One of my favorite parts of being an author is research. My latest historical fiction novel, The Librarians of Lisbon, published by Zando, gave me the chance to explore the fascinating realm of World War II espionage tactics and equipment. Some of what I learned genuinely surprised me.
For instance, I had no idea that “bugs,” or those tiny, nearly undetectable listening devices that can be hidden in or disguised as something as small as an insect or a martini olive (think James Bond!) weren’t widely available to spies during World War II. Instead, Allied and Axis spies relied on wire-tapping to eavesdrop on phone conversations, and also a device called a detectifone.
Spies, like the fictional Selene Delmont in The Librarians of Lisbon, planted detectifones inside their target’s home or office and then could eavesdrop on conversations from anywhere in the building. The smaller, less detectable “bugs” came into common use during the Cold War years. One of the very first uses of one of these miniature, passive covert listening devices was in 1945, just before the end of World War II. At that time, the Soviet Union gifted a carved wooden seal bearing an eagle to the United States.
The seal was given to American Ambassador Harriman to hang in his office in the American Embassy in Moscow. The “bug” hidden inside the seal wasn’t discovered until seven years later in 1951, when a British radio operator overheard one of the ambassador’s conversations on an open Soviet radio channel. Today, the infamous seal is on display in the NSA’s National Cryptologic Museum.
While spies like Selene, Bea, and Gable didn’t have these conveniently miniscule “bugs” at their disposal, they had other clever spy gadgets to help them in their subterfuge. When American librarians and academics were recruited for espionage work, even if their jobs entailed document recovery or research, they were also trained for a variety of dangerous missions. At training camps in Maryland, nicknamed “the Farm,” they were taught riflery, coding and decrypting, lock-picking, and other skills for sabotage. They were instructed never to reveal their true identities to anyone, even during training, and were given new identities for their missions overseas. Librarians and professors were especially adept at collecting and analyzing information for the Allies, because they had the keen eyes and patience to uncover important details in the most unusual places.
Microcameras, like the one shown below disguised as a matchbox, were used to photograph important evidence and documents. Librarians trained as spies used cameras like these in attempts to preserve endangered literature and art as well, taking photographs of manuscripts and artwork for safekeeping. Photographs of maps, artillery and machinery manuals as well as uncensored newspapers were passed onto the Allied forces, providing essential information that helped win the war.
During World War Two, the use of radio transmitters and crystal radio sets was also essential for agent communications. Larger radio transmitters could be carried in suitcases, and, in a few particularly innovative case, also hidden inside more unusual objects like baby carriages. Smaller radio sets might be hidden inside food tins or other common, household items, the idea being that the more commonplace the object looked, the less likely it would be to raise suspicion.
Radio communication was essential to both Allied and Axis forces for relaying information to their respective troops, to underground resistance groups, and to agents working the European theater of the war.
Aside from tools for communication and information collection, spies also needed effective weapons that could be easily concealed. Spies were often discouraged from carrying too many weapons on their persons at any one time, because if they were captured or compromised, the weapon would be proof of their subterfuge. Instead, they were trained to incapacitate enemies using everyday objects, or with their own hands. But in circumstances where a weapon was warranted, something small and discrete was preferred.
The dagger shown below was light, easy to carry, and ingeniusly disguised as a benign everyday pencil (The cutouts in the photograph below were only made to show the dagger hidden inside.).
Spies could also conceal weapons like small zip guns in unsuspecting objects, like a pair of shoes (as shown below).
A more morbid tool of the trade was something that might transport poison, or the means to incapacitate an enemy. Something like this ring (shown below) could have carried a powdered poison or incapacitating agent that could easily and inconspicuously be slipped into an enemy’s drink, or sprinkled on their food.
The inventive gadgetry seen in James Bond movies wasn’t far-fetched, after all. During World War II and after, the tools of spy craft continued to evolve.
For me as a writer, one of the most entertaining aspects of crafting The Librarians of Lisbon was being able to use some of these spy gadgets in the plot itself.
If you’re interested in seeing some of these gadgets first-hand, or learning more about spy craft in general:
Read:
The Secret History of World War II: Spies, Codebreakers, & Covert Operations, by Neil Kagan and Stephen G. Hyslop.
Visit:
- The NSA National Cryptologic Musem in Annapolis Junction, MD.
- The International Spy Museum in Washington, DC.
