Operation Freshman – Møsvatn

Place: rjukan · Stand-in location

Operation Freshman was the first, failed attempt to strike at the heavy water. On the evening of 19 November 1942 two British gliders came in under tow over southern Norway, full of engineer troops who were to reinforce the Norwegian advance party from Operation Grouse. But bad weather and icing settled on the aircraft, and both tows lost control and crashed before they reached the landing zone. Forty-one men died in and after the crashes – some at once, others after being taken prisoner and executed in line with Hitler's notorious Commando Order that commandos were to be shot. The attack ended in disaster, but paved the way for the Norwegian sabotage operation that succeeded where the gliders fell. The crash sites themselves lie in Rogaland; here at Møsvatn the planned landing zone is marked.

The crash sites and the graves themselves lie in Rogaland, outside the map area. The story is therefore told at a stand-in location, the Møsvatn dam, where the landing zone was planned.

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