Lakenheath/Bentwaters, an Iconic Historical UFO Case.

Greetings. Lakenheath/Bentwaters. My favorite historical UFO case. 

The Lakenheath/Bentwaters incident was a series of radar/visual sightings with unidentified flying objects over military installations in Great Britain on the nights of August 13th and 14th of 1956. The events involved personnel from the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the United States Air Force (USAF.) The events, despite their robustness, have remained relatively unknown to the UFO subculture. 

The Condon Committee's final report, which came to the conclusion that unidentified flying objects were simple misidentifications of natural phenomena or aircraft, assumed a contrary position on the case, stating, and I quote: "In conclusion, although conventional or natural explanations certainly cannot be ruled out, the probability of such seems low in this case and the probability that at least one genuine UFO was involved appears to be fairly high." You read that right. 

The sequence of events, in their entirety, is recorded in the original Project Blue Book file by the United States Air Force, and was subsequently analysed by the Condon Committee's final report and by the late atmospheric physicist Dr. James E. McDonald. They are as follows:

The incident began at RAF Bentwaters, Suffolk, on the 13th of August in 1956. The evening in question was a dry, largely clear night with, observers noted, an unusually large number of shooting stars, all associated with the Perseid meteor shower. At 21:30 local time, radar operators at RAF Bentwaters tracked a radar contact, appearing similar to a normal aircraft return, approaching the base from the sea at an apparent speed of several thousand miles per hour. They also tracked an additional grouping of unknowns moving slowly to the northeast which eventually merged into a single large radar contact before moving off the scope to the north, as well as an additional unknown proceeding rapidly from the east to the west. A T-33 trainer from the 512th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, crewed by 1st Lieutenants Charles Metz and Andrew Rowe, was directed to investigate the radar contacts, but were unable to make radar or visual contact with anything. No visual sightings of the objects were made from RAF Bentwaters during the time period of the events.

At 22:55 local time, a radar contact was detected approaching RAF Bentwaters from the east at a speed estimated at approximately 3,200-6,400 kilometers per hour, or 1,988-3,976 miles per hour for those readers in the United States. It faded from the radar screens as it passed over the base, but it subsequently reappeared to the west of the installation. However, as the unknown passed overhead a rapidly moving white light was observed by observers on the ground, while the pilot of a C-47 at 1,200 meters in altitude (3,927 feet) over RAF Bentwaters reported that a similar light had passed directly underneath his aircraft. By this point in time, personnel at RAF Bentwaters had alerted nearby RAF Lakenheath, 64 kilometers (39 miles) to the northwest, to keep a look out for the unknowns. Ground personnel at RAF Lakenheath made visual contact with several brightly lit objects, including two which arrived, made an abrupt course change, and appeared to merge before being lost to visual sight. The angular size of the unidentified flying objects was compared to that of a golf ball at arm's length, with witnesses stating that the UFOs dwindled to pinpoint size as they moved away, an observation which seemed to rule out a bolide, bright meteor, or some other naturally occurring phenomenon. 

The final phase of the incident was described in some detail by Technical Sergeant Forrest Perkins, the Watch Supervisor in the Lakenheath Radar Air Traffic Control centre during the time of the events. Sergeant Perkins also wrote directly to the Condon Committee in 1968. Sergeant Perkins testified that two RAF De Havilland Venom interceptors, manned by Officers David Chambers and John Brady in one aircraft, and Ian Fraser-Ker and Ivan Logan in the other aircraft, were scrambled and directed towards an unidentified radar contact near RAF Lakenheath. The pilot of the first Venom achieved visual contact, but soon reported that the unknown had manoeuvred behind him and pursued the aircraft for approximately ten minutes despite the latter's having taken violent evasive actions. Sergeant Perkins described the pilot as "getting worried, excited and also pretty scared." The second Venom was forced to return to its home installation due to unexplained engine problems. Sergeant Perkins stated that the unknown remained on their radar screens for a short period before leaving in a northerly direction.

Now I will not declare that this event is explained by an episode of alien visitation, the available information does not allow for such a conclusion, but the case does contain quite a bit of quality information; multiple witnesses in the air and on the ground, radar trackings, and a substantial level of instrumentality. 

Lakenheath/Bentwaters. A robust and unexplained historical UFO case. My favorite historical UFO case. 

Thank you for your time and indulgence.