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The attack on the Norsk Hydro Plant at Vemork was one of the most impressive raids of it type of the entire Second World War. This account shows that a wide range of factors went into its success. High amongst them was the presense of friendly Allied agents in the factory itself and the local area, who were able to give the Allies detailed accounts of the internal layout of the factory and the surrounding areas. This helped the second key factor – detailed training. A mock-up was made of the room containing the heavy water plant, so when the agents reached it everything was familiar. It also allowed for the creation of bombs designed specifically to destroy the heavy water tanks. A third key factor was the impressive quality of the men who carried out the attack.
What makes this raid even more impressive is that the team who carried it out were only meant to be the reconnaissance party. A much larger sabotage force of thirty four commando engineers, men from the Royal Engineers with commando training. However they were meant to reach Norway by glider, and this part of the plan went disasterously wrong. Both gliders crashed. The survivors surrendered to the Germans, unaware of Hitler’s Commando Order, and were all murdered. The original team then took over the mission.
We get an excellent account of the raid itself, looking at how the party approached the site, including the famous decision to climb down into the ravine alongside the plant and then back out instead of risking using the railway bridge, their entry into the site and succesful escape, and what they did in the aftermath. This is impressive stuff, with their survival skills in the Norwegian wilderness key to the success of the raid, and to their survival in its aftermath, when they were able to escape into high country to avoid the searching Germans.
The account of the main raid is followed by a look at what happened next. The Germans quickly had the plant repaired, and after some debate the USAAF attempted to destroy it with heavy bombers. The raid failed, but it did convince the Germans that the site was vulnerable and that it was time to move the heavy water and equipment to Germany. This led to a second sabotage raid, this time sinking the ferry Hydro as it crossed Lake Tiinsjo. Sadly this time 26 people on the boat, including four German guards were killed, but the heavy water sank into the lake.
The exact significance of these raids has been a matter of some debate since the war. The key question is how close the Germans had been to developing an Atomic Bomb. The answer would appear to be that they were a very long way off having a working bomb, but that without the two acts of sabotage they may have had enough heavy water to sustain an atomic reaction, a key stage towards the development of the bomb. Heavy Water reactors were built in the US, including Chicago Pile 3 of 1944, so the concept certainly worked.
This is an excellent account of this famous raid, reminding us of just how impressive an achievement it was, but also of the wider cost of the efforts to stop the Germans getting heavy water from Norway.
Chapters
Origins
Initial Strategy
The Plan
The Raid
Conclusion
Aftermath
Author: David Greentree
Edition: Paperback
Pages: 80
Publisher: Osprey
Year: 2018