伦德尔沙姆森林事件：1980年英国版罗斯威尔（RENDLESHAM FOREST – 1980）
中文版
中文版
简介：1980年12月，英国萨福克郡伦德尔沙姆森林发生了一系列不明飞行物目击事件，多名美国空军人员报告看到神秘灯光和疑似外星飞船着陆。该事件被称为“英国版罗斯威尔”，是英国最著名的UFO事件。尽管英国国防部否认其构成安全威胁，但后续披露的文件引发了掩盖真相的猜测。
伦德尔沙姆森林事件是指1980年12月下旬，在英国萨福克郡伦德尔沙姆森林（当时由美国空军使用的伍德布里奇皇家空军基地外）发生的一系列目击事件，涉及不明灯光以及疑似一架或多架未知来源飞行器的着陆。数十名美国空军人员在两三天内目击了各种现象。这是英国最著名的UFO事件，在全球范围内也名列前茅。与伯温山UFO事件一样，它常被拿来与美国罗斯威尔UFO事件相提并论，有时被称为“英国版罗斯威尔”。
英国国防部否认该事件对国家安全构成任何威胁，并表示因此从未将其作为安全事务进行调查。后来的证据表明，国防部存有大量相关文件，这引发了掩盖真相的指控；一些人认为这是美英两国政府压制不明飞行物真实性质信息（参见UFO阴谋论）的更大模式的一部分。持此观点者包括目击者兼基地副指挥官查尔斯·哈尔特上校（见下文），以及前北约首脑、英国国防参谋长彼得·希尔-诺顿勋爵，他表示无论在美国空军基地发生了什么，都必然涉及国家安全利益。然而，当相关文件于2001年公开时，发现其中主要是内部通信和对公众询问的回复。怀疑论者指出，公开文件中缺乏任何深入调查，这与国防部早先声称从未认真对待此事的说法一致。公开文件中包含国防大臣特雷弗加恩勋爵对国防部为何未进一步调查的解释。这些目击事件被解释为对一系列夜间灯光（火球、奥福德岬灯塔和明亮恒星）的误判。
地点
当地地图
伦德尔沙姆森林由林业委员会所有，面积约5.8平方英里（15平方公里），由针叶林种植园组成，间有阔叶林带、荒地和湿地。它位于萨福克郡，伊普斯维奇镇以东约8英里（13公里）。
事件发生在两个前军事基地附近——本特沃特斯皇家空军基地（位于森林正北）和伍德布里奇皇家空军基地（从西侧延伸入森林，北缘和东缘与森林接壤）。当时这两个基地均由美国空军使用，由联队指挥官戈登·E·威廉姆斯上校指挥。基地指挥官是泰德·康拉德上校，副指挥官是查尔斯·I·哈尔特中校。哈尔特就此事致国防部的备忘录以及他本人在第二晚目击事件中的参与，为案件增添了可信度。
事件的主要经过（包括所谓的着陆）发生在森林中，森林始于基地跑道东端，或伍德布里奇皇家空军基地东门以东约0.3英里（0.5公里）处，卫兵最初在那里注意到神秘灯光似乎降入森林。森林向东延伸至东门以外约1英里（1.6公里），尽头是一片农田，据称那里发生了更多事件。
怀疑论者认为飞行员在海岸看到的闪烁灯光是奥福德岬灯塔，它位于同一视线方向，但比森林边缘更靠东5英里（8.0公里）。
所有这些地点均显示在附图中。评论者已发布更详细的位置地图，现代区域航拍图可在谷歌地图上找到。
12月26日
1980年12月26日凌晨3点左右（哈尔特报告为27日，见下文），伍德布里奇皇家空军基地东门附近的安全巡逻队报告发现奇怪灯光，似乎降入附近的伦德尔沙姆森林。军人最初以为是一架坠毁的飞机，但进入森林调查时，根据哈尔特的备忘录，他们看到一个奇怪的发光物体，外观呈金属质感，带有彩色灯光。当他们靠近时，物体在树林中移动，“附近农场的动物陷入狂乱”（但见下文）。该飞行器在地面留下了三个印记或凹陷，次日仍可见。其中一名军人吉姆·彭尼斯顿中士后来声称遇到了一架“未知来源的飞行器”，并详细记录了其特征，触摸了其“温暖”的表面，并抄录了其机体上的众多符号。据称该物体在他们短暂接触后飞走。彭尼斯顿还声称看到了物体上的三角形起落架。在1994年接受回归催眠时，彭尼斯顿随后声称他遇到的“飞行器”来自我们的未来，由时间旅行者而非外星人操控。彭尼斯顿中士在事件发生后不久提交的报告并未提及实际遇到未知飞行器或与其互动。该报告及相关草图既未签名也未注明日期，且不符合AF Form 1169（证人陈述表）的格式。
凌晨4点刚过，当地警方被召至现场，但报告称他们唯一能看到的灯光是数英里外海岸上奥福德岬灯塔的灯光。
12月26日天亮后，军人返回森林东缘附近的一小块空地，发现了三个呈三角形排列的小印记，以及附近树木上的烧痕和断枝。印记的石膏模型被制作出来，并在电视纪录片中展示。上午10点30分，当地警方再次被召来查看地面印记，他们认为这些印记可能是动物留下的。
12月28日
1980年12月28日凌晨（哈尔特报告为29日），数名军人和哈尔特携带辐射探测器返回现场，在凹陷处和一棵树的近侧检测到辐射，尽管这些读数的意义存在争议。基地副指挥官查尔斯·I·哈尔特中校亲自调查了此次目击事件，并用微型盒式录音机记录了经过（见下文“哈尔特录音带”）。哈尔特调查的地点靠近森林东缘。
正是在这次调查中，东边田野对面出现了一道闪烁的灯光，几乎与一座农舍成一直线。奥福德岬灯塔在同一视线方向更东处可见。
随后，南北方向的天空中出现了星状灯光，其中最亮的一颗似乎不时射下一束光。
有说法称美国空军拍摄了事件视频；但若属实，相关录像带尚未公开。
主要与次要问题
该事件的首次公开报道发表于1983年10月2日的小报《世界新闻报》，标题耸人听闻：“UFO降落在萨福克郡——官方确认”。报道基于一名前美国空军士兵的叙述，他使用了化名“阿特·华莱士”（据称是为了保护自己免受美国空军的报复），但其真名是拉里·沃伦。
哈尔特备忘录
哈尔特备忘录
查尔斯·哈尔特中校的信函。点击阅读转录或查看大图。
向公众公开的第一份主要证据是基地副指挥官查尔斯·I·哈尔特中校写给国防部的备忘录。这份被称为“哈尔特备忘录”的文件于1983年根据美国《信息自由法》在美国公开。备忘录（左图）日期为“1981年1月13日”，标题为“不明灯光”。事件与报告之间相隔两周，这或许可以解释其中日期和时间的错误。该备忘录未以任何方式定密。大卫·克拉克博士调查了这份备忘录的背景以及国防部对其的反应。他对相关人员的采访证实了国防部调查的草率性质，并且未能找到任何证据表明美国空军或英国除哈尔特备忘录外还就此事件提交了其他报告。
12月26日目击者的陈述
苏格兰研究员詹姆斯·伊斯顿成功获取了为哈尔特上校收集的原始证人陈述，包括弗雷德·A·布兰（第81安全警察中队）、一等兵约翰·伯勒斯（第81执法中队）、一等兵爱德华·N·卡班萨格（第81安全警察中队）、军士长J·D·钱德勒（第81安全警察中队）和参谋军士吉姆·彭尼斯顿（第81安全警察中队）。这些文件现已公开，扫描件可在伊恩·里德帕斯的网站上获取。
这些文件描述了奇怪灯光的目击情况。例如，彭尼斯顿写道：“在东门正东约1.5英里（2.4公里）的一片大树林中……树梢上方发出巨大的黄色发光光晕。在光晕中心正下方的地面中央，有一盏红灯以5到10秒的间隔闪烁。还有一盏蓝灯，大部分时间保持稳定。”伯勒斯、彭尼斯顿和卡班萨格驾车进入森林寻找光源。
他们也听到了奇怪的声音。伯勒斯报告说有一种”像女人尖叫”的声音，还提到”能听到农场动物发出很大的噪音”。两天后，哈尔特也听到了同样的声音。在2008年1月接受CNN采访时，他说：”谷仓周围的牲畜似乎都发疯了。”这种声音也可能是森林里的麂鹿发出的，这种鹿在受惊时会发出响亮刺耳的叫声。卡班萨格说：”我们认为光线来自森林那边，因为穿过树林时什么也没看到。我们会看到信标灯附近有光亮，但走近后发现那是一个亮着灯的农舍。我们找到一个有利位置，确定我们追逐的只是远处的一个信标灯。”伯勒斯的陈述中也提到：”我们看到一个信标在转动，就朝它走去。我们跟了大约两英里（3公里）才发现那是灯塔发出的光。”
只有彭尼斯顿的陈述明确将机械物体认定为光源来源。他声称自己距离该物体不到160英尺（50米），并且”它本质上是机械的”。彭尼斯顿后来声称，与他当时的陈述相反，他实际上在森林中遇到了一艘降落的飞行器，并绕着它走、触摸它、做了45分钟的笔记，尽管其他目击者没有提供佐证。彭尼斯顿在电视上展示了一个笔记本，声称自己实时记录了该物体的笔记和草图。笔记本的标题日期是12月27日，时间12:20（格林威治时间00:20），这与其他目击者所提供的事件日期和时间不符，尽管日期与哈尔特的备忘录一致。彭尼斯顿声称他看到物体的地点与哈尔特调查的降落点不同，更靠近皇家空军伍德布里奇基地。这与他最初认为光线位于东门一英里半处的评估不一致。
目击者们因经历而感到不安，并相信自己目睹了某种”无法解释”的现象，正如布兰所表达的那样。
哈尔特录音带
此外，在1984年，一份后来被称为”哈尔特录音带”的副本落入了研究人员手中。不幸的是，由于录音带是在旧机器上转录的，其中许多背景对话无法辨别。美国科幻频道获得了原始录音，记录了哈尔特及其巡逻队在1980年12月在伦德尔沙姆森林调查UFO目击事件的过程。这盘录音带不仅揭示了更多背景对话，还包含了在1984年质量较差的转录中无法听到的名字。研究人员伊恩·里德帕斯也转录了这盘录音带，并提供了音频下载链接。
哈尔特宣誓书
2010年6月，退休上校查尔斯·哈尔特签署了一份经过公证的宣誓书，再次总结了所发生的事件，并声称他认为该事件是外星人造成的，且被英国和美国掩盖：
“我相信我近距离看到的物体来自外星，英国和美国的安全部门当时和现在都试图通过使用惯用的虚假信息手段来削弱伦德尔沙姆森林和皇家空军本特沃特斯事件的重要性。”
哈尔特还驳斥了关于他和他的手下将UFO误认为灯塔光束的说法：
“在伦德尔沙姆森林时，我们的安全小组观察到一个像大眼睛、红色的光在树林中移动。几分钟后，这个物体开始滴落像熔融金属的东西。不久后，它分裂成几个较小的白色物体，向四面八方飞走。怀疑论者声称这仅仅是远处灯塔扫过的光束，这是毫无根据的；我们可以同时看到未知的光和灯塔。后者位于所有事件发生地点的35到40度之外。”
有人指出这份宣誓书与哈尔特当时在备忘录和录音带中记录的事实之间存在矛盾。
2010年，基地指挥官特德·康拉德上校向谢菲尔德哈勒姆大学的大卫·克拉克博士（英国国家档案馆UFO顾问）提供了关于该事件的陈述。康拉德表示：”我们在天空或地面上都没有看到任何与哈尔特中校描述相符的东西”，并且”我们安排了人员来验证哈尔特的叙述，但没有人能够做到。”在一次采访中，康拉德批评了哈尔特在宣誓书中的说法，称”他应该为自己声称他的国家和英国合谋欺骗公民的说法感到羞耻和尴尬。他应该更清楚。”康拉德还质疑了中士吉姆·彭尼斯顿的证词，后者声称触摸了一艘外星飞船；他说当时他询问了彭尼斯顿，但对方没有提到任何此类事件。康拉德还暗示整个事件可能是一场恶作剧。
哈尔特对此的部分回应是：”特德·康拉德要么是记忆有问题，要么是把头埋在沙子里，要么是在继续掩盖。甚至他的儿子也承认家庭谈话证实了这一事件……多年来，康拉德对这些事件发表了相互矛盾的声明。起初他说他从未出去看天空。然后他说他什么也没看到。显然他不记得通过无线电和我交谈过（关于看到UFO向基地发射光束）……提醒康拉德他在1983年3月《OMNI》杂志上发表的文章……在那篇文章中，他详细描述了第一次事件，并总结道’那些小伙子看到了什么，但我不知道是什么’。现在他却在诋毁相关人员。很明显，森林里发生了与某种东西的激烈对抗。康拉德想谈谈那些飞行员随后如何被英国和美国当局使用药物和催眠进行精神控制吗？是的，伯勒斯和彭尼斯顿确实有与事件相关的问题……”
哈尔特引用的1983年《OMNI》杂志文章中有以下归因于康拉德的描述：”基地指挥官特德·康拉德上校……回忆说，五名空军警察发现了他们认为是一架小型飞机降落到森林中的灯光。其中两人步行追踪该物体，发现了一艘带有三脚架的大型飞行器。它没有窗户，但布满了明亮的红色和蓝色灯光。康拉德说，每当这些人靠近飞船50码以内时，它就会悬浮六英尺高并向后退。他们跟着它穿过树林和田野将近一个小时，直到它以’惊人的速度’起飞。根据手下的报告，康拉德上校在早上开始对事件进行简短调查。他进入森林，找到了一个据称由三脚架腿形成的三角形图案。……他确实采访了两名目击者，并总结道’那些小伙子看到了什么，但我不知道是什么’。”
萨福克警方日志
萨福克警察局有一份1980年12月26日的记录，来自皇家空军伍德布里奇基地的执法台，称”我们目击到天空中有一些不寻常的光，已派遣一些非武装部队进行调查，目前我们将其称为UFO”。警方调查了这份报告，结果记录如下：”西德雷顿空中交通管制已核实。没有飞机信息。夜间收到南英格兰上空出现空中现象的报告。该区域唯一可见的光来自奥福德灯塔。搜索该区域——无结果。”怀疑论者伊恩·里德帕斯推测，所报告的”空中现象”指的是苏联宇宙749卫星末级火箭的再入，该火箭于12月25日晚上9点后在南英格兰上空被广泛看到。警方档案中的一封信指出，其中一名警察在白天返回现场，以防遗漏了什么。”什么也没看到，他仍然不相信这一事件是真实的。该区域被皇家空军本特沃特斯基地的着陆信标和奥福德内斯灯塔的强光束扫过。根据个人经验，在夜间、某些天气和云层条件下，这些光束非常明显，确实会造成奇怪的视觉效果。”萨福克警察局网站上提供了该报告的扫描件。
其他军事设施参与
一些研究人员声称，1980年伦德尔沙姆森林事件后，波顿唐的人员曾访问过伦德尔沙姆。但没有提供证据，似乎与其他所谓的UFO事件存在混淆。
前英国国防参谋长希尔-诺顿勋爵认为，像这样发生在核武器基地的事件必然涉及国家安全利益。作为上议院议员，希尔-诺顿勋爵向女王陛下政府提问：”他们是否知道特别部门参与了1980年伦德尔沙姆森林事件的调查[HL303]”。弗纳姆迪恩的西摩恩斯女男爵回答说：”特别部门官员可能知道这一事件，但除非有证据表明存在潜在的国家安全威胁，否则不会表现出任何兴趣。似乎没有表现出这种兴趣。”希尔-诺顿评论道：”要么是大量的人在产生幻觉，对于一个美国空军核基地来说，这是极其危险的；要么是他们所说的事情确实发生了。在这两种情况下，只能有一个答案，那就是这具有极高的国防利益。”
2001年，英国政府应大卫·克拉克博士根据《政府文件获取行为准则》（《信息自由法》的前身）提出的请求，向研究人员公布了该事件的相关文件。此后，英国国防部将这些文件上传至网络。尽管科幻频道赞助了名为《伦德尔沙姆UFO入侵》的调查节目，历史频道播出了《UFO档案——英国的罗斯威尔》，以及信息自由联盟进行了相关质询，但美国方面至今保持沉默。
怀疑论
吉姆·彭尼斯顿和约翰·伯勒斯曾一同调查该飞行器。在2007年11月9日接受拉里·金采访时，吉姆·彭尼斯顿声称他对地面上的飞行器进行了45分钟的全面调查，触摸了飞行器并拍了照片。然而，约翰·伯勒斯在罗伯特·斯塔克的《未解之谜》节目另一次采访中明显反驳了这一说法。他表示，突然在地面遭遇飞行器后，“我们都趴在地上，它飞到了树丛中”。吉姆·彭尼斯顿和约翰·伯勒斯的采访随后被上传至YouTube。
科学作家伊恩·里德帕斯于1983年调查了这一事件，最初是为BBC电视台的《早餐时间》新闻节目，并于1985年1月5日为《卫报》撰写了一篇文章，极大地削弱了伦德尔沙姆UFO目击事件的可信度。里德帕斯询问了当地林务员文斯·瑟克尔关于闪光的问题，瑟克尔指出闪光来自奥福德岬的灯塔，从森林边缘看去，灯塔似乎悬浮在地面稍上方，且随着目击者在树木间移动而显得移动。当时，奥福德岬灯塔是英国第二亮的灯塔，亮度达500万坎德拉。在哈尔特上校的录音带（上文提及）中，可以听到一名身份不明的飞行员喊道“又来了……在那里”，间隔5秒，这与奥福德岬灯塔的闪烁频率相同。如果真有UFO存在，飞行员应该在同一视线方向报告第二个光源（即灯塔）。从哈尔特上校在森林边缘的观察点拍摄的灯塔视频显示，灯塔正是以这一频率闪烁。
瑟克尔查看了所谓的“着陆痕迹”，当地警方也进行了查看，他认为这些痕迹不过是覆盖着松针的旧“兔子洞”。2001年，希尔-诺顿勋爵将研究人员乔治娜·布鲁尼发现的美国空军拍摄的痕迹照片提交给英国国防部，并于2007年根据《信息自由法》公开。此外，树上所谓的烧痕实际上是林务员用斧头砍出的标记，表明这些树木已准备砍伐。据英国天文协会负责收集流星目击报告的约翰·梅森博士称，为了进一步质疑所谓的UFO目击事件，在最初报告森林中有明亮物体“着陆”的同一时间，英格兰南部上空观测到了一颗“几乎和满月一样亮”的流星。“伦德尔沙姆森林里什么也没掉下来，”里德帕斯总结道。
证据中的关键是对该区域辐射水平的解读（在“哈尔特录音带”中清晰可闻）。英国国家辐射防护委员会的专家指出，用于测量的设备并非设计用于测量背景辐射，因此低端测量值毫无意义。
斯图尔特·坎贝尔提出了另一种解释。他同意标准解释，即事件始于目击一颗火球，基地警卫将其误认为一架飞机在附近森林中燃烧坠落。事实上，火球可能远在数百英里外的北海上方。坎贝尔认为，哈尔特及其手下在夜间探险中随后看到的物体是“希普沃什”号灯船，而所谓的“飞船”实际上是明亮的行星，如金星。坎贝尔对美国空军使用设备的能力提出了批评。
另一种理论认为该事件是一场恶作剧。BBC报道称，前美国安全警察凯文·康德声称自己通过驾驶一辆改装了灯光的警车在森林中制造了奇怪的光线。康德后来撤回了这一说法。“我的印象是，我是在一次演习中搞的恶作剧。我们不会在圣诞节假期（UFO目击事件发生时）进行演习。这强烈表明我的恶作剧并非这一特定事件的来源。”事件第一晚在森林中看到的彩色灯光仍有可能来自某个从未站出来的恶作剧者。
对该事件的其他解释还包括一颗坠落的苏联间谍卫星。
研究人员与评论者
最早详细研究该事件的人包括英国UFO研究者珍妮·兰德尔斯的著作《天空坠毁》（与当地研究人员布伦达·巴特勒和多特·斯特里特合著，她们是最早采访目击者并访问现场及英国皇家空军基地的调查者），以及尼克·雷德芬的著作《宇宙撞击》和《秘密议程》。
乔治娜·布鲁尼研究了这一主题，并在其著作《你不能告诉人民》中公布了一张据称是首次目击次日早晨拍摄的着陆点照片。已故的希尔-诺顿勋爵（英国海军元帅、前国防参谋长）也相信有UFO在伦德尔沙姆着陆，并多次就此问题质问英国政府。
拉里·沃伦是《世界新闻报》原始文章的消息来源，他撰写了大量关于该主题的文章，并坚信外星人解释。沃伦确实是美国空军在伍德布里奇皇家空军基地的飞行员，但他自称是事件目击者的说法遭到其他人质疑，尤其是哈尔特上校。
布鲁尼和沃伦在细节上意见不一，并因各自叙述中的所谓不准确之处而公开冲突。
怀疑论者中突出的是伊恩·里德帕斯（上文提及）。他的大部分研究可在其网站上找到，该网站还包含大量原始证据，包括最初的目击者陈述。
珍妮·兰德斯是最初将这一事件推向公众的人之一，她在与大卫·克拉克和安迪·罗伯茨合著的《从未存在的UFO》一书中撰写了一篇题为《伦德尔沙姆森林之耻》的长文，得出结论：“虽然仍有一些谜团，但我们或许可以说，伦德尔沙姆森林中没有看到外星飞船。我们也可以自信地认为，事件的主要焦点是对日常事物在非日常环境中的一系列误解。”
最坚定的伦德尔沙姆UFO外星起源信仰者之一是尼克·波普，他曾在1991年至1994年间为英国国防部工作，研究和调查UFO现象。他在多部著作和文章中讨论了伦德尔沙姆森林事件，包括《选编文件》（涉及国防部关于伦德尔沙姆森林事件的文件）、《伦德尔沙姆——未解之谜》、《伦德尔沙姆档案评析》（对国防部文件的详细评论和分析）以及《伦德尔沙姆森林UFO事件》。他曾公开表示“伦德尔沙姆森林事件比罗斯威尔更重大”（引自科幻频道——见下文电视纪录片）。
美国空军本特沃特斯和伍德布里奇基地前副指挥官、该事件的主要目击者查尔斯·I·哈尔特中校（后晋升上校）也是一位坚定的信仰者，并为书籍和纪录片做出了贡献。正如他上述最新宣誓书所述，哈尔特相信自己目睹了一起外星事件，随后被掩盖。哈尔特还于2010年9月27日在华盛顿特区的国家新闻俱乐部发表演讲，是六位就“美国核武器已遭不明空中物体破坏”主题作证的前美国空军军官之一。
今日的伦德尔沙姆森林
UFO小径上的森林空地
在伦德尔沙姆森林
如今，森林面貌已大不相同：1987年的大风暴（风力相当于3级飓风）对树木造成了广泛破坏，林业委员会随后进行了大规模重新种植。与所谓事件相关的一些地点仍可辨认，林业委员会为徒步者标记了一条小径（UFO小径），其中包括主要地点，如据称物体着陆的小空地。
在UFO小径的起点，有一块大型三角形金属信息板。上面有森林地图，清晰标出UFO小径，并简要介绍了1980年发生的事件，但首次目击日期有误：
“1980年12月，伦德尔沙姆森林报告了多次UFO目击事件。许多人认为这些神秘事件是英国发生的最重要的UFO事件。
“12月26日晚，萨德伯恩村（位于伦德尔沙姆森林东北约6英里/10公里处）的一位居民报告称，其花园上空出现一个神秘形状（像倒置的蘑菇）。当晚晚些时候，伍德布里奇皇家空军基地东门的两名美国空军巡逻兵在森林中发现了异常光线，并获准进行调查。他们报告的情况非常奇怪。”
“当时正值‘冷战’时期，由于当时敏感的军事局势，基地副指挥官、美国空军中校查尔斯·哈尔特正式向军事当局报告了这一事件。”
“当然，地面上没有确凿的UFO证据——除了几根断裂的树梢树枝外，没有发现任何残骸。然而，我们可以通过当时获取的笔录和录音，拼凑出一幅引人入胜的画面。”
其他文章：伦德尔沙姆森林UFO事件
English Version
中文版
简介：1980年12月，英国萨福克郡伦德尔沙姆森林发生了一系列不明飞行物目击事件，多名美国空军人员报告看到神秘灯光和疑似外星飞船着陆。该事件被称为“英国版罗斯威尔”，是英国最著名的UFO事件。尽管英国国防部否认其构成安全威胁，但后续披露的文件引发了掩盖真相的猜测。
The Rendlesham Forest incident is the name given to a series of reported sightings of unexplained lights and the alleged landing of a craft or multiple craft of unknown origin in Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk, England, in late December 1980, just outside RAF Woodbridge, used at the time by the U.S. Air Force. Dozens of USAF personnel were eyewitnesses to various events over a two- or three-day period. It is the most famous UFO event to have happened in Britain, ranking amongst the best-known UFO events worldwide. Along with the Berwyn Mountain UFO incident, it has been compared to the Roswell UFO incident in the United States, and is sometimes referred to as “Britain’s Roswell”
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) denied the event posed any threat to national security, and stated that it was therefore never investigated as a security matter. Later evidence indicated that there was a substantial MoD file on the subject, which led to claims of a cover-up; some interpreted this as part of a larger pattern of information suppression concerning the true nature of unidentified flying objects, by both the United States and British governments (see the UFO conspiracy theory). One person to take this view was eyewitness and Deputy Base Commander Colonel Charles Halt (see below). Another was former NATO head and UK Chief of the Defence Staff Lord Peter Hill-Norton, who stated whatever happened at this USAF base was necessarily of national security interest. However, when the file was released in 2001 it turned out to consist mostly of internal correspondence and responses to inquiries from the public. Sceptics note that the lack of any in-depth investigation in the publicly released documents is consistent with the MoD’s earlier statement that they never took the case seriously. Included in the released files is an explanation given by defence minister Lord Trefgarne as to why the MoD did not investigate further. The sightings have been explained as misinterpretation of a series of nocturnal lights – a fireball, the Orford Ness lighthouse and bright stars.
Location
Map of local area
Rendlesham Forest is owned by the Forestry Commission and consists of about 5.8 square miles (15 km2) of coniferous plantations, interspersed with broadleaved belts, heathland and wetland areas. It is located in the county of Suffolk, about 8 miles (13 km) east of the town of Ipswich.
The incident occurred in the vicinity of two former military bases – RAF Bentwaters, which is just to the north of the forest, and RAF Woodbridge which extends into the forest from the west and is bounded by the forest on its northern and eastern edges. At the time, both were being used by the United States Air Force and were under the command of wing commander Colonel Gordon E. Williams. The base commander was Colonel Ted Conrad, and his deputy was Lieutenant Colonel Charles I. Halt. Halt’s memo to the Ministry of Defence on the incident, and his personal involvement in the second night of the sightings, has given the case credibility.
The main events of the incident, including the supposed landing or landings, took place in the forest, which starts at the east end of the base runway or about 0.3 miles (0.5 km) to the east of the East Gate of RAF Woodbridge, where guards first noticed mysterious lights appearing to descend into the forest. The forest extends east about 1 mile (1.6 km) beyond East Gate, ending at a farmer’s field, where additional events allegedly took place.
Orford Ness lighthouse, which sceptics identify as the flashing light seen off to the coast by the airmen, is along the same line of sight but 5 miles (8.0 km) further east of the forest’s edge.
All these locations are shown on the adjacent map. Commentators have published more detailed maps of the location and a modern aerial view of the region can be found on Google Maps.
26 DecemberAround 3 a.m. on 26 December 1980 (reported as the 27th by Halt, see below) strange lights were reported by a security patrol near the East Gate of RAF Woodbridge apparently descending into nearby Rendlesham Forest. Servicemen initially thought it was a downed aircraft but, upon entering the forest to investigate they saw, according to Halt’s memo, a strange glowing object, metallic in appearance, with coloured lights. As they approached, it moved through the trees, and “the animals on a nearby farm went into a frenzy” (but see below). The craft left three impressions or depressions in the ground that were visible the next day. One of the servicemen, Sgt. Jim Penniston, later claimed to have encountered a “craft of unknown origin” and to have made detailed notes of its features, touched its “warm” surface, and copied the numerous symbols on its body. The object allegedly flew away after their brief encounter. Penniston also claimed to have seen triangular landing gear on the object. While undergoing regression hypnosis in 1994 Penniston subsequently claimed that the “craft” he encountered had come from our future, and was occupied by time travellers, not extraterrestrials. Sgt. Penniston’s report made shortly after the incident contains no mention of physically encountering an unknown craft, nor of interacting with it. This report and associated sketches are neither signed nor dated, nor are they representative of AF Form 1169, Statement of Witness.
Shortly after 4 a.m. local police were called to the scene but reported that the only lights they could see were those from the Orford Ness lighthouse, some miles away on the coast.
After daybreak on the morning of 26 December, servicemen returned to a small clearing near the eastern edge of the forest and found three small impressions in a triangular pattern, as well as burn marks and broken branches on nearby trees. Plaster casts of the imprints were taken and have been shown in television documentaries. At 10.30 a.m. the local police were called out again, this time to see the impressions on the ground, which they thought could have been made by an animal.
28 DecemberSeveral servicemen and Halt returned to the site again in the early hours of 28 December 1980 (reported as the 29th by Halt) with radiation detectors which detected radiation in the depressions and on the near side of a tree, although the significance of the readings they obtained is disputed. The deputy base commander Lt Col Charles I. Halt investigated this sighting personally and recorded the events on a micro-cassette recorder (see “The Halt Tape”, below). The site investigated by Halt was near the eastern edge of the forest.
It was during this investigation that a flashing light was seen across the field to the east, almost in line with a farmhouse. The Orford Ness lighthouse is visible further to the east in the same line of sight.
Later, starlike lights were seen in the sky to the north and south, the brightest of which seemed to beam down a stream of light from time to time.
There are claims that the incident was videoed by the USAF; but, if so, the resulting tape has not been made public.
Primary and secondary issuesThe first public report of the incident was published in the tabloid newspaper News of the World, on 2 October 1983, beneath the sensational headline UFO lands in Suffolk – and that’s official. The story was based on an account by a former US airman, using the pseudonym Art Wallace (supposedly to protect himself against retribution from the USAF), although his real name was Larry Warren.
The Halt memo Halt memo
Letter from Lt. Col. Charles Halt. Click to read transcription or to see at larger resolution.
The first piece of primary evidence to be made available to the public was a memorandum written by the deputy base commander, Lt. Col. Charles I. Halt, to the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Known as the “Halt memo”, this was made available publicly in the United States under the US Freedom of Information Act in 1983. The memorandum (left), was dated “13 Jan 1981” and headed “Unexplained Lights”. The two-week delay between the incident and the report might account for errors in dates and times given. The memo was not classified in any way. Dr David Clarke has investigated the background to this memo and the reaction to it at the Ministry of Defence. His interviews with the personnel involved confirmed the cursory nature of the investigation made by the MoD, and failed to find any evidence for any other reports on the incident made by the USAF or UK apart from the Halt memo.
Statements from eyewitnesses on 26 DecemberThe Scottish researcher James Easton succeeded in obtaining the original witness statements made for Col. Halt by Fred A. Buran, 81st Security Police Squadron, Airman First Class John Burroughs, 81st LE, Airman Edward N. Cabansag, 81st Security Police Squadron, Master-Sergeant J. D. Chandler, 81st Security Police Squadron and Staff-Sergeant Jim Penniston, 81st Security Police Squadron. These documents are now in the public domain and scans of them are available on Ian Ridpath’s website.
These documents describe the sightings of strange lights. Penniston, for instance, states that “directly to the east [of East Gate] about 11⁄2 miles [2.4km] in a large wooded area…a large yellow glowing light was emitting above the trees. In the centre of the lighted area directly in the centre ground level, there was a red light blinking on and off 5 to 10 sec intervals. And a blue light that was being for the most part steady.” Burroughs, Penniston and Cabansag drove into the forest in search of the source of the lights.
They heard strange noises, too. Burroughs reported a noise “like a woman was screaming” and also that “you could hear the farm animals making a lot of noises”. Halt heard the same noises two nights later. In a CNN interview in January 2008 he said: “The livestock around the barn seemed to be going crazy”. Such noise could also have been made by Muntjac deer in the forest, which are known for their loud, shrill bark when alarmed. Cabansag said: “We figured the lights were coming from past the forest since nothing was visible when we passed through the woody forest. We would see a glowing near the beacon light, but as we got closer we found it to be a lit-up farmhouse. We got to a vantage point where we could determine that what we were chasing was only a beacon light off in the distance.” Burroughs’ statement also states that “We could see a beacon going around so we went towards it. We followed it for about two miles [3 km] before we could [see] it was coming from a lighthouse.”
Penniston’s statement is the only one that positively identifies a mechanical object as the source of the lights. He states that he was within 160 feet (50 m) of the object and “it was defidently mechaniclal [sic] in nature”. Penniston has subsequently claimed that, contrary to his statement at the time, he actually encountered a landed craft in the forest which he circled, touched and made notes of for 45 minutes, although there is no corroborating evidence of this from other witnesses. Penniston has shown on television a notebook in which he claims to have made real-time notes and sketches of the object. The notebook is headed with the date 27 December and the time 12:20 (00:20 GMT), which does not accord with the date and time given by the other witnesses for the incident, although the date does accord with Halt’s memo. Penniston claims that he saw the object at a different landing site from the one investigated by Halt, much closer to RAF Woodbridge. This is inconsistent with his initial assessment that the light lay a mile and a half from East Gate.
The witnesses were unnerved by their experience and believed that they had witnessed something, as Buran expresses it, “out of the realm of explanation”.
The Halt TapeAlso, in 1984, a copy of what became known as the “Halt Tape” fell into the hands of researchers. Unfortunately, because the tape had been dubbed on an old machine, much of its background conversations could not be discerned. The US Sci Fi Channel acquired the original recording, which documents Halt and his patrol investigating a UFO sighting in Rendlesham Forest in December 1980. This tape not only reveals much more of the background conversations but features names that could not be heard on the poor-quality 1984 dub. The tape has also been transcribed by researcher Ian Ridpath, who includes a link to an audio download.
The Halt AffidavitIn June 2010, retired Colonel Charles Halt signed a notarised affidavit, in which he again summarised what had happened, then stated he believed the event to be extraterrestrial and it had been covered up by both the UK and US:
“I believe the objects that I saw at close quarter were extraterrestrial in origin and that the security services of both the United Kingdom and the United States have attempted—both then and now—to subvert the significance of what occurred at Rendlesham Forest and RAF Bentwaters by the use of well-practiced methods of disinformation.”
Halt also dismissed claims that he and his men had confused a UFO with a lighthouse beam:
“While in Rendlesham Forest, our security team observed a light that looked like a large eye, red in colour, moving through the trees. After a few minutes this object began dripping something that looked like molten metal. A short while later it broke into several smaller, white-coloured objects which flew away in all directions. Claims by sceptics that this was merely a sweeping beam from a distant lighthouse are unfounded; we could see the unknown light and the lighthouse simultaneously. The latter was 35 to 40-degrees off where all of this was happening.”
Contradictions between this affidavit and the facts as recorded at the time in Halt’s memo and tape recording have been pointed out.
In 2010 base commander Colonel Ted Conrad provided a statement about the incident to Dr David Clarke of Sheffield Hallam University, UFO adviser to the UK National Archives. Conrad stated that “We saw nothing that resembled Lieutenant Colonel Halt’s descriptions either in the sky or on the ground” and that “We had people in position to validate Halt’s narrative, but none of them could.” In an interview, Conrad, criticised Halt for the claims in his affidavit, saying “he should be ashamed and embarrassed by his allegation that his country and Britain both conspired to deceive their citizens over this issue. He knows better.” Conrad also disputed the testimony of Sergeant Jim Penniston, who claimed to have touched an alien spacecraft; he said that he interviewed Penniston at the time and he had not mentioned any such occurrence. Conrad also suggested that the entire incident might have been a hoax.
Halt’s partial response to this was: “Ted Conrad is either having memory problems, has his head in the sand or continuing the cover up. Even his son has admitted to family talk substantiating the incident… Through the years Conrad has made conflicting statements about the events. First he stated he never went out to look in the sky. Then stated he never saw anything. Apparently he doesn’t remember talking to me on his radio [about seeing a UFO sending down beams of light onto the base]… Remind Conrad of his article in the OMNI Magazine dated March 1983… In the article he describes the first incident in detail and concludes ‘those lads saw something, but I don’t know what it was’. Now he’s smearing those involved. It’s pretty clear there was a very intense confrontation with something in the forest. Does Conrad want to talk about how the airmen were then subjected to mind control efforts using drugs and hypnosis by British and American authorities? Yes, Burroughs and Penniston have issues that relate to the events…”
The 1983 OMNI article cited by Halt has the following account attributed to Conrad: “Colonel Ted Conrad the base commander… recalls five Air Force policemen spotted lights from what they thought was a small plane descending into the forest. Two of the men tracked the object on foot and came upon a large tripod-mounted craft. It had no windows but was studded with brilliant red and blue lights. Each time the men came within 50 yards of the ship, Conrad relates, it levitated six feet in the air and backed away. They followed it for almost an hour through the woods and across a field until it took off at ‘phonomenal speed.’ Acting on the reports made by his men, Colonel Conrad began a brief investigation of the incident in the morning. He went into the forest and located a triangular pattern ostensibly made by the tripod legs. …he did interview two of the eyewitnesses and concludes, ‘Those lads saw something, but I don’t know what it was’.”
Suffolk Police logSuffolk Constabulary have a record, dated 26 December 1980, of a report from the law Enforcement Desk of RAF Woodbridge, stating that “We have a sighting of some unusual lights in the sky, we have sent some unarmed troops to investigate, we are terming it as a U.F.O. at present”. The police investigated this report and the result is recorded as follows: “Air Traffic Control West Drayton checked. No knowledge of aircraft. Reports received of aerial phenomena over Southern England during the night. Only lights visible this area was from Orford lighthouse. Search made of area – negative.” Sceptic Ian Ridpath has speculated the reported “aerial phenomena” refers to the re-entry of the Soviet Cosmos 749 satellite’s final stage rocket, which was widely seen over Southern England shortly after 9 p.m. on the evening of 25 December. A letter in the police file notes that one of the PCs returned to the site in daylight in case he had missed something. “There was nothing to be seen and he remains unconvinced that the occurrence was genuine. The immediate area was swept by powerful light beams from a landing beacon at RAF Bentwaters and the Orfordness lighthouse. I know from personal experience that at night, in certain weather and cloud conditions, these beams were very pronounced and certainly caused strange visual effects.” A scan of the report is available at Suffolk Constabulary’s website.
Other military installation involvementSome researchers have claimed that personnel from Porton Down visited Rendlesham in 1980 after the Rendlesham Forest incident. No evidence has been presented and there seems to be confusion with other alleged UFO incidents.
Admiral Lord Hill-Norton, the former Chief of the UK Defence Staff, argued that an incident like this at a nuclear weapons base was necessarily of national security interest. As a member of the House of Lords, Lord Hill-Norton asked Her Majesty’s Government: “Whether they are aware of any involvement by Special Branch in the investigation of the 1980 Rendlesham Forest incident [HL303]”. Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean gave the reply that “Special Branch officers may have been aware of the incident but would not have shown any interest unless there was evidence of a potential threat to national security. No such interest appears to have been shown.” Hill-Norton commented, “Either large numbers of people were hallucinating, and for an American Air Force nuclear base this is extremely dangerous, or what they say happened did happen, and in either of those circumstances there can only be one answer, and that is that it was of extreme defence interest.”
In 2001 the British Government released its file on the incident to researchers following a request from Dr David Clarke under the Code of Practice for Access to Government Documents, a precursor to the Freedom of Information Act. The Ministry of Defence has since made these documents available online. The United States continues to remain silent despite the SciFi Channel-sponsored investigation entitled “UFO Invasion at Rendlesham”, the History Channel’s “UFO Files – Britain’s Roswell” and Coalition for Freedom of Information inquiries.
SkepticismJim Penniston and John Burroughs went to investigate the craft together. In an interview with Larry King on 9 November 2007, Jim Penniston claimed that he did a 45 minutes full investigation of the craft on the ground, touched the craft and took photos of the craft. John Burroughs apparently contradicts this in a separate interview in Robert Stack’s Unsolved Mysteries. He states that after suddenly encountering the craft on the ground, “We all hit the ground, and it went up into the trees”. The interviews with Jim Penniston and John Burroughs have subsequently been made available on Youtube.
Science writer Ian Ridpath investigated the incident in 1983, initially for BBC TV’s Breakfast Time news programme, and on 5 January 1985 wrote an article for the Guardian which did much to discredit the accounts of the UFO sightings at Rendlesham. Ridpath asked local forester Vince Thurkettle about the flashing light, and he indicated that it originated from the lighthouse at Orford Ness, which as seen from the forest edge appears to hover slightly above the ground and would appear to move as the witnesses moved between the trees. At that time, the Orford Ness lighthouse was the second-brightest in Britain with an intensity of 5 million candelas. In the Halt tape (mentioned above), one can hear an unidentified airman call out “There it is again … there it is” with an interval of 5 seconds, the same frequency at which the Orford Ness lighthouse flashes. Had a UFO been present, the airmen should have reported a second source of light (the lighthouse) in the same line of sight. Video footage of the lighthouse as seen from Colonel Halt’s vantage point at the edge of the forest shows it flashing at this rate.
Thurkettle saw the alleged “landing marks”, as did the local police, and believed them simply to be old “rabbit diggings” covered with pine needles. USAF photographs of the marks discovered by researcher Georgina Bruni were sent to the MoD by Lord Hill-Norton in 2001 and released under the Freedom of Information Act in 2007. Moreover, the supposed burn marks in the trees were actually axe cuts made by foresters that indicated the trees were ready to be felled. To give further pause to accepting the alleged UFO sighting, a meteor “almost as bright as the full Moon” was spotted over Southern England at exactly the time of the initial reports of a bright object “landing” in the forest, according to Dr John Mason, who collects reports of meteor sightings for the British Astronomical Association. “Nothing came down in Rendlesham Forest,” concludes Ridpath.
Crucial amongst the evidence is the interpretation of the levels of radiation in the area (clearly heard on the “Halt tape”). Experts at the UK’s National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) have pointed out that the equipment used for this measurement was not intended to measure background radiation and therefore the readings at the low end of the measurement scale are meaningless.
Steuart Campbell proposes an alternative explanation. He agrees with the standard explanation that the incident began with the sighting of a fireball (bolide) which was interpreted by guards at the base as an aircraft falling in flames in the nearby forest. In fact it would have been hundreds of miles away over the North Sea. Campbell argues that the object subsequently seen by Halt and his men on their nocturnal expedition was the lightvessel Shipwash and that the supposed “spacecraft” were actually bright planets, such as Venus. Campbell is critical of the USAF’s abilities with their equipment.
Another theory is that the incident was a hoax. The BBC reported that a former US security policeman, Kevin Conde, claimed responsibility for creating strange lights in the forest by driving around in a police vehicle whose lights he had modified. Conde has since withdrawn the claim that he was responsible for the incident. “It is my impression that I pulled my stunt during an exercise. We would not have had an exercise during the Christmas holiday [when the UFO sightings occurred]. That is a strong indication that my stunt is not the source of this specific incident”. It remains possible that the coloured lights seen in the forest on the first night of the incident were due to a hoax by a perpetrator who has never come forward.
Other explanations for the incident have included a downed Soviet spy satellite.
Researchers and commentatorsSome of the first people to examine the event in detail were the British Ufologist Jenny Randles in her book “Sky Crash”, co-authored with local researchers, Brenda Butler and Dot Street, who were the first investigators to interview any witnesses and to visit both the site and RAF station and Nick Redfern in his books “Cosmic Crashes” and “A Covert Agenda”.
Georgina Bruni has researched the subject and in her book You Can’t Tell the People publishes a photograph of the supposed landing site taken on the morning after the first sighting. The late Lord Hill-Norton, (Admiral of the Fleet and former Chief of the Defence Staff of the UK) also believed that a UFO landed at Rendlesham and repeatedly questioned the UK Government on the issue.
Larry Warren who was the source of the original News of the World article has written extensively on the subject and is a firm believer in an extraterrestrial explanation. Warren was certainly a USAF airman at RAF Woodbridge, but his own claims that he was a witness to the incident are disputed by others, notably by Col. Halt.
Bruni and Warren do not agree on the details and have clashed publicly over the supposed inaccuracies of their respective accounts.
Prominent amongst the sceptics is Ian Ridpath (mentioned above). Much of his research is available on his website, which also includes much of the raw evidence, including the original eyewitness statements.
Jenny Randles, one of those who originally brought the case to prominence, wrote an extensive article in her book with David Clarke and Andy Roberts, (The UFOs That Never Were) entitled “Rendle Shame Forest” where she came to the conclusion that “While some puzzles remain, we can probably say that no unearthly craft were seen in Rendlesham Forest. We can also argue with confidence that the main focus of the events was a series of misperceptions of everyday things encountered in less than everyday circumstances.”
One of the most prominent believers in the extraterrestrial origin of the Rendlesham UFOs is Nick Pope who worked for the MoD, researching and investigating UFO phenomena between 1991 and 1994. He discussed the Rendlesham Forest incident in his various books and in several articles: “Selected Documents”, which relates to the MoD documents on the Rendlesham Forest incident, “Rendlesham – The Unresolved Mystery”, “The Rendlesham Files Reviewed” (a detailed commentary and analysis of the MoD documents) and “Rendlesham Forest UFO Incident”. He has gone on record as saying that “the Rendlesham Forest incident is bigger than Roswell” (quoted on Sci Fi Channel – see TV documentaries below).
Lieutenant Colonel (later Colonel) Charles I Halt, the former Deputy Base Commander of USAF Bentwaters and Woodbridge, who was a major witness to these events, is also a firm believer and contributor to books and documentaries. As stated in his recent affidavit above, Halt believes he witnessed an extraterrestrial event that was then covered up. Halt was also a speaker at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on 27 September 2010, one of half a dozen former US Air Force officers testifying on the subject of “U.S. Nuclear Weapons Have Been Compromised by Unidentified Aerial Objects.”
Rendlesham Forest today Forest clearing in the UFO Trail
at Rendlesham Forest Today, the forest looks quite different: the Great Storm of 1987 (winds equivalent to a category 3 hurricane) caused extensive destruction of trees, and the Forestry Commission undertook a massive replanting programme in its aftermath. Some of the locations associated with the supposed incident are still identifiable and the Forestry Commission have marked a trail (the UFO Trail) for walkers, which includes the principal locations such as the small clearing where the object allegedly landed.
At the start of the UFO trail, there is a large triangular shaped metal information board. It features a map of the forest, clearly marking the UFO trail and gives a basic account of what happened in 1980, although with an erroneous date for the initial sighting:
“In December 1980 several sightings of UFOs were reported in Rendlesham Forest. Many think these mysterious events are the most significant UFO incident to have occurred in the UK.
“During the evening of 26 December a resident of Sudbourne, a village approximately 6 miles (10 km) to the north east of Rendlesham Forest, reported a mysterious shape (like an upturned mushroom) in the sky above his garden. Later that night two USAF patrolmen at the East Gate of RAF Woodbridge spotted unusual lights in the forest, and were given permission to investigate. What they reported was very strange.
“This was the time of the ‘Cold War’ and because of the sensitive military situation at the time, the incident was officially reported to the Military Authorities by the Deputy Base Commander Lt. Colonel Charles Halt, USAF.
“There is, of course, no tangible evidence of a UFO on the ground – no debris was found apart from some broken tree top branches. We can, however, piece together, from transcripts and recordings which were taken at the time, an intriguing picture.”
OTHER ARTICLE THE RENDLESHAM FOREST UFO INCIDENT
本文知识网络
仅显示与本文相关的局部关联，非全站图谱。
