Helge Sommerfelt Skappel (5 September 1907 – 17 October 2001) was a Norwegian aviator, photographer and cartographer. He was among the early aviation company owners in Norway, and later became known as a photographer in Widerøe from 1934 to 1975, except for four years during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

when he was imprisoned in concentration camps for

resistance Resistance may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Either of two similarly named but otherwise unrelated comic book series, both published by Wildstorm: ** ''Resistance'' (comics), based on the video game of the same title ** ''T ...

work. He pioneered the use of aerophotogrammetry in Norway.

Pre-war life

He was born in

Ringsaker is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Hedemarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Brumunddal. Other settlements in Ringsaker include the town of Moelv and the v ...

as a son of banker Halvdan Skappel and Dagny Sommerfelt Skappel. He took a pilot's education from 1929 to 1930 under the Norwegian Army at Kjeller. Skappel soon became involved in the pioneer days of aviation in Norway. He owned the company Lotsberg & Skappel, along with Leiv Brun, Ditlef Smith and Erik Engnæs. The company operated a Gipsy Moth airplane. It was used for private flights, taxi flights and air shows, the latter in cooperation with the company Widerøe & Bjørneby as well as

Norsk Aero Klubb Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including th ...

. Widerøe & Bjørneby became Widerøe's Flyveselskap in February 1934, after

Viggo Widerøe Viggo Widerøe (13 August 1904 – 8 January 2002) was a Norwegian aviator and entrepreneur. He founded Widerøe's Flyveselskap, Norway's third largest airline, in 1934. The airline is still in operation today. Personal life Viggo Widerøe was b ...

had bought and flown a Waco Cabin from the United States. In the Easter of 1934, a meeting was held at

Ustaoset Ustaoset is a village in Hol municipality, Buskerud, Norway. It is located on Norwegian National Road 7 (''Riksvei 7''). Ustaoset is situated above sea level and is the finish for the cross country ski event Skarverennet. Ustaoset first came ...

in which Skappel was recruited to Widerøe's Flyveselskap—his company would become incorporated into Widerøe's, and the co-owners be involved as well. Skappel was to lead the aerial school as well as a department for aerial photography. Incidentally, the Standard Moth plane owned by Skappel crashed shortly after, leading him to believe that he had lost his "entrance ticket" to Widerøe's, but he still became director of photography in the company. From 1935 he pioneered the use of aerophotogrammetry. Among others, the company had a contract with the

Norwegian Mapping and Cadastre Authority The Norwegian Mapping Authority (NMA) ( no, Statens kartverk or Kartverket) is Norway's national mapping agency, dealing with land surveying, geodesy, hydrographic surveying, cadastre and cartography. The current director is Johnny Welle. Its ...

(then known as ''Norges Geografiske Oppmåling'').

World War II

During

, Norway was invaded by Germany on 9 April 1940. Helge Skappel's brother died in the Battle of Stryken already on 12 April. Skappel joined the

resistance movement A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objective ...

, helping Norwegians to flee the country. He also transmitted information about German troop movements via illegal radio. He was arrested for conducting "intelligence" in June 1941, and was imprisoned at Møllergata 19 for a month. He was sentenced to six years of prison. He was transferred to Grini concentration camp in July 1941, as #353 of almost 20,000 prisoners. Viggo Widerøe was imprisoned as well, and they spent prison time in

Åkebergveien Åkebergveien is a street in Oslo, Norway. The street is named after the former farm Åkeberg. ''Åkebergveien 11'' formerly belonged to the brewery Ytteborgs Aktiebryggeri. In 1934 the building was acquired by the city of Oslo, and after rebuil ...

from October to November 1941, before being shipped to Germany via Akershus Fortress. He was imprisoned at Hamburg-Fühlsbuttel, and remained so until being saved by the White Buses at the war's end. His brother Vilhelm Skappel (1911–1992) was also a part of the resistance movement, but he fled to England in 1943. Like Helge, he worked with aerial photography, having started as early as 1930. After the war, Vilhelm Skappel chaired Commission VII of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing for ten years.

Post-war life

Skappel continued in Widerøe after the war. In 1946, he released the book ''Pionertid'', "Pioneer Time", together with Viggo Widerøe, chronicling their time as pioneers of

aviation in Norway Aviation has been a part of Norwegian society since the early twentieth century. Early attempts In the early days of Norwegian aviation the Norwegian enthusiasts lacked an engine and were therefore unable to perform real flights. The first engine ...

. In 1951-1952 he was a member of an aerial expedition to

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

, as a part of the larger Norwegian-British-Swedish Antarctic Expedition. The small mountain Skappelnabben was discovered and named after him. In 1953 he made an advance to launch a program for economic mapping. This was his second advance; a proposal in 1937 led to some work being done by a committee, but it was hampered by World War II. Skappel's second advance led to a committee being formed in 1957, and economic mapping was eventually started by ''Norges Geografiske Oppmåling'', however as late as in 1964. Skappel retired from the professional life in 1975. Skappel was decorated with the Defence Medal 1940–1945 and the

HM The King's Medal of Merit The King's Medal of Merit (Norwegian: ''Kongens fortjenstmedalje'') is a Norwegian award. It was instituted in 1908 to reward meritorious achievements in the fields of art, science, business, and public service. It is divided in two classes: gold ...

, and was an honorary member of the national cartographic society. He lived in Nøtterøy in his later life, and died in October 2001, aged 94.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skappel, Helge 1907 births 2001 deaths People from Ringsaker People from Nøtterøy Norwegian Army Air Service personnel Norwegian aviators Norwegian photographers Norwegian cartographers Widerøe people Norwegian resistance members Grini concentration camp survivors Norwegian people imprisoned abroad Recipients of the King's Medal of Merit 20th-century cartographers