Within Airships
Did the Flying Pancake inspire saucer reports?
The V-173 was a real Connecticut aircraft whose disc-like shape and slow flight later blurred aviation history with flying-saucer folklore.
On this page
- How the V 173 was designed and tested in Stratford
- Why its shape and flight behaviour invited misidentification
- What the historical record does and does not prove about UFO reports
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Introduction
The Vought V-173 “Flying Pancake” occupies a unique place in Connecticut’s UFO history because it was not a rumour, a hoax or a mysterious light. It was a real aircraft, designed and flown in Stratford during the Second World War. Its flattened, disc-like shape looked remarkably similar to what later generations would call a flying saucer, and its unusual flight characteristics made it appear even stranger to observers unfamiliar with the project.[Wikipedia]WikipediaVought V-173Vought V-173
For that reason, the V-173 sits at the intersection of aviation history and UFO folklore. Some later writers suggested that sightings of the aircraft contributed to early reports of mysterious aerial objects in Connecticut. The historical record supports the idea that the aircraft surprised observers and generated curiosity. What it does not support is the stronger claim that the Flying Pancake was secretly responsible for large numbers of unexplained UFO reports or that it somehow proves a hidden origin for the flying-saucer phenomenon.[wikipedia.org]WikipediaVought V-173Vought V-173
How the V-173 was designed and tested in Stratford
The aircraft emerged from the ideas of aeronautical engineer Charles H. Zimmerman, who believed that an extremely low-aspect-ratio wing could provide exceptional lift while allowing very short take-offs and landings. Working with Vought-Sikorsky in Stratford, Connecticut, he developed an experimental proof-of-concept aircraft known as the V-173.[wikipedia.org]WikipediaVought V-173Vought V-173
Unlike conventional aircraft, the V-173’s body was itself the wing. Viewed from above, it appeared almost circular, leading to the nickname “Flying Pancake”. Two large propellers mounted near the wingtips pushed air across the aircraft’s entire lifting surface, helping maintain control even at unusually low speeds. The design was intended to explore radical ideas about manoeuvrability and short-field performance rather than to resemble a flying saucer.[National Air and Space Museum]airandspace.si.eduNational Air and Space MuseumVought V-173 "Flying Pancake"A proof-of-concept vehicle, this design, the V-173, it had a circular wing 23.3…
The prototype first flew on 23 November 1942 with Vought chief test pilot Boone Guyton at the controls. Flight testing continued through the war years and eventually accumulated roughly 190 flights. Charles Lindbergh also flew the aircraft and reportedly found it easier to handle than its unconventional appearance suggested. Test results demonstrated impressive low-speed capabilities and an unusual resistance to stalling.[wikipedia.org]WikipediaVought V-173Vought V-173
Connecticut was therefore home to one of the most visually distinctive aircraft ever flown. Long before popular culture became obsessed with flying saucers, residents near Stratford could occasionally see a genuine disc-shaped experimental machine in the sky.[CT Insider]ctinsider.comCT Files Connecticut s Real life Flying Saucer 17042826CT InsiderCT Files: Connecticut's Real-life Flying Saucer5 Jul 2017 — But this flying saucer-like plane was real and wasn't the work inst…
Why its shape and flight behaviour invited misidentification
The V-173 looked strange even on the ground. In flight, it could appear stranger still.
Most aircraft of the early 1940s had recognisable fuselages, wings and tails. The Flying Pancake compressed these familiar features into a rounded shape that could look unlike any ordinary aeroplane, particularly when viewed at a distance or from below. Its silhouette resembled a flattened disc rather than a conventional aircraft.[National Air and Space Museum]airandspace.si.eduNational Air and Space MuseumVought V-173 "Flying Pancake"A proof-of-concept vehicle, this design, the V-173, it had a circular wing 23.3…
Its flight behaviour also encouraged confusion. The aircraft was designed to fly slowly while remaining controllable. Observers accustomed to seeing faster military aircraft could watch the V-173 moving at unexpectedly low speeds and maintaining attitudes that seemed unusual for an aeroplane. Reports from test pilots emphasised how difficult it was to stall and how effectively it could operate at low airspeeds.[Wikipedia]WikipediaVought V-173Vought V-173
These characteristics matter because many UFO reports begin with an observer seeing something that does not match expectations. A disc-shaped aircraft moving slowly over coastal Connecticut in wartime conditions could easily be interpreted as something unfamiliar, especially by people who had no knowledge of classified or experimental aviation projects.[Wikipedia]WikipediaVought V-173Vought V-173
The aircraft’s testing programme was not entirely hidden, but it was not widely understood by the general public. Experimental military aviation often generated rumours, and Connecticut’s concentration of defence and aerospace activity created conditions in which unusual aircraft could become local legends.[CT Insider]ctinsider.comCT Files Connecticut s Real life Flying Saucer 17042826CT InsiderCT Files: Connecticut's Real-life Flying Saucer5 Jul 2017 — But this flying saucer-like plane was real and wasn't the work inst…
Did the Flying Pancake inspire saucer reports?
There is a kernel of truth behind the claim.
Several aviation and museum sources note that the V-173’s test flights reportedly produced UFO or “mystery aircraft” reports from surprised observers in Connecticut during the early 1940s. The aircraft’s appearance was sufficiently unusual that witnesses could have described it in terms that later sounded similar to flying-saucer accounts.[wikipedia.org]WikipediaVought V-173Vought V-173
However, chronology is important. The great American flying-saucer wave began in 1947 after pilot Kenneth Arnold’s famous sighting in Washington State. By that point, the V-173 had already been flying for years, and public fascination with disc-shaped craft was being shaped by national media coverage rather than solely by Connecticut aviation.[Wikipedia]WikipediaVought V-173Vought V-173
As a result, historians generally view the Flying Pancake as one influence among many rather than the source of the flying-saucer phenomenon. It demonstrated that a real aircraft could resemble later UFO imagery, but there is no evidence that it directly created the national saucer craze or explains most UFO reports from the period.[CT Insider]ctinsider.comCT Files Connecticut s Real life Flying Saucer 17042826CT InsiderCT Files: Connecticut's Real-life Flying Saucer5 Jul 2017 — But this flying saucer-like plane was real and wasn't the work inst…
The stronger claims sometimes found in UFO literature—that secret Flying Pancake derivatives account for widespread saucer sightings—are not supported by the available documentary record. The V-173 was an experimental aircraft whose development history is well documented, and its successor project, the XF5U, never entered operational service.[Wikipedia]WikipediaVought XF5UVought XF5U
What the historical record does and does not prove
The historical evidence clearly establishes several facts.
First, Connecticut really was home to an aircraft that looked remarkably like later popular images of a flying saucer. The V-173 flew repeatedly from the Stratford area and became one of the most unusual experimental aircraft of the Second World War.[ctinsider.com]ctinsider.comCT Files Connecticut s Real life Flying Saucer 17042826CT InsiderCT Files: Connecticut's Real-life Flying Saucer5 Jul 2017 — But this flying saucer-like plane was real and wasn't the work inst…
Second, contemporary observers sometimes found the aircraft surprising enough to generate reports of unidentified objects. Even aviation historians and museum accounts acknowledge that its appearance contributed to confusion among members of the public.[wikipedia.org]WikipediaVought V-173Vought V-173
What the evidence does not prove is that large numbers of Connecticut UFO cases were actually Flying Pancake sightings. Most UFO reports lack the detailed information needed to match them confidently to a specific aircraft. Many occurred years after V-173 testing ended, while others involved descriptions that do not fit the aircraft’s known capabilities.[U.S. Naval Institute]usni.orgpancake didnt flyNaval InstituteThe Pancake that Didn't Fly | Naval History MagazineChance Vought built a development, quarter-scale aircraft designated V…
The Flying Pancake is therefore best understood as an important cautionary example in Connecticut’s UFO history. It shows how genuine experimental aviation can shape witness perceptions and later folklore. It also demonstrates that unusual-looking aircraft sometimes provide a more convincing explanation than extraterrestrial speculation. Yet it cannot explain every mysterious sighting, nor does it eliminate the need to examine each case on its own evidence.[ctinsider.com]ctinsider.comCT Files Connecticut s Real life Flying Saucer 17042826CT InsiderCT Files: Connecticut's Real-life Flying Saucer5 Jul 2017 — But this flying saucer-like plane was real and wasn't the work inst…
Why the Flying Pancake still matters in Connecticut’s UFO story
Within the broader history of Connecticut’s aviation-shaped UFO myths, the V-173 stands apart because it was real. Earlier airship scares relied largely on rumours, newspaper stories and misidentifications. The Flying Pancake, by contrast, was a documented aircraft tested in the state by a major aerospace company.[CT Insider]ctinsider.comCT Files Connecticut s Real life Flying Saucer 17042826CT InsiderCT Files: Connecticut's Real-life Flying Saucer5 Jul 2017 — But this flying saucer-like plane was real and wasn't the work inst…
Its legacy helps explain why Connecticut occupies a distinctive place in American UFO folklore. The state combined eyewitness reports of strange aerial objects with genuine experimentation in unconventional aircraft design. The result is a recurring historical pattern: extraordinary sightings sometimes emerged not from visitors from another world but from the cutting edge of aviation technology being tested close to home.[ctinsider.com]ctinsider.comCT Files Connecticut s Real life Flying Saucer 17042826CT InsiderCT Files: Connecticut's Real-life Flying Saucer5 Jul 2017 — But this flying saucer-like plane was real and wasn't the work inst…
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Further Reading
Books and field guides related to Did the Flying Pancake inspire saucer reports?. Use these as the next step if you want deeper reading beyond the article.
The UFO Experience: A Scientific Inquiry
Connects aircraft misidentification and UFO reporting themes.
The Aircraft That Never Was: American Combat Aircraft Project...
Covers unusual aircraft concepts similar to the Flying Pancake story.
The Smithsonian History of Flight
Provides background on experimental aircraft development.
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Endnotes
1.
Source: Wikipedia
Title: Vought V-173
Link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vought_V-173
2.
Source: usni.org
Title: pancake didnt fly
Link:https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2019/june/pancake-didnt-fly
Source snippet
Naval InstituteThe Pancake that Didn't Fly | Naval History MagazineChance Vought built a development, quarter-scale aircraft designated V...
3.
Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/airandspace/posts/this-flying-pancake-is-a-real-aircraft-on-this-day-in-history-in-2012-an-almost-/1304349291728476/
Source snippet
This Flying Pancake is a real aircraft! 🥞 On this day...The V-173 "Flying Pancake" is believed to be responsible for several UFO...
4.
Source: Wikipedia
Title: Vought XF5U
Link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vought_XF5U
5.
Source: facebook.com
Title: pancake day ufos and aviation how do they all link the answer is loosely as we f
Link:https://www.facebook.com/LondonSouthendAirport/posts/pancake-day-ufos-and-aviation-how-do-they-all-link-the-answer-is-loosely-as-we-f/577354957767517/
Source snippet
Pancake Day, UFOs and aviation....Flight testing of the V- 173 went on through 1942 and 1943 with 190 flights, resulting in reports of U...
6.
Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/Dronescapesvideos/posts/the-flying-pancake-aviations-most-bizarre-world-war-ii-flying-saucer-rare-histor/122292562346066584/
7.
Source: ctinsider.com
Title: CT Files Connecticut s Real life Flying Saucer 17042826
Link:https://www.ctinsider.com/connecticutmagazine/news-people/article/CT-Files-Connecticut-s-Real-life-Flying-Saucer-17042826.php
Source snippet
CT InsiderCT Files: Connecticut's Real-life Flying Saucer5 Jul 2017 — But this flying saucer-like plane was real and wasn't the work inst...
8.
Source: airandspace.si.edu
Link:https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/vought-v-173-flying-pancake/nasm_A19610120000
Source snippet
National Air and Space MuseumVought V-173 "Flying Pancake"A proof-of-concept vehicle, this design, the V-173, it had a circular wing 23.3...
9.
Source: youtube.com
Title: The Flying Pancake
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZoMMt1e2MM
Additional References
10.
Source: transportationhistory.org
Title: This plane, which became better known as the “Flying Pancake,” was designed by
Link:https://transportationhistory.org/2022/11/23/1942-the-flying-pancake-first-takes-to-the-skies/
Source snippet
Transportation History1942: The “Flying Pancake” First Takes to the SkiesNov 23, 2022 — The first flight of the experimental Vought V-173...
11.
Source: youtube.com
Title: The UFO Aircraft That Actually Flew | Vought V 173 Flying Pancake
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8ByTuX7qFk
Source snippet
Aviation Oddities: Engineering the Impossible. WW2 Prototypes: Charles Zimmerman's VTOL Flying Wings...
12.
Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzEvumGQEL0
Source snippet
Vought V-173 & XF5U: The Experimental "Flying Pancakes"...
13.
Source: planeandpilotmag.com
Link:https://planeandpilotmag.com/v-173-flying-pancake-the-amazing-stol-flying-saucer/
Source snippet
Plane and Pilot MagazineV-173 Flying Pancake: The Amazing STOL "Flying Saucer"May 26, 2022 — The Flying Pancake test flights in the Strat...
Published: May 26, 2022
14.
Source: reddit.com
Link:https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/1rdogy8/the_vought_v173_nicknamed_the_flying_pancake/
15.
Source: instagram.com
Link:https://www.instagram.com/p/DUmHnBejheb/
16.
Source: youtube.com
Title: Vought V-173 Pancake Walkaround
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSkVC9bC_Mg
Source snippet
The Vought XF5-U: That Time America Built a Flying Saucer...
17.
Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKTXaMFdxrY
18.
Source: youtube.com
Title: Vought V-173 & XF5U: The Experimental “Flying Pancakes”
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YFEMc9gCEQ
Source snippet
Vought V-173 Pancake Walkaround...
19.
Source: migflug.com
Title: the flying pancake the flat disc that actually flew
Link:https://migflug.com/jetflights/the-flying-pancake-the-flat-disc-that-actually-flew/