Operation Tracer: The Secret Plan To Bury Soldiers Alive Inside The Rock Of Gibraltar

The keen limestone monolith called the Rock of Gibraltar , towering over the pocket-sized British overseas territory close the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula , has long been Gibraltar’s natural defense. During the American Revolutionary War of the 18th century , together with after , during the Second World War , the British Army dug a dizzying maze of tunnels at the base of operations of the stone to defend this strategically of import state of war machine handgrip against enemy attacks. More than 50 km of tunnels permeate this massive monolith , together with they were i time housed alongside guns , hangars , ammunition stores , barracks together with hospitals.

After the goal of the Second World War , a myth began to circulate that within the Rock at that topographic point is a undercover cave which was meant to handgrip half dozen men , sealed from the outside. The men were expected to live together with detect the activities of the Germans for a menses of i twelvemonth or to a greater extent than , should Gibraltar autumn to Nazi forces.

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The Rock of Gibraltar. Photo credit: Rob/Flickr

Rumors nearly this undercover bedchamber persisted for years together with many people devoted considerable amounts of their fourth dimension to exploring Gibraltar's existing tunnels , caves together with sheer cliffs inward the promise of finding it. The offset breakthrough came to a greater extent than than 50 years after the state of war ended. In slowly 1997 , a squad of explorers called the Gibraltar Caving Group felt a gust of current of air coming from a tunnel , leading to the regain of a large complex at the transcend of the southern goal of the Rock. The explorers broke through a brick wall to discover a doorway behind which they found observations posts lined alongside cork tiles to render insulation against mutual frigidness together with audio , an aerial together with remains of a bicycle. The undercover bedchamber was dubbed the "Stay Behind Cave". It took or then other 10 years earlier it could live confirmed that "Stay Behind Cave" was indeed the long-sought-after site of Operation Tracer.

Operation Tracer was hatched during the darkest days of the Second World War. In 1940 , French Republic barbarous to the Germans , together with at that topographic point was alone Kingdom of Spain betwixt Hitler together with his wishing to invade Gibraltar together with receive got command of all naval movements inward the Mediterranean. The innovation was to cutting Britain off from the residue of the British Empire. The British Intelligence recognized the threat together with Operation Tracer was born.

Rear Admiral John Henry Godfrey , the Director of the Naval Intelligence Division of the British Admiralty , suggested that they found at Gibraltar a covert observation postal service which would remain operational fifty-fifty if Gibraltar barbarous into enemy hands. This observation postal service would live located inward a hidden bedchamber within the Rock of Gibraltar alongside 2 pocket-sized openings to ticker for movements on the harbor. Six men were selected to live sealed within the cave , together with piece at that topographic point were plenty supplies to terminal i twelvemonth , at that topographic point was to live no means out of the bedchamber , together with if whatever men were to expire they were to live embalmed together with cemented into the brick floor. Only if Federal Republic of Federal Republic of Germany was defeated within the offset twelvemonth would they live released.

Of those chosen for the suicide mission , 2 were doctors , 3 signalmen together with i executive officeholder leader. One of the recruits , Surgeon-Lieutenant Bruce Cooper , was told aught of the undercover mission until he agreed to participate inward it.

Construction of the bedchamber began inward Dec 1941 together with past times early on 1942 , the undercover complex was finished. The room had a dimension of 45 feet , past times xvi feet , past times 8 feet together with had 2 narrow slits overlooking the Bay of Gibraltar on the westward together with the Mediterranean on the eastward , that served both every bit expression out together with ventilation ports. There was a can , a radio room together with a 10 ,000-imperial-gallons H2O tank. The transmitter , via which the men were to wirelessly written report all transportation movements dorsum to the British Admiralty , was to live powered past times 2 generators , i hand-cranked together with the other bicycle-propelled , parts of which were found past times the exploration squad inward 1997.

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View to Bay of Gibraltar from Western Observation Post. Photo credit: Moshi Anahory/Wikimedia

Trials began inward Jan 1942 nether the supervision of Colonel Gambier-Parry , an MI6 radio expert. Because of the demanding nature of the trouble , a fellow member of Scott's ill-fated Antarctic expedition was called upon to advise on survival techniques. There were practical matters such every bit diet , practice , sanitation together with article of apparel to reckon every bit good every bit the psychology of the personnel. By the goal of the summertime of 1942 , a total squad was inward house together with attain for occupation. The cavern was also fully equipped. The British Intelligence decided that like undercover scout posts should live prepared throughout the earth inward the consequence of hereafter wars.

Fortunately for the men , Adolf Hitler turned his attending away from Gibraltar together with towards the Eastern Front , together with Operation Tracer was never executed. The half dozen volunteers were stood downwards after a twelvemonth , the stores together with equipment removed together with the cave blocked up.

In 2008 , Bruce Cooper , the terminal survivor of Operation Tracer , returned to Gibraltar to explore to rediscovered chamber. He was able to confirm that the bedchamber discovered inward 1997 was the undercover bedchamber meant for him together with his v companions. Lieutenant-Commander Bruce Cooper died 2 years after , before long after his 96th birthday.