A priceless pre-second world war globe coveted by the US defence secretary Pete Hegseth for his office in the Pentagon was damaged by his staff in a botched attempt to relocate it, army officials have admitted.

Photographs published by the Washington Post on Thursday show the shattered 30-inch Eisenhower globe, said to have been used by Dwight D Eisenhower, the 34th US president, as he plotted the D-day landings as allied supreme commander.

The fragile item was broken when Hegseth’s aides eschewed the services of specialist movers, then dropped it after deciding they would transport it themselves, the Post said, citing sources familiar with the February incident.

A US army spokesperson, in an email to the newspaper, conceded the damage occurred during “an attempted move”.

“The spherical portion of the globe was detached from the metal mounting that allows it to rotate,” the spokesperson said.

One photograph shows fragments of the globe below its wooden frame on a blue hallway carpet. A second shows an inches-wide gash in the bottom of the globe, with its base punched through.

According to the Post’s sources, Hegseth took a liking to the globe, one of two similar artifacts dating to the 1930s and housed in the Pentagon, and asked for it to be placed in his office.

The defence secretary has a well-documented fascination in the history of war, and has boasted of instilling a “warrior ethos” in the US military since his January 2025 confirmation.

The globe’s historical significance was attractive to him, the Post’s report noted, and aides moved quickly to enact the relocation.

Such was their haste, the sources said, that instead of waiting to engage specialist movers who would have packed the globe with precision and care, they dispatched their own team.

“They lost control of the artifact and dropped it, sending the globe crashing on to its base and impaling the fragile shell near Antarctica,” one of the sources said, blaming an “apparent lack of patience”.

Ultimately, the globe was not relocated, and is currently undergoing repair.

An account of a successful 2022 relocation of an Eisenhower globe, between two army facilities in Alabama, appears on the website of specialist moves Craters & Freighters, which highlights the level of expertise and care necessary for such an undertaking.

“Since the globe is considered priceless, we knew its value was much greater than financial, and that our team was heavily relied upon for a safe delivery,” the article said, describing how the company designed and precision-built protective crating.

An spokesperson for the “war department”, as the US Department of Defense has rebranded itself during Donald Trump’s second term, dismissed the significance of the incident in a statement to the Guardian.

“An accident occurred while staff were transporting a replica of the Eisenhower globe as part of its relocation,” the official’s statement said.

“Accidents happen, we are grateful no one was harmed, and the globe is being repaired. It is unsurprising that the Washington Post is once again dedicating time to another inconsequential non-story.”