I’ve been seeing things on the internet that say the nazis built an aircraft like a flying saucer, and these references are very detailed and have purported pictures.
Is this a hoax, what is going on here? Please don’t flame me for not checking archives first, I did, and I didn’t find anything.
Thanks for any interest.
The 1930-50s were a time of great innovation in aviation design. As engine power went up, it became possible to make almost any silly thing fly. Auto-gyros, helicopters, biplanes, monoplanes, convertiplanes, seaplanes, you name it they tried it.
I know of no Nazi flying saucers, but would not be surprised if the idea was tried. You had to wait until the 1950s, IIRC, for mighty Canada to produce the first saucers designs I am aware of.
The Germans built a lot of experimental aircraft during the war, much of it well ahead of it’s time (there’s a Horton bomber which the designers of the B-2 studied extensively). They were looking for a technological “Hail Mary!” that would enable them to win the war, so they were willing to spend time and effort on things that the Allies weren’t. After the war, when flying saucers became all the rage, people began looking at the German aircraft and saying that the Germans had built UFOs. The crazies began crafting convuluted stories involving Nazis, aliens and holes at the North Pole shortly after.
So it’s possible that some of the photos you’ve seen are of actual aircraft built by the Germans, while others are probably fakes.
This?
http://www.burlingtonnews.net/ufonazi.html
More.
http://www.fiddlersgreen.net/AC/aircraft/Avro-Avrocar/info/info.htm
The Avro thingee came within an ace of being the first hovercraft (it lacked a skirt), and failed as an aircraft. Still it was cool-looking.
Actually, I think the hovercraft beat the Avro, as I remember watching a Hitler Channel program on them which said that their early development was classified and had only been recently declassified. I think that the first ones may have actually been built during the closing days of WWII. ISTR, that the credited inventor had independently come up with the idea later.
Go Canada! Woot!
Not a flying saucer, but an example of the sort of silly stuff tried in about that timeframe Vought XF5U - Wikipedia
That the Nazis had a few similar ideas that flew at least once is certainly plausible.
There was some belief among the Allies during WWII that the Foo Fighters were secret Nazi craft, and indeed another name for them was “Kraut Fireballs”.
They were of course, in the end, not anything of the sort.
As far as you know. 
The claim examined by Fortean Times:
http://www.forteantimes.com/features/articles/184/nazi_ufos.html
Their conclusion : myth, no such event.
Thanks. I figured I would get such a reply. I didn’t think it would be the ninth caller.
There is a lot of shamelessly straight faced b.s. (i.e. wikipedia) about this subject on the net, but no Straight Dope style debunking. Thanks again for the link and reminding me about Fortean Times!
Mick58
Hitler Channel?!? :eek:
I think some posters call the (US) History Channel the “Hitler Channel” because it has so many programs about the Second World War.
Though with 700-channel digital cable these days, who knows?
The Hovercraft could not have beat the Avro, as it was full of eels.
Here’s a site devoted to just that, www.luft46.com, and one for unusual aircraft in general, www.unrealaircraft.com.
CMC +fnord!