When it comes to Unidentified Flying Objects and the British Government, there is one question that I am often asked: for how long have British authorities been investigating UFO-like phenomena? While it is generally accepted that the so-called modern era of UFO sightings began on 24 June 1947 – following the now-historic encounter of pilot Kenneth Arnold – documentation has surfaced showing that the British Air Ministry conducted investigations of both the “Foo Fighter” sightings of the Second World War and the Scandinavian “Ghost Rocket” phenomenon of 1946.
Official investigations within the British Isles of unusual aerial phenomena, however, started earlier than that – much earlier, in fact. One of the most notable “pre-Arnold” reports can be found within the archives of the British Admiralty and dates from, rather incredibly, 1915!
Prepared by a Lieutenant Colonel W.P. Drury, the Garrison Intelligence Officer at Plymouth Garrison, Devon, England, the four-page paper is titled REPORT ON THE DARTMOOR FLOATING (OR BALLOON) LIGHT.
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