Claim

The targets tracked by radar and seen over RAF Lakenheath and Bentwaters in August 1956 were craft of unknown origin

Also known as Lakenheath claim, Lakenheath–Bentwaters claim

Open. The Air Force-funded Condon study judged that at least one genuine UFO was probably involved; the RAF night-fighter squadron's diary concluded it was a balloon. (source)

On the night of 13–14 August 1956 U.S. and RAF ground radars in Suffolk tracked fast targets that stopped and turned abruptly, with matching visual sightings, and an RAF Venom night fighter was sent up after one.

Who has said it, in order

  1. 1969 — says so, documented: Over about five hours, USAF and RAF ground radar at RAF Bentwaters and RAF Lakenheath tracked high-speed objects that made abrupt stops and turns. There were matching visual sightings from the ground and the air. Source: ufologie.patrickgross.org (archived)
  2. 1969 — says so, documented: The U.S. Air Force-funded Condon Report (1969) analysed it as Case 2. It concluded that “the probability that at least one genuine UFO was involved appears to be fairly high” and called it “the most puzzling and unusual case in the radar-visual files.” Source: ufologie.patrickgross.org (archived)
  3. 24 November 2024 David Clarke — says so, relayed: Clarke: on the night of 13–14 August 1956, U.S. base radars at Bentwaters and Lakenheath reported fast objects; RAF Neatishead's chief controller, Freddie Wimbledon, saw a target moving at fantastic speed, stopping dead and accelerating. Source: Lakenheath/ Bentwaters UFO Incident 1956 - Dr. David Clarke at 7:41
  4. 24 November 2024 — says so, first-hand: In Clarke's recorded interview, Wimbledon describes scrambling Venom night fighters and the target shooting off to the north-east faster than anything he had seen. Source: Lakenheath/ Bentwaters UFO Incident 1956 - Dr. David Clarke at 8:43
  5. 24 November 2024 — disputes it, first-hand: Venom navigator John Brady recalls several passes at a faint, stationary radar contact around 7,000 feet, which he thought could have been a balloon with a radar reflector. Source: Lakenheath/ Bentwaters UFO Incident 1956 - Dr. David Clarke at 19:50
  6. 24 November 2024 David Clarke — context, opinion: Clarke: 23 Squadron's diary concluded the object was a balloon, but he believes a balloon cannot explain what Neatishead tracked earlier; the Perseid meteor shower may also have added visual reports. Source: Lakenheath/ Bentwaters UFO Incident 1956 - Dr. David Clarke at 24:11
  7. 24 November 2024 David Clarke — says so, documented: Clarke quotes the Condon study's radar expert Gordon Thayer: “the apparently rational, intelligent behavior of the UFO suggests a mechanical device of unknown origin as the most probable explanation.” Source: Lakenheath/ Bentwaters UFO Incident 1956 - Dr. David Clarke at 38:46

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