FOIAWEAR — BELLY BUSTER / Hand-Crank Audio Drill Tee

FOIAWEAR / ARCHIVE SERIES 051 — BELLY BUSTER

CIA used the “Belly Buster” drill during the late 1950s and early 1960s to drill holes into masonry for implanting audio devices.

It was not a drill you held in your hands. After assembly, the base of the drill was held firmly against the stomach while the handle was cranked manually — the body braced against the operator, the bit turning into the wall. It needed no power, made little noise, and could be used in a room where nobody was supposed to be drilling. The kit came with several drill bits and accessories.

That is the whole design: a hole small enough and quiet enough that no one thinks to look for it, made by someone leaning into a wall as if they had nothing in their hands at all.

The artwork is drawn as a mid-century instructional plate — the drill braced in use against the operator, a brick section with the bit entering a mortar joint, the kit's bits and accessories laid out below, and the red-bodied unit itself at the centre of the diagram. The inset shows the bit biting into the joint, which is the part of the story that matters.

Offered in twelve garment colours, printed as two different plates rather than one image re-toned. On the dark garments (Black, Graphite, Espresso, Navy, Pepper) the plate prints in cream and terracotta with pale line work, so the tool and the brickwork read against dark cloth. On the light garments (White, Ivory, Butter, Chalky Mint, Light Green, Blossom, Chambray) it is drawn again as a three-ink screen plate for pale cloth — heavy charcoal line work, the brick in oxblood, the drill body in a deep olive.

The QR code on the front opens the museum artifact page for the drill — https://www.cia.gov/legacy/museum/artifact/belly-buster-hand-crank-audio-drill/

Note: the description above is as published with the artifact. No photograph of the drill is reproduced in the artwork. This is not an official publication and is not affiliated with any government or agency.

Garment: Comfort Colors 1717 garment-dyed t-shirt. Heavyweight 6.1 oz/yd² (206.8 g/m²), 100% ring-spun US cotton, pre-shrunk, relaxed fit, double-needle stitched with no side seams and a sewn-in label. Sizes S–4XL. Printed on the front at 300 DPI; plain back. The main artwork prints at 10 × 10 in and the QR at 1.8 × 1.8 in.

Care: machine wash cold, inside out, with like colours. Tumble dry low. Do not iron directly on the printed area.

FOIAWEAR is an independent brand and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Central Intelligence Agency, the United States government, or any other government or agency.