Global Information Lookup Global Information

Source Columba information


Homing pigeons such as these served with the Confidential Pigeon Service.

According to a 2007 newspaper report,[1] Source Columba (Latin columba, "pigeon") was the code name for the Confidential Pigeon Service, an unconventional British intelligence gathering operation in World War II.

It involved air-dropping homing pigeons behind enemy lines in German-occupied France and the Netherlands as a means for locals to convey information, such as troop movements, to British intelligence. From 1940 onwards, hundreds of pigeon cases were parachuted into Europe, each case including – apart from the pigeon – sheets of very thin paper, a special pencil and a tube for storing the message, as well as French and Dutch instructions on how to fill in a report. A recent copy of a London newspaper was also included as proof of good faith.

In 1944, prior to the imminent Allied invasion, German counterintelligence sought to counteract (or co-opt) Source Columba by dropping pigeons of their own. These pigeon cases, accompanied by a packet of English cigarettes, were purporting to be British also and carried instructions to communicate the names of the local patriots to the Allies. The Résistance, for its part, let it be known that the best way to deal with these false birds would be to smoke the cigarettes and eat the pigeons.

Despite such interference, the operation was reported to have been remarkably successful, yielding useful intelligence in over fifty percent of the received messages. 31 Source Columba pigeons eventually received the Dickin Medal, the highest British military decoration for animals. The operation became public only after National Archives files relating to it were released in 2007. However the method and a few actual cases were described in some detail in Dr R.V. Jones' autobiographical book Most Secret War in 1978.

  1. ^ Ben Fenton (March 20, 2007). "Documents reveal role of 'winged spies'". London: The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved April 24, 2012.March 20, 2007

and 22 Related for: Source Columba information

Request time (Page generated in 0.8243 seconds.)

Source Columba

Last Update:

According to a 2007 newspaper report, Source Columba (Latin columba, "pigeon") was the code name for the Confidential Pigeon Service, an unconventional...

Word Count : 372

Columba

Last Update:

Columba (/kəˈlʌmbəˌ ˈkɒlʌmbə/) or Colmcille (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity...

Word Count : 4514

Columba Project

Last Update:

The Columba Project (Gaelic: Iomairt Cholm Cille), formerly known as the Columba Initiative, is a program for Gaelic speakers in Scotland and Ireland to...

Word Count : 452

Common wood pigeon

Last Update:

The common wood pigeon (Columba palumbus), also known as simply wood pigeon, is a large species in the dove and pigeon family (Columbidae), native to...

Word Count : 1989

Book of Kells

Last Update:

Trinity College Library, MS A. I. [58], sometimes known as the Book of Columba) is an illuminated manuscript and Celtic Gospel book in Latin, containing...

Word Count : 8833

Rock dove

Last Update:

rock dove, rock pigeon, or common pigeon (/ˈpɪdʒ.ən/ also /ˈpɪdʒ.ɪn/; Columba livia) is a member of the bird family Columbidae (doves and pigeons).: 624 ...

Word Count : 6276

Domestic pigeon

Last Update:

The domestic pigeon (Columba livia domestica or Columba livia forma domestica) is a pigeon subspecies that was derived from the rock dove or rock pigeon...

Word Count : 4293

Columba Krebs

Last Update:

painter. She took the name Columba when signing her paintings and writings, probably related to the constellation Columba, which is the focal point of...

Word Count : 1409

Columba Ryan

Last Update:

Columba Ryan OP (born Patrick Ryan, 13 January 1916 in Hampstead – 4 August 2009) was a British priest of the Dominican Order and a philosophy teacher...

Word Count : 417

Columba of Terryglass

Last Update:

Columba of Terryglass (Colum) (died 13 December 552) was the son of Ninnidh, a descendant of Crinthainn, King of Leinster. Columba was a disciple of St...

Word Count : 450

Stock dove

Last Update:

The stock dove or stock pigeon (Columba oenas) is a species of bird in the family Columbidae, the doves and pigeons. It is widely distributed in the western...

Word Count : 1227

Mourning dove

Last Update:

dropped Columba macroura and instead coined Columba migratoria for the passenger pigeon, Columba cariolensis for the mourning dove and Columba marginata...

Word Count : 4349

Finnian of Movilla

Last Update:

Iona claimed that Columba served as a deacon under Finnian, whom Adomnán claimed to be a bishop. Adomnán, in his biography of Columba, recorded a story...

Word Count : 871

Speckled pigeon

Last Update:

The speckled pigeon (Columba guinea), also African rock pigeon or Guinea pigeon, is a pigeon that is a resident breeding bird in much of Africa south...

Word Count : 555

Mauritius blue pigeon

Last Update:

himself, but Latinised Sonnerat's description in 1786. He named the bird Columba nitidissima, which means "most brilliant pigeon". The German naturalist...

Word Count : 3478

Columba in Chinese astronomy

Last Update:

The modern constellation Columba lies across two of the quadrants, symbolized by the White Tiger of the West (西方白虎, Xī Fāng Bái Hǔ) and the Vermillion...

Word Count : 155

Laurel pigeon

Last Update:

The laurel pigeon or white-tailed laurel pigeon (Columba junoniae) is a species of bird in the Columba genus in the family Columbidae (doves and pigeons)...

Word Count : 1881

Pigeon guillemot

Last Update:

The pigeon guillemot (Cepphus columba) (/ˈɡɪlɪmɒt/) is a species of bird in the auk family, Alcidae. One of three species in the genus Cepphus, it is...

Word Count : 4178

British Columbia

Last Update:

British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada. Situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province...

Word Count : 15780

Trocaz pigeon

Last Update:

The trocaz pigeon, Madeira laurel pigeon or long-toed pigeon (Columba trocaz) is a pigeon which is endemic to the island of Madeira, Portugal. It is a...

Word Count : 2261

Colm Kelleher

Last Update:

Thomas Columba "Colm" Kelleher (born 30 May 1957) is an Irish-British business executive and banker. He is the chairman of the board of directors of the...

Word Count : 1359

Passenger pigeon

Last Update:

extinction. Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus coined the binomial name Columba macroura for both the mourning dove and the passenger pigeon in the 1758...

Word Count : 17588

PDF Search Engine © AllGlobal.net