Operation Osprey Facts for Kids

Operation Osprey (called "Unternehmen Fischadler" in German) was a secret plan made by the German Foreign Ministry and a spy group called Abwehr II. This plan was created in mid-1942. It was actually a bigger version of an earlier plan called Operation Whale. The Germans started planning this because American troops landed in Northern Ireland on January 26, 1942. Adolf Hitler was very worried about this.

Key People and Groups Involved
Mission Plan and Training
IRA Involvement
Other German Spy Operations in Ireland
See also

Key People and Groups Involved

Planning for Operation Osprey began after German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop talked with Adolf Hitler. This happened a few weeks after about 4,500 US troops arrived in Belfast. These American soldiers were led by Major-General Russell P. Hartle.

The German leaders were afraid that these American forces might set up military bases in neutral Ireland. The US had already used Iceland and Greenland as bases, even though they were neutral. The Germans also knew that the US was trying to convince Éamon de Valera, Ireland's leader, to let them use the port in Cobh or join the British side in World War II.

Germany had thought about taking over Ireland before, in a plan called "Plan Green". But after they failed in the Battle of Britain, carrying out "Plan Green" was not possible.

Operation Osprey planned to use special German commando soldiers. These soldiers were trained in sabotage and how to use British weapons. The idea was for them to go to Ireland if the Americans invaded. There, they would train "Irish partisans," who were volunteers from the Irish Republican Army (IRA). They would also train any parts of the Irish Army that fought against an American invasion.

Abwehr II, the spy group, was only supposed to help with the technical parts of the training. The German Foreign Ministry, through its security office (RSHA), would be in charge of the whole operation.

Mission Plan and Training

Walter Schellenberg was an important SS officer.

The plan for Operation Osprey's mission and training was created by Walther Schellenberg. He was a director in the German intelligence service.

The training happened at the Totenkopf Barracks in Berlin. About 100 volunteers were chosen from different parts of the SS army. This special unit was called Sonder Lehrgang Oranienburg. It had seventy non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and thirty regular soldiers. Their commander was Hauptsturmführer Pieter Van Vessem.

A soldier named Helmut Clissmann, from the Brandenburg regiment, checked if the volunteers were suitable. He looked for their foreign language skills and how much they knew about Ireland or Britain. Each volunteer learned English and was trained in using British weapons, sabotage, and explosives. Clissmann believed the unit could help and train anyone resisting an American invasion.

The plan was for this SS unit to parachute into Ireland using a Focke-Wulf Fw 200 'Condor' airplane once the American invasion started. The Germans also thought about using some regular Brandenburg soldiers and two captured Irish Prisoners of War who had been recruited from Friesack Camp.

However, the American invasion of Ireland never happened. So, this unit and the plan were never put to the test.

Even though the mission was canceled, it was the first time the SS's intelligence service, the Sicherheitsdienst (SD), got involved in Irish affairs.

IRA Involvement

The IRA in Ireland did not know about Operation Osprey beforehand. However, it is very likely that Frank Ryan knew about the mission. He was a former IRA volunteer who had been captured by Spanish forces and given to the German Abwehr. His involvement was probably very small because he was not well. His poor health had stopped him from taking part in Operation Whale, which was the plan before Osprey.

Operation Osprey facts for kids

Contents

Key People and Groups Involved

Mission Plan and Training

IRA Involvement

Other German Spy Operations in Ireland

See also