Spy Stuff...!

Once in a while, a simple plan actually works the way it was meant to!

Let's face it...anytime you engage in soy stuff, things can and usually will go haywire. Best plans are those that are left alone to be simple. Simple is good

Stealing And Returning A Soviet Lunar Probe

Photo credit: Alexander Mokletsov

In the 1960s, the Soviet Union was parading its scientific achievements around the world. Among them was a mock-up of Lunik, a Soviet lunar space probe which had been launched to the Moon in 1959. When the scientific tour reached America, the CIA suspected that the “mock-up” was actually a working production model. The CIA tried to confirm this in the craziest way possible—stealing the Lunik for a night to see if it would yield its secrets.

The CIA’s first plan, to sneak into the exhibit before it opened, was thwarted by round-the-clock Soviet guards. The second plan, to divert the railway car that was transporting the Lunik, was deemed impractical. So the CIA came up with a third scheme: to divert the truck that was carrying the Lunik from its exhibition to the rail yard.

Arranging for the Lunik to be on the last truck to the rail yard, the CIA switched drivers halfway through and drove the truck to a junkyard, where they pried open the Lunik to see how it worked. Working through the night, the agents found that the Lunik was actually the real deal minus a few electrical components. By dawn, the Soviets found the reassembled Lunik at the rail yard and were none the wiser that it had been stolen for a night.

As the old saying goes "keep it simple, Stupid!" Good advice at times!

Coffee out on the patio this morning!