Was Rendlesham Forest a prank by British Air Service?

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Has the mystery of 'Britain's Roswell' finally been solved? Rendlesham Forest UFO 'landing' was a prank SAS tricksters played on US Airmen, insiders claim
Daily Mail, Jessica Green, December 30, 2018

‘A great deal of nocturnal Christmas fun was had at the expense of the USAF - and the matter should have ended there,’ according to a letter written to Dr Clarke by an alleged SAS source.

Has the mystery of 'Britain's Roswell' finally been solved? Rendlesham Forest UFO 'landing' was a prank SAS tricksters played on US Airmen, insiders claim
Daily Mail, Jessica Green, December 30, 2018

Thanks - that's interesting. My first reaction was "If David Clarke had found the explanation for the Rendlesham incident, why on earth would he trust the Daily Mail, of all people, to tell the story?"

Apparently the answer is that the Daily Mail took the information from Clarke's website, and completely misrepresented it. Here is what Clarke wrote four days ago:
https://drdavidclarke.co.uk/2018/12/27/w...s-the-sas/

Thanks - that's interesting. My first reaction was "If David Clarke had found the explanation for the Rendlesham incident, why on earth would he trust the Daily Mail, of all people, to tell the story?"

Apparently the answer is that the Daily Mail took the information from Clarke's website, and completely misrepresented it. Here is what Clarke wrote four days ago:
https://drdavidclarke.co.uk/2018/12/27/w...s-the-sas/

Just to be clear, Clarke makes it clear he is sceptical about the claim that this was an SAS prank, and the Daily Mail article gives no hint of that fact. It even goes so far as to quote some of the claims as though they come directly from Clarke, even though Clarke clearly attributes them to an informant whose veracity he doubts. Quite atrocious journalism, but what people in the UK have come to expect from this newspaper.

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Thanks Chris. I was of course skeptical too about the Daily Mail reporting this correctly!

Thanks Chris. I was of course skeptical too about the Daily Mail reporting this correctly!

Indeed, it is not a particularly respected outlet. On the other hand, as I've mentioned before, the Mail is at least willing to cover topics such as NDEs which other mainstream outlets pretend don't exist. It can at least be a starting point in bringing some topics to people's attention.

Is this new explanation needed?

https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4135

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I myself never personally looked into the case deeply. Is Dunning's 2009 analysis supposed to have put an end to the mystery? Honest question to whoever has followed this story.

I myself never personally looked into the case deeply. Is Dunning's 2009 analysis supposed to have put an end to the mystery? Honest question to whoever has followed this story.

I haven't followed it, but David Clarke has a summary here:
https://drdavidclarke.co.uk/secret-files...t-files-4/

and he links to more resources from Ian Ridpath here:
http://www.ianridpath.com/ufo/rendlesham.htm

Regarding the media coverage of this story, The Anomalist has an apposite comment:
The story within a story gets even more dismaying, from a review of news sources who have pounced upon it. Rendlesham Forest UFO Sightings 'Were SAS Revenge Prank'-Claim botches the narrative, intimating that Clarke believes the story. Britain's Most Famous UFO Mystery was Actually Just SAS Soldiers Pranking the Americans, Sleuth Claims talks of "Panicked American marines" and labels Dr. Clarke an "Alien fanatic"--which is about as far from the truth as could be. An interesting commentary on the state of journalism, and yet another spurious tale added to "Britain's Roswell."

And Hayley Stevens comments further, criticising Nick Pope for an ill-informed attack on David Clarke, based on the misleading media reports:
https://hayleyisaghost.co.uk/a-needy-dis...prankster/