The Calvine Photograph
A photo of a huge diamond-shaped craft over the Scottish Highlands, with a jet nearby, stayed hidden for thirty years.
What was reported
On 4 August 1990, two men near Calvine, in the Highlands, said they watched a large, diamond-shaped object hover silently for about ten minutes while military jets flew around it, before it shot straight up and away. They gave their photographs to the Daily Record newspaper, which passed them to the Ministry of Defence.
The pictures were never published. For years the only known copy was a print kept by a former Ministry press officer. In 2022 the journalist David Clarke tracked it down and made it public.
Explanations offered
No one has identified the object. Suggestions include a secret military aircraft or airship, or a hoax using a rock reflected in still water, though the witnesses described it in the sky. The photographers have never come forward publicly, and the original negatives are lost.
- When
- 4 August 1990
- Where
- Near Calvine, Perth and Kinross, Scotland
- Witnesses
- Two walkers, whose names have never been made public
- Status
- Unidentified
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.