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<p>[QUOTE="komokwa, post: 422185, member: 301"]<font size="5"><b>Weapons and gadgets</b></font></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Beano_grenade.jpg" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Beano_grenade.jpg" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Beano_grenade.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></a></p><p>OSS <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T13_Beano_Grenade" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T13_Beano_Grenade" rel="nofollow">T13 Beano Grenade</a> and compass hidden in a button, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA_Museum" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA_Museum" rel="nofollow">CIA Museum</a></p><p>The OSS espionage and sabotage operations produced a steady demand for highly specialized equipment.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-Smith,_R._Harris_1972-8" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-Smith,_R._Harris_1972-8" rel="nofollow">[8]</a> General Donovan invited experts, organized workshops, and funded labs that later formed the core of the Research & Development Branch. Boston chemist Stanley P. Lovell became its first head, and Donovan humorously called him his "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professor_Moriarty" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professor_Moriarty" rel="nofollow">Professor Moriarty</a>".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-Wild_Bill_Donovan:_The_Spymaster_Who_Created_the_OSS-18" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-Wild_Bill_Donovan:_The_Spymaster_Who_Created_the_OSS-18" rel="nofollow">[18]</a>:101 Throughout the war years, the OSS Research & Development successfully adapted Allied weapons and espionage equipment, and produced its own line of novel spy tools and gadgets, including silenced pistols, lightweight sub-machine guns, "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BEANO_T-13_grenade" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BEANO_T-13_grenade" rel="nofollow">Beano</a>" grenades that exploded upon impact, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_torpedo" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_torpedo" rel="nofollow">explosives disguised as lumps of coal</a> ("Black Joe") or bags of Chinese flour ("Aunt Jemima"), acetone time delay fuses for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limpet_mine" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limpet_mine" rel="nofollow">limpet mines</a>, compasses hidden in uniform buttons, playing cards that concealed maps, a 16mm Kodak camera in the shape of a matchbox, tasteless poison tablets ("K" and "L" pills), and cigarettes laced with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/THC-O-acetate" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/THC-O-acetate" rel="nofollow">tetrahydrocannabinol acetate</a> (an extract of Indian hemp) to induce uncontrollable chattiness.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-Wild_Bill_Donovan:_The_Spymaster_Who_Created_the_OSS-18" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-Wild_Bill_Donovan:_The_Spymaster_Who_Created_the_OSS-18" rel="nofollow">[18]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-19" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-19" rel="nofollow">[19]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-20" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-20" rel="nofollow">[20]</a></p><p><br /></p><p>The OSS also developed innovative communication equipment such as wiretap gadgets, electronic beacons for locating agents, and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan-Eleanor_system" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan-Eleanor_system" rel="nofollow">"Joan-Eleanor" portable radio system</a> that made it possible for operatives on the ground to establish secure contact with a plane that was preparing to land or drop cargo. The OSS Research & Development also printed fake German and Japanese-issued identification cards, and various passes, ration cards, and counterfeit money.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-21" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-21" rel="nofollow">[21]</a></p><p><br /></p><p>On August 28, 1943, Stanley Lovell was asked to make a presentation in front of a not very friendly audience of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Chiefs_of_Staff" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Chiefs_of_Staff" rel="nofollow">Joint Chiefs of Staff</a>, since the U.S. top brass were largely skeptical of all OSS plans beyond collecting military intelligence and were ready to split the OSS between the Army and the Navy.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-22" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-22" rel="nofollow">[22]</a>:5–7 While explaining the purpose and mission of his department and introducing various gadgets and tools, he reportedly casually dropped into a waste basket a Hedy, a panic-inducing explosive device in the shape of a firecracker, which shortly produced a loud shrieking sound followed by a deafening boom. The presentation was interrupted and did not resume since everyone in the room fled. In reality, the Hedy, jokingly named after Hollywood movie star <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedy_Lamarr" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedy_Lamarr" rel="nofollow">Hedy Lamarr</a> for her ability to distract men, later saved the lives of some trapped OSS operatives.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-23" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-23" rel="nofollow">[23]</a>:184–185</p><p><br /></p><p>Not all projects worked. Some ideas were odd, such as a failed attempt to use insects to spread anthrax in Spain.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-Six-Legged_Soldiers-24" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-Six-Legged_Soldiers-24" rel="nofollow">[24]</a>:150–151 Stanley Lovell was later quoted saying, "It was my policy to consider any method whatever that might aid the war, however unorthodox or untried".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-25" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-25" rel="nofollow">[25]</a></p><p><br /></p><p>In 1939, a young physician named <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_J._Lambertsen" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_J._Lambertsen" rel="nofollow">Christian J. Lambertsen</a> developed an oxygen <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebreather" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebreather" rel="nofollow">rebreather</a> set (the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambertsen_Amphibious_Respiratory_Unit" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambertsen_Amphibious_Respiratory_Unit" rel="nofollow">Lambertsen Amphibious Respiratory Unit</a>) and demonstrated it to the OSS—after already being rejected by the U.S. Navy—in a pool at a hotel in Washington D.C., in 1942.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-vann2004-26" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-vann2004-26" rel="nofollow">[26]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-cjl-27" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-cjl-27" rel="nofollow">[27]</a> The OSS not only bought into the concept, they hired Lambertsen to lead the program and build up the dive element for the organization.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-cjl-27" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-cjl-27" rel="nofollow">[27]</a> His responsibilities included training and developing methods of combining self-contained diving and swimmer delivery including the Lambertsen Amphibious Respiratory Unit for the OSS "Operational Swimmer Group".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-vann2004-26" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-vann2004-26" rel="nofollow">[26]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-butler2004-28" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-butler2004-28" rel="nofollow">[28]</a> Growing involvement of the OSS with coastal infiltration and water-based sabotage eventually led to creation of the OSS Maritime Unit.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I'm going to say......VERY difficult !</p><p>And maybe even more difficult to prove....even if you found something !![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="komokwa, post: 422185, member: 301"][SIZE=5][B]Weapons and gadgets[/B][/SIZE] [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Beano_grenade.jpg'][IMG]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Beano_grenade.jpg[/IMG][/URL] OSS [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T13_Beano_Grenade']T13 Beano Grenade[/URL] and compass hidden in a button, [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA_Museum']CIA Museum[/URL] The OSS espionage and sabotage operations produced a steady demand for highly specialized equipment.[URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-Smith,_R._Harris_1972-8'][8][/URL] General Donovan invited experts, organized workshops, and funded labs that later formed the core of the Research & Development Branch. Boston chemist Stanley P. Lovell became its first head, and Donovan humorously called him his "[URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professor_Moriarty']Professor Moriarty[/URL]".[URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-Wild_Bill_Donovan:_The_Spymaster_Who_Created_the_OSS-18'][18][/URL]:101 Throughout the war years, the OSS Research & Development successfully adapted Allied weapons and espionage equipment, and produced its own line of novel spy tools and gadgets, including silenced pistols, lightweight sub-machine guns, "[URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BEANO_T-13_grenade']Beano[/URL]" grenades that exploded upon impact, [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_torpedo']explosives disguised as lumps of coal[/URL] ("Black Joe") or bags of Chinese flour ("Aunt Jemima"), acetone time delay fuses for [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limpet_mine']limpet mines[/URL], compasses hidden in uniform buttons, playing cards that concealed maps, a 16mm Kodak camera in the shape of a matchbox, tasteless poison tablets ("K" and "L" pills), and cigarettes laced with [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/THC-O-acetate']tetrahydrocannabinol acetate[/URL] (an extract of Indian hemp) to induce uncontrollable chattiness.[URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-Wild_Bill_Donovan:_The_Spymaster_Who_Created_the_OSS-18'][18][/URL][URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-19'][19][/URL][URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-20'][20][/URL] The OSS also developed innovative communication equipment such as wiretap gadgets, electronic beacons for locating agents, and the [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan-Eleanor_system']"Joan-Eleanor" portable radio system[/URL] that made it possible for operatives on the ground to establish secure contact with a plane that was preparing to land or drop cargo. The OSS Research & Development also printed fake German and Japanese-issued identification cards, and various passes, ration cards, and counterfeit money.[URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-21'][21][/URL] On August 28, 1943, Stanley Lovell was asked to make a presentation in front of a not very friendly audience of the [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Chiefs_of_Staff']Joint Chiefs of Staff[/URL], since the U.S. top brass were largely skeptical of all OSS plans beyond collecting military intelligence and were ready to split the OSS between the Army and the Navy.[URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-22'][22][/URL]:5–7 While explaining the purpose and mission of his department and introducing various gadgets and tools, he reportedly casually dropped into a waste basket a Hedy, a panic-inducing explosive device in the shape of a firecracker, which shortly produced a loud shrieking sound followed by a deafening boom. The presentation was interrupted and did not resume since everyone in the room fled. In reality, the Hedy, jokingly named after Hollywood movie star [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedy_Lamarr']Hedy Lamarr[/URL] for her ability to distract men, later saved the lives of some trapped OSS operatives.[URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-23'][23][/URL]:184–185 Not all projects worked. Some ideas were odd, such as a failed attempt to use insects to spread anthrax in Spain.[URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-Six-Legged_Soldiers-24'][24][/URL]:150–151 Stanley Lovell was later quoted saying, "It was my policy to consider any method whatever that might aid the war, however unorthodox or untried".[URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-25'][25][/URL] In 1939, a young physician named [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_J._Lambertsen']Christian J. Lambertsen[/URL] developed an oxygen [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebreather']rebreather[/URL] set (the [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambertsen_Amphibious_Respiratory_Unit']Lambertsen Amphibious Respiratory Unit[/URL]) and demonstrated it to the OSS—after already being rejected by the U.S. Navy—in a pool at a hotel in Washington D.C., in 1942.[URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-vann2004-26'][26][/URL][URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-cjl-27'][27][/URL] The OSS not only bought into the concept, they hired Lambertsen to lead the program and build up the dive element for the organization.[URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-cjl-27'][27][/URL] His responsibilities included training and developing methods of combining self-contained diving and swimmer delivery including the Lambertsen Amphibious Respiratory Unit for the OSS "Operational Swimmer Group".[URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-vann2004-26'][26][/URL][URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services#cite_note-butler2004-28'][28][/URL] Growing involvement of the OSS with coastal infiltration and water-based sabotage eventually led to creation of the OSS Maritime Unit. I'm going to say......VERY difficult ! And maybe even more difficult to prove....even if you found something !![/QUOTE]
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