International Spy Museum Exterior
International Spy Museum Exterior
School For Spies Gallery
School For Spies Gallery
School For Spies Gallery With Bond Car
School For Spies Gallery With Bond Car
Berlin
Berlin with Guests Inside of the War of the Spies Gallery
Aerial Surveillance Camera
(c. 1917 - 1918, Germany) Pigeons with tiny cameras were commonly released over military sites in World War I. As the birds flew, the cameras continuously clicked away, snapping pictures which were developed and interpreted when the pigeons reached their destinations.
Lipstick Pistol
(c. 1965, USSR, KGB issue) Referred to as “The Kiss of Death,” the lipstick pistol was employed by KGB operatives during the Cold War. This 4.5 mm single shot weapon was disguised as a tube of lipstick, easily hidden in a purse. The existence of such a weapon was first detected at a border crossing into West Berlin.
Steineck ABC Wristwatch Camera
(c. 1949, Germany) This cleverly disguised subminiature camera allowed an operative to take photographs while pretending to check his watch for the time of day. It used a circular piece of film with six exposures.
Bond Car
(1964) The Aston Martin DB5 first appeared in the 1964 James Bond thriller Goldfinger. The ultimate spy car came fully loaded with machine guns, tire slashers, bulletproof shield, oil jets, dashboard radar screen, rotating license plate, and ejector seat. The Bond car not only captured the public's imagination, but inspired intelligence agencies to incorporate similar features into high-security vehicles used in dangerous areas.
Coal Camo
(c. 1942-45, US, OSS issue) Explosive coal was used in sabotage operations by the OSS during WWII. The device, shaped like a large piece of coal, was actually a hollow shell into which explosives were packed. Using the camouflage kit, the operative painted the device to match the local coal and then secretly deposited it into coal bins at ship or railroad yards. The camouflaged coal would detonate when burned in a locomotive’s furnace or a factory boiler.
Coat Camera
(c. 1970s, USSR, KGB issue) The KGB used small, lightweight F21 cameras for various methods of clandestine photography. Concealing the camera behind coat buttons proved very effective. The camera lens was hidden behind a false button on the front of the user’s coat. When the remote shutter release was triggered, connected to the lens by a thin cable from a coat pocket, the center of the false button opened briefly to take the photograph. Spare buttons were provided to the user so that all the buttons on a coat could be replaced to match the false one. This concealment proved so successful, it remains in use today.
Listening Post In Operation Spy
Listening Post In Operation Spy
Tunnel In Operation Spy
Tunnel In Operation Spy
Courtyard
Courtyard Within Operation Spy