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Rendlesham Forest Incident

ufo_uap Danger: unknown Evidence: unknown

Overview

A series of reported sightings of unexplained lights and a possible craft over three nights in late December 1980 by U.S. Air Force personnel near the twin NATO bases of RAF Bentwaters and RAF Woodbridge in Suffolk, England.

Details

Origin:
Single localised incident in Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk, England, between RAF Woodbridge and RAF Bentwaters.
Regions:
Suffolk, East Anglia
First Reported:
1980-12-26

Full Account

The Rendlesham Forest Incident is the most famous British UFO case. Over the nights of 26–28 December 1980, security personnel from the U.S. Air Force units stationed at RAF Bentwaters and RAF Woodbridge — both used by the United States under NATO arrangements — reported unexplained lights descending into Rendlesham Forest, an apparent metallic object on the forest floor, and the return of lights on a subsequent night, during which the deputy base commander, Lt. Col. Charles I. Halt, recorded an audio cassette of the events as they unfolded. Halt's memorandum to the British Ministry of Defence, dated 13 January 1981 and headed 'Unexplained Lights', was released in 1983 under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act and remains the central documentary record. Skeptical investigations have attributed the lights to the Orford Ness lighthouse, a bright fireball meteor that night, and bright stars; some elements remain disputed. The MoD has stated that the case posed no threat to UK national security.

Also Known As

  • Britain's Roswell (English, United Kingdom)
  • Bentwaters–Woodbridge UFO Incident (English)
  • Rendlesham Forest UFO Incident (English)
  • The Halt Incident (English)

Etymology

Origin:
Rendlesham Forest, the area of forestry between RAF Bentwaters and RAF Woodbridge in Suffolk, where the events took place.
Meaning:
Rendlesham is an Old English place-name; the incident is named for the location.
First Use:
Used in print from the early 1980s in UK UFO reports following declassification of the Halt memo.

Timeline

  • 1980-12-26 — Approx. 03:00: USAF security patrol from RAF Woodbridge East Gate observes lights descending into Rendlesham Forest. Sergeant Jim Penniston, Airman John Burroughs, and Airman Edward Cabansag investigate (First night of the incident)
  • 1980-12-26 — Penniston later claimed to have approached and touched a small triangular craft with smooth surfaces and inscribed symbols (an account he developed in subsequent decades) (Most disputed element of the case)
  • 1980-12-27 — Three small impressions and burn marks discovered on the forest floor and photographed; broken branches noted (Claimed physical trace evidence)
  • 1980-12-28 — Night of 27/28 December: Lt. Col. Charles I. Halt leads a small team into the forest, takes radiation readings (claimed peaks ~0.1 mR/h at the impressions), and records 18 minutes of audio cassette describing pulsing red light and other lights to the north and south (Halt's audio recording is the central primary source)
  • 1981-01-13 — Halt writes a one-page memorandum, 'Unexplained Lights', to the UK Ministry of Defence (RAF Squadron Leader Donald Moreland) (Definitive primary document)
  • 1983-10-02 — The Halt memo is obtained under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act and published, leading to widespread media coverage in the UK (Public emergence of the case)
  • 2001-01-01 — UK MoD opens its 'Rendlesham File' (DEFE 24/1948) at the National Archives, with progressive releases through 2010 (Public access to MoD records)
  • 2010-08-01 — MoD releases its closing 'X-Files' batch including remaining Rendlesham material (End of MoD UFO project releases)

Sightings & Evidence

1 total documented
0 verified
1 disputed
0 debunked

Cultural Significance

Within the UK UFO community, treated as the most important UK case; within mainstream investigation, treated as a misperception case with sociological interest.

Related Phenomena

Tags

ufo 1980 suffolk raf-bentwaters raf-woodbridge usaf halt-memo britain cold-war trace-evidence-claimed

Sources