History | Page 128

The KM-2 Rocket A shred of evidence comes down to us though the years in the form of a newspaper article by Lionel Shapiro in the Denver Post, dated November 9, 1947, and titled "Spies Bid for Franco's Weapons". (Please refer to a copy of that article). It should be noted that this was a few months after the summer of 1947, the first and largest UFO flap in history, which included the Kenneth Arnold sighting and the flying saucer activity of Roswell. It should also be noted that the Denver Post was nor is not a tabloid publication. In doing research, this newspaper was contacted in an attempt to learn the whereabouts of the author, Lionel Shapiro. Unlike so many newspapers in the United States which have been purchased and merged by conglomerates, this newspaper is still intact and in existence. Unfortunately, no record could be found of Mr. Shapiro in their personnel files although they did maintain files going back that far. Also, no record could be found in their sister publication, The Rocky Mountain News. It was suggested that Mr. Shapiro was "a stringer", that is, a writer who did not work directly for the newspaper and whose work was purchased on a piece by piece basis. His work seems to have been channeled through the North American Newspaper Alliance. More of Mr. Shapiro's history and connections will unfold as the tale progresses. This article describes two devices. The first is an "electromagnetic rocket", sometimes referred to later as the "KM2 rocket" in other literature. The second is a nuclear warhead small enough to be fired by an artillery piece. The nuclear, warhead which is affixed to a cannon projectile, is novel at this time and is interesting since such devices were built and fired shortly thereafter by the United States military. The article's description of the nuclear cannon is correct. This was a German invention and was under development in Germany during the latter stages of the war. A prototype was even built and it carried the German designation of DKM 44 (1). This very cannon was copied by the Americans and became the T-131 which fired a nuclear warhead (2). The discussion of the nuclear cannon is really beyond the scope of this book but what is important to bear in mind concerning this discussion is that if fifty percent of this article has proven to be accurate. The nuclear cannon was built and it stemmed from a German prototype. Does this not at least raise the possibility that the other fifty perce