During his stay in Cuba, Hemingway spent (pdf) some time moonlighting as a spy. He insisted on "patrolling the waters on the north coast of Cuba in his cabin cruiser, the Pilar, in search of Germans":
While other American sailors were volunteering their boats and their time along the East Coast to spot U-boats, Hemingway’s concept of operations went further. He would pretend to be fishing, wait until a German submarine came alongside to buy fresh fish and water and then attack the enemy with bazookas, machine guns, and hand grenades. Hemingway would use Basque jai alai players to lob the grenades down the open hatches of the unsuspecting U-boat.
Unfortunately, he never got the chance to try it out:
The Pilar’s war cruises lasted from the second half of 1942 through most of 1943. Although Hemingway patrolled diligently for much of the time, he only spotted one German submarine, which sailed away on the surface as he approached.
(Hat tip: Joshua Keating)
The Dish 