FBI Docs Detail Alleged 1944 Nazi UFO Program

Newly declassified government files include a historical Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) report detailing an alleged Nazi UFO program during World War II (WWII). The documents, part of a wider release of records related to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), contain an unverified account from an informant named Paul Peyerl who claimed to have witnessed and photographed a saucer-shaped aircraft in 1944.

The release is a component of a broader U.S. government initiative to increase transparency on UAP, the official designation for what were commonly known as Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs). This specific FBI file, now public, outlines Peyerl's 1967 assertion that the Nazis engineered a circular, jet-powered craft in the Black Forest region of Austria. According to the file, the FBI made no judgment on the credibility of the claim, stating the contents represent "neither recommendations nor conclusions" of the agency.

The Peyerl Account

According to the declassified FBI file, Paul Peyerl provided a detailed description of the craft he allegedly worked on. He stated the object was "saucer shaped, about twenty-one feet in diameter, radio controlled, and mounted several jet engines around the exterior portion of the craft." Peyerl's testimony, recorded in the document, described the exterior as revolving around a stationary central dome.

His purported role was to photograph the vehicle during flight tests. The file notes that Peyerl claimed to have retained a negative of a photograph taken at an altitude of 7,000 meters (20,000 feet). He also allegedly provided a still photograph of the object inside a hangar. The document attributes the design to a German engineer identified only as Kuehr, whose postwar whereabouts were unknown to Peyerl. The informant stated he was apprehended by the Gestapo after his involvement with the project.

Regulatory Context and Government Disclosure

The release of these historical records stems from the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE), a directive from the U.S. Department of Defense and the White House mandating the declassification of UAP-related files. The initial release in May 2026 comprised between 161 and 162 files. This action aligns with a recent trend in government transparency on the UAP topic, managed by the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), which is tasked with overseeing the public release of these documents.

Former President Donald Trump commented on the disclosure, stating the documents concerned "alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs)." This high-profile acknowledgment underscores the political significance attached to the UAP transparency movement.

Historical Precedents

This recent declassification follows a pattern of increasing government acknowledgment of UAP-related data. The 2017 disclosure of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) was a landmark event, where the Pentagon first officially confirmed a secret program for investigating UAP. That disclosure directly led to the formation of the UAP Task Force and its successor, AARO.

This can also be compared to the declassification of Project Blue Book in 1969. At that time, the U.S. Air Force concluded its UFO studies, stating there was no evidence of a national security threat. While Project Blue Book aimed to provide conclusions, the current AARO-led releases focus on providing raw, unanalyzed historical data to the public, a significant shift in approach.

Technical Analysis

This development is less about validating historical claims of advanced WWII technology and more about a fundamental shift in U.S. government information policy regarding anomalous phenomena. The release of unverified, raw intelligence reports from decades past, complete with original agency disclaimers, marks a transition from curated conclusions (like Project Blue Book) to open data dumps. This approach places the burden of analysis on public researchers and historians. For the aviation and defense sectors, the documents offer a glimpse into the types of advanced and unconventional aerospace concepts that were being reported to intelligence agencies, even if they were never substantiated. The Peyerl account, while unverified, describes a form of vertical-lift, circular airframe with distributed jet propulsion—a configuration that has been explored in various experimental aircraft designs over the decades. The data suggests a long-standing, if clandestine, interest within intelligence circles in technologies far outside the mainstream of aerospace development.

What Comes Next

This release is not a one-time event. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, the declassification is part of a rolling process. AARO is confirmed to be releasing additional historical UAP files throughout the remainder of 2026. Researchers and the public can expect more such documents to become available through official government portals as the PURSUE directive is implemented.

Why This Matters

For aviation professionals and historians, the release of the FBI's Nazi UFO program file and other UAP documents provides new primary source material, however speculative, on the history of advanced aerospace concepts. It highlights a significant policy change towards government transparency on a topic long shrouded in secrecy. While the claims themselves remain unproven, the official release of the documents themselves is a noteworthy event in the study of UAP phenomena.