Operation

The PLUTO Pipelines were linked to pump stations on the English coast, housed in various inconspicuous buildings including cottages and garages. Though uninhabited, these were intended to cloak the real purpose of the buildings. In England, the PLUTO pipelines were supplied by a 1,600 km (1,000 statute mile) network of pipelines (constructed at night to prevent detection by aerial reconnaissance) to transport fuel from ports including Liverpool and Bristol. In Europe, the pipelines were extended as the troops moved forward, and eventually reached as far as the Rhine.

In January 1945, 300 long tons (300 Mg) of fuel was pumped to France per day, which increased tenfold to 3,000 long tons (3,000 Mg) per day in March, and eventually to 4,000 tons (almost 1,000,000 Imperial gallons) per day. In total, over 781 million litres (over 172 million imperial gallons) of gasoline had been pumped to the allied forces in Europe by VE day, providing a critical supply of fuel until a more permanent arrangement was made, although the pipeline remained in operation for some time after.

Along with the Mulberry Harbours that were constructed immediately after D-Day, Operation Pluto is considered one of history's greatest feats of military engineering. The pipelines are also the forerunners of all flexible pipes used in the development of offshore oil fields.

In 1994 the Midland Bank (now part of HSBC) sponsored a black-and-white film which contained a remarkable amount of historical archive film showing the entire history and construction of the Pluto Project, the HAIS pipe and the Conundrum reels. It mentions the codewords Bambi, Watson, Dumbo Near, Dumbo Far and other terminal names. It shows how the HAIS pipe was constructed and increased in diameter from about 2" to the later 3" operational size. When the landing site for the invasion was switched from Calais to Normandy, the pipeline needed to be increased from its original length to around 70 miles, and the film tells of how the American pipeline industry became involved in producing the extra amount of HAIS pipe.

It is quite remarkable to realise that this 70+ mile pipe was laid in just 10 hours when it was deployed across the English Channel.

The film can be seen in a small heritage museum at Shanklin Chine in the Isle of Wight, one of the Pluto terminals, where there are also a lot of other memorabilia, books and photographs. It is uncertain as to whether or not this film was ever made available to the general public or is available now.