Stanley Platt Lovell | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chief of the Research and Development Branch, Office of Strategic Services | |
| In office 1942–1945 | |
| Appointed by | William J. Donovan |
| Succeeded by | Office of Technical Services |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 29,1890 Massachusetts,USA |
| Died | January 4,1976 (aged 85) Massachusetts |
| Resting place | Hillside Cemetery Osterville,Barnstable County,Massachusetts,USA |
| Alma mater | Cornell University |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | Office of Strategic Services |
| Rank | Chief |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Stanley Platt Lovell was an American industrial biochemist and intelligence officer who headed the Research and Development Branch (R&D) of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II,commonly referred to as the "Department of Dirty Tricks." [1] [2]
Before the war began,Lovell already held over 70 patents. [1] In 1943,he was tapped by William J. Donovan to head the R&D Branch. [1] As head of R&D,he was in charge of many innovations developed by OSS during the war,leading a team of scientists to create some of the most bizare inventions during the war. As head of R&D,he is often thought to be an inspiration for the fictional character Q from the James Bond series,sharing this title with Charles Fraser-Smith from the British Special Operations Executive. [2] Smith and Lovell also collaborated on several devices. Lovell was the lead scientist in charge of the US Government's search for the "T-Drug," the first truth serum experiments undertaken by the US Intelligence Community,instructing George Hunter White to dose Americans with narcotics without their knowledge and to observe their behaviors. [3] [4]
He and his team experimented with a way to kick the Nazis out of North Africa with mounds of manure and infected flies placed in rural villages. [5] The Hollywood actress Hedy Lamarr worked with Lovell for a time,inventing a distraction device that came to be known as "The Hedy." Lovell demonstrated The Hedy for the Joint Chiefs of Staff without advanced warning,and they never invited him back. [2] He is credited with the discovery that the Nazis were using heavy water in the process to construct a nuclear bomb. [6] He was one of the primary OSS chiefs responsible for the bat bomb experiments. [7] In 1944,Lovell approved the use of Nerve gas to be deployed on Iwo Jima,but the President vetoed this operation. [8] Lovell invented several devices for the potential assassination of Adolf Hitler,including a crushable tablet containing odorless mustard gas. [8] Lovell and his team invented the time pencil and the Limpet mine. [2] After the war,Lovell became President of the Lovell Chemical Company.