Declassified FBI Files Detail 1944 Tip on Nazi Saucer-Shaped Craft

Declassified FBI documents released Friday describe a tip about a possible Nazi UFO craft built in 1944.

The U.S. government released the files early Friday morning at the direction of President Donald Trump. The documents include multiple pages on information from a man named Paul Peyerl. He claimed the Nazis constructed the craft that year in Austria's Black Forest.

Peyerl said he observed the aircraft, which was saucer-shaped and about 21 feet in diameter. It was radio-controlled and mounted several jet engines around the exterior. The outer portion revolved around a stationary central dome. Peyerl's job was to photograph the object in flight. He kept a negative from a photo taken at 7,000 meters (20,000 feet). A Xerox copy of that negative came with his report, along with a still photo of the craft parked in a hangar that he said he took at the risk of his life.

According to Peyerl, German engineer (First Name Unknown) Kuehr designed and engineered the aircraft. Peyerl did not know Kuehr's current whereabouts but assumed Allied forces took him into custody at the end of the war. He said Kuehr had tried to avoid the German draft but was caught by the Gestapo.

The FBI noted that the documents contain neither recommendations nor conclusions from the agency. The Nazis pursued advanced weapons programs during the war, including the V-2 rocket and the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. Operation Paperclip later brought top Nazi scientists and engineers to the United States for the Cold War. Infamous Nazi engineer Hans Kammler's fate remains unknown.