In 1944, prior to the imminent Allied invasion, German counterintelligence sought to counteract (or co-opt) Source Columba by dropping pigeons of their own.
A recent copy of a London newspaper was also included as proof of good faith. 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. 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. Homing pigeons such as these served with the Confidential Pigeon Service.Īccording to a 2007 newspaper report, Source Columba ( Latin columba, "pigeon") was the code name for the Confidential Pigeon Service, an unconventional British intelligence gathering operation in World War II.
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