The article stressed that antigravity research was no rarefied theoretical endeavor. Many of the scientists believed its implications were farther reaching than atomic energy, perhaps providing mankind a nearly unlimited source of power. Space ships based upon electromagnetic principles that created their own gravitational field “would be a reality,” able to accelerate to many thousands of miles per hour within seconds, and make sudden turns without subjecting their passengers to the g-forces caused by gravity’s pull. Several theoretical studies had been made of round or saucer-shaped vehicles “for travel into outer space.” Lest the connection was lost, a cartoon image of a flying saucer accompanied the article.
Most research, noted the article, had come from unnamed private funds and corporations. Although leaders of the military had been periodically briefed on the progress, their attitude was described as “call us when you get some hardware that works.” No tangible breakthroughs were known to have taken place, and many of the scientists refused to predict when any might occur. However, the head of the advanced design division of Martin Aircraft, George Trimble, declared, “I know that if Washington decides it will be vital to our national survival ... we’d find the answer rapidly.”144
One of the pioneers in gravitational theory, and a man whose career also intersected with the UFO, was Thomas Townsend Brown. Born in 1905, he studied physics at Caltech and Denison University. In 1930, he joined the navy and conducted advanced research in electromagnetism, radiation, field physics, spectroscopy, gravitation, and more. After joining the reserves, he worked for Glenn L. Martin, then returned to active service in 1939. With the rank of lieutenant commander, he was assigned to the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) and later its successor, the Office of Scientific Research, headed by Vannevar Bush. For several years, Brown also served under Adm. Arthur Radford. In 1944, following an illness and discharge from military service, he worked as a radar consultant for the advanced design section of Lockheed-Vega Aircraft Corporation in California.
Since the 1930s, Brown had also worked on his own to create a localized gravitational field and invented a machine called a “Gravitator.” In 1952 and 1953, he devised a series of experiments involving disc-shaped objects tethered by a wire to an electrically charged pole. Essentially, Brown concentrated extreme electrostatic charges along the leading edge of a disc to create propulsion. His discs achieved speeds of eleven miles per hour and higher, but Brown believed that he could ultimately produce an aircraft capable of Mach 3, well beyond the fastest aircraft speeds of the day. Despite the success of his experiments in many respects, Brown did not create an independent gravitational field. One researcher maintained that it was more convenient to think of Brown’s result as “electrostatic propulsion which has its own niche in aviation,” something which deserved follow-up in its own right.145 Indeed, while neither the Pentagon nor the world of science expressed interest in Brown’s theories, one of his follow-up experiments was allegedly classified. (However, I have been unable to confirm this.)
In 1955, Brown went to England and France, hoping for better sponsorship. In France, under the auspices of the La Société National de Construction Aeronautique Sud Ouest (SNCASO), he flew his discs in a high vacuum with excellent results. Despite his French colleagues’ initial excitement, the plans for supporting his work fell through. He returned to America.146
Not surprisingly, Brown was interested in the phenomenon of flying saucers and believed that an extraterrestrial intelligence was probably responsible for them. Before long, he would delve into that topic more systematically.
