Is there any better kind of government file than a government UFO file? (No, there is not.) The U.K. just dumped its largest-ever cache of UFO files, and there is some pretty great stuff in there. Such as these letters, wherein a former Ministry of Defense employee writes from Sri Lanka of a "partial aura" and "a ring like a doughnut," providing along with his or her letter two pictures of this unidentified object. And yet, his case handler is less than moved: "Defence of Sri Lankan airspace is clearly a matter for the Sri Lankan Government and you may wish to pursue your enquiries with them." The MoD can be so bitchy!

This astute gentleman wrote to the Ministry of Defense telling of a "large cigar shaped vehicle" he witnessed around midnight one night. When he awoke the next morning, he writes, he noticed that "somehow, during the night I had gained A WHOLE HOUR!... What do you think," he asks the MoD. "Have I had a CLOSE ENCOUNTER?"

His interlocutor is not so sure: "As for your possible abduction theory, the clocks were put back one hour at 2am on Sunday and I think you will find that this would account for you gaining an hour. I hope this is helpful."

And here's the money documentation for recovering X-Files fans: The destruction of documents relating to the "Rendlesham Forest incident." Rendlesham Forest is kind of a U.K. Area 51:

The incident took place near the fence of RAF Woodbridge - at that time being used by the US Air Force. A group of servicemen reported seeing strange lights in the trees near the base and after investigating found marks on the ground and damage to vegetation.

And, suspiciously, there is a "huge gap" in MoD records around the Rendlesham incident—apparently, the files were "destroyed at an unknown date following advice from [REDACTED]." "If this were to be made public," one MoD employee writes, "it could be interpreted to mean that a deliberate attempt had been made to eradicate the records covering the incident." It most certainly could be interpreted that way, anonymous MoD employee. It most certainly could.

And here we have some of the finest of the document cache's UFO sketches.

More UFO sketches.

More UFO sketches.