Ghost rockets

Ghost rockets (Swedish: Spökraketer, also called Scandinavian ghost rockets) were rocket or missile shaped unidentified flying objects first sighted in 1946, primarily in Sweden and other Scandinavian countries, including Finland. The first reports of ghost rockets were made on February 26, 1946, by Finnish observers. About 2,000 sightings were logged between May and December 1946, with peaks on 9 and 11 August 1946. Two hundred sightings were verified with radar returns, and authorities recovered physical fragments which were attributed to ghost rockets. Investigations concluded that many ghost rocket sightings were probably caused by meteors. For example, the peaks of the sightings, on 9 and 11 August 1946, also fall within the peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower. However, most ghost rocket sightings did not occur during meteor shower activity; furthermore they displayed characteristics inconsistent with meteors, such as reported maneuverability. Debate continues as to the origins of the unidentified ghost rockets. In 1946, it was widely believed that they originated from the former German rocket facility at Peenemünde, and were long-range tests conducted by the Soviets of captured German V-1 or V-2 missiles, or perhaps another early form of cruise missile because of the ways they were sometimes seen to maneuver. This prompted the Swedish Army to issue a directive stating that newspapers were not to report the exact location, direction or speed of any ghost rocket sightings; this information they reasoned, was vital for evaluation purposes to the nation or nations assumed to be performing the tests.