Documents / Hearing transcript
This is the script of an August 2009 podcast from The National Archives in which consultant David Clarke introduces the fourth release of Ministry of Defence UFO files. The release has 14 files, just over 4,000 pages, covering 1981 to 1996. The files include MoD correspondence on the Rendlesham Forest incident, the Belgian wave, the 1993 Cosford flap and London sightings of an advertising airship. The MoD judged Rendlesham of no defence significance and found most Cosford sightings were caused by a Russian rocket re-entry.
1 Script for National Archives UFO files - August 2009 podcast Hello I’m David Clarke from the Dept Journalism, Sheffield Hallam University. I’m the consultant to The National Archives for the ongoing release of the MoD’s UFO files. This is the fourth instalment of files transferred from the MoD. They are available to download from the National Archives dedicated website www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ufos There are 14 files in all – containing just over 4000 pages of material spanning 15 years, between 1981 and 1996. There are detailed files covering specific UFO incidents, correspondence, a Parliamentary questions and a series of files containing UFO reports from the period between January 1993 and August 1996 During these three years there were more than 800 sightings reported to MoD, with a large increase in numbers during 1996 when 609 incidents were logged. This was more than all the three previous years added together (1993: 258 sightings; 1994: 209 sightings; 1995: 117) The large increase in numbers during 1996 may reflect increased public awareness of UFOs and aliens due to the popularity of the TV series The X Files and the release of the movie Independence Day. What the Key files? There are two files that deal with the “Rendlesham Forest” UFO sightings in Suffolk.
Hearing transcript, cited by the archive. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 6 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.