FAQ

In some ways very close, on the outbreak of WW2 Ian Fleming joined naval intelligence (largely through his family connections). Fleming was intimately involved in many of the Allies intelligence secrets, instrumental in setting up 30 Assault Unit and its' spinoff T-force, commando units designed to go in ahead of the frontline troops and capture intelligence secrets. Many of the later elements found in the Bond books were present including advanced spy technology and the Enigma machine which would form the inspiration for the Lektor decoder in 'From Russia with Love'. The Bond book 'Casino Royale' was based on Flemings failed attempt to bankrupt several gamblers at a casino in neutral Portugal whom he believed were German agents who could then be bribed or blackmailed. There is no evidence however that Fleming saw any action beyond observing the Dieppe raid from a supporting destroyer. He certainly suggested the idea of planting fake documents on a corpse to be found by the enemy as early as 1939 (taking the idea from a fictional novel by WW1 spy hunter Basil Thomson) but there is no evidence that he was actively involved in Operation Mincement which successfully put the idea into practice.