CIA-UAP-005 — German Scientist's Article on 'Flying Discs'

TL;DR

Turns out the only thing rotating in 1950 Chile was the scientist’s imagination.

• CIA-UAP-005: CIA PDF report dated 31 July 1950, concerning a German scientist in Chile.
• Describes Dr. Ludwig’s theory that “flying discs” use rotating cylinders or gas‑turbine exhaust for lift, not conventional wings.
• No official conclusion in the file

AI summary

This document is a Central Intelligence Agency report dated 31 July 1950, classified as restricted. It summarizes an article by Dr. Eduard Ludwig, a German scientist in Chile, about "flying discs." The report states that the article discusses the possibility that the discs are related to exhaust from a rotary gas-turbine and compares them to aircraft developments from the 1910s, including Flettner-Rotors. The report notes that the article was submitted for publication in a German-language magazine in Chile and includes a translation of the article. The document was approved for release in 2026.

Full text

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Approved for Release 2026 1200
CLASSIFICATION
CENTRAL. INTELLIGENCE AGENCY REPORT NO. SO DB-27143
INFORMATION REPORT CD NO.
COUNTRY Chile/Gormany DATE DISTR. 31 July 1950
SUBJECT German Scientist's Article on "Flying Discs" NO. OF PAGES 1
PLACE Kotard to (ia Licrary NO. OF ENCLS. 1
ACQUIRED Chile, Santiago (LISTED BELOW)
DATE OF SUPPLEMENT TO
INFO. Frior to nid-l950 REPORT NO.
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SOURCE
Attached for your information is a copy, in translation, of an articlt
submitted bf Dr. Eduard_ Luduig for publication in Condor, a Geruan language
magazine published in Chile. The articlo is entitled "The itystery of the
'Flying Discs,' a contribution to its possible explanation".
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THE MYSTERY OF THE "FLYING DISCS"
A contribution to its possible explanation.
By Dr. Eduard Ludwig, Santiago, Chile.
Av. Cristobal Colon 1916
Though the continuously reappearing reports on the appearance of now,
mysterious airoraft of unknown construction should be considered with severe
skepticism as the result of a sort of mass-hypnosis, nevertheless some of the
detailed and coinciding accounts of technically trained observers deserve atten-
tion and permit one to draw conolusions as to the probable classification of
these new airoraft.
Since so far the observations have been made mainly in the dark, which
means that only the luminous parts of the craft are visible, every report brings
the description of shining discs or oircles, If one should discard the absurd
conjecture that these aircraft originate from beyond this earth, then it is easy
to arrive at the conclusion that the shining ciroles bear a relation to the ex-
haust of a rotary gas-turbine. The posslbility exists that the rotor of a tur-
bine is used at the same time as a stabilizing top and is therefore fixed
vertically to the level of the other turbine rings, which in the darkmess pro-
duces the effect of the "rings of Saturn".
These obsorvations remind ne of a completely new type of airoraft uhioh was
developed during the years I worked in the research plant of Professor Junkers
in Dossau, which was attached to the airplane factories kmown all over the world.
I do not know how many of my co-workere are still alive today, but I do know that
Dr. Bock, Professor at the Technical High School of Berlin, and who was at that
time my chief and friend of many years, has been deported to the Soviet Union.
The name of Profesgor Bock was never widely known due to his modest character,
but he may have been the greatest genius of German airplane theoretics, and later,
in view of his extraordinary faoulties, he was named head constructor of the Ninistry
of German Airways and Director of the German Institute of Airways Research in
Berlin-Adlershof.
In order to explain to a wider cirole of readers the basic idea of the new air-
craft, I should like to submit first the following explanations:
The first [physiclamjand mathematician who considered the new Science of Aero-
dynamics after the commencement of purely experimental developments of aircraft
construction was the Russian Professor Jukowski of Moscow, Before the first World
War and together with 'my esteemed teacher, Dr. Kutta from the Technical High School
of Stuttgart, Germany, he developed the theory of airplane-wingbeam. Professor
Kutta succeeded in establishing the famous "Differential equation of the_boundary
oundary stratum) which for the first time throws light on the processes in current particles
and which in any case explains for the first time theoretioally the reason why a
planewing can bear a load while moving forward through the air. Since then the
"Kutta-Jukowski Theory of Airplane-wingbeam" has been the foundation of all aero-
dynamios. As already mentioned, the oore of this work is the so-called "boundary
layev -etratum", whioh consists of the thin layer of air in which the transition of
Velocity Zero to the Velocity of the Moving Object takes place, If the object is
streamlined then the boundary stratum will endeavor not to sever, no whirlwinds will
occur, and therefore no loss of onergy will take place in that stratum, Since
nature always functions most economically, it always tries to avoid loss of energy,
and therefore a planowing would rather bear weight than cause a disruption of the
course of the ourrent and let the wing drop.
The logical conolusions based on these thooretio discoveries were obvioust
already in the yoar I9l5 Profeesor H. C. Bauman, also from the Technical High School
of Stuttgart, reoeived a patent on the "Splitwing" through whioh the artifioial
interruption of -the'course of the ourrent, the tearing of the boundary stratum and
the consoquent brakding and diminishing of the landing speed would be attained. This
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procedure was later applied to a great extent to the fighter plane liuster Ju. 88
under the name of "dive-brake", This patent had to be handed to the Inglish
factory Handley-Page after World War I, which explains that the nane of "Handley-
Page Splitwing" is more widely known.
However, developments proceeded. It was principally the Aerodynanie Ex-
perimental Institute of the Gottingen University, directed by the renowned
Professore Prandtl and Betz, and Constructor Flettner, which drew its conclusions
from the theory of the airplane-wlng-bean. Flettner proved that the conditions
of a rotating object are similar to those which appear in a "translatorischen"
movement. Thus evolved the "Flettner-Rotor",
Professor Junkers, head of the well knowm airplane works in Dessau, who in
the year l9l5 received his pathbreaking patent on the one-piece metal wing without
junctures, ordered a research group, whioh was headed by Professor Dr. Bock, and
to which I had the honor to belong, to investigate to what extent the uplift of a
wing could be increased through the attachment of a Flettner-Rotor in the shape of
a oylinder turning at great speed. The cylinder was two-thirds of the length of
the wing and was installed in the nose of the wing, where it could best be adapted
to the wing's profile, To assiot us with aorodynamic problems, the Gottingen
University sent us Professor Prandtl. The experiments turned out to be extrenely
difficult and involved many casualties. The purely technical question of the
speedy uplift of a long cylinder of light construction could not be solved at that
time. Inexplicable vibrations and axle breakages oocurred time after time which
Professor Junkers ordered us to investigate, and with which we were occupied for nonths
Not less than four ren, all experienced and tried pilots of the first World iiar and
outstanding engineers, died in these experiments, It was clear to us that only a
gas-turbine could produce the direct uplift of the cylinder. However, since mean-
while more prossing problens awaited solution, experiments with this type of air-
craft were interrupted.
Meanwhile the Aerodynanio Experimental Institute of Gottingen made new and
enlightening discoveries. Professor Betz found that supersonic speeds, such as
are produced by quickly rotating propellers, created entirely new conditions.
This investigation, however, needed the furnishing of a wind tunnel for supersonic
speeds which could only be built many years later, and which after the war was
forwarded to the United States where it greatly amazed all scientists.
Now light was shed on nany things. It was found that the tearing of the
boundary stratum at supersonio speeds involved much greater resistance, so that
an object with full atnospheric pressure practioally "hangs" fron the upper layer
of air, and theoretically experiences there the same uplift as an object of the
same surface in the water, The converting of the revelations found in research
into reality, however, needed the solution of the starting force through a gas-
turbine or another equivalent machine or instrument. rapidly
Many heretofore unexplained phenomena now found an explanation. For example
it had often been observed that the range of quekly rotating missiles ("Drall-
wirkumg") was much greater than could be explained according to the laws of
ballistics, Paradoxical explanations were sought for this such as that the air
resistance decreases with growing speeds. Today we know that these quickly rotating
missiles "swim" in the surrounding layors of air and therefore lose part of their
weight. Full glarification was brought about only with supersonic speeds, which
were obtainod in the experiments with rockets (v-2) and were arrived at by flights
of many hundreds and thousands of kilometers, and whioh can only be axplained by
the way in whioh these missiles literally "hang" in the air. The surprise of the
specialized soiontists the world over at the astounding results of the German V-2
was not less than that which is produced today by the appearance of the mysterious
"Flying Disos".
In the same way in which the ingenious discernment of Professor Junkers
pointed the way for airplane construction for the whole world, thus also may his
idea of attaching, Flettner Rotors have a revolutionary effect, Airplanes of this
type mugt have such an enormous carrying capacity as to be practically comparable
to amphibious planes of the same size. The lack of uplift produced by the Flettner
Rotors can easily bo achieved through the oblique position of the entire airplane
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with a positive starting angle in connection with the onormously high starting
speod. The attaohing of speedily rotating tops assures side stability, There
is also the possibility of attaching horizontal auxiliary propellers of the
helicopter type. And what about the qusstion of the starting forco? The safoty
of such an airoraft stands and falls on the starting force of the oylinders, and
only too well do I remember the casualties inflicted by the lack of it. As I
mentioned before, only the development of a gas-turbine can bring the solution,
since it consists only of rotating parts and works with the dependability of a
steam engine.
There is only one more question to be answered: could such an airoraft
carry enough fuel for world-wide journeye? This quostion is easily answered in
the affirmative, In the first place such an aircraft has a tremendous oarrying
capacity, as we have already seen; and in the second place chemical researoh has
made astounding developments in this respect, We knoy today--quite apart from
atomie energymmgarriers of energy of unsuspected power and duration, LIt should be
remembered that the missiles of Gernan anti-tank weapons were coated with chemical
substances which melted up to 20 omts, of steel plates within fractions of a
second. JEnorgy carriers of this type, if applicable to a gas-turbine, should make
an action-radius possible which far surpasses that of gasoline engines.
The future will show whether the "Flying Discs" are only the products of
imagination or whether they are the results of a far-advanced German science which,
possibly, as well as the nearly finished atomie bombs, may have fallen into the
hands of the Russians.
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Same topic: title & summary match

• CIA-UAP-011 — The Sary Shagan Weapons Testing Range
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• CIA-UAP-004 — CASE 17708 (CLOSED) and DR. Leon Davidson

Same period: 1950

• DOW-UAP-D098 — Film Analysis of Unidentified Objects, 1953
• DOW-UAP-D017 — UAP Reported at Sandia Base, 1948-1950
• 319.1 Flying Discs 1949 (National Archives RG 342)

Same release: Release 03

• CIA-UAP-017 — Placement on High Alert Due to Perceived Aggressive Foreign Posturing
• DOW-UAP-D084 — US Army-Flying-Saucer-Study 1949
• FBI-UAP-D002 — FD-1057, Unresolved UAP Report, Colorado Springs, 2022
• FBI-UAP-D003 — Digital Rendering, Unresolved UAP Report, Colorado Springs, 2022
• FBI-UAP-D009 — FD-302-67, “Northeastern Orb Sighting,” 2026
• FBI-UAP-D010 — FD-302-71, “Northeastern Orb Sighting,” 2026

Same agency: CIA

• CIA-UAP-D022 — Unidentified Flying Object Reported near Puerto Rico, 1965
• CIA-UAP-D023 — Briefing Notes for Mr. Walter Elder
• CIA-UAP-002 — Scientific Advisory Panel on Unidentified Flying Objects, Report, 1952-1953
• CIA-UAP-003 — The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance; The U-2 and OXCART Programs, 1954-1974
• CIA-UAP-006 — Sighting Of Unconventional Aircraft
• CIA-UAP-007 — Current Status Of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO) Project.