Edward Dudgeon and the Philadelphia Navy Yard

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Contents 7
Edward Dudgeon and the Philadelphia Navy Yard
Dr. J. Allen Hynek (left) and Dr. Jacques Vallée (right).
Dr. J. Allen Hynek (left) and Dr. Jacques Vallée (right). Photo: United States Government · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons
Date1994
TopicsMilitary encounters (topic), Secrecy & cover-up (topic), Disinformation & hoaxes (topic)
PeopleJacques Vallée, Edward Dudgeon
TestimonyShellenberger testimony, p. 119
Year1994 in UFO history
Timeline1994 on the UAP Timeline
Sources10

Edward Dudgeon was a U.S. Navy veteran who served during the Second World War aboard the destroyer escort USS Engstrom, which was at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1943 at the same time as the USS Eldridge, the ship at the centre of the "Philadelphia Experiment" legend. According to Jacques Vallée's journals, Dudgeon gave Vallée an ordinary explanation of the legend in 1994.[1][2]

Dudgeon's account

Illustration of an object over the sea
Illustration: an object over the sea. An artist's impression drawn for this site, not a photograph of the event.

Dudgeon said that both ships carried classified equipment, but not invisibility cloaks or teleportation devices: they were fitted for "degaussing", a process that scrambles a ship's magnetic signature to protect it from magnetic mines and torpedoes. He suggested that rumours about invisibility grew from this real, secret work and from effects seen during it.[2][3]

The legend

The U.S. Navy destroyer escort USS Eldridge (DE-173) underway at sea, circa in 1944.
The U.S. Navy destroyer escort USS Eldridge (DE-173) underway at sea, circa in 1944. Photo: U.S. Navy · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons

The Philadelphia Experiment story originated in letters written from 1956 by Carl Allen, under the name "Carlos Allende", to the UFO writer Morris Jessup, claiming that the Eldridge had been made invisible and teleported to Norfolk, Virginia, in October 1943. The Navy has always denied that any such experiment took place. Other writers have suggested that a reported green glow may have been St Elmo's fire, and that inland waterways allowed ships to travel between Philadelphia and Norfolk in hours, explaining claims of a sudden reappearance.[3][4]

Significance

Jacques Vallée 2024
Jacques Vallée 2024 Photo: Cmichel67 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

Vallée used Dudgeon's account in his 1994 analysis of the legend's origins. The testimony lists Dudgeon as having seen UFO-related material, but his main contribution was a down-to-earth explanation of the Philadelphia Experiment story, which most historians accept.[1][4]

People and topics

Illustration of official papers and files
Illustration: official papers and files. An artist's impression drawn for this site, not a photograph of the event.

On the Timeline

Illustration of wreckage at a crash site
Illustration: wreckage at a crash site. An artist's impression drawn for this site, not a photograph of the event.

See every 1994 event on the UAP Timeline →

References

Further reading

This page was last edited on 29 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.

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