Cosford / Shawbury triangle
On 31 March 1993 witnesses across south-west England, including military personnel, saw a large triangle with a glowing wake.
1993 CE · 52.64, -2.30 · status: explained
The account
Reports came from the public and from RAF bases including Shawbury, and the sightings were raised in Parliament and in the House of Lords in 1998.
The sceptical view
Analysis showed the main sightings coincided with the re-entry of a Russian rocket booster, with later reports matching a police helicopter.
The researched reading
A famous British triangle that was mostly a Russian rocket breaking up in the atmosphere. The remaining low-level sighting fits a police helicopter.
| Explanation | Weight | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Something known, misidentified | 82% | The main wave at about 1.10am matches the re-entry of the Tsyklon rocket stage that launched Cosmos 2238, tracked across Ireland and south-west England; the later Shawbury report fits a police helicopter with a searchlight. |
| Perception, memory or mind | 5% | Observers misjudge height and size of high re-entries, turning a train of lights into one “triangle”. |
| Genuinely anomalous | 5% | Nick Pope argued the low-level Shawbury report was not explained, but the helicopter fits well. |
| Secret human technology | 3% | A secret aircraft was suggested for the low-level sightings without evidence. |
| A known natural phenomenon | 2% | Re-entry looked like a meteor, but it was artificial. |
| A poorly understood natural phenomenon | 2% | Not needed. |
| A hoax or fabrication | 1% | Witnesses were widespread. |
Official position: The Ministry of Defence file attributed the main sightings to a Russian rocket re-entry; Nick Pope argued some reports remained unexplained.