Philadelphia Experiment
The alleged 1943 U.S. Navy experiment that supposedly rendered the USS Eldridge invisible with catastrophic consequences for the crew.
INVESTIGATION OVERVIEW
The Philadelphia Experiment is one of the most famous conspiracy theories in naval history. The story claims that in 1943, the U.S. Navy conducted a secret experiment at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard that made the USS Eldridge (DE-173) invisible to radar and human observers. According to the tale, the experiment went catastrophically wrong, causing crew members to become fused with the ship's hull, go mad, or disappear entirely. The story was first published in the 1950s after correspondence with a man named Carlos Allende (Carl M. Allen). The Navy has consistently denied the event, and the USS Eldridge's deck logs place the ship in New York during the claimed experiment dates.
KEY CLAIMS
The Navy used Einstein's unified field theory to make the ship invisible
Crew members were fused with the ship's structure during the experiment
Some crew disappeared and never returned
The experiment involved teleportation of the ship to Norfolk, Virginia
The Navy covered up the experiment and its casualties
SUPPORTING EVIDENCE
Carlos Allende's letters to Morris K. Jessup described the experiment in detail
Jessup's annotated copy of 'The Case for the UFO' was allegedly sent by those involved
Some witnesses claimed to have seen the Eldridge disappear in Philadelphia harbor
FOIA requests revealed the Navy was interested in degaussing (magnetic field neutralization)
Alleged crew members have come forward with stories over the years
COUNTER ARGUMENTS
The USS Eldridge's deck logs prove it was in New York on the claimed dates
Carlos Allende/Carl M. Allen was found to be an unreliable narrator with psychiatric issues
Interviews with actual Eldridge crew members found no knowledge of such experiments
No period documentation from the Navy references such an experiment
Einstein's involvement is fabricated; he was not working on invisibility
TIMELINE
Alleged first invisibility test of the USS Eldridge
Alleged second test with teleportation
Allende sends letters to Jessup describing the experiment
Story popularized through books and documentaries
KEY FIGURES
Carlos Allende
Self-proclaimed witness who first publicized the story
Morris K. Jessup
UFO researcher who received Allende's letters
Albert Einstein
Allegedly consulted on the experiment (unsubstantiated)
ORGANIZATIONS
U.S. Navy
Military
Office of Naval Research
Government
SOURCES
RELATED ENTITIES
PEOPLE
Carlos Allende
Morris K. Jessup
Albert Einstein
ORGANIZATIONS
U.S. Navy
Office of Naval Research
EVENTS
Alleged first invisibility test of the USS Eldridge
1943-07-22
Alleged second test with teleportation
1943-10-28
Allende sends letters to Jessup describing the experiment
1955
Story popularized through books and documentaries
1970s