Things to do in Norway

Re my previous post:-

I found this on the British Pathe site.

http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=22416

I note that both long and short nose Blemheims appear at different times in the film. Assuming that they weren’t just edited in, would these have been the bombers and then the fighters that flew cover? No sign of the Hampdens though (pity).

I see that ‘Lost Bombers’ shows the details of the 6 Blenheims and 2 Hampden bombers that were lost.

Does anybody know the details of the 2 Blenheim fighters and 2 Beaufighters that went down?

My father was in one of the destroyers. It was factory fresh and the paint was barely dry. He had only been with the ship for 3 weeks and was on his first posting. Quite a baptism of fire!

Rod.

My father told me they had a nice cruise around Vaagsfiord just after Christmas 1941 (in L31). The Germans didn’t like it though and they got attacked by Heinkels on the way home.

I since found out that about 35 RAF guys paid the price for they ‘day out’. Hampdens and Blenheims, I think.

I don’t know if there is anything there to see now though.

Rod

Herdla Museum, maybe? 45 kilometers nw of Bergen, Luftwaffe air base during WWII. Not much hardware on display, though, except for the 88mm FlaK.
There is also a bird sanctuary out there.
In English: http://www.museumsnett.no/herdlamuseum/english.html
In Norwegian, more detailed (try running it through google translate): http://www.museumsnett.no/herdlamuseum/

Whilst in Stavanger we visited the Eiganes Cemetery and the graves of the airmen and Paratroopers killed in Operation Freshman – a failed attempt to disrupt the German Heavy Water production facility. I’m not sure if much remains of the Halifax and gliders.

We visited these sites in February 2006 and there wasn’t a great deal remaining although enough to allow the sites to be identified. There is a plaque at the Horsa site and an information board marking the spot where the Halifax crew were originally buried at the other site. There was snow on the ground at the time which made finding wreckage a bit trickier than normal.
http://ktsorens.tihlde.org/flyvrak/benkjafjellet.html
http://ktsorens.tihlde.org/flyvrak/helleland.html

Regards
archieraf aka Linzee

Whilst in Stavanger we visited the Eiganes Cemetery and the graves of the airmen and Paratroopers killed in Operation Freshman – a failed attempt to disrupt the German Heavy Water production facility. I’m not sure if much remains of the Halifax and gliders.

It was a difficult mission and ended in disaster. Those who survived the two glider crashes, were tortured and then executed by the SS. Brave men; it seemed appropiate to remember them and pay respects while we were there.

Hi Sven, If you use the map link on the Flyvrak site you can see where some crash sites are in the Bergen area – clicking on them takes you to the relevant page.

Some of the sites are easy to reach while others require many hours walking/biking and sometimes even use of a canoe to get in to them.

The majority of the wrecks on the Flyvrack site are concentrated from Mid Norway northwards with fewer in the south.

Hope that helps

I suppose you know about…

http://ktsorens.tihlde.org/flyvrak/

No, I’d never seen that. Fascinating what they’ve got lying around. How easy is it to get to those bits?

I suppose you know about…

http://ktsorens.tihlde.org/flyvrak/

Try the musea at Gardermoen (Oslo) and Bödo up in the north, fantastic collections.
I was there with EHVB last month and enjoyed every minute of it. Norwegian.Com is also a pleasant airline to travel with. Flew over Lake Mjosa as well:)

Cees

Hei,

Try at this forum: http://nuav.rforum.biz/discuss-all-about-norway-during-ww2-f2
I am sure there people who can advice you.

Regards,

Mathieu

Hi Sven I visited a B17 crash site near Seljord,Norway.Well worth the cheap Ryanair flight over.There is a couple of web sites dedicated to Norways wartime history,around Bergen to.

. Anything exciting to see sticking out of the fjords?

Look for Slartibartfast’s Signature ?