Mysterious discovery on Cape Cod beach identified as artifact from top-secret Cold War program

Cape Cod National Seashore staff in Massachusetts removed the object before a storm swept it away

Officials on Cape Cod have reportedly solved a piece of history after a mysterious object dating back to the Cold War was found on a local beach.

The large artifact, resembling an aircraft fuselage, was found on Marconi Beach in Massachusetts in early April, according to a recent post shared on Cape Cod National Seashore's Facebook page.

Staff at the beach worked together to remove the object before it was swept away by an incoming storm, Fox 35 Orlando reported.

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After looking further into the relic, the staff was able to connect the fuselage, which is the body of an aircraft, to a top-secret Cold War program, according to the station.

Cold War fuselage on beach

A Cold War-era artifact was recovered from a beach on Cape Cod, and it's believed to have been part of a "top secret" program in the 1940s and 1950s. (National Park Services)

"Park historian Bill Burke examined the object and determined that it was in fact the fuselage of a RCAT (Remote Control Aerial Target)," Cape Cod National Seashore officials reported.

While it arguably may resemble a missile or a piece of a UFO, staff at National Park Services was able to identify the item as an attachment to a drone plane that was once used for target practice, Fox 35 Orlando reported.

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"RCATs were drone planes used for target practice for anti-aircraft training off Marconi at a former United States military training camp (Camp Wellfleet) during the 1940s and 50s," National Park Services officials said.

Cold War Camp Wellfleet

The fuselage was once attached to a Remote Control Aerial Target that was used in anti-aircraft training at Camp Wellfleet on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. (National Park Service)

These drones were reportedly once used at an informal training camp that few knew about.

"Aircraft equipped with an RCAT would take off from a now defunct runway located in the woods of Wellfleet," Cape Cod National Seashore officials wrote on Facebook.

"The RCAT would then be rocket-launched off the aircraft at 0 to 60 mph within the first 30 feet, and then controlled remotely from the bluff."

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This state-of-the-art program was once classified as "top secret," according to a website fully dedicated to Camp Wellfleet.

Cape Cod object on beach Cold War

The staff at Cape Cod National Seashore was unable to get their hands on the attachment because a storm had come in and swept it away. (National Park Services)

"Although primitive compared to today’s flight simulators and other gadgets in its day, the Camp Wellfleet RCAT program was state of the art and ‘Top Secret.’ It provided essential training to Antiaircraft gunners throughout the country prior to engaging in war," the site says.

Officials from National Park Services said that they will not be revealing any plans that are set in place for the recovered RCAT, Fox 35 Orlando reported.

Fox News Digital reached out to Cape Cod National Seashore for comment.

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Sydney Borchers is a lifestyle production assistant with Fox News Digital. 

Authored by Sydney Borchers via FoxNews April 18th 2024