Rendlesham Forest incident
Also: Bentwaters incident; Britain's Roswell
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The visual record
Illustrations, recordings and archival references — each with its own provenance. A documented source is a starting point for investigation, not a verdict on its explanation.
RAF Woodbridge East Gate
The East Gate near the reported incident area, photographed decades later. Location context — not a photograph of any reported object.
Taras Young · 2014 ↗CC BY-SA 4.0Licence terms ↗Resized and WebP-converted for display; content unchanged.Jesse Michels · 3:01:39
Open the source at the cited time. The episode thumbnail is video packaging, not a photograph of the reported subject.
American Alchemy / Jesse Michels ↗YouTube-hosted preview and player; not relicensedJesse Michels · 1:31:18
Open the source at the cited time. The episode thumbnail is video packaging, not a photograph of the reported subject.
American Alchemy / Jesse Michels ↗YouTube-hosted preview and player; not relicensedOn the nights of 26–28 December 1980 US Air Force personnel from RAF Woodbridge and Bentwaters reported lights and a metallic triangular object in Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk; Deputy Base Commander Lt Col Charles Halt filed a memorandum and recorded audio. The UK MoD judged it of no defence significance. Corpus speakers cite the multiple witnesses and a remote-viewing session.
Read the full account
What was reported. Early on 26 December 1980 security patrolmen from RAF Woodbridge investigated lights in the forest and, by their later accounts, approached a small metallic triangular object with symbols on its surface that then moved off. Two nights later Lt Col Halt led a party into the forest with a radiation meter and tape recorder and reported a pulsing red light that broke into pieces and star-like objects that sent down beams. (FACT about the report.)
What followed. Halt wrote his memorandum to the MoD in January 1981; it was released under FOIA in 1983 and the News of the World published it. The MoD file, released in 2001, shows no investigation beyond filing. Penniston later described a binary message he says he received by touching the craft. (FACT.)
What the corpus adds. In the Mick West debate the host lists Bentwaters 1980 as a multi-witness case under joint US–UK management. In the remote-viewing episode the host summarizes the Penniston and Burroughs approach to the black triangle and the indentations, and the guest says he remote-viewed the incident and that Col John Alexander knew of it early. (FACT about testimony; SPECULATION in the remote-viewing content.)
Explanations offered. Skeptics attribute the lights to the Orford Ness lighthouse, a bright fireball and the star Sirius, and the indentations to rabbit scrapes. Supporters cite the radiation readings and the sightings of a structured object by trained personnel. (INFERENCE.)
The event
| Date | |
|---|---|
| Place | Rendlesham Forest / RAF Bentwaters–Woodbridge · United States |
| Official response | Lt Col Halt's memorandum of 13 January 1981 to the UK MoD described the lights, ground indentations and radiation readings; the MoD replied that the event had no defence significance and released its file in 2001. |
Reported by
- Jim Penniston military USAF staff sergeant, security police
- John Burroughs military USAF airman, security police
- Charles Halt military Lt Col, deputy base commander
Investigated by
- uk ministry of defence military
- Nick Pope government
Who spoke about it later
- Jesse Michels 3:01:39 UFO Skeptic Mick West Challenged To A Debate ▶ 2025
- Lyn Buchanan 1:31:18 “I Operated a UFO… It’s Not What You Think” -Army Sergeant Lyn Buchanan ▶ 2026
Mentioned in the corpus
Passages this record cites, with the stamp of the block each quote sits in.
UFO Skeptic Mick West Challenged To A Debate 26 January 2025
- 3:01:39 ▶ Jesse Michels
Royal Air Force Bentwaters 1980, you have a bunch of witnesses. So, because it was joint, you know, managed by the US and the Royal Air Force, you
- 3:01:39 ▶ interview
- 3:01:39 ▶ Jesse Michels
“I Operated a UFO… It’s Not What You Think” -Army Sergeant Lyn Buchanan 28 May 2026
- 1:31:18 ▶ Jesse Michels
didn't you remote view um the 1980 Rendlesham Forest incident? >> Oh, yeah. >> Where this is um you know, uh Royal Air
- 1:31:18 ▶ interview
- 1:31:48 ▶ Jesse Michels
three different uh US Air Force sergeants uh Jim Penniston, John >> I'm blanking on the third guy's name. All come across this They first they see
- 1:32:19 ▶ Jesse Michels
Penniston and Burroughs even went right up to it. >> And and and and so and it's this black triangle and then they
- 1:31:18 ▶ Jesse Michels
Named in 4 uploads (automatic name matching, 7 mentions)
On the map
Rendlesham Forest incident, Tehran F-4 incident, Loring AFB overflights (October 1975), Cash–Landrum incident, Belgian UFO wave. Open the full map filtered to this record.
Sources on this record
- 3:01:39 UFO Skeptic Mick West Challenged To A Debate · Jesse Michels ▶
Royal Air Force Bentwaters 1980, you have a bunch of witnesses. So, because it was joint, you know, managed by the US and the Royal Air Force, you
- 1:31:18 “I Operated a UFO… It’s Not What You Think” -Army Sergeant Lyn Buchanan · Jesse Michels ▶
didn't you remote view um the 1980 Rendlesham Forest incident? >> Oh, yeah. >> Where this is um you know, uh Royal Air
- 1:31:48 “I Operated a UFO… It’s Not What You Think” -Army Sergeant Lyn Buchanan · Jesse Michels ▶
three different uh US Air Force sergeants uh Jim Penniston, John >> I'm blanking on the third guy's name. All come across this They first they see
- 1:32:19 “I Operated a UFO… It’s Not What You Think” -Army Sergeant Lyn Buchanan · Jesse Michels ▶
Penniston and Burroughs even went right up to it. >> And and and and so and it's this black triangle and then they
- Rendlesham Forest incident