Intelligence Review of “Ghost Rocket” Incidents, 1947

This is a feature article from the War Department Intelligence Division's secret intelligence review, dated January 1947, on the 1946 "ghost rocket" reports over Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway. It covers witness descriptions, including one from a Swedish Air Force pilot, and says Swedish Defense Staff statements on the objects contradicted each other. It concludes there were perhaps only 2 to 10 real incidents of low-flying V-1 type missiles. The high-altitude sightings, it says, were probably meteors or fireworks.

From the source: Release of 2026-08-07 Incident: 1/9/47, Sweden. This document is a U.S. Department of War General Staff intelligence review assessing incidents involving unidentified “Ghost Rockets” reported over Sweden and other Scandinavian countries beginning in May 1946. The review includes an analysis of observational reports, statements from the Swedish government, and reporting from the U.S. military attaché in Stockholm. The review highlights the inconclusive nature of the contemporary evidence available to substantiate reports from civilian and military observers. The review also documents a change in the public stance of the Swedish Defense Staff, which privately attributed the objects to Soviet V-1 missile tests launched from Peenemünde. Peenemünde is a then-occupied municipality in northeastern Germany that had been associated with the development of the V-1 and V-2 rocket program during World War II. The Swedish assessment publicly shifted from an unknown technological origin to one of a “celestial origin.” The review suggests that this shift was a deliberate effort to avoid diplomatic conflict with the Soviet Union. The report’s final assessment concludes that while most reported incidents were likely misidentified natural phenomena, the “best evidence” suggested a small number of “real incidents” involving low-flying V-1 type missiles, likely attributable to Soviet tests of captured German technology.

FEATURE SECTION
"GHOST ROCKETS" OVER
SCANDINAVIA
Flying missiles were first reported over southern Sweden in
late May 1946 by the press, which gave the missiles the name
of "Ghost Rockets." In June, the missiles also had been
reported over Finland and Denmark. By July, the number of
sightings over Sweden had greatly increased, and several also
had been reported over Norway. The great majority of these
reports were made by untrained observers and, as would be
expected, varied widely in the description of the actual
missiles as well as, of their course, altitude, and speed.
Descriptions of the Missile
The two most common descriptions of the missiles were
"a ball of fire with a tail" and a "shiny cigar-shaped object."
The reported direction of flight covered all points of the
compass, with a northerly direction being slightly pre
dominant. Variations in altitude ranged from treetop height
to 160,000 feet, the higher altitudes almost exclusively being
reported from Finland. Speeds reported were from 65 m. p. h.
to ''lightning fast," with the majority described as having
great or very great speed. The missiles generally have been
described in horizontal flight; a few have been reported as
diving into the ground or into lakes, or exploding in the air.
In no case have fragments been found other than bits of
material described as "nonmetallic slag."
One of the few reports available from an individual who
should be more reliable and competent than the average
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