War pigeon

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Dispatching of a message by carrier pigeon within the Swiss Army during World War I

Racing Homer breed were used to carry messages in World War I and World War II, and 32 such pigeons were presented with the Dickin Medal.[1] Medals such as the Croix de Guerre, awarded to Cher Ami, and the Dickin Medal awarded to the pigeons G.I. Joe and Paddy
, amongst 32 others, have been awarded to pigeons for their services in saving human lives.

During World War I and World War II, carrier pigeons were used to transport messages back to their home coop behind the lines. When they landed, wires in the coop would sound a bell or buzzer and a soldier of the Signal Corps would know a message had arrived. The soldier would go to the coop, remove the message from the canister, and send it to its destination by telegraph, field phone, or personal messenger.

A carrier pigeon's job was dangerous. Nearby, enemy soldiers often tried to shoot down pigeons, knowing that released birds were carrying important messages. Some of these pigeons became quite famous amongst the infantrymen for whom they worked. One pigeon, named “Spike”, flew 52 missions without receiving a single wound.[2] Another, named Cher Ami, lost his foot and one eye, but his message got through, saving a large group of surrounded American infantrymen.

History

Before the advent of radio, carrier pigeons were frequently used on the battlefield as a means for a mobile force to communicate with a stationary headquarters. In the sixth century BC, Cyrus, king of Persia, used carrier pigeons to communicate with various parts of his empire.[3] In Ancient Rome, Julius Caesar used pigeons to send messages to the territory of Gaul.[4]

During the 19th-century (1870–71)

Microfilm images containing hundreds of messages allowed letters to be carried into Paris by pigeon from as far away as London
. More than one million different messages traveled this way during the four-month siege. They were then discovered to be very useful, and carrier pigeons were well considered in military theory leading up to World War I.

World War I

Defence of the Realm Act

Homing pigeons were used extensively during World War I. In 1914, during the

Signal Corps
used 600 pigeons in France alone.

One of their homing pigeons, a Blue Check cock

77th Infantry Division's “Lost Battalion".[8][9]

German unmanned camera pigeon (probably aerial reconnaissance in World War I)

United States Navy aviators maintained 12 pigeon stations in France, with a total inventory of 1,508 pigeons when the war ended. Pigeons were carried in airplanes to rapidly return messages to these stations, and 829 birds flew in 10,995 wartime aircraft patrols. Airmen of the 230 patrols with messages entrusted to pigeons threw the message-carrying pigeon either up or down, depending on the type of aircraft, to keep the pigeon out of the propeller and away from airflow toward the aircraft wings and struts. Eleven of the thrown pigeons went missing in action, but the remaining 219 messages were delivered successfully.[10]

Leg canister for a war pigeon, U.S. Army Signal Corps, World War I. 1.0 x 2.9 cm, 1.7 gm

Pigeons were considered an essential element of naval aviation communication when the first United States aircraft carrier

Tangier Island, the pigeons flew south and roosted in the cranes of the Norfolk shipyard.[12] The pigeons never went to sea again.[11]

World War II and later deployments

During World War II, the United Kingdom used about 250,000 homing pigeons for many purposes, including communicating with those behind enemy lines such as Belgian spy Jozef Raskin. The Dickin Medal, the highest possible decoration for valor given to animals, was awarded to 32 pigeons, including the United States Army Pigeon Service's G.I. Joe and the Irish pigeon Paddy.

The UK maintained the

pigeon fancier in order to prepare for any eventuality. The Swiss army disbanded its Pigeon section in 1996.[14]

21st Century

In 2010, Indian police expressed suspicion that a recently captured pigeon from Pakistan might have been carrying a message from Pakistan.[15] In 2015, a pigeon from Pakistan was logged into Indian records as a "suspected spy".[16] In May 2020, another suspected Pakistani spy pigeon was captured by Indian security forces in Jammu and Kashmir.[17] After finding nothing suspicious, India authorities released the pigeon back into Pakistan.[18]

In 2016, a

Islamic State militants were using homing pigeons to deliver messages to operatives outside its "so called caliphate".[19]

Decorated war pigeons

In total, 32 pigeons were decorated with the Dickin Medal[20] including:[21]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ On May 10, 2021, Doctors Carla Dove and Robert Fleischer took samples of the preserved body of Cher Ami and sent them for DNA analysis. On June 30, 2021, results confirmed that Cher Ami was a cock (male).[7]

References

  1. ^ "PDSA Dickin Medal: 'the animals' VC', Pigeons — Roll of Honour". PDSA. Archived from the original on 22 September 2008. Retrieved 28 December 2008.
  2. ^ "Pigeon Heroes of the Great War: Spike". pigeonsofwar.wordpress.com. 26 October 2022.
  3. ^ name="nytimes">"Carrier pigeons still serve; Even in modern war they do messenger duty", The New York Times. 12 April 1936. p. SM26.
  4. ISBN 0-85390-013-2
    .
  5. ^ "Carrier pigeons still serve; even in modern war they do messenger duty", The New York Times. 12 April 1936. p. SM26.
  6. ^ Cleaver, Hylton (June 1951). "They've earned their corn". Men Only: 101.
  7. ^ Blazich, Frank (2021-07-15). "He? She? Or just plain Cher Ami? Solving a century-old pigeon mystery". National Museum of American History. Archived from the original on 2021-07-15. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  8. ^ Jim Greelis. "Pigeons in Military History". World of Wings. Archived from the original on 25 August 2007. Retrieved 13 September 2007.
  9. ^ "Cher Ami (Dear Friend)". Home of Heroes. Archived from the original on November 5, 2002. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  10. ^ Van Wyen, Adrian O. (1969). Naval Aviation in World War I. Washington, D.C.: Chief of Naval Operations. p. 30.
  11. ^ a b Tate, Jackson R, RADM USN (October 1978). "We Rode the Covered Wagon". United States Naval Institute Proceedings: 65.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ Pride, A.M. VADM USN (January 1979). "Comment and Discussion". United States Naval Institute Proceedings: 89.
  13. ^ Cleaver, Hylton (June 1951). "They've earned their corn". Men Only: 100.
  14. ^ "Auflösung des Brieftaubendienstes abgeschlossen". Admin.ch. 2 July 1996. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  15. ^ Express / AFP (28 May 2010). "Fowl play: alleged spy pigeon held in India". Tribune.com.pk. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  16. ^ "Pakistanis respond after 'spy pigeon' detained in India". BBC News. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  17. ^ "Suspected 'spy' pigeon from Pakistan carrying 'coded message' captured in Jammu and Kashmir". Hindustan Times. 26 May 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  18. ^ "India returns alleged spy bird to Pakistan". DW.COM. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  19. Fox News Channel
    . Foxnews.com. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  20. ^ Flying heroes: The true story, PDSA Dickin Medal: 'the animals' VC'
  21. ^ "PDSA Dickin Medal: 'the animals' VC'". PDSA. Archived from the original on 19 June 2009. Retrieved 31 March 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Military use of pigeons.
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