When MI5 distributed the captured spy radios after the war, the Northamptonshire Police received one. It was catalogued and displayed as belonging to Gösta Caroli. That attribution stuck—in books, in labels, in memory. But the radio itself tells a different story, if you know where to look. Introduction Gösta Caroli was one of the Operation […]
Northampton’s Wartime Spy Radio: Caroli and the Wrong Number Read More »
The Book Spy! Six Stories of Modern Espionage. Richard Deacon and Nigel West. British Broadcasting Corporation, London. 1980. Background Given how much controversy the 1980 Spy! television episode on Camp 020 aroused… I thought I would try and track down the accompanying book, written by Richard Deacon and Nigel West. I found one online and
N.B. 2021 01 31 – I’ve posted a follow-up blog on Spy Radios here. A few years ago, I reached out to the Military Wireless Museum’s Ben Nock for assistance with deciphering the schematics of Josef Jakobs’ wireless radio transmitter/receiver. After examining the electrical circuit diagram, Ben concluded that the set was an SE 88/5.
Spy Radios – Teasing apart a Decades Long Puzzle Read More »
The Book Agent TATE: The Wartime Story of Harry Williamson. Tommy Jonason and Simon Olsson. Amberley Publishing. 2012. Summary The story of double agent TATE (LEONHARDT to the Germans) is one of the classic tales of the British double cross system from the Second World War. One can read key snippets of his story in
I am always intrigued to see how MI5 handled the espionage cases, how they decided whom to prosecute and whom to intern for the duration of the war. The story of Gösta Caroli is particularly intriguing because of his great attempt at escape in January 1941. Caroli landed in England via parachute in September 1940.
The Great Escape (Attempt) of Gösta Caroli Read More »
The title of this blog is a bit of a stretch… it’s hard to say if Route #11 was the favourite bus of spies but it was definitely the route that showed up twice in the MI5 files (so far). When double agent TATE (Wulf Schmidt) radioed the German Abwehr in Hamburg that he desperately
London Bus Route 11 – Favourite Bus of Spies Read More »
New mysteries always seem to be popping up in the quest for information on Josef Jakobs and the other World War 2 spies who arrived in England on behalf of Germany. The recent interest, both on this blog, and in the news about Engelbertus Fukken (alias Jan Willem Ter Braak) has led me down some
Mysterious Spy Transmissions from England to Germany Read More »