After World War II, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), an intelligence, spy, and behind-the-front-lines sabotage organization, was disbanded. But in 1947, President Harry Truman formed its replacement—the CIA—to gather, process, and analyze national security information from around the world.
The agency has kept, and uncovered, a multitude of secrets. Below are some intriguing facts from its history, from ingenious spy methods to dangerous clandestine missions.
· The CIA Had Lots of Secret Gadgets
Ian Flemming was part of British intelligence services during World War II. He also was the creator of the infamous spy James Bond, who had an amazing array of devices invented by “Q,” the head of MI6's research and development division.
Although not as spectacular as Bond’s contrivances, the CIA created a range of secret gadgets that included hollow silver dollars for holding messages or film, miniature compasses hidden in cufflinks, pigeon-mounted mini cameras, and a listening device designed to look like tiger excrement. It also created a robot fish that secretly collected water samples. One of the most inventive of them was insectothopter, a tiny robotic dragonfly that could eavesdrop on otherwise inaudible conversations.
· The CIA Used the Skyhook Before Bond
It was code-named Project Coldfeet. They launched it in 1962 to investigate an abandoned Soviet research station on a floating ice island in the Arctic. The prospect of examining an abandoned Soviet ice station attracted the interest of the U.S. Navy's Office of Naval Research (ONR). ONR wanted to compare Soviet efforts on drift stations with U.S. operations.
Two Navy pilots secretly parachuted down onto the ice to search for information. Fairly easy. But the paramount question was how to get them out because it was impossible to land an aircraft on the ice.
So, the CIA used its new Fulton surface-to-air recovery system, also known as the Skyhook. The agents on the ground deployed a helium balloon that lifted a 500-foot line into the air. A slow-moving B-17 plane, with the Skyhook device attached to its nose, then flew overhead and snagged the line with the agents attached to the end of it, sweeping them into the air, at which point they were winched aboard the aircraft. Sound familiar? You might have seen the Skyhook used later by James Bond in 1965’s Thunderball and Batman in 2008’s The Dark Knight.
· Anthropologists and Archaeologists Made Great Spies
The OSS and other intelligence agencies often recruited archaeologists during World War I and World War II. So did the CIA, which has also enlisted archaeologists, anthropologists, art historians, and other academics for intelligence-gathering. Why? Because these professionals already had good reason to be conducting fieldwork in foreign countries—and they tended to be discreet and invisible to the other side.
· Some Highly Trained Spies Weren’t Human
Animals have been used in espionage since ancient Egyptians and ancient Greeks. The CIA took things to a whole new level, using highly trained nonhumans to undertake a range of complex tasks.
In a secret 1960s project known as Project OXYGAS, dolphins were trained to attach explosive devices to enemy ships. The dolphins swam away from submarines or underwater containers, using harnesses in their snouts to tow the bombs.
Birds have proved useful, too. Camera-carrying pigeons could take higher-quality photos than spy satellites operating at the time, while ravens were trained to deliver and retrieve small objects of up to 1.4 ounces from otherwise inaccessible buildings.
· Here Kitty
The CIA also spent $20 million trying to train cats to eavesdrop while fitted with recording devices. Known as Operation Acoustic Kitty, the project involved an hour-long procedure. A veterinary surgeon would implant a microphone in the cat's ear canal, a small radio transmitter at the base of its skull, and a thin wire into its fur. The first Acoustic Kitty mission was to eavesdrop on two men in a park outside the Soviet embassy in Washington, D.C. The cat was released nearby, but was hit and allegedly killed by a taxi almost immediately.
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Frank Victoria is an award-winning author and screenwriter. He’s been an Amazon bestseller with his recent book, The Founders’ Plot, a political thriller for our times. He donates proceeds of his books to Tunnels to Towers and Fisher House, helping military veterans and first responders. His novella, The Ultimate Bet is available on his website and Amazon. His newest release, The Protectors, is available on Amazon. Check out his new website: FrankVictoriaAuthor.com
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