Special Operations Executive

E27962

British government organization intelligence agency special operations organization

The Special Operations Executive was a secret British World War II organization responsible for conducting espionage, sabotage, and supporting resistance movements in enemy-occupied territories.

Jump to: Surface forms Statements Referenced by

Observed surface forms (2)

Surface form	Occurrences
British Special Operations Executive	5
Special Operations Executive training network	1

Statements (49)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	British government organization ⓘ intelligence agency ⓘ special operations organization ⓘ
codename	Baker Street Irregulars ⓘ Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare ⓘ
conflict	World War II ⓘ
country	United Kingdom ⓘ
createdBy	Winston Churchill ⓘ
director	Colin Gubbins ⓘ
dissolved	1946 ⓘ
documentedIn	official British government histories of SOE ⓘ
employed	agents behind enemy lines ⓘ
followedBy	Special Operations Branch ⓘ surface form: Special Operations Branches of postwar services
hasTrainingSpecialty	demolition and explosives ⓘ hand-to-hand combat ⓘ radio communications ⓘ
headquartersLocation	London, England ⓘ surface form: London
inception	1940 ⓘ
languageOfWork	English ⓘ
legalStatus	secret organization ⓘ
motto	Set Europe ablaze ⓘ
notableFor	coordination of resistance movements in occupied Europe ⓘ development of sabotage techniques ⓘ use of female field agents ⓘ
notableMember	Colin Gubbins ⓘ F. F. E. Yeo-Thomas ⓘ Noor Inayat Khan ⓘ Odette Sansom ⓘ Vera Atkins ⓘ
notableOperation	Norwegian heavy water sabotage ⓘ operations in Greece ⓘ operations in Yugoslavia ⓘ support to the French Resistance ⓘ
operationalArea	German-occupied Europe ⓘ surface form: Nazi-occupied Europe Southeast Asia ⓘ
oversight	British War Cabinet ⓘ
parentOrganization	UK government ⓘ surface form: British government
partOf	British war effort ⓘ
precededBy	MI(R) of the War Office ⓘ Section D of MI6 ⓘ
primaryRole	espionage ⓘ sabotage ⓘ supporting resistance movements ⓘ
shortName	SOE ⓘ
timePeriod	World War II ⓘ surface form: Second World War
trainedAt	various secret training schools in the United Kingdom ⓘ
usedMethod	covert operations ⓘ guerrilla warfare support ⓘ training and arming resistance fighters ⓘ

Referenced by (15)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Hydra radio station → affiliation → Special Operations Executive ⓘ

Danish resistance movement → collaboratedWith → Special Operations Executive ⓘ

this entity surface form: British Special Operations Executive

Greek People’s Liberation Army (ELAS) → collaboratedWith → Special Operations Executive ⓘ

subject surface form: Greek People’s Liberation Army

this entity surface form: British Special Operations Executive

OSS → collaboratedWith → Special Operations Executive ⓘ

this entity surface form: British Special Operations Executive

Intrepid Park → commemorates → Special Operations Executive ⓘ

Czechoslovak resistance → cooperatedWith → Special Operations Executive ⓘ

this entity surface form: British Special Operations Executive

European resistance movements → cooperatedWith → Special Operations Executive ⓘ

British Security Coordination → coordinatedWith → Special Operations Executive ⓘ

British intelligence → historicalPrecursor → Special Operations Executive ⓘ

Special Training School 103 → operatedBy → Special Operations Executive ⓘ

Operation Jedburgh → operator → Special Operations Executive ⓘ

Special Training School 103 → partOf → Special Operations Executive ⓘ

this entity surface form: Special Operations Executive training network

Operation Anthropoid → participant → Special Operations Executive ⓘ

Operation Anthropoid → supportedBy → Special Operations Executive ⓘ

Yugoslav Partisans → supportedBy → Special Operations Executive ⓘ

this entity surface form: British Special Operations Executive