Canada and the World
Current Events with a Canadian Perspective
Last update
08 February 2011
The End of
Flying Saucer Investigations
For 50 years the Ministry of Defence in the U.K. has looked into sightings of unidentified flying objects; but,
the UFO unit has done its last research
After half a century of tracking down reports of mysterious objects in the sky, Britain’s
Ministry of Defence has called it quits. The Ministry issued a statement (December
1, 2009) saying that “no UFO report has revealed any evidence of a potential threat
to the United Kingdom.”
And, after five decades of research, “The MOD has no opinion on the existence or
otherwise of extra-
UFO Hotline Disconnected
At the beginning of December 2009, the UFO Investigation Unit’s hotline for reporting
sightings and its associated e-
According to UFOEvidence.org, a secret flying saucer investigation started “in 1951 after a spate of sightings in Sweden and the U.S. led to a ‘notable outbreak’ of reports in Britain.”
The scientists tasked with looking into these strange occurrences decided the world
was not “facing an alien invasion from space, dismissing the claims as ‘optical illusions
and psychological delusions’ -
Credible Sighting Defy Explanation
Not all UFO sightings can be put down to swamp gas or having imbibed a little too freely at the Crown and Anchor.
One expert of British UFO phenomena is historian Dr. David Clarke. On his website
he says he approaches UFOlogy “from the viewpoint of a journalist and a historian.
Although I take a skeptical stance, I remain open-
Clarke and his colleague Andy Roberts have listed their top ten unexplained UFO incidents at ForteanTimes.com.
The Rendlesham Forest Incident
One of Dr. Clarke’s favourite mysteries is the Rendlesham Forest Incident, famous enough to have generated its own dedicated website that describes it in exhaustive detail.
In summary, “On the 26 December 1980 sometime after midnight, a two-
The following night the lights appeared again. A ground search of the area was made and elevated levels of radiation were recorded. In addition, there were “some strange indentations on the ground and damage to the trees…”
Then, it gets really bizarre, because the search party “encountered a red pulsing object which navigated between the trees. It appeared to be dripping what looked like ‘molten metal.’ ” Then, the object is said to have exploded and lights shot off into the sky.
UFO enthusiasts are convinced the Rendlesham Forest Incident was an alien visitation and it spawned a cottage industry of books, magazines, reports, and television documentaries.
But, the U.K.’s Department of Defence remains unimpressed and sticks to the official line that there have been no alien invasions.
Archive of UFO Investigations Opened
In August 2009, the British government opened some of the files it had collected
on flying saucer reports. The archive covers the 15-
For reasons that may have to do with the popularity of certain television shows, the archives show a huge spike in UFO reports in 1996 – a whopping 609 sighting were filed in 1996.
In a video, Dr. Clarke points out that “The larger increase in number reported during
1996 may reflect increased public awareness of UFOs and aliens due to the popularity
of the TV series The X-
Image Credits
Walter Andre Leonard
Martin Pettitt
Sources
“Britain Will Close its UFO Investigation Unit.” Jodie Shupac, National Post, December 4, 2009.
“David Clarke and Andy Roberts’ UFO Top Ten.” ForteanTimes.
“U.K. Ministry of Defense Established Secret UFO Investigation Group.” UFOEvidence.org
“UFO Investigations Unit Closed by Ministry of Defence.” BBC News, December 4, 2009.
© Canada and the World, February 2011
All rights reserved
“A Newsweek Poll taken before the release of the massively hyped film Independence Day revealed that:
48% of Americans think UFOs are real.
29% think we have made contact with aliens.
48% think there is a government cover up of UFO knowledge”
“A [1997] survey of Canadians regarding beliefs and attitudes towards the subject of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) was conducted by an independent research network. The results suggest that almost ten percent of all Canadians believe they have seen a UFO.”
MYSTERY
IN NOVA SCOTIA
Library and Archives Canada has a collection of documents about UFOs from four government agencies.
One file covers the incident at Shag Harbour, Nova Scotia in October 1967: “Witnesses reported seeing an object 60 feet in length moving in an easterly direction before it descended rapidly into the water, making a bright splash on impact. A single, white light appeared on the surface of the water for a short period of time…
“Local fishermen remember travelling through thick, glittery, yellow foam to get to where they saw the object. Bubbles from underneath the surface of the water appeared around the boats. The crews attempted to search the area for evidence of survivors, but found no one.”
Even an underwater search failed to turn up any physical evidence. The Department of National Defence logged the incident as “unsolved.”