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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
GENERAL STAFF OF THE FLEET
SUBDIVISION OF INFORMATION
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SUBJECT:
1. Clarification of the observation of unidentified flying
objects sighted on the island of Trinidad, in the
period of 12/5/57 to 1/16/58.
OCCURRENCES:
1. Captain of Corvette Carlos Alberto Ferreira Bacellar,
Commandant of the Oceanographic Station of the Island of Trinidad
submitted the following information to the General Staff of the Fleet on
January 27 of the current year [1958].
I - That he knew of the sighting, over the island, of the
passage of an unidentified flying object, on 12/21/57, seen by the
Medical Officer, 1st Lieutenant Ignacio Carlos Moreira Murta, by one
crewman and by five workmen, during the morning, about 10 minutes before
8 o'clock; and that in view of the conviction of the observers and the
agreement of the information reported, he had resolved to communicate by
radio, which brought about the present verification;
II - That on this occasion he found out that an identical
object had been seen previously, on 12/5/57, by a workman, also in the
morning at approximately the same time.
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III - That on the following day, 1/1/58, at the same time in
the same location and with a direction approximately northward (the same
as in the previous cases) something appeared, moving with incredible
velocity. In spite of the affirmations of various crewmen, he believed,
and still believes, that it was a sea gull, in spite of the brilliance
which it presented at a certain point of the trajectory; his doubt
originates from the fact that the object -- or gull -- was projected
against the sky, producing, in his opinion, a stereoscopic effect;
IV - That posteriorly, on 1/2/58, a new alert had been given,
this time at night, at about 10:00 pm, an alert to which he gave no
importance, because he himself was on watch and had seen nothing.
V - That finally, on the morning of 1/16/58, on board the
ship NE "Admiral Saldanha," then anchored next to the island, and at the
moment carrying out the operation of hoisting the launch, another alert
of the UFO had been given, simultaneously by personnel in the prow and
in the stern of the ship.
VI - That, on this last occasion, a professional photographer,
civilian, who was on deck in the stern of the ship, ready to photograph
the operation of hoisting the launch, advised and alerted about the UFO,
had the opportunity to take four photographs which are shown.
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VII - That, after having taken the above-mentioned photographs,
the photographer, in the presence of CC Bacellar and other persons, took
the roll of film from the machine; later, in company of this official he
went to the dark room of the ship (improvised in the head of the
infirmary), dressed as he was in shirt and shorts, and where he remained
only ten minutes, presenting at once the negative of the film to CC
Bacellar, who affirms having seen the above-mentioned UFO represented
on the negative, although with much less clarity because the film was
somewhat dark;
VIII - That, posteriorly, when the above-mentioned photographs
were shown to persons on the ship who witnessed the phenomenon, they
recognized the image represented in the photograph as identical to that
which they saw in the air;
XXI - That the person who called the attention of the
photographer to take the photographs was a retired Aviation Captain of
the Brazilian Air Force, then on the ship coordinating an amateur group
of divers specializing in submarine fishing, also a specialty of the
photographer;
X - That the whole process of taking photographs must not
have lasted more than thirty seconds;
XI - That, finally, there was observed, in a marked way, a
strong emotional state in the photographer as well as in the persons who
saw the UFO.
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2. Immediately CC Bacellar related a phenomenon observed by
him personally during his stay on the Island, twice, with the aid of a
precision theodolite, during the day and witnessed by other persons, in
the following terms:
I - That he was observing a sounding balloon when he became
aware of the falling of the transmitter, a falling clearly recognized by
the signals heard on the receiver and by the line traced on the
recorder;
II - That after the above-mentioned falling the sounding
balloon must have burst, since the average duration of a balloon is 40
minutes, after which it bursts because of having reached great height;
III - That the sounding balloon in accompaniment was concealed
at 14,000 meters of altitude, approximately, when it lost the
transmitter, and that immediately afterward he observed a point in the
sky at about 30º, on the horizontal of the point in which the balloon
had disappeared upon passing behind a cloud;
IV - That seen through the theodolite the point observed
presented a strange shape of a half moon, with a certain reflection of
light, the phenomenon remaining for 3 hours and a half, the object
apparently moving with the same angular velocity as the sun;
V - That the point only failed to be seen when the sky began
to be covered with cirrus clouds;
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VI - That he had not been able to explain what he had
observed, considering the duration of the sounding balloons, the shape
and illumination of the object and the state of the sky (moon, stars),
leaving no margin for doubt;
VII - That, finally, the phenomenon was also witnessed by the
Doctor, various crewmen and by a civil functionary of the DHN
2. The one who took the photographs, professional
photographer Almiro Barauna, residing on Praia dc Icarái 251, Apartment
1004, in Niterói, heard in this General Staff of the Fleet
(headquarters), declared the following;
I - That he was on the deck, in the stern, of the ship NE
"Admiral Saldanha" when he was called to see a strange object, which he
succeeded in seeing after watching a short while;
II - That, immediately after seeing the object, he aimed his
camera, taking six photographs successively;
III - That, at once, having no more film, he took the used roll
out of the machine and remained almost an hour with the roll in his
hands, waiting for the strong emotional state in which he found himself
to pass; then, he went to the dark room to develop the film, by then
accompanied by CC Bacellar;
IV - That he was in said dark room for the space of 10
minutes, approximately, accompanied only by the Aviation Captain already
mentioned, who served him as aid. When the developing was finished, he
brought the still damp file to
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CC Bacellar, thinking that the object which had been photographed had
not appeared on the developed film. This impression was contradicted by
CC Bacellar himself, who showed him certain spots which could be the
object in question;
V - That, immediately afterward, he put the film away until
his return to Rio de Janeiro, when, in his laboratory, he made several
enlarged copies; the UFO showed up well only on two plates, because the
negative was quite dark;
VI - In order to improve the negatives, he performed the
operation known as "reduction," an operation which consists in
lightening all the negative equally. However, as on two places the UFO
was already visible and, fearful of losing them in case he should not
succeed, he cut the roll of file and submitted to the process only the
four negatives, the UFO having, then, appeared on two of them, and in
different dimensions, form and position;
VII - That, seeing the UFO with the naked eye, he had had the
impression of a solid body, with indefinite contours, of great mobility
and manageability at high speed, of imprecise color because it seemed to
be wrapped in a substance which he compares to "soapsuds;" it also gave
the impression of leaving a wake of like appearance and it made no noise
when it moved;
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VIII - That he became profoundly moved with what he saw, having
even felt difficulty during the process of developing the film, caused
his nervous state;
IX - That he put his negatives at the disposition of the
General Staff for all the examinations judged necessary for proof of
authenticity.
4. From the declarations made, according to the above
report, we summarize the following principal facts:
a) Observed, above the Island Of Trinidad, by different
persons, the appearance of UFO four times, three in the morning and one
at night;
b) Observed, by CC Bacellar and by other persons, in the
morning, once, what he thought to be a sea gull, in spite of crewman (SGs
and MNs) who were with him and affirmed it to be a UFO;
c) Observed, twice over the Island, by his then Military
Commandant, Superior Officer of the Fleet, a hydrographer experienced in
meteorology and in radiosounding operations, and by other persons, a
phenomenon which he, CC Bacellar, could not explain satisfactorily;
d) Obtained, on board the NE "Admiral Saldanha," when it was
anchored off the Island of Trinidad, on its return to Rio, four
photographs of the UFO, by a civilian professional photographer, in the
presence of other persons who affirm having seen the photographed
object.
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ANALYSIS:
1. The analysis of the preceding facts shows:
a) That of the five observations of the UFO four were during
the day and one at night.
b) That of the five observations of the UFO only one was
witnessed by CC Bacellar, who prefers to accept the hypothesis of having
seen a gull;
c) That the persons who affirm having seen the UFO are of
various qualifications -- workmen, sailors, dentist, doctor, aviator,
officer and professional photographer;
d) That no officer of the Fleet saw the phenomena related
above, with the exception of those narrated by CC Bacellar;
e) That in all cases a very strong emotional state was noted
on the part of those who witnessed the appearance of the UFO, including
the professional photographer, a man accustomed to submarine
photographs. There was even a case of a workman, a young
considered normal, who ran away in fright;
f) That the testimonies, in spite of the great difficulty in
obtaining them from personnel for the most part of rudimentary
education, are in agreement as to; Form -- from the now classic Disc,
although irregular, tending to tear-shaped. Seen from below, according
to observers who saw it when it passed over the Island on 12/31/57, it
presented a hexagonal rounded form. Seen from a distance, it presented
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the shape of a disc, with protuberances on the upper and lower parts;
Color
-- For some, indefinite; for others, of stainless steel;
Sound
-- Unanimously the witnesses affirm not having heard any sound;
Discharges
-- Some affirm having seen a discharge, in the form of a fine white
trace against the sky; others say they saw nothing in this respect;
Dimensions
-- No observer succeeded in estimating dimensions, including the aviator
and the photographer.
Velocity
-- All are unanimous in recognizing that the UFO was endowed with very
great velocity, without being able to estimate it however.
Mobility
-- All witnesses agree in recognizing great mobility; the movements
noted are not continuous, like those of airplanes, but much more rapid
and brusque;
Manageability
-- Also all recognized great manageability in the observed object;
Altitude and distance
-- Only the observers of 12/31/57, when the UFO was seen passing over
the island estimated the altitude, comparing it with the height of
Desejado Peak, approximately three times that height, or 1800 meters;
Appearance
-- A solid body, of indefinite contours;
Time of observation
-- Very short, estimated always in seconds.
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g) That the personnel who saw the UFO know perfectly how to
identify an airplane, as when planes fly over the Island, communications
were made to the DHN;
h) That under the circumstances in which the photographs
were taken and immediately developed, the atmosphere in which this was
done and the state of the photographer, as well as the time during which
this work lasted, all indicate that no photographic montage was done;
i) That regarding the photographic proof, undeniable of
greatest value and importance there remain as:
Negative factors
I - No copy of the film was made at the moment of
developing;
II - The negative, after developing, was not kept
intact by the Commandant of the ship;
III - The work of copying and enlargement was made by
the photographer in his own laboratory.
Positive factors
I - The testimony of CC Bacellar that he saw the
recently-developed and still damp file, the marks that he later
identified on the copies as the object photographed and that the film
contained the previous photographs of the hoisting of the launch;
II - The testimony of persons who saw the object and
who, seeing the copies of the photographs affirm having seen exactly
that which appears in the photograph;
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j) That with respect to the negatives, they were submitted
to examination by the technician of the DHN and by technicians of Aerial
Photography Survey Service of airline Cruzeiro do Sul, with the
following results:
I - The technician of the DHN, after making the
examinations, affirms: the negatives are natural, of the object
photographed;
II - The technicians of Cruzeiro, after more complete and
thorough examinations, including microscopic, for then verification of
signs, luminosity and details of contour, affirm:
- There was on the above-mentioned negatives no sign
of montage, all indicating it to be a negative of the object really
photographed;
- Any hypothesis of posterior montagem was removed;
- It would be impossible to prove either the
existence or nonexistence of anterior montage, which requires, however,
extreme technical skill and circumstances favorable to its execution.
CONCLUSIONS
1. In view of the presentation of the facts and the analysis
carried out and expressed above, it can be concluded:
A - That there are innumerable witnesses who affirm having
seen UFOs over the Island of Trinidad. These witnesses are of various
categories, and the appearances occurred on different days.
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B - That the testimonies presented are fallible, owing
principally to the little preparation of the majority of observers and
the rapidity with which the phenomenon passed, nothing can be stated
conclusively, therefore, as to positive data about the UFOs.
C - That the strongest and most valid testimony offered, that
of the photographer, loses its definitively convincing character given
the technical impossibility of proving if there was or not previous
photographic montage.
D - That, finally, the existence of personal testimonies and
of a photographer, of some value given the circumstances involved permit
the admission that there are indications of the existence of the UFO.
3/2/58
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