Operation Goldeneye Operation Goldeneye was an Allied plan during World War II , which was to monitor Spain after a possible alliance between Francisco Franco and the Axis powers and to undertake sabotage operations . The plan was formed by Lieutenant Commander Ian Fleming of the Naval Intelligence Division ( NID ) . With no German takeover of Spain or invasion of Gibraltar , the plan was closed in 1943 ; Fleming later used the name for his Jamaican home where he wrote the James Bond stories . Background . The aim of the operation was to ensure that Britain would still be able to communicate with Gibraltar in the event Spain joined , or was invaded by , the Axis powers , and to carry out limited sabotage . In August 1940 , responsibility for drawing up the plan was given to Lieutenant Commander Ian Fleming of the NID . Of particular concern to Fleming was the possible installation of radar equipment and infrared cameras in the Straits of Gibraltar , which would have been a threat to the Navy ' s Mediterranean strategy and to the Allied ' s shipping interests in the Atlantic . Fleming was issued a courier ' s passport , and on 16 February 1941 , he travelled to Gibraltar . On his arrival , he liaised closely with Alan Hillgarth , the British naval attaché in Madrid . Hillgarth provided much of the background to the plan for the guerrilla campaign and sabotage that would follow German presence on the Iberian peninsula . One of the prime motivations for Fleming ' s presence in Gibraltar was to set up a Goldeneye liaison office with a secure cipher link to London , under the control of H . L . Greensleeves , an NID agent . Fleming also set up a similar office in Tangier as a fallback in the event of the German occupation of Gibraltar . During the course of his visit , Fleming also met with William J . Donovan from the American Office of Strategic Services , who was on a fact - finding tour . Fleming returned to London on 26 February 1941 . On 20 May 1941 , while in transit to the US , Fleming visited Lisbon to discuss Goldeneye with the various intelligence organisations , and to ensure that they operated smoothly together . He also undertook an inspection of the facilities and equipment for Goldeneye . He suggested that an Anglo - American Intelligence Committee be set up to coordinate intelligence from North Africa and the Iberia peninsula . In 1942 Goldeneye moved into a state of alert prior to the Operation Torch , the Allied invasion of North Africa . The Axis powers suspected that something was about to happen and stepped up their surveillance and sabotage , particularly the use of the 10th Light Flotilla , an elite unit of Italian navy frogmen who used wrecked ships in Gibraltar to launch attacks on Allied shipping . Goldeneye , along with an associated plan , Operation Tracer , was closed in August 1943 , with the lessened threat of a Nazi takeover of Spain . Post war legacy . Fleming later dubbed his Jamaican estate " Goldeneye " , and began writing his series of James Bond novels there . The name was also used for the title of the seventeenth James Bond film , " GoldenEye " starring Pierce Brosnan as Bond . Notes and references . Notes References