| Page Created |
| September 27th, 2022 |
| Last Updated |
| September 29th, 2022 |
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| Unit Order of Battle Commanders Operations Equipment Multimedia References Interactive Page |
| Operations |
| Northwest Europe |
March 3rd, 1941 – March 4th, 1941
Operation Claymore. Five hundred men from No. 3 Commando and No. 4 Commando, 52 Norwegians of the Norwegian Independent Company 1 and a Royal Engineers section. Their mission is to destroy the fish oil industry on the Lofoten Islands, Norway.
December 26th, 1941 – December 28th, 1941
Operation Anklet. Three hundred men from No. 12 Commando and the Norwegian Independent Company 1. Their mission is to capture prisoners and destroy radio stations around Florø in Norway.
The men land unopposed on the western side of the island of Moskenesøya. They occupy the villages of Reine and Moskenes, they also capture the small German garrison and a number of Norwegian Quislings at the radio station at Glåpen. The raiding force was attacked on December 27th, 1941, by a German seaplane that bombed the cruiser H.M.S. Arethusa. Although the ship is not hit, it is damaged by the shockwave. Besides the captured Germans and Quislings on the Island, the raiders also destroy two radio transmitters, and they capture or sink several small German boats. The most valuable prise of the raid is the capture of an Enigma coding machine, with its associated wheels and settings, from one of the patrol ships they had sunk.
With no air support of their own, the commander of the raid, Admiral Hamilton, decides to pull out and head back on December 28th, 1941. Over two hundred Norwegians volunteer to serve in the Free Norwegian Forces and leave with the force. The raiding force suffers no casualties.
December 27th, 1941
Operation Archery. Diversion for Operation Anklet. Eight hundred men from No. 2 Commando, No. 3 Commando, a medical detachment of No. 4 Commando a demolition party from 101 Troop (canoe) No. 6 Commando and Norwegian Independent Company 1. Their mission is the destruction of the German shipping, German personnel, and Norwegian harbour installations in Vågsøy in Norway.
Five raiding groups attack the area after a Naval bombardment. In the raid they destroy four fish oil factories and storage buildings. They kill at least 120 German military personnel and take ninety-eight Germans and four Norwegian Quislings prisoner. They also capture a complete copy of the most recent version of the German naval code book. When they embark, seventy-seven Norwegian volunteers return with them to Great Britain. The raiding force suffers seventeen killed troops and fifty-three wounded. The Royal Navy suffers four killed men and another four wounded. The Royal Air Force Coastal Command lose thirty-one men killed and two Handley Page Hampden, seven Bristol Blenheim and two Bristol Beaufighters.
February 5th, 1942 – May 1945
Operation Anvil. Two-man Norwegian party (J. Gunleiksrud as the organiser and F. B. Johnsen) Norwegian Independent Company 1 of the Special Operations Executive. Their mission is to establish radio contact and organise resistance groups in the area round Lillehammer in German-occupied Norway
J. Gunleiksrud is the first to arrive on February 5th, 1942, as the organiser followed by F. B. Johnsen on March 12th, 1942, as the radio operator. Both men are delivered by sea. Gunleiksrud is arrested on arrival in February by the local resistance group on suspicion of being a provocateur and, after additionally falling foul of the central organisation in Oslo, leaves for Sweden in July. Johnsen remains in Norway to the end of the war.
September 11th, 1944 – September 21st 1942
Operation Musketoon. Ten men from No. 2 Commando and two men of the Norwegian Independent Company 1 of the Special Operations Executive and the Minerve-class submarine, Junon. Their mission is to destroy the Glomfjord power plant, south of Narvik, which supplies an aluminium plant in the area. The men succeed and get away. One is wounded during the escape toSweden and dies of his wounds in hospital, three days after the raid. Seven others are captured and send to Germany seven as prisoners. These men are executed on October 13rd, 1942 at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in Germany as part of Hitler’s infamous Kommando Befehl. Four men make it to Sweden and are repatriated by aircraft to RAF Leuchars.
October 18th, 1942 – November 23rd, 1942.
Operation Grouse. Four-man Norwegian Team of Norwegian Independent Company 1 (Kompani Linge). Their mission is to make preparation for Operation Freshman in the Telemark area, Norway. After the completion of Operation Freshman, the group should train local groups and target ‘Hirdmen’ (Quisling vigilante guards) and Norwegian collaborators and informers.
November 23rd, 1942
Operation Swallow. Four-man Norwegian Team of Norwegian Independent Company 1 (Kompani Linge). Their mission is train local groups and target ‘Hirdmen’ (Quisling vigilante guards) and Norwegian collaborators and informers. This is the same group as the men in Operation Grouse. The name was changed for security measurements after Operation Freshman failed.
February 16th, 1943 – February 28th, 1943
Operation Gunnerside. The four-men team of Operation Grouse and Swallow combined with six men of Norwegian Independent Company 1 (Kompani Linge), Handley Page Halifax Tug Aircraft of No. 38 Wing of RAF Tempsford.
The men land successfully and find the Swallow team after a few days on cross-country skis. Together they mede the final preparations, based on the information of a Norwegian SOE agent in the plant who supplied detailed plans and schedules. The force decides to descend into the ravine, ford the icy river and climb the steep rock formation on the far side. The raiding party enters the main basement by a cable tunnel and through a window. The only person they encountered in the plant was a Norwegian caretaker named Johansen, who was very willing to cooperate with them.
The men place explosive charges on the heavy-water electrolysis chambers and attach a fuse which allows sufficient time for their escape. To prevent reprisals, a Thompson submachine gun is purposely left behind to indicate that this is the work of British Commandos and not the local resistance. After a search, of the spectacles of the caretaker, the fuses are lit. The explosion destroys a lot of equipment critical to the operation of the electrolysis chambers and the entire inventory of heavy water (500 kg) produced during the German occupation. All Commandos escape, five by skiing 325 km to Sweden, two to Oslo (where they assist Milorg), and four remain in the region (Operation Swallow) for further resistance work.
September 21st, 1943 – February 1944
Two-man party (J. Gunleiksrud and O. Dobloug) of the Norwegian Independent Company 1 (Kompani Linge) as part of a Special Operations Executive operation. Their mission is to provide further instruction for the Assumed Milorg resistance groups in the Gudbrandsdalen and Østerdalen area. They also must obtain fresh information on these groups in German-occupied Norway, and to make arrangements for the assassinations during Operation Ratweek I in November 1943.
The team is parachuted into Norway and carries out extensive training with local groups over the following weeks. Although they prepare for Operation Ratweek II, no assassinations are undertaken. In February 1944, the two men cross the border into neutral Sweden.
September 21st, 1943 – Spring 1944
Operation Redwing. Two-man party (L. Pettersen and G. Wiig-Andersen) of the Norwegian Independent Company 1 (Kompani Linge) as part of an operation by the Special Operations Executive. Their mission is to form a small group in the Voss-Bergen area of German-occupied Norway to work either as saboteurs or for the assistance of other teams from Great Britain without endangering other groups in the area, and to undertake assassinations in November as part of Operation Ratweek.
The Team is parachuted into Norway on September 21st, 1943. They make contact with local leaders and establish a radio link with Great Britain. The two men also meet the Norwegian military (Milorg) resistance movement’s district leader for Bergen and establish a relationship. No assassinations are undertaken for the fear of reprisals. Early 1944, Pettersen moves to the Operation Pheasant area. Andersen keeps transmitting after receiving new crystals for his radio.
October 10th, 1943 – January 1944
Operation Grebe. Six-man party (T. Hoff, J. Beck, H. Løkken, H. Storhaug, A. Øvergård and A. Graven) of the Norwegian Independent Company 1 (Kompani Linge) as part of a Special Operations Executive operation. Their mission is to reconnoitre the Røros and Dovre railways so when needed, German troop movement could be disturbed.
The party parachute into Norway, but three of the party are killed on landing and the remaining three are forced to abandon the mission and escape to neutral Sweden, where they remain until January 1944.
January 1944 – December 1944
Operation Grebe Red. Three-man party (H. Storhaug, A. Øvergård and A. Graven) from Operation Grebe of the Norwegian Independent Company 1 (Kompani Linge) as part of a Special Operations Executive operation. Their mission is reinstated and is to reconnoitre the Røros and Dovre railways so when needed, German troop movement could be disturbed.
The team gets its orders in January 1944 but is initially hindered in its efforts to leave neutral Sweden by the Swedish police. The succeed in leaving Sweden by the end of February and enter German-occupied Norway again. Radio contact is established with the Special Operations Executive in Great Britain. Mid-April the Gosawk party supplements the Grebe Red party.
The group remains in Norway for the rest of the year, with some trips back and forth to Sweden. In December J. Gunleiksrud takes over the leadership and the team begin its involvement in railway sabotage.
February 20th, 1944 – February 21st, 1944
Sinking of the SF Hydro. One man of the Norwegian Independent Company 1 (Kompani Linge), three men of the Norwegian Resistance.
After one failed attack, one successful attack and two U.S. Air Force bombings the Germans decided to cancel production of heavy water at Rjukan and move the remainder of the potassium hydroxide, to Germany. The resistance movement was aware of this plan, and considered blowing up the train at various places, but instead chose to target the ferry SF Hydro.[7]
To minimize the civilian losses, Kjell Nielsen at Norsk Hydro delays the tapping of the potassium hydroxide one day to allow the shipment to be carried on a Sunday. They are moved by train to the SF Hydro on Saturday.
The saboteurs Alf Larsen, Knut Lier-Hansen, Rolf Sørlie and Knut Haukelid break into the ferry quay by cutting through a fence. While Alf Larsen and Knut Lier-Hansen stands guard, Sørlie and Haukelid enter the ship. One of the two guards guarding the SF Hydro, discover the two men. They convince the guard with telling him they are workers and want to sleep on board. Allowed aboard, Sørlie and Haukelid go below deck to the keel where they spend two hours placing 8.4 kilograms of plastic explosive in a circular formation of 3.6 metres long. The explosives are placed in the bow. This would cause the ship’s screws and rudder to be quickly lifted out of the water, leaving the captain and crew without control. The explosion would be big enough to sink the ship, but not devastating enough to cause casualties among the passengers and crew. The fuses would be set to cause the ship to sink at the deepest part of the lake, but close enough to shore to allow any survivors to be rescued.
On February 20th, 1944, just before reaching the lighthouse at Urdalen the bomb explodes. The ship immediately heads for land, but the ship’s crew fails to prepare the lifeboats and no instructions are given for using the lifebelts. By the time the crew leaves the bridge, the ship has listed so much that they could walk down the side. At 10:30 the SF Hydro sinks, settling on the bottom at 430 metres depth. Despite the intention to minimize casualties, eighteen people are killed. Twenty-nine survive. The dead comprised fourteen Norwegian crew and passengers and four German soldiers. Farmers from across the lake come to the rescue of the crew and passengers with their boats. Some of the Norwegian rescuers feel that the Germans should not be saved, but this attitude did not prevail, and four German soldiers are saved.
The saboteurs leave the ship unseen. Larsen and Haukelid leave for Sweden while Sørlie leaves for Hardangervidda.
February 24th, 1945 – May 8th, 1945
Operation Guillemot. Two-man party (B. Sevendal and K. Bredsen) of the Operation Griffon party and two Norwegian army officers of the Norwegian Independent Company 1 (Kompani Linge) as part of a Special Operations Executive. Their mission to reinforce the Operation Grebe Red party and help them to undertake railway sabotage in German-occupied Norway.
The team is like the Operation Griffon team delivered by parachute on February 24th, 1945. From that time on they assist the men from Operation Grebe Red in their operational area.
February 24th, 1945 – May 8th, 1945
Operation Griffon. Two-man party (A. Ratche and A. Engebretsen), the Operation Guillemot party and two Norwegian army officers of the Norwegian Independent Company 1 (Kompani Linge) as part of a Special Operations Executive. Their mission to reinforce the Operation Grebe Red party and help them to undertake railway sabotage in German-occupied Norway.
The team is like the Operation Guillemot team delivered by parachute on February 24th, 1945. From that time on they assist the men from Operation Grebe Red in their operational area.
March