Within Rhodes Photos
Why Did Officials Study the Rhodes Photos?
Federal interest in the Rhodes photographs gave the case unusual weight, but the surviving record still leaves the object unidentified and disputed.
On this page
- FBI and Army Counterintelligence involvement
- Air Materiel Command and early Air Force UFO files
- Why official attention did not settle the case
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Introduction
The Rhodes photographs became more than a local Phoenix curiosity because federal agencies moved unusually quickly to collect and examine them. Within days of their publication in July 1947, copies had reached the FBI and Army Counterintelligence personnel, and the images were later absorbed into the earliest Air Force UFO case files. That official attention gave the photographs a status many other early “flying saucer” stories never achieved. Yet the surviving records also show a pattern that would become familiar in later UFO history: investigators treated the case as potentially important while simultaneously doubting the witness and considering mundane explanations. The result was not confirmation, but a long-running unresolved file that sat awkwardly between serious inquiry and suspected hoax. [Wikipedia]WikipediaRhodes UFO photographsRhodes UFO photographs [The Debrief]thedebrief.orglong before the phoenix lights there was incident 40The DebriefLong Before the Phoenix Lights There Was "Incident 40"Mar 25, 2022 — Before the Phoenix Lights, "Incident 40" involved photos…
Why Did Officials Study the Rhodes Photos?
William A. Rhodes photographed the object over Phoenix on 7 July 1947 during the first major American “flying saucer” wave. The Arizona Republic printed the images on its front page two days later, presenting what appeared to be one of the earliest photographic UFO cases in the country. At that moment, military and intelligence agencies were already under pressure to determine whether reports of strange aircraft reflected foreign technology, public hysteria, hoaxes, or something genuinely unknown. [Wikipedia]WikipediaRhodes UFO photographsRhodes UFO photographs
The Rhodes images attracted attention for several reasons:
- They appeared very early in the 1947 saucer scare, before standard UFO myths had fully formed.
- The photographs seemed clearer than many contemporary reports.
- Investigators believed the object’s shape resembled descriptions from other sightings, including aspects of Kenneth Arnold’s famous June 1947 report.
- The case involved physical negatives rather than only witness testimony. [Wikipedia]WikipediaRhodes UFO photographsRhodes UFO photographs
Military analysts later described the incident as unusually significant because the photographs and witness descriptions appeared to match other independent reports from the same period. At least initially, some investigators regarded that consistency as potentially meaningful rather than coincidental. [The Debrief]thedebrief.orglong before the phoenix lights there was incident 40The DebriefLong Before the Phoenix Lights There Was "Incident 40"Mar 25, 2022 — Before the Phoenix Lights, "Incident 40" involved photos…
FBI and Army Counterintelligence Involvement
The surviving records show that federal interest began almost immediately. According to later-released files, the FBI obtained copies of the photographs from The Arizona Republic on 8 July 1947, essentially within a day of publication. [Wikipedia]WikipediaRhodes UFO photographsRhodes UFO photographs
A more formal interview followed on 29 August 1947. Rhodes met Special Agent Brower of the FBI and George Fugate Jr. of the Army Counterintelligence Corps at Hamilton Field in California. During that meeting, Rhodes handed over photographs and negatives to government representatives. [Wikipedia]WikipediaRhodes UFO photographsRhodes UFO photographs
This part of the story became important in later UFO culture because Rhodes later complained about the handling of his materials. Over time, some writers transformed the episode into an early “government suppression” narrative, arguing that officials confiscated evidence or tried to silence the case. The actual surviving documentation is narrower and less dramatic. The records confirm official collection and analysis of the images, but they do not demonstrate a coordinated cover-up. [Wikipedia]WikipediaRhodes UFO photographsRhodes UFO photographs
The files also reveal a more sceptical side of the investigation. Agents examined Rhodes himself, not just the photographs. One report noted that his “character and business affiliations” were under investigation. Officials additionally noticed that Rhodes had written to the science-fiction magazine Amazing Stories asking about legal action to recover his photographs, although records indicate he had not formally requested their return from the government. [Wikipedia]WikipediaRhodes UFO photographsRhodes UFO photographs
That dual approach — collecting evidence while scrutinising the witness — became characteristic of later military UFO investigations.
Air Materiel Command and Early Air Force UFO Files
The Rhodes case moved beyond the FBI into the emerging military UFO structure that later evolved into Projects Sign, Grudge and Blue Book. The photographs reached Air Materiel Command at Wright Field, the Air Force technical centre responsible for evaluating unconventional aviation reports after the Second World War. [The Debrief]thedebrief.orglong before the phoenix lights there was incident 40The DebriefLong Before the Phoenix Lights There Was "Incident 40"Mar 25, 2022 — Before the Phoenix Lights, "Incident 40" involved photos…
The case eventually entered official Air Force catalogues as “Incident 40”. It also appeared in the secret 1949 Air Force study Analysis of Flying Object Incidents in the United States, one of the foundational documents of early UFO investigation policy. [Wikipedia]WikipediaRhodes UFO photographsRhodes UFO photographs
The surviving evaluations show striking internal tension. Some comments treated the photographs as potentially valuable evidence. One assessment reportedly stated that “no astronomical explanation seems possible” and highlighted similarities between the Rhodes object and other contemporary sightings. Investigators even called the incident “one of the most crucial” in the early record because it combined witness testimony with photographs. [The Debrief]thedebrief.orglong before the phoenix lights there was incident 40The DebriefLong Before the Phoenix Lights There Was "Incident 40"Mar 25, 2022 — Before the Phoenix Lights, "Incident 40" involved photos…
Yet the same files quickly shifted toward doubt. Analysts raised concerns about the photographic negatives, the witness’s credibility, and the physical appearance of the object in the prints. By the late 1940s, Air Force reviewers increasingly leaned toward the possibility of fabrication or misidentification. [Wikipedia]WikipediaRhodes UFO photographsRhodes UFO photographs
This inconsistency matters historically. The Rhodes case illustrates that early military UFO investigations were not operating with a settled framework. Officials had not yet decided whether these incidents represented intelligence threats, public-relations problems, psychological phenomena, or aviation mysteries. The Rhodes photographs entered the files during that uncertain transition period.
Why the Photographs Did Not Convince Investigators
The central problem was that the photographs themselves proved difficult to interpret conclusively.
Air Force reviewers consulted photographic experts, but the specialists reportedly disagreed about what the images showed and whether the object could have appeared as it did under the reported conditions. Analysts noted that a supposedly distant grey object appeared extremely dark in the prints, which some considered suspicious. [Wikipedia]WikipediaRhodes UFO photographsRhodes UFO photographs
Investigators also criticised the condition of the negatives. One Air Force assessment described them as poorly developed, streaked and faded. To sceptics, those flaws weakened the case instead of strengthening it. [Wikipedia]WikipediaRhodes UFO photographsRhodes UFO photographs
Another important sceptical intervention came from Irving Langmuir, the Nobel Prize-winning chemist who later became associated with the concept of “pathological science” — cases where researchers persuade themselves that weak evidence demonstrates something extraordinary. After learning that a thunderstorm had passed through the area, Langmuir reportedly suggested the object might simply have been windblown debris or paper caught in turbulent air currents. [Wikipedia]WikipediaRhodes UFO photographsRhodes UFO photographs
Officials also considered the possibility of deliberate fakery. Some later historians pointed out similarities between the photographed shape and newspaper stories circulating at the time about alleged Soviet experimental aircraft. Because those stories appeared almost simultaneously with the Rhodes report, sceptics argued that Rhodes could have drawn inspiration from them. [Wikipedia]WikipediaRhodes UFO photographsRhodes UFO photographs
None of these objections fully resolved the case, but together they prevented the photographs from becoming accepted evidence of an unknown craft.
Why Official Attention Did Not Settle the Case
One reason the Rhodes photographs remain controversial is that government involvement is often misunderstood. Federal scrutiny demonstrated interest, not endorsement.
The FBI’s role mainly involved collecting information and forwarding material. Army Counterintelligence involvement reflected wider post-war anxieties about aviation technology and possible foreign weapons. Air Materiel Command studied the photographs because the military was attempting to catalogue and evaluate unusual aerial reports nationwide during 1947 and 1948. [Wikipedia]WikipediaRhodes UFO photographsRhodes UFO photographs
None of those actions amounted to official confirmation that the object was extraordinary.
At the same time, the agencies never produced a definitive public explanation capable of closing the file beyond dispute. The result was a kind of evidential stalemate:
- Believers pointed to the seriousness of the investigation as evidence that the photographs could not be dismissed casually.
- Sceptics pointed to the absence of a positive conclusion and the many technical objections raised in official reviews.
- Historians of UFO culture later treated the case as an example of how ambiguous evidence can gain mythic status once it enters federal archives. [Wikipedia]WikipediaRhodes UFO photographsRhodes UFO photographs
The Rhodes case therefore became historically important less because of what the photographs conclusively showed and more because of what they revealed about early official reactions to UFO reports. Arizona’s role in UFO history began not with certainty, but with a disputed set of images that quickly crossed from local newspaper coverage into the machinery of federal intelligence and military investigation.
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Endnotes
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Source: Wikipedia
Title: Rhodes UFO photographs
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodes_UFO_photographs -
Source: archives.gov
Title: project blue book 50th anniversary
Link: https://www.archives.gov/news/articles/project-blue-book-50th-anniversarySource snippet
Public Interest in UFOs Persists 50 Years After Project Blue...5 Dec 2019 — The files contain reports from UFO observers, correspondence...
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Source: thedebrief.org
Title: long before the [phoenix lights]({{ ‘phoenix-lights/’ | relative_url }}) there was incident 40
Link: https://thedebrief.org/long-before-the-phoenix-lights-there-was-incident-40/Source snippet
The DebriefLong Before the Phoenix Lights There Was "Incident 40"Mar 25, 2022 — Before the Phoenix Lights, "Incident 40" involved photos...
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Source: x.com
Link: https://x.com/CITDConference/status/1942223203612705218Source snippet
July 1947, William Rhodes captured two of the earliest...July 1947, William Rhodes captured two of the earliest known UFO photos over Ph...
Published: July 1947
Additional References
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Source: weirddarkness.com
Link: https://weirddarkness.com/the-mysterious-first-appearance-of-the-men-in-black-the-true-story-of-william-rhodes-ufo-encounter/Source snippet
The TRUE STORY of William Rhodes' UFO EncounterMar 5, 2025 — When William Rhodes captured shocking photos of a UFO in 1947, mysterious go...
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Source: reddit.com
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/UFObelievers/comments/102ccxq/two_pictures_of_the_roswell_ufo_were_taken_on/Source snippet
William Rhodes Photo of the Roswell craft, July 7... They were among the very first purported UFO photographs and Air Force...Read more...
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Source: youtube.com
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2j2YPSSQLQMSource snippet
"UFO Warning" "Incident 40" UFO hearing: Whistleblower says he's witnessed harm by "non-human" entities Global News...
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Source: aol.com
Link: https://www.aol.com/articles/pentagon-begins-release-decades-unresolved-151715211.htmlSource snippet
federal agencies, some dating as far back as the late 1940s.Read more...
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Source: reddit.com
Title: air force osi ufo photos 19491958
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/1arrfqk/air_force_osi_ufo_photos_19491958/Source snippet
Air Force OSI — UFO photos 1949-1958The "batwing" photos have been circulating around for ages and are commonly known as the "Rhodes UFO...
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Source: youtube.com
Title: Project Blue Book: Declassified – The True Story of the Foo Fighters | History
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf41CD5INGUSource snippet
Project Blue Book UFO Files: 15 True Declassified Cases | Fall Asleep to UFO Stories (Episode 2)...
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Source: dokumen.pub
Title: report on the ufo wave of 1947
Link: https://dokumen.pub/report-on-the-ufo-wave-of-1947.htmlSource snippet
It includes a detailed chronology of more than 850 UFO cases for June and July with complete references, primarily from 140 newspapers in...
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Source: origins.osu.edu
Title: air force investigation ufos
Link: https://origins.osu.edu/read/air-force-investigation-ufosSource snippet
OriginsThe Air Force Investigation into UFOs | Origins22 Dec 2024 — This study, known as Project Sign, was active through 1948. Though Pr...
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Source: commons.wikimedia.org
Title: File:Rhodes UFO photos.png
Link: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ARhodes_UFO_photos.pngSource snippet
wikimedia.orgFile:Rhodes UFO photos.pngInterdimensional UFO hypothesis · Twin Falls saucer hoax · The Coming of the Saucers · Flight 105...
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Source: youtube.com
Title: Project Blue Book: Declassified
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKzI3uu_oTQSource snippet
Project Blue Book: UFO Secrets Hidden Inside Hangar 18 (Season 2) | History...
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