The Philadelphia Experiment. Did the U.S. Navy really make a ship disappear, teleport, and even bend time? Or is this just another tale spun from a mix of wartime secrecy and science fiction? Let’s find out.

It’s October 28, 1943, at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. According to conspiracy lore, the Navy was conducting a top-secret experiment aimed at making ships invisible to radar—a vital edge in the midst of World War II.

The story centers on the USS Eldridge, a destroyer escort supposedly outfitted with cutting-edge electromagnetic technology. Witnesses—well, alleged witnesses—claim the experiment began with a strange green fog surrounding the ship. Then, in an instant, the Eldridge vanished. Not just from radar, but from Philadelphia entirely.

The plot thickens: the ship reportedly reappeared hundreds of miles away in Norfolk, Virginia, before teleporting back to Philadelphia. And the aftermath? Horrifying. Sailors were said to be fused into the ship’s hull, some driven insane, and others lost in time completely.

A compelling story, right? But where did it come from, and how much of it is rooted in reality?