Military flying saucers

The development of disk shaped aircraft -- or military "flying saucers" -- apparently dates back to World War II. Since much of the work has been highly classified, many details are uncertain.

The German scientist Andreas Epp claimed credit for initiating the idea of a saucer shaped aircraft during World War II, as a development on his work on a small circular target drone. Whether his idea or not, the concept was supposedly developed in Nazi Germany although claims of flying prototypes seem unlikely. Declassified CIA files reveal that a number of reports had been gathered from scientists in Germany of disk-like aircraft designs. The best documented of these was Arthur Sack's experimental Sack AS-6.

According to Epp, several German scientists who had worked on the project, and Epp who had not, were supposedly recruited by the Soviet Union, for whom they went on to design prototype circular craft, though supporting evidence seems to be lacking. Epp claimed to have walked out of the Soviet program in 1947, taking his knowledge to work for the USA.

In the US, a number of experimental saucer shaped craft were apparently developed as black projects by Lockheed Corporation for the USAF, and by Convair for the CIA. The saucer had the advantages of being a Vertical take-off and landing design (so avoiding the need for easily damaged runways), while the shape was well suited to diffusing radar and so making the craft stealthy. These early designs were apparently powered by turbojets, which powered a horizontal rotor to provide lift using the Coanda effect.

In an apparent attempt to quell speculation about the military nature of flying saucers, a press conference was held in July 1952, at which Major John A. Sandford denied any knowledge of the craft, and retired Major General Donald E. Keyhoe declared his belief that they were of alien origin. In 1957 Keyhoe became head of the civilian UFO group NICAP (National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena), which is believed to have also been infiltrated by several covert members of the CIA.

Meanwhile in Canada, the British owned Avro company were also attempting to develop saucer shaped craft, funded by the Canadian government. The USAF and US Army later contributed funding to a successor to Avro's proposed 29 foot (8.9m) diameter supersonic Project Y2, to build a smaller subsonic circular craft known as Project Silver Bug (also known as Weapon System 606A). The final outcome of Silver Bug was the Avrocar or VZ-9AV, effectively (and unintentionally) a prototype hovercraft rather than an aircraft, which was made public in 1961. After Avro experienced financial difficulties in 1959, funding for future projects was apparently directed to the Bell Aircraft Corporation.

During the 1980s, reports of triangular shaped UFOs reduced once the existence of the F-117 Nighthawk -- another black project -- became public in November 1988. It has been reported that "Kelly" Johnson, Lockheed's chief designer, had initially favored a circular design.

See also

• World War II technology
  • Peenemünde
  • V1 flying bomb
  • V2 rocket
  • Operation Paperclip

• Aircraft related
  • Flying wing
  • Skunk works

External links

• The Nazi UFO Mythos (http://www.magonia.demon.co.uk/abwatch/naziufo/naziufo1.html)
• 1955 declassified technical report on Project Y2 for Project Silver Bug (http://www.project1947.com/fig/sb/page_1.htm)
• Avrocar (http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/A/Avrocar.html)
• The Sack AS-6, a circular experimental aircraft from WW2 Germany (http://www.luft46.com/misc/sackas6.html)

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