Senior RAF Officers Spot a Flying Saucer at a Yorkshire Air Show

At an RAF airfield in Yorkshire, senior officers invited from London and pilots saw something described as a flying saucer during an air show. The sighting took place in Britain, in front of a crowd gathered to watch the display.

Many people saw the object, and newspapers ran stories about it. The report reached the scientist handling the case and worried him. What exactly did people see at the airfield, and why was the scientist also concerned about public opinion?

An Air Show Becomes a Report

Britain had a committee that dealt with reports of flying saucers. It operated quietly until an incident in Yorkshire, about 10 to 12 days before information about it was passed to the Americans.

A U.S. memo from December 1952 says senior RAF officers from London were invited to an air show. Pilots were there, too. During the event, according to the memo, they saw “a perfect flying saucer.”

The memo uses that phrase to describe what the witnesses saw. It does not identify the object or include an explanation from the event’s organizers or the British committee.

When the Story Reached the Newspapers

Many people saw the object, and newspaper stories about it appeared in the press. R. V. Jones, the scientist handling the case, understood that the reports’ effect on public opinion was also his responsibility. He was concerned not only with what had appeared in the sky, but also with how people would interpret the sighting.

The memo recounts his concern but gives no details of what he said about the incident itself. It describes the event briefly, leaving readers with no account of the object beyond the words “a perfect flying saucer.”

What Remains Unknown

The memo does not explain what was seen at the airfield or what caused the sighting. It says the British committee believed the sightings were not of enemy aircraft and thought there had been no such aircraft over Britain.

Many people at one airfield saw the same thing. But the memo does not reveal exactly what passed overhead.