Air Ministry

Britain's Air Ministry turns up again and again in the archive's RAF cases. In 1952 an Air Ministry intelligence team questioned the Little Rissington crew and had them draw sketches. Afterwards it set aside any idea of extra terrestrial objects. Then came Flt Lt James Salandin's 1954 report from Southend. It went to the Ministry's special flying saucer section and nothing more was heard. In 1957 its technical intelligence looked at the West Freugh radar returns. They found five reflecting objects of unidentified type and origin. Its files on the 1962 Alex Birch photograph were released in 1993.

Stories7

Churchill's Alleged UFO Cover-Up: The RAF Reconnaissance Plane Encounter

c. 1944 · Near or over the English coastline (reportedly the east coast of England)

UAP · Unknown · 29 sources

23Thinly documented

The RAF Tangmere Meteor Flying Saucer and the Wartling Radar Return

June 1, 1950 · Portsmouth area, Hampshire (pilot from RAF Tangmere, radar at RAF Wartling)

UAP · Disc / saucer · 8 sources

42Partially documented

Little Rissington UFO Incident

October 21, 1952 · RAF Little Rissington, Gloucestershire

UAP · Disc / saucer · 17 sources

46Partially documented

The Rome Half-Cigar over Ciampino and Pratica di Mare (1954)

September 17, 1954 · Rome (Ciampino airport and Pratica di Mare air base), Lazio

UAP · Cigar · 15 sources

46Partially documented

Flt Lt James Salandin's Meteor near miss over Southend-on-Sea

October 14, 1954 · Over the outlying districts of Southend-on-Sea, Thames Estuary, Essex

UAP · Disc / saucer · 6 sources

17Thinly documented

West Freugh Radar Incident

April 4, 1957 · RAF West Freugh and the Luce Bay bombing range, Wigtownshire, Scotland

UAP · Unknown · 26 sources

48Partially documented

The Alex Birch Flying Saucer Photograph, Mosborough

March 1962 · Field near the British Oak pub, Mosborough, near Sheffield (then Derbyshire), England

UAP · Disc / saucer · 17 sources · 3 photos

34Partially documented