Rendlesham Forest incident
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🛸 Case
Contents 8
| Type | Case |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Rendlesham |
| On the Timeline | 4 events, 2010–2022 |
The Rendlesham Forest incident is a series of reported sightings of unexplained lights and a landed craft in Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk, England, in late December 1980, by U.S. Air Force personnel from the neighbouring twin bases of RAF Woodbridge and RAF Bentwaters. Often called "Britain's Roswell", it is the best-known UFO case in the United Kingdom. Skeptical researchers attribute it to a bright fireball, the Orford Ness lighthouse and stars, while several witnesses maintain they encountered a craft of unknown origin.[1][2]
Setting
RAF Woodbridge and RAF Bentwaters were Royal Air Force stations used by the U.S. Air Force during the Cold War. Woodbridge extends into the forest, and Bentwaters lies just to the north. The wing commander over both bases was Col. Gordon Williams; the base commander was Col. Ted Conrad, and his deputy was Lt. Col. Charles Halt.[1]
First night: 26 December 1980
At about 3 a.m. GMT on 26 December, a security patrol near Woodbridge's East Gate saw lights that appeared to descend into the forest. Airmen including Staff Sgt. Jim Penniston, Airman John Burroughs and Airman Edward Cabansag went to investigate. They described a glowing object with coloured lights; Penniston later said he approached a small, triangular craft and touched it, finding it warm. No other witness at the time confirmed that detail.[1] Local police called shortly after 4 a.m. reported seeing only the lighthouse. That morning, servicemen found three small depressions in a clearing, along with burn-like marks and broken branches; police who visited at 10:30 a.m. thought an animal had made the marks.[1][3]
Second visit: 28 December 1980
In the early hours of 28 December, Halt led a team into the forest after further reports. He recorded his observations as they happened on a micro-cassette recorder. The team measured radiation with an AN/PDR-27 survey meter, finding about 0.07 milliroentgens per hour in the depressions against 0.03–0.04 elsewhere, levels close to normal background. They saw a flashing red light across a field and three star-like lights in the sky, the brightest of which, Halt said, hovered for two to three hours.[1][4]
The Halt memo
On 13 January 1981 Halt wrote a one-page memo titled "Unexplained Lights" to the UK Ministry of Defence, describing the events (though dating them a day later than they occurred). It was released in 1983 under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, and the British tabloid News of the World splashed the story on its front page that October. Halt's tape later became public as well.[2][5] The Ministry of Defence said the events posed no threat to national security and were not investigated as a security matter.[1]
Explanations
Astronomer and writer Ian Ridpath, who investigated the case from 1983, argued that the first lights coincided with a bright fireball seen over southern England at around 3 a.m.; that the flashing light lay in the same direction as the Orford Ness lighthouse, with timings on Halt's tape matching its five-second flash; that the hovering lights matched bright stars such as Sirius; and that police and foresters identified the depressions as rabbit diggings. He also argued the radiation readings were insignificant.[1][3][4] Skeptic Brian Dunning argued that combining several weak pieces of evidence does not produce strong evidence, and British researcher Jenny Randles, who co-wrote the first book on the case, concluded that no unearthly craft had been seen.[1][6]
Witnesses have rejected these explanations. Halt has said he believes the events were extraterrestrial and were covered up by the U.S. and British governments, and he repeated this at a 2010 press conference in Washington. Penniston later said that while touching the craft he received a stream of binary code, which he wrote down; critics see this as a later addition. Burroughs, who said he suffered health problems from the encounter, was granted medical benefits by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in 2015.[2][7]
Legacy
In 2005 the Forestry Commission opened a "UFO Trail" through the forest, and in 2014 a metal sculpture based on witness sketches was placed at its end. The case has been the subject of books including Sky Crash (1984), You Can't Tell the People by Georgina Bruni (2000) and The UFOs That Never Were (2000), and the 2014 film The Rendlesham UFO Incident.[1]
On the UAP Timeline
- UFOs and Nukes press conference (27 September 2010) — Former military officers hold a press conference about UAP at nuclear weapons sites.
- John Burroughs's medical records (13 March 2015) — Kit Green says Rendlesham witness John Burroughs' medical records were classified.
- Burroughs and Kit Green's meditation advice (12 December 2018) — Rendlesham witness John Burroughs says Kit Green suggested meditation practices to him.
- Jim Penniston meets Kit Green (20 October 2022) — Cameron describes a meeting between Rendlesham witness Jim Penniston and Kit Green.
References
- Rendlesham Forest incident — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- "Rendlesham Forest UFO: Are we any closer to the truth 40 years on?", BBC News (2020) · bbc.co.uk · archived copy
- Ian Ridpath, "The 3am fireball" · ianridpath.com · archived copy
- Ian Ridpath, "Were the radiation readings significant?" · ianridpath.com · archived copy
- "UFO files: Rendlesham Forest incident remains Britain's most tantalising sighting", The Telegraph (2013) · telegraph.co.uk · archived copy
- Brian Dunning, "Rendlesham Forest UFO", Skeptoid #135 · skeptoid.com · archived copy
- R. McGaha and J. Nickell, "The Rendlesham UFO incident: a study in folly", Skeptical Inquirer (2014) · skepticalinquirer.org · archived copy
This page was last edited on 29 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
No discussion yet.