Calvine Photo Incident — The National Archives and Declassified Files

Calvine Photo Incident — The National Archives and Declassified Files

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 — The National Archives and Declassified Files

The MoD UFO Files Release Program

Beginning in 2008, the Ministry of Defence transferred a large quantity of previously classified UFO files to The National Archives (TNA) for public access. Dr David Clarke served as consultant and curator to this project from 2008 to 2013. The files were released in tranches over several years.

The Calvine case materials in these releases include partial documentation — not the photographs themselves, which were not part of what was released, but documentary materials surrounding the case.

Key Released Documents

Reference	Content	File
DEFE 24/1940/1, pages 113–116	Handwritten summary of the Calvine sighting; government briefing from MoD Secretariat Air Staff (both September 1990); reference to "RAF Press Officer, Pitreavie MHQ" (name and phone number redacted)	Released 2009
DEFE 31/180/1, pages 36–37	Two poor-quality photocopies of Vu-Foils (images on transparent plastic) made from cropped versions of the original photographs; assembled by DI55	Released 2009
DEFE 31/180/1, pages 54–56	Additional DI55 materials relating to the Calvine investigation	Released 2009
DEFE 24/2048/1, pages 27–29	Additional MoD documents relating to the incident	Released
The 1992 re-tasking document	DI55 tasking of JARIC for dimensional calculations; "sensitivity of material suggests very special handling"; reference to Ops 4 Squadron	In released DI55 files

The Vu-Foil Photocopies

The Vu-Foils — photocopies of the photographs made on transparent plastic — in the DI55 file (DEFE 31/180/1) represent the only surviving photographic images of the Calvine sighting in the National Archives. They are described as:

• Poor quality — degraded through the photocopy process
• Cropped versions of the originals — not showing the full frame
• Sufficient to confirm the diamond shape of the object and the presence of the Harrier jet
• Consistent with the Craig Lindsay print when compared by Andrew Robinson

The existence of these Vu-Foils in the released files — combined with the absence of the original negatives and prints — confirms that photographic evidence did pass through DI55 custody and that Vu-Foils were made from it, but that the originals were not transferred to the National Archives.

What Remains Redacted

The released files contain specific redactions that remain in place until 2076. These redactions cover:

• Names of individuals involved in the case (at minimum one name — the basis for the 2020 extension application)
• Potentially: the identities of witness contacts; specific intelligence conclusions; names of officials who handled the classified analysis

What Is Not in the National Archives

• The original six colour negatives
• Original colour prints made from the negatives
• The full JARIC analysis report(s)
• The full DI55 investigation conclusions
• Any communications between the MoD and the Daily Record
• Any communications with allied intelligence services (CIA connection suggested in one Clarke reference)
• The defensive press briefing's full text is not confirmed as having been released

The CIA Link

Clarke's investigation revealed a reference to a CIA link in the Calvine file materials — listed among tagged topics in his research. The nature of this CIA connection has not been fully disclosed. A CIA interest in a British UFO case involving potentially classified US aircraft operating from a joint NATO-RAF base in Scotland would be structurally consistent but has not been documented in detail in publicly available sources.