Review

Science fact can be stranger than science fiction. You've probably heard plenty about UFO sightings near Roswell, N.M., in 1947. But how about Flying Doughnuts, the Pye Wacket, and the Periodically Elevated Electronic Kibitzer?

These and other strangely named, government-funded flying objects pop up in the pages of this 176-page hardcover book.

Secret Projects: Flying Saucer Aircraft (written by Bill Rose and Tony Buttler) includes nine chapters, with titles like "German Wartime Flying Discs" and "Russian Flying Discs: Myth and Reality."

In 1948, Pentagon officials were convinced Russian flying discs were invading U.S. airspace, so the Americans turned their attention toward advanced aerospace projects, trying to get an edge on the Soviets. The Canadian Defence Research Board (CDRB) did the same, teaming up with Avro Canada to develop a supersonic interceptor capable of meeting the Soviet challenge, and in 1951, Project Y was born.

In 1954, the Pentagon took control of the project, which then became Project Y2 Silver Bug, a craft that resembled a 29-foot-diameter hubcap that was intended to soar through the sky slicing Soviet bombers in two.

Secret Projects is packed with photos, illustrations, schematics, statistics and factoids, with a minimum of speculation. In other words, the authors did their homework, noting that as fanciful as some of these projects were, the knowledge gained from them became useful to the development of real-world aircraft like the Harrier jet and Apache helicopter.

This book holds appeal for a number of audiences: sci-fi fans, aviation buffs, and people with a keen interest in Cold War history.