Rhodes UFO photographs
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🛸 Case
Contents 4
| Type | Case |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Rhodes photographs, William A. Rhodes |
The Rhodes UFO photographs are two pictures of a disc-like object said to have been taken over Phoenix, Arizona, on 7 July 1947 by amateur astronomer and inventor William A. Rhodes. Published by The Arizona Republic two days later, they were among the first photographs of a "flying saucer" and were studied by the FBI and the Air Force.[1]
The photographs
The 1947 flying saucer wave, which began with Kenneth Arnold's sighting on 24 June, reached Arizona in early July. On 9 July The Arizona Republic ran Rhodes's photographs on its front page under the headline "Mystery 'Whatsis' Photographed over Phoenix", describing an object shaped like the heel of a shoe with a small hole in the centre. Rhodes said he heard a "whoosh", which he took for a jet fighter, grabbed his camera, and photographed the silent object as it made several passes.[1]
Investigation
Files released in 2015 show that the FBI obtained copies of the photographs from the newspaper, and in August 1947 an FBI agent and an Army counterintelligence officer interviewed Rhodes, who gave them his photographs and negatives. The case appeared in the Air Force's first secret UFO study in 1949 and was later listed by Project Blue Book.[1]
Explanations
An Air Force report said four expert photographers had disagreed about whether the photographs could have been taken as described, noted that the negative had been carelessly cut and developed, and recorded that the chemist Irving Langmuir thought the object was paper blown by the wind after a thunderstorm, a conclusion it found "entirely probable".[1] One historian has argued that Rhodes faked the photographs, modelling the object on a newspaper report of a supposed Soviet disc that appeared the same day.[1]
References
- Rhodes UFO photographs — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.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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