Rhodes Photos
JULY 7, 1947 >> PHOENIX, ARIZONA

The Rhodes photos were some of the first reported to show a UFO in flight taken in Phoenix, Arizona. The man who took the pictures was William A. Rhodes who described himself as a scientific consultant. As the sunset July 7 Rhodes reported he heard a loud roaring noise outside of his house. The thought it might be a UFO entered his mind and he rushed out with his camera just in time to take two photos of the object as it flew to the southwest. Rhodes' description of the object closely matched that of the objects Ken Arnold had seen.

On July 9 the pictures were run in the Arizona Republic. In the week following the publication Rhodes was visited by and closely questioned by an FBI agent and an air force intelligence officer. They asked Rhodes to lend them the negatives for closer examination and he handed them over. When he asked to have the negatives returned the next month he received a letter saying they could not be returned. Early in 1948 two officers from Project Sign came to interview him. This was the last time he was contacted by the government. The air force listed the sighting as a possible hoax although some intelligence officers considered the photos as authentic. The air force never provided a satisfactory explanation of why they reached the conclusion they did. The question arises of this was a hoax why did the USAF keep the pictures?