SECRET WARTIME experiments were conducted off the New Zealand coast to perfect a bomb that could trigger devastating Tsunami waves, according to government files declassified in Auckland.

The New Zealand Herald, citing the files, said that senior United States defence officials believed the weapon had the potential to be as deadly as the atomic bomb. But the tsunami bomb, as it was known, was never fully tested and the war ended before the project was completed.

Its mastermind was Thomas Leech, an Australian professor who as the dean of engineering at Auckland University from 1940 to 1950. He was seconded to the New Zealand Army during the Second World War. He set off a series of underwater explosions that triggered mini tidal waves at Whangaparaoa, just north of Auckland, in 1944 and 1945.

Details of the research, known as Project Seal, are contained in 53- year-old documents released by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The papers, stamped "Top Secret", show that America and Britain were keen for Seal to be developed in the postwar years. They even considered sending Professor Leech to Bikini Atoll to watch the US nuclear tests and see if they had any application to his work.

In the end, he did not make the visit, although Dr Karl Compton, a member of the US board of assessors of nuclear tests, was sent to New Zealand to meet him.

In July 1946, a letter from Washington to Wellington Defence Headquarters stated: "Dr Compton is impressed with Professor Leech's deductions on the Seal Project and is prepared to recommend to the Joint Chiefs of Staff that all technical data from the test, relevant to the Seal Project, should be made available to the New Zealand government for further study."

The announcement in 1947 that he had been awarded a CBE for weapons research led to speculation in some newspapers outside New Zealand about the nature of the work that he had been conducting. No details were released about it at the time because the project was still under way.

Neil Kirton, a former colleague of Professor Leech, told the New Zealand Herald that the experiments involved laying a pattern of explosives underwater to create a tidal wave.

Small-scale explosions were set off in the Pacific and off Whangaparaoa, which was controlled by the army at the time. Mr Kirton said he doubted whether people living in Auckland at the time would have noticed the trials.

What happened to Project Seal once the final report was forwarded to Wellington in the late 1940s is not clear.

Mr Kirton said: "If it could ever be resurrected, under some circumstances I think it could be devastating."

Views Below Are Not HP Staff, And Have Been Sent To Our News Files

Was the tsunami caused by a bomb? By Gordon Deponto, Greatfalls
Could Nuclear testing create a tsunami?

This is a difficult topic to research, because much of the information surrounding nuclear testing is classified. During the Cold War there was fear of tsunamis produced by the detonation of nuclear bombs on the continental shelf off the East Coast of the US. A nuclear bomb was never detonated on the shelf, however a huge explosion did generate a tsunami during World War I causing vast destruction Any large disturbance that displaces a large volume of water can be a potential cause of a tsunami.

If it happened before, it may be a bomb that caused this one. It seems very convenient that the epicenter of the earthquake was in war torn Aceh. Could a bomb or series of bombs on the faultline have caused this huge earthquake/tsunami?

Reporters keep saying it looks like a nuclear bomb was dropped. Was this nuclear weapons above and below the ocean. 3 large Nukes in different areas could do the same damage and cause the same tsunami. We Pray to God that this is not another push for oil and the New World Order by our governments.

FACTS
Aceh has fought for independence for many years - even befor Indonesia became a democracy (AKA US protectorate) a few years ago.

There is oil, a lot of it, and liquid gas in Indonesia.

The US is engaged in military "training" in the region. Flight and naval base with weapons to oufit a huge army

80,000 + people in Aceh died in the earthquake.

I'd predict that Aceh will suddenly become peaceful and cooperative with the US appointed Indonesian government.

THEORY
Is it likely that this whole terrible earthquake/tsunami happened because US/Indonesian army folks thought it would be a good idea to use a big bomb to quench the Aceh independence movement?

This would be a terrible murderous plot to intentionally kill so many people. Those in power might say these people are poor and are causing the New World order many troubles. If this is the kind of freedom the New World order brings, intentional death to make it work, then God help those that conspire to do this. On the day of judgment there will be no where to hide. ( If the life of thousands of poor Aceh people made in the image of God is the way the New World Order intends to make it easier to control the region and take the oil.), then this is not freedom but death to all who go along with such a diabolical plan. If they tried to get rid of the Aceh rebels with a bomb it worked well, but they never thought it would cause a big tsunami. The New World Order Pushers don't care how many lives they take to make their one World Government work. These are my thoughts, lets hope this is not the real reason the Tsunami was so large.
By Gordon Deponto, Greatfalls U.S.