The Philadelphia Experiment

Conspiracy Theories

     In 1943, the USS Eldridge was rendered invisible and teleported from Philadelphia to Virginia in a matter of minutes (Philadelphia Experiment 1). That is what Carl Allen, an eyewitness of the event would have others believe, claiming “a ship was rendered invisible and teleported to and from Norfolk” (Philadelphia Experiment: ONR Information Sheet 1). There are two major conspiracies involving the ship, USS Eldridge. One conspiracy suggests the ship teleported from Philadelphia to Virginia in a matter of minutes. The second conspiracy is the most plausible, which claims the U.S. Navy was conducting experiments to only render the ship invisible. Among these two theories it is unlikely the ship teleported; however, it is possible the Navy could have been conducting experiments to make the ship invisible. 

     The first conspiracy proposes that the USS Eldridge teleported. In 1943, off the coast of Philadelphia, a merchant mariner by the name of Carl Allen claims to have witnessed a battleship disappear and reappear minutes later (Philadelphia Experiment 1). After Carl Allen read Morris Jessup's first book, he mailed it to the Navy’s Office of Naval Research ONR with writing in the margins about specific details related to the experiment and unified field theory (1). Two U.S. Naval officers brought the book to Jessup and published this new reedition with Carl Allen’s comments in the margins without the Navy’s endorsement (1). The Navy has since published a report stating “ONR scientists do not believe that such an experiment could be possible” (Philadelphia Experiment: ONR Information Sheet 1). No other witnesses to the teleportation ever came forward, thus weakening the plausibility of this conspiracy theory. There are three other sources to further discredit the teleportation theory: 1. Naval records were collected from the ship and no reports were documented of having been teleported or of any strange occurrence (Philadelphia Experiment 1). 2. Local ships claim to have seen the USS Eldridge at a port during that time and not on open waters (Roos 1). 3. The source of the person mailing letters, Carl Allen was not a reliable person and has since admitted to fabricating the story and recanted his story multiple times (Tor 1). Thus, this theory is not plausible. 

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     The second conspiracy theory reported from Carl Allen claims the USS Eldridge was conducting experiments to render the ship invisible. The USS Eldridge set sail on July 25th 1943, during this time it did not have to disclose information about its location or keep records about its activities until August 27th, 1943 (Deck Log Access 1). That is a full month of time that is missing from reports. It is likely the ship was conducting secret experiments during this time. Since its commission, all other days have been accounted for in the National Archives and Records Administration. The Office of Naval Research has released a document claiming “ONR has never conducted any investigations on invisibility”; however, ONR would not be able to disclose this information if the document is still classified (Philadelphia Experiment: ONR Information Sheet 1). It is still unknown if the NARA has documents still classified or if the Navy has classified documents regarding the USS Eldridge. 

     Edward Dudgeon, who was stationed aboard the USS Engstrom claims he “was there at the same time” of the supposed experiment (Philadelphia Experiment 1). He goes on to explain both ships were dry docked at the Philadelphia Port and that the gear installed on the ships were classified information at the time called degaussing equipment (1). Degaussing equipment allows the ship’s magnetic field to be scrambled or “wiped” to prevent the ships from detonating German mines that were triggered by a ship’s magnetic field (1). Edward states that there may have been a misunderstanding about making a ship invisible to mines and making the ship invisible to humans (1). The Captain of the USS Eldridge at the time also said that no experiments have been conducted on the vessel (Philadelphia Experiment 1). However, on November 2, 1943, the ship left patrol “to make experiment runs with FXR gear” (USS Eldridge 53). This was in the ship log reports from NARA. Since the Captain omitted this experiment, it is likely there are still various classified documents pertaining to the USS Eldridge suggesting that the conspiracy about rendering invisible could have some truth to it. 

     To this day, the conspiracies surrounding USS Eldridge remain unsolved. It is unlikely the ship teleported, but it is possible the Navy could have been conducting experiments to make the ship invisible. The truth about what occurred on the USS Eldridge may be lost to time or hidden in the Navy’s classified documents.