T-Force [Paperback]

Sean Longden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 27, 2010

When Ian Fleming wrote "Moonraker", he was not working solely from his imagination. In 1945 he had been involved in the formation of T Force, a secret unit of British soldiers who were thrown into a deadly race to uncover Nazi Secrets before they fell in to the hands of Stalin's advancing troops. The force included infantrymen, many of them only just recovered from the ordeal of D-Day, engineers, bomb disposal experts, commandos and teams of expert scientists. In a breakneck pursuit - often entering locations before other allied troops - they uncovered underground factories and nuclear testing sites, as well as defying the ceasefire and carrying out the final advance of the war to capture the Nazi submarine research facilities at Kiel, overpowering 12,000 fully-armed Germans with only 500 men and a handful of jeeps. In the aftermath of war, T-Force were also involved in the treacherous transportation of scientists out of the Soviet zone. With exclusive access to previously unseen documents and extensive interviews with the key figures, Sean Longden reveals the story of T Force for the first time - and uncovers Ian Fleming's last Second World War Secret.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sean Longden studied history at University. He has conducted hundreds of interviews with servicemen. He is also the author of the acclaimed To the Victor the Spoils and Hitler's British Slaves.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Constable (May 27, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1849012970
• ISBN-13: 978-1849012973
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,086,218 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Forgotten history..., January 16, 2012

By 

flagday1960 (St.Louis) - See all my reviews

This review is from: T-Force (Hardcover)

The British T-Force has been mentioned before (The Paperclip Conspiracy, Tom Bower) but never in such detail. All of the Allies had similar forces and the race was on to get what they could of documents, equipment and scientists before the official carving up of Germany and Austria into zones of occupation which would 'officially' prevent plunder by the other occupiers. As this book tells the story, such smuggling did occur. In fact, there are a few reports of persons unknown making off with a lorry of captured documents, perhaps to bypass the publication of such knowledge to the later economic benefit of their sponsors.

Only the most casual reading would give the impression of vagueness. The authority given to T-Force was broad and explicit: "The holder of this card is entitled on my authority [Major General Freddie de Guingand - Field Marshal Montgomery's Chief of Staff], to deny any member of the forces entry or access to the building or area which he is guarding." A list of some of the items discovered includes:
"...a submarine 'Schnorkel' with a radar unit attached, the first of its type to be uncovered."
"... a new type of anti-aircraft predictor, only two examples of which were believed to be in existence. Assessors described the find as of the 'utmmost importance.'"
"Beneath the factory were three cellars full of ball bearings... were urgently required for evacuation, since a British ball-bearing manufacturer had recently been bombed, halting production: 'We flew out three Dakotas full of ball bearings, from Rheine airfield to the UK.'"

Not all targets were on the 'black-lists' carried by T-Force. Targets of opportunity were sometimes stumbled upon. (A look at the titles of some B.I.O.S. Reports will find such designations on the cover.) "The factory was producing equipment for use in guided rocket systems, jet- and rocket-propelled aircraft, and chemical fuels. ... Just ten days after the operation the Admiralty produced a 300-page book of translations of the seized documents."

There was also the discovery of a hidden laboratory and some scientists who were working on a 'de-atomisation bomb.' The laboratory was dismantled, crated and sent to England. Some Americans were involved, including some in uniform that appeared to be scientists under cover.

I won't spoil the rest. Suffice it to say that history, as currently written, is off the mark in some significant areas. And let's not forget the post-war operations like PAPERCLIP and LUSTY. Even the Australians had a program titled ESTEA.