The National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (Nicap)

# Approved For Release 2001/04/02 : CIA-RDP81R00560R000100010001-0

# Photographic Cases (Continued)

33. Fujisawa City, Japan. Taken by Shinichi Takeda near Enoshima Miami Beach at 11:28 a.m. Object reportedly also seen by his sister, who called his attention to it. UFO silvery in color, giving off brilliant glow at est. altitude of 3000-4000 feet, travelling N to S. When overhead, object made 90 degree left turn, sped up, and disappeared in clouds. A few minutes later 15 people on the beach reported a similar object which passed over at high speed. No camera data available. Picture shows capsule-shaped image near bank of cumulus clouds.

34. Leadford Photo, Calif. During the November 1957 'flap" [see Section XI; Chronology] Mr. Edwin G. Leadford, Anaheim, California, noticed an object giving off a reddish glow as he was driving home at about 12:10 a.m. Using his Graphic camera, at f/4.5 and 1/10, Mr. Leadford photographed the UFO. The picture was printed widely as a United Press telephoto, showing an irregular elongated mass with a round projection on the top near one end. The Garden Grove Daily News reported receiving about a dozen calls from people who had seen UFOs in the same area that night. Mr. Leadford reported on November 8 that he had turned the photograph over to the Air Force for analysis. (San Diego Union, November 9, 1957).

35. Holloman AFB, N.M., photo taken by welfare nurse who filled out NICAP report form on sighting. (She requested anonymity, but her name has been published elsewhere). Photo shows white elongated object, huge in size, which did not move during the sighting. The color, size and lack of movement make it impossible to distinguish from a cloud, which it resembles. Conclusion: Probably a cloud.

36. S. S. Ramsey Photo. Mr. T. Fogl, while radio officer of the S.S. Ramsey, off the coast of California, about 2:30 p.m., was alerted by the Second Officer to come see a disc. According to the story, he grabbed his Yashica C reflex camera and ran to the bridge. A thick circular object with a flat dome and a pulsating red light on the bottom was visible in the distance. As it neared, Mr. Fogl managed a photograph before the UFO accelerated rapidly and disappeared toward the coast. (See "Flying Saucer Review", Jan.-Feb., 1959, for picture and story). NICAP's Adviser in England was unable to contact Mr. Fogl, and nothing is known of his character.

37. Ralph Benn, Los Angeles, Calif., was alerted to some UFOs by his eight year old son at about 3:00 p.m. He ran outside, but the objects were gone. Judging by the reaction of the children, he figured they had seen something unusual, so he ran back to the house and got his 8 mm movie camera equipped with 3 power telephoto lens. Other people close by gathered to watch, as they scanned the sky. Suddenly Mr. Benn noticed six objects in formation, moving slowly west in the northern sky. They were oval in shape and dull white. He obtained about 6-1/2 feet of Kodachrome film, using a Keystone Capri camera. The telephoto lens was an Elgeet 1-1/2 inch f/3.5 fixed-focus. Four sizeable, but undefined, blobs of light show up on the film. Mr. Benn allowed the Air Force to develop his film, was promised and received a 16 mm enlargement copy. Later, the original film was returned and the UFOs were (according to the Air Force) identified as balloons. In his description of the case (SAUCERS, Spring 1958) Max B. Miller states: "We have carefully examined Ralph Benn's original film as returned by the Air Force. A pronounced number of very noticeable horizontal 'streaks' were prevalent on the UFO portion, and it was found that about three splices were made in the UFO sequence, unknown to Mr. Benn. Apparently no quantity of film is missing, and examination indicates that only two or three frames were taken out at the points of splice..." Other passes of the UFOs were witnessed by a number of people, in formations including a three-quarter circle, grouped pairs, and a straight line. In his account, Mr. Benn states: "Who ever heard of planets, meteors or balloons flying in formation and traversing the sky three times from horizon to horizon--and maintaining a different formation pattern with each pass?"

38. Cliff DeLacey, Hawaii. According to the Vallejo (Calif.) Times Herald of January 19, 1958, Mr. DeLacey obtained about 90 seconds of 8 mm color film showing some of nine UFOs which were sighted about 4:00 p.m. The maneuvers of the round UFOs, treetops and other reference points, reportedly were recorded. Mr. DeLacey did not answer queries from NICAP or

from Max B. Miller, former NICAP photographic advise

39. Trindade Isle, Brazil. NICAP has carefully studied prints (but not the negatives) of the four successful exposures of a Saturn-shaped UFO, the verbal accounts and relevant facts. The UFO was sighted about noon January 16, 1958, from the deck of the Brazilian IGY ship "Almirante Saldanha" by a retired Brazilian Air Force officer, Capt. Jose Teobaldo Viegas, and Amilar Vieira Filho, chief of a group of submarine explorers on board. They alerted Almiro Barauna, an expert submarine photographer, who managed to take four successful pictures. Many other officers and men, attracted by the commotion, soon witnessed the UFO, including Capt.-Lt. Homero Ribeiro, ship's dentist. Capt. Viegas later stated: "The First view was that of a disc shining with a phosphorescent glow, which--even in daylight--appeared to be brighter than the moon. The object was about the apparent size of the full moon. As it followed its path across the sky, changing to a tilted position, its real shape was clearly outlined against the sky: that of a flattened sphere encircled, at the equator, by a large ring or platform."

December 21, 1962; Venezuela (Case 64)

In his 1963 book ("The World of Flying Saucers"), Dr. Donald H. Menzel labels the Trindade photographs a hoax. His main reason appears to be that Mr. Barauna is a skilled photographer capable of faking a picture, and in fact, Dr. Menzel says, once did produce a fake "flying saucer" to illustrate an article. Further, Dr. Menzel notes, several of the witnesses, including Barauna were members of the same submarine explorers group on board ship (implying complicity in a hoax). However, other witnesses were not members of the explorer's group and there is no evidence of fakery in the case.

On February 25, 1958 (four days after the pictures were first publicized by the Brazilian press) United Press reported from Rio de Janeiro that the Brazilian Navy Ministry vouched for the Trindade photographs. The report went on: "Navy Minister Adm. Antonio Alves Camara said after meeting with President Juscelino Kubitschek in the summer Presidential Palace at Petropolis, that he also vouched personally for the authenticity of the pictures." This would be a curious statement to make to newsmen if the Navy had any suspicion of a hoax.

The pictures and negatives were analyzed by both the Navy Photo Reconnaissance Laboratory and the Cruzeiro do Sul Aerophotogrammetric Service, both agreeing the pictures were authentic. The latter's written conclusion stated: "It was established that no photographic tricks are involved. The negatives are normal."

Approved For Release 2001/04/02 : CIA-RDP81R00560R000100010001-0