Into the Lion's Mouth: The True Story of Dusko Popov: World War II Spy, Patriot, and the Real-Life Inspiration for James Bond

by Larry Loftis

  “I had in my possession” Popov, Genesis, 48.

  Fleming and Godfrey were returning from a visit to the U.S. Admiral Godfrey recorded in his memoirs that the trip was to “co-ordinate the arrangement for exchange with the United States of all forms of intelligence.” John H. Godfrey, The Naval Memoirs of Admiral J. H. Godfrey, Vol. V, 1939–1942, Naval Intelligence Division, Part I, 128. See also Ian Fleming, Foreword to H. Montgomery Hyde, Room 3603: The Story of the British Intelligence Center in New York During World War II, xi; William Stevenson, A Man Called Intrepid: The Secret War, 270–71; Patrick Beesly, Very Special Admiral: The Life of Admiral J. H. Godfrey C. B., 181; David Eccles, By Safe Hand: The Letters of Sybil and David Eccles, 1939–1942, 283; Keith Jeffery, The Secret History of MI6, 1909–1949, 448.

  “In 1941 . . .” Ian Fleming, Foreword to H. Montgomery Hyde, Room 3603, xi.

  “expressed himself firmly” Stevenson, 163.

  checking in on May 20 Fleming biographer John Pearson cited the first leg of the Godfrey/Fleming visit to Lisbon as occurring “at the beginning of June” (The Life of Ian Fleming, 95), but Fleming’s hotel registration reveals that he checked into the Palácio on May 20, 1941. Pearson also assumed that Godfrey stayed at the Palácio with Fleming (“their Estoril hotel,” page 96). There are no records, however, of Godfrey lodging at the Palácio or any Estoril hotel during the war. (Arquivo Municipal de Cascais, Divisão de Arquivos Municipais, Departamento de Inovação e Comunicação.) Admiral Godfrey’s biographer, Patrick Beesly, a Room 39 (Naval Intelligence) staffer, wrote that Godfrey and Fleming left London on May 15 and reached New York a week later. Beesly, Very Special Admiral, 181. This schedule coincides with Fleming’s Palácio registration, although Fleming’s accommodation on May 15–19 is unknown.

  Traveling under a diplomatic passport Pearson, The Life of Ian Fleming, 95. Palácio registrations are courtesy of Arquivo Municipal de Cascais, Portugal. A record of all guests (including Fleming and Popov) staying at the Palácio in 1941 can be found in Cristina Pacheco, ed., Hotel Palácio: Estoril-Portugal: Boletins de Alojamento de Estrangeiros/Boletins Individuais, 1939–1945.

  second night in Lisbon Pearson, 96. Godfrey biographer and Room 39 staffer Patrick Beesly recorded that the Admiral and his assistant arrived in New York around May 23. If so, Ian would have had to depart Lisbon on May 21 and Pearson’s “second night in Lisbon” could only refer to the return trip.

  Canadian Broadcasting Company interview “Ian Fleming: the Brain Behind Bond.” Interview at Goldeneye, Jamaica, before Fleming’s death on August 12, 1964, the broadcast aired August 17, 1964.

  “Fleming himself has described” Pearson, 96.

  Around May 23 Room 39 staffer Patrick Beesly wrote that Godfrey and Fleming departed London on May 15 and arrived in New York “a week later.” Beesly, 181. If that is accurate, Fleming would have stayed one night at the Palácio and taken the Clipper the following day, May 21.

  one intelligence security boss—Colonel William Donovan John Godfrey, The Naval Memoirs of Admiral J. H. Godfrey, Vol. V, 1939–1942, Naval Intelligence Division, Part I, 132, 137.

  June 10 he met with FDR Calendar entry for President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 10, 1941, 7:30–11:05 p.m., Franklin D. Roosevelt Library; Godfrey, 135–36.

  on June 18 Donovan became the coordinator of information Hyde, Room 3603, 153.

  letters from Ian Fleming to Colonel Rex Applegate and Cornelius Ryan Pearson, 101. Fleming’s letter to Ryan on May 8, 1962, stated: “I wonder if during your research [on Ryan’s The Longest Day] you came across my memorandum to Bill on how to create an American Secret Service? this was in fact the cornerstone of the future OSS.”

  “General Donovan was a close personal friend” Ibid. Fleming’s letter to Applegate was written in March 1957.

  “For Special Services” Ibid., 100.

  “I enclose a memorandum” David Eccles, By Safe Hand: The Letters of Sybil and David Eccles, 1939–1942, 283.

  David Eccles Eccles was shown as “Economics Counsellor” on the official British Embassy staff list filed with Lisbon’s PDVE. Arquivo Salazar, Biblioteca Nacional, Lisboa, 232.

  “My darling love—Ian Fleming is here” Eccles, 303. Fleming’s stay with Eccles is corroborated by Ian’s reference to Eccles in his July 30, 1941, memo to Admiral Godfrey (from Lisbon), and his September 27, 1941, letter to Eccles (from London). ADM223/490 C666650, National Archives of the UK.

  Fleming left Lisbon for London on August 12 Fleming memo to Admiral Godfrey, August 10, 1941. ADM223/490 C666650, National Archives of the UK.

  the memos of Fleming Fleming’s memos from Lisbon (July 18, 30, August 1, 10, 11) are part of a special Ian Fleming collection and can be seen at group entry ADM223/490 C666650, National Archives of the UK.

  Fleming followed him Popov, Spy Counter-Spy, 151. In his memoirs, Popov states: “I’m told that Ian Fleming said he based his character James Bond to some degree on me and my experiences. Could be. . . . Fleming and I did rub shoulders in Lisbon, and a few days before I took the clipper for the States he did follow me about. . . . Probably Ian Fleming got wind of the deal. I came down from my apartment to the lobby of the Palácio Hotel, the packets of bills in the breast pocket of my jacket. . . . I noticed Fleming in the lobby but thought nothing more about it. Then I went to a café for a drink before dinner and there was Fleming skulking about outside. At dinner, he appeared in the same restaurant. . . . He followed me thereafter as I walked in deliberately leisurely fashion through the gardens leading to the Casino.” After the war, Dusko couldn’t decide whether Fleming was operating on his own (memoir account), was instructed to follow him (Bear interview account, Genesis, 48), or followed perhaps for another reason (Braun interview account, 27; Road interview account, Observer, 22).

  “The scent and smoke” Ian Fleming, Casino Royale, 1.

  He was remembering Casino Estoril But see Pearson, 171.

  “grand, with red velvet curtains” Desmond Bristow, A Game of Moles: The Deceptions of an MI6 Office, 151.

  Lithuanian named Bloch Popov, Genesis, 48; Popov, Spy Counter-Spy, 151; Popov, Observer, 22; Popov, Parade, 27.

  Dr. Lippmann Bloch or Dr. Albert Bloch Raul Hilberg, The Destruction of the European Jews, Vol. 2, 607.

  they had lodged at the Palácio The Bloch brothers left Holland in 1940, Hilberg reports. (Ibid.) On August 5, 1940, the brothers checked into the Palácio for two weeks. See Boletim individual de alojamento de Lippmann Bloch no Hotel Palácio and Boletim individual de alojamento de Albert Bloch no Hotel Palácio, Arquivo Histórico Municipal de Cascais. Where the brothers lodged after this is unknown.

  “must look upon the gaming table” Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Gambler, 468–69.

  “I don’t know what prompted me” Popov, Genesis, 48; Popov, Observer, 22; Popov, Parade, 27.

  “I hope the management” Popov, Genesis, 48.

  “It is a disgrace” Popov, Spy Counter-Spy, 152; Russell Miller, Codename TRICYCLE, 89.

  a smile creased his lips Popov, Parade, 27; Popov, Genesis, 48.

  the Splendide and the Hermitage Ian Fleming, Casino Royale, 29.

  amount of the bets In 1941, Popov bet $50,000. In 1953’s Casino Royale, there are two large bets: 16 million French francs (pp. 73–74), and 32 million francs (pp. 76–78). To determine the value of these bets, one must adjust for inflation and currency exchange rates (value of French francs in 1952 in U.S. dollars), an inexact science. The value of Popov’s bet in 1941, in 2012 U.S. dollars, would have been approximately $783,064. To estimate the value of the Bond bets (using 1952 as the guide, when Fleming was writing), I have used the following formula (based on extensive research) for exchange rates and inflation: 1 U.S. cent in 1952 = .2856 francs; $1 = 28.56 francs; 16 million francs bet = $560,000; 32 million francs bet = $1.23 million. Thus, Popov’s bet would have been just ab
ove Bond’s first bet, and just below his second. Regardless of exactitude in inflation and exchange rate adjustments, the amount of the Popov and Bond bets would have been outlandish—exactly what Dusko Popov and Ian Fleming intended.

  Ian’s authorized sketch The Daily Express comic strip artist, John McLusky, desired a more rugged Bond, and his version would appear in the series, commencing in 1958. See “JAMES BOND, by Ian Fleming, Drawing by John McLusky,” Daily Express, September 29, 1958. The writer of the Casino Royale comic series was Anthony Hern.

  “the son he never had” Beesly, Very Special Admiral, 112.

  co-agent flings See, e.g., William Luke’s “TRICYCLE” memo at KV 2/847 (p. 91a); Guy Liddell’s diary entry March 15, 1941, Liddell Diaries, KV 4/187 (referring to Gaertner as Popov’s “girl friend”).

  “World War II offers us” John H. Godfrey, The Naval Memoirs of Admiral J. H. Godfrey, Vol. V, 1939–1942, Naval Intelligence Division, Part I, 98.

  CHAPTER 12 PEARL HARBOR WARNING

  “From every fruition of success” Winston Churchill, The Second World War: Volume Two, Their Finest Hour, 613.

  “After discussions between ‘C’” Ewen Montagu, Beyond Top Secret Ultra, 73.

  “When the offer of Tricycle’s services” Ibid., 75.

  Stephenson and the Double-Cross Committee had strong reservations H. Montgomery Hyde, Secret Intelligence Agent: British Espionage in America and the Creaton of the OSS, 206.

  “Stephenson’s activity in the United States” Kim Philby, My Silent War: The Autobiography of a Spy, 73.

  “which would have greatly restricted” Curt Gentry, J. Edgar Hoover: The Man and the Secrets, 268.

  “No one has given us” Ibid.

  “Hoover’s negative response” John Pearson, The Life of Ian Fleming, 97.

  When the death sentence fell Milorad (“Misha”) Popov, unpublished memoirs.

  their friends contacted Mirko Ucovic, . . . Gustav Richter Ibid. Dusko’s account in Spy Counter-Spy of the Mljet ordeal (which he places in the fall of 1942), with Johnny hiring an Austrian sea captain to rescue them, is incorrect, Misha Popov confirmed to the author.

  “The news from Yugoslavia” Dusko Popov’s letter (undated and in French) to Tar Robertson, and William Luke’s correspondence to Robertson on August 14, 1941, indicating arrival of the Popov letter, with Luke’s attached translation, at KV 2/849 (pp. 197–99).

  August 10, 1941 Winston Churchill, The Second World War: Volume Three: The Grand Alliance, 431. Popov’s August 10 departure is confirmed by MI5 records (see August 9, 1941, correspondence from Tar Robertson to Felix Cowgill at KV 2/849, p. 193a) and Palácio Hotel records (see Chapter 11).

  treasure trove worthy of an international spy FBI Special Agent C. F. Lanman report regarding Informant ND-63 [Dusko Popov], September 17, 1941, Record Group No. 65, Box 6, 65-HQ-36994, Section 1, NARA (“Lanman Report”). See also FBI Laboratory Report, September 3, 1941, Record Group No. 65, Box 6, 65-HQ-36994, Section 1, NARA. The two copies of the Pearl Harbor questionnaire, in German and English, are referenced in E. J. Connelley’s memo to J. Edgar Hoover on August 19, 1941, p. 3. BSC retained the German copy, Connelley wrote, and Dick Ellis gave him the English translation. Connelley included this English translation of the questionnaire as Exhibit C to his memo to the director. Record Group No. 65, Box 6, 65-HQ-36994, Section 1, NARA (“Connelley Report”). On the torn business card, letter from unknown girl, see “Tricycle” memo (undated) at KV 2/850 (p. 354A).

  $70,000 Correspondence of Lieutenant Colonel Frederick D. Sharp (MID) to A.C. of S., G-2, Governors Island, with copy to FBI Special Agent in Charge, E. A. Soucy, August 15, 1941, Record Group 65, Box 6, Section 1, 65-HQ-36994, NARA (“Sharp letter”). See also Lanman Report; Correspondence from Assistant Director E. J. Connelley to Director J. Edgar Hoover, August 19, 1941, Record Group No. 65, Box 6, Section 1, 65-HQ-36994-19, NARA, page 7.

  Hamish Mitchell . . . August 12, 1941 Sharp letter, ibid. Popov’s arrival in New York on August 12 is also confirmed by FBI agent in charge Percy Foxworth in his “Memorandum for the Director Re: Duchan Popov,” dated August 14, 1941, Record Group No. 65, Box 6, Section 1, 65-HQ-36994-19, NARA (“Foxworth Memo”). See also “Activities of Tricycle in the United States,” October 5, 1943, KV 2/855 (p. 662B). For Hamish Mitchell, MI6 agent stationed in Bermuda, see May 9, 1942, correspondence of R. D. Gibbs to John Marriott, KV 2/849 (p. 253c).

  In his memoirs, Popov stated that the man joining his flight in Bermuda, and to whom he gave his entire briefcase, was John Pepper from BSC. Spy Counter-Spy, 154. It appears, however, that Popov confused Pepper with Mitchell. FBI files make no reference to Pepper, and Sharp indicates that Popov had his briefcase—stuffed with $70,000—at Immigration.

  shared a taxi to town Sharp letter, ibid. In his memoirs, Popov stated that an FBI agent met him after Customs, ushered him to a second agent, who ushered him to a chauffeured sedan where Special Agent Charles Lanman was waiting. Together, Dusko wrote, they drove to the hotel. Spy Counter-Spy, 154–55. In his report of September 17, 1941, however, Lanman stated that he did not meet Popov until the August 18 meeting at the Commodore Hotel. Lanman Report, 2. See also “Activities of Tricycle,” KV 2/855 (p. 662B). The initial meeting on the eighteenth is consistent with multiple FBI memos and letters from Connelley, Foxworth, Lanman, M. C. Spear, and C. H. Carson, and with Colonel Sharp’s correspondence of August 15. FBI Assistant Director E. A. Tamm’s memo to J. Edgar Hoover on September 16, 1941, also confirms the taxi story, as Tamm identifies the MID and ONI officers shadowing the taxi. Record Group No. 65, Box 6, Section 1, 65-HQ-36994-19, NARA (“Tamm memo”).

  They were followed Captain Stuart Murray, under authority of Colonel Sharp at MID, and Lieutenant Chambers, under authority of W. B. Phillips of ONI, followed Popov’s taxi from the airport to the Waldorf-Astoria, and witnessed the document transfer. Tamm memo, 1. Since Popov took a taxi from the airport with Mitchell, and the FBI files show no contact until August 18 (when Lanman, Connelley, and Ellis met with him), it appears that Foxworth intended surveillance in his August 11, 1941, letter to Assistant Director Tamm, rather than greeting, although the FBI files contain no reference to a Bureau shadow.

  silently slipped Mitchell a document See Sharp letter; Tamm memo, 1. The document Murray and Chambers witnessed Dusko passing to Mitchell remains a mystery. In the FBI’s summary of Popov’s work in the U.S. (“Activities of Tricycle in the United States,” October 5, 1943, KV 2/855 [p. 662B]), the Bureau states that Popov’s questionnaire was “turned over to British authorities upon his arrival in the United States, who in turn handed it over to our representatives.” The “letter” given to Mitchell in the taxi could have been the two copies of the questionnaire, which Hamish would have passed along to Dick Ellis. On the other hand, it seems unlikely that Popov would have made a public transfer of a critical espionage document.

  Buick . . . belongings had been searched On car purchase, see Lanman Report, 15. On belongings searched, see Popov, Spy Counter-Spy, 156.

  “The British say” . . . “Without the knowledge of Popov” Foxworth memo.

  “should not be contacted” C. H. Carson memo to P. E. Foxworth, August 14, 1941, 8:50 p.m., Record Group No. 65, Box 6, Section 1, 65-HQ-36994-19, NARA.

  $70,000 “for special purposes” Sharp letter, 1.

  Sharp . . . Soucy Ibid.

  “lay strictly off” C. H. Carson memo to P. E. Foxworth, August 16, 1941.

  not been able to reach Ellis Popov twice tried to call Ellis (at Ci 5-5176) during the visit by Murray and Chambers, but could not reach him. Sharp letter, p. 1.

  He called Agent Soucy C. H. Carson memo to Mr. Foxworth, August 16, 1941, Record Group No. 65, Box 6, Section 1, 65-HQ-36994-19, NARA.

  Three days later, on Monday, August 18 In his memoirs, Popov states that he met Lanman upon arrival in New York (August 12,
1941), and the next day (August 13) met with Lanman and Percy Foxworth in Foxworth’s office at Rockefeller Center. It was here, Dusko wrote, that he provided the FBI with his questionnaire, microdots, and warning. Spy Counter-Spy, 156–60. In his report of September 17, 1941, however, FBI agent Lanman wrote that he did not meet Popov until the August 18 meeting at the Commodore Hotel. Lanman Report, 2. See also “Activities of Tricycle,” KV 2/855 (p. 662B). The initial meeting on the eighteenth is consistent with the FBI memos and letters from Connelley, Foxworth, Lanman, M. C. Spear, and C. H. Carson, and with Colonel Sharp’s correspondence of August 15, all cited herein.

  confusing Earl Connelley with Foxworth While Foxworth eventually became Popov’s supervisor, Connelley ran the FBI New York office in August 1941. Until October 1941, Foxworth was the assistant director, Security Division (Counterintelligence) and based in Washington. In October, he was promoted to assistant director in charge of the New York Division and head of the Special Intelligence Service. Personnel file for Percy Foxworth, supplied to author via correspondence with official FBI historian Dr. John Fox, on December 30, 2014.

  “Mr. Popov was furnished with” Correspondence from Assistant Director E. J. Connelley to Director J. Edgar Hoover, August 19, 1941, Record Group No. 65, Box 6, Section 1, 65-HQ-36994-19, NARA. Pages 1–3, 12, and Exhibit C of the Connelley letter are included herein as Appendix 1.

  Lanman met again with Popov Correspondence from Assistant Director E. J. Connelley to Director J. Edgar Hoover, August 21, 1941, Record Group No. 65, Box 6, Section 1, 65-HQ-36994-19, NARA; Lanman Report, 2.

  “It will be remembered” . . . “The whole” J. C. Masterman, The Double-Cross System in the War of 1939 to 1945, 79–80.