25 Mind-Blowing James Bond Facts You Need To Know
5. The Creator Of James Bond Was A Spy
Ian Fleming based the stories of Bond on his own experience when he was a member of the British Intelligence Service. He also worked with the American Office of Strategic Services, which was the predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency. He actually helped the Americans set up the CIA.
There are some direct references to Fleming's life as a spy in the Bond films. For example, GoldenEye revolves around an EM pulse weapon.
During World War II, Operation GoldenEye was the contingency plan that the Allies created in case the Nazis invaded Spain. Fleming worked directly on this operation. (GoldenEye was also the name of Fleming's estate when he wrote his books in Jamaica).
During World War II, Fleming worked with Alan Turing, who built the prototype for the computer.
Fleming modelled James Bond on a spy he worked with during WWII called Merlin Minshall. Like Bond, everything about Minshall was larger-than-life. He was the first person to cross the Sahara on a motorcycle, he stumbled upon a secret German army while he was in the Congo, single-handedly stole a Nazi ship, and blew up German tanker communications.
If people think Bond films are too unrealistic, they can't compare to Minshall's war stories.