Rendlesham Forest, England — the Halt memo (1980)
Summary
In late December 1980, US Air Force personnel at the twin RAF Woodbridge/Bentwaters bases in Suffolk reported strange lights and a metallic craft in Rendlesham Forest over three nights. This file holds Deputy Base Commander Lt Col Charles Halt's January 1981 'Unexplained Lights' memo to the MoD and the follow-up correspondence — the core record of the case often called 'Britain's Roswell'.
Key highlights
Two USAF security police saw unusual lights on December 27, 1980.p.6
“saw unusual lights outsi the back RAF Woodbridge.”
The object was described as metallic, triangular, and about two to three meters across.p.6
“metallic in appearance and triangular in shape.”
Radiation checks revealed beta/gamma readings in the area of the sightings.p.6
“Beta/gamma readings of O. 1 11 i roentgen s were found.”
Witnesses reported seeing multiple objects in the sky after the initial sighting.p.6
“two objects to the north and one to the south.”
The report concluded there was no defense interest in the sightings.p.150
“there was nothing of defence interest in the alleged sighting.”
Outliers
A BBC investigation suggested the lights might have been from a lighthouse.p.150
“the pulsating light of the Orfordness lighthouse some 6-7 miles away.”
Source
View on UK Ministry of Defence →More from UKMOD