In the 1930’s the Bristol Aeroplane Company helped MI6 (the British Secret Intelligence Service-also known as SIS) obtain vital secrets from Nazi Germany. Two senior members of the company regularly visited Germany and reported back to MI6 on what they had seen. Bristol also appointed MI6’s best secret agent in Germany as their Representative in Germany. This gave Baron Wilhelm Sylvester de Ropp (known as Bill de Ropp) the ideal cover to meet German aviation experts and to ask questions about aircraft and engines.
The story of the cooperation between MI6, Bill de Ropp and the two Bristol managers is told by Tim Willasey-Wilsey in his new book “The Spy and the Devil”. Roy Fedden, Bristol’s Chief Engineer and Ken Bartlett the company’s Continental Sales Manager were even invited by de Ropp to visit Germany’s main aircraft factories in 1937 and 1938 including Messerschmitt and Heinkel. However their best intelligence was produced on the German engine manufacturers. This enabled the British government to conclude that the Junkers JUMO 207 engine and the BMW DB601 which would power Germany’s main aircraft were not as effective as the Rolls Royce Merlin which was installed in the Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire. This superiority enabled the RAF to win the Battle of Britian in 1940.
The Spy and the Devil is a riveting tale of espionage, intrigue, and the untold impact of one man's secret mission on the course of history. A journey into the shadows of Nazi Germany, where a forgotten British spy worked tirelessly to avert catastrophe, and discover the secrets that history almost left behind.
Bill de Ropp's story has never been published in full before, adding an extra dimension to what is, by any standard, the account of a very remarkable man. Drawing on his years of service in the Foreign Office, Tim Willasey-Wilsey offers an insider's view of this outstandingly effective but enigmatic British spy.
HARDBACK
448 pages