4 ms·

What happened in Calvine? The mystery behind the best UFO picture ever seen

23 points by n1b0m 2y ago

bloak 2y ago
Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvine_UFO https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvine_UFO) has a better overview, of course, but this article in The Guardian has a better picture at least.
lonelyasacloud 2y ago
It's interesting that this incident was in August 1990. And that a few years later in September 1993 according to one RAF Harrier pilot, https://www.cmlx.co.uk/hawkerassociation/hanewsletters/hanewsletter044nvu/flyingharriersinraf.html https://www.cmlx.co.uk/hawkerassociation/hanewsletters/hanew... "would often spend the week at either RAF Leuchars or RAF Lossiemouth" which are fairly close to Calvine. And that "Each day we would send a team out into the Scottish Highlands to set up the targets. These would be full size inflatable Soviet tank" While the picture in the linked article doesn't look like any tank I'm aware of (although, maybe the Stridsvagn ...), my understanding is that large inflatables or balloons that have broken free in a mountainous environment could well end up moving in what might be quite unexpected ways to most people. (I'd also have no problem imagining if it was the RAF's toy, they might have a) got sign-off fairly quickly for some new, more realistic targets afterwards and b) been told to stop upsetting the tourists more than the midges in August).
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
xg15 2y ago
> Alongside the sketch was a note intended for defence ministers in Margaret Thatcher’s cabinet. Under the heading “Defensive lines to take”, it read: “Have looked at the photographs, no definite conclusions reached regarding large diamond-shaped object. Confident that jet aircraft is a Harrier. Have no record of Harriers operating in location at stated date/time. No other reports received by MoD of unusual air activity or sightings at location/date/time.” That note is strange. The wording would have effectively deepened the mystery instead of offering an explanation, by implying it that the Harrier jet was also operating without the knowledge of the MoD and it was completely unknown where it belonged to or what its mission was. That detail really makes it sound like the secret government/alien conspiracy from the X-Files. But then this is presented as "defensive lines to take", so it was prepared language in case the incident blew up in the press? I wonder if that means the Thatcher government wanted to present this as an UFO mystery to the public, possibly to hide some military programs or test flights going on in the vicinity. Or was "have no record of any activity" a well-known euphemism for "shut up, it's secret"?

23 points by n1b0m 2y ago

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvine_UFO https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvine_UFO) has a better overview, of course, but this article in The Guardian has a better picture at least.

lonelyasacloud 2y ago

It's interesting that this incident was in August 1990. And that a few years later in September 1993 according to one RAF Harrier pilot, https://www.cmlx.co.uk/hawkerassociation/hanewsletters/hanewsletter044nvu/flyingharriersinraf.html https://www.cmlx.co.uk/hawkerassociation/hanewsletters/hanew... "would often spend the week at either RAF Leuchars or RAF Lossiemouth" which are fairly close to Calvine. And that "Each day we would send a team out into the Scottish Highlands to set up the targets. These would be full size inflatable Soviet tank" While the picture in the linked article doesn't look like any tank I'm aware of (although, maybe the Stridsvagn ...), my understanding is that large inflatables or balloons that have broken free in a mountainous environment could well end up moving in what might be quite unexpected ways to most people. (I'd also have no problem imagining if it was the RAF's toy, they might have a) got sign-off fairly quickly for some new, more realistic targets afterwards and b) been told to stop upsetting the tourists more than the midges in August).

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

xg15 2y ago

> Alongside the sketch was a note intended for defence ministers in Margaret Thatcher’s cabinet. Under the heading “Defensive lines to take”, it read: “Have looked at the photographs, no definite conclusions reached regarding large diamond-shaped object. Confident that jet aircraft is a Harrier. Have no record of Harriers operating in location at stated date/time. No other reports received by MoD of unusual air activity or sightings at location/date/time.” That note is strange. The wording would have effectively deepened the mystery instead of offering an explanation, by implying it that the Harrier jet was also operating without the knowledge of the MoD and it was completely unknown where it belonged to or what its mission was. That detail really makes it sound like the secret government/alien conspiracy from the X-Files. But then this is presented as "defensive lines to take", so it was prepared language in case the incident blew up in the press? I wonder if that means the Thatcher government wanted to present this as an UFO mystery to the public, possibly to hide some military programs or test flights going on in the vicinity. Or was "have no record of any activity" a well-known euphemism for "shut up, it's secret"?