COVERT AGENDA
THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT’S UFO TOP SECRETS EXPOSED
Introduction by Nick Pope
NICHOLAS REDFERN
Nicholas Redfern was born in 1964 and has been researching the UFO mystery since the late 1970s. He has concentrated his investigations at an official level, and to date has secured the release of thousands of previously classified files on UFOs from a host of government and intelligence agencies throughout the world, including Britain’s Ministry of Defence and the USA’s CIA and FBI.
Nicholas Redfern writes on a regular basis for numerous UFO publications, including the bestselling UFO Magazine and has contributed crucial material to Timothy Good’s books Alien Liaison and Beyond Top Secret. He has lectured on his subject at Aston University and elsewhere, and has appeared on a variety of radio and television programmes including BBC TV’s Out of this World.
Having examined the available evidence, Nicholas Redfern is convinced that there is an active alien presence on the Earth, and that official confirmation of such presence will soon be forthcoming.
THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT’S UFO TOP SECRETS EXPOSED
NICHOLAS REDFERN
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction by Nick Pope xi
Prologue 1
1 In the Beginning 7
2 The Early Years 13
3 Mainbracc 27
4 Unusual Aerial Phenomena 35
5 ‘We Believe These Things Exist’ 47
6 Close Encounters 61
7 Official Investigations 77
8 Invasion! 95
9 The ’Copter and the Crash 111
10 Unidentified Visitors 125
11 The Rendlesham Affair 139
12 The 1980s and Beyond 157
13 Flying Triangles 181
14 Meeting the Ministry 193
15 The Provost and Security Services 209
16 The Defence Intelligence Staff 227
17 Under Surveillance 239
18 Dead On Arrival 253
19 Around the World 273
20 A Covert Agenda 285
Appendices 305
References . 321
Useful Addresses 341
Picture credits 343
Index 345
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
1 AM DEEPLY INDEBTED TO THE FOLLOWING FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THIS BOOK:
Leslie Banks; Graham and Mark Birdsall and al] at UFO Magazine, without whose fine investigations the story of DI55 could not be told; Captain John E. Boyle (USAF); the British UFO Research Association and BUFORA Director of Publications Mike Wootten, for securing me permission to cite several important cases from BUFORA files; the Central Intelligence Agency; the Civil Aviation Authority; Robert Dean; the Defence Intelligence Agency; Jonathon Dillon of UFO Watch; Robert Durant, for the extract from one of his many research papers; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Martin Fletcher, Lisa Shakespeare, Jacquie Clare, Gillian Holmes, Glen Saville and all at Simon & Schuster for their fine work; Flying Saucer Review; the editors of Fortran Timet, Paul Sieveking and Bob Rickard; Nigel Foster; Chris Fowler; premier researcher of the Roswell UFO crash of 1947, Stanton T. Friedman; Margaret Fry, for data on the 1974 UFO incident at Bala; Paul Fuller, for the use of his interview with Flight Lieutenant W. Wright (RAF); Timothy Good, for a wealth of advice and for taking the time to read the original manuscript of A Covert Agenda; the Government Communications Headquarters; Paul Greensill; Chester Grusinski; Her Majesty’s Stationery Office; the
INTRODUCTION
NICK POPE
OVER A SERIES OF NIGHTS IN DECEMBER 1980. UFOS WERE SEEN BY numerous military personnel at the twin United States Air Force bases of RAF Woodbridge and RAF Bentwaters. Strange indentations were found on the ground in nearby Rendlesham Forest, at a location where a guard patrol had witnessed a small metallic craft. Radiation readings were taken from these indentations, and the Defence Radiological Protection Service calculated that the radiation was ten times higher than was normal for the area. The Ministry of Defence says that these events are of no defence significance.
On 5 November 1990, a squadron of RAF Tornado fest jet aircraft flying over the North Sea was casually overtaken by a UFO. The pilots made an official report. The Ministry of Defence view is that this encounter was of no defence significance.
On 31 March 1993, a UFO flew directly over two military bases; it was seen by a guard patrol at RAF Cosford and by the Meteorological Officer at RAF Shawbury, who described it as being a triangular-shaped craft only marginally smaller than a Boeing 747. It flew over the base at a height of about 200 feet, was making a low humming sound, and was seen to fire a beam of light at the ground. It was moving very slowly, but suddenly shot off at several times the speed of a fast jet. Nothing was detected on radar. That this event took place is not disputed, and indeed it has been
Introduction by Nick Pope xiii
were almost certainty extraterrestrial in origin. This official evaluation -which was a view shared by more people within the Ministry of Defence than might he supposed- was made on the basis that some UFO sightings did seem co involve structured craft which exceeded the capabilities of the best of our own technology (including stealth aircraft and various prototype craft), both in terms of speed and manoeuvrability.
It was while working in Sec (AS) 2a that I first encountered Nick Redfern. He was one of a number of regular correspondents, but what set him aside from most of the others was the interest that he showed in the official Government UFO files held ar the Public Record Office. It is from these records (which might be called the real X-Files) that Nick has pieced together the extraordinary history that you are about to react The strength of A Covert Agenda is chat it is a case for an extraterrestrial reality constructed largely on the basis of official documentation which Nick has obtained through skilfully and aggressively exploiting the provisions of the Public Record Acts.
It will become clear to readers that there are areas on which my views and Nick’s differ. He believes that elements within the world of officialdom know all about UFOs, but are withholding the information from the public. 1 disagree, seeing bureaucracy, rather than conspiracy, as being what lies behind some of the admittedly suspicious-looking goings on highlighted in this book On this point, readers will have to make up their own minds.
Notwithstanding the divergence of views on the possibility of an official cover-up, there is much common ground between us. We certainly agree that the Ministry’s view of UFOs as being of ‘no defence significance* is at odds with a whole mass of evidence — much of which is contained in this meticulously researched and comprehensively referenced book
UFOs used to be regarded by many people as a joke. Those who showed an interest were portrayed as quirky and if the topic was mentioned in the media, it was usually in a light-hearted way. Recently, this has begun to change. Defence correspondents on national newspapers are beginning to take an interest, as are Members of Parliament; there have been over thirty formal Parliamentary Questions cabled on the UFO phenomenon in the past year, dealing with both official policy on UFOs, and with a number of specific cases. A Covert Agenda is therefore a most timety book, because
PROLOGUE
FOR ALMOST HALF A CENTURY^ YOU HAVE BEEN DENIED ACCESS to the facts which lie behind two discoveries of monumental proportions: Planet Earth has extra-terrestrial visitors and unidentified flying objects exist. 1 do not make such claims lightly, nor do I expect the reader to accept those same claims on faith alone.
Through the use of both official documentation and witness testimony, it is my hope that what you are about to read will conclusively prove that, since the late 1940s, British Governments have been acutely aware that our planet has been “targeted* for visitation by creatures from elsewhere.
As represented by the Ministry of Defence, the current stance of officialdom is that the bulk of its research into reported UFO sightings is undertaken by a small body of staff operating out of Whitehall. As a result of an intense investigation, however, I am now in a position to reveal that a whole host of governmental departments – on a worldwide scale, no less -are intimately invoked in the study of this most perplexing phenomenon.
While conducting research for this book I was given the opportunity to study more than a thousand pages of once-classified papers directly pertaining to UFOs, and many of those same papers are reproduced here for the first time I was also able to secure interviews with a variety of both retired and serving MOD civil servants. Royal Air Force pilots, and military personnel, who have left me in no doubt that the UFO issue is
Prologue
Almost twenty years have now passed since 1 first became truly aware that UFOs were something more than a mere fantasy, and yet when I think about it, it seems like only yesterday that my exposure to this bizarre subject began in earnest.
It was 10.30 p.m. on a dark Wednesday evening as 1 walked with my father through a deserted Walsall street. A biting wind sliced through the air, and I buried my hands deep in my coat pockets in a vain attempt to keep warm. Wc headed towards the multi-storey car-park
Well, what did you think?* asked my father.
‘I thought it was great/1 responded, continuing, ‘Do you think it could really happen?1
My father looked at me out of the comer of his eye; a knowing smile crossed his face: ‘Maybe it already has/ he replied, his voice dropping ever so slightly.
The subject of this cryptic conversation? Steven Spielberg’s classic film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which told the story of mankind’s first face-to-face meeting with an alien species, and which we had just seen at the now-demolished Walsall ABC cinema.
We climbed the stairs of the car-park and headed for my lather’s Ford Capri, and I thought about his curious comment.
What did you mean, “Maybe it already has”?1
‘Hang on/ he replied. ‘Let’s get out of the car-park and I’ll tell you? And as we drove home on that autumn evening, the shocking facts surrounding my father’s involvement in the UFO subject came tumbling out.
Like the majority of young men in the early 1950s, my father was required to serve a three-year term in the military under National Service regulations. Because of his keen interest in aviation he chose the Royal Air Force. During his time with the RAF he served at a variety of camps, but by far the most memorable experience occurred at RAF Neatishead, Norfolk. It was September 1952 and he was serving as a radar mechanic.
‘So, what happened?’ I asked, as we drove out of Walsall town centre.
‘Well, I remember that we were taking pan in an exercise, Mainbrace it was called, and I was on duty/ he replied. ‘It was early in the morning – four or five o’clock – maybe a bit later. Things were pretty normal until the radar picked up something weird on the scopes?
What was it?’ 1 butted in.
Prologue
Defence Intelligence Staff, Airborne Early Warning, Ground Environment and Sec(AS)2a. And home, of course, to those elusive UFOs.
CHAPTER I
IN THE BEGINNING
THE ‘FLYING SAUCER’ ENTERED OUR CONSCIOUSNESS. AND OUR vocabulary, in 1947. At approximately 3.00 p.m. on the afternoon of June 24. Kenneth Arnold, an American pilot, viewed nine unidentified aerial objects flying in a wedge-shaped formation over the Cascade Mountains, Washington State, USA. Describing the UFOs as ‘crescent-shaped’, Arnold likened their movements to those that a saucer would make if it were skimmed across a pool of water.
In a statement made available to me by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, Arnold said at the time: ‘I never asked nor wanted any notoriety for just accidentally being in the right spot at the right time to observe what I did. I reported something that I know any pilot would have reported. 1 don’t think that in any way my observation was due to any sensitivity of eyesight or judgement than what is considered normal for any pilot.’
To folly recognize the importance of Arnold’s encounter, kt us look at his own account:
On June 24th, Tuesday, 1947, I had finished work … at Chehalis, Washington, and at about two o’clock I took off from [Chehalis Airport] with the intention of going to Yakima, Wash. My trip was delayed for an hour to search for a large
In the Beginning 9
passed the southern edge of Mt. Rainier. I watched these objects with great interest as I had never before observed airplanes flying so close to the mountain tops, flying directly south to south-east down the hog’s back of a mountain range.
They flew like many times I have observed geese to fly in a rather diagonal chain-like line as if they were linked together . .. What kept bothering me as 1 watched them flip and flash in the sun right along their path was the fact that I couldn’t make out any tail on them, and I am sure that any pilot would justify more than a second look at such a plane.
The more 1 observed these objects, the more upset I became, as I am accustomed and familiar with most all objects flying whether 1 am close to the ground or at higher altitudes. As I was flying in the direction of this particular ridge, I measured it and found it to be approximately five miles so I could safely assume that the chain of these saucer-like objects [was] at least five miles long. As the last unit of this formation passed the southern-most high snow-covered crest of Mt Adams, I looked at my sweep second-hand and it showed that they had traveled the distance in one minute and forty-two seconds. Even at the time this timing did not upset me as I felt confident after I would land there would be some explanation of what 1 saw.
History has shown, of course, that no explanation for Arnold’s sighting ever did surface, and the mystery has raged for nearly half a century. Even the FBI felt moved to comment: It is difficult to believe that a man of [Arnold $] character and apparent integrity would state that he saw objects and write up a report to the extent that he did if he did not see them.’
Arnold went on to make a statement which, I am quite sure, anyone who has ever seen a UFO can identify with: *1 would have given almost anything that day to have had a movie camera with a telephoto lens and from now on I will never be without one.’
Perhaps inevitably, Arnold’s sighting quickly caught the imagination of both the public and the media, as Arnold recalled: ‘.. . the news that I had observed these spread very rapidly and before night was over I was receiving telephone calls from all pans of the world; and, to date, I have
In the Beginning American Government that the UFO mystery was a global problem, rather than one solely confined to the USA. This is perfectly demonstrated by a one-pagp report extracted from the US Air Transport Command’s Weekly Intelligence Summary of August, 1947:
FLYING OBJECTS IN GUAM: Unidentified flying objects have been observed by three enlisted men of the 147th Airways and Air Communications Service Squadron at Harmon Field, Guam. The men report that at 1040 hoots on 14 August 1947 the two objects, which they describe as small, crescent shaped and traveling at a speed twice that of a fighter plane, passed over them on a zig-zag course in a westerly direction at an approximate altitude of twelve hundred feet. The objects disappeared into clouds and a few seconds later a similar object, possibly one of those previously observed, emerged from the clouds and proceeded west. No further details have been reported.4
As a result of the literally hundreds of UFO sightings reported throughout the United States in the summer of 1947, US authorities were galvanized into action. As well as the FBI’s inquiries, investigations were launched by Naval Intelligence, and the then-combined Army Air Force. It really did appear chat the North American continent was playing host to unearthly visitors. A document which originated with the US Air Intelligence Requirements Division demonstrates the line of thinking that was being pursued within Government circles at the time. More importandy, it shows that UFOs were not only perceived to be intelligently controlled craft – the possibility that they were interplanetary* in origin was something discussed by the US military nearly half a century ago:
An alleged “Flying Saucer’ type aircraft or object in flight, approximately the shape of a disc, has been reported by many observers from widely scattered places, such as the United States, Alaska, Canada, Hungary, the Island of Guam, and Japan. This object has been reported by many competent observers, including USAF rated officers. Sightings have been made from the ground as well as from the air.
CH APTER 2
THE EARLY YEARS
IT IS SOMEWHAT SURPRISING THAT THE EARLIEST ACCOUNT OF A UFO incident involving the British Royal Air Force actually pre-dates Kenneth Arnold’s sighting by some live months. And it is ironic that details of the case only surfaced when the relevant records were released into the public domain by the American Government. How did this come about?
On July 30,1947, the FBI issued a statement agreeing to lend assistance to the US Army Air Force’s study of UFO reports. As a result of this, details of numerous UFO encounters were forwarded to the Bureau by the USAAF, including the following which originated with the British Air Ministry:
During normal night flying practice at 2230 on 16th January, 1947, one of our Mosquitos was vectored on co an unidentified aircraft at 22,000 feet. A long chase ensued commencing over the North Sea about 50 miles from the Dutch coast and ended ar 2300 hours over Norfolk. Two brief contacts were made bur faded quickly. The unidentified aircraft appeared to take efficient – controlled evasive action. No explanation of this incident has been forthcoming nor has it been repeated.
It could be argued that this case involved nothing more unusual than spacecraft. This caused widespread dismay amongst the higher echelons of the Government, and the conclusions of the report were rejected largely on the orders of Chief of Staff, General Hoyt Vandenberg, who argued that the “Estimate’ was bereft of any firm evidence to support such beliefs.
In 1956 Captain Edward J. Ruppelt of the USAF stated that contained within ATIC’s Top Secret report were references to “the English “ghost airplanes” that had been picked up on radar early in 1947*.1 There is little doubt in my mind that the encounter of January 16,1947, over the North Sea was one of those reports which Ruppelt was talking about. But the reference to ‘ghost airplanes’, in the plural, suggests that there were other reports in existence which so far remain closed to the general public. In view of the fact that the British reports of early 1947 were ultimately published in a US Air Force report with Top Secret status, 1 submit that this is indicative of an early high-level UK-USA collaboration on the UFO subject.
Ronald Anstee of Canada has divulged some interesting details concerning an incident which occurred at RAF Bentwaters, Suffolk, in mid-1947. Anstee’s source, a relative tangentially involved, revealed that on a particular afternoon a circular UFO, fifty feet in diameter, was seen by numerous on-base personnel.2 As a result, senior officials were flown in and extensive meetings were convened to deal with the matter. According to Anstee’s relative, the encounter was somehow connected with a new type of radar which was being utilized in the area.
It will become apparent that RAF Bentwaters has been implicated in a number of other UFO incidents since 1947, including a notorious encounter in December 1980. And there was still more co come in the summer of 1947.
It may be relevant to note that the Air Ministry had been working on various radar-related projects as far back as the 1930s. On January 28, 1935, the Tizazd Committee, established under the directorship of Sir Henry Tizard, convened its first meeting, which ultimately led to the development of a workable radar system of the type employed in the Second World War.3 Most pertinent of all, much of that research showing that, as in the USA, 1947 was a pivotal year for the British Government.
In 1992 I interviewed a retired British Army source who informed me that he was involved in a UFO incident at Seremban, Malaysia, in July 1943. While taking part in early morning manoeuvres both he and a platoon of troops viewed a globe-shaped UFO hovering over a densely forested area. The UFO was small, perhaps eight to ten feet in diameter, and emitted a slight hum. Curiously, during the time that it was in sight all electrical apparatus belonging to the platoon was rendered useless. Those involved were later questioned at length and a bulky case file was forwarded to the War Office in London for additional study. The results of that study remain unknown.
Details of the following incident, shrouded in secrecy for more than forty years, were forwarded to me in 1991 by author and investigator, Timothy Good. Although the official records pertaining co the case are absent from the Public Record Office, one of the prime witnesses, Mr J.R. Oliver, formerly a radar operator at RAF Sandwich, recalls what took place:
… In August 1949, in order to test die updated air defences of England against attack, Operation Bulldog was launched. Operation Bulldog’s attacking forces consisted of aircraft of the Benelux countries supported by US air squadrons based on the continent. Flying from various airfields in Holland, France, Belgium and Germany, their objective was co attack London and other prime targets in southern and midland England, without being officially ‘downed’ by fighter aircraft brought into action by the defensive network of Fighter Command.
The radar defence chain extended from Land’s End, along the south coast and up to the north of Scotland, overlapping at all heights from sea level to about 100,000 feet. Even so long ago, it was almost impossible to fly a glider across the Channel without it being plotted. The exercise ran for fifteen days and was structured in such a way that the technical resources and personnel of the defensive screen were stretched to the limit.
1 was, at the time, a radar operator AC1, stationed at RAF read from our Type 13 radar, designed specifically to read the height of any aircraft within its range. Flying at close to 50,000 feet, the air speed of the object we had observed and plotted in accordance with RAF standard procedures was assessed at very nearly 3,000 miles per hour.
The general consensus regarding its size, among the very experienced radar personnel engaged in the operations, was that the object offered an echo similar to that of a large passenger or freighter surface vessel, something in the region of 15,000 or 20,000 tons. Word filtered down … that on approaching Bempton radar in Yorkshire, the object suddenly increased speed and headed directly upwards, vanished off-screen at about 100,000 feet.
Naturally, there was quite a bit of buzz about this, especially as at that time speeds in excess of the speed of sound were just not on. Neither were aircraft the size of liners.
The airspeed record at that time stood at 606.36 mph and the largest aircraft in general use was probably the USAAF Superfortress, which lumbered along at about 350 mph.
At our usual relief time, ‘B’ Watch stood down and went to breakfast and bed at the domestic site at Stonar House. We were awakened from our watch slumbers by Sergeant Platt and assembled in front of Stonar House, with our Sergeant Belcher, Sergeant Hatter, and various minor NCOs in attendance, for an address by Squadron Leader Mundy. He reminded us of our duties as serving members of the RAF and the requirements of the OSA and to forget especially the odd occurrences of the past night and not to mention same to anyone not connected to the RAF.
Going on watch that evening we found that the Duty Watch Book, normally only replaced when completely full, which recorded every air engagement, every PBX message, every official order by the watch-keeping officer, made during every official pan of previous watches, including the previous night’s activities, as an official Watch Book is required to do … had gone. Replaced by a brand new shining Duty Watch Book. I Captain Cartmel, an Equipment Officer with more than 1,400 hours’ flying experience in no fewer than eighty-one different types of aircraft. According to Cartmel, the object was seen near to the Wildernesse Country Club, approximately one and a half miles north-east of Sevenoaks, Kent. Described as a ‘bright light’ moving in the sky, die object was estimated to have been flying at a height of 3,000 feet and at a speed of 150 mph – a speed identical to that reported by the Pan-American crew near Boston, USA in 1947. ’The matter which really drew my attention to it was the complete absence of sound/ said Cartmel, commenting on the unusual object. Following the sighting a report was filed by Cartmel and forwarded to the Air Ministry for examination. For its pan the Ministry seemed none too impressed, and suggested that the Group Captain had simply observed the moon, partially covered by cloud. Not an impossible scenario, but one would have expected an officer of CartmeTs experience to have recognized the moon when he saw it.
Regardless of the outcome of the Air Ministry investigation, this particular case is of significant historical importance because it is one of the earliest on record which is supported by a now-declassified official file which can be examined at the Public Record Office.8
In August 1952 the Air Ministry announced that a ’foil intelligence study* had determined that all reported UFO sightings could be attributed to hoaxes, optical illusions, mistaken identities, and known astronomical phenomena. This study was apparently undertaken in 1951 (although no record of its existence can be found amongst the available papers at the Public Record Office) and the Ministry’s statement was made following an enquiry on rhe pan of the prime minister, Winston Churchill.9 The subject had been brought to Churchill’s attention following the now-famous wave of UFO encounters which occurred in the USA in 1952, and which reached its peak on July 19-20 of that year when there was a proliferation of sightings over Washington D.C.10
One person known to have been involved in the 1951 study was HG. Woodman who, after the end of the Second World War, became Deputy Superintendent of Test Flying at Boscombe Down. Following request Unidentified object seen at 0055 10 Feb at 49 degrees 50 min north, 50 degrees 03 min west by crew of Navy 6501, VR1, Patuxent River, Maryland. Originally seen as heavy light in distance on the surface as lights of city. The yellowish light, like a fire in color, approached rapidly and grew very bright and very large with a semicircular shape, It was on a true course of about 125 degrees, plane on a true course of 225 degrees, as it approached the plane it suddenly turned almost 180 degrees and disappeared rapidly over the horizon as a small ball. Speed ‘was terrific. Seen from an angle of about 45 degrees looking down from the plane. Crew all experienced North Atlantic fliers… all saw object over a period of from seven to eight minutes. Plane flying at 10,000 I feet] altitude.13
A further encounter dating from 1951 has strong correlations with the 1949 episode at RAF Sandwich, Kent:
… [O]n Sept 10, fifty-one, an AN/MPG DASH ONE Radar set picked up a fast moving low flying target, exact altitude undetermined at approximately 11.10 a.m., south-east of Fort Monmouth at a range of about twelve thousand yards. The target appeared to approximately follow the coast line, changing its range only so slightly but changing its azimuth rapidly … target also presented an unusually strong return for aircraft being comparable in strength to that usually received from a coastal ship. The operator … realized that it could not be a ship after he observed its extreme speed.14
As these two reports show, certain elements within the American Government were aware that an extraordinary phenomenon existed, even if word had not filtered down to personnel such as those referred to by Woodman.
It is possible, however, that the Woodman study was not given access to reports of incidents such as those recalled by Ronald Anstee and J.L Oliver, in which the presence of a solid, intelligently controlled vehicle was apparently confirmed. Certainly, disclosures enabled by the American.
Where are those Rics and photographs now? Most definitely they are not at the Public Record Office, nor are they open for inspection at any other military archive or museum. Whatever their status, they only serve to reinforce my conviction chat, somewhere, there is a massive body of UFO evidence to which we are being denied access.
It should also be noted that Creighton has an impeccable background. A fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, and a graduate of Cambridge University, he spent many years in diplomatic posts in China, Belgium, USA and Brazil, and subsequently served for seven years as an intelligence officer in Whitehall. So what of the statements made to Winston Churchill that the UFO mystery comprised nothing more than optical illusions, hoaxes and mistaken identities of known astronomical phenomena? The evidence cited appears to negate the Air Ministry’s hypothesis, suggesting the shocking possibility that Churchill was purposefully kept in the dark. Is this likely? At present, I am willing to suspend judgement on the matter until such a time that further information surfaces. But there can be no doubt that, for whatever reason, Prime Minister Churchill remained ignorant of the foil facts of at least two contemporary UFO sightings.
A series of events took place barely a month later which radically altered the British Government’s attitude towards the subject of UFOs, and which left little doubt in the minds of those in authority that they were a force to be reckoned with.
CHAPTER 3
MAINBRACE
IM SEPTEMBER 1952 THE NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANISATION (NATO) co-ordinated a huge military exercise in the North Sea and North Atlantic. Dubbed ‘Mainbrace’, the exercise utilized the armed forces of Britain, USA, Canada, Norway, Denmark, France, Netherlands and Belgium. * Approximately 85,000 personnel rook part. Its purpose was to demonstrate to the Soviet Union that NATO was fully prepared to withstand, and counter, any possible Soviet attack on Western Europe.
Barely one day into the exercise at least two reports of UFO encounters were filed with authorities by naval personnel on board ships in the Atlantic between Ireland and Iceland. The first such encounter involved a ‘blue/green triangle’ which was observed flying over the sea at a speed of 1,500 mph. Later that same day, three unidentified objects, travelling at around the same speed, were seen flying in a triangular formation. All three craft reportedly emitted a ‘white light exhaust’.
As part of the Royal Air Force’s involvement in Mainbrace, 269 Squadron, which was based at RAF Ballykelly, Ireland, was posted to RAF Topdifle in Yorkshire. It was at Topdi He, on September 19, 1952, chat one of the most historically important UFO sightings was reported – by a serving member of the Royal Air Force. A document written and signed by Flight Lieutenant Dolphin of RAF Topdifle, to Headquarters, No. 18 Group, and dated September 20, 1952, states: ‘In
Mambnttt
■ I have the honour to be, Sir, Your obedient Servant J. Kilburn, Flight Lieutenant, No. 269 Squadron.5
As well as Kilburn’s sighting, a number of reports made, by civilians were forwarded to RAF Topcliffe. A document formerly classified at ‘Confidential’ level, dated September 25, 1952, and signed by JAC. Stratton, Group Captain, Officer Commanding, RAF Topdifle, mentioned that ocher people in the York area had seen a similar object on the day in question.6
The Air Ministry was sufficiently concerned by the Topdifle incident to forward a one-page report on the case to the Commander-in-Chief, Air/East Atlantic, a NATO subdivision:
Following unusual incident observed RAF Topclifife by number officers and airmen aircrew 191053 local time. Meteor aircraft observed at approx. 500 feet and descending. White object was seen 5 miles astern at approx. 15000 feet and moving at comparatively slow speed on similar course. [Object was] swinging in pendular motion like a sycamore leaf. Thought by observers to be parachute or cowling from Meteor aircraft. Arcraft had turned towards Dishferth and object. Whilst still descending, appeared to fellow suit. Pendulous motion and descent ceased. [Object] suddenly accelerated at an incredible speed in a westerly direction but turning to a S.E. course. Observers stated that the movements were not identifiable with anything they had seen in the air and acceleration was in excess of that of a shooting scar.
Duration of incident 15/20 seconds?
Copies of this report were also forwarded to a number of Government offices, namely the Chief and Assistant Chief of the Ar Staff, the Secretary of State, and the Ar Ministry’s Directorate of Scientific Intelligence.8
Also stationed at RAF Ballykelly was Leslie Banks, who at the time was Commander of 240 Squadron. For the duration of Mainbrace, his ’ squadron was detached to Stavanger, Norway. Following the successful completion of the exercise, both Kilburn and Banks returned to Ballykelly
Mainbrace
31
an incident of September 1952. The CIA sated that the report was published in a four-times-a-week newspaper in Harwad, Norway. A translation of the article gives us the following information:
On 18 September, at 1400 hours, three forestry workers who were working right outside Kirkenes, noticed a flat, round abject hovering motionless at about 500 meters altitude. The abject appeared to have a diameter of 15-20 meters. After the workers had observed the object for a while, it suddenly flew away at great speed in a northwesterly direction. It appears that only these workers saw the object; they swear, however, that their report is true.14 :
On the face of it, this would appear to be a fairly typical UFO report. However, there are three points worth considering. One, the incident occurred on September 18, one day before the Topdiffe and Mainbrace encounters. Two, the characteristics displayed by the object are very similar to those reported during Mainbrace. Three, the fact that this incident occurred over Kirkenes may be of significance, given the account of my father, who recalled that the UFO tracked at RAF Neatishead was lost as it was on a heading for Norway.
Furthermore, the pronounced lack of official British reports found within the ClA*s released UFO flies suggests co me that some sort of prior arrangement for secrecy was made between the two countries* authorities. This is not as unlikely as it may sound. For example, although the CIA have conceded that they do monitor the UFO subject, and have to date released approximately 1,000 pages of once-classified papers on UFO activity, it has been suggested that this represents the tip of the iceberg. Many more pages, possibly in the order of 15,000, are currently being withheld by the Agency.15
It will be recalled that one of the countries which took part in Mainbrace was Denmark. It is intriguing to note that on September 20, 1952, the same day that Wallace Litwin took his historic photographs, a shining, disc like aircraft was sighted over Karup, one of the most strategically
Mainbrace 33
Branch, Public Record Office class reference DEFE 21 are under arrangement and so [are] not available for general access as yet.
It is possible that some documents contained in this class may become available for inspection in 1991. Please note that because of the nature of these files many will be under extended closure and so closed for 50, 75 or 100 years.20
I pursued this issue further, specifically with regard co the DSI and its possible involvement in the investigation of UFO sightings by military personnel. This brought forth the following response from the Public Record Office:
The records currently under arrangement at MOD are of (a) the Scientific and Technical Branch (STIB) and (b) die Directorate of Scientific Intelligence (DSI). The activities of the former would not have embraced UFOs and whilst the latter may have, their records are concerned with DSPs relationship with STIB and matters which do not extend to UFOs. Whether material touching on the subject of your enquiry survives amongst the records of DSI and, if so, whether it would be made available, is not within my knowledge, and I have therefore passed a copy of this letter and the related correspondence to the MOD Departmental Record Officer for consideration.21
In their reply of January 8, 1991, the Ministry of Defence scared:
The Public Record Office Inspecting Officer advised you, in his letter .. . that your enquiry regarding a particular piece within Class DEFE 21 was being passed to the MOD Departmental Record Officer (DRO) for consideration. I can now advise you that an examination of die pieces listed under DEFE 21 revealed that the earliest anything might be released is in 1993. In the meantime, J am afraid that J am unable to comment on the content of the material due to be released. I am sorry to have co give you such a disappointing reply.22
CHAPTER 4
UNUSUAL AERIAL PHENOMENA
THE AIR MINISTRY WAS STILL UNABLE TO EXPLAIN THE UFO sighting at Topcliffe eleven weeks after the event: \ .. the special branch dealing with this is keeping an open mind on the subject and all reports received are still being studied/ said a Government spokesperson.
On January 13, 1953, a little more than a month after that announcement, Fighter Command Headquarters issued a new document outlining the procedures to be followed in the event that ‘unusual targets’ were detected on radar. Was this as a result of the radar-confirmed UFO encounters reported by my father at RAF Neatishead? Given the great lengths to which the Air Ministry went to ensure that evidence relating to those particular sightings was preserved for analysis, this possibility must rank highly.1
Also in 1953, Fli^t Lieutenant Cyril Townsend-Withers was informed that the Air Ministry had established a project to examine UFO reports with the extra-terrestrial hypothesis in mind.2 In public, the Ministry never admitted to the existence of such a project. However, in light of the many now-documented UFO encounters reported by the British military in September 1952, Townsend-Withers’ testimony carries weight. And it adds credence to the suspicion that, more than forty years ago, the British Government was seriously considering the possibility that we were
Unusual Aerial Phenomena 37
‘atmospheric vibration’ which he described as similar to a low-frequency hum. Looking skywards and out towards the coast, he saw what appeared to be four large rays of orange light moving inland.
Being a member of the ROC, and naturally curious, Mr Smith immediately pulled up in order to obtain a better view of the phenomenon. As he did so the lights travelled overhead and disappeared in the vicinity of the nearby Foxborrow Wood. As it passed dose Mr Smith was able to get a view of the object from which the light beams emanated. Flying ar a height of about 200 feet was a circular craft with a diameter of roughly fifty feet. Mr Smith was then able to see that the light beams seemed to be projected from a raised dome which sat atop the main body of the UFO. Although the entire incident was over in a short space of time, it left a deep impression on Mr Smith, who related the details to me in 1994/
At 7.15 p.m., what appears to have been the same UFO was sighted over the city of Norwich by Mr F.W. Potter, a member of the Norwich Astronomical Society. Whilst scanning the night sky with a 3.5-inch refractor telescope, Mr Potter noticed a ‘very bright object’ travelling from the south-west:
I focused upon it and found the light given from the object was not reflected sunlight, as I first believed, but an internal light being sent out from a fixed apparatus situated around a dome. The rays or beams of light could be seen distinctly from the dome and attached directly beneath it was a much larger and flattened dome with a protruding band running in a circumference around its edge. This was clearly seen in the telescope by the rays of light thrown out from the apertures in the top dome. The underneath of the large flattened bottom dome was hollow and appeared to be glowing red, but there were no vapour trails or gases to be seen.
It did not rotate but kept the same portion of the dome towards the telescope until it changed its angular course. Then it gave me a chance to visualise another of the apertures that previously had been hidden from view. It was then travelling to the north-east and disappearing from view/
Apparently, the UFO soon returned. Mr F. Dewing, also of Norwich,
Unusual Aerial Phenomena
39
were airborne at a height of approximately 20,000 feet in a two-seater Vampire jet fighter. Their attention was suddenly drawn towards a very bright, stationary light which appeared to be at an altitude somewhat higher than theirs. After Smythe and Johnson had observed the object for about thirty seconds, and had been able to determine its circular shape, it suddenly accelerated out of the area at an exceptional rate.
Upon returning to West Malling, they hied a report with their Station Commander, Group Captain P.H. Hamley (who was himself invoked in a UFO experience during World War Two), and the HQ at Bentley Priory was informed of the details. Both men were later questioned by Air Ministry officials for two hours in a confidential interview, the details of which have never been made public.
After having been pressed by questioners in the House of Commons, the then Parliamentary Secretary to the Air Ministry informed the House that the object had merely been a meteorological balloon. Indeed, the ‘balloon3 theory was one that would serve the Air Ministry well in future UFO incidents.9
Four and a half hours after the West Malling encounter, an unusual object was tracked by personnel testing a new radar set in the Anti-Aircraft Command Centre at Lee Green, Kent. For around half an hour the UFO was continuously monitored on the radar scope, something confirmed by several witnesses: AJ. Jeffrey, technical storeman, D. Fuller, fitter mechanic, S. Russell, anti-aircraft group workshop, and Sergeant H. Waller. Interestingly, Sergeant Waller stated that this was not the first time that he had seen UFOs on the radar scopes. The Ministry again trotted out its by-then-reliable ‘balloon3 theory, thus discounting the testimony of four qualified observers, all of whom were adamant that the object had not been a balloon.
In early 1996 both Terry Johnson and Geoffrey Smythe spoke out publicly with respect to the West Malling case, and Johnson disclosed an interesting, little-known fact: ‘We were called up co the Air Ministry to give a full report of the incident to the Duke of Edinburgh’s equerry. We were told that Prince Philip was interested in flying saucers/10
The Air Ministry s official line was that the majority of UFO sighting
Unusual Atrial Phenomena 41
personnel were warned to report UFO sightings only to certain authorities. Clearly there was a desire to ensure that nothing of significance leaked outside of official channels.
We have already seen that following the UFO sighting at RAF Topdife in September 1952, a copy of the official report on the case was forwarded to the Scientific Branch of the Air Ministry. Yet the ‘Reports on Aerial Phenomena’ document seems co suggest that by late 1953 the task of investigating UFO reports rested exclusively with the Ministry’s Technical Branch, DD1 (Tech). Evidently, a change of policy had occurred within the Ministry regarding the coordination of research into UFO encounters.
It is intiguing that this tallies with the testimony of Cyril Townsend-Withers that the Air Ministry had established a project in early 1953 to examine UFO reports with the extra-terrestrial hypothesis in mind. This being so, the ‘Reports on Aerial Phenomena1 paper may be one of the very few documents currently available to the general public which originated with that particular project. Since there has been a blanket denial on the part of the British Government that any such project ever existed, we should perhaps consider it fortunate that this document has surfaced at all.
A potentially important case which has been overlooked for more than forty years rook place at Templeogue, near Dublin, in the summer of 1954. The only known witness was Mr P.D. McCormack, a resident of Templeogue. He reported seeing a ‘strange blueish-white object in the night sky moving at a speed estimated to be no less than 1,000 mph. ‘I saw this object travelling in a straight line over the Dublin mountains/ he recalled. ‘Trails of flaming pieces seemed to fell away at each side … I would not take note of this if it were not something the like of which I had never seen before/12
One might be forgiven for thinking that the witness had simply misperceived a conventional astronomical event, such as a meteor entering the earth’s atmosphere. Mr McCormack, however, was no ordinary witness: a member of the British Interplanetary Society, he was employed as a research worker in the School of Cosmic Physics attached to the
Unusual Atrial Phenomena a joint investigation by the Air Ministry, the War Office, and the Secret Intelligence Service, then one would imagine that a substantial file would have been built up on the case. Yet. as with so many other reported incidents, no trace of any such file can be found at the Public Record Office.
During that parliamentary session of May 15, 1957, Ward also stated that of all the UFO reports examined by the Air Ministry in 1955, none remained unidentified.15 Perhaps, but 1955 was far from being a quiet year for the Air Ministry.
On the night of March 24. 1955, a brightly lit object was seen in the British skies by numerous people, includii^ a number of RAF pilots. The Air Ministry s explanation that the object had been a meteor was severely tested the following year by researcher David Wightman (as we shall see in the next chapter). Moreover, it was reported at the time that some of the RAF pilots who attempted to pursue the ‘meteor said that not only did it change course, it also accelerated in speed.16
Two months later a cigar-shaped UFO, with a colour which resembled polished aluminium, was sighted by the pilot and co-pilot of a Portuguese ‘Skymaster’ aircraft flying between Dusfold and Epsom. ‘It flashed past under the nose of our aircraft at a terrific speed,’ said Radio Officer J.O. Almeida.17
Nine weeks after that, a ‘boomerang-shaped’ UFO, some forty feet in width, was seen at Lasham, Hampshire – apparently observing the National Gliding Championships which were taking place there! Mrs Yvonne Bonham, Secretary of the British Gliding Association, estimated that the UFO was at a height of 3,000 feet, and for a while appeared to actually hover over the glider of the British champion, Philip Wills, before disappearing at a high speed.18
Oddly enough, in August 1954 members of the Royal Air Force Gliding school at St Athan airfield, along with staff at Rhoose Airport, also witnessed a UFO at close quarters: The form 1 observed was chat of a large double-convex lens viewed in vertical profile,’ recalled one flying officer who attempted to pursue the UFO in his glider.19
Unusual Aerial Phenomena