Case · C-106

McMinnville 1950: the two photos of the disc taken by the Trents on their farm

Farm about 10 miles southwest of McMinnville, Yamhill County, Oregon · United States · May 11, 1950

In flight Civilian witnesses Photos

What happened

On the evening of May 11, 1950, Evelyn Trent saw a metallic disc-shaped object above the family farm, between Sheridan and McMinnville; her husband Paul took two photographs before the object moved off toward the west. The images, published on June 8 by the local newspaper and then by Life, are among the most discussed in ufological history. The Condon report (1968) concluded that all the factors examined were consistent with the witnesses' account, but that the evidence did not rule out a fake with certainty.

Proposed explanation

The Condon report (analysis by William K. Hartmann) included the case among the two photographic cases that survived analysis, clearly describing it as either a fake or an extraordinary object: all the factors examined proved consistent with the account, but a fake could not be ruled out, also because the object appears below the same point of the overhead wires in both photos, an argument in favor of a suspended model. Later skeptical analyses, discussed on Metabunk and also attributed to Robert Sheaffer, maintain that the object was small and close to the camera (a model or a rearview mirror hanging from the wires); those who defend its authenticity dispute this.

Official investigation

University of Colorado for the U.S. Air Force (Condon Report, case 46)

Words of the document

It cannot be said that the evidence positively rules out a fabrication

Official documents

1. Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects (rapporto Condon), sezione IV, caso 46: McMinnville, Oregon · University of Colorado for the U.S. Air Force (full text, NCAS copy) · 1968
2. Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects (rapporto Condon), sezione III, capitolo 2: Analysis of UFO Photographic Evidence (tabella 2) · University of Colorado for the U.S. Air Force (full text, NCAS copy) · 1968

Sources

1. Finn J. D. John, Offbeat Oregon, “McMinnville, Yamhill County; 1950” (press)
2. Metabunk, “CLAIM: 1950 McMinnville (OR) photo by the Trents is a 25' flying saucer” (discussion with Sheaffer's stereoscopic analysis) (analysis, skeptical)
3. Patrick Gross, dossier on the McMinnville (Trent) photos (analysis, pro-disclosure)

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