A FIRST TIME LOOK INTO THE OSS'S SUPER SECRET SPY LABORATORY DIVISION 19

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-01208R000100090064-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 22, 2011
• Sequence Number: 64
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/02/22 : CIA-RDP90-01208R000100090064-4
SOLDIER OF FORTUNE
StJNM R 1975
.)Y
The advancing technology of the past
four decades has turned the craft of
espionage into a peculiar sub-science all
its own, and even the usually pragmatic
field of ordnance development has seen
some of the zaniness that occurs when an
urgent problem is solved with generous
funding.
A case in point is the arsenal of "spy"
weapons developed for the use of the
legendary, O.S.S. operatives in World
War II. American intelligence and
L
1M"*"N--
k~v
k Ili - T'h
rvv%to
by
Donald McLean
espionage activity had been handled
entirely by the legitimate services until
the creation and blossoming of the O.S.S.
as a separate agency under the Joint
Chiefs. The O.S.S. organization was new,
and so was their mission. With a novel
relationship to the traditional services,
the O.S.S. was charged with gathering
intelligence, organizing, training and
equipping native resistance groups to
operate behind Axis lines. Their, ac-
complishments are a tribute to the brave
and resourceful men who comprised the
O.S.S., while the efficiency with which
they accomplished these dangerous
missions against improbable odds is a
tribute to the insight of the elite corps of
scientists who envisioned, created and
produced this arsenal of special weapons
for these special missions. Any
specialized craft requires specialized
tools; ideology aside, the better the tools,
the better the results with median
operatives.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/02/22: CIA-RDP90-01208R000100090064-4
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/02/22 : CIA-RDP90-01208R000100090064-4
The bulk of the O.S.S. special weapons
were developed by Division 19 of the
National Defense Research Committee,
an organization under the auspices of the
Office of Scientific Research and
Development. The O.S.R.D. was a
branch of the Office of Emergency
Management, which was directly under
the President, and had the monumental
task of coordinating and directing the
nation's resources for a total war effort.
Division 19, code-named the "Sandeman
Club," passed through two formative
stages before it became a separate
NDRC Division, and from that point on,
operated almost exclusively as a
research agency for the O.S.S. The O.S.S.
also had their own R & D Branch, but this
was primarily concerned with
assimilating developments by other
services into O.S.S. use, issuing material
lists, aiding. with training and similar
functions. Division 19 also did research
work at their laboratory in the
Congressional Country Club for other
services, but the main thrust was in-
tended to be special weapons' design for
the O.S.S. Near the end of the war,
Division 19 turned their laboratory
facilities over to the O.S.S. R & D Branch,
just in time for the O.S.S. to be disbanded
and' become the C.I.A. Many of the
devices, weapons and pieces of equip-
ment designed by Division 19 are still in
current use with the C.I.A. (whatever
agency picks up the mission of the
agency which came before, also inherits
a lot of the same personnel and equip-
ment). No doubt, a goodly portion of the
original O.S.S. equipment which was still -
in use by the C.I.A., will be turned over to
the Army Special Forces, as they take
over responsibility for covert operations
from the currently beleagured C.I.A.
The nature of the weapons developed
spanned the whole spectrum of covert
operations; there were black boxes and
disguised bombs, weapons which could
be fired long after the installing
operative had gone (or those one could
fire in person which made no sound);
there were special sabotage weapons and
weapons - specifically designed for
guerrilla war. Some were primarily
designed to harrass the enemy and
improve the morale of the occupied
country.
A good example of weapons which
never killed anybody but did play a role
were "Who, Me?" and "Heddy." "Who,
Me?" was a very straightforward
weapon designed to help the morale of
the occupied Dutch, and cause loss of
face to the Japanese occupation troops in
the Philippines. It was an opthalmic
ointment tube filled with artificial feces
(for European use against the trousers of
SS officers), or with a skunky or
cadaverous odor for use against the
Japanese. Issue a handful of these to
street urchins and you have the occupied
people laughing, and feeling better, and
better able to resist. "Heddy" was
simply the first artillery simulator.
Everybody who ever went through basic
has enjoyed playing with these, but they
were originally developed as a device
which would enable an O.S.S. agent to
cause panic and confusion in a civilian
crowd, when such cover was necessary to
effect his escape. A hand grenade would
do the same thing, but would, of course,
be against Geneva conventions for use on
civilians.
One similar idea, spawned by the using
services and pursued with little success,
was code name, "Fantasia," and pur-
sued under Problem 26. Shrinks within
the O.S..S., whose job it was to know such
things, claimed that Japanese troops
would be terrified and demoralized at the
sight of a large, glowing, barking and (if
possible) fire-breathing fox which would
.appear ' over their heads in battle but
would disappear when fired upon. The.
problem was submitted to Arthur D.
Little, Inc., who coordinated with the
National Fireworks Co., and with MIT. A
number of possible research possibilities
were outlined, but by that time, the
leveler heads in the O.S.S. had prevailed
and the problem'was terminated with a
report which commented' * '. . . I trust this
will serve as a critique to us in the field of
pure reason."
Most devices developed by Division 19,
however, ' were deadly serious. Many
projects did not reach production and'
issue, but formed the basis for postwar
weapons which are now "new" special
weapons, or current ordnance issue.
Such items as time delay pencils, con-
cussion detonators, water purifiers,
boobytrap and detonation devices, are
current engineer issue.
The M33 "Mini" grenade, equipped
with the M217 Impact Detonator had its
beginning as Division 19, Problem No. 28.
The O.S.S. had field requests from
operatives in France for a grenade which
would detonate when it hit. They were
tired of having grenades roll off a Nazi
staff car 'to explode harmlessly by the
side of the road, or worse yet, being
thrown back. The traditional services
particularly the airborne forces, also
expressed interest, in this, and pre-
production runs were sent to Europe for
testing. The troops loved them, but there
were problems with pre-detonation, and
there were injured personnel and
worried brass. In addition, tests at
.Aberdeen resulted in the death of a young
officer who threw the grenade up in the
air (which armed it) and then caught it
(which detonated it). As a result the
powers-that-be decided that the grenade .
as designed was not safe, and it finished.
the war without significant issue. I`. was
also developed in WP version, which also
did not see combat use. But the research
done by Division 19 led to the "new"
grenades which can he thrown with
accurate ease, and detonate upon
striking their target.
The detonation of an explosive or in-
cendiary charge is a very basic
requirement. for any such munition, and
many methods were explored by Division
19. From this basic research carne a wide
selection of appropriate initiating
devices. These initiating devices were
used in turn, on a wide array of explosive
and sabotage devices. Threads of prior
British research were picked up and an
American version of the A-C (acetate-
cellulose) delay and the chemical time
pencil were refined and put into large
scale production. The "Firefly" gas tank
grenade was developed; and issued with
telling' effect on German transport
during the battle of the bulge.
Virtually all of the O.S.S. explosive and
sabotage devices were designed to ac-
cept such delays as mentioned above.
The famous "PI" pocket incendiary, the
"Limpet" mines, dust initiators, ther-
mite well, the Bushmaster relayed-
remote weapons firing devices - these
and many more items of issue could he
fitted with one or more of these delay
mechanisms.
Some initiating devices were designed
to be spontaneous, such as the "City
Slicker" oil slick igniter, which was
ignited by the action of the water into
which it was dropped. It was also issued
in a "Paul Revere" (by land or sea)
model which vas equipped with a time
pencil for parallel use as a land in-
cendiary. Others were designed to be set
off by action on the part of the target,
such as the various bobbytrap devices.
Some were fired by the action. of radio
signal, and others by the action of
precision clockwork. Some, such as the
concussion detonator, were initiated by
the action of other nearby charges.
In certain instances, available
initiating devices were further refined
for special application, as the time pencil
was for use on the "Bat" incendiary. This
program, also called the "Adams Plan"
and "X-Ray," attempted to develop an
effective bat-borne incendiary. Such an
incendiary device appeared feasible and
was developed, but the program was
dropped due to the erratic behavior of the
bats.
Certain demolition devices were
developed specifically for use against the
enemy transport which were adapted to
the particular mode of transport. Two
excellent examples of such devices were
the "Anerometer" which blew Nazi
planes out of the air with a force greater
than a direct artillery hit, yet could be
easily concealed in the fuselage of the
plane and detonated at a predetermined
COn~i la(e~
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/02/22 : CIA-RDP90-01208R000100090064-4
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/02/22 : CIA-RDP90-01208R000100090064-4
It 9
altitude, and the "Mole," designed under
the "Casey Jones" project which would
derail Axis trains ... only in a crowded
alpine tunnel. The ."Moles" were first
installed on old wrecking and repair
trains, so they too would be stacked up in
alpine tunnels when they went to the
rescue of the other demolished rolling
C.
stock.
Weapons which would not have the
appearance of weapons or could be used
in combination with locally available or
improvised materials were also in
demand. Under the "Camel" project,
many disguised or camouflaged items
were developed, such as "matchbox"
cameras, explosive coal, explosive
candles and the like. Some items were
developed from the onset as totally
disguised articles. Cases in point were
"Aunt Jemima" explosive flour (eat it,
bake biscuits with it, or blow up a bridge
with it), and explosive fiber (knit it,
weave it, wear it or put a detonator on
your BVD's and blow up a plane with it).
Both these latter items are still issued by
appropriate agencies.
The full spectrum of clandestine-use,
anti-personnel projectile weapons was
also explored. Spring-launched "pistols"
and silent "pentrometer" adaptations for
the .45 auto were developed, as well as a
full range of silenced small arms.
Silencers were developed for the .30
Carbine, M3 and Thompson submachine
guns, and .22 pistols. With the excellent
results obtained with the .22 HDM pistol,
work on other noiseless hand weapons
was dropped. The silencer developed by
Bell Labs for the Thompson was adapted
to the M3 and put into full production.
Both the .22 HDM and M3 submachine
gun, with Bell Labs silencers are still in
use today, along with more recent
developments. Indeed, the ill-fated flight
of Capt. Gary Powers brought attention
to the silenced HDM, as one was in the
"spy" kit with which he was captured by
the Russians after they downed his U-2.
After the O.S.S. stood down and was
replaced by the C.I.A., the Cold War put
greater demands on the ability of the
U.S. government to implement national
.policy by covert means. With the con-
fusing tangle of treaties which came into
being, as the great powers tried to
consolidate power and align smaller
nations on their side after WWII, it
became more and more important to be
able to do the expedient thing without
drawing any fire, i.e., without "of-
ficially" mounting an operation against a
party who had a treaty with a super-
power, who would be obliged to risk a
major confrontation with the other super-
power who was engaging 'his ally.
Thus, the postwar period has seen
myriad covert operations, economic and
psychological war and only a few large
scale conflagrations. Brushfire wars and
shadow-wars fought by phantom per-
sonnel have been the rule, and the
technology of clandestine hardware has
kept apace. In a future article we shall
discuss the avant-guarde developments
of the past decade, as American and
Communist block scientists endeavor to
adapt the most recent scientific
breakthrough to the field of clandestine.
R.D.
I~ Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/02/22 : CIA-RDP90-01208R000100090064-4 9fiirfi7e
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/02/22 : CIA-RDP90-01208R000100090064-4
Deadly Des ns F T e Sup r Spy
2. Beano. A baseball-shaped grenade, detonated by on
impact fuse. Premature detonations caused numerous
injuries and deaths during testing early models.
the attics of Japanese houses. A time delay device would
activate the incendiary material.
4. Aunt Jemlma. A high explosive mixture camou-
flaged as flour. Still a current clandestine store used by
various agencies.
5. Impact Testing Macnine. This spring-activated wec
pan fired a.07416 projectile at 154 ft. per second.
6. William Tell. This rubber-powered cross bow fire
Dirty Tricks .
8. Caccolube Turtle,sgg. Consisted of an aluminum-
magnesium 50-50 alloy, finely ground cork and dry resin
packaged in thin, rubber sheaths. Used to sabotage
engines and gasoline stores.
9. Anerometer. Designed to detonate in enemy o r-
craft by an electrically operated barometric switch.
11. Firefly. A small grenade designed to be inserted in
a fuel tank of a vehicle. The fuel caused a rubber washer
to expand, detonating the grenade, rupturing the fuel
tank, spreading the fuel and igniting It.
12. City Slicker. An oil slick igniter. White lumps in
center are carbide, which react immediately with water
to form and ignite self-ignite acetylene gas.
13. Mole. The mole would explode after a predeter-
mined time.delay on sudden change from daylight to
darkness. Used to destroy trains shortly after entering
tunnels.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/02/22 : CIA-RDP90-01208 R000100090064-4 Co1i}fnTOa
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/02/22 : CIA-RDP90-01208R000100090064-4
OT1 f:aue
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/02/22 : CIA-RDP90-01208R000100090064-4
 ~ i TnuesJ
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/02/22 : CIA-RDP90-01208R000100090064-4
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/02/22 : CIA-RDP90-01208R000100090064-4
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/02/22: CIA-RDP90-01208R000100090064-4
AM 191 IA 1 .45 cat. automatic was modified to accept a spigot, over which
fit a dart-like projectile. Propellent was contained in the projectile's shaft.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/02/22 : CIA-RDP90-01208R000100090064-4