ne of the strangest photographs from World War II depicts a barely discernible saucer-shaped object flying high above Prague’ airport. It was allegedly taken by the inventor Joseph Epp, called in to help Nazi engineers get their latest creation off the ground. By the time Epp got to the airport, the device was already up and running, soaring in ways that, though familiar to us now thanks to sci-fi movies, must have surely looked a little alien back then.
Rumors about flying saucers did not emerge until after the war had ended, and there is a surprising reason for that. During the early 1940s, it appears that the Third Reich was putting considerable time, energy, and resources into the development of a new type of aircraft, one that — thanks in part to specialized rotors — would be able to fly not just horizontally like most other planes but vertically and even diagonally as well.
These kinds of vehicles, if operational, held tremendous potential in the eyes of the German military. Their maneuverability made them promising weapons of aerial warfare. Their ability to move up as well as down with ease meant that they could land and lift off without requiring a mile-long runway. Pilots might learn how to use them to get out of tight spots, chase enemies, and of course reach places that traditional aircraft could never go.
German engineers had a reputation for creating machinery that was considered way ahead of its time, and the prospect of creating the world’s first, fully functional “UFOs” did not seem to intimidate them. Evidence, ranging from the aforementioned photograph to administrative records, suggests the Third Reich may have come close to realizing this outlandish vision. In the end, however, Nazi UFOs are just like any other: shrouded in mystery and misinformation.
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