Calvine Photo Incident — Complete Timeline (1990–2025)
From KB42
Calvine Photo Incident — Complete Timeline (1990–2025)
| Incident Name: | The Calvine Photo |
|---|---|
| Incident Date: | August 4, 1990 |
| Location: | Scottish Highlands |
| City/Town : | Calvine |
| Country : | Scottland |
| Shape : | Diamond-shaped |
| Case Files : | Calvine Photo Incident Case Files |
Calvine Photo Incident — Complete Timeline (1990–2025)
[edit | edit source]| Date | Event | Status |
|---|---|---|
| August 4, 1990, ~21:00 | Two young men near Calvine, Perthshire observe a large diamond-shaped craft hovering silently; a Harrier jet circles it for 5–6 minutes; they photograph the object 6 times on 35mm colour film; object departs vertically at high speed | Primary account; multiple official documents corroborate photographs were taken |
| August 1990 | The witnesses submit their photographs to the Scottish Daily Record in Glasgow; picture editor Andy Allen receives the images | Documented |
| August 1990 | Daily Record contacts Craig Lindsay, RAF Press Officer for Scotland at RAF Pitreavie Castle, for official comment; a print of the best image is sent to Lindsay in its original envelope | Documented; Lindsay's account; original envelope preserved |
| August 1990 | Lindsay phones one of the witnesses at a hotel in Pitlochry; interviews them; types a short report | Lindsay's account |
| August 1990 | Lindsay makes three photocopies of the print; faxes one photocopy and his report to the MoD UFO desk (Sec(AS)) in London | Documented; photocopies preserved at Sheffield Hallam University |
| August 1990 | Lindsay retains the original print in its envelope — a decision that will prove to be the preservation of the case's only surviving evidence | Lindsay's account |
| August–September 1990 | The original negatives are collected from the Daily Record and forwarded to the MoD in London; Sec(AS) receives and processes the materials | Documented in MoD memo (DEFE 24/1940/1) |
| September 1990 | MoD Sec(AS) UFO desk officer Owen Hartop produces a government briefing on the sighting and a handwritten summary; an unusual defensive press briefing is prepared for the case | National Archives documents DEFE 24/1940/1 pages 113–116 |
| September–October 1990 | DI55 (Defence Intelligence) receives the negatives; sends them to JARIC at RAF Brampton for detailed photographic analysis | Documented in DEFE 31/180/1; Clarke's DI55 source confirms |
| Late 1990 | JARIC analysis completed; finds no evidence of fabrication; identifies the object as a large structured craft; identifies one or two Harrier jets; is unable to identify the object from known aircraft | Nick Pope's account; DI55 file references |
| 1990 | The Daily Record does not publish the story; no editorial record of the decision survives at the paper | Confirmed; reason unknown |
| 1991 | Nick Pope joins the MoD UFO desk (Sec(AS)2a); sees the Calvine case files including original photographs; sees poster-sized print in the briefing room | Pope's account |
| January 1992 | DI55 re-tasks JARIC to conduct dimensional calculations on the Calvine UFO images; "sensitivity of material suggests very special handling"; reference to Ops 4 Squadron; re-tasking follows Parliamentary and media interest in RAF Machrihanish | Documented in DI55 files at National Archives |
| February 1992 | The Scotsman and Jane's Defence Weekly report allegations of US hypersonic aircraft flying from RAF Machrihanish; Scottish MPs table Parliamentary questions | Documented media coverage |
| 1992 | Nick Pope's Calvine poster removed from his office by superiors; told "case closed, no further action" | Pope's account |
| c. 1993–1994 | Craig Lindsay visits MoD offices in London; sees poster-sized print of Calvine photograph in an intelligence briefing room; told "case closed, no further action" | Lindsay's account |
| 1994 | Nick Pope leaves the MoD UFO desk; Calvine files remain in official custody | Documented |
| 1996 | Nick Pope publishes Open Skies, Closed Minds — first public mention of the Calvine incident | Published; manuscript had to pass MoD security vetting |
| 1996 | Parliamentary question about the Calvine incident; written question and answer published in Hansard | Documented — UK Parliament publications |
| 2000 | Craig Lindsay retires from his RAF press officer role; the print remains in his possession | Lindsay's account |
| 2008–2009 | MoD transfers UFO files to The National Archives; partial Calvine documentation released including handwritten memo, government briefing, and poor-quality Vu-Foil photocopies | National Archives documents publicly accessible |
| 2009 | Partial Calvine documentation released at National Archives; specific names and details redacted | National Archives release |
| 2015 | Nick Pope works with graphic artist to recreate the best Calvine photograph for a TV documentary episode "Alien Cover-Up"; reconstruction published in media outlets including HuffPost (mistaken by some as the real photograph) | Documented; reconstruction image exists |
| January 2020 | MoD successfully applies to the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives to maintain specific redactions in the Calvine National Archives file until 2076 | Documented |
| 2018 | Dr David Clarke renews investigation; a Defence Intelligence Officer source claims the Calvine object was a US classified platform from RAF Machrihanish | Clarke's account |
| 2020–2021 | Clarke's team conducts interviews with former MoD staff and public searches; Scottish UFOlogist Straiph Wilson launches local newspaper search for witnesses; no one comes forward | Clarke's account |
| August 2021 | Clarke contacts Craig Lindsay by phone for the first time; Lindsay: "I've been waiting for someone to call me about this for 30 years!" | Clarke's and Lindsay's accounts |
| May 2022 | Clarke travels to Calvine to interview Lindsay in person; Lindsay shows Clarke the original print; photograph taken of Lindsay holding print (first reproduction of the image since 1990) | Clarke's account; photograph exists |
| June 27, 2022 | At RAF Pitreavie Castle, Lindsay donates the original print, original envelope, and three 1990 photocopies to Sheffield Hallam University Special Collections; Clarke takes image immediately to Andrew Robinson for analysis | Documented |
| July 2022 | Richard Grieve contacts Philip Mantle and subsequently Clarke; states the two photographers were chefs at Fisher's Hotel in Pitlochry; describes witnesses disappearing after visits by men in black suits | Clarke's and Grieve's accounts |
| August 12–13, 2022 | Photograph published publicly for the first time in the Daily Mail/Mail on Sunday — 32 years after the sighting; described by media as "best UFO picture ever taken" | Published; major international media coverage |
| March 2023 | Daily Record publishes photograph of Kevin Russell who worked as kitchen porter at a Pitlochry hotel in summer 1990; provided by a former co-worker | Published |
| 2024 | The individual identified as Kevin Russell is located and contacted; denies any knowledge of the UFO sighting | Clarke's account |
| 2024 | Andrew Robinson publishes extended version of his photographic analysis report (34 pages); confirms the photograph's authenticity and its identity as one of the original six analysed by MoD in 1990 | Published online — accessible via Sheffield Hallam University |
| December 2024 | Calvine UFO incident featured in James Fox's documentary The Program, exploring government secrecy surrounding UFOs; interviews with Clarke, Lindsay, and former MoD officials | Documented |
| February 2025 | The Guardian publishes investigation into the Calvine case; Nick Pope acknowledges awareness of the name Kevin Russell but refuses to comment on any names | Published — The Guardian |
| 2025 | Case status: photograph held at Sheffield Hallam University; witness identities unconfirmed; original negatives unaccounted for; specific redactions in National Archives maintained until 2076; the Calvine case remains officially unresolved | Current |
