these programs. One project, project 8-162, clearly names
Schildkroete as the code-name of this project. It is listed in
association with a known project, the "Salamander" project, which
resulted in the He 162A Salamander or Volksjaeger jet fighter.
The last reference to Schildkroete was found by Heiner Gehring in
the Combined Intelligence Objectives Sub-Committee Party 536
report on Underground Factories in Germany. This was classified
as "Secret" and was a G-2 Division, S.H.A.E.F. report! In
describing the large underground facility at Nordhausen, where
the bulk of the V-2 production took place, tunnel divisions
Mittelwerk and Nordwerk were said in this secret report to be
producing "Schildhroete - flak rocket components". Although
spelled incorrectly in the report, the intended word is very
apparent.
Clearly something is going on under the heading Schildkroete. A
possibly is the connection of Schildkroete to the Italian
"Turboproietti" mentioned by Vesco. In an information sheet,
Klaus-Peter Rothkugel depicts a diagram for the Turboproietti.
This design is remarkably similar that found in Swiss newspaper
from the mid-1950s (16). This article credits the successful
German saucer program and Georg Klein and goes on to describe
another related design which is reproduced here. One can
immediately see the relationship with the Turboproietti design.
In this design the center of gravity is below the saucer surface
adding stability. The pilot's cabin is also below the wing
surface. This is curiously similar to a turtle's bony structure
in which the head and neck emerge from under the turtle's shell.
Could this have been the Schildkroete design?
This design calls for the use of ram-jets but turbojets could
have also been used. Fuel tanks are located in the rotating wing
and so fuel is fed to the jet engines by centrifugal force. The
two small wings have adjustable angles as do the jet engines
themselves. Thus, the method of vertical flight is similar to
the Schriever-Habermohl saucers.
The horizontal maneuvering is unique and warrants discussion. We
have all heard reports of flying saucers in flight making
seemingly non-aerodynamic turns instantaneously. In this
article, Mr. Zollikofer proposes a simple method to accomplish
this. It involves angular momentum. We all remember seeing a
child's top spinning on a smooth floor. Perhaps the reader will
recall that when the top nears a piece of furniture and hits it,
the top shoots off instantly in the opposite direction. This
happens because contact with the furniture caused a change in the
top's angular momentum. The top's momentum was braked on one
side. A sudden slow down on one side caused an imbalance whose
force drove the top to the opposite direction.
In this same way the intentional slowing of one engine (on one
side) on this saucer design would cause the rapidly spinning
saucer to instantaneously change course, shooting to the other
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