What does DEFE 31/173, DI55 UFO Reports 1984–1986 reveal?

File continues the DI55 / Defence Intelligence sequence of UAP incident reports covering 1984 to 1986 and feeds the Project Condign source corpus. 28 March 1985 0430 sighting near Tunbridge Wells described as a "BRIGHT FLASH OR EXPLOSION IN SKY" with no sound, logged by Kent County Constabulary "A" Division, Maidstone. 27 March 1985 Gwent Constabulary…

Which agency produced DEFE 31/173, DI55 UFO Reports 1984–1986?

DEFE 31/173, DI55 UFO Reports 1984–1986 is a primary-source record from UK Ministry of Defence / Defence Intelligence Staff (DI55). Its original classification was RESTRICTED / UNCLASSIFIED (mixed).

When is DEFE 31/173, DI55 UFO Reports 1984–1986 dated?

DEFE 31/173, DI55 UFO Reports 1984–1986 is dated 1984-1986. It was declassified 2008-10-08.

What programs and topics appear in DEFE 31/173, DI55 UFO Reports 1984–1986?

DEFE 31/173, DI55 UFO Reports 1984–1986 references DI55, Sec(AS)2, AEW/GE, DST1, UKRAOC and AF Ops.

What does DEFE 31/173, DI55 UFO Reports 1984–1986 say, in its own words?

"BRIGHT FLASH OR EXPLOSION IN SKY . NOTHING HEARD" (source p. 5).

← Files

DISCLOSURE / FILE

DEFE 31/173, DI55 UFO Reports 1984–1986

DEFE 31/173 is a UK Ministry of Defence DI55 / Defence Intelligence file of unidentified flying object incident reports from 1984 to 1986, fed into the corpus that later supported Project Condign.

Brief

The file collects standardised UFO sighting reports routed to DI55 and Sec(AS)2 from civilian witnesses via UK police forces (Kent, Gwent, Staffordshire), the Civil Aviation Authority at Cardiff-Wales Airport, and RAF duty operations officers in early 1985. Reports follow the SOP 502 Annex A format covering date, object description, observer position, direction, angle of sight, distance, movements, meteorological conditions and witnesses. Incidents include a 28 March 1985 0430 "bright flash or explosion in sky" near Tunbridge Wells, a 27 March 1985 "laser beam" object reported by a Gwent motorist between Raglan and Abergavenny, an 18 March 1985 "50p piece" shaped object with coloured underside clusters seen near Blackmore, and a 17 March 1985 banana-shaped object observed through binoculars hovering above Wembley Stadium. Distribution lists confirm copies routed to Sec(AS), ACS(P), DD GE/AEW, DI 55 and DST1.

Metadata

Agency: UK Ministry of Defence / Defence Intelligence Staff (DI55)
Release: 2008-10-08
Type: PDF • .pdf
Length: 444 pages
Classification: RESTRICTED / UNCLASSIFIED (mixed)
Programs: Project Condign, DI55, Sec(AS)2, AEW/GE, DST1, UKRAOC, AF Ops, SOP 502
Tags: UK, DI55, Project Condign source, 1985, cylinder, disc, banana shape, yellow ball, mushroom shape, Wembley, Tunbridge Wells, Abergavenny, Cardiff-Wales Airport, Stoke-on-Trent, Richmond

Key points

File continues the DI55 / Defence Intelligence sequence of UAP incident reports covering 1984 to 1986 and feeds the Project Condign source corpus.
28 March 1985 0430 sighting near Tunbridge Wells described as a "BRIGHT FLASH OR EXPLOSION IN SKY" with no sound, logged by Kent County Constabulary "A" Division, Maidstone.p.5
27 March 1985 Gwent Constabulary signal to MODUK AIR reports a white/blue "laser beam" object moving "a full 180 degrees" between Raglan and Abergavenny, observed 19:40 to 19:55 by a business-man passenger.p.6
18 March 1985 1905 sighting half a mile out of Blackmore on the road to London: an object "shaped like a 50p piece" with two strong forward beams, weaker rear beams, and red/yellow/green light clusters on the underside, in three sections.p.8
17 March 1985 1915 sighting from a third-floor flat in Neasden: a banana-shaped object "like Welsh light" hovering above Wembley Stadium at 2,000 to 3,000 ft, observed through binoculars; Wembley floodlights were not on.p.10
16 March 1985 sighting from Marlow Hill of a "black cylindrical object possibly rotating" at roughly two miles, reported by UKRAOC to MODUK AIR with three additional witnesses.p.12
14 March 1985 23:00 Gwent Police report of a "yellow ball shaped object" travelling east to west toward the Wenvoe transmitter, with a Newport PC corroborating via personal radio.p.13
13 March 1985 2015 Civil Aviation Authority report from Cardiff-Wales Airport of "2 large yellow lights" moving "very fast SE to NW" over Barry, with a Shorts SH330 overflying at a similar time.p.15
15 February 1985 2030 Staffordshire Police report of a mushroom-shaped, glowing orange object hovering for an hour over Bucknall, Stoke-on-Trent, observed by naked eye and binoculars at OS grid SJ91054824 before moving south-west.

Verbatim

BRIGHT FLASH OR EXPLOSION IN SKY . NOTHING HEARD
p.5
ONE .LASER BEAM. OBJECT WHITE/BLUE IN APPEARANCE MOVING VERY FAST A FULL 180 DEGREES AND VERY LONG IN APPEARANCE.
p.6
Object shaped like a 50p piece with 2 strong beams of light from front and and 2 weaker ones from the rear. Red, yellow and green coloured lights in clusters on the underside in 3 clusters and 3 coloured lights on either side. The whole object described as being in 3 sections and "big"
p.8
BLACK CYLINDRICAL OBJECT POSSIBLY ROTATING
p.12
YELLOW BALL SHAPED OBJECT.
p.13
The object appeared to be of a mushroom shape, very bright and a glowing orange colour.
p.17
1 Object, cylinder with gable roof "hat". Very bright, reflective or white with red or orange top

Most interesting

Reports reach DI55 through three parallel civilian-to-military channels: territorial police forces (Kent, Gwent, Staffordshire), civil aviation (Cardiff-Wales Airport ATC), and RAF duty operations officers, all routed onward to Sec(AS)2, AEW/GE and DI 55.
The Wembley Stadium observer first saw the banana-shaped object on 15 March 1985 around 2000 hrs and reported it to The Sun; the 17 March follow-up sighting was logged to a Squadron Leader Duty Operations Officer at AF Ops, showing tabloid sighting reports being re-routed into the Defence Intelligence pipeline.
The Gwent Constabulary signal closes with the witness, described as a businessman who "APPEARED VERY RATIONAL," asking to be informed if an explanation is found, an explicit civilian feedback request lodged inside a routine military signal.
The Staffordshire Police report shows internal procedure DWO 784/71 being applied, with a Sergeant suggesting forwarding to the Department of Trade and Industry, and the Chief Constable requiring an Ordnance Survey grid reference (SJ91054824) before onward transmission.

Cross-references

PDFDEFE 31/172, DI55 UFO Reports 1978–1983 (Project Condign source material)UK Ministry of Defence / Defence Intelligence Staff (DI55)
PDFProject Condign, Unidentified Aerial Phenomena in the UK Air Defence Region, Volume 1 (Executive Summary, Chapters 1–5, Annexes A–F) (part 2)UK Ministry of Defence / Defence Intelligence Staff (DI55)
PDFProject Condign, Unidentified Aerial Phenomena in the UK Air Defence Region, Volume 1 (Executive Summary, Chapters 1–5, Annexes A–F) (part 8)UK Ministry of Defence / Defence Intelligence Staff (DI55)
PDFProject Condign, Unidentified Aerial Phenomena in the UK Air Defence Region, Volume 1 (Executive Summary, Chapters 1–5, Annexes A–F) (part 1)UK Ministry of Defence / Defence Intelligence Staff (DI55)

Related research

PAPERUnidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Policy Implications for the Government of the United KingdomMcCaw · 2024
PAPERThe Scientific Investigation of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) Using Multimodal Ground-Based ObservatoriesWatters et al. · 2023

Common questions

What is DEFE 31/173, DI55 UFO Reports 1984–1986?: DEFE 31/173 is a UK Ministry of Defence DI55 / Defence Intelligence file of unidentified flying object incident reports from 1984 to 1986, fed into the corpus that later supported Project Condign.
What does DEFE 31/173, DI55 UFO Reports 1984–1986 reveal?: File continues the DI55 / Defence Intelligence sequence of UAP incident reports covering 1984 to 1986 and feeds the Project Condign source corpus. 28 March 1985 0430 sighting near Tunbridge Wells described as a "BRIGHT FLASH OR EXPLOSION IN SKY" with no sound, logged by Kent County Constabulary "A" Division, Maidstone. 27 March 1985 Gwent Constabulary…
Which agency produced DEFE 31/173, DI55 UFO Reports 1984–1986?: DEFE 31/173, DI55 UFO Reports 1984–1986 is a primary-source record from UK Ministry of Defence / Defence Intelligence Staff (DI55). Its original classification was RESTRICTED / UNCLASSIFIED (mixed).
When is DEFE 31/173, DI55 UFO Reports 1984–1986 dated?: DEFE 31/173, DI55 UFO Reports 1984–1986 is dated 1984-1986. It was declassified 2008-10-08.
What programs and topics appear in DEFE 31/173, DI55 UFO Reports 1984–1986?: DEFE 31/173, DI55 UFO Reports 1984–1986 references DI55, Sec(AS)2, AEW/GE, DST1, UKRAOC and AF Ops.
What does DEFE 31/173, DI55 UFO Reports 1984–1986 say, in its own words?: "BRIGHT FLASH OR EXPLOSION IN SKY . NOTHING HEARD" (source p. 5).

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