The Calvine UFO

The only extant original photograph of the Calvine UFO - courtesy of Craig Lindsay / Sheffield Hallam University

The Calvine UFO (also known as The Calvine Sighting, The Calvine Photograph, The Pitlochry Thing, The Perthshire UFO and other similar terms) was a reported sighting of an unidentified flying object (UFO) near the hamlet of Calvine in Perthshire, Scotland in August 1990.

The sighting was originally reported to the Daily Record, a Glasgow-based tabloid newspaper, by two men who claimed that they witnessed an unknown diamond-shaped craft while walking on the moors above Calvine on the evening of 4 August 1990. They reported seeking shelter under some nearby trees from where they watched the craft taking photographs while it hovered silently above before ascending vertically and disappearing from view.[1]

The two witnesses later told their story to the Daily Record and handed over their prints and original negatives, which were later passed on to the Ministry of Defence. The original negatives and prints subsequently disappeared and the story was never published by the Daily Record. The identity of the witnesses remains unknown despite efforts to locate them by a team of researchers led by investigative journalist David Clarke.[2]

In the following years, reports of the sighting and rumours of the photograph gradually surfaced, and the case slowly gained public interest. Partial documentation included in Ministry of Defence documents released by The National Archives in 2009[3] helped provide further insight into the sighting and attracted more attention. This ultimately led to the discovery of an original photographic image of the UFO by Clarke, which was subsequently published in the British-based tabloid newspaper the Daily Mail on Saturday 13 August 2022, with an online release the night before. The publication of the image led to significant media coverage, with some outlets considering the Calvine photograph to be the "clearest" or "the best" UFO image ever taken.[4][5]

  1. ^ "Digital copy of DEFE 24/1940: UFO reports; with redactions". Nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  2. ^ Trimble, James (27 January 2023). "Hunt is on for Falkirk photographer who snapped world famous 1990 UFO picture". The Falkirk Herald. Grangemouth. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  3. ^ "A selection of UFO files from The National Archives". Nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  4. ^ Carbonaro, Giulia (15 August 2022). "'Best' UFO Picture Ever, the Calvine Photo, Found After 30 Years Missing". Newsweek. New York. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  5. ^ Oaks, Bec (4 April 2024). "'World's clearest UFO photo' taken in UK was hidden from public for years". LADbible. Manchester. Retrieved 20 October 2020.