Tentative of History of In/Exfiltrations into/from France during WWII from 1940 to 1945 (Parachutes, Plane & Sea Landings) Forewords This tentative of history of civilians and military agents (BCRA, Commandos, JEDBURGHS, OSS, SAS, SIS, SOE, SUSSEX/OSSEX, SUSSEX/BRISSEX & PROUST) infiltrated or exfiltrated during the WWII into France, by parachute, by plane landings and/or by sea landings. This document, which needs to be completed and corrected, has been prepared using the information available, not always reliable, on the following internet websites and books available: 1. The Order of the Liberation website : http://www.ordredelaliberation.fr/english/contenido1.php The Order of the Liberation is France's second national Order after the Legion of Honor, and was instituted by General De Gaulle, Leader of the "Français Libres" - the Free French movement - with Edict No. 7, signed in Brazzaville on November 16th, 1940. 2. History of Carpetbaggers (USAAF) partly available on Thomas Ensminger’s website addresses: ftp://www.801492.org/ (Need a user logging and password). It is not anymore possible to have access to this site since Thomas’ death on 03/05/2012. http://www.801492.org/MainMenu.htm http://www.801492.org/Air%20Crew/Crewz.htm I was informed that Thomas Ensminger passed away on the 03/05/2012. I like to underline the huge work performed as historian by Thomas to keep alive the memory the Carpetbaggers’ history and their famous B24 painted in black. RIP Thomas. The USAAF Carpetbagger's mission was that of delivering supplies and agents to resistance groups in the enemy occupied Western European nations. Created in late 1943, their operations first flew from Tempsford, then Alconbury and finally out of Station 179, Harrington. Flying at first as two squadrons, they were given Provisional status as a Bombardment Group (801st) in late March 1944 just before they moved to Harrington. In May of 1944 two more squadrons were added to the group. In August of 1944, the group was redesignated as a formal group (492nd). Squadron designations were changed as well, becoming as follows for the duration of the war: - 36th BS changed to 856th BS - 406th BS changed to 858th BS - 788th BS changed to 859th BS - 850th BS changed to 857th BS Over five hundred members of the BCRA, Jedburghs, OSS, Proust, SAS, SIS, SOE and Sussex agents were inserted by the Carpetbaggers during the period of March 1944 through April of 1945. Mission reports of Carpetbaggers’ crews, most of Jedburghs’ mission reports, of SOE F and SOE RF can be downloaded from the Thomas Ensminger’s huge data bank. NB: The whole Carpetagaggers’crew mission reports were kindly provided by Thomas Ensminger. There is a Carpetbaggers museum located near Harrington (Northamptonshire – Great Britain): http://www.harringtonmuseum.org.uk/CarpetbaggerMuseumHomePage.htm 3. History of the RAF squadrons: The two Bob Body’s websites related to RAF squadrons 138 and 161 on website addresses: http://www.tempsford-squadrons.info/ http://www.161squadron.org/ There were two RAF squadrons based at Tempsford airfield; No 138 and 161 squadrons. Both were involved in these highly secret operations, that ranged over all of enemy occupied Europe, dropping agents or supplies. Losses were Pierre TILLET HISTORY OF WWII INFILTRATIONS INTO FRANCE-rev62-06102013 Page 1 of 90 Tentative of History of In/Exfiltrations into/from France during WWII from 1940 to 1945 (Parachutes, Plane & Sea Landings) very high, with up to one aircraft per week being lost at some points during the war. Missions were concentrated on the "moon nights" of each month at the beginning, where a full moon allowed for better night vision for the pilots. Since 1943, location device Rebecca (Plane) / Eureka (DZ) was used whatever the weather. NB : Some mission reports of RAF 138 Sqn, 161 and 1419 were kindly provided by Bob Body. NB2 : Steven Kippax kindly provided some archives (Air 40/2659 – Air resources made available to SIS) concerning the 106 SIS pick-up operations carried out by RAF Squadron 161. The Ron McKeon’s website concerning the history of the RAF squadron 624 operating from Blida (Algérie): http://624squadron.org/wiki/index.php?title=1944_Missions_Calendar This site has now an online database (A small and worthy participation fee of 10£ is asked to support the logistics to run this website) periodically updated. 4. The David Portier’s site FFL-SAS dedicated to the Free French SAS http://lerot.org/fflsas/ NB: David Portier helped me to up-date some SAS infiltrations. 5. History of Jedburghs available on following website addresses: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jedburgh http://www.cgsc.edu/carl/resources/csi/lewis/lewis.asp http://web.archive.org/web/20060421211454/freespace.virgin.net/arthur.brown2/index.htm The name JEDBURGH comes from a small town of Scotland. JEDBURGH was a special forces operation carried out by the Allied during WWII, which aimed to coordinate the action of the Resistance with the general plans of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces (SHAEF) and to provide weapons and training to the Resistance, in France, in Belgium and in the Netherlands, in order to prevent the German to reinforce the Normandy coasts at the time of D-Day. Men of the British Special Operations Executive (SOE), of the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS), and of Free French Bureau Central de Renseignements and d’Action (BCRA) as well as soldiers of the various armies of the countries concerned (France, Belgium, Netherlands) were parachuted in uniform (Some teams were dropped in civilian clothes such as Arnold Team), by teams of three, behind the German lines, to lead actions of sabotage and guerrilla against the Germans, and to coordinate actions of the Resistance. About 100 Jedburgh teams were dropped into France, Belgium and Holland between June and December 1944. Jed Nationalies dispatched into France : British : 91 Jed French : 108 Jed USA : 77 Jed Canadian : 2 Jed The Jedburgh Teams had in Europe: - 14 members killed in action. - 5 members dead from injuries, shot when prisoners or by accident. - 3 members killed due to bad dropping or parachute failure. - 11 members severely injured during fighting. - 4 members injured due to bad dropping. - 4 prisoners who escaped. 6. The Sussex Plan provided by the « Amicale du Plan Sussex » and his secretary Dominique Soulier. http://www.plan-sussex-1944.net/ Sussex Teams (January - September 1944): SUSSEX Plan was an operation in World War II in which men from the French Intelligence Bureau Central de Renseignements and d'Action (BCRA) were dropped into France from Pierre TILLET HISTORY OF WWII INFILTRATIONS INTO FRANCE-rev62-06102013 Page 2 of 90 Tentative of History of In/Exfiltrations into/from France during WWII from 1940 to 1945 (Parachutes, Plane & Sea Landings) January to September 1944. (See Memories of a Free French Secret Agent written by Gilbert Renault aka Rémy aka Roulier). Commander Kenneth Cohen for SIS (England), Colonel Francis Pickens Miller for OSS (USA) and Gilbert Renault (Rémy) for BCRA (France) were in charge of the SUSSEX Plan. Each of the 51 SUSSEX teams (29 OSSEX, 22 BRISSEX teams) comprised two military persons: an officer and a WT operator. (118 men and 2 women) After the war the surviving agents used to meet for a monthly reunion dinner at Madame Goubillon's café, located 8 rue Tournefort in the 5th arrondissement, which they painted and renamed “Café du Réseau Sussex”. Sadly the cafe is no more, Madame Goubillon died in the 1980s and the premises were transformed into a piano bar. In 1990, however, the mayor of the fifth arrondissement unveiled a plaque commemorating the role the cafe and its owner played during the war. (http://www.aerosteles.net/fiche.php?code=paris-sussex ) The volume 3 “Secret Intelligence Branch: SUSSEX ” of roll n°4 of « History of the London Office of the OSS » ref : M-1623 of NARA gave some information concerning the Plan SUSSEX, but unfortunately the agents’ reports are missing (pages 241 to 479). US Archives NARA provided some mission reports of SUSSEX/OSSEX teams. 2 Pathfinders teams and 52 Sussex teams were dropped from February to September 1944. The "Carpetbaggers" infiltrated about 46 SUSSEX agents and the RAF 62. Most of Carpetbaggers’ operations had names of car manufacturers: Ansaldo, Bentley, Benz, Cord, Desoto, Ellis, Lincoln, Plymouth, etc. The Sussex Teams had 10 members killed including a woman Evelyne Clopet. Jacques Voyer received the Cross of the Liberation. In Hochfelden , near Strasbourg, there is a museum dedicated to the Sussex Plan managed by Dominique SOULIER, son of an ex-Sussex agent Georges SOULIER . NB: Proust Project (February – September 1944): An auxiliary joint operation conducted by BCRA and SI/ OSS to the Sussex plan to build up a reserve pool of agents for any unforeseen exigencies of the post D-Day period and eventually became operational. Each Proust agent was trained as W/T operator and intelligence observer agent. The volume 4 “Secret Intelligence Branch - PROUST” of roll n°4 of « History of the London Office of the OSS » ref: M-1623 of NARA gave some information concerning the Plan PROUST, but unfortunately the agents’ reports are missing (pages 51 to 188). The PROUST missions were: Driver/Ascain, Monkey, Girafe, Midiron (sub-missions: Norman, Noël, Potage, Noir, Congé, Poil, Jument and Maréchal), Jambon, Mirnaloy, Voyageur, Bebe, Chat, Image, Marquise and Marcel. The "Carpetbaggers" dropped forty-six PROUST Project intelligence agents into France for SI/London. 7. F-Section of SOE available on website address: http://soe_french.tripod.com/ Special Operations Executive (SOE): The Special Operations Executive (SOE ), sometimes referred to as "the Baker Street Irregulars" after Sherlock Holmes's fictional group of spies, was a World War II organization.