Did the Navy make a ship vanish in 1943?
“A 1943 Navy experiment made a ship invisible or teleported it”
The big claim in this hole. What do the records say?
No independent record shows a ship made invisible or teleported. The Navy’s own records put the Eldridge in New York, Bermuda and Norfolk in late 1943, never Philadelphia, and the story’s only witness called his letters a hoax in 1969. The real “invisibility” work was degaussing, against magnetic mines.
- UnverifiedTheoryA 1943 Navy experiment made a ship invisible or teleported it
- Likely27 Aug to 31 Dec 1943The Eldridge’s war diary places it in New York, Bermuda, Norfolk and Casablanca, never Philadelphia
- ✓ ConfirmedJul–Aug 1969Allen tells a UFO research group his letters and the book’s notes were a one-man hoax
- ✓ Confirmed23 Nov 1939Britain recovers a German magnetic mine, and “degaussing” ships against such mines begins
- UnverifiedTheoryThe Navy’s interest in the book shows the experiment really happened
3 theories
Tap one to go down its tunnelEach root is a theory: one chamber per step, coloured by its rating; the ringed chamber is its key claim. Tap a root to go down it.
Meters
Theory meters read the headline theory, “The Navy made the Eldridge invisible and teleported it”. Tap a meter for its reasons.
A drifter’s letters to a UFO writer said the Navy made a destroyer invisible in 1943 and teleported it to Norfolk. The ship was real, and so was secret electrical work on warships. This case sets the letters beside the ship’s own movements and the one thing the Navy really did make “invisible”.
The question Did the US Navy make the USS Eldridge invisible, or teleport it, in 1943, and what was really going on with ships in Philadelphia that year?
What the records say
The documented story holds up: 8 of 11 timeline steps are Confirmed by the records (score 93).
3 theories checked: 3 unverified. A theory is rated by its key claim.
The Navy says it has no record of the experiment, and that such force fields break known physics
confirmedConfirmed as a record of what this document says, not that it is true. See the step
Down the rabbit hole
The ground line is the documented timeline. Each tunnel is a theory that branches off it; every chamber is a step, coloured by how well the records support it. The deepest chamber is the theory’s key claim. Tap one to open it.
Main timeline
Oldest first- 23 Nov 1939confirmed
Britain recovers a German magnetic mine, and “degaussing” ships against such mines begins
A mine dropped on Thames estuary mudflats was taken apart, and Charles Goodeve worked out that electric coils around a hull could cancel a ship’s magnetic field so the mines would not fire. The US Navy fitted the same cables around its ships’ hulls.
T2IEEE Engineering and Technology History Wiki, “Degaussing”T1Naval History and Heritage Command, “Philadelphia Experiment”degaussing paragraphinvolved party: the US Navy, whose alleged secret experiment is the question; its historians wrote this summary of its own records - 25 Jul to 27 Aug 1943likely
The destroyer escort USS Eldridge is launched in New Jersey and commissioned
Federal Shipbuilding launched DE-173 at Newark on 25 July 1943; the Navy commissioned it on 27 August 1943, at the New York Navy Yard according to its historians. Both dates come from the Navy’s own records.
T1Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: Eldridge (DE-173)involved party: the US Navy, describing its own shipT1Naval History and Heritage Command, “Philadelphia Experiment”Eldridge paragraphinvolved party: the US Navy, whose alleged secret experiment is the question; its historians wrote this summary of its own records - 16 Aug 1943 to 17 Jan 1944likely
The merchant ship Allen said he watched from was at sea or in North Africa for most of that autumn
Its movement cards, summarised by the Navy’s historians, have the SS Andrew Furuseth leave Norfolk on 16 August, return on 4 October, leave again on 25 October and stay in the Mediterranean until January. The Navy says it and the Eldridge were never in Norfolk together.
T1Naval History and Heritage Command, “Philadelphia Experiment”Andrew Furuseth paragraphinvolved party: the US Navy, whose alleged secret experiment is the question; its historians wrote this summary of its own records - 27 Aug to 31 Dec 1943likely
The Eldridge’s war diary places it in New York, Bermuda, Norfolk and Casablanca, never Philadelphia
The Navy’s summary of the diary: New York and Long Island Sound, sea trials off Bermuda from 18 September to 15 October, a convoy into Norfolk on 2 November, Casablanca on 22 November, New York on 17 December. “During this time frame, Eldridge was never in Philadelphia.” Only the Navy has reported the diary.
T1Naval History and Heritage Command, “Philadelphia Experiment”Eldridge paragraphinvolved party: the US Navy, whose alleged secret experiment is the question; its historians wrote this summary of its own records - Jan 1956confirmed
A man signing as Carlos Allende and Carl M. Allen writes to UFO author Morris Jessup that the Navy made a ship invisible
The letter says: “The ‘result’ was complete invisibility of a ship, Destroyer type, and all of its crew While at Sea. (Oct. 1943)”. A later note says the ship vanished from its Philadelphia dock and appeared at Norfolk minutes later. He names the SS Andrew Furuseth as his observer ship.
T3Allen’s letters to Jessup, in the “Varo edition” reprintAppendix, first letterT3Vallee, “Anatomy of a Hoax”, Journal of Scientific Exploration, 1994p. 54 (first letter received 13 Jan 1956) - 1956 to 1957confirmed
The Office of Naval Research says two of its officers had an annotated copy of Jessup’s book retyped
Its information sheet says the copy, full of handwritten notes about UFOs, was mailed anonymously in 1956, and the two officers personally had 25 typewritten copies made. Vallee writes that a military contractor, Varo Manufacturing of Garland, Texas, printed it, reportedly 127 copies: the “Varo edition”.
T1Office of Naval Research information sheetinvolved party: the US Navy’s Office of Naval Research, whose officers handled the annotated book and which is accused of the experimentT3Vallee, “Anatomy of a Hoax”, Journal of Scientific Exploration, 1994p. 54Sources disagreeONR says 25 copies, made by two officers privately; Vallee says “reportedly” 127; the 1969 APRO Bulletin says it was printed “under an Office of Naval Research contract”. - Jul–Aug 1969confirmed
Allen tells a UFO research group his letters and the book’s notes were a one-man hoax
The A.P.R.O. Bulletin reports he said the letters and all three sets of annotations were his, made “To scare the hell out of Jessup.” In the same visit he still claimed a ship had vanished, this time naming the Andrew Furuseth itself. Vallee writes that he later recanted the confession.
- 1979confirmed
William Moore and Charles Berlitz’s book turns the letters into a bestseller-style account
Its subtitle calls it “an account of a search for a secret Navy wartime project that may have succeeded—too well”. Vallee calls it the story’s standard reference, and notes its evidence included an undated, unidentified newspaper clipping from an anonymous sender.
T3Moore and Berlitz, The Philadelphia Experiment, 1979catalogue recordT3Vallee, “Anatomy of a Hoax”, Journal of Scientific Exploration, 1994pp. 49, 61–62 - 1984confirmed
A Hollywood film, The Philadelphia Experiment, is released
Directed by Stewart Raffill and starring Michael Paré as a sailor who vanishes from the ship, it fixed the time-travel version of the story in popular culture.
- Nov 1992confirmed
A sailor from a sister ship tells Vallee the “secret equipment” was degaussing and new anti-submarine gear
Edward Dudgeon, an electrician’s mate on USS Engstrom, said: “We were trying to make our ships invisible to magnetic torpedoes, by de-Gaussing them.” He described a compass-calibration box and St. Elmo’s fire at sea, and said “Allende made up the whole thing.”
Sources disagreeDudgeon dates his ship’s Bermuda shakedown with the Eldridge to July–August 1943, but the Navy records the Eldridge’s commissioning as 27 August and its Bermuda trials as 18 September to 15 October. - Undated (read 1 Nov 2026)confirmed
The Navy says it has no record of the experiment, and that such force fields break known physics
Its historians say repeated searches found “no documents” confirming the event, that Einstein’s wartime Navy work was on explosives, and that “Project Rainbow” was the war plan against the Axis. The ONR adds that it “has never conducted any investigations on invisibility, either in 1943 or at any other time”.
T1Naval History and Heritage Command, “Philadelphia Experiment”involved party: the US Navy, whose alleged secret experiment is the question; its historians wrote this summary of its own recordsT1Office of Naval Research information sheetinvolved party: the US Navy’s Office of Naval Research, whose officers handled the annotated book and which is accused of the experiment
Branches
Go down oneA branch is only as strong as its weakest step so far. The count is how many sources back each step.
“The Navy made the Eldridge invisible and teleported it”
Did a 1943 Navy experiment make the USS Eldridge invisible, or send it from Philadelphia to Norfolk and back?
Letters from Carl M. Allen, signing as Carlos Miguel Allende, to the UFO writer Morris K. Jessup after his 1955 book The Case for the UFO.
- 3,073,932 YouTube views, The Why Files, “The Philadelphia Experiment” as of 1 Nov 2026 T3YouTube: The Why Files, “The Philadelphia Experiment”
- 1,227,479 YouTube views, The Infographics Show, “Did the US Navy Actually Teleport a Ship?” as of 1 Nov 2026 T3YouTube: The Infographics Show, “Did the US Navy Actually Teleport a Ship?”
- 592,672 YouTube views, The Philadelphia Experiment (1984) trailer as of 1 Nov 2026 T3YouTube: The Philadelphia Experiment (1984) trailer
The Navy really was doing secret electrical work to make ships “invisible”
Proponents point to wartime work on ships’ magnetic fields.
The premise: confirmedTrue, and it is the likeliest seed of the story: degaussing cables cancelled a hull’s magnetic field so magnetic mines would not detect it. The ship stayed visible to eyes and radar.
T2IEEE Engineering and Technology History Wiki, “Degaussing”T1Naval History and Heritage Command, “Philadelphia Experiment”degaussing paragraphinvolved party: the US Navy, whose alleged secret experiment is the question; its historians wrote this summary of its own recordsThe Navy took the annotated book seriously
Why would naval officers reprint a crank’s notes unless they meant something?
The premise: confirmedTwo ONR officers did have it retyped, the ONR itself says, and Vallee says a contractor printed it. The ONR says they acted out of personal interest, and Allen later said he wrote every note.
T1Office of Naval Research information sheetinvolved party: the US Navy’s Office of Naval Research, whose officers handled the annotated book and which is accused of the experimentT3The A.P.R.O. Bulletin, July–August 1969p. 1Einstein worked for the Navy during the war
The letters tie the experiment to Einstein’s “unified field theory”.
T3Allen’s letters to Jessup, in the “Varo edition” reprintAppendix, first letterThe premise: likelyHe did consult part time for the Navy’s Bureau of Ordnance in 1943–44, the Navy says, on explosives. No record read here links him to invisibility, and the source is the Navy’s own.
T1Naval History and Heritage Command, “Philadelphia Experiment”Einstein paragraphinvolved party: the US Navy, whose alleged secret experiment is the question; its historians wrote this summary of its own recordsA crew of witnesses on a merchant ship saw it happen
Allen named the SS Andrew Furuseth and some of its crew.
T3Allen’s letters to Jessup, in the “Varo edition” reprintAppendix, first letterThe premise: unverifiedNo crew member’s account was found. The Navy says the ship’s 1943 master denied seeing anything and that it was not in Norfolk with the Eldridge.
T1Naval History and Heritage Command, “Philadelphia Experiment”Andrew Furuseth paragraphinvolved party: the US Navy, whose alleged secret experiment is the question; its historians wrote this summary of its own records
- confirmed
Allen’s letters describe an invisible destroyer and a crew driven mad
He writes that half the officers and crew were “Mad as Hatters”, that men “froze” or caught fire, and that the ship vanished from its Philadelphia dock and reappeared in the Norfolk area.
T3Allen’s letters to Jessup, in the “Varo edition” reprintAppendix, first letter and noteStartStrength so far:confirmed· 1 source on this step - confirmed
The letters read here do not name the Eldridge
They say only “Destroyer type” and “the original Experimental DE’s Crew”. A text search of the reprint finds no mention of the Eldridge; DE-173 entered the story later.
T3Allen’s letters to Jessup, in the “Varo edition” reprintAppendixT3Vallee, “Anatomy of a Hoax”, Journal of Scientific Exploration, 1994p. 50= HoldsStrength so far:confirmed· 2 sources on this step - likely
The ship’s own records put it far from Philadelphia
The war diary, as summarised by the Navy, has the Eldridge in New York, Bermuda, Norfolk and Casablanca from commissioning to year-end. No independent copy was read for this case; the originals are at the US National Archives.
T1Naval History and Heritage Command, “Philadelphia Experiment”Eldridge paragraphinvolved party: the US Navy, whose alleged secret experiment is the question; its historians wrote this summary of its own records▼ WeakerStrength so far:likely· 1 source on this step - likely
The witness ship and the Eldridge were not in Norfolk at the same time
The Andrew Furuseth’s movement cards, summarised by the Navy, have it at sea or abroad when the Eldridge reached Norfolk on 2 November. The Navy holds a letter from its 1943 master, William S. Dodge, denying that he or his crew saw anything unusual.
T1Naval History and Heritage Command, “Philadelphia Experiment”Andrew Furuseth paragraphinvolved party: the US Navy, whose alleged secret experiment is the question; its historians wrote this summary of its own records= HoldsStrength so far:likely· 1 source on this step - unverified
Key claim: a 1943 Navy experiment made a ship invisible or teleported it
Its only source is Allen, who called his letters a hoax in 1969. The records against it are the Navy’s own, so under this site’s rules they cannot disprove it alone, but no independent record supports it either.
T3Allen’s letters to Jessup, in the “Varo edition” reprintAppendixT3The A.P.R.O. Bulletin, July–August 1969p. 1T1Naval History and Heritage Command, “Philadelphia Experiment”involved party: the US Navy, whose alleged secret experiment is the question; its historians wrote this summary of its own records▼ WeakerStrength so far:unverified· 3 sources on this step
Bullshit meter
- Key claim: a 1943 Navy experiment made a ship invisible or teleported it. Unverified.
- Key claim contradicted by tier 1? Not by an independent record. The records that contradict it are the Navy’s own summaries of the ships’ logs, and the story’s only witness told a UFO group in 1969 that his letters were a hoax.
Fluff meter: possibly planted
- Can’t be traced to an original record. Absent: it traces to Allen’s own letters of 1956, reprinted in the Varo edition.
- First appeared from new or anonymous accounts. Present: the letters came under an alias, “Carlos Miguel Allende”, and the annotated book reached the ONR anonymously.
- Coordinated identical wording. Not measured.
- Cited source doesn’t exist. Present: the Philadelphia newspaper report Allen cited has never been identified (ONR), and the clipping later offered was undated and had no named paper (Vallee).
- Later contradicted. Present: by the ship’s records (the Navy’s own) and by Allen’s 1969 statement that the letters were a hoax.
● present · ○ absent · – not measured. Lists signals only. It never accuses anyone.
Personal interest meter
- The US Navy, is the subject of the claim and the only source for where the Eldridge and the Andrew Furuseth were in late 1943. T1Naval History and Heritage Command, “Philadelphia Experiment”involved party: the US Navy, whose alleged secret experiment is the question; its historians wrote this summary of its own records
“Has a documented interest” only, each one sourced. Never an implication of guilt.
Correlation meter
- Degaussing, is the real wartime “invisibility”, to magnetic mines, and is what the Engstrom sailor said the secret work was. T2IEEE Engineering and Technology History Wiki, “Degaussing”
- The SS Andrew Furuseth, is Allen’s observer ship in the 1956 letters and the ship he said vanished in 1969; the Navy says it was away from Norfolk when the Eldridge arrived. T1Naval History and Heritage Command, “Philadelphia Experiment”Andrew Furuseth paragraphinvolved party: the US Navy, whose alleged secret experiment is the question; its historians wrote this summary of its own records
- Al Bielek and the Montauk Project, a 1990s sequel in which a man said he had been aboard and remembered it after seeing the 1984 film; it still draws millions of views. T3YouTube: The Why Files, “Philadelphia to Montauk and Beyond”
Links to other cases appear once those cases exist.
Who worked on this
This case was assembled by the site from public records. Contributions are not open yet. Nothing here is invented, so the counts are zero.
This is the first published version of the case.
Sources
- T1involved party: the US Navy, whose alleged secret experiment is the question; its historians wrote this summary of its own records “Philadelphia Experiment”, Naval History and Heritage Command (US Navy), online reading room; undated page, read 1 Nov 2026. Summarises USS Eldridge’s 1943 deck log and war diary, SS Andrew Furuseth’s movement report cards, and the Navy’s position on degaussing, Einstein and “Project Rainbow”.. www.history.navy.mil
- T1involved party: the US Navy’s Office of Naval Research, whose officers handled the annotated book and which is accused of the experiment “Philadelphia Experiment: ONR Information Sheet”, Office of Naval Research, as posted by the Naval History and Heritage Command; undated, read 1 Nov 2026. www.history.navy.mil
- T1involved party: the US Navy, describing its own ship “Eldridge (DE-173)”, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Naval History and Heritage Command; read 1 Nov 2026. www.history.navy.mil
- T2“Degaussing” (also titled “Degaussing Warships, Library Books, and Hard Drives”), Engineering and Technology History Wiki, run by the IEEE History Center; read 1 Nov 2026. ethw.org
- T3“The Case for the UFO, Varo Edition” by M. K. Jessup, a facsimile of the annotated reprint with its preface and an appendix reproducing two letters signed “Carlos Miguel Allende” and “Carl M. Allen”; transcribed by The Quantum Future Group, 2003; read as the Internet Archive’s text file. A record of the claim.. archive.org
- T3“Allende Letters a Hoax”, The A.P.R.O. Bulletin (Aerial Phenomena Research Organization, Tucson, Arizona), July–August 1969, pp. 1 and 3; read as the Internet Archive’s text of the scanned issue. A UFO group’s record of what Allen told it.. archive.org
- T3Jacques F. Vallee, “Anatomy of a Hoax: The Philadelphia Experiment Fifty Years Later”, Journal of Scientific Exploration vol. 8 no. 1, pp. 47–71, 1994; read as the journal’s PDF in the Internet Archive (copy of 3 Mar 2011). Includes his interview with Edward Dudgeon, a 1943 crewman of USS Engstrom.. www.scientificexploration.org · copy read: web.archive.org
- T3William L. Moore with Charles Berlitz, “The Philadelphia Experiment: Project Invisibility: an account of a search for a secret Navy wartime project that may have succeeded—too well”, Grosset & Dunlap, 1979 (Open Library catalogue record; the book itself was not read). A record of the claim.. openlibrary.org
- T3“The Philadelphia Experiment (1984) Official Trailer #1”, Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers channel, YouTube, uploaded 26 Jan 2013. A record of the film.. www.youtube.com
- T3“The Philadelphia Experiment - The truth about invisibility, teleportation and time travel”, The Why Files, YouTube, uploaded 4 Feb 2021. A record of the claim’s spread.. www.youtube.com
- T3“Did the US Navy Actually Teleport a Ship?”, The Infographics Show, YouTube, uploaded 24 Nov 2019. A record of the claim’s spread.. www.youtube.com
- T3“Philadelphia to Montauk and Beyond | Al Bielek’s Journey through Time and Space”, The Why Files, YouTube, uploaded 16 Jul 2024. A record of the claim’s spread.. www.youtube.com