Exhibit alert: Spy Gadgets. One of the most celebrated conventions in spy fiction is the use of gadgets. We've enjoyed countless adventures by James Bond, John Drake, and Napoleon Solo, where a bit of ingenious technology often meant the difference between mission-accomplished and mission-impossible. Whether your vibe is the rolling arsenal of an Aston Martin DB5, Lotus Submarine car, or the camera/radio concealed in a pack of cigarettes, these marvelous screen toys added much spice to the often-grim world of espionage. Readers of Keith Melton's book, The Ultimate Spy, and visitors to the International Spy Museum may be familiar with some of the gadgets used by real-life spies; items like gas gun pens, bugged shoes, poisoned coins, and the pick that killed Trotsky! A new exhibit opened on Saturday at the Pacific Science Center that spotlights rarities from Melton's collection and from the archives of the CIA and FBI. According to the press release below, viewers will be given unprecedented access to items seldom seen by civilians. The animal-themed artifacts below are definitely worthy of Q branch. Show runs through September 1st. Images from the Pacific Science Center. More below.
SPY: The Secret World of Espionage offers guests the first-ever
public exhibition of treasures from the collections of the CIA, the FBI, the National
Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and H. Keith Melton, the renowned author, historian
and international authority on spy technology. Guests will see real gadgets and
real artifacts from spies and spy catchers. They will observe real spy
technologies, and learn the real tools-of-trade, some recently declassified. Photos of sample artifacts follow below with descriptions. See additional images at the Seattle Times here.
Highlights include:
*Peek into the cockpit of the supersonic A-12 Oxcart Spy
Plane from 1962, one
of only nine remaining in the world, designed to defeat
Soviet air defenses by
cruising at more than three times the speed of sound.
*See the Bulgarian Assassination Umbrella that fired a poison ricin pellet into
the leg of BBC reporter and Bulgarian defector Georgi Markov’s leg while he
was
waiting for the bus.
*Navigate your way through the perilous complexities of an
actual laser field
without tripping a circuit!
*Come face-to-face with KGB surveillance photos taken during
the Cuban
Missile Crisis.
*Discover the art of steganography, the art of hiding secret messages inside
the
pixels of innocent-looking digital photos.
*Peer into the Minox IIIs Camera that Oleg Penkovkiy used to
photograph
documents.
ENIGMA MACHINE
During World War II, the German military and intelligence
services used Enigma cipher machines to create what they thought were
unbreakable messages. The Enigma offered 150,000,000,000,000,000,000 possible
solutions to any one enciphered message. Yet the Allies were often able to find
the right solution and read German secrets. In doing so, they created the
world’s first electronic computer, Colossus. This intelligence coup shortened
the war by an estimated two years.
ROBOT FISH “CHARLIE”
This remote-controlled robotic catfish was spawned in the
CIA’s Directorate of Science and Technology. The goal was to explore the use of
unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) for aquatic missions. “Charlie” swims in a
realistic manner thanks to a pressure hull and ballast system in its body and a
propulsion system in its tail.
INSECTOTHOPTER
Invented in the 1970s by the CIA’s Directorate of Science
and Technology, this robotic dragonfly was the world’s first miniaturized
unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). A tiny liquid-propellant engine drove its wings
up and down. The “Insectothopter” ultimately proved unstable in crosswinds, but
its fluid dynamic technology inspired further research into miniature platforms
for spy cameras and audio sensors.
A-12 FLIGHT BOOTS, GLOVES AND HELMET
Developed by Lockheed under the ironic codename OXCART, the
A-12 cruised at more than three times the speed of sound, creating such
friction against the atmosphere that the air surrounding the plane often
reached 400°F. Its camera could photograph the ground from 90,000 feet above. A-12 pilots wore a type of protective pressure suit with
thermal insulation, pressure control, cooling, and a life support system. The
suit offered protection from heat radiating through the windshield and from
cold and low pressure in the event of a high-altitude bailout.
PIGEON CAMERA
Developed by the CIA in 1970, the aim was to capture film footage of sensitive areas during low-level flights by pigeons. Pigeons!
Spy Vibe is having a spring sale on eBay. New items added very few days and include rare Beatles, James Bond, books, music, and comics. Details here.
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