Lisa Hilton

On a wing and a prayer | 15 March 2018

Gordon Corera unravels the workings of Operation Columba, the secret pigeon service that could turn around a drop in just 36 hours

issue 17 March 2018

Operation Columba was one of the most secretive arms of British Intelligence during the second world war. Between April 1941 and September 1944, its agents made 16,554 drops over an area stretching from Copenhagen to Bordeaux. Amongst Columba’s successes was the mapping of Belgium’s entire coastal defence system, 67 kilometres worth of priceless, minutely detailed information.

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