Operation PLUTO

Operation PLUTO, which stands for Pipe Lines Under The Ocean, was a daring and top-secret British engineering plan designed as a collaboration between the British Armed forces, oil companies, and engineers.

It sought to build an undersea network of oil pipelines between England and occupied France in preparation for the Allied Invasion of Normandy and the expected subsequent advance into Germany. The World War II mission was originally titled Pipe Line Underwater Transportation of Oil and created by Anglo-Iranian Oil Company chief engineer Arthur Hartley.

The project was intended to provide the massive amount of fuel required by the Allies for their liberation of the European continent. Without this vital supply line, there would be little hope of fueling a mechanized advance against Germany’s fearsome Panzers. The idea was to avoid having to depend on vulnerable oil tankers that risked giving away the Allied invasion’s secret landing points. Hidden safely under the sea, the Germans would have no idea what was coming…