The History of 30 Assault Unit: Ian Fleming's Red Indians

by Craig Cabell

The Second World War spawned a plethora of crack special forces units (Long Range Desert Group, SAS, SBS, Phantom and Commandos) but 30 Assault Unit remains, even today, far more secretive and exclusive than the others. Formed by Ian Fleming, who was working for Naval Intelligence, 30 AU’s mission was to penetrate and operate behind enemy lines, capture by whatever means necessary vital intelligence and feed it back to London where it could be assimilated and acted upon. This crack team of commandos included mavericks such as Patrick Dalzel-Job (generally regarded as the model for Fleming’s fictional secret agent 007), and less well known (despite their conspicuous bravery) figures such as Captains Huntingdon-Whiteley, Captain Martin-Smith. Lieutenant Commander Curtis and Lieutenant McFee. The author has trawled archives and interviewed veterans in order to piece together the history and record of this elusive special forces unit who fought with great distinction and achieved results disproportionate to their size.

Genres: History, Biography

215 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2008

Reviews

[Relstuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brief look at the WWII contributions of Ian Fleming who went on to create James Bond and the children's book (and Disney movie) Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Fleming worked for the head of Navel Intelligence during WWII and along his administrative duties was one England's idea men who helped come up with a commando unit that would go on missions to capture intel and plans from the enemy.

[Éowyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but really needed a good proof reading!

[Eddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ian Fleming secret war is a short and easy to read book describing Ian Fleming's involvement with some covert operations from the British government during WW two. Though the book was interesting and easy to read, overall the material that it shared was rather dry. The book mentioned various operations that Fleming was a part of, but then proceeded to mainly describe the paperwork that he filled out for the operations and discuss all the people who actually took part in the operations. Although interesting and informative it was not nearly as exciting as a James Bond novel or anything like it. Ian Fleming was more of a concept man and paper pusher though he did take much inspiration from those around him who later appeared in various forms in his bond novels. If you enjoy the bond novels you will enjoy the real life influences mentioned in this book.

[Jay Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine tribute to a fine writer

This book opened my eyes to the important contribution Ian Fleming made to winning WW II. It also puts Fleming in perspective as a writer. While it wanders in places, it is still well crafted, and leaves one interested in some other players in the Secret War.

[Evan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a slim volume that wasn't an easy route into the subject. Dense with British wartime acronym and abbreviation, it told of many fascinating aspects of Fleming's time in military intelligence, the working atmosphere that allowed him to be creative in operations planning, and the lack of recognition for his secret work motivating him to write the James Bond stories. Unfortunately, it doesn't usually cohere well. The specialist historian or intelligence nerd will find much of interest, and the book collector can appreciate the detailed bibliography of rare Fleming editions. Good research went into the book, many interesting questions regarding Fleming's war work are revisited, but I wish the proofreading had been a bit more meticulous.

[Jay D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent little book summarizing his special ops work.

[M2189 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is more of template for future authors looking for ideas then stories. There is a lot that the British have still not let out.

[Gareth-Stuart Ogg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative but lacking structure. It's a good read but it reads more like a series of essays as opposed to a structured story of Flemmings time in the NID