Operation Goldeneye was an Allied plan during World War II, that monitored Spain after the Spanish Civil War. The goal was to ensure that Britain would still be able to communicate with Gibraltar in the event Spain joined the Axis Powers. Additionally, it was a plan for the defence of Gibraltar had the Germans invaded through Spain. Ultimately Francisco Franco, the dictator of Spain, declined to join the Axis Powers after Adolf Hitler refused to give Gibraltar and French North Africa to Spain.

The plan was developed by Lt Cdr Ian Fleming, who later became the author and creator of the James Bond series of novels. Fleming later dubbed his Jamaican estate, Goldeneye, which in turn was used as the title for the 17th James Bond film, GoldenEye starring Pierce Brosnan as agent 007. In 1956 British Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden and his wife Clarissa spent a month at “Goldeneye” after Eden’s health collapsed in the wake of the Suez Crisis. The attendant publicity helped to boost Fleming’s writing career.

Fleming was sent to Gibraltar by the British Department of Naval Intelligence to monitor military installations in the Mediterranean. While there he was also tasked to liaise with William Joseph Donovan from the American Office of Strategic Services.