‘It’s factory fresh’: Soviet spy radio that was buried in a former forest in Germany 30 years ago is discovered in mint condition by stunned archaeologists
- Soviet spy radio is found just six miles from military base storing nuclear missiles
- The radio was found in woodland near Cologne in what was old West Germany
- Archaeologists who made find say it would work if a new battery was installed
A Soviet spy radio has been found by archaeologists in a German forest.
The ‘Swift’ R-394KM radio was found near Cologne, in the old West Germany while archaeologists were digging up remains of a Roman villa.
The villa ruins are six miles from a military base in Nörvenich where U.S Pershing nuclear missiles were stored at the time.
The KGB ‘Swift’ radio was found near Cologne, in the old West Germany while archaeologists were digging up remains of a Roman villa
The controls are in English which suggests it even could have been designed for an English speaker to use, according to news website Live Science.
Before the fall of the Berlin Wall and re-unification, Germany was split in two between West and East.
The Eastern side, known as the German Democratic Republic, was part of the Eastern bloc and each side would regularly spy on their counterparts.
The radio was made 1987 and would have been buried in the final years of the Eastern Republic.
It was found in August last year. Trees were cleared from the site so that the archaeologists could dig.
Archaeologist Erich Classen said: ‘Everything in the box was carefully encased in wrapping paper — it is a factory-fresh radio’.
Mr Classen said he thinks the radio would even work if a new battery was installed.
The radio is being displayed in a museum in the former West German capital of Bonn until the end of the month.
The villa ruins are six miles from a military base in Nörvenich (pictured above) where U.S Pershing nuclear missiles were stored at the time