MI5 Arranged an Explosion at a British Power Station - Then Let Germany Believe Its Spies Were Responsible

In August of 1943, an explosion happened at an electricity generating station in Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. German intelligence believed that two of its agents had successfully sabotaged a British installation. A German radio broadcast even claimed that more than 150 workers had been killed. But in reality, the explosion had caused only minor damage, and British intelligence had arranged it themselves.

It all started in April 1941, when two Norwegians, Helge John Moe and Tor Glad, arrived off the Scottish coast in a German seaplane. They had been trained by German military intelligence, the Abwehr, to carry out sabotage and gather information in Britain. After reaching the shore near Crovie, Aberdeenshire, they approached a local fisherman and asked for directions to the police. Rather than carry out their mission, they surrendered.

MI5 decided to use the men as double agents, giving them the codenames MUTT and JEFF, after characters from an American newspaper cartoon. However, British intelligence soon became concerned about Glad's reliability, and he was interned. Moe continued working under British supervision, while communications maintained the impression that both men were still operating for Germany.

There was one problem. The Germans expected their agents to carry out sabotage, not simply send wireless reports. In November 1941, MI5 arranged a small explosion and fire at a food store in Wealdstone, north London. The operation, known as GUY FAWKES, helped restore German confidence in the agents.

Two years later came an even more elaborate deception. Under Operation BUNBURY, British intelligence arranged a controlled explosion at the electricity generating station in Bury St Edmunds. The damage was deliberately limited, but German intelligence believed its agents had successfully attacked an important target.

The German reaction was extraordinary. Their propaganda claimed the explosion had destroyed a major installation and caused hundreds of casualties. None of those deaths had actually occurred.

The operation helped maintain the agents' credibility, allowing British intelligence to continue passing misleading information to Germany. Their communications also contributed to efforts to convince German commanders that Allied forces might invade occupied Norway.

The Germans believed they had successfully established a sabotage network in Britain. In fact, MI5 had been controlling the information reaching them.

Did you know British intelligence had arranged explosions on British soil to fool German spies during the Second World War?

Image info:

‘Ware Spies! You Didn’t Oughter Said It! British Second World War propaganda artwork by Bert Thomas, 1939-1945. The National Archives, INF 3/240. Wikimedia Commons, public domain.