22 Historical Photos of Real-Life Spies

Carly Tennes Published 09/10/2024 in wow

Despite their frequent portrayal as fedora-sporting, magnifying glass-toting PI-s, who seduce women, sneak about, and prefer their martinis shaken and not stirred, not all spies are like James Bond. Enter Josephine Baker, Krystyna Skarbek, and the real-life spies who made a living by sneaking intel.

From the man tasked with listening in on Soviet submarines to a pigeon outfitted with a camera, here are 22 historical photos of real-life spies.

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1.
“Mata Hari, a professional exotic dancer and courtesan who spied for France in WW1.”
2.
“Soviet spy laughing through his execution in 1942 Finland.”
3.
“1958 - Gertrude Legendre, ‘Sports Woman’ who was a spy in WWII.”
4.
“My grandpa was a cold war spy, James Bond had nothing on him. Paris, 1958.”
5.
“IRA members Patrick Moran and Thomas Whelan shaking hands in prison the day before they are to be executed for assassinating British Spies. March, 1921.” 
6.
“TIL about Virginia Hall, an American who worked for France and the UK to spy and sabotage against the nazis in WWII. She escaped France by walking over a 7,500 ft pass in the Pyrenees to Spain, with a prosthetic leg.”
7.
“Meet Aldrich Ames; who is an American former CIA counterintelligence officer who was convicted of espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union and Russia in 1994. He is serving a life sentence, without the possibility of parole.”
8.
 "The 33 convicted members of the Duquesne spy ring, 1941.”
9.
“Krystyna Skarbek, sometimes referred to as "Greatest female spy of WWII" was the first female agent of the British to serve in the field and the longest-serving of all Britain's wartime women agents. Abandoned by the British after WW2 she had to fight for recognition and British citizenship.”
10.
“South Korean spy chief Kim Jae-Gyu and some of his collaborators reenacting his assassination of President Park Chung Hee, formerly one of his closest friends, as part of an investigation into the slaying, 1979. Kim and his co-conspirators would be executed the following year.”
11.
“Josephine Baker was an exotic dancer, mother to 12 orphans from 12 countries, a member of the French Resistance in WWII, a muse to greats like Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway, the first black lead in a major motion picture, and owner of a diamond-clad cheetah, among other things.”
12.
“Union Civil War spy, Pauline Cushman.. was wounded twice, and tried by a Confederate military court who sentenced her to hang, before she was saved by an invasion of Union troops, and awarded the rank of brevet major, 1860s.”
13.
“1968. My Granddad at his post in the RAF Secret Intercept Station at the top of the Rock of Gibraltar during the Cold War. His job was to spy on the Soviet subs.”
14.
“Spy Pigeon used by Germany with a camera attached during WW1. They were trained to fly over enemy positions while a timing mechanism clicked the shutter. 1916.”
15.
“Soviet spies Alexandra Pavlovskaya-Anfinogenova and Maria Sakharova. Execution in Povenets (Karelia). Before the execution, they joined hands. 23 December 1941.”
16.
“Soviet spy Heinz Felfe is photographed at the moment of his exchange at a border checkpoint between West and East Germany in February 1969.”
17.
“Albert Einstein with his lover, Margarita Konenkova, a Russian spy, circa 1946.”
18.
“Peasants with a captured German spy . The Russian Empire , 1914.”
19.
 “Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were US citizens who were executed for conspiracy to commit espionage for the Soviet Union in 1953.”
20.
“Convoy transporting the secret CIA spy plane Lockheed A-12 to Groom Lake, commonly known as Area 51. 26 February 1962.”
21.
“Joseph Zilliox, aka "The Alsatian", French spy in WWI.”
22.
“My grandpa's FBI Academy photo. He worked as a spy recruiter during the Cold War.”

1.
“Mata Hari, a professional exotic dancer and courtesan who spied for France in WW1.”
2.
“Soviet spy laughing through his execution in 1942 Finland.”
3.
“1958 - Gertrude Legendre, ‘Sports Woman’ who was a spy in WWII.”
4.
“My grandpa was a cold war spy, James Bond had nothing on him. Paris, 1958.”
5.
“IRA members Patrick Moran and Thomas Whelan shaking hands in prison the day before they are to be executed for assassinating British Spies. March, 1921.” 
6.
“TIL about Virginia Hall, an American who worked for France and the UK to spy and sabotage against the nazis in WWII. She escaped France by walking over a 7,500 ft pass in the Pyrenees to Spain, with a prosthetic leg.”
7.
“Meet Aldrich Ames; who is an American former CIA counterintelligence officer who was convicted of espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union and Russia in 1994. He is serving a life sentence, without the possibility of parole.”
8.
 "The 33 convicted members of the Duquesne spy ring, 1941.”
9.
“Krystyna Skarbek, sometimes referred to as "Greatest female spy of WWII" was the first female agent of the British to serve in the field and the longest-serving of all Britain's wartime women agents. Abandoned by the British after WW2 she had to fight for recognition and British citizenship.”
10.
“South Korean spy chief Kim Jae-Gyu and some of his collaborators reenacting his assassination of President Park Chung Hee, formerly one of his closest friends, as part of an investigation into the slaying, 1979. Kim and his co-conspirators would be executed the following year.”
11.
“Josephine Baker was an exotic dancer, mother to 12 orphans from 12 countries, a member of the French Resistance in WWII, a muse to greats like Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway, the first black lead in a major motion picture, and owner of a diamond-clad cheetah, among other things.”
12.
“Union Civil War spy, Pauline Cushman.. was wounded twice, and tried by a Confederate military court who sentenced her to hang, before she was saved by an invasion of Union troops, and awarded the rank of brevet major, 1860s.”
13.
“1968. My Granddad at his post in the RAF Secret Intercept Station at the top of the Rock of Gibraltar during the Cold War. His job was to spy on the Soviet subs.”
14.
“Spy Pigeon used by Germany with a camera attached during WW1. They were trained to fly over enemy positions while a timing mechanism clicked the shutter. 1916.”
15.
“Soviet spies Alexandra Pavlovskaya-Anfinogenova and Maria Sakharova. Execution in Povenets (Karelia). Before the execution, they joined hands. 23 December 1941.”
16.
“Soviet spy Heinz Felfe is photographed at the moment of his exchange at a border checkpoint between West and East Germany in February 1969.”
17.
“Albert Einstein with his lover, Margarita Konenkova, a Russian spy, circa 1946.”
18.
“Peasants with a captured German spy . The Russian Empire , 1914.”
19.
 “Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were US citizens who were executed for conspiracy to commit espionage for the Soviet Union in 1953.”
20.
“Convoy transporting the secret CIA spy plane Lockheed A-12 to Groom Lake, commonly known as Area 51. 26 February 1962.”
21.
“Joseph Zilliox, aka "The Alsatian", French spy in WWI.”
22.
“My grandpa's FBI Academy photo. He worked as a spy recruiter during the Cold War.”

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NEXT GALLERY 21 Fun Photos to Fuel Your Day

1. “Mata Hari, a professional exotic dancer and courtesan who spied for France in WW1.”

2. “Soviet spy laughing through his execution in 1942 Finland.”

3. “1958 - Gertrude Legendre, ‘Sports Woman’ who was a spy in WWII.”

4. “My grandpa was a cold war spy, James Bond had nothing on him. Paris, 1958.”

5. “IRA members Patrick Moran and Thomas Whelan shaking hands in prison the day before they are to be executed for assassinating British Spies. March, 1921.”

6. “TIL about Virginia Hall, an American who worked for France and the UK to spy and sabotage against the nazis in WWII. She escaped France by walking over a 7,500 ft pass in the Pyrenees to Spain, with a prosthetic leg.”

7. “Meet Aldrich Ames; who is an American former CIA counterintelligence officer who was convicted of espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union and Russia in 1994. He is serving a life sentence, without the possibility of parole.”

8. "The 33 convicted members of the Duquesne spy ring, 1941.”

10. “South Korean spy chief Kim Jae-Gyu and some of his collaborators reenacting his assassination of President Park Chung Hee, formerly one of his closest friends, as part of an investigation into the slaying, 1979. Kim and his co-conspirators would be executed the following year.”

11. “Josephine Baker was an exotic dancer, mother to 12 orphans from 12 countries, a member of the French Resistance in WWII, a muse to greats like Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway, the first black lead in a major motion picture, and owner of a diamond-clad cheetah, among other things.”

12. “Union Civil War spy, Pauline Cushman.. was wounded twice, and tried by a Confederate military court who sentenced her to hang, before she was saved by an invasion of Union troops, and awarded the rank of brevet major, 1860s.”

13. “1968. My Granddad at his post in the RAF Secret Intercept Station at the top of the Rock of Gibraltar during the Cold War. His job was to spy on the Soviet subs.”

14. “Spy Pigeon used by Germany with a camera attached during WW1. They were trained to fly over enemy positions while a timing mechanism clicked the shutter. 1916.”

15. “Soviet spies Alexandra Pavlovskaya-Anfinogenova and Maria Sakharova. Execution in Povenets (Karelia). Before the execution, they joined hands. 23 December 1941.”

16. “Soviet spy Heinz Felfe is photographed at the moment of his exchange at a border checkpoint between West and East Germany in February 1969.”

17. “Albert Einstein with his lover, Margarita Konenkova, a Russian spy, circa 1946.”

18. “Peasants with a captured German spy . The Russian Empire , 1914.”

19. “Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were US citizens who were executed for conspiracy to commit espionage for the Soviet Union in 1953.”

20. “Convoy transporting the secret CIA spy plane Lockheed A-12 to Groom Lake, commonly known as Area 51. 26 February 1962.”

21. “Joseph Zilliox, aka "The Alsatian", French spy in WWI.”

22. “My grandpa's FBI Academy photo. He worked as a spy recruiter during the Cold War.”

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eBaum's Picks

1.
“Mata Hari, a professional exotic dancer and courtesan who spied for France in WW1.”

2.
“Soviet spy laughing through his execution in 1942 Finland.”

3.
“1958 - Gertrude Legendre, ‘Sports Woman’ who was a spy in WWII.”

4.
“My grandpa was a cold war spy, James Bond had nothing on him. Paris, 1958.”

5.
“IRA members Patrick Moran and Thomas Whelan shaking hands in prison the day before they are to be executed for assassinating British Spies. March, 1921.” 

6.
“TIL about Virginia Hall, an American who worked for France and the UK to spy and sabotage against the nazis in WWII. She escaped France by walking over a 7,500 ft pass in the Pyrenees to Spain, with a prosthetic leg.”

7.
“Meet Aldrich Ames; who is an American former CIA counterintelligence officer who was convicted of espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union and Russia in 1994. He is serving a life sentence, without the possibility of parole.”

8.
 "The 33 convicted members of the Duquesne spy ring, 1941.”

10.
“South Korean spy chief Kim Jae-Gyu and some of his collaborators reenacting his assassination of President Park Chung Hee, formerly one of his closest friends, as part of an investigation into the slaying, 1979. Kim and his co-conspirators would be executed the following year.”

11.
“Josephine Baker was an exotic dancer, mother to 12 orphans from 12 countries, a member of the French Resistance in WWII, a muse to greats like Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway, the first black lead in a major motion picture, and owner of a diamond-clad cheetah, among other things.”

12.
“Union Civil War spy, Pauline Cushman.. was wounded twice, and tried by a Confederate military court who sentenced her to hang, before she was saved by an invasion of Union troops, and awarded the rank of brevet major, 1860s.”

13.
“1968. My Granddad at his post in the RAF Secret Intercept Station at the top of the Rock of Gibraltar during the Cold War. His job was to spy on the Soviet subs.”

14.
“Spy Pigeon used by Germany with a camera attached during WW1. They were trained to fly over enemy positions while a timing mechanism clicked the shutter. 1916.”

15.
“Soviet spies Alexandra Pavlovskaya-Anfinogenova and Maria Sakharova. Execution in Povenets (Karelia). Before the execution, they joined hands. 23 December 1941.”

16.
“Soviet spy Heinz Felfe is photographed at the moment of his exchange at a border checkpoint between West and East Germany in February 1969.”

17.
“Albert Einstein with his lover, Margarita Konenkova, a Russian spy, circa 1946.”

18.
“Peasants with a captured German spy . The Russian Empire , 1914.”

19.
 “Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were US citizens who were executed for conspiracy to commit espionage for the Soviet Union in 1953.”

20.
“Convoy transporting the secret CIA spy plane Lockheed A-12 to Groom Lake, commonly known as Area 51. 26 February 1962.”

21.
“Joseph Zilliox, aka "The Alsatian", French spy in WWI.”

22.
“My grandpa's FBI Academy photo. He worked as a spy recruiter during the Cold War.”