Rendlesham Forest incident
The Rendlesham Forest incident was a series of reported sightings of unexplained lights near Rendlesham Forest in Suffolk, England, in December 1980, which became linked with UFO landings. The events occurred just outside RAF Woodbridge, which was used at the time by the United States Air Force (USAF). USAF personnel, including deputy base commander Lieutenant Colonel Charles I. Halt, claimed to see things they described as a UFO.
Fence at the site of the former East Gate of RAF Woodbridge, where the incident began in December, 1980. The original East Gate was much smaller. | |
| Date | 26 December and 28 December 1980 |
|---|---|
| Time | 03:00 GMT (23:00 EDT) |
| Location | Suffolk, England, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 52°05′20″N 01°26′57″E |
| Also known as | Britain's Roswell |
The occurrence is the most famous of UFO events to have happened in the United Kingdom, and is among the best-known reported UFO events worldwide. It has been compared to the Roswell UFO incident in the United States and is sometimes called "Britain's Roswell".
The UK Ministry of Defence has stated that the event posed no threat to national security, and therefore, it was never investigated as a security matter. Skeptics have explained the sightings as a misinterpretation of a series of nocturnal lights: a fireball, the Orfordness Lighthouse, and bright stars.