Rendlesham Forest Incident
RAF Woodbridge, Rendlesham Forest, England. 26th December 1980
“Triangular in shape. The top portion is producing mainly white light, which encompasses most of the upper section of the craft. A small amount of white light peers out the bottom. At the left side center is a bluish light, and on the other side, red. The lights seem to be molded as part of the exterior of the structure, smooth, slowly fading into the rest of the outside of the structure, gradually molding into the fabric of the craft’”
Shortly after midnight on the 26th December 1980, a security patrol at RAF Woodbridge reported seeing lights descending into the nearby Rendlesham forest. At the time the base was being used by the United Sates Air Force (USAF). USAF personnel initially believed there may have been a downed aircraft, but in a briefing with the security team Staff Sergeant Jim Penniston was informed that the object did not crash, but instead landed smoothly. Penniston, along with Airman Edward Cabansag and Airman First Class John Burroughs responded to the reports and investigated the site. The men directly observed a bright glowing object just inside the treeline.
The closer they got the more the bright lights dissipated, eventually revealing a triangular craft approximately 9ft long and 6ft high. In Penniston’s handwritten notes taken at the time of the encounter, he writes how the lighting emanated from the very fabric of the craft. The surface was pulsing in different moving colours and was warm to the touch. It produced no noise and caused a feeling of “static electricity” in the air. Penniston recorded that there was no landing gear, wings or visible method of propulsion. He noted that on the left front side of the object were strange symbols etched on the craft. Eventually, the object began silently moving through the trees, followed by the three men, before flying upwards at an incredible speed. Over 80 air force personnel in the 81st security police squadron witnessed the takeoff. The information acquired through Penniston’s notes was reported through military channels, and Penniston claims that his team and the other witnesses were told to treat the investigation as top secret.
“This contact that I experienced was not only life threatening at the time but has ever since been and will always be a part of me and those involved. The most dramatic thing of the entire situation was what happen afterwards and the interrogations and all”
The next morning servicemen returned to a small clearing near the eastern edge of the forest and found three small impressions on the ground in a triangular pattern, as well as burn marks and broken branches on nearby trees.
“Whatever we saw was under intelligent control”
Deputy Base Commander Colonel Charles Halt was in charge of the investigation, and was himself a witness. In the early hours of 28th December, Halt visited the site with several servicemen to take radiation readings of the site. While there they witnessed strange lights in the sky over the field to the east. Halt documented his experience using a small pocket recorder he had on him at the time. In the recording he describes a glowing object, metallic in appearance, with coloured lights. As they attempted to approach the object it began moving further into the woods, eventually passing out of view.
The ‘Halt Memo’
The first piece of primary evidence to be made available to the public was a memorandum written by the deputy base commander, Lieutenant Colonel Charles I. Halt, to the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Known as the "Halt memo", this was made publicly available in the United States under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act in 1983.
The ‘Halt Tape’
In 1984, a copy of what became known as the "Halt Tape" was released to UFO researchers by Colonel Sam Morgan, who had by then succeeded Ted Conrad as Halt's superior. This tape chronicles Halt's investigation in the forest in real time, including taking radiation readings, the sighting of the flashing light between trees, and the star-like objects.
“HALT: There is no doubt about it – there’s some type of strange flashing red light ahead.
ENGLUND: Sir, it’s yellow.
HALT: I saw a yellow tinge in it, too. Weird! It appears to be moving a little bit this way? It’s brighter than it has been.
VOICE: Yellow
HALT: It’s coming this way. It is definitely coming this way.
VOICE: Pieces of it shooting off...
HALT: Pieces of it are shooting off. There is no doubt about it. This is weird!”
In 2005, the Forestry Commission used Lottery proceeds to create a ‘UFO trail’ in Rendlesham Forest. In 2014, the Forestry Service commissioned an artist to create a life-size model of the craft based on Penniston’s drawings and descriptions. This has now been installed at the end of the trail.
