The William Rhodes UFO Photographs

On July 7, 1947, just days after the Roswell incident and Kenneth Arnold’s famous sighting, Phoenix resident William Rhodes photographed an unusual disc-shaped object from his backyard. His photographs were subsequently confiscated by military intelligence, and Rhodes was never able to recover his originals.

The Sighting

William Rhodes was an amateur scientist and musician living in Phoenix when, at approximately 4:00 PM on July 7, 1947, he heard a distinctive “whooshing” sound outside his home.

Running to investigate, Rhodes observed an unusual object circling above. He grabbed his camera and managed to take two photographs before the object departed to the southwest.

The Photographs

Rhodes’ images showed a disc-shaped object with:

• A raised center or dome
• A heel-shaped or rounded-off triangular outline
• Dark coloration
• Clear definition against the sky

The shape closely resembled descriptions from Kenneth Arnold’s sighting two weeks earlier—a detail that supported the photos’ authenticity, as Rhodes claimed to have taken them before learning the details of Arnold’s description.

Public Response

Rhodes provided his photos to the Arizona Republic newspaper, which published them on July 9, 1947. The images generated significant attention, being among the first clear UFO photographs of the modern era.

The timing—during the initial 1947 UFO wave and concurrent with Roswell—meant the images received both public interest and official attention.

Military Investigation

Representatives from Army Air Force intelligence soon visited Rhodes. According to his account:

• They examined and copied his photographs
• They asked detailed questions about the sighting
• They later returned and confiscated his original negatives
• He was told they would be returned—they never were

Rhodes spent years attempting to recover his original negatives from various government agencies without success.

Analysis

The Rhodes photographs were studied by various parties:

• Military analysts found them consistent with other 1947 reports
• The image quality was considered good for the era
• The object’s shape matched witness descriptions from other cases
• No evidence of obvious fraud was detected

The “Heel Shape”

Rhodes described the object as resembling a heel or a man’s shoe viewed from above. This distinctive shape appeared in his photographs and matched certain other 1947 reports.

The consistency between Rhodes’ description, his photographs, and independent witness reports from the same period suggested either:

• A genuine unknown aerial object
• Remarkable coincidental fabrication matching unknown details

Official Interest

The continued official interest in Rhodes’ photographs—including their confiscation—suggests authorities took the case seriously. Whether this indicated belief in their authenticity or concern about potential hoaxes is unclear.

Legacy

The Rhodes photographs represent some of the earliest clear UFO images from the modern era. Their confiscation by military authorities and never-returned status added to the growing perception of government secrecy around UFO matters.

Rhodes maintained his account throughout his life, describing a genuine sighting and expressing frustration at losing his original evidence.

The photographs, in their published form, remain part of the historical record of the 1947 UFO wave that launched the modern UFO era.