Boston, MassachusettsMay 1956

In May 1956, a professional photographer in the Boston area submitted photographs to the Air Force that he claimed showed unidentified flying objects. The images appeared to show two black spots near the top of the film. The photographer, who worked for MIT Lincoln Laboratories, said he had taken the pictures facing out over the Charles River with the Boston skyline in the background. However, he noted that he had not actually seen any objects when he took the photos. He waited nearly two years before submitting them to the Air Force because he feared ridicule.

The Air Force sent the negatives to its technical analysis center for review. Experts determined that the black spots were not evidence of flying objects at all. Instead, they concluded that the marks appeared during film processing, likely caused by air bubbles that clung to the emulsion during development. These bubbles prevented parts of the film from developing normally. When the film was re-exposed and developed a second time, black images appeared in those spots. The analysis also noted that the objects showed no shape or gradation (shading) that would be consistent with actual physical objects flying in the sky.

The Air Force had checked radar logs, military posts, and civilian aircraft reports for the time period and location. Officials noted that any object large enough to see in broad daylight would have been spotted and reported by other observers in the area. The Air Force's conclusion was straightforward: the photographs showed the result of developing flaws, not unidentified flying objects.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, spanning 8 pages.