Project Winterhaven
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 8
| Date | 1952 |
|---|---|
| Topics | Beings & bodies (topic), Government programs (topic) |
| People | Thomas Townsend Brown, Nick Cook |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 43 |
| Year | 1952 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 1952 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 8 |
Project Winterhaven was a proposal drawn up in 1952–1953 by the Townsend Brown Foundation for a joint U.S. military research contract to investigate a claimed link between electrical and gravitational fields, as proposed by physicist Thomas Townsend Brown, and to develop it for aircraft propulsion and communications. It was never funded.[1][2]
Thomas Townsend Brown
Brown was born on 11 March 1905 in Zanesville, Ohio. From the 1920s he claimed that highly charged capacitors experienced a thrust that might be linked to gravity, an effect he called "electrogravitics", and he patented an electrostatic motor. He worked at the Naval Research Laboratory from 1930 to 1933, held Navy posts during the Second World War and later worked as a radar consultant. His foundation was a non-profit Ohio corporation founded in 1938.[1][2]
The proposal
The proposal, "A Proposal for Joint Services Research and Development Contract", revised on 1 January 1953, aimed to compile evidence and run experiments to confirm or deny a link between electrodynamic and gravitational fields. It envisaged a prime contractor approved by the Department of Defense distributing funds to four companies and four academic institutions, split between propulsion and communications. Participants proposed included the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, which sent Brown a cover letter on 10 December 1952 asking for a $5,000 preliminary grant, as well as the Stanford Research Institute, the National Bureau of Standards and the University of Chicago.[1]
Claims
The proposal said a 2-foot charged disc "airfoil" at 50,000 volts had reached about 17 feet per second, and planned larger discs of 4 and 10 feet; it estimated that large flying discs at 5 million volts might reach about 1,150 mph, and more at high altitude. It also claimed a communication system had sent signals through steel and concrete, and proposed detecting distant atomic explosions. The proposal itself admitted that the thrust potential remained highly theoretical.[1]
Assessment
Navy and other evaluators who examined Brown's devices concluded that their movement came from "ion wind" — air pushed by electrical discharge — rather than any new force, and Winterhaven was never funded. Brown continued his work in France in the mid-1950s. Supporters, including author Nick Cook in The Hunt for Zero Point, argue that electrogravitics went into classified aerospace research; mainstream physicists say there is no evidence the effect works in a vacuum.[2][3]
People and topics
- Thomas Townsend Brown — Physicist and inventor who promoted "electrogravitics" and proposed Project Winterhaven.
- Electrogravitics — The claimed link between electricity and gravity promoted by Thomas Townsend Brown.
- U.S. Navy — The U.S. naval service, whose pilots reported the UAP encounters revealed in 2017.
- Nick Cook — Jane's Defence Weekly aviation editor and author of The Hunt for Zero Point.
- The Hunt for Zero Point — Nick Cook's 2001 book on secret anti-gravity research.
On the Timeline
- Anthony Mirarchi's challenge to the balloon explanation (27 February 1951) — The head of Project Twinkle tells reporters the Navy is misleading the public and real UAP show controlled motion.
- Project Moonstruck brain-stimulation claim (1952) — An alleged CIA project is said to study long-range brain stimulation by radio frequencies.
See every 1952 event on the UAP Timeline →
References
- "Project Winterhaven", Thomas Townsend Brown family website · thomastownsendbrown.com · archived copy
- Thomas Townsend Brown — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- "Electrogravitics Systems" (1956), Thomas Townsend Brown family website · thomastownsendbrown.com · archived copy
- Winterhaven document scan — UFOScans · ufoscans.com · archived copy
- Project Winterhaven (archive) · thelivingmoon.com · archived copy
- thomastownsendbrown.com · thomastownsendbrown.com · archived copy
- archive.org · archive.org · archived copy
- documentcloud.org · documentcloud.org · archived copy
Further reading
- Stargate Project — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Stargate collection — CIA Reading Room · cia.gov · archived copy
- Skunk Works — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Thomas Townsend Brown — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
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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