Arbeit macht Frei: May 2013

Background

As I have investigated the UFO

subject

over the years, I

often

found mysel

in awe at the dedication of so

many

whose passion for the truth

became a

lifelong endeavor

For many, this

passion

became

obsession

trying to piece

together the puzzle of what is decidedly the greatest mystery of our times.

Soon I

found myself on the edge of this same

obsessive precipice, looking into the vast darkness of

UFO

data, knowing

that there had

to be s

omething real to this subject

My rational mind although not

discounting the anecdotal information, longed for real evidence that could prove or dispro

ve the reality

of this phenomenon

One area that is still virgin

research

territory

the role of Government in the UFO

field. To avoid

accusations of conspiracy mongering, let me

first

arify what I mean when I use the word

“Government”.

The U.S. Government like any other large organization is no

t a single entity but is made

up of

many agencies and within these agencies v

arious organizational units.

Therefore, w

hen I use the

word

“

Government

”

I do not refer to a monolithic entity but to those agencies or sub organizational

units

, named or unnamed

, official or unofficial,

who have involved themselves in the UFO field

to mee

their own

operational goals related to National Security

Also bear in mind that this definition

describes a dynamically evolving authority. In 1946, the

“Government” would have comprised the intelligence units of the War Department

and

the Navy, the

ntral Intelligence Group and the Office of the President. In 1947, the evolving entity would now be

comprise

d of the intelligence units of the U.S. Air Force and the Central Intelligence Agency as well as

the National Security Council.

When dealing with a

moving target, research can get complicated,

especially when contending with 60 plus years of UFO history. I could replace

the term “Government”

with something less

conspiracy

sounding like

“UFO Authority

” but this would

only serve to

create even

more conf

usion.

My Research

oming from a military intelligence background

, I have a particular interest in the

role of Government in

the UFO field.

fortunately, when discussing this

role with both Uf

O believers

and UFO debunkers, I

often hear the same

rationales

pro and con for Government involvement

. These

rationales

fall i

nto their

own spectrum of belief

on the

one end is

the belief that the Government

is riddled with incompetence

and couldn’t possibly keep secret something as widely

experienced

as UFOs and o

n the other end of the

spectrum

the belief that an ultra

secret and efficient cover up of cosmic proportions is being

perpetrated by an elite authority.

Gom

er Pyle

is on

one end

of this spectrum

and

the mysterious and

infamous

Men i

n Black

(MIB)

on the

other end

Perhaps the truth lies somewhere in between

The competence argument in my opinion is the one that is most easily addressed. I

f you have ever

worked in a large organization or for that matter been a member of our armed forces, you know that

the

re are varying degrees of competence throughout. For example, it would be ridi

culous to base an

estimate of

the readiness of our entire military by observing the maneuvers of a single military unit.

a similar note

elite forces like the Navy Seals or Ar

my Special Forces are capable of doing things normal

field

units would not even dream of doing.

To state this

plainly,

the level of

competency

of an

organizational unit

is directly proportional to

the importance of that

unit

’s

mission.

World War 2

history

is replete with examples of special military and government units whose missions were so highly

important

that

their ranks were made up of handpicked men and women who were

up to the task.

The

men and women who broke

the German code under

the

British

Project Ultra and the

Japanese Code

under the

U.S.

Magic cryptanalysis p

roject

were part of such elite organizations

The secrecy

issue can also be

dispensed

quite easily

It is historical fact that t

here have

been

Government

projects

whose s

ecrecy was

closely guarded that

even the presidential

chain

of authority

was

broken to maintain this secrecy. The two most notable examples are the Manhattan Project, which

President Roosevelt knew about but Vice President Truman did not

until he became President

and the

National Security Agency’s Venona Project which

even

the Pre

sident

was not

aware of.

he level of

secrecy of a project is directly proportional

to the perceived damage that will be caused by its revealing

ecrecy can be maintained indefinitely if

the “need to know” compartmentalization security

principle

carefully followed.

1946

1947

To understand the role of the Government in the UFO field, we need to go back to the very beginning

when UFOs first became a national security concern.

During

World

War 2

so called

foo fighters were

cause for alarm

but understanding what they were was not pivotal to the war effort

as it quickly

became apparent to allied commanders that they

were not a weapon of war.

It was

the 1946 ghost

rockets

that

caused real alarm

as the U

.S.

was

worried

that perhaps the Soviets were experimenting

with recently acquired German

weaponry

Although

Government concern was evident in 1946,

UFOs did

not

reach the consciousness of most Americans

until

after June 24, 1947

when

newspapers worldwide

reported on

Kenneth Arnold

’s

famous

sighting

As the old adage goes, there is nothing new under the sun, and an equally true axiom is that nothing

happens in a vacuum.

o p

ut into context the

appearance of strange phenomena

the

United States

1947

it is important

to understand

he socio

political atmosphere of

post World War 2

America

Thanks

to modern

technolog

and the Internet, you

can put

yourself

into the shoes of the

average American

1947

by reading digitized cop

ies

of newspapers from this era

online.

While skimming the

front page

daily

headlines of

spring 1947 using NEWSPAPERARCHIV.ORG,

I found

some interesting news stories

that

well

serve as a backdrop to the

UFO events of June and July of that year

, including:

May 16, 1947

–

rocket crashes

lamed on “

peculiar p

henomena”

May 21, 1947

–

Silent

plane is d

eveloped

May 30, 1947

–

rocket crashes

in Juarez, Mexico

June 3, 1947

–

Bell Aircraft XS

1 faster than sound plane completes preliminary tests

June 3, 1947

–

Soviets raiding US atomic secrets

June 5, 1947

–

warns that atomic race with Soviets is u

nderway

June 5, 1947

–

Soviet agents have infiltrated Oak Ridge atomic facility

June 13, 1947

–

Contract to Douglas Aircraft to build plane that can fly 2,200 mile

s per hour

June 20, 1947

–

0 breaks air speed record at

623MPH

But it w

as the headlines of June 13

–

, 1947 that really caught my eye

he International Press

reported

that a secret weapon, that

rivaled

the atomic bomb had been jointly developed by th

e US,

Britain and New Zealand.

is caused a subsequent

flurry of

press

speculation as to what this new

weapon could be. I was intrigued by this

amazing

story that was reported just two weeks prior to

Arnold’s UFO sighting and

I wondered if there may be so

me connection,

so I

decided to dig

deeper.

The

June 1947

Secret Weapon

Story

If you piece together

the

newspaper articles

from June 13

–

15, 1947

the

story emerges of a

secret

Anglo

American

weapons project

that was not the atomic bomb

but equally destructive

How the

press

first got involved with the story is not entirely clear, but someone

possibly from the press

had

questioned why a New Zealand scientis

, Thomas Da

vid James Leech was receiving a Commandership of

the British Empire

the birthday honors of King George VI of England.

Someone

else then

revealed to

the press, that the honor was being given to Mr. Leech because he had headed up a secret weapons

project during World War 2

that a

ccording to the Canadian Press

rivaled the at

omic bomb

was top

secret, and

for which

research

was still ongoing

June 13, 1947

On J

une 13, 1947

a number of

newspapers

covered the story including the

Amarillo Daily News

“

Science Tries for New Weapon Matching Atom Bomb in Power

”

he weapon did

not reach the stage of practical application during the war, but work still is

being pursued in the strictest secrecy by scientists in the United States, Britain and New

Zealand. No hint of the details of the weapon has been revealed but it is stated that

one means

of application would ha

ve some similarity to one method

of using the atomic bomb.

The article further elaborated that:

The project was to have been carried out in Florida but was moved to New Zealand and Pacific

areas owing to the fears of espio

nage. Leech was selected to lead the research because he had

previously done work distantly related. He had a team of 170 American and New Zealand

experts, most of whom were given no idea of the ultimate o

bjective, for security reasons.

Gettysburg Time

discussed how

New Zealanders speculated today on the nature of a new weapon

–

approaching the atom

bomb in importance

which the New Zealand Herald described as a joint development of

scientists from this country, Great B

ritain and the United States.

e Herald said its source of

information about the new weapon was most reliab

le, but could not be disclosed.

The

Coshocton Tribune

quoting the

New Zealand Herald

added

Had the project been competed in time, it might have played a role as effective as the a

tom

bomb in s

ubjugating Japan.

Wondering who Leech was, I found the answer in t

Wisconsin State Journal

article

which

revealed

that

Leech is engineering professor at Auckland University. During the war he was chairman of the

Zealand munitions advisory b

oard and direct

or of scientific development.

Informants said the

weapon he helped develop was still a top secret among Allied nations. They gave no clue of its

nature, British, American, and New Zealand scientists, engineers and naval officers were said t

be associated in the project.

What an intriguing story! A weapon on par with the atomic bomb and as compartmentalized as the

Manhattan Project but one that had not been infiltrated by Soviet Intelligence agents. A weapon

that

could have won the war agains

Japa

n had it been completed on time!

What could this weapon possibly

be?

June 14, 1947

The very next day, on June 14, 1947, the newspapers were rife with speculation.

The

Charleston Daily Gazette

in a length

speculative article

read:

“

Radiation May

Factor in Latest Secret Weapon

”

There is one clue in the reports of the secret Anglo

American weapon said to outrival the atom

bomb as credited today to Prof. T. D. J. Leech in New Zealand. That clue points to a ray or

radiation of some sort. The

sentence reads "One means of application would have some

similarity to one method of using the atomic bomb."

There are two methods of using the power of the atom; one in an explosive bomb, the other in

the radioactive rays, from common substances that are

transmuted into temporary

radioactivity. These would form a gas in the same sense as poison war gases. Most of the latter

are not gases, but fine dusts or mists. The atomic poison gases would be the same.

Their possibility was explained to President Roosev

elt by scientists in 1939 and more recently

Glenn Martin mentioned them as bombs that American militar

y authorities are studying. Half

mile radius is the generally stated distance for such radioactivity to be effective in war.

No new sources of death ray

s were reported during the war, but such rays were known to

electrical theorists before the war. They were considered useless even as possibilities.

Plane Check Considered

Short

wave radio rays were one. It was considered possible to make such a ray that w

ould be

effective at four miles, not for killing that far away, but for crashing planes by interfering with

the electrical portion of their engines.

The difficulty was, for such a ray, the need of power equal to about 10 times that of Niagara

Falls, and th

e reflector, perhaps of pure aluminum, 200 feet in diameter. Close by, this sort of

radiation was expected to be fatal. These engineering dreams were made before the great

advances in very short radio waves that came out of the war.

If there is any possibi

lity of concentrated radar or other short wave length rays that will kill men,

no hint of that lethal power has leaked out. Nicola Tesla, the father of induction in electricity,

asserted frequently before his death a few years ago, that he knew, how to pro

duce what he

called curtains of force that no plane could fly through. He never explained them.

The Germans during the war printed some speculations on how to build a sun gu

n. This would

be a huge burning

glass, or plastic, floating several hundred or thou

sand miles above the earth's

surface which could be focused to destroy life by fire in vast areas.

The scientific principles of producing such a satellite of the earth, really equivalent to a tiny

moon, are known, but there is nothing at all in present sc

ientific developments to overcome the

difficulties of launching or even of construction.

Post

war secret weapons have included a cosmic ray bomb. This had its origin in

misunderstandings on the part of laymen and never came from any scientific source. A st

arlight

bomb would be easier to conceive of, because total starlight is many times more energetic than

the total energies of cosmic rays. A single cosmic ray is millions of times more energetic than

any single beam of starlight but there is no known possib

ility of concentrating them.

Defense Against Bacteria

Biological warfare frequently has been declared to be as bad as atomic bombs. But these claims

omit the

act known to all biologists that

man's own body, conditioned for

eons of time to germs

of all kin

ds,

can be protected rather quickly

from any conceivable forms of bact

eriological

attack.

Death rays in general are almost

inconceivable for effective

military use because of the well

nown

stopping power of

the air

for waves that are shorter than

light

, o

r the invisible ultra

violet

rays

. Although scientists have been trying for some time to produce manmade cosmic

rays, they have not succeeded, and when the planned great electrical energy machines

producing billions of volts are built, it is not expected t

hat they can produce anything more than

the very weakest sort of cosmic rays.

The

Daily Capital News

reported that:

“

British Re

fuse To Talk About Secret Weapon”

British government ministries declined comment today on New Zealand reports concerning the

purported development of a super

secret super

weapon approaching the atomic bomb in

importance.

The defense ministry, the air ministry, the war office, the admiralty and the ministry of supply all

refused to discuss storie

s out of Auckland which quoted

mos

t reliable sources as saying that

research on such an offensive weapon was started in 1944 and still was being pursued in the

strictest secrecy by scientists in New Zealand, Great Britain and the United States.

"Had the project been completed in time it mi

ght have played a role as effective as the atom

bomb in the subjugation of Japan," the

New Zealand Herald,

of Auckland, reported.

"Without discounting the effectiveness of the project as an offensive weapon," the paper

continues, "it does not offer such a

threat to world peace as the atom bomb. This may not be

amplified further than saying that things pertaining to it are under control

Scientists were reported thoroughly examining all possibilities. They were said to have

exchanged ideas and information. So

far as is known, no details of the project have been

revealed to countries other than New Zealand, Britain and the United States.

The Herald said it learned that development of the project to the stage of practical application

would cost much less than th

e development of atomic energy production. However, the project

was understood to be too complex for a small country like New Zealand to carry out the

development unaided. New Zealand, however, was said to have the necessary equipment and

establishment and

would be able to make useful contributions.

The

Bismark Tribune

quoted Leech associate W.A. Miller of the Sydney

niversity

ivil

Engineering

epartment as saying

he new secret weapon mentioned in Auckland, N.Z. reports “might be in the nature of an

airborne missile such as the German rocket bomb”. Miller further stated that he himself had no

indication of the nature of the project and that he made the comment only because he knew

Professor Leech to have “an expert knowledge of and enthusiasm for aero

dynamics.”

The

Indiana Evening Gazette

also quoted Miller in an article

“

New Weapon May Be Airborne

”

Miller said Leech in both aerodynamic and hydrodynamics had made a great contribution to the

work of Sydney University’s Civil Engineering Department bef

ore he went to New Zealand in

1939.

In Auckland today, Professor Leech said he was “surprised” to hear that a London newspaper

headline had stated that the atomic bomb had been rendered obsolet

e, but made no further

comment.

This fascinating story took ano

ther strange twist

on June 14, 1947

when

newspapers

identified

American e

ngineer, James Marion Snodgrass as one of the persons

who worked on this new weapon

’s

project

in 1944. How newsmen were able to make the connection

Snodgrass is not clear.

terviews with the media, Snodgrass had some interesting

observations about his participation.

The

Alton Evening Telegraph

“

U.S. Scientist Backs Secret Weapon Tale

”

The

Herald Tribune

quotes a 39

ar old American scientist it said

shared in the development of

the secret Anglo

American weapon r

eported from New Zealand as say

ing that the weapon exists

and that first reports although exaggerated, are substan

tially true.

The scientist, James Marion

Snodgrass of Cincinnati, is further q

uoted as saying that the weapon was not connected in any

way with the atom bomb and that it was not a biological weapon.

Existence of the weapon first was reported by Prof. T. D. J Leech of New Zealand. Later

dispatches mentioned a Prof. J. M Snodgrass of

the University of California as a co

worker.

Original reports said the secret

weapon outrivaled the atom bomb. The

Herald Tribune

ays it

reached Snodgrass in Cincinnati

and quoted him as saying that he

worked on the weapon in

New

Zealand and that he beli

eved it to

be a weapon of tremendous importance.

"But farther than that he would

not go," the paper says. "He

would not discuss its

nature or

whether it was for use against

personnel or vessels."

The

Herald Tribune

quotes Snodgrass

as saying the

avy holds

all

reports on it "although he

recalled

having spoken to Dr. Vannevar

Bush, wartime scientific leader

about it."

An article in the

Daily Inter Lake

elaborated:

Snodgrass gave the only hint as

to the nature of the weapon as he disclosed its development

arted after American forces landed on Tarawa

sland in the Pacific. He

turned to a reporter and

said: “remember there was heavy loss of life." The newsmen asked if the weapon

ad anything

to do with the casualties or some military problem encountered on t

he Island and Snodgrass

replied: "Could be."

Snodgrass who is chief engineer of the motion picture sound division at the Dayton

ACME CO., a

Cincinnati consultant engineering firm, said he joined British and New Zealand scientists in the

development of the weapon while he was a civilian

attached to th

e National Defense Research

Council. Prof. Leech headed the project, he added.

He said the weapon was conceived by the British although United States naval officers were not

enthusiastic the British pressed the work, first on an obscure Pacific island in 1

943 and later in

New Zealand.

The

Lowell Sun

had this

headline

“

Is A

Bomb Passe? U.S.

Scientist Helped Make New Secret Lethal Weapon. America and Britain

Keep Details Hidden But Leave No Doubt Device Exists

”

June 15, 1947

June 15 n

ewspaper articles focuse

d on six major points that

reporters

were able to extr

act from James

Marion Snodgrass

concerning the secret weapon

. The

Abilene Reporter

listed these as:

1. It is not connected in any way with the atomic bomb.

2. It is not a biological warfare weapon.

Development of the weapon, started during the war, was not completed until after hostilities

were ended.

4. Snodgrass was a civilian attached to the National Defense Research Council when he joined

British and New Zealand scientists in development of the w

eapon.

5. The weapon was conceived by the

British and although United Stat

es naval officers were not

enthusiastic, the British pressed the project, first on an obscure Pacific island and later in New

Zealand.

6. The U. S. Navy received reports during devel

opment.

The

Council Bluffs Nonpareil

also had this to add to the six main points:

“Confirms New Secret Weapon

As Awesome as Atom Bomb"

Asked ab

out the weapon as an alternate

to the atomic bomb, Snodgrass said only: "First

reports are substantially true but

perhaps they are exaggerated a little."

Fears of espionage resulted in centering the experimentation in New Zealand, Snodgrass

said, although it had been planned to transfer work on the project to Florida. The U. S.

avy received reports on the weapon, he

said.

The

Syracuse Herald Journal

also added:

Snodgrass insisted in an interview he was "in no position to give any detailed clue as to the

composition or structure of the development." Questioned about the classification of the

development, he said that

"under a broad classification" it might be described as a weapon.

However, the handsome scientist, now conducting television research, said he had been back in

the United States since last July and declared that he "knows nothing of the present stage of it

refinement or development."

Snodgrass described the weapon as "top secret" and declined to answer any "leading" question

about the research, development, composition or tests.

Oddly enough

in the

Cumberland Times

and

adjacent to the

Snodgrass

article w

as this story:

“

Supersonic Weapon Is Forecast

Another Secret Device Greater Than Atomic Bomb

”

Weapons as terrifying as the atom bomb

—

super sounds that would upset the nervous

systems of whole populations, light waves, and shooting clouds out of the sky t

o control

rainfall

—

were raised as possibilities today in any war of the future by an American Air

Force commander.

General George C. Kenney, head of the Strategic Air Force, cited the dog whistle as an

example of the effectiveness of sound waves in a pre

pared address before

Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduates. "An airplane equipped with a sort of

super dog whistle," he said, "conceivably could fly around a city for awhile and upset the

nervous systems of the whole population.

"I believe we ne

ed to do some research along this line. It may be just a fantastic dream.

It may not." Light waves, he said, offered a similar field. "Below the infra reds and above

the ultra violets there may be weapons of future warfare as devastating as the atomic

bomb

," he asserted. "Other nations may find them. We must keep in pace in order to be

able to counter or defend against such threats."

General Kenney said that at present clouds could be broken up and start rainfall at a

specific place on a limited scale, and

added: "Instead of allowing rain clouds to drive

past arid and semi

arid sections, we should be able to shoot them down and put the rain

where we need it. If we can extend this process we can stop rain from falling where it

has been falling for ages."

June

26, 1947

The most astonishing articl

however

I found

is that of the

Frederick Post

of June 26, 1947 which has

both the secret weapon project and the Kenneth Arnold sighting on the same page

and side by side

Researching the Facts

First, let’s

examine in more detail the lives of the

two major players in this story: Thomas David James

Leech and James Marion Snodgrass.

Who wa

s Thomas David James Leech?

Thomas David James Leech was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He was a lecturer in Ci

vil

Engineering at the University of Sydney. In 1940, he was appointed as Professor of Engineering at

Auckland University College in New Zealand

where he worked as the Dean of the F

aculty of Engineering

from 1940

–

1949.

During World War 2, Professor Leech

was

also

the acting Director of Scientific

Developments fo

r New Zealand in

support of the war effort and he

did work on a

secret research project

code

named Project Seal that explored the use of explosives in triggering artificial tsunamis. After

submitti

ng Project Seal’

s final report in Decem

ber 1950, Professor Leech vacated his position at

Auckland University

to work as the Chief Engineer

at the

Scientific Services Division on the Snowy

Mountains Hydro

Electric

Authority in Australia. Professor Leech

also the author of a

aerodynamic

textb

ook:

The principles of flight: A

n Introduction to Aerodynamics

Who was

James Marion Sno

dgrass?

James Marion Snodgrass

was born in Marysville, Ohio in 1908. He received an

Artium Baccalaureatus

(A.B.) Degree

in Physic

from Oberlin College in 1931, and

did graduate work

at both the University of

Pennsylvania as well as at Harvard Medical School.

During the war, he served on the National

Defense

Research Council (NRDC):

rom 1942

–

43 as a member of

the technical staf

f, Division of

War Research,

Columbia University and from 1943

–

46 as a Research Associate and Field Representative, Division of

War Research, University of California. After the war, he worked as the Chief Engineer, Motion Picture

and Sound Division of the Dayton Acme

Company before taking a position as a Senior Marine Biologist at

the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Dieg

o where he eventually became

Research Engineer and

head of the Special Developments Division at the Scripps Inst

itute.

Upon his

retirement from the University of California in 1974, he became the Senior Technical Director of Ocean

Data Systems, Inc.

Professor Snodgrass was awarded a

Navy

citation

by Admiral Nimitz and was authorized to

wear the

Asiatic

Pacific Area

Campaign ribbon for the work he did on anti

submarine warfare from 1943

–

45. In

1968, Professor Snodgrass was also awarded the U.S. Navy’s highest civilian honor, the Navy

Distinguished Public Service Award for his outstanding contributions to the Navy i

n the field of

oceanographic communications and instrumentation.

Professor Snodgrass was also a member of a number of professional societies including

a fellow of the

IEEE, was listed in the

World Who’s Who in Science

, as well as

American Men and Women of

Science

was the author of more than 50 technical and scientific papers and the holder of many patents.

Project Seal

So now that we know that both Professor Leech and Snodgrass had the proper credentials to be players

in the secret weapon story, let’s

examine the secret project itself.

Project Seal was a secret World War 2

research project that explored how explosive

could be used to trigger an artificial

tsunami

as an

offensive weapon.

According to the

Final Report on Project Seal

written by Professor

Thomas David

James Leech himself, dated December 18, 1950

and

declassified in 1971

Project “Seal”,

or the investigation of the potentialities of inundation by means of artificially

produced tidal waves arose from a suggestion made by Wing Commander E.A.

Gibson to

Lieutenant General Sir Edward Puttick, Chief of General Staff (N.Z.) on the 13

January 1944.

The former had noted, whilst engaged upon surveys of the Pacific Area during the period 1936

to 1942, that blasting operations upon submerged coral for

mations occasionally were attended

by unexpectedly large waves. General Puttick instructed Colonel C.W. Salmon, the N.Z. Chiefs of

Staff Representative in the South Pacific area (Enzedsopac) to place the proposal before Admiral

W.F. Halsey, Commander of th

e South Pacific Area (Comsopac). Arrangements were made for

Wing Commander Gibson,

Professor J.M. Snodgrass

, University of California, Division of War

Research, who was then in the area investigating certain problems relating to submarine

warfare, and

Prof

essor T.D.J. Leech

, who was acting Director of Scientific Developments, New

Zealand, to examine the idea at Noumea in February 1944.

New Caledonian Experiments

It was decided to test the suggestion by ad hoc trials under the guidance of a team comprising

aptain W.L. Erdman, U.S.N, Colonel Salmon, Wing Commander Gibson,

Professors Snodgrass

and Leech.

The results were incorporated in a report dated 31

March 1944, which was approved by

Admiral Halsey and transmitted by him to the New Zealand Chiefs of Staff with a request that

New Zealand undertake further investigations, as shown

y the following extract:

“The results of these experiments, in my opinio

n, show that inundation in amphibious

warfare has definite and far reaching possibilities as an offensive weapon. It would be

very desirable to have further developments carried out to establish a practical method

and procedure which could be used in offen

sive warfare. I would be grateful if this

development could be continued to completion by New Zealand officers. All practicable

assistance of facilities and personnel in this Command will be at your disposal.”

Admiral Halsey’s request was examined by New Z

ealand Chiefs of Staff Committee, and

proposals for implementation

were submitted to and approved by the War Cabinet on the 5

May. They provided for the establishment of an Army Research Unit

under the command of

Professor Leech

, who would be directly re

sponsible to the Minister

of the Armed Forces and

War Co

ordination, Sir William Perry.

The establishment of the Research Unit, known as the 24

Army Troops Company was manned primarily

by New Zealanders with the US Navy contributing a small number of explosive experts.

The Project Seal final report further elaborates that:

Experimental Research Station

The original suggestion for utilizing the f

ortress site of the Whangaparaoa Peninsula in

the Haruaki Gulf, New Zealand was adopted. It was reasonably close to Auckland and

the existing Army buildings had recently been reduced to a “care and maintenance”

basis. From the viewpoint of security it was

favorably

situated. Close to the area, there

were several sites suitably located in for the larger experiments proposed. To cater for

the small scale work, designed to determine the principles involved, an earthen dam

was constructed in one of the valleys,

which provided an experimental pool

approximately 1,200 ft. long, 200 ft. wide and with depths varying in steps to 24 ft.

In addition to provision for basic development at Whangaparaoa, plans were laid for an

operational test in New Zealand at Taronui Bay

, North Auckland, between the Bay of

Islands and Whangaroa. This was later abandoned.

It was originally intended that Leech would be assisted by a senior group comprising

Professor Snodgrass

and two eminent hydraulic engineers, Messrs. T.A. Lang and F. de

L. Venables. After protracted negotiations these gentlemen were not able to join the

team, and the technical direction of the whole project remained throughout the

responsibility of Leech.

The report goes on to detail the assistance provided by British sci

entist

s who helped

with mathematical

calculation

but who were overall pessimistic about the project.

Project Seal

however ambitious

was

short lived

as Leech’s report details

Some Difficulties

Shortly after the “SEAL” Unit commenced operations on the 6

June 1944, there was a

change in the Command of the South Pacific Area. This, combined with the many

suggestions by senior officers, resulted in changes of policy, without having due regard

to the technical difficulties involved.

It did not appear to be

realized that time is required to plan and implement

experimental programs. As a result much effort was wasted.

It was also unfortunate that the majority of the U.K. authorities were originally

pessimistic. Subsequent events clearly demonstrated that, bec

ause of the absence of

personal contact, they had based their decisions upon the effects of charges placed at

the greater critical depth, and were at the time unfamiliar with the existence of the

second and more pertinent critical depth near the surface. T

hese factors, combine with

the growing ascendency of the Allied Nations in the Pacific theatre, reduced the

operational priority of the project and caused the New Zealand Government to close it

down in January 1945, before the full experimental program was

completed and the

fundamental scientific problems were solved.

The experimental station at Whangaparaoa was closed down on the 8

January, 1945.

At this time some 3,700 experiments had been carried out with charges ranging from

0.06 lb. to 600 in. weight

. T.N.T. was used generally, although C.E., nitro

starch and

gelignite were employed in some cases.

In 1946 Dr. Karl Compton, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Evaluation Board, visited New

Zealand and discussed the Seal project with Leech, who had been

invited to represent

New Zealand and Australia in a technical capacity at the second Bikini atom bomb trial.

The latter was unable to accept the invitation because of the critical conditions at the

Auckland University College. However, he supplied data rel

ative to the location of the

charge a

the critical depth nearer the water surface together with forecasts of wave

amplitudes at predetermined points at which wave recorders were to be established.

The records were, it was reported subsequently in agreemen

t with the forecasts within

the limits of experimental error.

In February 1947, Leech was invited by the Assistant Secretary, U.S. Navy, to work with

the Dean M.P. O’Brien, Professor

charge of the Department of Engineering,

University of California, upo

n the analysis of records obtained at Bikini. Again, the

continuous critical conditions at the Auckland University College forced the Council to

withhold its permission. During 1948, the University of California published a number of

papers relating to cer

tain phases of the project. Since 1948, several requests for the

final report have been made by Dr. E. Marsden, N.Z. Scientific Liaison Officer, London,

and the U.S. Embassy in New Zealand.

During 1950 circumstances changed sufficiently to permit an effort

being made to

complete the report.

The investigations lead to the conclusion that offensive inundation is possible under

favorable circumstances. Given low lying forshores and a shelving bottom off

shore,

wave amplitudes of the order of those for recorded

tidal waves, which have been

disastrous, can be obtained. While T.N.T. or other explosives can be used, the

engineering work

specially

involved introduces difficulties of considerable magnitude.

The use of atomic bombs as multiple charges may be more prac

tical.

A Conundrum

The Project Seal report c

onfirms that a

secret weapon story leaked in mid

June 1947

was real

and

confirms the participation of our two protagonists. However,

when

we compare the quoted

statements

of both Professors Leech and Snodgrass

o the historical record

both elements of truth as well as

misinformation becomes

apparent

as sum

marized in the following tables:

What T.D.J.

Leech

was quoted:

Project Seal Report:

Existence of the new weapon was

disclosed when Prof. T. D. J. Leech

New Z

aland was mentioned in the

birthday honors list of King George VI

in London. Later

a dispatch quoted

Leech as saying he received the honor

for his work in connection with a

secret weapon

that was an effective

alternate to the atomic bomb.

Greatly

exaggerated. The project explored the generation of

waves by means of explosives and led to the conclusion that

“offensive inundation is possible under favorable

捩牣瑡湣敳⸠䝩癥⁬眠楮⁦牳牥⁡湤⁡獨敬

瑴⁯晦

獨潲Ⱐ⁡汩瑵敳映

攠牤敲⁯映瑨獥景爠

牥捯牤敤⁴楤慬睡敳Ⱐ睨楣⁨慶⁢敥⁤楳獴牯猬⁣⁢攠

obtained.”

牯敳爬⁔⹊⸠敥捨⁲散楶⁡

捯慮敲獨⁯⁴攠牤敲⁴攠

䉲瑩獨⁅楲攮?!⁷慳⁩摥瑩晩敤⁡猠

瑨攠

director of research for the

weapon project

Confirme

“Admiral Halsey’s request was examined by the New Zealand

䍨楥晳⁯⁓瑡晦⁃楴敥Ⱐ慮⁰牯獡汳⁦⁩敭瑡楯

睥牥⁳畢楴瑥⁴⁡湤慰牯敤⁢礠瑨攠坡爠䍡扩琠⁴‵

May. They provided for the establishment of an Army Research

Unit under th

e command of Professor Leech, who would be

directly responsible to the Minister of the Armed Forces and

War Co

Ordination, Sir William Perry.”

周攠敡灯⁤楤⁮琠敡捨瑨攠瑡攠映

牡捴楣慬⁡汩捡瑩⁤物⁴攠睡爬

but work still is being pursued in

the

strictest security by scientists in the

United States, Britain and New

Zealand

, the Canadian Press said.

The weapon definitely did not reach the stage of practical

application, but all work on the project had stopped in January,

1945.

There is one cl

ue in the reports of a

secret Anglo

American weapon said to

outrival the atom bomb as credited

today to Prof. T.D.J. Leech in New

Zealand. That clue points to a ray of

radiation of some sort. That sentence

reads

"One means of application

would have some si

milarity to one

method of using the atomic bomb."

Newspaper speculation on the radiation ray

is not accurate

T.D.J. Leech’s answer is true:

“While T.N.T. or other explosives can be used, the engineering

睯牫⁥獰散楡汬⁩湶汶⁩湴牯捥⁤楦晩捵汴楥⁯

⁣獩敲慢汥

慧楴攮⁔攠獥映瑯楣⁢猠慳汴楰汥⁣慲敳慹

be more practical.”

䥮⁁捫污⁴

, Prof. Leech said he

was "surprised" to hear that a

London newspaper headline had

stated that the atomic bomb had

been rendered obsolete

, but m

ade no

further comment.

T.D.J. Leech knew that Project Seal would not make the atomic

bomb obsolete and that this was a ridiculous assertion.

The Winnipeg Free Press article of

June 13, 1947 states that T.D.J. Leech

was selected to lead the project

becaus

e he had done work before that

was distantly related to it

Leech was the Acting Director of Scientific Developments for

New Zealand. He was also an authority on aerodynamics and

hydrodynamics and

was Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at

Auckland Universit

y College from 1940

1949.

It was his expertise in aerodynamics that led to the later

speculation that the weapon may be airborne.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

........... the artist ..........

Most people make an understandable mistake about the artist. They see the product as the art conjured into being.

But the real product is the artist herself!

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Immortality

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

The Greatest Cold War Secret Never Told - UFOs - Creation of a Myth

Arbeit macht Frei

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