Operation Freshman

Allied Forces

• 30 men 9^th Field Company (Airborne), Royal Engineers and 261^st Field Park Company (Airborne), Royal Engineers

Axis Forces

Operation

In February 1942, Allied intelligence receives reports that the Germans have ordered production of heavy water at the Norsk hydroelectric power plant in Vemork, Norway, to be tripled. Heavy water, or deuterium oxide, is a crucial component for atomic research, raising concerns that the Germans are attempting to construct an atomic pile. This suspicion is reinforced by their earlier decision to prohibit the export of uranium from Czechoslovakia. The plant is located in a deep valley in central southern Norway, surrounded by steep, densely forested slopes rising over 900 metres from a narrow riverbed. Water for the plant’s turbines is sourced from the slopes of the 1,650-metre Gaustatoppen, which dominates the valley.

Recognising the importance of disrupting German atomic research, a decision is made, following discussions between the British Prime Minister and President Roosevelt, to destroy all existing stocks of heavy water at any cost. Given the difficulty of producing heavy water in large quantities, its loss would be a significant setback to German ambitions.

By mid-1942, the British War Cabinet assigns the task to Combined Operations Headquarters as a mission of the highest priority. Several potential methods of attack are considered. Aerial bombardment is ruled out to avoid Norwegian civilian casualties, though it later becomes necessary. A commando landing using Catalina flying boats proves unfeasible due to the rapidly approaching winter, which will freeze the lakes near the plant. Parachuting in demolition teams is also dismissed, as their equipment would be scattered upon landing and their arrival would quickly become known. Ultimately, the use of glider-borne troops is selected as the most viable approach. The chosen Landing Zone is at the lake near the Møsvatn dam, requiring a five-hour approach march to the target.

The Special Operations Executive is brought in early to facilitate the insertion of Norwegian agents near the plant. These agents will relay intelligence to Britain ahead of the operation and assist the attacking force.

From the outset, the plan is fraught with challenges. Both Major General Sir Colin Gubbins, Chief of Special Operations Executive, and Colonel J.S. Wilson, head of its Norwegian section, express strong objections. They argue that the operation is poorly conceived and vulnerable to failure at multiple stages.

Norway’s terrain is among the least suitable for glider operations. The 800-kilometre tow must be conducted at night, exceeding any previous glider operation in both distance and difficulty. Winter weather in the region is unpredictable, and successful landings depend on clear conditions. Despite these obstacles, planning proceeds with urgency.

Two gliders, each carrying fifteen airborne engineers from 9^th Field Company (Airborne) Royal Engineers and 261^st Field Park Company (Airborne) Royal Engineers, are allocated to the mission. Each glider-tug combination will operate independently. Once the demolitions are completed, the teams will split into small groups and attempt a 320-kilometre escape to Sweden. They are equipped with standard British Army uniforms layered over civilian skiing gear for the escape.

Given the required towing distance, only four-engine Halifax bombers are capable of the task. However, these aircraft are in short supply, as Royal Air Force Bomber Command operates just twelve Halifax-equipped squadrons, many of which have only recently received them. Eventually, three aircraft are secured for the mission, arriving at Netheravon by late October 1942.

The commander of No. 38 Wing is tasked with converting his crews to Halifaxes and training them in glider towing. Each selected pilot completes nearly 60 hours of flying in Halifaxes before the operation. The ground crews work tirelessly to maintain the aircraft under extreme pressure, ensuring they remain operational.

Glider pilots are hand-picked rather than chosen from volunteers. Major Willoughby selects Staff Sergeant M.F.C. Strathdee, an accomplished pilot, along with Sergeant P. Doig as his second-in-command. Their training is minimal but both are eager for the mission. The second glider is to be flown by two Royal Australian Air Force pilots, Pilot Officer Davies and Sergeant Fraser, both experienced bomber pilots converted to gliders.

Training takes place at Brize Norton and includes night flying, landings on minimal flare-paths, and in-flight jettisoning of the undercarriage to reduce drag. Some exercises are conducted using Whitley bombers, with a total of over 44 hours of glider flight training completed.

Detailed intelligence on the Landing Zone is gathered, including photographs and maps provided by Norwegian sources in Britain. The thirty sappers receive intense training, carrying 36 kilograms of equipment while traversing the Snowdonia mountains, and undergo demolitions instruction at a hydroelectric plant in Scotland. A scale model of the Vemork plant is studied extensively to ensure every door, window, and German sentry routine is memorised. Escape documents are also prepared to facilitate their withdrawal into Sweden.

A moonlit night is necessary for the landings, and with the next full moon due on November 19^th, 1942, Operation Freshman, is scheduled for that night. The departure point is Skitten, a satellite airfield of Royal Air Force Wick in northern Scotland. Shetland would have been preferable, but no airstrips there are long enough for the Halifax to take off with a fully loaded glider. To aid navigation, Rebecca/Eureka radio beacons are employed. Four Norwegian Special Operations Executive agents are parachuted into Norway on October 18^th, 1942, to set up a beacon and flares at the Landing Zone. They will also join the demolition teams upon arrival.

German forces guarding the plant number approximately 64, with additional Gestapo personnel stationed in nearby Rjukan. Intelligence indicates the presence of mines and barbed-wire defences.

November 18th, 1942

One of the Halifaxes conducts a leaflet-dropping mission over Oslo, allowing glider pilots to observe the terrain. The following day, a coded message from the Norwegian agents confirms clear weather at the target. However, poor conditions persist at Skitten, with rain and cloud cover. Despite concerns, the operation proceeds.

At 17:45, the first Halifax and glider take off, followed by the second at 18:00. Communication failures occur immediately, rendering the glider pilots unable to speak with the tug crews. The aircraft must fly at near-full throttle to maintain altitude, making evasive manoeuvres impossible. The glider pilots endure a gruelling four-hour flight in turbulent conditions, struggling to maintain visual contact with the towing aircraft in complete darkness.

November 19th, 1942

1st Glider

The first aircraft and glider combination flies through poor weather conditions and successfully reaches Norway, proceeding towards its objective. During the flight over Norway, the Rebecca receiver, designed to pick up the transponder signal from the Eureka beacons set up by the Norwegian Special Operations Executive agents, develops a mechanical fault and fails to function. This leaves the aircrew reliant solely on map-reading to locate the landing zone, a task made nearly impossible by the poor visibility and adverse weather.

On a second attempt to identify the correct location, the aircraft enters thick cloud approximately 64 kilometres northwest of Rjukan. Ice begins to accumulate on both the Halifax bomber and the glider, as well as on the towing rope connecting them. As the combination loses altitude, the weight of the ice causes the tow rope to snap, releasing the glider. With fuel reserves critically low, the Halifax is forced to turn back, sending a signal to Skitten at 23:55 confirming the glider’s release. The aircraft barely manages to return to Britain, reporting en route that the glider has likely crashed into the sea. The Royal Navy is alerted to begin a search-and-rescue mission, but no vessels are present in the area. An aerial search is launched but fails to locate any trace of the glider.

As they approach the Norwegian coast, a snowstorm reduces visibility. Strathdee’s glider is towed to 4,000 metres before the tow rope snaps due to ice accumulation, sending the glider crashing into the mountains at Fylgjesdal, overlooking Lysefjord. Of the seventeen men aboard, eight men die on impact, while four are injured.

A local farmer, Thorvald Fylgjedalen, discovers some of the injured soldiers but, unable to speak English, struggles to communicate with them. Nevertheless, he and his neighbour, Jonas Haaheller, resolve to assist the wounded men and refrain from alerting the German authorities. Seeking additional support from other local residents, the British soldiers request help in escaping to Sweden. However, Haaheller and his neighbours persuade them that such a journey is impossible, as it would require crossing the entire length of Norway. The Norwegians provide shelter and medical aid to the injured soldiers while ensuring that none attempt to leave.

To prevent sensitive information from falling into enemy hands, the locals burn all maps and documents recovered from the crash site before the Germans arrive. For nearly twenty-four hours, they manage to keep the entire incident hidden.

The following afternoon, German troops, including personnel from both the Waffen-SS and the Army, arrive aboard two boats from a nearby camp. They take the surviving British soldiers prisoner and transport them away. Despite the severe injuries sustained by some of the men, they are forced to march under their own power and endure the journey in open, unsheltered boats amid the freezing cold. The three fallen soldiers are buried in a shallow grave before the Germans depart with their captives.

2nd Glider

The second aircraft and glider combination reaches the Norwegian coast but encounters even greater difficulties than the first. As the weather deteriorates, the Halifax bomber, piloted by Flight Lieutenant Roland Parkinson of the Royal Canadian Air Force, struggles against strong winds, rain, and hail. In these treacherous conditions, the tow aircraft releases the glider before crashing into a mountainside at Hestadfjell. The impact kills all members of the aircrew instantly. Workmen in the vicinity hear the aircraft passing overhead moments before the crash and alert the German authorities, who arrive swiftly. Finding no survivors, the Germans discard the bodies of the aircrew into a nearby bog before departing the area.

The glider, released just before the tow aircraft crashes, spirals out of control and crash-lands in the mountainous terrain between Helleland and Bjerkreim. The pilot and co-pilot, Norman Davies and Herbert Fraser of the Royal Australian Air Force, are killed on impact, while the remaining occupants sustain varying degrees of injury. Among them, Driver Ernest Pendlebury, aged 25, succumbs to his wounds shortly after the crash. At least six others are wounded, with varying degrees of severity. The remaining men are either uninjured or suffered only minor injuries.

With the wounded unable to move, two British soldiers leave the crash site in search of assistance. After some time, they reach the hamlet of Helleland, approximately three kilometres from the crash site, where they make contact with a local resident, Trond Hovland. The soldiers explain their dire situation and request his help in finding a doctor. Hovland agrees but informs them that the nearest doctor is in Egersund, nearly fifteen kilometres away. To reach him, Hovland must use the telephone system, which is under German control and would inevitably alert the authorities to the presence of the soldiers. Recognising they have little choice, the British soldiers consent to making contact, anticipating that they will be taken as prisoners of war.

Shortly thereafter, a group from the Norwegian Labour Service arrives at the crash site and provides aid to the wounded. The British soldiers destroy all sensitive documents and materials to prevent them from falling into enemy hands. A German unit arrives approximately twenty minutes later. Unwilling to abandon the wounded and recognising the difficulty of escaping to Sweden, Lieutenant Allen opts to surrender, believing that the men will receive treatment as prisoners of war.

Underneath their military uniforms, the soldiers wear civilian clothing, and their hair and beards have been grown out as instructed prior to the mission. When the Germans discover sabotage equipment among their belongings, Colonel Probst, the Wehrmacht commander in the Stavanger district, orders their execution.

On November 21^st, 1942, German radio announces that British sabotage troops have been “engaged and killed to the last man.” In reality, all surviving glider troops are captured and later executed under Hitler’s Kommandobefehl. Severely wounded prisoners from the 1^st glider at Stavanger prison receive lethal injections before being strangled. The (slightly) injured soldiers are executed by firing squads at Grini concentration camp and the German Slettebo barracks in January 1943.

Aftermath

Despite the mission’s failure, the Germans are ultimately prevented from exploiting Vemork’s heavy water. After Freshman, six Norwegian Special Operations Executive agents destroy the plant’s equipment. In November 1943, an American bombing raid inflicts further damage. Finally, in February 1944, Norwegian resistance operatives sabotage a ferry transporting heavy water to Germany, sinking it in a lake.

When British forces arrive in Norway in May 1945, investigations confirm the fate of the Freshman troops. The fallen are exhumed and reburied with full military honours in Stavanger and Oslo. War crimes trials result in the execution or imprisonment of those responsible. The regiment mourns its first operational losses, though they are spared the suffering inflicted upon the survivors.

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