Bat Bombs, Truth Serums, and the Masterminds of WWII Secret Warfare

Many a man has been impressed by the ingenuity of secret agent operations, and intrigued by the subterfuge, gadgets, and disguises required to pull them off. Much of what we think about when we think about spies got its start as part of the Office of Strategic Services, the American intelligence agency during World War II.

Here to unpack some of the history of the world of cloak and dagger operations is John Lisle, author of The Dirty Tricks Department: Stanley Lovell, the OSS, and the Masterminds of World War II Secret Warfare. Today on the show, Lisle explains why the OSS was created and the innovations its research and development section came up with to fight the Axis powers. We talk about the most successful weapons and devices this so-called “Dirty Tricks Department” developed, as well as its more off-the-wall ideas, which included releasing bat bombs and radioactive foxes in Japan. We discuss the department’s attempt to create a truth serum, its implementation of a disinformation campaign involving “The League of Lonely War Women,” and its promotion of a no-holds-barred hand-to-hand combat fighting system. We also talk about the influence of the OSS on the establishment of the CIA and controversial projects like MKUltra.

Resources Related to the Podcast

• William “Wild Bill” Donovan
• Office of Strategic Services
• William Fairbairn
• Time pencil
• “Aunt Jemima” explosive
• Limpet mine
• The bat bomb
• John’s article on Operation Fantasia’s radioactive foxes
• AoM Article: 15 Cool Spy Concealments
• AoM Podcast #225: The Real Life James Bond
• AoM Article: The History of Invisible Ink
• AoM Article: Why Men Love the Story of the Great Escape

Connect With John Lisle

• John on Twitter
• John’s website