78 years ago, a daring Norwegian commando raid kept the Nazis from building the atomic bomb first

Task and Purpose ^ | MARCH 01, 2021 | TIMOTHY J. JORGENSEN (THE CONVERSATION)

[Gene Eric]

>> They did not have a clue that it could be done!

They seemed to be operating within the vacuum of the Nazi’s nefarious & paranoid schemes.

Upthread, I made reference to the Heavy Water War. If I’m not mistaken, within that film it was mentioned the Nazis failed to embrace the economic advantages of nuclear energy — the Nazi’s downfall was the pursuit of military conquest.

[mabarker1]

Just wondering if the British included a Tea and Crumpet Time in the overall plans for the Mission that they botched ?

[mabarker1]

If We fought this WOT the way we fought WWII the WOT would’ve been done with 18 years ago.

[mewzilla]

Thanks for the ping!

[mewzilla]

More detail here, including some photos...

Operation Gunnerside

No mention of casualties, here, either.

[mewzilla]

From 2018, a sad coda...

Joachim Ronneberg, Leader of Raid That Thwarted a Nazi Atomic Bomb, Dies at 99

[wny]

I’ve read about this.....if I recall the CO of the group was in his early 20s.

[mowowie]

Yea Battlefield V.....

I’m surprised that the girls were not young black lesbians..

What a major disappointment from somebody that had thousands of on-line hours with BF2/2142 and to an extent BF4.

[Bookshelf]

You are correct. As I recall Hiesenburg, the noted German scientist who was well known to American physicists, was following a blind trail. But it detracts from the drama.

[IndispensableDestiny]

At least one German historian disagrees: Hitler 'tested small atom bomb'

'"Karlsch displays a catastrophic lack of understanding of physics," wrote physicist Michael Schaaf, author of a previous book about Nazi atomic experiments, in the Berliner Zeitung newspaper.'

[Dr. Franklin]

'"Karlsch displays a catastrophic lack of understanding of physics," wrote physicist Michael Schaaf, author of a previous book about Nazi atomic experiments, in the Berliner Zeitung newspaper.'

It may well be true that Karlsch doesn't understand the physics to explain what exactly the Nazis were playing with. It's also possible that Schaaf wants to sell more of his books. All of that misses the point that Karlsch reports historical evidence that the Nazis detonated something, complete with evidence of radiation poisoning, and residual radioactive fallout. That evidence can't be dismissed simply by writing that a historian lacks a detailed understanding of nuclear physics.

[minnesota_bound]

Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton in “Where eagles dare” and similar films like ‘The Guns of Navarone’ and the ‘The Dirty Dozen’. Based I bet on real action stories like this.

[Boiler Plate]

It was not part of the raid. The raids were not entirely successful, but they were extremely daring and make a great story. In the end the Nazi may very well had enough heavy water to make a bomb and made plans to ship what they had back to Germany. The Resistance took action and sank the ferry in the deepest part of the fjord where it remained for decades. There was much bravery and sacrifice to fill many books.

[Chaguito]

There are two ways of presenting history. You can look backward on the basis of what is now known in retrospect. Or you can present it looking forward, seeking to understand the mind of the people who were living it and on the basis of what they knew at the time.

The second avoids the possibility of minimizing the character of the people who were living the developing history.

For example, look at how the “woke” people of today devalue historical figures, refusing to put themselves in the cultural or political shoes of those figures.

[21twelve]

“There was much bravery and sacrifice to fill many books.”

IIRC, after the ferry was sunk the NAZIs retaliated against the locals.

I spent a summer in Norway in 1979 hiking and visiting all the relatives. (All four grandparents came from Norway at a young age - each one separately and alone).

I recall asking one person how they felt about sharing a border with the USSR.

“Russia!? We’ve never had a problem with Russia. It’s the Germans we’re concerned about.”

As a teen at that time, WWII seemed like ancient history. Of course it was only 34 years prior. So that would be like us today having the Nazi’s invade and control the USA during the time that President Reagan was in office!

[21twelve]

“Or you can present it looking forward, seeking to understand the mind of the people who were living it and on the basis of what they knew at the time.”

About the only thing I like about Michael Medved anymore are his historical pieces that he does. Like with the Revolutionary War, he goes into pretty good detail of who the people were and what they stood to lose. And that they were going up against the best Army at the time, and odds were that we would lose - but they did it anyway. And many of them did lose most of what they had anyway.

[Boiler Plate]

I spent three years in Oslo while working on the New US Embassy there. I bought a car and drove all over the place.
Here is the story on the Ferry.

https://www.marpubs.com/20th-february-1944-hydro-sunk-in-norway/

They recovered some of the barrels in this documentary

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/hydro/about.html

The little town Rjukan just down the road from Vermok gained fame a few years back for their efforts to brighten the place up.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/06/rjukan-sun-norway-town-mirrors

The road along the Tinnsja Fjord (where the ferry was sunk), the Tinnsjovegan was blasted out of the mountainside and is one of the most beautiful drives in the county (of which there are many).