Editing Calvine Photo Incident — Complete Timeline (1990–2025)

{{Infobox Incident
| image              = Category UFOlogy.png
| image2             = 
| caption            = 
| incident_name      = The Calvine Photo
| incident_date      = August 4, 1990
| incident_time      = 
| incident_duration  = 
| location           = Scottish Highlands
| state_provence     = 
| city_town          = Calvine
| country            = Scottland
| shape              = Diamond-shaped
| contact            = 
| alien_race         = 
| latitude           = 
| longitude          = 
| documentary        = 
| blue_book_case     = 
| case_file          = Calvine Photo Incident Case Files
}}

== Calvine Photo Incident — Complete Timeline (1990–2025) ==

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! 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
|}

{{article summary
| image = Category UFOlogy.png
| title = {{%PAGENAME%}}
| summary = Calvine Photo Incident — Complete Timeline (1990–2025) - 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 
}}

[[Category: Calvine Photo Incident]]
[[Category: Ufology]]
[[Category: UFO]]
[[Category: Scottland]]
[[Category: UFO Sightings]]
[[Category: Military]]