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.
4 were unable to explain what had caused the phenomena. MoD were not informed of the incident at the time and concluded there was no threat to the UK. For their part, the British MoD told an inquirer “we have never detected a structured craft flying in UK airspace that has remained unidentified.” What are the other highlights of this release? UFO sightings in London. In 1993 and 1994 there were many sightings of a brightly illuminated oval object moving slowly over London. The MoD discovered these were caused by a Virgin airship advertising the launch of the Ford Mondeo. This airship was even seen by the MoD’s UFO desk officer. The files contain many accounts and sketches of the London UFOs, many depicting saucer-shaped UFOs. It is interesting that several people refused to believe the UFO was the airship! Cosford incident: One entire file is devoted to this flap. Bright lights were seen across central England in the early hours of 31 March 1993 by police officers and military witnesses including a police patrol at RAF Cosford, near Wolverhampton. During 6 hours there were more than 30 sightings reported to the MoD across the south and west of the British Isles. The MoD’s UFO desk were so concerned they asked the RAF to replay radar tapes but this found nothing unusual had been detected.
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.