Rendlesham Forest Incident — Complete Timeline

Rendlesham Forest Incident — Complete Timeline

Date / Time	Event	Type	Source
December 25–26, 1980 (~3:00 AM)	British Astronomical Association confirms fireball meteor over southern England; security patrol at RAF Woodbridge east gate observes lights descending into Rendlesham Forest	Initial sighting trigger	BAA records; Halt Memo
December 26, 1980 (~3:00–5:00 AM)	Penniston, Burroughs, and Cabansag enter forest; Cabansag and Burroughs eventually identify lights as farmhouse and lighthouse; Penniston claims close approach to triangular craft	Night One main events	1981 witness statements; Penniston subsequent accounts
December 26, 1980 (~4:00 AM)	Suffolk Police called; attend east gate; report seeing only Orfordness Lighthouse lights	Police response	Suffolk Police records; Halt Memo
December 26, 1980 (~10:30 AM)	Ground impressions found in forest clearing; plaster casts taken by Penniston; Suffolk Police attend; attribute impressions to animal activity	Physical evidence discovery	Halt Memo; police records
December 26–27, 1980 (Night Two)	Sergeant Bustinza and others report additional anomalous light phenomena in or near forest; Conrad dispatches additional personnel	Night Two events	Bustinza account; Halt memoir
December 27–28, 1980 (early hours)	Lt Col Halt leads investigation team into forest with Geiger counter, starlight scope, and cassette recorder; records the Halt Tape; observes flashing light and star-like objects	Night Three — the Halt investigation	Halt Tape; Halt Memo
January 13, 1981	Halt writes and sends the Halt Memo to UK Ministry of Defence; subject: "Unexplained Lights"	Official documentation	Halt Memo
1981	Halt obtains witness statements from Buran, Burroughs, Cabansag, Chandler, and Penniston; original statements preserved	Witness statements	Released by researcher James Easton, 1997
1983	Ted Conrad quoted in OMNI Magazine acknowledging witnesses "saw something"	First public account	OMNI Magazine, March 1983
July 1983	Brenda Butler obtains copy of Halt Memo through researcher network; introduces it to UFO community	Memo enters public record	Butler accounts; Sky Crash (1984)
1984	Sky Crash: A Cosmic Conspiracy published by Butler, Street, and Randles; first book-length treatment	First book	Sky Crash
1984	A copy of the Halt Tape falls into researchers' hands; original later obtained by Sci-Fi Channel	Tape enters public record	Multiple sources
1984	Nick Pope later confirms he was aware of Rendlesham files at MoD during his career; DI55 assessment document exists in MoD files	MoD awareness	Pope accounts
September 1994	Jim Penniston undergoes regression hypnosis; claims to recover binary code transmission received from craft	Hypnosis disclosure	Penniston accounts
1997	Researcher James Easton obtains original 1981 witness statements from participants; publishes them	Statements become public	Easton research
2000	Georgina Bruni publishes You Can't Tell the People; includes photograph of alleged landing site	Research publication	Bruni book
June 2010	Halt signs sworn affidavit asserting extraterrestrial origin and government cover-up	Sworn statement	Halt affidavit
2010	Conrad gives statement criticizing Halt and Penniston; states base saw nothing like Halt's descriptions	Command dismissal	Conrad statement
2014	Encounter in Rendlesham Forest published by Pope, Burroughs, and Penniston	Major proponent book	Publisher records
2015	The Telegraph reports both Burroughs and Penniston diagnosed with PTSD related to the incident	Health disclosure	The Telegraph
Ongoing (2015–2025)	Burroughs pursues classified medical records; congressional intervention; VA grants service connection for heart condition	Medical records battle	Congressional records; VA determination
2020	Nick Redfern publishes The Rendlesham Forest UFO Conspiracy proposing government experiment theory	Alternative theory	Redfern book
2023–2025	UAP disclosure era renews mainstream interest; Rendlesham cited in congressional discussions of historical UAP cases	Modern context	Congressional records; news media