Himmler exercies considerable influence in German pigeon matters

(c) Crown copyright images reproduced by courtesy of The National Archives, London, UK

Catalog numbers WO208/3556 #13, #14, #15, #16 #11, #12, #20, #21

This is correspondence between Flight Lieutenant R.M. Walker of the British War Office and Major B. Melland of M.I.14, the division of intelligence which oversaw the use of pigeons.  It includes a report titled “General Notes on Pigeons.”  There is a response to the report from J.L. Kleyn, Captain, I. O.

The report discusses the use of pigeons for espionage behind enemy lines, the 2 way pigeon service, Himmler’s role in pigeon operations, and ways of sending a message with pigeons to avoid detection.  You may need to scroll left-right on some of the documents.  They exceed the frame for ease of reading.