Operation Columba: The Secret Pigeon Service

William Bache led our discussion of how British intelligence secretly used homing pigeons in a clandestine espionage operation to gather information about German units and logistics, and to communicate with the Belgian resistance during World War II. The British dropped 16,000 pigeons across Nazi-occupied Europe as part of Operation Columba. Information reports were written on tiny pieces of paper, placed into tiny canisters attached to the pigeon's legs. The homing pigeons then flew off to British homes. After they arrived home, their British owners passed the information to the authorities. Most of the book focuses on the successful operation conducted in a Belgian village with the help of the village priest, who had been a missionary in China. He could, thanks to his calligraphy skills, draw precise maps of German military installations, which helped the war effort.