International Spy Museum opens its doors

Coal Camouflage Kit and Explosive Coal: During the second World War explosive coal was used by the US to sabotage operations - a coal shaped device was packed with explosives was secretly deposited it into coal bins at ship or railroad yards.

John Walker's Electronic Countermeasures Kit (c. 1980s, commercially available): John Walker was the KGB's most important spy in the United States in the 1970s. As a chief warrant officer in the U.S. Navy, Walker had access to naval secrets and decided to spy for the Soviet Union in exchange for money. After retiring, John Walker continued to spy with the help of family members still serving in the Navy until the FBI caught him in 1985. He used the equipment in this briefcase to maintain his cover identity. As a countermeasures specialist, Walker used this equipment to find listening devices for his clients.

Secret Writing Detection Kit (c. 1980s, East Germany, MfS issue): To read secret messages, members of the East German MfS (Ministry for State Security) used the ultraviolet lights of different wavelengths in this kit to search for secret writing. Operatives were given pens containing special ink that would only fluoresce when viewed under UV lights of a specific wavelength - otherwise, the writing remained invisible.

Francis Gary Powers Album (c. 1960, USSR, KGB): Also on display are photographs taken by the KGB, document the personal belongings and secret equipment found in the wreckage of Francis Gary Powers' U-2 spyplane when he was shot down over Soviet territory in 1960.

Powers, dispatched by the CIA to take aerial photographs of key Soviet missile installations, was intercepted and shot down when an anti-aircraft missile exploded near his aircraft. After parachuting to safety, Powers was immediately taken captive by the Soviets and later convicted as a spy. Powers was eventually traded to the U.S. for a captured KGB officer.

Jeffersonian Cipher Device (c. 1790s, U.S.): Thomas Jefferson invented a cylindrical cipher device similar to this in the 1790s. The device proved so successful, the U.S. Army used similar versions to encrypt messages up until the end of World War II.