UPDATED 2nd SEPTEMBER 2020
Colour Image Added at base of this page..
The last few posts have focused on the PAVEL FEDOSIMOV issue and what proof exists that he could be the Somerton Man.
Briefly, we first published that Pavel may be the Somerton Man in February 2017, since then we have regularly posted additional information. But what separates these latest posts from those initial ones from more than 2 years ago is the recently found information from a series of documents written by a one time Russian KGB operative. Pavel's name and some of the circumstances surrounding his work are contained in those files. (READ: https://tamamshud.blogspot.com/2019/07/somerton-man-kgb-vassilievs-notebooks.html )
Whilst there was some repetition of things that we already knew and had published, there were some quite new and truly enlightening pieces of information.
As those following this series of posts will know, the POBEDA had a disastrous fire on board, a fire that killed 2 crew members and 40 passengers when it was literally just a few hours away from its final destination. some 270 passengers survived, we are currently attempting to get the two related lists as in the names of those who died and those that survived.
We have a description of the man from Harry Gold from his meeting with Pavel at the Earl Theater in the Bronx, he was described as very tall, he walked on the balls of his feet, he had big hands and was very well built. The reference to his walking on the balls of his feet was of great interest not only to me but in earlier years, to JOHN RUFFELS, a once enthusiastic researcher on the case. People who walk on the balls of their feet tend to develop high calf muscles just like the Somerton Man.
We know also that the SM's teeth were a feature, Cleland made mention of the fact that you would notice his missing teeth if he were to smile as you would have done from Pavel's photograph above.
My belief is that Pavels ears are a match for SM, see photos below, one feature was, at first glance, not that similar, that being Pavel's nose. However, under different lighting the somewhat 'pug' looking nose, some call it a saddle nose, was affected by the lighting and possibly it had been subjected to some manipulation, see below.
Would he have looked for and seized the opportunity to make a run for it ahead of what could have been a very much shortened career? Our ex KGB friend says that execution was likely, long term of imprisonment a distant second and found innocent would mean never leaving Russia again.
Whilst there was some repetition of things that we already knew and had published, there were some quite new and truly enlightening pieces of information.
THE POBEDA
Of these, perhaps the most impressive was that Pavel had been recalled to Russia not because it was the end of his tour, no, he was recalled because he was under suspicion of planning to betray his Motherland. He was believed to be a traitor to Russia and therefore he would have been seen as a likely candidate for defection. He was booked to return to Russia via Odessa on the Black Sea on the ship the POBEDA. I say booked as we do not have any proof that he was on the ship when it headed out into the Atlantic.As those following this series of posts will know, the POBEDA had a disastrous fire on board, a fire that killed 2 crew members and 40 passengers when it was literally just a few hours away from its final destination. some 270 passengers survived, we are currently attempting to get the two related lists as in the names of those who died and those that survived.
ESPIONAGE?
Amongst the victims was a high ranking ex Chinese Nationalist Government member who had betrayed his cause and was attempting to meet with Mao via the good offices of the Russian Government. Whilst publicly the blame was laid on the Captain of the POBEDA and two crew members, it is known that Stalin had reason to believe that the fire was an act of espionage and he was not well pleased.PAVEL FEDOSIMOV & THE SOMERTON MAN
But back to Pavel. Here we have a man, a KGB man who was a known spy and handler for other spies including some engaged on the Manhattan project.We have a description of the man from Harry Gold from his meeting with Pavel at the Earl Theater in the Bronx, he was described as very tall, he walked on the balls of his feet, he had big hands and was very well built. The reference to his walking on the balls of his feet was of great interest not only to me but in earlier years, to JOHN RUFFELS, a once enthusiastic researcher on the case. People who walk on the balls of their feet tend to develop high calf muscles just like the Somerton Man.
We know also that the SM's teeth were a feature, Cleland made mention of the fact that you would notice his missing teeth if he were to smile as you would have done from Pavel's photograph above.
My belief is that Pavels ears are a match for SM, see photos below, one feature was, at first glance, not that similar, that being Pavel's nose. However, under different lighting the somewhat 'pug' looking nose, some call it a saddle nose, was affected by the lighting and possibly it had been subjected to some manipulation, see below.
Nose Superimposed? Shadows?
Ears
Looking at Pavel's ear in comparison to SM's you can clearly see the strong similarities in shape and form. You must make some allowance for the lighting and angle of the images.
THE QUESTIONS
Are very straightforward ones. Pavel would likely have known he was under suspicion, the man was a trained operative having gained valuable frontline experience in Germany in the early 40s and then on the Manhattan project.
Would he have looked for and seized the opportunity to make a run for it ahead of what could have been a very much shortened career? Our ex KGB friend says that execution was likely, long term of imprisonment a distant second and found innocent would mean never leaving Russia again.
Could he have boarded another ship in New York, one of many that plied their trade between New York and Australian Ports? It would have been a 4-week journey and such ships would have called in at Fremantle, Melbourne, and Sydney.
Did Pavel contact people smugglers in Australia? There was a post that suggested that Prosper may have been involved in that business. Or was he in touch with another agency attempting to set up a meeting and arrange for a defection?
In this colourised version of the Fedosimov image, you get a much clearer view of the features:
1. You can see there are several issues with his teeth, some missing and the lower teeth look in bad condition. It's possible that they were extracted?
2. You can now see the nose much more clearly, not a saddle nose as previously discussed.
3. The upper part of his right ear looks identical to SM but, the lower part, the lobe looks quite different. Will check on this and do some comparisons
Maybe Pavel was in on the Pobeda job?
ReplyDeleteIMO (mainly speculative)...
ReplyDeleteFedosimov was recalled because his view of Nuclear differed to his superiors. He appreciated the potential of nuclear in terms of energy, rather than weaponry. He was very small fry in terms of Venona and this is evidenced by the confusion about his identity in Vassili notebooks (Maj was significant, Stepan only appears in fairly mundane stuff).
Fedosimov appears tgrought the 40's, 50's and 60's as a diplomat. While I take points about identity reuse, that idea is complicated by the fact in some of these postings they list his wife - Vera Sergeyvna - the same name as NY fed's wife. Inalso think the presence of Fed at the atomic energy conferences is telling and is too big a coincidence not to be connected (especially since he stops attending them about the time our Fed would have been retirement age).
For mine, there's too much we have to explain away as coincidence if we want to have Fed as SM - and so to me the balnce of probability has a high unlikeliness Fed is SM.
Thanks for the comment, I know we have different views on this and I sincerely believe that you have a right to yours.
DeleteI have a question for you, can you, hand on heart, say that the man in the photograph at the head of this post is the man named Fedosimov who appears in the IAEA records? It really is at the heart of the matter and I raise it because it is known that another name was used by a Pavel Fedosimov at an earlier time.
No. But I can't hand on heart say the pic you have is called Fedosimov either. However, hand on heart, I do believe Fedosimov in NY is Fedosimov in UK, is Fedosimov in Syria, is Fedosimov at IAEA.
DeleteIt seems we agree in the first part of your comment but curiously you appear to immediately contradict the first part of your statement? 'I can't hand on heart say the pic you have is called Fedosimov..' I can't say that either, I can say that this man matches the description given by Harry Gold to the FBI in 1950 and he confirmed this when they showed him a file photograph of Fedosimov. The FBI have since told us that they have no photographs of Fedosimov and the CIA said the same.
DeleteInterestingly when the FBI interviewed Gold, they were, as per Venona cover names and Vassiliev's notes, under the impression that Fedosimov was MAJ.
As I have previously pointed out, we only have the words of TASS to tell us that the man with Novokov is Pavel Fedosimov. TASS, as you may not be aware, was a cover for Soviet intelligence activities. The photograph from Sovfoto was a constructed one according to the opinions of two photographers. The man we are focused on is the man referred to as Pavel Fedosimov in that photograph.
On the one hand you say you can't say that the man in the pic is Pavel and yet you go on to strongly infer that a man called Pavel Fedosimov later served in the UK and Syria (and Mexico by the way) But you can't say if it was the man in our photograph. And that is exactly the point I have been making, they are two different men.
I hope this makes sense, it's an interesting discussion.
In 1950 the FBI in an interview with Harry Gold, produced a photograph of Pavel Fedosimov, Golf identified him as the man he had met at the Earle Theatre in the Bronx in December 1946. Wonder which photo they showed him? Clive
ReplyDeleteUpdated this post with colourised image and more issues. Still trying to locate photographs after 1947, no luck thus far
ReplyDeletePersonally I dont find the ears to be match between SM and Fedosimov. Have you considered Armin Deutsch a possibility?
ReplyDeleteThe challenge that we have is the body. When i spoke with Paul Lason he specifically mentioned the ears being almost shapeless. We know for a fact that the Police images of the man were altered, the question is just how much? You will have noted that only 20 people viewed the body before it was embalmed and many said that whilst the press photographs looked similar to the man they thought it was, the body looked different. It's not easy to resolve and, as I have always said, if we have more photographs of Fedosimov after November 1948 and they match this man in the image above then that closes the argument off.
ReplyDeleteAnother problem we have is that we only 'think' that this is Fedosimov, we know it from the wording on the back of the photograph I have and it was put there by either SOVFOTO or TASS both of these organisations were run by NKVD staff.
Soviet 'diplomats' were in the habit of changing their names and documents whenever they changed locations even within the US.
Yes, Arnold Deutsch was considered, but, supposedly, he died in 1942.
NKVD and agents from whichever country were masters at muddying the waters, very effectively.
I based my original thinking about Fedosimov on the description of him given by Harry Gold when they met at the Earl Theatre in the Bronx. Harry put him at 6 foot three inches tall. That sounds quite decisive, but, Harry Gold was around 5 feet 4 inches in height and it is a known issue that people give descriptions against their own anchors. I learned about that in basic Police training many years ago. In this day and age it is taught under a specific subject, 'Forensic Psychology' referring to witness evidence, and you will actually find the issue described much as I have attempted to describe it here.
A good comment and I hope you can see why there are issues.