D-Day-1944 report on Allied use of pigeons to gather intelligence before invasion

Discussion in 'NW Europe' started by jenniferspangler, Oct 3, 2015.

  1. (c) Crown copyright images reproduced by courtesy of The National Archives, London, UK
    Attached thumbnails below are catalog numbers WO208/3556 #51, #52, #53
    This is Columba Summery #12 for the first 6 months of 1944.
    Points in the summary:

    Returns were low but considered critical during the pre-invasion period;

    4424 pigeons were dropped by parachute;

    Operation Columba provided the first intimation of “order of battle” news considered important to SHAEF regarding German troop movements;

    5 reports gave the first news of military underground works;

    Names of collaborators were sent to SHAEF, per their request;

    After the invasion began the Germans offered big rewards for the capture of Allied pigeons;

    In Denmark, pigeon owners were given the choice of killing their pigeons or turning them over to the Wehrmacht.

    These documents and other WW2 pigeon documents are at:

    http://worldwar2militaryintelligence.blogspot.com/
     

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