Operation Whale

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Operation Whale ("Unternehmen Wal" or "Unternehmen Walfisch" in German) was the name of two separate German Intelligence (Abwehr) plans conceived in 1940.^[1]

" Unternehmen Walfisch" was an aborted plan to land a seaplane on a lake in Ireland which may have had planning input from IRA agent Frank Ryan. Walfisch did not take place and planning was abandoned by July 1940.

"Unternehmen Wal" was an aborted plan devised in November 1940 to establish contacts with Welsh and Scottish nationalist groups in Britain in preparation for Operation Sealion ("Unternehmen Seeloewe" in German).

The agent that was to undertake the mission was one of the Abwehr's Irish "experts", Helmut Clissmann. He was to be transported to Britain by Christian Nissen aka. "Hein Mueck" or "Agent Hein". Planning for Whale took place when all Irish operations were prohibited by Abwehr chief Wilhelm Canaris. In order to work around the direct order not to interfere in Irish affairs, Abwehr Section leader Kurt Haller sought permission for an operation which had the stated aim of seeking assistance from Welsh and Scots groups although the outright aim was to seek further contacts with Ireland. Wal did not take place and planning was abandoned by April 1941.

[edit] Footnotes

^ Wal & Walfisch have the same meaning in the German language.

[edit] References

Mark M. Hull, Irish Secrets. German Espionage in Wartime Ireland 1939-1945, 2003, ISBN 978-0-7165-2756-5
Enno Stephan, Spies in Ireland, 1963, ISBN 1-131-82692-2 (reprint)
J Bowyer Bell, The Secret Army - The IRA 1997 3rd Edition, ISBN 1-85371-813-0