Operation Silver (1949)
Encyclopedia
Operation Silver was a British intelligence operation which ran from 1949 to 1955 that covertly tapped into the landline communications of the Soviet Army
headquarters in Vienna
.
The operation was never discovered and ended only when Austria
regained full sovereignty. The British monitoring station was disguised as a shop which sold tweed clothing.
In 1951, when the American CIA
planned a similar operation in Berlin
, the British revealed Operation Silver to the Americans and the two countries then jointly ran Operation Gold
.
Soviet Army
The Soviet Army is the name given to the main part of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union between 1946 and 1992. Previously, it had been known as the Red Army. Informally, Армия referred to all the MOD armed forces, except, in some cases, the Soviet Navy.This article covers the Soviet Ground...
headquarters in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
.
The operation was never discovered and ended only when Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
regained full sovereignty. The British monitoring station was disguised as a shop which sold tweed clothing.
In 1951, when the American CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
planned a similar operation in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, the British revealed Operation Silver to the Americans and the two countries then jointly ran Operation Gold
Operation Gold
Operation Gold was a joint operation conducted by the American CIA and the British Secret Intelligence Service in the 1950s to tap into landline communication of the Soviet Army headquarters in Berlin using a tunnel into the Soviet-occupied zone...
.