The Philadelphia Experiment: A Ship That Disappeared?

The Philadelphia Experiment. Did the U.S. Navy really make a ship disappear, teleport, and even bend time? Or is this just another tale spun from a mix of wartime secrecy and science fiction? Let’s find out.

 

It’s October 28, 1943, at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. According to conspiracy lore, the Navy was conducting a top-secret experiment aimed at making ships invisible to radar—a vital edge in the midst of World War II.

 

The story centers on the USS Eldridge, a destroyer escort supposedly outfitted with cutting-edge electromagnetic technology. Witnesses—well, alleged witnesses—claim the experiment began with a strange green fog surrounding the ship. Then, in an instant, the Eldridge vanished. Not just from radar, but from Philadelphia entirely.

 

The plot thickens: the ship reportedly reappeared hundreds of miles away in Norfolk, Virginia, before teleporting back to Philadelphia. And the aftermath? Horrifying. Sailors were said to be fused into the ship’s hull, some driven insane, and others lost in time completely.

 

A compelling story, right? But where did it come from, and how much of it is rooted in reality?

Episode Transcript

Delilah Tanner (00:16):
Welcome back to the Conscience Conscience, where we sift through the swirling whirlpool of conspiracies, facts and everything in between. I'm your host, Delilah. And today we're delving into a mystery that's as chilling as it is. Captivating. The Philadelphia experiment. Did the US Navy make a ship disappear, teleport or even bend time? Or is this just another tale spun from a mix of wartime secrecy and science fiction? Let's find out. It's October 28th, 1943, at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. According to conspiracy lore, the Navy was conducting a top secret experiment aimed at making ships invisible to radar a vital edge in the midst of World War Two. The story centers on the USS Eldridge, a destroyer escort supposedly outfitted with cutting edge electromagnetic technology. Witnesses? Well, alleged witnesses claim the experiment began with a strange green fog surrounding the ship. Then in an instant, the Eldridge vanished not just from radar, but from Philadelphia entirely. The plot thickens, though. The ship reportedly reappeared hundreds of miles away in Norfolk, Virginia, before teleporting back to Philadelphia and the aftermath, horrifying sailors were said to be fused into the ship's hull, some driven insane and others lost in time completely. A compelling story, right? But where did it come from? And how much of it is rooted in reality? Let's set some facts first. Number one. Was the USS Eldridge a real ship? Yes. It was a real and documented ship. The USS Eldridge, or DE-173 was launched in July 1943 and served in World War Two, primarily performing escort duties in the Atlantic. Number two was the USS Eldridge at the Philadelphia Naval Yard. No. The official records of the USS Eldridge indicate that it was never at the Philadelphia Naval Yard in 1943, the year the Philadelphia experiment allegedly took place. The ship's logs show it was in the New York Navy Yard. During this time, it was supposedly involved in these experiments. Additionally, in mid 1943, the Eldridge was part of a convoy mission in the Atlantic, protecting ships traveling between the U.S. and North America. Number three. Where is the USS Eldridge now? The USS Eldridge no longer exists as a physical ship. It was dismantled and scrapped after its decommissioning in the 1990s by Greece. Any surviving parts or records are likely held by naval archives or museums. So where did this tale begin? The Philadelphia experiment didn't enter public consciousness until the 1950s, when a man named Carol Allen using the alias Carlos Allende wrote a series of letters to UFO researcher Morris Jessup. Allen claimed to have witnessed the experiment firsthand, describing it as a military project gone disastrously wrong. Jessup was intrigued but skeptical, dismissing the letters as more fantasy than fact. However, the Navy reportedly took interest in Jessup's book The Case for the UFO, and copies of it annotated with mysterious comments about the experiment started circulating. By the time Charles Berlitz and William Moore released their book, The Philadelphia Experiment Project Invisibility in 1979, the story had already taken on a life of its own. Blending real science, speculative fiction and Cold War paranoia into a conspiracy legend. So why does this story persist? Like many great conspiracies, the Philadelphia experiment taps into something deeper the fear of what governments might be hiding and the allure of technology that seems just out of reach. In the 1940s, scientific breakthroughs like the atomic bomb and radar technology were reshaping the world. It's not hard to imagine why the idea of invisibility or teleportation felt plausible, even terrifying. Add a dash of government secrecy. And you've got the perfect recipe for a conspiracy that stood the test of time. So did the USS Eldridge really vanish into thin air? The evidence is thin, but the fascination undeniable. Stories like this remind us of the power of the unknown to spark our imaginations and our suspicions. If you're intrigued by the Philadelphia experiment, I highly recommend checking out the Philadelphia Experiment