16 Jun 2023

Death Ray: the story of Victor Penny

From Black Sheep, 5:00 am on 16 June 2023

In 1935, a series of extraordinary newspaper articles claimed a backyard inventor called Victor Penny was trying to build a Death Ray for the New Zealand government. But were these claims true?

A clipping from the Auckland Star about Auckland inventor Victor Penny. The Headline reads: Invention Mystery. Victor Penny Still Guargded. Secrecy maintained. Months on Somes Islands. "A Big Surprise Soon"

Newspaper clipping about Auckland inventor Victor Penny from the Auckland Star, 19 March 1936 Photo: Papers Past

RNZ’s Black Sheep podcast investigates the mystery.