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Opto Voice CIA Dahme 1 →
Opto-electronic voice transceiver
- not in collection
XE-2 1 was an
opto-electronic transmission device for speech,
developed by an unknown party for the US Army. The fully transistorised device
uses (invisible) infrared light (IR). It was also used US
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for covert
communication between a CIA agent in East-Germany and a CIA
station in West-Germany (probably in West-Berlin).
in 1959, Western agent Gisela Gebhardt was arrested in the DDR (East-Germany)
in possession of an XE-2 device. 2
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The device is a spin-off from a US Army device that was originally developed in
the mid-1950s. The development attracted the attention of the CIA's
Office of Communication, who wanted to use it for cross-border agent
communication.
It is fully built with transistors and measures just 420 x 240 x 80 mm when
fully collapsed. With a weight of the 4.5 kg it could easily be carried in
an unobtrusive suitcase or shopping bag.
When mounted on a tripod, the built-in riflescope can be
used to accurately aim the XE-2 at the station at the other side of the border.
When correctly aligned, a range of several km can be achieved.
In 1959, Western agent Gisela Gebhardt was captured in East-Berlin whilst
passing messages to a CIA station in West-Berlin using an XE-2 device.
The CIA station consisted of an XE-2 unit that was
installed in a van and parked under a street lamp in West-Berlin
(close to the sector border). It was operated by CIA officer Olsen.
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Gisela Gebhardt appeared before an East-German court on 26 August 1959,
together with the West-German agents Walter Huth and Franz Brehmer.
She was duely tried and sentenced to prison.
Footage of the trial, in which the equipment is shown,
is held in the German archives. The East-German newpaper
Neue Zeitung reported on the incident and also showed a picture of the XE-2
[4]. Even company newspapers, such as WF Sender,
reported on the matter [5].
It is believed that the East-German devices Dahme 1
and Dahme 2 were inspired on the American XE-2.
In 1964, the XE-2 appeared on the German surplus market, where it was sold
by FEMEG [B]. In addition, the German company
Telemit – founded by former
BND employee Herbert Mittermeier – offered spare parts for it [C].
It is currently unknown if there are any surviving samples.
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HELP PLEASE —
This page currently acts as a placeholder for current and future information
about the XE-2 device.
You can help us to expand this page by providing
additional information, such as photographs, operating instructions,
technical documentation and official CIA reports.
➤ Contact us
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This name is currently unconfirmed but very likely, as it was printed on the
cover of the instructions
that were captured by the
Stasi [A].
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The confiscated XE-2 unit was initially part of the internal collection of
the MfS, and is now held by the Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin
(inventory number SI 90/400).
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Device Infrared transceiver Model XE-2 Year Late 1950s Users US Army, CIA Manufacturer Unknown Dimensions 420 x 240 x 80 mm Weight 4.5 kg
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Document obtained from BStU [2] and kindly supplied
by Detlev Vreisleben [1].
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Document kindly provided by Detlev Vreisleben (*1}.
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- Detlev Vreisleben, Personal correspondence
November 2021.
- Bundesbeauftragte für die Stasi-Unterlagen (BStU) 1
Federal Commissioner for the Stasi-Records.
- Louis Meulstee, Infrared I
Wireless for the Warrior, Volume 4. Supplement Chapter 67.
Version 1.01, October 2015.
- ND Zeitung, Mit Infrarot über die Sektorengrenze
Neues Deutschland, 1959.
- Helmut Wille, Bill Haley und der Rias waren ihre Lehrmeister
Betriebszeitung VEB Werk für Fernmeldewesen.
WF Sender, Nr. 35, 11 September 1959.
- Progress Film, Der Augenzeuge 1959/B 72
Retrieved December 2021.
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Full name: Bundesbeauftragte für die Unterlagen des Staatssicherheitsdienstes
der ehemaligen Deutschen Demokratischen Republik
(DDR) —
Federal Commissioner for the Records of the
State Security Service
of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) —
officially abbreviated to BStU.
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Document obtained from BStU [2] and kindly supplied
by Detlev Vreisleben [1].
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© Crypto Museum. Created: Thursday 09 December 2021. Last changed: Tuesday, 14 March 2023 - 09:47 CET.
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![XE-2 unit ready for use [1]](img/XE2_large.jpg)
