Calling Washington: Russian Hail

This newspaper column by Marquis Childs, titled 'Calling Washington', discusses the emergence of reports concerning 'flying bombs' or rockets appearing across post-war Europe. The author notes that these reports originated in Sweden, followed by sightings in Athens during a visit by the aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt, and more recently over Italian cities, where the government initiated an investigation. Childs recounts a conversation with a 'thoroughly reliable' American observer in Stockholm who witnessed a cigar-shaped object moving at great speed in broad daylight. While some attribute these sightings to post-war hysteria, others refer to them as 'Russian hail'. The author posits that the most plausible explanation is that the Soviet Union is conducting tests of televised rockets from the island of Peenemunde, using the sparsely populated forests of Sweden as a testing ground to avoid landing in British or American zones. The column concludes by noting that official opinion remains that little is known about the phenomenon, which appears to have subsided, and that any recovered fragments are being kept secret.