GCHQ release new details about the role of spies on D-Day
GCHQ has today released new details of the intelligence agency’s top-secret contribution to D-Day.
80 years on from the Normandy landings, GCHQ, has released 'Top Secret' documents showing the role of spies on D-Day.
The documents – released for the first time today – show a detailed intelligence ‘target list’ provided to the highly trained ‘30 Assault Unit’, as well as information about where such intelligence could be found within occupied territory.
The elite unit was tasked with bringing back documents, code books, cyphers and machinery relating to ENIGMA for GCHQ during the D-Day operation.
The documents also contain the signature of James Bond author, Ian Fleming, who at the time was a Naval Intelligence Commander. He was responsible for signing off the mission.
Outlined within the archived material are detailed lists of the assets intelligence agents were tasked with gathering, such as code books, cyphers and documents relating to signals, radar and communications.
Although Signals Intelligence is already known to have played a crucial role in the success of D-Day, this new information sheds a light on the work of 30AU which was pivotal in ending the second world war.