WONDER SHELL

Greymouth Evening Star, 7 February 1939, Page 2

WONDER SHELL

•IGNORED BY WAR OFFICE” LONDON, January 14. A Brilon who claims to have invented a new type of shell which will affect the- entire trend of modern war in the air. alleges that, he is being ignored by the War Office, to whom he submitted plans three years ago. He said this week, that he had now reached a stage in his work when he could guarantee the perfection of the invention.

"But,” he added, "I am growing tired of being put off and told to wait. I hate io think of .such a thing, but it may mean that I b-hrll iu the end bo forced, to sell the invention to a foreign Power.” The- scientist, is Mr. R. M. Cooper, a Londoner, who after years of experiment has evolved a. wonder shell which, he says, will enable army gunners to account lor tiny raiding ’plane that, comes within range. The shell will automatically explode the instant it. gets near its objective.

"ft is a well-known fact.” Mr. Cooper said. "Ural, gunners firing at. ’planes can seldom he sure of accuracy. The ptojeciile may explode al IO.OOOit or 11,000 ft. and the gunners have to trust to luck that, if it does not. hit the 'plane, some particle of il may do vital damage. , "With my shell, however, there, is certainty. The Cooper shell doos not explode until it comes into contact with the currents or rays sen! out io it by the moral or other sttbsia nc.c.s

in tiir- ’plane al. which it is directed

"l < tin arrange th.-it the shell will net on any account explode until if gets within Jfi or This would meat 1 , that. many times the number of raiding aircraft could bo shot, down.”