June 25, 2025 • 9 mins
The war is over. It's 1946. Peace hasn't fully settled over Europe. In the skies over Sweden, Norway, and Finland, a new mystery emerges: dozens, hundreds, of rocket-like objects streak through the air. No known nation claims responsibility. No clear explanation ever comes. They are called the "Ghost Rockets" and their appearance would mark one of the first great UFO mysteries of the modern era.
Brief Encounters is a tightly produced, narrative podcast that dives headfirst into the world of UFO sightings, the paranormal, cryptids, myths, and unexplained legends. From ancient sky wars to modern close encounters, each episode takes listeners on a journey through some of the most mysterious and compelling cases in human history. Whether it's a well-documented military sighting or an eerie village legend whispered across generations, Brief Encounters delivers each story with atmosphere, depth, and cinematic storytelling. Episodes are short and binge-worthy perfect for curious minds on the go. In just 5 to 10 minutes, listeners are pulled into carefully researched accounts that blend historical context, eyewitness testimony, and chilling details. The series moves between eras and continents, uncovering not only the famous cases you've heard of, but also the forgotten incidents that deserve a closer look. Each story is treated with respect, skepticism, and wonder offering both seasoned enthusiasts and casual listeners something fresh to consider. Whether it’s a 15th-century sky battle over Europe, a cryptid sighting in a remote forest, or a modern-day abduction report from rural America, Brief Encounters is your guide through the shadows of our world and the stories that refuse to be explained.
UFO Chronicles Podcast can be found on all podcast players and on the website: https://ufochroniclespodcast.com
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ufo-chronicles-podcast--3395068/support.
Brief Encounters is a tightly produced, narrative podcast that dives headfirst into the world of UFO sightings, the paranormal, cryptids, myths, and unexplained legends. From ancient sky wars to modern close encounters, each episode takes listeners on a journey through some of the most mysterious and compelling cases in human history. Whether it's a well-documented military sighting or an eerie village legend whispered across generations, Brief Encounters delivers each story with atmosphere, depth, and cinematic storytelling. Episodes are short and binge-worthy perfect for curious minds on the go. In just 5 to 10 minutes, listeners are pulled into carefully researched accounts that blend historical context, eyewitness testimony, and chilling details. The series moves between eras and continents, uncovering not only the famous cases you've heard of, but also the forgotten incidents that deserve a closer look. Each story is treated with respect, skepticism, and wonder offering both seasoned enthusiasts and casual listeners something fresh to consider. Whether it’s a 15th-century sky battle over Europe, a cryptid sighting in a remote forest, or a modern-day abduction report from rural America, Brief Encounters is your guide through the shadows of our world and the stories that refuse to be explained.
UFO Chronicles Podcast can be found on all podcast players and on the website: https://ufochroniclespodcast.com
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ufo-chronicles-podcast--3395068/support.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Brief Encounters, Episode eighteen, the Ghost Rockets of Sweden. In
the summer of nineteen forty six, something began falling from
the sky over Sweden. It wasn't enemy aircraft or meteor fragments.
Witnesses described long, cylindrical objects, some with wings, some without,
(00:32):
flying silently at high speed before crashing into lakes fields
and even mountain slopes. Military personnel were dispatched, search teams
were sent into the wilderness, but no wreckage was ever recovered.
The Swedish government kept the reports quiet at first, then
the sighting spread across Scandinavia, Norway, Finland, Denmark, even parts
(00:58):
of Greece. Over two reports flooded in over the course
of just a few months. The press gave them a name.
They called them ghost rockets, and nearly eighty years later,
no one has ever figured out what they were. World
War II had ended only a year earlier. Europe was
still recovering, cities were in ruins, military intelligence networks were
(01:22):
scrambling to adapt to a new geopolitical map. Sweden had
remained neutral during the war, but its proximity to the
Soviet Union meant it was suddenly caught in the middle
of rising Cold War tensions. In May of nineteen forty six,
reports began to surface about unidentified objects flying over Swedish airspace.
(01:45):
At first, they were dismissed as meteors. The skies had
been active in the spring and the occasional bright streak
wasn't unusual. But these weren't just flashes of light. Eyewitnesses
began describing object that maintained a horizontal trajectory, sometimes making
sharp turns or even appearing to level off before impact.
(02:09):
Some flew low over towns and then shot off into
the distance. Others were said to disintegrate in the air
before reaching the ground. Most unusual of awe Many of
the reported crashes, especially the ones involving lakes, left no debris.
Teams searched the water. Nothing was found, no wreckage, no engines,
(02:30):
no metal fragments, just ripples on the surface, as if
something had entered and then vanished. The Swedish Air Force
launched an investigation. They couldn't identify the objects, but they
confirmed the reports were credible. In fact, by August of
that year, over two hundred separate ghost rocket sightings had
(02:52):
been officially logged, and many of them came from trained observers,
including pilots, police officers, and milly personnel. The earliest explanation
was that these were Soviet missiles, possibly captured German V
one or V two rockets being tested over Scandinavia. The
Nazis had developed a wide array of advanced weaponry during
(03:15):
the war, including long range rockets, jet fighters, and even
early cruise missile prototypes. After the fall of Germany, both
United States and the Soviet Union had scrambled to seize
as much of that technology as possible, along with the
scientists behind it. Some believed the Soviets might be reverse
(03:36):
engineering these designs and testing them near Swedish airspace to
send a message to the West. It sounded plausible until
the details of the sightings began to raise new questions.
For one, there was the issue of noise. V two
rockets were loud, deafening in fact, but many ghost rocket
(03:57):
sightings described the objects as completely silent, and while the
German rockets traveled in arcing trajectories, most of these objects
flew in straight lines at low altitude, often with what
looked like intelligent control. There was also the problem of recovery.
If these were Soviet tests, why was there never any
(04:20):
trace left behind, no engine parts, no fuselage, no fuel residue,
no identifiable markings. The Swedish military grew increasingly concerned. They
reached out to foreign governments for help, including the United
States and the United Kingdom. American intelligence officers were dispatched
(04:41):
to observe the situation. Reports were exchanged quietly behind the scenes,
but no conclusions were reached and the sightings continued. The
lake investigations. Some of the most compelling incidents took place
in remote lake regions of Sweden. Witnesses described long, metallic
objects flying low, skimming the water, and then disappearing beneath
(05:05):
the surface. In multiple cases, observers claimed to have seen
the water erupt in a plume, as if something had
struck it hard. Divers were sent into the lakes. In
some cases they were deployed within hours of the event.
They found nothing. One of the most famous incidents occurred
near Lake kumyav in July nineteen forty six. Several people
(05:29):
watched a cigar shaped object descend from the sky and
crash into the lake. Military divers were deployed to the site.
They searched the area for three weeks, conducting dozens of dives,
not a single piece of wreckage was recovered. No object
was ever located. Officials confirmed that something had disturbed the
(05:50):
lake bed. There were physical signs of impact, but whatever
caused it had either dissolved, vanished, or escaped detection entirely
that the pattern. Dozens of impact sites, but no debris,
Visual conformations by civilians and military alike, but no photographic evidence.
Radar contacts in some cases, but no signals recovered. It
(06:14):
was as if the objects existed just long enough to
be seen and then disappeared completely. A global phenomenon. As
the ghost rocket wave continued into the late summer of
nineteen forty six, similar reports began surfacing outside of Sweden.
Norway logged its own share of sightings Finland Io. In
(06:36):
some cases, the objects appeared to be flying in formation.
In others, they seemed to operate independently, weaving through mountain
passes or descending vertically into forested valleys. Even countries as
far south as Greece began to report the same thing,
metallic silent projectiles moving at high speed with no visible
(06:59):
propulsion and no identifiable source. The international press picked up
the story, headlines across Europe asked whether a new kind
of surveillance weapon had entered the skies or if the
Soviets were conducting a slow, deliberate campaign of intimidation. But
not everyone believed it was coming from Earth. A few
(07:20):
investigators quietly raised the possibility that the ghost rockets were
not terrestrial weapons at all. They pointed to the lack
of debris, as intelligent flight paths, the controlled descents into water,
and the absence of sound. These behaviours didn't match any
known aircraft or missile system. By the four the wave
(07:42):
had peaked, sightings tapered off and the press moved on.
Sweden's official investigation concluded without any concrete explanation. The files
were quietly shelved, and the ghost rockets were left as
an open question, one that to this day has no
ever been fully answered. The ghost rocket wave of nineteen
(08:03):
forty six remains one of the largest mass sightings of
unidentified aerial phenomena in modern history. It involved thousands of witnesses,
multiple countries, and formal military investigations. Yet despite all of that,
no definitive evidence has ever surfaced. No pieces of debris,
(08:23):
no leaked documents, no whistleblowers stepping forward with classified information,
just the same mystery that began nearly eight decades ago,
cylindrical objects falling from the sky, vanishing into lakes and
leaving behind only questions whether they were advanced weapons, secret tests,
(08:44):
or something not made by human hands. They left a
lasting mark on those who saw them. Next time, on
Brief Encounters, we stay in Sweden for one of its
strangest local legends, the nineteen forty six landing of a
flying craft the coastal town of Engelholm. A solitary witness,
a mysterious machine, and a story that left behind not
(09:08):
just testimony, but a monument. That's Episode nineteen, the Engelholm
UFO landing,
Brief Encounters, Episode eighteen, the Ghost Rockets of Sweden. In
the summer of nineteen forty six, something began falling from
the sky over Sweden. It wasn't enemy aircraft or meteor fragments.
Witnesses described long, cylindrical objects, some with wings, some without,
(00:32):
flying silently at high speed before crashing into lakes fields
and even mountain slopes. Military personnel were dispatched, search teams
were sent into the wilderness, but no wreckage was ever recovered.
The Swedish government kept the reports quiet at first, then
the sighting spread across Scandinavia, Norway, Finland, Denmark, even parts
(00:58):
of Greece. Over two reports flooded in over the course
of just a few months. The press gave them a name.
They called them ghost rockets, and nearly eighty years later,
no one has ever figured out what they were. World
War II had ended only a year earlier. Europe was
still recovering, cities were in ruins, military intelligence networks were
(01:22):
scrambling to adapt to a new geopolitical map. Sweden had
remained neutral during the war, but its proximity to the
Soviet Union meant it was suddenly caught in the middle
of rising Cold War tensions. In May of nineteen forty six,
reports began to surface about unidentified objects flying over Swedish airspace.
(01:45):
At first, they were dismissed as meteors. The skies had
been active in the spring and the occasional bright streak
wasn't unusual. But these weren't just flashes of light. Eyewitnesses
began describing object that maintained a horizontal trajectory, sometimes making
sharp turns or even appearing to level off before impact.
(02:09):
Some flew low over towns and then shot off into
the distance. Others were said to disintegrate in the air
before reaching the ground. Most unusual of awe Many of
the reported crashes, especially the ones involving lakes, left no debris.
Teams searched the water. Nothing was found, no wreckage, no engines,
(02:30):
no metal fragments, just ripples on the surface, as if
something had entered and then vanished. The Swedish Air Force
launched an investigation. They couldn't identify the objects, but they
confirmed the reports were credible. In fact, by August of
that year, over two hundred separate ghost rocket sightings had
(02:52):
been officially logged, and many of them came from trained observers,
including pilots, police officers, and milly personnel. The earliest explanation
was that these were Soviet missiles, possibly captured German V
one or V two rockets being tested over Scandinavia. The
Nazis had developed a wide array of advanced weaponry during
(03:15):
the war, including long range rockets, jet fighters, and even
early cruise missile prototypes. After the fall of Germany, both
United States and the Soviet Union had scrambled to seize
as much of that technology as possible, along with the
scientists behind it. Some believed the Soviets might be reverse
(03:36):
engineering these designs and testing them near Swedish airspace to
send a message to the West. It sounded plausible until
the details of the sightings began to raise new questions.
For one, there was the issue of noise. V two
rockets were loud, deafening in fact, but many ghost rocket
(03:57):
sightings described the objects as completely silent, and while the
German rockets traveled in arcing trajectories, most of these objects
flew in straight lines at low altitude, often with what
looked like intelligent control. There was also the problem of recovery.
If these were Soviet tests, why was there never any
(04:20):
trace left behind, no engine parts, no fuselage, no fuel residue,
no identifiable markings. The Swedish military grew increasingly concerned. They
reached out to foreign governments for help, including the United
States and the United Kingdom. American intelligence officers were dispatched
(04:41):
to observe the situation. Reports were exchanged quietly behind the scenes,
but no conclusions were reached and the sightings continued. The
lake investigations. Some of the most compelling incidents took place
in remote lake regions of Sweden. Witnesses described long, metallic
objects flying low, skimming the water, and then disappearing beneath
(05:05):
the surface. In multiple cases, observers claimed to have seen
the water erupt in a plume, as if something had
struck it hard. Divers were sent into the lakes. In
some cases they were deployed within hours of the event.
They found nothing. One of the most famous incidents occurred
near Lake kumyav in July nineteen forty six. Several people
(05:29):
watched a cigar shaped object descend from the sky and
crash into the lake. Military divers were deployed to the site.
They searched the area for three weeks, conducting dozens of dives,
not a single piece of wreckage was recovered. No object
was ever located. Officials confirmed that something had disturbed the
(05:50):
lake bed. There were physical signs of impact, but whatever
caused it had either dissolved, vanished, or escaped detection entirely
that the pattern. Dozens of impact sites, but no debris,
Visual conformations by civilians and military alike, but no photographic evidence.
Radar contacts in some cases, but no signals recovered. It
(06:14):
was as if the objects existed just long enough to
be seen and then disappeared completely. A global phenomenon. As
the ghost rocket wave continued into the late summer of
nineteen forty six, similar reports began surfacing outside of Sweden.
Norway logged its own share of sightings Finland Io. In
(06:36):
some cases, the objects appeared to be flying in formation.
In others, they seemed to operate independently, weaving through mountain
passes or descending vertically into forested valleys. Even countries as
far south as Greece began to report the same thing,
metallic silent projectiles moving at high speed with no visible
(06:59):
propulsion and no identifiable source. The international press picked up
the story, headlines across Europe asked whether a new kind
of surveillance weapon had entered the skies or if the
Soviets were conducting a slow, deliberate campaign of intimidation. But
not everyone believed it was coming from Earth. A few
(07:20):
investigators quietly raised the possibility that the ghost rockets were
not terrestrial weapons at all. They pointed to the lack
of debris, as intelligent flight paths, the controlled descents into water,
and the absence of sound. These behaviours didn't match any
known aircraft or missile system. By the four the wave
(07:42):
had peaked, sightings tapered off and the press moved on.
Sweden's official investigation concluded without any concrete explanation. The files
were quietly shelved, and the ghost rockets were left as
an open question, one that to this day has no
ever been fully answered. The ghost rocket wave of nineteen
(08:03):
forty six remains one of the largest mass sightings of
unidentified aerial phenomena in modern history. It involved thousands of witnesses,
multiple countries, and formal military investigations. Yet despite all of that,
no definitive evidence has ever surfaced. No pieces of debris,
(08:23):
no leaked documents, no whistleblowers stepping forward with classified information,
just the same mystery that began nearly eight decades ago,
cylindrical objects falling from the sky, vanishing into lakes and
leaving behind only questions whether they were advanced weapons, secret tests,
(08:44):
or something not made by human hands. They left a
lasting mark on those who saw them. Next time, on
Brief Encounters, we stay in Sweden for one of its
strangest local legends, the nineteen forty six landing of a
flying craft the coastal town of Engelholm. A solitary witness,
a mysterious machine, and a story that left behind not
(09:08):
just testimony, but a monument. That's Episode nineteen, the Engelholm
UFO landing,
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