Into the Lion's Mouth: The True Story of Dusko Popov: World War II Spy, Patriot, and the Real-Life Inspiration for James Bond
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Yet there was one more British Intelligence officer who wrote about Popov, although indirectly, embellished, and in fiction: Ian Fleming. Dusko was also BOND in 1954’s Casino Royale.
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After publication of Spy Counter-Spy, Dusko was asked often about being the model for Fleming’s famous playboy spy. While Popov admitted the connection as possible, he didn’t like the comparison; the Fleming and Hollywood versions of a spy were too fanciful and unrealistic, he felt. A Bond in the flesh, he often said, would have been dead in forty-eight hours.
In a May 1974 interview with Jonathan Braun of Parade magazine, however, Dusko provided details and acknowledged his inspiring role: “In some ways, it’s an insult to my intelligence to be known as the real-life James Bond,” he said. “Nevertheless, I suppose I’m stuck with this Bond thing. I have been ever since Bond’s creator, Ian Fleming, admitted using me as a model.”
When Braun asked whether Popov had been called upon after the war to carry out tasks now and then for Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Dusko smiled.
“That’s a very foolish question, because either way my answer would have to be no.”
SOURCES AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
During the early years of World War II, the Royal Air Force located Allied and enemy aircraft by triangulation of a plane’s radio signal with three ground-based high-frequency direction finding (“Huff-Duff”) receivers. By taking three readings, or measurements, the source of the transmission could be determined. Similarly, to establish an accurate portrayal of Dusko Popov’s life as a double agent, one must process three perspectives: 1) Popov’s account, recorded in his memoirs and interviews; 2) MI5’s account, gathered in thousands of pages of officer letters, memoranda, diary entries, and documents maintained in the National Archives of the UK; and 3) the FBI’s account, organized in thousands of pages of agent reports, memoranda, and exhibits housed at National Archives II in College Park, Maryland.
Espionage, like rugby, is a ruffian’s game played by gentlemen. The World War II double-cross teams of MI5, MI6, and British Security Coordination (BSC) were led by giants of character and culture, including J. C. Masterman, Stewart Menzies, and William Stephenson. Yet the play was always muddy, often plagued by Pyrrhic dilemmas and invariably mired in intrigue. Circumstantial evidence, for example, suggests that BSC assassinated a German spy on U.S. soil, and that the Americans attempted to assassinate Popov on Portuguese soil. MI5 considered assassinating Johnny Jebsen, dismissing the option only for fear of a German investigation. Such activities, like all intelligence work, were meant to be closely guarded secrets.
Information, then and continuing until the early 1980s, was quarantined. The FBI rarely shared decisions affecting Popov with British Intelligence, and the Britons, in turn, often withheld details for fear the Americans might blow Dusko’s cover. Internally, MI5 could not share with Popov wireless Enigma intercepts. Even writing almost thirty years after the war, Dusko had no access to MI5 or FBI files, their records protected by the Official Secrets Act and classification.
Like all biographies, though, the Dusko Popov story must begin with his memoirs, Spy Counter-Spy, and the interviews he offered in advance of the book. Neither is wholly trustworthy, however, and must be evaluated in light of MI5 and FBI reports written during the war. Dusko’s account of Walter Salzer, in particular, must be considered pure fiction. Other events—as Popov biographer Russell Miller put it in Codename TRICYCLE—appear “embellished.” Most difficult, I found, was tracing time through Spy Counter-Spy; in all but a few instances the material is dischronologized. Popov placed his banquet at Hyde Park Hotel, for example, as the battle was raging on the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944; MI5 records reveal, however, that the event occurred on April 26. Likewise, in numerous cases Dusko misremembered details, recounting that the Midas Plan resulted in his receiving $80,000 (rather than the actual $40,000), for instance, and that he met with Percy Foxworth on August 13, 1941, rather than with Sam’s predecessor, Earl Connelley, on August 18. Dusko’s account of the island rescue at Mljet is also incorrect; Misha Popov confirmed to me that he, his mother, and grandparents were found not by an Austrian sea captain hired by Johnny Jebsen, but by a German soldier hired by Ivo.
One might wonder whether Popov sometimes followed Kierkegaard’s law of delicacy—an author’s right to use what he has experienced, withholding verity for himself and only sharing with the reader a refraction of it. Since Dusko had no access to official files, most of his errors of dates, names, and details for events some thirty years prior are understandable. But Popov’s recall of opponents during his marathon interrogations by Abwehr, SD, and Gestapo agents—von Karsthoff, Kammler, Warnecke, Schroeder, Schreiber, Wiegand, and Noggenstein—was amazingly accurate, all confirmed by MI5 reports. The risk of torture, it seems, had a wonderful way of searing the neurotransmitters.
Taken as a whole, the larger picture of agent TRICYCLE’s operations—whether from Dusko’s memoirs, MI5 or FBI files, or MI6 officer accounts—is remarkably consistent. Popov’s cold-blooded courage, like his playboy and spendthrift “devices,” can be seen everywhere. Most importantly, his two greatest activities—the Pearl Harbor warning and D-Day deception—have been established beyond question.
Of particular value in researching the German perspective, I found, were the memoirs of primary sources: General-Major Walter Schellenberg, General Hans Speidel, General Walter Warlimont, Dr. Paul Leverkuehn, and Albert Speer. Schellenberg’s account of Nazi Intelligence, Speidel’s account of D-Day, Leverkuehn’s account of the Abwehr, and Speer’s account of Hitler’s mindset, proved especially helpful. Heinz Höhne’s The Order of the Death’s Head: The Story of Hitler’s SS was a tremendous resource for understanding the founding and operation of the SS and SD. Likewise, the memoirs of British Intelligence officers—MI5’s J. C. Masterman and Guy Liddell (diary), MI6’s Kim Philby, Desmond Bristow, Graham Greene, and Malcolm Muggeridge, BSC’s William Stephenson and H. Montgomery Hyde, and Naval Intelligence’s Rear Admiral John Godfrey, Lieutenant-Commander Ewen Montagu, and Lieutenant-Commander Donald McLachlan—underscored the intricate involvement of multiple departments running World War II’s greatest spy.
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I owe a debt of gratitude to many who assisted in this work. Every writer, regardless of talent, needs skilled critics who are trusted enough to be candid. Hemingway loved being “balled out” by Gertrude Stein, he often said, and pulled no punches in his own critiques for F. Scott Fitzgerald. Additionally, writers need encouragers. An author’s job is lonely and sometimes depressing. The story goes that James Joyce had worked all day and had collapsed, head in hands, frustrated. His friend asked him how many words he’d produced that day and Joyce said, eight. The friend saw the bright side, suggesting that James was eight words the richer, to which Joyce groaned: “But I don’t know what order to put them in.”
For the past three years I have been blessed to have a critic, editor, graphic artist, taskmaster, proofer, encourager, and friend in the same person—Susannah Hurt. Her steadfast support—a daily dialogue commencing June 2012—is simply incomprehensible. Gifted with an eye for noticing what looks slightly amiss, and an ear for assessing what sounds a bit awkward, Susannah has been a godsend. Without fail her comments were fair, insightful, and frank. On occasion she’d reward me with, “Not bad, Herr Loftis.” More often she was Stein, calling me out when I’d forced a metaphor or missed an available nuance. In virtually every chapter she’d find a paragraph or ending and write, “This can be better.” You and I (and my editor) are the beneficiaries of her demands for excellence. Through it all, Susannah’s encouragement and enthusiasm has been relentless, shining beyond all expectations.
This book is for her.
For writers of nonfiction, research is critical and, where sources needed are in another country and language, the task becomes monumental. Popov’s most exciting work was in Portugal and the sources—s
ecret police files, hotel registrations, newspaper reports, land records—were not only difficult to find, but in Portuguese. Cristina Neves, of the Arquivo Municipal de Cascais, proved to be a guiding angel, spending countless hours assisting me. Books, photos, records, files, and documents I would never have found she passed along, all translated. Early on, I embarked on a mission (an obsession, truth be told) to find Major von Karsthoff’s villa, identified in MI5 files as the Toki-Ona. Since “von Karsthoff” was an alias and the Abwehr officer put his name on nothing locally recorded, the goal was difficult. Compounding the problem was the change of street names and the sub-division of lots. Through Cristina’s persistence, however, we identified the house, which stands today. While in disrepair, its grandeur remains, the pillars and Moorish arches echoing whispers of secrets past. A photo of the house and a copy of the original blueprints can be seen on my website.
To Cristina, my deepest gratitude.
Many thanks to the Popov family—Marco Popov, Misha Popov, and Nicolas Popov—for their patience in answering countless questions, and filling in so many details about Dusko and Ivo. Even today, I am amazed to have corresponded with Misha—the baby twice condemned—who is as kind and humble as his father.
Thanks also to John Boberg for brainstorming an early version of the book, and for providing a splendid tour of Quebec’s Château Frontenac, where Popov was to meet the “bald-headed doctor”; and to my translators, Theresa Beer (Portuguese), John and Abigail Boberg (French), and David Hutchison (German).
I am indebted also to Dr. John Fox, FBI historian, who provided details of Percy Foxworth’s personnel history, as well as photos of Foxworth, Lanman, and Connelley; to Russell Miller for his fine Popov biography and his helpful comments; to Stephen Sharp for his personal details about Dusko and Mr. Sturrock; to Rollins College, which provided access to important journal articles and the Nuremburg Trials transcripts; to Mark Murphy of the National Archives and Records Administration, who graciously assisted me time and again, even though my requests were beyond the scope of his FOIA department; to Mary Leong and Paul Johnson of the British National Archives; to Carol Hernandez and Mike Coleman of Ewell Castle, and Alexander Zahoransky of the University of Freiburg, for accessing Popov’s student records; to Michael Johnson for the location and background of Jack Dempsey’s Club and Bar; to Mrs. Eric Glass, spouse of the theatrical agent who played a chilling role in Plan Midas; to Patricia Domingues of the Palácio Estoril Hotel; to Alison Peters of the Brandman Agency; to Josephine McMullin and Erin Allsop of the Waldorf Astoria; to Shannon Besoyan of the Sun Valley Resort; to Gabriela Gurgel of the Belmond Copacabana Palace; to Jacqueline Ferreira of the Câmera Municipal de Lisboa; to Ana Barata of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation; to Sharon Tune and Vanessa Varin of the American Historical Association; to Craig Murray of the Imperial War Museums; to Larry Jewell of the HyperWar Foundation; to Emily Morris, Louise Watling, and Sophie Bridges of the Churchill Archives Centre; to William Baehr and Kirsten Carter of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library; to Steve Hersch of the University of Miami Libraries, Special Collections; to Jonathan Braun of Parade magazine; and to Emma Kapotes of Reader’s Digest.
I am especially grateful to fellow lawyer and best-selling author, Steve Berry, for his outstanding counsel on writing in general, and to those who encouraged along the way, including Stuart Menzies III, Ron Bond, Chris Hurt, Dave Hutchison, Scott and Angela Crews, Christen Rogers, Jayson Rawlins, Danielle Gober, Dave and Sherry Seligson, Kerry and Cindy Lucas, Don and Denise Carr, the Ragsdale family, Benjamin Seyler, and so many others.
And to my peerless and gracious editor, Tom Colgan, and everyone at Penguin Random House; to Lauren Paverman at Trident Media Group; and to the late Dale King, who provided encouraging feedback on my early work, and who greatly enriched my love of words.
APPENDIX 1
The correspondence from FBI Assistant Director E. J. Connelley to Director J. Edgar Hoover was twelve pages, and Exhibit C (Pearl Harbor Questionnaire) was two pages. Following are the pertinent pages of the Connelley letter (1–3, 12), and the exhibit.
APPENDIX 2
POPOV OPERATIONS
* Books/movies made:
Mincemeat—The Man Who Never Was (book and movie)
Cicero—I Was Cicero (book); 5 Fingers (movie)
Monty Double—I Was Monty’s Double (UK book and movie), The Counterfeit General Montgomery (U.S. book title).
APPENDIX 3
IAN FLEMING’S BOND AND POTENTIAL MODELS
The framework of Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale, his first Bond novel, was a thinly veiled re-creation of what he saw in Estoril, Portugal, in 1941. Casino Royale was Casino Estoril, the Brittany cliffs were the Cascais cliffs, and the Hermitage and Splendide hotels were the Palácio and the Parque. Even today, the Palácio Hotel remembers its role as a watering hole for World War II spies. In the opening pages of its bar menu the hotel highlights secret agents who operated in Estoril. The Palácio also seems to recognize the relative importance of their espionage visitors. In their list of spies Dusko Popov is mentioned first and, of the three hotel registrations reproduced, two are Popov’s, one is Fleming’s.
In 2014 the Palácio hosted Le Bal de la Riviera, a gala honoring Ian Fleming on the fiftieth anniversary of his death. The Fleming family, as special guests, presented a Tribute Award recognizing Fleming’s literary legacy. The official invitation for the event, which was sponsored under the patronage of Their Royal Highnesses Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and His Royal Highness Prince Charles-Philippe d’Orléans, Duc d’Anjou, included a page describing the role of the Palácio and Casino Estoril in Fleming’s Casino Royale. The summary identified one man “rumoured to have inspired the character of James Bond”:
Dusan Popov.
Visit http://bit.ly/1rPLmh0 for a larger version of this table.
SOURCES CITING DUSKO POPOV AS INSPIRATION FOR IAN FLEMING’S JAMES BOND
SOURCE
DATE
QUOTE
Alan Road, “Double-Agent Popov and the James Bond Affair,” Observer, May 13, 1973
1973
“Dusko Popov was a real-life James Bond in World War Two.” p. 22.
To Tell the Truth, TV program hosted by Garry Moore, April 23, 1974
1974
“There is a spy, in real life, who was the prototype for James Bond. We have that superspy with us.”
Dusko Popov, Spy Counter-Spy (Grossett & Dunlap, 1974)
1974
“I’m told that Ian Fleming said he based his character James Bond to some degree on me and my experiences.” p. 150
Jonathan Braun, “Superspy Dusko Popov: The Real-Life James Bond,” Parade, May 19, 1974
1974
Popov: “I suppose I’m stuck with this Bond thing. I have been ever since Bond’s creator, Ian Fleming, admitted using me as a model.” p. 24
Penelope McMillan, “A James Bond Affair,” New York Daily News, May 19, 1974
1974
“Dusko Popov, a WWII agent who may have been the model for Bond . . . It was bound to happen some day—the real James Bond, as it were, would stand up.” p. 14.
Photo excerpt from “A Spy’s Spy Tells It All,” People, June 17, 1974
1974
“A reputed model for James Bond, Popov’s aplomb in bed is still up to standard.” p. 21
Publishers Weekly (Spy Counter-Spy jacket cover)
1974
�
�Popov was . . . reputedly the model for Fleming’s James Bond.”
Frederick Bear, “Dusko [007] Popov: Exclusive Interview,” Genesis, November 1974
1974
“Dusko Popov was probably the inspiration for James Bond. . . . To reinforce the assumption it might be noted that in the first Bond book, Casino Royale, one of the female characters describes Bond as looking like Hoagy Carmichael. . . . And Dusko does look somewhat like Hoagy.” pp. 34–35
Stephan Saunders, Executive Editor/Co-Publisher, Genesis, November 1974
1974
“Dusko Popov was one of the master spies of the Second World War. Known as Tricycle . . . he became the model for Ian Fleming’s James Bond.” p. 9
“James Bond existe: il s’appelle Popov.” Le Figaro, December 19, 1974
1974
“James Bond exists: he is called Popov.”
Richard Farrington, “Super Spy Dusko Popov: He Lived the James Bond Legend,” True Action, June 1975
1975
“Ian Fleming is said to have called him the model for his fictional super agent James Bond.” p. 78