Little Rissington Meteor encounter

An instructor from the Central Flying School and a Royal Navy trainee broke through cloud at 12,000 ft in a Meteor T.7 and saw three white, circular objects far above, which they first took for parachutes. They climbed toward 35,000 ft, but the objects crossed their path from left to right and disappeared in a fraction of a second. Radar at Gloucester reported three objects, two Meteor F.8s were scrambled, and Southern Sector radar logged targets heading east at great speed.

What was seen

Shape: Three white, perfectly circular discs
Witnesses: Flt Lt Michael Swiney and Lt David Crofts (Royal Navy)
Duration: Minutes

Sources

• The National Archives (UK) — MoD UFO files

Browse

• United Kingdom
• 1950s
• Unresolved
• Radar-visual cases
• Official government documents
• Military witnesses
• Pilot and aircrew witnesses
• Radar tracking
• Spheres and orbs
• Discs and saucers

Similar cases

• Lakenheath–Bentwaters radar-visual case 13 August 1956
• West Freugh radar incident 4 April 1957
• Air France 3532 — radar-visual over Coulommiers 28 January 1994
• Fort Monmouth radar and T-33 sighting 10 September 1951