Ian Fleming's War

In 1953, Ian Fleming’s literary sensation James Bond emerged onto the world’s stage. Nearly seven decades later, he has become a multi-billion-pound film franchise, now equipped with all the gizmos of the modern world. Yet Fleming’s creation, who battled his way through the fourteen novels from 1953 to 1966, was a maverick – a man out of place. Bond even admits it, wishing he was back in the real war… the Second World War. Indeed, the thread of the Second World War runs through the whole of the Bond series, and many were inspired by the real events and people Fleming came across during his time in Naval Intelligence.In Ian Fleming’s War, Mark Simmons explores these remarkable similarities, from Fleming’s scheme to capture a German naval codebook that appears in Thunderball as Plan Omega, to the exploits of 30 Assault Unit, the commando team he helped to create, which inspired Moonraker.

MARK SIMMONS was born into a family with a long tradition of service in the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. In the 1970s he served in the Royal Marines with 40 Commando RM, 3 Commando Brigade, and with the Commando Logistics Regiment. He has written over 130 articles, primarily on military and travel subjects. His other books include The Battle of Matapan and The Rebecca Code.