Beyond the Veil Magazine

The Philadelphia Experiment

Issue #11: November 1979

In October 1943, according to legend, the United States Navy conducted an experiment that went terribly wrong. They attempted to render the destroyer escort USS Eldridge invisible to enemy radar. Instead, they made the ship disappear entirely, teleporting it 200 miles from Philadelphia to Norfolk, Virginia, and back again in a matter of seconds.

The crew paid a horrific price. Some went mad. Others were fused into the ship’s metal structure. Still others were never seen again.

The Philadelphia Experiment, as it has come to be known, remains one of the most controversial claims in the annals of the unexplained.

The Allegation

The story first emerged publicly in 1955, when Morris K. Jessup, an astronomer and author of books on UFOs, received a series of bizarre letters from a man identifying himself as Carlos Allende (also known as Carl Allen).

Allende claimed to have witnessed the experiment from a nearby ship, the SS Andrew Furuseth. He described seeing the Eldridge surrounded by a “greenish fog” before it vanished entirely from Philadelphia Harbor. Moments later, witnesses in Norfolk, Virginia (200 miles away) reported seeing the Eldridge appear in their harbour, then vanish again, only to reappear in Philadelphia.

When the crew was examined, Allende wrote, the results were horrifying. Some sailors were found embedded in the ship’s steel structure, still alive but fused with metal. Others were invisible, their presence only detectable by touch. Some went mad, babbling incoherently about having been “stuck” in another dimension. Many died.

The Navy, Allende claimed, had been attempting to apply Albert Einstein’s Unified Field Theory to bend light around the ship, rendering it invisible. They succeeded beyond their expectations, and unleashed forces they could not control.

The Evidence

The case for the Philadelphia Experiment rests largely on Allende’s letters and subsequent testimony. He provided no documentary evidence, no photographs, no names of crew members who could be interviewed.

The USS Eldridge’s official records place it nowhere near Philadelphia on the alleged date of the experiment. The ship’s log shows it was on convoy duty in the Atlantic during October 1943. Veterans of the Eldridge interviewed in later years denied any unusual experiments.

The Navy has consistently denied that any such experiment occurred. In 1979, they released a statement: “The Navy has never conducted any investigations on invisibility… The ‘Philadelphia Experiment’ is a complete fabrication.”

Yet certain details trouble sceptics:

The Office of Naval Research took an unusual interest in Jessup’s correspondence with Allende. When a copy of Jessup’s book, heavily annotated by Allende, arrived at ONR, they ordered a limited print run of the annotated version, an extraordinary response to crank mail.

Some researchers claim to have found sailors who served on the Eldridge who, under pseudonyms, confirmed that something unusual occurred, though they would not specify what.

Einstein was working on unified field theory during this period, and he did consult with the Navy on various projects during the war. Whether any of these involved electromagnetic experiments on ships is unknown.

Theories

If the Philadelphia Experiment occurred, what might explain it?

Degaussing Gone Wrong: Ships were routinely “degaussed” (wrapped in electrical cables to neutralise their magnetic signature and protect against magnetic mines). Some researchers suggest an experimental degaussing procedure might have produced unusual electromagnetic effects, which later grew into the invisibility legend through embellishment.

Radar Invisibility: The Navy was experimenting with radar-absorbing materials and other stealth technologies during the war. An experiment in radar invisibility might have been misremembered or exaggerated into true invisibility.

Disinformation: Some suggest the entire story was planted as disinformation, either to confuse enemy intelligence or to discredit legitimate research into electromagnetic phenomena.

Genuine Teleportation: Believers argue that the experiment demonstrated principles of physics not yet understood, allowing instantaneous transport through space. The Navy suppressed the results because they could not be controlled.

The Human Cost

If the experiment occurred as Allende described, it represents one of the worst crimes against military personnel in American history. Men were subjected to untested procedures without their consent. Some died. Others were driven mad. Those who survived were allegedly sworn to secrecy under threat of prosecution.

Veterans’ groups have found no record of the mass casualties that would have resulted from such an experiment. No families have come forward to report relatives lost or damaged in Philadelphia in 1943. The death toll, if it occurred, left no archival trace.

This absence of evidence may simply reflect effective classification. Or it may indicate that the experiment never happened.

The Mystery Endures

The Philadelphia Experiment has been the subject of books, films, and endless speculation. Morris Jessup, who first publicised the story, died in 1959 under circumstances some have called suspicious: his car was found with a hose leading from the exhaust to the interior.

Carlos Allende remains elusive. He has given interviews over the years, sometimes recanting his story, sometimes reaffirming it. His mental stability has been questioned.

What really happened in Philadelphia in October 1943? Perhaps an experiment with radar invisibility produced unexpected results. Perhaps nothing happened at all, and the entire story is an elaborate fantasy. Perhaps, just perhaps, the Navy briefly succeeded in making a ship disappear, and has spent the subsequent thirty-six years making sure no one believes it.

Readers with information regarding U.S. Navy experiments during World War II are invited to contact our research department in strictest confidence.