Around midnight of December 26 - 27, 1980, radar installations on the eastern coast of England began tracking an unidentified flying object, which soon dropped below radar coverage near the East Anglian town of Ipswich. Close by are the NATO bases of RAF Woodbridge and RAF Bentwaters, both of which were leased to the United States Air Force 81st Tactical Fighter Wing. U.S.A.F. personnel, as well as some civilians, observed a strange looking object descend into the forest, which surrounds both bases. One of the witnesses, former USAF Sgt. John Burroughs said that both he and his supervisor saw "strange lights" near the base's east gate. "We decided to go on down off base and kind of check the edge of the woods to see what was going on because it didn't seem right...There was no radio traffic back and forth and the decision was made by the shift commander that I should accompany two security guys into the woods," walking into the woods he said he saw "a bank of lights, differently colored lights that threw off an image like a craft. I never saw anything metallic or hard."

However, one of the security men who had accompanied Burroughs, identified as 'James Archer' described an object "triangular in shape, with three landing legs...about 10 to 12 feet in diameter and eight feet high, with a blue light on top, red and white lights in the middle and a brighter white light emanating from the underside." Archer was certain he saw something inside of the ship, "I don't know what, but the shapes did not look human. Maybe they were like robots," he said.

Another witness, security police commander Sgt. Adrian Bustinza, said he was also ordered to check out the UFO in the woods. "When we got to Point A - the sighting of the object - we had trouble turning the light-alls on. Our truck wouldn't run either. It was as if the energy was being sucked out of everything," he told researchers in 1984. "We proceeded to look and in the process found kind of like triangular tripods...burned into the ground at three different stand points...They were like it was a heavy object. They took radiation readings of the holes, and they got a radiation reading as I recall. Then I recall we were walking through the woods and we came upon the lights again. And that's when I first saw the object..." Bustinza described the object as a circular craft, bulging at the center and thinning towards the edges, with different colored lights on the top, sides and bottom. He said it was of "tremendous size" and was hovering and shifting position in the large clearing.

A third eyewitness, retired USAF Sgt. Larry Warren reported that as he neared the forest he noticed a strange mist covering the ground. "It looked like ground fog but was somehow lit up. It glowed very brightly and has the definition of a roughly made circle...and a small red light...made a downward arc and was directly over the fog." Warren claimed that the red light exploded in a blinding flash and that an "arrowhead shape" appeared there." The main body was pearl white with a rainbow color effect. It was constantly distorting as I looked at it. At the bottom was a bank of extremely bright, cobalt blue lights. Below that, I thought I could make out what appeared to be a landing gear. Covering the entire surface were what looked like boxes, pipes, and strange extensions." The witnesses said the UFO remained in the area for well over an hour and that soon other Air Force personnel arrived. Included in the new arrivals was Woodbridge deputy base commander Lt. Col. Charles Halt. According to the witnesses, both American and British authorities recorded the event and made radiation measurements.

By 4:00 AM on December 27th, the craft had either been joined by, or had divided into five smaller glowing objects and eventually took off into the sky and disappeared. The Bentwaters UFO sighting received little media attention at the time, mainly because the US Air Force denied anything had happened. Official spokesmen denied the entire event, that recordings had been made or that any official reports even existed. As it turns out, it was proven that these statements were at least partially false in 1983 following a Freedom of Information request that resulted in the release of a corroborating official report. The report, entitled "Unexplained Lights" dated January 13th, 1981, and signed by Lt. Col. Halt stated:

1. Early in the morning of 27 Dec 80 (approximately 0300L) two USAF security police patrolmen saw unusual lights outside the back gate at RAF Woodbridge. Thinking an aircraft might have crashed or been forced down, they called for permission to go outside the gate to investigate...The individuals reported seeing a strange glowing object in the forest. The object was described as being metallic in appearance and triangular in shape, approximately two to three meters across the base and approximately two meters high. It illuminated the entire forest with a white light. The object itself had a pulsing red light on top and a bank(s) of blue lights underneath. The object was hovering or on legs. As the patrolmen approached the object it maneuvered through the trees and disappeared. At this time the animals on a nearby farm went into a frenzy. The object was briefly sighted approximately an hour later near the back gate.
   
   

2. The next day, three depressions 1 1/2" deep and 7" in diameter were found where the object had been sighted on the ground. The following night (29 Dec 80) the area was checked for radiation. Beta/Gamma readings of 0.1 milliroentgens were recorded with peak readings in the three depressions and near the center of the triangle formed by the three depressions. A nearby tree had moderate (0.05 - 0.07) readings on the side of the tree facing towards the three depressions.
   
   

3. Later in the night a red sun-like object was seen through the trees. It moved about and pulsed. At one point it appeared to throw off glowing particles and then broke into five separate white objects and disappeared. Immediately thereafter, three star like objects were noticed in the sky, two objects to the north and one to the south, all of which were about 10 degrees off of the horizon. The objects moved rapidly in sharp, angular movements and displayed red, green and blue lights. The objects to the north appeared to be elliptical through 8-10 power lens. They then turned to full circles. The objects in the north remained in the sky for an hour or more. The object to the south was visible for two to three hours and beamed down a stream of light from time to time. Numerous individuals, including the undersigned, witnessed the activities in paragraphs two and three.

In 1984 a tape recording made by Colonel Halt during the incident was released by a former Woodbridge commander. The 18 minute tape clearly displayed both the excitement and near panic of the air force person ell, including Colonel Halt, as they searched the woods for the UFO. "Straight ahead of my flashlight, there sir...There it is!...Yeah, I see it too...What is it?...What is that thing?...We don't know, sir. Its a strange, small red light...Everywhere else is just deathly calm...Theres no doubt about it - there is some type of strange flashing red light ahead...It appears to be moving this way...Its brighter than its been. Its coming this way!!! Its definitely coming this way!! Pieces of it are shooting off!! Theres no doubt about it! This is weird!!"

Back to Famous Sightings