How Ottawa seized a golden opportunity to help defeat the Nazis in the Second World War

[Spazito]

n June 1940, the Second World War was not going well for Great Britain.

More than 300,000 Allied soldiers and sailors had just been rescued in the desperate evacuation from the French port of Dunkirk. The French army soon crumbled, and by mid-month German troops were marching into Paris.

The Nazi invasion of Britain seemed both imminent and inevitable.

snip

Operation Fish was hatched and would soon become the single-largest transfer of material wealth in history at the time — though very few people in Britain or Canada, where billions of dollars worth of gold and securities would be sent for safekeeping, ever caught a whiff.

more

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/operation-fish-ottawa-british-gold-1.6092275

[EYESORE 9001]

1. My inner risk manager cringes at the thought of this operation

So much to go wrong…

Intelligence leaks

U-boat attacks

Non-military maritime accidents

Of course, the transit was successful, so my points are moot, but if I had been in on the planning, I would have probably recommended a series of cargo flights to offset the risk of a single, heavily-laden ship.

[LiberalLovinLug]

2. Me too

My first thought was...There must be some place within the UK, Scotland, Ireland. And old castle, some hide away place. Or better yet more than one place. With only a few select, necessary, people in the know.

I'd have thought that the risk of finding out where it was hidden in the UK would be less than a harrowing trip across the pond. I guess it depended on how soon they thought they would win back the country.

[EYESORE 9001]

3. Even one person knowing it's still in the UK is one too many

We’re talking nazis here. If they’d overrun the UK, they would start torturing all & sundry until someone cracked.

[abqtommy]

5. The U.S. lend-lease program was enacted on March 11, 1941. Thanks to The Canadians for

showing us the way to victory.

[Grey5]

6. Who will star in the movie?

Thanks for sharing this.