The B-57B case Plane nonsense Francine Cordier & Patrice Seray It all started in 1954, above an American airbase. USAF photography specialists were taking pictures of a plane intended to illustrate adverts for the Martin B-57 aircraft. The brochures now finished, ufological historians were to put their oar in it. Legends are persistent and all we could say then was said! Lets briefly trace the story haloing this mysterious photography spreading around as a remarkable and undeniable evidence. The ufological literature tells us that it is while developing the pictures that a photographer noticed an unusual object in the top right corner of one of the photographs showing the Martin B-57B. When in November 1964, a gentleman named Ralph Rankow (NICAP photo specialist) came upon that very same picture, he noticed that the object in question seemed to be in "relief" and that the areas of light and shadows were coherent with the rest of the picture. It didn't take much more to confirm the presence of a UFO on a USAF document! Some believed that they could spot a reflection of the aircraft itself because upon enlargement of the unusual artifact one could discern both the tanks placed under the wings and the characteristic bulges of the fuselage of the B- This felt too us a tad excessive. Debunkers we may be, but no ones fools. The author of this seemingly interesting theory, Ronald Marwick, explains: The object would be nothing more than a deformed reflexion of the plane due to layers of air from the sun's action and the B-57's gas escaping. We will not accuse Marwick of having "a vivid imagination", he had at least the merit of not falling for the gratuitous claims made by those "ufologists" in need of sensations and screaming at anyone who would listen that it was However, it must be noted that there is a significant inconsistency: the angle of the shot. Enough to give the extraterrestrial hypothesis supporters a boost, pro-ETH as it has become "mandatory" to name them today. Well then? Are we dealing with a truly exceptional document, a UFO photographed thanks to a very fortunate combination of events? One thing is certain, the photography was not forged! Indeed, should we believe that the USAF photographer, who took this picture for illustration purposes for an advertisement on the Martin B-57B, would have had a blast "adding" a UFO (1)? This would be unusual, as we would be dealing with a "risky" hoax on the part of the USAF and we have serious doubts about that! Moreover, in his book (2), Bernard Thouanel raises doubts when he states (page 53) and we quote: In the later prints released of the same shot, the object in the background gives way to a sort of roughly retouched shape, a little bit as if someone had tried to hide the presumed flying disc through a defect in the emulsion of the negative . This photography remains an essential pillar of What is the truth about it? Where exactly is the exegesis? By a curious coincidence, at a simple garage sale, we do find a trace of this fabulous photography in an aeronautical magazine (Connaissance de l'Histoire issue 22, March 1980). On page 42, under the evocative title of "Night Prowler", this magazine presents the B-57B with its technical data in the form of a picture in which our UFO is... missing! This remained to be confirmed by overlapping the pictures. Alas, a thousand times regrettably, on the picture in this magazine, we are missing a part of the picture (very tiny) and of course, the exact place where our "saucer" should have been located! However, the idea that there was nothing in the original picture remains with us. Also, we learned that this photo belongs to the Smithsonian Institution. It also features prominently on the official USAF website. In the meantime, during a mundane conversation with Eric Maillot, the latter told us about another piece of information that requires verification. We can be sure by then that the mystery of the B-57B hasnt got much longer to live. What remained was to contact the source of the Eric Maillots information. The computer age is a great one to live in! We were one E-mail away from contacting Gilles Durand (of the SCEAU). The latter has in his possession an irrefutable document showing that the photograph of the B-57B originally did NOT show any UFOs. The enlargement on the right comes from a brochure promoting the aircraft. It's free of any "UFO"! It is therefore more than likely that "our" UFO arrived accidentally, either as a result of a scratch on the negative, or because of the presence of dust. In any case, it is undeniable that our two enlargements are perfectly identical in every respect. Shooting angle, position of the tail of our B-57B, terrain configuration etc... No one gives an explanation about this particular document and only a fortunate accident lead us to discover the origin of the artifact that appears Only an examination of the current negative (i.e. with its inherent defect) would give us the true explanation: dust or a scratch? Or dust and then scratching? The original picture: Original photo with no trace of UFOs in the sky. The defect, due to dust and then scratching of the negative, will only appear later. It is at that moment that the "ufologists" embrace the image. CONTINUED FROM THE ADVERTISING BROCHURE Another legend bites the dust. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Tanks to Eric Maillot (CNEGU) and Gilles Durand (SCEAU). Tanks to Denis Solaro (traduction) Francine Cordier et Patrice SERAY (Octobre 2003) (1) - The photo of the B57B can be found in many books, magazines and ufological sites. Notably " l'Autre Monde " spcial issue n1 page 60 (2) - " Objets Volants Non Identifis " by B.Thouanel. Ed. Michel Lafon 2003, (3) - Let us take notice of this comment from the webmaster of the USAF MUSEUM: Do you really think the US government would leave such a picture on the USAF website if there was a UFO on it?