Operation Gold
The CIA and SIS Berlin Tunnel that tapped Soviet military cables from 1955
Overview
Operation Gold dug a tunnel from West Berlin under the sector boundary to intercept Soviet military communications cables, jointly run by the CIA and SIS from 1955. The KGB knew of the plan almost from the outset because George Blake had betrayed it, yet Moscow let it operate for eleven months to protect its source, then staged discovery in April 1956 for propaganda. The intelligence haul proved of mixed value, and the operation stands as the classic study of a compromised success.
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