Edward Dudgeon and the Philadelphia Navy Yard
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 7

| Date | 1994 |
|---|---|
| Topics | Military encounters (topic), Secrecy & cover-up (topic), Disinformation & hoaxes (topic) |
| People | Jacques Vallée, Edward Dudgeon |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 119 |
| Year | 1994 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 1994 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 10 |
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
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 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

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
- U.S. Navy — The U.S. naval service, whose pilots reported the UAP encounters revealed in 2017.
- Jacques Vallée — Computer scientist and astronomer, author of the Forbidden Science journals and a central figure in UFO research.
- Edward Dudgeon — Navy veteran who linked the Philadelphia Experiment to degaussing.
- Allende letters and the Philadelphia Experiment — Allende letters and the Philadelphia Experiment
On the Timeline
- Andrew Kissner and the 1947 crashes (1994) — A former New Mexico legislator says sources told him 1947 disc crashes caused deaths.
- John Brandenburg's theories (1994) — Engineer John Brandenburg discusses theories tied to his space program work.
See every 1994 event on the UAP Timeline →
References
- "Forbidden Science — the journals of Jacques Vallée", Anomaly Archives · anomalyarchives.org · archived copy
- "The truth behind WWII's creepy Philadelphia Experiment", Military.com (May 2020) · military.com · archived copy
- "How the Philadelphia Experiment worked", HowStuffWorks · people.howstuffworks.com · archived copy
- Philadelphia Experiment — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Forbidden Science series — Anomalist Books · anomalistbooks.com · archived copy
- The Philadelphia Experiment — Skeptic's Dictionary · skepdic.com · archived copy
- Philadelphia Experiment conspiracy theories — We Are The Mighty · wearethemighty.com · archived copy
- Review of Forbidden Science 6 — SFCrowsnest · sfcrowsnest.info · archived copy
- Forbidden Science Dispatches — Tanner Boyle (journal summaries) · tannerfboyle.substack.com · archived copy
- ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com · ufos-scientificresearch.blogspot.com · archived copy
Further reading
- Philadelphia Experiment — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Jacques Vallée — 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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