Knut Moe (1921–1989) was a Norwegian

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 ...

member and a radio agent for the

Special Intelligence Service The Special Intelligence Service was a covert counterintelligence branch of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) located in South America during World War II. It was established to monitor the activities of Nazi and pro-Nazi gr ...

, during World War II.

World War II

He was born in Hammerfest. When World War II reached Norway in 1940 with the invasion and occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany, Moe joined the Norwegian resistance movement. He eventually fled to England, where he was recruited by the

and trained as a telegrapher. He soon returned to Norway to conduct intelligence work, being parachuted over Finnmarksvidda. He operated an illegal radio post in

Alta Alta or ALTA may refer to: Acronyms * Alt-A, short for Alternative A-paper, is a type of U.S. mortgage * American Land Title Association, a national trade association representing the land title industry * American Literary Translators Associatio ...

together with

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 ...

Alfred Henningsen Alfred Meyer Henningsen (26 April 1918 – 12 September 2012) was a Norwegian military officer and politician for the Labour Party. He was introduced to spying and military service in World War II, and made this his career path after the war as w ...

and Karl Rasmussen. The codename was "Ida", and it became a part of the network "Venus" of

Northern Norway Northern Norway ( nb, Nord-Norge, , nn, Nord-Noreg; se, Davvi-Norga) is a geographical Regions of Norway, region of Norway, consisting of the two northernmost counties Nordland and Troms og Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainlan ...

. They mainly reported on German troop and naval movements. Among their achievements was the 25 December 1943 report that the German battleship was heading into open waters. The ship was subsequently sunk in the Battle of North Cape. Rasmussen was later captured by Gestapo, whereas Moe and Raaby fled in May 1944 to England via Sweden and Finland. Imprisoned and tortured, Rasmussen committed suicide by auto-defenestration in June 1944. Another major concern was the presence of the German battleship . In September 1943 Torbjørn Johansen bicycled from Tromsø to Alta and back with reports on the ship. The information was conveyed by his brother, radio operator

Einar Johansen Oliver (Einar) Johansen (15 August 1915 – 16 October 1996) was a Norwegian engineer and resistance member during World War II. He is known as a member of the illegal radio group Skylark B, and after this was discontinued he set up new radio posts ...

, leading to an attack in September 1943. ''Tirpitz'' was damaged, but not destroyed. In April 1944, before fleeing for the first time, Raaby reported on its status, leading to an attack where ''Tirpitz'' was again damaged. In September 1944, Moe and another agent were parachuted over Finnmarksvidda for the second time. They stayed in the mountains west of Alta while taking several tours of reconnaissance. Following an assault on 15 September 1944, ''Tirpitz'' was moved further south, near Tromsø to function as a floating gun battery. Moe reported on ''Tirpitz'' in November 1944, and the ship was finally destroyed. He fled Norway for the third time, again via Finland and Sweden in a harsh climate.

Post-war life

After the war Moe 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 ...

. He took a hotelier's education in Switzerland and worked as a steward before being hired in the interest group Sjømilitære Samfund in 1958. He died in 1989.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moe, Knut Norwegian resistance members Norwegian expatriates in the United Kingdom People from Hammerfest 1921 births 1989 deaths