Cold War covert ops, secret agents, intelligence agencies, and spy craft.
Test your knowledge with these top questions!
Which MI6 officer betrayed Operation Gold, the joint tunnel tapping Soviet phones in Berlin?
George Blake told the KGB about Operation Gold in 1953 so Moscow avoided sensitive tapped calls.
Which colonel codenamed HERO gave the CIA missile manuals that identified Soviet missiles in Cuba?
Oleg Penkovsky passed missile manuals to handlers so analysts recognized Soviet missiles in Cuba.
Which officer posing as a journalist was a secret backchannel during the missile crisis?
Georgi Bolshakov posed as a journalist and relayed messages between Kennedy aides and Moscow.
Which Berlin bridge hosted the 1962 exchange of Rudolf Abel for Francis Gary Powers?
The two sides exchanged Abel and Powers on Glienicke Bridge on February 10 1962.
Which US agency gathers foreign intelligence and runs overseas covert operations?
The CIA collects foreign intelligence and runs covert operations abroad, while the FBI handles domestic counterintelligence.
Which secret police agency ran East Germany's extensive informant network?
In 1989, the Stasi had about 189,000 unofficial collaborators, roughly one per 90 East German citizens.
Which American spy plane did Soviet forces shoot down over Russia in 1960?
CIA pilot Francis Gary Powers survived the shootdown, stood trial in Moscow, and was swapped for a Soviet spy in 1962.
Which fighters made up the invasion force that landed at Cuba's Bay of Pigs?
Brigade 2506, about 1,400 Cuban exiles trained by the CIA, landed in April 1961 and the invasion collapsed within days.