Top secret War Office papers have revealed a strange and macabre weapons project tested by the Allies during World War II. Lethal clouds of tiny poisoned darts were to be tipped with mustard gas to kill enemy troops without damaging nearby buildings or equipment. Research scientists thought clouds of poison darts, blasted from canisters high above the battlefield, could be even more lethal against enemy troop concentrations than high-explosive shells. Mustard gas compounds in the needles would ensure anyone whose skin was broken would die a swift and horrible death, or at least have terrible injuries. Assessing the effectiveness of the darts one report notes: "If penetrating into the flesh, will cause death if not plucked out within 30 seconds. If plucked out within this time, will cause disablement by collapse. Collapse occurs within one to five minutes, and death within 30 minutes."
Mark Dunton, a contemporary history specialist at the National Archives, said:
"it shows the Allies were prepared to consider anything - no matter how gruesome - to secure a victory."
The file shows the darts were never used because they were a "highly uneconomical weapon" and only a small proportion of people would have been killed.
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