Lakenheath–Bentwaters incident
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🛸 Case
Contents 5
| Type | Case |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Lakenheath-Bentwaters, Lakenheath |
The Lakenheath–Bentwaters incident was a series of radar and visual reports of unidentified objects over eastern England on the night of 13–14 August 1956, involving U.S. Air Force radar operators at RAF Bentwaters and RAF Lakenheath and an RAF night fighter. The University of Colorado's Condon Report later judged that the probability of a genuine unexplained object being involved was "fairly high", making it one of the most discussed radar cases.[1][2]
The reports
On the evening of 13 August, radar operators at Bentwaters tracked a fast-moving target approaching from the sea, then a group of slower targets that seemed to merge into a single large return, and later another fast target. A T-33 jet sent to investigate saw nothing. Later that night, personnel at Lakenheath reported several luminous objects, two of which appeared to change direction sharply and merge.[1]
The Venom intercept
According to a 1968 letter to the Condon Committee from Technical Sergeant Forrest Perkins, a radar supervisor at Lakenheath, the RAF scrambled de Havilland Venom night fighters, and the first pilot obtained a radar lock on a target that then manoeuvred behind his aircraft and followed it for about ten minutes despite his attempts to shake it off.[1][2]
Condon Report and Blue Book
The Condon Committee's radar analysis concluded that this was "the most puzzling and unusual case in the radar-visual files" and that the probability that "at least one genuine UFO was involved appears to be fairly high". Project Blue Book's file provided the commonly cited sequence of events.[1][2][3]
Later analyses
Skeptic Philip Klass attributed the reports to false radar returns and misperceived Perseid meteors. Later, British researchers, including historian David Clarke, interviewed RAF aircrew from No. 23 Squadron who had flown that night; they recalled only weak, possibly stationary radar contacts, no chase and no visual sighting, and their scrambles appear to have occurred about two hours later than earlier accounts stated. Some researchers have suggested that radar spoofing or electronic countermeasure tests may have played a role. The case remains debated.[1][4]
References
- Lakenheath-Bentwaters incident — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Condon Report, Case 2 · ncas.org · archived copy
- Condon Report, Optical and Radar Analyses (G. Thayer) · ncas.org · archived copy
- David Clarke, "The Lakenheath UFOs" · drdavidclarke.co.uk · archived copy
This page was last edited on 31 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.
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