Operation Dove (Ireland)

Seán Russell had arrived in Berlin on 5 May 1940, four days after arriving in Genoa from the United States.^[1] Russell was informed of Operation Mainau, the plan to parachute Dr. Hermann Görtz into Ireland. Russell was asked to brief Görtz on Ireland before his departure that night, but missed his takeoff from the Fritzlar airfield near Kassel.^{[citation needed]}

By 20 May, Russell had begun training with Abwehr in the use of the latest German explosive ordnance. This training was conducted at the Abwehr training school/lab in Berlin-Tegel, which specialised in the design of explosives as everyday objects. Russell also visited the training area for the Brandenburg Regiment, the 'Quenzgut,' where he observed trainees and instructors working with sabotage materials in a field environment. As he had received explosives training, his return to Ireland with a definite sabotage objective was planned by German Intelligence. His total training time with German Intelligence lasted over three months.^{[citation needed]}

While Görtz had landed successfully, the capture of the German agents from Operation Lobster I did not prevent Abwehr chief Wilhelm Canaris from allowing the transport of Russell to continue. Both Russell and Frank Ryan departed aboard U-65 from Wilhelmshaven on 8 August — the mission was dubbed Operation Dove.

Russell became ill during the journey and complained of stomach pains. U-65 was not staffed with a doctor and he died on 14 August 100 mi (87 nmi; 160 km) short of Galway. He was buried at sea and the mission aborted.

• Mark M. Hull, Irish Secrets. German Espionage in Wartime Ireland 1939-1945, Dublin:Irish Academic Press, 2003, ISBN 978-0-7165-2756-5

• Operation Lobster
• Operation Lobster I
• Operation Seagull
• Operation Seagull I
• Operation Seagull II
• Operation Whale
• Operation Osprey
• Operation Sea Eagle
• Plan Kathleen
• Operation Green (Ireland)
• Operation Mainau
• Operation Innkeeper

• The Emergency
• Irish Republican Army–Abwehr collaboration