Who invented the seismic bomb?

J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904–1967) was an American theoretical physicist involved in the Manhattan Project that developed the first atomic bomb.

Yulii Khariton (1904–1996) was a Russian physicist and a leading scientist in the Soviet Union's nuclear weapons programme.

Edward Teller (1908–2003) was a Hungarian-American theoretical physicist who contributed to the research underlying the hydrogen bomb

Sir Barnes Neville Wallis (1887 –1979) was an English scientist, engineer and aircraft designer. He invented the seismic bomb.

Wallis conceived of seismic or earthquake bombs early in World War II. They differ in concept from traditional bombs, which usually explode at or near ground level and destroy their target directly by explosive force. In contrast, a seismic bomb is dropped from high altitude to attain very high speed as it falls and upon impact, penetrates and explodes deep underground, causing massive caverns or craters known as camouflets, as well as intense shockwaves. In this way, the seismic bomb can affect targets that are too massive to be affected by a conventional bomb, as well as damage or destroy difficult targets.

Seismic bombs were used towards the end of World War II on reinforced installations, such as submarine pens with thick concrete walls, caverns, tunnels, bridges and viaducts. They were also used to destroy the German battleship “Tirpitz.”

The picture is of “Tallboy”, a seismic bomb used by the RAF.