Episodes Episode 2
The Animals We Sent to War
The Animals We Sent to War
Dogs have officially served in the US military since 1942, and they are one of the least surprising animals ever sent to war. The CIA wired a cat with a microphone and a transmitter. Armed bats set part of an American airfield on fire. Pigeons were trained to steer a missile. A messenger pigeon called Cher Ami became a legend. Polish soldiers adopted a bear, and the Marines made a horse a staff sergeant. This episode also covers the Soviet anti-tank dogs, the horses of the First World War, a Newfoundland dog named Gander, and the dolphins and rats that are still working today. Some of these stories sound almost fun. But the animals weren't volunteers.
Chapters
- 00:00 Dogs join the army
- 00:59 The first animals in space
- 02:30 The really bad ideas
- 06:00 The ones that actually worked
- 09:30 They had no choice
- 11:26 We're still doing it
- 13:17 What do you think?
Sources
- NASA, A Brief History of Animals in Space (1998, updated 2024). nasa.gov
- CIA, memo “Views on Trained Cats” (March 1967), via the National Security Archive. nsarchive2.gwu.edu
- Robert Wallace and H. Keith Melton with Henry R. Schlesinger, Spycraft (Dutton, 2008)
- Air Force Magazine, C. V. Glines, The Bat Bombers (Oct 1990). airandspaceforces.com
- Jack Couffer, Bat Bomb (University of Texas Press, 1992)
- B. F. Skinner, Pigeons in a Pelican, American Psychologist 15 (1960)
- Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Cher Ami Fact Sheet (2021). americanhistory.si.edu
- Historic Environment Scotland, Wojtek the Bear That Went To War (4 May 2018). blog.historicenvironment.scot
- Hoover Institution, Wojtek, the Bear of Monte Cassino (21 March 2012). hoover.org
- National Museum of the Marine Corps, Sgt. Reckless. usmcmuseum.com
- Imperial War Museums, Animals and the First World War. iwm.org.uk
- Imperial War Museums, Second World War Weapons That Failed. iwm.org.uk
- Animals in War Memorial Fund. animalsinwar.org.uk
- PDSA, Gander, PDSA Dickin Medal. pdsa.org.uk
- US Navy text, Marine Mammal Systems (1998), via the Federation of American Scientists. man.fas.org
- APOPO, In Loving Memory Of Magawa (11 Jan 2022). apopo.org
- PDSA, Landmine Detection Rat receives animals’ George Cross (25 Sep 2020). pdsa.org.uk
- US Army, Dogs on Duty (2 July 2025). army.mil
Archive film (short excerpts, used for commentary)
- US War Department, Film Bulletin No. 35, “Dogs Join the Army” (1942), public domain, via the Internet Archive. archive.org
Credits
Photographs
- Laika, 1957: Museum of Cosmonautics / Moscow Main Archive, published by mos.ru, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
- Wojtek: Imperial War Museums, HU 16546, HU 16543 and HU 16545, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
- “Reckless Carrying Ammunition, 1953”: Marine Corps Archives and Special Collections, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
- Gander with the Royal Rifles of Canada, Vancouver, October 1941: Library and Archives Canada (item 3241498), public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Music (YouTube Audio Library)
Bike Sharing to Paradise by Dan Bodan. Sprightly Pursuit by Cooper Cannell. Stealth by Aakash Gandhi. Final Girl by Jeremy Blake. Accordion by Andrew Huang. Turn In The Sun by Simon Herody. Portcullis by The Mini Vandals. Sands of Time by Patrick Patrikios. Viral Dirge by Ryan Stasik. Also: Jazz Spy Music by Tunetank (Pixabay).
Sound effects from Pixabay.
Corrections
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