Page 38 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - February 2023 Edition

38 Mystery Airships or Phantom Airships

Mystery Airships or

Phantom Airships

Continued from Page 37

Jacobs notes, "Most arguments against
the airship idea came from individuals
who assumed that the witnesses did not
see what they claimed to see. This is the
crucial link between the 1896–97
phenomenon and the modern unidentified
flying object phenomenon beginning in
1947. It also was central to the debate
over whether unidentified flying objects
constituted a unique phenomenon."

In 2009, American author J. Allan
Danelek wrote a book entitled The Great
Airship of 1897 in which he made the
case that the mystery airship was the
work of an unknown individual, possibly
funded by a wealthy investor from San Jacobs believes that many airship tales Midwest airship sighted in 1896–97 are
Francisco, to build an airship prototype originated with "enterprising reporters true, it would have been considerably
as a test vehicle for a later series of larger, perpetrating journalistic hoaxes." He more advanced than any airship built up
passenger-carrying airships. In the work, notes that many of these accounts "are to that time.
Danelek demonstrates how the craft easy to identify because of their tongue-
might have been built using materials and in-cheek tone, and accent on the Several individuals, including Lyman

technologies available in 1896 (including sensational." Furthermore, in many such Gilmore and Charles Dellschau, were
speculative line drawings and technical newspaper hoaxes, the author makes his later identified as possible candidates for
details). The ship, Danelek proposes, was intent obvious "by saying – in the last line being involved in the design and
built in secret to safeguard its design – that he was writing from an insane construction of the airships, although
from patent infringement as well as to asylum (or something to that effect)." little evidence was found in support of
protect investors in case of failure. these ideas.
Human airships
Noting that the flights were initially seen Claims of extraterrestrial origin
over California and only later over the Some argued that the airship reports were
Midwest, he speculates that the inventor genuine accounts. Steerable airships had Early sources citing the extraterrestrial
was making a series of short test flights, been publicly flown in the U.S. since the hypothesis, all from 1897, include the

moving from west to east and following Aereon in 1863, and numerous inventors Washington Times, which speculated that
the main railway lines for logistical were working on airship and aircraft the airships were "a reconnoitering party
support, and that it was these designs (the idea that a secretive inventor from Mars"; and the Saint Louis Post-
experimental flights that formed the basis might have developed a viable craft with Dispatch, which suggested of the
for many – though not all – of the advanced capabilities was the focus of airships, "these may be visitors from
newspaper accounts from the era. Jules Verne's 1886 novel Robur the Mars, fearful, at the last, of invading the
Danelek also notes that the reports ended Conqueror). In fact, two French Army planet they have been seeking." In 1909,
abruptly in mid-April 1897, suggesting officers and engineers, Arthur Krebs and a letter printed in the Otago Daily Times
that the craft may have met with disaster, Charles Renard, had successfully flown (New Zealand) suggested that the

effectively ending the venture and in an electric-powered airship called La mystery airship sightings then being
permitting the sightings to fall into the France as early as 1884, making no fewer reported in that country were due to
realm of mythology. than seven successful flights in the craft Martian "atomic-powered spaceships." []
over an eleven-month period.
Explanations
Also during the 1896–97 period, David

Hoaxes or misidentification Schwarz built an aluminum-skinned
airship in Germany that successfully flew

During the 1896–97 wave, there were over Tempelhof Field before being
many attempts to explain the airship irreparably damaged during a hard
sightings, including suggestions of landing. Both events clearly
hoaxes, pranks, publicity stunts and demonstrated that the technology to build
hallucinations. One man suggested the a practical airship existed during the BEAUTIFUL MIND COFFEE
airships were swarms of lightning beetles period in question, though if reports of The Coffee Your Brain Will LOVE
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