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This USAF Project Blue Book file, distributed by NICAP, covers the radar and visual sightings at Bentwaters and Lakenheath, England, on 13 and 14 August 1956. It contains the record card, Air Intelligence Information Reports, ATIC correspondence with Dr. J. Allen Hynek, and a retired controller's later letter to the University of Colorado describing an RAF interceptor being tailed. The Air Force attributed the radar returns to anomalous propagation and meteors, and the visual sighting to Mars.
“RAF”5 pages
SUBJEOT: (U) Lakenheath-Bentvaters UFO Sighting - - Review and Comment by Dr. J. A. Hynek. 1. On 13 September 1956, at the Harvard Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Dr. Hynek and the undersigned hold discussions regarding this case. All teletype messages and the various factors and aspects were treated in some detail. 2. Dr. Hynek was in agreement with the undersigned's comment to the SAC Commander in England and Headquarters USAFE, considering the many variables and other seemingly conflicting data involved in the UFO report. 3. Upon receipt of this sighting, Dr. Hynek was unavailable to review this report as one of the applicable UBAF consultants normally required in cases of this kind. Dr. Hynek was en route to Harvard University from the U. S. Astronomical Society Conference held in Berkley, Calif. 4. The following action was taken in attempt to resolve this matter to a better conclusion: a. Copies of all teletype messages from England were left in the custody of Dr. Hynek (deposited in safe for classified material assigned Dr. F. E. Whipple, Director of Astrophysical Observatory). A hand receipt signed by Dr. Hynek was obtained for the UFO case file. b. Dr. Hynek will discuss the matter with Dr. Whipple who is now in Spain on IGY matters, and with Dr. Gerald Hawkins, British astro-physicist, now with the observatory in Cambridge. Dr. Whipple is considered the foremost authority on radio echoes and other radio-radar aspects of astronomical bodies in the world. With Dr. Hawkins participating as an interested party (the unusual UFO sighting being observed over England), the conference should produce something of note. This conference arranged by Dr. Hynek will be at no expense to USAF. George T. Gregory GEORGE T. GREGORY Captain, USAF
Document, cited by the archive. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. The text was read from the page images by an OCR model; expect the odd misread word. 22 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.