Rhodes UFO photographs

Coordinates: 33°29′56″N 112°03′07″W / 33.498843°N 112.051887°W / 33.498843; -112.051887
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33°29′56″N 112°03′07″W / 33.498843°N 112.051887°W / 33.498843; -112.051887

The Rhodes UFO photographs[1]

The Rhodes UFO photographs, sometimes called the shoe-heel UFO photographs,[2] purport to show a disc-like object flying above Phoenix, Arizona, United States.[1] The two photographs were reportedly taken on July 7, 1947, by amateur astronomer and inventor William Albert Rhodes. They were printed in The Arizona Republic newspaper on July 9, along with Rhodes's account of his sighting of the object.[1] Published near the end of the 1947 flying disc craze, the photographs were among the first showing an unidentified flying object.[3] They continue to be discussed in the media into the 21st century.[4][5][6]

1947 flying disc craze
Headline from July 6, 1947
Events

Background[edit]

Main articles: Kenneth Arnold UFO sighting and 1947 flying disc craze

On June 24, 1947, civilian pilot Kenneth Arnold reported that he had seen nine objects flying over Washington State. From his description of the objects, the press coined the term flying saucers. By June 27, airborne objects were being reported nationwide.[7] Sightings began occurring in Arizona by the second week of July. The Arizona Republic published a story on July 7 about Tempe resident Francis Howell, who reported seeing a "circular object about two feet [60 cm] in diameter floating to the earth" near his home. According to Howell, when he approached the object, it "slowly went into the air at a 45-degree angle headed in the direction of Phoenix".[8] On July 8, the same newspaper reported on two "silvery balls" in the skies north of Phoenix. The paper stated that the objects were "estimated to be about twice as large as an airplane".[9]

Publication[edit]

On July 9, 1947, the front page of The Arizona Republic featured Rhodes's photographs under the headline "Mystery 'Whatsis' Photographed over Phoenix". The newspaper characterized the object depicted in the photographs as "the shape of a heel of a shoe, with a small hole in the center". The accompanying article described Rhodes as an amateur radio operator and a model airplane manufacturer, who was lauded in the model aircraft community for advances in radio control. The newspaper recounted that Rhodes was walking to his home workshop when he heard a loud "whoosh". He believed that it was from a jet-propelled Lockheed P-80. Rhodes grabbed a camera and snapped two photographs. He noted that after the initial "whoosh", the object was completely silent, and said that the object made three passes over his home and left two trails of vapor.[1]

Investigation[edit]

On July 12, Kenneth Arnold drew a crescent shape to describe the disc he claimed to have witnessed.[10]

Files released in 2015 detail the official investigation into Rhodes and his photographs.[11] On July 8, the FBI obtained copies of the photographs from the managing editor of The Arizona Republic.[12][13] On August 29, Rhodes was interviewed by Special Agent Brower of the FBI and George Fugate Jr. of the Army's Counterintelligence Corps at Hamilton Field.[14][15] Rhodes gave the men photographs and negatives.[12][14] Two Air Materiel Command officers visited Rhodes in Phoenix.[14][16]

In 1949, the Air Force internally published its first top secret study of UFOs, titled Analysis of Flying Object Incidents in the United States. The report included the Rhodes photographs.[12] Project Blue Book designated the case "Incident 40".[17]

Explanations[edit]

Windblown debris[edit]

The Air Force stated in a report that it had consulted four "expert photographers" about the Rhodes photographs, and they had "disagree[d] with each other as to the possibility of filming such an occurrence under the conditions described. Considering that the object was grey as described, and at a distance of 2000 feet [600 m], it seems unlikely that it would appear pure black on the print." The report also noted that Rhodes referred to himself as chief of staff of a laboratory, the specialties of which included photography; "Yet, the negative was carelessly cut and faultily developed. It is covered with streaks and over a period of six months, has faded very noticeably." Additionally, an agent had discovered that the science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, which of late had been including UFO reports submitted by readers, had printed a letter from Rhodes, in which he asked the magazine for advice on suing the government to get back his photographs and negatives. However, Rhodes had never made a request to the government for their return. As well, the report noted, Rhodes's "character and business affiliations are presently under investigation". Finally, the report stated that "Dr. Irving Langmuir studied subject photographs, and after learning of the prior passage of a thunderstorm, discounted the photographed object as being merely paper swept up by the winds. ... In view of the apparent character of the witness, the conclusion by Dr. Langmuir seems entirely probable."[18]

The Air Force concluded that the photographed object was likely windblown debris.[18]

Langmuir later recalled: "It looked to me like a piece of tar paper when I first saw it and the two photographs showed the thing in entirely different shapes. ... It was taken about fifteen or twenty minutes after a violent thunderstorm out in Ohio. Well, what's more natural than some piece of tar paper picked up by a little miniature twister and being carried a few thousand feet up into the clouds and it was coming down, that's all. ... 'But it was going at an enormous speed.' Of course the man who saw it didn't have the vaguest idea of how far away it was. That's the trouble. If you see something that's up in the sky, a light or any kind of an object, you haven't the vaguest idea of how big it is. You can guess anything you like about the speed. You ask people how big the moon is. Some say it is as big as your fist, or as big as a baseball. Some say as big as a house. Well, how big is it really? You can't tell by looking at it."[19]

Hoax[edit]

On the same day that Rhodes claimed to have taken his photographs, it was reported that the FBI was investigating a letter received by the Los Angeles Examiner, asserting that the flying discs that had been widely sighted were atomic-powered Soviet craft. The newspaper had consulted a "top-flight atomic scientist", who assessed the letter as "not all nonsense", and recommended that it be turned over to authorities.[20][21]

One historian argues that Rhodes faked his photographs, using the story of the Soviet craft as a model: "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 [46 cm] 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".[22]

Enduring interest[edit]

In 1950, writer Gerald Heard authored "The Riddle of the Flying Saucers" which discussed the Rhodes case.[23] 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."[24] In 1998, William Rhodes gave an interview with Phoenix FOX affiliate KSAZ-TV about the photographs he had taken 51 years prior.[3] The Rhodes photos continued to be discussed by Arizona media into the 21st century.[6][5]

In Ray Palmer's conspiracy theories[edit]

Raymond A. Palmer, later dubbed "The Man Who Invented Flying Saucers"

Over the next eleven years, what began as a one-day local news story was transformed into a sweeping conspiracy theory by professional sensationalist Raymond Palmer.

Hollow Earth claims[edit]

Nearly a year before the Flying disc craze of 1947, Raymond Palmer's Amazing Stories featured disc-shaped alien spacecraft as part of the magazine's coverage of The Shaver Mystery.

Since taking over as editor for Amazing Stories magazine in 1938, Ray Palmer had published stories of visitors from both Outer Space and Inner Earth.[25] Palmer's Fate Magazine would later be called "the bible" of the flying disc craze.[26]

In 1945, Palmer published "I Remember Lemuria", a lurid, supposedly-true story of a subterranean alien menace by author Richard Shaver, a "paranoid schizophrenic welder and painter from Wisconsin, who worked at the Ford Motor Company."[25]

Thereafter, Palmer's publications interpreted UFO reports as proof of Shaver's claims. Historian Loren Gross writes:"As early as 1946 Palmer published UFO reports in the letters to the editor column of the science fiction pulp Amazing Stories. The Wisconsin editor even suggested a conspiracy of silence concerning the UFO mystery long before the expression "flying saucers" was even coined."[27] In October 1947, Amazing Stories quoted Shaver: "The discs can be a space invasion, a secret new army plane — or a scouting trip by an enemy country...OR, they can be Shaver's space ships, taking off and landing regularly on earth for centuries past, and seen today as they have always been — as a mystery. They could be leaving earth with cargos of wonder-mech that to us would mean emancipation from a great many of our worst troubles— and we'll never see those cargos...I predict that nothing more will be seen, and the truth of what the strange disc ships really are will never be disclosed to the common people. We just don't count to the people who do know about such things. It isn't necessary to tell us anything."[28][29] In 1948, the Shaver Mystery Magazine cited Palmer's conspiracy theories about the Rhodes photos experience as further proof of Shaver's claims.[30][better source needed]

Government cover-up claims[edit]

In Spring 1948, Ray Palmer reprinted the Rhodes photographs in the inaugural issue of his new Fate Magazine, along with the original text from the Arizona Republic.[31][32] 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? They were the hottest news in the world on July 9. ... Was it because the flying disks were a military secret?"[31][14] In 1952, Palmer again reprinted the Rhodes photographs, this time in a privately-published book, The Coming of the Saucers, written in collaboration with original disc witness Kenneth Arnold.[33]

On November 18, 1958, Arizona Republic columnist Don Dedera mocked Palmer for his claims that "all the copies of [the 1947 newspaper showing the Rhodes photos] were seized by the army, in a house-to-house canvass and all plates from the newspaper, plus the photo negatives and prints".[14] Dedera explained no such seizure had ever occurred and that in 1947, circulation of the three editions of July 9 had totaled 64,000 copies—far beyond the number that could be feasibly seized.[14] The paper explained that Rhodes had voluntarily turned over the pictures to government authorities.[14] Another commentator, writing in 1988, 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".[22]

Lasting influence[edit]

Biographer Fred Nadis argues that "Palmer's greatest impact has been in the murky world of conspiracy theory... As an early impresario of the paranormal, Palmer shares in much of the credit or the blame for the development of contemporary conspiracy theory culture, particularly its cross-fertilization with popular culture and entertainment. Two sturdy branches of conspiracy theory have Palmer's fingerprints all over them: the flying saucer community's certainty of a governmental cover-up, and the hollow earth tradition"[34] Nadis "specifically highlights the tales of the supposed underground base near Dulce, New Mexico, as a prominent inheritor of the Shaver/Palmer tradition, characterizing Paul Bennewitz's stories of alien experimentation as 'a dero scene right out of a Shaver story.'"[35]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Robert C. Hanika (9 Jul 1947). "Mystery 'Whatsis' Photographed Over Phoenix". Newspapers.com. Arizona Republic. p. 1.
  2. ^ Pilkington, Mark (2010). Mirage Men: A Journey into Disinformation, Paranoia and UFOs. Little, Brown Book Group. ISBN 9781849012409 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ a b "Did a UFO crash in the valley?". Fox 10 Phoenix.com. 25 January 2016.
  4. ^ "World UFO Day: Arizona's top 5 UFO sightings". KPNX 12 News Phoenix. 2 July 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Alien AZ: Arizona's Top Three Extraterrestrial Events". Phoenix Magazine. February 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Congress UFO hearing legitimizes sightings in Arizona, researchers say". KTVK News. 18 May 2022.
  7. ^ "Speedy "Flying Saucers" Now Being Reported Throughout United States". The Times-News. 27 June 1947. p. 1.
  8. ^ "Tempeans See 'Disc'". Arizona Republic. 7 Jul 1947. p. 1.
  9. ^ "Airborne Objects Watched". Arizona Republic. 8 Jul 1947. p. 1.
  10. ^ "14". Mirage Men. [Rhodes's] photographs were printed in a local newspaper and drew the attention of the FBI, who obtained his negatives and declared them to be genuine photographs, though of what, we don't know. Perhaps it was the heel of a shoe, but it's a decent match to Arnold's own initial sketch of what he saw on 24 June, with a rounded front and straight sides meeting at a convex end.
  11. ^ Velzer, Ryan Van (23 January 2015). "If U.S. government is tracking UFO sightings, Arizona is fertile ground". The Arizona Republic.
  12. ^ a b c Pilkington, Mark (29 July 2010). Mirage Men: A Journey into Disinformation, Paranoia and UFOs. Little, Brown Book. ISBN 9781849012409.
  13. ^ Aldrich, Lynn C. (July 14, 1947). "Unidentifiable objects, Williams Field; Chandler, Arizona" (Memorandum). Project Blue Book Archive. NARA-PBB1-922. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved May 16, 2013.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g Don Dedera (18 Nov 1958). "Good Morning!". Newspapers.com. Arizona Republic. p. 6.
  15. ^ "Phoenix, Arizona, July 1947 - Incident Number: 40, Fold3 File #9669045". NARA. September 2, 1947.
  16. ^ "Phoenix, Arizona, July 1947 - Incident Number: 40, Fold3 File #9669029". NARA. 1947.
  17. ^ "National Archives NextGen Catalog".
  18. ^ a b Condon, Edward Uhler (1969). "Final Report of the Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects".
  19. ^ Langmuir, Irving (December 18, 1953), Pathological Science (Colloquium at The Knolls Research Laboratory), General Electric Laboratories, report No. 68-C-035, April 1968 (transcription by R.N. Hall)
  20. ^ "Science Still At Loss Over Disc Mystery". The San Francisco Examiner. 7 July 1947. p. 2.
  21. ^ "FBI Probes 'Deadly Russ Clouds' Report". Deseret News. 7 Jul 1947. p. 1.
  22. ^ a b Gross, Loren E., (1988) UFOs: A History, Vol 1
  23. ^ Heard, Gerald (1950). The Riddle of the Flying Saucers: Is Another World Watching?. Carroll & Nicholson.
  24. ^ "Republic Reporter Says He Saw 'Whatsits' In '47". Newspapers.com. Arizona Republic. 2 Aug 1952. p. 1.
  25. ^ a b Mirage Men, Ch. 3
  26. ^ "The Postwar Invasion". American Heritage. Vol. 45, no. 8. December 1994.
  27. ^ Gross (1980) p7
  28. ^ "Amazing Stories v21n10 (1947 10) (cape1736)". October 1947 – via Internet Archive.
  29. ^ Toronto, Richard (April 25, 2013). War over Lemuria: Richard Shaver, Ray Palmer and the Strangest Chapter of 1940s Science Fiction. McFarland. ISBN 9780786473076 – via Google Books.
  30. ^ "The Mystery of the Flying Discs" (PDF). Shaver Mystery Magazine. II (1): 26. 1948.
  31. ^ a b "The Mystery of the Flying Disks". Fate Magazine. I (1): 18–48. 3 May 1948.
  32. ^ Gulyas, Aaron John (25 January 2016). Conspiracy Theories: The Roots, Themes and Propagation of Paranoid Political and Cultural Narratives. McFarland. ISBN 9780786497263.
  33. ^ Palmer, Ray; Arnold, Kenneth (1952). The Coming of the Saucers. p. 52.
  34. ^ Nadis, The Man From Mars, pg 257
  35. ^ Gulyas, Conspiracy Theories, Ch. 5

External links[edit]

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