The Best Real Spy Gadgets

The devices used in espionage are fascinating both for their creative designs and for their function.
Some spy gadgets were used as weapons, others merely for surveillance, but they all were the products of necessity and were creative, innovative works from designers all across the globe. One could easily write a book about the spy tools of the world, and I am certain several have been written. However, for the purpose here I will discuss only the best of the best. I've sorted through data about many known, real-life, spy gadgets and have chosen a few that I feel are among the most unique.

Before you swat that fly...

Is that a bug, or is that really a Bug? The CIA developed and employed an unknown number of small, intelligence-gathering machines that resembled flying insects.

Tip: These are best for discreet, indoor use only.

Something Fishy...

Sometimes a catfish is not a fish at all--at least not when it comes from a secret CIA design lab.
Disguised as a realistic-looking fish, these devices were employed as underwater couriers of sensitive packages.

Tip: "Catch and Release" is probably the best policy if you get one of these hooked on your fishing line.

Beware of the Pigeons...

A special camera strapped to a trained pigeon was a great way to snap footage of unsuspecting foreign spies and other suspicious characters.

Tip: The pigeon's salary was said to be much less than that of the average CIA employee.

Don't forget to dot your i's...

Cold war spies were fond of miniscule cameras called "microdot" cameras. Photos from these were as small as a dot and could therefore be concealed in a letter.

Tip: Tell me you did not just put that letter from Moscow through the shredder...

But it isn't raining, Mr. Putin ...

An umbrella can be a fine, practical accessory for many occasions. An umbrella can also be a deadly weapon--especially if it has been designed by the KGB. Such an umbrella, which injected a poison pellet from its tip, was the weapon of choice for the assassin who killed Georgi Markov, a Bulgarian Dissident in London in 1978. The pellet contained the deadly poison ricin.

Tip: Avoid shifty-looking types with umbrellas.

Thanks, but I don't smoke...

A gun disguised as a cigarette case fired poison bullets and was a weapon carried by KGB officer Nikolai Khokhlov

Tip: Do not accept a cigarette from a Russian spy.

Photos of many of these gadgets can be found at www.thememoryhole.org/spy/cia-museum/