Complex sentence: In 1934, Nikola Tesla in the United States claimed to have invented a death ray that could destroy aircraft, and this was followed by a report in a German newspaper suggesting Germany had built something similar.
Split into simpler sentences: In 1934, Nikola Tesla, then working in the United States, claimed to have invented a death ray that could destroy aircraft. This was followed by a report in a German newspaper suggesting Germany had built something similar.