Lakenheath-Bentwaters incident - Lakenheath UFO incident (UFO sightings)

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Lakenheath-Bentwaters incident - Lakenheath UFO incident

This UFO sighting report is easy to read, the scanned version is very good quality. The case at Lakenheath is well documented. We will make a small announcement and attach an original report for you.

The incident at Lakenheath and Bentwaters air force bases in England is one of the most famous in UFOlogy, as UFOs were recorded by various types of radars from the ground and air, and were also observed with the naked eye. The scene of the incident is also interesting: then, in addition to British pilots, American bombers with nuclear weapons on Board were based on them. On the evening and night of August 13-14, 1956, something happened in the skies of South-East England that is still debated today. For five hours, some objects flew over the bases and their surroundings at a speed of 80 to 12,000 miles per hour.

The DH.112 Venom (jet fighter) was sent to intercept, which unsuccessfully chased the UFO, and then he became the object of persecution-the UFO went to the tail, as during an air battle, and did not lag behind, despite all the maneuvers. The shocked pilot was forced to go to the landing, and the British and American experts — to admit that they do not have an explanation for the incident. It should be noted that the case was investigated very poorly, some of the documents about the incident were lost, and the remaining ones sometimes contradict each other.

UFO incident report

Eyewitnesses also tell details that do not fit together, and some pilots generally deny what happened. Despite these difficulties, the incident is still one of the most difficult for the "earth" explanation.

The first unidentified mark appeared at 9.30 PM on August 13 (hereafter GMT Zero) on the radar located near Lakenheath Bentwaters air force base. The target was 25-30 miles East-Southeast of the base and moving at an azimuth of 285 degrees. at a speed of 4000-10800 mph (Mach 7.5-15), after which it went beyond the radar range in the West-Northwest. Different documents indicate different speeds, but in any case, it was huge.

The size of the marker corresponded to a normal aircraft, but it decreased in size and brightness until it completely disappeared as it crossed the screen.
According to the operator

In the sky was a T-33 "Shooting Star" aircraft from the 512th interceptor squadron: pilot senior Lieutenant Charles Metz and Navigator Andrew Rowe were returning from a training flight. The pilots were sent to see what was in the sky, but they did not notice anything and returned to the base. Five minutes later, at 9: 35 a.m., a group of 12 to 15 markers appeared on the screen, located 8 miles southwest of Bentwaters. The marks "looked like normal goals". Radar operators checked the equipment, but no malfunctions were found.

UFOs flew in a dense group to the northeast at a speed of 80-125 miles per hour. After flying 6-7 miles, their markings "faded significantly" but were still visible up to 40 miles North of Bentwaters. There, they merged into a single mark "several times larger than the mark from a B-36 bomber under similar conditions." It remained stationary for 10-15 minutes, then shifted 5-6 miles northeast, froze again for 3-5 minutes, and finally went out of radar range at 9.55. The average speed of the combined mark was from 290 to 700 mph. At 10: 00, the operators recorded another mark 30 miles East of Bentwaters, which flew to a point 25 miles West of the base in 16 seconds, i.e. at a speed of about 12,000 mph (about Mach 17).

This mark looked noticeably fainter than all the previous ones and disappeared beyond the radar range. At 10:55, it reappeared 30 miles East of Bentwaters and flew the same course at 2000-4000 mph. This time, the mark disappeared 2 miles East of the base and instantly appeared 3 miles West of the base, and then finally disappeared 30 miles West. If this temporary "disappearance" was a jerk with great speed, the UFO must have been flying at a speed of about 18,000 miles per hour (Mach 25). Bentwaters base operators called colleagues at Lakenheath air force base and asked if they had "targets flying at 4,000 mph" on their radars.

The controllers on the tower saw an object. A bright light flying over the airfield from East to West at great speed at an altitude of about 4,000 feet.
Caller (his name is crossed out in declassified documents) said

At the same time, the pilot of a C-47 cargo plane, flying over the base, reported seeing "a bright fire flying under the plane from East to West at great speed." Operators at Lakenheath switched on a moving target selection mode, eliminating all interference from objects on the ground, and detected a stationary target 20-25 miles Southeast of the base.

The radars were not supposed to detect a stationary target, but it was detected nonetheless. The only explanation is that the UFO was spinning or vibrating rapidly while in the same place. It then flew to the CER, instantly reaching a speed of 400-600 mph.

The operators notified the commander and kept him informed of the situation by phone. The UFO made several sharp turns at a speed of 600 miles per hour, without reducing the speed. The stretches between the two turns ranged from 8 to 20 miles. Several times it hovered for 3-6 minutes and resumed maneuvers again.

UFO sightings

It could not be interference from faulty equipment: several different radars were tracking the object. In addition, the UFO was visible to the naked eye, and its visible maneuvers coincided with the movement of the mark on the screens. At 11: 50, the military sent a DH.112 Venom fighter to intercept. Here, American and British documents differ — according to British papers, the plane was lifted into the air from an airfield near London, while The US AIR FORCE report says that it took off from Waterbeach air force base 20 miles Southeast of Lakenheath.

The second difference is that, according to Lakenheath's flight Director, the Venom was aimed at a stationary UFO 16 miles SE of the base, and the USAF report States: "a Jet fighter flew over Lakenheath and was aimed at a target 6 miles East of the base". The pilot reported that he saw a bright white light and would study it. 13 miles West of Lakenheath, he reported the loss of both radar target and light.

The base then pointed the plane at another target 10 miles to the East. Pilot David chambers reported that the target is visible to the naked eye and fixed on-Board radar. Here the documents again almost converge: a stationary UFO hung at an altitude of 15-20 thousand feet.

I have Him in my sights, referring to the radar fire control system.
The pilot began to approach the target and reported

It was the clearest target I've ever seen on a radar screen.
In an interview with USAF interrogators, he confirmed

After a few seconds, the situation changed.

Where did he go? Is it still on your screens?
The pilot said in confusion

Lakenheath controllers told the pilot that the UFO made a sharp maneuver and went into his tail, describing an arc. Chambers confirmed that the UFO is really "on the tail" of the plane, and decided to "shake it off", but the most puzzling loops and maneuvers were unsuccessful: the object did not come off, carefully maintaining the distance. Soon the pilot reported in a frightened voice that he was returning because of a lack of fuel. Air traffic controllers watched as the UFO followed him for a while, and then hovered motionless in the sky. According to the pilot, it was "the most damn thing I've ever seen."

The second fighter was aimed directly at the UFO, but before it could get close enough, the pilot reported that his engine was failing and he was forced to return to base. Pilot Leslie Arthur and Navigator Graham Schofield did not have time to see the UFO with the naked eye, but they heard all the conversations with chambers, which were conducted on the same wavelength.

Objects flew in a straight line in jerks, suddenly stopping and continuing to move again. The UFO maneuvers followed this pattern, except for one object that seemed to "stick" to a jet fighter raised by the Royal air force, and repeated all its maneuvers. In addition, the Lakenheath base radar control center observed an object 17 miles East of the base that was making turns at right angles, rather than in an arc, at a speed of 600-800 mph. He could stop and start with amazing speed.
The dossier of the "Blue book" (the US air force project for the study of UFOs) States

After the failure of the interception attempt, the UFO did not immediately disappear from the radar screens: "the Target made a couple of shorter jerks, then went beyond the range of our radar, moving away in a northerly direction at a speed still about 600 miles per hour. We lost the target 50-60 miles to the North, which is normal provided the aircraft or target is below 5,000 feet."

The time of the final loss of the target is 3.30 am on August 14 ("Blue book"). Air force Lieutenant Fred Wimbledon was in charge of the intercept order, and he was on duty that night at the KVAF fighter command post at Nethishead:

I remember getting a call from Lakenheath air force base saying something was 'flying' over their airspace. I picked up a Venom night fighter from a military airfield in our area of responsibility... the intercept support Team consisted of a dispatcher — necessarily an officer, a corporal, a rangefinder, and an altimeter. Thus, four highly qualified members of the ground staff, besides myself, could clearly see the object on our radars.
Fred Wimbledon

Being pointed at the object by the dispatcher, the pilot reported: "There is contact," and soon added, "Capture," meaning his Navigator has received a clear mark on the onboard radar and does not need further assistance from the ground.

The pilot continued to approach the target, but after a few seconds, during one or two turns of the beam on our screens, the object was on his tail… At least nine air force ground personnel and two aircraft crews found that the UFO was "solid" enough to be reflected on radar.

Us air force intelligence investigator Paula Stimson wrote in the final report: "All interviewed personnel at Lakenheath base and the radar control center's duty log confirm the reality of unexplained flying objects… The dispatchers were experienced, and their technical skills were used in trying to determine what these objects were… All ground observers and reports from Bentwaters observers agree on the color, maneuvers, and shape of the object.

My analysis confirms that the observations were real and not a figment of the imagination. The fact that three radars simultaneously detected targets definitely indicates that they were objects in the air. Their maneuvers were extraordinary, but nevertheless the fact that the observations on radar screens and from the ground about their sudden acceleration and sudden stops converge definitely adds to the credibility of the report. Observations cannot be attributed to any meteorological or astronomical reasons.

The Condon Commission, which denied the reality of UFOs, also failed to explain the incident. Its report States:

The Incident is one of the most puzzling and unusual cases in the history of radar-visual UFO sightings. Apparently, the rational and reasonable behavior of UFOs suggests a mechanical device of unknown origin as the most likely explanation… Although conventional or natural explanations cannot, of course, be completely excluded, in this case, their probability is small, and the probability that we are dealing with at least one genuine UFO seems very high.
The Condon Commission