36 Most Amazing Spy Gadgets From the Cold War Era ~ Vintage Everyday

Cold war era is Famous for the espionage and spying operations by the world's two biggest spy organizations of that time, that is, CIA and KGB against each other. In this, they were aided by the development of new technology and gadgets. Inaccessible to the general public, some of those gadgets have been recently declassified.

Here, we are going to present you some of those impressive gadgets.

1. Sedgley OSS .38 Glove Pistol.

This glove has single shot 0.38mm pistol hidden inside it. In a critical situation the agent could surrender by raising hands and then later shooting when the target is in range

2. Letter Remover.

This special type of device was used to remove letters from the envelopes without disturbing their seals. Its pincer like head is inserted into the envelope to wind-up the letter and remove it

2. “Matchbox” Camera.

Developped by the Eastman Kodak Company for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), this camera was the size of a matchbox. It could then be covered with labels in various languages to look like a real matchbox

3. CIA Semi-Submersible.

This CIA designed semi-submersible was used in 1950s. Having a crew of two, it did not carry any weapons but was used to drop or rescue secret agents into the enemy areas

4. “Belly Buster” Drill.

“Belly Buster” is a CIA Gadget from the early 60’s. Consisting of many parts, it was used to drill holes into rooms for the implantation of the secret hearing devices

5. Dragonfly Insectothopter.

A CIA gadget from the 1970s, it can be regarded as the first smaller Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). Equipped with hidden camera, its capabilities are quite impressive as compared to its size at that time

6. Single-Use Encoder Pads.

One-time pads (OTP) were used for the encryption of messages using a secret key. They were issued in pairs by the CIA, one was used for encoding and other for the decoding. Once a sheet was used it was destroyed ensuring unbreakable security

7. Microdot Camera.

This amazing microdot camera was used to film many pages of secret documents on a punctuation sized film. The film could then be hidden on an otherwise normal letter or inside a hollow coin. The film could be consequently read using a secret viewer

8. Stereoscope and Case.

Developed during the World War II, it was used to analyze photographs, taken from aerial/aircraft reconnaissance, in 3D

9. “Dead” Drop Spike.

It was used by a secret agent or his handler for communication between them. The document could be hidden inside and pushed into the ground at a pre-fixed drop site where other person could later retrieve it

10. M-209 Cipher Box.

This cipher machine from the World War II was used by the US army to encode the military messages. Its compactness and portability is awesome

11. Pigeon Camera.

CIA found out that Pigeons can fly in close range to the target. Hence, they developed a camera which could be fitted with a pigeon. The pigeon could take the pictures of the target from few hundred of feets to produce detailed quality images

12. Surveillance Fashion.

Developed by CIA, this fashionable attire could be worn by a female secret agent attending a black-tie event. She could easily take photos and record conversations

13. Code in a Compact.

A female agent could read the secret code from the mirror while pretending to be doing makeup. The code was only visible at certain angle

14. Escape Map.

This extraordinary CIA map was printed in silk, could easily be folded with compactness and concealed. It was also possible to wear it like a scarf. The colors of the map were not effected even if the agent made an escape through the water

15. Silver Dollar Concealer.

This CIA's coin was hollow from inside and could be used to hide messages or photographic film

16. Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife.

This knife was designed by the British designers, Captains W.E. Fairbairn and E.A. Sykes in 1941. These knife was designed to strike a blow to the vulnerable parts of the opponent

17. Minox Camera.

This was once the world's most widely used spy camera. It was designed by a Latvian engineer, in 1937. It could easily be held in the palm of the hand. It was considered to be a technological marvel at that time

18. Seismic Intruder Detection Device.

This intrusion-detection system was developed by CIA and was able to completely blend in the Earth. It was sensitive enough to detect any movements from a distance of 300 meters. The device was powered by a battery and equipped with an antenna to information in the form of coded pulses

19. Tire Spike.

No matter in whatever position it was thrown on the ground, this CIA gadget was able to puncture tires on a road or on the runway

20. Tobacco Pouch Camera.

Developed by Switzerland this camera could easily be hidden in Tobacco Pouch

21. A Pipe With a Hidden Miniature Gun.

A miniature one shot gun could be hidden inside the pipe for use in critical situation

22. The Bulgarian Umbrella.

An agent could use this umbrella as a gun to shoot poisoned darts at the enemy at close range

23. Spy Shoe With a Heel Transmitter.

This high-tech shoes had battery, voice recorder and transmitter inside it. The target person wearing this shoes had its conversation transmitted to the receivers nearby

24. CIA Tool Kit From 60s.