by Neal Bascomb
At the turn of: “Norsk Hydro,” TNA: DEFE 2/220; Tranøy, 15.
Civilization may have: Skinnarland Notes, ESP; Skinnarland Family, Author Interview; Marielle Skinnarland, Author Interview.
On April 9: Skinnarland, Hva Som Hendte, ESP.
He dated a young: Bergens Tidende, February 1, 2015.
At the start of: Skinnarland Notes, ESP. In many histories of the Vemork action, Skinnarland is described as having in hand intelligence on the heavy water activities of the Germans at Vemork at the time he traveled to Britain. This is clearly not the case, as stated by Einar Skinnarland himself. He left for England with the intention of starting a wireless-transmission site to provide intelligence on German activity in the area, no doubt centering on Norsk Hydro.
The son of a ship’s: “Cheese’s Report,” July 30, 1941, TNA: HS 2/150; John Wilson, “On Resistance in Norway,” NHM: Box 50A.
Two days after: “Preliminary Report on Cheese’s Return Journey,” March 18, 1942, TNA: HS 2/151; Hauge, 90–93.
“I’m afraid I’ve arrived”: Hauge, 94.
“We have captured”: Teleprint, March 15, 1942, TNA: HS 2/151.
Through the night: Skinnarland Notes, ESP; Letter, May 29, 1942, NHM: SOE, Box 25; “Preliminary Report on Cheese’s Return Journey,” March 18, 1942, TNA: HS 2/151.
“Galtesund making for”: Hauge, 108.
“killing and scorching”: H. G. Wells, The World Set Free (New York: Dutton, 1914), 222.
Since his first: January 24, 1942, LTD. Tronstad recorded in his diary that he’d finally received an “assignment of great importance for country and people” from the defense minister.
After the failed: January 3, 1942; February 13, 1942; February 17, 1942; February 21, 1942; March 7, 1942, LTD.
“No sacrifice”: January 1, 1942, LTD.
Then he learned: January 12, 1942; March 4, 1942, LTD; Tronstad Family, Author Interview.
Tronstad prayed: March 7, 1942, LTD.
“To begin with”: Drummond, 19–20.
Now that he: “Clairvoyant,” January 1, 1942, TNA: HS 2/218.
A team was: Rjukan, December 20, 1941, TNA: HS 2/184. There was also a draft of a plan for six men to blow up the pipelines and valves above the plant, but this was clearly nixed in favor of the bombing run, as confirmed by the recollections of Poulsson (Poulsson, 75).
Before Skinnarland’s arrival: Operation Grouse, March 28, 1942, NHM: SOE, Box 22.
Skinnarland could prepare: Ibid. In the original operational instructions, there was no mention of Skinnarland providing intelligence on heavy water. Nonetheless, from the moment Skinnarland landed, this was part of his activity. This is confirmed by everyone from Colonel Wilson (“Heavy Water Operations in Norway,” NHM: Box 50A) to Skinnarland himself (Letter from Einar Skinnarland to Dan Kurzman, ESP).
“young heroes”: March 20, 1942, LTD.
On the clear: “Report on Operation Undertaken by 138 Squadron,” March 29, 1942, TNA: HS 9/1370/8; Drummond, 21–26.
“flying barn door”: Lunde, 77.
“presents for members”: “Operation Grouse,” March 28, 1942, NHM: SOE, Box 22.
Over the course: “Sergeant Einar Skinnarland,” March 6, 1944, TNA: HS 9/1370/8.
“How you are”: Jensen, 94–95.
On the first: Lunde, 73–74.
“dinghy in the”: Jensen, 99.
“He showed great”: Personnel File of Skinnarland, TNA: HS 9/1370/8.
“Feet together and”: Drummond, 21.
At 11:44 p.m.: “Report on Operation Undertaken by 138 Squadron,” March 29, 1942, TNA: HS 9/1370/8.
“We’re going back”: Interview with Einar Skinnarland, KA.
In the small: Marielle Skinnarland, Author Interview.
5. OPEN ROAD
The Tube Alloys: “Minutes of 4th Meeting of Technical Committee,” April 23, 1942, TNA: CAB 126/46.
“employ a weapon”: Kramish, 59.
more imminent, prompting: Clark, Tizard, 210–14.
“destroy life in a”: Ibid., 214–17.
“decipher the signals”: Churchill, Their Finest Hour, 338.
“even money”: Lord Cherwell Minute to the Prime Minister,” August 27, 1941, TNA: AB 1/170.
“Although personally I am”: Text of Churchill’s Statement, NA: Harrison-Bundy Papers.
“no time, labour, material”: Letter from General Ismay to Lord President of the Council, September 4, 1941, TNA: CAB 126/330.
Two German pilots: Letter to Dr. Pye, September 11, 1941, TNA: AB 1/651.
One German émigré: Interview with Fritz Reichl, NB: Oral History.
“A tale has”: Telex from R. Sutton Pratt, November 10, 1941, TNA: AB 1/651.
“and we’re working”: Powers, 124. The famous Heisenberg-Bohr meeting is one of enduring attraction for historians and dramatists alike. What was said, who said it, what they meant—these remain open questions. The author will leave it to such fine books as Thomas Powers’s Heisenberg’s War to parse the truth, but as Powers suggests, the British very likely learned of this conversation by spring 1942.
As early as: Gowing, 43.
After the occupation: Jablonski, 93–95.
But British and: Smyth, 38; Walker, German National Socialism, 22–23.
“Since recent experiments”: Minutes of 4th Meeting of Technical Committee, April 23, 1942, TNA: CAB 126/46.
In the weeks: Letter from Wilson to Tronstad, May 1, 1942, NHM: Box 10/SIS A; Discussion with Professor Tronstad, May 1, 1942, VM: JBrun, Box 4; May 11–14, 1942, LTD.
“our juice”: Letter from Tronstad to Brun, May 15, 1942, LTP.
“We must know”: Letter from Tronstad to Wergeland, May 15, 1942, LTP.
When these letters: May 14, 1942, LTD.
Almost a month: Nøkleby, Josef Terboven, 202; Reports on Televåg, TNA: HS 2/136; Herrington, 336.
“If they can”: Nøkleby, Josef Terboven, 202.
If Lillian Syverstad: Lillian Gabrielson, Author Interview, ESP.
On the night: Einar Skinnarland, Rapport avgitt I Oslo, September 6, 1942, NHM: SOE, Box 23B; Skogen, 45; ESP; Bergens Tidende, February 1, 2015.
On October 3: Letter to Paul Harteck from Erhard Schöpke, October 30, 1951, Papers of Paul Harteck, Rensselaer Institute; Concerning the Journey to Norsk Hydro in Oslo and Rjukan, a Report by Paul Harteck, NB: G-341.
“Long live Hydro”: Finn Sørlie, Author Interview.
After Brun gave: Letter to Paul Harteck from Erhard Schöpke, October 30, 1951, Papers of Paul Harteck, Rensselaer Institute; Concerning the Journey to Norsk Hydro in Oslo and Rjukan, a Report by Paul Harteck, NB: G-341; Brun Report; Schöpke Report, August 3, 1943, NB: G-341.
In January 1942: Brun Report; Brun, 24–28.
On returning home: Minutes of a Meeting with Norsk Hydro, May 27, 1942, NB: G-341; Letter to Paul Harteck from Erhard Schöpke, October 30, 1951, Papers of Paul Harteck, Rensselaer Institute.
“depend too much”: Drummond, 25.
Another from Brun: Report sent to London, Summer 1942, VM: JBrun, Box 6a; Brun, 28–31.
On June 4: Speer, 269–71; Bagge and Diebner, 29–31; Cassidy, 455–57; Macrakis, 173–75; Powers, 142–50; Roane, 48–49, 78.
Thanks to the Nazis’: Irving, 72; Walker, German National Socialism, 26–27. There has been much written about the erroneous calculations of Walther Bothe on graphite as a moderator, namely that Bothe’s findings contributed to the Germans’ concentrating solely on heavy water. Making a well-sourced, thorough explanation of why the German program would have pursued heavy water regardless of Bothe’s work, Mark Walker writes that Heisenberg figured a reactor using graphite required “much more uranium and much more moderator than a heavy water device” and that Army Ordnance determined that “boron and cadmium-free carbon of sufficient purity could be produced, but only at prohibitive costs.”
Over seventy scientists: Werner Heisenberg, “Research in Germany on the Technical Application of Atomic Energy,” Nature (
August 16, 1947), NB: Goudsmit Papers, III, B10, F94; C. F. von Weizsäcker, “A Possibility to Produce Energy from U-238,” 1940, NB: Goudsmit Papers, III, B10, F95; Walther Bothe, “Die Diffusionslänge für thermische Neutronen in Kohle,” 1940–1941, Deutsches Museum Archiv.
“an open road”: Interview with Werner Heisenberg, DIA: DJ 31.
But two months: Bagge and Diebner, 28–29; Nagel, 77.
“In the present”: Bagge and Diebner, 29–32.
The very same: Vortragsfolge, February 26, 1942, NB: Goudsmit Papers, III, B25, F13.
“Research in the”: Goebbels, 140.
“power ships, possibly”: Karlsch, 87–89. For many years this speech by Heisenberg was lost to historians. In 2005 Rainer Karlsch found a copy in a Russian archive, revealing indeed that Heisenberg had promoted a plutonium bomb, but did not see it as imminently achievable.
Basic research on: Walker, German National Socialism, 32.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill: Sandys, 149–51; Meacham, 180–84; Moran, 50–57.
Earlier that week: Memorandum Report on Proposed Experiments with Uranium, NA: Bush-Conant Papers.
A “Uranium Committee”: Smyth, 72–84.
“Nobody can tell”: Letter to Vannevar Bush from Leó Szilárd, May 26, 1942, NA: Bush-Conant Papers; Letter to Compton from Leó Szilárd, June 1, 1942, NA: Bush-Conant Papers.
“Ok. V.B.”: Letter to President Roosevelt from Vannevar Bush, June 17, 1942, NA: Bush-Conant Papers.
On June 20: Meacham, 183–84.
“What if the enemy”: Churchill, Hinge of Fate, 380.
A few days: Note on Mr. Norman Brooke, Deputy Secretary of War Cabinet Office, July 3, 1942, TNA: HS 2/184; Akers Discussion with Norman Brooke, June 30, 1942, NHM: Box 16.
6. COMMANDO ORDER
“the greatest opportunity”: Poulsson, 76.
Over the next: SOE Group B Training Syllabus, TNA: HS 7/52–54.
“Remember: the best”: “Opening Address,” TNA: HS 7/52–54a.
“Much more intelligent”: Poulsson Personnel File, TNA: HS 9/1205/1.
Poulsson had been: Poulsson Family, Author Interview; Interview with Poulsson, IWM: 27189.
“The saddest day”: Poulsson, 31; Interview with Poulsson, IWM: 27189.
“mud and stone”: Poulsson, 49–59. Quotes in this passage are from Poulsson’s diary, excerpted in his memoir on the Vemork raid.
After concluding his: Interview with Poulsson, IWM: 27189; Poulsson, 80–85.
Reassured by their: Letter from Malcolm Munthe to Poulsson, Haukelid, Helberg, and Kjelstrup, June 13, 1942, TNA: HS 2/172.
“fit for duty”: Knut Haukelid Personnel File, TNA: HS 9/676/4. It is unclear from the records exactly when this accident occurred—and when Haukelid was removed from the roster. One doctor’s report is dated mid-August, another mid-July. Poulsson states that Helberg replaced Haukelid. Another member of the party, Gjestland, was also removed from the list.
The inventory list: Stores Ready to Be Packed for Grouse I, NHM: SOE, Box 22; Gallagher, 19.
“small independent groups”: Operation Instructions for Grouse, August 31, 1942, NHM: Box 25.
That same day: August 31, 1942, LTD.
And indeed, since: Letter from Keyes to Prime Minister, October 14, 1941, DEFE 2/698.
Since Churchill’s return: Mann, 104, 146, 165–68.
The four men: Lurgan Report, September 3, 1942, TNA: HS 2/184.
Tronstad was desperate: September 3, 1942, LTD.
But at times: October 24, 1942, LTD.
After celebrating his: March 27–August 30, 1942, LTD.
Earlier in the: Nøkleby, Josef Terboven, 197–99; Warbey, 140–44.
“War makes the”: August 7, 1942, LTD.
“Somewhere in England”: Letters from Poulsson to Haukelid, September 10, 1942, TNA: HS 2/172.
Once they connected: Letter from Munthe to Gjestland, August 8, 1942, TNA: HS 2/172.
“Of course we”: Letter from Poulsson/Helberg to Haukelid, September 29, 1942, TNA: HS 2/172.
General Nikolaus von Falkenhorst: Freshman Report, November 14, 1942, NHM: FOIV, Box D17.
With a face: Falkenhorst Personnel File, PERS 6–24, Barch-MA; Bericht des Genralobersten v. Falkenhorst, ZA1–1749, Barch-MA; Petrow, 31–34.
“equipped with automatic”: Freshman Report, November 14, 1942, NHM: Box 10B.
“I have sincerely”: Nøkleby, Josef Terboven, 212.
“to atone for several”: Ibid., 213.
The Swedish border: Kjelstadli, 166–68; Nøkleby, Gestapo, 175–77.
Terboven intensified: Kjelstadli, 154–56; Nøkleby, Josef Terboven, 215–16.
“Henceforth all enemy”: German Order to Kill Captured Allied Commandos and Parachutists, Report FF-2127, TNA: WO 331/7. Although dated October 18, 1942, this report states “the order was distributed to regimental commanders and staff officers of corresponding rank on October 10.” There was also a communiqué to the Wehrmacht on October 7 that basically stated the same.
7. MAKE A GOOD JOB
When Colonel Wilson: Interview with Haugland, IWM: 26624.
“Finally”: Sæter, 45.
At Chiltern Court: Ibid., 56.
Rather than fomenting: Freshman—Appendix A, October 17, 1942, NHM: Box 25.
Then Wilson led: Sæter, 56–57; Interview with Haugland, IWM, 26624.
“This is Piccadilly”: Freshman—Appendix A, October 17, 1942, NHM: Box 25.
“This mission is”: Nota tang Freshman, June 30/03, NHM: Box 25; Interview with Poulsson, IWM: 27189; Myklebust, 88–89.
“Make a good”: Sæter, 57.
At STS 26’s: Rønneberg Interview, Moland.
“valuable work”: Ibid.
“vocational school for”: Ibid.
Rønneberg was from: Ibid.
“If you were”: Myklebust, 21.
At twenty: Rønneberg Interview, Moland; Interview with Rønneberg, IWM: 27187.
“If you only”: Myklebust, 12.
“We’re off to”: Rønneberg Interview, Moland.
“Number one, go!”: Air Transport Operation Report, October 18, 1942, TNA: HS 2/185; Gallagher, 20–21.
The Vidda spread: Topography of Hardangervidda Report, October 13, 1942, TNA: HS 2/184; Mears, 47–49; Adamson and Klem, 141–42.
As he scanned: Poulsson Report; Gallagher, 22; Berg, 104.
They made camp: Grouse Equipment, NHM: SOE, Box 22; Myklebust, 86; Lauritzen, 32.
“There’s a new”: Halvorsen, Den Norske Turistforening årbok 1947.
“You don’t jump”: Sæter, 59.
The men spent: Poulsson, “General Report,” VM: JBrun, Box 4; Haugland Report; Interview with Haugland, IWM: 26624; Gallagher, 24–25.
8. KEEN AS MUSTARD
On October 20: Report from Skinnarland, November 1, 1942, NHM: SOE, Box 23; Ueland, 60–61; Message from Stockholm, June 15, 1942, TNA: HS 2/172.
“This is the latest”: Operation Grouse Instruction, NHM: SOE, Box 22.
“I’ll see you”: Recollections of Tomy Brun, LTP; Letter from Brun to Commander Thorsen, September 8, 1984, VM: JBrun, Box 17; Per Dahl, Heavy Water, 167–69.
Winston Churchill himself: November 3–7, 1942, LTD.
Vemork was no: Personal for Captain Tronstad, October 28, 1942, NHM: Box 10/SIS A; Freshman Report, November 14, 1942, NHM: FOIV, Box D17.
At 9:00 a.m. sharp: Drew, 84–85; Henniker, Memoirs of a Junior Officer, 1, 22–188. With respect to Operation Freshman, the book by Drew et al. served as an invaluable resource and should be consulted by anybody looking for more information into this part of the story.
“keen as mustard”: Note written by Mark Henniker, given to Peter Yeates, 1983, KA.
Henniker had reluctantly: Minutes of Meeting in COHQ, October 26, 1942, TNA: DEFE 2/224; Note written by Mark Henniker, given to Peter Yeates, 1983, KA.
Every single sapper: Notes, KA; Yorkshire Evening Post, August 15, 1984; Drew, 113–25.
Henniker
instructed them: Mark Henniker, Report on Operation Freshman, November 23, 1942, TNA: DEFE 2/224.
In their first: Report by Group Captain Tom Cooper, 1942, TNA: AIR 20/11930; Drew, 87–89; Interview Notes, KA.
“You aren’t to know”: Drew, 87–89.
Although the Germans: Lynch, 8–21.
Group Captain Tom Cooper: Ibid., 196–97.
It was the duration: Report by Group Captain Tom Cooper, 1942, TNA: AIR 20/11930; Wilson, 84.
Combined Operations had: Freshman Plan, October 14, 1942, TNA: DEFE 2/224; Notes on Practicability of Operation, October 30, 1942, TNA: DEFE 2/224; Freshman Outline Plan, October 13, 1942, TNA: DEFE 2/224; Notes on Operation Freshman, October 17, 1942, TNA: DEFE 2/224; Mark Henniker, Report on Operation Freshman, November 23, 1942, TNA: DEFE 2/224. The records of reports and minutes of these meetings reveal the fascinating iterative process the planners of Combined Operations went through in preparing for Operation Freshman. Hindsight vision is perfect, but one cannot fault these men for lack of consideration or preparation.
“In all probability”: Minutes of Meeting on Operation Freshman, October 14, 1942, TNA: DEFE 2/224.
The SOE suggested: Operation Freshman, Outline Plan, October 14, 1943, NHM: Box 10C; Report on 38 Wing Operation Order #5—“Operation Freshman,” December 8, 1942, TNA: DEFE 2/219.
“I’ve just been”: Special Report on Escape Routes from Vemork to Swedish Frontier, October 12, 1942, NHM: Box 10/SIS C.
Suggestions were made: Freshman Report from Barstow, November 3, 1942, TNA: DEFE 2/224; Letter from A.P.1 for C.A.P., October 31, 1942, TNA: DEFE 2/219; Letter from Colonel Gubbins to Major General Haydon, October 30, 1942, TNA: DEFE 2/219.
“It is of”: Letter from Mountbatten to A.O.C.-in-C., October 29, 1942, TNA: DEFE 2/219.
“of the highest priority”: Notes on Operation Freshman, October 17, 1942, TNA: DEFE 2/219.
At noon on: Freshman Training, October 27, 1942, TNA: DEFE 2/219; Drew, 92.
If the British: Plant Installation and Proposed Demolition, November 16, 1942, TNA: DEFE 2/224; Vemork Power Station and Electrolysis Plant Report, October 30, 1942, TNA: DEFE 2/219; Operation Lurgan, Preliminary Technical Report, TNA: HS 2/185.
Knut Haugland was: Poulsson Report; Haugland Report; Interview with Haugland, IWM: 27212; Interview with Poulsson, IWM: 26625; Interview with Haugland, IWM: 26624; Poulsson, 91–99; Gallagher, 24–27; Sæter, 57–62.
