Documents / Document

UFO files briefing guide

The National Archives · 15 pages · text from the file's own layer

This briefing guide, written by Dr David Clarke of Sheffield Hallam University for The National Archives in March 2008 and revised through June 2012, explains the British government's involvement with UFOs from 1909 onward. It covers phantom airships, foo fighters, ghost rockets, the 1950 Flying Saucer Working Party, Air Ministry and MoD investigations, and the 1979 House of Lords debate. It also lists key National Archives file references, including the Rendlesham Forest papers, and notes that MoD found no evidence of extraterrestrial origin.

  • p. 1 …this file will take you to the relevant catalogue entry. Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) 1. What…
  • p. 3 …Mountbatten was one of a small group of influential military officials who believed UFOs were real…
  • p. 7 …catalogue search for UFO files. Various documents held at The National Archives give a history of…
  • p. 8 8 3) Public correspondence; 4) UFO sighting reports There are several files documenting the UK Government…
  • p. 9 9 UFO report files contain a mixture of letters from members of the public and reports…
  • p. 10 …UFO reports files opened during 2008 include DEFE 24/1922/1, DEFE 24/1923/1, DEFE…
  • p. 11 11 Ten UFO correspondence files were opened in March 2011 including DEFE 24/1986/1 (1997…
  • p. 12 …Sequences of RAF Air Defence/Operations UFO files that have survived destruction include DEFE 71/3…
  • p. 13 …This transfer began with 27 UFO files dating from 1979 to 1991 opened to the public…
  • p. 14 …UFO – The government files. London: Blandford, 1996 Bruni, Georgina. You Can't Tell the People. London…
  • p. 15 …Clarke, David. „Opening the UFO files‟ BBC History Magazine vol 6/8 (August 2005), 43-46…
15
Letter „Opinion on Flying Discs‟ sent by Twining to the Brigadier General
Schulgen, Commanding General of the Army Air Forces, 23 September 1947,
originally classified „Secret and declassified in 1969 now at US National Archives,
College Park, Maryland, see: http://www.project1947.com/fig/twinng47.htm
Articles
Clarke, David and Roberts, Andy. „Britain‟s X-Files‟, Fortean Times 164
(November 2002), 38-44.
Clarke, David. „The Rendlesham Forest Incident: Britain‟s Roswell?’ The Sceptic
12/2-3 (2004), 17-21.
Clarke, David. „Opening the UFO files‟ BBC History Magazine vol 6/8 (August
2005), 43-46.
Haines, Gerald K. „A die-hard issue: CIA's role in the study of UFOs, 1947-90',
Studies in Intelligence: Semiannual Unclassified Edition 1 (1997), 67-84
Jones, R.V. „The natural philosophy of flying saucers,' Physics Bulletin 19 (July
1968), 225-30
Morgan, Roger J. „British Government UFO files in the Public Record Office,'
Magonia 30 (August 1988), 12-15
Dr David Clarke of the Department of Journalism and Communication, Sheffield Hallam
University created this briefing document for The National Archives, in March 2008.
Revisions were made in February 2010, January and August 2011 and June 2012. The
National Archives is not responsible for content created by external parties.

Cases discussed

About this file

Document, cited by the archive. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. 15 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.