31 Dec 2012

Tsunami bomb project details in NZ archive

6:09 am on 31 December 2012

A new book about New Zealand's national archives says it holds details of a World War II plan to create a tsunami bomb.

Project Seal was a top-secret joint United States-New Zealand attempt to create a doomsday device to rival the nuclear bomb.

Secrets Treasures author Ray Waru said the project was launched in June 1944 after a US naval officer noticed that blasting operations around Pacific islands sometimes produced a large wave, raising the possibility of creating a "tsunami bomb".

Other notable documents held in the archive are a letter written by Captain James Cook before his final voyage.