Reno Presentation - Hi-Res Nessie Photo Available ?

[Gary LaPook]

On the news last night there was a segment on the real "Nessie" the one found in Loch Ness because yesterday was the 79th anniversary of the first spotting of "Nessie" which started the whole "Loch Ness Monster" story and tourist attraction. It all started in 1933, just four years before the Gardner island "Nessie" adventure.

From Wikipedia:

"The term "monster" was reportedly applied for the first time to the creature on 2 May 1933 by Alex Campbell, the water bailiff for Loch Ness and a part-time journalist, in a report in the Inverness Courier.[6][7][8]"

gl

[Irvine John Donald]

Thanks Gary for that tantalizing news item. I don't know who coined the Gardner photo the "Nessie photo" but it's very appropriate for the similarity in vague imagery, mystery, water and hunt. Perhaps the originating TIGHAR could announce him or herslf to take a congratulatory bow?

[Gary LaPook]

Breaking news from Ric Gillespie:

"On April 26 Jeff Glickman and I will be at Rhodes House, University of Oxford to get a much better copy of the Bevington photo than we've had to work with to date. Back in 1992, Pat took copy-photos of Bevington's collection when we visited him at his retirement home in the south of England.  After Eric died, his papers and photos went to the Bodleian Library of Commonwealth and African Studies at Oxford.  In 2010, we asked the library to scan the image for us to get better resolution.  The best they could do was 600 dpi but that was a big improvement over the copy-photo.  Now we've made arrangements for Jeff to get the best image possible with the best available technology.  Our hope is that, with a better image, we can show the public what the experts have been seeing.  It's one thing to ask people to "take our word for it" that the blob in the photo is the wreckage of an Electra land gear. It's another to be able to show them the tire, the mud flap, the strut, the worm gear, etc.  Of course, a better image may show the object to be an abandoned cement mixer, but that's a risk we'll take.

"Whatever we're able to get from the high-resolution image will be revealed for the first time at Jeff's forensic imaging presentation at Earhart Search 75.  Feel free to mention all of this when promoting the symposium."

If Ric has only now gotten a high resolution copy of the "Nessie" photo it raises the question of what was the quality of the photo used by the State Department?

gl

[Ted G Campbell]

What I am hoping for is the new photo has enough detail to enable triangulation to the actual "Nessie" location.
Ted Campbell

[Tom Swearengen]

Ted----I hope you are right, and I would bet that has already been done. But 75 years later? Its either on the reef as Richie and Jeff H. have pointed out, or on the bottom with the larger parts of the Electra. Yeah----I'm a believer.
Tom

[Jeff Victor Hayden]

I wouldn't like to say that whatever is on the reef slope is an Electra at this stage Tom. It's aircraft but then, there were a lot of them about in the Pacific during WW2. Only time will tell which type it is. At least the opportunity to get CLEAR images is approaching.

[Tom Swearengen]

Jeff----I brought up the question several times over the past couple of years. That question would be what aircraft are known to be missing in the Phoenix area? The answer I've always gotten was none.
Now---we obviously dont know about the Japanese activity before of during the war, although I'd think that if there were a Japanese seaplane in the area, someone would have known about it.
Yes---it will be interesting once some of the identifiable wreckage is brought up and examined. I certainly hope it isnt a seaplane, but that possiblity does exsists.

Hum another thought. If there were a carrier om the vicinity that pushed overboard a damaged plane-------it 'could 'have drifted to Niku. Hope not, of course, but leaving all options opened until we get the facts.
Tom

[Jeff Victor Hayden]

Yes I agree Tom, it would be helpful to know of all aircraft lost/missing in the area instead of all aircraft reported lost/missing.
I'm not sure if Tighar have permission to recover anything (if found) as it is in the Phoenix islands marine reserve. That would need the blessing of the Republic of Kiribati government as I understand it, could be wrong, not sure. Any idea Tom?

[Bruce Thomas]

Hum another thought. If there were a carrier om the vicinity that pushed overboard a damaged plane-------it 'could 'have drifted to Niku. Hope not, of course, but leaving all options opened until we get the facts.
Tom

OMG!  Might it be an aircraft pushed off USS Constellation as it steamed by?    ;)

[Jeff Victor Hayden]

Stranger things have happened Bruce ;)

I don't think the US navy used twin engined planes from their carriers (apart from the Doolitle raid) until the 1950's.

[Martin X. Moleski, SJ]

Jeff----I brought up the question several times over the past couple of years. That question would be what aircraft are known to be missing in the Phoenix area? The answer I've always gotten was none.

Do you mean to say that this article didn't answer your question?

[Jeff Victor Hayden]

Jeff----I brought up the question several times over the past couple of years. That question would be what aircraft are known to be missing in the Phoenix area? The answer I've always gotten was none.

Do you mean to say that this article didn't answer your question?

Partially Marty. The part that worries me is 'There are no known losses' which is the point I was trying to make. I am sure the list is as comprehensive as it can be but, sometimes there's a fly in the ointment (not Dr Berrys freckle cream) :)

[Martin X. Moleski, SJ]

The part that worries me is 'There are no known losses' which is the point I was trying to make. I am sure the list is as comprehensive as it can be but, sometimes there's a fly in the ointment (not Dr Berrys freckle cream) :)

We can't list unknown losses.

By definition, "unknown losses" means "losses not known to have happened."

Prior to the outbreak of the war, there were no aircraft routinely flying in the vicinity.

The article on aircraft known to have been lost near Niku comes from the Pacific theater.  It is as complete as we know how to make it.  As with the article on sextant numbers, if you find another lost aircraft that belongs on the list, I'd be happy to add to the list.  But if your question is, "Have you checked all of the sources that you don't know about?", the answer is "No."

[Monty Fowler]

But if your question is, "Have you checked all of the sources that you don't know about?", the answer is "No."

Sheesh, for a minute there I thought I'd wandered into the laybrinth known as the Federal Acquisition Regulations, which are a special kind of *cough* hell, with no known logical exit.

LTM, who believes in breadcrumb trails,

Monty Fowler, TIGHAR No. 2189 CER

[Heath Smith]

For those of you that have access to the higher resolution images there is something interesting to the right of "Nessie" and it is appears to be a part of the image and not a defect on the print.