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76-year-old video footage is taking off online.
On December 5, 1944, the German ships “Jäger”, “Hurricane”, “Odin” and “Schütze” were anchored in the Nordgulfjord, just outside the foundry in Svelgen.
The advance ships are the security of a German convoy heading to Ålesund.
The best moorings have already been taken in the innermost part of the narrow fjord, by the large and modern M / S “Ostland” ship, with all its tugs. This is a very popular hideout for the Nazi Kriegsmarine, due to the high mountains surrounding the arm of the fjord, which they believe makes air raids difficult. This forces the allied planes to perform dangerous maneuvers, launching themselves off the edges of the mountains.
And that’s exactly what they are going to do: watch the video on top of the box.
The convoy includes D / S “Helene Russ”. It is the smallest ship and at the same time the most dangerous, since it is full of ammunition. Therefore, it is located at the bottom of the bay.
There are a total of 14 armed Nazi ships in the fjord this morning.
The two Norwegian SIS agents, Ole and Tore Snefjellå, discover that there is activity in the area and inform London, which responds by sending reconnaissance planes.
Preparations are underway.
The alarm goes off
At Nordgulfjorden, reconnaissance aircraft led to increased activity. The Nazis know what this means: an air strike is imminent. They try to hide the camouflaged boats as much as possible against the coastal landscape.
Banff Strike Wing takes off with 35 mosquitoes. One of them will film what they think a successful cruise should be.
Watch the video of the attack on top of the case.
The Mosquito is a British attack aircraft, which is unique in that it is made primarily of glued wood.
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The planes are observed by the Germans off the coast of Florø, and the alarm goes off on the ships.
The allies decide to attack from the east. This means that the planes must accelerate fully through the valley leading to Svelgen, before launching very abruptly over the ridge towards Svelgen and attacking.
Click here to stand exactly where the Allied planes were buzzing into the fjord a few feet above the ground.
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Despite the abrupt maneuvers at 600 km / h, this happens incredibly without anyone crashing.
The Germans open a murderous fire, forming a blanket of anti-aircraft guns. Several planes are hit and one of them crashes. Lieutenant Colins and Officer Hunt are shot down and die in Aspeneset this December.
After the attack
However, the allied aircraft have caused great damage:
In his book Brennpunkt “Westküste”, Halvor Sperbund describes the scenes as “an inferno of fires, explosive grenades, screams of the wounded and scorching steam howling from perforated pipes”.
Also read: When Norway beat the Germans in 1940
There are many dead on board the ships and all the merchant ships are more or less damaged. The ammunition ship “Helene Russ” is on fire. The civilian crew on board leave the ship; there is an imminent danger of it getting into the air.
The courage of the Nazis is not lacking: they go against the ship and try to put out the fire.
They do achieve this in the end, but several of the ships are completely out of action and need major repairs in order to assist in the war.
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The brutal encounter between the allied pilots and the German navy in the depths of the Norwegian fjord is over.
Take off online
76 years after the attack, the spectacular images arouse interest on the internet. They are shared on Reddit and Twitter, where people from all over the world describe the images as, among other things, “some of the most sensational images of WWII.”
See more footage from the same raid with audio on YouTube here.
Source: “West Coast” Focal Point by Halvor Sperbund
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