Operation Ruthless - The Plan

The Plan

In September, Fleming wrote a note to Godfrey which read:

I suggest we obtain the loot by the following means:
1. Obtain from Air Ministry an air-worthy German bomber.
2. Pick a tough crew of five, including a pilot, W/T operator and word-perfect German speaker. Dress them in German Air Force uniform, add blood and bandages to suit.
3. Crash plane in the Channel after making S.O.S. to rescue service in P/L.
4. Once aboard rescue boat, shoot German crew, dump overboard, bring rescue boat back to English port.
In order to increase the chances of capturing an R. or M. with, its richer booty, the crash might be staged in mid-Channel. The Germans would presumably employ one of this type for the longer and more hazardous journey. F. 12.9-40.

The plan was that the German bomber would follow on behind the aircraft from a returning night bombing raid. When crossing the middle of the English Channel, it would cut one engine and lose height with smoke pouring from a 'candle' in the tail, send out a SOS distress signal and then ditch in the sea. The crew would then take to a rubber dinghy, having ensured that the bomber sank before the Germans could identify it, and wait to be rescued by a German naval vessel. When on board the 'survivors' would then kill the German crew, and hijack the ship, thus obtaining the Enigma documentation.

Fleming had pencilled in his own name as a crew member of the crew but, as someone who knew about Bletchley Park, he could not be placed at risk of being captured. A German Heinkel was prepared with an aircrew of German-speaking Englishmen. The operation was planned for the early part of the month because it was known that the code sheets were changed at the start of each month.