Operation Fungus

Operation Fungus was one of the two Special Operations Executive (SOE) exploratory missions to Yugoslav Partisans during the World War Two. Both Operation Fungus and the second mission, Operation Hoathley 1, flew out on the night of 20 Apr 1943 from Derna airfield. The missions' objective was to establish who the Partisans were, who their leader was, and whether and how they could be utilised to further the Allies' military ambitions. They also served as each other's backup, in case one failed to reach the Partisans or fell into enemy's hands.^[1]

The mission consisted of an Anglo-Yugoslav British army soldier Alexander Simić-Stevens and two Yugoslav Canadians, Petar Erdeljac and Paul Pavlić, who were recruited by the SOE and trained in clandestine operations at Camp X on the Lake Ontario, near the US border.^[2] They carried two radio sets but no written instructions or identifiable uniform or rank.^[3] Prior to leaving, they were briefed by William Deakin, of Cairo SOE, who assured them that they would only be sent if the chances of success were realistic.^[4]