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Project Blue Book file: Trinidade Island, 16 Jan 1958

USAF via The Black Vault · 54 pages · text from the file's own layer

This Project Blue Book file from the USAF, released via The Black Vault, covers the 16 January 1958 sighting at Trindade Island. Its record card says two Rio de Janeiro newspapers printed photos of an alleged flying saucer taken from a Brazilian naval ship, and that ONI analysis judged them a hoax. The file also holds galley proofs from a Menzel book arguing the Barauna photographs were faked, plus APRO Bulletin and NICAP material.

  • p. 6 …The Navy has no connection with the case, and its only connection with the occur- rence…
  • p. 9 …In spite of the widespread and increasing skepticism, the weekly mag:1zine 0 Cruzeiro used the…
  • p. 11 …With the type of camera used, the operation would have heen sim- ple. He was aga…
  • p. 12 …The Navy's study of the negatives reveaJed several dubious fea- tures. The details of the…
  • p. 18 …The UAO Photos Authent ica ted by the Brazilian Navy In early January, 1958, the ship…
  • p. 19 …time-intervals I had used to photograph t he object, three Navy officers with chronometers registered…
  • p. 20 …by a Navy telegraphist-scrgeant- also at Trindade. A box camera had been used. I was…
  • p. 21 …S., in a military report in - forming the Navy about sightings made in that country. A…
  • p. 26 …The shutter speed of 1/ 25 second used would be enough to "stop" an object goi…
  • p. 28 …The negatives are normal." This wrilten photo lab report was signed and sent to the Navy…
  • p. 30 …He told us a startling story. He said that the first UAO sightings over Fernando No…
  • p. 44 …Brazilian Navy, In fact they made n) 1. False, 2. False, 3. Becc.use 1 & 2…
  • p. 52 …b) Rankow, as a member of NICAP,will use any information presented to him to discredit…
ROB MERCERComments:
a) No record of anyone "seeing" the objects.
b) Fhotos hazy ,r.!.th no detail.
c) Der>.ied by Brazilian NaVtJ. Wnat officials???
d) No record of Radar reports o
(If there ~rere subsequent reports ho,", do they lmo,", these ,,-ere the same object s?)
e) "IF" his case is based on t.l-tese supccositions then it surely falls apart, because
1. The photos ,rere not genuine.. 2. Noone sat-' the UFO that Barauna supposedly
photographed.
f) 1'ne photos ,';ere never a "Top Secret" subject, having been !'eleased to the press
almost :ilnmediatelyo (?) And if "top sec!'et" surely this must be called a breach
° of security etc ••••
g) Some reason for authenticity, and if so m3.ny~ople "smr" it, name mIE.
h) Developed in the dark room ,~"1E , by Bara=a o L ,:,:/",- " t ,:" ,.', -]
i) The photos ~rere sub.'Ili.tted but analysis revealed then to be fakes.
j) No longer utop secret II, only HOfficial use OI'..ly1l 0 cons"t-itu-ae
k) Note the official Brazilian Navy announc=ent " The photographs do not -f,fliiy{y,1
sufficient proof ••••••
1) ~~1hat witnesses~. 0 0 CI
m) The photos ,Jere never "authenticated"by the
efforts to supress t he;n.
Brazilian Navy, In fact they made
n) 1. False, 2. False, 3. Becc.use 1 & 2 are false, 4. False 5. True, and the Navy knew
they ,.;ere not real, 6. Fal-ee, probahly being analyized and the ship didn't get to
Barzil fer almost a month9 Y'. (?) s. (?)
0) Poor Brazjl;an Navy, Just like the USAF, vr.!.thholdillg the "facts" ••••• (THEY say)
p) This doesn't say anyt'Jing about the Saldahana photoso Only that UFO's exist, and they
do. We get about 500 a year, illcluding photoso Unfortunately none of the UFO
reports are "flying Saucers" from Outer Space.
q) This conflicts ,·lit.h 0'..lT iP..formationo
rs) 1'nis is the "theodolite" observation . Uno checked Venus??? Three hours.
) Again, no duration and no "feel" for alt itude oo 1/2 degree of a1:'C'????
t) Almosc ALL esential elements (facts) for a'1alysis missing. Duration, Illaml er of
disappearance, fli!Sht path, manuverability» hao'r ,-!as the altitude determined, etc ••
u) Sea gull •• • Meteor??? Ale a11nost anything form this limited data.
v) 1'ne one of a fe'-T seconds could be anything, r eflection, li@1t, meteor •• '••
The ~eceng pzs some of the characteristics of a star or planet but no positional
data is included. Also missing is the I/x data etc etc~ ••
w) Sounds like the same as the other sightir.g . Venus again? And there are numer011s
reasons for the transmitter to go dead~ Like t he b3.ttery or mal1'unetion of any
number of parts. \'las the receiver ,lOrking????
March 1960
a) Disagrees t-r.!.th the ONI Report.
b) NaVtJ didn't say so publicly.
c) Officie.l Navy statement. No officer or sailor from the NE 'Almirante Saldaharz'
witnessed the event.
d) Big deal ••• o IVs not a balloon,
not a plane, not a planet, not a
f~-llg saucer (sorry) •••
tray 1960
or missile~
sundog, not It IS also not a cloud, not a meteor,
the kitchen sink, and not even a
a) Note that Hopf isn't saying a thing, since he didn't a.~alize the nega~~ves.
b) Stated that pictures ~Tere taken, did not, that Saucer "!as si@1ted or that photos
were genuine. ." '/
e
c) Navy says that there is not enough evid~nce. Does t his say they are real?
) Keyhoe tactic, emitting names ar>.d lending "e.;.,.n to authenticity 0
f) Goody, one 1llO!'e saucer "believe!''', unless he is being- quoted out of context •••
g). Still not saying that the photos ~Tere genuine.
h) What ,.r...nesees , a.'1d t-That proof •••
i) Some set-up. One of the few who "claim"vto have observed the object helped develpp
the fDm;;
, , '

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