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Historian Bill Burke examined the find and determined it could be part of a remote-controlled aircraft from the Cold War era.
In the USA, a mysterious object resembling the fuselage of an airplane washed up on the beach of the Cape Cod Peninsula, Massachusetts. According to historians, during a more detailed study it turned out that this is an artifact related to military training. Cape Cod National Seashore staff reported this on Facebook.
A rocket-like structure was found in the first week of April on Marconi Beach. National park officials worked together to remove the mysterious object before it was washed away in the water.
“Park historian Bill Burke examined the object and determined it to be the fuselage of a remotely piloted aircraft (RCAT). These are unmanned aircraft that were used to train anti-aircraft installations on Marconi at the former US military camp (Camp Wellfleet) in the 1940s and 50s," the park's representatives wrote on Facebook.
Aircraft at the military base were equipped with RCATs and launched at speeds between 0 and 60 miles (0-96 km) per hour. Then the devices were remotely controlled from the cliff. Anti-aircraft guns, mostly armed with 40mm cannons, have been practicing firing at them, suggesting that the seabed may be littered with drone parts.
The program was considered "top secret" because the US was involved in the Cold War with the Soviet Union, according to a site dedicated to Camp Wellfleet.
“The planes were all metal, with a wingspan of 10 feet (3 meters). Some of them made up to twenty flights, and others - only one. If they got a direct hit in the gas tank, it led to an explosion," the website says.
National Park Service officials have not said what will happen to the RCAT that was found.
