Trindade Island UFO photographs
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🛸 Case
Contents 5
| Type | Case |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Trindade Island, Trindade photographs, Almiro Baraúna |
The Trindade Island UFO photographs are a series of pictures taken on 16 January 1958 by Brazilian photographer Almiro Baraúna from the deck of the Brazilian Navy ship Almirante Saldanha, off Trindade Island in the South Atlantic. They appear to show a ringed object, like the planet Saturn, flying past the island. The Brazilian Navy found no sign of tampering, while US military reports called them a hoax.[1][2]
The sighting
The Almirante Saldanha was supporting research at the island for the International Geophysical Year and was preparing to leave. Shortly after noon, according to accounts, people on deck saw an object approach from the east, fly towards the island's peak, turn and leave quickly to the north-west. Baraúna, a professional civilian photographer on board, was asked to photograph it and took several pictures amid a crowd of excited witnesses.[1][2]
The negatives
According to the Navy's report, Baraúna removed the film from his camera in front of a naval officer, Commander Carlos Alberto Ferreira Bacellar, developed it in an improvised darkroom in about ten minutes, and showed the negative to him straight away. Navy and civilian experts later examined the negatives, including technicians from the Cruzeiro do Sul aerial photography service, who found no sign of montage. They added, though, that a montage made before the pictures were taken could be neither proved nor disproved.[2]
The photographs were published by Brazilian newspapers on 21 February 1958, after being released by President Juscelino Kubitschek. The Navy's report also described several other sightings by Navy staff on the island in the preceding weeks, and concluded that there were indications that the object existed.[2]
Doubts
Baraúna had previously made trick UFO photographs, once to show how a 1952 Brazilian photo case could have been faked. The US naval attaché in Rio de Janeiro wrote that the affair was probably a publicity stunt by a "crooked photographer", and Project Blue Book concluded that it was probably a hoax, although its records admit it had been unable to obtain copies of the photographs.[2] Neither the ship's captain nor Commander Bacellar saw the object themselves.[2]
Assessment
The case remains disputed. Supporters point to the number of witnesses and the Navy's analysis; critics point to Baraúna's skill with trick photography.[1][2]
References
- UFO sightings in Brazil — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Patrick Gross, "Trindade photographic case, Brazil 1958", UFOs at close sight · ufologie.patrickgross.org · archived copy
This page was last edited on 31 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
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