Could the lighthouse be seen from East Gate?
No, it could not.
Due to the contours of the land and the intervening trees, the flash from the lighthouse did not become directly visible until you were well into the forest. This helps explain why it came as such a surprise.
It is sometimes argued that the airmen at East Gate would have seen the lighthouse every night and hence could not have mistaken it for a UFO, but this is not true.
Their own statements make it clear that they were not familiar with the lighthouse at all.
However, the local police, who were familiar with the lighthouse, were of the opinion that it was the light that had been seen – see the comment from Inspector Mike Topliss of Suffolk constabulary near the bottom of
this page.
As Topliss noted, under certain atmospheric conditions the loom of the lighthouse beam could be seen over the trees or could reflect off low cloud, causing odd visual effects. It is possible that these effects added to the overall strangeness of the sighting.