civilian-claim1956· RAF Bentwaters and RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk, England
On the night of August 13-14, 1956, ground radar at RAF Bentwaters and RAF Lakenheath, airborne radar aboard a USAF bomber, and visual observers all tracked unidentified objects moving at extreme speeds over East Anglia. Two RAF de Havilland Venom jets were scrambled; one pilot reported the target maneuvering behind his aircraft and shadowing him for ten minutes.
The Condon Committee researcher Gordon Thayer called it 'the most puzzling and unusual case in the radar-visual files.' The final Condon Report, which otherwise sought mundane explanations, concluded the probability of a genuine unknown was 'fairly high.' The case is Chapter 2 of the Condon Report and is cited in CIA FOIA archives.
Citations
- Lakenheath-Bentwaters incident· Wikipedia, 2024
- UFO Encounter II. Sample Case Selected by the UFO Subcommittee of the AIAA· CIA FOIA Reading Room, 1976
- The Bentwaters 1956 case. The Condon Report· UFOs at close sight, 2001
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