Knut Haugland
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Knut Magne Haugland, DSO, MM, (23 September 1917 – 25 December 2009) was a resistance fighter and noted explorer from
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
, who accompanied
Thor Heyerdahl Thor Heyerdahl KStJ (; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer with a background in zoology, botany and geography. Heyerdahl is notable for his ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition in 1947, in which he sailed 8,000& ...
on his famous 1947 ''
Kon-Tiki The ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition was a 1947 journey by raft across the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands, led by Norwegian explorer and writer Thor Heyerdahl. The raft was named ''Kon-Tiki'' after the Inca god Viracocha, fo ...
'' expedition.


Early life and World War II

Haugland, born in 1917 in
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 gra ...
,
Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...
, Norway, took his
examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...
in 1937 qualifying him for university study. In 1938 he enrolled in military radio studies and afterward joined the
Norwegian Army The Norwegian Army ( no, Hæren) is the land warfare service branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The Army is the oldest of the Norwegian service branches, established as a modern military organization under the command of the King of Norway ...
. In February 1940 he was stationed in
Setermoen Setermoen is the administrative centre of Bardu Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The village is located along the Barduelva river, about east of the village of Sjøvegan and about south of Bardufoss. The local council procl ...
, and soon fought in battles near Narvik as a part of the Norwegian Campaign against Germany. After Germany's defeat of the Norwegian forces and the
Nazi occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 ...
, Haugland went to work at the factory Høvding Radiofabrikk in
Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
while also secretly involved in the
Norwegian resistance movement The Norwegian resistance (Norwegian: ''Motstandsbevegelsen'') to the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany began after Operation Weserübung in 1940 and ended in 1945. It took several forms: *Asserting the legitimacy of the exiled governmen ...
."Knut Haugland, Sailor on Kon-Tiki, Dies at 92"
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
, January 3, 2010 After evading arrest several times, in August 1941 he was arrested by Statspolitiet, but escaped and fled to the United Kingdom via Sweden. There he enrolled in the
Norwegian Independent Company 1 Norwegian Independent Company 1 (NOR.I.C.1, pronounced ''Norisén'' (approx. "noor-ee-sehn") in Norwegian) was a British Special Operations Executive (SOE) group formed in March 1941 originally for the purpose of performing commando raids during ...
(Kompani Linge).


Heavy water sabotage

Haugland, with nine other Norwegian resisters organised and carried out the famous raid on the
Norsk Hydro Rjukan Norsk Hydro Rjukan is an industrial facility operated by Norsk Hydro at Rjukan in Tinn, Norway, from 1911 to 1991. The plant manufactured chemicals related to the production of fertilizer, initially potassium nitrate from arc-produced nitric acid a ...
plant at
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 pl ...
. The plant was known to be producing heavy water, and although the scientist and organiser of the sabotage,
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 research ...
, had not been aware of the connection between heavy water and
atomic weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...
ry early in the war, it eventually became clear that Germany could be using the heavy water for a nuclear energy project. Haugland was parachuted over
Hardangervidda Hardangervidda ( en, Hardanger Plateau) is a mountain plateau (Norwegian: ''vidde'') in central southern Norway, covering parts of Vestland, Vestfold og Telemark, and Viken counties. It is the largest plateau of its kind in Europe, with a cold ye ...
on 18 October 1942 together with
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 (Ko ...
,
Jens-Anton Poulsson Jens-Anton Poulsson Distinguished Service Order, DSO, (27 October 1918 – 2 February 2010) was a Norwegian military officer. During World War II he was a Norwegian resistance movement, Norwegian resistance member, especially noted for his role in ...
and
Claus Helberg Claus Helberg (31 January 1919 – 6 March 2003) was a Norwegian resistance fighter and mountain guide. He was a member of Company Linge, a resistance commando unit that was best known for carrying out Norwegian heavy water sabotage during World W ...
. Their codename was Operation ''Grouse'', and their first mission was to await the British Operation ''Freshman''. ''Freshman'' became a disastrous failure, but ''Grouse'' was ordered to wait for another team: Operation ''Gunnerside''. The plant at Vemork was successfully sabotaged in February 1943. This was dramatised in the 1963 Anthony Mann-directed film ''
The Heroes of Telemark ''The Heroes of Telemark'' is a 1965 British war film directed by Anthony Mann based on the true story of the Norwegian heavy water sabotage during the Second World War from ''Skis Against the Atom'', the memoirs of Norwegian resistance soldi ...
'', which Haugland did not approve of. In 2003 he made a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
documentary with
Ray Mears Raymond Paul Mears (born 7 February 1964) is a British woodsman, instructor, businessman, author and TV presenter. His TV appearances cover bushcraft and survival techniques. He is best known for the TV series '' Ray Mears' Bushcraft'', '' Ra ...
, '' The Real Heroes of Telemark''.


Rest of the war

Haugland and others, stayed in Hardangervidda for two months with Einar Skinnarland, whom he trained. Haugland then went to Oslo to train marine telegraphers. After a trip to the United Kingdom for radio supplies, he returned to Norway in November, being parachuted at Skrimfjella together with
Gunnar Sønsteby Gunnar Fridtjof Thurmann Sønsteby DSO ( 1918 – 10 May 2012) was a member of the Norwegian resistance movement during the German occupation of Norway in World War II. Known by the nickname "Kjakan" ("The Chin") and as "Agent No. 24", ...
. Haugland was arrested for a second time, by
Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...
in
Kongsberg Kongsberg () is a historical mining town and municipality in Buskerud, Viken county, Norway. The city is located on the river Numedalslågen at the entrance to the valley of Numedal. Kongsberg has been a centre of silver mining, arms production ...
, but again escaped and commenced his training duties. On 1 April 1944 he narrowly escaped another capture by the Gestapo when one of his transmitters, hidden in the Oslo Maternity Hospital, was located by radio direction finding. Haugland fled to the United Kingdom again, and did not return. He was awarded Norway's highest decoration for military gallantry, the
War Cross with sword The War Cross with Sword (Norwegian Bokmål: ''Krigskorset med sverd, '' Norwegian Nynorsk: ''Krigskrossen med sverd'') is the highest ranking Norwegian gallantry decoration. It is awarded for extraordinary brave actions or extraordinary leadersh ...
. He was awarded this decoration twice, in 1943 and 1944: the War Cross with two swords. In addition, Haugland was awarded the
Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...
and the
Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...
by the British. He also received the French Croix de Guerre avec Palme and
Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
and the
Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...
. He was also awarded the Medal with rosette and Haakon VII's 70-Medal. The United States decorated him with the
Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...
with bronze palm.


Post-war life

After the war, Haugland continued his military career for many years, except for 1947 when he took part in the
Kon-Tiki The ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition was a 1947 journey by raft across the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands, led by Norwegian explorer and writer Thor Heyerdahl. The raft was named ''Kon-Tiki'' after the Inca god Viracocha, fo ...
expedition (see below). In 1951 he married librarian Ingeborg Prestholdt. He participated in the
Independent Norwegian Brigade Group in Germany The Independent Norwegian Brigade Group in Germany ( no, Tysklandsbrigaden, 'the Germany Brigade') was a Norwegian expeditionary force stationed in the British zone of Allied-occupied Germany, from 1946 to 1953. At first it was based in the Hanov ...
from 1948 to 1949, continued in the Forsvarsstaben until 1952, when he was transferred to the
Royal Norwegian Air Force The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) ( no, Luftforsvaret, , The Air Defence) is the air force of Norway. It was established as a separate arm of the Norwegian Armed Forces on 10 November 1944. The RNoAF's peacetime establishment is approximatel ...
. He headed the electronic intelligence service in Northern Norway, an important position during the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
. He held the ranks of major from 1954 and lieutenant colonel from 1977. He left the Air Force in 1963 to become acting, later permanent, director of the
Norway's Resistance Museum Norway's Resistance Museum also known as the Norwegian Home Front Museum ( no, Norges Hjemmefrontmuseum) is a museum located at the Akershus Fortress in Oslo. The museum collection focuses on Norwegian resistance during the occupation of Norway b ...
. He retired from this position in 1983. He was also the director of the
Kon-Tiki Museum The Kon-Tiki Museum ( no, Kon-Tiki Museet) is a museum in the Bygdøy peninsula in Oslo, Norway. It houses vessels and maps from the ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition, as well as a library with about 8,000 books. It was opened in a provisional building i ...
from its start in 1947 to 1990. He rounded off his career as board chairman of the Kon-Tiki Museum in 1991. Haugland also served as
J. S. Wilson Colonel John Skinner "Belge" Wilson (1888–1969) was a Scottish scouting luminary and friend and contemporary of Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, General Baden-Powell, recruited by him to head the International Bureau, later to be ...
's attaché at the 1949 12th World Scout Conference in Elvesæter. Five of the six men in the Kon-Tiki expedition were Scouts.


Kon-Tiki expedition

Haugland first met
Thor Heyerdahl Thor Heyerdahl KStJ (; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer with a background in zoology, botany and geography. Heyerdahl is notable for his ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition in 1947, in which he sailed 8,000& ...
in 1944 at a paramilitary training camp in England. It was here that Haugland first heard of Heyerdahl's theories about Polynesian migration patterns, and his plans to cross the Pacific on a
balsa ''Ochroma pyramidale'', commonly known as the balsa tree, is a large, fast-growing tree native to the Americas. It is the sole member of the genus ''Ochroma''. The tree is famous for its wide usage in woodworking, with the name ''balsa'' being ...
wood raft. In 1947 Haugland was invited by Heyerdahl to join the Kon-Tiki expedition as a radio operator. On the expedition Haugland and
Torstein Raaby Torstein Pettersen Raaby (6 October 1918 – 23 March 1964) was a Norwegian telegrapher, resistance fighter and explorer. He is known as a crew member on the Kon-Tiki expedition. Biography Raaby was born in the village of Dverberg on the island ...
(another former resistance member) were in frequent radio contact with American amateur operators, sending meteorological and hydrographic data to be passed on to the Meteorological Institute in
Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
. Despite the tiny radio which had an output of only 6
watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...
s, about the same as a small battery-powered torch, they managed to contact radio operators in Norway, even sending a telegram to congratulate
King Haakon VII Haakon VII (; born Prince Carl of Denmark; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was the King of Norway from November 1905 until his death in September 1957. Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen as the son of the future Frederick VI ...
on his 75th birthday. Haugland played himself in the 1950
documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...
''
Kon-Tiki The ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition was a 1947 journey by raft across the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands, led by Norwegian explorer and writer Thor Heyerdahl. The raft was named ''Kon-Tiki'' after the Inca god Viracocha, fo ...
''. Haugland died on 25 December 2009, and was the last living crew member who served on the Kon-Tiki expedition. Several foreign decorations resulted from Haugland's connection with the ''Kon-Tiki'' and a state visit in the postwar period. He was made a Knight of the 1st class of the
Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry, awarded to citizens of Sweden for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. It was instituted on 29 May 1772 by King Gustav III. It was u ...
, Knight 1st Class of the
Order of Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known ...
and Knight of the Icelandic
Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon ( is, Hin íslenska fálkaorða) is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. N ...
. He was awarded the first class cross of the Federal Republic of Germany's Order of Merit, was appointed a Commander of the Belgian Order of Leopold and Companion of the
Order of the Crown of Thailand The Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand ( th, เครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์อันมีเกียรติยศยิ่งมงกุฎไทย; ) is a Thai order, established in 1869 by King Rama ...
. He was an officer of the Iranian
Order of the Lion and the Sun The Imperial Order of the Lion and the Sun ( Persian: نشان سلطنتی شیر و خورشید) was instituted by Fat’h Ali Shah of the Qajar dynasty in 1808 to honour foreign officials (later extended to Iranians) who had rendered disting ...
, received the ''Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold'' for Services to the Republic of Austria (1978) and the Peruvian Order of Merit for Distinguished Service. In 1988, Haugland was made Knight 1st Class of the Order of St. Olav for his efforts as a museum manager. He also received the Defence Medal with three stars.


References


Further reading

* Heyerdahl, Thor (1950). ''
The Kon-Tiki Expedition ''The Kon-Tiki Expedition: By Raft Across the South Seas'' ( no, Kon-Tiki ekspedisjonen) is a 1948 book by the Norwegian writer Thor Heyerdahl. It recounts Heyerdahl's experiences with the ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition, where he travelled across the P ...
''.
George Allen & Unwin George Allen & Unwin was a British publishing company formed in 1911 when Sir Stanley Unwin purchased a controlling interest in George Allen & Co. It went on to become one of the leading publishers of the twentieth century and to establish an ...
. (Translated by F.H. Lyon) * ''Scouting Round the World'', John S. Wilson, first edition, Blandford Press 1959 * Marks, L. (1998) ''Between Silk and Cyanide; A Codemaker's War 1941–1945''. London,
Harper Collins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Corp ...
and New York,
Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...
*
Obituary – Daily Telegraph
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Haugland, Knut 1917 births 2009 deaths People from Rjukan Norwegian Army personnel of World War II Norwegian Special Operations Executive personnel Royal Norwegian Air Force personnel Norwegian resistance members Norwegian explorers Directors of museums in Norway Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Recipients of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the War Cross with Sword (Norway) Knights First Class of the Order of Vasa Knights First Class of the Order of the Dannebrog Knights of the Order of the Falcon Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Military Medal Recipients of the Medal of Freedom Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Grand Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria