Dusko Popov
| Duško Popov | |
|---|---|
Duško Popov, 1940
|
|
| Allegiance |
 Yugoslavia United Kingdom
|
| Service | VOA, MI6, Abwehr |
| Active | 1940–1945 |
| Operation(s) | World War II |
| Award(s) |
Iron Cross Order of the British Empire |
| Codename(s) | Duško, Ivan, Tricycle, Scoot |
|
|
|
| Birth name | Dušan Popov |
| Born |
10 July 1912 Titel, Austro-Hungary (present-day Serbia) |
| Died | 18 August 1981 (aged 69) Opio, Alpes-Maritimes, France |
| Nationality |
Austro-Hungarian (1912–1918) Yugoslav (1918–1945) British (1946–1981) |
| Residence | Opio, Alpes-Maritimes, France |
| Parents | Milorad Popov, Zora Popov |
| Spouse | Jacqueline Blanc (1946–1961; divorced) Jill Jonsson (1962–1981; his death) |
| Children | 4 |
| Occupation | Lawyer, businessman, intelligence officer |
| Alma mater |
University of Belgrade University of Freiburg |
Dušan "Duško" Popov, OBE (Serbian Cyrillic: Душан "Душко" Попов; 10 July 1912 – 10 August 1981) was a Serbian double agent who served as part of the MI6 and Abwehr during World War II, and passed off disinformation to Germany as part of the Double-Cross System.
Popov was born into a wealthy family and was a practicing lawyer at the start of the war. He held a great aversion to Nazism, and in 1940, infiltrated the Abwehr, Germany's military intelligence service, which considered him a valuable asset due to his business connections in France and the United Kingdom. Popov provided the Germans misleading and inaccurate information for much of the war. Deceptions in which he participated included Operation Fortitude, which sought to convince German military planners that the Allied invasion of Europe would take place in Calais, not Normandy, thereby diverting hundreds of thousands of German troops and increasing the likelihood that Operation Overlord would succeed.
Popov was known for his promiscuous lifestyle and courted women during his missions, including the French actress Simone Simon. Apart from MI6 and the Abwehr, he also reported to the Yugoslav intelligence service, which assigned him the codename Duško. His German handlers referred to him by the codename Ivan. He was codenamed Tricycle by the British MI5 because he was the head of a group of three double agents. In 1974, he published an autobiography titled Spy/Counterspy, in which he recounted his wartime exploits. Popov is considered one of Ian Fleming's primary inspirations for the character of James Bond. He has been the subject of a number of non-fiction books and documentaries.
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