Here are some highlights of the files.
One of these occurred in 1986. Policemen who were driving between Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire reported the sighting of an "illuminated unidentified object," which had an intermittent light of yellow and red. The object was in a "roundish" shape.
According to the policemen, the object made no sound, and moved only slightly from its original position. The weather was clear, with excellent visibility, and the sighting lasted an incredible 20 minutes. No other information is available as to any follow-up investigation.
UFO researcher Dr. David Clarke, who made a video describing the ins and outs of the newly released files, made this statement:
"In the vast majority of cases, investigations have discovered ordinary explanations for UFO reports such as bright stars and planets, meteors, artificial satellites, balloons, aircraft seen from unusual angles and space junk burning up in the atmosphere. "But there are some cases where no common explanation can be found."
Another of the most compelling accounts comes from airplane pilot Achille Zaghetti. While landing his Alitalia airplane at Heathrow, in Kent in April 1991, he saw a brown, missle-shaped object zoom over the top of their plane. He was so convinced that an impact was imminent, that the shouted to his copilot, "Look out! Look out!"
The copilot also saw the unknown object. Zaghetti also said that an "unknown target" about ten miles from his plane had been painted by air traffic control. The Mod responded by saying that the object was not of military origin, and should be treated as an unidentified flying object.
A third important report came from a US Air Force fighter pilot, Milton Torres, who claims that he was ordered to fire rockets at a UFO flying over East Anglia. He was warned to never speak about the incident.
This incident happened when Torres, who was 25 at the time, was stationed at RAF Manston, in Kent, on May 20, 1957. He was ordered to scramble, and intercept an unknown flying object with "very unusual flight patterns."
As Torres neared the approximate location of the object, he was unable to actually see it, because of heavy clouds, but his radar locked on the UFO, which, according to his instruments, was about the size of a B-52 bomber. He was ordered to fire at the object, but before he could act, the object sped away.
As to be expected, the next day Torres was visited by a man who claimed to be from the US National Security Agency. The man threatened Torres, directing him to never discuss the incident, or he would lose his flight status. At a veteran reunion in 1988, he recalled his story, and stated:
"There are people who are still alive on Earth who know about this."
The files also included some "less than credible reports, with only the reporter's word to go by, with no follow up. Some of these include:
A man reported seeing two aliens land in a flying saucer near a railroad track near Warminster Army barracks in Wiltshire in January of 1991.
In 1990, a woman reported to the MoD that she was an alien from "Amazon, the planet of warrior women." The planet, according to the woman's report, was located in the Sirius system. Their spaceship landed on Earth during the second World War. She also sent along a drawing of herself, and a "Spectran," who looked amazingly like Dr. Spock, of Star Trek fame.
In 1989, two aliens were seen coming from a flying saucer in Somerset. According to the files, they appeared to be checking the engine of their ship. The witness to the event claimed that one of the aliens spoke perfect English.
The immense set of newly released files can be found at the Britain National Archives.
