The Anti-Pigeon Force of MI5
Everyone is aware that pigeons can be quite useful in times of conflict. Their exceptional homing abilities make them ideal couriers, capable of transporting important information even to and from the frontlines. Hundreds of thousands of pigeons were utilized in World War II, so it's not surprise that individuals got interested in ways to stop the feathered birds from reaching their destination.
That's where MI5 came in, training peregrine falcons to monitor the sky and take out any pigeons they saw, on the off-chance that they were carrying vital communications between the Germans and their agents abroad. The anti-pigeon force was established on the Scilly Isles in 1942 to keep an eye out for any pigeons attempting to make their way to France.
At the same time, Britain used its own pigeons and air-dropped over 16,000 of these birds in German-occupied France and the Netherlands during an intelligence-gathering operation codenamed Source Columba, hoping that the locals would return them back with useful information. To that aim, MI5 established a Falcon Destruction Unit, which consisted of snipers trained to take out wild falcons and other raptors that might have posed a threat to the returning pigeons.
Date: from 1941 to September 1944
