Editing 1947 flying disc craze (section)

===Technological===
[[File:Vought V-173.jpg|thumb|right|The US Navy had [[Vought XF5U|experimented with disc-shaped aircraft]] during World War II. Members of the public speculated the craft were responsible for disc reports, though Navy officials later debunked the theory.]]

Initial speculation held that the disc might be technology developed by the Americans or the Soviets.

Army rocket expert Lt. Col. Harold R. Turner publicly speculated the "discs" were jet airplanes, arguing that "the jet planes' circular exhaust glows brightly when heated and might easily appear to be discs at a distance.<ref name="auto56"/><ref name="auto63"/>

By June 29, public speculation suggested that the reports might be attributed to [[Vought XF5U|"Flying Flapjack"]], an experimental Navy fighter aircraft with a somewhat disc-shaped body that had been profiled in the May 1947 issue of ''Mechanix Illustrated''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/768897089/|title=29 Jun 1947, 1 - The Bellingham Herald at Newspapers.com|website=Newspapers.com}}</ref>  The Navy dismissed that suggestion, noting that only one such prototype existed, and it had never flown outside of Connecticut.<ref name="auto11"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/536439114/|title=2 Jul 1947, 1 - The Daily Advertiser at Newspapers.com|website=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

On July 3, Army Lt. Gen [[Nathan F. Twining|Nathan Twining]], head of Air Material Command and commander of Wright Field, announced an investigation into the discs and informed the public that the Army Air Forces "have nothing that would compare to the descriptions of the object"
<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/564362275/|title=3 Jul 1947, 11 - Spokane Chronicle at Newspapers.com|website=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

On July 6, the International News Services interviewed racecar builder Leo Bentz who speculated the discs were the work of an inventor named George De Bay.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/524008121/|title=6 Jul 1947, 3 - Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph at Newspapers.com|website=Newspapers.com}}</ref>  On July 9, the El Paso Times published an editorial calling on the Army to admit the discs were new US technology.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/429447097/|title=9 Jul 1947, 4 - El Paso Times at Newspapers.com|website=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

Others suggested the discs were Russian weapons, akin to the [[Fu-Go balloon bomb|incendiary balloons released by the Japanese]] to cross the Pacific and explode in the US.<ref name="feof6"/><ref name="auto9"/><ref name="auto61">{{Cite web|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/2393039/|title=22 Dec 1947, Page 32 - The Kokomo Tribune at Newspapers.com|website=Newspapers.com}}</ref>  The ''Los Angeles Examiner'' received and publicized a letter claiming the discs were atomic-powered Russian planes.<ref name="auto89"/>
[[File:Weather-balloon 0.jpg|thumb|right|Balloons, radar reflectors, tinfoil, insulation, and numerous other objects were thought to contribute to the reports.]]
Retired general [[Hap Arnold]] (no relation) publicly speculated the discs had either been developed by United States scientists or were foreign technology "operating out of control".<ref name="auto89"/>