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Operation Tracer was a highly classified World War II military operation based in Gibraltar, then a British colony and military base. The impetus for the plan was the 1940 scheme by Germany to capture Gibraltar, code-named Operation Felix. Operation Tracer was the brainchild of Rear Admiral John Henry Godfrey, the Director of the Naval Intelligence Division of the British Admiralty. In 1941, he decided to establish a covert observation post at Gibraltar that would remain operational even if Gibraltar fell to the enemy. From the facility, the movements of enemy vessels would be reported back to the United Kingdom. Godfrey requested the assistance of several distinguished consultants to bring the plan to fruition. The plan was so top secret that Godfrey held meetings with his consultants at his private residence rather than at Whitehall. The decision was made to construct the facility using the existing tunnel system for Lord Airey's Shelter, the underground military shelter just north of Lord Airey's Battery. The artillery battery was located at the upper ridge of the Rock of Gibraltar, near the southern end of what is now the Upper Rock Nature Reserve. Construction of the underground facility began in late 1941, and was completed by late summer 1942. The chambers served as a dual observation post, with an observation slit overlooking the Bay of Gibraltar and a larger aperture over the Mediterranean Sea. Six men were selected for the operation, an executive officer as leader, two physicians, and three wireless operators. All six men had volunteered to be sealed inside the cave should Gibraltar fall to the Axis powers. The men understood that they would remain sealed within the facility for about a year, although it could be much longer. Provisions for a seven-year stay had been assembled in the complex. However, the plan was never activated. The Director of Naval Intelligence ordered that the provisions in the complex be distributed and the cave sealed. Rumours of a secret complex, eventually dubbed Stay Behind Cave, circulated for decades in Gibraltar, until discovery of the chambers in 1997 by the Gibraltar Caving Group. The authenticity of the site was confirmed by one of the builders in 1998, and a decade later by one of the physicians. That physician, the last surviving member of the Tracer team, died in 2010. ==Early history== Operation Tracer was based in Gibraltar, the then British colony and fortress at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula.〔 The facility that was constructed for the top secret, World War II military operation was located near the southern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, in close proximity to Lord Airey's Battery.〔〔 The impetus for Operation Tracer was a 1940 plan by Germany to move through Spain and capture Gibraltar in the scheme code-named Operation Felix. It was an offshoot of a larger scheme, entitled the Peripheral Strategy, in which Germany planned to cut Great Britain off from the rest of the British Empire. British Intelligence recognised the threat, and Operation Tracer was the result. In the summer of 1941, Rear Admiral John Henry Godfrey (1888–1971), the Director of the Naval Intelligence Division of the British Admiralty, decided to establish at Gibraltar a covert observation post which would remain operational even if Gibraltar fell into enemy hands. The scheme was sufficiently top secret that none of the Operation Tracer meetings took place at Whitehall. Rather, they were held at Godfrey's residence at 36 Curzon Street, Mayfair, Central London.〔〔 From the observation post in Gibraltar, soldiers sealed inside the cave would report movements of enemy vessels to the Admiralty, using clandestine wireless communication. British officers, including Commander Geoffrey Birley and chief engineer Colonel Fordham, performed reconnaissance of the Rock of Gibraltar and selected the existing tunnel system for Lord Airey's Shelter as the site of Operation Tracer.〔〔 Initially, plans were made to provide a year's worth of accommodations for five men, including food, water, sanitation, and wireless communication. The scheme was later changed to one which would support six men. Eventually, provisions for seven years were supplied. The Director of Naval Intelligence (DNI) consulted with several experts on the feasibility and requirements of the scheme.〔〔 By late December 1941, construction of the complex had commenced. The tunneling work was performed in secret and the labourers were unaware of the exact site. All those involved in the construction of the Operation Tracer facility were immediately returned to England when it was completed, out of concern that they might leak the plan. The room which would provide the living quarters for the men was , with dimensions of 45 ft x 16 ft x 8 ft (14 m x 4.8 m x 2.4 m), at an elevation of The two observation apertures, one west over the Bay of Gibraltar, and the other east over the Mediterranean, provided ventilation. Each opening was initially planned to be 12 inches x 6 inches (30 cm x 15 cm). In addition, there was a water tank. Toilets were adjacent to a small radio room that contained the equipment for the wireless communications, which included a Mark 3 transmitter and HRO Receiver. Three 12 volt, 120 ampere batteries would be charged with either one of two generators, one bicycle-propelled and the other hand-cranked. The bicycle, which also drove a ventilation system, had its chain replaced with a leather strap, in order to minimise the noise when it was in use. In addition, an outside aerial was recommended. A rod aerial measuring in length would be inserted through the east observation aperture.〔〔〔 A staircase near the main chamber, at the level of the radio room and toilet facility, led up to the east observation post. It was decided that the aerial would be hidden by withdrawing it into a pipe after use, with the pipe extending down the stairs which led to the main room. While it had initially been planned that the observation apertures would both be slits, the final choice was for the eastern aperture over the Mediterranean to be larger, overlooking a narrow ledge, yet still completely concealed. The opening and ledge were sufficiently large that a man could climb out onto the platform for fresh air. Part way up the main set of stairs was another set which led to the west observation post. The western slit over the bay was concealed with a concrete wedge. The entirety of the main chamber had been plastered and its floor covered in cork tiles, both methods to reduce sound transmission. The entrance passage had loose soil, to facilitate burials if needed. It also had loose bricks to further brick up the tunnel access once the six men had been sealed inside the cave.〔〔 At a January 1942 meeting, a report by two of the consultants was analyzed. The report made suggestions as to personnel, exercise, provisions, including food, alcohol and tobacco, ventilation, and sanitation. If one of the team members died, it was recommended that their remains be embalmed and cemented. Those at the meeting decided that the Operation Tracer team should have six members: an officer who would serve as leader of the team, two doctors, and three telegraphists. It was proposed that a rehearsal be conducted to evaluate the psychological suitability of the proposed team members. It was suggested that the rehearsal take place in Scotland. At a meeting held the following month, in February 1942, it was recommended that Lieutenant White of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve be interviewed. It was proposed that once the Tracer team was chosen, a second team be organised, and observations posts at other places such as Aden and Malta be considered.〔〔 On 13 April 1942, Godfrey released a memo, the fourth paragraph of which stated: Edward Merrett served as Godfrey's secretary. Writer Ian Fleming, of James Bond fame, was his personal assistant. Both were involved in Operation Tracer.〔 Fleming had been a stockbroker in civilian life before he had been recruited to the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and commissioned as a lieutenant commander in 1939. It was after the war that he wrote the James Bond novels. In addition to serving as personal assistant to the DNI during World War II, Fleming was the mastermind of a special unit in 1942. Eventually known as the 30 Assault Unit, the naval commando unit was charged with acquiring intelligence information and went into ports that had fallen to the Allies. Fleming recruited a diverse assortment of men, including Arctic explorers, Royal Marines, and linguists. Their instructors even included a thief who taught them the skills of safe-cracking and lock-picking.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Operation Tracer」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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