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Arne Kjelstrup
Arne Kjelstrup, MM (30 October 1913 – 5 May 1995) was a Norwegian resistance member during World War II, especially noted for his role in the heavy water sabotage 1942–1943, and for being military leader of Milorg section D-161 (Kongsberg/Numedal) during the anti-demolition operation '' Sunshine'' 1944–1945. Personal life Kjelstrup was born in Rjukan. He later moved with his parents to Bærum, where he worked as a plumber at the outbreak of World War II. After the war Kjesltrup married Tulla Irgens, who had participated in the Operation ''Starlight'', the Kongsberg-Numedal-Nore subsection of Operation Sunshine. Kjelstrup took further education in Stockholm, and settled in Bærum, working in the plumbing business. World War II Following the German invasion of Norway in April 1940 Kjelstrup participated in the defence of Norway as a soldier. He was hit by a German bullet, but saved his life because he was carrying a pair of wire cutters that the bullet hit befor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rjukan
Rjukan () is a town and the administrative centre of Tinn municipality in Telemark, Norway. It is situated in Vestfjorddalen, between Møsvatn and Lake Tinn, and got its name after Rjukan Falls west of the town. The Tinn municipality council granted township status for Rjukan in 1996. The town has 3,386 inhabitants (January 2007). History Rjukan was formerly a significant industrial centre in Telemark, and the town was established between 1905 and 1916, when Norsk Hydro started saltpetre (fertilizer) production there. Rjukan was chosen because Rjukan Falls, a 104-metre waterfall, provided easy means of generating large quantities of electricity. The man with the idea to use the Rjukan falls was Sam Eyde, the founder of Hydro. It is estimated that he, together with A/S Rjukanfoss (later Norsk Hydro), used about two times the national budget of Norway to build the Rjukan power station as well as much of the surrounding town. Between 1907 and 1911, Norsk Hydro built what was at the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jens-Anton Poulsson
Jens-Anton Poulsson DSO, (27 October 1918 – 2 February 2010) was a Norwegian military officer. During World War II he was a Norwegian resistance member, especially noted for his role in the heavy water sabotage 1942–1943. He continued his military career after the war, and was appointed colonel in 1968. World War II Heavy water sabotage Poulsson served as a second lieutenant in the Norwegian Independent Company 1 ( no, Kompani Linge) during World War II. As a leader of the ''Grouse'' team he parachuted onto the Hardangervidda plateau on 18 October 1942, along with Arne Kjelstrup, Knut Haugland and Claus Helberg. The team landed at Fjarefit in Songadalen, and prepared to receive British troops of Operation Freshman at Møsvassdammen. The Freshman operation was a failure, as the two gliders crashed. Another operation, called Gunnerside, was successful. The Gunnerside team joined the Grouse (later renamed Swallow), and the combined team succeeded in the destruction of he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Defence Medal 1940–1945
The Defence Medal 1940–1945 () is the award rewarded to those military and civilian personnel who participated in the fight against the German invasion and occupation of Norway between 1940 and 1945. The Defence Medal 1940–1945 can be awarded both to Norwegian and foreign citizens. The medal may still be awarded due to the large number of participants in the defence of Norway during World War II and the difficulties tracking down all eligible recipients. The medal is in bronze. On the obverse is the coat of arms with the inscription . On the reverse is the royal flag, the flag and national flag. Above these a narrow circle with the inscription (Participant in the struggle). The image is surrounded by a chain. The band is in the Norwegian national colors. The band can be fitted with a rosette if the recipient has distinguished himself several times. The medal is made by the goldsmith firm of J. Tostrup in Oslo. As of 2017, the Defence Medal 1940–1945 ranks as 23rd of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victory In Europe Day
Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Eastern Front, with the last shots fired on the 11th. Russia and some former Soviet countries celebrate on 9 May. Several countries observe public holidays on the day each year, also called Victory Over Fascism Day, Liberation Day or Victory Day. In the UK it is often abbreviated to VE Day, or V-E Day in the US, a term which existed as early as September 1944, in anticipation of victory. The end of all combat actions was specified as 23:01 Central European Time, which was already 9 May in eastern Europe, and thus several former Soviet bloc countries including Russia and Belarus, as well as some former Yugoslav countries like Serbia, celebrate Victory Day on 9 May. History Adolf Hitler, the Nazi leader, had committed suicide on 30 April dur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nore, Norway
Nore is a village in the municipality of Nore og Uvdal in the county of Buskerud, Norway. It is located in the traditional region of Numedal. History From 1837 the area was part of Rollag District. Nore was a municipality of its own from 1858 to 1961. It was merged with Uvdal on 1 January 1962. Prior to the merger Nore municipality had a population of 1,975. Norefjord is the center of the Nore. There is Numedal Hall, Numedal high school, Nore school and community center. During the summer months there is an open exhibition at the former residence of glass artist, Oddmund Kristiansen (1920-1997). During the final twenty years of his life, the renowned glass artist used his house as a workshop and studio. Nore Stave Church (''Nore stavkirke'') dating from the 1100-1200 time period is located in Nore. Nore Stave Church is located just south of downtown. The church, which is characteristic of stave churches of Numedal type, has wood carvings from the Middle Ages in the form of leaf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leif Tronstad
Leif Hans Larsen Tronstad DSO, OBE (27 March 1903 – 11 March 1945) was a Norwegian inorganic chemist, intelligence officer and military organizer. He graduated from the Norwegian Institute of Technology in 1927 and was a prolific researcher and writer of academic publications. A professor of chemistry at the Norwegian Institute of Technology from 1936, he was among the pioneers of heavy water research, and was instrumental when a heavy water plant was built at Vemork. After the invasion of Norway by Germany during World War II, Tronstad conducted domestic resistance for one year before fleeing the country for England. There, he gathered valuable intelligence from Norwegian sources, both on the development of the V-2 rocket and the growing German interest in heavy water. In 1943 Tronstad planned Operation Gunnerside, in which the German access to heavy water processing at Vemork was severely impeded. His information about the V-2 rocket contributed to the massive Allied bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Knut Haukelid
Knut Haukelid ( May 17, 1911 - March 8, 1994) was a Norwegian military officer. He was a Norwegian resistance movement soldier during World War II, most notable for participating in the Norwegian heavy water sabotage. Early life Knut Anders Haukelid was born in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. His parents were Bjørulf Knutson Haukelid (1878–1944) and Sigrid Johanne Christophersen (1877–1969), a couple from Norway who were living in Brooklyn at that time. His father was civil engineer working for the Interborough Rapid Transit Company, a now-defunct operator of part of the New York City Subway (1902–1912). Knut Haukelid was the twin brother of Norwegian American motion picture actress Sigrid Gurie (1911–1969). Since Haukelid and his twin sister were born in America, the twins held dual Norwegian-American citizenship. In 1914, the family returned to Norway. Haukelid subsequently grew up in Oslo, where his father worked as an engineer helping to lay out the Oslo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vemork
Vemork is a hydroelectric power plant outside Rjukan in Tinn, Norway. The plant was built by Norsk Hydro and opened in 1911, its main purpose being to fix nitrogen for the production of fertilizer. At opening, it was the world's largest power plant with a capacity of 108 MW. Vemork was later the site of the first plant in the world to mass-produce heavy water developing from the hydrogen production then used for the Haber process. During World War II, Vemork was the target of Norwegian heavy water sabotage operations. The heavy water plant was closed in 1971, and in 1988 the power station became the Norwegian Industrial Workers Museum. A new power plant was opened in 1971 and is located inside the mountain behind the old power plant. History In 1906, the then newly founded Norsk hydro-elektrisk Kvælstofaktieselskab started construction of what was to be the world's largest hydroelectric power plant. The 108-MW Vemork power station at the Rjukan waterfall was the world's lar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Gunnerside
The Norwegian heavy water sabotage ( nb, Tungtvannsaksjonen; nn, Tungtvassaksjonen) was a series of Allied-led efforts to halt German heavy water production via hydroelectric plants in Nazi Germany-occupied Norway during World War II, involving both Norwegian commandos and Allied bombing raids. During the war, the Allies sought to inhibit the German development of nuclear weapons with the removal of heavy water and the destruction of heavy-water production plants. The Norwegian heavy water sabotage was aimed at the 60 MW Vemork power station at the Rjukan waterfall in Telemark. The hydroelectric power plant at Vemork was built in 1934. It was the world's first site to mass-produce heavy water (as a byproduct of nitrogen fixing), with a capacity of 12 tonnes per year. Before the German invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940, the French Deuxième Bureau removed of heavy water from the Vemork plant in then-neutral Norway. The plant's managing director agreed to lend Fran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Freshman
Operation Freshman was the codename given to a British airborne operation conducted in November 1942 during World War II. It was the first British airborne operation conducted using Airspeed Horsa gliders, and its target was the Vemork ''Norsk Hydro'' hydrogen electrolysis plant in Telemark, Norway which produced heavy water as a byproduct. By 1942, the German nuclear weapons programme had come close to being able to develop a nuclear reactor, but in order for the reactor to function it would require a great deal of heavy water. The source of the heavy water was the Norsk Hydro plant, which had been occupied since 1940. When the British government learned of the German nuclear developments, it was decided that a raid would be launched to destroy the plant and deny the Germans the heavy water required to develop a nuclear weapon. Several different strategies were discussed and discarded as impractical; it was decided that a small airborne force composed of sappers from the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Møsvatn
Møsvatn (or Møsvann) is the tenth-largest lake in Norway with a surface area of 78.31 km2. It lies primarily Møsstrond, Vinje in Vestfold og Telemark. The lake lies in the watershed of the Skien river (''Skiensvassdrag'') and discharges into the Måna river. Along the shores of the lake, many traces of Stone Age settlers can be found. It is 919 meters above sea level and regulated to use for hydroelectric production. Some of Norway's highest mountain farms can be found here as well. On 19 November 1942, as part of the efforts to sabotage German heavy water production, gliderborne troops were to land on the frozen lake Møsvatn near the Vemork hydroelectric plant, run by Norsk Hydro, near Rjukan. This effort was not successful; however ultimately the Norwegians stopped the heavy water production activities and helped limit the German nuclear weapons research program. The museum and visitor's centre Hardangervidda Natursenter The Hardangervidda Natursenter is a mu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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