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• Operation Ruthless is the name of a plan thought up by James Bond creator Ian Fleming that was designed to steal code-breaking tools from the Nazis during World War II. The operation involved fake-crashing a stolen German plane and ambushing the crew of the rescue boat, with the eventual goal of stealing conversion tables that could be used to crack coded messages sent by the Nazis. Fleming, who was a naval intelligence officer at the time, would go on to create one of the most popular fictional spy characters of all time in 1953, when James Bond made his debut in the novel Casino Royale.

  Operation Ruthless never came into fruition. The plot (in addition to 007-related memorabilia and other WWII-era schemes of Fleming's) was displayed for the first time at London's Imperial War Museum in April, 2008.

• Fast Facts

  1. Fleming was a Lieutenant Commander in Royal Navy
  2. Plan raised concerns of soldiers accidentally dying in fake crash
  3. Team would be disguised in German uniforms
  4. Describes pilot as a "tough bachelor able to swim"
  5. Fleming wrote 12 Bond novels
  6. There have been 21 Bond films
  7. 6 actors have played Bond

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  James Bond

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