Rendlesham Forest Incident

The Rendlesham Forest Incident occurred over a three-day period in 1980 and has become known as the British version of Roswell. The strange sighting started on December 26th and like Roswell it happened very close to military bases, RAF Woodbridge and RAF Bentwaters which were being used by the USAF at the time.

An unidentified flying object was seen in the area and at first servicemen thought it was a crashed aircraft. On entering Rendlesham Forest they saw many strange lights moving through the trees, as well as a blinding light from an unidentified object. Some U.S. airmen claim to have seen a “conical metallic object” suspended in a yellow mist hovering over a clearing in the trees, with a pulsating blue and red circle of light above.

One eyewitness claims to have seen a triangular landing gear. The servicemen claimed that the object was clearly aware of their presence and backed off, forcing them to give chase. Later the servicemen were found in a dazed state, and local reports said that local farmyard and domestic animals had been behaving in a possessed state of fear and panic, some cows went on a stampede.

The airmen were debriefed, threatened and ordered to sign documents that vowed their silence, one even claimed to have been forced to sign a document claiming the UFO was a lighthouse beam. Some reports suggest that they were reportedly ordered to stay quiet with the warning, "bullets are cheap".

Some local reports suggest that “small beings with domed heads” left the craft, and Commander Gordon Williams, who was in command of both air bases, claimed to have made sign language communication with the aliens.

The next morning, the servicemen returned with radiation detectors and found three small impressions in a triangle pattern that were radioactive. Later that night the lights returned, and nearby civilians saw a bright red light moving in the forest. It has been claimed that the incident was videoed by the USAF. But so far no video tape has been produced as evidence.

Deputy Commander of Bentwaters air base, Lt. Col. Charles Halt, issued the following report to the Ministry of Defence (MOD): "The object was described as being metallic in appearance and triangular in shape, approximately three metres across the base and two metres high. It illuminated the entire forest with a white light....As the patrol men approached the object, it moved through the trees and disappeared. At this time the animals in a nearby farm went into frenzy. The next day three depressions were found where the object had been sighted on the ground."

Many of the local residents believe that what the serviceman had seen was the lighthouse. The coastline nearby is slightly lower than the surrounding area creating the impression of a light hovering above the ground.

Locals also believe the "landing marks" to be "rabbit diggings" and burn marks in the trees were axe cuts indicating the trees were ready to be felled. To confuse matters a meteor sighting was also reported at a similar time as the UFO incident.

Debate continues to surround the Rendlesham Forest incident. Many people give credibility to the lighthouse theory. Surely the servicemen knew the direction of the lighthouse, or did they…

America's Rendlesham Forest - Roswell 1947

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