Cape Cod authorities have reportedly unraveled a piece of history after a mysterious object dating back to the Cold War era was discovered on a local beach.
The large artifact, which resembles an aircraft fuselage, was discovered at Marconi Beach in Massachusetts in early April, according to a recent post shared on the Cape Cod National Seashore Facebook page.
Beach staff worked together to remove the object before it was swept away by the storm, Fox 35 Orlando reported.
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After further examination of the artifacts, staff were able to connect the main body of the aircraft, the fuselage, to a top-secret Cold War program, the agency said.
Cold War-era artifacts recovered from Cape Cod beaches are believed to have been part of a “top secret” project from the 1940s and 1950s. (National Park Service)
“Park Historian Bill Burke examined the object and determined it was in fact the torso of an RCAT (Remote Controlled Aerial Target),” Cape Cod National Seashore officials reported.
It likely resembled part of a missile or UFO, but National Park Service staff were able to identify the object as an attachment to a drone plane once used for target practice. Fox 35 Orlando reported.
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“The RCAT was an unmanned aircraft used in the 1940s and 1950s for anti-aircraft target practice off Marconi, a former U.S. military training camp (Camp Wellfleet),” a National Park Service official said.
The aircraft was previously attached to a remote-controlled air target used for anti-aircraft training at Camp Wellfleet on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. (National Park Service)
These drones were reportedly once used in little-known, unofficial training camps.
“Aircraft equipped with RCAT will take off from a defunct airstrip in the woods of Wellfleet,” Cape Cod National Seashore officials wrote on Facebook.
“The RCAT is then rocket-fired from the aircraft at 0-60 mph within the first 30 feet and remotely controlled from the cliff.”
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According to Camp Wellfleet’s dedicated website, the cutting-edge program was once classified as “top secret.”
Cape Cod National Seashore staff were unable to obtain the attachment because a storm came and washed it away. (National Park Service)
“Although primitive at the time compared to today’s flight simulators and other equipment, the Camp Wellfleet RCAT program was state-of-the-art and “top secret.” “Provided essential training to anti-aircraft gunners across the country before joining the war,” the site states.
National Park Service officials said they would not disclose any plans developed regarding the recovered RCAT, Fox 35 Orlando reported.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to Cape Cod National Seashore for comment.
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