Customer Reviews

Hitler's Flying Saucers: A Guide to German Flying Discs of the Second World War

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC has in its collection an aircraft that is unique even beyond the so-called normal specialties of this famed treasure house of aviation artifacts. The Horten Ho-IX (often erroneously called Gotha Go 229 or even Ho 229 due to the identity of the chosen manufacturer of the aircraft; that being different than its designer) was a late-World War II prototype flying wing fighter/bomber, designed by Reimar and Walter Horten and built by Gothaer Waggonfabrik.

This flight-test version was nearing completion at the end of the Second World War. A team of aircraft intelligence experts brought the craft back to the United States where it was determined that some 15,000 man-hours of work would be needed to bring the craft to flying capability.

...to flying capability. Note that no one said the design would not work.

Move forward a few years to the Northrup YB-35 and YB-49 developmental flying wing bombers of the late 1940s and early 1950s, then leap ahead to the Northrup B-2 Spirit. This flying wing stealth bomber is simply a larger (admittedly more sophisticated) limited mass-production version of the 1945 Horten craft.

It is clear that the lead in jet aircraft in the Second World War by the Germans was likely not a fluke. Many other progarms were underway in all asepcts of military avionics and weapons resarrch and development. Thus, one must conjecture: is it possible that - amidst the R&D programs that spawned operational jet fightsers and bombers, infra-red fuses, cruise and ballistic missiles - a program was successful in harnessing unusual (but not impossible) technolgies for powering saucer-shaped aircraft?

Author Henry Stevens claims this to be the case and provides an enormous amount of information to validate his conclusion in Hitler's Flying Saucers: A Guide to German Flying Discs of the Second World War.

Stevens begins with a detailed investigation of the rumors and facts surrounding a multitude of incidents late in the Second World War in which Allied aircraft were approached by devices that were clearly unfamiliar to conventional aviations paradigms. While beginning from a "where there is smoke, there is fire," the author then begins to lay out his hypothesis with information relating to power plant development from the admitedly obscure and esoteric position of a agriculturalist interested in the potential as a power source of swirling water. This is followed with an analysis of the mutliple saucer design projects extant in Germany during the Second World War that ranged from small anti-aircraft weapons to manned versions that would supplant the already highly advanced jet aircraft designs like the Ju-287, He162, Ar-234 and Me-163!

Nor is this volume limited to mere narrative text. It also contains numerous images of documents, design plans and photographs that compell the reader to suspend his/her reliance on the implied truth and step into a bold and invigorating discourse on what is possible!

Henry Stevens should be commended for his efforts to present this information to the general public. On the other hand, when he and Joseph Farrell - an author of volumes quite similar to this - go off on linking all this to conspiracies that include killing JFK and covering up moon landings made prior to July 1969, you have to come away with the the feeling these these folks are really troubled minds.

"Hitler's Flying Saucers" is probably one of the best books written on the subject. It's well up-to-date, packed with a good ammount of technical information, including numerous illustrations and photographs. Contributions range from austrian industrial musician Kadmon to the nazi-era scientists.

A-must-read for anyone who is interested in the secret weapons and technology of the 3rd Reich.

"The Black Sun is the most powerful force yet observed in our universe."

Poor grammar, many spelling errors, and a type face that looks like it came off an ancient IBM Selectric typewriter, and that is BEFORE you actually begin reading the material. The rest of the book is about how the Nazis built amazing saucer-shaped aircraft propelled by exotic power-plants based on obscure principles (except for "suction" or boundary layer control). He backs up the story with excerpts from ancient and deservedly obscure books like Lusar's German Secret Weapons of the Second World War II or Zundel's "UFOs: Nazi Secret Weapons?" All of this must be true because so many people say it is, right?
Actually Mr. Stevens does a pretty good summing up and combining all the stories and legends and even adds a few new pictures. That is why he got 3 stars. Too bad the editing is so crummy.
So why did a skeptic buy it? RPG material, believe it or not: NOW is the time to strike against the Antarctic Space Nazis and their masters, the evil Vril Lords from within the Hollow Earth! Nazis, dinosaurs, magic ("psionics"), and squared-jawed heroes with Tommy-guns: can you say fun?
If you are really serious about this, get the Hunt for Zero Point by Nick Cook. Otherwise, this is probably the most complete distillation of the Nazi Flying Saucer legend.

Painstakingly researched, compiled, and written by Henry Stevens, Hitler's Flying Saucers: A Guide To German Flying Discs Of The Second World War is an original, iconoclastic, involving, and entertaining look at the saucer projects carried out by the Nazis during World War II. Presenting amazing (and sometimes incredulous) theories, some of which have been vehemently denied by conventional authorities, Hitler's Flying Saucers is a singularly fascinating and thought-provoking study which is highly recommended reading -- especially for students of UFO phenomenon, military aviation, and suppressed history.

I have been investigating German flying discs recently and I found this book to be the most informative and chronologically-correct of any others I have read. This book provides a coherent narrative of the development and deployment of the German discs prior to and during WWII and furnishes some ideas about their fate during the post-war time period. It is a well-researched documentation of what IS known about the subject and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the subject.

Mr. Stevens has written a credible examination that shows German work lead to actual designs. The first concern of Air Material Command at Wright Field was that saucers being seen in the US in 1947 were Russian designs based on German work. In fact, an order was issued to locate the Horten family and another to canvas German aviation scientists about any work that occurred during the war. They denied knowing of such work but referred to the saucer aircraft as "practical and desirable." The Canadian company, A.V. Roe, succeeded in deveoloping a design for a circular craft for the US Air Force. The developer, John Frost, also believed the Germans had built such craft. See Flying Saucer Aircraft by Bill Rose for more details.

While stories of aliens makes for interesting fiction and movies, it is far more sensible to consider man-made craft as a viable alternative. See the March 1956 issue of Mechanix Illustrated. The book about German Weapons and Secret Weapons by Rudolf Lusar should not be dismissed lightly. Some like to point to such books as some sort of self-aggrandizement by the Germans for accomplishments that never were. On the contrary, why publish such information at all if it wasn't true? It would only amount to another reason to ridicule them.

I often ask people, "if aliens are coming to Earth, where's the evidence? Where are the bodies? The ships? Why are they landing in the backwoods making crop circles if they are so advanced? Why did they seem to prolifierate right after WWII?" Stevens has the answers in this volume, a companion to his equally informative Hitler's Suppressed and Still-Secret Weapons, Science and Technology. It's no suprise, to rational thinkers, that "UFOs" are government projects. Nor is it a suprise that they promote UFO theories to hide thier projects. This book will depress people waiting for aliens to save them, but students of military and "top secret" history will enjoy it. For more, see Steven's other book and Nick Cook's The Hunt for Zero Point: Inside the Classified World of Antigravity Technology. For more on the fallacy of "aliens" see Lights in the Sky & Little Green Men.

This work filled a much needed void in the area of UFO research. The existence of flying disc prototypes and other high tech aircraft in the arsenal in the Reich has always been a subject of debate. Is it possible that UFO sightings in the last century are connected to this research?

Mr. Stevens presents a well documented case for the theory that UFO sightings may have a basis in human, and not extraterrestrial, technology. The airframe and propulsion designs are covered in great detail. He also goes into great detail discussing post-war research by other governments.

The discussion of alternative energy propulsion systems is also intriguing.

A valuable addition to any UFO library or history buff's collection.

I have always been fascinated with UFOs. The unidentified objects seen soaring through the skies. What could they be?

One thing that's always disappointed and annoyed me with most books on UFOs, however, is the constant dogma that UFOs "must" be alien spaceships. Now, I have no problem with alien civilisations existing, as the sheer vastness of the universe makes it vastly improbable that us humans are the only form of sentient life. Similarly, I have no problem with the idea that sufficiently advanced civilisations could develop other-than-light space travel and thus travel to star systems other than their own. However, I see NO convincing evidence whatsoever for the idea that planet Earth is currently being visited by aliens.

The so-called "evidence" used by the "UFOs are alien" people, combined with their sloppy research is a downright embarressment. As a result the whole UFO phenomena has been turned into some kind of joke. Thank science for people like Henry Stevens.

In the book's preface, Stevens quickly points out the major flaws in the "UFOs are alien" dogma and in the "research" of that dogma's supporters, such as that disgrace of an organisation that is MUFON (Mutual UFO Network). He then goes on to present a far more well-suppoted UFO explanation. Namely that Nazi Germany developed a number of advanced saucer aircraft, a technology that was later utilised by many other governments. Sightings of such saucer craft during and since the Second World War have been interpreted as UFOs.

Throughout the book, Stevens backs up his research with plenty of hard evidence in the form of witness testimonies, intelligence sources, research interviews and studies and scientific papers. Not once does the book resort to the unscientific antics of the "UFOs are alien" people (who often present such things as hypnotic regressions, "channeled messages" and unverifiable remote viewing claims as "evidence"). All the evidence Stevens presents is verifiable, and he does a good job of corroborating different pieces of evidence, forming unbroken chains that lead to well-supported conclusions. Each chapter is ended with a list of sources and references that corroborate and reinforce Henry Stevens' claims.

On the Nazi saucer projects themselves, Henry Stevens discusses first the conventional saucer projects- the Schriever-Habermohl Project(s), the Miethe-Beluzzo Project, the Foo Fighters and the Peenemuende Saucer Project. He then goes on to discuss the Nazi's research into field propulsion technology, in the form of the Victor-Schauberger saucer models, the KM-2 rocket and the field propulsion saucers. Henry Stevens shows how the scientists of Nazi Germany had made some breakthroughs in physics that is still rejected in our modern day world, such as research into the aether that pervades the whole universe.

Henry Stevens shows how the saucer technology continued to be utilised after the Second World War, by modern governments and by post-war Nazis. And here we have an explanation for UFOs far more well-supported than the claims that they are all alien spacecraft.

I should probably point out that I personally don't consider the Nazi saucers explanation to encompass all UFO sightings, as UFO sightings date back thousands of years, long before the Nazis existed. I do, however, think that Nazi saucers can account for a great deal of the UFOs sighted during and after the Second World War. And as for the UFOs that can't be explained as Nazi saucers, I still maintain that we must first investigate earth-based explanations before we can even think of considering extraterrestrial (or interdimensional) ones.

Overall, the book Hitler's Flying Saucers is a highly informative and compelling read. I have but a few disagreements with Henry Stevens' claims. When discussing the Black Sun, the SS's name for the giant anomaly obserbved at the centre of our Milky Way galaxy, Henry Stevens agrees with the traditional explanation that this is a supermassive black hole. I for one, disagree with this explanation. There is a lot of evidence to suggest that black holes may not even exist and even if they did the anomaly at our galaxy's centre does not behave as a black hole should. Concerning the Black Sun, I think it is something completely different. I do, however, agree with Henry Stevens' statement that "the Black Sun is the most powerful force yet observed in our universe".

Apart from such small disagreements, however, I found the things Henry Stevens said to be most convinving. Hitler's Flying Saucers definitely rates as one of the most sensible UFO books ever.

"Hitler's Flying Saucers: A Guide to German Flying Discs of the Second World War" is a very worthwhile read. If you don't already know about the reality of the German flying disks you will probably be surprised by the overwhelming amount of data presented in this book documenting these disks. These include actual photos of the people who invented and worked on various flying disks, pictures and diagrams of the disks themselves, official patents, photocopies of actual news articles reporting eye witness sightings of the German disks, declassified government documents confirming the German disks and much more. The book also reports on what it calls "lore" - setting such aside in its own section of the book. In the main, this makes it easy to distinguish the rumor and speculation from the documented facts generally found in the rest of the book. In those cases where speculations are brought into the discussion in sections of the book not under the heading of "lure" they are clearly identified as such. If you've already researched this subject of German disks, as I have, then the book will still prove helpful by separating and categorizing the various disk projects according to who worked on each project, and the design elements and principles involved with each project, to give you a workable overview of the development of the Nazi saucers. You will also find out that the German saucers ended up in the USA along with the Nazi scientists who created them. Shortly after that, "UFO" sightings of "flying saucers" began in the USA. This book was an excellent source of research material for my Tsiyon Radio program, "Flying Saucers a Sign? #238", showing how some flying saucers work, and that they are definitely man-made technology. While the content of the book is excellent I withheld one star because I found the layout and font-face hard to read. I still read it though, which gives added force to the remaining four stars.