{"type":"events","slug":"1980-bentwaters-woodbridge-raf-reports","title":"Bentwaters Woodbridge RAF Reports","url":"https://disclosdex.com/events/1980-bentwaters-woodbridge-raf-reports","description":"USAF security teams chased lights over three nights, documenting a landing and beams near RAF Woodbridge","date":"1980-12-26T00:00:00.000Z","tags":["Sighting"],"updated":"2025-06-13T13:26:43.000Z","disclosureRating":8,"status":"unresolved","lat":52.093,"lng":1.44,"connectionCount":3,"content":{"markdown":"## Night One\n\nAround 3 a.m. on 26 December 1980, airmen at RAF Woodbridge saw a bright object descend behind the trees. Patrolmen John Burroughs and Jim Penniston entered the forest, finding a glowing metallic craft resting on tripod legs. They sketched symbols on the hull and measured elevated radiation.[^1][^2]\n\n## Halt's Patrol\n\nTwo nights later, Deputy Base Commander Charles Halt led a team back into the woods. His handheld recorder captured frantic descriptions of a pulsing red light splitting into several objects that shot beams onto the base weapons storage area. Halt filed an official memo summarizing the encounter.[^3][^4]\n\n## Public Release\n\nThe Ministry of Defence declassified the case files in the 2000s. The documents and audio, widely distributed by researchers, cemented Rendlesham as Britain's best-known UFO incident.[^5][^6]\n\n[^1]: [The National Archives: UFO reports](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/explore-the-collection/explore-by-time-period/postwar/ufo-reports/)\n[^2]: [The Guardian: The Rendlesham Forest mystery](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/30/the-rendlesham-forest-mystery-its-the-perfect-storm-of-a-ufo-case)\n[^3]: [The Black Vault: The Halt Memo](https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/the-halt-memo-the-rendlesham-forest-incident/)\n[^4]: [The National Archives: UFO highlights guide, August 2009](https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/aug-2009-highlights-guide.pdf)\n[^5]: [The National Archives: UFO highlights guide, 2013](https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/ufo-highlights-guide-2013.pdf)\n[^6]: [BBC: Rendlesham Forest UFO: Are we any closer to the truth 40 years on?](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-suffolk-50887525)","readingTime":"1 min read"},"relatedRecords":[{"ref":{"type":"updates","slug":"june-28-updates","title":"New dossiers and expanded investigations","url":"https://disclosdex.com/updates/june-28-updates"},"direction":"inbound","weight":1},{"ref":{"type":"locations","slug":"rendlesham-forest","title":"Rendlesham Forest","url":"https://disclosdex.com/locations/rendlesham-forest"},"direction":"inbound","weight":1},{"ref":{"type":"people","slug":"charles-halt","title":"Charles Halt","url":"https://disclosdex.com/people/charles-halt"},"direction":"inbound","weight":1}],"citation":{"canonicalUrl":"https://disclosdex.com/events/1980-bentwaters-woodbridge-raf-reports","title":"Bentwaters Woodbridge RAF Reports","publisher":"Disclosdex","retrievedFrom":"https://disclosdex.com/api/v1/events/1980-bentwaters-woodbridge-raf-reports","license":"CC-BY-4.0"},"witnesses":["USAF security police and Deputy Commander Charles Halt observed lights and a craft in Rendlesham Forest"],"evidence":["Halt memo and audio tape; MOD file release with witness statements"]}