The Trent UFO Photos McMinnville, Oregon - May 11, 1950

The Trent UFO Photos
McMinnville, Oregon - May 11, 1950

Considered to be Among the most Famous Photo Ever Taken of a UFO

Telephone Register
McMinnville, Oregon - May 11, 1950


McMinnville UFO photographs



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The above photos are from Bruce Maccabee's study and are his versions direct from the actual negatives that were in his possession for 25 years (More later)

McMinnville UFO photographs

The McMinnville UFO photographs were taken on a farm near McMinnville, Oregon in 1950. The photos were reprinted in LIFE magazine and in newspapers across the nation, and are often considered to be among the most famous ever taken of a UFO. The photos remain controversial, with many UFO researchers claiming they show a genuine, unidentified object in the sky, while many UFO skeptics claim that the photos are a hoax.

en.wikipedia.org...

The incident

At 7:30 pm on May 11, 1950 Evelyn Trent was walking back to her farmhouse after feeding rabbits on her farm. Mrs. Trent and her husband Paul lived on a farm approximately nine miles from McMinnville. (Clark, p. 372) Before reaching the house she spotted a "slow-moving, metallic disk-shaped object heading in her direction from the northeast." (Clark, 372) She yelled for her husband, who was inside the house, and he came out and also saw the object. After a short time he went back inside the house to obtain a camera. He managed to take two photos of the object before it sped away to the west; Paul Trent's father also briefly viewed the object before it flew away. (Clark, 372)

en.wikipedia.org...

References: The UFO Book: Encyclopedia of the Extraterrestrial. Jerome Clark, author. Visible Ink Press, 1998. Pgs. 372-375

Dr. Bruce Maccabee's original analysis of the Trent UFO photos, a four page detailed paper with photos taken from original negatives
brumac.8k.com...

This is a short attempted debunk based on only on shadows
A critical analysis of the Trent photos from Robert Sheaffer's website The Debunker's Domain
debunker.com...

Dr. Maccabee's rebuttal to the Klass-Sheaffer explanation, a three page paper with analysis in detail
brumac.8k.com...

Dr. Bruce Maccabee
Bruce Maccabee (May 6, 1942) is an American optical physicist formerly employed by the U.S. Navy, and a leading ufologist
en.wikipedia.org...

Best Evidence - McMinnville UFO case

McMinnville UFO Case - A clip from my film "Best Evidence: Top 10 UFO Sightings", which was made for Space: The Imagination Station in Canada (and is also showing on TVNZ in New Zealand). Case #4 was the 1950 McMinnville, Oregon UFO photo case.

The McMinnville UFO photographs were taken on a farm near McMinnville, Oregon in 1950. The photos were reprinted in LIFE magazine and in newspapers across the nation, and are often considered to be among the most famous ever taken of a UFO.

The photos remain controversial, with many UFO researchers claiming they show a genuine, unidentified object in the sky, while many UFO skeptics claim that the photos are a hoax.

At 7:30 pm on May 11th, 1950 Evelyn Trent was walking back to her farmhouse after feeding rabbits on her farm. Mrs. Trent and her husband Paul lived on a farm approximately nine miles from McMinnville. Before reaching the house she spotted a "slow-moving, metallic disk-shaped object heading in her direction from the northeast."

sites.google.com...



UFO Photos From McMinnville Oregon Taken Away By Newspaper

The Trent Photos - Fighting for Pieces of History
The McMinnville UFO - Portland Channel 2 News



Also see this thread for an update and review of old UFO reports in newspapers
The Day Before Roswell
www.abovetopsecret.com...

reply to post by zorgon

I remember seeing these a long time ago... I thought they were debunked as Hub-Caps?

reply to post by zorgon


Thanks Z.

It appears that the object in the photos has a strange lack of symmetry -- the point on the top seems to be located closer to the left that the right:




Don't really know what it would mean, if anything -- but i don't recall seeing many photos of asymmetrical unidentified flying objects.

reply to post by zorgon


Hey, nice little thread. These photos have apparently stood the test of time. Probably many more out there of similar quality that have never been analyzed. I'm also a fan of the pic from the Belgian wave. Very little ambiguity about that one - big flying triangle.

Originally posted by SchoolProject
reply to post by zorgon

 

I remember seeing these a long time ago... I thought they were debunked as Hub-Caps?

Nonsense.

Is it just me, or has the shape of Ufos actually evolved in the last 60 years? They look a lot more sleek, smooth and aerodynamic now. At least the disc shaped ones anyway. It's cool to see vintage ufo reports like this to remind you that they aren't just modern day government black projects. They've been here for some time now, and way before we possessed the capabilities to make crafts such as these. Thanks OP for the article. S&F.

reply to post by jclmavg


I started a thread on this in 09 and after some lengthy discussion and examination the most likely explanation is the pictures are of an object [ probably a pot lid ] suspended between the cables .
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Right, the photos of that event NOT shown by the promoters include the Trent kid grinning mischievously under the wire with a ladder lying on the ground next to him. I hope everybody's seen THOSE, and made reasonable inductions from them.

Since the photographer moved between the shots you can plot his location in the yard, draw lines of sight to the object, and then see where the lines cross relative to the overhead wire. Very suggestive, although not definitive because of possible motion of the object itself.

Originally posted by jclmavg

Originally posted by SchoolProject
reply to post by zorgon

 

I remember seeing these a long time ago... I thought they were debunked as Hub-Caps?

Nonsense.

lol, I stand corrected... I do remember some similar photos of someone throwing hubcaps about and photographing them. I believe the daughter of the photographer blew the lid on the escapade, I've obviously mistaken them (they were pretty similar though). I'll try and find them online.

On a side note, the image does remind me of this:




It was taken in France in 1954.

reply to post by JimOberg


Got a link to those pictures?


Deebo

Originally posted by gortex
reply to post by jclmavg

 

I started a thread on this in 09 and after some lengthy discussion and examination the most likely explanation is the pictures are of an object [ probably a pot lid ] suspended between the cables .
www.abovetopsecret.com...

There is no evidence of any suspension. Do you think Maccabee who analysed the originals in depth is a crackpot? No good evidence of a hoax was presented. A girl with no scientific background who insists it looks like a canning pot lid is not evidence for a hoax. A picture of the Trent kid on a ladder is not evidence for a hoax. The fact that the UFO appears under a wire is not evidence for a hoax; it would be evidence if a thread could be detected. Arguments such as these fail because they presume there is a causal relationship between some physical object (or lack thereof) in the picture and the UFO. Yet such a causal relationship must be demonstrated to be of any value. I might as well claim that taking a picture of a UFO through a glass window is evidence of a hoax, too, since in theory it could be a reflection from inside. That is just pseudo-skeptic stupidity.

Originally posted by JimOberg
Right, the photos of that event NOT shown by the promoters include the Trent kid grinning mischievously under the wire with a ladder lying on the ground next to him. I hope everybody's seen THOSE, and made reasonable inductions from them.

Typical Oberg, more character assassination. "Grinning mischievously" is something you made up entirely. Explain to me how "the Trent kid grining" is suggestive of a hoax. Your interpretation is disingenuous. In fact, everyone who knew the Trents spoke highly of them.

Since the photographer moved between the shots you can plot his location in the yard, draw lines of sight to the object, and then see where the lines cross relative to the overhead wire. Very suggestive, although not definitive because of possible motion of the object itself.

edit on 24-1-2011 by JimOberg because: add

Oberg pretends none of this was taken into account, his analysis fails. See the Maccabee papers linked to above. "Suggestive" only in the mind of someone who has long ago assumed there are no real UFOs. Yes, that would be you, Oberg.

reply to post by jclmavg

There is no evidence of any suspension. Do you think Maccabee who analysed the originals in depth is a crackpot?

No I don#t think Dr Maccabee is a crackpot .

Check out the excellent reconstruction of the photographs done by SeenMyShare , about half way down the page .
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Now I know it's a different camera but the demonstration shows the suspension theory produces an eerily similar result .
When I started my thread I believed the pictures were the real deal , but as the thread proceeded I came to realize that the hoax theory was most likely .

Originally posted by JimOberg
Right, the photos of that event NOT shown by the promoters include the Trent kid grinning mischievously under the wire with a ladder lying on the ground next to him. I hope everybody's seen THOSE, and made reasonable inductions from them.

Hmmm oh sure... those are all over the internet, easy to find.



but then we have your take on the whole UFO phenomena right here..

The failure of the 'science' of UFOlogy
www.debunker.com...

Originally posted by gortex
Check out the excellent reconstruction of the photographs done by SeenMyShare , about half way down the page .
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Now I know it's a different camera but the demonstration shows the suspension theory produces an eerily similar result .
When I started my thread I believed the pictures were the real deal , but as the thread proceeded I came to realize that the hoax theory was most likely .

I read that thread when it first came up. How in hell could that ever be a "excellent reconstruction"? A reconstruction would involve taking the same camera, going to the same location, under preferable the same atmospheric conditions and then taking a picture of the suspended can lid. The reconstruction proved nothing other than hanging a saucer-like can lid has a superficial resemblance to another saucer-like object. Where's the optical and photogrammetric analysis? Oh wait, there is none. Let us sweep asside the witness testimony too. Sheesh. I'm sure her can lid looks like more photographed UFOs from an appreciable distance! People, think please.

Originally posted by zorgon
The failure of the 'science' of UFOlogy
www.debunker.com...

You have to wonder why Oberg even bothers. Years ago he was also quite active on Usenet parroting the same negative nonsense. It's as if he's done nothing else since.

reply to post by Yukitup


It could be a tail observed at a slightly sideward angle instead of directly head on.

Originally posted by jclmavg
It's as if he's done nothing else since.

Sometimes I look at his posts... and I could swear they are not made by the same person... just an odd feeling

Hey Jim remember Story Musgrove talking about snakes in Space? Could that have anything to do with this NASA mission patch?





Oh yeah here it is

"On two flights I've seen and photographed what I call "the snake," like a seven-foot eel swimming out there" ~ Story Musgrave

Speaking of the tail, the object was concluded to be assymetrical. This does not fit with a can lid either.

Originally posted by zorgon

Originally posted by jclmavg
It's as if he's done nothing else since.

Sometimes I look at his posts... and I could swear they are not made by the same person... just an odd feeling

Noticed but wasn't going to say anything. We thought it would be too rude to point that out... I mean I did