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  The Rundflugzeug Project

  Just as the Jenseitsflugmaschine was put into storage, a new disk aircraft was being tested at the Arado works in Brandenburg. The Rundflugzeug (Disk Aircraft) RFZ1 suffered a disastrous control failure on its first test flight in June 1934. The craft was destroyed and the pilot barely escaped with his life, but the development of a more advanced RFZ2 was authorized.

  The RFZ2 was 16 feet in diameter and had an improved vril drive with a magnetic-impulse steering unit. It was used for fast reconnaissance during the Battle of Britain, and its success led to the inception of the Vril project.

  The BMW Flügelrad

  While other saucer projects focused on advanced technologies, the BMW Flügelrad (Flying Wheel) prototypes were developed with more immediate goals in mind. Powered by jet engines and using a conventional disk-rotor, the Flügelrad was essentially a rotorcraft with a centrally-placed cabin, using the wash from the jet engines to drive the rotor.

  Work began in 1943 and four prototypes were built. The early prototypes were pure disks, but later models had a tail added to improve lateral control. Despite its modest goals compared to the Vril and Haunebu programs, the Flügelrad project did not result in a flyable aircraft; ducting the jet wash through the lifting rotor caused control and stability problems that had not been overcome when the Red Army overran the Prag-Kbley testing facility.

  The BMW Flügelrad was essentially a jet-powered autogiro. It had some high-altitude potential, but control problems were never overcome. (INTERFOTO / Alamy Stock Photos)

  The Vril Triebwerk Motor

  Developed by the Vril Society from designs allegedly obtained psychically from the advanced Aryan civilization in the Aldebaran system, the Vril Triebwerk motor used contra-rotating metal disks studded with electromagnets which rotated at high speed. The interaction of their magnetic fields created an oscillation that was gradually intensified until it could warp space-time and create a wormhole to the desired destination.

  While there is no documented proof that this was actually achieved, the electromagnetic-gravitic drive allowed a saucer craft to reach previously unheard-of speeds – up to Mach 10 according to some reports. The Triebwerk’s gravitic warping also permitted a craft to change velocity and direction instantly, without subjecting the airframe or crew to G-forces that would be fatal under normal circumstances.

  The Haunebu Project

  Working in occupied Prague, Rudolf Schriever and Klaus Habermohl developed a disk-shaped craft that consisted of a ring of turbine blades that rotated around a fixed central cockpit. The craft proved both fast and agile, and the Schriever-Habermohl project was quickly absorbed by SS E-IV. Under Kammler’s personal direction a hand-picked team of engineers from all over the Reich worked to refine the airframe design and propulsion systems, and added a variety of armament including the Feuerball (Fireball) electrostatic weapon.

  Test pilot Erwin Ziller wearing a Dräger pressure suit in the cockpit of a Ho-IX/Ho 229 flying wing, 1945. (Artwork Hauke Kock)

  The resulting series of aircraft were given the name Haunebu or Hauneburg-Gerät (Hauneburg Device). Hauneburg was a wholly fictional name and did not refer to any place or person; it was coined simply to confuse and deceive Allied intelligence. There have been some claims that the project was moved to a remote testing-ground codenamed Hauneburg, but up to the time of writing not a single Nazi-era document has been recovered that uses the name Hauneburg as a place-name.

  A breakthrough was achieved when the Shriever-Habermohl airframe was mated with a Thule-developed electromagnetic-gravitic propulsion system named Tachyonator-7. Test flights using this drive recorded speeds of up to Mach 2 and a climb rate of almost 14,000 feet/minute – more than five times the climb rate of a Spitfire. Early tests also reached altitudes in excess of 40,700 feet, which was far beyond the reach of the best Allied aircraft.

  The moonbase under construction. Welders in modified Dräger pressure suits connect a Haunebu III to the base structure using tunnels made from pressurized bomber fuselages while saucers prepare to land. Note the triple-mounted KSK turret on the top of the saucer: the energy weapons were removed from the underside of the Haunebu craft before they were added to the structure, and moved to improvised top mounts for base defense.

  Haunebu I

  After the encouraging results of these early tests, Kammler authorized a full-scale development effort. The two Haunebu I prototypes were larger than the Shriever-Habermohl airframe and made of a specially-developed alloy codenamed Victalen. They were 81 feet in diameter – a little longer than a B-17 Flying Fortress – and according to some reports could reach speeds close to Mach 4.

  For weapon tests, the second prototype was fitted with a turret mounting twin 60mm Kraftstrahlkanone (KSK) energy-beam weapons, but firing them caused a massive energy drain which led to stability problems and subsequent tests used two packs of three MK 108 30mm cannon, which was standard armament for many German fighters.

  Very little documentation on the Haunebu project survived the war. This typewritten page giving brief details on the Haunebu II craft is one of a handful recovered by Operation Paperclip. (PD)

  Haunebu II

  At 85 feet diameter, the Haunebu II was only slightly larger than its predecessor and incorporated only minor improvements.

  Testing between 1942 and 1944 led to the development of the Haunebu II Do-Stra (Dornier Stratosphären Flugzeug: Dornier Stratospheric Aircraft). Although it was classified as a development of the Haunebu II, the Do-Stra was effectively a different craft. The Haunebu II’s Mach 5 performance was increased to a staggering Mach 17, and it was armed with seven pairs of Kraftstrahlkanone: three pairs of 80mm weapons turret-mounted on the craft’s underside and a single 110mm KSK mounted above the cockpit.

  This was the first Haunebu craft considered ready for large-scale manufacturing. Both Junkers and Dornier tendered for the contract in late 1944, and as the name suggests it was Dornier’s bid that was accepted by the Air Ministry. However, Allied strategic bombing prevented Dornier from completing more than a handful of craft: the exact number is still unknown.

  Haunebu III

  The Haunebu III was a quantum leap from the Do-Stra. Nicknamed “Ostara” after an ancient Germanic goddess, it was three times the size of its predecessors and almost twice as fast. It also mounted a fearsome armament: no fewer than 22 KSKs between 50mm and 110mm, plus 60 MK 108 30mm cannon.

  This was the first Haunebu craft to be capable of space flight, and several writers have claimed that it was used for a suicide mission to Mars, taking selected personnel and equipment out of the reach of the advancing Allies in March 1945. While the evacuation did indeed take place, it was a far less desperate affair than these claims suggest: the Neuschwabenland base in Antarctica had already been prepared as a refuge and regrouping point.

  With the burden of Do-Stra manufacturing taken on by Dornier, SS E-IV was able to complete multiple Haunebu III prototypes, while simultaneously designing and building the next craft in the series.

  THE BATTLE OF LOS ANGELES

  At 3.16 am on February 25, 1942, an unknown aircraft appeared in the skies over suburban Los Angeles. A photograph published in the next day’s Los Angeles Times shows searchlight beams converging on a large circular object, and the 37th Coast Artillery Brigade reportedly fired more than 1,400 rounds at the unknown craft. Despite several reported direct hits, the craft moved off in the direction of Long Beach and was lost to view.

  Within hours of the incident Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox held a press conference, saying the entire incident was a false alarm caused by anxiety and “war nerves.” The US Government never explained the Battle of Los Angeles further, but UFOlogists have long claimed that the mystery craft was extraterrestrial in origin. However, it is interesting to note that the Haunebu I prototypes were already flying by early 1942, and the larger Haunebu II was under development.

  Haunebu IV

  The final stage of Haunebu develo
pment – at least on Earth – was twice the size of the Haunebu III at 390 feet across, making it the largest heavier-than-air aircraft ever to have flown in Earth’s atmosphere. Only one was constructed: barely airworthy when the Red Army advanced on Prague, it was able to limp to Antarctica for the final stages of fitting-out.

  A Haunebu III craft prior to the Neuschwabenland evacuation. The provenance of this photograph is obscure, but it was most likely taken near Prague in March or April 1945. Note the Kraftstrahlkanone in the underside turrets. (Dale O’Dell / Alamy Stock Photo)

  Advanced Aircraft Weapons

  While early saucer craft were armed with the same guns as German fighters, Black Sun research soon provided Kammler with a new generation of energy-based weapons. Some problems arose from their power drain on the ships’ propulsion systems, but these were eventually overcome.

  The Feuerball antiaircraft weapon led to the first reports of “foo fighters” by Allied pilots. (Mary Evans Picture Library / Alamy Stock Photos)

  Foo Fighters

  From November 1944 onward, Allied pilots began to report strange flying objects and phenomena. Round objects, often glowing red, white, or orange, were seen following their aircraft and making sharp turns that seemed aerodynamically impossible. Named “foo fighters” by American aircrews (from a nonsense word in a popular comic strip), they were impossible to outmaneuver or shoot down, and they often seemed to be toying with the aircraft they encountered, zooming nearer and further as if taunting them.

  Various explanations were advanced, including a new type of flak weapon and a natural electrostatic phenomenon like Saint Elmo’s Fire or ball lightning, but none of the theories could account for the fact that the lights moved as if under intelligent control.

  MK 108 Cannon

  The Maschinenkanone (MK) 108 was a short-barreled 30mm cannon which became standard armament on most German fighters after 1943. Its predecessor, the MG/FF 20mm cannon, required around 20 hits to destroy a heavy bomber like the American B-17 Flying Fortress, which the MK 108 could accomplish in four.

  Early Vril and Haunebu saucers were armed with MK 108s, mounted in packs of three, to supplement their energy-based weapons. However, the MK 108 was less suited to saucers than it was to conventional airplanes. The main problem was targeting: the saucers moved so quickly relative to their targets that gunners would “lead” by too much or too little. Energy-beam weapons, on the other hand, fired at the speed of light and struck almost instantaneously, making targeting much easier.

  Despite this, the MK 108 continued to be fitted to most German saucers as a secondary weapon. After some trial and error, it became a fairly effective defensive armament, used mainly when the massive energy drain of a KSK shot left the craft hanging in the air.

  Although the saucers that formed the Walhalla base almost certainly took their MK 108 armament with them, it is uncertain whether this weapon could be effective in lunar conditions. A 1947 report in the archives of Britain’s Ministry of Defence concludes that while the ammunition could be kept stable despite the wide temperature variation of a typical lunar day (-280 to +250 degrees Fahrenheit), there would still be some degradation in performance. The report also points out that the Moon’s lack of an atmosphere would affect the gun’s gas-operated mechanism to some extent. Be that as it may, after-action reports from attacks on the base have only mentioned its energy-beam weapons: the cannon do not seem ever to have been used.

  Feuerball

  The Feuerball (Fireball) was an experimental weapon, launched from the ground against Allied bomber streams. It was a small, unmanned disk aircraft, remote-controlled on takeoff and guided toward its target by sensors that tracked engine exhaust. It was fitted with an electrostatic field weapon developed at Messerschmitt’s Oberammergau facility in Bavaria: burning chemicals produced a fiery halo around the craft, along with a powerful electrostatic field that could knock out a target aircraft’s ignition systems causing total engine failure.

  Normally deployed in groups of three to ten, the Feuerball weapons acted as a proof-of-concept for electrostatic weaponry, and led to further development. First deployed in November 1944 against RAF night attackers, the Feuerball saw service for barely two months before being replaced.

  Kugelblitz

  Not to be confused with the self-propelled antiaircraft gun of the same name, the Kugelblitz (Ball Lightning) was a larger version of the Feuerball’s electrostatic weapon, which was fitted to several early saucers. Although Kugelblitz- equipped saucers did fly test missions against the American bomber streams, the program’s main purpose was research and development. By the time the Haunebu saucers entered service, the electrostatic weapon concept had fallen out of favor. Future development of saucer armament focused on the more promising avenue of energy-beam weapons.

  Rheotron

  The Rheotron developed from a particle accelerator developed by Max Steenbeck at Siemens-Schuckert in the 1930s, similar to the Betatron developed by Donald Kerst at the University of Illinois in 1940. Both devices produced high-energy electron streams, but the German project was the first to weaponize the effect. By early 1945, SS E-IV had developed a vril-powered Rheotron small enough to be mounted in a large aircraft. Focused by a ring of electromagnets, the resulting energy beam was capable of melting aluminum in seconds.

  The original Rheotron accelerator was captured by Patton’s Third Army at Burggrub in western Bavaria on April 14, 1945. No aircraft-mounted versions were ever recovered, but Dr Rolf Widerøe of the Dresden Plasma Physics Laboratory confirmed their existence when he was questioned by US intelligence officers. According to Widerøe, he had demonstrated the Rheotron for Kammler several times, and provided copies of plans and notes to be used by the scientists of SS E-IV.

  During the final months of the war, several B-17 bombers returned to their bases in England with unexplained damage, mainly in the wing and tail sections, after reported contact with “foo fighters.” A classified US Air Force report likened the damage to “the effect of a hot wire on a block of cheese.”

  Röntgenkanone

  The Rheotron was not the only energy-beam weapon developed under Kammler’s patronage. Widerøe’s rival Ernst Schiebold created the X-ray Cannon (Röntgenkanone), which produced a focused beam of hard X-rays. A prototype was used to disable the magnetos of Allied bombers and force them down to a lower altitude where they were more vulnerable to flak.

  By powering a Röntgenkanone with the Vril Triebwerk motor, SS E-IV scientists were able to produce a weapon for the Haunebu III whose output was sufficient to burn out all electrical systems in an enemy aircraft. During Operation High Jump, personnel aboard the command ship USS Mount Olympus experienced severe radio and radar interference during the air battle of February 6, and both the Mount Olympus and several other ships were forced to undertake extensive repairs to their electrical systems before leaving Antarctica two and a half weeks later.

  Kraftstrahlkanone

  The Kraftstrahlkanone (KSK) has been incorrectly described as a laser weapon, but in fact it uses a focused energy beam. Power is channeled through spherical cascade oscillators to a transmission rod wrapped in a tungsten coil which acts as the “barrel” of the weapon.

  The first KSK weapons were 60mm weapons tested in the Haunebu I prototypes, which projected an energy beam capable of penetrating 4 inches of conventional armor – more than an inch thicker than the frontal armor of a Sherman tank and equal to that of the dreaded Tiger II. As part of the Haunebu II project, 80mm and 110mm versions were developed, with correspondingly higher performance. A smaller 50mm weapon was also developed as secondary armament for the Haunebu IV.

  The KSK could have been a war-winning tank or aircraft weapon except for one thing: its extremely high energy demands. No conventional generator could power even the smallest KSK weapon, and with the Glocke (Bell) vril energy source still in development in 1945, only a very few KSKs could be mounted in fortified emplacements. In fact, Kammler issued an order in Januar
y 1945 recalling all available KSKs to keep them out of enemy hands. Only the Haunebu craft had the energy to power them and the mobility to avoid capture.

  Continuing development of the Vril Triebwerk motor reduced the power drain problem, but it was not until the Haunebu IV was fitted with a small Glocke that it was eventually overcome. Only the Glocke could provide enough energy to fire the weapons without affecting flight functions.

  A captured Ho 229 flying wing aircraft on its way to Area 51. American engineers learned more from German flying wing aircraft than from the fragmentary evidence of saucers. (PD)

  Area 51

  While von Braun and his fellow rocket scientists were shipped to New Castle Army Air Field near Wilmington, Delaware to continue the work that would result in the Apollo Moon rockets and America’s arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles, another facility was set up at Groom Lake, deep in the Nevada desert.

  Codenamed Area 51, this base was devoted to collecting and studying German advanced aircraft captured during the war. Among the captured aircraft sent there were Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighters, an incomplete Gotha Go 229 flying-wing jet bomber, and a handful of documents and parts recovered from the abandoned Haunebu facilities in the West.