- HBCC UFO Research Note: This sighting below is a very
important event/sighting and I am going to see about speaking to this gentleman
over what he witnessed. Also I would like to request if anyone else in
that area remembers this sighting, and all the activity would they please
contact me here at HBCC UFO Research or UFOINFO.
- Date: April 1978 (?)
- Time: 0135hrs
-
- Approach Direction: From the North East
- Departure Direction: Straight up
- Witness Direction: North East, then looking straight
up
-
- Description: Strange Event United Kingdom
- April 1978
-
- You know, I am sure many of you have had something strange
or sometimes something happen that was so exciting or important happen
to you that you said to yourself, I will never forget this day or date
in my life. Well, I had a few of those but this event took the cake and
I knew I would never forget that date but as amazing as the
event was, I have forgotten the exact date but not the event because it
was experienced with another person.
-
- Now I know as soon as I expose this story (my event)
people will say I am nutz or what ever else comes to mind about the story,
at times I too wondered why or how I (we) was so lucky to have been witness
to such an event that I still can't explain. The very day after the event,
the very next morning I and SSgt "Mike B****" (Maintenance Operations,
Weapons Controller) reported this event to the USAF, OSI at RAF Bentwaters,
Suffolk, United Kingdom and that was the last we ever heard about it.
-
- I have to admit, it is not an easy story to tell, over
the years I have been told it was lights, stars or a helicopter. I can't
tell you as many of you will have to search your hearts and minds
and know that when you see something or participated in something and you
have no physical prove, you just have to live with the fact it happened
and let it go at that. I sure hope a few of you have had something happen
you could not explain but regardless, it happened and you can't prove it
but did have a witness with you. It feels so odd to have to defend something
so strange, it makes you wonder why nothing was done or ever exposed about
it, one of life's crazy stories I guess but I felt the need to share it.
-
- When I was stationed at RAF Bentwaters, Suffolk, England
from January 1977 to January 1980 I witnessed what had to be called a UFO
Sighting. I know, I know, it sounds crazy but never the less, it happened.
One of my assignments after the F4 to A-10 aircraft conversion was a volunteer
assignment as a board controller at the RAF Bentwaters, Maintenance
Operations Center, better known as the MOC .
-
- Trying to find local housing (apartment or small house
to lease or rent) near or around the RAF Bentwaters community was almost
impossible. You had to know someone that was moving and try to negotiate
talking their place if the landlord had not already signed an agreement
to lease it to somebody else. So of course, I like most young SSgts back
then had signed up for and hoped for base housing to become available,
but that did not happen for almost two years. However, there was Base
Housing available at another base about sixty (60) miles away, a place
called RAF Wethersfield, it was a USAF Communications site that housed
one of many NCO Leadership School. It was a very small base whose runway
was shut down most of the time, only opened for visiting TDY troops and
their flight activities so it was quiet and lots of housing was available.
-
- It was offered to me, I knew other guys that were living
there and they all carpooled before it became so popular and well known
to the general public. Anyhow, my wife and I drove to that base one day,
we liked what we saw and we accepted the offer to take one of those homes,
but it was about an hour and fifteen minute drive each way.
- Damn good thing there was a duel carriage way
(A-12 highway) nearby or the drive would have been far worse. Anyway, I
joined the car pool too, and we all took turns driving our vehicles back
and forth to work at RAF Bentwaters while sharing the cost of fuel. I
was working the swing shift the night of this event; normally the hours
were from 1530hrs to 2400hrs daily. This week (the week of this event)
three of us were driving with SSgt "Mike B****" (he lived across
the street from me, the very same housing area and we also worked together
at the MOC, lucky for us as it turned out).
-
- Two of the guys lived in a town called Ipswich, which
was on the way to base, we would pick them up or drop them off from time
to time (shared the cost of gas since they did not live in our area but
it was on the way), every penny helped, fuel was expensive even then.
- Anyway, after dropping these two guys off, Mike and I
still had about a forty minute ride home. We had just passed through the
little town of Finchingfield just off the main road the A-12, headed towards
RAF Wethersfield (our home). We drove about another five or six minutes
as we approached the crest of a small hill, you could see in the background
many miles away, the American base called RAF Mildenhall (it was about
thirty or so miles away but at night it lit up the entire sky).
-
- Anyway, we are in Mike's VW Bus, nice big open front
window, great view of the road ahead, I notice this really bright light
near Mildenhall (least I thought it was from that area). I watched it for
a few seconds; it appeared to get bigger and brighter. I remember saying
to Mike, Mike, look at that light, it is the brightest landing
light (least I thought it was) I had ever seen, it lit up the entire sky
near the base. I thought it was a C-5 or maybe a C-141 with new, bright
landing lights (I had never seen anything so bright from so far away) before.
-
- We both looked at for a few moments longer, since Mike
was still driving and it was dark, he needed to watch the road too but
I noticed it appeared to be headed our way. I said Mike look, it is headed
this way! He pulled over, he wanted to see what kind of aircraft this was,
the lights got brighter and it was headed our direction. We got out of
the van, just as we did that, within seconds (I mean this) it was right
over our heads and there was no noise, none at all. The entire sky above
us was so bright, we could not look up at the object it was so weird, no
noise, no shape could be seen of whatever this thing was.
-
- We both looked at each other and said, what the
hell is this ? We could not believe this, we kept trying to look up at
it but could not because it was so bright, we felt nothing, no humming,
no noise, no movement of the grass around, nothing was happening, it was
like we were in a void of some kind. It hovered over us for a few more
seconds, then I heard a noise from behind me, it was a jet engine sound.
I looked up, put my hands over my eyes to see better and I saw two British
F4 s headed right towards our location. They got so close, we could see
the Union Jack flag panel on their aircraft fuselage. They were
deploying photo flash cartridges and we could hear and see what they
were doing.
-
- They were taking pictures of this thing (not that they
needed more light, this thing was extremely bright) as it was. Mike yelled
out to me, What the hell is happening here ? I did not know either
but a moment later, what ever this thing was took
- off to the west towards London. It was like looking
at a light saber or something because it left a single line of
light in the
- sky as it headed away from us, it was like someone drew
a white line in the sky, it was instantaneous, I could not believe it.
One second it was above us, the next it was over London (you could see
the lights of the city from our location).
-
- The British F4's took off after it, they kicked their
aircraft into burner trying to catch or chase this thing. It
was amazing
- to witness, they never caught it but were headed towards
London too when all of a sudden, this thing appeared over our heads again
(no kidding, it was like in the wink of an eye) that fast. We tried to
look at it again but it was useless to do so, I turned my head and saw
the F4's headed back towards us again (I guess they were still taking pictures
of this thing). We were right under it when it shot straight up; I mean
it, straight up. All we saw was a white line in the sky until we could
follow it no longer, still going straight up without a sound.
-
- It was the damnist thing that ever happened to me or
Mike for that matter. We waited for it to come back, it did not so we were
about five minutes from Wethersfield, we just drove home. As we approached
the base main gate, the American and British Security Guards there were
going nutz with excitement, they too had seen whatever this thing was.
They watched the whole thing as it happened too, he saw the whole thing
but did not see (us) the van because of the distance involved. We told
him what happened to us, we still could not believe it ourselves. They
wanted us to file a report with the MOD Police (Minister of Defense) on
base, of course, we did.
-
- I woke my wife when I got home, she thought I had been
drinking, of course, I had not. I decided to turn on the BBC radio as it
was now two o'clock in the morning. The BBC radio stations were flooded
with calls about a UFO sighting over London and fighters that were reported
chasing it. It was an amazing night to say the least, of course I
(we) also filed a report with the RAF Bentwaters OSI. They (OSI) took the
report and that was that, we never heard another thing about it. During
the rest of the tour, Mike and I talked about it often but never really
understood what happened that night. I (we) know it must have been a UFO,
least that is what we think it was (so did all those folks in London).
-
- All the guys at work gave us major nonsense (crap) over
it (I guess that is understandable) but just after I left that base in
- Jan 1980, a so called landing occurred just
outside the RAF Bentwaters in the local forest (I missed that event, I
had been reassigned to Nellis) just before it. But I will never forget
that evening but I have forgotten the exact date, I would have bet money
that never would have happened (forgetting the date that is). Strange but
that whole experience is still with me like it happened yesterday, strange
crazy stuff to say the least. I just felt the need to share it, I know
many folks won't believe it (thinking I am whacked) but at least Mike and
I know it happened, that was one strange evening.
-
- Anything like this ever happen to any of you??
-
- Color/Shape: Could not tell, it was far too bright
-
- Height & Speed: I have no idea, it was like watching
the blink of an eye, it left a trail of light behind it, like drawing a
white line in the dark sky.
-
- TV/Radio/Press: BBC Radio was buzzing at the 0200hrs
report, London was hoping with reports called in from what I remember.
-
- UFOINFO:- http://www.ufoinfo.com Official Archives for
UFO Roundup, AUFORN Australian UFO Reports and Experiences, UFO + PSI Magazine
plus archives of Humanoid Sighting Reports (Albert Rosales), Filer's Files,
UFO News UK.
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