2011-07-21T23:33:00Z
Completed in 1936 at a cost of just over half-a-million dollars, Fort Knox was designed to withstand any type of attack.
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Situated in the hills of Kentucky outside an Army base, it has always been primarily a U.S. gold vault. During World War II, however, it also held the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the English crown jewels and the gold reserves from several occupied countries in Europe.
Security at the vault is a closely guarded secret, so much of what gets out is supposition. We've done our best to sort through the rumors.
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One of the few undisputed facts about security is that 30,000 soldiers, tanks, armored personnel carriers, attack helicopters, and artillery sit just outside Ft. Knox
It's said the turrets built into the fortress were designed to handle the premier weapon of the day: the Thompson submachine gun
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Ground sweeping radar bathes the entire compound -- the same radar used by Predator drones
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If someone manages to get past all the external security, inside there is a battalion of Mint Police
The vault door weighs more than 20 tons, no single person has the combination and each one can be filled with water
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Of course, Fort Knox employees are sworn to secrecy and will not confirm or deny any of the security measures they employ
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Only one man has ever tried to break into Fort Knox
And his name was Goldfinger.
The protagonist from the 1964 James Bond film tries to break into the gold depository in order to detonate a nuclear device, and liquefy the immense stash of gold.
Intending to gas everyone at the Fort, Goldfinger's goal was to increase the value of his own gold holdings and give the Chinese an economic advantage.
In the movie, Army troops sweep in and Goldfinger only manages to escape by wearing an Army uniform.
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For all that security gold is not the most expensive substance around
Check out the 9 substances that are more costly than gold >
Get the latest Gold price here.
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