02 · LORE
551 FILES·LAST 1D AGO
United Kingdom2008civilian claim

UK National Archives UFO Files

Between 2008 and 2013 the UK Ministry of Defence transferred nearly 60,000 pages of UFO investigation files to the National Archives, making them freely downloadable. The releases covered every recorded sighting from 1953 to 2009, more than 12,000 reports, and included the complete case files for Rendlesham, Cosford, and West Freugh. The MoD formally closed its UFO desk in November 2009.

Between 2008 and 2013 the UK Ministry of Defence transferred nearly 60,000 pages of UFO investigation files to the National Archives, making them freely downloadable.

Brief

Between 2008 and 2013 the UK Ministry of Defence transferred nearly 60,000 pages of UFO investigation files to the National Archives, making them freely downloadable. The releases covered every recorded sighting from 1953 to 2009, more than 12,000 reports, and included the complete case files for Rendlesham, Cosford, and West Freugh. The MoD formally closed its UFO desk in November 2009. The declassification program was managed with input from former MoD UFO desk officer Nick Pope, who selected highlight cases for media briefings. The files are catalogued under the DEFE 24 series. The National Archives published a research guide and an audio transcript to accompany each release batch. A final tranche was released in 2019.

Metadata

Year
2008
Location
The National Archives, Kew, London, England
Region
United Kingdom
Status
confirmed
Tag
civilian claim
Primary
UFO file release May 2008
Source type
html
Sources
3

Key Points

  • Between 2008 and 2013 the UK Ministry of Defence transferred nearly 60,000 pages of UFO investigation files to the National Archives, making them freely downloadable.
  • The releases covered every recorded sighting from 1953 to 2009, more than 12,000 reports, and included the complete case files for Rendlesham, Cosford, and West Freugh.
  • The MoD formally closed its UFO desk in November 2009.
  • The declassification program was managed with input from former MoD UFO desk officer Nick Pope, who selected highlight cases for media briefings.

Most Interesting

  • Between 2008 and 2013 the UK Ministry of Defence transferred nearly 60,000 pages of UFO investigation files to the National Archives, making them freely downloadable.
  • The releases covered every recorded sighting from 1953 to 2009, more than 12,000 reports, and included the complete case files for Rendlesham, Cosford, and West Freugh.
  • The files are catalogued under the DEFE 24 series.

Timeline

  1. 2008 · Encounter

    Between 2008 and 2013 the UK Ministry of Defence transferred nearly 60,000 pages of UFO investigation files to the National Archives, making them freely downloadable.

  2. 2008 · Source record

    UFO file release May 2008 is the preferred source material attached to this encounter.

Sources

Connected Encounters

Related topics

SharePostReddit