO photos,[2] are two photos that were reportedly taken on July 7, 1947 by amateur astronomer and inventor William Albert Rhodes.[3] The photographs purport to show a disc-like object flying above Phoenix, Arizona. Rhodes's account and photographs were published by the Arizona Republic on July 9.[3]
The photos were included in original saucer witness Kenneth Arnold's 1952 book The Coming of the Saucers, and they were reprinted multiple times by magazine editor and early UFO conspiracy theorist Raymond Palmer.
The Rhodes photographs have been described as among the "first" and "best" purported UFO photographs,[4][5] and the sighting was featured on multiple lists of 'Top UFO Sightings' in Arizona.[6][7][8] Air Force files categorized the Rhodes Photos as a "possible hoax".[9]
1947 flying disc craze |
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Background[]
On June 24, 1947, civilian pilot Kenneth Arnold reported a sighting of 'flying discs'. By June 27, disc sightings were being reported nation-wide.[10]
Disc photographs[]
On July 9, 1947, the Arizona Republic front page featured the photographs along the headline "Mystery 'Whatsis' Photographed over Phoenix".[3]
The accompanying news article recounted that Rhodes was walking to his home workshop when he heard a heard "whoosh" he believed to be from a P-80 jet propelled plane.[3] Grabbing a camera, Rhodes snapped two photos.[3] Rhodes noted that after the initial "whoosh", the object was completely silent.[3] Rhodes claimed that the object made three passes over his home and left two trails of vapor.[3]
The Republic characterized the object depicted in the photographs as "the shape of a heel of a shoe, with a small hole in the center".[3] Rhodes was described as an amateur radio operator and a model airplane manufacturer who was lauded in the model aircraft community for advances in radio controlled model aircraft.[3]
Investigation[]
On July 8, the FBI obtained copies of the photographs from the editors of the Arizona Republic. On August 9, Rhodes was interviewed by Special Agent Brower of the FBI and George Fugate, Jr. of the Army's Counter Intelligence Corps at Hamilton Field.[11] Rhodes gave the men photographs and negatives.[11]
In early 1948, Rhodes was invited to travel to Dayton, Ohio to meet with members of Air Material Command.[11] After Rhodes was forced to decline the invitation, two Air Material officers visited Rhodes in Phoenix.[11]
Files released online in 2015 detailed the official investigation into Rhodes and his photographs.[12]
Reactions[]
In Spring 1948, the inaugural issue of Fate Magazine discussed the Arnold sighting, in addition to a story on the Rhodes photographs, reprinting the photographs and text from the Arizona Republic.[13][14] Editor Raymond Palmer questioned whether the pictures had been censored: "Here was proof positive that these objects were not just 'spots before the eyes', but actually flying disks of an aeronautical design unrecognizable by experts. Those pictures never reached any other newspapers! Why? The were the hottest news in the world on July 9. ... Was it because the flying disks were a military secret?"[13] Palmer's Fate Magazine would later be called "the bible" of the flying disc craze.[15]
The Shaver Mystery fanzine cited Rhodes's experience as evidence for the claims of Richard Sharpe Shaver, reprinting the Fate Magazine piece. [16]
Drawings of the Rhodes photos were reportedly shared with Kenneth Arnold by AAF officers Brown and Davidson during their investigation into the Maury Island Incident. In his 1952 book The Coming of the Saucers, Arnold claimed that Brown and Davidson told him they considered the pictures "to be authentic."[17][9]
In 1952, the Arizona Republic published an account from a reporter who claimed to have seen a flying disc in 1947 near White Sands – that witness reported "Later, after moving to Phoenix, I was startled to see the tremendous likeness between what I had seen and the object photographed by William A. Rhodes."[18] The report noted that the prints and negatives were given to federal agents and never returned.[18]
In 1958, Raymond Palmer again reprinted the photos and story, this time in Flying Saucers magazine.[11] Palmer claimed that "All the copies of this paper were seized by the army, in a house-to-house canvass and all plates from the newspaper, plus the photo negatives and prints".[11] The Republic debunked this claim, explaining no such seizure occurred and that in 1947, circulation of the three editions of July 9 had totaled 64,000 copies.[11] The paper explained that Rhodes had voluntarily turned over pictures to government authorities.[11] In 1967, historian Ted Bloecher debunked Palmer's claim as "completely without any basis in fact".[9] Another commentator observed that Palmer's false claim of a house-to-house search "may have sold a lot of magazines but that number couldn't have matched the amount of laughs the claim got in the newsroom of the Republic... There was no way authorities were going to play paperboy in reverse".[19]
In 1998, William Rhodes gave an interview with Phoenix FOX affiliate KSAZ-TV about the photographs he had taken 51 years prior.[4][5] The Rhodes photos continued to be discussed by UFO enthusiasts into the 21st century.[20][21]
Explanation[]
Scientist Irving Langmuir argued the photos depicted paper being blown in the wind.[22] On the same day as Rhode's supposed sighting, it was reported that the FBI was investigating a letter received by the Los Angeles Examiner which claimed the discs were atomic-powered Russian craft. The Examiner turned the letter over to authorities after a recommendation by a "top-flight atomic scientist" who appraised the letter as "not all nonsense". [23][24]
One historian argues Rhodes faked his photographs based on the Russian craft story: "The similarities between the images in the Rhodes' photographs and the touted Russian 'invention' are fairly marked. The alleged Russian device was said to be only 18 inches thick and of a kidney-shape outline with the pilot in a prone position while guiding its flight. Generally, this matches Rhodes' U-shaped object with the 'nonprotruding' canopy, thus was it an accident that the first' good saucer photo compared so well with the supposed Communist design? This could confirm the Russian rumor, or it could mean Rhodes faked his story and pictures since the Soviet missive saw print the same day as the claimed Phoenix UFO flyby".[25]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ "9 Jul 1947, p. 1 – Arizona Republic at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com.
- ^ Pilkington, Mark (2010). Mirage Men: A Journey into Disinformation, Paranoia and UFOs. Little, Brown Book Group. ISBN 9781849012409 – via Google Books.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i "9 Jul 1947, p. 1 – Arizona Republic at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Did a UFO crash in the valley?". 25 January 2016.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Did a UFO crash in the valley?" – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ "World UFO Day: Arizona's top 5 UFO sightings".
- ^ "Alien AZ: Arizona's Top Three Extraterrestrial Events". February 2018.
- ^ "Congress UFO hearing legitimizes sightings in Arizona, researchers say".
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Bloecher, Ted (May 3, 1967). "Report on the UFO Wave of 1947" – via Google Books.
- ^ "Speedy "Flying Saucers" Now Being Reported Throughout United States, 27 Jun 1947, 1 - The Times-News at Newspapers.com". The Times-News. 27 June 1947. p. 1.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h "18 Nov 1958, p. 6 – Arizona Republic at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com.
- ^ Velzer, Ryan Van. "If U.S. government is tracking UFO sightings, Arizona is fertile ground". The Arizona Republic.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "FATE Magazine v01n01 Spring 1948". May 3, 1948 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Gulyas, Aaron John (25 January 2016). Conspiracy Theories: The Roots, Themes and Propagation of Paranoid Political and Cultural Narratives. ISBN 9780786497263.
- ^ "The Postwar Invasion".
- ^ Shaver Mystery Magazine, Vol II No. 1 (1948)
- ^ Kenneth Arnold, "The Coming of the Saucers" p.52"
- ^ Jump up to: a b "2 Aug 1952, p. 1 – Arizona Republic at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com.
- ^ Gross, Loren E., (1988) UFOs: A History, Vol 1
- ^ Randle, Kevin D. (2013). Alien Mysteries, Conspiracies and Cover-Ups. Visible Ink Press. ISBN 9781578594665 – via Google Books.
- ^ Shaw, Jazz (March 25, 2022). "Long Before the Phoenix Lights There Was "Incident 40"". The Debrief.
- ^ Swords, Michael D. (October 4, 2012). UFOs and Government: A Historical Inquiry. Anomalist Books, LLC. ISBN 9781933665580 – via Google Books.
- ^ "The San Francisco Examiner 07 Jul 1947, page 2".
- ^ "Deseret News 07 Jul 1947, page 1".
- ^ Gross, Loren (1988) UFOs: A History, vol 1
External links[]
- Documentation from the National Archives on the Rhodes incident
- 1947 in Arizona
- 1947 works
- 1947 in art
- July 1947 events in the United States
- Black-and-white photographs
- History of Phoenix, Arizona
- Photographs of the United States
- UFO sightings in the United States
- 1940s photographs
- 1947 flying disc craze
- Hoaxes in the United States