Person
William Brophy Jr.
Author of expanded versions of the Magenta case, attributed to his aviator father
2004–2010 · Historical figures (1933–2007) · Historical figure
After Lissoni's article he wrote letters to Flying Saucer Review and in 2010 reportedly spoke at an Italian UFO conference, claiming that his late father, a USAF officer and pilot, was involved in the affair. According to Metabunk, his versions, subsequent to 2004, added to the story the Pope, the “Die Glocke” and the retrieval by the United States, mixing in the Trinity case. The researcher Douglas Dean Johnson found no evidence supporting his claims.
- Key claims
- Maintains that his father, a now-deceased USAF officer and pilot, was involved in the Magenta affair (according to Metabunk and Skeptoid).
- Controversies
- Douglas Dean Johnson (Mirador, 2023) describes his versions as changing and without corroboration.
- According to Metabunk, the elements of the Pope and the U.S. retrieval, also present in Grusch's 2023 account, appear only in his versions after 2004.
- Today
- Not cited by Grusch or Elizondo; the skeptical analyses (Metabunk, Skeptoid) identify him as a possible origin of the Vatican and U.S. elements of Grusch's account.
Documented authority
It measures how documented and verifiable what the person claims is, not their honesty. Each criterion is scored from 0 to 2.
- Credentials not applicable
- He does not claim roles of his own: he presents himself as the son of a USAF officer.
- Direct access 0/2
- He reports accounts attributed to his late father: indirect knowledge.
- Evidence provided 0/2
- No public evidence; Douglas Dean Johnson found no corroboration.
- Claims track record 0/2
- According to Johnson and Metabunk, his versions changed over time, enriched with new elements.
- Conflicts of interest not applicable
- Insufficient data in the sources collected.
Sources
- D. D. Johnson, “Crash Story File: The Morphing Fantasies of Billy Brophy About His Airman Father,” Mirador (May 1, 2023) (analysis, skeptical)
- Metabunk: discussion of the alleged 1933 UFO crash in Italy (analysis, skeptical)
- Skeptoid, episode 900, on the 1933 Magenta case (analysis, skeptical)
On this site
Cases 1
- Magenta 1933: the alleged retrieval of a disc, known only from anonymous papers Disputed explanation
Where the claims come from 1
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UAPgrade's entries are compiled with artificial intelligence (three verifiers with opposing roles) and checked against the sources listed above: how we work. Have a document that changes this entry? Bring it to the Investigations Unit.