of Father Charles Coughlin's National Union for Social Justice. Anxious to skip his bail, which expired on 16 April, Russell made contact, through the offices of McGarrity, with German agent 'V-Rex', also known as Carl Rekowski. 'V-Rex' contacted John McCarthy, a steward on the steamer George Washington, berthed in Tampa, Florida. The George Washington then sailed to fascist Italy. McCarthy met Abwehr agent 'Professor' Franz Fromme in Genoa on 19 and 30 March 1940. That meeting arranged for Russell's journey across the Atlantic, arrival in Genoa on 1 May, and reception in Berlin four days later. Nazi Germany Arriving in Berlin in May 1940, Russell was informed of Operation Mainau, the plan to parachute Hermann Görtz into Ireland. Russell was asked to brief Görtz on Ireland before his departure that night, but missed his takeoff from the Kassel-Fritzlar airfield. Accorded the privileges of a diplomat and provided with a villa and a chauffeur-driven car, Russell's liaison officer while in Nazi Germany was SS-Standartenführer Edmund Veesenmayer. Veesenmayer indicated particular interest that the IRA had no clear idea of what form an Irish government would take in the event of a German victory. During Russell's time in Berlin, he would have at least one personal meeting with the German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop. By 20 May 1940, Russell began training with Abwehr in the use of the latest German explosive ordnance at the training area for the Brandenburg Regiment, the 'Quenzgut', where he observed trainees and instructors working with sabotage materials in a field environment. As he received explosives training, his return to Ireland with a definite sabotage objective was planned by German Army Intelligence. His total training time with German Intelligence was over three months. Operation Dove and death aboard U-65 On 15 July 1940, Frank Ryan – an IRA man who had fought on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War and was captured by Franco forces – was handed over to the Abwehr and taken to Germany. The capture of the German agents from Operation Lobster I did not prevent Abwehr Chief Wilhelm Canaris sanctioning the transport of Russell to Ireland. Both Russell and Frank Ryan, who had arrived in Berlin on 4 August, departed from Wilhelmshaven on 8 August, aboard U-65 – the mission was titled Operation Dove ("Unternehmen Taube" in German). Russell became ill during the journey and complained of stomach pains. The crew of