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Lt. Col. Charles Halt audio recording of UFO chase through Rendlesham forest (transcript)

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Summary: Charles Halt was the deputy base commander of Bentwaters RAF base during the Rendlesham Forest UFO incident of 1980. This is a transcript of his audio recording of the investigation and chase of a UFO through the forest.

Col. Halt:150 feet or more from the initial, I should say suspected impact point. Have a little difficulty, we can't get the Lidall to work. Seems to be some kind of mechanical problem. Going to send it back and get another Lidall. Meantime were going to take some readings with the Geiger counter and uh, stick around here a little bit waiting for another Lidall to come back in.

Soldier: Let's mark one at a time, that's pod number.

Halt:O.K., were now approaching the area within about 25 or 30 feet. What kind of readings we getting? Anything?

Soldier: Just five clicks.

Halt:Five clicks. Where are the impressions?

Soldier: Here's one.

Halt:Is that all the bigger they are?

Soldier:Well there's one more well defined one over here.

Halt:We're still getting clicks

Soldier: Still getting clicks.

Halt: Can we read that on the scale?

Soldier:Yes Sir, we're now on the 5/10ths scale, and were reading about, uh, the third or fourth increment.

Halt:O.K., we're still comfortably safe here.

Radio:(Makes comment about a Lidall)

Unknown:Still minor readings.

Halt: Let's go to the third one over here.

Soldier:Yes, now I'm getting some residual.

Halt: I can read that, the meter is definitely giving....low pulse. Lets go to the center of the area next and see what kind of reading we get out there. You're reading the clicks, I can't hear the clicks. That about the center Bruce?

Soldier:Yes Sir.

Halt:O.K., lets go to the center. That's the best deflection needle I've seen yet. O.K., can you give me an estimation.

Soldier:We're on the point five scale, and we're getting, we're getting right at, uh, a half of a milliroentgen.

Halt:That's point.

Soldier:I haven't seen it go any higher.

Halt: O.K., we'll go out toward the...

Soldier: Now it's picking up.

Halt:This is out toward the Level One indentation where we first got the strongest reading. It's similar to what we got before.

Soldier: This looks like an area here possibly that could be a blast.

Soldier: It just jumped to 17.

Halt: What?

Soldier:It just jumped to 7 tenths.

Halt:Seven tenths, right there in the center?

Soldier: Uh, huh.

Halt:We found a small blast, what looks like a blasted, or, scruffed up area here. We're getting very positive readings. Lets see, is that near the center?

Soldier: Yes it is.

Halt:Up to seven tenths. Seven units lets call it on the point Five scale. O.K., why don't we do this. Why don't we make a sweep.

Soldier:Here, I got my gloves on now.

Halt: Lets make a sweep out around the whole area,

Halt: about 10 foot out. Make a perimeter run around it, starting right back here at the corner. Back at the same first corner where we came in. Lets go right back here. I want to depend on you to count the clicks.

Soldier: Right.

Halt:O.K. lets...right put the light on it, lets sweep around it. Put it on the ground every once in a while.

Soldier: This looks like an abrasion on the tree.

Halt: O.K., we'll catch that on the way back, lets go around, hit it there.

Soldier: I got an interesting one over here, looks like an abrasion point into the center.

Halt:It is. It may be old though, there's some sap marks or something there. Lets go on back around.

Soldier: They ought to give us an extension on that.

Halt:Yeah, this is an awkward thing to use isn't it. Are we getting anything further?, I'm going to shut this recorder off until we find something.

Soldier: Picking up here.

Halt: Picking up? What are we up to? We're up to 2 3 units of deflection. You're getting in close to one pod.

Soldier:Picking up something here. Picking up.

Halt:O.k., its still not going above 3 or 4 units.

Soldier:Right. It's picking up more though. More frequent.

Halt:Yes, you're staying steady up around 2 to 3...to 4 units now.

Soldier: Get one of these trees that's facing the blast. What we assume is the landing sight. All around an abrasion that's facing in the same direction towards the center.

Halt:That's interesting, lets go this way around the circle. Turn it back down here.

Halt: Let me see that. You know that's kind of funny, that's, your right about the abrasion. I've never seen a tree that's, uh, never seen a pine tree that's been damaged, react that fast.

Soldier: I have a bottle to put that in.

Halt:Yeah, you have a sample bottle?

Soldier:Yes Sir.

Halt:Yeah, put this stuff in.

Soldier:You notice their all the same color.

Halt: O.K., from now on lets, lets, lets identify that as point number one. That stake there. So you all know where it is if we have to sketch it. You got that side Nevells?

Soldier:Yes Sir.

Halt: O.K., closest to the Woodbridge Base.

Soldier: That will be point one.

Halt:Be Point one. Lets go clockwise from there.

Soldier:Point Two.

Halt:Point Two, so this tree is between point two and point three.

Radio:(Two other personnel requesting Halts location)

Halt: Tell them negative at this time. We'll tell them when they can come out here. Don't want them out here right now. O.K., the sample, your gonna want this sample number one.

Soldier:Yes Sir.

Halt: Have them cut it off and include some of that sap and all, is between indentation two and three on a pine tree about, uh five feet away, about 3 and a half feet off the ground. There's a round abrasion on the tree about, uh, 3 and a half, or four inches in diameter. It looks like it might be old, but, uh...

Halt:Strange, there's a crystalline pine sap that's come out that fast. You say there's other trees here that are damaged with similar things?

Soldier:Yes, over towards the landing sight.

Halt:O.K., why don't you take a picture of that, and remember your picture. Hey, you ought to be writing this down. Well, it's going to be on the tape.

Soldier:You got a tape measure with you?

Halt: This is the picture, your first picture will at the first tree. The one between, uh, mark 2 and 3. Meantime, I'm going to look a couple of these trees over here...

Halt: Are you getting any readings on the trees your taking samples from?, on the side facing the suspected landing sight?

Soldier: 4 clicks, max.

Halt:Up to 4. Interesting. That's right where you're taking the sample now.

Soldier: Four.

Halt:That's the strongest point on the tree?

Soldier: Yes Sir.

Soldier:If you come up to the back, there's no clicks whatsoever.

Halt: No clicks at all on the back, it's all on the, the side facing the...interesting. All the tissues look like something twisted it, as it sat down on them. Looks like someone took something and sat it down and twisted it from side to side.

Soldier: Uh, huh.

Halt: Very strange. We're up at the same tree we took the sample off with this, what do you call it, starscope?

Soldier:Uh, huh.

Halt: Getting a definite heat reflection off the tree, about three to four feet off the ground.

Soldier: Yes. At the same spot.

Halt:Same place as the spot is, we're getting a heat...

Soldier:On the spot on the tree directly behind us, I picked up the same thing, the one off to your right.

Halt: Three trees in the area, immediately adjacent to the sight, within ten feet of the suspected landing sight, we're picking up heat reflection off the trees. What's that again?

Soldier: Well, shine the light on it again Bob.

Halt: You having trouble? O.K., turn the light on.

Soldier:When you turn the light on, you'll notice the white.

Halt:Hey!

Halt:You're right there's a white streak on the tree.

Soldier: Yeah, indicates, uh...

Halt:Let me turn around and look at this tree over here now, just a second. Why don't you direct it towards this tree. I can see it. O.K., now give me a little side lighting so I can climb the tree. O.K., uh, I lost the tree. O.K., stop, stop. Light on. Hey, this is eerie. This is strange, here, someone want to look at the spots on the ground. O.K., lets step back and not walk all over it. Come back here and somebody put a beam on'em. We're going to have to come back 10 or 15 feet. O.K., lights off. Yeah. O.K., that's what we'll call spot number 3. Lets go to the back part and get spot number one. Spot number one, here's spot number one right here. Spot number one right here. Need some light? There it is right there. Focused? O.K., look around spot number on through the Starlight scope.

Soldier: Picking up a slight increase in light as I go over it.

Halt: Slight increase in light at spot number one. Lets go look at spot number two.

Halt:Spot number two's right over here. Right here, see it? O.K., get focused on it, tell me when. O.K., lights on, lets see what we get on it.

Soldier: Slight increase.

Halt: Just a slight increase?

Soldier:I'll try to center it.

Halt:It's slightly off centered, it's right there. Better get your reading on it right there.

Soldier: O.K.

Halt:Tell me when your ready.

Soldier: Ready.

Halt: O.K., lights on. This is the center spot we're looking at now, or almost the center.

Soldier:Slight increase.

Halt:Slight increase there. This is slightly off centered toward the, uh, one two side. It's some type of abrasion or something in the ground where the pine needles are all pushed back and we get a high reading about, uh, deflection of two to three, maybe four, depending on the perimeter.

Soldier:Yes, you say there's a positive after effect?

Soldier:Yes, there is definitely...that's on the center spot.

Soldier:There is an after effect.

Soldier:Whats that mean?

Soldier:Means that when the lights are turned off, once we are focused in and allow time for the eyes to adjust, we are getting an indication of a heat source coming out of that center spot. Which will show up on...

Soldier:Heat or some form of energy, hardly heated at this stage of the game.

Halt:Looking directly overhead, one can see an opening in the trees, plus some freshly broken pine branches on the ground underneath. Looks like some of them came off about 15 to 20 feet up. Some small branches, about an inch or less in diameter.

Halt: It's 0148, we're hearing very strange noises out of the Farmer's barnyard animals. There very, very active making awful lot of noise. You just saw a light? Where?

Soldier: Yeah

Halt:Wait a minute now, slow down, where?

Soldier:Right up in this position here, straight ahead, in between the tree...there it is again! Watch. Straight ahead off the flash back there Sir. There it is.

Halt: Yeah, I see it too. What is it?

Soldier:We don't know Sir.

Halt:Yeah, it's a strange small red light, looks to be maybe a quarter to a half mile, maybe further out. I'm going to switch off for awhile.

Halt:The light is gone now, it was approximately 120 degrees, is it back again?

Soldier: Yes Sir.

Halt: Well douse the flashlights then. Lets go out to the edge of the clearing so I can get a better look at it. See if you can get the Starscope on it. The light's still there and all the barnyard animals have gotten quiet now. Yeah, we're heading about 110 or 120 degrees from the sight, I'm through to the clearing now, still getting a reading on the meter. About two clicks. Just counted 3 to 4 clicks, getting stronger.

Soldier:Now it's stopped. Now it's coming up, hold on, there we go. About 4 foot off the ground with a compass heading of 110 degrees.

Halt: Turn the meter off, now say that again. About 4 feet off the ground, about 110 degrees, getting a reading of about 4 clicks?

Soldier: Yes Sir. Now its died.

Halt:Now its died. I think it's something other than the ground. I think its somethings that, something very weird.

Soldier: How about the tree right over...

Halt:We just _______ the first night _______ we've seen. We're about 150 or 200 yards from the sight. The woods are just deadly calm. There is no doubt about it, there's some type of strange flashing red light ahead.

Soldier:There, it's yellow.

Halt:I saw a yellow tinge in it too. Weird, it, it appears that he may be moving it this way? It's brighter than it has been.

Soldier: Yellow.

Halt:It's coming this way!, it's definitely coming this way. Pieces of it are shooting off. There is no doubt about it, this is...weird. It is definitely...

Soldier:Two lights, one light to the right, one light to the left.

Halt: O.K., keep the flashlights off. There's something very, very strange. Keep the headset on, see if it gets any stronger. O.K., give us a rundown.

Soldier: Notation that this is on a Beta reading too.

Halt:It's on a Beta reading, O.K.

Soldier: But it still has been removed.

Halt:O.K.

Halt:Pieces are falling off it again.

Soldier: And it just moved to the right.

Halt:Yeah!

Soldier:Just off to the right.

Halt:Strange...Why did it go left?

Halt:Lets, lets approach to the edge of the woods up there, O.K.? You wanna do without lights? Lets do it carefully, come on.

Halt: O.K., we're looking at the thing, we're probably about 2 to 300 yards away, it looks like an eye winking at you. It's still moving from side to side, and when you put the starscope on it, it, it sort of has a hollow center, a, a, dark center. It's, It's, you know, like the pupil of an eye looking at you, winking. And the flash is so bright to the starscope that, a, it almost burns your eye.

Halt:We passed the Farmer's house and crossed into the next field, and now we have multiple sightings, of up to 5 lights with a similar shape and all. But they seem to be steady now, rather than a pulsating or glow with a red flash.

Halt:We just crossed the creek.

Soldier: Here we go, strong.

Halt:And, uh, we're getting what kind of readings now?

Soldier: Three clicks.

Halt: Three good clicks on the meter and we're seeing strange lights in the sky.

Halt: At 0244 we're at the far side of the Farmer's, second Farmer's field. And made sighting again, about 110 degrees. This looks like it's clear out to the coast, it's right on the horizon. Moves about a bit, and flashes from time to time. Still steady or __________ encounter. Also after negative readings in this other field, we're picking up, a, slight readings, a, 4 or 5 clicks now, on the meter.

Halt: 0305, we see strange strobe like flashes to the, rather sporadic but there's definitely something, some kind of phenomena.

Halt: 0305, at about 10 degrees horizon, directly North, we've got two strange objects, uh, half-moon shaped, dancing about colored lights on them. At, uh, what I would guess to be about 5 to 10 miles out, maybe less. The half-moons are now turning full circles. It's asthough there was an eclipse or something there for a minute or two.

Halt:0315, now we've got an object about 10 degrees directly South. 10 degrees off the horizon. And the ones to the North are moving. One's moving away from us.

Soldier: They're moving out fast!

Soldier: This one on the right is heading away too!

Halt: And they're both heading North. Here he comes from the South, he's heading toward us now. Now we're observing what appears to be a beam coming down to the ground. This is unreal.

Halt: 330, or 0330 and the objects are still in the sky although the one that's South looks like it's losing a little bit of altitude. We're turning around, heading back towards the base. The object to the, the object to the South is still beaming down lights to the ground.

Halt:0400 hours, one object still hovering over Woodbridge Base at about 5 to 10 degrees off the horizon, still moving erratic, and similar lights, and beaming down as earlier.

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Rendlesham Forest / Bentwaters