The Rendlesham Forest incident

About Rendlesham Forest incident

The full story, section by section

The story of Rendlesham Forest incident in 8 parts. Tap any part to read it in full.

1. SettingRendlesham Forest is owned by the Forestry Commission.Read this part → RAF Woodbridge (foreground) and the former RAF Bentwaters from the air, with Rendlesham Forest around them. · Photo: Thomas Nugent, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
2. The first night: 26 December 1980Christmas night 1980 was one of the best on record for dramatic meteors over southern England.Read this part → East Gate of the former RAF Woodbridge, where the security patrol first saw lights descending into the forest. · Photo: Andy Peacock, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
3. The second night: 27–28 December 1980According to Conrad, the security police kept the first sighting low-key, and no one above the squadron commander, Major Malcolm Zickler, was told until the next evening.Read this part → Canis Major and Orion. Sirius, in Canis Major, is thought to be the brightest of Halt's star-like objects. · Photo: Jorge Simonet, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
4. The Halt memo and the Ministry of DefenceBecause the U.S. Air Force no longer studied UFOs after Project Blue Book closed, and the sightings were outside the base fence, Halt was told to report them to the British.Read this part → Memorandum by Lieutenant Colonel Charles Halt to the British Ministry of Defense regarding an incident in Rendlesham Forest, entitled "Unexplained Lights". · Photo: Lieutenant Colonel Charles Halt, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
5. Going publicWithin months, rumours of a UFO landing reached civilian ufologists.Read this part → Illustration drawn for this site — not a photograph.
6. ExplanationsRidpath began investigating within days of the 1983 story, filming the lighthouse at night with a BBC crew and interviewing Thurkettle, who first suggested it.Read this part → Orford Ness lighthouse. Its five-second flash matches the light on Halt's tape. · Photo: Christopher Hilton, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
7. Changing witness accountsPenniston's account has grown the most.Read this part → Illustration drawn for this site — not a photograph.
8. LegacyIn 2005 the Forestry Commission used Lottery money to create a "UFO Trail" through the forest because of public interest.Read this part → The UFO sculpture at the end of the Forestry Commission's UFO Trail, installed in 2014. · Photo: Sandy Gerrard, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Read the full Rendlesham Forest incident article →

Key people

The people at the centre of the story — witnesses, investigators, officials and sceptics:

• Jim PennistonJim Penniston is a retired U.S. Air Force staff sergeant who became a central witness to the Rendlesham Forest incident.
• John BurroughsJohn Burroughs is a retired U.S. Air Force technical sergeant who investigated unusual lights in Rendlesham Forest in Suffolk, England, in December 1980.
• David ClarkeDavid William Clarke is a British investigative journalist, folklorist, and associate professor at Sheffield Hallam University. He is known for using Freedom of Information requests to secure the rel…
• Nick PopeNick Pope was an English civil servant, author, and prominent UFO commentator who worked for the UK Ministry of Defence from 1985 to 2006. He served on the ministry's "UFO desk" from 1991 to 1994, wh…
• Jenny RandlesJenny Randles is a British author, researcher, and former director of investigations for the British UFO Research Association who has written dozens of books on UFOs and the paranormal. She investiga…
• Joe NickellJoe Nickell was an American skeptic and professional investigator who examined paranormal claims, UFOs, ghosts, and religious relics. He worked as a senior research fellow for the Committee for Skept…
• Christopher "Kit" GreenChristopher "Kit" Green is an American physician who worked in the CIA's scientific intelligence directorate during the 1970s and 1980s, later working for General Motors and Wayne State University. O…
• Charles HaltCharles Halt is a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel who served as deputy base commander at RAF Bentwaters and RAF Woodbridge in Suffolk, England.
• Robert HastingsRobert Hastings is an American UFO researcher, author, and filmmaker who has spent decades interviewing military veterans about UFOs appearing at nuclear weapons sites. He compiled these accounts int…
• Robert SalasRobert Salas is a former U.S. Air Force lieutenant who became a prominent voice on the alleged link between UFOs and nuclear weapons.
• Leslie KeanLeslie Kean is an American investigative journalist and author known for her reporting on unidentified flying objects and her 2010 best-selling book on the subject. She co-authored a 2017 New York Ti…
• Grant CameronGrant Cameron is a Canadian UFO researcher who has spent decades investigating the relationship between United States presidents and UFOs by utilizing Freedom of Information Act requests and presiden…
• Ray BoecheRay Boeche is an American priest and ufologist who investigated unexplained phenomena and reported meeting two Defense Department scientists on November 25, 1991. The scientists allegedly told him ab…

Related cases & events

Events and sightings linked to Rendlesham Forest incident:

🗓️ Event · 7 min readProject CondignProject Condign was a secret study of UFO and UAP reports commissioned by the UK Ministry of Defence's Defence Intelligence Staff in the late 1990s. The final three-volume report was delivered in 2000 and concluded that while these phenomena were indisputable…🗓️ Event · 8 min readUFOs and Nukes press conferenceThe UFOs and Nukes press conference took place in Washington on September 27, 2010, where former military personnel presented accounts of UFO activity monitoring and disabling nuclear weapons sites. The event drew wide media coverage and featured testimony re…🗓️ Event · 9 min readJohn Burroughs's medical recordsFormer U.S. Air Force security policeman John Burroughs sought military medical records and disability benefits after suffering severe heart problems that he attributed to a December 1980 encounter with unusual lights in Rendlesham Forest near RAF Woodbridge,…🗓️ Event · 6 min readBurroughs and Kit Green's meditation adviceFormer USAF security policeman John Burroughs, who experienced the December 1980 Rendlesham Forest incident in England, suffered serious heart problems that he attributes to his exposure. In 2018, physician and former CIA scientist Christopher Kit Green revie…🗓️ Event · 6 min readJim Penniston meets Kit GreenResearcher Grant Cameron described a 2022 meeting that brought together Rendlesham Forest witness Jim Penniston, former CIA physician Kit Green, and a lawyer to discuss Penniston's health and experiences. The gathering connected Penniston's health concerns fo…🛸 Case · 9 min readMalmstrom missile incidentsThe Malmstrom missile incidents involve the simultaneous shutdown of ten Minuteman nuclear missiles at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana on March 16, 1967. Former launch officer Robert Salas later claimed that UFOs were seen near the missile sites during th…🗓️ Event · 11 min readVallée on the disinformation campaign (1989)In September 1989, UFO researcher Jacques Vallée concluded from his journals that a large disinformation campaign existed regarding UFOs, though he could find no evidence of an active government black project or what the campaign was meant to hide. The entrie…🛸 Case · 9 min readUtsuro-buneThe Utsuro-bune is a historical legend from Edo-period Japan about a strange, hollow vessel that washed ashore in Hitachi Province in early 1803 with a young woman inside. According to the texts, the vessel contained provisions, unknown writing, and a pale wo…📅 Year · 4 min read1980 in UFO historyThe encyclopedia page outlines UFO and UAP events from 1980, focusing heavily on government secrecy, disinformation, and crashes. Key events included the Rendlesham Forest incident in England, the Cash–Landrum incident in the United States, and the release of…

Programs, organizations & documents

The official programs, groups and papers involved:

🏢 Organization · 13 min readU.S. Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the air service branch of the U.S. armed forces that became an independent service in September 1947.🏢 Organization · 7 min readUK Ministry of DefenceThe UK Ministry of Defence is the government department responsible for UK defence policy and the British Armed Forces. For about sixty years until November 2009, it also handled public UFO reports through a dedicated desk. The department eventually closed th…🏛️ Program or study · 13 min readProject Blue BookProject Blue Book was the United States Air Force's official study of unidentified flying objects based at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio from March 1952 until December 1969. The project collected and analyzed sighting reports to determine if UFOs th…📄 Document · 13 min readFreedom of Information ActThe Freedom of Information Act is a United States law signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 4, 1966, requiring federal executive agencies to release records upon request unless they fall under specific exemptions. The statute allows federal courts to …🏢 Organization · 13 min readU.S. NavyThe United States Navy is the maritime branch of the US armed forces and has played a significant role in the history of unidentified aerial phenomena. Over the decades, its pilots and ships have reported encounters with unknown objects, produced notable sigh…🏢 Organization · 12 min readAir Force Office of Special InvestigationsThe Air Force Office of Special Investigations is a United States federal law-enforcement agency and criminal investigation and counterintelligence service founded in 1948. Headquartered in Quantico, Virginia, it operates outside the normal military chain of …

Books, films & documentaries

Where to read and watch more:

🎬 Book or film · 6 min readUFOs and NukesThe article discusses the 2008 book and 2016 documentary UFOs and Nukes by Robert Hastings, which argues that UFOs have repeatedly appeared over and interfered with nuclear weapons sites. Drawing on interviews with military veterans and events spanning from 1…🎬 Book or film · 5 min readIn Plain SightIn Plain Sight is a 2021 book by Australian investigative journalist Ross Coulthart that surveys military and government involvement with UFOs from 1947 to the present. Published by HarperCollins in Australia and the United States, the book concludes that tec…🎬 Book or film · 4 min readUnidentified: Inside America's UFO InvestigationUnidentified: Inside America's UFO Investigation is a History channel documentary series that premiered on May 31, 2019. It follows former military counterintelligence officer Luis Elizondo and members of Tom DeLonge's To The Stars Academy of Arts and Science…

Related topics & places

Ideas, terms and places that come up in the story:

📍 Place · 5 min readRendlesham ForestRendlesham Forest is a mixed woodland in Suffolk, England, that became famous as the site of an alleged UFO incident in December 1980. During this event, US Air Force personnel reported seeing strange lights and a possible landed craft among the trees over mu…📖 Term · 13 min readUnidentified anomalous phenomenaUnidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) is the U.S. government's current term for unidentified objects or events in the air, space, or underwater.📖 Term · 17 min readUnidentified flying objectAn unidentified flying object, or UFO, is an unexplained phenomenon or object seen in the sky, with the modern craze originating in the United States in June 1947. While popular culture often equates UFOs with alien spacecraft, most investigations reveal them…📍 Place · 6 min readMalmstrom Air Force BaseMalmstrom Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Cascade County, Montana, that operates intercontinental ballistic missiles and has served various military roles since its construction during the Second World War. The base became famous i…📍 Place · 5 min readF.E. Warren Air Force BaseF.E. Warren Air Force Base is a United States strategic missile base located near Cheyenne, Wyoming, that was founded in 1867.🧭 Topic overview · 12 min readMilitary encounters (topic)This overview covers 72 military encounters with unidentified objects reported by pilots, radar operators, and service members between 1947 and 2022. Key incidents include World War II "foo fighters," the 2004 USS Nimitz "Tic Tac" encounter off southern Calif…

🗓️ Rendlesham Forest incident on the UAP timeline

1. 13 March 2015Kit Green says Rendlesham witness John Burroughs' medical records were classified. Read the article →
2. 12 December 2018Rendlesham witness John Burroughs says Kit Green suggested meditation practices to him. Read the article →
3. 20 October 2022Cameron describes a meeting between Rendlesham witness Jim Penniston and Kit Green. Read the article →

Search the timeline →

🏛️ Official records

• UK Ministry of Defence UFO filesThe National Archives (UK) · Released 2008 – 2013Thousands of pages of UFO reports, letters and internal papers from the UK Ministry of Defence, opened to the public by The National Archives in a series of releases between 2008 and 2013.

🛸 UFO sightings near Rendlesham Forest

35 sightings on ufos.dev were reported within 80 km. The most-upvoted:

Sightings that mention Rendlesham Forest incident

Open the sightings map → Search sightings →

More in the encyclopedia

Other articles that link to or mention Rendlesham Forest incident:

• Vallée's 1979 conclusions on government involvementIn his 1979 book Messengers of Deception, UFO researcher Jacques Vallée argued that the UFO phenomenon involved physical devices that affect human consciousness and were being used by human groups fo…
• Vallée's doubts about Kit Green (1974)This article describes a 1974 journal entry by UFO researcher Jacques Vallée regarding his meetings and discussions with CIA scientist Christopher "Kit" Green. Vallée spent a weekend in June 1974 wit…
• Bigelow AerospaceBigelow Aerospace was an American space technology company founded in Nevada in the late 1990s by Robert Bigelow to develop expandable space station modules. The company successfully launched prototy…
• Kit Green's injury databaseFormer CIA physician Christopher "Kit" Green collected clinical data and screened reports of injuries following close encounters with unusual aerial objects. Around 2010, he wrote a paper on these in…
• 2015 in UFO historyThis text summarizes UFO and UAP events that occurred worldwide throughout the year 2015, including Navy pilot sightings, government disclosures, and contractor communications. Key developments featu…
• 2010 in UFO historyThe text outlines five UFO and UAP events that occurred in 2010, focusing primarily on military encounters and nuclear or missile sites. Key occurrences included a September press conference in Washi…

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