Operation Lobster I
| Operation Lobster I German: Unternehmen Hummer I |
|
|---|---|
| Part of Operation Lobster | |
| Type | Infiltration |
| Planned by | Abwehr |
| Objective | Insert three German agents into Ireland |
| Date | July 1940 |
| Outcome | All three agents captured in Ireland |
Operation Lobster I (Unternehmen Hummer I in German) was an Abwehr plan to infiltrate three German agents into Ireland, in July 1940. It was part of a wider series of missions carried out within the framework of Operation Lobster during World War II.
The first agent recruited for the mission was Christian Nissen, aka Hein Mueck. In June 1940 he had been called to the Sabotage School at Brandenburg and asked to find a boat suitable for transporting three agents to Ireland. Nissen had served in World War I aboard the Imperial German Navy full-rigged ship Melpomene. Melpomene had been captured by the Royal Navy 100 miles (160 km) west of the port of Queenstown, now Cobh, in County Cork. He was interned first at Templemore, then in Oldcastle, County Meath, and finally on the Isle of Man, so Nissen was familiar with the area.
Nissen selected the "Soizic", a luxurious 36-foot (11 m) yacht from the harbour in Brest Bay for the voyage. The boat was fitted out like a French fishing vessel and had previously belonged to the French military attaché in Bern. On closer inspection Nissen saw that the "Soizic" was missing its propeller but decided that the vessel could make it to Ireland under sail alone.
The three men selected for the mission were two South African Germans, Herbert Tributh, and Dieter Gärtner, and an Indian national Henry Obéd. Their mission was to make their way to England to complete espionage activity.
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Wikipedia