Al Bielek claims to have been at the center of the Philadelphia Experiment, one of the most controversial conspiracy theories of the 20th century. Did the United States Navy apply the research of Nikola Tesla, Albert Einstein, and others in an attempt to make a ship invisible? Did the USS Eldridge in fact become invisible during testing in the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1943? Did it travel to another dimension? Bielek claims the answer to all these questions is yes, and provides details on how it worked and what went wrong.

Bielek is a compelling speaker. The first time I heard him recount his story of the Philadelphia Experiment was on Coast to Coast AM back in the late 90’s, and he spent the entire show laying out a cogent, rational description of the Philadelphia Experiment filled with verifiable historical details about the event, places, and people he claimed were involved. His Philadelphia Experiment tale was, in a word, stunning.

I interviewed him myself in 2004, and found his story every bit as compelling as it had been 10 years earlier on the AM radio. He understands the technological concepts involved with the Philadephia Experiment, and describes how the technology could have been engineered and built in the 1940’s. His describes an initial build of the equipment used on the USS Eldridge as being an analog field-generator designed by Nikola Tesla and later re-engineered by John Von Neumann, which is Bielek’s explanation for why the Philadelphia Experiment went wrong.

Every era has ghost-ship stories, and it’s possible that the Philadelphia Experiment is simply modern “Flying Dutchman” tale. However, Bielek’s description of the Philadelphia Experiment and the Montaulk Project has become a must-listen primer for anyone wanting to learn more about this story, and I highly recommend listening to it to make your own decisions about the story.