“DEATH RAY”

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 September 1938, Page 9

“DEATH RAY”

APPARATUS TO DESTROY AIRCRAFT. NEW ZEALANDER’S INVENTION. A ray said to be capable of destroying aircraft has been invented by Mr John Pomeroy, formerly of Invercargill. Now under contract to the Chinese Government, Mr Pomeroy landed in Hong Kong about six weeks ago intending to fit up his ray and use it in the war against Japan. Mr Byron Brown, who returned from a trip to the East on Tuesday, said that he had travelled to China on the same ship as Mr Pomeroy and his son. They received a great send-off from the Chinese Consul in Sydney in Conjunction with a large number of prominent Chinese merchants in the city, but on arriving at Hong Kong the first ship encountered was a Japanese gunboat; Many of the passengers took fright when they saw it as they thought it had been sent there to prevent the inventor from landing in China. No harm befell them, however, and as soon as Mr Pomeroy arrived in port he left for Hankow, where he intended to fit up his ray. Mr Brown added that he thought the invention was a genuine one, as he had seen clippings from English papers which spoke highly of the power of the ray. The clippings also contained statements, by several British Cabinet Ministers who had referred to it in important speeches. He had not heard of the inventor since leaving China, but fully expected to see reports in the Press before long describing how the ray was being brought into play.