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1.0 Preamble
This web article examines the intriguing topic of the Philadelphia Experiment ...
2.0 Notes
2.1 Notes - NHHC
The Naval History & Heritage Command (NHHC) of the United States has the following (adapted) text, dated 28 November 2000,
on their website:
The "Philadelphia Experiment"
Allegedly, in the fall of 1943 a U.S. Navy destroyer was made invisible and teleported from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Norfolk, Virginia, in an incident known as
the Philadelphia Experiment. Records in the Operational Archives Branch of the Naval Historical Center have been repeatedly searched, but no documents have been located which
confirm the event, or any interest by the Navy in attempting such an
achievement.
The ship involved in the experiment was supposedly the USS Eldridge. Operational Archives [Branch] has reviewed the deck log and war diary from Eldridge's commissioning on 27 August 1943 at the New York Navy Yard through December 1943.
The following description of Eldridge's activities are summarized from the ship's war diary.
After commissioning, Eldridge remained in New York and in the Long Island Sound until 16 September [1943]
when it sailed to Bermuda.
From 18 September, the ship was in the vicinity of Bermuda undergoing training
and sea trials until 15 October [1943] when Eldridge left in a convoy for New York where the convoy entered on 18 October [1943].
Eldridge remained in New York harbor until 1 November [1943] when it was part of the
escort for Convoy UGS-23 (New York Section).
On 2 November [1943] the convoy entered Naval Operating Base, Norfolk.
On 3 November, Eldridge and Convoy UGS-23 left for Casablanca where it arrived on 22 November [1943].
On 29 November, Eldridge left as one of [the] escorts for Convoy GUS-22 and arrived with the convoy on 17 December [1943] at New York harbor.
Eldridge remained in New York on availability training and in Block Island Sound until
31 December [1943] when it steamed to Norfolk with four other ships.
During this time frame, Eldridge was never in Philadelphia.
Eldridge's complete World War II action report and war diary coverage, including the
remarks section of the 1943 deck log, is available on microfilm, NRS-1978-26.
...
Supposedly, the crew of the civilian merchant ship SS Andrew Furuseth observed the arrival via teleportation of the Eldridge into the Norfolk area. Andrew Furuseth's movement report cards are in the Tenth Fleet records in the custody of the Modern Military Branch, National Archives and Records Admnistration, (8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001), which also has custody of
the action reports, war diaries and deck logs of all World War II Navy ships,
including Eldridge.
The movement report cards list the merchant ship's ports of call, the dates of
the visit, and convoy designation, if any.
The movement report card shows
that Andrew Furuseth left Norfolk with Convoy UGS-15 on 16 August 1943 and arrived at Casablanca on 2 September.
The ship left Casablanca on 19 September [1943] and arrived off Cape Henry on 4
October [1943].
Andrew Furuseth left Norfolk with Convoy UGS-22 on 25 October [1943] and arrived at Oran on 12 November [1943].
The ship remained in the Mediterranean until it returned with Convoy GUS-25 to Hampton Roads on 17 January 1944.
The Archives has a letter from Lieutenant Junior Grade William S. Dodge, USNR, (Ret.), the Master of Andrew Furuseth in 1943, categorically denying that he or his crew observed any unusual event
while in Norfolk. Eldridge and Andrew Furuseth were not even in Norfolk at the same time.
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) has stated that the use of force fields to make a ship and her crew invisible does not conform
to known physical laws. ONR also claims that Dr. Albert Einstein's Unified Field Theory was never completed. During 1943-1944, Einstein was a part-time consultant
with the Navy's Bureau of Ordnance, undertaking theoretical research on explosives and explosions. There is no
indication that Einstein was involved in research relevant to invisibility or to teleportation. ...
The Philadelphia Experiment has also been called "Project Rainbow." A comprehensive search of the Archives has failed to identify records of a "Project Rainbow." relating to teleportation or making a ship disappear. In the 1940s, the code
name RAINBOW was used to refer to the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis. The RAINBOW plans were the
war plans to defeat Italy, Germany and Japan. RAINBOW V, the plan in effect on
7 December 1941 when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, was the plan the U.S. used to
fight the Axis powers.
Some researchers have erroneously concluded that degaussing has a connection with making an object invisible.
Degaussing is a process in which a system of electrical cables are installed
around the circumference of ship's hull, running from bow to stern on both
sides. A measured electrical
current is passed through these cables to cancel out the ship's magnetic field.
Degaussing equipment was installed in the hull of Navy ships and could be
turned on whenever the ship was in waters that might contain magnetic mines,
usually shallow waters in combat areas. It could be said that degaussing,
correctly done, makes a ship "invisible" to the sensors of magnetic mines, but
the ship remains visible to the human eye, radar, and underwater listening
devices.
After many years of searching, the staff of the Operational Archives and
independent researchers have not located any official documents that support
the assertion that an invisibility or teleportation experiment involving a Navy
ship occurred at Philadelphia or any other location.
— www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq21-1.htm
2.2 Notes - Wikipedia
A familiar source of information for something as public and well-known as is
the Philadelphia Experiment is, of course, the free online, user-editable, yet surprisingly accurate
encyclopedia known as Wikipedia — which gives us the following (adapted) notes ...
Philadelphia Experiment
The Philadelphia Experiment was an alleged naval military experiment at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, sometime around October 28, 1943, in which the U.S.
destroyer escort USS Eldridge was to be rendered invisible (i.e. cloaked) to human observers for a brief
period.
It is also referred to as Project Rainbow.
The story is widely regarded as a hoax, while the U.S. Navy maintains that no
such experiment occurred, and details of the story contradict well-established
facts about the Eldridge.
It has nonetheless caused ripples in conspiracy theory circles, and elements of the Philadelphia Experiment are featured in other
government conspiracy theories.
Synopsis
Several different and sometimes contradictory versions of the so-called
"experiment" have circulated over the years. The following synopsis illustrates
key story points common to most accounts [cited source — Mike
Dash, Borderlands: The Ultimate Exploration of the Unknown (1997; 2000)].
The experiment was allegedly based on an aspect of the Unified Field Theory, a term coined by Albert Einstein.
The Unified Field Theory aims to describe mathematically and physically the
interrelated nature of the forces that comprise electromagnetic radiation and gravity, although to date, no single theory has successfully expressed these
relationships in viable mathematical or physical terms.
According to the accounts, it was believed that some version of this Unified
Field Theory would enable the Navy to use large electrical generators to bend light around an object so that it became essentially invisible. The Navy would have regarded this as being of obvious military value, and
according to the accounts, subsequently it sponsored the experiment.
Another version of the story proposes that researchers were preparing magnetic and gravitational measurements of the seafloor to detect anomalies, supposedly based on Einstein's attempts to understand gravity. In this
version there were also related secret experiments in Nazi Germany to find antigravity, allegedly led by SS-Obergruppenführer Hans Kammler.
In most accounts of the experiment, the destroyer escort USS Eldridge, was fitted with the required equipment at the Philadelphia Naval Yard. Testing began in the summer of 1943, and it was supposedly successful to a limited degree.
One test, on July 22, 1943, resulted in the Eldridge being rendered almost completely invisible, with some witnesses reporting a "greenish fog" appearing in its place.
However, crew members supposedly complained of severe nausea afterwards.
Also, it is said that when the ship reappeared, some sailors were embedded in the metal structures of the ship, including one sailor who ended up on a deck level below that where he began, and had his hand embedded in the steel hull of the ship.
[Cited source: History Channel : That's Impossible!]
At that point, it is said that the experiment was altered at the request of the
Navy, with the new objective being solely to render the Eldridge invisible to radar. None of these allegations have been independently
substantiated to any satisfactory degree.
The conjecture then alleges that the equipment was not properly re-calibrated, but in spite of this, the experiment was repeated on October 28, 1943.
This time, the Eldridge not only became invisible, but she physically vanished from the area in a flash of blue light and teleported to Norfolk, Virginia, over 200 miles away.
It is claimed that the Eldridge sat for some time in full view of men aboard the ship SS Furuseth, whereupon the Eldridge vanished from their sight, and then reappeared in Philadelphia at the site it had originally occupied.
It was also said that the warship travelled back in time for about 10 seconds.
Many versions of the tale include descriptions of serious side effects for the crew. Some crew members were said to have been physically fused to bulkheads, while others suffered from mental disorders, and still others supposedly simply vanished. It is also claimed that the ship's crew may have been subjected to brainwashing, in order to maintain the secrecy of the "Experiment".
3.0 YouTube Videos
3.1 Video Clips
The popular video hosting site, YouTube, carries several videos about the Philadelphia Experiment ...
Tags: Philadelphia Experiment conspiracy theory second world war albert
einstein science history channel navy US
Philadelphia Experiment Project Rainbow invisibility experiment USS
Eldridge DE-173
3.1.1 Video Summaries
Here are the YouTube video summaries relating to Philadelphia Experiment:
Title: The True Story of the Philadelphia Experiment 1 to 5 From: saif316 Added: June 13, 2007 Info-Description: Documentary about the philadelphia experiment
Title: Philadelphia Experiment [animation] From: henrysoo Added: November 06, 2007 Info-Description: A movie cutscene from Allied Forces campaign in "Command & Conquer: Red
Alert" that shows an Iowa-class battleship disappearing and reappeared. This
movie clip gave a brief view on the Project Rainbow, an invisibility experiment
that was secretly conducted on USS Eldridge (DE-173), a Cannon-class destroyer
escort during World War II at Philadelphia, USA.
4.0 Postscript
This webpage comprises some introductory notes and YouTube video clips, on the Philadelphia Experiment ...
Please do not assume or conclude that, just because I present many views (in
the form of textual notes and video clips) on this website, it means that I am
in agreement with or that I believe in the views offered-proferred ... That
would be displaying such a parochial and provincial attitude, towards this
website and towards me as well!
As an ex-military officer, I assure you that I am in the habit of reading,
viewing and digesting lots of stuff that I don't necessarily believe in ... We
call all the stuff we read, view and digest, 'military intelligence' ... The
same applies with 'business intelligence' in the business world, of course.
Our aim, as usual, is to find out what others (including our friends, enemies,
competitors, suppliers, strategic partners, business partners, etc.) believe in
... In order to do that effectively, we have to 'get out of the way', so to
speak ... we have to remove our humongous ego! ... else we will never ever
really have gotten started in our journey of exploration and discovery of the
Mysteries of the World
.
Here is a sentiment that I am wholeheartedly in agreement with ...
As I sit down to redo this book for an American audience, what rises before me
is last night's dream: I'm in a broad and beautiful land among many trees. It's
night. I look up at a huge old tree that's dark against the starry sky in its
detail of twig and branch. There is room enough here for all of us, I realize,
here in this big, intricately textured park. But I see that some want to cut
down the trees and level it out, so huge throngs of people can gather to gaze
up at the sun's glare. I watch dark twigs fingering the remote, untouchable
stars. A voice speaks: "Don't turn this into a Copernican Garden."
Waking up, I remember that I went to sleep wondering how to put this book
together. And I take "Copernican Garden" to mean a parking lot vista where
masses gather to honor the bright sun of traditional science with its old rules
as the center of the universe.
So I will not cut down the trees and level this book out. It is between you and
me [or you and I], a conversation as we stroll along in a moonlit fractal
garden past webby connections of thought that merge to patterned insight. Here
hidden delights nestle in scaling patterns of self-similar but never quite
repeating beauty. Here the tree of life hold stars in its branches. No matter
how huge, this garden stays human-sized because we have a place in it, you and
I. No need to cut down the connective forest and level things out for that
bright Sol [sun] of left-brain logic whose daytime dazzle — so
close and glaring — can blind us to the myriad constellations
beyond.
[...]
— Katya Walter,
Tao of Chaos
Sub-title:
Merging East and West
(1994, 1996)
Here is an observation (adapted) made in the Acknowledgement page of a book ...
It takes many minds to produce a book [including an e-book, of course].
Although most authors [especially of non-fiction books and articles] would
prefer not to admit this fact, fundamentally they are merely 'synthesisers' of
accumulated knowledge.
The process of synthesising may unveil a new reality map, or paradigm, which,
in due course, will be used by future pioneers to unveil further paradigms.
This principle was summed up by Sir Isaac Newton when he remarked: "If I have
seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants".
[...]
— Christian von Nidda,
Our Secret Planet
(2005)
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