January 13, 1981🇬🇧Document
DeclassificationTriangleHealth Effects

Halt Memo: Official Report on Rendlesham Forest Incident to UK MoD

Lieutenant Colonel Charles Halt drafted an official Air Force memorandum documenting the unexplained lights and physical evidence encountered by USAF personnel in Rendlesham Forest during late December 1980.

Date
January 13, 1981
Location
RAF Woodbridge🇬🇧
Type
Document
Country
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Map

Background

On January 13, 1981, Lt. Col. Charles Halt filed an official memo titled "Unexplained Lights" to the British Ministry of Defence, documenting the Rendlesham Forest UFO incidents of late December 1980.

The memo detailed key sightings and findings from the events.

The Incident

The initial sighting involved Penniston, Burroughs, and Cabansag observing a "metallic" and "triangular" craft.

Investigation

Investigators discovered three depressions at the landing site with elevated radiation readings.

Witness Accounts

Two nights later, Halt sighted multiple luminous objects that moved rapidly, changed shape, and fired beam-like emissions at the ground and toward the weapons storage area.

Significance

The memo was released under FOIA in October 1983 and became front-page news in the UK's News of the World.

Halt's audio tape recording of the events was also made public in 1984.