The Philadelphia Experiment

The Current Whereabouts of the USS Eldridge
The Ship Tested in the Philadelphia Experiment
reported by George Pantoulas

Date sent: Sun, 12 Jan 1997 02:14:33 -0500
From: Ashley Rye <106064.3617@compuserve.com>
Subject: IUFO: USS Eldridge

The more I have correspondence with our new friend George, the more I begin to see that we have found the "Indiana Jones" of Greece. Once again, George surprises me by saying the ship used in the 1943 Invisibility Test, out of the Philadelphia Harbor, known to us as the Philadelphia Experiment is a ship now part of the Greek Navy, known as the "Leon". So please find attached to this page, George's account of the Eldridge in Greece including an interview with two Naval Officers that served on this ship.

For those interested in contacting George directly, or to obtain copies of any film/video he has created, he can be reached at his email address at: gepan@hol.gr.

Enjoy ... what a story ...

ILLINOIS

Date: Fri, 9 Feb 1996 19:51:42 -0200
To: rshapiro@interaccess.com
From: "George N.Pantoulas"
Subject: Philadelphia Experiment

Joshua Hello again.

I read the WWW page with the Mr Drue's interview about Philadelphia Experiment which is quite interesting. I'd like to make a short comment in reference to Mr Drue's statement about USS Eldridge (DE-173), a ship that I have had the luck to know very well. What do I mean? Let me tell you some things about this ship.

The USS Eldridge is of the Bostwick class and was given as military aid from US to Greece sometime between the late 40's and early 50's (I can find exact the date) and took the name Leon (means lion). To be more specific, the Greek navy took, among others, 4 ships of the Bostwick class. All of these ships have wild animals as names: Leon (x USS Eldridge), Panthir (means Panther), Aetos (means eagle) and Lerax (means Hawk). All of these ships served in the Greek Navy till 1990 when Leon and Panthir entered the reserve service while the other two are still in service.

So I disagree with Mr. Drue's phrase: "I would also like to point out that the USS Eldridge had sustained serious damage during the experiment and was no longer sea worthy after we returned."

Due to the ship's logbook, which I have seen, the USS Eldridge took part in the Normandy Assault in 1944 and then was given to the Greek Navy...so it was and, believe me, still it is sea worthy! Now the ship is located in the Suda Bay Naval Station in Crete.

However, I disagree with Mr. Drue's comment: "I do know that on August 18th, 1943, the USS Eldridge was sent to Montauk Point, Long Island, New York to the year of 1983, at which time it was dismantled.". This is absolutely wrong because, as I told you the ship is still in one piece at Suda Bay.

I have visited the ship three times, the commander and first engineer are very close friends of mine, and I had the opportunity to have a look in the ship's logbook. I can assure you that the pages of the time of Philadelphia Experiment are missing, someone cut them out from the logbook.

Also inside the ship are a lot of wires that do not go anywhere... they just exist and give the ship engineers a big headache until they realized that this wiring were the remains of the experiment's machinery.

There are some stories from crew members that they sometimes had strange illusions when they served on the ship, or they felt some strange vibrations even when the entire ship's machinery was out of operation.

I am sending this information (to you because I) believe that it helps (for others to know) the truth about USS Eldridge. If you want some more info about this story just tell me...OK?

waiting news from you, greetings

George

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Date: Sat, 10 Feb 1996 00:20:14 -0200
To: rshapiro@interaccess.com
From: "George N.Pantoulas"
Subject: Philadelphia Experiment

JS>George ... are you sure this is the Eldridge ... I mean, why would
JS>the U.S. Navy send such a ship to Greece ... is hard to believe?
JS>Is there any proof that the "LEON" is the Eldridge or could it be
JS>some other ship that looks like the Eldridge?

Joshua

Of course there are solid proofs that the USS Eldridge is in Greece under the name of the "Leon". As I wrote you it is one of the four Bostwick class ships that was send to Greece as military aid after WW 2. You can check it yourself from Jane's Book of Major Warships, edited by captain John E. Moor RN, or from the Greece Ministry of Defense. Anyway I have double checked all the sources my self and I am positive 100% for all information that I do send to you.

Second, I told you that I have seen the ship's logbook myself and third, the entire Greece Navy knows very well that the "Leon" is the ex USS Eldringe...it is nothing new in Greece.

No, it is not any other ship in this class Escort Destroyer (DE), or any other ship with the name Eldridge that served in US Navy in 1943. So the ONE AND ONLY ONE USS Eldridge that some years after the Philadelphia Experiment was sent to Greece and it is still here serving the Greek Navy. You can check this also by Jane's Books and catalogs.

JS> George, it sounds like you have had a very special and interesting life

Well, I have not any special kind of life, but as I wrote you in my previous emails, I am a professional journalist and due to my interest with the paradox and themes connected I have done and I am doing till today as a producer long in field investigations and research on this kind of subjects. This is the reason that I always double check everything that I send to you or in public through videos or TV stories. Some people say here in Greece that I am famous for taking the cover off strange stories or sometimes they say that I am the only one who can risk his head to find the truth.

I have no any objections to pass the info to Mr. Drue.

Thanks for all

George

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Date: Thu, 15 Feb 1996 05:25:15 -0200
To: rshapiro@interaccess.com
From: "George N.Pantoulas" {gepan@hol.gr}
Subject: Interviews

Joshua

Here are the two interviews with Greek Navy officers who served on the A/T Leon (ex USS Eldridge) the ship that is connected with the Philadelphia Experiment. Both of these officers served on the ship for a period of 2 years in the early '80s when the ship was in regular service as some years ago the A/T Leon was placed into reserve service at Suda Bay Naval Base. Also both of the officers are still in service in the Greek Navy and this is the reason that I can not share their names publicly. One of them is a commanding officer, who served on the A/T Leon as its commander, and the other one is a naval engineer who served on the ship as the first engineer. For the purpose of this interview I will use "A" for the commander and "B" for the engineer. So let's see what they have to tell us:

George Pantoulas Presents

An Interview with Two Naval Officers Serving Upon the A/T Leon (ex USS Eldridge)

George Pantoulas: Gentlemen, when you served on the A/T Leon did you know that the ship was connected with the Philadelphia Experiment?

"A": Yes, of course. Almost everyone in the Greek Navy knows that the A/T Leon was the USS Eldridge, the ship that was used in the Philadelphia Experiment in 1943. We have known this story since we were cadets in the Naval Academy. So I was very curious to check the whole story myself when I was dispatched as the captain of the ship.

"B": Yes, I know this story. For many years we have known the connection of the ship with Philadelphia Experiment.

George Pantoulas: Did you ever notice anything strange occur on the ship during your service there?

"A": Well, nothing weird I can say, if you mean that. But there are few things that we could call as strange. First of all when I checked the logbook of the ship I found something very unusual. As you know logbooks on every ship is something...let's say that is sacred. No one can change anything writing in the logbook. So I was surprised when I found that the pages of the logbook which referred to the date of the Philadelphia Experiment and some days before and after were missing. Somebody had cut out all these pages. I asked the three previous commanders of the ship about this and all of them told me that the pages were missing since the ship came to Greece and became a Greek Naval unit.

During my service on the A/T Leon I had some reports from crew members stating that they had seen something mysterious like an illusion (i.e. some type of ghost), or they reported that they were missing things (objects, possessions), nothing of value which would suggest that a thief was onboard. Usually they would find the lost objects after a couple of days in a different place than they had placed them. We used to make jokes between us about the "ships ghosts" that changed the place of things. Also there was some reports about a greenish glow that sometimes covered the ship during the night but I did not see this myself.

"B": I agree with all the things that the captain has said. Well, I want to add something more. The first thing that impressed me when I took over the ship as the first engineer was an enormous amount of wiring, I mean there were cables which started from nowhere and ended nowhere. As I found out later, all this stuff seems to be the remains of the electrical machinery that was used on Philadelphia Experiment aboard the ship.

The second strange thing that I noticed was a kind of vibration along the whole ship even if everything was shut down (i.e. when we were doing repairs in the dry dock). Once I felt it myself and my first thought was that it was an earthquake. I checked and there were no earthquakes reported in the area (at that time).

George Pantoulas: Do you think that all these incidents have anything to do with the Philadelphia Experiment?

"A": I don't know, but it is possible.

"B": Yes, I think that all these things are connected with the Philadelphia Experiment. Maybe a part of the energy field that was used during the experiment is still with the ship.

These are the answers from the two officers who spent some of their career aboard the A/T Leon - ex USS Eldridge .............. George

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Confirmation of the AT Leon (Rolf Fey, Switzerland)

Date: Sun, 10 Mar 1996 15:51:37 +0100
Subject: USS Eldridge became "Leon"
From: (fey@hyperion.ch)
To: "Joshua UFO Covers" (rshapiro@interaccess.com)

Dear Joshua,

I would like to make some comments on Mr. George Pantoulas' letter about the ship "USS Eldridge".

As far as my information go, the ship was given to the Greece Navy after world war II and served under the name "Leon".

This information was given in the book "The Philadelphia Experiment" by Charles Berlitz written 1979. (I have the German edition: KNAUR ISBN 3-426-03679-7, page 81)

In this book Mr. Berlitz writes: (my translation from German to English) The USS Eldridge served after the Philadelphia experiment in the atlantic region until the end of WW II. After returning to New York she went to the dry dock at June 7, 1946. After revision work, she was sold to the Greek Navy and changed the name to "Leon".

Mr. Berlitz further states, that the Log pages between August 27, 1943 and December 1, 1943 were not available anymore and that the log books from the other ship involved in the experiment (USS Furuseth) have been destroyed.

There is more information in the book, covering the "official" story about when the ship entered service and about the "true" story that the ship took part in those experiments just short before starting NAVY service.

Maybe this second source might help you in gathering more information about USS Eldridge.

Thank you for bringing us such interesting topics.

Rolf FEY Switzerland

http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq21-1.htm

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
901 M STREET SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060

The "Philadelphia Experiment"

Allegedly, in the fall of 1943 a U.S. Navy destroyer was made invisible and teleported from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Norfolk, Virginia, in an incident known as the Philadelphia Experiment. Records in the Operational Archives Branch of the Naval Historical Center have been repeatedly searched, but no documents have been located which confirm the event, or any interest by the Navy in attempting such an achievement.

The ship involved in the experiment was supposedly the USS Eldridge. Operational Archives has reviewed the deck log and war diary from Eldridge's commissioning on 27 August 1943 at the New York Navy Yard through December 1943. The following description of Eldridge's activities are summarized from the ship's war diary. After commissioning, Eldridge remained in New York and in the Long Island Sound until 16 September when it sailed to Bermuda. From 18 September, the ship was in the vicinity of Bermuda undergoing training and sea trials until 15 October when Eldridge left in a convoy for New York where the convoy entered on 18 October. Eldridge remained in New York harbor until 1 November when it was part of the escort for Convoy UGS-23 (New York Section). On 2 November the convoy entered Naval Operating Base, Norfolk. On 3 November, Eldridge and Convoy UGS-23 left for Casablanca where it arrived on 22 November. On 29 November, Eldridge left as one of escorts for Convoy GUS-22 and arrived with the convoy on 17 December at New York harbor. Eldridge remained in New York on availability training and in Block Island Sound until 31 December when it steamed to Norfolk with four other ships. During this time frame, Eldridge was never in Philadelphia.

Eldridge's complete World War II action report and war diary coverage, including the remarks section of the 1943 deck log, is available on microfilm, NRS-1978-26. The cost of a duplicate film is indicated on the fee schedule. To order a duplicate film, please complete the duplication order form and send a check or money order for the correct amount as indicated on the NHC fee schedule, made payable to the Department of the navy, to the Operational Archives, at the above address.

Supposedly, the crew of the civilian merchant ship SS Andrew Furuseth observed the arrival via teleportation of the Eldridge into the Norfolk area. Andrew Furuseth's movement report cards are in the Tenth Fleet records transferred to the Textual Reference Branch, National Archives and Records Admnistration, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001. The cards list the ship's ports of call, the dates of the visit, and convoy designation, if any. The movement report card shows that Andrew Furuseth left Norfolk with Convoy UGS-15 on 16 August 1943 and arrived at Casablanca on 2 September. The ship left Casablanca on 19 September and arrived off Cape Henry on 4 October. Andrew Furuseth left Norfolk with Convoy UGS-22 on 25 October and arrived at Oran on 12 November. The ship remained in the Mediterranean until it returned with Convoy GUS-25 to Hampton Roads on 17 January 1944. The Archives has a letter from Lieutenant Junior Grade William S. Dodge, USNR, (Ret.), the master of Andrew Furuseth in 1943, categorically denying that he or his crew observed any unusual event while in Norfolk. Eldridge and Andrew Furuseth were not even in Norfolk at the same time.

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) has stated that the use of force fields to make a ship and her crew invisible does not conform to known physical laws. ONR also claims that Dr. Albert Einstein's Unified Field Theory was never completed. During 1943-1944, Einstein was a part-time consultant with the Navy's Bureau of Ordnance, undertaking theoretical research on explosives and explosions. There is no indication that Einstein was involved in research relevant to invisibility or to teleportation. ONR's information sheet on the Philadelphia Experiment is attached.

The Philadelphia Experiment has also been called "Project Rainbow." A comprehensive search of the Archives has failed to identify records of a Project Rainbow relating to teleportation or making a ship disappear. In the 1940s, the code name RAINBOW was used to refer to the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis. The RAINBOW plans were the war plans to defeat Italy, Germany and Japan. RAINBOW V, the plan in effect on 7 December 1941 when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, was the plan the U.S. used to fight the Axis powers.

Some researchers have erroneously concluded that degaussing has a connection with making an object invisible. Degaussing is a process in which a system of electrical cables are installed around the circumference of ship's hull, running from bow to stern on both sides. A measured electrical current is passed through these cables to cancel out the ship's magnetic field. Degaussing equipment was installed in the hull of Navy ships and could be turned on whenever the ship was in waters that might contain magnetic mines, usually shallow waters in combat areas. It could be said that degaussing, correctly done, makes a ship "invisible" to the sensors of magnetic mines, but the ship remains visible to the human eye, radar, and underwater listening devices.

After many years of searching, the staff of the Operational Archives and independent researchers have not located any official documents that support the assertion that an invisibility or teleportation experiment involving a Navy ship occurred at Philadelphia or any other location.

17 June 1996

http://www.citypaper.net/articles/081999/news.cb.ship.shtml

The Where Ship? Project

Though long dismissed by the Navy, the legend of The Philadelphia Experiment shows no signs of disappearing.

by Frank Lewis

The Navy says it never happened. Sailors who served on the ship in question say it never happened. Even some investigators once intrigued by the decades-old story eventually came to the conclusion that it never happened.

And yet debate over what was unimaginatively dubbed The Philadelphia Experiment rages on. Marshall Barnes stands somewhere near the center of it, insisting that the U.S. Navy could very well have done exactly what the hotly contested legend states — make a ship disappear. His research, and his battles with critics he describes as misinformants, are what he plans to talk about when he visits Philadelphia this weekend.

In 1943, the since-decommissioned Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was still an important facility — and, according to the story, the site of one of the most bizarre tests in military history. Supposedly the USS Eldridge, a destroyer escort, was made to vanish from sight, the impression of its hull in the water the only evidence that it was still there.

"Twenty minutes later, the Eldridge reappeared," according to an article on one of the many Philadelphia Experiment Web sites, Quest for Truth: The Philadelphia Experiment. "Her crew, some of them staggering and speaking gibberish, was debriefed. They said that they could see each other but the ship was ‘gone.’ Some of the men said others were falling to the deck and laughing hysterically, ‘as if drunk.’ Others said that for a brief while after the cloud [that surrounded the ship at the start of the test] ‘flashed off’ they could see their second port, the Norfolk Naval Shipyards, and when the cloud reappeared and ‘flashed off’ again, they were back in Philadelphia."

A second test, also involving the Eldridge, is said to have ended with disastrous results. Most of the crew members met horrific fates: Some caught fire, others became embedded in the deck when the ship rematerialized and a few...

http://www.ufomind.com/misc/1999/mar/d27-001.shtml

Eldrige Crew Amused by Stories

Sailors who served on the USS Eldridge, the ship that legend says vanished briefly in 1943 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, met here this week for their first reunion in 53 years and spent part of their time joking about the so-called Philadelphia Experiment. The Eldridge, they said yesterday, may well have been invisible to Philadelphia because it was never in Philadelphia. The ship's log and several veterans who were on the ship from its launching on July 25, 1943, at Port Newark, N.J., say it called on many East Coast ports, but never Philadelphia...

http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-e/de173.htm

The Department of the Navy - The Navy Historical Center: The U.S.S. Eldridge

USS Eldridge, a 1240-ton Cannon class destroyer escort built at Newark, New Jersey, was commissioned in August 1943. She was employed on escort duties in the Atlantic until May 1945, when she departed for service in the Pacific. Eldridge was decommissioned in July 1946 and placed in the Reserve Fleet. In January 1951, she was transferred to the Greek Navy, in which she served as Leon into the 1990s.

The identity of the Eldridge

The first reference to the ship's identity is in the book by Moore & Berlitz. According to Allen and the author's investigations the ship was the destroyer escort  DE-173 Εldridge.

It was a Cannon class desroyer escort of 1240 tn. According to the Navy the ship was commissioned on August 1943 and was used as a convoy escort in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean until 1945 when it was transferred to the Pacific theatre. On July 1946 the Eldridge entered the Reserve Fleet.

As for the critical time period, the US Navy official records indicate:

• August 27, 1943, commissioning of the ship at the N. York Naval Yard

•  September 16, the ship sails to Bermuda for its shakedown trip

• October 18, returns to N. York escorting a convoy

• Remains in N. York until November 1st when it sails to Norfolk escorting convoy UGS-23, and on November 3rd the ship departs for Casablanca with the convoy

• December 17, returns to N. York escorting convoy  GUS-22

• Remains in N. York until December 31st when it sails to Norfolk

http://www.e-telescope.gr/English/Files/Philadelphia_exp/PE_en_02.htm