It's no secret that the government keeps thousands of files marked top secret hidden away in vaults. However, it also periodically releases some of these files once enough time has passed. They often contain all kinds of interesting photos that have been hidden for decades. We've gathered the most intriguing formerly-classified images, so keep scrolling for a rare look into history.
A Man Tries To Escape From Vietnam
Some of the most devastating images of the 20th century were taken during the Vietnam War. When most think back to the war, images of napalm, burning villages, and soldiers wading through swamps or riding helicopters usually come to mind. Then, there are the photos of people trying to escape from the country on the heels of the US's withdrawal. This particular photo was de-classified after the evacuations and the man who's punching the person trying to escape was an American official.
The entire scene if filled with emotion, from the man in the background to the soldier who's shouting at people trying to board the overloaded plane. It captures the chaotic evacuations pretty well.
The Original Mount Rushmore Model
Mount Rushmore has become somewhat controversial in recent years. However, we're not entirely sure why the government decided to lock up this photo of the original model for the monument. Unlike the Mount Rushmore of today, this one contains a lot more than just the faces of some of the nation's most iconic presidents. It actually depicts their bodies down to their waists, which is a big departure from the Mount Rushmore that we have today.
There were a couple of different models that were created, but most of them, including this one, were cut because of natural cracks in the side of the mountain that would've made them extremely difficult to pull off.
A Nuclear Waste Facility
At first, it might seem silly to classify a photo of a facility that's used to store waste. However, this particular facility was made to store nuclear waste, which is still a pretty controversial topic in the US. Not to mention that you probably don't want to freely give out any sort of information that might give hints as to a facility's layout if nuclear material is stored there, even if it is just waste.
This particular facility is in Nevada, and it's unclear what the worker in the photo is doing, but he may just be doing some routine repairs or a check of the tunnel.
The Beginnings Of The Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was one of the most militarized zones in the world for a large portion of the 20th century. Despite that, the wall was actually made out of whatever concrete material could be found or made at the time. This de-classified photo shows the wall being built by soldiers sometime in 1961. For the next 28 years, the wall would stand at the center of the Cold War.
When the wall was being built, nearly every news agency in the world was documenting the historic moment, so it's unclear why the US government decided to classify this photo.
Astronauts Preparing For Space
Considering that NASA's earliest missions and the technology and practices around them were some of the heaviest-guarded secrets in the world at the time, it's easy to see why this photo was once classified. But there's nothing nefarious about it. The photo shows astronauts training and practicing in a pool, possibly for when they return to Earth and splash down in the ocean. They may have been given inflatables in case something went wrong, or they weren't immediately found.
Like everything else on those missions, they had to learn how to instinctively operate them in case of an emergency and prepare for any unforeseen problems that might pop up.
Queen Elizabeth During World War II
Although Queen Elizabeth II passed away in 2022, it's still hard to imagine her serving during World War II. The queen trained as a mechanic and briefly served during the war, doing her part to defend the country during its time of need. This photo, along with many others of the queen during the war, was released long after the war had finally come to an end, probably to protect the queen from being targeted.
Queen Elizabeth II was the longest-serving monarch in British history, and this photo proves it. It's also a nice reminder that she put her life on the line like so many others at the time.
The Statue Of Liberty During Construction
This extremely old photo shows the Statue of Liberty's face while it was still under construction. The statue was originally built in France, and it was a gift from the country to the US. The statue was constructed in sections and then reassembled in the US since it was way too large to transport in one piece. This long-lost photo is a cool look at the actual work it took to build the statue.
It's also a good example of the statue's relative size, and although it's virtually impossible to tell from this old black-and-white picture, the statue was actually a bronze color when it was constructed.
A Photo Left On The Moon
This photo is from a moon landing in 1972, and it's an amazing piece of history that people have only recently been allowed to see. Astronaut Charlie Duke left a photo of his family on the moon to document that he was there. On the back of the photo, Duke wrote, "This is the family of astronaut Charlie Duke from planet Earth who landed on the moon on April 20, 1972."
It's a strangely poetic thing to do since humans have left similar messages since we could carve into rocks or write on walls. Duke was the youngest to ever step foot on the moon.
Google Before It Got Big
While it's one of the largest and richest businesses in the world today, even Google had to start somewhere. This photo shows the Google team outside of their new headquarters sometime during the early stages of the company. We're sure most of the people in this photo had no idea where the company would end up and that it would eventually become one of the leading companies in the world.
It'd also be sort of nice to know where everyone in this photo ended up and if any of them are still with Google or if they've moved on.
A Look Inside A Base That Doesn't Officially Exist
The US government de-classified this particular photo back in 2011, but it came without a word as to where it was taken. Area 51 isn't officially recognized as existing by the US government despite it being a known military base. The plane in this photo was called the A-12, and at one point, it was one of the military's most highly guarded secrets. According to National Geographic, the plane could avoid radar and cross the US in only 70 minutes.
This photo was taken sometime in the 1950s, but it's not entirely clear exactly when, but it did take the US government over half a century to finally release it.
Once The World's Fastest Train
The futuristic-looking train in this photo is called the Schienenzeppelin and when it was built in 1930, it was the world's fastest train. The end you see in this photo is actually the back of the train, which used a propeller similar to one you'd find on a plane. Unfortunately, the train wasn't good for much besides breaking records since the propeller meant you couldn't really attach any carriages to the back of it.
The propeller itself was also considered a safety hazard in places that tended to be a little crowded, such as train stations. Still, the design itself looks amazing.
Something Odd Being Transported In The Desert
While it might seem odd, the government actually transports a lot of secret military gear using the interstate system. It's often the only way to transport extremely large and weirdly shaped pieces of machinery or gear. However, a tarp is usually enough to be able to mask whatever it is they're transporting and not attract too much suspicion. That wasn't the case when this photo of something shaped like a saucer was caught being transported.
We don't know the exact location where this photo was taken, but it does appear that it was taken in a desert somewhere, which just so happens to also be home to a certain top-secret military base.
The Hindenburg Before It Went Down
Everyone learns about the Hindenburg when they're in school and how the airship met disaster back in 1937. However, most of the photos people are used to seeing are photos of the ship up in flames, with people trying to scurry away from it. This photo was taken only hours before that scene played out, and it shows the ship flying over the city of New York, with all 97 people onboard.
It's also usually forgotten that it was a Nazi ship and that Hitler used it as a propaganda machine. The Nazi symbol can clearly be seen on the tail of the airship in this photo.
The Cheyenne Mountain Complex
This photo of the entrance to the Cheyenne Mountain Complex is probably all the government will ever release about the site. It's not entirely clear what goes on inside the mountain, but we do know that it houses NORAD, which monitors airspace and defense over North America, as well as other facilities and units. We also know that it was designed to be able to withstand a nuclear blast from point-blank range.
Reportedly, the inside of the complex is large enough to house multiple buildings that are around three stories tall and the entire complex is fitted with a filtering system that's able to filter out biological and radioactive contaminants.
An Early Attempt At An All Terrain Vehicle
Since nearly as early as cars were first invented, there have been attempts at making them better suited for off-road driving. After all, it was one of their first big disadvantages compared to horses and during a time when the majority of roads were little more than trails. This long-lost photo shows an early Ford that was modified by Henry Ford himself to be able to travel through snow.
It's unclear how successful it was, but considering that it never really became a thing, we can probably safely assume that he never got all the kinks worked out.
A Secret North Dakota Bunker
This bunker in North Dakota looks more like something out of an old science fiction film than a building that exists in real life. The bunker is located in the sparsely populated state of North Dakota, and today, it's mostly used to just monitor weather and occasional seismic activity. However, its past is somewhat shrouded in mystery and it was once a military installation with silos that contained nuclear missiles.
The pyramid itself was part of a radar installation and the complex itself was actually very large. After it was decommissioned, most of the underground tunnels were intentionally flooded.
A Rare Photo Of Diego Garcia
While most people know that the US has multiple military bases all around the world, a lot of those bases are shrouded in secrecy. Diego Garcia is one of those bases, and photos of the base are rarely released to the public. This photo is older and shows a view of the base, situated in the Indian Ocean, from the sky. Odds are, it looks way different now than it did when this photo was taken.
Officially, the base still belongs to the UK, and it only leases the base to the US. It sits in a very strategic spot when it comes to international commerce and trade.
John McCain Being Captured
John McCain is probably better known for his work as a politician, but during the Vietnam War, he became a high-profile captive. His father was a pretty famous admiral for the US Navy, so when McCain's plane was shot down over Hanoi and he was taken prisoner, the news was covered everywhere. This photo shows the young pilot after he bailed out, landed, and was found by the North Vietnamese.
He remained a prisoner for around five years before being released, and he later returned to the country after he had been elected to Congress. However, this time his trip a little different.
Before Flight Simulators, There Was This
Today, pilots can train on highly detailed and specialized flight simulators before they actually step into the cockpit of a plane. However, that hasn't always been the case, as this photo demonstrates. It shows a pilot using some kind of machine, which was probably considered state of the art and secret at one point in time, to test his endurance and other traits you might need to become a military pilot.
We assume that after they passed whatever type of tests this thing was meant to administer, the pilot would be cleared for the next stage of their training.
The Last Time Mount Vesuvius Erupted
Most of us have heard of Mount Vesuvius from learning about the ancient city of Pompei and how the entire town was wiped out and buried under ash in an instant. The last time the volcano erupted was in 1944, and this is a colorized image of that eruption. The volcano hurled ash and smoke deep into the sky, but luckily, this time, it only resulted in 26 deaths.
Vesuvius continued to spew lava, in very small amounts, over the next 30 years, and it's still considered active today, although there hasn't been a major eruption in decades.
Ham the Astrochimp
The US and Soviet Union performed all kinds of weird experiments during their contest to get to the moon, but this might be one of the weirdest. This is a once-classified photo of Ham the Astrochimp, who was sent into space after being trained to work some of the controls. He was the first chimp to make it into space and return to Earth safely, where he ended up living a pretty long life.
Ham managed to perform the tasks he was trained to do while also having to deal with all of the stress associated with being launched into orbit around the Earth.
A Freedom Rider In 1961
The photo below is the mugshot of Joan Trumpauer Mulholland after she was arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1961. She, along with other freedom riders, protested segregation in the South during the Civil Rights by riding desegregated buses through different states. Mulholland was briefly sentenced to death for her actions before the ruling was overturned. None of the freedom riders died during the protests, but others taking part in similar demonstrations were killed in Mississippi.
Freedom riders also had some pretty close calls in neighboring states, and they were always a target for members of the Klu Klux Klan, and one of their buses was actually bombed in Alabama.
John And Yoko's War Is Over Billboards
While the Vietnam War was still raging, John Lennon and Yoko Ono paid to have multiple billboards erected all over the world with the phrase "War is Over! If you want it." The billboards were meant to show people that if they banded together and protested the war in Vietnam, then their elected officials would have no choice but to end the war and leave the country. This was during a time of already intense protests.
The campaign was launched in 1969, but the war wouldn't end for another four years; by that time, costing thousands of more lives and devastating countless towns and villages in Vietnam.
A Member Of The Queen's Guard Fainting
The Queen's Guard are known for being incredibly stoic and not allowing anything to take their attention away from performing their duty. So, it's no surprise that they may have wanted this photo hidden for a while. It shows a member of the guard fainting while standing at attention on a hot day in 1970. Still, the dedication to just stand there even when you know you're about to faint is pretty impressive.
This isn't the only time this has happened either, and in recent years, some have called for the guard to change their uniform in order to prevent members from suffering from an injury.
A Hippo Powered Carriage
Hippos are one of the most dangerous animals in Africa. They're huge and they are easily agitated, so it's kind of amazing the man in this photo was able to get one to pull a carriage. This long-lost photo depicts a hippo who was trained to perform this and other tricks for a circus. The hippo's name was Clyde Beatty and only a few photos of the hippo remain.
The show also had a number of other animals, including lions, and it was one of the largest circuses in the US at one point before it was eventually disbanded.
World War I Christmas Truce
As you might imagine, governments didn't want this photo of the famous Christmas truce that happened during the Middle of World War I getting out and possibly turning public opinion against the war. The truce spontaneously broke out all along the front during the war, and due to high-ranking officials trying to keep it quiet, we still don't know exactly how widespread it was or the exact details of how it started.
However, we do have photos like this that show members of the Allies and the Axis enjoying a friendly game in the middle of no man's land. Considering the brutality of the war, it's really pretty remarkable.
People Standing In Line For Assistance In America
Some of the most iconic photos in American history come from the Great Depression. Today, this may be one of the most memorable. It shows people lined up waiting to receive assistance after the Ohio River flooded in 1937. Behind them, there's a sign declaring the US to be home to the highest standard of living in the world. We're sure the irony wasn't lost on them while they were standing there.
Not only had they just suffered from a natural disaster, but the man-made disaster of the Great Depression was in full swing at the time, creating scenes like this one all over the country.
The Iconic Cotton Mill Girl
It's a bit hard to imagine today, but during the early 20th century and before, it wasn't uncommon for children to take part in hard manual labor. During the Industrial Revolution, children left the fields and entered the factories in large numbers, sparking debate about child labor laws. This was a pivotal photo during the time and it shows a small child working by herself in a cotton mill.
Unfortunately, it would take a tragedy for laws to finally be enacted, and photos like this one were rare since factory owners didn't want reporters documenting child labor.
Muhammad Ali's Gold Medal At The Olympics
There are a lot of iconic photos of Muhammad Ali, and he was one of the best, if not the best, to ever enter into the boxing ring. But people rarely get to see this photo of a young Ali when he was only 18 years old. It was taken at the Olympic Games in Rome in 1960, and it shows Ali standing at the top of the podium.
He'd go on to be the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, but he competed in the lightweight division during the games, showing just how versatile he was as a boxer.
A Human Chess Match In The Soviet Union
In general, photos depicting everyday life in the Soviet Union were hard to come by during the Cold War. This particular photo shows a chess match that's being played using actual people. Chess was wildly popular in the Soviet Union at the time, and this was just a fun way of celebrating the sport while also promoting it. The country was extremely competitive for obvious reasons when it came to sporting events.
The costumes that all of the people are wearing are really amazing, as is the sheer amount of people who've gathered in the stands to watch the match being played.
A Member Of The Little Rock Nine
The Little Rock Nine were the first Black students to desegregate a local high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957. This now-famous image was taken while a member of the nine was walking to enter the school, and despite the image being black and white, you can still tell how chaotic and tense the scene must've been. In the background, other students are yelling slurs and telling their classmate to leave.
It's also important to remember that the students in the photo were only teenagers and that the backlash from the adults was another very real threat to the kids risking their lives to end desegregation.
Someone Chases The Carriage Of King George V
This iconic photo is extremely old, and it shows a beggar running alongside the king of England at the time. There aren't a whole lot of details about the photo, and we aren't sure if the person knew it was King George V who was riding in the carriage, but it does kind of sum up the whole system and history of monarchy in a way if you think about it.
It's also really surprising that the man wasn't immediately tackled to the ground by the security of some kind, considering it's the king of England he's chasing after on the road.
Waving To Family Over The Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a symbol of the large gap in ideology that had formed between the West and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and it was also a heavily militarized zone. But scenes like this one played out regularly along the wall. This rare photo shows a family raising their baby over the wall so that their parents on the other side can see their grandchild.
The wall was built in the middle of Berline without much warning, so it was common for entire families to be cut off from one another with no means of communication.
Smog In New York City
Here's another rare photo, but this one shows New York City during the height of the industrial revolution. New York, and other cities like it in the West, suffered from intense smog and pollution from all the cars, factories, and people burning coal. It was so bad that during this three-day event shown in the photo, some 168 people are thought to have died because of all the pollution in the air.
Fortunately, things aren't that bad in the city today, but air pollution is still responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths around the world, and many think the actual number could be much higher.
A Nuclear Shell Being Tested
Obviously, any photo of a nuclear explosion is going to be top-secret information, but that's especially true in this case. Everyone has seen old photos or reels of huge nuclear explosions, but not as many people have seen photos of smaller nuclear detonations. This image was taken in 1953 and it shows a nuclear explosion that was caused by an artillery shell. The mushroom cloud is smaller, but still quite huge compared to a conventional bomb.
Today, many experts are worried that smaller, tactical nuclear weapons like this one are a bigger danger than nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles since some countries might be more inclined to use them.
The Redoubt Volcano Eruption
The huge mushroom cloud in this photo looks like it was caused by a nuclear bomb, but it was actually caused by a volcanic eruption. The eruption started in 1989, and it lasted for some six months, during which time it became the second costliest eruption in US history. The volcano is called Mount Redoubt and it erupted multiple times over the course of the 20th century, often with devastating effect.
The volcano erupted again in 1992, and the latest eruption took place in 2009, suggesting that it will probably remain active for some time and that it's a bit overdue for an eruption.
The End Of Bonnie And Clyde
They were probably some of the most legendary bandits in American history, and their exploits became folklore. But Bonnie and Clyde were actually pretty violent in real life. The two were finally tracked down in what ended in a gunfight in 1934. This is a photo of their vehicle after the two were killed. You can probably guess why the police didn't want to release it to the public.
All of the bullet holes in the car make it look a lot less like a gunfight and more like the police just started opening fire as soon as they thought it was Bonnie and Clyde in the car.