Project 10073 Record Card: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 7 May 1952

This document collection details the investigation into a series of photographs taken on May 7, 1952, in Barra da Tijuca, near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Two individuals, identified as Ed Keffel and Joao Martins, both associated with the Brazilian magazine 'O Cruzeiro', claimed to have photographed a 'flying disc' while on a feature assignment. The report describes the object as a round, disc-shaped craft, blue-gray in color, approximately 200 feet in diameter, which appeared for about one minute before performing a 180-degree turn and departing at high speed toward the sea. The witnesses reported no sound and no exhaust trail. The incident was widely publicized by 'O Cruzeiro' as a spectacular journalistic scoop. However, the US Air Force's Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) and other investigators treated the report with extreme skepticism. The documents reveal that the photographers initially attempted to sell the world-wide publication rights for $25,000. When they failed to find buyers, they eventually offered the photos for free in exchange for a credit line. US photo experts, including those from Life magazine, examined the negatives and concluded that the images were a 'colossal hoax.' The primary evidence for the fraud was that the shadows cast on the object did not match the shadows cast by the surrounding terrain, indicating the object had been manipulated or superimposed. The documents also include internal military correspondence discussing the incident, noting that the photographers' behavior and the timing of the release suggested a deliberate attempt to profit from the public interest in UFOs. The file also contains various clippings and translations of the original 'O Cruzeiro' articles, which framed the event as a genuine encounter with an extraterrestrial craft. The military assessment remained consistent: the incident was a hoax, and the photographers were likely motivated by financial gain and publicity.