Mystery object found on beach turns out to be remnant of top secret military program
An artifact resembling the fuselage of an aircraft washed up on Cape Cod, and historians suggest it's linked to an old military program from the Cold War-era.Photos: NPS/Hohman, NPS Archives (Photos: NPS/Hohman, NPS Archives)
A puzzling discovery on a Cape Cod beach, resembling an aircraft fuselage, has been revealed as an artifact connected to a formerly top-secret Cold War program, leaving locals intrigued by its origins.
Discovered earlier this month at Massachusetts’ Marconi Beach, the contraption resembles a missile and has puzzled locals. Cape Cod National Seashore staff collaborated to remove it from the beach before it could be swept away, as reported in an April 10 Facebook post.
"Park historian Bill Burke examined the object and determined that it was in fact the fuselage of a RCAT (Remote Control Aerial Target)," park officials wrote.
While it may look like a piece of a UFO, officials confirmed it was part of an old Cold War-era drone plane used for target practice.
"RCATs were drone planes used for target practice for anti-aircraft training off Marconi at a former United States military training camp (Camp Wellfleet) during the 1940s and 50s," park officials said.
During the Cold War with the Soviet Union, the state-of-the-art program, as revealed on a website dedicated to Camp Wellfleet, was classified as "top secret."
The National Park Service officials have chosen not to divulge the plans for the recovered RCAT. Situated on the ocean side of Cape Cod, Marconi Beach lies about a 20-mile drive south of Provincetown.
This story was reported from Los Angeles.