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CONFIDENTIAL
DoD-B17-021 · 1983-06-14

USAF Rendlesham Halt Memo Released 1983

DoD◎ Pentagon / UK Ministry of Defence◌ North America#1983◈ Unknown↑ Ground level⏱ 3 years after incident
EVIDENCE GALLERY

Visual reconstruction and recovered media extracted from the incident dossier. This case includes still evidence and analytical reconstruction.

Representative official gallery image traced to an official public-source archive

MEDIA STATUS
Official gallery media is shown as representative archive context for this case.
SOURCE TYPE
Witness testimony, radar language, and dossier reconstruction.
VIEW MODE
Still view highlights silhouette, environment, and encounter geometry.
AT A GLANCE

The Halt memo — Lt. Col. Charles Halt's 1981 official memorandum to the UK Ministry of Defence documenting the Rendlesham Forest incidents — was obtained by researcher Robert Todd through FOIA in 1983 and entered the public record. The memo described the craft, radiation readings, and aerial maneuvers. It became the most studied official UAP document of the 1980s and remains in active use by Congressional UAP investigators.

PRIMARY WITNESSES
USAF, UK MoD, researcher Robert Todd
EVIDENCE PROFILE
VISUAL RECONSTRUCTIONUNKNOWN
FILE ID
DoD-B17-021
DATE
1983-06-14
AGENCY
DoD
REGION
North America
SHAPE
Unknown
ALTITUDE
Ground level
OBSERVED BEHAVIORS
Stationary Hover
DECLASSIFIED DETAILS

In January 1981, USAF Deputy Base Commander Lieutenant Colonel Charles Halt filed a one-page memorandum to the UK Ministry of Defence describing the December 1980 Rendlesham Forest UAP incidents. The memo described three USAF servicemen approaching a craft, triangular impressions in the ground, radiation readings, and a craft directing beams of light at the Bentwaters weapons storage area. For two years this document was held in UK Ministry of Defence files. In June 1983, researcher Robert Todd obtained the memo through the US Freedom of Information Act. Its release into the public record created an immediate and sustained sensation, as it represented a serving senior USAF officer's official description of a UAP encounter filed to a foreign defence ministry. The memo has been cited in US Congressional hearings on UAP, studied by the UK Government, and remains the most-referenced official single-document UAP evidence in the public record after the AARO FLIR videos. It is now permanently held in NARA RG 615.

KEY CHARACTERISTICS
  • ›FOIA-released official document — most-referenced UAP document of the 1980s
  • ›Serving senior USAF officer filed to UK Ministry of Defence
  • ›Describes radiation readings, landing impressions, weapons storage beam
  • ›Cited in US Congressional UAP hearings
  • ›NARA RG 615 permanent archival holding
  • ›Became the model for government UAP documentation release arguments
ORIGINAL SOURCE

This incident is indexed as file DoD-B17-021inside Now Declassified's research layer. The nearest official source trail for this agency points to NARA RG 615 / OSD, where archive records, imagery, or supporting context are published for public review.

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EVIDENCE STRENGTH
PARTIAL
Video Record
0
Still Imagery
0
Witness Credibility
5
Sensor Corroboration
0
Physical Evidence
20
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ARCHIVE EXPORT
RESEARCH GUIDES
›How AARO Publishes UAP Cases›NARA Record Group 615ALL GUIDES →
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