History

In the early 1930s, the University of Chicago explored the possibility of making objects invisible using electricity. The project was then transferred to Princeton's Institute of Advanced Studies. The research was classified and continued into the 1940s. The ship used for this experiment, the USS Elridge, was transferred from the Navy marshalling yard in New York on August 27, 1943 (by the Department of the Navy). According to Al Bielek, a man who claimed to have been a crew member, the first tests were conducted in July 1943, concluding on August 12, 1943. Others, however, claim the experiment took place on October 28, 1948. There is evidence to support the October date.

The Navy abandoned the Elridge, and wartime diaries make no mention of the Elridge in Philadelphia. However, the records may have been altered. The Elridge's wartime diary states: "The Elridge remained in New York in Long Island Sound until September 16, when it sailed for Bermuda. From September 18 to October 15, it was tested and tried out on the high seas. On October 18, the ship returned to New York and on November 3, it was left with a convoy for the Cassablanca. The Elridge arrived in the Cassablanca on November 22 and remained there until November 29, when it was again dispatched with another New York convoy. The Elridge arrived in New York on December 17. From December 17 to 31, it traveled to Norfolk with four other ships (belonging to the Navy). Although this is not the entire war period, this is the ship's diary, probably kept during the entire experiment (it includes the date October 28).

It would seem that the Navy never conducted experiments on Elridge, but the government decided to classify them earlier for national security reasons. The Manhattan Project is a case in point. This secret project wasn't intended to build an atomic bomb, nor was it ever explicitly stated that we possessed one. Seeking a credible answer, the Navy suggested that the Philadelphia Project was confused with experiments designed to create invisibility for magnetic mines. This process was known as degaussing. The Navy defines degaussing as:

"...a process in which a system of electrical cables is installed around the perimeter of a ship's hull, running from the bow to the stern on both sides of the ship. High voltage electricity is transmitted through these cables to deflect magnetic fields away from the ship. Degaussing equipment has been installed in the hull of a Navy ship and can be used anywhere in the area where magnetic mines could be located..." (-Department of the Navy)

The Navy conducted another experiment on the USS Timmerman in the 1950s using a generator. The experiment aimed to obtain 1,000 Hz from the generator instead of the standard 400 Hz. This caused a large amount of light to be emitted. These discharges may have been observed by Carlos Miguel Allende and may have prompted him to begin writing letters to prominent figures in the scientific community. The Navy maintains that Allende confused the USS Timmerman experiment with the Philadelphia experiment.