Rendlesham Forest incident
Colonel Charles I. Halt
Colonel Charles I. Halt, United States Air Force retired was the former "base commander" of Royal Air Force Bentwaters, Woodbridge, Suffolk.
Halt served in Vietnam, Japan and Korea.
1. Early in the morning of 27 Dec 80 (approximately 0300L) two USAF security police patrolmen saw unusual lights outside the back gate at RAF
Woodbridge. Thinking an aircraft might have crashed or been forced down, they called for permission to go outside the gate to investigate. The on-duty
flight chief responded and allowed three patrolmen to proceed on foot. The individuals reported seeing a strange glowing object in the forest. The
object was described as being metallic in appearance and triangular in shape, approximately two to three meters across the base and approximately two
meters high. It illuminated the entire forest with a white light. The object itself had a pulsing red light on top and a bank(s) of blue lights
underneath. The object was hovering or on legs. As the patrolmen approached the object, it maneuvered through the trees and disappeared. At this time
the animals on a nearby farm went into a frenzy. The object was briefly sighted approximately an hour later near the back gate.
2. The next day, three depressions 1.5 inches deep and 7 inches in diameter were found where the object had been sighted on the ground. The following
night (29 Dec 80) the area was checked for radiation. Beta/gamma readings of 0.1 milliroentgens were recorded with peak readings in the three
depressions and near the center of the triangle formed by the depressions. A nearby tree had moderate (0.05–0.07) readings on the side of the tree
toward the depressions.
3. Later in the night a red sun-like light was seen through the trees. It moved about and pulsed. At one point it appeared to throw off glowing
particles and then broke into five separate white objects and then disappeared. Immediately thereafter, three star-like objects were noticed in the
sky, two objects to the north and one to the south, all of which were about 10 degrees off the horizon. The objects moved rapidly in sharp, angular
movements and displayed red, green and blue lights. The objects to the north appeared to be elliptical through an 8-12 power lens. They then turned to
full circles. The objects to the north remained in the sky for an hour or more. The object to the south was visible for two or three hours and beamed
down a stream of light from time to time. Numerous individuals, including the undersigned, witnessed the activities in paragraphs 2 and 3.
(Signed)
Charles I. Halt, Lt Col, USAF
Deputy Base Commander
Security police officer, Staff Seargant Jim Penniston.
Penniston got close enough to touch the side of the object.
One of these sketches details strange symbols Penniston saw on the craft’s hull, which he likened to Egyptian hieroglyphs.
Airman First Class John Burroughs
Airman, John Burroughs, attached sketches of the craft to the official USAF witness statement.
Lieutenant Fred A. Buran
Master-Sergeant J. D. Chandler
Airman Edward N. Cabansag